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It was: 1900 years ago, from 13th September 122 to 128 that Hadrian’s Wall was built in northern England. It ran for 80 miles from coast to coast and marked the northern limit of the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor, Hadrian, wanted to separate the Romans from ‘the barbarians.’ 200 years ago, on 11th September...

It was 1900 years ago, from 13th September 122 to 128, that Hadrian’s Wall was built in northern England. It ran for nearly 80 miles from coast to coast and marked the northern limit of the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor, Hadrian, wanted to separate the Romans from ‘the barbarians’. In pre-Christian England the Picts...

It was only 200 years ago, on 11th September 1822, that the Roman Catholic Church admitted that the 16th century astronomer Galileo Galilei might have been right about the Earth orbiting the Sun.  The College of Cardinals reversed the Church’s condemnation of his ideas. Galileo had spent the last nine years of his life under...

One hundred years ago, on 13th September 1922, the highest temperature ever recorded in the world was reported to be 57.7 Centigrade (136 Fahrenheit) in Al’Aziziyah in Libya. This stood for nearly a century but was challenged at various times and eventually decertified by the World Meteorological Organisation in 2012, which believed there was a...

Some 25 years ago, on 5th September 1997, Mother Teresa died. She was an Albanian nun who was born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in what is now Skopje, North Macedonia, and spent most of her life in India, founding and running the Missionaries of Charity. She was winner of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. Mother Teresa,...

The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer Support’s biggest annual fundraising event, held to support people living with cancer. People all over the UK either host or attend a Coffee Morning to raise money for Macmillan. The official date is Friday 30th September, but a coffee morning to support MacMillan can be held at any time....

All in the month of AUGUST 25 years since the death of Princess Diana Philip Larkin – the ‘other Poet Laureate’ Remembering Enid Blyton Edinburgh Festival – 5th – 28th August National Allotment Week ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, AUGUST) down the years. Here...

It was: 200 years ago, on 25th August 1822 that William Herschel, German-born British astronomer died. He discovered the planet Uranus and infrared radiation, conducted the first deep sky surveys, and was the first president of the Royal Astronomical Society. 125 years ago, on 11th August 1897 that Enid Blyton was born. This enormously popular...

Just 25 years ago, on 31st August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, her close companion Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul, died after a car crash in the Place de l’Alma underpass in Paris. Fayed and Paul died instantly, but Princess Diana survived for nearly five hours. She was conscious shortly after the crash,...

One hundred years ago, on 9th August 1922, Philip Larkin, one of Britain’s most famous post-war poets, was born in Coventry. Often called “England’s other Poet Laureate”, he was also a distinguished librarian. He died in 1985. His first book of poetry was published in 1945, but he came to prominence in 1955 with the...

 It was 125 years ago, on 11th August 1897, that Enid Blyton was born in East Dulwich, South London. This enormously popular British children’s writer created Noddy, the Famous Five, and the Secret Seven. She is among the world’s bestselling writers, selling more than 600 million copies of her books. Enid was the daughter of...

This year marks 75 years of the Edinburgh International Festival. It was in 1947 that the first Edinburgh Festival was held. It was the idea of the then General Manager of Glyndebourne Opera, Henry Harvey Wood, as well as the Head of the British Council in Scotland and leaders from the City of Edinburgh. Their...