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Now here’s something that will send you straight to your kitchen to put the kettle on: the Great British cup of tea may not taste quite so good in the future. It seems that extreme weather and rising temperatures could lead to inferior leaves in the future, according to Christian Aid. Kenya, the world’s foremost...

So says the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). In an effort to restore the plant’s reputation, the RHS has been showcasing the species at its flagship garden in Wisley, Surrey. It hopes to set a new trend, and to get people to stop seeing ivy as ‘the enemy.’ At Wisley you can now see 390 varieties...

All in the month of JUNE The man who invented the saxophone The beginnings of Boots the Chemist The 100th Birthday of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Remembering Carl Jung What do you think will happen after Covid? Where are our birds? “It is like driving on the moon” ** Editor:  We continue our column...

It was: 175 years ago, on 28th June 1846 that Belgian musical instrument maker Adolphe Sax patented the saxophone. 125 years ago, on 4th June 1896 that Henry Ford completed his first automobile, the Ford Quadricycle, and gave it a test run around Detroit Michigan. It was a simple frame with an engine, two gears,...

It was 175 years ago, on 28th June 1846, that Belgian musical instrument maker Adolphe Sax patented the saxophone. Born Antoine-Joseph in 1814, Sax quickly became known for his brilliant inventiveness and his abrasive personality, but also – to the despair of his mother – for his brushes with death as a child. He fell from...

Jesse Boot, the British pharmacist and philanthropist, died 90 years ago, on 13th June 1931. He turned the Boots Company started by his father John – a former agricultural worker – into a chain of chemists branded ‘Chemists to the Nation’. The 1st Baron Trent, as Jesse became in 1929, sold his controlling interest to American...

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was born 100 years ago on 10th June 1921, on a dining room table in Corfu, at a villa called Mon Repos. He was born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark and always thought of himself as Danish, though he was in line of succession to both thrones. He was...

It was 60 years ago, on 6th June 1961, that Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist, died. He was the founder of analytical psychology. Today he is thought of as a countercultural icon and an advocate of spirituality outside religion, associated more with New Age thinking than mainstream psychology. But he came from a...

You can take your choice: a recent survey has found that a third of us think that society may never go back to the old ways,  a third of us think we will go back to exactly as we were before, and a third of us think that we will be keener than ever to...

British birds are in big trouble. 80 per cent of our most popular species are in severe decline, according to recent data from the RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch. The world’s largest wildlife survey has found that 16 out of the 20 most spotted garden birds have been in decline since 2020. There are now...

Some of our British roads are beginning to resemble “the surface of the moon”, according to the RAC. It has recently reported that an average of 52 drivers a day are breaking their cars on potholes and needing to be rescued. More than 4,000 drivers have needed assistance since January, despite the fact that lockdown...

All in the month of MAY Remembering an outstanding astronomer 100 years of the British Legion Amnesty International celebrates 60 years Famine may be on the way What will happen to our offices in the future? ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, MAY) down the...