The British Parliament – “Mother of Parliaments”
Oct05

The British Parliament – “Mother of Parliaments”

The British Parliament is often referred to as the Mother of Parliaments (in fact a misquotation of John Bright, who remarked in 1865 that “England is the Mother of Parliaments”) because the British Parliament has been the model for most other parliamentary systems. In this article we look at 4 other amazing facts about one of our most venerated institutions.

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Coffee – The Revolutionary’s Drink of Choice ?
Sep25

Coffee – The Revolutionary’s Drink of Choice ?

Did you grab a cup of coffee on your way to work this morning, or drop in to a coffee shop with a friend to gossip whilst savouring the bitter sweet nectar of the that king of all beans the coffee berry ? If you’d done this in the 17th Century then you might have been regarded as either a subversive or or a danger to the moral fabric of society.

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Did You Know … Between AD 208 and 211 the entire Roman Empire was governed from York
Jul24

Did You Know … Between AD 208 and 211 the entire Roman Empire was governed from York

A Rare Known Factoid …  “Between AD 208 and AD 211 the entire Roman Empire was governed from York.” Some Random Romano British Factoids For 3,000 years, chickens were farmed primarily for their eggs. Only when the Romans came to Britain did it dawn on them to eat the bird. Ruyton-XI-Towns, Shropshire, is the only place in Britain whose name contains Roman numerals. When the Romans first arrived in Britain, they...

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English Words that Used To Have Vastly Different Meanings To What We Understand Today
Jul10

English Words that Used To Have Vastly Different Meanings To What We Understand Today

How would you rate your vocabulary ? Average; Better than Average ; Exceptional ?
It may not matter how good you think your command of English is because in this article we reveal some surprising revelations about some of the words, you may have thought you had a thorough understanding of, had, in point of fact, some VERY different meanings in the past.

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How and When did the American Accent evolve?
Apr20

How and When did the American Accent evolve?

How and When did the American Accent evolve? : The answer to this question is somewhat surprising … It’s not so much that their accent evolved as that ours did.

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What did Middle English (the language of Chaucer) Sound Like ?
Apr17

What did Middle English (the language of Chaucer) Sound Like ?

English, with all its vagaries and annoying inconsistencies, remains the single most important and influential language in today’s world. English language has been subsequently divded into about 5 distinct periods. Middle English, the language of Chaucer, is one of the most notable. But what did it sound like ?

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The Normans – A Timeline
Aug04

The Normans – A Timeline

Guernsey and the Channel Islands were very much at the heart of the old Duchy of Normandy and then in 1066 we were propelled into the wider world when our Duke, William the Bastard defeated the English King Harold at Hastings. In this artilcle we outline some of the defining moments in the history of the Norman dynasty.

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Was King John really that bad?
Aug01

Was King John really that bad?

If there’s one English Monarch who’s consistently had a ‘bad wrap’ it’s King John I. He’s the ultimate in abuse of absolute power, an archetypal villan – portrayed as the cruel King oppressing his people with taxes and arbitrary justice. But is this true ? Was his rule really as bad as folklore seems to say ?

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Being British and the Art of Queuing
May09

Being British and the Art of Queuing

Being British can be a complex business and there is one part of our identity that will confuse ‘Johnny Foreigner’ no end – Queuing!

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Secrets of The Bayeux Tapestry : Hidden Meanings & Gestures
Apr18

Secrets of The Bayeux Tapestry : Hidden Meanings & Gestures

The Bayeux Tapestry is an historical artifact that never fails to impress depicting as it does such a pivotal moment in British and Channel Island history, that of the invasion & conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066. But look closely and you will come across oddities that are hard to explain, mysterious characters, some named, some not, appear in the main body and borders. Add to that some of the cuirious rather theatrical gestures they appear to be making and there emerges a sense of mystery.

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The Day King John Commited Murder and the Channel Islands lost a potential Duke
Oct28

The Day King John Commited Murder and the Channel Islands lost a potential Duke

History can often turn on the actions of a single individual. April the 3rd 1203 was such a day when King John committed murder. If he hadn’t committed this heinous crime then the whole history of Guernsey and the Channels Island could have been radically different.

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1066 and all that … the day the Channel Islands became part of England
Oct14

1066 and all that … the day the Channel Islands became part of England

On Sunday the 14th October 1066 ‘William the Bastard’, Duke of Normandy (andthe Channel Islands), invaded and defeated the Anglo Saxon king of England, so that henceforth the Bastard was to be forever known as William the Conqueror. In this article we look how at how he won at Hastings.

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The Day St George lost his head … literally
Apr19

The Day St George lost his head … literally

On the 23rd April 303 AD in Nicomedia, (near today’s Istanbul), St George of dragon fame was beheaded on the orders of the Roman emperor Diocletian. As you’re no doubt aware he went on to become the patron saint of Englend, and quite a few other places as well as it happens. The story of his life and death is no less fascinating.

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The Declaration of Arbroath (Scotland declares independence)
Apr05

The Declaration of Arbroath (Scotland declares independence)

If the 4th July 1776 is remembered for the momentous statement that begins, When in the course of human events … then Saturday the 6th April 1320 should be noted for an equally stirring declaration of independence when another nation struggled for freedom from English rule.

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Pivotal Moments : March 8 1265 – The First English Parliament
Mar08

Pivotal Moments : March 8 1265 – The First English Parliament

There are key moments in history when on the decisions and actions of men the course of human history is changed forever. Sunday March 8th 1265 was such a day when the actions of the nobleman Simon de Montfort still reverberate down the centuries to us today, for on that day the first ever English Parliament sat.

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