A mulching lawnmower is one that chops up the grass clippings very finely before driving them downwards into the lawn where they decay and return their nutrients to the earth. It has several advantages over a mower that collects the clippings and must be emptied regularly, Mowing is faster because there’s no need to stop [more...]
It sounds like a “no-brainer”, doesn’t it, that your adventure activities provider needs to be insured? But it turns out not to be so clear-cut as that. The RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a British charity) says this in relation to the adventure sport of coasteering: The RNLI advises only taking part in coasteering as [more...]
When Mary Stuart married François, Dauphin of France, in 1558 what could the public see? For days in advance the city was busy. Workers set up theatres inside the palace, and hung draperies inside and outside the cathedral. Many people earned extra pennies constructing walkways and a stage with vineleaf decoration in the cathedral square. Dressmakers [more...]
Coasteering involves traversing the coast and interacting with the sea and the rocks. It’s is an odd type of adventure activity because it is mostly operated and promoted by the organised outdoor activity industry in the United Kingdom, especially in Pembrokeshire (Wales) where it originated. If you were doing this with your friends, you wouldn’t [more...]
Payday Loan is the name given to a short-term loan or cash advance which as its name suggests is only required until the borrower’s next payday when it can be paid back. A tide-you-over loan is often seen as a quick answer to a temporary shortage of money, but it is not designed as a [more...]
15-year-old Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was married to 14-year-old François, Dauphin of France, in April 1558. The wedding celebrations for the future French king and queen were magnificent, and a report of the grand ceremony and festivities was published one week later. So what does it tell us about Mary’s dress? [She] was dressed [more...]
The name Blue Lagoon suggests a piece of paradise from the tropics, however there is also a Blue Lagoon in the United Kingdom. It’s near the town of Abereiddy in Wales. The lagoon is a former steep-sided slate quarry that was flooded after it was abandoned. Today it is connected to the ocean by a [more...]
The Millennium Bridge at Gateshead is an impressive footbridge with a novel tilting design which crosses the River Tyne from Gateshead to Newcastle in the north-east of England. It is the first tilting bridge in the world. The quaysides of Gateshead and Newcastle has undergone redevelopment and regeneration since the decline of traditional industries in [more...]
“Tombstoning”, the practice of jumping from a height into water, is an enjoyable recreational activity. However, it is associated with a steady stream of rescues, injuries and deaths. If the risks are mitigated, jumping into water is a relatively low-risk activity. Many of the injuries and fatalities are caused by hitting rock instead of water. [more...]
White wedding dresses were popular in fashionable circles by the mid-19th century, even though many brides still chose other colours. The idea of a once-in-a-lifetime wedding dress was more flexible than today, and wearing white was quite a new fashion. Victorian dresses that look very “bridal” to us now were almost the same as evening [more...]
Tombstoning is a perjorative term coined by the media and the health’n’safety brigade to describe the practice of jumping off high places into water. Others might call it “jumping into the sea”. The media like the emotive term because it fits into compact headlines. A headline of “Tombstoning craze kills boy” works better for them [more...]
A vasectomy is a surgical procedure which cuts and seals the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles towards the penis. After a successful vasectomy, the man’s ejaculate no longer contains sperm and he cannot father a child. It’s considered a straightforward procedure, and is much simpler than the corresponding procedure for women (tubal ligation). [more...]
If you are researching your family history and in particular your English and Welsh ancestors, then a useful new resource is now available online: the England and Wales National Probate Calendars for the 19th and 20th centuries. These Calendars were previously only available for inspection by making a personal visit to a Probate Registry in [more...]
What should a young husband know about cleaning up in the kitchen? If you muttered: “as little as possible”, that may have been honest, but not appropriate for your new role, all the more reason to read the following. There are stories about men managing to drop their wife’s favorite plate the first time they [more...]
Whether flying on a business trip or a vacation, as your aircraft takes off you will probably be confident that the pilot and the crew have carried out their pre-flight checks, the ground crew have serviced and checked over the aircraft, and throughout the flight the crew will be monitoring the instruments. But you may [more...]
B&Q is the third largest home improvement retail company in the world with 321 stores in the UK and 60 stores spread across the globe. In 2009/10 retail sales were £4 billion, with profits of £195million. It is part of the Kingfisher Group plc. The company’s name B&Q comes from the names of its founders: [more...]
The Gallery of Practical Science opened in 1832 in London. Its aim was to inspire an enthusiasm for science, with plenty of working models of science and technology in action. Inventor Jacob Perkins was the driving force in forming a “Society for the Illustration and Encouragement of Practical Science” which ran the National Gallery of [more...]
Surely fashions come and go, without anyone “deciding”? Well, actually, there are individuals and organizations that give a “guiding hand” to the whims of fashion. The Color Marketing Group is an association of people who work with color. They design with color, market color, and teach color. The Group holds regular conferences and workshops at [more...]
Most people are familiar with the words canine (relating to dogs) and feline (relating to cats), but many other animals or animal groups get their own adjective. These are called collateral adjectives, and are generally derived from the genitive form of the Latin genus name. Here is a list of collateral adjectives. Ant: myrmecine. Bear: [more...]
There are so many image file formats to choose from. Which should you use for your images? For images that are going to be uploaded onto the web, the answer is usually easy: Is the image a photo (or a graphic that looks like a photo)? Use JPG. Is the image animated? Use GIF. For [more...]