When the polls close at 10 pm on General Election Day in the UK, the votes must then be counted. In charge of an election is the Electoral Commission and their representative in a Parliamentary Constituency is the Acting Returning Officer (ARO). The ARO decides when and where the count should take place. However, by [more...]
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands was a two-year-old princess when German paratroops landed in the Hague on May 10, 1940 with orders to take the entire Dutch royal family to Berlin. Her grandmother, Queen Wilhelmina, wanted the younger generations to flee to safety as soon as possible. Apart from any personal feelings she wished to [more...]
Some of you may have seen to film Shakespeare in Love, starring Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow. In one of the early scenes we see William Shakespeare, the great English playwright and poet, practising his signature in different styles and then throwing them away. This makes jest of just one of the problems associated with [more...]
Hadrian’s Wall, the famous wall built by the Roman emperor Hadrian in the north of England as a border marker and customs post, is to be lit up by a line of flaming beacons along its entire 84 mile length from the coast of eastern England across to the western coast. The event is planned [more...]
The Iron Bridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, during the 18th and 19th centuries was at the very heart of the Industrial Revelation. Nowadays, looking at the Severn River valley with its woods on either side and Georgian houses it difficult to believe that here was the birth of iron smelting technology, extensive coal and tar [more...]
The House of Commons is the venue of a great deal of political cut and thrust. But can you imagine the country’s reaction if our present-day Prime Minster took part in a duel as a result of what was said by them, or about them or their policies? It may seem amazing to us now, [more...]
Once a year is Budget Day in the UK when the Chancellor of the Exchequer of behalf of the government attends the House of Commons and makes a speech to the Members of Parliament outlining a summary of the current economic situation and a more detailed account of how the government intends to raise money [more...]
If you are starting up a business in the UK, one of most important things you must consider is insurance. There are many types of insurance. Some are required by law, while others you should consider to ensure that you and your business are protected. As to what types of insurance, it depends on the [more...]
Imagine you are sitting in a restaurant with your partner. You are having a most pleasant evening: good food, fine wine, prompt service, and, of course, wonderful company. Then the people on the next table decide to use their mobile phones, talking loudly about inconsequential things of no importance to anyone but themselves. Wouldn’t it [more...]
The UK Government’s Nuclear White Paper has outlined how nuclear power will form part of the UK’s future energy supplies. As part of the process to implement that plan, the Government are undertaking a Strategic Siting Assessment to identify potential sites for the building of the new nuclear power stations. Part of the process includes [more...]
There are 1,452 million One Pound coins currently in circulation [1], but there is an increasing number of counterfeit One Pound coins also in circulation. According to the Royal Mint website, the most recent survey reveals that 1 in 50 coins are fake, but they have admitted recently in news reports that it is probably [more...]
In the UK, the facility to dial 999 to make an emergency call to the police, fire or ambulance, was introduced on 1st June 1937 [1], first in the London area, and then gradually through rest of country as automatic dialling exchanges were introduced. It was described in the press as the ‘telephone users S.O.S.’ [more...]
The insurance industry makes important contributions to the UK’s economy, is a major employer, and source of overseas income. It is the second largest insurance industry in the world with its premium income at 11% of the world’s total. It is still some way behind the United States insurance industry which has 30 % of the [more...]
If you’re in Glasgow with children, you could spend most of the day in the titanium-walled Science Centre pictured above. As well as spacious halls full of try-it-yourself exhibits appealing to different ages, there are cleverly-staged demonstrations, a café, an Imax cinema, and fine views from the impressive rotating tower. Staying near the river, visit [more...]
Cottonopolis was a name given to the city of Manchester, England, famed as the world’s first industrial city, and in the nineteenth century, the home of the cotton industry in Britain. It was also known as Cotton City. The term was in general use by the early 1850s, the Manchester Times newspaper referred to “this [more...]
In the English legal system, judges and barristers adopted the wearing of wigs in court in the 1680s following the trend of everyday life when wigs were worn. They soon became recognised as required court dress. By the early 19th century, wigs had gone out of fashion in society, but the legal profession continue to [more...]
Kent, often called the garden of England, has many attractions for a day out. Explore the countryside of the High Weald, a designated area of outstanding natural beauty with its rolling hills and large ancient woodlands, and dotted with Wealden villages, great houses and the site of the Battle of Hastings. Or try its varied [more...]
If you’re travelling between England and central Scotland, why not leave time to explore the Borders region as you pass through? There’s plenty of choice for tourists and for anyone planning a day out from Newcastle, Glasgow or Edinburgh. Amongst the wonderful scenery, there are great opportunities for hiking, biking and hill-walking. The River Tweed [more...]
Suffolk has a wonderful mixture of historic villages and towns, pastoral countryside, long shingle beaches, and the unique areas of outstanding natural beauty found in the wetlands and ancient heaths known as the Sandlings. Why not start with a walk on part of the Suffolk Coast Path from Walberswick to Dunwich? Starting at Walberswick walk through [more...]
The River Thames in London has frozen a number of times in the past six centuries caused by more severe cold weather than we have nowadays and the design of the old London Bridge with its many small arches which prohibited the flow of ice on the river. Entrepreneurs have always taken advantage of events [more...]