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Posted: 21-09-2009 15:39 Post subject:

Haggis hunting is notoriously difficult... I believe traditionally it is conducted using pogo-sticks (the smell and sound of horses is easily picked up by the keen haggis) and a large net on a pole.

Posted: 21-09-2009 15:55 Post subject:

They are patriotic wee beasties, not timorous at all though. They assisted Bonnie Prince Charlie in his escape. Weren't much good at rowing the boat but they devoured a company of Redcoats with the assistance of the Bean family.

Posted: 22-09-2009 11:45 Post subject:

Stilton celebrates as it is confirmed as home of the famous cheese
Home staff

Celebrations were in full swing yesterday after the village of Stilton was named as the official birthplace of the blue-veined cheese [pictured at a May Day celebration].

Experts have been divided over its origins after the Stilton Cheese Makers Association (SCMA) ruled that it did not come from the Cambridgeshire village of the same name. The SCMA claimed that, despite being sold in Stilton for hundreds of years, the cheese was first made in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, in about 1740.

But the village has claimed its rightful title after Richard Landy, a local historian, found a letter dated 1722 to Richard Bradley, the first professor of botany at the University of Cambridge, which had a recipe for the cheese attached to it. The author of the letter, Francis Pawlett, wrote of a delicious cheese produced by Cooper Thornhill, the well-known landlord of the Bull Inn, in Stilton.

Nigel White, of the SCMA, said: “There are still many missing links within Stilton’s history and we appreciate all the work the villagers have put into this research.”

Stilton cheese is protected by EU legislation and Blue Stilton is made only in six licensed dairies across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, and Derbyshire. Now Mr Landy hopes to challenge the EU licensing laws.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article6843635.ece

The clue is in the name! Wink

Posted: 22-09-2009 12:13 Post subject:

Posted: 22-09-2009 12:27 Post subject:

Posted: 22-09-2009 12:43 Post subject:

Posted: 10-10-2009 13:08 Post subject:

This long article on the Coventry Blitz
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/09/coventry-blitz-hitler-revenge
shows how historians can disagree about history, and how any 'answers' given may only be partial explanations.

(The BBC Timewatch docu referred to
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00n7xky/b00n7xkc/Blitz_The_Bombing_of_Coventry/
is available for another few days.)

But the article made me aware that "[Coventry's] medieval heart was regarded as one of the finest in Europe" - which is both interesting and sad.

Posted: 22-10-2009 23:46 Post subject:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00nph5d/A_Tale_of_Two_Britains/

A Tale of Two Britains

The conventional view of 1930s Britain is of slag heaps, unemployed men hanging round street corners with nothing to do, hunger marches and economic depression.

This is only part of the truth, as the 1930s was a period of transformation. While most of the world suffered from the depression, the UK was able to shrug off the worst effects thanks to prudent management of the economy by the National Government and a degree of protectionism. Areas of high unemployment remained, but they were isolated from the general trend.

For many, it was a time of rising prosperity. Consumption increased as new gadgets - vacuum cleaners, cookers, fridges - came on the market. Car ownership increased massively and, as leisure time grew, so did travel as people took holidays, often for the first time. Millions went to the cinema, and eating out became commonplace. To back up the increase in consumption new forms of credit emerged, with HP the most popular.

Using interviews with people who remember the decade, this documentary offers an alternative vision of Britain in the 30s and shows that, after the recovery from the slump that followed the crash of 1929, life was good for a large proportion of the country.

It celebrates the growing market for entertainment and consumer goods, explains how a boom in housing transformed the lives of millions of slum dwellers, shows how new towns grew up near centres of economic growth, and challenges the view that the period was one of national gloom and austerity.

A considerable amount of research has shed new light on the period, and historians like Peter Scott, Richard Overy, Juliet Gardiner and Martin Pugh underpin the film's thesis, which may surprise and cheer viewers who lived under the shadow of the bleak 1930s.

Broadcast on:BBC Four, 12:30am Thursday 22nd October 2009
Duration: 60 minutes
Available until: 8:59pm Wednesday 28th October 2009

I realise this may seem like ancient history to many people here (and it's before my lifetime), but this is the decade when my parents were growing up and entering their twenties, so it gives me another angle on their lives.

Posted: 24-10-2009 19:24 Post subject:

If you fancy a good read on the 1930's, try "We Danced All Night" by Martin Pugh.

Posted: 28-10-2009 12:28 Post subject:

New battle over Bosworth's site
By Bob Walker
BBC Radio 5 live

It is more than 500 years since the Battle of Bosworth saw the death of Richard III and ushered in the Tudor dynasty.

Since then scholars have argued over the precise location of the battle with several different locations given serious consideration.

Now a team of historians and archaeologists says it has found the site - and it is not where everyone thought it was.

It is one of Shakespeare's most memorable scenes.

The hunchback Richard III, thrown from his horse and maddened with blood lust, offers up his kingdom in exchange for a replacement steed.

Today the spot where he is supposed to have met his end - a victim of treachery rather than military genius - is marked by a roughly-cut stone memorial in a quiet grove.

The plaque upon it reads simply: "Richard, the last Plantagenet King of England, was slain here 22nd August, 1485."

Except that he was not.

According to a team of battlefield experts and historians the location of the battlefield was two miles to the south and west. At the moment they are being no more precise than that because they fear the activities of illegal treasure seekers.

The investigators have been checking soil samples, analysing peat deposits and carrying out searches with metal detectors. They have also been studying ancient documents and maps for clues.

Using references to places like Redmore (or Reed Moor) and Sandyford (a sandy crossing in the marsh) they have built up a picture of the landscape at the time of the battle.

There have been other clues such as Crown Hill, long thought to have had some connection with the crowning of Henry VII after the battle.

And the study has thrown new light on the use of medieval artillery. They have found 22 lead shots fired by the smallest hand-held gun of the time and from the largest cannon of the time.

All of which presents a problem for the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre which has become popular with tourists, schoolchildren and students. Thousands have attended lectures on the subject and walked for two hours over the battlefield trail.

When the location has been debated before, visitors have expressed mixed feelings.

Many said the precise location of the centre was less important than the quality of educational displays and exhibitions. Others said they would be disappointed not to be able to walk the actual field of battle.

Dr Glen Foard, from the Battlefields Trust, who has lead the search, said: "For me the most important thing about the discoveries at Bosworth is that it opens the door for archaeology to explore the origins of firepower.

"In collaboration with the University of Leeds we want to trace this story across Europe."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8329251.stm

Posted: 04-11-2009 14:49 Post subject:

Just read the guardian article on the bombing of Coventry. I think the "mainstream" historians are perhaps following some official line here.

Plymouth was literally razed to the ground (helped after the war by the council - modernisation!), hence the unlovely city centre. I always supposed that they were after the dockyards, which seems perfectly logical. However, after talking to local people, particularly those that remember the destruction, I have been repeatedly informed that the Luftwaffe were after the historical (and apparently very beautiful) city centre - cultural targets to demoralise the populace.

After consideration, If they were after the dockyard, Goering's mighty Luftwaffe had very poor aim.

It`s difficult now to believe a place looked so very different, photographs show some of the truth, & now gone is the world changing town of the Armada, Drake (and his game of bowls), the port that saw the landing of Catherine of Aragon & Pocahontas, the departure of Cooke's voyages & those of Darwin & the Mayflower, Birthplace of Capt. scott, prison for Napoleon (before his exile to St. Helena).........

It' s easier to stomach attacks on "legitimate" targets, not so the wilful destruction of culture and history - a people's place in the world.

Of course we did similar and it pales against other crimes against humanity, but the effects are still here - a loss of pride in the town, the concrete greyness of the day to day, the lack of knowledge about the place (and its place in our history): ".....you live in Portsmouth?"

If the destruction sickens you ever so slightly or angers you just a touch, it is, perhaps, wiser to think that they missed the warships (or the aircraft factories in Coventry) which threatened their people, not that they wanted to expunge the memory of Lady Godiva or HMS beagle. However, it's sad when an old lady cries still, when she remembers the place of her youth, now gone forever.... I sound like Monty in Withnail: " .. as a youth I'd weep in butchers' shops...."

Posted: 05-11-2009 04:16 Post subject:

Speaking from a Liverpool point of view (the second most concentrated site of Luftwaffe bombing outside of London) I must say I agree with the official line.

One third of Liverpools houses were damaged or destroyed. Many civic buildings were seriously damaged, even miles from the docks damage was severe.

Perhaps though, we cannot blame the Nazi's for the destruction. After the war, the government would pay city corporations money for any buildings destroyed during or as a result of the war. This led to many buildings that where partially damaged being pulled down completely - claimed to be beyond repair simply to get the governments money.

This sadly, was the fate of Liverpools Customs House.

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/exhibitions/blitz/may.asp

Posted: 05-11-2009 10:42 Post subject:

Posted: 05-11-2009 17:12 Post subject: