The real Gunpowder Plot was simple, but it went wrong!
The plan itself was fairly simple, but it went wrong. Basically, they were all Catholics and they wanted to bring the catholic religion back to England by blowing up the House of Lords during the state opening of Parliament, as the king, the Lords and the Commons would all be in the Lords chamber. This, […]
Krakatoa explodes
“On the afternoon of the 26th there were violent explosions at Krakatoa, which were heard as far as Batavia. High waves first retreated, and then rolled upon both sides of the strait.During a night of pitchy darkness these horrors continued with increasing violence,augmented at midnight by electrical phenomena on a terrifying scale.” By E. W. […]
A Plinian Volcano!
Most of all we all know about Volcanos they shoot lava high into the air but did you know what a Plinian volcano is? The point is that volcanos are not all the same. Surprise, surprise, yes they are the eruption of gases and lava from the centre of the earth, but …….. They have […]
Did the people of Pompeii know they lived by a live volcano?
Pliny the Younger who watched from the other side of the bay told us “There had been tremors for many days previously,a common occurrence in Campagnia and no cause for panic.” Yes, they did! The Pompeiians knew that to Volcanoes provided fertile land, ideal soil along with a climate for growing grapes and olives. That […]
The Titanic – before the Ice Berg
The Titanic was at the forefront of maritime technology, it really was the “Ship of Dreams”. She was: This huge ship was luxurious: Then on April 10th, 1912, as it set out for New York, there were problems. Was the journey doomed? Well, after that everything appeared to be going well. She made two […]
The Great Fire on London
Shortly after midnight on Sunday 2nd September a fire went rogue in Thomas Farriner’s bakery in Pudding Lane in the City of London. Now fires were a regularity in the City of London at this time. Unfortunately, this one, as I said earlier went rogue. It quickly spread to the nearby houses, then to nearby […]
What happened to the White Star Line, owners of the RMS Titanic?
It was a clear, sunny day at 12.13pm on May 31st 1911, when amid much celebration, the RMS Titanic was launched at the Harland and Wolff ship yard in Belfast. It took a further year for her superstructure to be completed and the ship’s sea trials finally began on April 2nd, 1912. Once completed, she […]
Henley’s annual regatta changed the world of Amateurism
In 1839 first Henley Regatta was held for a single day. In March that year Captain Edmund Gardiner proposed Henley’s annual regatta, to be managed under judicious and respectable management. That year the first Henley Regatta was held over a single day, its success meant that next year it ran for two, it kept extending […]
Where did the Circus Come From?
This is disputed, as people say that circus started in the 18th century. Ancient Rome However, they did have what they called circus in Ancient Rome. The reason for the dispute is that Ancient Rome’s circuses weren’t the fun things we all love today. They were held in large stadiums with horse and chariot […]
“Unsinkable Sam” a special cat!
Sam was a black and white patched cat, supposedly owned by an unknown crewman of the German battleship Bismarck. The Bismark, which with her sister ship Tirpitz was the largest battleship ever built by Germany for the second World War. In fact, it only ever took part in one action before when in 1941 it […]