Who were the Ancient Egyptians?
Did you know who was the oldest ruling Pharaoh? Pepy II holds the record for the longest reign of any pharaoh. He came to the throne when six years old, and he was still the King of Egypt at the grand old age of 94. How many Gods did they worship? Egyptians worshipped hundreds of […]
What is the Stone of Scone?
With King Charles’ coronation you will have heard them talk about the Stone of Scone, but do we know what it is, and why it is so important? What is it? It is simply an oblong block of red sandstone. This block of stone has been used for many years for the coronation of the […]
Battle of Beverhoutsveld – was it the first official drunken battle!
It became famous because the Ghent army beat a drunken one from the nearby town of Bruges. I am sure it has happened before, but it is the first time an army has actually admitted they were all drunk! Though it could also have been recorder as the first use, in battle, of The Organ […]
The End of the Aztec Civilization
The Aztec Civilization was brought to an end by the Spanish. What was it? The Aztec Empire was a confederation of three city-states established in 1427: Then the Spanish arrived! It was left basically untouched until 1517 when Hernandez de Cordoba visited and reported back to the Spanish Governor, Diego Velasquez, in Cuba, what he […]
Who was the first woman doctor?
She was a lady called Agnodice, who lived in Athens in Ancient Greece, at a time when women were forbidden to practice medicine. How did she get away with it? First of all, she went to Alexandria, in Egypt, where she studied medicine under Herophilus, who was a Greek physician who many regard as one […]
Why do we call politicians right or the left?
The media describe politicians as from the “Left” or “Right”, but do you know why we call them left or right? Well, recently a teacher contacted me to say that she had been asked to explain the difference between Left and Right in politics to her class, she asked me if I could send her […]
What is the Stone of Scone?
With King Charles’ coronation you will have heard them talk about the Stone of Scone, but do we know what it is, and why it is so important? What is it? It is simply an oblong block of red sandstone. This block of stone has been used for many years for the coronation of the […]
Crossing the Rubicon
How often have you heard the expression “Crossing the Rubicon”, which is one that describes when you make an irrevocable decision. I am asking if you know that the expression came from an event that actually happened on January 10, 49 B.C! The Gallic Wars. At this time the Roman Republic was teetering on the […]
Newsflash – Punch and Judy is not English!!
I know, we all thought it was a traditional British seaside entertainment, it isn’t. It came from Italy in the 16th-century from the Italian “commedia dell’arte”. While the “commedia dell’art” in fact had roots going all the way back to Roman times. So where did it come from. How did Punch and Judy come to […]
What happened to Alice’s Adventures Under Ground?
Well, it became Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland! It was all Alice Liddell’s fault! All this happened because a girl called Alice Liddell was being rowed down the Isis, (the name of the Thames at Oxford) for a picnic by Charles Dawson, a friend of her father, who was always telling her and her sisters stories. […]