England's Smallest County...

Nestled between Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and Northamptonshire is the tiny (18 miles by 17 miles) county of Rutland.  Although there are three smaller ceremonial counties (Isle of Wight, City of London, and City of Bristol), Rutland is the smallest historic county.  It is very rural, and in fact, only Oakham and Uppingham are officially classed as towns.

What Does It Mean? (Answers)...

So, it's time for the answers to the little quiz I posted the week before last.  I did receive correct answers for a couple of the terms, but that's all...

Moorgate Tube Crash...

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the worst ever accident involving a London Underground train.  I was only twelve years old at the time, but I remember it well.  It is incredible to think it is now forty years since that fateful day.

On The Western Front...

Time to travel back a hundred years, to the terrible days of WWI.  Here are some of the British poems of the era.

Neither Wilfred Owen nor Rupert Brooke survived the conflict, with Owen being killed in action just a week before the Armistice,  Brooke died from sepsis following a mosquito bite while sailing for Gallipoli with the British Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.  Owen and Siegfried Sassoon were both decorated (Military Cross) for bravery.

The City of Dreaming Spires...

...is a term coined by the poet Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) to describe the city of Oxford.  The county town of Oxfordshire, it is the 52nd most populous city in the United Kingdom, and is 51 miles north-west of London.

What Does it Mean?...

It's been a while since I posted one of these, so here is another little quiz - mostly for the benefit of my non-British friends!  Here are a number of words and phrases commonly used in Britain (or they were common years ago), and I would like you to identify them and their meanings.

The Epsom Cluster (Part Two)...

Following on from Monday's post about the Epsom hospitals, here are some videos I have managed to unearth.  Sadly, there don't seem to be any actual documentaries available, as they would be truly fascinating.  We will have to make do with some urban exploration (unfortunately a little stagey in places, I must admit) before the wonderful old buildings were demolished.