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  1. Blackleaf

    Fine speech - now call an election, Mrs May!

    Polls show that if there were a General Election tomorrow, Theresa May and her Conservative Party would win in a landslide. So why wait until Thursday 7th May 2020 to hold the next election? Mrs May should call a snap election now, win it in a landslide, and get an overwhelming mandate by the...
  2. Blackleaf

    Three earthquakes measuring up to 5.7 hit central Italy, shaking Rome

    A series of strong earthquakes hit central Italy on Wednesday, including the capital Rome, forcing schools to be evacuated and rail links to close, although there were no immediate reports of serious damage or injury. The multiple tremors, including three above magnitude five, were...
  3. Blackleaf

    Theresa showed guts today. But the sinister Remoaners haven't gone away

    Just as Theresa May stood up in front of an audience of ambassadors and told them we are leaving the E.U. something all together darker and more sinister was happening on the other side of town. A fresh challenge to Brexit has been brought in front of the High Court. By four individuals who...
  4. Blackleaf

    Royal Mail stamp set marks UK's prehistoric treasures

    Some of the archaeological treasures of prehistoric Britain have been featured in a new set of eight stamps. Issued by the Royal Mail, the stamps include illustrations of a headdress dug up in North Yorkshire and a bronze shield cover found in the River Thames. The Neolithic village of...
  5. Blackleaf

    Is this a 4,000-year-old selfie?

    While everyone seems to be taking selfies these days, one amateur archaeologist believes he may have found Britain's first one. Gordon Holmes stumbled across an ancient picture of a face etched into a 4,000-year-old rock on Baildon Moor in West Yorkshire. Mr Holmes believes that the carving...
  6. Blackleaf

    UK goes for full Brexit: May unveils her 12-point plan for leaving the EU

    Theresa May unveiled her bold blueprint for cutting ties with Brussels today - and warned that if the EU does not cooperate it could be 'crushed into tiny pieces'. In an historic speech that will define the UK for generations, the Prime Minister vowed to take the country out of the...
  7. Blackleaf

    5 facts you (probably) didn’t know about Nelson’s navy

    For a sailor in the ‘Age of Sail’, the main scourge was not battle but boredom, though if they experienced any sailing warfare at all, it was random and chaotic. Historian, archaeologist, writer and broadcaster Dr Sam Willis shares 5 facts on the navy of Horatio Nelson… 5...
  8. Blackleaf

    Katie Hopkins tears apart radio caller over his remarks on Brexit and Trump

    KATIE HOPKINS brilliantly turned the tables on an out-of-touch LBC caller after the self-confessed London boy claimed people were embarrassed to admit they voted for Brexit and Donald Trump. The fired-up LBC radio host could not hide her annoyance with Kevin as she loudly sighed and put...
  9. Blackleaf

    Charles I's lost painting for sale... minus breasts removed by prudish owner

    It once hung outside Charles I's bedroom, sold off after his execution as his famous art collection was scattered across Europe. This month, a Gentileschi portrait of a woman will come up for sale for the first time in 380 years – minus some of its assets. The ca.1630-36 portrait, entitled...
  10. Blackleaf

    Trump: "I'll make Brexit a great thing."

    The UK is "doing great" following its vote to leave the EU, US President-elect Donald Trump has said. In his first UK interview - with former Justice Secretary Michael Gove for The Times - Mr Trump said he thought the UK was "so smart in getting out". Mr Trump promised a quick trade deal...
  11. Blackleaf

    10 risque stories from Merry Old England

    Britain has always had something of a reputation as being a bit stuffy. A closer look at some centuries-old history shows that they were really anything but, and some of the stories that have gotten inconveniently left out of our typical history books are enough to make almost anyone today...
  12. Blackleaf

    Oxford Castle mugshots show 'victims of their time'

    The National Archives has made available early photos of Oxford Castle's inmates, many of whom were children. And even children were sentenced to hard labour... Oxford Castle mugshots show 'victims of their time' BBC News 15 January 2017 The National Archives has made available early photos...
  13. Blackleaf

    May to announce she will take UK out of single market and customs union in speech

    Theresa May will gamble this week by siding with Eurosceptics and signalling she is prepared to take Britain out of the single market and customs union. In her most significant Brexit speech since taking office, the Prime Minister will defy critics by indicating she is open to a clean...
  14. Blackleaf

    EU blinks first over Brexit

    The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator has said he wants to secure easy access to the City of London for countries in the bloc, in the first sign of a softer stance. Michel Barnier reportedly told MEPs that he wanted a “special” relationship between the 27 remaining EU countries and...
  15. Blackleaf

    The East India Company: How a trading corporation became an imperial ruler

    Writing for History Extra, Dr Andrea Major gives an insight into one of history’s most powerful companies, and their rise to political power on the Indian subcontinent… The East India Company: How a trading corporation became an imperial ruler Featured in BBC One’s new period drama Taboo as a...
  16. Blackleaf

    6 strange newspaper stories that shocked Victorian Britain

    Think of the Victorians as straight-laced and boring? Think again – nothing captured the imagination of 19th-century readers like the strange, macabre and bizarre... 6 strange newspaper stories that shocked Victorian Britain Think of the Victorians as straight-laced and boring? Think again –...
  17. Blackleaf

    A bad Omen: Damien child star sentenced on Friday the 13th for punching cyclists

    The Omen may have given significance to the dreaded number 666, but it's Friday 13th that's proving unlucky for Harvey Spencer Stephens, the former child actor who played Damien in classic horror film The Omen. Stephens will be sentenced today after admitting to two counts of actual bodily...
  18. Blackleaf

    Hoard of gold discovered in piano

    A "substantial" hoard of gold has been found hidden inside an old piano. The discovery was made in Shropshire before Christmas when its new owners had it retuned and repaired. Experts think the valuables might have been "deliberately hidden" in the instrument more than 100 years ago... Hoard...
  19. Blackleaf

    Francois Courvosier, the Jack the Ripper of the 1830s

    Fifty years before Jack the Ripper terrorised London, another serial killer roamed the streets who was every bit as sadistic but even more calculating, it has emerged. Francois Courvosier, a Swiss gentleman servant who had emigrated to London, murdered two prostitutes, a watchmaker and a Lord...
  20. Blackleaf

    Stonehenge tunnel plan finalised by government

    A controversial plan for a road tunnel past Stonehenge has been finalised by the government. Campaigners claim the 1.8-mile dual-carriageway tunnel will cause "irreparable damage" to the landscape. However, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the plan will "transform" the A303...