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  1. Blackleaf

    10 extraordinary sacred sites around Britain

    In his brand new three-part BBC documentary series - Sacred Wonders of Britain - Scottish archaeologist, historian, TV presenter and author Neil Oliver goes on a journey to reveal the sacred face of Britain, an ancient landscape of belief and ritual that still lies hidden just below the surface...
  2. Blackleaf

    Sweyn Forkbeard: England's forgotten Viking king

    On Christmas Day 1013 - exactly 1000 years ago - Danish ruler Sweyn Forkbeard was declared King of all England and the town of Gainsborough in Lincolnshire its capital. But why is so little known of the man who would be England's shortest-reigning king (he reigned only until his death on 3...
  3. Blackleaf

    British economy will be largest in Europe by 2030, according to CEBR

    The British economy is on course to overtake France and Germany to become Europe's biggest economy by 2030. Thanks to Britain's Tory/LibDem coalition government's austerity measures (measures which have been derided by the Left) and Britain's refusal to join the Euro (another decision derided...
  4. Blackleaf

    Paintings and memorabilia of the Thames Frost Fairs

    Between 1309 and 1814, the Thames froze over at least 24 times, giving Londoners the chance to host elaborate Frost Fairs on the ice. This was a period known as the Little Ice Age when the planet went through an exceptionally cold period, leaving it more likely for the Thames to freeze over as...
  5. Blackleaf

    Computer pioneer and Nazi codebreaker Alan Turing is given posthumous royal pardon

    British computer pioneer and WWII codebreaker Alan Turing has today been given a posthumous royal pardon. During WWII, Turing worked for the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire which cracked Nazi codes, including those enciphered on the Enigma...
  6. Blackleaf

    Christmas comes early for the crew of HMS Protector in Antarctica

    Christmas has come early for the crew of a Royal Navy ship. The ice patrol ship, originally called Polar Bear, is in the British Antarctic Territory to carry out survey and patrol operations and will be at sea on Christmas Day. So her crew has had Christmas a few days early. They celebrated...
  7. Blackleaf

    British and Americans mark 25th anniversary of Lockerbie bombing

    Britain and America are marking the 25th anniversary of the Lockerbie bombing. The Lockerbie bombing of 21st December 1988 is Britain's worst ever terrorist attack. Pan Am flight 103 from London to New York was destroyed by a bomb over the small town of Lockerbie in southern Scotland killing...
  8. Blackleaf

    German U-boat in British river emerges after almost a century

    German U-boat UB 122 has emerged from a British river for the first time in almost 100 years. After the British won the Great War, the Germans surrendered to them over 100 of their U-boats. The British gave some of them to the French Navy, whilst some of the others had their engines removed to...
  9. Blackleaf

    William, Catherine and George to visit Australia and New Zealand in April

    The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are to visit Australia and New Zealand in April, Kensington Palace has confirmed. It is not yet known for definite whether Prince George will also be going on the trip, although it is thought to be highly likely. If the young prince and future king of both...
  10. Blackleaf

    Two trapped and dozens injured after bus crashes in London

    Two people are thought to be trapped and around 23 people injured after a double decker bus crashed in Kennington, central London. Of those injured, two are thought to be in a critical condition. The bus was heading to King's Cross when it crashed into a tree near the Ship pub on Kennington...
  11. Blackleaf

    British designed and built Gaia space observatory is launched

    A European Space Agency (ESA) rocket lifted off from French Guiana this morning carrying the British designed and built Gaia observatory. The satellite was designed and built in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, by satellite manufacturer Astrium, which is the third biggest space company in the world...
  12. Blackleaf

    Former Lostprophets lead singer Ian Watkins jailed for 35 years for child sex abuse

    The former leader singer of Welsh rock band Lostprophets has been jailed for 35 years today for child sex offences, including against two babies. Mr Justice Royce at Cardiff Crown Court told Watkins, 36, that he will have to serve 29 years without parole and the remaining six years on licence...
  13. Blackleaf

    Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs dies aged 84

    One of the perpetrators of probably Britain's most notorious crime of the 20th Century has died. Ronnie Biggs died in the early hours of this morning at the Carlton Court Care Home in East Barnet, north London, aged 84. Biggs was part of the gang which escaped with £2.6m (the equivalent of...
  14. Blackleaf

    Come face to face with real Neolithic man at new Stonehenge visitor centre

    Visitors can come face to face with a real Neolithic Briton when the new £27 million Stonehenge visitor centre opens tomorrow. The man's face is based on a 5,500 year old skull that was excavated from a long barrow not far from Stonehenge in 1963. It is the most advanced facial reconstruction...
  15. Blackleaf

    WWI Christmas truce football match to be recreated

    On Christmas Eve night in 1914, soldiers of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) heard the Germans singing Christmas carols from their trenches, and saw that they had adorned their trenches with lanterns and fir trees. Both sides stopped shooting at each...
  16. Blackleaf

    Cambridge University unveils the world's "greenest" supercomputer

    Cambridge University has unveiled the world's "greenest" supercomputer. Wilkes - named after British computing pioneer Maurice Wilkes - will be used for development of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). When complete the SKA will be the biggest radio telescope ever made. The computer's power...
  17. Blackleaf

    Jesus is the most famous person in history, according to internet search programme

    Jesus is the most famous person in history, followed by Napoleon and Mohammed, according to a new internet search programme. The software, developed in the US, scours the internet for opinions expressed about famous people and uses a special algorithm to predict how important they will remain...
  18. Blackleaf

    Muslims protesters warn Brick Lane shops to stop selling alcohol - or face 40 lashes

    Muslim protesters, including creepy-looking women clad head to foot in burkhas, gathered on London's Brick Lane to demand that businesses there stop selling alcohol - and that they face 40 lashes if they don't. The protest was led by hate cleric Anjem Choudhary, the former leader of banned...
  19. Blackleaf

    Why Britain's economy will overtake Germany's to become biggest in Europe

    Britain currently has two advantages over Germany: its population is growing rapidly, faster than any other country in Europe, contributing to about a third of total annual EU population growth, as a result of both immigration and a high birth rate, whilst Germany's shrinks. And Britain is...
  20. Blackleaf

    Doctor Who fans set up petition to name new planet Gallifrey

    Doctor Who fans have set up a petition calling for a newly-discovered planet to be named Gallifrey after the Doctor's home world. The petition has so far received 80,000 signatures, with 50,000 of them coming in the last 24 hours alone. The planet, whose original name is the less catchy HD...