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  1. Blackleaf

    For true sovereignty, Britain must extract itself from another meddling behemoth

    Mrs May said yet again yesterday that Britain, post-Brexit, must regain control of our money, our laws and our borders. She is right. But if we ask ourselves why we do not have control of our laws and borders, our membership of the European Union is only part of the answer. The other...
  2. Blackleaf

    Germans – not Brits – are the ones who keep mentioning the war

    The German ambassador, Peter Ammon, leaves Britain this month and retires after a distinguished diplomatic career as Berlin’s man in Paris, Washington, and finally London. Before packing his koffer, Herr Ammon issued the traditional plangent lament that every single German envoy to our...
  3. Blackleaf

    Spice Girls to reunite

    The Spice Girls have confirmed they are planning to work on new projects, after meeting for the first time since 2012. It comes after Victoria Beckham, Geri Horner, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown and Melanie Chisholm were pictured together at Horner's house in Hertfordshire. "The time now...
  4. Blackleaf

    2018 Six Nations Champions gets underway

    The 2018 Rugby Union Six Nations Championship gets underway today. Defending champions England are looking to become the first nation in 135 years to win the title outright for three consecutive years. They have lost only once under coach Eddie Jones - against Ireland in last year's tournament -...
  5. Blackleaf

    Bronze Age skeleton was a "good-looking chap"

    Forensic scientists have been analysing Bronze Age bones found in a field - but how do they work out who the person was? In September 2017, a farmer near Rock, Northumberland, preparing his field for drainage, discovered a burial cist - or stone coffin - containing a skeleton and a jug. Sanita...
  6. Blackleaf

    Bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland proposed

    Northern Ireland could be connected to mainland Britain with a £20 billion superbridge across the Irish Sea. Proposals have been made for a crossing from Larne in County Antrim stretching the 25-mile gap to Portpatrick in Dumfries and Galloway. THE GIANT CAUSEWAY Forget the English Channel…...
  7. Blackleaf

    The dark side of Samuel Pepys

    Today, Samuel Pepys - MP, Chief Secretary to the Admiralty and diarist - would be deemed, at best, a sex addict, at worst a serial sex offender. Either way, he was a man who abused his position of power to prey on the vulnerable, just as the film mogul Harvey Weinstein would do several...
  8. Blackleaf

    Bureaucats: The felines with official positions

    A cat's life typically consists of sleeping, interspersed with eating and the occasional manic bout of skittishness, followed by a good old nap. But some of our feline friends actually work for a living and hold down a proper job - in some cases, complete with uniform... Bureaucats: The...
  9. Blackleaf

    The island that switches countries every six months

    Next week, France will hand over 3,000 sq m (9,942 sq ft) of its territory to Spain without a single shot being fired. But in six months' time Spain will voluntarily hand back the land to France. As Chris Bockman reports, it's been that way for more than 350 years. The island that...
  10. Blackleaf

    Stilton cheese rolling cancelled as 'no longer seen as cool'

    An annual cheese rolling event in a village famed for its dairy connections has been cancelled as it is no longer seen as "cool", organisers said. It has taken place for more than 50 years in Stilton, Cambridgeshire, which some claim to be the true home of its namesake cheese. However, the...
  11. Blackleaf

    Blanche Parry's life at the side of Queen Elizabeth I

    Blanche Parry is one of history's most influential Welsh women, yet few know the name and only a handful know her story. From her home on the Welsh marches she joined the Tudor court, nursing the young Princess Elizabeth and becoming a lifelong confidante who lived, breathed and slept alongside...
  12. Blackleaf

    Man photographs ghost of a monk at medieval castle

    A man is adamant that he has photographed a ghost after he spotted something very mysterious in his images of a medieval castle. Jon Wickes, 50, was visiting Eynsford Castle in Kent with his 12-year-old son Harry to help him out with his history homework. However, when returning from the...
  13. Blackleaf

    The ‘experts’ must learn their lesson from Project Fear’s failure

    Unemployment would soar. Trade would collapse. Factories would close, and house prices would be in freefall. Rewind to the spring and summer of 2016, when Project Fear was at its peak, and we were meant to be shivering in the streets by now, flicking through battered copies of ‘The Road’...
  14. Blackleaf

    8 must-visit castles with Tudor connections

    Let's go on a tour of eight castles of England and Wales with significant Tudor links... 8 must-visit castles with Tudor connections The 112-year reign of the Tudors left an indelible mark on modern Britain, says Nathen Amin. Here, the author and historian...
  15. Blackleaf

    British Foreign Secretary is descendant of mummified Basel woman

    Scientists in the Swiss city of Basel have solved a decades-old mystery over the identity of a mummified woman. Their research revealed a surprise: the woman is the great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother of UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. The body was uncovered in 1975...
  16. Blackleaf

    Archaeologists piece together 1,500-year-old Roman mosaic

    A Roman mosaic that lay buried under a city centre for more than 1,500 years has been painstakingly lifted from the ground and preserved for future generations. The mosaic, made up of thousands of small cubes of stone and brick, was unearthed when work began to build a new apartment...
  17. Blackleaf

    Decapitated skull of an Iron Age woman is found in Somerset

    A mysterious skull discovered by a dog walker dates back to the late Iron Age, archaeologists have revealed. The skull, which was found in Langport in Somerset, was reported to the police and analysed. Months of tests revealed that it belonged to a woman aged 45 or older who had suffered...
  18. Blackleaf

    10,000-year-old crayon found in North Yorkshire

    An ochre crayon thought to have been used to draw on animal skins 10,000 years ago has been found by archaeologists. The crayon, which is just 22mm long, was discovered near the site of an ancient lake which is now covered in peat near Scarborough, North Yorkshire. Archaeologists find...
  19. Blackleaf

    Black footballing pioneer Cyrille Regis dies aged 59

    Cyrille Regis, the former West Bromwich Albion and England forward, has died aged 59. He scored 112 goals in 297 appearances for the Baggies before joining Coventry City for £250,000 in 1984. He was a pioneer for black footballers in the game when he played alongside Laurie Cunningham and...
  20. Blackleaf

    Golden eagle lands on woman's windowsill

    A golden eagle caused a flap after landing on the windowsill of a house in Rhondda Cynon Taf. Rebekah Norton, from Ton Pentre, published pictures on Facebook of the huge bird of prey staring through her window. Golden eagle lands on Ton Pentre woman's windowsill 9 January 2018 BBC News...