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It was revealed last week that haggis, Scotland's national dish, was actually invented in England. Food historian Catherine Brown (who is Scottish, so it wasn't an English person making these claims) has found a reference to haggis in an English cooking guide from 1615. The earliest mention...

Who would be Scottish? They didn't beat the English many times in battles and nowadays they don't beat the English many times in football or rugby. Scotland and England may nowadays be unified as one nation as they have been for 300 years, but there are still reasons for the hapless Scots to...

For the last couple of months, a "human shrub", whose identity remains a mystery, has been transforming neglected public gardens by pulling out the weeds and replacing them with brightly-coloured flowers. There are rumours that the Human Shrub is a member of the Conservative Party (or maybe...

Everyone knows that the British like a good drink, as they have done for centuries. And it's not that weak stuff that's drunk in North America either. An incredible ten million British adults (out of an adult population of around 45 million) are currently drinking more than the recommended...

Meet ET, Britain's ugliest dog. The unfortunate mutt is so ugly that, for the last three months, visitors to the kennels in Waltham Abbey, Essex, where he is looked after just ignore him. ET is so ugly because he is a Mexican Hairless, one of just 27 in the UK. He's so ugly he can't even...

Here are some pictures of Britain's brand new Supreme Court, which will start work on 5th October. It will take over the judicial functions of the House of Lords, which are currently exercised by the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (Law Lords) - separating the judicial and legislative roles of the...

When a group of primary school children were returning from a trip to the seaside, their journey home was more eventful than they thought it would be. They were travelling up the M3 from Weymouth in Dorset when their double-decker bus burst into flames. Pictured: Primary school children flee...

English football legend Sir Bobby Robson has died aged 76. The former England player and manager battled cancer five times, and passed away on Friday. Sir Bobby was at Newcastle's St James' Park on Sunday to watch a friendly match to raise money for his cancer charity. The England and...

British TV series Doctor Who has been named the most successful sci-fi show ever. It has already been awarded a Guinness record for the world's longest-running sci-fi series - it has been on our screens since 1963. The new series - Series 31 - returns in 2010, and there will be a new Doctor...

He's not Biggles, but he sure is an exceptional flyer. This little swallow was photographed travelling at 35mph through a two-inch gap. The swallow is one of a pair of breeding chicks in the mountainous Angus Glens area, near Dundee, Angus. Photograph: swallow flies through two-inch gap at...

One of the advantages of having plenty of rain, as Britain does, is that the land isn't blighted by scorched, yellowed grass as Southern Europe is, and we don't have parched desert areas, such as in the United States or Australia. Instead, Britain's countryside is always lush and green, and an...

An estate agent (or "realtor" as I think you say in North America) known as Carla Calamity has won the competition to work as a witch at Somerset's Wookey Hole Caves, a tourist attraction. Wookey Hole Caves (the world "Wookey" comes from the Old English "Wocig", which meant "animal trap") was...

The Americans, who like things being done on a grand and glitzy scale, have put the odd man into space and even on the Moon. But the Yanks cannot beat the British at one thing - eccentricity (and cricket). Rather than putting a man, or even a monkey or a dog, into space, the British have...

The two proud young British soldiers wear their smart uniforms with pride as they go about the task of guarding their country's Head of State and the Crown Jewels. Armed with loaded rifles, it won't be a good idea to mess with these two. Signaler Simranjit Singh, 26, and Lance Corporal...

The next decade is looking to be a golden one for British sport. London is hosting the 2012 Olympics, Glasgow is hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games and England is hosting the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On top of that, England is also bidding to host the 2018 Football World Cup. And...

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has caused controversy by insulting Prime Minister Gordon Brown - for the second time this year. Whilst recordng an episode of the TV show, Jeremy told the audience that Brown is a "c***". Earlier this year, Jeremy called the Prime Minister a "one-eyed...

Gordon Brown and the Government were reeling last night after being heavily defeated again, this time in the Norwich North by-election. The Tory, Chloe Smith, received 13,591 votes. At just 27 years of age, Ms Smith will be the youngest member of the House of Commons. Labour's Chris...

The Queen has become the first monarch for centuries to watch one of Britain's many ancient ceremonies - Swan Upping. Swan Upping is an annual ceremony in which mute swans on the River Thames are rounded up, caught, marked, and then released. Traditionally, the Monarch of the United Kingdom...

Some of Queen Elizabeth II's exquisite dresses are go on show on Sunday to mark the summer opening of the State rooms. She wore many of the dresses during her extensive travels around the Commonwealth and the world. Also going on display are some of the strange gifts she has received on her...

Prince William went for a trek in England's picturesque Lake District - and high winds revealed a growing bald patch on his head. The future King William V was walking up Helvellyn, England's third-highest mountain, for charity. But his growing bald patch, at the age of just 27, was very...