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  1. Blackleaf

    Why Larry Summers is wrong about the UK economy - and why Osborne is right

    There was a spat at Davos yesterday between America's leftie former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers (who is also an occassional advisor to Britain's discredited Labour Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Ed Balls) and Britain's Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer (Britain's equivalent of America's...
  2. Blackleaf

    Canada bans Brit from selling Irn Bru and Marmite

    The owner of a British shop in Canada has been ordered to stop selling the great British products of Irn-Bru and Marmite because they contain illegal additives. Tony Badger, who owns Brit Foods in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, told local media that food safety officials had removed the foods from...
  3. Blackleaf

    The Anglo-Saxon warrior saint who inspired Tolkien's Aragorn

    A new book, The King in the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria, tells the story of a great Anglo-Saxon warrior saint whose struggle to claim his righful place as King of Northumbria inspired Tolkien's Aragorn. King Oswald is hardly a household name, even in Britain. But as...
  4. Blackleaf

    Britain overtakes ailing France to become Europe's third biggest car manufacturer

    The UK is on course to overtake France to become the third largest car manufacturer in Europe after Germany and Spain, according to figured released today by The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). British car production increased by 3.1 per cent in 2013, the industry body said...
  5. Blackleaf

    Why 1848 and 2011 were similar years

    Television presenter and historian Dan Snow takes a look at the similarities between 1848, a year that saw a number of violent revolutions break out across Europe, and the recent unrest in Syria 1848: The Year of Revolutions Wednesday 15th January 2014 History Extra, the website of the BBC...
  6. Blackleaf

    How the Georgians taught us to diet 300 years ago

    As early as the 18th century, diet doctors began to recommend strict, low fat meals, and newspapers featured adverts for tonic and diet pills. Research carried out by Dr Corinna Wagner from the University of Exeter reveals how the perceived decadence of the Georgian period gave way to a more...
  7. Blackleaf

    'Fastest ever' broadband passes speed test

    The "fastest ever" broadband speeds have been achieved in a test in London, raising hopes of more efficient data transfer via existing infrastructure. Alcatel-Lucent and British Telecom (BT) said speeds of 1.4 terabits per second were achieved during their joint test - enough to send 44...
  8. Blackleaf

    The great Jurassic Coast "gold rush"

    The Jurassic Coast has been packed with fossil hunters (or should that be money hunters?) since a giant marine reptile worth £15,000 was found on a beach on Boxing Day. The near-complete ichthyosaur skeleton was discovered by hobby collector Alan Saxon, from Chippenham in Wiltshire, who was on...
  9. Blackleaf

    Geostrategic Review: 15 most powerful countries 2014

    European Geostrategy release data each year showing the ranking of the world's most powerful countries. But this is not power by just military means. They have chosen four different categories – cultural pull, diplomatic influence, economic strength and military reach – with each divided into...
  10. Blackleaf

    Solving the mystery of the Elephant Man?

    Tests are being carried out to establish the genetic condition of the Elephant Man. A team at Queen Mary University of London is using new techniques to extract DNA from his bones. Previous attempts failed because the skeleton was cleaned with bleach-like agents. The Elephant Man - whose real...
  11. Blackleaf

    Musketeers return for 21st Century audience

    The BBC's new adaptation of the Three Musketeers starts on BBC1 tonight. The classic tale of Alexandre Dumas' Musketeers is well-trodden ground, but the new BBC interpretation promises a modern take on the story - while still set in 17th Century Paris. The new 10-part series is about to hit...
  12. Blackleaf

    16-year-old becomes youngest person to trek to South Pole

    A 16-year-old boy from Bristol has become the youngest person ever to trek to the South Pole. Lewis Clarke spent 48 days at temperatures as low as -58F and winds of up to 120 mph. He arrived at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station at 18:00 GMT after completing the gruelling 702-mile journey...
  13. Blackleaf

    Thatcher aide Lord McAlpine, who the Left falsely accused of being a paedophile, dies

    A former aide to Margaret Thatcher, Lord McAlpine of West Green, has died aged 71. He was today hailed as a 'towering' political figure who had been successful within and outside of public life. In 2012 he was wrongly accused by the odious Left of being a paedophile, when allegations were...
  14. Blackleaf

    Museum remains inside box are thought to belong to King Alfred the Great

    Archaeologists believe that some bones found in a box at Winchester City Museum may belong to those of Anglo-Saxon monarch King Alfred the Great. However, there is also a chance the remains could belong to his son, King Edward the Elder. Archaeologists at the University of Winchester carried...
  15. Blackleaf

    Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips gives birth to 16th in line to the Throne

    The Queen's granddaughter and British Olympian Zara Phillips gave birth to a baby girl in the early hours of this morning. Zara's husband, England Rugby Union star Mike Tindall, was present at the birth at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. The girl, whose name has not yet been confirmed...
  16. Blackleaf

    Archaeologists to explore 6th century Cornish church 'built by St Piran'

    Next month archaeologists are to start excavating the remains of a 6th century church which is thought to be Britain's oldest place of Christian worship. St Piran's Oratory, near Perranporth, on the north coast of Cornwall (England's most southerly and most westerly county), has been encased...
  17. Blackleaf

    Bones found inside mysterious room in castle that was sealed for 500 years

    A few bones are all that have been found inside a mysterious room in a Scottish castle that was recently opened for the first time in 500 years. The room, measuring just six feet high and six feet across, is located inside the ancient ruins of Mingary Castle near Kilchoan on the bleak and...
  18. Blackleaf

    Two schoolboys return home from metal detecting with two WWII bombs

    Two schoolboys sparked a bomb scare when they returned home from metal detecting in a field - by bringing two WWII anti-tank shells home with them. The boys, Kane Byrne and Alex Taylor, both 12, from Folkestone, Kent, were looking for trinkets and coins when they discovered the shells from...
  19. Blackleaf

    Mystery of 39 skulls found at London Wall is solved after 25 years

    39 skulls found within the ancient part London 25 years ago are now thought to be those of gladiators killed whilst entertaining Roman audiences. The 39 skulls were found in 1988 beneath the site of the Guildhall within the City of London, central London. The boundaries of the City of London...
  20. Blackleaf

    WWI soldier diaries placed online by National Archives

    Diaries from British soldiers serving on the frontline during World War I have been placed online by the National Archives. Events from the outbreak of war in 1914 to the departure of troops from Flanders and France were recorded in official diaries of each military unit. About 1.5 million...