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  1. Blackleaf

    You don't have to be Doctor Who to try time travel - just pull on your walking boots.

    Feeling glad that he lives in a country that positively oozes history, Charlie Connelly decided to write a travel book with a difference. He journeyed throughout our islands to discover 2000 years of British history, from King Ethelred the Unready to Dick Turpin, from the Peasants' Revolt of...
  2. Blackleaf

    Could secret British stealth bomber be the UFO that destroyed a wind turbine?

    Did a UFO destroy a wind turbine in Conisholme, Lincolnshire, in eastern England last week? Locals say they saw mysterious balls of light and other mysterious objects in the sky over the wind farm and a loud bang. The next morning, of the the wind turbines was discovered to have one of its...
  3. Blackleaf

    "Our little Paki friend": Prince Harry at the centre of a race row

    Prince Harry is at the centre of a race row today after it emerged that he called a fellow Army officer a "Paki." The officer was a member of the Pakistani Army, which uses British training facilities. In Britain, the word "Paki" was originally an abbreviation of the word "Pakistani" but...
  4. Blackleaf

    Ye Yellowe Payges: High Street directories that date back to 1677 go online

    The forerunners of Britain's edition of the Yellow Pages are to go online tonight. The city and county directories, dating back to 1677, guided generations of shoppers down our high streets. They provide a fascinating insight into our history of consumers. The genealogy website...
  5. Blackleaf

    A classroom saga: can Dr Evil get boys to start reading again?

    A series of classroom storybooks using digital pictures and action-packed storylines has been created to encourage boys to read. In Britain, which is a reading and book-publishing superpower (more titles are published in Britain each year than any other country) boys lag behind girls at...
  6. Blackleaf

    Pictured: The amazing tin can bomber made by British pilot in Great Escape POW camp

    A replica of a classic World War II RAF aircraft has been discovered. The Lancaster Bomber model was made from tin cans and matchsticks during World War II by a British pilot as he was held prisoner in Stalag Luft III - the camp featured in the movie "Great Escape". The RAF pilot was shot...
  7. Blackleaf

    William and Harry set up their own offices that will bring back memories of their mum

    The Queen has given her grandsons, princes William and Harry, their own royal household in St James's Palace. And the logos for their new office bring back memories of their mother Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash on 31st August 1997, leaving millions of Britons in grief...
  8. Blackleaf

    Woman is first since 1924 to give birth on London Underground

    Despite being the world's biggest (and oldest) underground railway, with over 250 miles of track ad one billion passenger journeys in 2007, it's amazing that only two babies have ever been born on the London Underground. Julia Kowalska is the first person to give birth on the London Underground...
  9. Blackleaf

    The wider view: Construction on track as 2012 Olympic stadium starts to take shape

    With another three and a half years still to go until the 2012 London Olympics and with the Beijing Games ending just a few months ago, the new Olympic stadium is already beginning to take shape. The 80,000 seater stadium in Stratford, east London, will be one of the largest in Europe, though...
  10. Blackleaf

    The first Dunkirk: December 1808 - January 1809

    In 1808, during the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon sent French troops into Spain to occupy that country, and Napoleon put his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne in place of the Spanish royal family. The Spanish people rose up against the French occupiers. In November 1808, exactly 200 years...
  11. Blackleaf

    71% of the British people are opposed to joining the euro

    A poll has shown that 71% of the British people are opposed to ditching the pound and joining the euro. And, in the second article, Peter Oborne shows why it would be suicide for Britain to join the euro. Majority of voters still oppose Britain joining the euro - 10 years after it was...
  12. Blackleaf

    The BBC unveils Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor Who

    The BBC revealed yesterday that Matt Smith is the new Doctor Who. He will be the 11th Doctor Who - and the youngest actor to play him. So Matt is now the fourth most important man in England, after the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the England football manager! At 26...
  13. Blackleaf

    How the moustache won an empire

    The British Empire was the greatest, and most benign, empire the world has ever known. At its biggest-ever extent in 1922 (just 87 years ago), it ruled over a quarter of the world's people and a quarter of the world's landmass and was the world's foremost global power for over 150 years until...
  14. Blackleaf

    The spectre of the Seventies - are we now facing another economic meltdown?

    Imagine a country with mind-boggling poverty, an incredible 26% annual rate of inflation, crippling strikes that left it at a standstill, a working week of only three days to conserve electricity after the miners (amongst many others) went on strike leaving millions of people living in darkness...
  15. Blackleaf

    Prince Charles is Royal Family's hardest working member

    Prince Charles has become the hardest working member of the Royal Family - notching up 560 engagements in 2008. That means he has overtaken his little sister, the Princess Royal, who racked up 534. That's not bad for a 60-year-old. The number of engagements carried out by the Queen this...
  16. Blackleaf

    Cricket: Defeated Aussies in disarray (now that should bring a smile to your lips)

    English sports fans are celebrating today after the Australia cricket team, the world champions, suffered their first Series defeat in Australia since 1993, after losing by 9 wickets against South Africa. Now, their conquerors, South Africa, are aiming to take Australia's crown as world No1...
  17. Blackleaf

    Wheels on fire: Going round the bend for the annual Mad Club soapbox derby

    Thousands of spectators have braved the freezing temperatures to watch the annual MAD Club soapbox derby. The event, in Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, last year raised £78,000 for charity. MAD stands for "Meynall Arms Drinkers" after the pub where the event is held. Teams risk life and...
  18. Blackleaf

    Mixed-race couple give birth to black and white twins - for the second time

    A mixed-race couple, Dean Durrant and Alison Spooner of Fleet, Hampshire, have given birth to black and white twins. But, incredibly, this is the SECOND time it has happened. The odds of this happening are half-a-million to one. Mixed-race couple give birth to black and white twins - for...
  19. Blackleaf

    William Tyndale: A hero for the information age

    William Tyndale was an English scholar who from 1525, became the first person to translate the Bible into English. He was convinced that the way to God was through His word and that scripture should be available even to common people. Much of Tyndale's work eventually found its way into the...
  20. Blackleaf

    Person of the Year? It should be Queen Elizabeth II

    As 2008 nears the end, who should be the person of the year? The Telegraph's Iain Martin thinks it should be Queen Elizabeth II, who has further shown why she is the world's best Head of State. From asking "Why did no-one predict the credit crunch?" to being a much needed non-partisan symbol...