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Twice disgraced minister Peter Mandelson - who has just been re-called back into the Cabinet for a record third time - took his seat in the Lords today and was given the title "Baron Mandelson of Foy in the county of Herefordshire and Hartlepool in the county of Durham." Mandelson is the new...

Crying the word "havoc" was a capital offence during the reign of Richard II, and "Pay through the nose" is a term that derives from an old British punishment for the non-payment of fines.... Fighting Talk! They're words we use daily... but have bloodthirsty origins 13th October 2008...

Was Henry V England's greatest monarch ever? He was the king who led the English to victory over the French at Agincourt in 1415. Before the battle a chronicler recorded a notable exchange with one of his senior commanders. "We need 10,000 men to fight such a battle," said Sir Walter...

Since British schools abolished caning (when an unruly pupil was given excruciating whacks across their bear buttocks with a large cane) in the 1980s, many of us have been complaining that modern punishments in schools are not tough enough, or even non-existent, and therefore children are not...

Dick Whittington and his cat are popular characters in children's stories throughout the English-speaking world. During the stories, Whittington travels to London to make his fortune, and he wins many friends thanks to the rat-catching activities of his cat. A real person, Dick Whittington was...

Are people giving Obama too much leniency? Everyone is out to destroy Palin - but it's Obama's past we should examine 13th October 2008 Daily Mail MELANIE PHILLIPS With all eyes glued to the collapse of global capitalism as we know it, attention has been somewhat distracted from the...

He's only been in the job since May, but London's Mayor Boris Johnson has already made some popular decisions. One of those is to bring back one of those great icons of the great city - the Routemaster. His predecessor, the Left-Wing "Red" Ken Livingstone, said in 2001:"Only some ghastly...

A new book provides the answers to all those questions that you've probably wanted to know for ages.... Read answers to quirky questions By TIM SPANTON Published: 11 Oct 2008 The Sun WHY do fingernails grow after death? Why is custard powder pink until you add liquid? And will cracking...

From 2009, controversial images will welome visitors arriving at London's St Pancras Station. The friezes are supposed to depict modern Britain - a copulating couple, a vagabond carrying a bottle, and a hoodie expressing himself with his middle finger. Welcome to Britain? The shocking frieze...

The very English humorist, writer, wit, actor, novelist, filmmaker and television presenter Stephen Fry - who starred in BBC comedy series Blackadder as Melchett and the Duke of Wellington - gives his view on the US Presidential race. Since he discovered that his father was offered a job in...

The British are said to be a nation of animal lovers, and it also seems that we like taking photographs of the fellow creatures that share our land. A beautiful photo showing a puffin flying with a meal in its beak has won the BBC's Countryfile Photographic Competition. The photo was taken on...

The Ministry of defence has unveiled the British Army's devastating new weapon that will be used against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The lurker bomb, which is manufactured in Britain, can stalk a target before picking the perfect moment to strike. It can also shadow British soldiers for up...

The Credit Crunch has even caused bodies to not be buried, in an echo of the foul Winter of Discontent that blighted Britain in the winter of 1978/79, when rubbish was piled high in the streets causing a great stink, nurses ond doctors went on strike and even dead bodies were not buried due to a...

Motorbike fanatic Barend Hemmes, from Bermondsey, south London, teamed up with designer Lee J. Rowland to create a motorbike in the shape of the logo from a famous English luxury car manufacturer. Pictured: The ultimate PURRING machine - a motorbike in the form of the pouncing Jaguar logo...

They say that football is a game of two halves. And it wasn't more noticeable than at Wembley tonight. A fairly dire first half from England (but no so dire as to make you want to go and stick your head in the food blender) and 0-0 and half-time. The second half was the exact opposite, with...

Borat has said that he couldn't be at Wembley today to sing his counry's national anthem before the game with Englad. However, he did give us an A-Z of Kazakhstan, instead.... With England playing Kazakhstan at Wembley here is a guide to the country by BORAT By David Thomas 10th...

A racist, anti-English tourist attraction in Scotland has caused outrage after it banned English visitors and encouraged people from other countries cto bring with them typically English objects to destroy. English tourists are allowed into the event but only if they sign a scroll swearing...

Manchester rock giants Oasis have released their seventh studio album - "Dig Out Your Soul." Liam and the lads had a bit of a kerfuffle during a show recently when a crazed Canadian fan jumped on stage and pushed Noel over, causing Liam to give the fan a few punches. The Manc rockers may be...

Some England fans will probably be dressing up as Borat today as their team plays his homeland in today's sell-out Wembley match. However, fans have been banned from wearing Borat's "mankini".... Borat's mankini banned at Wembley England fans have been banned from wearing Borat's "mankini"...

A.N. Wilson says that times may ahead may be tough, as we enter a recession, but the people of Britain today have got it nowhere as bad as our grandparents did. Think about those who still suffered rationing years after the War. Rationing did not end in Britain until 1954. Compared with...