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  1. Blackleaf

    A brief history of Offa’s Dyke

    Built at the command of the eighth-century king of Mercia, Offa’s Dyke is today Britain’s longest ancient monument. When first built, it delineated the border between the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia and the Welsh kingdom of Powys. Today, it roughly follows the border between England and Wales...
  2. Blackleaf

    Curtain rises on Romeo and Juliet's first theatre after 400 years

    Experts began unearthing one of the earliest and best-preserved theatres in Britain on Monday. Built in 1577, the Curtain Theatre played host to Shakespeare’s earliest plays including the first performances of Henry V and early performances of Romeo and Juliet. Archaeologists say the...
  3. Blackleaf

    Great Britain unveil Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics kit

    Great Britain athletes have unveiled their Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics kit, designed by Stella McCartney, who also designed the team's London 2012 kit. Great Britain unveil Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics kit 27 April 2016 BBC News Great Britain athletes have unveiled their Rio 2016...
  4. Blackleaf

    Hillsborough disaster victims were killed unlawfully, jury concludes

    Ninety-six football fans who died as a result of a crush in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed, the inquests have concluded. The jury decided the match commander Ch Supt David Duckenfield's actions amounted to "gross negligence" due to a breach of his duty of care to...
  5. Blackleaf

    EU Referendum: Remain declines by 2% whilst Leave increases by 2%

    Obama's intervention in Britain's EU referendum, in which he called for the British people to reject Brexit, seems to have had little effect. With the EU referendum still some eight weeks away, it would be brave to call the final result today as some have begun to do. Eight weeks is a...
  6. Blackleaf

    British astronaut becomes first person to run a marathon in space

    Britain's first official astronaut, Major Tim Peake, has entered the record books by becoming the first person to complete a marathon in space, by "running the London Marathon" on a treadmill at the same time that the London Marathon was taking place. He ran the 26.2mi distance in about three...
  7. Blackleaf

    The London Loot-athon

    I don't mean to be funny, but can anyone notice what is, to me, the obvious connection between these people who were seen brazenly stealing bottles of water left for official marathon runners in today's London Marathon? A group of people including parents with children were seen stealing...
  8. Blackleaf

    Why should we take advice from a president who has surrendered the world to chaos?

    Obama's intervention in the UK's EU in/out referendum - according to a Sky Data poll, 60% of British people were against Obama's intervention - has persuaded the previously undecided Janet Daley to vote Leave... Why should we take advice from a president who has surrendered the world to chaos...
  9. Blackleaf

    What Nick Robinson and the BBC left out in its biased history of EU

    The BBC’s Nick Robinson may have had fun on the Today programme last Tuesday morning trying to pin down Michael Gove, the chairman of Vote Leave, on precisely how Britain would manage to leave the EU (apparently without invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty) while retaining unrestricted...
  10. Blackleaf

    Romsey Abbey: The mystery of the hair in the coffin

    For the past few months, archaeologists have been testing a full head of hair found in a coffin. Is it the hair of a saint? Romsey Abbey: The mystery of the hair in the coffin 24 April 2016 By Jon Manel, Broadcasting House, BBC Radio 4 BBC News Magazine...
  11. Blackleaf

    Will Barack Obama’s ‘back of the queue’ threat backfire?

    Barack Obama’s decision to visit Britain during an election campaign was controversial enough. His writing an article against Brexit in the Daily Telegraph was more controversial still. But to stand in Downing Street and threaten his host country with being dumped ‘at the back of the...
  12. Blackleaf

    Disgraceful, Mr Obama: Threats and a cynical attempt to exploit the Allies' war dead

    If Obama is wisely cautious about intervention in the Middle East, why on Earth does he think it appropriate to blunder into Britain’s referendum on the EU? The President is a subtle man and he assured us that, when it comes to the vote on Europe, ultimately it is for the British...
  13. Blackleaf

    Barack Obama visits Globe on Shakespeare anniversary

    US President Barack Obama has begun his final day in London by touring a theatre dedicated to the work of William Shakespeare. Saturday marks the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death and he is being celebrated throughout the UK. The Globe theatre is a replica of the circular, open-air...
  14. Blackleaf

    Backlash after Barack Obama EU referendum intervention

    If Obama thinks he can come over to Britain, tell the British people not to vote for Brexit and then all will be well, with the British people meekly doing as he says, then he is very much mistaken. US President Barack Obama has been accused of doing Downing Street's bidding - after he said...
  15. Blackleaf

    Barack Obama, our fair-weather friend, is wrong about the EU

    Barack Obama has spoken. The part-time leader of the free world has offered Britain some friendly words of advice in the pages of the Daily Telegraph: stay in the EU for your good and the good of the whole world. He makes the standard case that the EU is great for business and security, but...
  16. Blackleaf

    Explaining the Leicester City story to Americans

    If Leicester City win the Premier League, it will be one of the most captivating British sport stories in years. But how does a football-mad Englishman living in the US explain its importance to Americans? Explaining the Leicester City story to Americans By Tom...
  17. Blackleaf

    Shakespeare's 'original classroom' revealed

    The original classroom where William Shakespeare is believed to have studied and seen his first plays opens to the public for the first time this weekend. The classroom is owned by King Edward VI School, the direct successor to the grammar school in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire...
  18. Blackleaf

    Why is Obama telling us to give up on OUR sovereignty when he'd never surrender his?

    As President Obama touches down in Britain today, he need have no fear that Air Force One will be hit by a stray drone, as happened last Sunday to a British Airways aircraft over London. In order to ensure the safety of the President, the UK's National Air Traffic Service has placed a...
  19. Blackleaf

    Swedes tell Britain: if you leave the EU, we’ll follow

    If Britain were to leave the European Union, would it survive? Britain is one of the least enthusiastic members of the EU, but other more globally-minded countries are tiring of the protectionism and insularity in Brussels. Reformers in Sweden are aghast at the prospect of Brexit, seeing...
  20. Blackleaf

    Olympic torch for Rio games lit at ancient Greek site

    The flame for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro has been lit in southern Greece. An actor performing the role of high priestess lit the torch by using the sun's rays. The torch will be taken by various runners on an international relay that will culminate at the opening ceremony at the...