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  1. Blackleaf

    Shock new poll shows most Britons now want to leave EU

    More than 100 Tory MPs could tomorrow back plans to formally bar the European Union from campaigning during the referendum on Britain's membership. A coalition of Tory, Labour and DUP Eurosceptics are concerned that a loophole in referendum legislation means that the EU is free to...
  2. Blackleaf

    Mr Bean enjoys a spin outside Buckingham Palace to celebrate 25th anniversary

    Normally, tourists outside Buckingham Palace love watching the daily Changing of the Guard. But, yesterday, they got to enjoy another great British institution: Mr Bean! It's been 25 years since Rowan Atkinson made his TV debut as the lovable, albeit self-centred, Mr Bean. And to celebrate...
  3. Blackleaf

    Do the Spanish Armada's lost sailors lie buried in this cemetery?

    Archaeologists plan to discover whether a myth-shrouded plot of land on Northern Ireland's Causeway Coast contains the remains of hundreds of Spanish sailors who drowned when the Armada floundered. According to local legend, an ancient graveyard near Dunluce Castle was used to give a...
  4. Blackleaf

    Tragedy of the Civil War's child soldiers

    Skeletons discovered in a mass grave close to Durham cathedral are the remains of Scottish prisoners of war - with some as young as 13 years old, experts have revealed. Researchers from Durham University identified the bones as coming from soldiers captured after the Battle of Dunbar in...
  5. Blackleaf

    Who lived on Britain’s Atlantis?

    It was once a 100,000 square mile area home to dozens of generations of prehistoric Britons, but Doggerland was engulfed by rising sea levels about 7,500 years ago. Now archaeologists are using 4D technology to research how Britain’s ‘Atlantis’ was colonised and inhabited for 6,000...
  6. Blackleaf

    Britain's soaring population set to grow twice as much as rest of EU combined

    Britain's population is set to soar by twice as much as the rest of the European Union combined over the next 65 years, official Brussels forecasts reveal. By 2080 the European Union expects Britain, whose current population is 65 million, to be by far Europe's biggest country, with...
  7. Blackleaf

    Dreadnought 2050: Here's what the Royal Navy of the future could be sailing

    Superyacht meets Star Trek: Imagine a fleet of lighter-than-metal ships armed with weapons that fire at the speed of light. Welcome to the Royal Navy in 2050. Dreadnought 2050: Here's what the Navy of the future could be sailing Plastic ships that can become see-through...
  8. Blackleaf

    Harry The Lionheart: Remarkable images of the conservationist Prince

    Adrenaline pumping, his face alert with excitement and momentary apprehension, Prince Harry reaches out to touch the flanks of a fully grown male lion. It’s an extraordinary and heartstopping moment, as the fearsome beast – which has been lightly sedated – lies semi-conscious at his feet...
  9. Blackleaf

    7 moments in history you (might) think are made up but aren’t

    There are some moments in history that are so odd, so surreal, that they sound completely made up. Here, historical blogger Jem Duducu rounds up seven of the most curious… 7 moments in history you (might) think are made up but aren’t...
  10. Blackleaf

    800-year-old crucifix with Hebrew inscription found in Wales

    An amateur metal detectorist has made the 'find of a lifetime' after he discovered a medieval trinket. Malcolm Corfield, 63, found the inch-long cross pendant buried less than a foot underground in Newport. The charm, which is thought to date back 800 years, is in fantastic condition with a...
  11. Blackleaf

    Bronze Age urn with the cremated bones still inside discovered under moorland

    A 3,500-year-old urn with the cremated human remains from the Bronze Age still inside has been unearthed by workers on moorland at a nature reserve. The clay pot was discovered as workers attempted to build a new path at the Roaches Nature Reserve near Leek in Staffordshire on the edge...
  12. Blackleaf

    Pig-chickens, beavers’ tails and turtle soup: 8 weird foods through history

    The food choices people made in the past – what to eat, and how to eat it – were variously dictated by availability, practicality and desire. Yet when we investigate the culinary habits of people in previous centuries, it quickly becomes evident that even within the fairly narrow...
  13. Blackleaf

    Who was Scotland's 'Rhynie Man'?

    The identity of a fearsome-looking man carved into Pictish stone has remained a mystery since the six-foot (1.78cm) rock was uncovered in 1978. The ‘Rhynie Man’ - named after the village in which he was found - carries an axe upon his shoulder, has a large pointed nose, sharp teeth and...
  14. Blackleaf

    13 weird historical facts

    History is full of curious facts. Here, as part of our Weird History Week, author and journalist Eugene Byrne rounds up 13 of the most surprising… 13 weird historical facts...
  15. Blackleaf

    In Iran's eyes, Britain is still the 'old fox’

    The “old fox” is back. When Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond visited Tehran this week, he did far more than reopen the British Embassy: his presence signalled a new chapter in the poisonous yet strangely intimate relationship between Britain and Iran. In Iran's eyes, Britain is still the 'old...
  16. Blackleaf

    Dinosaur's foot found on beach

    The fossilised foot of a dinosaur has been discovered on a south Wales beach, National Museum Wales has announced. A skeleton of a meat-eating Jurassic dinosaur, the theropod, was uncovered by spring storms at Lavernock beach, Vale of Glamorgan, in 2014. The dinosaur's missing foot was...
  17. Blackleaf

    Work begins on Lincoln Castle Magna Carta sand sculpture

    Work is under way to create a giant sand sculpture in the grounds of Lincoln Castle to mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. Sand sculptors Remy and Paul Hoggard are using about 80 tonnes of sand to create the sculpture, which will depict King John at Runnymede in 1215. The art...
  18. Blackleaf

    Nigel Farage: Immigration will be the defining issue of this EU referendum campaign

    Immigration is the biggest worry among British voters, overtaking the NHS and the economy as their main concern, according to a new poll. A whopping fifty per cent of the public said immigration was among the most important issues facing the country, the highest level ever recorded by the...
  19. Blackleaf

    The amazing 'prey's-eye view' of a buzzard coming in for the kill

    A wildlife fan spent four months planning a 'once in a lifetime' snap of an open-winged buzzard - which he eventually caught after ten days hidden in a shallow grave. Colin Crowdey, from Gloucester, wanted to capture the perfect 'prey's eye view' of a bird swooping on its prey. Knowing...
  20. Blackleaf

    Why Americans should give thanks for the British Empire

    As we Americans celebrate on this day of gluttony, football, and prayer (not necessarily in that order), we might offer up thanks for the institution that gave us our glorious traditions of liberty and prosperity. That institution would be the British Empire, which not only put us here...