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  1. Blackleaf

    Where History Happened: The Norman Conquest

    If you've ever wanted to go on a "history tour", visiting various locations where an historical event occurred, then one of the best you can go on is a tour of the sites of the Norman Conquest. Being an ancient nation, England is a treasure trove of beautiful and magnificent buildings. Many of...
  2. Blackleaf

    Queen Mother on King George VI's death

    Not long ago, Britain had both and King AND a Queen. King George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from December 1936 to February 1952. Alongside him was his wife, Queen Elizabeth, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions. George VI died in February...
  3. Blackleaf

    How Jack the Ripper's victims turned to prostitution after their marriages failed

    From Friday 31st August to Friday 9th November 1888, the mysterious Jack the Ripper stalked the filthy, gas-lit streets of Whitechapel, east London, then the world's largest city. Why Jack stopped killing after 9th November is, of course, a mystery. His (or, even, her) five victims - Mary Anne...
  4. Blackleaf

    Capello: I want England to meet Italy in World Cup Final - then beat them

    England's Italian manager, Fabio Capello, has guided England to 8 wins out of 8 in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, 31 goals for, 5 against, and a maximum 24 points from those games. England have qualified with ease, and with two games to spare. Capello has now said that his dream would be for...
  5. Blackleaf

    Father poses for photo with device, unaware it's a WWII anti-tank grenade

    It's amazing how World War II can still put people's lives at risk, 64 years after it ended. When Paul Davies was digging in his garden in Exeter, Devon, he came across a small metallic object. Thinking it was a piece of machinery, he took it into his house where his friend took a picture of...
  6. Blackleaf

    Skating spectacular: Wembley Stadium to house UK's biggest ice rink this Christmas

    During the winter and new year period, the central courtyard of the glorious 18th century Somerset House, on the Strand overlooking the Thames in central London, is home to an ice skating rink. And stunning it is, too, seeing hundreds of people skating in the courtyard of a classic building at...
  7. Blackleaf

    We can't let our German friends push us around

    Germany may be the largest EU state (population wise) with its largest economy, but that's no excuse for it to act like the boss and order people about (we fought a World War so we didn't have to take orders from the Germans). Due to recent events, the British often tend to view the Germans...
  8. Blackleaf

    The awesome aircraft carrier that will be Britain's most powerful warship ever

    The Ministry of Defence has today released a computer-generated image of how one of Britain's gargantuan new aircraft carriers will look in its home base of Portsmouth, Hampshire. The new 65,000 tonne Queen Elizabeth Class carriers are due to enter service with the Royal Navy between 2014 and...
  9. Blackleaf

    Mistresses on the make, and murder. We can't get enough of the Terrible Tudors

    They say that truth is stranger than fiction, and when it came to Tudor royalty, that was most certainly the case. The perfect book, according to many authors, would begin like this: 'I'm pregnant!' said the Queen. 'I wonder who can be responsible?' No book can fail with the three top...
  10. Blackleaf

    Amazing new Darwin Centre, home for 17million insects and 3million plants

    The new £78 million Darwin Centre at London's Natural History Museum is about to open. Shaped like a giant coccoon, it is 92ft high and houses 17 million insects and 3 million plants on its eight floors. Beetles collected by a young Charles Darwin on his 1831 voyage on the Beagle can be...
  11. Blackleaf

    Roald Dahl’s sweet shop discovered as Chinese takeaway

    British author Roald Dahl was, without question, one of the greatest children's writers who ever lived. He wrote books such as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The Twits, James And The Giant Peach, George's Marvellous Medicine, The BFG, Matilda, The Witches, The Enormous Crocodile and...
  12. Blackleaf

    Get De Beers In: Five-star England qualify for South Africa 2010 in style

    England put in one of their best peformances in years last night by demolishing Croatia and qualifying for the 2010 South Africa World Cup with two games still to go in qualifying. Prior to yesterday, England had played 7 and won 7 in their group. Only Spain and Holland also had 100% records...
  13. Blackleaf

    Croydon Tinker Bell....A fairy is photographed in south London garden

    If fairies exist, you'd probably expect to find them in rural counties such as Herefordshire or Shropshire. You probably wouldn't expect to find them in the dense urban jungle of Europe's largest city. Whilst chatting with relatives in the back garden of her home in Croydon, south London...
  14. Blackleaf

    How did magician Derren Brown correctly predict the lottery result?

    Since it started in 1994, Britain's National Lottery has not known anything like it. British magician Derren Brown last night stunned the nation by correctly predicting the result of the National Lottery. He managed to correctly guess the six numbers before they were drawn out live on...
  15. Blackleaf

    Samoa switches from driving on the right to driving on the left

    The tiny Pacific nation of Samoa has switched from driving on the right to driving on the left. It has joined countries such as Britain, India, South Africa and Japan who also drive on the left. During the switchover, alcohol was banned to reduce accidents. The switchover has happened...
  16. Blackleaf

    Mud glorious mud! Scavengers are finding treasures on our riverbanks

    Considering that it has flowed through the great metropolis of London for 2000 years, a city which is still the greatest in the EU in population and area (and the third largest in the world in terms of area), it is inevitable that many interesting items are to be found in the Thames. Recently...
  17. Blackleaf

    81 years on, Winnie-the-Pooh is back in the first official sequel to AA Milne classic

    Winnie-the-Pooh, the world's most famous British bear, is back after an absence of 81 years. The last we saw of the little yellow fellow was in 1928 in House at Pooh Corner waving goodbye to Christopher Robin in Hundred Acre Wood. Now the first Winnie-the-Pooh sequel since his creator AA...
  18. Blackleaf

    A real flying saucer: RAF man does 14 loop-the-loops whilst drinking a cup of tea

    An RAF man, Corporal Stewart Hefti, performed 14 loop-the-loops to break a new world record, which was part of a fundraising initiative for RAF personnel and their families. But why allow the slight inconvenience of doing loop-the-loop stop you from having a nice cup of tea? And he managed...
  19. Blackleaf

    We owe the WWII generation a debt we can never repay

    This month marks the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II. To mark this anniversary, the historian, A.N Wilson, pays tribute to the British people who, just like those elsewhere in Europe, suffered greatly during the war. The war may have been a global conflict, but it was European...
  20. Blackleaf

    Winston Churchill writes for the Daily Mirror

    In 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, Winston Churchill wrote three columns in the Daily Mirror newspaper, about the prospect of Britain and France going to war with Germany. When Britain declared war on Germany on 3rd September 1939, to start the deadliest conflict in history...