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Only four women have ever appeared on British banknotes (the current monarch, Elizabeth II; Britannia; prison reformer Elizabeth Fry; and soldiers' nurse Florence Nightingale). Britain has 20% of the entire world's CCTV cameras. Britain's Penny Black was the world's first postage stamp...

Unlike other EU countries, Britain is, thankfully, independent of the European Central Bank in Germany. Britain's central bank is the Bank of England, affectionately known as "The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street" (up until the early 19th Century, Threadneedle Street was actually called Gropec**t...

The Queen's favourite horse, Monarch, died last week. The horse lived in the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, the stable and the garage of the Royal Family. The horses live there, and the great coaches of state are kept there. King Richard II established the King's Mews in 1377 to keep his...

The Duchess of Cornwall is to give her husband, Prince Charles, 60 gifts for his birthday - one for every year of his life. Camilla Parker-Bowles, 61, will present Charles with the gifts over his birthday weekend next month (his birthday is 14th November). The gifts will include a 60-year-old...

The FA are investigating an incident in which a 50p coin was thrown at assistant referee Phil Sharp during the 0-0 draw between Aston Villa and Portsmouth at Villa Park yesterday. Sharp suffered a nasty cut to his head. FA probes Villa Park coin attack BBC Assistant referee Phil Sharp...

A town or city having its own town cryer is an ancient British tradition which goes back centuries and is loved by millions of peope - so no doubt the EU will soon try to ban this "outdated" custom, with anyone caught working as a town cryer jailed for 6 months and fined £12,000. In Medieval...

A new picture of Queen Elizabeth I has been discovered. It was painted in the first few years of her reign, and is nothing like the magnificent portraits of "Gloriana" from later in her reign. Elizabeth I reigned from 1558 to 1603 and, alongside Queen Victoria and our current queen, Queen...

Peter Hitchen gives his take on our Stalinist councils' treatment of traders who use Imperial measures..... We’re getting pounds and ounces back: Oh, and pigs might fly... 18th October 2008 Daily Mail Legally impounded: Janet Devers was prosecuted for using imperial measures on...

Princes William and Harry have set off on their bike ride across South Africa to raise money for Prince Harry's charity Sentebale, which helps disadvantaged children in Lesotho, a tiny southern African kingdom surrounded by South Africa. Both Princes are passionate bikers – William, 26, owns a...

England expect a tough game against Belarus in Minsk tonight in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Belarus, a former Soviet republic with a land area around the same size as Britain, is ranked only 95th in FIFA's rankings. But England should never underestimate their opponents when they are up...

How the current economic crisis has deal a blow to the Scottish nationalists' dream of Scottish independence... Salmond's crusade for an independent Scotland 'dealt fatal blow by economic crisis' By Benedict Brogan and John Robertson 15th October 2008] Daily Mail The world financial crisis...

The following stunning photos of rutting deer were not, as you might exepect, taken in the countryside. They were taken in the heart of London, the EU's largest city. The deer live in Richmond Park, the largest of London's eight Royal Parks and Britain's largest urban walled park. It is also...

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...