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  1. Blackleaf

    Tim Farron is a Christian, so of course he’s not allowed an opinion

    Farron’s enormous crime in the eyes of the establishment was to refuse to deny (for a while, at least) that he thought homosexual sex was a sin. Farron is a born-again evangelical Christian, so of course he thinks homosexual sex is a sin. My guess is that this view is shared by at least...
  2. Blackleaf

    Our warring Queens should be remembered for their battles, not their bodices

    Never underestimate a woman’s steeliness – especially if she happens to be royal. A study has revealed that, throughout history, Europe’s queens have been significantly more bellicose and battle-hungry than its kings. Of the monarchs who ruled between 1480 and 1913, the queens were...
  3. Blackleaf

    'Secret' Dambusters photos to go under hammer

    A set of rare photographs showing the impact of the Dambusters' "bouncing bomb" raids is to go under the hammer. The raids by 19 RAF Lancaster bombers destroyed two strategically significant German dams and damaged a third. Taken by the Nazi authorities before and after the raids - on 16 and...
  4. Blackleaf

    The fears that fuelled an ancient border wall

    President Donald Trump has promised to builf a “great, great wall” between the United States and Mexico, ostensibly to prevent illegal immigration. But this isn’t the first time a world leader constructed a wall between himself and those he deemed imminent threats. In 122 A.D., Roman...
  5. Blackleaf

    The Iron Maydy

    Theresa May is now seen as a better leader than even Margaret Thatcher — posting the highest rating for a PM in nearly 40 years. A survey gave her 61 per cent backing when voters were asked who would be most capable as Prime Minister. Just 23 per cent picked Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn, who came...
  6. Blackleaf

    What would Britain be like with a Coalition of Chaos in charge?

    Never mind Brexit, here comes Exit. England should UDI from the EU, in line with the wishes of the overwhelming 2016 Leave vote, and setabout becoming a dynamic, low-tax, low-regulation, outward-looking global trading nation — in control of our own borders and laws. No more truculent...
  7. Blackleaf

    Does Brexit mean England can have Englishness?

    Scotland has shown the plasticity of national identities. A new version of Scottishness has been conjured up by the SNP in the past few years, framed by the modern independence project. Could Brexit do the same for England? Coffee House Does Brexit mean England can have Englishness...
  8. Blackleaf

    Britain's Empire was a matter for pride, not guilt - as Indians know

    With Britain preparing to rebuild trade links with its former empire post-Brexit, does it really need to apologise for its imperial past? Or could it take new pride in what it did to modernise and democratise the world? Britain's Empire was a matter for pride, not guilt - as we Indians...
  9. Blackleaf

    Royal send-off for London Marathon runners

    A record number of competitors in the London Marathon were given a royal send-off as they started their gruelling 26.2 mile run. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were joined by Prince Harry to start the elite men's and mass races. The royal trio, who champion the race's official charity Head...
  10. Blackleaf

    Britain has its first coal-free day since 1882

    Britain went a full day without using coal to generate electricity for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, the National Grid says. The energy provider said Friday's lack of coal usage was a "watershed" moment. Britain's longest continuous energy period without coal until now was...
  11. Blackleaf

    Kensington Palace's 300-year-old pathways were carved to align with solstices

    The gardens of Prince William and Kate Middleton are riddled with pathways carved to symoblically align with the solstices, researchers have discovered. The 300-year-old paths wind across Kensington Palace Garden's 265 acres of land. Physicists from Italy reexamined the complex networks of...
  12. Blackleaf

    May calls snap general election to provide strong leadership in Brexit negotiations

    Just two years after the last general election Britain is to go to the polls in exactly seven weeks time today after Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday called a surprise snap general election. Theresa May sprung the massive surprise on the nation and her own ministers on Tuesday by...
  13. Blackleaf

    How jousting made a man of Henry VIII

    Here, Emma Levitt explores Henry's love of jousting and reveals how, denied the opportunity to prove his worth on the battlefield, Henry VIII chose to display his masculinity in the tiltyard, bedecked in shining armour and with lance in hand... How jousting made a man of Henry VIII...
  14. Blackleaf

    Grave of medieval priest with mysterious head injury uncovered in Lincolnshire

    The body of a medieval priest with a mysterious head injury has been discovered 700 years after he died in a grave at Thornton Abbey. Archaeologists from the University of Sheffield uncovered the coffin and skeleton at the abbey, which was founded as a monastery in 1139 and went onto...
  15. Blackleaf

    Prince Harry 'in total chaos' over mother Diana's death

    Prince Harry has revealed he sought counselling after spending nearly 20 years "not thinking" about the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he said it was not until his late 20s that he processed the grief - after two years of "total...
  16. Blackleaf

    Remains of five 'lost' Archbishops of Canterbury found

    The remains of five Archbishops of Canterbury have been found beneath a medieval parish church next to Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury's official London residence. Builders renovating the Garden Museum, housed at the deconsecrated church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, found a hidden crypt...
  17. Blackleaf

    "Don't let terror triumph," Archbishop of Canterbury says in Easter message

    Today's world is full of terror, pain, poverty and despair, but those things should not be allowed to triumph, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said. In his Easter message, the Most Reverend Justin Welby remembered the victims of the recent bombings at two Coptic Christian churches in Egypt...
  18. Blackleaf

    Bronze ear from Roman statue unearthed in North Yorkshire

    A bronze ear thought to have broken off from a Roman statue has been unearthed 1,800 years after it was lost. The three-inch long fragment, which is among the oldest relics of its kind ever uncovered in Britain, was discovered by a metal detectorist in a field near Catterick, North...
  19. Blackleaf

    'Sneering contempt' of Remainer newspaper towards Brexit town

    Remainer newspaper The New European has been criticised by Skegness locals, including the MP, for a front page which appears to mock the area for voting Brexit. Using an image which has been accused of "exploiting" local mascot the Jolly Fisherman, the paper appeared to show Skegness in...
  20. Blackleaf

    Was Edward the Black Prince really a nasty piece of work?

    A newly discovered letter that has lain unread for over 600 years is forcing a rethink of a 14th Century prince with a controversial reputation... Was Edward the Black Prince really a nasty piece of work? 7 July 2014 Luke Foddy BBC News Magazine The Black Prince was the eldest son of King...