International Women’s Day: The Origins and Future
International Women’s Day: The Origins and Future International Women’s Day has been an annual celebration since 1911 and each year reminds us to dedicate time to celebrate those women who have played a part to improve the world we all live in. From looking at achievement we can reflect on how far we have come and how far we have yet to climb. It began as a Socialist political event, first organized by the Socialist Party of America...
Richard III: The Final Battle
Richard III: The Final Battle. In 2012 the battle scarred bones of Richard III were unearthed. Three years later the sealed tomb has finally been unveiled at Leicester Cathedral. This event followed a week long funeral-fest which included a procession from Bosworth Field to Leicester Cathedral for a ceremony with everything from speeches to songs to second cousins 16 times removed and ending with an eye roll from Ashdown-Hill –...
The Film Effect
The Film Effect. I love taking photographs, it’s addictive, and over the past few years I’ve become rather snap happy. Without a reasonable smartphone camera I decided to carry round my trusty compact digital and, while learning more through this, I found the common side effects of the curse and convenience of such handy photography still applied. As other digital camera or phone uses may identify, you can find yourself wanting...
Take a seat: A quick look at the evolution of chairs
It’s fair to say that today most artists and designers ideas are shaped by changes in the world around them, whether they choose to respond by creating something in line with the times or an out of sync statement. However, for the masses it’s only since the 20th century that there has been room for the luxury of anything other than basic function in furniture design. Take the chair you’re sat on, it’s been part of a long design...
Daft Historical Facts
From the first use of OMG occurring in a letter to Winston Churchill in 1917 to a Prussian Emperor kidnapping tall people to realise his dream of having a tall army; history is full of amusing, daft and fascinating facts. The less likely to turn up in history books the better and though they may be hard to slip into a general conversation, if the opportunity does arise, you’re sure to be able to entertain – so here are a few of...
Beneath the City of Light
On the site of the former stone quarry lay The Catacombs of Paris; a famous labyrinth of underground ossuaries dating from the late 1700’s. As well as luring modern-day tourists with a fascinatingly dark history, a climb down the 130 steps past layers of ancient rock into the underworld of the French capital is perhaps the closest you can come to experiencing time travel. The City of Light, long before its role in the Age of...
Eye of newt, and toe of frog: A potential cure for MRSA?
It’s the 9th century and instead of green smoothie recipes and how to teatox there’s a hot new natural remedy book topping the best sellers list. What ‘Bald’s Leechbook’ book doesn’t tell you about natural remedies just isn’t worth knowing, I mean, have a read of the precision in this extract (that has been translated from Old English) for treating an eye infection; “If eyes be tearful, add to sweetened...
Traveling Light and Reading Novellas
If you’re lucky enough to be jetting off this summer but still battling with a tight luggage allowance, one thing that may get left behind is that pile of holiday reads. One solution is the eBook but another could be the novella. Novellas are far smaller than most novels but more substantial than a short story, allowing you to still become encapsulated in a literary world; making them a perfect way to indulge in a distraction whilst...
London’s Hidden History
Remains of the Old London Bridge A bridge has spanned the Thames between the City of London and Southwark on the site of a natural causeway since the original Roman crossing was built in AD50. Since the conquest it has evolved over time and existed in countless different forms, one of the most famous being the medieval ‘Old London Bridge’ which was finished under the reign of King John in 1209 and survived until 1762. Though only 8m...
The Glass Delusion
Towards the end of the 14th century in the Parisian royal residence of Hôtel Saint-Pol, Charles VI, once ‘the Beloved’, became known as ‘the Mad’ due to his bouts of insanity. He suffered many delusions from forgetting his own name and title to, most unusually, wearing reinforced clothing as he believed he was made of glass so likely to shatter into millions of pieces. The curious condition spread through Paris to wealthier homes all...
Remember to Doodle
Remember to Doodle. I’ve always been interested in fighting the corner for typical workplace / classroom enemies so this time I’ve decided to return to the topic to defend doodling. It seems like a natural instinct to most of us, even if that’s just absent-minded sketching in the event of holding a pen, but does its popularity explain why do we do it, where does it originate from and what good, if any, is my swirly...
Houseplants: Why You Should Bring the Outdoors In
Houseplants: Why You Should Bring the Outdoors In Have your New Year’s resolutions fallen through? Are you eagerly awaiting the return of spring and summer? The solution: house plants. Well perhaps not the full solution, but they can perk up indoor spaces and, while sitting pretty, help you out in more ways than one. It seems the reign of houseplants has reached a high – truly inescapable when browsing interiors on Pinterest or even...
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