Archive

Kew Gardens, London, England In the world of conservation, there’s a lot of emphasis put on the survival of endangered animals. The idea of an entire species being wiped off the planet forever because of the actions of humans makes most people feel an impotent meld of despair and anger. But, of course, animals are ...

Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee It wasn’t so long ago, I recall, that the Royal Family was a bit of a joke. An entire generation of them seemed unable to keep their private lives out of the tabloids with their adulterous, gaffe-prone, toe-sucking scandals. And the response to it all from the top left the ...

Jubilee flotilla on the Thames Oh, for such a British event, there was such British weather. The rain and the cold didn’t keep the Queen’s loyal subjects away from the Thames to see her Diamond Jubilee flotilla, though. Oh no, it was something else entirely that stopped much of the crowd enjoying the festivities. “I ...

Blenheim Palace There’s a certain playful vindictiveness to the plans Adolf Hitler once had for Blenheim Palace, the stately English mansion thirteen kilometres from Oxford. As the story goes, the Führer intended to make the palace his official residence when he invaded and conquered Great Britain. This was not just because he apparently wanted to ...

Changing the name For as long as any of us can remember, it’s been called Big Ben. The clock, faithfully telling the time for more than a century, high above the UK’s houses of parliament, has become one of the most iconic images of London and England more general (up there with the Spice Girls, ...

London’s Olympic Stadium London’s Olympics Games are just around the corner and in the host city there’s a buzz developing that even the British composure can’t mask. As the 2012 signs and flags begin to appear in the streets, the last of the construction and makeovers are being hurriedly finished. At the Olympic Stratford site ...

The Tower of London’s birds Never have a small group of birds played such an important part in one of the greatest empires of history. If legend is to be believed, the ravens of the Tower of London have been the protectors of the British throne and all the countries ruled by it over the ...