16th Century
The History of the Pencil
Before the pencil Pens and ink have been in existence for a very long time, being used by the ancient Egyptians for writing and drawing on papyrus, a papery substance made by beating reeds flat. [more…]
20th Century
20th Century
Battle and the Long Man
Battle Abbey Battle Abbey, located in Battle, East Sussex, is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey built on the site of the historic Battle of Hastings. The abbey is dedicated to St Martin of Tours and [more…]
20th Century
G1E3 – Origins of the Motown – The Early Days Part 2
This is Genre 1, Motown, episode 3. For those of a certain age this will bring back some fond memories and get your foot tapping. If you are a lot younger, as this is such [more…]
20th Century
African Regime Gone Bad, Part Eleven
Having humiliated the Ugandan Army (UPDF), the RPF and the RCD in December crushed the remnants of the Congolese army and its Zimbabwean allies in Pweto, southeastern Congo. On 16th January 2001, Kabila was sitting [more…]
20th Century
Adventure in New Guinea, Part One
In 1969, my uncle, John Alldridge visited New Guinea to “observe the attempt to weld a primitive people to a modern society”. This is the first of his reports for the Vancouver Sun. – Jerry [more…]
20th Century
Hellfire Corner
Dover In this week’s dip into the family album we have moved around the Kent coast from Ramsgate and have arrived in Dover. The White Cliffs, the outline of Dover Castle and the seafront make [more…]
20th Century
G6E2 – Those different ones like what I like. (Part 2 of 6)
Welcome pop pickers to an ambitious series of articles covering 6 genres, each with 6 episodes. To give a bit of variation, the next episode of each genre will be published 6 weeks after the [more…]
20th Century
The Desert War – Some Impressions
Having spent a while researching the Desert War series, it is only fair to leave you my impressions based on the many thing that have passed before my eyes. It takes a while to weed [more…]
20th Century
Africa Regime Gone Bad, Pilato Climbs the Ladder
In March 1997, in his usual dubious and manipulative way, Kagame “assumed” the chairmanship of the RPF (the ruling party) from Colonel Alexis Kanyarengwe. After protesting army massacres of Hutus in his home province of [more…]