20th Century
A History of Pop Music – Albums 1967
Featured Album: The Monkees This is a series of articles looking at albums from 1960 to whatever year we end up in. I will select a featured album for each year and the link for [more…]
History
18th Century
Edward Pease: the Grandfather of the railways
George Stephenson gets the statues. But a plain-dressing Quaker wool merchant from Darlington put up the money, drove the Act through Parliament, and hired Stephenson in the first place. He helped found the world’s first [more…]
Business
A Plutocrats’ Tour of The North, Part Eight
The phrase “grim up north” lingers in the national imagination and conjures images of soot-stained skylines, struggling towns, and industries long past their prime. Yet this caricature of tired decline obscures another, less frequently told [more…]
20th Century
The Sure Way to Destroy a Prosperous Nation
This is not a frivolous claim, but the sure way to destroy a prosperous nation is to debase the currency. History is full of examples, from ancient Rome to the nascent French Republic to Weimar [more…]
18th Century
John Buddle: the man who subdued the monster
He started working life down a pit age six, ran half the coalfield by his thirties, and built an entire harbour to spite his rivals. They called him the King of the Coal Trade, and [more…]
Business
A Plutocrats Tour of The North, Part Seven
For generations, the phrase “grim up north” has lingered in the national imagination — conjuring images of soot-stained skylines, struggling towns, and industries long past their prime. It is a shorthand that flattens the region [more…]
20th Century
A History of Pop Music – Albums 1966
Featured Album: The Mama’s & The Papa’s If you can believe your eyes and ears This is a series of articles looking at albums from 1960 to whatever year we end up in. I [more…]
20th Century
Wendyball – flair or organisation
Back in the good old days, say the 60s and 70s, the top team in world football was arguably Brasil. You were only allowed to play for the national team if you plied your trade [more…]
19th Century
Wealthy Wendyball Wayfaring
As the World Gentleman’s Wendyball Invitation Shield dominates yet another weekend, shall we use our weekly plutocrats’ tour of the North to spy upon the round ball game? I think we might as well. For [more…]