Edward I of England, known as ‘Longshanks’ / shakespeareandhistory.com
A contemporary historian who knew him said Edward I of England was very tall, with long neck, arms and legs, and gave him the nickname ‘Longshanks’. It is certain that he was an excellent horseman, and expert with a sword or axe. He looked sinister, as his left eyelid drooped, but his councillors learned quickly to listen very carefully to the king, who was prone to fits of typically Plantagenet bad temper. He threw his daughter Elizabeth’s coronet into a blazing fire in one of these fits, and in another he actually threw one of his errant son Edward’s male lovers out of a tower window. (more…)
Pilloch, N.G., Baron Pilloch of Bedwetty was born one day during the Second World War. He became a Socialist after losing his temper with a nanny who possesed patrician accents. This lady was fired by Pilloch’s Socialist parents, to encourage the child’s Labour tendencies. In no time at all he became Labour MP and Leader of the Opposition. In the Seventies he was made a member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party but managed things so loosely the Labour Party kept losing office. Finally he led the Opposition to Margaret Thatcher’s second and third administrations; it was to no avail because Mrs Thatcher could never remember his name and could not see him on the Opposition benches. After more electoral defeats in the Eighties he resigned as Labour’s leader and joined the other failures at the European Commission, much to the relief of the British Labour Party. His life peerage came in 2005 but he never became Prime Minister, though he had nastily promised his nanny that he would. (more…)
A typical Viking longship / dailygalaxy.com
The Vikings (q.v.) were seafarers, leaving the majestic beauty of their fjords to navigate the freezing waters of the North Sea to assault the northern coasts of Britain and Ireland, sparing no-one. They did the same up and down the Atlantic coast of France and Portugal, penetrating deep into the Mediterranean, or heading west to form colonies in Newfoundland and Iceland. They came from what is now Denmark and Norway, with Sweden invariably looking east towards Russia, while other Scandinavians invaded Britain and Normandy and even settled there. They could not have done any of this without their extraordinary ship, known as ‘the longship’ for good reasons. (more…)
Fanciful images of Robert II of Scotland / celticjessica.blogspot.com
Stuart, originally Stewart, is the family name of Scottish kings and queens from nearly the end of the fourteenth century until 1714 – English monarchs as well from 1603 to 1714. It was founded by Walter Fitzallen, Steward of the King of Scotland. He in turn descended from Flald Fitzalan who had been Steward of Dol in Brittany.
Walter’s descendent became King Robert II of Scotland, her first Stuart monarch, ruling from 1371 to 1390. Robert’s son the Earl of Carrick became King Robert III, on the Scottish throne from 1390 – 1406. It was this Robert’s son who became James I of Scotland), who married Joan of the Beaufort family, English descendants of John of Gaunt, and this was the first English connection. (more…)
The original Jensen Interceptor / joc.org.uk
The Jensen Interceptor came in two phases; Jensen made the original Interceptor between 1950 and 1957 at the Carter’s Green factory in West Bromwich in the north of England. The newly established Jensen Motors then built another high-powered sports car between 1966 and 1976 at the Kelvin Way factory.
The first model had used fibre-glass a great deal in the 1950s model, but the later model returned to a steel pressed body-shell, with a new design by the Italian firm Carrozzeria Touring. The 1950s model was also Italian designed and built (by Vignale) until Jensen began production themselves with some faint but subtle modifications. (more…)
Marshal Kutuzov / en.wikipedia.org
The fight between the Japanese and Russia was (and is) significant because it was all about control of both Manchuria and Korea. The Japanese launched an unexpected and unheralded assault on Russian warships anchored in their Manchurian naval base at Port Arthur. Pearl Harbor 37 years later was a sequel (Port Arthur now has another name of course).
Edward IV (York) King of England / en.wikipedia.org
There is more to the intense rivalry between Yorkshire and Lancashire than mere cricket, though one has to admit that these two large northern English counties seem to have produced more first-class cricketers than others.
Lancastrians are descendants or supporters of John (of Gaunt) Duke of Lancaster, second son of Edward III, younger brother of Edward the Black Prince. The reason why Gaunt did not become King when the Black Prince died young is that the throne had by then been usurped by Hereford, becoming Henry IV. The usurper did away with Richard II, grandson of Edward III, but Gaunt was crafty enough to survive, and important enough to get himself into Shakespeare’s plays in a big way. The ‘This sceptr’d isle!’ soliloquoy is spoken by a dying John of Gaunt. (more…)
Winter queues 1948 / telegraph.co.uk
It was a surrealist time to be British. Six years of total war had left the people with their men and womenfolk dead, wounded and crippled as well as bemedalled, heroic and stoic. Most people had lost their home (or homes) to the German bombing. France and Belgium, just over the narrow Channel, had been occupied throughout almost all the Second War, and were recovering much faster than the British. The latter, having listened avidly to the words of a fat old man with a fondness for brandy and cigars asking them to sacrifice everything to beat the German menace, and having followed his indefatigable leadership, showed their loyalty by throwing him and his party out in the 1945 elections. The new Prime Minister was Clement Attlee, an Old Harrovian, who had been Churchill’s Deputy PM during the war. He was one of those patricians who become members of the Labour Party, presumably to reward their parents for sacrificing everything to educate them privately. He was all for NATO, against private incomes and country life. (more…)
A young Suffragette throws herself under the King’s horse at the Derby / scotsman.com
There will I suppose be frenzied and furious cries from members of the ‘gentler sex’ after (not) reading this post in General-History. The title will be enough to raise feminine hackles. “Phenomenon indeed!” Why should a thirst for equality be described as a ‘phenomenon’?
Feminism is an almost international movement concerning the social, political and economic rights of women. For the most part feminism’s voices demand equal rights for both sexes, but some would go further; they assert the right of women to separate development.
For as long as can be remembered women were subjected to their menfolk, and excluded from a proper education, economic independence, the right to own property, have a bank account in their own name, but, hardest of all, excluded from political representation. It is difficult to know why, as one woman’s vote requires the same thinking ability as any man has. (more…)