Monthly Archives: August 2014

A pebble on his grave: Albert Grant 1831-1899

Posted on August 29, 2014 by

He was once so eye-wateringly rich, he bought Leicester Square when it was under threat of redevelopment, just to give it to the nation. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“The Fiends We Are Fighting”

Posted on August 20, 2014 by

Now that the handwringing over the millions killed in the First World War has momentarily quietened, here’s a story that in all probability will not get told again, as it does not play the tidy vision of civilised nations fighting … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“In consequence of having had the screw put on…”

Posted on August 16, 2014 by

Every once in a while you bump into something you weren’t looking for, but the happenstance makes you smile. Although FH Lewisson of Auckland, New Zealand has been dead this many a long year, you have to have hoped that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Staff Sargeant Reckless

Posted on August 10, 2014 by

Mr Ed’s braver brother… http://nypost.com/2014/08/10/meet-the-first-horse-to-become-a-marine-sergeant/  

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

A million men died — and it wasn’t in World War One

Posted on August 4, 2014 by

A cynic could play cliché bingo in Britain today. “Ultimate sacrifice”, “pals’ battalion”, “over the top”, “the mud”, “No Man’s Land”, “over by Christmas”, “lions led by donkeys”, “four years of trench warfare.” We are treating 100 years’ tick tock … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Secrets of the Cosmetic Art (Part 3)

Posted on August 1, 2014 by

Originally posted on All Things Georgian:
? Continuing our theme of beauty the following extracts from  Fashionable Magazine, October, 1787  suggests various methods for changing the colour of the hair, we would as usual however add our caveat that these should…

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment