Blog

Winter is a wonderful season for viewing the amazing species of bird life that will grace your garden. If you feed the birds and provide water and shelter, you can see the wonderful species that only come during the winter months, when resident birds are joined by those who have migrated from Russia, Scandinavia and continental Europe.   Robin The North wind doth blow and we...

The Pentagon is headquarters to the Department of Defence in the USA. Located in Arlington, Virginia, the world's largest office building has an astounding 603,869 square metres of total floor space -  three times that of New York's Empire State Building. It is home to around 26,000 employees, including 23,000 military and civilian staff and a 3,000-strong support team. Designed by Wisconsin...

Tapestry is a textile art that is traditionally woven on a vertical loom. Depicting pictures or designs that are formed by weaving coloured weft threads or by embroidering on canvas, tapestries are more often used as wall hangings or for soft furnishings. Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph is said to be the largest continuously woven tapestry on the planet. With a rich history that dates back...

Christmas is coming, and with it a promise of the most mouth-watering selection of delicious foods and plenty of sweets for adults and kids alike. It's a time to over-indulge and enjoy yourselves - and for many of us, that includes reminiscing about Christmas past and the wonderful things we had when we were kids. In the case of lucky residents of one Yorkshire town, the sweets they had in t...

Christmas is coming the geese are getting fat, someone’s gonna buy you a DVD for Christmas, you can depend on that! Although the digital age has more and more of us watching our favourite programmes from a computer screen, there is still a place in everyone’s Santa sack for the good old-fashioned DVD. Here’s some of our favourites.   Friends With the ten seasons having originally b...

A time to share with family and friends, Christmas is the season of good will to all men… but it’s also the time for joy and laughter! With that in mind, we’re going to explain how to bake your way to a memorable Christmas tree display... Let the fun begin!   Salt dough ornaments A great idea for home-made tree decorations, you can use salt dough to fashion ornaments. All yo...

As the season of festive cheer is upon us once more, planning a Christmas party is uppermost in many people's thoughts, as we ponder how to create meaningful memories for family and friends - without spending a fortune, or being left feeling emotionally frazzled! Never fear ... being the perfect host doesn't have to drain your wallet, or your energy! With a few simple tips, you can create a ...

Christmas is rapidly approaching and the traditional flurry of festive adverts promoting the latest toys is imminent. While gifts today tend to be increasingly high-tech and expensive, in years gone by, Christmas presents were often much simpler. We take a trip down memory lane and remember some of the most successful toys of all time - even though the manufacturers wouldn't have realised it...

Archaeological digs have unearthed many exciting items over the years such as ancient coins, gold nuggets, jewellery and even precious relics of historic civilisations. The best archaeological finds have challenged our ideas of human history, revealed secrets about our ancestors and fired up our imagination. Read on to find out more about the top five archaeological finds of all time – we’re...

Featuring the famous big red truck packed full of bottles of ice-cold Coke, the iconic Coca-Cola advert, Holidays are Coming, is still going strong 22 years after it was first launched. It appears on our TV screens every year, confirming that the festive season is very nearly upon us! The advert was first screened in the Christmas of 1995, when it was called the Christmas Caravan. It feature...