Lindow Man is the name given to the preserved
bog body of a man discovered in a
peatbog at
Lindow Moss,
Cheshire,
North West England. The body was found on 1 August 1984 by commercial peat-cutters. Lindow Man is not the only bog body to have been found in the moss;
Lindow Woman was discovered the year before, and other body parts have been recovered. The find, described as "one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 1980s", caused a media sensation. It helped invigorate study of British bog bodies, which had previously been neglected in comparison to those found in the rest of Europe. Lindow Man was a healthy male in his mid-20s. He may have been someone of high status, as his body shows little evidence of heavy or rough work. There has been debate over the reason for Lindow Man's death. The nature of his demise was violent, perhaps ritualistic; after a last meal of charred bread, Lindow Man was strangled, hit on the head, and his throat cut. Dating the body has proven problematic, but it is thought that Lindow Man was deposited into Lindow Moss, face down, some time during the 1st century AD. The body has been preserved by
freeze-drying and is on permanent display at the
British Museum, although it occasionally travels to other venues such as
Manchester Museum. (Full article...)
Bobby Robson is a former English
football manager and former international football player. As an
inside forward, his professional playing career spanned nearly 20 years during which he played for just three clubs,
Fulham,
West Bromwich Albion and
Vancouver Royals. He also made 20 appearances for
England, scoring four goals. He was most recently a mentor to the manager of the
Irish national football team. He achieved success as both a club and international manager, having won league championships in both the Netherlands and Portugal, earning trophies in England and Spain, and taking England to the semi-final of the
1990 World Cup. Robson was
knighted in 2002, is a member of the
English Football Hall of Fame and is the honorary president of
Ipswich Town. He has, since 1991, had recurrent medical problems with
cancer, and in May 2007 revealed that he had cancerous nodules in his lungs: he vowed to "battle as I've always done" against the illness. (Full article...)
Image 8The Christmas Pantomime 1890.
Pantomime plays a prominent role in British culture during the Christmas and New Year season. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 10Music hall evolved into variety shows. First performed in 1912, the Royal Variety Performance was first held at the
London Palladium (pictured) in 1941. Performed in front of members of the Royal Family, it is held annually in December and broadcast on television. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 16William III and
Mary II Presenting the Cap of Liberty to Europe, 1716, Sir
James Thornhill. Enthroned in heaven with the Virtues behind them are the royals William and Mary who had taken the throne after the
Glorious Revolution and signed the
English Bill of Rights of 1689. William tramples on arbitrary power and hands the red cap of liberty to Europe where, unlike Britain,
absolute monarchy stayed the normal form of power execution. Below William is the French king
Louis XIV. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 47Cricketer
W. G. Grace, with his long beard and MCC cap, was the most famous British sportsman in the Victorian era. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 54The
Oxford Union debate chamber. Called the "world's most prestigious debating society", the Oxford Union has hosted leaders and celebrities. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 55The Beatles are the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed
band in popular music, with estimated sales of over one billion.
Image 57King Edward's Chair in Westminster Abbey. A 13th-century wooden throne on which the
British monarch sits when he or she is crowned at the
coronation, swearing to uphold the law and the church. The monarchy is apolitical and impartial, with a largely symbolic role as head of state. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 59King
Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English king encouraged education in his kingdom, and proposed that primary education be taught in
English, with those wishing to advance to holy orders to continue their studies in Latin. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 62The
Notting Hill Carnival is Britain's biggest street festival. Led by members of the British African-Caribbean community, the annual carnival takes place in August and lasts three days. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 69Mo Farah is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history, winning the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at two Olympic Games. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 70Emmeline Pankhurst. Named one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century by Time, Pankhurst was a leading figure in the suffragette movement. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
30 St Mary Axe, otherwise known as "The
Gherkin" or the
Swiss Re building, at 180 m (590 ft) is the 6th tallest in
London,
England. Designed by
Foster and Partners, the architectural design of the tower contrasts sharply against more traditional buildings in London. Its design won the prestigious
RIBAStirling Prize for the best new building by a RIBA architect in 2004 and the 2003
Emporis Skyscraper Award for the best skyscraper in the world completed that year. The building is visible from a long distance from
Central London: from the north for instance, it can be seen on the
M11 motorway some 32 km (20 mi) away.
Beachy Head is a
chalk headland on the south coast of England, close to the town of
Eastbourne in the county of
East Sussex. The
cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m (530 ft) above sea level. The peak allows views of the south east coast from
Dungeness to the east, to
Selsey Bill in the west.
The Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in the English city of
Bath, Somerset. It is a well-preserved site dating from
Roman Britain once used for
public bathing. The
Roman baths themselves are below the modern street level. There are four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House, and the museum which holds
finds from
the Roman town. The buildings above street level date from the 19th century. The Baths are a major tourist attraction and, together with the
Grand Pump Room, received more than 1.3 million visitors in 2018. Visitors can tour the baths and museum but cannot enter the water.
This picture shows the Great Bath of the Roman Baths complex, with
Bath Abbey visible in the background. The entire structure above the level of the pillar bases is of later construction.
Beer Street and Gin Lane are a pair of 1751
engravings by
William Hogarth in support of the then-proposed
Gin Act 1751. This
Act of Parliament made the
distillation of
gin illegal in
England. Beer Street shows a happy city drinking the "good" beverage of English
beer, whereas Gin Lane claims to show what would happen if people started drinking gin, a harder liquor. People are shown as healthy, happy and hardworking in Beer Street, while in Gin Lane they are scrawny, lazy and acting carelessly, including a drunk mother accidentally sending her baby tumbling to its doom.
Loch Torridon is a
sea loch on the west coast of Scotland in the
Northwest Highlands. The 15 mile- (25 km-) long body of water is home to several islets and a prominent prawn and shellfish fishery.
An
oil on canvas portrait of George IV of the United Kingdom as the
Prince Regent, by
Sir Thomas Lawrence. In 1814,
Lord Stewart, who had been appointed ambassador in Vienna and was a previous client of Thomas Lawrence, wanted to commission a portrait by him of the Prince Regent. He arranged that Lawrence should be presented to the Prince Regent at a
levée. Soon after, the Prince visited Lawrence at his studio in
Russell Square. Lawrence wrote to his brother that: To crown this honour, [he] engag'd to sit to me at one today and after a successful sitting of two hours, has just left me and comes again tomorrow and the next day.
... that New Zealand composer Maewa Kaihau sold her rights to the song "
Now is the Hour" for £10, a decade before it became a hit in the United Kingdom and United States?
Lindow Man is the name given to the preserved
bog body of a man discovered in a
peatbog at
Lindow Moss,
Cheshire,
North West England. The body was found on 1 August 1984 by commercial peat-cutters. Lindow Man is not the only bog body to have been found in the moss;
Lindow Woman was discovered the year before, and other body parts have been recovered. The find, described as "one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 1980s", caused a media sensation. It helped invigorate study of British bog bodies, which had previously been neglected in comparison to those found in the rest of Europe. Lindow Man was a healthy male in his mid-20s. He may have been someone of high status, as his body shows little evidence of heavy or rough work. There has been debate over the reason for Lindow Man's death. The nature of his demise was violent, perhaps ritualistic; after a last meal of charred bread, Lindow Man was strangled, hit on the head, and his throat cut. Dating the body has proven problematic, but it is thought that Lindow Man was deposited into Lindow Moss, face down, some time during the 1st century AD. The body has been preserved by
freeze-drying and is on permanent display at the
British Museum, although it occasionally travels to other venues such as
Manchester Museum. (Full article...)
Bobby Robson is a former English
football manager and former international football player. As an
inside forward, his professional playing career spanned nearly 20 years during which he played for just three clubs,
Fulham,
West Bromwich Albion and
Vancouver Royals. He also made 20 appearances for
England, scoring four goals. He was most recently a mentor to the manager of the
Irish national football team. He achieved success as both a club and international manager, having won league championships in both the Netherlands and Portugal, earning trophies in England and Spain, and taking England to the semi-final of the
1990 World Cup. Robson was
knighted in 2002, is a member of the
English Football Hall of Fame and is the honorary president of
Ipswich Town. He has, since 1991, had recurrent medical problems with
cancer, and in May 2007 revealed that he had cancerous nodules in his lungs: he vowed to "battle as I've always done" against the illness. (Full article...)
Image 8The Christmas Pantomime 1890.
Pantomime plays a prominent role in British culture during the Christmas and New Year season. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 10Music hall evolved into variety shows. First performed in 1912, the Royal Variety Performance was first held at the
London Palladium (pictured) in 1941. Performed in front of members of the Royal Family, it is held annually in December and broadcast on television. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 16William III and
Mary II Presenting the Cap of Liberty to Europe, 1716, Sir
James Thornhill. Enthroned in heaven with the Virtues behind them are the royals William and Mary who had taken the throne after the
Glorious Revolution and signed the
English Bill of Rights of 1689. William tramples on arbitrary power and hands the red cap of liberty to Europe where, unlike Britain,
absolute monarchy stayed the normal form of power execution. Below William is the French king
Louis XIV. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 47Cricketer
W. G. Grace, with his long beard and MCC cap, was the most famous British sportsman in the Victorian era. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 54The
Oxford Union debate chamber. Called the "world's most prestigious debating society", the Oxford Union has hosted leaders and celebrities. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 55The Beatles are the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed
band in popular music, with estimated sales of over one billion.
Image 57King Edward's Chair in Westminster Abbey. A 13th-century wooden throne on which the
British monarch sits when he or she is crowned at the
coronation, swearing to uphold the law and the church. The monarchy is apolitical and impartial, with a largely symbolic role as head of state. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 59King
Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English king encouraged education in his kingdom, and proposed that primary education be taught in
English, with those wishing to advance to holy orders to continue their studies in Latin. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 62The
Notting Hill Carnival is Britain's biggest street festival. Led by members of the British African-Caribbean community, the annual carnival takes place in August and lasts three days. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 69Mo Farah is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history, winning the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at two Olympic Games. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 70Emmeline Pankhurst. Named one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century by Time, Pankhurst was a leading figure in the suffragette movement. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
30 St Mary Axe, otherwise known as "The
Gherkin" or the
Swiss Re building, at 180 m (590 ft) is the 6th tallest in
London,
England. Designed by
Foster and Partners, the architectural design of the tower contrasts sharply against more traditional buildings in London. Its design won the prestigious
RIBAStirling Prize for the best new building by a RIBA architect in 2004 and the 2003
Emporis Skyscraper Award for the best skyscraper in the world completed that year. The building is visible from a long distance from
Central London: from the north for instance, it can be seen on the
M11 motorway some 32 km (20 mi) away.
Beachy Head is a
chalk headland on the south coast of England, close to the town of
Eastbourne in the county of
East Sussex. The
cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m (530 ft) above sea level. The peak allows views of the south east coast from
Dungeness to the east, to
Selsey Bill in the west.
The Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in the English city of
Bath, Somerset. It is a well-preserved site dating from
Roman Britain once used for
public bathing. The
Roman baths themselves are below the modern street level. There are four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House, and the museum which holds
finds from
the Roman town. The buildings above street level date from the 19th century. The Baths are a major tourist attraction and, together with the
Grand Pump Room, received more than 1.3 million visitors in 2018. Visitors can tour the baths and museum but cannot enter the water.
This picture shows the Great Bath of the Roman Baths complex, with
Bath Abbey visible in the background. The entire structure above the level of the pillar bases is of later construction.
Beer Street and Gin Lane are a pair of 1751
engravings by
William Hogarth in support of the then-proposed
Gin Act 1751. This
Act of Parliament made the
distillation of
gin illegal in
England. Beer Street shows a happy city drinking the "good" beverage of English
beer, whereas Gin Lane claims to show what would happen if people started drinking gin, a harder liquor. People are shown as healthy, happy and hardworking in Beer Street, while in Gin Lane they are scrawny, lazy and acting carelessly, including a drunk mother accidentally sending her baby tumbling to its doom.
Loch Torridon is a
sea loch on the west coast of Scotland in the
Northwest Highlands. The 15 mile- (25 km-) long body of water is home to several islets and a prominent prawn and shellfish fishery.
An
oil on canvas portrait of George IV of the United Kingdom as the
Prince Regent, by
Sir Thomas Lawrence. In 1814,
Lord Stewart, who had been appointed ambassador in Vienna and was a previous client of Thomas Lawrence, wanted to commission a portrait by him of the Prince Regent. He arranged that Lawrence should be presented to the Prince Regent at a
levée. Soon after, the Prince visited Lawrence at his studio in
Russell Square. Lawrence wrote to his brother that: To crown this honour, [he] engag'd to sit to me at one today and after a successful sitting of two hours, has just left me and comes again tomorrow and the next day.
... that New Zealand composer Maewa Kaihau sold her rights to the song "
Now is the Hour" for £10, a decade before it became a hit in the United Kingdom and United States?