England

  • James Armistead Lafayette- Unsung Hero of the American Revolution

      There are many heroes we know about in the American Revolution- George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton- but there are many that gave their all for this country that have remained in the shadows.  Their names are not bywords for freedom, but should be.  James Armistead Lafayette is one of those men.   It is not known for sure when and where James was born.  James was a slave, and these things were not important.  General consensus says he was born some time in 1748 in New Kent County, Virginia.  James was the property of William Armistead.  Not much else is known about James’ life until the American Revolution…

  • Animal Trials

    Yes, I know that sounds crazy but this actually happened and it occurred enough to find several instances of animals being put on trial. These Animal Trials are recorded as having taken place in Europe from the thirteenth century until the eighteenth. They ranged from horses kicking their owners all the way to insects damaging crops. The earliest record of an animal trial is the execution of a pig in 1266 at Fontenay-aux-Roses. Such trials remained part of several legal systems until the 18th century. Animal defendants appeared before both church and secular courts, and the offenses alleged against them ranged from murder to criminal damage. Human witnesses were often…

  • Queen Elizabeth

    Just a short one tonight, ladies and gents. In honour of the Sapphire Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, I thought I would have a brief look back and share with you some moments from the early life leading up to the begining of the reign of the much loved monarch. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on April 21st 1926 by Caesarian at the home of her mother’s father, Claude Bowes-Lyon, Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, in Mayfair. Later baptised in the Private chapel of Buckingham Palace, she was named for her mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Followed by a younger sister, Margaret, four years later, both girls were conceived…

  • Noor Inayat Khan- The Spy Princess

    Noor Inayat Khan was a mass of contradictions.  She was a devout Muslim Sufi who believed in nonviolence and refused to tell a lie and disliked the British because of their involvement in India.  Described as a “dreamy” and “sensitive” person who spent time writing children’s stories, poetry and music, Noor was the last person who anyone would have thought could be a spy against the Nazis.  However, underneath that soft exterior was a spine of steel the Nazis could not break no matter how hard they tried. Noor Inayat Khan was born in the Kremlin in Moscow on January 2, 1914.  Her father was a musician and a Sufi…

  • Frederick Douglass

    Frederick Douglass was another straight up badass.  When you look at his life on paper, it is impressive- rising from slavery to famous orator and abolitionist.  However, in reading Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America’s Gutsiest Troublemakers by Nick Offerman (if you haven’t read it, go now), it struck me as it struck the author exactly what a feat that was.  The bare bones of it are amazing, but the details truly show what this man accomplished. Born as a slave on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey had a tough time from the start.  He never knew his father, who was rumored to be…