Today Christmas is a major time of festivity in England and America, but during the 17th century, people were not allowed to celebrate it…

Margo Lestz – The Curious Rambler
Bringing History to Life
Today Christmas is a major time of festivity in England and America, but during the 17th century, people were not allowed to celebrate it…
Before alarm clocks existed, the job of waking people up was done by “human alarm clocks,” people known as knocker-ups or knocker-uppers…
King Charles III’s coronation went well, however, some earlier ones skipped rehearsals and ended up with some “coronation gone wrong” moments…
There was more to Beatrix Potter than bunny books. She was also a serious fan of fungi and later in life, a sheep farmer.
We sang to the apple trees, fed them bread and cider, chased away the evil spirits, and now we await a bumper crop of apples.
At Pallant House in Chichester, the gateposts are topped by ostrich statues… but, to most people, they look more like dodos.
Celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. 70 years on the British throne…
Hay-on-Wye, in southeastern Wales, proudly claims to be the World’s First Book Town, and Richard Booth was its self-proclaimed king.
In England, if you see a church, there is a yew tree close at hand. But in the Cotswolds, there are two yew-sporting churchyards that are quite special…
There are many odd and unusual carvings on our ancient churches, but not all of them are old…
Finding Alice in Wonderland in Oxford and Llandudno, North Wales…
Mary Anning was only 12 years old when she and her brother discovered the fossilized skeleton of a 17-foot-long prehistoric ichthyosaurus. Mary went on to become one of the greatest fossil collectors of the 19th century.
What do Frankenstein and Bridgerton (the Netflix series) have in common? It’s the city of Bath, of course…
I’ll admit it, I love tea. But can it really solve all my problems…?
Inside Lincoln Cathedral, a little stone imp sits atop one of the columns. He may be small, but he has a big personality, and even though he caused havoc in the Middle Ages, he’s much loved by the folks of Lincoln today…
These bright spring flowers are related to the ancient myth of that terribly vain boy called Narcissus… and a lovely poem…
If you’re walking through a London park and hear loud squawking overhead, chances are, it’s a flock of wild parakeets…
While the architecture is amazing, this cathedral also holds treasures on the inside…
Photo essay of Bath, England…
Henry VIII is credited with being the first monarch to have turkey for his Christmas dinner. But for most of Henry’s subjects, goose was the favored holiday bird…
Bowlers, Brollies, and Brits is chock-full of little-known facts and tantalizing tales. Margo digs deep to find the obscure bits of English history and writes about them with a light whimsical touch.
This lovely Georgian city which was Jane Austen’s residence was also home to a darker, scarier giant of literature: Frankenstein’s monster.
Today mummies haunt us at Halloween and in horror stories, but the Victorians used to keep them in the parlor and unroll them at parties…
The British love their tea, but what is tea anyway? The word tea might refer to a drink, a light afternoon meal, or a dinner…
King Arthur’s Round Table is legendary. But maybe it wasn’t Arthur’s idea at all and maybe it wasn’t to show equality either…
A window in Winchester Cathedral tells the story of a war and of people putting things back together…
It’s not unusual for angels to adorn a church, but on Bath Abbey the angels are climbing on ladders and some of them are even upside down…
Eight lessons we learned on our canal boat holiday…
Could reading Jane Austen calm a troubled soul? Maybe. After World War I, her books were prescribed for solders suffering from PTSD…
Southwest England has more chalk horse carvings than anywhere else in the world. Let’s take a look at two of them: the Uffington and Westbury horses.
Gazing upon Stonehenge, you have to wonder how ancient people moved these large stones. In the Middle Ages, Merlin the Magician was credited with it.
Glastonbury’s story is a mixture of history, myth, and legend. Mixed all together, they make a rousing tale about the Holy Grail, the Holy Thorn, and more…
Was King Arthur real? Modern historians dismiss him as a myth, but in 1191 monks at Glastonbury Abbey seemed to prove otherwise when they found his tomb.
Florence Nightingale, the lamp-carrying nurse who cared for wounded soldiers, also wrote and used infographics to get her point across.
The bowler was a gamekeeper’s hat that moved into all social classes. Later, it became the trademark of the City Gent and part of the British stereotype.
Jonas Hanway’s life was full of adventures and good deeds, but he is most remembered as being the first man to carry an umbrella on the streets of London.
St. George, England’s patron saint, is represented as an English knight who kills a dragon. But was George really British, and did he really fight dragons?
An unusual carved rabbit in northern England might be the inspiration for the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, but he also has his own story.
The story behind two London lampposts: One reminds us of Coco Chanel’s great love affair, the other of London’s Great Stink.
St. James’s Park is the place to go in London to see lots birds and waterfowl. This royal park has long been home to many species of water-loving birds.
Medieval churches all over Europe are decorated with carved, leaf-covered faces called Green Men. But who they are and why they are there remains a mystery…
Crop circles have fascinated us for years. While some people are convinced they are supernaturally constructed, others claim they are all manmade hoaxes…
In eighteenth-century London, illegal gin was sold from a strange precursor of the vending machine which bore the image of a cat.
In 1847 Tom Smith was inspired by French candies and crackling logs. He put them together and the Christmas cracker was born.
Paddington Bear, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, and Harry Potter: Two bears + two boys = four beloved children’s characters who have statues in London…
King Bladud, the 9th King of the Britons, is known for two very different things: First, he (and his pigs) discovered the healing powers of
You can have an (almost) authentic Roman bath experience in Bath, England…
There’s an almost exact copy of da Vinci’s Last Supper in London…
Bluebells have a long association with fairies…
Do you ever feel that something is eating up your time? Well, you’re right, and it’s in Cambridge…
Find out why Greenwich, UK sets the time for the world…
Did you ever get a gift you really didn’t want? Or one that was just too big to carry home?…
Boudica was a British Queen who took on the Roman army in 60 AD. – and she almost won…
In the UK, the 26th of December is a public holiday known as Boxing Day…
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens might just be the best known Christmas story out there. Find out the story behind the story…
Winnie the Pooh – How did this cute little bear get his name?
According to legend, if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the Crown and Britain will surely fall…
The first pelicans in the park were gifts from Russia more than 350 years ago…
Fish and Chips. This tasty twosome has been a British favorite since the Victorian times…
When you’re in the train station and see lots of women wearing fancy hats and men in top hats and tails, it can mean only one thing: It’s time for the Royal Ascot horse races…
In case you haven’t yet had your fill of wedding news, here are seven curious royal wedding traditions that you might not know about…
Keep Calm and Carry On posters were designed for WW II but didn’t come into public view until…
When the River Thames used to freeze over, Londoners would have a party…
How “Boney” Bonaparte went from being a little pest to a child-eating ogre…
January 1 has been known as New Year’s Day since the Roman times. But that didn’t necessarily mean it was the first day of the new year…
When wandering through a Christmas market on a chilly winter’s day, nothing tastes better or warms you up like a hot, spiced cider…
How a tomb inspired a British icon – and how it must adapt to remain relevant.
Are you superstitious? How do you feel about the number 13 and black cats?
About 200 years ago, the people of Hartlepool, England hung a monkey. And they are proud of it…
British kings and queens and their long relationship with swans…
We had all gathered there to hear Big Ben’s final chimes – at least for a while…
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting several sites decorated by Jean Cocteau on the French Riviera, but I was surprised to find his work in the center of London…
In October 1958 a book was published about a little Peruvian bear who showed up at Paddington Station in London, England…
In my recent travels to Manchester, England, I saw bees everywhere. I couldn’t help but wonder where these bees had come from and what they were all about…
Did the French invent the method of making champagne? Or was it the British?
For about 600 years the Tower of London was home to the royal menagerie: Lions, tigers, bears, kangaroos, and many other animals lived there…
In twelfth-century England, two very strange visitors arrived. They looked like normal children – except that their skin was tinged green…
Legend says that the first cup of tea was brewed in China around 2500 BC quite by accident…
If, like me, you enjoy history and a good cup of tea, there’s a place in London you shouldn’t miss: Twinings tea shop at 216 Strand has it all – wrapped up in one tidy little rectangle of a retail space…
British Christmas pantos are filled with slapstick humor, cross-dressing actors, jokes about current events, and audience participation…
Christmas pudding and mince pies are a big part of the British holiday season. Let’s have a look at these two essentially British desserts…
Could Big Ben’s chimes have played a part in winning World War II? At least one Nazi official thought so…
The Great Fire of 1666 destroyed 80% of London. Who could have been responsible for this devastation?
On October 17, 1814, tragedy struck central London. A flood tore through the streets, knocking down buildings and sweeping people away. But the liquid causing the havoc wasn’t water… it was beer!…
In the mid 1900s, if you had asked nearly any British person what a Frenchman looked like, you would have gotten this description: He wears a beret, and he rides a bike with onions hanging on the handlebars…
It seems that the British National Anthem could be yet another link in the intertwined histories of the United Kingdom and France…
What does the month of May have to do with the call of distress? Nothing really, it’s just an example of how words slip from one language into another. The distress call actually came from the French phrase, “m’aidez”…
Remember, remember the 5th of November…A British revolutionary executed in 1605 comes back as the face of the Anonymous movement.
The Promenade des Anglais, affectionately known as “the Prom”, is one of the most beautiful seaside boulevards to be found and lucky me, I live
Queen Victoria spent her winters on the French Riviera. While there, she could let her hair down and relax, often touring around in a little donkey cart.
If you have ever visited Nice, France, you may have been startled by a very loud noon time boom. It occurs every day at precisely 12.00 and is a remnant from the Victorian times, when a British wife couldn’t remember to go home for lunch.
In continuing the theme of linguistic differences between American and British English, we must talk about food. And since dessert is my favourite part of any meal, it is as good a place to start as any…
The English Language, still causing confusion After the last post, I received some funny stories, some from the British point of view, so I thought
When we moved to England from America, I didn’t expect any problems with the language. After all, English is my mother tongue…
It seems that my thoughts are focused on the weather these days. Thank goodness I have a nice warm apartment because I have no desire
I knew that I had been shut up in the apartment for too long when a trip to the dentist sounded like a fun day