Document of the Month January 2005
This month’s Document of the Month features the image of a bogus government bond from the imaginary state of Poyais in Central America.
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December 31, 2004
December 30, 2004
End of Year Message from Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon
Released: 30 Dec 2004
Casting a shadow over all else in 2004 is the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that struck in the very last days of the year.
The disaster has overwhelmed several countries in Asia, brought destruction as far away as the East African coast and leaves no country untouched. (more…)
DEC TSUNAMI EARTHQUAKE APPEAL
YOU CAN HELP – EVERY PENNY COUNTS
TSUNAMI EARTHQUAKE DONATE ONLINE
click on link (source) below
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December 29, 2004
Digging for clues to North Berwick’s past
The Scotsman – Edinburgh,Scotland,UK
… shape. A spokeswoman from Historic Scotland said the dig could uncover the earliest evidence yet found of the area’s past. “Archaeologists …
for more go to-
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1470082004
Treasure Trove find while out for a walk
An historic discovery from Scotland’s bronze age past has been made by two children from Edinburgh who handed in an ‘an odd shaped stone’ to the National Museums of Scotland. (more…)
December 24, 2004
HISTORIC CHRISTMAS FACTS FROM www.history.uk.com
…great for Christmas quizzes or pass them on to your friends!
Mid-winter festivals were observed in Britain long before Christianity reached our shores. In ancient Britain, the Winter Solstice (near December 22) was seen as a turning point in the cold dark months. Rituals were held to encourage the return of the sun and banish evil spirits believed to lurk in the bleakest days. On the last day of winter, also called Yule, a huge log was added to a bonfire and people gathered round to summon the sun by singing and dancing. Houses were decorated with green plants, particularly mistletoe and holly, as a symbol of fertility and rebirth the new season would bring.
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Revealed: the Scot who inspired Dickens’ Scrooge
Failing eyesight led to one of Christmas’s favourite characters
JIM MCBETH
HIS name became an aphorism for meanness, but the base nature of Ebenezer Scrooge was inadvertently fashioned by failing light and an author whose eyesight was equally dim.
The real “Scrooge”, an Edinburgh merchant, could not have been more different from his literary counterpart. (more…)
December 18, 2004
THE SCOTS TONGUE
The Scots language, the speech of Lowland Scotland which became distinct from Northern English in the 15th century, was the official language of the kingdom of Scotland until the Parliamentary Union of 1707. (more…)
Treasures of the National Archives
National Covenant, 1638.
The National Covenant was a protest against Charles I’s religious policies. James VI had superimposed bishops on a presbyterian system, but when his son tried to ensure uniform worship in Scotland and England by introducing a new prayer book, there was a riot in St Giles. Charles had already alarmed the nobility by threatening to take back lands they had acquired from the old church. (more…)
December 15, 2004
Send an e-card
To send an e-card please click on one of the thumbnail images below. You will then be able to enter your friend’s name and email address, and add a personalised greeting.
for more go to-
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ecards/