Category Archives: Uncategorized

Well I haven’t posted for quite some time. Does this mean I’m a very busy writer or just a disorganised one? While I’ve been away I’ve completed two articles for the Saunière Society’s Journal . One about the mystery teenager … Continue reading →

The phrase ‘all nations have the right to self-determination’ has been around for one hundred years since it was first coined by American president Woodrow Wilson as he prepared to sail to Europe for the Paris Peace conference of 1919. … Continue reading →

Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler in the House of Habsburg. An absolutist monarch, she nevertheless introduced a series of reforms across the Habsburg dominions that saw the lives of the peasants improved to a degree … Continue reading →

In these troubled times it is sometime good to remember those who work for peace. Bertha von Suttner was a writer, pacifist and the first women to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Bertha Felicitas Sophie Freifrau von Suttner (Baroness Bertha von … Continue reading →

In January 1649, the English rump parliament put King Charles I on trial for treason and other high crimes. By the end of the Civil War, Charles was imprisoned in Windsor castle while the parliament discussed what to do with … Continue reading →

So Christmas has come and gone. Good food and good company shared round an open fire. New Year approaches with a further chance for great stories over a glass of wine. But who to invite? My ‘New Year Three’ would … Continue reading →

In December 1952, a thick smog, known locally as a pea-souper, engulfed London. Although no stranger to fogs and mists, the city is built on marshy land, the pea-souper of 1952 was to prove so devastating that is caused a … Continue reading →

The Dutch famine of 1944–45 was the result of a perfect storm of conditions that ravaged the western part of the country. Brutal weather, decisions by the Dutch Government in exile, the German army’s decision to destroy bridges and docks … Continue reading →

The Congress of Vienna in 1814-15 politically realigned Europe after Napoleon’s defeat. The main goal was to resize the nations within Europe creating a balance of power and, it was hoped, a lasting peace. Some countries, such as France, lost … Continue reading →

The Finnish civil war of 1918 was, it could be argued, the key event in the nation’s history. A decisive break with Russia, which had controlled Finland since 1809, the war led Finland ultimately to independence. The war lasted barely … Continue reading →