This week Tesco apologised for an advert that promoted the drinking of alcohol on Good Friday. It is the latest attempt to commercialise a religious holiday which, along with Christmas Day, predates the Bank Holidays Act of 1871. It is the most solemn occasion in the church’s calendar, marking the crucifixion of Jesus. In recent […]

This week saw reports of a eight-year old girl raised by monkeys in Uttar Pradesh. Inevitably the media compared her to Mowgli, a fictitious example selected ahead of those presented as fact. In 1852 Colonel William Sleeman documented seven cases of wolf boys in India. Other reports followed, in memoirs, correspondence, lectures, and newspapers. John […]

Recently I watched the attached clip of Yassmin Abdel-Magied, which highlighted the issue of unconscious bias. Every day we unwittingly make judgements on the people around us, based on our perceptions not fact. Every day I travel to work on a crowded train and watch as new passengers decide whether to sit next to a stranger […]

Recently I read two very different biographies of Walter Sickert. The first was completed in 1942 by one of his students, Robert Emmons, whilst Sickert was still alive. The other was released this year and is essentially an update of Patricia Cornwell’s 2003 study. Emmons describes an arrogant and eccentric but likeable character with poor interpersonal skills […]

The police are currently looking for a man who stole the identity of a British Doctor and practised in New South Wales for a decade. There is a historical precedent in the form of a man who spent five decades working in British and Australian hospitals under assumed names. Known to history as Andrew John […]

This week’s announcement that the original Cybermen will return in the new series of Doctor Who is great for fans but does nothing for a general audience. The plethora of television channels, dwindling attention spans and streaming of favourites make it harder than ever for established shows to attract new viewers. Between 1966 and 1988 […]

  “To no man will we sell, to one deny or delay right or justice.” The core principle, from Magna Carta in 1215, should be followed in all aspects of law. Today in Britain some people are denied justice, and not just because the police say they haven’t got the resources to tackle petty crime. […]

This week I read about a Newcastle United fan who brought 14 return tickets for a rail journey to Oxford and saved £30 on the cost of a standard ticket. Fare levels in the British railway industry fluctuate between the outrageously expensive, usually inflicted on regular commuters, and the ridiculously cheap. Some years ago companies operating […]

On 17 February 1894, the Sun newspaper published the last in a series of five articles which accused a lunatic of being Jack the Ripper. The British tabloids have a longstanding tradition of blending fiction and speculation, and this is a fine early example. The value to researchers lies in the response. Chief Constable Melville […]