Category Archives: This sceptred isle

Widows were a constant feature of village life as a child. Sometimes they were war widows, one lady had survived a Japanese prison camp, her husband had not survived. Others seemed to have husbands who had returned, but who did … Continue reading →

It was on this day in 1536 that Henry VIII married Jane Seymour, the third of his six wives. On Friday, a song about Henry’s wives came down the corridor from one of the history classrooms, “Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, … Continue reading →

Advocates of inclusion are often those who will be least affected by the policies they advocate. Halting sites, social housing schemes, rehabilitation centres are seen as laudable enterprises, provided they do not affect the ambience of middle class areas, provided … Continue reading →

The Year 7 lesson was on karma and rebirth. The four Year 7 classes I teach engaged with the ideas with the same bubbly enthusiasm with which they engage with the rest of life. They designed their own samsara drawings, … Continue reading →

The BBC report of a 1913 menu being found during renovation work at a Liverpool cafe shows there is a long tradition of using cuisine as a mark of social class. How many Liverpool diners would have been familiar with … Continue reading →