Author Archives: John Pullen

I remember well the month of April 1986. I was on a ship off the coast of Belgium making a documentary film on the laying of a new transatlantic communications cable. One afternoon the captain of the vessel called me up to the bridge and told me that he would be ordering all portholes toContinue reading “The Mysterious Black Bird of Chernobyl”

This strange event happened to the small American town of Beebe on New year’s day 2011. The bodies covered an area of approximately one square mile. They were everywhere; in gardens, on roads, pavements, everywhere.     So, what was it that caused this mysterious event?     Medical examination of the birds showed that they hadContinue reading “It’s Raining Birds”

Who hasn’t imagined finding treasure? Probably most of us have allowed that dream to drift into our minds. We might think that we might have to dig it up or use a metal detector to find it. But in this mysterious story, the couple who discovered treasure did nothing else but pick up a rustyContinue reading “The £10 Million Rusty Can”

The oceans on this planet are vast and can also be mysterious. From time to time, ships and aircraft go missing and a few are never found again. But this is a story in which the ship is found safe and sound but the crew and passengers have disappeared. The ship in question is theContinue reading “The Most Famous Ghost Ship in History”

One of the early airlines to operate scheduled European flights from North-East London and on the borders of Essex (Stapleford Aerodrome to be exact) flourished from 1934 to 1939. It was known as Hillman Airways and was started by a bus and coach operator in the region, Edward Henry Hillman. They operated twin-engine DH RapidesContinue reading “The Girls who Fell to Earth”

Most people have some knowledge of the giant meteor which hit the Earth some 66 million years ago and wiping out the dinosaurs as well as many other species. Researchers have discovered the impact zone in Central America and scientists have provided us with much information about its effect on the planet. But because itContinue reading “Fire in the Sky”

This is the first in a new series of Blog Articles which I have been researching for a few weeks. The themes are the mainly unsolved mysteries of people, places and events in history. Over the years we have become used to hearing about “lost tribes” in the Amazon Jungle. They have been able toContinue reading “The Remotest Place of Earth”

Apologies for the gap in blog articles. I have been in Jamaica for a holiday. It has been a long time in coming. Astley’s Amphitheatre has a claim to fame – it boasts that it is the site of the first circus. The Romans might wish to argue this point with their gladiatorial contests butContinue reading “London’s Other Amphitheatre”

Jenny’s Whim couldn’t really be described as an inn although it did sell ale and other alcoholic beverages. Officially it was a teahouse but that doesn’t tell even half the story. Some might have said it had more connections to a brothel but that didn’t quite fit either. But, however it is described, it wasContinue reading “Jenny’s Whim”

In the sixteenth century there were a number of taverns situated in Fleet Street. In fact, the parish of St Dunstan was said to have been home to twenty-six inns. But one of the more famous was The Devil’s Tavern located at number 1 Fleet Street. The inn has an association which makes it veryContinue reading “A Devil of a Tavern”