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It’s obvious that aircraft need fuel or else they wouldn’t be able to fly. But when an airline captain is calculating how much fuel will be required for a flight, he or she will never say, “Just fill it up.” Why? Surely the sensible thing is to take as much fuel as necessary? Well, no.Continue reading “Why Pilots never say “Fill Her Up””

The River Thames flows through the centre of London and is known pretty much the world over. However, not so many people know that there are a lot of smaller rivers and streams which feed into it. Some no longer exist and many others are built over and now flow underground before reaching the Thames.Continue reading “A Hidden River of London”

London is known for many things and one of them is its shopping. It is home to many famous stores including Harrods and Selfridges. Another world-famous shop is just off Regent Street and is called Liberty. You couldn’t fail to recognise it as it looks like a huge Tudor mansion. But there is a lotContinue reading “HMS Liberty – the Shop made from Ships”

The modern City of London is built on the site of the Roman settlement of Londinium when the Romans had conquered Britain close to 2,000 years ago. Whenever excavations are undertaken in the city, it quite often uncovers echoes from the past. And when the structure known as the Gherkin was being built, the remainsContinue reading “The Grave of a Roman Girl”

The Moon is not a planet. It orbits the Earth and is our only natural satellite. But it is a special object and has a few amazing facts attached to it. And that is why it deserves its own blog article.     The Moon is big. It’s not the biggest satellite in the solar systemContinue reading “Astronomy – The Moon”

Drummers do not usually become the focus of a band. There have been exceptions, of course, such as Jon Bonham and Cozy Powell as well as others. Another drummer who rose to become a rock legend was Keith Moon of The Who.     He was born in Wembley, North London on the 23rd August 1946Continue reading “Famous People – Keith Moon”

Sigmund Freud is probably best remembered as the founder of psychoanalysis. Although there are many detractors of his theories, students of psychology are still taught the subject and it is used in some aspects of therapy work.     He was born on the 6th may 1856 in Freiberg in Moravia which is now a partContinue reading “Famous People – Sigmund Freud”

Vincent Van Gough today is one of the world’s best loved artists and his paintings are highly praised and exhibited in galleries around the world. But when he was alive, he was rarely able to sell many of his works. In fact he was broke for much of the time and he had a shortContinue reading “Famous People – Vincent Van Gough”

The moment Jimi Hendrix picked up his first electric guitar, the sound it produced would be changed forever. He made the instrument do things that had not been envisioned and he achieved all this within four years. Even more amazing was the fact that he could neither read nor write music.     Born Johnny AllenContinue reading “Famous People – Jimi Hendrix”

Sutton House is said to be the oldest house in Hackney and the second oldest in the whole of the East End of London. It can be dated back to 1535 when it was built for Sir Ralph Sadleir who was then the Principal Secretary of State to King Henry VIII. Its original name wasContinue reading “The Haunted House of Hackney”