Lifestyle topics
My father took the surrender of the Third Reich. Yes, truly. It happened like this. My father was a Squadron Leader in the Royal Air Force, duty officer on the day in question on a North German airfield occupied by the British in 1945. Hitler had committed suicide and Admiral Doenitz had taken over as …
Continue reading ‘Some light relief: a little unknown bit of history’ »
My wife and I have been in Sicily. During our visit we stayed at an olive farm, set in beautiful countryside. The farm produces five varieties of olive oil, plus a blend, all of which we tried while enjoying the wonderful food for which Sicily is famous. What we didn’t know while we stayed there …
The use of birdfeeders in gardens has dramatically increased the diversity of the birds living in Britain’s urban areas, a new study has found. The British Trust for Ornithology said that at least half of home-owners feed garden birds – a trend that started to take off in the 1970s – and this now supports …
Continue reading ‘A nice, harmless report that isn’t about wrecking civilisation!’ »
Nearly 25% of UK teachers say they are physically attacked by pupils at least once a week, a study by the NASUWT union has found. The report found that 89% have suffered physical or verbal abuse in the past year, and 49% say that at their school it is considered part of the job. The …
The Italian Mafia has made €3bn over the past ten years by siphoning off EU funds intended for farmers within Sicily’s largest national park, according to a former director of the park, who survived a Mafia assassination attempt in 2016. In his new book, Giuseppe Antoci claims that Cosa Nostra clans use threats to deter …
Continue reading ‘Mafia steals billions: surprise, surprise’ »
