Ella Fitzgerald was one of the most recognized voices in jazz history. Named “The First Lady of Song,” Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for almost 60 years. In her lifetime, she won 13 Grammy Awards and sold over 40 million albums. This year, she would have turned 100. … Continue reading “Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady Of Song”
On 9 April, Scotland celebrates National Unicorn Day, in honour of the country’s national animal. Unicorns may be mythical creatures but that doesn’t stop them being represented all over Scotland, and in the country’s coat of arms. This 2m willow sculpture was created specially for National Unicorn Day by artist Woody Fox, and has been … Continue reading “Unicorn Day”
This year on Earth Day, April 22, Washington D.C. will lead many other cities around the world in a March for Science. The organisers say that more than ever scientists need to be supported in the face of climate-change sceptics. As Earth Day approaches its 50th anniversary, the planet’s environment is still under threat. Since … Continue reading “Earth Day”
On 15 March, millions of people in Britain will be “doing something funny for money”… and wearing some very strange red noses. Red Nose Day was started in 1988 by Comic Relief, a collective of comedians that had formed in 1985 to do benefit shows to fundraise for victims of famine in Ethiopia. It could … Continue reading “Red Nose Day: A Very British Tradition”
2 March is World Book Day, so grab a book, or bring some book-based fun into your classroom. World Book Day is a United Nations initiative but it’s especially big in the UK, where it is an occasion to encourage children in particular to read. Schools sign up for schemes where pupils are given £1 … Continue reading “Time to Read: World Book Day”
Valentine’s Day, 14 February, is the day to spread some love. Not necessarily romance, friendship is also celebrated. Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries. Its origins date back to Roman times, spring fertility festivals and two early Christian martyrs associated with love. But each country has its own variations, and special quirks. I Love … Continue reading “With Love from Loveland on Valentine’s Day”
The Shetland Islands are the northernmost part of the U.K., and belonged to Norway until 1468. So it’s no surprise that the highpoint in the Shetland cultural calendar is a spectacular Viking fire festival in January: Up Helly Aa. On the last Tuesday of January, a thousand costumed men pull a Viking longship through Lerwick … Continue reading “Shetland Viking Fire Festival”
Australians celebrate their national day on 26 January, the anniversary of the first British colonisation of the continent in 1788. On 26 January, 1788, the British flag was first flown over the penal colony that was to be established at Sydney Cove. It marked the end of a nine-month journey for the 1,500 people, half … Continue reading “Australia Day”
Two hundred years on, the three Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, are still some of the best-loved novelists Britain has produced. Their enduring classics Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall conquer new readers in each generation and have inspired many other writers and artists. The bicentenary of their births, from … Continue reading “Brontë Anniversaries”
Sixty years ago, on 20 December, 1956, Martin Luther King and his fellow campaigners won a first victory in the long battle for African-American civil rights. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, which had begun when Rosa Parks famously refused to move to the back of the bus, finally ended after 381 days, when the Supreme Court … Continue reading “Montgomery Bus Boycott: A Victory for Civil Rights”