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Balzac’s Sarrasine tells the story of a young woman’s wonder at the strange appearance of an old man at a party in Paris. Balzac has tremendous fun describing the man. First his clothes: he is wearing ‘a white waistcoat embroidered with gold’ and ‘a shirt-frill of English lace, yellow with age, the magnificence of which a queen might have envied’. Then the face: ‘That dark face was full of angles and furrowed deep in every direction; the chin was furrowed; there were great hollows at the temples; the eyes were sunken in yellow orbits. The maxillary bones, which his indescribable...

A yellowing manuscript by J.R.R.Tolkien discovered in an Oxford library could become one of the publishing sensations of 2003. The 2000 handwritten pages include Tolkien's translation and appraisal of Beowulf, the epic 8th century Anglo-Saxon poem of bravery, friendship and monster-slaying that is thought to have inspired The Lord of the Rings. He borrowed from early English verse to concoct the imaginary language spoken by Arwen, played by Liv Tyler, and other elves in the second film made from the Rings books, The Two Towers. A US academic, Michael Drout, found the Tolkien material by accident in a box of...

For the first time in a lifetime of political analysis, I find myself lost for words. Nothing I write can do justice to the calamity that Britain's Labour Party has just inflicted on itself. The best I can do, to give you a sense of the man newly elected as Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition, is to summarize some of his opinions. Jeremy Corbyn is happy to talk to Irish Republican Army men, avowed anti-Semites and Hezbollah militants; but he refuses "out of principle" to talk to the Sun newspaper, a right-wing tabloid. He campaigns for the national rights of...

Hijrah. Learn the word. Understand it and never forget it. Because Hijrah accurately describes the trojan horse scenario unfolding in Europe. In the year 622 the Islamic prophet Muhammad set out on the first Hijrah. What is a Hijrah? In short, it’s the act if migrating to other parts of the world with the intention of spreading the grip of Islam.

Eight hundred years ago, one of the world's most important documents was born. Issued by King John of England in 1215, the Magna Carta ("Great Charter") acknowledged the rights of citizens and set restrictions on the power of the king. The Magna Carta has influenced the structures of modern democracies, including the writ of habeas corpus of the U.S. Constitution... According to Treharne, her research suggests the Salisbury Magna Carta was not just received and preserved at Salisbury, but that the Salisbury Magna Carta was written at Salisbury by one of the cathedral's own scribes. She recently co-published her findings...

Angry parents sending death threats on social media to their children's teachers, shocking survey reveals [ Full title ]. Parents are sending death threats to their children's teachers on social media, a shocking new survey has revealed. Three out of four teachers in in the U.K. have said parents’ behavior toward them has become more obnoxious in the last five years. The poll of 796 teachers in England and Wales also revealed that the parents of younger pupils tend to be more verbally aggressive to teachers. And teachers have been subjected to nasty comments about their appearance, weight and sexuality...

A man in London was caught on camera keying an Aston Martin, causing approximately $14,000 in damage, the Metropolitan Police Service said. Authorities published video of the incident on Facebook Monday as an appeal to find the man responsible for the action. “Officers from Hackney would like to trace a man with a baby in a pushchair after he deliberately keyed £9,000 worth of damage to an Aston Martin,” police said.

Update on new law on smoking in cars and other vehicles with someone under 18. From 1 October 2015 it will be illegal to smoke in a car (or other vehicles) with anyone under 18 present. The law is changing to protect children and young people from the dangers of secondhand smoke. Both the driver and the smoker could be fined £50. The law applies to every driver in England and Wales, including those aged 17 and those with a provisional driving licence. The law does not apply if the driver is 17 years old and is on their own...

A mass burial site that may contain 30 victims of the Great Plague has been discovered in the City of London. The skeletons were found during excavation of the Bedlam burial ground at Liverpool Street, which will serve the cross-London Crossrail line. A headstone found nearby was marked 1665. Scientists hope to establish whether bubonic plague or some other pestilence was the cause of death. The skeletons will be analysed by the Museum of London Archaeology. Archaeologists said the fact the individuals appear to have been buried on the same day suggest they were victims of the Plague. Crossrail lead...

The 13th June marks the anniversary of the day Wat Tyler led the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381 into London. The English capital descended into chaos as the peasants burnt and looted the city, cementing the revolt as the most significant peasant uprising in the feudal period of English history. Originating in the South-East of England, it was when the revolt reached London that its significance became apparent. The peasants went on to capture the Tower of London, a feat which had never been done before. Two powerful figures, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the King’s Treasurer, were killed by the...

Picadilly (UK, 1929) Direced by E.A. Dupont. Cast: Anna Mae Wong, Jameson Thomas, Gilda Gray, Charles Laughton, Cyril Ritchard, Hannah Jones. "Just before making his talkie directorial debut with Atlantic, director E.A. DuPont dashed off the silent "backstage" drama Piccadilly. By the time the film was released in 1929, talking pictures had taken a firm hold of the British film industry, obliging DuPont to reshoot much of the picture with dialogue... Feeling threatened by Shosho, Mabel heads to her rival's apartment with blood in her eye. A shot rings out, Shosho falls dead, and Mabel is accused of murder...

A 26-stone woman has claimed that she is going blind after drinking 28 cans of the stimulant drink every dayA woman has claimed that she started to lose her sight after drinking dozens of cans of Red Bull every day. Lena Lupari, 26, has gained so much weight from drinking seven litres of the energy drink that her brain has swollen. The mother-of-three was ingesting 3,000 calories every day and was unaware of the harm she was doing to her body until she collapsed in June. She told the MailOnline: "I used to drink 28 cans of Red Bull...

One of the greats this week. Paul Scofield, Robert Shaw and Susannah York star in this excellent film about the life - and death - of Sir Thomas More... Winner of six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Scofield.

Politically Correct Babel on the ThamesOn July 20th 2015 a new mandatory requirement for employment by the London Metropolitan Police was introduced: applicants must be fluent in a second language other than English. That police force, ‘The Met’, is understandably the UK’s largest.

DJ DEREK, the 73-year-old DJ who appeared at Glastonbury and was one of the first to play reggae in Britain has been missing for three weeks, according to his family. Derek Morris, aka DJ Derek, has played hundreds of sets over the years and worked with high profile artists including Dizzee Rascal and Massive Attack. He recently played at Newton Abbot's Jolly Farmer. Members of the 73-year-old's family say they are extremely worried about him and have informed police. Derek's niece Jennifer says her family has not seen or heard from her uncle in three weeks. Posting on Derek's Facebook...

Demanding to know how the private images got out of the collection in Windsor Castle, the Queen said she felt “betrayed” by “deliberate mischief making”. The nation rallied behind the Queen as she was rocked by cruel Nazi smears. The 89-year-old was said to be “livid” when courtiers told her footage showing her and the Queen Mother giving mock Nazi salutes in 1933 was released to a newspaper by someone with access to the highly restricted Royal Archive. Demanding to know how the private images got out of the collection in Windsor Castle, she said she felt “betrayed” by “deliberate...

Fascinating interview of Stephen Church by John Batchelor. Discussion of the political and military events which led to the Magna Carta and border divisions within the kingdoms of France.

Wessex Archeology says it has in recent years found remains from World War II mess kitchens in the area.Archeologists say they have unearthed several tins filled with U.S. Army bacon and sunscreen at Salisbury Plain, England, home of the famous Stonehenge ruins. Wessex Archeology shared the find on its website in celebration of American Independence Day. Salisbury Plain has been a British military training ground since the early 20th century, but U.S. military forces staged there in preparation for the 1944 invasion of Nazi-occupied France during World War II. "The military has been on Salisbury Plain for decades so it's...

Anti-gay comments could ‘trigger a thought’ in teachers’ minds about possible radicalisation says Nicky Morgan as she outlines anti-terror plans. Mrs Morgan said comments by children that they consider homosexuality to be “wrong” or “evil” could “trigger” concerns from teachers under guidance designed to help schools detect possible radicalisation. Traditionalist Christians said Mrs Morgan’s remarks implied that anyone who raised their children in line with conservative religious teaching on sexuality would now be viewed with suspicion. It follows moves to close two Christian schools after they were judged to have failed the Government’s new “British Values” tests introduced in the...