This Britain

Minor British Institutions: Motorway service stations

British motorway service stations have names – Cullompton, Birchanger Green, Charnock Richard – full of the wistful harking back that takes up a lot of our time and tablemats.

Inside This Britain

Drogo, Britain's youngest castle, faces a battle for survival

Friday, 11 February 2011

Jonathan Brown: Julius Drewe was just 33 when he decided to cash in and spend the rest of his life playing the country squire.

Outrage after theft of Waterloo battlefield cross

Wednesday, 9 February 2011

John Lichfield: A celebrated wooden cross, which survived a raging inferno has been stolen from the battlefield.

Nice weather for ducks (and swans)

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Parts of York were flooded yesterday after a weekend of heavy rainfall in North Yorkshire. Only last week the Yorkshire Flood Defence Committee decided to defer schemes to combat flooding in York, Leeds and Thirsk. The Leeds scheme alone would have cost £180m.

Handbagged: the jewel thieves foiled by a passing pensioner

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

A woman in a red coat, dubbed the handbag heroine, has apparently fought off robbers armed with sledgehammers during a raid on a jewellery store.

Clowns meet to honour the greatest of them all

Monday, 7 February 2011

Clowns from all over the world gathered yesterday to celebrate the life of Joseph Grimaldi, the famous English clown. The service, at Holy Trinity Church in Dalston, east London has been held every year since 1946 in honour of Grimaldi, who lived from 1778 to 1837. Grimaldi, who, as Joey the clown, delighted audiences, was born in London, the son of an Italian pantomime artist getty

The day the bookworms turned

Sunday, 6 February 2011

Nina Lakhani: On a day of action to save the nation's libraries, the quiet dignity of protesters in one small village in Middle England speaks volumes. And the historic building they are fighting for is at the heart of their community.

Minor British Institutions: The Best Man

Saturday, 5 February 2011

Does any other untrained figure assume greater responsibility in British Life than The Best Man? Well, the Prime Minister, possibly, but he has rather more help. The Best Man, though, is expected to marry the organisational ability of Lynda Snell with the entertainment skills of Ken Dodd, the diplomacy of a Curzon with the decisiveness of a Cowell.

A growing trend: Why seed swaps are taking root

Saturday, 5 February 2011

News of an event called Seedy Sunday – involving plant-based substances and a visit from Special Branch – to be held in Brighton and Hove may lead you to recall those immortal words of Keith Waterhouse: "Brighton looks like a town that is constantly helping the police with their inquiries."

Time for some Brit hero worship

Tuesday, 1 February 2011

From villains to superheroes... our boys 'do good'

Record year for plastic surgery

Monday, 31 January 2011

Breast reductions for men helped push up the numbers of Britons going under the knife according to new figures. A total of 38,274 procedures were carried out in 2010 – up 5% on 2009 according to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS).

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