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On 8th May 1945 Victory in Europe was declared. In the UK people poured onto the streets, and from the balcony of Buckingham Palace the King and Prime Minister joined in the celebrations of a hard-won victory over tyranny. But Europe was a continent in ruins. Some regions were on the brink of famine and the […] The post Now let’s win the peace appeared first on Turn the Page.

On Christmas Day 1859 Thomas Austin, a British ex-pat, gave Australia a gift they have never forgotten. He was missing his old hunting traditions and so asked his family to send him 24 European rabbits that he could breed for hunting. Sadly, he seems to have forgotten that rabbits breed like…well like rabbits. Genetically disposed […] The post Breeding like rabbits appeared first on Turn the Page.

A place for everything and everything in its place. This is the rule by which I try to live my life. It means that I can tell you exactly where things are in my house. This applies to the important stuff like keys, wallet, and passport but also the less important like Sellotape, hole punches, […] The post A place for everything appeared first on Turn the Page.

Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ was so powerful that a number of those involved turned to Christ during its filming. One of those was the actress Sabrina Impacciatore who played the part of Veronica, the woman who steps out of the crowd to wipe Jesus’ blood-stained face as he makes his way […] The post Veronica appeared first on Turn the Page.

Stranded in the Atlantic Ocean RMS Titanic was facing her final few hours. Her hull breached by collision with an iceberg she was shipping more water than she was designed to hold and going down by the bow. On board chaos and confusion reigned with some saying everything would be OK with this unsinkable ship, […] The post Let the light shine appeared first on Turn the Page.

On 1st April 1957 the BBC scheduled an edition of its iconic Panorama programme. The subject was the harvesting of the Swiss spaghetti crop. It was narrated by perhaps the most famous broadcaster of the day Richard Dimbleby. While his serious tones described the process of picking and drying the spaghetti, the film showed a Swiss […] The post April fool? appeared first on Turn the Page.

Two men have been fined and ordered to do unpaid work after vandalising a statue of Paddington Bear. Pronouncing sentence, the judge told them that they were the antithesis of everything the bear stood for – kindness, tolerance and acceptance. While the label on Paddington’s coat reads ‘please look after this bear’, the behaviour of […] The post Please look after this bear appeared first on Turn the Page.

In 2019 Edward Spencer-Churchill reviewed the security arrangements for a solid gold toilet at Blenhiem Palace. It was part of an art installation. He announced that it would not be ‘the easiest thing to nick’. Sadly, he was wrong as thieves broke in and made off with it during a raid lasting less than five […] The post Flushed away appeared first on Turn the Page.

In a recent interview Lady Gaga admitted that for many years her biggest fear was of being alone. In 2017 she confessed ‘I go from everyone touching me all day and talking at me all day to total silence.’ She said, ‘I think my biggest fear was doing life on my own’. She’s now happily […] The post Stop the crowd appeared first on Turn the Page.

‘It’s going to be a spicy one’. So said Russ Cook, otherwise known as the Hardest Geezer, as he announced his latest challenge – to run the length of New Zealand. He earned his nickname after running the length of Africa in just 352 days – a gruelling journey through sixteen countries over mountains and […] The post Hardest geezer appeared first on Turn the Page.

When 18-year-old Donovan Shears sent a text message to a number he had just made up he wasn’t expecting a reply. It was 1998 and he had his first mobile phone that could send text messages. So, he made up some numbers and fired off the simple greeting ‘hullo’. One recipient was another 18-year-old called […] The post Call me appeared first on Turn the Page.

Both outgoing and incoming American Presidents have been generous with their displays of forgiveness. Four years ago, the clear up was in full swing after the storming of the Capitol on 6th January 2020. Some 1,600 people were convicted, some for violent assault. Now Trump has set them all free. Perhaps even more surprising, however, is […] The post Forgiveness for all! appeared first on Turn the Page.

As we know the universe is governed by certain laws. One concerns putting away Christmas tree decorations: only when you have packed them all away will you find one you missed. I have done this so many times that I have grown wise. I pack the boxes and then wait several days. I just know […] The post Don’t pack Christmas away too soon appeared first on Turn the Page.

With Gen Z leading the charge 2024 is going to be another year where the cost of Christmas is loaded onto credit cards. But when did our love affair with credit begin?  Back in the 1950’s the Bank of America sent an unsolicited credit card to every one of its 60,000 customers. Known as the […] The post Free credit at Christmas appeared first on Turn the Page.

You won’t be surprised to discover that we spend a lot of our lives waiting for things. According to some research, we spend on average 20 minutes a day waiting for a bus or train, 32 minutes every time we visit the Dr, 13 hours a year on hold, and 38 hours a year stuck […] The post Worth the wait? appeared first on Turn the Page.

Reporting on the resignation of Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, a BBC reporter referred to the Church of England as a ‘fading institution’. A cursory glance at the statistics from the last few decades surely bears this out. Perhaps we should not be surprised. Over the centuries church institutions have come and gone, not […] The post A fading institution appeared first on Turn the Page.

Jesus once got lost. At least that’s what his parents thought. They were returning from a festival in Jerusalem to their home in Nazareth and travelling with a large company of family and friends. Mary thought Jesus was with Joseph and he thought he was with her. It took a day to realise that he […] The post Where is home? appeared first on Turn the Page.

Jesus told a story about a man who had two sons. One day the younger son demanded his inheritance, in effect telling his father ‘I wish you were dead!’. Surprisingly his father agreed, and the son was soon far from home and splashing the cash on parties for his newfound friends. Before long, however, the […] The post No way back? appeared first on Turn the Page.

Many years ago, I volunteered at a night shelter for the homeless in Bristol. One man in particular stayed in my mind. He stood out because he was smartly dressed wearing a jacket and tie and carried a small bag of possessions. Thoughtful and articulate he explained that this was a way of life he […] The post Choosing to leave home appeared first on Turn the Page.

When the USS Enterprise launched in September 1966 ‘to boldy go’ where no one had gone before, it didn’t actually go very far. The idea of exploring the Milky Way was one of pure imagination far beyond the bounds of possibility. Fast forward nearly 60 years and how much has changed. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos […] The post To boldly go appeared first on Turn the Page.