Sometimes I feel like I am living in the movie Groundhog Day. No, I do not mean the monotonousness of this monthly (or rather bi-monthly) review, but rather how Britain has now entered another lock-down due to the rise of infection of coronavirus. Happily, however, the college remains open and so the impact on education […]
From an academic perspective, the start of September marks the end of both the summer and the passing of one year to the next. I have more than likely blabbered previously about how I have always looked at the year in terms of September to July, rather than the calendar year of January to December: […]
Today marks a couple of occasions. The first is the regular Independence Day celebrations, marking the declaration of independence when the American colonies cut the cord of their attachment to the British Empire. The second occasion is in the opening of pubs and bars up and down the country, almost fitting as if Britain was […]
Wow, what a difference a couple of months makes. Back in early March I was plodding along with usual life and now in early May I’m about to enter a sixth week of lock-down during the coronavirus. Those more innocent and naive days of early March started with posts relating to the (very delightful) Politics […]
2020 has, so far, been a rather busy year of scares. A potential outbreak of World War III, bush fires in Australia, mad flooding in England, and now a coronavirus outbreak taking hold across the globe. Meanwhile, I continue on with the eclectic posts in my own little bubble engaging in historical debates and curiosities […]
October has been an oddly productive month in terms of writing and editing various historical pieces. This has, in part, been due to the use of a full week’s half-term break to fritter away as I pleased, but also because of the darkening evenings which have encouraged me to stay in my warm homely cocoon. […]
Well, September saw me emerge out of the summer bubble of individual research to emerge – as a butterfly – back into the world of college life. I’m currently into the fourth teaching week of the new academic year, and it has been a time of settling in the new groups before pushing onward with […]
The summer is over – it is official. I have enjoyed the last few weeks immensely, especially with regard to reading history books, researching with freedom into various topics, in writing articles and uploading a short eBook on Ralph Wilford, as well as in visiting sites of historical interest. Now that September is upon us […]
I have entered the third week of the universe I inhabit during the summer break: a post-college world of the summer holiday, where I have time to read, to research, and to visit historical sites of the significant and insignificant. So far I’ve been “productive” in finishing reading Schama’s excellent Citizens (a chronicle of the […]
The weather is heating up and the Summer Solstice has come and gone. June 2019 saw the end of the A-level exams, as well as closure on all other teaching modules and classes. As a teacher, I have now entered a bizarre time on the academic calendar: with no real purpose in terms of teaching, […]
Summer is here and the sun is out: all of this is great news for visits to historical sites of interest and general geocaching adventures. However, it is not good news for reading and general updating of the blog; both of those things require rainy weather to give ample opportunity for quiet contemplation and reflection. […]
You know what, I really enjoyed April: a month of interesting and mixed weather along with two weeks away from the classroom. This meant lots of day trips and visits to places of historical interest, some of which will hopefully find a space and home on the pages of this blog in the near future. […]
March 2019 completed the twelve month to mark a whole year of the blog’s existence; something which I am quite happy with, what with my track record of previous failed ventures. March brought a few different posts, ranging from activities attempted in the classroom to the more classic “nuts and bolts” of local history. The […]
The hottest February, so we are told. Last year was snow, and this year was sunshine. Outside Brexit rages on and political parties appear to be fragmenting, but in the world of Dave Does History we continue onward into odd avenues of history. In February I uploaded several posts of my visits and walking adventures […]
The first month of the brand new year is up. In many ways it has flashed by, although in other ways it seems as if it has been one big Christmas/New Year hang-over. In terms of the blog it has been a fruitful month of posts ranging from family history in east London to oddly […]
2018 has given way to 2019: a whole new year ahead of blogging about elements of history from the important to the, well, pointless. But what about the month that was here? Here is a brief recap of December’s posts. There are a couple of Cornish related posts to feast upon: one concerned with my […]
And so that was November, a month of various dates of historical significance – Remembrance Sunday, Guy Fawkes Night, Thanksgiving. With the days shortening and the nights becoming longer we plunge into the darkness of December. But enough of such talk, what about what happened on this blog throughout the month of November? Three posts […]
Teachers generally break up the year not in terms of January to December, or in terms of the seasons, but rather in terms of the milestones that are half-term breaks. October saw the culmination of one half-term – and the change from September – with the end of seven weeks of teaching and the chance […]
September saw the birth of a new academic year and a return to the classroom. It is always positive to see new classes settling in and new ideas discussed/debate/argued (delete as appropriate according to the setting, class, and the topic!). I discussed the new return of the year in the post – imaginatively titled – […]