John Welford
Bio
I am a retired librarian, having spent most of my career in academic and industrial libraries.
I write on a number of subjects and also write stories as a member of the "Hinckley Scribblers".
Stories (501/0)
Borley Rectory: "the most haunted house in England"
Borley Rectory was once famous (or notorious) for being “the most haunted house in England”. During the years of its greatest fame, namely the period from 1929 to 1938, it was certainly much haunted by psychical researchers, but whether anything more other-worldly ever happened there is a matter for considerable doubt and conjecture.
By John Welford3 years ago in FYI
The rivalry between Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone (1809-98) and Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81) are generally thought of as the two greatest British Prime Ministers of the 19th century. They were both statesmen and politicians of the highest rank who made enormous contributions to the well-being of their country. And they absolutely loathed each other. It could be said that the greatness of both men was largely due to that loathing, as each was determined to outdo the other over a period of at least thirty years.
By John Welford3 years ago in The Swamp
Classifying Galaxies
Nobody knows how many galaxies there are in the Universe, but astronomers talk in the hundreds of billions, only a tiny fraction of which have been observed from Earth. Between 2000 and 2008, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey produced images of around a million galaxies, and the Hubble Space Telescope has continued to add to that number.
By John Welford3 years ago in FYI
Gandhi's visit to Great Britain in 1931
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) is generally known to history by his honorific title of “Mahatma”, which means “venerable”. It was a well-deserved title, given that he was surely one of the most remarkable figures of the 20th century.
By John Welford3 years ago in The Swamp
Fowey, Cornwall
The southern coast of Cornwall has several river valleys that form wide estuaries as they meet the sea and offer a softer landscape than that of the rocky headlands of the far west and north Cornish coast. One of these estuaries is at Fowey, a few miles east of St Austell.
By John Welford3 years ago in Wander
Fouls in Snooker
Committing fouls in snooker does not do you any good, but the game would be virtually impossible without them! Inducing your opponent to commit a foul is an important part of the game, and it has nothing like the opprobrium associated with, say, diving in the soccer penalty area with a view to getting a cheap goal and a possible sending-off for an opposing player.
By John Welford3 years ago in Unbalanced
The first inhabitants of Scotland
The first inhabitants of Scotland were probably living there before the last Ice Age. However, no trace has been found of any Scots who were quite that early although remains of humans from that time have been discovered elsewhere in the British Isles. It is probable that, as the ice receded, humans would have moved in from the south, in pursuit of the animals that had preceded them.
By John Welford3 years ago in Wander