Latest news with #RichardEnglish
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Looking back on bowling: a game of speed, skill and special shoes
Bowling has always been a favourite pastime and with National Bowling Day this week, we're remembering how we loved to launch those balls down the alley. The Rotary Club annual kids' day out to Aquarium of the Lakes and Barrow Superbowl (Image: Richard English) The day falls on the second Saturday in August and commemorates one of the nation's classic sports. People of all ages can play it, as well as those with disabilities, and more than 100 million people worldwide love the game. The purpose of this day is to get more of us interested in bowling. Barrow's bowling alley was hit by a major blaze in 1972 (Image: Newsquest) In 1956 the Bowling Owners' Association of America organised the first National Bowling Day. Steve Adair, owner of Eclipse bowling alley in Workington, sponsored the Katy Holmes Trust Fundraiser of the Year award at the North West Pride Awards 2015 (Image: Newsquest) Millions of bowlers got together, in hundreds of tournaments across 48 states, and helped raise money for the American Red Cross. The final of the National Bowling Day tournament was televised and was graced with the presence of famous bowlers. Roose Primary School pupils set up projects to try and make money including a café, cake stall, toy store, bowling alley, bracelet stall and washing cars (Image: Newsquest) Even though this was a one-off event, the interest was so great that people kept celebrating the day. It is still tied to charity, and events such as the Million Pin Challenge have been held on National Bowling Day. Work being carried out laying the bowling alley lanes, Hollywood Park (Image: Newsquest) We know that bowling derives from centuries-old sports as wall drawings and artifacts of a game with pins and balls have been found in tombs and excavations that date back to 5200 BC. In Roman times, there was a game that consisted of throwing stone objects as close as possible to other objects, which evolved into what we now know as Bocce. Bride Lauren Jackson from Hull who had her wedding reception at the bowling alley on Currock Road, Carlisle (Image: Newsquest) The modern game of bowling as we know it probably derives from a German game called Kegels. Players would roll stones trying to knock down the Kegels at the end of an alley, and believed that if they knocked them down their sins would be forgiven. Carer Connor Morrison enjoys his prize day out to AMF Bowling in Carlisle as his dad, Christopher, looks on, after winning a News & Star competition (Image: Newsquest) Bowling was first played with nine pins, but laws were made against nine-pin bowling because of gambling, so people added one more pin to the game to bend the rules, in 1841. Tynedale Indoor Bowls Club members with chairman Keith Henderson showing their anger at news that the bowling rink would be turned into a 10 pin bowling alley (Image: Newsquest) The game has remained with ten pins ever since. Bowling used to be played with wooden balls but in 1905 the rubber compound bowling balls that we know today were first introduced.
Telegraph
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Telegraph readers' favourite history books
All intelligent people need to understand our past – and Telegraph readers agree. Simon Heffer, our expert historian and columnist, picked a shelf's work of history books everybody ought to read, from the stink of medieval England to the savagery of Nazi Germany. Readers commented in their hundreds and highlighted the books that should have been included. Here are their top recommendations, plus some from colleagues around the newsroom. Uncrowned Queen (2019) By Nicola Tallis 'Her biography of Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII, is brilliant.' Tudor Lady Buy the book America and the Imperialism of Ignorance (2012) By Andrew Alexander 'I recommend this book by a former parliamentary sketch writer for The Telegraph and Daily Mail. His thesis is that the Cold War was based on US ignorance and corruption of the truth.' Leo Thomas Buy the book Irish Freedom. The History of Nationalism in Ireland (2007) By Richard English 'It's a recent book on Irish nationalism: This book debunks, with sound evidence, many beliefs about Irish history. For example. The Irish are not Celts.' Vincent Cooper Buy the book History of the Peloponnesian War (431 BC) By Thucydides 'A classic and still relevant today on the unpredictability of war.' Me We Buy the book The Last Days of Hitler (1947) By Hugh Trevor-Roper 'A real account showing his madness and how he hated Germany as much as the allies near the end. It breaks any notion he was a genius of any kind.' Me We Buy the book A Monarchy Transformed: Britain 1603-1714 (1966) By Mark Kishlansky 'I love history, have a degree in it and read histories. This book is a good broad sweep of the Stuarts, far more digestible than a multi-volume epic in my humble opinion.' Katy Cletheroe Buy the book Napoleon the Great (2014) By Andrew Robert 'Covers the period sufficiently and, being a biography, is definitely not dry as dust. The conversational literary style does not suit books on history.' Dermod Hill Buy the book The Mediterranean (1949) By Fernand Braudel 'Marc Bloch was a remarkable historian. Shot for being a member of the French Resistance. With Fernand Braudel he founded the French 'annales' school of history which produced some remarkably detailed historical works which sought to recreate the 'texture' of life in the past rather than just being an account of kings and statesmen. An amazing generation of engaged historians. Braudel wrote his masterpiece, The Mediterranean, whilst a prisoner of war.' David Eden Buy the book Reformation Europe (1963) By GR Elton 'The best and most readable account of the upheavals, intellectual and political, caused by the European Reformation.' David Eden Buy the book The Guns of August (1962) By Barbara Tuchman 'A better book than The Sleepwalkers, in my opinion.' Iain Allan Buy the book Smoke and Ashes (2023) By Amitav Ghosh 'Just the one volume but it will help explain why China and India will not be doing the UK any favours in the next century.' Marion Grindrod Buy the book Wonderful Adventures of Mary Seacole in Many Lands (1857) By Mary Seacole 'Often, it is biographies that illuminate an era.' James Anderson Buy the book Europe: A History (1996) By Norman Davies 'A thought-provoking introduction and some very interesting and pertinent perspectives on Eastern Europe.' Can Dide Buy the book The Flashman Papers (1969) By George MacDonald Fraser 'All you need to know about the Victorian period; and quite a lot you should not.' Pete Nossined Buy the book The March of Folly (1984) By Barbara Tuchman 'This should be compulsory reading for every world leader. It covers the utter futility of war from Troy to Vietnam. Sadly, she died before Iraq/Afghanistan/Ukraine/Gaza etc., etc. I sometimes wonder what she would have made of it all.' Judith Roberts Buy the book The King's War (1958) By C. V. Wedgwood 'Readable enough to have a 15-year-old science student engrossed.' Martin Moss Byzantium: The Early Centuries (1988) By John Julius Norwich 'He manages to bring a bit of character into some of the players, which can't be easy to do, given the paucity of material to work with. And you get genuinely frustrated reading it shrink as it had yet another pointless civil war, and the Turks, Bulgarians and Venetians slowly ate it into nothing, whilst they were putting each other's eyes out and slitting their noses.' Ryan Brighton The Most Dangerous Enemy (2000) By Stephen Bungay 'Best overall single volume I've ever read. A really brilliant look at the Battle of Britain, with stunning conclusions. Gives great credit due to Dowding and Park (and Churchill, and seven other visionaries). Well worth a read.' Simon Davey Buy the book All the Shah's Men (2003) By Stephen Kinzer 'Tells the story of how the CIA and the British secret service overthrew the elected Iranian prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953. Without a doubt things would be very different today had they not done so.' Ian Brown Buy the book A New World Begins (2019) By Jeremy Popkin 'An outstanding history of the French Revolution. I'd suggest pairing it with Roberts's excellent Napoleon biography.' Matthew Andrews Buy the book The Spanish Civil War (1961) By Hugh Thomas 'A case study in how a country turns on itself. Coming to a town near you soon…' Richard Freer Buy the book Female author recommendations ' Mary Beard: A renowned classicist and historian, known for her expertise in ancient Rome and her engaging writing style. Gerda Lerner: A pioneering historian of women and a leading figure in the development of women's history as an academic field.' Emma Pearson
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Looking back at WH Smith as we say goodbye to the famous name
With the sad news that the name WH Smith is to disappear from the high street, we're looking back at the iconic stationery shop and what it has meant to us. Four-year-old Joshua Dent with the WH Smith vouchers he received for winning a writing competition (Image: Richard English) The move comes after the firm agreed to sell its shops to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital. The new owner has said it will keep the Post Office outlets that operate in many branches, but will rebrand the chain as TGJones. Christopher Cooper won a £20 voucher for WH Smith after coming runner up in a national painting competition run by the Knights of St Columba (Image: Newsquest) The WH Smith name is not being sold and will still be used at the airport, railway station and hospital outlets that are not for sale. WH Smith Barrow store manager Marc Williams visits Alfred Barrow School to help launch a three-year reward initiative worth £12,000 (Image: Newsquest) Modella Capital will take over 480 stores in retail parks, shopping centres and on high streets including 5,000 staff. James Prescott, 15, from Parkview School was on work experience at WH Smith (Image: Newsquest) The new owner said it would be 'business as usual' while it worked on making changes , including adding new ranges, while keeping the Toys 'R' Us concessions and the 195 Post Office counters. Allanah Smith won £30 to spend at WH Smith and £100 to spend for her school at Ottakar's in an Evening Mail centenary Christmas card competition (Image: Newsquest) It said it had chosen the same TGJones because it carried 'the same sense of family' as WH Smith, which it described as an 'iconic' retail business. Launch of the Rugby League Annual 2008 at WH Smith in Whitehaven (Image: Newsquest) The company was formed by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna in 1792 as a news vendor in London. It remained under the ownership of the Smith family for many years and saw large-scale expansion during the 1970s as the company began to diversify into other markets. Local businesses joined in the campaign to stop Joe Skelly, the manager of WH Smith (back centre) leaving his position for pastures new (Image: Newsquest) Following a rejected private equity takeover in 2004, it began to focus on its core retail business. It was responsible for the creation of the ISBN book identifier. In recent years, the chain has been challenged by budget high street shops and supermarkets as well as online retailers. sThe WH Smith & Son shop on English Street near the Lowther Arcade, Carlisle, dated 1907 (Image: Newsquest) It developed a reputation for being rundown and shabby, culminating in a popular social media account WHS_Carpet, which mocked the poor state of its floor coverings. WH Smith group chief executive Carl Cowling said the £76m sale was 'a pivotal moment' for the company, which would now focus exclusively on the travel-related side of the business. 'High street is a good business; it is profitable and cash generative with an experienced and high-performing management team,' he said. 'However, given our rapid international growth, now is the right time for a new owner to take the high street business forward.' The travel division operates more than 1,200 stores in 32 countries.
