Aug 28, 2025 | Social history, Stories
Over the years, there have been calls for cannabis to be legalised or at least downgraded in its classification from the current Class B to Class C (the least harmful). By contrast, there have also been demands, especially recently, that its classification be upgraded...
Aug 6, 2025 | Social history, Stories
Cricket: Tests and Challenges. The Test Cricket series just ended between England and India is being called one for the ages. For those who had match tickets or who followed from a distance it was very exciting. But the sport’s administrators and followers are...
May 21, 2025 | Social history, Stories
By parents: Britain is practically alone in Europe in not having legislation banning corporal punishment in the home. Across Europe, 22 countries now have such legislation. It remains legal in Britain when used by parents “in accordance with reasonable chastisement”....
May 21, 2025 | Advertising and media, Social history, Stories
It’s not often that a TV sitcom changes the habits of millions. But ‘The Good Life’ was unusual in having a very positive effect. Most sitcoms reflect the period in which they’re made. As times and attitudes move on, many of them don’t age well. Some 1970s shows are...
Mar 10, 2025 | Social history, Stories
Arguments against the death penalty had been advanced in the 1950s, with a particular boost for abolition resulting from the case of Ruth Ellis, a young mother who had murdered her unfaithful lover in 1955. The Tories reduced the number of offences carrying the death...
Jun 11, 2024 | Social history, Stories
Vinyl is cool again. Long-playing records, or LPs, have become a measure of the British economy’s health. In March 2024 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced that vinyl would again become one of the 700+ items used in its calculation of inflation. Vinyl...
