Peter Demain

“You know a cake? A cake is entirely a periphery piece of nourishment for humanity. It has never fulfilled a staple function. This rather unvital sustenance thus features in weddings and other joyous events, not the food table day to day.” - Brian Sewell

What Victorian Benefactors Did For Preston

The industrial era is one easy to overlook in a provincial context in the face of what I and people of varying ages learnt in school. We are granted a rough idea about how life changed, but my education in the matter was confined to general developments leading up to the years when Victoria was on the throne. But what of the individuals who sought to change Preston for the better?

920 days ago by

Old Pubs of Preston – Black Horse and The Academy

Some months ago a pledge to examine various pubs in Preston was made here. This article follows an introductory post which sums up the rich heritage behind Preston’s drinking establishments. Modernity witnesses the country’s pub numbers drop in the face of plummeting sales. This article examines two widely contrasting pubs in Preston’s town centre.

926 days ago by The Ribble estuary in October - A Great White Heron, three Shelducks, and further afield flocks of ducks.

The Birds on the Ribble Estuary

October is the month the Ribble estuary harbours influxes of migratory birds. This article examines Shelducks and Swans who inhabit river estuaries across the country alongside a huge variety of avians. Read on to discover why the Ribble’s estuary and nature reserve is a great place worth visiting all year round.

931 days ago by
Preston Docks circa 1905

Examining Preston’s Fossilised Past

It’s difficult even with help of study and older relatives to imagine the days when Britain was a leader in domestic manufacturing. Factories, mines, and shipping have largely been superseded by gleaming office blocks, shopping centres and colourful high streets. Massive outsourcing of labour, coinciding with a rapid period of decolonisation introduced commerce to the fact that both labour and resources were plentiful abroad; and both [...]

989 days ago by

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