Over at BBC Radio 4’s Home Front website there is a fascinating article about the first Women’s international match, between England and Ireland in 1917 Mr Brennan has unearthed newspapers from the time which describe the match as “international” and report that it attracted 20,000 spectators. The Lord Mayor of Belfast kicked off the match …
The Forgotten First International Women’s Football Match Read More »
What did the Edwardians like to do in their free time? Smoke pipes? Grow moustaches? Wear boater hats? Chain themselves to railings? Let’s add one to the list – rollerskating. Apparently the late 1900s saw a rollerskating craze sweep the UK, and at one point 500 rinks were open for public use. A deep, but …
A truism that bears continual restating; the Edwardian / “progressive” era was really, truly racist. Even the most diehard bigots these days would be unlikely to begrudge a black man his boxing career, but it took the best part of a decade of being the best boxer in the world, and two years of stalking …
The third modern olympiad, despite the dropping of such noble sports as kite flying, pigeon racing, cannon shooting and fire fighting, is still talked about as one of the strangest and most misguided sporting events in history. A few reasons: The games was moved from the fairly reasonable location of Chicago to the comparative backwater …
Strychnine, Egg Whites, Brandy and a Human Zoo: The Terrible 1904 Olympics Read More »
