1418
Macbeth becomes wound in spells, and finds that one murder leads to another.
Macbeth was a real Scottish king, succeeding Duncan I in 1040 after defeating him in battle. But Shakespeare’s thought-provoking tragedy, one of the greatest stories in all English literature, is almost entirely fiction.
Posted February 4 2016
1419
Why did a kindly old priest refuse to show his respects to St Nektarios?
St Nektarios of Aegina (Anastasios Kephalas, 1846-1920), is one the most beloved saints of Greece, known for countless miracles in his lifetime and after his death. Some years ago in Lavrio, Attica, a priest undertook to build a church in the saint’s honour; but he had cancer, and the pain was so intolerable that he tore his own clothes, and often hid from visitors.
Posted February 2 2016
1420
A bird of prey shattered the peace of St Cuthbert’s island, and was taught an unforgettable lesson.
St Cuthbert (?634-687) loved the many birds of his island retreat, and before he died the saint promised them ‘St Cuthbert’s Peace’: that if they lived in harmony with one another, no man or beast would disturb them and go unpunished. Five centuries later, monk Bartholomew (?-1193) saw for himself the saint’s determination to keep a promise.
Posted February 1 2016
1421
A hungry monk thought he had got away with the tastiest of crimes, but St Cuthbert kept his promise to his beloved birds.
St Cuthbert the Wonderworker of Lindisfarne (?634-687) is one the the most famous of all English saints. He lived in solitude on Inner Farne off the coast of Northumberland, surrounded by the birds he loved, and promised to take care of them even after he was gone.
Posted February 1 2016
1422
Opened in 1725, the Tanfield Railway is one of the oldest railways still operating anywhere in the world.
Dating from 1725, the Tanfield Railway formed part of an extraordinary network of horse-drawn wagonways in North East England that became the basis of the railway revolution.
Posted January 31 2016