We’ve been reading stories about the Olympic Games in the newspaper archive – and it’s fascinating! From Pierre de Coubertin’s pioneering work on starting the modern Olympics in 1896 and Eric Liddell winning gold in 1924 right through to the ‘Austerity Games’ in London in 1948, we’re found 1,000s of great stories. We especially like the stories about ordinary folk getting involved in the Games, so though we’d start off by posting some stories about the journey of the Olympic …

We do love the stories you tell us about the people and stories you’ve managed to find in the newspaper archive.  We’re especially fond of the mysteries that were only solved as a result of suddenly finding information in the British Newspaper Archive Sandy Gillians of Georgetown, Ontario, has been kind enough send us one of her ancestral stories. Sandy has recently taken on the family history research duties from her father. Her Dad is going to be a very …

The annual South Ayrshire History and Family History Fair takes place at the Walker Halls in Troon on Saturday 2 June 2012, from 9am to 4.30pm. Admission to the fair itself is free, with special deals available on ticket prices for the talks. – http://southayrshirehistory.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/hello-world/

On 25 May 1850, the first ‘modern’ hippopotamus arrived in London. We say ‘modern’, because it may be that hippopotami roamed free in the London area, back in the days of dinosaurs et al… ‘Obaysch’ was his name, and he caused quite a stir when he arrived in London, with numerous reports about the hippo’s capture, journey, dietary quirks and grand arrival, appearing in the newspapers of the day.  It seems that ‘Obaysch’ also often entertained royalty in his enclosure, …

The first episode of The Great British Story: A People’s History will be shown on BBC2 on Friday 25 May at 9pm. Presented by Michael Wood, the programme looks at UK history from the viewpoint of ordinary people. In addition to the programme itself, there will also be four roadshow events taking place in various locations across the UK. Below are the locations and dates for the roadshows: – Mount Stewart House, Country Down, Saturday 26 May (10am to 5pm) – …

The ‘Fife Heritage Day’ takes place at the Lomond Centre in Glenrothes on Saturday 26 May. A large number of local and family history groups will be attending this event, so it promises to be a grand day out for all types of history researchers. Organised by the Workers Educational Association, the event runs from 10am to 4pm. All are welcome and admission is free. – http://www.weascotland-fife.org.uk/Index.asp?MainID=14527