Having spent sixty years on the throne Queen Elizabeth celebrates her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. An extra Bank Holiday to celebrate the Jubilee on 5 June is one of many ways the British people are marking this auspicious occasion.

When We Were Very Young is a poetry book by A A Milne, author of the Winnie the Pooh stories. The book was first published in 1924, yet many of the poems are simple enough to delight children (and adults!) of today.

Xenophobe's Guide to the English provides a romp through English behaviour, character, customs, manners and etiquette and much more. A good, hilarious short read.

Captain Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole in January 1912 - a bitter victory, for Norwegian Roald Amundsen has beaten him to his goal. Scott and his team did not survive their return journey, suffering from exhaustion, frostbite and starvation.

Queen of Puddings is a feast of custard, jam and meringue. Rumour has it that the pudding was created for Queen Victora in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace...

Ask someone to name an English sonnet writer and most people will answer “Shakespeare”. Yet England has produced a wealth of poets who have tried their hand at the sonnet form.