Those of you who frequent this blog regularly will have noticed today that several posts with the tags "Tamron" and "Tamron 70-300mm Macro" have disappeared. I'm not quite sure why this happened but I suspect it was my fault. I was doing some work behind the scenes if you like and I think I deleted them...

The first patented roller skate was introduced in 1760. The inventor was a Belgian named John Joseph Merlin. His invention did not become very popular. The initial "test pilot" of the first prototype of the skate was in the city of Huy, which had a party with Merlin playing the violin.

In 1863, James Plimpton from Massachusetts invented the "rocking" skate. This was an improvement on the roller skate that allowed skaters to turn easily around corners. This invention opened the door for the masses to enjoy roller skating.

Eventually, roller skating evolved from just a pastime to a competitive sport, beginning with roller hockey. This sport became so popular that it even made an appearance in the Olympics in 1992. Roller Skating was considered as an event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The National Sporting Goods Association statistics showed, from a 1999 study, that 2.5 million people played roller hockey. Other roller skating sports include speed skating, figure skating, jam skating and roller derby. Roller skating popularity exploded during the disco era but tapered off in the 80s and 90s.

The Roller Skating Rink Operators Association was developed in the United States in 1937. It is currently named the Roller Skating Association. The association promotes roller skating and offers classes to the public, aiming to educate the population about roller skating. The current President is Bobby Pender. The Roller Skating Association headquarters is located in Indianapolis.

Sunday, 29 April 2012

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" (also commonly known as "Daffodils" or "The Daffodils") is a poem by William Wordsworth.

It was inspired by an event on April 15, 1802, in which Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, came across a "long belt" ofdaffodils. Written in 1804, it was first published in 1807 in Poems in Two Volumes, and a revised version, the more commonly known, was released in 1815. It consists of four six-line stanzas, in iambic tetrameter and an ABABCC rhyme scheme.

It is usually considered Wordsworth's most famous work. In the "Nation's Favourite Poems", a poll carried out by the BBC's Bookworm, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" came fifth. Well known, and often anthologised, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" is commonly seen as a classic of Englishromanticism within poetry, although the original version was poorly reviewed by Wordsworth's contemporaries.

Originally the site may have been fortified with earthworks in the Iron Age or earlier, before the Romans invaded in AD43. This is suggested on the basis of the unusual pattern of the earthworks which does not seem to be a perfect fit for the medieval castle, excavations have provided evidence of Iron Age occupation within the locality of the castle, but it is not certain whether this is associated with the hillfort. There have also been excavations on the mound which the church and Roman Pharos are situated on and has been discovered to be a Bronze Age mound.

The site also contained one of Dover's two 80-foot (24 m) Roman lighthouses (or Pharoses), one of which still survives, whilst the remains of the other is located on the opposing Western Heights, across the city of Dover. On the site is a classic montrol (campsite) where the Normans landed after their victorious conquest.

Friday, 27 April 2012

Charles Darwin (12/02/1809 - 19/04/1882) is known throughout the world as the man who figured out evolution. He published his most famous work "On The Origin Of Species" in 1859. He got his inspiration from his global sea journey of 4 years onboard HMS Beagle which set sail on 27th December 183 and returned to England on 2nd October 1836.

Darwin stated that natural selection is instrumental in the creation of new species. Natural Selection is essentially survival of the fittest, stating that the weaker of a species will loose out to the stronger as a result of being able to fight for food and survival. In 1871 Darwin updated his ideas and included sexual selection.
This addendum was included to explain the presence of features in animals which could be seen to hinder survival and he used the idea of peacock's tail feathers.

Thursday, 26 April 2012

I mentioned the origins of the name Scotney in this post, but what about the name Lamberhurst? Well it comes from the anglo-saxon Lambra hurst, which means the wooded hill where lambs are found. Easy! It is first recorded around the year 1100 as Lamburherste

After the Darrell family had owned the estate from 1411, the grounds of Scotney Castle passed to the Hussey family after Edward Hussey bought it in 1778. His grandson (Edward III) began building the new manor house after commissioning Anthony Salvin. It was build out of sandstone quarried from nearby. The quarry then subsequently formed the "quarry garden" where a 1 million year old iguanadon footprint can be seen.

The new manor house was completed in 1843, and the older elements of the estate (the old castle) were left to create a feature of the garden. The Eastern wing was left for the bailiffs accommodation until 1905. Edward Hussey I committed suicide close by the old castle with a blunderbuss.

The grandson of Edward III was called Christopher Edward Clive Hussey and it was he who inherited the castle in 1952. Along with Elizabeth (his wife) he set about further improvements of the grounds to provide more colour year round. Upon Christopher's death in 1970, the house and estate passed to the National Trust although Betty lived in the house until her death in 2006. She was 99 years old.

Here are a few more photographs taken at Ightham Mote as requested by Gem from Ighthammote.co.ukwho's "blog was conceived as a place to collect reliable and accurate information about the early history of Ightham Mote and its inhabitants, to revise some oft-repeated errors, and to offer new insights which could be shared for the benefit of anyone interested in the building, and in medieval history in general."

It's a great website, full of the history of Ightham Mote and is run by Gemma Minihan, a PhD student reading medieval history and archaeology at the University of Southampton. I'd highly recommend having a browse through the blog - it's great! You can also follow her on twitter (@IghthamMoteHist).

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Scotney Castle, near Lamberhurst, can refer to either the old castle or the new castle within the estate once owned by the De Scoteni family (hence the name). Scotney Castle is now owned and maintained by The National Trust

The Old Castle:

The Old Castle was reputedly built by a Mr Roger Ashburnham in about 1378. Roger was an important administrator of Sussex during the reign of Richard II who ruled from 1377 (at the tender age of 10) to 1399 when he was deposed. During his work for the King, Roger was able to gain 5 manors within the counties of Sussex and Kent.

Sunday, 22 April 2012

Stoneacre is perhaps one of the best examples of a 15th
Century Yeoman's house surviving in Britain today. It is owned and managed by
the National Trust,
and was once almost derelict. It was purchased in 1920 by a Mr Aymer Vallance
who restored it by using bits of other period houses. His family made its
fortunes in the brewing industry in nearby Sittingbourne.

Friday, 20 April 2012

This was shot on a family day out to the wonderful Ightham Mote. This fantastic 14th Century moated manor mouse is situated in Ivy Hatch, just to the East of Sevenoaks in Kent and according to Pevsner, it is 'the most complete small medieval manor house in the country. Dating back to either around about 1320 or 1340 (the date is unclear), this fantastic building has been owned by "medieval knights, courtiers to Henry VIII and high society Victorians". and would have been built during the reign of either Edward II who was notable for a defeat in Scotland by Robert The Bruce and the Battle of Bannockburn (considered the worst defeat for the English since the Battle of Hastings in 1066) or Edward III who was notable for introducing significant legislation, including the Statute of Labourers of of 1351 which helped address the problem of a dire lack of workers as a result of the Black Death. In 1521, Sir Richard Clement bought the house for £400 (approx. £141,832 as of 2005).