24 Hours in the Past

BBC One trailer via YouTube

A 'living history' reality show called 24 Hours in the Past starts tomorrow night (Tues, 28 Apr) at 9pm on BBC1.

So, what is it? Well, in a nutshell, a bunch of celebrities have to spend time working as Victorians, and sampling four different workplaces over four different days. They also have to live in a Victorian style.

Who are the celebrities? There are six celebrities - several of which have previously featured on Strictly Come Dancing. They include Ann Widdecombe, Alistair McGowan, Tyger Drew-Honey (Outnumbered) and Welsh athlete Colin Jackson.

So, only time will tell how good or otherwise the programme turns out to be - but anything that encourages an interest in history and social history is worth a try.

Illness of a General

Was there a chink in Caesar's armour? This article from Discovery News explores the possibility that the famous general suffered from mini strokes. Take a look!

Hidden Arthurian Gems

Hi everyone, thought I'd tell you about this article showing hidden gems discovered by UV light in the medieval manuscript known as the Black Book of Carmarthen. Enjoy!

Learn the Lingo - Alias

Alias

The term alias is used when an individual used more than one name. Most commonly, this will be found in criminal records - for example 'John Smith alias George Jones was found guilty of...' This is because people in trouble with the law often changed their names to avoid their pasts and evade detection.

The second most common use of an alias is in the case of illegitimacy. Where a child was born outside marriage, they may be known by both their father and their mother's last name, for example 'John Jones alias Evans,' this can also happen in the case of fostering, informal adoption, or remarriage of one of the child's parents. 

There are of course also many individually unique reasons why someone may be known by more than one name.

Happy Easter!

Hi everyone, just a quick note to say Happy Easter to everyone and thank you for your continued support for me and Family History By Cerys