Around and About Britain

6 Things About the UK Today

• The First ATM December 11, 2023
  It is widely accepted that the world's first ATM was installed at a Barclays Bank in Enfield Town, London in 1967. This was the product of John Shepherd-Barron and his team of engineers.
• William De Morgan - distinctive ceramicist of the Arts and Crafts movement December 11, 2023
  William Frend De Morgan was an English pottery maker and tile designer whose work is seen as a significant element of the arts and crafts movement. A lifelong friend of William Morris, he designed tiles, stained glass and furniture for Morris & Co. from 1863 to 1872, and was also a popular novelist.
• The Isokon Building - London's experiment in minimalist urban living December 11, 2023
  The Isokon building, also known as Lawn Road Flats and the Isokon Flats, is a modernist block of flats in affluent Belsize Park, London. Its experimental design saw it become a centre for artistic thought (and espionage) in the 1930s and 1940s.
• The Iron Bridge - early icon of the Industrial Revolution December 11, 2023
  Many of the iconic bridges of the world owe their existence to the achievement of the world’s first iron bridge, built in 1779 across the Severn Gorge, near Telford in Shropshire.
• Waxwing - a striking winter visitor December 11, 2023
  This very smart and distinctive bird with its tufted head is not a British resident but sometimes appears in large flocks in Britain in the winter, typically gathering in berry-bearing trees and bushes.
• The Northern Lights - you don't need to go abroad to see them! December 11, 2023
  The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, are famous as a natural light display in the Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high latitudes towards the arctic. But they are not unknown to be visible from the UK particularly in the far north of Scotland, and the remoter islands. They've even been seen from the Lake District, […]