Did you know that May is Local and Community History Month?

The aim is to raise awareness of local history – often forgotten besides the histories of people such as Henry VIII or events such as the Second World War.   But it’s also a chance to promote history to local communities and get people involved.

Getting involved in a local history group is also a great way to meet other people who are also interested in history, so like-minded people, and you can learn a lot from each other.

The Local and Community History Month is organised by the Historical Association.  It’s a chance to get out and about in your area, and really delve into how  your local area has changed, what’s happened and why, the local characters involved,  how it connected with the outside world and so forth.   The Association have 10 Top Tips for Researching the History of Where You Live so this would be a great place to start and there will be events going on all over the country.

One great source of local history is of course newspapers. Thanks to a great project between the British Library and the British Newspaper Archive, there are now over 84 million pages of newspapers you can access online through a subscription.  They’re adding more and more pages each week and there are still new titles being added, too.  So you can find out all about local history in your area even if  you are still restricted, or do your research online and then  head off to spot history, stand where it happened, and imagine what life would have been like

The British Newspaper Archive gives us a chance to see what readers wanted to read about and hear about, what was popular to sell and buy at the time – the advertisements are a great source of information – and what sort of social events were held.  You can give a gift subscription for one month or choose to run it for longer.

Local and Community History Month is also an opportunity to raise awareness of the Historical Association itself.

The Historical Association has a number of memberships, including a Gift Membership –  and the Historian Membership which is for anyone who just loves history.  There are also different memberships for those involved in the subject at primary or secondary level and you can see what the different membership levels include here.  The website on its own is a massive mine of information for people involved at a professional level e.g. history teachers or wannabe history teachers but there’s also lots of articles and topics of interest for people who just love the subject.

Historian Membership of the Historical Association includes The Historian, the quarterly magazine of the Historical Association
image ©Historical Association

Historian Members receive The Historian quarterly magazine (not every membership includes this) and you can download a free copy by registering online to see what it’s like.  It’s a great gift for anyone who teaches or studies history – or who just loves it.  I did History for my degree and still love immersing myself in the past to escape from the craziness of this modern world we live in and daily routine!

Memberships help support the Association’s mission to develop the teaching, learning and enjoyment of history at all levels, for generations to come.

Members also have free access to over 350 high-quality podcast talks by history experts; these cover historical periods, regions and themes, so there’s plenty to discover!

The Historical Association was originally established in part to bring people together who were interested history, and there are over 45 local branches around the UK meeting regularly.  Branches organise a programme of speakers every year so that members and the public can hear from historians and researchers.  You can find your closest branch here.  They may also be history visits and CPD events, it depends on the branch.

Find out about the Historical Association's Historian Membership here 

There's also the British Association for Local History, which is the national association devoted to local history.  It publishes books and pamphlets on local history, and it also publishes both The Local Historian, a quarterly journal, and Local History News, a topical magazine.  It has lots of resources online, plus events and there are even classroom exercises to bring local history into the classroom!  There are several different types of membership.  Visit the British Association for Local History here

Looking for something to do this Easter with the children?  How about taking them on an Easter Egg trail with the National Trust?

The National Trust has adventures in nature trails at many places that they care for across England, Wales and Northern Ireland 

Activities may differ from one venue to another but you can explore the trails this Easter; pick up your trail activity sheet and pencil, and complete the 10 nature-inspired activities.   You can hop like an Easter bunny, make a home for nature, peek into veg patches – and then at the end, collect a Rainforest Alliance chocolate egg. 

The eggs are made in the UK, and the cocoa is responsibly sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.

Find an Easter Egg Trail close to you.

If you can’t to a National Trust venue offering an Easter Egg Trail, don’t worry!  The Trust has an activity pack available in both English and Welsh with activities for children to do!  They can make their own nature crown, discover nature on the floor and create a spring box or bunting!  Find out more here

But there's lots more you can do, including making Easter decorations and crafts, seeing how much you can do from "50 things to do before you're 11 3/4", and checking out what other events National Trust venues are offering.  (Some may need booking in advance.) 

You can even try your hand at learning some calming activities with yoga shapes with Every Bunny is a Yoga Bunny!  Get the family into a mindful state!

Find out about what's on at Easter with the National Trust.

Here's an interesting gift idea for anyone who wants to enjoy a day out, at height, with a great view of London, and something to remember it with!

Virgin Experience Days have a number of experience days for The View from the Shard, London's tallest building.  I saw the programme on how The Shard was built and it was really impressive;  I hadn't realised that they had to take the wind strength into account every day to make sure it was safe for everyone to work at height on the building, for example.  

A visit to The View from the Shard is surely a memorable occasion, with incredible views of London to enjoy.  

If you want to remember the occasion though you could take a look at these experiences that Virign Experience Day offers:  

Visit to The View from The Shard for a Family of Four with Souvenir Photos for £112.00 

Visit to The View from The Shard for a Family of Three with Souvenir Photos for £84.00

Deluxe Visit to The View from The Shard with Champagne, Photos and Guidebook for Two for £98.00

Visit to The View from The Shard with Signature Cocktail and Souvenir Photos for Two for £78.00

There are lots more experiences you can enjoy at The View from the Shard, combining visits with lunch or afternoon tea elsewhere in London.  You could enjoy a cruise on the Thames, combine a visit with a Sunday roast lunch at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant, or tuck into a three course meal at Marco Pierre White's London Steakhouse Co.  

Take a look at Virgin Experience Days to see what you think!

Halloween is on the way and there’s plenty to keep everyone amused at English Heritage locations!

There are lots of events.   Many properties will have a new adventure trail inspired by Cressida Cowell’s best selling Wizards of Once series.

Many sites will be holding a new adventure quest
inspired by Cressida Cowell’s series The Wizards of Once.

You can go on spooky woodland walks after dark(that’s for families, kids must be 5 to 12) and there are lots of events for families.  But there are also adults only evening events after dark enabling you to tour spooky historical places.

There are gruesome tales to hear, creepy castles to visit including Berry Pomeroy castle, reputed to be one of the spookiest castles, after dark events (those are for 16+ only) with tales of ghosts and supernatural sightings and the horrors of history!

Discover all about Halloween!

But not only that, English Heritage has got lots of things to discover about Halloween at home such as the history of Halloween.  How did Halloween start? Why do we carve pumpkins?  How do you carve a Halloween turnip or make a spooky Halloween lantern? 

Visit a creepy castle such as Berry Pomeroy!

Halloween activities to do at home

You can make and decorate your own mask with their online guide.  There are Halloween recipes so get baking with a creepy theme!  And there's the English Heritage online shop, too, with lots to choose from if you’re looking for a gift for someone who adores Halloween or spooky stories or creepy histories!

Get on your broomstick and fly off to English Heritage to find out more here!

By the way, there's 15% off Gift and Annual Memberships if you use the code EH2021 - it's valid until 31 December 2021!  Join here or give a membership today!