War of 1812

The War of 1812 was America's failed invasion of Canada. At the time there were calls for Canada, then a British colony, to be annexed. Numbers were strongly in America's favour (population advantage) but the military consisted of raw, untrained recruits. After the Napoleonic Wars, Britain sent veterans to consolidate its forces at the border.

The State of New York

While everyone knows of New York City, the State of New York in which the City sits is a lesser-known quantity. 40% of the population of the State resides in the City of New York, which has a population of over 8 million (this implies a state population of roughly 20 million).

New York was "discovered" initially by European powers in 1609 with the voyage of Henry Hudson, working under the auspices of the Dutch East India company and was a centre of numerous battles during the American Revolutionary War, leading to US independence on 4 July, 1776 (actually America achieved legal independence on 2 July, with the Declaration of Independence achieved on 4 July).

South of New York State is New Jersery and the Great State of Pennsylvania, named after William Penn, born in Tower Hill, London. He initially called the region "Sylvania" (land of forests and woods) but this was changed by King Charles II (known as the Merrie Monarch) to "Pennsylvania".

T20 Cricket

In T20, or 20/20 cricket, introduced in 2003 by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for inter-county competition, is where each team has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. The exceptions to the Laws of Cricket pertinent to T20 include: each bowler may bowl for a maximum of four overs.

The Author of Uncle Vanya (1897)

Anton Chekhov the playwright was also Anton Chekhov the physician. "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress". He wrote Uncle Vanya in 1897 and The Cherry Orchard in 1904.

Barmbrack

Barmbrack is an Irish raisin bread, and translates literally to "speckled bread".

Dutch Antilles

The Dutch Antilles were also known as Dutch Caribbean.

Greek Easter

Is one week after the UK Easter. The traditional Greek Easter Sunday involves a whole roast lamb and Greek wine, Ouzo (wine flavoured with anice, similar to liquorice). The following Monday (Orthodox Easter Monday) is a national holiday in Greece.