Latest News & Items

The History of the Commonwealth Games

30th July 2026

It’s surprising to learn that John Astley Cooper first proposed what has become the Commonwealth Games in 1891: 5 years before the Modern Olympics. The plan was to hold a sports competition every four years “as a means of increasing goodwill and understanding of the British Empire”. Committees were set up throughout the Empire to […]

England Football Team at the FIFA World Cup

25th June 2026

England at the FIFA World Cup over the years  – it’s certainly been a journey! From crushing defeat to glorious victory…to who knows what the 2026 tournament will bring. We’ve still got the fun and great hope of not knowing at this point. The first World Cup took place in Uruguay in 1930. FIFA chose […]

Jim Thorpe: was he the Greatest Athlete in the World?

14th May 2026

Was Jim Thorpe the greatest athlete in the world? King Gustav V of Sweden certainly thought so. He described Thorpe thus as he handed him two gold medals at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Jim Thorpe was a legendary Native American sportsman, who lived from 1888 – 1953.  He was a Sac and Fox Native American, […]

Croquet

Croquet

Croquet's origins are hard to pin down as with many sports. It came to England via Ireland in the 1850s where a game called crooky had been played since the 1830s. There is some suggestion that croquet has even earlier origins in 14th century Brittany & southern France.

By 1861 Routledge had published his 'Handbook of Croquet', the 1st croquet rule book, which essentially still governs the game. By the 1870s, there were American & Canadian versions of Croquet instructional & rule books too. Croquet literature & memorabilia has since burgeoned, documenting the 'killer' sport.

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