Ruth Elizabeth Stiff
Bio
History and knowledge, especially about the Earth, are my passions. I enjoy putting my thoughts to paper and I always try to encourage self-motivation and love for life. LIVE AND LOVE LIFE!
Stories (942)
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11th September, 2001
I wonder how many of us remember where we were on the 11th September, 2001? I was at work and a colleague came back from break and said that something terrible was happening in the United States. We turned on the radio and listened in silence! After work, I went straight to my mother’s house and we spent the evening together, eyes glued to the news on t.v. and eating dinner.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff4 years ago in FYI
The Victorian Mental Asylum
The original meaning of the word Asylum is “retreat” or “sanctuary” and they were built to protect mentally ill patients. We may have heard very real horror stories about how patients were treated in these past asylums but what really happened?
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff4 years ago in FYI
Just An Ordinary Girl
I was very sad to hear that Sarah Harding has died, losing her battle with Breast cancer. Why do the good and beautiful die so young? She was only 39 years of age! A member of one of my favourite Girl Bands “Girls Aloud”, Sarah will always be the girl next door to me. She was so talented, being an actress as well as a singer, I’ll always remember Sarah in St.Trinian’s.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff4 years ago in Beat
The Great War
Yes, this is yet another article on one of my most favourite programmes “Downton Abbey”. For those of you who have never seen an episode, I thought I’d write about one of the seasons --- Season Two. There are actually six seasons plus one movie (so far!), so I’ve got plenty more articles to write about (sorry folks). The beauty of Downton Abbey is that there are so many little stories all tied up to the main story and there is plenty to keep us interested.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff4 years ago in Geeks
Alexandra of Denmark
Few know much about this Princess and Queen who was the very “First Queen of Hearts.” She was called the most beautiful Princess in Europe and her marriage into the British Royal family gave it a much needed boost (sound familiar?). Alexandra ‘fitted’ all the qualities Queen Victoria was looking for in a wife for her eldest son: ‘a Princess who is pretty, quiet, clever and sensible, and only a year or two younger than her son’.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff5 years ago in FYI
Edward VII
He was the heir apparent to the British throne for almost 60 years. As King, he modernized the British Home Fleet, and reorganized the British Army after the Second Boer War. He ‘re-instituted’ traditional ceremonies as public displays and ‘broadened’ the range of people with whom Royalty socialized. He was Edward VII!
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff5 years ago in FYI
The Beautiful Costumes on Downton Abbey
The costumes used in Downton Abbey are extremely authentic and beautiful! The research which must have gone into these costumes must have taken hours, maybe even days. The fact that some of the costumes were real dresses that had been actually worn in the 1900’s - 1920’s, fascinates me.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff5 years ago in FYI
The Unsinkable Ship
My grandmother was born in 1911 and she remembered people talking about this when she was 5 years of age. “She” was one of the largest and most opulent ships of the time, being (approximately) 882.5ft (269m) long and roughly 92.5ft (28.2m) wide. “She” cost $7.5 million to build ($183.4million in today’s money) and “Her'' top speed was 23 knots or 25 mph which is faster than many ships today which go at 20 knots or 23 mph. “She” was built to have 64 lifeboats on board but carried only 20! “She” was the RMS Titanic.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff5 years ago in FYI
Yet Another Article
Yes, this is yet another article about my favourite television series Downton Abbey. “What else could she possibly write about?” I can hear you asking. Every time I think about the series, I think of something different to write about. So who or what shall we read about in this article? To be honest with you, I start off with someone in mind and then --- just let my mind (or the article) guide me.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff5 years ago in Humans
Game of Thrones
“A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone.” One of the many famous quotes from Game of Thrones, this one by Tyrion Lannister. Now, just in case you are one of those who have never seen Game of Thrones (and it is possible, not everybody is obsessed like me!)Tyrion Lannister is one of the main characters who actually survives formal series one right through to series eight. Tyrion is the youngest child of Lord Tywin Lannister and younger brother to twins Cersei and Jamie. He is a dwarf who uses his wit and intelligence to overcome the many ‘prejudices’ that follow him. Tyrion’s mother died giving birth to him, a fact which his father and sister never forgives him for (as if it was Tyrion’s fault!).
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff5 years ago in Fiction
Well Done Team GB!
With the Olympics in Tokyo (this year, but it really should have been 2020), I tuned into one of my favourite sports --- the Equestrian Events of Dressage, Show Jumping and Cross-Country. Seeing such beautiful horses reminded me of my very deep love for these remarkable creatures. We become so busy in our every-day lives that we forget the very basic things that we have loved from childhood. I say this because I remember starting a “project” on The Horse when I was in the first year of my junior school. It was one of those lessons when we went to the library and, I believe, I took out every book they had on The Horse. Over my teenage years, my parents brought me some amazing books on horses, and I built up quite a ‘study library’, with L/A files filled with information and pictures on horses. It became a real hobby for me (although I have never ridden a horse and am actually quite nervous of the creatures).
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff5 years ago in Unbalanced
Elizabeth of York
By marrying Henry VII, Elizabeth of York helped to unite two families and end “The Wars if the Roses.” She was mother to Henry VIII and grandmother to Elizabeth I and, with her husband, started the Tudor Dynasty. This Queen of England is sometimes overlooked, but Elizabeth of York played an important role in English history.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff5 years ago in FYI
