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Today marks the start of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival! The largest arts festival in the world takes place every August for three weeks in Scotland’s capital city.

Each year, thousands of performers take to the many stages to ensure that there is something for everyone’s taste. There’s everything from dance to musicals, from physical theatre to opera.

The festival dates back to 1947 when eight, uninvited theatre groups turned up to the Edinburgh International Festival. Despite not being ion the official program, they performed anyway and year after year, more people started to follow their example.  As a result of this, in 1959, the Fringe Society was formed to stop this growing trend.

Since then, the Fringe festival has become a mecca for performers of all kinds, and has helped develop the careers of comedians such as Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, Al Murray and Rich Hall.

Will you be there this year?

Image credit: Zoetnet

Today, some words from Lord Byron, that seem to ring as true now as they did in the C19th:

“The English winter – ending in July to recommence in August.”

It just shows; us Brits have always enjoyed talking about the weather!

Image credit: mxgirl85

Today we celebrate Lizzie Armitstead, the first Briton to win a medal at the London 2012 Olympics.

The twenty-three year old cyclist made the nation proud when she scooped a silver medal in the women’s road race this weekend.

Armitstead took up cycling after the British Olympic Cycling Team visited her school in 2004. Described by Dave Brailsford, British Cycling’s Performance Director, as ‘a model athlete since then,’ this Olympic silver will sit beside her five medals from the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in 2009 and 2010, a silver medal from the scratch race at the Junior World Track Championships in 2005 and gold, silver and bronze medals from the 2009 Track World Championships.

We hope that Lizzie Armitstead continues with her many successes!

Image credit: johnthescone

Dame Kelly Holmes is a true British treasure, battling for her country in the British Army and representing Team GB at several Games.

The double gold medallist dreamt of Olympic gold glory after watching Sebastian Coe cross the finish line to win the 1,500m at the 1984 Games. Such inspiration and determination made Kelly the 1990’s most promising track athletes in Team GB, specialising in middle-distance running. Dame Kelly Holmes famously won two gold medals in Athens in 2004 with unforgettable runs in which she set personal best times. She was the first to win two golds at one Games since Albert Hill in 1920.

As well as being a phenomenal sportsperson, Kelly has a heart of gold. Her running career started from 1993, lasting just over a decade and since then the athlete has been training and supporting the future generation of young athletes, giving them a chance to learn from a world class sporting legend.

Kelly Holmes was deservedly appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace in 2005.

One of the most recognizable landmarks in Liverpool, The Royal Liver Building is a Grade 1 listed building overlooking the River Mersey, lining the city waterfront at Pier Head. Since opening in 1911 it, has served as the head office for the Royal Liver Friendly Society.

Constructed in 1908, and designed by Walter Aubrey Thomas, the building was one of the first to be built with reinforced concrete in the world, and at 90 m (300 ft) tall and 13 stories high was one of the very first skyscrapers to be built in the UK.

The Liver Building is also home to the most famous of Liverpool’s mythical Liver Birds; two 18ft high copper statues that perch above the building’s clock towers, and whose image is often identified as the emblem for Liverpool.

Image credit: Flickr; Duncan~