How samurai swords were made

SUZUKI KATANA I0I1I5I1I 2 I MILES

Paris in springtime was the perfect setting for one of this year’s highest-grossing French auctions. The location was Hôtel Drouot in Quartier de l’Opéra, a hub of salerooms which are at the heart of

Settling a dispute with swords, pistols and, if legend is to be believed, sausages and guitars, has long been a matter of honour even among modern-day rock stars, discovers John F. Müller

Wherever you look – from our national flags to carvings on ancient buildings – you can see heraldic designs. They owe their appearance to a formalised system that’s a lot more complex than you might at first appreciate, explains Clare Hunt

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Gin, witches, regicide, boats, nudists, an Egyptian curse, Spitfires, the invention of windsurfing and more writers and vineyards than you can shake a fishing rod at: this beloved English county has it all. Here are 13 stories you may never have heard about Hampshire