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Referring to their feeding method, ducks can be diving ducks - or what other kind? | Birds of The World: DIPPING DUCKS
Geese
Dabbling Ducks belong to genus Anas as is also true for teals. Teals have been given their own web page as an arbitrary way to split the presentation of this large genus. Dabbling ducks do not totally submerge when feeding and are often seen with just their rears showing as the search for food. Because of their feeding method, Dabbling Ducks have evolved to be more buoyant than diving ducks. Most birders identify this type of duck as a "Dabbling Duck", but I personlly think "Dipping Duck" is more descriptive.
Genus Amazonetta - 1 species
Teal, Brazilian Amazonetta brasiliensis Found: eastern South America
One of the Brazilian Teal's closest relative is the Bronze-winged Duck . It is light brown upperpart. Male has red bill, female has black bill.
Image by: 1, 3) Claudio Timm 2) Cristiano Crolle - Esteros del Iberà, Argentina 4) Dario Sanches - Brazil 5) Cristiano Crolle - River Tigre Delta, Argentina
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male
Genus Anas
This genus contains the dabbling ducks, so called because the dip their heads for food. They generally do not dive for food. Included are the mallard like, wigeons, teals, pintails and shovelers.
Image by: 1, 3) Dick Daniels - Sylvan Heights 2) Joseph Mochoge - Gilgil, Kenya 4) Dick - World of Birds , South Africa 5) Ian White - Botswana 6) Peter Steward - Kenya
Duck, American Black Anas rubripes Found: east North America, Bahamas
The American Black Deck has a dark brown body, dark eyes, orange legs. The female has a dull green bill, the male has a yellow bill.
Similar to: Mallard , Mottled Duck . Body variation from light to dark: Mallard, Mottled Duck, American Black Duck. Mottled Duck and Mallard have brighter bills than American Black Duck. Mottled Duck distinguished by black mark at its gape (where bill joins face).
Image by: 1) Jimmy Smith - Mississippi 2, 3 , 5, 6, 8, 9) Dick Daniels - Sylvan Heights 4) Dick - Acadia National Park, Maine 7) Dick on the Cape May, New Jersey ferry
1, 2, 3, 4) Female 5 - 9) Male
Duck, Falcated Anas falcata Found: Europe, Asia
The breeding male Falcated Duck has a gray body, dark green head, bronze crown, white throat. The female has a mottled brown body, long gray bill. The nonbreeding male is similar to the female but darker on the back and head.
1) Female on top, bottom nonbreeding male 2, 3) Female 4. 5. 6) Breedin male
Duck, Laysan also Laysan Teal Anas laysanensis Found: Laysan island of Hawaii
The Laysan Duck has mainly dark brown plumage; prominent white eye-ring; orange legs, feet. Male has dark green bill with black blotching. Female has orange bill with black blotching.
Image by: 1) Caleb Slemmons 2) Heather Paul - San Diego Zoo 3) Eike Wulfmeyer 4) Kanalu Chock
1) Female 2, 3) Male
Duck, Meller's Anas melleri Found: Eastern Madagascar
The Meller's Duck looks similar to a Mallard and its other relatives, but the Meller's Duck does not have a superciliu.
Image by: 1, 2) Lt Shears - Louisville Zoo 3) Sarefo
Duck, Mottled Anas fulvigula Found: southeast North America
The Mottled Duck has a dark mottled body, lighter head and neck, orange legs and dark eyes. Both sexes have a shiny green-blue speculum (wing patch), which is not bordered with white. Black mark at gape (where bill joins face). The male's bill is bright yellow; the female's is deep to pale orange.
Similar to: American Black Duck , Mallard . Body variation from light to dark: Mallard, Mottled Duck, American Black Duck. Mottled Duck and Mallard have brighter bills than American Black Duck. Mottled Duck distinguished by black mark at its gape (where bill joins face).
1) Ducklings 2, 3) Pair (male on left) 4) Female 5 - 8) Male
Duck, Pacific Black also Grey Duck Anas superciliosa Found: Australia, New Zealand
The Pacific Black Duck has a dark body, a paler head with a dark crown and facial stripes. In flight, it shows a green speculum and pale underwing. All plumages are similar.
Image by: 1, 2) Dick Daniels - Sylvan Heights 3) Dick - New Zeland 4, 5, 6) Dick - Australia 7) Oystercatcher
Duck, Philippine Anas luzonica Found: Southeast Asia
The Philippine Duck has a black crown, nape and eye stripe; cinnamon head and neck, grayish brown legs; blue gray bill.. Rest of body is grayish brown with a bright green speculum.
Image by: 1, 4, 5) Dick Daniels - Sylvan Heights 2,3) Dick - Plettenberg Bay, South Africa 6) Dick - Jacksonville Zoo , Florida
Gadwall Anas strepera Found: North America, Europe, Asia, Africa
The breeding male Gadwall has gray upperparts and lowerparts, light chestnut wings, and a white speculum. The female has a mottled brown body, dark orange-edged bill, white speculum, light belly. The nonbreeding male resembles the female but is grayer above and has less orange on the bill.
Similar to: female Mallard . Female Gadwall has a squarer head than female Mallard. Mallard has more pronounced eye-line.
1, 2) Pair 3 - 6) Female 7 - 11) Male
Garganey Anas querquedula Found: North America (infrequent), Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia
The male Garganey has brown head and breast, reddish-brown face, broad white crescent over the eye, gray bill and legs. The rest of the plumage is gray. Female Garganey has light area below and in front of its dark eye-line and a light area behind and above the eye-line.
Similar to: female Blue-winged Teal . Female Blue-winged Teal has white eye-ring; female Garganey does not. Blue-winged Teal has yellow legs, Garganey does not.
Similar to: female Common Teal , female Green-winged Teal . Female Garganey has light area below and in front of its dark eye-line and a light area behind and above the eye-line. The corresonding areas of the female teal is much darker.
1 - 5) Female 7 - 10) Male
Koloa also Hawaiian Duck Anas wyvilliana Endemic to Hawaii
Similar to: Mallard . Both male and female Koloa resemble a female Mallard. The male Koloa has a darker head and neck than the female Koloa.
Often interbreeds with mallards, difficult to tell visually if a pure koloa.
1) Female, Male 2) Male 3, 4) Female
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Found: The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia
The breeding male Mallard has a glossy green head; white collar; purple-tinged brown breast; gray belly; yellowish-orange bill tipped with black. Female and nonbreeding male are predominantly mottled with individual feathers varying from buff to dark brown, a coloration shared by most female dabbling ducks. Female and nonbreeding males have dark eye-line and lighter supercilium.
Similar to: American Black Duck , Mottled Duck . Body variation from light to dark: Mallard, Mottled Duck, American Black Duck. Mottled Duck and Mallard have brighter bills than American Black Duck. Mottled Duck distinguished by black mark at its gape (where bill joins face).
Similar to: female Gadwall . Female Gadwall has a squarer head than female Mallard. Mallard had more pronounced eye-line.
Similar to: Hawaiian Duck . Both male and female Hawaiian (Koloa) resemble a female Mallard. The male Koloa has a darker head and neck than the female Koloa.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans 2) Hanuise
Pintail, Northern Anas acuta Found: North America, Europe, Asia, Africa
Both sexes have a long neck. Male has long tail, especially when breeding. Female has plain brown head.
1, 2) Pair 3, 4, 5) Female 6 - 8) Male
Pintail, White-cheeked Anas bahamensis Found: Infrequently in Florida, Galapagos Islands, South America
The White-cheeked Pintail is mainly brown, has a white throat and cheeks, gray bill with white cheeks. No similar birds in its range.
Image by: 1, 2) Dick Daniels - Mary Point Pond, St. John, Virgin Islands 3, 5, 7, 8) Dick Daniels - Sylvan Heights 4) Dick - Washington National Zoo 6) Dick - the Galapagos Islands 9) Dick - the Galapagos Islands 10) Sandy Cole - Sylvan Heights
7, 8, 9) White morph
Pintail, Yellow-billed Anas georgica Found: South America
The Yellow-billed Pintail has brown head and neck, yellow bill with black tip and black stripe, brown tail, brownish tail, grayish brown upper wing, blackish-green secondaries.The rest of the body is buffish brown with varying size black spots.
Similar to : Yellow-billed Teal . Yellow-billed Pintail has spotted flanks, Yellow-billed teal does not. Yellow-billed teal has larger spots on chest than Yellow-billed Pintail.
1) Female 2, 3) Male
Shoveler, Northern Anas clypeata Found: North America, Europe, Asia, Australia (rare)
All shovelers have long bills.
The breeding male Northern Shoveler has greenish black head, white breast, chestnut belly and flanks, black bill, yellow eyes. The female is mottled brown, orange bill tinged with gray, brown eyes. Nonbreeding male resembles female but is darker.
1, 2) Pair 3, 4) Female 45 - 9) Male
Shoveler, Red Anas platalea Found: South America
The Red Shoveler has mainly cinnamon colored plumage with dark spot; light gray head, black bill.
Similar to: Cinnamon Teal . Male Cinnamon Teal has darker head than male Red Shoveler.
Image by: 1, 2, 5) Dick Daniels - Sylvan Heights 3) Dick - San Diego Zoo 4) Cláudio Timm - Argentine Lake, Argentina
Wigeon, American also Baldpate Anas americana Found: North America, southwest South America
The American Wigeon has white belly, gray legs. The breeding male has a green crescent from its eyes to nape, off white crown that extends to its bill, pinkish brown back and breast, small black tipped light bill. The nonbreeding male has vestigial green and white on its head. The female has grayish brown back, gray head, chestnut breast, small black tipped gray bill.
Similar to: Eurasian Wigeon . The male American Wigeon and Eurasian Wigeon are distinctive. The female American Wigeon has white underwing, the female Eurasian Wigeon has gray underwing.
1, 2, 3) Pair 4) Adult female and juvenile 5) Juvenile 6) Female 7 - 11) Male
Wigeon, Chilöe Anas sibilatrix Found: South America
The Chiloe Wigeon has gray back with white patterns, dark green head, white cheeks and forehead, gray black tipped bill, black and white barred breast, orange brown sides.
1) Female top, male bottom 2, 3, 4) Probably female 5, 6) Probably male
Wigeon, Eurasian Anas penelope Rare: North America. Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Eurasian Wigeon has white belly, gray legs, small black tipped light bill. The breeding male has gray back and flanks, chestnut head, off white crown that extends to its bill, pink breast. The female is brown. The nonbreeding male resembles the female.
Similar to: American Wigeon . The male American Wigeon and Eurasian Wigeon are distinctive. The female American Wigeon has white underwing, the female Eurasian Wigeon has gray underwing.
1, 2, 3) Female 4 - 7) Male
Genus Chenonetta - 1 species
Duck, Australian Wood also Maned Duck Chenonetta jubata Found: Australia.
The Australian Wood Duck is gray with a dark brown head and mottled breast. The female has white stripes above and below the eye and also mottled flanks.
Similar to: Spotted Whistling-Duck . Both species have spots on the breast, but heads are very different.
1 - 5) Female 6 - 9) Male
Genus Lophonetta - 1 species
Duck, Crested Lophonetta specularoides Found: South America
The Crested Duck has dark brown upperparts with some light mottling, light mottled brown underparts, dark crown with darker mask.
Similar to: Marbled Duck . Their ranges do not overlap.
Image by: 1, 2) Claudio Timm - Argentine Lake, Argentina 3, 4) Charlie Westerinen - Ushuaia Argentina.
Genus Pteronetta - 1 species
Duck, Hartlaub's Pteronetta hartlaubii Found: African forests
The Harlaub's Duck has chestnut plumage with black head and upper neck, white above base of the bill.
Genus Sarkidiornis - 1 species
Duck, Knob-billed also Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos Found: Asia, Africa, South America
The Knob-billed Duck has white head speckled with dark spots, white underparts, glossy blue-black upperparts. The male has a black knob on the bill. In South America ( S. m. sylvicola) the male has dark flanks, the female has medium colored flanks. In the Old Workd (S. m. melanotos) the flanks are light colored.
DNA analysis of the Knob-billed duck species suggests that it is a basal member of the Anatidae family. That is, the Knob-billed Duck does not have any close relatives.
1 - 6) Sarkidiornis m. sylvicola 1, 2) Male 3 - 6) Female
7 - 10) Sarkidiornis m. melanotos 7, 8) Male 9, 10) Female
Genus Speculanas - 1 species
| Anatinae |
Which is the only English cathedral other than Lichfield to have three spires? | Glossary Of Common Duck Hunting Terms
Viewing Trail Cam Activity
Duck Hunting Glossary Of
Band - A duck band is the equivalent of trophy antlers to a duck hunter. Duck bands are highly prized and some even have bounties. Hunters who call in bounty bands are usually rewarded monetarily. Biologists use duck band information to study ducks.
Breasting out - A butchering technique often used by waterfowl hunters. The breasts contain the vast majority of the meat on a wild duck. To breast out a duck simply peel back the skin and cut the breasts away from the chest plate. A filet knife is the tool of choice.
Call - An instrument used to mimic the sound of waterfowl. Most are cylindrical in shape with the center hollowed out. Reeds are placed in the cavity. As air is pushed through the reeds, a quack sound is created.
Coffin blind - Also called ground blinds. These blinds allow waterfowl hunters to hunt with a low profile in field situations without the digging pits.
Decoy - The tools of the trade for a duck hunter. Decoys were traditionally made of cork but most are now made of molded plastic. They are also made in a variety of subspecies but mallards are the most common. Several decoys set out to entice ducks is known as a decoy spread.
Divers - Short for diving ducks; Scaup, canvasbacks, redheads, and mergansers are diving ducks. These birds dive below the surface of the water to find food such as fish and mollusks.
Drake - Male ducks are known as drakes.
Feeder chatter - When puddle ducks such as mallards are feeding they often make a rapid series of quacks. Duck hunters mimic this sound in an attempt to make approaching flocks believe their decoys are contented, feeding ducks. This sound is usually achieved by making the sound “ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka” into a call.
Flyway - A term for the section of the country a duck uses to travel from the breeding grounds in the northern portion of the continent to southern breeding grounds. There are
Fresh birds - A term used to describe new arriving birds to a particular area. After a cold front comes through fresh birds usually arrive. These ducks are easier to hunt because they are unaware of where refuges and heavily hunted areas are.
Full body decoy - These decoys have feet instead of keels. They are most often used during field hunting situations but some hunters will put them on logs, islands, or sand bars while hunting water.
Hen - Female ducks are known as hens.
High ball - The high ball call is also known as a hail call. It is a very loud multi-note call intended to get the attention of distant flocks. Once a flock begins to approach, it is best to switch to softer calling.
Greenhead - Name used to describe a drake mallard. Drake mallards are the most harvested duck in North America.
Jerk string - A jerk string is used to create motion within a flock. A string is connected to a few decoys within the spread. When ducks approach, a hunter pulls on the string creating motion within a decoy spread. This method was created well before the advent of the motion decoys of today.
Landing zone - A landing zone is an open area within a decoy spread. This open area is intended to give ducks an area to land in. Veteran hunters plan the landing zone in a spot offering advantageous shots.
Limit - The maximum amount of ducks a hunter can legally harvest on any given day.
Locked Up - When a duck is about to land it stops beating it’s wings and locks them up while descending. The best time to shoot ducks are when they are locked up.
Migration - A duck’s trip to and from wintering and breeding grounds. Ducks fly south during the fall and north in the spring.
Motion decoy - A decoy with moving parts intended to create realism within a decoy spread. They offer a wide variety of motion from kicking feet, moving heads, spinning wings, and much more.
Plucking - Harvested ducks bound for the roasting pan are plucked. Entrails are removed and all the feathers are pulled off the body while leaving the skin intact. Dunking the bird in boiling water makes the process of plucking easier.
Puddlers - Short for puddle duck. Puddle ducks are birds that typically eat only vegetation. Mallards, gadwalls, pintails, and wigeon. They are also known as dabbling ducks.
Refuge - A safe place for waterfowl where hunting is not allowed. Refuges offer migrating waterfowl a resting place on their journey.
Retriever - Name given to dogs used for hunting. Retrievers locate and collect downed ducks. The Labrador Retriever is the most commonly used retriever. However, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and American Water Spaniels are among many other breeds waterfowl hunters enjoy.
Silhouettes - Two dimensional duck decoys. Silhouettes are less expensive than full body decoys. Hunters that demand large spreads use them to save money while making a big impact.
Skiff - A small boat used for hunting in marshes and other small bodies of water. Most skiffs are paddle powered.
Skybusting - A term used to describe the practice of shooting at out of range ducks. Skybusting is the mortal sin of the duck hunting world. Skybusters can wound birds. Those who are unharmed learn from the experience and are believed to be harder to hunt.
Spinning wing decoy - The most common type of motion decoy. They usually consist of a molded duck body on a stake with wings on either side. The wings spin giving the decoy the appearance of a duck landing in the spread.
Sprig - Term hunters use to describe a drake pintail. Also known as a bull sprig.
Water keel - A type of duck decoy that has a hollow keel below the body of the decoy. They are lightweight and inexpensive, but tend to rock unnaturally and can tip over in windy conditions.
Weighted keel - A weighted keel decoy has sand or lead in the keel of the decoy. This weight helps stabilize the decoy in windy weather and ensures the decoy lands head up when throwing decoys out during setup.
Wing beat - The motion of a flying duck’s wings. The wing beat will significantly slow when a duck is planning to land. As the duck
WPA - Waterfowl Production Area; these are federally owned properties designed to give waterfowl areas to nest in the spring. They are open to hunting in the fall and can provide excellent wing shooting opportunities
| i don't know |
Which “Tom” gave simultaneous 1958 hits to Lonnie Donegan and the Kingston Trio? | Tom Dooley | Kingston Trio | Paul Slade - Journalist
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"The community in the vicinity of this tragedy is divided into two separate and distinct classes. The one occupying the fertile lands adjacent to the Yadkin River and its tributaries is educated and intelligent, and the other, living on the spurs and ridges of the mountains, is ignorant, poor and depraved. A state of morality unexampled in the history of any country exists among these people, and such a general system of freeloveism prevails that it is 'a wise child that knows its own father'."
- New York Herald, May 2, 1868, on Wilkes County, North Carolina.
"And so you dance and drink and screw,
Because there's nothing else to do."
- Jarvis Cocker, Common People.
Sometimes, it's not the information a song contains which gives it its power, but precisely what it chooses to leave out.
The Kingston Trio's 1958 recording of Tom Dooley scored a top five hit on both sides of the Atlantic and dragged the burgeoning folk revival from a few Greenwich Village cafes to the global stage. It's a sparse 16 lines long - just 82 words in all - and the sheer economy this forces on its bare-bones tale guarantees that the record will raise many more questions than it answers.
The Kingston Trio's disc prompted the same question in every listeners' mind: 'What is this?'
We're introduced to a man called Tom Dooley and told he's due to hang tomorrow morning for stabbing an unnamed beauty to death. If it hadn't been for this Grayson fellow, he'd have been safe in Tennessee instead. Listen again, and you may pick up from the spoken word introduction that some sort of romantic triangle was involved.
It's not much, is it? And yet this rudimentary tale was enough to ensure the record sold six million copies round the world, topping the charts not only in America, but in Australia, Canada and Norway too. Only Lonnie Donegan's canny decision to quickly cut his own competing version - itself a sizable UK hit - kept the Trio's original from scoring the top spot in Britain too. Dooley's ballad and the killing that inspired it have been firmly cemented in the public imagination ever since, spilling over into movies, comedy, theatre and every other medium. In his 1997 book Invisible Republic, Greil Marcus calls the Trio's record "insistently mysterious" and suggests it's the very paucity of information it offers which makes the song so fascinating.
The singer clearly sympathises with Dooley - "Poor boy, you're bound to die" - and invites us to do likewise. But how can we oblige when he refuses to tell us who it was that Dooley killed, why he did so or what the extenuating circumstances might be? Where did all this happen? And when? Who was Grayson, how did he thwart Dooley's planned escape and what's so special about Tennessee? And why have these innocent-looking preppy boys, with their short hair, slacks, and crisp stripy shirts, chosen such a violent song?
A quick glance at the discs surrounding Tom Dooley in the US chart that autumn confirms how awkwardly it sat with the era's sugary norm. Dooley's tale of slaughter and despair made a strange bedfellow for Rockin' Robin, Queen of the Hop and The Chipmunk Song. Conway Twitty's cornball country reading of It's Only Make Believe was the single that preceded Tom Dooley at Number One, and it was The Teddy Bears' winsome To Know Him is to Love Him that dislodged it. Small wonder, as Marcus says, that Dooley's disc prompted such a nagging question in listeners' minds whenever it was played: "What is this?"
That question was only heightened by the many bizarre spin-offs which Dooleymania produced. The first to show through were a batch of late fifties "answer songs", such as Merle Kilgore's Tom Dooley Jr, Russ Hamilton's The Reprieve of Tom Dooley and The Balladeers' Tom Dooley Gets the Last Laugh. These were typically facetious attempts to cash in on the original hit's popularity, with The Balladeers' disc, for example, giving Tom an unlikely escape on the gallows. "There on his toes he balanced," it smirks. "They'd made the rope too long".
Columbia Pictures was keen to exploit the original song's success too, and in 1959, they released a film version called The Legend of Tom Dooley. This cast Michael Landon - best-known as Bonanza's Little Joe - in the title role, but cheerfully made up its own story from scratch. In this telling, Dooley and his Confederate army friends are framed for murder after what they take to be an honourable wartime shooting, and Tom kills his unfortunate girlfriend in a tragic accident.
Ella Fitzgerald got in on the act too, slipping an unexpected snatch of Tom Dooley into her 1960 recording of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. Listeners to that year's A Swinging Christmas album were startled to hear Ella replying to the track's short piano break by singing the improvised lines: "Hang your nose down, Rudy / Hang your nose and cry". If nothing else, this shows how firmly Dooley's ballad had already lodged itself in America's collective mind, and suggests that even the finest jazz singer of her generation had found its chorus ringing through her head.
Still we were no closer to discovering what the true story was. The folk music covers which started to appear in the next couple of years took a more serious approach, but many were content to simply copy The Kingston Trio's template. Where these did manage to slip in an extra bit of information - Lonnie Donegan's reference to "Sheriff Grayson" for example - it often turned out to be untrue.
Mike Seeger's New Lost City Ramblers went back to an earlier folk version of the song for their 1961 recording, adding the news that Tom had been a fiddle player, naming his victim as Laura Foster and giving us the rough dimensions of her shallow grave. The blind country singer Doc Watson contributed a third version in 1964 - perhaps an even older one - which claimed Tom was innocent of any crime, and condemned to hang only because someone was determined to persecute him. Just who that someone was, Watson declined to say.
Really determined researchers could consult the few printed sources available with Tom's story, but these proved just as impossible to reconcile as the songs. John and Alan Lomax had included Tom Dooley in their 1947 collection Folk Song USA, printing the same lyrics The Kingston Trio would use eleven years later, but their account of the case behind the song relied more on folklore than fact. Rufus Gardner's 1960 book Tom Dooley: The Eternal Triangle located the tale firmly in North Carolina, but was determined to whitewash the reputation of everyone involved. When the newspapers deigned to print a background article about Dooley's song, they simply reproduced the same mistakes and tall tales these two books contained.
In 1957, no-one outside North Carolina had ever heard of Tom Dooley. Five years on from The Kingston Trio's hit, his name was known around the world, and many millions of people were at least dimly aware that he'd been accused of killing his girlfriend and later hanged for it. Hardcore folk fans may also have grasped that the killing happened in the Wilkes County of 1866. For every 'fact' that emerged, though, there was another one alongside to contradict it, and that meant Dooley's identity in the mass media became more confused every day.
Here was a folk song - a folk song, for God's sake - that had somehow managed to top the charts and sell six million copies. Here was a tale of murder and judicial execution sung by three clean-cut young boys any mother could admire. Here were novelty records, movies, books and a story which contradicted itself with every new telling, and yet never seemed to change. With every drop of a needle onto vinyl, every flickering image of Landon's face on a cinema or TV screen, Marcus's question resounded anew: What is this?
I'm glad you asked...
Captain William Dula came to Wilkes County's Happy Valley in 1790, acquiring several thousand acres of fertile riverside land between the towns we now call Patterson and Ferguson. Dula was a veteran of America's recent War of Independence, and his family soon became part of the rich, educated elite whose fortunes were maintained by their slave-run plantations along the Yadkin River.
Further up the hillsides flanking this land lived a very different class of people. These were the "ignorant, poor and depraved" folk the New York Herald would later be so rude about, and William Dula's brother Bennett lived among them. He owned only a patch of this far less valuable upland property which, although it made him better off than most of his hillside neighbours, still left him well below William's status.
The local dialect meant any name ending in "a" was pronounced with an "ee" at the end instead, transforming the written Dula into "Dooley" when spoken aloud. Nashville, where country music's Grand Old Opera show began in 1925, lies just 300 miles west of Happy Valley, and it's this same habit of local speech that instantly rechristened it the "Opry".
Lotty found Ann and Tom naked in bed together when Tom was 15 and Ann just one year older
Bennett was Tom Dula's grandfather, and Tom was born in 1844. Just two years later, a man called Calvin Cowles established a general store and Post Office at the mouth of Elk Creek, giving Tom's little community its first central gathering place and the name of Elkville. Cowles's store was the place where any entertainers passing through the county stopped to perform, a mustering ground for the local militia and an ideal spot for any campaigning politicians to gather a crowd. It also served as a makeshift courthouse.
Living about half a mile from Tom's cabin in Elkville was Lotty Foster's brood of five illegitimate children: Ann, Thomas, Martha, Lenny and Marshall. "The entire family was illiterate," John Foster West writes in his 1993 book Lift Up Your Head Tom Dooley. "In addition to her promiscuity, Lotty Foster had a reputation for drunkenness. This is the home Ann Foster Melton had been born into and grown up in until she was married at 14 or 15 to James Melton." (1)
Not long after that marriage, Lotty caught Ann and Tom naked in bed together, at a time when Tom would have been about15 and Ann perhaps a year older. Tom jumped out from between the sheets when Lotty confronted him, tried briefly to hide under the bed, and then fled with the angry woman at his heels. "I ordered him out," Lotty recalled seven years later. "He had his clothes off." (2)
Ann's adultery with Tom did not stop there. Her husband James, a local farmer who also served as the area's cobbler, kept three beds in his single-room cabin, and he often slept alone in one while Tom and Ann shared another. Pauline Foster, Ann's cousin, who occupied the third bed, told the court at Tom's trial she'd often seen Tom slipping into Ann's bed after dark and spending the night with her there. James didn't seem to care. "Ann was a mesmerisingly beautiful creature," Foster West says. "That may have been enough for him. Also, Ann was imperious, aggressive and ferocious when thwarted. That may have contributed to her husband's passivity as well."
Neither Tom nor Ann were short of other bedmates. The descriptions we have of Tom depict a good-looking young man, close to six feet tall, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was handsome enough to regularly bed Ann - by all accounts the area's reigning beauty - and there's no reason to think he'd stop there. Foster West is in no doubt that his character was essentially depraved, with an obsessive lechery that began in childhood.
As for Ann, it was common knowledge in Happy Valley that she slept with any man who took her fancy. "Ann Melton was a unique character, possessing almost all the faults one woman could have," Foster West confirms. "In addition to her promiscuity, she was temperamental, demanding and aggressive. She was also lazy."
Tom was pretty lazy himself. The 1860 census shows his mother Mary as head of the household, suggesting Tom's father was already dead, and leaving Mary with four children to raise alone. The land she owned was valued that year at $195 (about $4,600 today), but much of it was probably rocky scrubland, and Tom showed little interest in cultivating it. His two older brothers, John and Lenny, were a little more industrious, but they both left to become soldiers when the Civil War began in 1861, and neither returned alive.
North Carolina seceded from the Union in May 1861 - the last of the 11 rebel states to do so - but many of those living in Wilkes County had no sympathy for the Confederate cause. Some were outright Unionists, and this led to bitter splits between families and communities which lasted well into the 20th Century. Tom was a Confederate, though, and he signed up for three years in Company K of the North Carolina Infantry's 42nd Regiment in March 1862. It's true that Tom played the fiddle, but not that he served with Colonel Zebulon Vance's 26th Regiment or entertained Vance with fiddle tunes round the campfire at night.
Interviewing Tom's old army companions many years later, a reporter from the New York Herald found they remembered him as "a terrible, desperate character" in those years. As usual, it was Tom's dick that led him into trouble. "Among them, it was generally believed he murdered the husband of a woman in Wilmington during the war, with whom he had criminal intercourse," the Herald's man wrote. (3)
But there was evidence on the other side too. The same paper allowed that Tom had fought gallantly on the Confederate side and won a reputation for bravery there. At least one other Company K veteran, his friend Washington Anderson, was prepared to swear in court that Tom had conducted himself well as a soldier.
Tom's rank changed from private soldier to musician at the beginning of 1864, indicating that he'd become a drummer, responsible for beating out the charge or retreat in battle and setting the rhythm for marching drills back at camp. He saw quite a bit of action in the year that followed, fighting at Cold Harbour, Petersburg and Kinston. That last engagement proved his undoing, leading to Tom's capture as a POW in March 1865, and three months' stay in a Yankee prison.
The Civil War ended a month or so after Tom was captured, but he remained a POW until June 11. Already, his own regional pronunciation of the family name was causing confusion, and he found the oath of allegiance he was required to sign to the newly-restored USA listed him as "Dooley". He put his mark to that spelling rather than risk his release, but could not resist scrawling "Dula" above it as well.
As hostilities wound down, many of the less enthusiastic Confederate soldiers in Tom's part of the country had fled their regiments to the mountains around Elkville to hide from the former comrades who now wanted to shoot them as deserters. The continuing presence of these men in Wilkes County's hills added to the lawless atmosphere there, and Tom must have wondered what other changes he'd find when he returned home.
None of this merry bed-hopping would have mattered if not for the fact that Pauline had syphilis
The end of slavery meant Happy Valley's aristocrats were a good deal less wealthy than once they'd been, though still a substantial cut above their hill country neighbours. Times were hard in the uplands, with society in ferment at every level, old Civil War resentments still playing themselves out nearby, and starvation a very real prospect for the poor. People in Elkville and a dozen other small communities like it began to replace former slaves on the big plantations, becoming sharecroppers or tenant farmers there, but continuing to live in their own ramshackle settlements.
One of those tenant farmers was Wilson Foster, who shared his own cabin with his daughter Laura. Folklore describes Laura as a beautiful girl with chestnut hair and blue - or green, or brown - eyes. She had very distinctive teeth, slightly larger than average, and with a noticeable gap between her two central incisors. Her mother's death between 1860 and 1866 may explain why Laura had started to run a little wild. By the ripe old age of 22, she'd secured a reputation for "round heels" - a local phrase denoting the ease with which she could be toppled onto her back - and it wouldn't be long before Tom sought her out.
Wilson first found his daughter in bed with Tom in March of 1866, and later testified that the young man had come calling on Laura about once a week. Often, he spent the night with her, alternating his visits there with his now-customary trips to Ann's bed. It was also in March 1866 that Ann's cousin Pauline arrived from the next-door Watauga County to work as a live-in housekeeper at the Meltons' place. Pauline's heels were even rounder than Ann or Laura's, and it wasn't long before Tom was screwing her too.
"I slept with Dula for a blind at Ann Melton's insistence," Pauline said when questioned about this in court. "I [also] stayed out at the barn with him at his request." Pauline was "remarkable for nothing but debasement," the Herald's reporter declared. Foster West calls her "depraved, immoral and promiscuous," adding that she may also have been an alcoholic.
So, let's review for a moment. In the Spring of 1866, Tom was sleeping with Ann, Laura and Pauline. Ann was also sleeping - at least occasionally - with her husband, and quite possibly a couple of other men as well. Pauline, we know, slept with Ann's brother Thomas, and was said to have bedded her own brother Sam too. Tom's the only bedmate of Laura's we can put a name too, but her reputation suggests there were others.
None of this merry bed-hopping would have mattered much if it hadn't been for one awkward fact. Pauline had syphilis.
Pauline had contracted the disease before leaving Watauga County, and come over the border to Wilkes in search of medical treatment. George Carter, the only doctor for miles around, lived in Happy Valley, and Pauline had taken the housekeeper's job to pay him for the blue mass, blue stone and caustic he prescribed. "I admit I have this venereal disease," she testified years later. "I came to James Melton's to get cured, and worked with him for money to buy medicines." Ann and James agreed to pay Pauline $21 (about $300 today) to stay with them and work throughout the Summer, but she told no-one the real reason for her visit.
It takes about three weeks from catching syphilis to the first appearance of its tell-tale chancre on the penis, and Tom presented precisely that symptom when he visited Dr Carter in the Spring of 1866. "About the last of March or the first of April, the prisoner applied to me for medical treatment," Dr Carter said. "He had the syphilis. He told me he caught it from Laura Foster."
That's probably what Tom believed himself, but he would have known nothing about Pauline's infection. She'd arrived in Wilkes County on March 1 and, assuming a week or so passed before she and Tom first slept together, the timing would be about right for the disease to have come from her. Meanwhile, of course, Tom was still screwing both Ann and Laura, each of whom had other sexual partners of their own.
Soon, Ann and Laura were showing symptoms of syphilis too, and Ann claimed she'd also passed it to James. The local name for this infection was "the pock" and Lord knows how many people may have eventually been caught up in Pauline's chain of disease. Challenged about her health by Ann a few months later, Pauline angrily replied "We all have it!"
For now, though, Pauline's pock was known only to her and Dr Carter. Tom still believed Laura had given him the disease, and told a neighbour in the middle of May that he intended to "put through" the woman responsible. The neighbour, knowing this regional phrase meant Tom planned to kill her, tried to dissuade him.
A week later, Tom visited Laura and spoke privately with her for about an hour. They had another, equally intense, conversation on May 23, leading Laura to tell one of her own neighbours that Tom had promised to marry her. "Very possibly, Laura Foster was pregnant," Foster West says.
On Thursday, May 24, Ann took Pauline to one side, told her Tom had caught the pock from Laura and said that she - Ann - now had it too. Ann told Pauline she was going to kill Laura in revenge, and threatened to kill Pauline too if she ever reported this conversation.
Later the same morning, Pauline was alone at the Melton house, when Tom turned up. He said he'd met Ann on the ridge, and she wanted Pauline to give him some alum for the sores on his mouth and to lend him a canteen. Pauline handed the two items over, and Tom gave the empty canteen to a man called Carson McGuire, telling him to fill it with moonshine liquor.
Tom's next stop was Lotty's place, where he borrowed a heavy digging tool called a mattock. He told Lotty he wanted to "work some devilment out" of himself. Soon after this, a local woman called Martha Gilbert saw Tom swinging the mattock on a path about 100 yards from the cabin he shared with his mother. He told Martha he was working to widen the path there so he could walk more safely at night. Months later, Laura's grave would be discovered about 250 yards from this spot.
McGuire delivered the full canteen to the Melton house at about 10:00am. Ann took a swig from it, announced she was going to take it to Tom, and then left for her mother's cabin. Tom arrived at Lotty's - without the mattock - soon after Ann, and they left together at about 3:00pm. Neither was seen again until dawn the next day. Lotty asked Tom for her mattock back a couple of times in the days that followed, but he didn't eventually return it until Sunday or Monday.
"It would have been an easy matter for Tom to conceal the mattock in the bushes near the grave site on Thursday," Foster West writes. "He returned to Lotty Foster's later that afternoon without the mattock and he and Ann Melton left together with the canteen of liquor around 3:00pm. Both he and Ann were missing from their homes for the remainder of that day and all of the following night. That was a logical time to dig the grave."
Ann arrived home at about 5:30 on the Friday morning, undressed and climbed into bed. She told Pauline that she, Lotty and Tom had laid out all night and drunk the canteen of liquor. When Pauline got up to prepare breakfast, she could see that Ann's clothes and shoes were wet.
'In one quick, forceful motion, he plunged the long blade of a knife into her chest cavity'
Meanwhile, also at about 5:30, Tom was outside Laura Foster's cabin. Careful not to wake her father, she stepped outside to speak with Tom, and then returned to her bedside, where she quickly got dressed and bundled a few spare clothes together.
Laura was a skilled weaver and often took her payment for this work in the form of cloth, which relatives would later make up into dresses for her. It was one of those dresses she chose now, donning a second one made of store-bought material over it as protection from the early morning cold. She pinned the dresses in place with a broach on her chest, threw a cape over her shoulders to conceal the syphilis welts already showing there, and slipped out the door.
Wilson's mare was tethered outside the cabin. Laura pulled its rope free, climbed on and rode bareback down the riverside track towards the meeting place Tom had chosen. Her bundle of spare clothes was stuffed into her lap.
Laura was just one mile into her six-mile journey when she met Betsy Scott, the same neighbour she'd confided in a few days before, and told her she and Tom had agreed to meet at a spot in the woods where an old blacksmith's shop had once stood. All trace of that shop had vanished now, but the site was still known by the name of the man who'd owned it. Everyone around knew just where "Bates' Place" was, and that's where Laura was heading now. Betsy, perhaps thinking how short-lived a promise of marriage from a man like Tom was likely to prove, urged Laura to hurry along. "I said if it was me, I'd have been further on the road by this time," Betsy later recalled. (2)
Meanwhile, Tom was walking along a path parallel to Laura's track on his way to the Meltons' place. He stopped briefly to chat with neighbours three times along the way and, when one of them asked if he was pursuing his plans for revenge against Laura, replied "No, I have quit that". Pauline was already out and working when Tom arrived at the Meltons', but returned to the cabin just after 8:00am for a milk pail, when she found Tom bending over Ann's bed, talking to her in low, urgent tones.
Wilson was up and about by then too, and angry to find that both his daughter and his mare had gone missing. He'd been trimming the mare's hooves that week, and left one of them half-finished, giving it a distinctive pointed shape that was easy to track in the soft ground. He followed its progress all the way to Bates' Place, but lost the tracks there in an old field.
He cadged some breakfast at a friend's house nearby - complaining about the loss of his mare throughout the meal - and then walked on to the Meltons' cabin, where he found Ann still in bed. Tom had just left, stopping to collect half a gallon of milk at Lotty's cabin and then walking off down Stony Fork Road in a direction which could take him either to his own house or to Bates' Place. As always, he carried a six-inch Bowie knife in his coat pocket.
Tom wasn't seen again till noon, when Mary Dula returned to the cabin they shared to find her son already there, lying in bed. They ate their noon meal together, and Tom remained in Mary's company until about 3:00pm, when she went out for a short while to deal with the cows. A couple of Tom's friends met her out working and asked where Tom was, but Mary said she didn't know.
That evening, while Mary prepared supper, Tom went out. Mary assumed he was in the barn, but Ann's mother Lotty and her brother Thomas both testified later that they'd seen Tom heading up to Bates' Place at about that time. The distance from the Dula cabin to Bates' Place was about a mile, so Tom could have walked it in 20 minutes or so if he'd kept up a brisk pace.
He returned home in time to eat his supper, but then went out again just after dark, staying out for what Mary said was about an hour. When he returned, he complained of chills as he prepared for bed, and Mary heard him moaning in the night.
We have Wilson's evidence that Ann was still in bed at home around 8:30 on Friday morning, but no other accounts of her movements until nightfall, when Wilson returned to the Melton's place for a party with Ann, James and Pauline. Ann's brother Thomas was there too, along with three other men. "Everyone was joking and having a good time," Wilson said.
Pauline later claimed that Wilson had announced that evening he didn't care what happened to Laura as long as he got his mare back, and even threatened to kill the girl if he ever found her. Wilson denied saying any such thing, but Pauline stuck to her guns in court, saying she'd jokingly replied with an offer to go and find Wilson's mare herself if he'd give her a quart of liquor for doing so.
Wilson stayed at the Melton's party for two or three hours, and then spent what was left of the night at his friend Francis Melton's place. When he returned to his own cabin on Saturday morning, he found his mare already waiting there. It had chewed through its halter rope, about three feet of which was still hanging from the headcollar. No one ever saw Laura alive again.
All we can say for sure about what happened to Laura that day is that she was dead by the end of it. But it was almost certainly Tom who stabbed her.
There will be those of you who bridle at that, so let me explain why I'm so confident. US murder statistics from 1999 show that 87.5% of all America's murders are committed by men, and that 23% of all homicides there have a male perpetrator and a female victim. Only 2.5% of all US murders have a woman as both perpetrator and victim. That doesn't mean it's impossible that Ann killed Laura, of course, but it does put the burden of proof firmly on those who argue for her guilt rather than Tom's.
Even if we discount the rumours of Tom murdering his Wilmington lover's husband during the war, we know he saw enough battlefield slaughter to risk brutalising any man. The Herald tells us that the Tom Dula who returned to Happy Valley in 1865 was "reckless, demoralised and a desperado, of whom the people in his vicinity had a terror". As we'll see in a moment, his first reaction on hearing local people suggest he might have killed Laura was to threaten them with a beating.
Those who insist Ann was the murderer have some sentimental folklore on their side, but precious little else. The idea that Tom went willingly to the gallows to protect Ann from hanging instead gives an element of noble romantic sacrifice to his story which some people are determined to maintain at all costs. Ann may well have helped Tom dig the grave, and even to bury the body too, but the truth of Laura's killing itself is probably as simple and as squalid as most murders are. Here's how Foster West sees it:
"Sometime on that Friday, Tom met Laura in the woods. In one quick, forceful motion he plunged into her chest cavity the long blade of a knife. Then, perhaps with the help of Ann, he transported the body about half a mile to the grave he had dug with the mattock the night before. Into that hole, about two and a half feet deep, he dumped the body on the right side with the legs drawn up."
Deciding just when Tom stabbed her that day is more difficult, because every scenario presents its own snags. He could have killed Laura as early as 9:00am, straight after his stop at Lotty's cabin, but burying her then would have meant moving the body on his own in broad daylight.
Concealing the body at Bates' Place and then returning after dark to move it with Ann's help sounds more likely but, as Foster West points out, that raises the problem of rigor mortis, which may have made it impossible to bend Laura's knees enough to squeeze her into that tiny four-foot grave. Frances Casstevens, author of Death in North Carolina's Piedmont, claims Laura's legs were broken to fit her in the grave, but no other account mentions this, and I take it to be a little gratuitous cruelty slipped into the story for its shock value alone.
Foster West speculates that Tom may have met Laura at Bates' Place early in the day, given her a jug of moonshine to keep herself entertained, and persuaded her to wait for him there until nightfall. He would have returned either before or after supper - perhaps with Ann in tow - and killed Laura then.
This would at least allow Tom and Ann to transport the body in relative safety, and bury her before rigor mortis set in. But it takes a bit of believing to think a wild girl like Laura would have meekly waited in the woods all day while her lover was off doing God knows what. Far from helping matters, I'd have thought the moonshine would just make her more volatile.
Tom returned to the Meltons' cabin on Saturday morning, telling Pauline he'd come to collect his fiddle and get his shoes repaired by James. He spent half an hour talking quietly with Ann and then, when Pauline said she thought he'd run off with Laura, laughed and said: "I have no use for Laura Foster".
Later that morning, Ann told Pauline that she'd gone out during the night and that neither Pauline nor Thomas, who'd shared Pauline's bed that night, had missed her. "She'd done what she said," Pauline later claimed Ann had told her. "She'd killed Laura Foster."
'She'd done what she said,' Pauline later claimed Ann had told her. 'She'd killed Laura Foster'
When the news got out about Laura's disappearance, many people assumed, like Pauline, that she and Tom had run off together. As soon as they realised Tom was still in Elkville, gossip started to spread that he must have murdered her, and neighbours noted his refusal to join the search parties. By June 22, nearly a month after Laura's death, a local family called Hendricks was openly telling everyone around them that Tom had killed Laura. When James reported this gossip to Tom, he laughed again and said "They will have to prove it. And perhaps take a beating besides!"
Two days later, calls for Tom's arrest were circulating, and Happy Valley's citizens organised their biggest search party yet. This was led by a man called Winkler, who formed everyone up into a long line and told them to walk slowly up the ridge from Mary Dula's house towards the north, examining the ground as they went. Arriving at Bates' Place, they found a piece of rope tied to a dogwood tree, which had been chewed through at its dangling end and which matched the rope Wilson's mare had trailed home.
They found a couple of piles of horse dung nearby too, showing the mare had stood there for some time, and also a discoloured patch of ground which they decided had been stained by Laura's blood. "The discolouration of the ground at this spot extended the width of my hand," Winkler later explained. "The smell of the earth was offensive, and different from that of the surrounding earth."
Next day, Tom went to confront the Hendricks family, and then called at the Meltons' place around nightfall. He spoke privately to Ann outside - Pauline could see that they were both weeping - and then came back in to retrieve a knife Ann had hidden for him under one of the cabin's bedheads. When Pauline asked what was wrong, Tom said the Hendricks clan was telling lies about him, falsely claiming that he'd killed Laura, and that meant he was going to have to get out of Wilkes County. He'd be back at Christmas to collect his mother and Ann, he promised, and then the three of them would find somewhere safer to live.
After a final tearful embrace between himself and Ann, Tom told her goodbye and left. He stopped in Watauga County for a few days, probably staying with relatives there, gave himself the new name of Tom Hall, and then walked on towards Tennessee.
Tom had already been in Watauga for three days when William Hix, the Wilkes County sheriff, received a warrant from Elkville's Justice of the Peace, Pickens Carter. This ordered Hix to arrest Tom, Ann and two of Tom's second cousins on suspicion of murdering Laura. All but Tom were quickly rounded up, and brought to Carter's June 29 hearing at Cowles Store, where he found the three of them not guilty. Carter also dispatched two Elkville deputies, Jack Adkins and Ben Ferguson, to track Tom down and bring him home.
Tom spent the best part of a week walking through the mountains into Tennessee, arriving at a town called Trade, about ten miles south east of Mountain City, on July 2. He pitched up at a farm owned by Colonel James Grayson, a former soldier who now sat in Tennessee's state legislature, and got himself a job there as one of Grayson's field hands. He worked there for about a week - long enough to earn what he needed to replace his ruined boots - and then walked off west towards Johnson City.
Carter's two deputies arrived at Grayson's farm a few days after Tom had left, and Grayson realised that the man they were describing was the field hand he'd known as Tom Hall. According to James Rucker's article in the Winter 2008 issue of Appalachian Heritage, Grayson rode off with Adkins and Ferguson to find Johnson County's sheriff, knowing they'd need his authority to arrest Tom outside their own North Carolina jurisdiction. Discovering the sheriff was away on official business, the three men decided to ride on after Tom themselves.
They found him camped by a creek at Pandora, about nine miles west of Mountain City. Grayson dismounted, told Tom he was under arrest and Tom, seeing that Grayson carried a gun, surrendered. Rucker adds that Adkins and Ferguson were both keen to hang Tom on the spot, and says it was only Grayson's insistence on due process that stopped them.
Grayson mounted Tom behind him on his horse, tying his feet beneath its belly to keep him there, and the four men rode off back to Trade. Arriving at Grayson's farm, they locked Tom in a corn crib overnight and sent Grayson's 12-year-old son out to guard the door. Next day, they made the trip back to Wilkesboro - foiling at least one escape attempt by Tom en route - and locked him in the jail cell there which tourists still visit today. With no corpse yet found, the police still had no firm proof a murder had even been committed, but no-one seemed to think that was worth worrying about.
Hearing of Tom's capture on July 14, Pauline fled from Elkville across the county border back into Watauga. Ann followed her there a few days later with Pauline's brother Sam, explained forcefully that Pauline's flight was just making them all look guilty, and bullied her into accompanying them back home.
Even with Pauline back in the fold, though, Ann was still worried. She approached Pauline in tears one day in early August, said she was afraid Tom might hang, and urged Pauline to help her ensure no further evidence against him came to light. "I want to show you Laura's grave," she said. "I want to see whether it looks suspicious."
Ann insisted that Pauline must come with her, saying first that she would dig up Laura's body if the grave looked suspicious and rebury it in her cabbage patch, then deciding it might be better to cut the body into bits and dispose of it that way. Ann led Pauline from the Melton's cabin past Lotty's place and across Stony Fork Road to a pine log part way up what is now Laura Foster Ridge. She paused there to shuffle some dead leaves over a spot which looked like it had been rooted up by some hogs, but told Pauline that the actual grave was higher up the ridge. Pauline was thoroughly spooked by now, however, and refused to go any further.
Realising Pauline was adamant, Ann marched on alone. She returned a few minutes later, apparently having satisfied herself the grave would draw no attention, and cursed Pauline for her cowardice all the way back home.
Pauline was falling apart fast now, tormented by the knowledge that she was probably responsible for the infection that had led to Laura's murder, and often drunk enough to make her more unpredictable than ever.
About a week after their trip to the grave, Ann and Pauline were together at the Meltons' cabin when the two deputies, Adkins and Ferguson, came to question them both. Ferguson said he believed Pauline had helped kill Laura, and that was why she'd fled across the county line. Pauline, who'd been drinking, answered: "Yes, I and Dula killed her, and I ran off to Watauga County. Come out, Tom Dula, and let us kill some more! Let us kill Ben Ferguson!" Seeing the state Pauline was, Adkins and Ferguson were not inclined to take this outburst seriously, and Pauline herself later insisted it had been meant as a joke. But Ann could see that her cousin was now someone she couldn't afford to trust.
'My father turned up a side of turf with his boot, and found Laura two feet under the ground'
A few days later, Pauline was visiting a neighbour when Ann pursued her there with a club. She demanded that Pauline come home with her immediately, pushed her out of her chair towards the door and said she'd wanted to kill her ever since Pauline's stupid words to Ben Ferguson. "You have said enough to Jack Adkins and Ben Ferguson to hang you and Tom Dula if it was ever looked into," Ann screamed, pinning Pauline to the ground outside and beginning to choke her. "You are as deep in the mud as I am in the mire!" Pauline screeched back.
Ann dragged Pauline 100 yards down the road towards home, then stalked back and threatened the terrified neighbour, demanding she tell no-one about what she'd heard. She began to walk off again, but then returned a second time, warning the woman that she'd follow her to hell itself for revenge if word of that day's fight with Pauline ever got out.
It was obvious now that Pauline was close to cracking, and the police decided that a few nights in jail could be just the push she needed. They arrested her and told her that she, like Tom, was being held on suspicion of Laura's murder. Questioned both in Wilkesboro jail and before a magistrate at Cowles Store, she told police all about her trip towards the grave with Ann, and agreed to help the next search party find Laura's remains.
The chosen day was Saturday, September 1, when a party of over 70 men followed Pauline to the pine log where she and Ann had parted company. Pauline pointed up the ridge in the direction Ann had gone, and the men split into pairs for the search that followed. One of the pairs climbing on that day was Colonel James Isbell and his father-in-law David Horton. Isbell was William Dula's grandson, and hence a member of Happy Valley's riverside aristocracy. His plantation included the Caldwell County farm where Laura had lived with her father, which may explain why he was particularly determined to bring her killer to justice.
Horton was then aged 74, and so conducted the search on horseback, rather than walking like his younger companions. He and Isbell searched their section of the ridge meticulously for an hour and then, about 75 yards on from the log where they'd started, his horse began to snort and rear up. Isbell's grandson, Reverend Robert Isbell, describes what followed in his 1955 book The World of My Childhood.
"My father, James Isbell, noticed the horse back and shy away," Robert writes. "He called to Major Horton to rein the horse back to the spot he had shied from, and when he did the horse refused to go. My father said he went forward and stamped the spot with his boot heel, turned up a side of turf and found Laura about two feet under the ground." (4)
James Isbell gave his own account of this moment at Tom's trial. "After taking out the earth, I saw the print of what appeared to have been a mattock in the side of the grave," he said. "The flesh was off the face. Her body had on a checked cotton dress and dark-coloured cloak or cape. There was a bundle of clothes laid on her head. There was a small breast pin."
The two men summoned Dr Carter over, and he examined the body where it lay, finding the slit of a knife in the fabric over Laura's left breast and a corresponding stab wound between her third and fourth ribs. Laura had already been in the ground for three months by that time, and her body was too decomposed for Carter to tell for sure whether the knife had penetrated her heart or not. He confirmed, however, that it certainly could have reached the heart, and that such a wound would have killed Laura outright.
"The body was lying on its side, face up," Carter testified. "The hole in which it lay was two-and-a-half feet deep, very narrow and not long enough for the body. The legs were drawn up." He made no mention of the legs being broken, nor of any indication he could see that Laura had been pregnant. This did not stop the New York Herald floating the pregnancy theory again when it reported Laura's discovery, but the paper could produce no evidence to support this.
The body was taken back for an inquest at Cowles Store and formally identified by both Pauline and Wilson, who recognised Laura by the gap in her teeth and what was left of her clothes. Ann was arrested and given the same Wilkesboro cell next to Tom's which Pauline had just vacated.
The discovery of Laura's body gave her story a convenient punctuation point, and that's when the case's first ballad emerged. This was written by Happy Valley's Captain Thomas Land, who Gardner calls "a local poetical celebrity".
Land does not mention Tom or Ann by name in the 84 rather plodding lines he composed, and his effort bears no resemblance to the Tom Dula song we know today. But he is clear that Laura was murdered by the lover she'd hoped to marry, and that this man did not act alone:
"'Ere sun declined toward the west,
She met her groom and his vile guest,
In forest wild, they three retreat,
And hope for parson there to meet." (5)
The local audience who first read Land's verses would have known full well that Tom was the groom he had in mind, and been equally sure that his "vile guest" must be Ann. Throughout the poem, Land shows the pair acting together in Laura's murder and disposal, using plural phrases like "those who did poor Laura kill", "they her conceal" and "to dig the grave they now proceed". By doing this, he ensures that Ann is thoroughly implicated in the whole rotten business.
Laura herself is depicted as a sweet, innocent girl, too full of childlike love to imagine Tom could ever wish her harm:
"Her youthful heart no sorrow knew,
She fancied all mankind were true,
And thus she gaily passed along,
Humming at times a favourite song."
Happy Valley's residents would have known that the real Laura was a good deal raunchier than that, but swallowed the lie for the extra narrative satisfaction it offered. The more of a saint Laura could appear, the more villainous Tom and Ann looked by comparison, and that's what delivered the story's disreputable thrill.
Land takes us - somewhat laboriously - through the various stages of Laura's discovery, then closes with a bit of tidy alliteration and one last pious thought to ensure we don't have nightmares:
"The jury made the verdict plain,
Which was, poor Laura had been slain,
Some ruthless fiend had struck the blow,
Which laid poor luckless Laura low.
"Then in a church yard her they lay,
No more to rise till Judgement Day,
Then, robed in white, we trust she'll rise,
To meet her Saviour in the skies."
Land's poem, which he called The Murder of Laura Foster, was written to be read rather than sung, but I have heard one musical setting of it. This appears on Sheila Clark's 1986 album The Legend of Tom Dula and Other Folk Ballads, where Clarke gives us a lovely a capella rendition of Land's full 21 verses, with nothing but a short fiddle phrase to divide each of its three sections. She negotiates the more awkward lines with admirable style, and it's a tribute to the sweetness of her voice that the track's nine minutes and fifteen seconds passes so pleasantly.
Formal legal proceedings against Tom and Ann began on October 1, 1866, when North Carolina's superior court met at Wilkesboro under Judge Ralph Buxton. The charges they made against Tom said he "feloniously, wilfully and of malice aforethought did kill and murder [Laura Foster] against the peace and dignity of the state". Ann was charged that she "did stir up, move and abet, and cause and procure, the said Thomas Dula to commit the said felony and murder," and then chose to "receive, harbour, maintain, relieve, comfort and assist" him.
Tom was charged with killing Laura, and Ann accused of encouraging him to commit the crime
In other words, Tom was accused of killing Laura, and Ann was charged with both encouraging him to commit the crime and harbouring him afterwards. The prosecution quickly agreed to drop Ann's harbouring charges, leaving just the first accusation against her.
Tom and Ann were brought to the courthouse so they could hear the indictments read against them, and then both returned to Wilkesboro jail to wait for trial. Dr George Carter, James Melton, Wilson Foster, Lotty Foster, Jack Adkins, Ben Ferguson, Pauline Foster and Betsy Scott were all among the witnesses who'd be called.
It's still not clear how Tom managed to recruit Colonel Zebulon Vance to defend him, but it certainly represented a bit of coup. Vance came from a military family, and had been elected to Congress twice before the Civil War cut his second term short. He commanded the 26th Regiment of North Carolina's Infantry in battle for a while - not the 42nd where Tom served - and then spent the remainder of the war serving two terms as state Governor. He was arrested by the victorious Federalist forces in May 1865, spent two months in their jail, and returned to freedom an almost penniless man. He began his Charlotte law practice in March 1866, the same month Tom discovered he'd contracted syphilis.
We've got the court's confirmation that Tom was insolvent just three weeks after his indictment was read, so he was clearly in no position to pay Vance for his services. Whether that means Vance was paid by the state, or whether he conducted the defence for free, I don't know. More intriguing is why he agreed to take the job on at all.
As we've seen, the rumours that Vance agreed to defend Tom because the two men had served together - or even because he'd enjoyed Tom's fiddle playing round the campfire - do not stand up to the scrutiny of Tom's military records. Gardner says it was Colonel James Horton, one of Tom's many cousins in the area, who asked Vance to get involved, but that seems a pretty flimsy motivation on its own.
As a Congressman, Vance had been against North Carolina's secession, and stood on a Conservative ticket against the Confederacy's man. No doubt he had a certain amount of sympathy for any Confederate soldier down on his luck, but we can dismiss the notion that he was a rabid Johnny Reb, determined to defend any secessionist veteran for that reason alone. That's not to say, however, that Civil War politics were completely irrelevant to his decision.
"North Carolina was 'occupied' by a federal army during the first trial," Foster West points out. "Members of the prosecution were also Republican 'conquerors'. Members of the defence were Democrats and losers of the war. [...] It is interesting to note that all the members of the defence in Tom Dula's first trial had been officers in the Confederate Army, whereas none of the members of the prosecution had served in the military during the war." You couldn't ask for a clearer dividing line that that.
Tom's Wilkesboro trial began on October 4, and Vance got the ball rolling by arguing that feelings against Tom and Ann were running so high in Wilkes County that a change of venue was required. "The Public mind has been so prejudiced against them to such an extent [in Wilkes] that an impartial and unbiased jury could not be obtained," he told Judge Buxton.
The court agreed, and arranged for the trial to be moved across the Iredell County line to Statesville, about 30 miles away. Vance had lost Wilkes County in his most recent Governor's race, but won the vote in Iredell, so this move was good news for the way a Statesville jury might view Dula's attorney too.
A week later, Sheriff Hix moved Tom and Ann to Statesville jail, a old building on Broad Street with a pillory, whipping post and stocks out front. Iredell's county sheriff was concerned this jail might not be secure enough to hold Tom, so the county agreed to pay for eight extra guards to be stationed there during his stay. That would have been a considerable expense, and the fact that Iredell's authorities were prepared to bear it is one more bit of evidence that they considered Tom a very dangerous man.
The Statesville proceedings began on October 15, 1866, again with Judge Buxton presiding. He had a reputation as a cautious but meticulous man, careful in his interpretation of the law, and anxious to be accurate in his rulings. Twelve jurors were selected from panel of 100 Iredell County freeholders - all men - and Vance stood up to speak once again.
This time, his point was that Tom and Ann's cases should be heard as two completely separate trials. Ann had made several incriminating statements since Laura's death, he pointed out, and often these statements had been made when Tom had no opportunity to instantly challenge them. Allowing those statements to be heard as part of the evidence in a joint trial would inevitably make Tom look guilty too, Vance said. The judge agreed, and Tom was tried alone from that moment onwards. Ann's own trial would have to wait.
These preliminaries dealt with, District Attorney Walter Caldwell gave his opening statement. The state's case, he said would be that "a criminal intimacy" had existed between both Tom and Laura and Tom and Ann. He expected to show that Tom had caught syphilis from Laura, that he'd communicated that disease to Ann, and that his own infection had prompted Tom to threaten Laura's life as an act of revenge. "By these circumstances and others, I expect to prove Thomas Dula, the prisoner, committed the murder, instigated thereto by Ann Melton, who was prompted by revenge and jealousy," Caldwell told the jury.
The trial had lined up 83 witnesses in all, though it's not clear how many were actually called. All the key players I've mentioned above were heard, though, and gave their evidence just as I've already quoted it. Pauline's declaration when first arrested that she would "swear a lie any time for Tom Dula" now seemed forgotten. It's possible that the police secured Pauline's co-operation by telling her any failure to testify against Tom would place her in the dock beside him. Despite her questionable character, the prosecution certainly relied heavily on Pauline's testimony, which fills a third of the summary transcript Buxton later prepared.
'Vance portrayed Laura as a loose woman and Tom as the brave soldier she'd seduced'
"The witnesses generally appeared impressed with the idea that Dula was guilty," the Herald later reported. "Though some of them appeared anxious to affect an acquittal through fear of some of his reckless associates in the mountains."
Ann was allowed to attend the court throughout Tom's trial but not to testify. Even so, Buxton allowed statements she'd made to various witnesses to be admitted in evidence at Tom's trial, and over-ruled Vance's objections every time he challenged this. It's hard to reconcile this with his reputation for meticulous care, and some take Buxton's rulings as evidence that the law was determined to railroad Tom for a crime he didn't commit.
Vance made the most of Tom's Civil War record throughout the trial, and deployed his considerable eloquence when the prosecution took to mentioning Laura's "lonely grave on the hillside". Vance's reply was that, before sending Tom to hang, they had best decide whether they wanted to see one lonely grave on that hillside or two. "Throughout his trial, Tom always maintained he was innocent, and refused to implicate anyone," Casstevens says. "Attorney Vance portrayed Laura Foster as a woman of loose morals, and Tom as a brave soldier who had been seduced by her." (6)
Closing his case for the defence, Vance asked Buxton to instruct the jury that any circumstantial evidence they used to convict "must exclude every other hypothesis" and remind them they must be convinced of Tom's guilt beyond any reasonable doubt. Buxton agreed, and told the jury exactly that. After hearing two days of evidence, they retired just after midnight on Saturday, October 20, and spent the rest of night deliberating the case.
The jury returned at daybreak with a verdict of guilty. "Governor Vance and his assistant counsel for the defence made powerful forensic efforts which were considered models of ability," the Herald told its readers. "But such was the evidence that no verdict other than that of guilty could be rendered."
The Wilmington Daily Dispatch agreed, saying: "All the evidence that led to the conviction was entirely circumstantial, but so connected by a concatenation of circumstances as to leave no reasonable doubt on the minds of the jury". The Salisbury North State added breathlessly that the evidence presented had been "of the most thrilling character". (7, 8)
Buxton set Tom's execution date for November 9, when he'd be "hanged by the neck until he be dead". That appointment looked unlikely to be met, though, because Vance had already appealed for a new trial on the grounds that Buxton had admitted a good deal of evidence he should not have allowed the court to hear. The judge agreed to refer this request to North Carolina's Supreme Court, but rejected the stay of judgement Vance had also requested. In the unlikely event that Tom's bid for a new trial could be definitively ruled out in just 19 days, his November 9 execution date would still go ahead.
There were no court stenographers taking a verbatim transcript in North Carolina's courts back in 1866, so Buxton worked with clerk of the court CL Summers to prepare a condensed brief summing up the trial, which used testimony from 18 of the witnesses called. It's this summary which went to North Carolina's Supreme Court with Dula's appeal, and which still provides our best record of the trial today.
The fact that Tom had now been convicted of Laura's murder meant Wilkes County's balladeers felt free to name him as her killer. Not only that, but Buxton's sentence meant they could stir the prospect of Tom's execution into their lyrics too.
Frank Brown's collection of North Carolina Folklore, gathered between 1912 and 1943, includes three versions of Tom Dula contributed by a woman called Maude Sutton of Lenoir in Caldwell County. Land's ballad is the first one Sutton discusses in her letter, but it's her second entry which interests us here. "It was very popular in the hills of Wilkes, Alexander and Caldwell Counties in 1867," she says. "Many mountain ballad singers still sing it."
Sutton then quotes three verses from the song she'd just described, which were evidently sung to the same tune we know today:
"Hang down your head Tom Dula,
Hang down your head and cry,
You killed poor Laura Foster,
And now you're bound to die.
"You met her on the hilltop,
As God Almighty knows,
Appendix II: Lost in Wilkes County
Tuesday, September 7, 2010. Charlotte, North Carolina:
My plan when I arrived in Charlotte was to get settled in at my hotel and then get a taxi next day out to Statesville, where I'd arranged to have lunch with the playwright and actress Karen Reynolds. I'd been hoping to talk to Karen about her Wilkes' Playmakers annual production of Tom Dooley: A Wilkes County Legend. Unfortunately, she was called for an audition at the last minute, and we had to cancel.
That left me at a loose end on the Tuesday. I already knew there was no organised Tom Dooley tour I could take from Charlotte, so I was going to have to put an excursion together for myself.
Statesville, where Tom had been hanged, was about 40 miles from Charlotte, which would have been just about possible by taxi, but the other sites presented more of a problem. Wilkesboro, where I hoped to see Tom's jail cell, was another 30 miles past Statesville, and his grave site sat somewhere between the two.
None of that would have been a problem if I could have simply hired a car and driven myself out there, but I had to surrender my driving license a few years ago when some problems with diabetes buggered up my peripheral vision, so self-drive wasn't an option.
I spent the next hour or so traipsing round Charlotte's tourist office, library and museum in search of a local Tom Dooley expert who would spontaneously say "No, really, I'd be delighted to take tomorrow off work and drive you round all these sites you have only the vaguest idea how to find". Oddly enough, no-one did.
More realistically, it had struck me that one or other of these experts might be able to put me in touch with a knowledgeable friend who'd be prepared to drive me around for a day in return for some folding cash. Everyone I spoke to was charming and keen to help - as Americans always are, God bless 'em - but no such amateur guide seemed to exist.
Next stop was hotel reception, where I explained all this to a very helpful young man who considered my predicament for a moment and then said "I'll call Hadi". Hadi turned out to be a driver the hotel sometimes used who would, in all probability, be willing to rent out his car and himself for however many hours I required next day. The price he quoted was a perfectly reasonable one, so I signed him up on the spot.
That left the rest of Tuesday free, so I nipped back to the library, climbed the stairs to its third-floor local history department and set about trawling through the books in its music section. There was lots of stuff on local ballads there, including one whole book on Tom's case I'd never seen before.
I also asked the old dear at the enquiries desk if she had any North Carolina newspapers from 1866 or 1868, the years of Tom's crime and execution respectively. She explained that very few newspapers were published in the South during that period, because the Civil War had left publishers there with a shortage of both paper and ink.
The newspaper index she produced showed only the odd surviving issue scattered here and there, with even the best-represented papers missing huge chunks of their run, which explains why so few of the contemporary reports of Tom's crime and punishment come from papers in his own region.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010. Charlotte, North Carolina:
I got up about 7:30 this morning, got myself sorted out and nipped down the road to Starbucks for some breakfast. By 8:45, I was all set for the day, and waiting downstairs in the hotel lobby for Hadi to collect me. I'd spent an hour or so the previous evening putting the day's itinerary together, digging out the addresses I wanted in Statesville and Wilkesboro, then trying to compile a reliable set of directions to Tom's grave from the various books and websites I had available.
In Sharyn McCrumb's account of her own visit to the grave, she says it "sits in a small manicured meadow on private land, less than a mile from the crossroads, not visible from the road". From other sources, I'd figured out that we had to get off I-77 at the US 421 exit to Wilkesboro, then find exit 256, which should take us on to a road called NC 268.
At some point on 268, we'd find Tom's historic marker, which stands about 1.5 miles north-east of his grave site, and from there it was just a question of finding the left turn we needed on to Tom Dula Road (also known as State Highway 1134), driving 1.1 miles along there and then looking for the manicured meadow and its invisible grave.
The fact that the grave was on private land worried me a little, because the books said nothing about how the owner viewed uninvited visitors, but I figured we'd cross that meadow when we came to it.
Hadi arrived dead on time, and turned out to be from the Lebanon. His English was OK for fundamentals, but not always up to communicating anything a touch more nuanced. The fact that each of us sometimes found the other's accent a little difficult to understand wasn't going to help either. I realised all this in the first minute or so of our acquaintance, and followed Hadi out to his car with a certain amount of foreboding.
I got him to clear his papers off the passenger seat so I could ride up front, then said the first stop I had in mind was Statesville. He gestured at the SatNav on his dashboard and said he'd need a precise address. I had the full address for Statesville's Tourist Bureau, so I gave him that. He tapped it into the SatNav, and off we went.
As we pulled into the street, I could see it was going to be a difficult day. Hadi and I were already finding it quite hard to understand each other, and I knew that the SatNav was going to have its limitations for a trip like this. Still, it was too late to do anything but make the best of it now.
Statesville's about an hour's drive from Charlotte and, although the tourist bureau didn't seem to be where my guidebook said it was, we did find a strip mall where I got out to ask for directions to the old part of town.
The kid serving in Starbucks seemed to have no idea any such part of town existed and the Vietnamese girl in the nail salon next door was equally clueless. But my third stop produced a couple of very helpful girls in an empty hairdressers, who got us 90% of the way we needed to go. A passing mailman filled in the last piece of the puzzle, and soon Hadi was pulling in at old Statesville's central junction. I told him I'd probably be about 45 minutes, and set off to explore on foot.
This part of town was pretty depressing, offering only boarded-up shops, a once-lovely old building gutted into a multi-storey car park and a desultory farmer's market. I did stumble across a Post Office, though, where I stopped to ask a fat black guy and his skinny white sidekick if they could tell me where to find either the railway depot or the old courthouse.
They struggled to catch my accent for a moment, then asked me what on Earth I was talking about. I babbled something about the old folk song Tom Dooley, and something started to stir behind the white one's eyes. Think of the character Harry Dean Stanton plays in Paris Texas, age him by about ten years, and that's the guy I was looking at.
He adjusted his faded old baseball cap and began, very slowly, to speak: "Oh yeah. I..heard..something about that." I held my breath to see if any useful information might follow, but apparently those seven words had exhausted his knowledge of the subject. And his interest too, for that matter.
I thanked them both politely, picked a direction at random and ended up outside the Civic Centre. There I found a pretty and friendly young receptionist who produced a couple of maps showing Statesville's layout, then led me outside and explained exactly how to get to the old railway depot about half a mile away.
I told her she'd been the most helpful person I'd spoken to all day - a bit of information which seemed genuinely to please her - and set off in the direction she'd pointed. The route took me along a fairly major road, under a railway bridge and to a sign saying Statesville Depot.
This, the site where Tom was hanged in 1868, is as bleak a spot as you could wish to find, with a desolate old railway station, a big patch of scrubby waste ground and a few freight cars parked along the track marking its town-side edge. All this was framed against a big dirty-looking factory in the background.
I took a few photographs there, then headed back to the City Hall building my receptionist friend had also pointed out. I took a few exterior shots there, then snuck in through a rear entrance to photograph the deserted courtroom on its second floor. I've since discovered that the whole building's been replaced since Tom's two Statesville trials, but I'm sure I'll find a use for the pictures one day.
Back at the car, I set about trying to explain to Hadi where the grave site was located. He still kept asking which company it was, or requesting an address he could punch into the SatNav. Eventually, though, I got him to accept that the directions mentioned above were all we had to go on, and that we'd just have to follow them as best we could. I don't think he ever quite grasped what my quest was, or why any sane person would go looking for such a thing. And who can blame him? We drove for another hour or so along I-77 and US 421, found exit 256 OK, and then reached a T junction. "Left or right?" Hadi asked.
It was a good question. I'd got the impression from other peoples' accounts of this journey that NC263 fed directly off that exit, but there was no roadsign in sight to say whether we'd found the right road or not - let alone any indication of which way we should turn. I didn't even know whether it was plausible that a road with that particular designation would look like this, and if Hadi had the means to make an intelligent guess on that front, he was keeping quiet about it.
He'd evidently decided I was bonkers anyway and that, if I insisted on pursuing this ridiculous wild goose chase, I had only myself to blame. He would follow my instructions to the letter, but if anyone wanted his opinion, the whole expedition was doomed. "Left or right?" he asked again.
I tossed a coin in my head, and told Hadi to turn right in the hopes that a helpful roadsign would turn up soon. It didn't, so after a few miles I said maybe I'd been wrong, and that we should turn round and try the other way. We went a few miles past exit 256 in the other direction, but found nothing helpful there either.
In despair, I said to Hadi that we'd give it one more try in the direction we'd first gone and then, if we had no luck, go straight on to Wilkesboro instead.
We continued well past the driveway where we'd turned round last time, but still found no signs that could help us. We did find a gas station, though, so I got Hadi to pull in there while I nipped out to ask the old boy in the forecourt for directions. Instead of Harry Dean Stanton's dad, this time I want you to imagine Stumpy, the orn'rey old critter who helps John Wayne and Dean Martin defend the sheriff's office in Rio Bravo.
My Stumpy had a few random white whiskers sticking out of his chin, plus a couple of gaps in his teeth which gave his voice a slight whistle. He seemed highly amused by the sense of urgency I was trying to convey.
He did his best to be helpful all the same, and I think he was saying that we would hit 263 if we continued another 20 miles or so in the direction we'd been heading. I couldn't be sure, though, because all his directions took their reference point from somewhere called "the River Road" which no other account I'd seen had mentioned. When he could see I was none the wiser, he added the advice that I should "call the state troopers", which - even if I'd had any idea how to go about it - seemed unlikely to help.
Everything I'd read about this journey suggested 263 couldn't be another 20 miles on from exit 256 - didn't it? - and I could see the gas station's only other worker already grinning at the realisation that good old Stumpy had baffled another stranger. Perhaps that's why they kept him around.
The past hour or so of fruitless roaming had left Hadi and I increasingly testy with one another, and I decided I'd better call a halt before this deteriorated into open hostility. "Let's just go on to Wilkesboro," I said as I climbed back into the car.
Hadi suppressed a grin of triumph as he tapped the address I gave him for Wilkesboro's old jailhouse into the SatNav and we drove off in a slightly tense silence. We passed several signs saying "To 263" on the Wilkesboro road, but neither of us had the heart to propose investigating them further.
We'd both forced ourselves to relax a bit by the time we reached Wilkesboro 45 minutes later. It had been raining on and off ever since I-77, sometimes very heavily, and there was still a steady drizzle in progress as we pulled up in Wilkesboro's main street.
Hadi lent me the golf umbrella he kept on the back seat for just such occasions, and I think he probably meant this as an olive branch between us. The fact that the damn thing blew inside out every time I tried to use it, and ended up being just one more useless thing to carry invites a different interpretation of his gesture, but I mustn't be churlish.
I found a sign for Old Wilkes Jail near where we'd parked, and followed it up a hill past the side of the museum to an apparently bland suburban street. I asked a woman getting out of her car there where I'd find the old jail, and she pointed me over towards the left, indicating a smart, modern brick building no bigger than the houses surrounding it. "That's our current jailhouse," she said. "And the old one's right behind it."
I recognised the building immediately from the photographs I'd seen, but it was all locked up. Another sign, which had seemed to be directing me to the jail's rear entrance could also be read as pointing to a broken-down old cabin behind it, so I poked my head round the door there and found an elderly American couple part way through their tour with a museum guide called Jack. The wife was researching her family tree, and had discovered that a distant ancestor once lived in the restored Civil War cabin where we were now standing.
Jack gave me an enquiring look when I arrived, so I explained that I'd been hoping to have a look round the old jail. He said that was their next stop, if I'd just like to wait until the cabin tour was done.
Everything seemed to happen very slowly for the next half hour or so, as we made a tortuous progress round the cabin and the small talk crawled on between Jack, the woman and her infinitely patient husband. I was itching to get on to the jail, but I forced myself to wait quietly as the woman moved a couple of steps towards the exit, then thought of something else she wanted to say, moved back again, turned, started another digression and so on.
This process was extended still further when a second guide - wearing an identical parrot shirt to the one I'd bought in San Diego a few years ago - turned up, announced he was related to the same family under discussion, and launched a whole new series of delays.
Eventually, I managed to steer Parrot Shirt gently outside and turn the conversation to Tom Dooley. He told me that his great-grandmother remembered the Dula, Foster and Melton families from her own childhood. She'd lived long enough to hear The Kingston Trio make the song a hit in 1958, and said she couldn't imagine why anyone would want to sing about such dreadful people. "They were just trash," she'd croak at anyone who'd listen. "They were the scum of the Earth!"
The others had all joined us outside by now and the rain had resumed. The genealogist lady's husband was very amused to see me once again struggling with an inside-out umbrella. "You're English!" he said, laughing. "That's not supposed to happen!" At that moment, I had the open-but-reversed umbrella propped upright on the ground between my feet as I struggled to get the canopy right-side out again. "It's not my umbrella," I growled, wrenching it closed.
The conversation moved on from Tom Dooley to murder ballads in general and hubbie mentioned Banks of the Ohio, prompting Jack to slowly (but very persistently) chant a dozen or so lines from the song. Someone asked if Banks had been based on fact, and I was able to show off a bit by offering my theory that it's essentially an offshoot of Knoxville Girl - or at least, part of the same family of songs.
No-one knew quite what to say after that, so the genealogy couple began the long process of making their farewells, Parrot Shirt headed back to the museum and Jack produced the jailhouse key at last.
We moved quickly through the ground floor jailer's quarters, then went straight upstairs to the cell where Tom himself had been held. It was bigger than I'd imagined, with ancient graffiti scratched into every wall and a metal door gridded with steel bars. It was very dark inside, so I could do little more than point my camera at random and hope for the best.
I got Jack to take a photo of me posing awkwardly against the cell door, then we stopped to examine the display case opposite showing Tom's POW release papers from the Civil War and a few other documents. The cell next door, where Ann Melton had been kept, was much lighter and - to judge by the furniture now placed there - rather more comfortable than Tom's accommodation. Jack, like everyone else I mentioned the case to in North Carolina, took it for granted that Ann was the real killer.
We returned through the jailers' quarters to see the downstairs punishment cell with its barred hatch in the door allowing food to be delivered with no human contact. This cell would have been Wilkesboro's equivalent of what every prison movie calls 'The Hole", but no-one seemed to know if Tom had spent any time there or not.
Our tour was now complete, so I bundled my bag, my camera and that blasted golf umbrella together again and we walked back out front.
Jack pointed to a tree on our right and explained it had been grafted from the white oak that stood there in Tom's day. The original tree, he added, had been used by the good people of Wilkesboro "to hang our Tories". I'd never heard the term Tories used in an American context before, but it seems this is what they called people who supported the hated British in the War of Independence.
This set me wondering if it was those wartime executions which led to Tom being "hanged from a white oak tree" in the song, or whether this line was included simply to mention a prominent and characteristic piece of local flora.
I left Jack to return to the museum while I took a few final shots of the jailhouse's exterior, taking care to include the Civil War memorial immediately outside its front door. I'd been seeing Confederate memorials everywhere in the last few days, including one particularly impressive specimen in Statesville.
I walked back down the hill to the museum, had a quick wander round, then took some photographs in the old courtroom there. The museum's building used to be Wilkesboro's courthouse, and that's where Tom's long legal trail to the gallows began. I then settled in the gift shop, where I bought a dozen or so bluegrass CDs, including both volumes of The Elkville String Band's soundtrack to Karen's play and a cassette recording of the play itself.
I also found Frances Casstevens' book on historic North Carolina killings, which shows conclusively just what a fantastic area for murder ballads this is. Glancing through its pages, I saw the state's Piedmont region alone had hosted the killings behind Tom Dooley (1866), Poor Ellen Smith (1892), Otto Wood (1923) and The Curse of the Lawson Family (1929). Whenever you found a good grisly murder in these parts, it was obviously second nature to write a song about it.
Jack appeared again to take my money for these purchases and, with the help of an equally-baffled lady from the back office, struggled through a agonising battle with the gift shop's credit card machine. I'd found another CD I wanted by then, but opted to pay for that one in cash. "He doesn't want to go through all that again," the old dear smiled as she took my $20 bill.
Before I left, I told Jack about our fruitless attempt to find Tom's grave and asked him just how far it was from where we were now standing in Wilkesboro. He said it was 15 miles, so maybe Stumpy wasn't so far out after all.
With the benefit of hindsight, I can see now that the road we were looking for was a lot further from the main highway than I'd thought, and that it was only an accident of wording in the source book I was using which led me to think otherwise.
Jack also said the owner of the land where the grave sits had lost his patience with uninvited visitors recently and there were rumours that he'd closed off the field. Wilkes County Playmakers' site says the access road's been blocked too, so perhaps we wouldn't have been able to get there anyway.
The one thing I'm kicking myself now for is not thinking to jot down the number of Tom's historic marker sign before we set off, because that's the one bit of information Hadi's SatNav might have been able to help us with. This thought did occur to me at one point while we were lost, but neither of the books I'd brought with me had a photo of the sign. Ah, well.
I returned to North Carolina in 2015 and found Dula�s grave at last. For an account of that day, please click here and scroll down.
For more on Tom Dooley, please go to this Amazon Kindle page ( US / UK ). The version of my essay there adds an exclusive interview with The Kingston Trio�s Bob Shane, who explains how he first discovered the song and shares memories of the huge success its 1958 recording brought the band. The price is just �1.49 ($1.85 in US). Amazon has a free app allowing its Kindle titles to also be read on smartphones, tablets and computers.
Sources
1) Lift Up Your Head Tom Dooley, by John Foster West (Down Home Press, 1993). I've drawn heavily on Foster West's book in writing this piece. It's by far the most comprehensive and reliable source of facts on the story, and anyone interested in Dula's case should have a copy.
2) Taken from Judge Buxton's summary of witness statements at Dula's first trial.
3) New York Herald, May 2, 1868.
4) The World of My Childhood, by Rev, RL Isbell (Lenoir News-Topic, 1955).
5) The Murder of Laura Foster, by Captain Thomas Land (1866). Reproduced in (12) below.
6) Death in North Carolina's Piedmont, by Frances H Casstevens (The History Press, 2006).
7) Wilmington Daily Dispatch, October 26, 1866.
8) Salisbury North State, date unknown.
9) The Frank C Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, ed. Frank Brown (Duke University Press, 1952).
10) Tom Dula, as performed by The Carolina Chocolate Drops on their 2006 allbum Dona Got a Ramblin' Mind.
11) Tom Dooley, as performed by The Elkville String Band on their 2003 album Below the Gallows Tree.
12) Tom Dooley: The Eternal Triangle, by Rufus L Gardner (Gardner Enterprises, 1960).
13) Statesville American, November 5, 1868.
14) Tom Dooley, as performed by Grayson & Whitter in 1928.
15) Folk Songs From the Southern Highland, ed. Mellinger Edward Henry (JJ Augistin, 1938).
16) Tom Dooley, as performed by Doc Watson on his 1964 album Doc Watson.
17) The Songs of Doc Watson, by Doc Watson (Music Sales America, 1992).
18) Tom Dooley, as performed by Frank Proffitt on his 1962 album Traditional Songs & Ballads of Appalachia.
19) Folk Song USA, ed. By John & Alan Lomax (Plume 1975).
20) Sunrise Your Hanging Day. Written and performed by Angela Correa on her 2004 album Murder Ballads and Other Songs.
21) Epitaph (The Ballad of Anne Melton). Written by Jerry Lankford and performed by The Elkville String Band on their 2004 album Below the Gallows Tree.
| Tom Dooley |
Which 17th century scientist, also Irish-born, was the 14th son of the 1st Earl of Cork? | Thomas C. "Tom" Dula (1845 - 1868) - Genealogy
Thomas C. "Tom" Dula
June 22 1845 - Wilkes Co., North Carolina
Death:
May 1 1868 - Iredell County, North Carolina
Parents:
Thomas P Dula, Mary Dula (born Keaton)
Siblings:
June 22 1845 - Wilkes County
Death:
Cause of death: Capital punishment, Hanging - May 1 1868 - Iredell County
Residence:
Thomas P. Dula, Mary Dula (born Keaton)
Siblings:
About Tom Dula (aka "Tom Dooley")
http://www.thevancehouse.org/Tom-Dula.html (Includes the song)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Dula
Thomas C. Dula (June 22, 1845 – May 1, 1868) was a former Confederate soldier, who was tried, convicted, and hanged for the murder of his fiancée, Laura Foster. The trial and hanging received national publicity from newspapers such as The New York Times, thus turning Dula's story into a folk legend. While the murder happened in Wilkes County, North Carolina, the trial, conviction, and execution took place in Statesville. There was considerable controversy surrounding his conviction and execution. In subsequent years, a folk song was written (entitled “Tom Dooley”, based on the pronunciation in the local dialect), and many oral traditions were passed down, regarding the sensational occurrences surrounding the murder of Foster, and Dula's subsequent execution. The Kingston Trio recorded a hit version of the murder ballad in 1958.
Early life
Tom Dula was born to a poor Appalachian hill country family in Wilkes County, North Carolina, most likely the youngest of three brothers, with one younger sister, Eliza. The young Dula grew up, attended school, and "probably played with the female Fosters", Ann (later Melton) and her cousins Laura and Pauline.
As the children grew up, Tom and Ann apparently became intimate. Ann Foster's mother found Ann and Tom in bed together when Ann was only fourteen years old. Three months before his eighteenth birthday, on 15 March 1862, he joined the Confederate Army. Dula served as a private in Company K in the 42nd North Carolina Infantry Regiment until the war ended in 1865.
There is evidence Dula was literate, as according to accounts at the time, he wrote a 15-page account of his life, as well as the note that exonerated Ann Melton. His literacy is highly unusual given his station in life, and the harsh poverty of his upbringing. Tom played the fiddle and was considered from a very young age to be a "ladies man".
Military service
Contrary to newspaper accounts at the time, Dula did not serve in Zebulon Vance's 26th North Carolina. This also puts to rest the rumors that he “played the banjo” in the army band for the Colonel's benefit, or that he entertained Colonel Vance with his antics. These were often cited as the reason that Vance leapt was so quick to lead the defense of Dula during his trial. It seems more likely that Governor Vance simply believed in Dula's innocence or thought that defending a Confederate veteran in the high-profile case would be politically beneficial. Dula would not escape the war completely unscathed, as folklore, oral tradition, and a few modern writers have held. Instead he suffered various injuries throughout the course of the fighting. Each of his brothers died in the war, leaving Tom as his mother's “sole remaining boy”.
There is some evidence in primary sources that Dula used his musical talents during the Civil War, as on his Confederate muster card number 17, he is listed as a "musician" and a "drummer."
Murder of Laura Foster
"Laura Foster" redirects here. For the fictional character, see Laura Foster (Simon and Laura). Before the war, Ann had married James Melton, a farmer and shoe cobbler who was a neighbor to both Ann and Tom. Melton also served in the Civil War, fighting in the battle of Gettysburg. Both men were taken prisoner and returned home alive. Shortly after arriving home, Dula resumed his relationship with Ann. Given his reputation as something of a libertine, it did not take Dula long to also begin an intimate relationship with Ann's cousin Laura. Folklore suggest Laura became pregnant shortly thereafter, and she and Dula decided to elope. On the morning she was to meet Dula, about May 25, 1866, she quietly left her home where she lived with her father, Wilson Foster, and took off on his horse, Belle, never to be seen alive again.
While it is not known for certain what happened that day, many of the stories that have grown out of the folklore of the time implicate Ann Melton in some way. Some believe Ann may have murdered Laura Foster because she was still in love with Dula and was jealous Laura was marrying him. Others believe that perhaps Dula knew or suspected Ann had murdered Foster, but because he still loved Ann he refused to implicate her after he was arrested and took the blame for the murder. Ultimately, it was Ann's word that led to the discovery of the girl's body, leading to further speculation as to her guilt. Ann's cousin, Pauline Foster, testified that Ann had led her to the site of the grave one night to check that it was still well hidden.
Witnesses testified in court that Dula made the incriminating statement he was going to "do in" whoever gave him "the pock" (syphilis). Testimony indicated Dula believed Laura had given him syphilis, which he had passed on to Ann. The local doctor testified that he had treated both Tom and Ann for syphilis, as he did Pauline Foster, who actually seems to have been the first to be treated. Many believe that Dula may have caught the disease from Pauline Foster and passed it along to the other Foster women and falsely believed that he caught it from Laura.
Whichever of the three killed her, Laura's decomposed body was found in a shallow grave in which her legs were drawn up in order for her to fit in the hole. She had been stabbed once in the chest. The gruesome nature of the murder, combined with the low murder rate, and numerous rumors that circulated in the small back-woods town when she was killed, captured the public's attention, and led to the enduring notoriety of the crime.
The role of Dula in the slaying is unclear. He fled the area before her body was found–after he was declared a suspect–working for a time for Colonel James Grayson, under the assumed name of Tom Hall, across the state line in Trade, Tennessee. Grayson would enter folklore as a romantic rival of Dula's, but this was not true. It was simply an incorrect inference drawn from the lyrics of the song, and became more widespread as the facts of the case were largely forgotten. Grayson did, however, help the Wilkes County posse bring Dula in, once his identity was discovered.
Trial
After Dula was arrested, former North Carolina Governor Zebulon Vance represented him pro bono, and maintained Dula's innocence of the charges. He succeeded in having the trial moved from Wilkesboro to Statesville, as it was widely believed that Dula would not receive a fair trial in Wilkes County. Dula was convicted and, although given a new trial on appeal, he was convicted again. His supposed accomplice, Jack Keaton, was set free and, on Dula's word, Melton was acquitted of the crime. As he stood on the gallows facing his death, he is reported to have said, “Gentlemen, do you see this hand? I didn’t harm a hair on the girl’s head”. He was executed nearly two years after the murder of his fiancée, on 1 May 1868. His younger sister and her husband retrieved his body for burial after the execution.
After the execution
In 2001, Tom Dula was "acquitted" of all charges after a petition was sent around Wilkes County and to the county seat. This action was unofficial and had no legal force.
Myths
Subsequently, much legend and folklore arose around the tragedy and the life of Tom Dula. Not the least of these tales has Dula surviving the war without a scratch, and Governor Zebulon Baird Vance making use of Dula’s supposed talents with a banjo for his own personal entertainment. Both Dula’s and Vance’s accounts, as well as Dula’s own military record, show this legend to be untrue; it persists nonetheless.
A popular myth holds that while Dula was fighting in Virginia, Ann—– apparently despairing of ever seeing Tom again– met and married an older farmer, James Melton. In reality, Ann married James Melton in 1859, three years before Tom left for the war, though it's unclear whether or not that actually changed the nature of the relationship between Tom and Ann.
Another popular myth claims Ann Melton confessed to the murder on her deathbed. According to hearsay, Ann confessed she killed Laura in a fit of jealousy and begged Tom, who still had feelings for her, to help her conceal the body. People who live in that area still tell stories that on her deathbed Ann saw black cats on the walls and could hear and smell bacon frying.
In popular culture
A local poet named Thomas Land wrote a song about the tragedy shortly after Dula was hanged. This, combined with the widespread publicity the trial received, further cemented Dula’s place in North Carolina legend. The song written by Land is still sung today throughout North Carolina.
Several recordings were made of the song in the twentieth century, with the first in 1929 by Grayson and Whitter. The most popular version was recorded by The Kingston Trio in 1958.[4] It sold over six million copies[citation needed] and is widely credited with starting the "folk boom" of this time period, and was named by the Grammy Foundation as one of the Songs of the Century.
The Trio's song was covered in the United Kingdom by Lonnie Donegan later in 1958.
The introduction of Abner Jay's song "VD" discusses the story of Tom Dooley, but does not sing the song.
In 1959, Michael Landon was given the role of Dula in the movie The Legend of Tom Dooley. The movie was not based on the facts of Dula’s life, except in the very loosest sense, and neither was it based on any traditional Tom Dula legends. It was rather a fictional treatment inspired by the lyrics of the song.
Also in 1959, Stonewall Jackson's U.S. country music and Billboard hit song "Waterloo" makes reference to Tom Dooley in the final verse.
The members of Macabre, known for their death metal, also put out an album of acoustic folk songs; among them is a song titled "Tom Dooley", about his death, but not exactly the same as the traditional ballad.
The music project Windows to Sky released a version of "Tom Dooley" under his real name of "Tom Dula", with the alternate title "Madness Made Us Wild", which combines elements of several versions of the story and song, including adapting quotes from the original court transcripts as lyrics.
Sharyn McCrumb's 2011 novel The Ballad of Tom Dooley is a fictionalized account of the events surrounding Laura Foster's murder; in a postscript she claims her reconstruction is consistent with all the available evidence.
Neil Young's 2012 album Americana features a song called "Tom Dula", a re-working of Thomas Land's original poem.
Tom Dula (aka "Tom Dooley")'s Timeline
1845
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Which make and model of aeroplane makes up Ryanair’s entire fleet? | Welcome to Ryanair!
People (y/e): 51
1986
Ryanair obtains permission from the regulatory authorities to challenge the British Airways and Aer Lingus' high fare duopoly on the Dublin-London route. Services are launched with two (46-seater) turbo prop BAE748 aircraft. The first flights operate in May from Dublin to London Luton. The launch fare of £99 return is less than half the price of the BA/Aer Lingus lowest return fare of £209. Both British Airways and Aer Lingus slash their high prices in response to Ryanair's. Ryanair starts the first fare war in Europe. With two routes in operation, Ryanair carries 82,000 passengers in its first full year in operation.
Passengers: 82,000
People (y/e): 151
1987
Ryanair acquires its first jet aircraft by leasing three BAC1-11 aircraft from the Romanian state airline, Tarom. The aircraft arrive on a full wet lease with Tarom providing all the pilots and engineers to enable Ryanair to operate the aircraft. With the arrival of these jet aircraft Ryanair increases its network with 15 scheduled routes from Dublin to Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff, and opens up new routes from Luton to Cork, Shannon, Galway, Waterford and Knock in the West of Ireland.
Passengers: 322,000
People (y/e): 212
1988
Ryanair leases another three BAC 1-11 jets (6 in total) from Tarom, and leases a brand new ATR 42 turbo prop aircraft from GPA to service the smaller Irish regional airports. We launch 2 new routes from Dublin to Brussels (Mon-Fri) and a once weekly to Munich. Ryanair launches a business class service and a Frequent Flyer Club, neither of which prove particularly successful.
Passengers: 592,000
People (y/e): 379
1989
We lease two more ATR42 turbo props (3 in total) and use these aircraft to retire the small Bandeirantes and the old 748's. The fleet now comprises 6 x BAC1-11 jets and 3 x ATR42 turbo props. Due to continuing losses the business class product is abandoned and the Frequent Flyer Club closed.
Passengers: 644,000
People (y/e): 477
1990
After three years of rapid growth in aircraft, routes and intense price competition with Aer Lingus and British Airways, Ryanair accumulates £20m in losses and goes through a substantial restructuring. The Ryan family invest a further £20m. in the company, and copying the Southwest Airlines low fares model the airline is re-launched under new management as Europe's first low fares airline. Ryanair now offers the lowest fares in every market, high frequency flights, moving to a single aircraft fleet type, scrapping free drinks and expensive meals on board but reducing the lowest fares from £99 to just £59 return. We launch an Easter weekend seat sale with fares of £59 return, and such is the demand that passengers queue halfway up Dawson Street for 3 days to get these lowest ever fares.
Passengers: 745,000
People (y/e): 493
1991
The Gulf War breaks out in January causing passenger traffic to collapse. Tanks are stationed outside the major London airports. We respond by lowering air fares and we get rid of our turbo props by returning 3 x ATR 42s to their owners, a decision which results in our withdrawal from regional routes to Kerry, Galway and Waterford airports. In May 1991, Ryanair switches its main London base from London Luton Airport to the new London Stansted Airport in Essex. Stansted was developed by the BAA to become the third main airport for London and has a fantastic new terminal and a direct rail link to the centre of London (Liverpool Street Station). This is the only time in Ryanair's ten years of operation that traffic and employment numbers fall. Despite the impact of the Gulf War, Ryanair makes a profit for the first time with an audited profit of £293,000 for the year.
Passengers: 651,000
People (y/e): 477
1992
Ryanair continues to restructure cutting back routes and fleet. The route network is shaved back from 19 to just 6 routes - Dublin-Stansted, Dublin-Luton, Dublin-Liverpool and Cork, Shannon and Knock to Stansted. We increase the jet fleet from 6 to 7 BAC 1-11s, increase frequencies and lower fares. Despite a reduction in routes, traffic grows by over 45% as passengers respond to Ryanair's lower fares, and all jet, high frequency services. In August we carry over 100,000 passengers in one month for the first time in our history.
Passengers: 945,000
People (y/e): 507
1993
Ryanair launches its first new route for 5 years with daily flights from Dublin to Birmingham. The Irish Government warn us not to do it because it will "upset" Aer Lingus. We go ahead anyway. We increase the fleet to 11 x BAC 1-11 jets by acquiring 4 ex-British Airways aircraft. In December Ryanair announces a deal to buy a fleet of six Boeing 737 aircraft direct from Boeing. These aircraft were previously operated by the UK charter company Britannia, and allow Ryanair to start replacing the old BAC1-11 jets, all of which are scheduled for redelivery or retirement in 1994. Thanks to continuing growth, we carry over 1 million passengers in one year for the first time.
Passengers: 1,120,000
People (y/e): 503
1994
Ryanair takes delivery of its first Boeing 737 in January and launches two new routes from Dublin to Manchester and Glasgow Prestwick in April. A total of 8 x 737s are delivered during the year and replace the old BAC 1-11s, the last of which are retired from the fleet at the year end. In October we start new services from Dublin to London Gatwick replacing Aer Lingus who have pulled off the route.
Passengers: 1,666,000
People (y/e): 523
1995
Ryanair overtakes Aer Lingus and British Airways to become the largest passenger airline on the Dublin-London route (the biggest international scheduled route in Europe). Ryanair also becomes the largest Irish airline on every route we operate to/from Dublin. It proves that Ryanair's low fares, high frequency formula continues to win acceptance in every market we operate between Ireland and the UK.
In September Ryanair becomes the first low fares airline to operate a domestic route in the UK with low fare flights from London Stansted to Glasgow Prestwick. Ryanair celebrates its 10th birthday with a big party in Lansdowne Rugby Club, but few people remember it!!! We buy 4 more Boeing 737s from Transavia bringing the fleet to 11 aircraft in 1995, and traffic for the year exceeds 2m. for the first time.
Passengers: 2,260,00
People (y/e): 523
1996
Ryanair's growth continues with new routes to Leeds Bradford, Cardiff and Bournemouth in April. Ryanair is voted Best Value Airline. In November we reach agreement to buy 8 more Boeing 737-200s, which were previously operated by Lufthansa. We take delivery of the first of these in December, bringing the year end fleet to 12 x Boeing 737s. The European Union finally completes the "Open Skies" deregulation of the scheduled airline business thereby enabling airlines to compete freely throughout Europe.
Passengers: 2,950,000
People (y/e): 605
1997
Ryanair launches its first four European routes with services from London Stansted to Stockholm Skavsta and Oslo Torp, and with low fare flights from Dublin to Paris Beauvais and Brussels Charleroi. We buy 2 more B737s (from TAP and GECAS) to bring the fleet to 21 aircraft. On 29th May 1997 Ryanair becomes a public company for the first time with a successful flotation on the Dublin and NASDAQ (New York) Stock Exchanges. The shares are more than 20 times over subscribed and the share price surges from a flotation price of €11 to close at €25.5 on their first day of trading. All of Ryanair's employees receive shares as part of the flotation process and at the close of the first days trading, Ryanair's employees are sitting on over €100m. worth of shares. In October we launch our third airport base at Glasgow Prestwick with daily flights to Dublin, London, Paris and Frankfurt. In December the UK Civil Aviation Authority publishes punctuality statistics for the Dublin-London route which confirms that Ryanair is the most on-time airline on the route for 1997.
Passengers: 3,730,000
61.0%
1998
Ryanair continues to open up new routes in Europe. The 1998 summer schedule sees six new destinations added in Malmo (Sweden), St Etienne and Carcassonne (France) and Venice, Pisa and Rimini in Italy. In order to accommodate our continuing rapid growth, on 9th March 1998 Ryanair places an order for 45 (25 firm and 20 options) brand new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft with a value of over $2bn. In July, we issue new shares to raise over £110m to help pay for these aircraft. Ryanair is voted 'Airline of the Year' by the Irish Air Transport Users Committee, and is voted the 'Best Managed National Airline' in the world by the prestigious International Aviation Week magazine.
Passengers: 4,629,000
People (y/e): 892
1999
On 20th March Ryanair accepts delivery of its first new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft. Five in total are delivered during the year. The aircraft begins operations from our main base at London Stansted, and its impact allows Ryanair to operate with significantly lower seat costs and to offer much lower airfares, but with better reliability and a fantastic new customer product. New European routes are launched to Frankfurt, Biarritz, Ostend, Ancona, Genoa, Turin, Derry and Aarhus in Denmark. Ryanair is awarded "Best Value Airline" by the UK "Which" Consumer Magazine. Duty free sales on internal EU flights and travel are brought to an end. We respond by introducing a lowest ever return fare of £19.99 on the Dublin-London route.
Passengers: 5,358,000
People (y/e): 1,094
2000
In January, Ryanair launches Europe's largest booking website - www.ryanair.com. Within three months the site is taking over 50,000 bookings a week, and becomes the only source of the lowest airfares in Europe. In addition, ryanair.com allows passengers to avail of the lowest cost car hire, hotel accommodation, travel insurance and rail services. Ryanair adds 8 more B737-800s (13 in total) and launches its first new base since 1991 by basing three new aircraft at Glasgow Prestwick, providing Scottish consumers for the first time with direct low fare flights to Europe (Paris and Frankfurt), in addition to low fares flights to Dublin and London. One of our cabin crew, Brian Dowling, wins the Big Brother reality TV show. Ryanair becomes the first airline to sponsor the Skynews Weather reports, which beams Ryanair into millions of homes and thousands of hotel rooms all over Europe.
Passengers: 7,002,000
People (y/e): 1,262
2001
Ryanair selects its first Continental European base at Brussels Charleroi Airport with 5 more B737-800s (18 in total) being delivered. All of our competitors, including Sabena and Brussels Zavantem Airport, predict that nobody will use Brussels Charleroi, and that Ryanair's low fares will never work in Brussels. We start with daily flights from Brussels to Dublin, London, Glasgow, Shannon, Venice, Paris and Carcassone.
We commence our first day flights with our famous "Mannikin Pis" advert which drives Sabena crazy and convinces Belgium that Ryanair's low fares and Brussels Charleroi are here to stay. In August we carried more than 1m passengers in one month for the first time. This is more traffic in one month than we carried in all of 1993! In September, the terrorist attacks on 9/11 mark a downturn in our traffic and cause enormous increases in oil prices.
Passengers: 9, 355,000
People (y/e): 1,467
2002
We select Frankfurt Hahn as our second Continental European base and launch in April with 10 routes to Ireland, UK, Norway, France and Italy. These first low fare flights to Germany bring an end to the high fare monopoly of Lufthansa. Ryanair successfully overturns Lufthansa's repeated attempts to block low fare competition from Ryanair in Frankfurt Hahn in the Germany Courts. German consumers flock in their millions to avail of the lowest air fares to and from Frankfurt. To accommodate this growth, Ryanair announces the largest ever aircraft order by an Irish airline by increasing our aircraft order with Boeing from 45 to 125 firm aircraft, with a further 125 options. The value of this order exceeds €6bn. and signals Ryanair's ambition to continue to be the largest low fares airline in Europe as well as the lowest fare airline in Europe. Ryanair becomes No.1 in Europe of customer service beating all other European airlines for punctuality, fewer cancellations and least lost bags.
Passengers: 15,736,936
People (y/e): 1,547
2003
Rapid expansion of Ryanair right across Europe continues. We acquire Buzz, the Stansted based loss making airline from KLM in April, we close it for a month and then re-launch on 13 former Buzz routes in May at half the fares previously charged by Buzz.
This acquisition gives Ryanair immediate access to 11 new French regional airports as well as making Ryanair by far and away the largest airline operating at London Stansted Airport. We also open up two new Continental European bases with the launch of low fare flights from Milan Bergamo in February and from Stockholm Skavsta in April. In total this year we launch 73 new routes, we take delivery of 14 more B737-800s (42 in total) and retire the first 7 of our 21 older B737-200s at the end of the year. We carry over 2m. passengers in one month (July) for the first time.
Passengers: 23,132,936
People (y/e): 1,746
2004
Ryanair is named the most popular airline on the web for 2003 by Google, as www.ryanair.com continues to be the most searched travel website in Europe. We add 24 new B737-800 aircraft (60 in total) and retire another 5 of the older 737-200s. We launch two new bases in Rome Ciampino and Barcelona Girona as well as adding further aircraft to the existing bases at Stockholm Skavsta, Frankfurt Hahn and Milan Bergamo. Ryanair.com now accounts for over 98% of all Ryanair bookings.
Passengers: 27,593,923
People (y/e): 2,288
2005
We launch 5 new bases, at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Shannon in the West of Ireland, Pisa, Nottingham East Midlands and Cork, giving us a total of 15 bases throughout Europe in 2005. We retire the remaining 737-200 aircraft and replace them with brand new Boeing 737-800s. We now have the youngest fleet in the world with an average aircraft age of just two years. Our punctuality is also second to none, and we celebrate beating Easyjet for punctuality every week for three years solid. We carry more passengers in August than British Airways on their entire worldwide network, making us "The World's Favourite Airline." We also reiterate our "no fuel surcharge guarantee" as airlines such as British Airways, Air France and Lufthansa continue to supplement their already high fares with fuel surcharges. To celebrate our 20 th birthday, we offer 100,000 seats at 99p, 100 times less than our 1985 fare!.
Passengers: 34,768,813
People (y/e): 2700
2006
We carry a record 42.5 million passengers in the year. In March we accept delivery of our 100th Boeing 737-800 and launch our Web check-in service, giving passengers the opportunity to check-in online across our entire route network. Over the summer, Ryanair becomes the world's first airline to carry more than 4 million international passengers in one month. We also become the first airline to announce plans for onboard mobile phone use across our entire fleet and we announce a new base in Bremen. In October Ryanair gaming and bingo is launched and we make an all cash offer for the small regional airline, Aer Lingus while November sees the opening of new bases in Madrid in Marseille. While other airlines maintain their fuel surcharges, Ryanair remains the only airline to guarantee "no fuel surcharges ever" prompting even more passengers to flock to our lowest fares and best customer service on 436 low fare routes across 24 countries.
Ryanair Passenger Growth in Millions
Passengers: 42,509,112
People (y/e): 3,991
2007
Traffic grows by 20% to 51m passengers , we take delivery of 30 new aircraft to operate a fleet of 163 Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft. We open 201 new routes and 3 new UK bases: Bournemouth, Birmingham and Belfast. This year Ryanair creates 1400 new jobs with 23% of our staff being promoted as our continuing growth creates new opportunities for career development. Our people deliver industry leading productivity with Ryanair carrying almost 10,000 passengers per employee, which is ten times better than our principal competitors. In December we la se €7s5,000 for children's charity 'Angels Quest' in Ireland.
Passengers: 50,931,723
People (y/e): 5,262
2008
Our traffic grew by 15% to 59m passengers. During this year we take delivery of 18 new aircraft bringing our entire fleet to 181 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft. We open 223 new routes and 4 new bases (Alghero, Bologna, Cagliari and Edinburgh). We welcome the UK Competition Commission's findings that the BAA airport monopoly in the UK is affecting competition adversely. We achieve a milestone victory when the European Court of First Instance dismissed the EU Commissions 2004 Charleroi decision and ruled that Ryanair's 2001 base agreement in Charleroi complied with state aid rules and did not comprise of either state aid or subsidy. This is a historic victory for Ryanair, for consumers and for hundreds of Europe's regional airports who are now free to grow and develop their traffic. The average employment numbers in Ryanair rise by 21% to 6,369. Within that number 1,526 people are promoted. We launch our second Cabin Crew Charity Calendar (2009) with the €100,000 going to the homeless charity 'The Dublin Simon Community'.
Passengers: 58,565,663
People (y/e): 6,369
2009
Our traffic grew by 14% to 66.5m passengers as our average fare was reduced to just €35. We took delivery of a further 51 new aircraft as our fleet rose to 232 Boeing 737-800. We opened 8 new bases in Bari, Brindisi, Faro, Leeds Bradford, Oslo Rygge, Pescara, Porto and Trapani as we grew to 41 bases and over 940 routes. Our profits rose 200% to over €318m while traffic growth continues during a global recession which saw many of our competitors announce losses or cutbacks, and even more go bankrupt. Finally we launched our very popular Cabin Crew Charity Calendar (2010) wich raises over €100,000 which was donated to the 'When You Wish Upon a Star' Charity in the UK.
Passengers: 66,503,999
People (y/e): 7,245
2010
Our traffic grew by 8% to 72.1m passengers with our average fare at just €39 and no fuel surcharges, despite a sharp increase in fuel costs. We took delivery of a further 40 new aircraft as our fleet rose to 272 Boeing 737-800. We opened 8 new bases in Barcelona El Prat, Gran Canaria, Kaunas, Lanzarote, Malta, Seville, Tenerife and Valencia as we grew to 44 bases and over 1,300 routes. Our profits rose 26% to over €401m despite higher oil prices, the global recession, and volcanic ash disruptions in the spring. Finally we launched our World famous Cabin Crew Charity Calendar (2011) which raised over €100,000 for the German charity 'Tafel'.
Passengers: 72,062,659
People (y/e): 8,070
2011
Our traffic grew by 5% to 75.8m passengers with our average fare of just €45 and no fuel surcharges, despite a sharp increase in fuel costs. We took delivery of a further 25 new aircraft as our fleet rose to 294 Boeing 737-800s. We opened 6 new bases at Baden, Billund, Budapest, Paphos, Palma De Mallorca and Wroclaw, as we grew to 50 bases and over 1,500 routes. Our profits rose 25% to a record €503m despite higher oil prices and the global recession and we announced a planned €483m special dividend to shareholders. Once again, we launched our World famous Cabin Crew Charity Calendar (2012) which this time raised over €100,000 for the Irish charity DEBRA Ireland.
Passengers: 75,814,551
People (y/e): 8,438
2012
Our traffic grew by 5% to 79.3m passengers with our average fare of just €48 and no fuel surcharges, despite another steep increase in fuel costs. We took delivery of a further 15 new aircraft to bring our fleet to 305 Boeing 737-800s and placed firm orders with Boeing for 175 new aircraft. We opened 7 new bases at Chania, Eindhoven, Fez, Krakow, Maastricht, Marrakech and Zadar, as we grew to 57 bases and over 1,600 routes. Our profits rose 13% to a record €569m despite higher oil prices and the €100,000 proceeds from our world famous Cabin Crew Charity Calendar (2013) went to the TVN Foundation in Poland.
Passengers: 79,325,820
People (y/e): 9,137
2013
Our traffic grew by 3% to 81.7m customers with our average fare of just €46 and no fuel surcharges, despite another steep increase in fuel costs. We placed firm orders with Boeing for 175 new aircraft. We opened 4 new bases at Athens, Brussels, Lisbon and Rome and announced 3 new bases for winter 2014 in Cologne, Gdansk, and Warsaw, as we grew to 68 bases and over 1,600 routes. We announced full year net profit of €523m, slightly ahead of previous guidance, and the €100,000 proceeds from our world famous Cabin Crew Charity Calendar (2014) went to the Teenage Cancer Trust (UK).
Passengers: 81,668,285
People (y/e): 9,500
2014
Our traffic grew by 11% to 90.6m customers with our average fare of just €47 and no fuel surcharges. We relentlessly improved our lowest fare/lowest cost model, expanded into primary airports and added business schedules and launched our “Always Getting Better” programme. We placed firm orders for 183 B737-800S and 200 B737 Max 200s (including 100 options). We opened new bases in Bratislava, Cologne, Gdansk, Glasgow and Warsaw. We returned to GDS distribution with Travelport, Amadeus and Sabre and announced full year net profit of €867m, an increase of 66% on the previous year.
Passengers: 90,555,521
| Boeing 737 Next Generation |
In area, which is the largest island of the Inner Hebrides? | Boeing Frontiers Online
MICHAEL O'LEARY, chief executive officer, Ryanair
Michael O'Leary is the outspoken chief executive officer of Ryanair, the Irish low-fare airline that used the Southwest Airlines low-cost business model to become the most profitable airline in Europe. Ryanair ordered 125 737s in the past year and took options for 125 more. O'Leary answered these questions for Boeing Frontiers.
Q. Ryanair's entire fleet is made up of 737s. Why did you choose them?
A. Our new Boeing 737s have improved our customer appeal, our reliability, our safety, and our technical airworthiness. And they have transformed our image and made us the fastest-growing airline in Europe.
Q. You've talked recently about being partners with Boeing. How would you characterize that partnership?
A. We have much to learn from a company with the heritage and knowledge that Boeing has, and I think we bring energy and a passion for low-fare air travel in Europe. I see us developing our partnership so that Ryanair becomes the biggest airline in Europe over the next 10 years.
The 737 is one of the cornerstones for Southwest, the biggest and best low-fare airline in the world. The other cornerstone is a long and deep partnership with Boeing. Ryanair intends to do the same. We just ordered another 22 737s, and we will be ordering more. We are and will always be a Boeing customer.
You see, Airbus believes Europe is Airbus country. Ryanair believes Europe is Boeing country. Ryanair is going to be working with Boeing on a special mission kicking the a** of Airbus customers and Airbus all over Europe.
Q. Did your European low-fare rival easy- Jet make a mistake in ordering Airbus, splitting its fleet and breaking with the Southwest low-fare model?
A. I think easyJet made two mistakes: They bought the wrong aircraftAirbus instead of Boeing. And they bought the A319. They didn't buy a bigger aircraft something like the 737-800.
Q. What do you think about all these European airlines that are trying to start low-cost operations?
A. There is only one low-cost airline in Europe and that's called Ryanair. There are a lot of other carriers trying to get into the market after the event. If you take some of the German airlinestheir average fare is three to four times higher than Ryanair's. They only look like low-cost carriers compared to Lufthansa or Air France. But, imitation is the best form of flattery.
Q. What do you think it takes to succeed as a low-fare in the European market?
A. You've got to have the lowest cost of operation and the lowest fares. You'll only get there by being passionate about offering low fares. Too many airlines succeed for a short period of time, then lose it because they start raising fares. And they expect customers to pay for higher costs.
Q. What do you have to say about Airbus claims that the slightly wider fuselage of the Airbus A320 family is an advantage?
A. I've heard a lot of horse**** about a wider fuselage. I've yet in 15 years in this industry to meet one passenger who booked his ticket based on that. The seats have been wide enough and the aisles have been wide enough for passengers.
Q. Three of the low-cost airlines that are doing so wellSouthwest, WestJet and Ryanairall have pretty dynamic people at the top. What is your role in making Ryanair succeed?
A. My role in making Ryanair succeed is to interfere as little as possible, try to stay out of other people's way and then claim the credit for all the success when it comes along.
Q. What do you think Ryanair will look like in 10 years?
A. About three times the size it is today, with about four times the number of 737s in the fleet. We expect to grow from 15 million passengers today to 30 million in the next five years, then another 40 to 45 million in the following five years.
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Which aliens in Doctor Who originate from Earth’s twin planet, Mondas? | Cyberman (Mondas) | Tardis | Fandom powered by Wikia
Special Feature - Origin of the Cybermen - Doctor Who - Tomb of the Cybermen - BBC
You may wish to consult Cyberman (disambiguation) for other, similarly-named pages.
The Cybermen, also referred to as Cybrmn when they released a computer virus which destroyed all vowels,( PROSE : Vrs ) of the Doctor 's universe were a race of artificially modified humans who originated from the planet Mondas , Earth 's twin planet . The reason behind their modifications was due to the increasingly cold atmosphere of their planet. ( TV : The Tenth Planet )
Their original goal was simply to return Mondas to the solar system; they would destroy the Earth and have Mondas replace it. The Doctor's first and sixth incarnations prevented this, and their attempt to destroy Earth with a comet. (TV: The Tenth Planet , Attack of the Cybermen )
With nothing else left to them, the Cybermen took it as their primary aim to conquer the universe, converting where possible to boost their numbers. Fear of such conversion was prevalent on many worlds and so the Cybermen came to be objects of terror. ( TV : Attack of the Cybermen )
Many species fought against them in the Cyber-Wars . (TV: Earthshock , Revenge of the Cybermen ) After the wars were over, they had upgraded their technology, which overcame many weaknesses present in their original models. ( TV : Nightmare in Silver , Death in Heaven )
Contents
Edit
The Cybermen were cybernetically augmented humanoids . Though they varied greatly in design over time (most likely due to the technology available to them), the many versions had several things in common. Nearly all were silver in colour, except for a black variety in the London sewers . ( TV : Attack of the Cybermen , et al.)
Cybermen also exhibited exposed circuitry and tubing covering a rubbery or mylar-like outer skin. ( TV : The Tenth Planet ) Cybermen frequently attempted to increase their numbers by cyber-conversion .
The Mondasians which the First Doctor met on Snowcap Base in December 1986 had undergone a less radical conversion and still retained biological hands. ( TV : The Tenth Planet )
All other Cybermen were entirely covered by their metallic suits. ( TV : The Moonbase onwards) Some partial conversions were known to exist that still held human features, among them Tobias Vaughn . ( TV : The Invasion )
A black Cyberman. ( TV : Attack of the Cybermen )
Mondasian Cybermen had a quavering voice which put inflected syllables in a seemingly random, sing-song manner. ( TV : The Tenth Planet ) Later Cybermen spoke in more of a monotone, emphasising their lack of emotion. ( TV : The Moonbase )
After recovering from the Cyber-Wars , the Cybermen had advanced suits. Their chest units glowed blue. ( TV : Nightmare in Silver , The Time of the Doctor )
Conversion
Cyber-conversion. ( TV : Attack of the Cybermen )
Partial conversions occurred. In a partial conversion, the subject took on several features of the Cybermen. For example, Tobias Vaughn 's torso was immune to gunfire. ( TV : The Invasion )
A great weakness of the conversion was they could only convert species close to humans. This left Time Lords like the Doctor safe for a time. (TV: Closing Time ) However, the post-Cyber Wars variety no longer had this drawback, and were able to temporarily incorporate his mind to create the Cyber-Planner Mr Clever . (TV: Nightmare in Silver ) A further upgrade to their process was being able to convert corpses, no matter how decayed or what age the victim died at. (TV: Death in Heaven )
Vulnerabilities
The Fifth Doctor uses Adric 's gold badge against the Cyber-Leader. ( TV : Earthshock )
Cybermen had major weaknesses. The most notable was the element gold which, being non-corrosive, choked their respiratory systems, a property exploited by the glittergun used during the Cyber-Wars . ( TV : Revenge of the Cybermen , Earthshock , Silver Nemesis ) ( AUDIO : Last of the Cybermen ) On occasion, the mere touch of gold was toxic to them. Gold coins or gold-tipped arrows might destroy them. ( TV : Earthshock , Silver Nemesis ) Gold also blocked their sensors and caused the cybermats to malfunction. ( PROSE : Revenge of the Cybermen ) However, at some point, the Cybermen developed a patch to counteract this weakness, which was available to the post-Cyber Wars variety of the species. (TV: Nightmare in Silver )
Cybermen affected by the Cerebration Mentor , an emotion-enhancing device, went "mad". ( TV : The Invasion )
Some Cybermen could be damaged (but not killed) by ordinary gunfire. ( TV : Silver Nemesis )
20th century guns could damage Cybermen, but did not kill them. Explosives and bazooka shells took them down easily. ( TV : The Invasion , Silver Nemesis ) UNIT developed gold-tipped rounds to combat Cybermen. ( TV : Battlefield ) At close range, attacks with energy and laser weapons could kill Cybermen. ( TV : Earthshock )
Raston Warrior Robots counted Cybermen among the many beings they could kill. Although equipped only with javelins and blades, the technology of the robots allowed them to easily destroy several Cybermen. ( TV : The Five Doctors )
Technology
Edit
The Cybermen forces in 2526 used the Cyberlance, a powerful, hand-held cutting weapon. They also used the Cyberscope, a device that allowed Cyber commanders to view the battlefield remotely and access a computer database (containing, among other data, information on their race's encounters with the Doctor ). ( TV : Earthshock )
The Cyberman's distress signal is activated. ( TV : Attack of the Cybermen )
Cybermen in 1986 had a built-in distress signal in their heads that could be activated manually. ( TV : Attack of the Cybermen )
The chest unit of a Cyberman was vital to the operation of its life support system. ( AUDIO : Telos )
The head of Cybermen in 1873 contained a neural generation unit. When removed from the head and with a suitable power source, this unit could be adapted to transmit a signal to distances up to 200 light years. ( AUDIO : The Silver Turk )
While the Cybermen were capable of time travel , ( TV : Earthshock , AUDIO : The Reaping ) it was still primitive, limited and even dangerous as late as the 30th century . ( PROSE : Illegal Alien ) Should the Cybermen have mastered time travel, they would have become strong enough to crush the Draconians , the Sontarans , the Time Lords and even the Daleks . ( WC : Real Time , AUDIO : Real Time )
Weapons (short range)
A Cyberman with a gun. ( TV : The Invasion )
When they attacked Earth in 1986 , Cybermen carried large, hand-held, energy weapons. ( TV : The Tenth Planet )
In the 21st century , the Cybermen who attacked Space Station W3 had death rays built into their chest units. ( TV : The Wheel in Space )
The Cybermen encountered by UNIT in the late 20th century displayed these same built-in death ray weapons. They also carried large rifles that emitted a flame for medium range combat on London 's streets. ( TV : The Invasion )
The Cybermen who attacked the Nerva Beacon had their weapons built into their helmets. They were activated with the touch of a hand. ( TV : Revenge of the Cybermen )
In time, the Cybermen came to favour the hand-held cyber-gun over the built-in weapon. ( TV : The Invasion onwards)
Edit
In the 20th century, the Cybermen invasion fleet had a megatron bomb that could destroy all life on Earth. ( TV : The Invasion )
In 2070 , the Cybermen had a cannon which could operate in the vacuum of Space . They used it on the surface of the Moon . Due to its mass, it required two Cybermen to operate it. ( TV : The Moonbase )
Neurotrope X incapacitated humans before the Cybermen made an overt move. ( TV : The Moonbase ) Cybermen sometimes used Cybermats to spread the virus to the population. ( TV : Revenge of the Cybermen )
The Cybermen were strong enough to kill with their hands without any extra weaponry or electric-based attack. ( TV : Earthshock )
Culture
Edit
Cybermen made survival their central objective. Since they could not reproduce naturally, they needed to create new members of their population by other means, via cyber-conversion . At times they tended to focus on converting the population of Earth, at other times on simply destroying it. ( TV : The Tomb of the Cybermen )
Cybermen tended toward covert activity, scheming from hiding and using human or other agents, cybermats or androids to act as their proxies until they deemed it necessary to appear in person. ( TV : Revenge of the Cybermen , Earthshock , Attack of the Cybermen )
Individuality and emotion
Edit
Throughout their history, Cybermen, for the most part, lacked individuality or names. This was a result of their emotions being removed during the conversion process. ( TV : The Tenth Planet , et al.)
Cybermen in positions of authority included the ground level Cyber-Leader who commanded a group of ordinary Cybermen. Cyber-Leaders were sometimes aided by a Cyber-Lieutenant . Immobile computer -like Cyber-Planners would sometimes make decisions and long term plans. ( TV : The Wheel in Space , The Invasion ) The Cyber-Controllers , who possessed enlarged craniums, had the position of highest possible authority. ( TV : The Tomb of the Cybermen , Attack of the Cybermen )
Cybermen no longer possessed emotions and viewed them as a weakness. However, several of the Cyber-Leaders displayed characteristics that could be linked to emotions such as anger, amusement, and, at times, smugness. ( TV : Earthshock )
History
Edit
Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids who arose on Earth 's former twin planet , Mondas . Mondas drifted into the outer solar system to become an orphan planet. The Mondasians adapted by turning themselves into cyborgs. ( TV : The Tenth Planet ) Eventually all of the Mondasians underwent forced cyber-conversion . ( AUDIO : Spare Parts ) According to another account, they evolved from the Voord and Mondas was once the planet Marinus . ( COMIC : The World Shapers )
See Creation of the Cybermen for more details.
The original Mondasians retained more of their organic form. They had personal names. Another group, the Faction , left Mondas and headed for Planet 14 . These developed into groups without connection to one another. ( PROSE : Iceberg )
The Cybermen refused to attend the Armageddon Convention , and destroyed the robot messengers who sent the invitations. ( PROSE : The Empire of Glass )
Mondas developed a drive propulsion system. This was placed in the planet 's core to move the entire world. As the original Cybermen were limited in numbers and were continually being depleted, they decided to invade Earth . ( TV : The Tenth Planet )
Scout crafts were sent to find its location. The first expedition to find Earth crash-landed in the mountains of Austria around 1873 . However, due to the extensive damage sustained during the landing, they failed to report the location of Earth to Cyber-Control on Mondas, which was 200 light-years away. The Eighth Doctor made sure that all Cyber-Technology from the expedition was destroyed. ( AUDIO : The Silver Turk )
The Cybermen fired missiles at a pod which descended through Mondas' mesosphere after a cosmic cloud appeared. The missile attack missed, but the recoil damaged the pod and the ape creature inside. The Cybermen examined the ape being, whose vocal cords were damaged in the crash, through vivisection, and sent a Cyber-Scout craft through the cloud to see if the ape beings on the other side were suitable for cyber-conversion . This was, in fact, Mondas in the time it was ruled by the Lizard Kings back when Earth was still Mondas' sister planet. The Lizard Kings wounded the Cyberman inside the craft and examined it with vivisection. They salvaged the Cyber-Scout craft to send an augmented ape-servant through the cloud in their era to see if it would help their people avoid the incoming rogue planet that threatened Earth. This was the very same ape that inspired the Cybermen to go through the cosmic cloud in the future. ( COMIC : The Prodigal Returns )
Middle history
Cybermen in 1954. ( COMIC : The Good Soldier )
In 1903 , after receiving a wealth of information from the future, Grigori Rasputin saw people made of metal. ( AUDIO : The Wanderer )
The Seventh Doctor and Ace fought Cybermen in London in 1940 . ( PROSE : Illegal Alien ) They would later fight them in Nevada in 1954 . These Cybermen were from Mondas, trying to invade. Their attack was delayed until 1986 . ( COMIC : The Good Soldier )
A Cyberman rises from a London sewer. ( TV : The Invasion )
By 1970 , Cybermen, specifically the Faction led by a Cyber-Planner ( PROSE : Iceberg ), had established a base on the dark side of Earth's Moon . The Cyber-Planner had contacted the industrialist Tobias Vaughn , the head of the International Electromatics corporation. Vaughn installed mind control circuits in his company's appliances, paving the way for an invasion. He also grafted cybernetic arms onto several of his workers.
Vaughn had a Cyber-Planner installed in his office. The plot was uncovered by the newly formed UNIT and the Second Doctor , who helped avert the invasion on the Earth and at the Cyberman base on the Moon. ( TV : The Invasion )
A Cyberman in the TARDIS . ( TV : Attack of the Cybermen )
Having captured a time vessel , the Cybermen knew that the First Doctor would eventually destroy Mondas. They planned to divert Halley's Comet towards Earth in 1985 . They hoped the destruction of Earth would change the past so Mondas would survive. The Sixth Doctor foiled them. ( TV : Attack of the Cybermen )
A Cyberman encounters the Doctor. ( TV : The Tenth Planet )
In December 1986 , the First Doctor met an advance force of Mondans near Snowcap Base in Antarctica . This force was to prepare for Mondas' return to the Sol system and to drain Earth's energy for the Cybermen. Mondas absorbed too much energy and was destroyed, as were the Cybermen on Earth who depended on Mondas for power. ( TV : The Tenth Planet ) Following the destruction of Mondas, the Cyberman would make Lonsis their new home. ( AUDIO : Human Resources ) One account also claims that the Cyberships were examined and exploited by humans, allowing them to make advances in space travel. Sarah Jane Smith described the invasion as "both the greatest disaster and most astonishing blessing ever to have happened to the human race." ( PROSE : The Power of the Daleks )
The Cybermen and a group of mercenaries led by Karl made an alliance with the Daleks in a gambit to sabotage a peace conference on Earth in 1988 and have the planet destroyed. The Cybermen and the mercenaries had a much more active role than the Daleks, as they were tasked with kidnapping an American envoy on whom the success of the conference depended and in capturing the Doctor whom the Dalek Emperor declared a vital part of the plan. The Daleks took a more behind-the-scenes approach as they planned to use the mercenaries and Cybermen as nothing more than scapegoats who could be blamed for the destruction of Earth by the Galactic Council while the Dalek involvement remained a secret. When the Sixth Doctor revealed this information to the Cybermen and the mercenaries, they immediately turned on the Daleks. ( AUDIO : The Ultimate Adventure )
Cybermen on Earth. ( TV : Silver Nemesis )
In November 1988 , a scouting party was sent to Earth in search of a statue made of validium called Nemesis , a Time Lord weapon. The Cybermen met Lady Peinforte , who brought many of their number down with gold-tipped arrows. The Leader apparently forced the Seventh Doctor to surrender the Nemesis. Their force was destroyed by Nemesis as the Doctor had instructed. ( TV : Silver Nemesis )
21st century
Cybermen in 2005 . ( COMIC : The Flood )
In 2005 , ( COMIC : Hunters of the Burning Stone ) Cybermen from the future time travelled to Earth to announce themselves to the public. They hoped to flood Earth, using a powerful water-like nerve agent to make humans willingly participate in cyber-conversion. The Eighth Doctor, having absorbed a segment of the Time Vortex for a brief period of time, turned their entire army to dust, and decomposed their ship slowly, causing it to explode soon after. ( COMIC : The Flood )
In 2006 , Cybermen again invaded Earth's South Pole . ( PROSE : Iceberg ) In the same year, the Cybermen on Lonsis tried to invade Earth via the portal in the main branch of Hulbert Logistics .The Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller destroyed them. They used a quantum crystalliser to make the Cybermen and their ship rapidly rust into dust. ( AUDIO : Human Resources )
In 2010 , UNIT Underbase contained a Cyberman salvaged from a past alien invasion of Earth. ( COMIC : The Age of Ice )
In the 2010s , a Cyberman was a resident of the hidden trap street in London which housed lost aliens on Earth under the protection of Mayor Me . As with the rest of the inhabitants it appeared cloaked in human form through use of the lurkworms . It was observed by the Twelfth Doctor and Clara Oswald as it had maintenance performed on it by an Ood . ( TV : Face the Raven )
In 2021 a group of Cybermen claimed to want to become organic again. A space program used this to their advantage. However the Cyberleader lied, in fact having tricked the agency into creating a conversion chamber. The Seventh Doctor , Ace and Hex foiled this scheme. ( AUDIO : The Harvest )
By 2070 , the Cybermen were known and feared in several galaxies ( PROSE : Doctor Who and the Cybermen ) but were thought extinct by Earth. At this time the Earth's weather was controlled by the Gravitron installation in the Moonbase , the Faction planned to use the Gravitron to disrupt Earth's weather and destroy all life on the planet. ( TV : The Moonbase )
In 2079 , ( AUDIO : Second Chances ) Space Station W3 was the site of a takeover by the Faction, but were defeated by the Second Doctor. ( TV : The Wheel in Space ) In a second attack on the wheel, the Cybermen were sent into the Land of Fiction by Zoe Heriot . ( AUDIO : Legend of the Cybermen )
Post-21st century
The Sixth Doctor encountered Cybermen in 2191 . By using a Selachian ship the Cybermen had conquered Agora . ( PROSE : Killing Ground )
The Cybermen had all but passed into legend when an archaeological expedition on the planet Telos found the Cyber-tombs . Hordes of Cybermen waited in cryogenic suspension . Earth's Brotherhood of Logicians intended to awaken them, believing the Cybermen would be receptive to their cause. The tomb would be sealed again ( TV : The Tomb of the Cybermen ) and later re-activated. ( TV : Attack of the Cybermen )
Cyber-Wars
Main article: Cyber-Wars
During the Orion War of the early 26th century , humans tried to salvage Cyber-Technology from derelict ships to defeat the androids. This led to both sides nearly wiped out and the temporary conquest of Earth before the Cybermen resurgence was stopped. ( AUDIO : Sword of Orion , AUDIO : Cyberman )
Cybermen and a Cyber-Leader .( TV : Earthshock )
In 2526 , several planets united to oppose the Cybermen in an event called the Cyber-Wars . A force of Cybermen tried to devastate Earth with a Cyberbomb and convert the survivors. Failing this, they hoped to crash the freighter into Earth and cause an ecological disaster. Although the effort failed, the freighter was catapulted back in time to become the " meteor " that wiped out the dinosaurs . ( TV : Earthshock )
One of the last acts of the Cybermen in this war the attempt to blow up the planet Voga to stop the production of glitterguns . ( PROSE : Revenge of the Cybermen ) In the aftermath of their failure, the Cybermen were reduced to scattered remnants. One group relentlessly hounded the remaining fragment of Voga. ( TV : Revenge of the Cybermen )
The war ultimately ended when the Tiberian spiral galaxy was blown up, destroying apparently all of the Cybermen. ( TV : Nightmare in Silver )
Later history
The Cybermen on Telos, planning to change history. ( TV : Attack of the Cybermen )
On Telos, the Cybermen plotted to change history and divert Halley's Comet to Earth to destroy it and to save Mondas. ( TV : Attack of the Cybermen ) At some point, Telos was shattered by an asteroid impact. ( AUDIO : Telos )
Telos was not the only site of Cyber-Tombs. There were dozens across the galaxy and more wars were started. Bernice Summerfield spoke of the Telos expedition and other tombs being discovered in the past tense. She was sent to one by Irving Braxiatel in the early 27th century . Braxiatel intended to use the Cybermen as a private army but was thwarted. ( AUDIO : The Crystal of Cantus )
The Master sent The Graak to a Cyber-Tomb populated by Cybermen to steal a Cybermat . These Cybermen were either going in- or coming out of the tombs. ( GAME : Destiny of the Doctors )
Post wars Cybermen and a Cyber-Leader . ( TV : Revenge of the Cybermen )
The remaining Cybermen from the Cyber-Wars ship finally caught up to Voga, now in orbit around Jupiter . Their attempt to destroy it would be defeated and their craft and themselves detroyed due to the involvement of the Fourth Doctor , Sarah Jane Smith , and Harry Sullivan . ( TV : Revenge of the Cybermen )
A Cyberman with the Sixth Doctor . ( WC : Real Time )
By 3286 , the Cybermen had been thought dead for centuries. A group of these Cybermen led by a Cyber-controller attempted to gain time travel. Around this time, Goddard arrived. Goddard was a super developed Cybermen,from an alternate 1930s where the human race had become cyborgs indistinguishable visually from humans thanks to a Cyber virus. The Cybermen managed to reverse-engineer the virus Goddard brought but were defeated by the Sixth Doctor . ( WC : Real Time , AUDIO : Real Time )
A number of Cybermen crowd around a beaten Destrii . ( COMIC : The Flood )
Cybermen from the far future would use time travel to return in time to the 2000s to convert Earth. They used rain that caused extreme emotions (sadness, fear, anger) to convince the humans that emotions were bad and to accept conversion willingly. The reason they needed humans from a past era was clear to the Doctor; in the future of the Cybermen, the human genetic template had been corrupted and augmented by their interactions with many alien races. The Cyber-conversion protocols were keyed to human or Mondasian biology; the number of available converts would drop dramatically.
The Doctor offered to regenerate for them so they could gather the data of his regeneration and upgrade their conversion protocols to include other races, in exchange for leaving the Earth alone. The Cybermen agreed, but betrayed him at the last moment (the Doctor was expecting this). Using the fragment of the Time Vortex the future Cybership used as a power source, the Doctor destroyed the Cyberfleet and dissolved them into rain. ( COMIC : The Flood )
The Cybermen were notable customers of the information regarding the Doctor held by the Inforarium . When the Eleventh Doctor discovered the Cybermen, as well as the Daleks and Sontarans , had been purchasing this information, he infiltrated the Inforarium and memory-proofed their database using methods he learned from the Silence . The information sold was thus instantly forgotten. ( HOMEVID : The Inforarium ) This led to the Cybermen losing data on the Doctor. ( TV : Nightmare in Silver )
A Cyberman on Hedgewick's World of Wonders . ( TV : Nightmare in Silver )
A thousand years after the destruction of the Tiberian spiral galaxy and the end of the Cyber-Wars, the Cybermen were thought to be extinct. Yet surviving Cybermen lay beneath the future site of Hedgewick's World of Wonders . When the theme park was built, the Cybermen began using Cybermites to kidnap people as "spare parts". Angie and Artie Maitland arrived on Hedgewick's World with the Eleventh Doctor and their nanny, Clara , and were taken by the Cybermen. With enough components to reawaken them, after being presumed extinct for a thousand years, the Cybermen awoke from their tombs.
Cybermen attacking Natty Longshoe's Comical Castle ( TV : Nightmare in Silver )
The Cybermen began attacking Natty Longshoe's Comical Castle to convert the humans there, but the Doctor, in a battle for his mind with the Cyber-Planner , Mr Clever , had them stop in place to bring in the local resources to win the chess game. The Doctor used a hand pulse to redistribute Clever among the rest of the Cybermen. Angie and Artie were also released. Emperor Ludens Nimrod Kendrick Cord Longstaff XLI gave the verbal command to start the countdown of a planet-imploding bomb. This drew the attention of his ship, which transmatted the Doctor and the humans on the planet while the Cybermen were left behind. The planet and the Cybermen were destroyed; however, one Cybermite survived the destruction. ( TV : Nightmare in Silver )
Final evolution
Edit
By the 101st century , the Cybermen had nearly died out. Several centuries earlier, they had chosen a new name for their species and become pacifists. ( PROSE : Synthespians™ )
The Cybermen would ultimately transcend into pure energy. They would redeem the whole of sentient life and become the most peace loving-species in the whole of creation, purely thought with no physical presence. ( COMIC : The World Shapers )
Rassilonian Era
Edit
During the Dark Times on Gallifrey , the Cybermen were excluded from the games in the Death Zone , because the Time Lords believed they had an unfair advantage over other victims of the games. Borusa , having found the Game of Rassilon , transported a squadron of Cybermen to the Death Zone to threaten and harass the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith . These Cybermen were mostly destroyed by a similarly transported Raston Warrior Robot . The survivors allied with the Master , but he betrayed and destroyed them. ( TV : The Five Doctors )
The Cybermen were part of the Supremo 's alliance in the war against Morbius . ( PROSE : Warmonger )
The Cybermen with the Master . ( PROSE : Birth of a Renegade )
During the Doctor's era, the Cybermen allied themselves with the Master to become the rulers of Gallifrey. After they kidnapped Susan Foreman , they were stopped by the Fifth Doctor . ( PROSE : Birth of a Renegade )
After the Last Great Time War had ended the Cybermen fought other races for control over time. ( COMIC : Weapons of Past Destruction )
On Gallifrey , a Cyberman became ensnared by the " fibre-optic cables " within the Matrix and begged for Clara Oswald 's help, but she went looking for the Doctor instead. ( TV : Hell Bent )
Undated events
A dead Cyberman . ( WC : TARDIS Cam No .1)
A Cyberman head was once seen destroyed on a desert planet that the TARDIS once visited. The Cyberman lay dead with his silver wires on his face stretched. ( WC : TARDIS Cam No.1 )
A wooden Cyberman on Trenzalore . ( TV : The Time of the Doctor )
The Cybermen were involved in the Siege of Trenzalore . After being summoned to Trenzalore by the First Question , the Cybermen attempted to pass through the Papal Mainframe 's force field . One attempt involved a Wooden Cyberman as it was low-tech and would not trigger any alarm system but the Doctor tricked the Cyberman into destroying itself. Later, the Daleks attacked the Mainframe and learned how to break the force field . The Cybermen followed them and fought the Doctor and the Silents until all the Cybermen, like many other species involved in the battle, were either killed or saw fit to retreat. ( TV : The Time of the Doctor )
A Cyber Ship was chased by a Dalek flying saucer . Inside the ship, two Cybermen interrogated a Dalek Lumpy about the whereabouts of the Orb of Fates before be flattened by the Doctor's TARDIS . The Twelfth Doctor sent Lumpy on Telos to retrieve a second element of the Orb. ( GAME : The Doctor and the Dalek )
Alternate timeline
Edit
This section's awfully stubby .
It is impossible to tell, as the temporal discrepancy featured has never been resolved, but Real Time may involve a divergent timeline.
In an alternate timeline created by the Black Guardian , the First Doctor never left Gallifrey . He became Lord President . The Cybermen were one of many aliens which invaded Earth , and fought over the planet with other races. This timeline was destroyed when the Seventh Doctor retrieved the Key to Time . ( COMIC : Time & Time Again )
In another alternate timeline in which a successful WOTAN paved the way for World War III , the Cybermen successfully occupied the Arctic in their 1986 invasion. They came to agreements with the South African forces fighting the British , supplying them with technology and weapons that gave the former a huge advantage in the war, particularly in the South African invasion of Britain . The First Doctor averted this timeline by halting the world on its road to war in 1972 , ( PROSE : The Time Travellers ) and later averted its causes altogether by defeating WOTAN in 1966 . ( TV : The War Machines )
If the Eleventh Doctor and Jean-Luc Picard did not defeat the Cybermen and the Borg , the Cybermen would eventually defeat the Borg, and invade both the Doctor's universe and the Federation universe , with planets invaded incluing; Raxacoricofallapatorius , Qo'noS , the Judoon homeworld, and finally Starfleet Academy in San Francisco . ( COMIC : Assimilation² )
In an alternate timeline where the Daleks were peaceful, the Cybermen remained a dangerous force in the universe in the universe alongside the Sontarans . ( PROSE : The Ripple Effect )
Parallel universe
Edit
In the Federation universe , the Cybermen invaded an Archaeological site on Aprilia III and began to convert the people onboard into Cybermen. They encountered the Fourth Doctor , Captain James T. Kirk , Spock , McCoy and Scotty . The Fourth Doctor stopped them by using the gold on Kirk's communicator to clog the Cybermen's respiration. ( COMIC : Assimilation² )
The Cybermen with the Borg . ( COMIC : Assimilation² )
The Cybermen entered into an alliance with another cybernetic species, the Borg , from a Federation due to their identical goals of assimilating other species. On Stardate 45635.2 in 2368 , a joint Borg/Cyberman assault force attacked the Federation planet Delta IV and quickly overran it. This attack made the Cybermen known to the Federation. ( COMIC : Assimilation² )
Other references
Edit
An image of a Cyberman was one of the fears pulled from the Doctor's mind when he faced the Keller machine. ( TV : The Mind of Evil )
In their war with the Cybermen of another universe , the Cult of Skaro noted their resemblance to the Cybermen from our universe. ( TV : Doomsday )
Mysteries and discrepancies
Edit
The idea for the Cybermen came from Kit Pedler 's interest in new medical advances and his fears of where they might lead. Early concepts of the Cyberman design emphasised the "man" part of the name, but the proposed design would have cost too much money. Indeed, the televised version of The Tenth Planet featured much more human-like Cybermen with human hands.
Prologues to certain Target Books novelisations reflect the earlier ideas about the Cybermen and state they perfected the science of cybernetics to gain immortality. The Cybermen were the result: immortal, but at the price of loss of their humanity.
Development of the characters
Edit
The second appearance of the Cybermen in The Moonbase (pre-planned by the production team even before The Tenth Planet had aired), re-designed them radically, making them much more robotic in appearance. The Cybermen went through another major re-design in The Invasion , yet another in Earthshock , one in the comic strips in The Flood and one more in Nightmare in Silver . Minor re-designs would take place as well. As the Cybermen stories do not appear in a chronological order, this makes their evolution rather confusing; more 'advanced' Cybermen are around at the same time as more 'primitive' ones. This can be explained by time travel, though the Cybermen only captured one time ship. ( TV : Attack of the Cybermen )
The Brilliant Books
According to The Brilliant Book 2012 , at one point, Vastra and Jenny battled the Cybermen.
Cybermen
Edit
The non-narrative source Doctor Who: Cybermen , by David Banks , went into further detail about Cybermen and Cyberman factions. Banks created a number of terms — CyberFaction, CyberNomad, CyberTelosian, CyberMondasian, and others — to explain the differences in the Cybermen's costumes on television. Some of the terms, in adapted forms, appear in his later novel, PROSE : Iceberg . It is these forms — Mondan and the Faction , which this wiki prefers, according to our canon policy .
The history Banks presented as "non-fiction" was largely ignored by other authors and so can't be considered in the writing of most of our articles. Here are some of the points that Banks made which never made it beyond Doctor Who: Cybermen :
The departure of the CyberFaction (that is, the Faction ) from Mondas was thought to have occurred around 5000 BC in what Banks called the "First Divergence".
In the "Second Divergence", a group which author David Banks called "CyberNomads" diverged from the Faction. These so-called "Nomads" searched for the validium statue Nemesis and tried and failed to destroy Voga .
Possibly after the 21st century, the Faction abandoned their home in the Sol system and journeyed into the galaxy to colonise a suitable planet. The Cybermen which colonised Telos, possibly in 2175, split from the Faction and were called the CyberTelosians. This group united with the CyberNomads after they discovered the frozen CyberTelosians, and became CyberNeomorphs. These Cybermen planned to use Halley's Comet against Earth and were taken to the Death Zone on Gallifrey.
In other words, what Banks was trying to do was create terms for each of the different costumes he and his fellow performers had worn throughout the years. In effect he was saying that the costumes in Attack of the Cybermen were of CyberNeomorphs, the ones worn in The Tomb of the Cybermen were of CyberTelosians, and so forth.
The idea has not been widely ignored by other works. Even he did not in his book, Iceberg, which mentioned none of his terms precisely. It did not reference the CyberNeomorphs and CyberTelosians, and called the CyberFaction, " the Faction ", and CyberMondasians, " Mondans ".
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Cybermen were a "race" of c ybernetically augmented Humanoid. They varied greatly in design, with different factions throughout time and space. The two major groups, from which all other known versions derived, were The Mondasion Cybermen, which originated on the planet Mondas Earths twin planet and the Cybermen created by Cybus Industries, which originated on Earth in an alternate universe. Happy Holidays
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Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. It first appeared in the West End in 1960, enjoying a long run, and was made into a film directed by Carol Reed in 1968.
The musical is loosely based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. That it was the first musical adaptation of a Charles Dickens work to become a stage hit was one of the reasons why it attracted such attention. There had been two previous Dickens musicals in the 1950s, both of them television adaptations of A Christmas Carol, but the dramatic story of Oliver Twist was the first Dickens work to be presented as a successful stage musical. Another reason for the success of the musical was the revolving stage set, an innovation designed by Sean Kenny.
The show launched the careers of several child actors, including Davy Jones, later of The Monkees; Phil Collins, later of Genesis; and Tony Robinson, who later played the role of Baldrick in the television series Black Adder. The singer Steve Marriott (Small Faces, Humble Pie) also featured in early line-ups, eventually graduating to the role of Artful Dodger in the West End production.
The plot of Dickens's original novel is considerably simplified for the purposes of the musical, with Fagin being represented more as a comic character than as a villain, and large portions of the latter part of the story being completely left out. Although Dickens' novel has been called antisemitic in its portrayal of the Jew Fagin as evil, the production by Bart (himself a Jew) featured many Jewish actors in leading roles: Ron Moody (Ronald Moodnik), Georgia Brown (Lilian Klot), and Martin Horsey.
Lionel Bart
Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!
He started his songwriting career in amateur theatre, first at The International Youth Centre in 1952 where he and a friend wrote a revue together called IYC Revue 52. The following year the pair auditioned for a production of the Leonard Irwin play The Wages Of Eve at Unity Theatre, London. Shortly after Bart began composing songs for Unity Theatre, contributing material (including the title song) to their 1953 revue Turn It Up, and songs for their 1953 pantomime, an agit prop version of Cinderella. While at Unity he was talent spotted by Joan Littlewood and so joined Theatre Workshop. He also wrote comedy songs for the Sunday lunchtime BBC radio programme The Billy Cotton Band Show.
He first gained widespread recognition through his pop songwriting, penning numerous hits for the stable of young male singers promoted by artist manager and music publisher Larry Parnes. Bart's pop output in this period includes the hits "Living Doll" (written for Cliff Richard) and "Rock with the Cavemen","Handful of Songs", "Butterfingers" and "Little White Bull" (for Tommy Steele). During this period, Mike Pratt as well as Steele were his songwriting partners. In 1957, he won three Ivor Novello Awards, a further four in 1958, and two in 1960. He wrote the theme song for the 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love. His other hits include: "Do You Mind?" (recorded by both Anthony Newley and Andy Williams), "Big Time" (a 1961 cover of his "Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be" show tune by Jack Jones), "Easy Going Me" (Adam Faith) and "Always You And Me" (with Russ Conway).
Bart was also responsible for the discovery of two of Parnes' biggest stars. It was on his recommendation that Parnes went to see singer Tommy Hicks, whom he signed and renamed Tommy Steele, and Bart also suggested that Parnes see singer Reg Smith, who was then performing at the Condor Club. Although Parnes missed his performance, he went round to Smith's house and signed him up on the basis of Bart's recommendation. Smith went on to score a number of UK hits under his new stage name Marty Wilde.
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King "Jerry" Goldsmith (February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring.
He composed scores for such noteworthy films as The Sand Pebbles, Planet of the Apes, Patton, Chinatown, The Wind and the Lion, The Omen, The Boys from Brazil, Alien, Poltergeist, Gremlins, Hoosiers, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Rudy, Air Force One, L.A. Confidential, Mulan, The Mummy, three Rambo films, and five Star Trek films. He was nominated for six Grammy Awards, nine Golden Globes, four BAFTAs, and seventeen Academy Awards. In 1977 he was awarded an Oscar for The Omen.
He collaborated with some of the most prolific directors in film history, including Robert Wise (The Sand Pebbles, Star Trek: The Motion Picture), Howard Hawks (Rio Lobo), Otto Preminger (In Harm's Way), Joe Dante (Gremlins, The 'Burbs, Small Soldiers), Roman Polanski (Chinatown), Ridley Scott (Alien, Legend), Steven Spielberg (Poltergeist, Twilight Zone: The Movie), and Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall, Basic Instinct). However, his most notable collaboration was arguably that with Franklin J. Schaffner, for whom Goldsmith scored such films as Planet of the Apes, Patton, Papillon, and The Boys from Brazil.
Within Temptation
Within Temptation is a Dutch rock/metal band. The band was founded in 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. Their music is described as symphonic metal, gothic metal, although in an interview, Den Adel said they fell into a symphonic rock genre with various influences, and in a later interview with 3VOOR12, Sharon stated that "we consider ourselves more a symphonic rock band ... we are in my opinion no gothic band".
After the release of their first album Enter, the band became prominent in the underground scene. However it was not until 2001 that they became known to the general public, with the single "Ice Queen" from the album Mother Earth, which reached #2 on the charts. Since then, the band won the Conamus Exportprijs five years in a row. Their next album The Silent Force debuted at #1 on the Dutch charts, as did their latest, The Heart of Everything. In 2008 they released a live DVD and CD, Black Symphony, recorded with the Metropole Orchestra.
On August 11, 2009 Within Temptation announced that they would be releasing a live album consisting of acoustic sets from their theatre tour, entitled An Acoustic Night At The Theatre, which was released on October 30th.
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (born 5 May 1988 in Enfield, North London), She is the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice, which was given to artists who, at the time, had yet to release an album. She debuted at number one with her Mercury Prize nominated debut album 19 in the UK album chart and has since then been certified platinum with sales over 500,000 copies.
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt (Hungarian: Ferencz Liszt, in modern usage Ferenc Liszt, from 1859 to 1865 officially Franz Ritter von Liszt) (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist and teacher. He was also the father-in-law of Richard Wagner. In 1865 he became abbot in the Roman Catholic Church.
Liszt became renowned throughout Europe during the 19th century for his great skill as a performer. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age and perhaps the greatest pianist of all time. He was also an important and influential composer, a notable piano teacher, a conductor who contributed significantly to the modern development of the art, and a benefactor to other composers and performers, notably Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, Camille Saint-Saëns, Edvard Grieg and Alexander Borodin.
As a composer, Liszt was one of the most prominent representatives of the "Neudeutsche Schule" ("New German School"). He left behind a huge and diverse body of work, in which he influenced his forward-looking contemporaries and anticipated some 20th-century ideas and trends. Some of his most notable contributions were the invention of the symphonic poem, developing the concept of thematic transformation as part of his experiments in musical form and making radical departures in harmony.
Claudio Santoro
Cláudio Franco de Sá Santoro (Manaus, 23 November 1919–Brasília, 27 March 1989) was an internationally renowned Brazilian composer and violinist.
Eagles
The Eagles are an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California during the early 1970s. With five Number 1 singles and six Number 1 albums, the Eagles were one of the most successful recording artists of the decade. At the end of the 20th century, two of their albums, Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 and Hotel California, ranked among the ten best-selling albums according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The best-selling studio album Hotel California is rated as the thirty-seventh album in the Rolling Stone list "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and the band was ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. They are also the best-selling American group ever, with Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 being the best-selling album in the U.S. to date.
The Eagles broke up in 1980, but reunited in 1994 for Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks. They have toured intermittently since then, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
In 2007, the Eagles released Long Road out of Eden, their first full studio album in 28 years.
Members:
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (Armenian: Արամ Խաչատրյան; Russian: Ара́м Ильи́ч Хачатуря́н; June 6 1903 – May 1, 1978) was a prominent Soviet Armenian composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music. He is most famous for the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from his ballet Spartacus, and for the "Sabre Dance" from his ballet Gayane and the adagio from the same ballet, much used in films since its first use in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity. Although he introduced no new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation in composition for diverse musical forces, and the adaptation of rhythms and textures from abroad, particularly Italy and France.
Revered for their intellectual depth and technical and artistic beauty, Bach's works include the Brandenburg concertos; the Goldberg Variations; the English Suites, French Suites, Partitas, and Well-Tempered Clavier; the Mass in B Minor; the St. Matthew Passion; the St. John Passion; The Musical Offering; The Art of Fugue; the Sonatas and Partitas for violin solo; the Cello Suites; more than 200 surviving cantatas; and a similar number of organ works, including the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.
While Bach's fame as an organist was great during his lifetime, he was not particularly well-known as a composer. His adherence to Baroque forms and contrapuntal style was considered "old-fashioned" by his contemporaries, especially late in his career when the musical fashion tended towards Rococo and later Classical styles. A revival of interest and performances of his music began early in the 19th century, and he is now widely considered to be one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition.
Stanley Myers
Stanley Myers (6 October 1930 – 9 November 1993), was a prolific British film composer who scored over sixty films. Born in Birmingham, as a teenager Myers went to King Edward's School in Edgbaston, a suburb of Birmingham. He is also known for composers music for cult films House of Whipcord, Frightmare and House of Mortal Sin for cult filmmaker Peter Walker.
He is best known for Cavatina (1970), an evocative guitar piece that served as the signature theme for Michael Cimino's 1978 film The Deer Hunter, and for which Myers won the Ivor Novello Award. A somewhat different version of this work, performed by John Williams, had appeared in The Walking Stick. And yet another version had lyrics added. Cleo Laine and Iris Williams, in separate recordings as He Was Beautiful, helped to make Cavatina become even more popular.
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart “Randy” Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer/songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is notable for his mordant (and often satirical) pop songs and for his many film scores.
Newman is noted for his practice of writing lyrics from the perspective of a character far removed from Newman's own biography. For example, the 1972 song "Sail Away" is written as a slave trader's sales pitch to attract slaves, while the narrator of "Political Science" is a U.S. nationalist who complains of worldwide ingratitude toward America and proposes a brutally ironic final solution. One of his biggest hits, "Short People" was written from the perspective of "a lunatic" who hates short people. Since the 1980s, Newman has worked mostly as a film composer. His film scores include Ragtime, Awakenings, The Natural, Leatherheads, James and the Giant Peach, Meet the Parents and Seabiscuit. He has scored five Disney-Pixar films: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. and Cars. Most recently he scored Princess and the Frog and is set to return for Toy Story 3 and Cars 2.
He has been singled out for a number of awards by his colleagues, including an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Grammy Awards, and the Governor's Award from the Recording Academy. Randy Newman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2007, Newman was inducted as a Disney Legend.
Chopin
Frédéric Chopin (1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period. He is widely regarded as the greatest Polish composer, and ranks as one of music's greatest tone poets.
He was born in the village of Żelazowa Wola, in the Duchy of Warsaw, to a Polish mother and French-expatriate father, and in his early life was regarded as a child-prodigy pianist. In November 1830, at the age of 20, Chopin went abroad; following the suppression of the Polish November Uprising of 1830–31, he became one of many expatriates of the Polish "Great Emigration."
In Paris, he made a comfortable living as a composer and piano teacher, while giving few public performances. A Polish patriot,
Chopin's extant compositions were written primarily for the piano as a solo instrument. Though technically demanding, Chopin's style emphasizes nuance and expressive depth rather than virtuosity. Chopin invented musical forms such as the ballade and was responsible for major innovations in forms such as the piano sonata, waltz, nocturne, étude, impromptu and prelude. His works are mainstays of Romanticism in 19th-century classical music.
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen (February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music. Having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to being the composer of The Wizard of Oz, Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the Great American Songbook. His 1938 song "Over the Rainbow” was voted the twentieth century's No. 1 song by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet (25 October 1838 – 3 June 1875) was a French composer and pianist of the Romantic era. He is best known for the opera Carmen.
Bizet was born at 26 rue de la Tour d'Auvergne in the 9th arrondissement of Paris in 1838. He was registered with the legal name Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, but he was baptised on 16 March 1840 with the first name Georges, and he was always known thereafter as Georges Bizet. His father Adolphe Armand Bizet (1810-86) was an amateur singer and composer, and his mother, Aimée Léopoldine Joséphine née Delsarte (1814-61), was the sister of the famous singing teacher François Delsarte.
He entered the Paris Conservatory of Music on 9 October 1848, a fortnight before his tenth birthday. His teachers there were Pierre Zimmermann (fugue and counterpoint; often assisted by his son-in-law Charles Gounod), Antoine François Marmontel (piano), François Benoist (organ) and, on Zimmermann's death, Fromental Halévy, whose daughter he himself later married. He won first prizes for organ and fugue in 1855 and completed his earliest compositions.
His first symphony, the Symphony in C, was written in November 1855, when he was seventeen, evidently as a student assignment. It was unknown to the world until 1933, when it was discovered in the archives of the Paris Conservatory library. Upon its first performance in 1935, it was immediately hailed as a junior masterwork and a welcome addition to the early Romantic period repertoire. The symphony bears a stylistic resemblance to the first symphony of Gounod, first played earlier in the same year, and which Bizet had arranged for two pianos although present-day listeners may discern a similarity to music of Franz Schubert, whose work was little known in France at the time the symphony was written.
In 1857, a setting of the one-act operetta Le docteur Miracle won him a share in a prize offered by Jacques Offenbach. He also won the music composition scholarship of the Prix de Rome, the conditions of which required him to study in Rome for three years. There, his talent developed as he wrote such works as the opera buffa Don Procopio (1858-59). There he also composed his only major sacred work, Te Deum (1858), which he submitted to the Prix Rodrigues competition, a contest for Prix de Rome winners only. Bizet failed to win the Prix Rodrigues, and the Te Deum score remained unpublished until 1971. He made two attempts to write another symphony in 1859, but destroyed the manuscripts in December of that year. Apart from this period in Rome, Bizet lived in the Paris area all his life.
Shortly after leaving Rome in July 1860, but while still touring in Italy, he had the idea of writing a symphony in which each of the four movements would be a musical evocation of a different Italian city – Rome, Venice, Florence and Naples. On hearing of his mother's serious illness he cut short his Italian travels and returned to Paris in September 1860; she died a year later. The Scherzo of the symphony was completed by November 1861, but it was not until 1866 that the first version of the whole symphony was written. He subjected it to a number of revisions through to 1871, but died before ever producing what he considered the definitive version. For this reason, the work is sometimes described as "unfinished", but this is an inaccurate description as it was fully scored. It was published in 1880 as the Roma Symphony.
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists, including Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, John Taylor, Steve Kuhn, Don Friedman, Denny Zeitlin, Bobo Stenson and Keith Jarrett, as well as guitarists Lenny Breau and Pat Metheny. The music of Bill Evans continues to inspire younger pianists like Marcin Wasilewski, Fred Hersch, Ray Reach, Bill Charlap, Lyle Mays, Eliane Elias and arguably Brad Mehldau, early in his career.
Evans is an inductee of the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (French pronunciation: (7 January 1899 - 30 January 1963) was a French composer and a member of the French group Les Six. He composed music in genres including art song, solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music. Critic Claude Rostand, in a July 1950 Paris-Presse article, described Poulenc as "half monk, half delinquent" ("le moine et le voyou"), a tag that was to be attached to his name for the rest of his career.
High Fidelity
High Fidelity is a musical with a book by David Lindsay-Abaire, lyrics by Amanda Green, and music by Tom Kitt. Based primarily on the Nick Hornby novel rather than the subsequent film version it inspired, the plot focuses on Rob Gordon, a Brooklyn record shop owner in his thirties obsessed with making top five lists for everything, always observing rather than participating in life. When his girlfriend Laura leaves him, he goes through a painful re-evaluation of his life and lost loves (with a little help from his music) and he slowly learns that he has to grow up and let go of his self-centered view of the world before he can find real happiness.
Kitt, a graduate of Columbia University, recognized the material's potential for musical adaptation when he first read the book, long before the film was released and became a cult hit. He approached Green (daughter of famed lyricist Adolph), with whom he had attended the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, with the idea, and she too saw the possibilities. Their score runs the gamut from pop music to rhythm and blues to romantic ballads, with each song in the style and musical vocabulary of a different pop or rock artist, including Bruce Springsteen, Beastie Boys, Indigo Girls, Talking Heads, Aretha Franklin, The Who, Guns N' Roses, Billy Joel, George Harrison, Percy Sledge, and others.
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus; November 23, 1992) is an American pop singer and television and film actress. Cyrus is best known for starring as the title character in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana. Following the success of Hannah Montana, in October 2006, a soundtrack CD was released in which she sang eight songs from the show. Cyrus' solo music career began with the release of her debut album, Meet Miley Cyrus on June 23, 2007, which included her first top ten single "See You Again". Her second album, Breakout, was released on July 22, 2008. Breakout is Cyrus' first album that does not involve the Hannah Montana franchise. Both albums debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. In 2008, she appeared in the Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert film.
Cyrus also starred in Bolt in 2008, and recorded "I Thought I Lost You" for the soundtrack for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination. She starred in the film spin-off of Hannah Montana, titled Hannah Montana: The Movie which was released on April 10, 2009. In 2008, Cyrus was listed in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World. Forbes magazine ranked her #35 on the "Celebrity 100" list with earnings of $25 million in 2008. Her rank improved to #29 in 2009.
Hisaishi Jou
Mamoru Fujisawa (藤澤 守 Fujisawa Mamoru?), known professionally as Joe Hisaishi (久石 譲 Hisaishi Jō?, born December 6, 1950), is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.
While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic, European classical, and Japanese classical. Lesser known are the other musical roles he plays; he is also a typesetter, author, arranger, and head of an orchestra.
He is best known for his work with animator Hayao Miyazaki, having composed scores for many of his films including Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), Porco Rosso (1992), Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001), Howl's Moving Castle (2004) and Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008). He is also recognized for the soundtracks he has provided for filmmaker 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano, including A Scene at the Sea (1991), Dolls (2002), Kikujiro (1999), Hana-bi (1997), Kids Return (1996), Ocean Heaven (2010) and Sonatine (1993).
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (16 December 1770 - 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He was a crucial figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music, and remains one of the most respected and influential composers of all time.
Born in Bonn, then in the Electorate of Cologne (now in modern-day Germany), he moved to Vienna in his early twenties and settled there, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. Beethoven's hearing gradually deteriorated beginning in his twenties, yet he continued to compose masterpieces, and to conduct and perform, even after he was completely deaf.
Guiseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Italian pronunciation: ; 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century. His works are frequently performed in opera houses throughout the world and, transcending the boundaries of the genre, some of his themes have long since taken root in popular culture - such as "La donna è mobile" from Rigoletto, "Va, pensiero" (The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) from Nabucco, "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" (The Drinking Song) from La traviata and the "Grand March" from Aida. Although his work was sometimes criticized for using a generally diatonic rather than a chromatic musical idiom and having a tendency toward melodrama, Verdi’s masterworks dominate the standard repertoire a century and a half after their composition.
Verdi's predecessors who influenced his music were Rossini, Bellini, Giacomo Meyerbeer and, most notably, Gaetano Donizetti and Saverio Mercadante. With the exception of Otello and Aida, he was free of Wagner's influence. Although respectful of Gounod, Verdi was careful not to learn anything from the Frenchman whom many of Verdi's contemporaries regarded as the greatest living composer. Some strains in Aida suggest at least a superficial familiarity with the works of the Russian composer Mikhail Glinka, whom Franz Liszt, after his tour of the Russian Empire as a pianist, popularized in Western Europe.
Throughout his career, Verdi rarely utilised the high C in his tenor arias, citing the fact that the opportunity to sing that particular note in front of an audience distracts the performer before and after the note appears. However, he did provide high Cs to Duprez in Jérusalem and to Tamberlick in the original version of La forza del destino. The high C often heard in the aria Di quella pira does not appear in Verdi's score.
Ludovico Einaudi
Ludovico Einaudi (born 23 November 1955) is an Italian contemporary classical music composer and pianist.
Although Einaudi would prefer not to be labeled as any particular type of genre, he is sometimes referred to as Minimalist. This is despite his music not sharing the key musical properties associated with minimalism. This may be due to his music possessing sparse orchestration and simplistic melodies that some may wish to refer to as 'minimalist' despite not belonging to the musical movement of Minimalism.
Einaudi's own words on the matter reflect this viewpoint, with Einaudi referring to Minimalism as "elegance and openness", despite its more formal definition as a musical movement to which he arguably does not belong.
Nicanor Abelardo
Nicanor Sta. Ana Abelardo (February 7, 1893 – March 21, 1934) was a Filipino composer who composed over a hundred of Kundiman songs, especially before the Second World War.
Nobuo Uematsu
Nobuo Uematsu (植松伸夫 Uematsu Nobuo?, born March 21, 1959) is a Japanese video game composer and musician, best known for scoring the majority of titles in the Final Fantasy series. He is regarded as one of the most famous and respected composers in the video game community. Uematsu is a self-taught musician; he began to play the piano at the age of eleven or twelve, with Elton John as his biggest influence.
Uematsu joined Square (later Square Enix) in 1985, where he met Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. They have worked together on numerous titles, most notably the games in the Final Fantasy series. After nearly 20 years in the company, he left Square Enix in 2004 and founded his own company called Smile Please, as well as the music production company Dog Ear Records. He has since composed music as a freelancer for video games primarily developed by Square Enix and Sakaguchi's development studio Mistwalker.
A handful of soundtracks and arranged albums of Uematsu's game scores have been released. Pieces from his video game works have been performed in concerts worldwide, and numerous Final Fantasy concerts have also been held. He has worked with Grammy Award-winning conductor Arnie Roth on several of these concerts. In 2002, he formed a rock band with colleagues Kenichiro Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito called The Black Mages, in which Uematsu plays the keyboard. The band plays arranged rock versions of Uematsu's Final Fantasy compositions.
Gym Class Heroes
Gym Class Heroes are an American band from Geneva, New York. The group formed when Travis "Schleprok" McCoy met drummer Matt McGinley and decided to make a band. After the addition of guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo and bassist Eric Roberts, they were signed to Decaydance Records, on which they released the gold-selling album As Cruel As School Children. Since that release, the band has garnered much success, with the single "Cupid's Chokehold" reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Clothes Off!!" peaking at #5 on the UK Singles Chart.
Rather than using the conventional tools of hip hop production, Gym Class Heroes use live instrumentation, similar to artists such as Florescent Theifs, Stetsasonic, The Roots, N.E.R.D., Flobots, and Crown City Rockers. They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "Cupid's Chokehold." The band plans to release their fourth LP, The Quilt, later this year.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, also known as Chitty the Musical, is a stage musical based on the 1968 film produced by Cubby Broccoli. The music and lyrics were wriiten by Richard and Robert Sherman with book by Jeremy Sams. It opened in the West End at the London Palladium theatre on April 16, 2002 with six new songs by the Sherman Brothers who wrote the original academy award nominated title and song score as well. The London production, directed by Adrian Noble with musical staging and choreography by Gillian Lynne, closed in September 2005.
Guy Sebastian
Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer-songwriter, and winner of the first Australian Idol television talent quest in 2003. Between December 2003 and November 2007 he released four top 4 albums including a #1 and #2, which all achieved either platinum or multi platinum accreditation. His fifth album Like It Like That features several tracks with John Mayer playing guitar and singing backing vocals, and also a duet with Jordin Sparks. The album was released on October 23, 2009, and debuted at #6, achieving gold accreditation in its third week on the ARIA chart.
Sebastian has also released six top 10 singles which includes four #1's, and three other top 15 and one top 40 single. His most recent #1 is "Like it Like That" the title track from his latest album. It was released as the first single in Australia on August 7, 2009 and reached #1 in its 4th week and spent 12 weeks in the ARIA Top 10 and has achieved 2x platinum accreditation. "Art of Love", the song featuring Jordin Sparks, was officially released as the second single on November 20, 2009 and has reached #10 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
During his career Sebastian has been awarded 10 platinum and 1 gold accreditation for albums, and 8 platinum and 2 gold accreditations for singles, the highest album and single accreditations of any Australian Idol contestant according to official Australian Recording Industry Association records. In total Sebastian has sold over 1.45 million cds in Australia alone, including more than 800,000 albums. Three of his albums have been nominated as highest selling album at the annual ARIA Music Awards, Just As I Am in 2004, Beautiful Life in 2005, and The Memphis Album in 2008. His debut single "Angels Brought Me Here" although only released in late November 2003 placed #1 on the End of Year Top 100 ARIA Singles Chart in 2003, and was awarded the ARIA for highest selling single at the 2004 ARIA Awards.
Sebastian is third on the list of Australian performers with #1 singles this decade, ahead of him being Kylie Minogue with six and Delta Goodrem with eight. His four #1 singles also places him second in Australian chart history for most #1 singles by an Australian solo male act. Ahead of him with five is John Farnham. Sebastian's are ARIA #1's. Farnham's were achieved over three decades, with four Go-Set Australian National Chart/Kent Music Report #1's between 1968 and 1986 and one ARIA Chart #1 single in 1988 Sebastian has received a number of awards including Channel V's Artist Of The Year in 2004, and Urban Music Awards for Best Male Artist in 2006 and Best R&B Album for his third album Closer To The Sun in 2007.
Early in his career Sebastian had some success overseas with his first single reaching #1 in New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia. His success outside Australia is most evident in New Zealand, where his first single "Angels Brought Me Here" was accredited platinum. It spent 3 weeks at #1, and remained in the NZ Top 50 chart for 22 weeks during 2003/2004. His debut album Just As I Am reached #3 on the NZ charts, and gained 2xplatinum accreditation. His second single "All I Need Is You" peaked at #5, and spent 14 weeks in their Top 50. Despite Sebastian's success in these countries his record label did not release his follow up albums there. In 2008 Sebastian was signed to Victor/Sony to release an album in the US. The album is currently set for release there in 2010.
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960 in Augusta, Georgia) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her Contemporary Christian Music and pop music, and a New York Times Bestselling author, TV personality, and occasional actress.
Grant is considered one of the true pioneers of Gospel and Contemporary Christian music..
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" "The Promise" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Tracy Chapman began playing guitar and writing songs at the age of eleven. She was quickly accepted into the program A Better Chance, which enabled her to attend one of the finest string musical schools in the world, Wooster School in Connecticut; she was eventually accepted to Tufts University.
In May 2004, Tufts honored her with an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, for her strongly-committed contributions as a socially conscious and artistically accomplished musician.
Chapman often performs at and attends Make Poverty History charity events such as amfAR and AIDS/LifeCycle.
Although Chapman has never spoken publicly about her sexuality, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker discussed her love affair with Chapman in an interview with The Guardian on December 15, 2006. She explained why they did not go public with their relationship at the time (the mid 1990s), saying, " was delicious and lovely and wonderful and I totally enjoyed it and I was completely in love with her, but it was not anybody's business but ours."
Seal
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adelo Samuel (born February 19, 1963 in Paddington, London) is a British soul singer and songwriter. His name Olusegun means "God is victorious". Known professionally by his first name, Seal is known for his numerous international hits and his marriage to supermodel Heidi Klum.
Seal first came to public attention as vocalist on the Adamski single "Killer" in 1990. The single eventually reached number one in 1990 in the UK. Seal subsequently signed to ZTT Records and released his debut album (produced by Trevor Horn), self-titled Seal, in 1991. Two versions of the album are known to be in circulation: the original "premix" version and a second, more common version with an updated mix. This is attributed to the demand for a produced single rushing the final album edit, and as Seal puts it, his and producer Horn's "inability to let go."
System was released in the UK on November 12, 2007 and in the U.S. on November 13, 2007. Seal describes the album as more dance-oriented, apparently a return to the roots of his first album. On the track titled "Wedding Day", Seal sings a duet with his wife, Heidi Klum. The album's first single, "Amazing", was released on September 25, 2007, and was nominated for the "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance" Grammy at the 2007 50th Annual Grammy Awards.
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, full name Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 â 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. His over 600 compositions include works widely acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. Mozart is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers, and many of his works are part of the standard concert repertoire.
Mozart's music, like Haydn's, stands as an archetypal example of the Classical style. His works spanned the period during which that style transformed from one exemplified by the style galant to one that began to incorporate some of the contrapuntal complexities of the late Baroque, complexities against which the galant style had been a reaction. Mozart's own stylistic development closely paralleled the development of the classical style as a whole. In addition, he was a versatile composer and wrote in almost every major genre, including symphony, opera, the solo concerto, chamber music including string quartet and string quintet, and the piano sonata. While none of these genres were new, the piano concerto was almost single-handedly developed and popularized by Mozart. He also wrote a great deal of religious music, including masses; and he composed many dances, divertimenti, serenades, and other forms of light entertainment.
The central traits of the classical style can be identified in Mozart's music. Clarity, balance, and transparency are hallmarks of his work.
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. Songs from the musical that have become standards include "The Sound of Music", "Edelweiss", "My Favorite Things", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", and "Do-Re-Mi".
The original Broadway production opened in November 1959, and the show has enjoyed numerous productions and revivals since then. It has also been made into an Academy Award-winning 1965 movie musical. The Sound of Music was the final musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein; Hammerstein died of cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere.
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本 龍一 Sakamoto Ryūichi?, born January 17, 1952) is an Academy Award-, Grammy-, and Golden Globe-winning Japanese musician, composer, record producer and actor, based in New York and Tokyo. He played keyboards in the influential Japanese electropop band Yellow Magic Orchestra. His 1999 musical composition "Energy Flow" is the first number-one instrumental single in the Japan's Oricon charts history. He was ranked at number 59 in a list of the top 100 most influential musicians compiled by HMV Japan.
Julius Benedict
Sir Julius Benedict (27 November 1804 - 5 June 1885) was a German-born composer and conductor, resident in England for most of his career.
Henryk Wieniawski
Henryk Wieniawski (10 July 1835 – 31 March 1880) was a Polish violinist and composer. He was considered a violinist of genius and wrote some of the most important works in the violin repertoire, including two extremely difficult violin concertos, the second of which (in D minor, 1862) is more often performed than the first (in F♯ minor, 1853). His "L'Ecole Moderne, 10 Etudes-Caprices" is a very well known and required work for aspiring violinists. His Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16 and Légende, Op. 17 are also frequently performed works. He also wrote two popular mazurkas for solo violin and piano accompaniment (the second one, Obertas, in G Major), using techniques such as left-hand pizzicato, harmonics, large leaps, and many double stops. Wieniawski has been given a number of posthumous honors. His portrait appeared on a postage stamp of Poland in 1952 and again in 1957. A 100 Złoty coin was issued in 1979 bearing his image.
What is sometimes called the "Russian bow grip" ought to be called the "Wieniawski bow grip": Wieniawski taught his students his own kind of very stiff bowing that allowed him to play a "devil's staccato" with ease. This "devil's staccato" was easily used to discipline students.
Train
Train is a Grammy Award winning rock band formed in San Francisco, California. To date, three of their albums have peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and have sold a total of over 4 million albums in the US. Three of their songs have been top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 including their biggest hit "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)". Train has found success on modern adult contemporary radio stations, where they have had eight songs in the top 20 of the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart.
Members:
Katie Melua
Ketevan "Katie" Melua (born 16 September 1984) is a Georgian-British singer, songwriter and musician. She was born in the Georgian SSR, but moved to Northern Ireland at the age of eight and then relocated to England at the age of 14. Melua is signed to the small Dramatico record label, under the management of songwriter Mike Batt, and made her musical debut in 2003. In 2006, she was the United Kingdom's biggest-selling female artist and Europe's highest selling European female artist.
In November 2003, at the age of 19, Melua released her first album, Call off the Search, which reached the top of the United Kingdom album charts and sold 1.8 million copies in its first five months of release. Her second album, Piece by Piece, was released in September 2005 and to date has gone platinum four times. Melua released her third studio album Pictures in October 2007, which has been announced to be the last of her albums in collaboration with Mike Batt. According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2008, Melua has a fortune of £18 million, making her the seventh richest British musician under thirty.
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band from Cambridge. The band initially earned recognition for their psychedelic and space rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. Pink Floyd are known for philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album cover art, and elaborate live shows. One of rock music's most successful acts, the group have sold over 200 million albums worldwide including 74.5 million albums in the United States alone. Pink Floyd have influenced progressive rock artists of the 1970s such as Genesis and Yes; and contemporary artists such as Nine Inch Nails and Dream Theater.
Pink Floyd had moderate mainstream success and were one of the most popular bands in the London underground music scene in the late 1960s as a psychedelic band led by Syd Barrett. However, Barrett's erratic behaviour eventually forced his colleagues to replace him with guitarist and singer David Gilmour. After Barrett's departure, singer and bass player Roger Waters gradually became the dominant and driving force in the group by the late-1970s, until his eventual departure from the group in 1985. The band recorded several albums, achieving worldwide success with The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), and The Wall (1979).
In 1985, Waters declared Pink Floyd "a spent force", but the remaining members, led by Gilmour, continued recording and touring under the name Pink Floyd. Waters sued them for the name and eventually they reached a settlement out of court, under which Gilmour, Mason and Wright would continue as Pink Floyd. They again enjoyed worldwide success with A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell (1994). Waters performed with the band for the first time in 24 years on 2 July 2005 at the London Live 8 concert.
Coldplay
Coldplay are a rock band formed in London, England in 1997. The group comprises vocalist/pianist/guitarist Chris Martin, lead guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Will Champion. Coldplay have sold 34.6 million albums, and are also known for their hit singles, such as "Yellow", "The Scientist", "Speed of Sound", "Fix You", "Viva la Vida" and the Grammy Award-winning "Clocks".
Coldplay achieved worldwide fame with the release of their single "Yellow", followed by their debut album, Parachutes (2000), which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Its follow-up, A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) won multiple awards such as NME's Album of the Year and was later included on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, ranking at #473. Their next release, X&Y (2005), received a slightly less enthusiastic yet still generally positive reception. The band's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), was produced by Brian Eno and released again to largely favourable reviews. All of Coldplay's albums have enjoyed great commercial success.
Coldplay's early material was compared to acts such as Jeff Buckley, U2, and Travis. Coldplay have been an active supporter of various social and political causes, such as Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign and Amnesty International. The group have also performed at various charity projects such as Band Aid 20, Live 8, and the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Alicia Keys
Alicia J. Augello-Cook (born January 25, 1981), and has won numerous awards, including eleven Grammy Awards, seventeen Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards.
Her debut album Songs in A Minor was a worldwide success, selling nearly 11 millions albums, and received five Grammy Awards in 2002, with Alicia winning Best New Artist and also Song of the Year for "Fallin'".
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" The band was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970. Guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, originally in a band together called the Jam Band, met up with singer Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarist Ray Tabano, and formed Aerosmith. By 1971, Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, and the band began developing a following in Boston.
They were signed to Columbia Records in 1972 and released a string of multi-platinum albums, beginning with their 1973 eponymous debut album. In 1975, the band broke into the mainstream with the album Toys in the Attic, and their 1976 follow-up Rocks cemented their status as hard rock superstars. The band did not fare well between 1980 and 1984, releasing a lone album, Rock in a Hard Place, which only went gold, failing to match the successes of their previous efforts.
Although Perry and Whitford returned in 1984 and the band signed a new deal with Geffen Records, it wasn't until the band sobered up and released 1987's Permanent Vacation that they regained the level of popularity they had experienced in the 1970s. After 38 years of performing, the band continues to tour and record music.
| Giuseppe Verdi |
With which English county do you most associate stargazy pie? | Composers - Classical Music Best Famous Popular Kickass
Composers
Meet the Classical Music composers featured in the Kickass Classical Top 100 and find out where you've heard their music before.
It's the top Classical Music from movies, songs, commercials, cartoons, video games and ringtones.
Start scrolling to learn about famous Classical Music composers.
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Pronounced "ar-NO." French composer who moved to Hollywood to compose for film.
Charge Suite (suite)
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Nicknamed "Olympic Fanfare," this piece is synonymous with the Olympics. Composed in 1958, it has been the theme music for television coverage of the Olympics since 1968. Revamped by John Williams as part of his "Olympic Fanfare And Theme" for the 1984 Olympics.
www.kickassclassical.com. Rock out with your Bach out.
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)
Pronounced "Bock," and his first name is pronounced "YO-hawn." More famous in his day for his mad piano and organ playing skills than his compositions, but his works are all we have to remember him by. Bachaholics know his music is more about the journey than the destination, and is famous for interweaving two or more melodies into any given piece. Famous for "The Well Tempered Clavier" and these:
Air On The G String
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An "air" (or "aria" in Italian) is a type of song or melody. The version of this particular air you hear today is a famous arrangement of the second movement of Bach's "Underwear Suite"... uh, "Orchestral Suite No. 3." The musical inspiration for Procol Harum's 1967 hit, "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." Sampled in the 1997 Sweetbox song "Everything's Gonna Be Alright."
Bourrée In E Minor
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From the fifth movement of Bach's "Suite For Lute No. 1 In E Minor," this is a staple among classic rock musicians, including Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull. Novelty classic rock tribute artist Tenacious D included this in their 2001 song "Rock Your Socks," and in a song in their 2006 film "Tenacious D In: The Pick Of Destiny," featured on the film's soundtrack as "Classico." By the way, the two other pieces in "Classico" are Beethoven's "Für Elise" ( below ) and Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" ( below ).
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos are among the finest compositions of the Baroque era, showcasing unprecedented composition and using several instruments. The first movement of Bach's third Brandenburg Concerto is the most famous of these.
Cello Suite No. 1
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Pronounce it "Chello Sweet." Number one of six. Collect 'em all! This piece is the "Prelude." Popularized by contemporary cellist Yo-Yo Ma (no relation to Yo Mama). His version is used in the 2003 film "Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World." The piece is also played by Jamie Foxx in the 2009 film "The Soloist."
Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring
A beautiful Baroque piece often played at Christmas, and used today as wedding music. From his "Cantata No. 147."
Minuet In G
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Not to be confused with Beethoven's ( below ). This one is found in Bach's "Anna Magdalena Notebook," a book of music he put together for his second wife. Scholars think Christian Petzold, a friend of Bach's, actually wrote this piece. The tune to the 1965 hit "Lovers' Concerto" by The Toys. Willie Nelson recorded this as "Bach Minuet In G" in 1986.
Toccata And Fugue In D Minor
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This pipe organ tune is commonly associated with mad scientists, Dracula, vampires and Halloween. And "Phantom Of The Opera," although this piece has nothing to do with it. A portion of this piece plays before the big plane crash in the 2004 film "The Aviator." Used in the trailer and opening scene of the 1975 film "Rollerball." Look for violinist Vanessa Mae's 1995 version of this piece from her CD "The Violin Player."
Honorable Mention: For more Bach you may have heard, check out "Sleepers, Wake" from "Cantata No. 140," and "Sheep May Safely Graze" from "Cantata No. 208."
Barber, Samuel (1910-1981)
American composer. Died the year Britney Spears was born. Lose one musical genius, gain another.
Adagio For Strings
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One of the saddest piece of classical music ever composed. A rearrangement of the second movement of his "String Quartet In B Minor," this somber piece says "mourning." Played at funerals for Albert Einstein and Princess Grace of Monaco, and in slow motion scenes in war films, like in Oliver Stone's 1986 film "Platoon," which was parodied in the 1996 "Seinfeld" episode "The Fatigues." Also in the 2001 movie "Amélie." You may have heard electronic versions of this piece by techno DJ William Orbit in 2000 and DJ Tiesto in 2005.
www.kickassclassical.com. Roll over Beethoven. Good boy.
Beethoven, Ludwig Van (1770-1827)
Pronounced "BAY-toe-ven," his music can be summed up in one word: Moody. Considered the world's most important composer for moving music from "Classical" to "Romantic" composition, Beethoven was deaf by the time he finished his famous 5th Symphony. Immortalized by Gary Oldman in the 1994 film "Immortal Beloved," and by Ed Harris in the 2006 film "Copying Beethoven."
Für Elise
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Also called "Bagatelle In A Minor." Anyone who's ever heard a child practicing piano has heard this. Used in a late 1980's McDonald's TV commercial with a little girl at a piano recital singing alternate lyrics in her head, "Oh I wish I was already there, instead of here, playing this song, so I could have my chocolate shake, a cheeseburger, and also, whoops, and also fries..." Featured in the 2006 film "Tenacious D In: The Pick Of Destiny," and on the soundtrack in "Classico," along with Bach's "Bourrée In E Minor" ( above ) and Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" ( below ).
Minuet In G
Not to be confused with Bach's ( above ). This is the one in the 1962 film "The Music Man." Students used Professor Harold Hill's "Think System" to play it.
Moonlight Sonata
The first movement of "Piano Sonata No. 14." The Peanuts character Schroeder, a famous Beethoven fan, plays this in the 1985 animated version of the 1967 musical "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown" while Lucy sings.
Symphony No. 5
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Duh-duh-duh-duuuuuuh... This is the most famous Classical Music piece ever.
A disco remake of this piece titled "A 5th Of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy appeared in the 1977 film "Saturday Night Fever," which was then used in Robin Thicke's 2003 song "When I Get You Alone." Judge Judy's theme music. Featured in a 2007 TV commercial for XM satellite radio (along with Snoop Dogg). The neighbor girl's ringtone in the 2007 movie "Disturbia."
Symphony No. 7
Beethoven called this symphony one of his best works. This second movement was used in the final speech scene of the 2010 film "The King's Speech."
Symphony No. 9
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Beethoven's ninth and final symphony is one of the most famous symphonies ever. He was the first major composer to feature a choir as prominently as instruments in a symphony, which is why it's also called the "Choral" symphony. He was completely deaf (and def, yo) when he composed it. This second movement is famous as the opening theme for the Huntley-Brinkley Report, the precursor to NBC Nightly News. The "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" theme.
Symphony No. 9: Ode To Joy
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This 4th and final movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony is often referred to as a "symphony within a symphony." Used in the 1988 film "Die Hard," when the crooks crack the safe and get the money. Played on electric guitar in the trailer for the 2007 sequel "Live Free Or Die Hard." Also used in the mid-90s "Movies, movies, movies, movies..." ad for the cable channel Starz. The music in the video game Peggle for "Extreme Fever." The tune to the 1907 Henry van Dyke hymn "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee." The European Anthem since 1972. The music that triggers the bomb in the 2008 film "Get Smart."
www.kickassclassical.com. Because you can't Google "Duh-duh-duh-duuuuuuh..."
Bizet, Georges (1838-1875)
Pronounced "bee-ZAY." It's important to note that Bizet was in the hizet for shizet. French opera composer famous for his "L'Arlesienne Suite," and these:
Carmen (ballet)
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From "Carmen Suite No. 2." Beyonce sang to this tune in a 2003 "Joy Of Pepsi" ad, after starring in a 2001 urban revival of Carmen titled "Carmen: A Hip Hopera." Kind of a tango. This piece played in the 2009 Disney-Pixar film "Up" as Carl Fredricksen took the motorized chair down the stairs.
Carmen (ballet)
From "Carmen Suite No. 1." The first part of this piece is the theme for the "Bad News Bears" movies from the late 1970's. The second part is often heard in parodies. A toreador is a bullfighter (matador).
Boccherini, Luigi (1743-1805)
Pronounced "bock-er-EE-nee." Italian composer and cellist.
Minuet
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Another famous minuet, this one from the brief third movement of Boccherini's "String Quintet In E Major." Sometimes listed as "menuet," "minuetto," or rarely, "menuetto." Seems like they play this in movies wherever a string quartet or string quintet is shown, or to indicate a formal or fancy black-tie affair. Or old British ladies enjoying crumpets and tea. Sometimes referred to as Boccherini's "Celebrated Minuet," even though we've never personally celebrated it.
www.kickassclassical.com. Word to your moms, we came to drop Brahms.
Brahms, Johannes (1833-1897)
"Brahms" rhymes with "moms." German composer famous for his "Academic Festival Overture" and these:
Hungarian Dance No. 5
Sounds more Kazakhstanian to us. It's nice, I like, how much? The all-female violin quartet Bond does a rousing version of this piece titled "Hungarian" on their 2004 CD "Classified."
Lullaby
The one, the only. Also called "Cradle Song" and "Wiegenlied."
Chopin, Frederic-Francois (1810-1849)
Pronounced "SHO-pan." Polish composer famous for piano pieces like nocturnes, polonaises, etudes, "Minute Waltz," and this:
Funeral March
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This is "the" funeral march, actually called "Piano Sonata No. 2 In B Flat Minor." The tune of the children's rhyme, "Pray for the dead, and the dead will pray for you." Used in old, cheesy video games when your character died.
www.kickassclassical.com. Twice the classical in half the time.
Copland, Aaron (1900-1990)
Pronounced "COPE-land." A popular American composer of ballet and orchestral music, choral music and movie scores. Famous for his "Appalachian Spring" and these:
Fanfare For The Common Man
The 1976 Olympics theme, and used in commercials for the U.S. Navy.
Rodeo (ballet)
Used in the National Beef Council's "Beef, It's What For Dinner" TV commercials.
www.kickassclassical.com. Fanfare for the common bro.
Debussy, Claude (1862-1918)
Pronounced "deb-yoo-SEE." Considered one of the most important French composers. His work helped to move classical music from the Romantic period to the Modern period.
Suite Bergamasque (suite)
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Literally translated it means "light of the moon," or simply "moonlight." Used in the 2001 film "Ocean's Eleven" and the 2007 film "Ocean's Thirteen" due to its association with the fountain show at the Bellagio hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Bella and Edward dance to this in Edward's room in the 2008 film "Twilight." Featured in a 2005 commercial for Chanel No. 5 starring Nicole Kidman.
Delibes, Léo (1836-1891)
Pronounced "duh-LEEB." French opera and ballet composer.
Lakmé (opera)
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A pretty opera duet sung by two women, heard in movies like "The American President," "The Mirror Has Two Faces," "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life," and "Meet The Parents," and ads for British Airways and Ghirardelli Chocolate. Also called "Viens, Mallika... Dôme Épais Le Jasmin'," which loosely translated means, "The cheese is old and moldy."
Sylvia (ballet)
A pizzicato is a piece played by plucking strings. This particular pizzicato has been heard in lots of radio and TV commercials.
www.kickassclassical.com. Party like it's 1799.
Dukas, Paul (1865-1935)
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The story of the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" existed long before it was made famous by Mickey Mouse in Disney's 1940 animated film "Fantasia." This 1897 music by Dukas was inspired by the 1797 poem of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which in turn was based on a tale by the ancient Greek poet Lucian of Samosata. The moral of the story: A problem halved is trouble doubled.
Timeline: 40 of the 50 composers in the Top 100 after the Wild Wild West began (with the California Gold Rush in 1848).
Dvorák, Antonín (1841-1904)
Pronounced "duh-VOR-shock." (That last part sounds more like the French name "Jacques.") Czech composer.
Symphony No. 9
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The "Symphony No. 9 In E Minor - From The New World," popularly known as the "New World Symphony" was composed in 1893 during a visit to the United States. This fourth movement is the most famous. Notice the part that John Williams ( below ) ripped off for his theme to the 1975 film "Jaws."
Elgar, Edward (1857-1934)
One of the greatest English composers. Self taught.
Pomp And Circumstance March No. 1
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In America, it's the walking down the aisle at graduation music. In Britain, it's the music to the patriotic song, "Land Of Hope And Glory." The entrance music for wrestler Macho Man Randy Savage - makes you wanna "snap into a Slim Jim." The music in the "Donald Duck's ark" piece in Disney's "Fantasia 2000." The beginning piano theme in the 2006 My Chemical Romance (MCR) song, "Welcome To The Black Parade." For all your pimpin' circumstances.
www.kickassclassical.com. If we don't have it, you don't need it.
Fucik, Julius (1872-1916)
That's pronounced "FOO-chik," ya dirty kid, ya. Czech military orchestra conductor and composer.
Entry Of The Gladiators
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Send in the clowns! When you hear this piece, you immediately think of carnivals, funfairs, clowns and circuses. Translated from the German "Einzug der Gladiatoren." Gladiators must have been a lot funnier back then. Also called "Thunder And Blazes." For more circus music, see Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" ( below ) and Rosas' "Over The Waves" ( below ).
Gershwin, George (1898-1937)
American composer and half of the songwriting team (with brother Ira Gershwin) responsible for musicals like "Porgy & Bess," and "An American In Paris" and songs like "I Got Rhythm" and "Someone To Watch Over Me."
Rhapsody In Blue
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This mind-blowingly complex piece defies definition. Over 16 minutes long, Gershwin's first major piece blended classical and jazz to create "symphonic jazz." Appeared in Disney's animated film "Fantasia 2000" and is the United Airlines theme music.
Note: This composition is not to be confused with the Peanuts theme, a piano piece titled "Linus And Lucy," composed by Vince Guaraldi in 1963 and used in TV ads for MetLife.
www.kickassclassical.com. Because www.peachykeenswellneatoclassical.com was taken.
Grieg, Edvard (1843-1907)
Pronounced "Greeg." Norwegian composer famous for his "Holberg Suite" and these:
Piano Concerto
One of the more famous openings of any Classical Music piece. Grieg's first and only piano concerto.
Peer Gynt (suite) Grieg composed the incidental music for this Norwegian play.
In The Hall Of The Mountain King
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At first "sneaky," this piece builds to a frantic, frightening end. In too many movies, trailers and video games to count, including the teaser trailer for Tim Burton's 2005 film "Corpse Bride." The music for British theme park Alton Towers. The inspiration for the Inspector Gadget theme song. On Apple Macintosh computers, the "Cellos" system voice "sings" to this tune. The Finnish heavy-metal cello group Apocalyptica covered this on their 2000 album "Cult." A version of this by Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor is heard in the rowing race scene in the 2010 film "The Social Network."
Peer Gynt (suite)
If you're looking for another piece that says "morning," check out the first link under Rossini's "William Tell Overture" ( below ). The pieces are used almost interchangeably to set the scene for morning time in cartoons, movies and TV shows.
www.kickassclassical.com. If it's not Baroque, don't fix it. Chortle. Guffaw. r0x0r.
Handel, George Frideric (1685-1759)
Pronounced like the word "handle." German born British Baroque composer famous for his "Royal Fireworks Music" and these:
Messiah (oratorio)
Bet you never heard this before. Handel's "Messiah" was first performed during Lent (leading up to Easter), but it is now mostly performed during Advent (leading up to Christmas).
Solomon (oratorio)
Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba
Music that says "old," "stuffy," "regal," or "British" - or even all four. Popular at weddings. Interesting story about this piece... a queen of some place called Sheba arrived somewhere.
Water Music (suite)
More old, stuffy, regal, British sounding music. "Water Music" is divided into three suites, and "Alla Hornpipe" is the nickname for the second suite, also titled "Suite No. 2 In D Major."
Holst, Gustav (1874-1934)
Mars, The Bringer Of War
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A kickass, powerful, intense piece to embody the astrological spirit of the Red Planet, named after the Roman god of war. Notice the similarities between this piece and John Williams' "Imperial March" from the 1980 film "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back." ( below ). This piece comes before "Uranus, The Bringer Of... Damn, What Did You Eat, Bro?"
www.kickassclassical.com. 50 composers. 100 pieces. Lots of kickass.
Jenkins, Karl (1944-Present)
Born in Wales, trained in England, this modern day composer started with the 1970s jazz fusion band Soft Machine. Jenkins is famous for his series of "Adiemus" compositions, and this:
Palladio
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From the "A Diamond Is Forever" De Beers TV commercials with the silhouettes. Dude, the comparative mathematical proportionality of the measurements in context of the overall composition is totally off the chain. Silent Nick released a house version of this piece in 2002.
Khachaturian, Aram (1903-1978)
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This hyperactive piece calls to mind circuses, acrobats, magic shows, juggling, trapeze artists or plate-spinning acts - very "cartoony." While this piece was never heard in the 1985 film "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure," it's most certainly the inspiration for Danny Elfman's "Breakfast Machine," a.k.a. "The Pee-Wee Herman Theme" from the film's soundtrack. For more circus music, see Fucik's "Entry Of The Gladiators" ( above ) and Rosas' "Over The Waves" ( below ).
www.kickassclassical.com. A plus music in a C minus world.
Liszt, Franz (1811-1886)
Pronounced "List." This Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer was the world's first rock star, famous worldwide for his live performances. Hordes of frenzied female fans would show up to his concerts, some even throwing their jewelry on stage. Guess panties hadn't been invented yet.
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
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The ultimate piece for cartoons, like Warner Brothers' "Rhapsody Rabbit" featuring Bugs Bunny and MGM's "The Cat Concerto" featuring Tom And Jerry, both from 1946, both with nearly identical plots. Daffy Duck And Donald Duck play this together on dueling pianos at the Ink And Paint Club in the 1988 film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."
Although this 1847 composition is widely used in Warner Brothers cartoons, it is not the Looney Tunes theme or the Merrie Melodies theme. The Looney Tunes theme is "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down," written in 1937 by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin. The Merrie Melodies theme is "Merrily We Roll Along," written in 1935 by Eddie Cantor, Murray Mencher and Charles Tobias.
Liebestraum No. 3
The title means "Dreams Of Love" in German. The final and most famous of a set of three solo piano works. Sweet and sentimental.
Mendelssohn, Felix (1809-1847)
Pronounced "fronk-en-SHTEEN." Heh, kidding. It's "MEN-dell-son." Perhaps the greatest child prodigy after Mozart, Mendelssohn began taking piano lessons at six, made his first public concert appearance at the age of nine, published his first composition by the time he was thirteen, and wrote his first symphony at the age of fifteen.
Wedding March
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Mendelssohn's most popular piece, part of his contribution to William Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream," is the backdrop for the climactic wedding scene. And countless weddings since, usually as the recessional music as the bride and groom leave the church. By the way, this piece and Wagner's "Wedding March" ( below ) only became widely used in weddings after they were selected by Victoria, The Princess Royal, for her marriage to the Crown Prince of Prussia on January 25, 1858. What a trendsetter.
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www.kickassclassical.com. Great for parties. That suck.
Mouret, Jean-Joseph (1682-1738)
From "The First Symphonic Suite." The "Masterpiece Theater" theme. Or for Sesame Street fans, the basis for the theme to Cookie Monster's "Monsterpiece Theater." Mmmm. Me want cookie.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791)
Pronounced "MOTE-zart." The most brilliant composer ever. From the time he was a child, music gushed frantically from his head to the paper almost nonstop. So hyperactive was his musical thought process that he was often criticized for having compositions with "too many notes."
It has been suggested that Mozart had Tourette's syndrome - an obsessive compulsive disorder characterized by having a compulsion and trying to control it - which may explain why his music may run off in chaotic directions, but he always brings it back under control. Mozart is famous for the opera "Don Giovanni" and these:
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
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"A Little Night Music" sounds so much cooler when you say it in German. Actually titled "Serenade No. 13 For Strings In G Major," it is arguably Mozart's most famous piece. This first movement sets the stage for posh parties, banquets or balls in movies. The intro music for the original 1983 "Mario Bros." Nintendo game. Featured in the 2006 film "Tenacious D In: The Pick Of Destiny," and on the soundtrack in "Classico," along with Bach's "Bourrée In E Minor" ( above ) and Beethoven's "Für Elise" ( above ). The tune sung by "The Four Peters" in the 2005 episode of Family Guy titled "Model Misbehavior."
The Magic Flute (opera)
One of Mozart's most famous overtures. The Magic Flute, or "Die Zauberflöte" in German, is still one of the most performed operas today.
The Magic Flute (opera)
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This aria is heard in the 1984 film "Amadeus." Also in the 2000 film "Miss Congeniality," and on lots of cell phones as the "aria" ringtone. Natasha Marsh sang this for the Euro 2008 theme. It is referred to by this name because it's the more famous of two arias sung by the Queen Of The Night character in this opera. It's really called "Der Hölle Rache Kocht In Meinem Herzen," or "Hell's Vengeance Boils In My Heart." We think Mozart wrote this piece - which spans two octaves - just so he could see the performer commit vocal suicide.
The Marriage Of Figaro (opera) A sequel to the story of "The Barber Of Seville," which itself was later turned into an opera by Rossini.
Overture
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The song for the musical lock to the candy room in the 1971 film "Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory." The movie script called for the know-it-all Mrs. Teevee to incorrectly identify the composer as Rachmaninov. Played in the 2009 film "Zombieland" when they smash up the Indian store.
Piano Concerto No. 21
The second movement of this concerto is nicknamed "Elvira Madigan" because of its heavy usage in the 1967 film of the same name.
Piano Sonata No. 11: Rondo Alla Turca
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One of the more annoying vintage Nokia ringtones. Played on electric guitar at the beginning of the song "Play With Me" by Extreme, which appears in the 1989 film "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" while Beethoven plays keyboards during the mall chase scene.
Piano Sonata No. 16
Raymond Scott had a 1939 hit with his adaptation of this theme, titled "In an Eighteenth-Century Drawing Room," which was used as Granny's music in Sylvester and Tweety Looney Tunes cartoons.
Requiem (funeral) Mass
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Movie Trailer Alert! An intense, evil-sounding, dramatic choir piece perfect for dark, scary movie trailers. For similar pieces, see Carl Orff's "O Fortuna" ( below ) and Verdi's "Dies Irae" ( below ). Pronounced "dee-ace EE-ray," it means "Day Of Wrath." Mozart was working feverishly on this funeral mass when he died. Hey, who ordered the irony?
Requiem (funeral) Mass
A slow but intense piece often used for over-the-top dramatic effect.
Symphony No. 40
www.kickassclassical.com. Rock me Amadeus.
Mussorgsky, Modest (1839-1881)
Also spelled "Musorgsky." Commonly pronounced "moo-SORG-skee," but really it's "MOO-sorg-skee." Yeah we know, who cares. Russian composer famous for "Pictures At An Exhibition," and this:
Night On Bald Mountain
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The music for Chernabog, the evil demon guy on top of the mountain in Disney's 1940 animated film "Fantasia." Nothing says "rain," "thunder," or "lightning" like this piece. A very "dark and stormy night" classic horror movie feel. Sometimes called "Night On Bare Mountain" due to differences in translation.
Offenbach, Jacques (1819-1880)
His first name is pronounced a lot like "shock," last name pronounced "OFF-in-bock." We call him "Jacques Off" for short. Haha, kidding. German-born French composer.
Orpheus In The Underworld (opera)
Infernal Galop
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The first part of this piece is used as the music to "The Pitch (Spectacular Spectacular)" in the 2001 film "Moulin Rouge." The second part of this piece is the most familiar example of the "can-can." Can-can, can you do the can-can?
Honorable Mention: Check out the "Galop" from Offenbach's 1867 revision of his 1859 opera "Geneviève de Brabant." It's the tune to the "Marines' Hymn." C'mon, you know the words! "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli..."
www.kickassclassical.com. Because 99.9% of Classical Music doesn't.
Orff, Carl (1895-1982)
German composer and educator. Died the year the Commodore 64 personal computer came out.
Carmina Burana (oratorio)
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Movie Trailer Alert! This intense, almost evil-sounding choir music is used for dramatic effect in dark, scary apocalyptic movie trailers. It has become so overused that it is now considered cliché, and more often used for parody, rather than serious purposes. Used in the 1981 film "Excalibur," the 1991 film "The Doors," and famously parodied at the beginning and end of the 2002 film "Jackass: The Movie." Used in the 2005 "Big Ad," for Australian-made Carlton Draught beer, and in the Christmas 2004 barbarian raider TV commercial for Capital One.
This piece is also the intro, entrance, or theme music used by Sean Hannity and other radio personalities, at rock concerts by artists like The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and 30 Seconds To Mars, by wrestler The Undertaker for his ring entrance at WWE WrestleMania XIV, and by Late Night with Conan O'Brien for the "Evil Puppy." Sometimes associated with Dracula and vampires due to its usage in the 1993 video game "Dracula Unleashed." James Horner borrows heavily from the structure of this piece for "Charging Fort Wagner" in the 1989 film "Glory."
For similar pieces, see Mozart's "Dies Irae" ( above ) and Verdi's "Dies Irae" ( below ).
www.kickassclassical.com. Our Classical can kick your Classical's ass.
Pachelbel, Johann (1653-1706)
Commonly pronounced "POCK-uh-bell," but technically it's "pah-KELL-bull." German composer of Protestant church music.
Canon In D
Sung by Paul Potts to win the first season of "Britain's Got Talent" in 2007.
www.kickassclassical.com. Not just Classical. Kick Assical.
Rachmaninov, Sergei (1873-1943)
Also spelled "Rachmaninoff." Pronounced "rock-MAW-nun-off." No, you rock MY nun off. Amazing pianist. Russian composer. Cool name. Famous for his "Prelude In C-Sharp Minor," and this:
Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini (18th Variation)
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This sweeping, romantic music was used in the 1980 movie "Somewhere In Time." The sentimental piano says "love scene." Bill Murray learns to play this song on the piano in the 1993 movie "Groundhog Day."
Note: If you're looking for the "Rachmaninov" piece from the 1971 film "Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory," you actually want Mozart's "The Marriage Of Figaro Overture" ( above ). The movie script called for the know-it-all Mrs. Teevee to identify the composer incorrectly.
Ravel, Maurice (1875-1937)
Pronounced "ruh-VELL." Generally considered the greatest French composer since Debussy. (Of course, if you're going to tell anyone that, make sure you pronounce "Debussy" like "deb-yoo-SEE.")
Bolero
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A melody repeated 18 times without change. After his death, it was suggested that Ravel was possibly succumbing to Alzheimer's disease when he wrote it. The world's longest musical crescendo, this beautifully seductive piece was the love scene music in the 1979 film "10" with Bo Derek. The music for British figure skating duo Torvill and Dean's perfect gold medal performance at the 1984 Winter Olympics. Sampled in Rufus Wainwright's 2003 song "Oh What A World."
www.kickassclassical.com. Get yo Classical Music learn on, sucka.
Ricketts, Fredrick (1881-1945)
British Army Lieutenant who composed (mostly marches) under the pseudonym Kenneth Alford. Called the "British March King," he was Britain's equivalent of America's John Philip Sousa ( below ).
Colonel Bogey March
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This 1914 march was used famously in the 1957 film "The Bridge On The River Kwai," as a sly reference to the World War II usage of the tune as the crude march cadence, "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball." It's also the tune of the children's song "Comet." C'mon, you know the words! "Comet, it makes your teeth turn green. Comet, it tastes like gasoline. Comet, it makes you vomit. So get some Comet, and vomit today."
Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai (1844-1908)
Also spelled "Korssakoff." Russian composer. Long name. Famous for his "Scheherazade" suite, and this:
The Tale Of Tsar Saltan (ballet)
Flight Of The Bumblebee
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This is possibly the most famous song you know that you didn't know you knew. This classic waltz sounds Viennese, as if it was composed by Johann Strauss Jr. ( below ). It calls to mind calliope music played at fairs, circuses, or carnival midways, or maybe on merry-go-rounds or carousels. For more circus music, see Fucik's "Entry Of The Gladiators" ( above ) and Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" ( above ). Translated from the Spanish, "Sobre Las Olas." The tune to the song "The Loveliest Night Of The Year," and the children's song "George Washington Bridge."
www.kickassclassical.com. Cool Classical Music. Like Fonzie. And what's Fonzie like? That's right. He's cool.
Rossini, Gioacchino (1792-1868)
Pronounced "raw-SEE-nee." Italian operatic composer. Famous for his opera "Semiramide," and these:
The Barber Of Seville (opera)
Largo Al Factotum (Figaro)
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The three-minute conclusion of this overture is the most kick-assical piece ever written. And nothing says galloping horses or Kentucky derby style horse racing like this. Yeehaw, cowboy! The "Lone Ranger" TV show theme. The tune of the "Happy Anniversary" song from the February 1961 episode of The Flintstones titled "The Hot Piano." Not to be confused with "First Call," the trumpet fanfare or bugle call played at the track before a horse race during the call to post.
www.kickassclassical.com. Classical music for the ADHD impaired.
Saint-Saëns, Camille (1835-1921)
Pronounced "sane-SAWNZ." French composer, pianist, and organist.
Carnival Of The Animals (suite)
Aquarium
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The music from the "flamingo with a yo-yo" scene in Disney's animated film "Fantasia 2000." Also used as the menu music on the DVD.
Honorable Mention: Also check out his "Symphony No. 3 In C Minor (Organ)." It's the tune to the 1977 British pop song "If I Had Words" by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley, which was sung at the end of the 1998 movie "Babe, Pig In The City."
Sousa, John Philip (1854-1932)
Pronounced "SUE-zuh." American march master, and founding member of Sousapalooza, lol omfg j/k. But seriously, he was cool enough to get a musical instrument named after him. The tuba-like instrument used in marching bands is called a "sousaphone." When you hear Sousa, you can't help but think of marching bands, parades, and the 4th of July, America's Independence Day.
The Stars And Stripes Forever
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This half-hour tone poem begins with its most familiar part, called "dawn," "sunrise," or just "introduction." The theme to Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey." Used ever since to indicate the feeling of something happening on a grand scale, including the television transfer of Mike Teavee in the 2005 film "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory." Elvis played this before going on stage at some of his live concerts, and WWE wrestler Rick Flair has used it as his entrance music. The 1972 remake of this piece by Eumir Deodato was a Top 40 hit. The title, which means "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," was inspired by the book of the same name by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.
www.kickassclassical.com. Pwning classical music noobs 1337 style.
Suppé, Franz von (1819-1895)
Pronounced "sue-PAY." Austrian composer famous for "Poet And Peasant Overture," "Morning, Noon And Night In Vienna," and this:
Light Cavalry Overture
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Which nation slipped back into technical recession in mid-November 2014? | Japan economy slips back into recession in July-Sept, blow to Abenomics | The Indian Express
Japan economy slips back into recession in July-Sept, blow to Abenomics
Japan economy slips back into recession in July-Sept, blow to Abenomics
The world's third-largest economy shrank an annualised 0.8 percent in July-September, more than a median market forecast for a 0.2 percent contraction, government data showed on Monday.
By: Reuters | Tokyo |
Published:November 16, 2015 8:39 am
The world’s third-largest economy shrank an annualised 0.8 percent in July-September, more than a median market forecast for a 0.2 percent contraction, government data showed on Monday. (Source: Reuters)
Japan’s economy slid back into recession in July-September as uncertainty over the overseas outlook hurt business investment, keeping policymakers under pressure to deploy new stimulus measures to support a fragile recovery.
A rebound in private consumption and exports offered some hope the world’s third-largest economy is emerging from the doldrums, despite slowing Chinese demand and the pain households are feeling from rising imported food prices.
Still, many analysts expect the economy to grow only moderately in the current quarter as companies remain hesitant to use their record profits for wage hikes, underscoring the challenges premier Shinzo Abe faces in pulling Japan sustainably out of stagnation with his “Abenomics” stimulus policies.
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Japan out of recession,outlook shaky
“A big drop in inventory was the largest factor behind a third-quarter contraction. Weak capital spending was a concern, but excluding these factors, the GDP figures were not so bad,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.
The world’s third-largest economy shrank an annualised 0.8 percent in July-September, more than a median market forecast for a 0.2 percent contraction, government data showed on Monday.
That followed a revised 0.7 percent contraction in April-June, which was the first decline in three quarters.
Japan thus slipped back into technical recession, which is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction, after suffering one last year due to the hit on consumer spending from a sales tax hike in April 2014.
The data may affect debate among policymakers on how much fiscal spending should be earmarked in a supplementary budget that is expected to be compiled this fiscal year.
The government maintained a cautiously upbeat view, saying that despite some weaknesses, the economy continues to recover moderately on improvements in job and income conditions.
“While there are risks such as overseas developments, we expect the economy to head toward a moderate recovery thanks to the effect of various (stimulus) steps taken so far,” Economics Minister Akira Amari said in a statement after the data was released.
Capital expenditure fell 1.3 percent, more than a median market forecast of a 0.4 percent decrease to mark a second straight quarter of declines, on sluggish investment by automakers and machinery manufacturers.
But private consumption, which accounts for about 60 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), rose 0.5 percent from the previous quarter, roughly in line with a median market forecast.
While domestic demand shaved 0.3 percentage point off GDP, external demand added 0.1 point to growth, the data showed.
The weak data would be of little surprise to many Bank of Japan officials, who had largely factored in the recession and expect growth to rebound in coming quarters as consumption and factory output show signs of a pick-up.
While the data will be closely scrutinised by the policymakers, the BOJ is widely expected to keep monetary policy steady at its rate review this week, analysts say.
“China’s economic slowdown did not have a big impact on Japan’s Q3 GDP, but we could see a negative impact in the following quarters,” said Shuji Tonouchi, senior fixed income strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
“The government does not have to respond right away, but economic stimulus could become more likely if things do not get better.”
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“I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss” is a line from which 1971 Top 10 hit? | Five Things to Know Now: Japan in Recession
Five Things to Know Now: Japan in Recession
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Asian stocks were down, with the Nikkei losing nearly 3% as, despite massive stimulus from the Bank of Japan, the Japanese economy fell back into recession in the third quarter. European stock markets in the red.
Here are five things that matter for markets now:
Japanese stocks saw their biggest drop since August on Monday as the country slipped back into recession in the third quarter. Japan's economy contracted at a pace of 1.6% in the third quarter vs. expectations of a 2.1% expansion by economists in a Reuters poll. It followed a revised 7.3% contraction in the second quarter, the biggest since an earthquake and tsunami hit the country in March 2011. A rise in sales tax came into force in April. Speculation is increasing that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will postpone a second rise in sales tax, in effect delivering fiscal stimulus to the economy.
Investors snapped up shares in Chinese mainland companies listed in Shanghai in the first day of a link between the Shanghai stock exchange and the Hong Kong stock market. By mid-morning on Monday, around 70% of the daily 13 billion yuan ($2.12 billion) quota had been used by investors buying Chinese mainland shares. Conversely,e less than 10% of the 10.5 billion yuan daily quota for mainland China investors buying shares listed in Hong Kong had been taken up.
Healthcare firm Allergan (AGN) is getting close to a deal under which it would be bought up by Actavis (ACT) for a total amount worth up to $65.5 billion, according to a source quoted by Reuters . This would end the pursuit of Allergan by Valeant (VRX) and William Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management.
Facebook (FB) is developing a new website called "Facebook at Work" that seeks to take on LinkedIn (LNKD), Google Drive (GOOGL) and Microsoft Office (MSFT), the FT reports citing sources. The new website will look like Facebook but will allow users to keep their professional profile separate from their personal one, according to the report.
Home prices in London, which had been rising at double-digit rates, have peaked , according to some estimates. The average price of a London home is more than 9x median earnings in the British capital.
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Band Aid II topped the Xmas charts in 1989, but who had the top spot in ’88 and ’90? | Bob Geldof puts Band Aid back together 30 years after it first topped the charts | Daily Mail Online
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Sir Bob Geldof is preparing to release a new Band Aid single 30 years after Do They Know It’s Christmas? first topped the charts.
The new charity track, Band Aid 30, is expected to feature boyband One Direction, none of whose members were born when the classic hit was released in 1984.
Sir Bob, 60, and 61-year-old Scottish musician Midge Ure – who co-wrote the first Band Aid track – will announce the full details of the project tomorrow.
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Sir Bob Geldof, 60, and 61-year-old Scottish musician Midge Ure – who co-wrote the first Band Aid track - are preparing to release a new Band Aid single 30 years after Do They Know It’s Christmas? was first released
One Direction are expected to feature on the charity single which could raise funds for the Ebola crisis in Africa
Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran (left) and popstar Adele (right) are also rumoured to feature on the new track
Other stars rumoured to be involved are singers Adele, 26, Ed Sheeran, 23, Ben Howard, 27, Florence Welch, 28, and indie rock band Alt-J.
Do They Know It’s Christmas?, which featured Bono, George Michael, Paul Weller, Boy George and Simon le Bon, was the biggest-selling single of all time in the UK when it was first released.
It led to the successful Live Aid concerts in 1985, which raised around £150million for the fight against famine in Ethiopia.
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Since then, there have been two further charity recordings of the same track, Band Aid II in 1989 and Band Aid 20 in 2004, both of which also topped the charts.
Band Aid II included contributions from Jason Donovan, Kylie Minogue, Bananarama and Sir Cliff Richard among others, while Band Aid 20 featured Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Sir Paul McCartney and Dizzee Rascal
The 2004 version raised money for famine relief in the war ravaged Sudanese region of Darfur.
Florence Welch, 28, (left) and Ben Howard, 27, (right) are also among those expected to feature on the single
Alt-J are also thought to be involved with the project, which comes 30 years after the original Band Aid single
Although it also reached Number 1, it sold just over one million copies, compared with the 3.5million sold by the original hit.
Band Aid 20 was also criticised by the World Development Movement, which said many of the song lyrics were ‘patronising, false and out of date’.
Its director Mark Curtis said at the time: ‘The song perpetuates the myth that Africa’s problems can somehow be blamed on lack of rainfall and failed harvests.
‘It conjures up an image of a continent inhabited entirely by starving children with flies on their faces sitting in the sunbaked bed of a dried up stream.’
Band Aid 20 (pictured), featuring the likes of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Sir Paul McCartney and Dizzee Rascal, saw the re-release of Do They Know It's Christmas? to mark the 20th anniversary of the original in 1984
It is thought Band Aid 30 will also be a recording of Do They Know It’s Christmas? and may help raise funds to fight the Ebola crisis in west Africa.
Sir Bob recently revealed that reuniting with his band the Boomtown Rats had helped him cope with his grief after the death of his daughter Peaches from a heroin overdose in April.
He said: ‘For those two hours I’m utterly, utterly lost in it. Somehow you’re allowed this other thing to come out and it is utterly cathartic, and so for two hours I forget it. I forget that stuff.’
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The winner of ‘X Factor’ topped the Xmas charts in 2010 with ‘When We Collide’. What is his name? | No.1 facts and feats from ukcharts.20m.com
Fastest #1s | Slowest #1 (artists) | Slowest #1 (records) | Biggest leaps to #1 | Straight in at #1 before 1995 | Climbs to #1 since 1995 | Longest span of #1 hits | Longest gap between #1 hits | Most successful act not to have reached #1 | Shortest career of a #1 act | Ultimate One Hit Wonders | Most #1 hits | Most weeks at #1 by an artist | Most weeks at #1 by a record | Most consecutive number one hits | Records that returned to #1 | First three or more hits at #1 | Drops from the top | #1 in two or more versions | Longest #1 hits | Family connections | Other number one facts and feats
FASTEST NUMBER ONE HIT
In 1969, The Beatles with Billy Preston debuted at #1 with Get Back. It was their only single to debut at #1 in the official BBC/Record Retailer singles chart and was the debut chart appearence for Preston, who went on to moderate success as a solo artist.
Apart from Preston, and Al Martino, who debuted at number one by default in the very first chart, no act aside from charity collectives scored an instant number one hit until Whigfield nearly 42 years later. Here is the list of acts who have started at the very top since then:
17.09.94 Whigfield Saturday Night
20.05.95 Robson Green and Jerome Flynn Unchained Melody / The White Cliffs Of Dover
27.01.96 Babylon Zoo Spaceman
01.06.96 Baddiel and Skinner and The Lightning Seeds Three Lions
21.12.95 Dunblane Knockin' On Heaven's Door / Throw These Guns Away
25.01.97 White Town Abort, Retry, Fail? EP (Your Woman)
07.06.97 Hanson Mmmbop
13.12.97 Teletubbies Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh!
06.06.98 B*Witched C'est la Vie
11.07.98 Billie Because We Want To
24.10.98 Spacedust Gym And Tonic
27.02.99 Britney Spears Baby One More Time
03.04.99 Mr Oizo Flat Beat
01.05.99 Westlife Swear It Again
12.06.99 Baz Luhrmann Presents Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - The Sunscreen Song
19.06.99 S Club 7 Bring It All Back
06.05.00 Oxide and Neutrino Bound 4 Da Reload (Casualty)
26.08.00 Spiller Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)
16.09.00 Modjo Lady (Hear Me Tonight)
13.01.01 Rui Da Silva ft Cassandra Touch Me
24.03.01 Hear'Say Pure And Simple
02.06.01 DJ Pied Piper and the Masters Of Ceremonies Do You Really Like It?
18.08.01 So Solid Crew present 21 Seconds 21 Seconds
08.12.01 Daniel Bedingfield Gotta Get Thru This
09.03.02 Will Young Anything Is Possible / Evergreen
30.03.02 Gareth Gates Unchained Melody
11.05.02 Holly Valance Kiss Kiss
10.08.02 Darius Colourblind
09.11.02 DJ Sammy & Yanou ft Do Heaven
28.12.02 Girls Aloud Sound Of The Underground
25.01.03 David Sneddon Stop Living the Lie
The Lightning Seeds had, of course, hit in their own right before. Dunblane were a charity ensemble, but unlike previous charity ensembles they were not made up of previously-charting acts. Babylon Zoo and White Town both debuted at #1 with major-label reissues of previously unsuccessful independent singles. Dunblane, Teletubbies and Baz Luhrmann all debuted at number one with their only single releases.
So Solid Crew's previous single "Oh No (Sentimental Things)" would have charted at #13 the previous year, but was disqualified for having too many tracks. So Solid Crew members Megaman, Lisa Maffia and Romeo had previously appeared on Oxide & Neutrino's hit "No Good 4 Me". All formats of 21 Seconds consistently give the artist credit as So Solid Crew Present 21 Seconds rather than simply So Solid Crew.
The Baz Luhrmann Presents... record has the additional credit "performed by Quindon Tarver" hidden away in the detailed credits. The single is a remix of Tarver's cover of Rozalla's hit Everybody's Free (To Feel Good). Tarver can therefore also legitimately claim to have gone straight in at number one with his first hit.
"Featured" artists who have made their chart debuts at number one are:
28.10.95 Coolio featuring LV Gangsta's Paradise
28.06.97 Puff Daddy featuring Faith Evans and 112 I'll Be Missing You
06.02.99 Armand Van Helden featuring Duane Harden You Don't Know Me
10.03.01 Shaggy featuring Rikrok It Wasn't Me
22.03.03 Gareth Gates and The Kumars Spirit In The Sky
BeBe Winans' first individual chart credit was as featured vocalist on I Wanna Be The Only One by Eternal, but he had enjoyed (admittedly minor and fleeting) chart action as a member of The Winans.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor's first individual chart credit was as the featured vocalist on Spiller's Groovejet (If This Ain't Love), but she had enjoyed previous chart action as a member of theaudience.
Kelly Rowland's first individual chart credit was in collaboration with Nelly, but she had previously charted as a member of Destiny's Child.
The following artists "debuted" at number one with domestic releases, having previously charted on import:
21.05.98 Run DMC Vs Jason Nevins It's Like That (re-mix)
04.09.99 Lou Bega Mambo No.5 (A Little Bit Of...)
25.09.99 Eiffel 65 Blue (Da Ba Dee)
16.10.99 Christina Aguilera Genie In A Bottle
27.10.99 Wamdue Project King Of My Castle
24.06.00 Black Legend You See The Trouble With Me
22.09.01 DJ Otzi Hey Baby
27.10.01 Afroman Because I Got High
19.10.02 Las Ketchup The Ketchup Song (Asereje)
08.02.03 T.a.t.u. All The Things She Said
And these acts entered at number one having previously appeared on the chart in other guises:
16.08.97 Will Smith Men In Black (previously hit number one in DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince)
26.09.98 Mel B ft Missy Elliot I Want You Back (Melanie Brown is a Spice Girl; Elliot has had solo hits)
17.04.99 Martine McCutcheon Perfect Moment (previously hit with Uno Clio)
28.05.99 Shanks and Bigfoot Sweet Like Chocolate (previously hit as Doolally)
07.08.99 Ronan Keating When You Say Nothing At All (had #1s with Boyzone)
15.04.00 Craig David Fill Me In (previously hit with Artful Dodger)
SLOWEST NUMBER ONE HIT
Four solo artists - all American - have taken more than twenty years to achieve their first number one hit:
Jackie Wilson (29 years 42 days)
Isaac Hayes / Chef (27 years 29 days)
Ben E. King (26 years 19 days)
Cher (25 years 259 days)
Cher, of course, had hit number one as half of Sonny and Cher prior to her solo career.
Several other acts who have never had a #1 hit in their own right have waited a very long time to snatch a moment of chart-top glory in collaboration with others. The most patient of these was Eric Clapton, who first hit as a member of The Yardbirds in 1964 but had to wait 30 years 134 days before he was involved with a #1 hit in collaboration with Cher, Chrissie Hynde and Neneh Cherry. To be fair, The Yardbirds' second hit For Your Love, on which he appeared, was a number one in the NME chart but this was never recognised by Record Retailer. His first official number one was his 30th hit in a variety of guises, not counting three reissues. The only artist to score more hits prior to their first appearance at number one was The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, whose #1 The Most Beautiful Girl In The World was his 39th new hit.
Other people who've waited over 20 years are:
Lulu (29 years 148 days) - first hit solo in 1964, reached #1 with Take That in 1993.
Chubby Checker (29 years 85 days) - first hit solo in 1960, contributed original vocals to Jive Bunny and The Mastermixers' Let's Party in 1989 (having been sampled on the group's two previous #1s).
Gene Pitney (27 years 311 days) - first hit solo in 1961, reched #1 in collaboration with Marc Almond in 1989.
Lou Reed (24 years 201 days) - first hit solo in 1973, hit #1 with Various Artists in 1997.
Emmylou Harris (21 years 268 days) - first hit solo in 1976, hit #1 with Various Artists in 1997.
Joan Armatrading (21 years 44 days) - first hit solo in 1976, hit #1 with Various Artists in 1997.
Bob Dylan (20 years 26 days) - first hit solo in 1965, reached #1 with USA For Africa in 1985.
SLOWEST NUMBER ONE HIT (RECORD)
The recordings that took the longest to reach #1 after their first appearance on the chart are:
29 years 42 days Reet Petite (The Sweetest Girl In Town) Jackie Wilson (1957-86)
25 years 244 days Stand By Me Ben E King (1961-87)
25 years 83 days Unchained Melody Righteous Brothers (1965-90)
18 years 356 days He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother The Hollies (1969-88)
8 years 284 days Young At Heart The Bluebells (1984-93)
8 years 166 days Should I Stay Or Should I Go? The Clash (1982-91)
7 years 327 days Living On My Own Freddie Mercury (1985-93)
6 years 63 days Space Oddity David Bowie (1969-75)
5 years 70 days Imagine John Lennon (1975-81)
Between 1986 and 1993, no fewer than nine "golden oldies" topped the chart. They were the seven listed above plus Steve Miller Band's The Joker, which had failed to chart when originally released in 1973, and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, which became the first recording to top the chart on two entirely separate chart runs. The only other recording to match this feat is My Sweet Lord by George Harrison, which took the top slot for a second time in January 2002.
The slowest climb to number one on a single chart run is 14 weeks by Celine Dion with Think Twice.
BIGGEST LEAPS TO NUMBER ONE
Besides those which entered at number one, these are the singles which have made the biggest leaps to number one in a single week:
45-1: Hey Baby DJ Otzi (29.09.01)
33-1: Happy Talk Captain Sensible (03.07.82)
27-1: Surrender Elvis Presley (01.06.61)
26-1: Pass The Dutchie Musical Youth (02.10.82)
22-1: Green Door Shakin' Stevens (01.08.81)
21-1: Hey Jude The Beatles (11.09.68)
21-1: (Just Like) Starting Over John Lennon (20.12.80)
19-1: Are You Lonesome Tonight? Elvis Presley (26.01.61)
19-1: (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice Amen Corner (12.02.69)
19-1: Love Me For A Reason The Osmonds (31.08.74)
19-1: Stand By Me Ben E. King (21.02.87)
17-1: Get Off Of My Cloud Rolling Stones (04.11.65)
16-1: I Hear You Knockin' Dave Edmunds' Rockpile (28.11.70)
16-1: Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep Middle Of The Road (19.06.71)
16-1: Young Love Donny Osmond (25.08.73)
16-1: Dancing Queen Abba (04.11.76)
It should be noted that for most of the 1960s, the Record Retailer chart was out-of-sync with the sales week, meaning that debut positions for records such as Surrender were based on only one or two days' sales. Had the chart reflected a full week's sales, such records would undoubtedly have debuted inside the top ten and maybe even at number one, rather than making such spectacular but misleading leaps in their second week.
Hey Baby tops the list on a technicality. The single had already charted on import, and it went to number one when given a full UK release. Under the chart rules in force at the time, import and domestic releases were (and still are) to be regarded as separate, but because the UK release had the same catalogue number (and presumably barcode) as the import, the computerised chart system was unable to distinguish between them, and credited DJ Otzi with a 44-place climb. Since it would have been nigh impossible to disentangle the two releases, and since it would have been unfair to punish the record company for what was effectively a bug in the chart compilers' computer program, the outcome was allowed to stand.
The 18-place leap by Amen Corner is in part due to the changeover from the old Record Retailer chart to the new official BMRB compilation that week.
Incidentally, if we take the Top 200 into account, then there are several singles which have made even more spectacular climbs, mainly as a result of a small number of copies slipping out before their official release date. As far as this site is concerned, the Top 75 remains the "real" chart, but it may interest visitors to know that the biggest leap to the top within the Top 200 was from #196 by Westlife with Unbreakable in the 50th anniversary chart on 16.11.02. It beat the previous record set just one week earlier by DJ Sammy and Yanou with Heaven which leapt from #191. It still doesn't count though!
The biggest genuine jumps within the top 75 have been:
(70 places) 72-02 It's The Way You Make Me Feel Steps (13.01.01)
(66 places) 68-02 Addicted To Bass Puretone (12.01.02)
(63 places) 74-11 Macarena Los Del Rio (20.07.96)
(62 places) 66-04 Every Loser Wins Nick Berry (11.10.86)
(61 places) 74-13 Star Trekkin' The Firm (13.06.87)
(55 places) 62-07 Coming Up Paul McCartney (26.04.80)
(51 places) 60-09 Only You Flying Pickets (03.12.83)
Of these, Every Loser Wins, Star Trekkin' and Only You reached #1. All the rest peaked at #2.
STRAIGHT IN AT NUMBER ONE
Once upon a time, it was quite a spectacular occurrence for a single to go straight in at number one. It was confirmation of a group or artist's superstar status to sell enough in a single week to secure the top spot - rather than having to start small and build up like all the other acts in the charts. Nowadays, if a single doesn't enter at the top then it has virtually no chance of getting there at all. These are the records which entered at number one back when it really meant something:
01 14.11.52 Here In My Heart Al Martino (#1 in the first chart, so debuted there by default)
02 24.01.58 Jailhouse Rock Elvis Presley
03 03.11.60 It's Now Or Never Elvis Presley
04 11.01.62 The Young Ones Cliff Richard and the Shadows
05 23.04.69 Get Back The Beatles with Billy Preston
06 03.03.73 Cum On Feel The Noize Slade
07 30.06.73 Skweeze Me Pleeze Me Slade
08 17.11.73 I Love You Love Me Love Gary Glitter
09 15.12.73 Merry Xmas Everybody Slade
10 22.03.80 Going Underground / Dreams Of Children The Jam
11 27.09.80 Don't Stand So Close To Me The Police
12 09.05.81 Stand And Deliver Adam And The Ants
13 13.02.82 A Town Called Malice / Precious The Jam
14 04.12.82 Beat Surrender The Jam
15 26.03.83 Is There Something I Should Know? Duran Duran
16 16.06.84 Two Tribes Frankie Goes To Hollywood
17 15.12.84 Do They Know It's Christmas? Band Aid
18 07.09.85 Dancing In The Street David Bowie and Mick Jagger
19 04.04.87 Let It Be Ferry Aid
20 20.05.89 Ferry 'Cross The Mersey Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden and Stock Aitken Waterman
21 10.06.89 Sealed With A Kiss Jason Donovan
22 16.12.89 Let's Party Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers
23 23.12.89 Do They Know It's Christmas? Band Aid II
24 05.01.91 Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter Iron Maiden
25 26.01.91 Innuendo Queen
26 02.11.91 The Fly U2
27 23.11.91 Black Or White Michael Jackson
28 07.12.91 Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me George Michael and Elton John
29 21.12.91 Bohemian Rhapsody / These Are The Days Of Our Lives Queen
30 13.06.92 Abba-Esque EP Erasure
31 01.05.93 Five Live EP Queen and Geoge Michael with Lisa Stansfield
32 17.06.93 Pray Take That
33 09.10.93 Relight My Fire Take That with Lulu
34 18.12.93 Babe Take That
35 19.02.94 Without You Mariah Carey
36 09.04.94 Everything Changes Take That
37 17.09.94 Saturday Night Whigfield
38 15.10.94 Sure Take That
06 and 07 represent the first instance of an act going straight in at #1 with consecutive single releases. 17-20 are all charity fundraising singles. 20 and 21 were the first instance of consecutive chart-toppers entering at the top; 22 and 23 were first such to enter in consecutive weeks. 24 was the first single already available on an album to debut at #1. 25 was the first single to enter at the top and fall every successive week until it dropped out. 26 was the first single to be promoted as being available for a limited time only in order to secure early sales and thus a high entry position. 27-29 were the first instance of three consecutive chart-toppers debuting at #1.
As can be seen from the list above, only two singles entered at number one in the Record Reatiler chart during its first nine years (March 1960-February 1969). By contrast, during the same period all of the following managed the feat in the NME chart:
26.03.60 My Old Man's A Dustman Lonnie Donegan
27.05.61 Surrender Elvis Presley
07.12.63 I Want To Hold Your Hand The Beatles
28.03.64 Can't Buy Me Love The Beatles
18.07.64 A Hard Day's Night The Beatles
21.11.64 Little Red Rooster Rolling Stones
05.12.64 I Feel Fine The Beatles
17.04.65 Ticket To Ride The Beatles
31.07.65 Help! The Beatles
11.12.65 We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper The Beatles
15.07.67 All You Need Is Love The Beatles
Number One singles debuting at the top became the norm from April 1995 onwards. Since then, the only records to climb within the Top 75 to reach number one are:
08.07.95 Boom Boom Boom Outhere Brothers (debut #15, reached #1 in its 4th chart week)
09.09.95 You Are Not Alone Michael Jackson (#3, 2nd week)
20.04.96 Return of The Mack Mark Morrison (#6, 6th week)
25.05.96 Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit Gina G (#6, 8th week)
27.07.96 Wannabe Spice Girls (#3, 2nd week)
21.09.96 Ready Or Not Fugees (#2, 2nd week)
05.10.96 Breakfast At Tiffany's Deep Blue Something (#3, 3rd week)
18.01.97 Professional Widow (It's Got To Be Big) Tori Amos (#2, 2nd week)
12.04.97 I Believe I Can Fly R.Kelly (#2, dropped to 5 then climbed to #1, 3rd week)
01.11.97 Barbie Girl Aqua (#2, 2nd week)
17.01.98 Never Ever All Saints (#3, dropped as low as #6 during its meanderings, 9th week)
30.05.98 Feel It The Tamperer ft Maya (#3, 6th week)
02.01.99 Chocolate Salty Balls Chef (#2, 2nd week)
09.01.99 Heartbeat / Tragedy Steps (#2, dropped as far as #8 before climbing back up, 8th week)
04.12.99 The Millennium Prayer Cliff Richard (#2, 2nd week)
23.12.00 Can We Fix It? Bob The Builder (#2, 2nd week)
22.09.01 Hey Baby DJ Otzi (debuted outside the Top 40 on import sales only, jumped to #1 in its 6th week when released domestically).
LONGEST SPAN OF NUMBER ONE HITS
Elvis Presley (44 years 277 days) 1957-2002
Cliff Richard (40 years 145 days) 1959-99
George Harrison (31 years 2 days) 1971-2002
Righteous Brothers (25 years 286 days) 1965-90
Queen (24 years 250 days) 1975-2000
The Hollies (23 years 105 days) 1965-88
Bee Gees (20 years 34 days) 1967-87
Blondie (20 years 16 days) 1979-99
Michael Jackson (15 years 317 days) 1981-97
Madonna (15 years 36 days) 1985-2000
Kylie Minogue (14 years 248 days) 1988-2001
U2 (12 years 19 days) 1988-2000
If George Harrison's hits with the Beatles are taken into account, then he has a span of 38 years 274 days (1963-2002).
These individuals also have a span of more than 20 years in various guises:
Cher (33 years 112 days) Sonny and Cher 1965 - solo 1998
Tom Jones (32 years 309 days) solo 1965 - Various Artists 1997
Gerry Marsden (26 years 57 days) Gerry and The Pacemakers 1963 - Gerry Marsden and friends 1989
Paul McCartney (26 years 26 days) The Beatles 1963 - Gerry Marsden and friends 1989
Elton John (25 years 147 days) Elton John & Kiki Dee 1976 - Blue & Elton John 2002
Tammy Wynette (22 years 244 days) solo 1975 - Various Artists 1997
David Bowie (22 years 69 days) solo 1975 - Various Artists 1997
Diana Ross (21 years 128 days) The Supremes 1964 - solo 1986
Elton John's recent chart-topping stint with Blue has moved him up from seventh to fifth in this table.
LONGEST GAP BETWEEN NUMBER ONE HITS
Nine regular acts have endured a gap of more than a decade between appearances at the top:
George Harrison (30 years 325 days) 1971-2002
Righteous Brothers (25 years 259 days) 1965-90
Elvis Presley (24 years 258 days) 1977-2002
The Hollies (23 years 65 days) 1965-88
Blondie (18 years 77 days) 1980-99
Diana Ross (14 years 172 days) 1971-86
Frank Sinatra (11 years 238 days) 1954-66
Cliff Richard (11 years 124 days) 1968-79
Kylie Minogue (10 years 148 days) 1990-2000
Diana Ross appeared on the USA For Africa disc toward the end of her exile in 1985; this does not affect her place in the above table. The Righteous Brothers and The Hollies both returned with reissues of previous hits.
Queen waited 14 years 361 days between their own chart-toppers but appeared at #1 in collaboration with David Bowie in the meantime.
25 years 239 days passed between Sonny & Cher's only number one hit and Cher's first solo chart-topper. Tammy Wynette had to wait 22 years 175 days after her only solo #1 to reappear with Various Artists. Gerry Marsden was away from the summit for 21 years 200 days between chart-toppers with Gerry And The Pacemakers and The Crowd. Mick Jagger waited 16 years 9 days from his last #1 with The Rolling Stones to his reappearance in collaboration with David Bowie, who in turn waited 12 years and 55 days before featuring on Various Artists' #1. Eddy Grant hit #1 as a soloist 14 years 13 days after leaving the top spot with The Equals. Elton John waited 13 years 293 days between his #1 with Kiki Dee and his first solo table-topper. Suzi Quatro reappeared as part of Ferry Aid 13 years and 26 days after her last solo #1. There were 10 years 268 days between Smokey Robinson's group (The Miracles) and solo appearances at the top.
MOST SUCCESSFUL ARTISTS NOT TO HAVE REACHED NUMBER ONE
Billy Fury has spent more time on the singles chart than anyone else without a number one hit to their credit, with 281 weeks. However, Depeche Mode have had more hits and are still racking them up. The front-runners as of 1 October 2001 were:
Billy Fury (29 hits, 281 weeks)
Depeche Mode (37 hits, 234 weeks)
Nat King Cole (31 hits + 1 reissue + 1 b-side + 1 uncredited duet with Natalie Cole, 248 weeks)
The Who (28 hits + 3 reissues, 247 weeks)
Other notable non-chart-toppers include Gloria Estefan who has notched up 32 hits in all, including two uncredited as lead singer of Miami Sound Machine, but has never climbed higher than number 6. Siouxsie Sioux and Peter "Budgie" Clark have so far enjoyed 29 hits as part of Siouxsie And The Banshees and a further five as The Creatures. Siouxsie also had a hit in collaboration with Morrissey, bringing her personal total to 35. Morrissey himself has an even more impressive 41 hits without a #1, comprising 17 with the Smiths, 23 solo and the Siouxsie duet.
SHORTEST CAREER OF A CHART-TOPPING ACT
Weeks
10 Joe Dolce Music Theatre
10 Nicole
10 White Town
Band Aid II and Ferry Aid were, of course, charity ensembles including many acts who had hits in their own right. Hale & Pace & The Stonkers and Victoria Wood's only hits were the two halves of a double-A-side. Away from the charts, both are successful comedy acts. Bad II's nine weeks of chart action were on the AA side of The Clash's only number one hit, though their presence on the single went completely ignored at the time, and indeed since. Steve "Silk" Hurley also charted for 6 weeks as half of JM Silk and the Timelords went on to further chart success under a variety of other guises, including another #1 hit as The KLF. White Town and Nicole are the only acts on this list to have had more than one hit - each had 9 weeks on chart with their #1s and one week with a follow-up.
THE ULTIMATE ONE-HIT WONDERS
Back in the days when the Guinness books were still being edited by the GRR(R) team, they used to define a one-hit wonder as an act that has had one number one hit and nothing else - ever. Which is a rather narrower definition of the term than most people would use, but it does throw up an interesting list of acts who've made only one, albeit quite spectacular, impression on the public consciousness. This list, in fact:
1954 Kitty Kallen Little Things Mean A Lot
1956 Dreamweavers It's Almost Tomorrow
1958 Kalin Twins When
1959 Jerry Keller Here Comes Summer
1960 Ricky Valance Tell Laura I Love Her
1962 B.Bumble And The Stingers Nut Rocker
1966 Overlanders Michelle
1968 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown Fire
1969 Zager And Evans In The Year 2525 (Exordium And Terminus)
1969 Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus
1969 The Archies Sugar Sugar
1970 Matthews Southern Comfort Woodstock
1970 Lee Marvin Wand'rin' Star
1970 Norman Greenbaum Spirit In The Sky
1971 Clive Dunn Grandad
1973 Simon Park Orchestra Eye Level
1974 John Denver Annie's Song
1975 Typically Tropical Barbados
1976 JJ Barrie No Charge
1977 The Floaters Float On
1978 Althia And Donna Uptown Top Ranking
1978 Brian & Michael Matchstalk Men And Matchstalk Cats And Dogs
1979 Anita Ward Ring My Bell
1979 Lena Martell One Day At A Time
1980 Fern Kinney Together We Are Beautiful
1980 The Mash Theme From M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless)
1980 St Winifreds School Choir There's No One Quite Like Grandma
1981 Joe Dolce Music Theatre Shaddap You Face
1982 Charlene I've Never Been To Me
1985 Phyllis Nelson Move Closer
1987 Steve "Silk" Hurley Jack Your Body
1987 M|A|R|R|S Pump Up The Volume / Anitina (The First Time I See She Dance)
1989 Robin Beck The First Time
1990 Partners In Kryme Turtle Power
1991 Hale And Pace And The Stonkers The Stonk
1991 Victoria Wood The Smile Song
1994 Doop Doop
1996 Dunblane Knockin' On Heaven's Door / Throw These Guns Away
1997 Teletubbies Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh!
1999 Mr Oizo Flat Beat
1999 Baz Luhrmann Presents... Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)
2001 Rui Da Silva fetauring Cassandra Touch Me
2001 DJ Pied Piper and the Masters Of Ceremonies Do You Really Like It?
Steve "Silk" Hurley also had minor success as half of JM Silk. John Denver had a minor hit in collaboration with Placido Domingo. Most of these acts released follow-ups which flopped; only The Mash, M|A|R|R|S, Dunblane, Baz Luhrmann and Teletubbies appear to have bowed out voluntarily. As noted previously, the Baz Luhrmann disc credits Quindon Tarver as performer, and he too is therefore a one-hit wonder.
Although Rui Da Silva has gone two years without following up his only hit, he is reportedly planning a comeback and is likely to escape this list before very long. Watch this space!
During the Top 50 era, both Scott MacKenzie and Hugo Montenegro narrowly avoided the one-hit wonders list by charting a follow-up for just one week at #50. The modern equivalent, a follow-up spending just one week at #75, was achieved by the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest winner Nicole.
Other acts who failed to follow-up a number one hit are Charles Aznavour, Bob The Builder, The Firm, Benny Hill, The Jam, Tommy James And The Shondells, Queen, Robson & Jerome, Spice Girls, Steve Miller Band, Kay Starr, Starship, Take That and Wham!. Queen's last hit was a collaboration with Five. Simon And Garfunkel's last original hit went to #1, though they have since charted with other tracks which had not been hits during the duo's active career. Only Bob The Builder, The Jam, Queen, Robson & Jerome, Spice Girls, Take That and Wham! retired of their own volition.
MOST NUMBER ONE HITS
18 Elvis Presley (includes 1 with JXL)
17 The Beatles
12 Shadows (includes 7 backing Cliff Richard)
11 Westlife (includes 1 with Mariah Carey)
10 Madonna
10 Ronan Keating (includes Various Artists)
10 Madonna
Hank Marvin has one more #1 than Bruce Welch because he was credited on Cliff Richard And The Young Ones' remake of Livin' Doll.
Beatles Ringo Starr and George Harrison did not appear on The Ballad Of John And Yoko.
Most number one hits achieved on the RR/MW chart in a calendar year is four, by Elvis Presley in 1961 and 1962; The Beatles in 1964; Spice Girls in 1997 and Westlife in 1999 and 2000. Elvis Presley in 1961 & 1962 and Westlife in 1999 are the only acts to achieve four new chart-toppers in a year; the other instances included chart-topping runs carried on from the year before. Though The Beatles did achieve four number one hits on the NME chart in 1963.
MOST WEEKS AT NUMBER ONE
77 Elvis Presley
69 The Beatles (Paul McCartney +17 solo; John Lennon + 7 solo; George Harrison + 6 solo)
46 Cliff Richard
44 The Shadows (28 backing Cliff Richard, 16 of their own)
32 Frankie Laine
31 Abba
23 Wet Wet Wet
22 Spice Girls (Melanie C + 2 solo; Melanie B + 1 solo; Emma Bunton + 2 solo; Geri Halliwell 20 with the group + 5 solo)
21 Take That (Robbie Williams 18 with the group + 8 solo; Gary Barlow + 2 solo)
21 Queen (includes 2 with David Bowie, 3 with George Michael and 1 with Five)
20 Slade
Totals do not include appearances with charity ensembles.
Freddie Mercury appeared with Queen for only 17 of the group's weeks at #1. He has two solo weeks to his credit for a total of 19.
The Shadows' chart history is made somewhat more confusing by the various line-up changes that occurred during their run of #1 successes. The members' individual totals are as follows:
47 Hank B Marvin was on all of their #1s, plus 3 weeks with Cliff Richard & The Young Ones in 1986.
44 Bruce Welch also appeared on all twelve #1s.
39 Jet Harris (36 as a Shadow, 3 with Tony Meehan).
25 Tony Meehan (22 as a Shadow, 3 with Jet Harris).
22 Brian Bennett (22 as a Shadow).
Brian Locking, who replaced Harris, has 8 weeks at #1.
MOST WEEKS AT NUMBER ONE (RECORD)
18 I Believe Frankie Laine (in three runs at the top 9+6+3)
16 (Everything I Do) I Do It For You Bryan Adams
15 Love Is All Around Wet Wet Wet
14 Bohemian Rhapsody Queen (two runs at the top 9+5)
11 Rose Marie Slim Whitman
10 Cara Mia David Whitfield
10 I Will Always Love You Whitney Houston
9 Here In My Heart Al Martino
9 Oh Mein Papa Eddie Calvert
9 Secret Love Doris Day
9 Diana Paul Anka
9 Mull Of Kintyre / Girls School Wings
9 You're The One That I Want John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
9 Two Tribes Frankie Goes To Hollywood
MOST CONSECUTIVE NUMBER ONE HITS
11 The Beatles (From Me To You through to Yellow Submarine / Eleanor Rigby)
7 Westlife (Swear It Again through to My Love, includes one with Mariah Carey)
6 The Beatles (All You Need Is Love through to Ballad Of John And Yoko)
6 Spice Girls (Wannabe through to Too Much)
5 Elvis Presley (Little Sister / His Latest Flame through to Return To Sender)
5 Rolling Stones (It's All Over Now through to Get Off Of My Cloud)
Gary Barlow appeared on the last four #1 hits for Take That and then had two solo, for a total of six.
During the Beatles' run of 11, two cash-in singles on another label also charted. During their run of six, the double EP "Magical Mystery Tour" reached number two. An EP by Elvis Presley entered the lower reaches of the chart during his run of five #1s.
RECORDS THAT REGAINED THE NUMBER ONE SPOT
Normally, once a record is replaced at number one, there is no way back. But over the years a few records have managed to hang on with enough tenacity to return to the very top. Here's the list:
24.04.53 I Believe Frankie Laine (9 weeks)
24.04.53 I'm Walking Behind You Eddie Fisher and Sally Sweetland (1)
03.07.53 I Believe Frankie Laine (6)
14.08.53 The Song From The Moulin Rouge Mantovani & his Orchestra (1)
21.08.53 I Believe Frankie Laine (3)
06.11.53 Answer Me David Whitfield (1)
13.11.53 Answer Me Frankie Laine (8)
11.12.53 Answer Me David Whitfield / Answer Me Frankie Laine (top equal for 1 week)
12.03.54 I See The Moon Stargazers (5)
16.04.54 Secret Love Doris Day (1)
23.04.54 I See The Moon Stargazers (1)
30.04.54 Such A Night Johnnie Ray (1)
07.05.54 Secret Love Doris Day (8)
08.10.54 Hold My Hand Don Cornell (4)
05.11.54 My Son My Son Vera Lynn (2)
19.11.54 Hold My Hand Don Cornell (1)
07.01.55 Finger Of Suspicion Dickie Valentine (1)
14.01.55 Mambo Italiano Rosemary Clooney (1)
21.01.55 Finger Of Suspicion Dickie Valentine (2)
28.01.55 Mambo Italiano Rosemary Clooney (2)
25.11.55 Rock Around The Clock Bill Haley and his Comets (3)
16.12.55 Christmas Alphabet Dickie Valentine (3)
06.01.56 Rock Around The Clock Bill Haley and his Comets (2)
16.03.56 It's Almost Tomorrow Dreamweavers (2)
30.03.56 Rock And Roll Waltz Kay Starr (1)
06.04.56 It's Almost Tomorrow Dreamweavers (1)
04.01.57 Singing The Blues Guy Mitchell (1)
11.01.57 Singing The Blues Tommy Steele and the Steelmen (1)
18.01.57 Singing The Blues Guy Mitchell (1)
25.01.57 The Garden Of Eden Frankie Vaughn (4)
01.02.57 Singing The Blues Guy Mitchell / The Garden Of Eden Frankie Vaughn (1 week top equal)
28.07.60 Please Don't Tease Cliff Richard and the Shadows (1)
04.08.60 Shakin' All Over Johnny Kidd and the Pirates (1)
11.08.60 Please Don't Tease Cliff Richard and the Shadows (2)
12.09.63 She Loves You The Beatles (4)
10.10.63 Do You Love Me Brian Poole and the Tremoloes (3)
31.10.63 You'll Never Walk Alone Gerry And The Pacemakers (4)
28.11.63 She Loves You The Beatles (2)
The longest gap between runs at the top.
17.06.65 Crying In The Chapel Elvis Presley (1)
24.06.65 I'm Alive The Hollies (1)
01.07.65 Crying In The Chapel Elvis Presley (1)
08.07.65 I'm Alive The Hollies (2)
31.07.68 Mony Mony Tommy James and the Shondells (2)
14.08.68 Fire Crazy World Of Arthur Brown (1)
21.08.68 Mony Mony Tommy James and the Shondells (1)
11.12.68 Lily The Pink The Scaffold (3)
01.01.69 Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da The Marmalade (1)
08.01.69 Lily The Pink The Scaffold (1)
15.01.69 Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da The Marmalade (2)
11.12.93 Mr Blobby Mr Blobby (1)
18.12.93 Babe Take That (1)
25.12.93 Mr Blobby Mr Blobby (2)
01.06.96 Three Lions (Official Song Of The England Football Team) Baddiel, Skinner and The Lightning Seeds (1)
08.06.96 Killing Me Softly Fugees (Refugee Camp) (4)
06.07.96 Three Lions (Official Song Of The England Football Team) Baddiel, Skinner and The Lightning Seeds (1)
Three Lions returned to the top when England reached the semi-finals of the World Cup.
28.06.97 I'll Be Missing You Puff Daddy and Faith Evans (3)
19.07.97 D'you Know What I Mean? Oasis (1)
26.07.97 I'll Be Missing You Puff Daddy and Faith Evans (3)
29.11.97 Perfect Day Various Artists (2)
13.12.97 Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh! Teletubbies (2)
27.12.97 Too Much Spice Girls (2)
10.01.98 Perfect Day Various Artists (1)
09.05.98 Under The Bridge / Lady Marmalade All Saints (1)
16.05.98 Turn Back Time Aqua (1)
23.05.98 Under The Bridge / Lady Marmalade All Saints (1)
05.05.01 Don't Stop Movin' S Club 7 (1)
12.05.01 It's Raining Men Geri Halliwell (2)
26.05.01 Don't Stop Movin' S Club 7 (1)
08.12.01 Gotta Get Thru This Daniel Bedingfield (2)
22.12.01 Somethin' Stupid Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman (3)
13.01.02 Gotta Get Thru This Daniel Bedingfield (1)
FIRST THREE (OR MORE) HITS AT NUMBER ONE
In 1963, Gerry And The Pacemakers were the frst act to take all of their first three hits to #1. For many years it was thought that this record might never be beaten, or even equalled, though some acts did come close - Adam Faith had already achieved an opening run of 1,1,2, and Engelbert Humperdinck later took his first three hits to 1,2,1.
But the record was equalled in 1984, by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. By a strange co-incidence, FGTH had covered Gerry And The Pacemakers' Ferry Cross The Mersey (not one of their #1s) as a bonus track on the 12" of their first chart-topper!
George Michael took his first two solo singles to number one in 1984 and 1986, followed by a duet with Aretha Franklin.
In 1989, Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers took their first three hits to number one. The last of these, Let's Party, made its debut at the top.
As the chart became more open to high new entries, it might have been expected that an act who had enjoyed a first number one would find it easier to follow it up with a second and third, but it wasn't until 1996 that a fifth act joined the club. In doing so, Robson & Jerome became the first act to go straight in at number one with their first three singles. As they retired immediately after the third, they also have a perfect 100% record of number one hits. Their final #1 - a triple-A-side - included a cover of Gerry's final #1, You'll Never Walk Alone.
Spice Girls took their first three singles to #1 in 1996, though contrary to popular belief they didn't enter at #1 with the first (it debuted at #3). The group went on to set a new record with all of their first six singles going to the top.
In May 1998, Aqua became the first overseas act to take their first three singles to number one. Their second and third had debuted at the top. They were followed by B*Witched, who became the first group to enter in the top position with each of their first four singles.
Westlife now hold the record, with their first six (seven including a collaboration with Mariah Carey) debuting at number one. Each of their first eleven singles entered in the top two, and each of their first thirteen entered inside the top five, both also new records.
In 2002, the Will Young / Gareth Gates duet The Long And Winding Road completed hat-tricks for both singers. Solo tracks by each artist also appeared on the single, though only the Gates track Suspicious Minds recieved a chart credit. Gates has since gone on to a fourth straight chart-topper.
DROPS FROM THE TOP
Although chart turnover has been faster than ever in recent years, it is still comparatively rare for a single to drop out of the top five from number one. These are the records that have done so:
To number 6:
16.01.53 Here In My Heart Al Martino
20.01.56 Rock Around The Clock Bill Haley & His Comets
23.06.60 Cathy's Clown Everly Brothers
11.04.63 Summer Holiday Cliff Richard and the Shadows
15.06.74 Sugar Baby Love The Rubettes
17.07.76 You To Me Are Everything Real Thing
26.06.79 Bright Eyes Art Garfunkel
10.01.81 There's No One Quite Like Grandma St Winifred's School Choir
14.11.81 It's My Party Dave Stewart with Barbara Gaskin
30.04.83 Let's Dance David Bowie
23.03.85 You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) Dead Or Alive
10.05.86 A Different Corner George Michael
11.03.89 Belfast Child Simple Minds
18.01.97 2 Become 1 Spice Girls
22.02.97 Discotheque U2
17.05.97 Love Won't Wait Gary Barlow
31.10.98 Gym And Tonic Spacedust
30.01.99 A Little Bit More 911
02.03.02 World Of Our Own Westlife
22.06.02 Light My Fire Will Young
To number 7:
14.03.63 Wayward Wind Frank Ifield
22.09.73 Young Love Donny Osmond
07.05.77 Knowing Me Knowing You Abba
08.02.97 Beetlebum Blur
19.09.98 Bootie Call All Saints
To number 8:
24.01.68 Hello Goodbye The Beatles
18.01.75 Lonely This Christmas Mud
12.04.97 Block Rockin' Beats Chemical Brothers
10.05.97 Blood On The Dance Floor Michael Jackson
15.04.00 Fool Again Westlife
25.11.00 Same Old Brand New You A1
28.04.01 What Took You So Long Emma Bunton
To number 9:
06.01.56 Christmas Alphabet Dickie Valentine
01.06.61 You're Driving Me Crazy Temperance Seven
17.03.66 These Boots Are Made For Walking Nancy Sinatra
19.01.91 Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter Iron Maiden
03.04.99 Blame It On The Weatherman B*Witched
To number 10:
14.01.84 Only You Flying Pickets
To number 12:
10.01.58 Mary's Boy Child Harry Belafonte
Four singles have dropped one place at a time, 1-2-3-4-5: Finger Of Suspicion by Dickie Valentine, It's All In The Game by Tommy Edwards, You Are Not Alone by Michael Jackson and Eminem's The Real Slim Shady. In fact, Finger Of Suspicion followed its week at number 5 with a week jointly at number 5 with a climbing record. Had a modern tie-break been used, Finger would have gone 1-2-3-4-5-6!
Speaking of ol' Dickie, from 1956, Dickie Valentine's Christmas Alphabet solely held the record for the shortest chart run of any number one hit - just seven weeks. This was equalled in 1987 by Ferry Aid's version of Let It Be, and again in 1989 by another charity disc Ferry Cross The Mersey by an all-star conglomeration led by Gerry Marsden. The record was finally beaten in January 1990 by two consecutive chart-toppers, Let's Party by Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers and Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid II, each with just six weeks on chart. In 1991, Iron Maiden brought the record down to just five weeks with their classic Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter. U2 nearly matched this with The Fly later in the year, vacating the chart with a run of just five weeks but then spoiling its record by re-entering for a further week. In 1997, Blur's Beetlebum did likewise, but did set several new records on its way down: it was the first #1 to spend just 2 weeks in the top 20 and 3 in the top 40, and set the record for the biggest drop in the second week by a number one debutant, dropping 1-7 (this record broken only a few weeks later by Chemical Brothers with Block Rockin' Beats which fell to 8; the record is now 1-9 by Blame It On The Weatherman, the fourth and final number one by B*Witched.)
By way of contrast, the single which remained in the charts longest after dropping from #1 is also the single with the most consecutive weeks on chart: Englebert Humperdinck's extraordinary debut hit Release Me. Its last week at number one was its eleventh on chart; it went on to notch up a further 45 chart weeks taking it to an amazing total of 56 weeks on chart.
NUMBER ONE IN TWO OR MORE VERSIONS
One song has been #1 in four versions:
Unchained Melody Jimmy Young; Righteous Brothers; Robson & Jerome; Gareth Gates
Written by Alex North (music) and Hy Zaret (words).
The song was originally recorded by the Alex North Orchestra with vocals by Todd Duncan for the 1955 film Unchained. The movie flopped; the song survived. American singer Al Hibbler was credited with a number one version (with Jimmy Young at 2) in the Record Mirror chart.
Two songs have been number one in three versions:
You'll Never Walk Alone Gerry & The Pacemakers; The Crowd; Robson & Jerome
Written by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (words).
This anthemic singalong first appeared in the musical Carousel in 1948. Popularised in the USA by Louis Armstrong, in the UK it has become strongly associated with football, and especially with Liverpool FC, who have recorded it in various line-ups.
Spirit In The Sky Norman Greenbaum; Doctor And The Medics; Gareth Gates and the Kumars
Words and music by Norman Greenbaum.
Many people wrongly assume that Greenbaum was an evangelical Christian - in fact he was, and still is, Jewish, but thought it would be fun (and a little more profitable) to write a rock song about Jesus. Subsequent versions have kept the joke going by recording it in Pagan and Hindu contexts - but as yet, no Christian version. (Thanks to Jenny for pointing this out.)
The following songs have been #1 in two versions:
Answer Me David Whitfield; Frankie Laine
Baby Come Back Equals; Pato Banton
Can't Help Falling In Love Elvis Presley; UB40
Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White Perez Prado & his Orchestra; Eddie Calvert
Dizzy Tommy Roe; Vic Reeves and the Wonderstuff
Do They Know It's Christmas? Band Aid; Band Aid II
Everything I Own Ken Boothe; Boy George
Eternal Flame Bangle; Atomic Kitten
I Believe Frankie Laine; Robson & Jerome
I Got You Babe Sonny & Cher; UB40 with Chrissie Hynde
Killer Adamski; Queen & George Michael (EP track - medley with Papa Was A Rolling Stone)
Lady Marmalade All Saints; Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya & Pink
Living Doll Cliff Richard & the Drifters; Cliff Richard & The Young Ones
Mambo No.5 Lou Bega; Bob The Builder
Mary's Boy Child Harry Belafonte; Boney M (medley with Oh My Lord)
Seasons In The Sun Terry Jacks; Westlife
Singing The Blues Guy Mitchell; Tommy Steele
Somethin' Stupid Nancy Sinatra & Frank Sinatra; Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman
Take A Chance On Me Abba; Erasure (EP track)
This Ole House Rosemary Clooney; Shakin' Stevens
The Tide Is High Blondie; Atomic Kitten (medley with Get The Feeling)
Three Lions Baddiel & Skinner & The Lightning Seeds (two different recordings)
Tragedy Bee Gees; Steps
Uptown Girl Billy Joel; Westlife
When The Going Gets Tough Billy Ocean; Boyzone
With A Little Help From My Friends Joe Cocker; Wet Wet Wet
Without You Nilsson; Mariah Carey
Young Love Tab Hunter; Donny Osmond
Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice was heavily based on Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie (even though Ice denied it at the time).
I'll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112 set new words to the backing of Every Breath You Take by The Police.
We're Going To Ibiza! by Vengaboys set new words to the backing of Barbados by Typically Tropical.
Both Fastlove by George Michael and Men In Black by Will Smith used samples from Patrice Rushen's #8 hit Forget Me Nots - the Smith track using Rushen's backing more heavily than Michael's.
Rise by Gabrielle was based on Bob Dylan's song Knockin' On Heaven's Door, a cover of which had been a #1 hit for Dunblane.
Angel by Shaggy was set to the bassline of The Joker by Steve Miller Band.
Freak Like Me by Sugababes was partly based on Tubeway Army's Are Friends Electric?.
The medley Swing The Mood by Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers incorporated bits of Bill Haley and his Comets' #1 Rock Around The Clock and remakes of Elvis Presley's #1s All Shook Up and Jailhouse Rock.
The medley That's What I Like by Jive Bunny And The Mastermixers included a snippet of Jerry Lee Lewis' #1 Great Balls Of Fire.
I actually had to listen to the Jive Bunny records to get those last two. Can I have my OBE now please?
LONGEST NUMBER ONE RECORD
The Animals caused quite a sensation when, in 1964, their House Of The Rising Sun became the first number one to top the four minute mark. But it wasn't until 1968 that The Beatles set the benchmark for really long number ones with the seven-and-a-quarter minute Hey Jude. Even today, such extent is considered uncommercial, and while long tracks may be released, most have shorter edits alongside to sweeten the pill. The following are therefore the only number one hits to run for more than seven minutes. It is probably fair to say that in all cases, the actual songs have been somewhat swamped by the artist's desire to create an "epic":
9.38 All Around The World Oasis
7.58 I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) Meat Loaf
7.32 D'You Know What I Mean? Oasis
7.15 Hey Jude The Beatles
Don McLean's American Pie (8.27) and Laurie Anderson's O Superman (8.21) both peaked at number two; one place higher and either one would have comfortably made the list above.
The longest chart single, and longest top ten hit, is Blue Room by The Orb with a running time of 39.58 on one of two CD formats, though it was also available in several shorter edits. The longest chart single with no shorter edit available is N-Joi's Live In Manchester, an improvised jam which reached #12 in 1992. The shorter of the two parts is part 1, with a running time of 13.41.
The shortest number one hit is What Do You Want by Adam Faith, with a running time of 1.35. (Thanks to Theo for that one.) The shortest top ten hit is United States Of Whatever by Liam Lynch (1.26). It beat Elvis Presley's Party by one second. I have seen Hayley Mills' Let's Get Together listed as the shortest Top 40 hit but I do not have a precise timing for it.
The US record-holder for shortest Top 40 hit is Some Kinda Earthquake by Duane Eddy, which would have topped (or bottomed?) the list in the UK too - had it not been re-edited from its original 1.17 to a less paltry 2.01 for its UK release.
The shortest Top 75 hit is Millennium Chimes by Big Ben. Yes, that Big Ben.
FAMILY CONNECTIONS
The following combinations of relatives have topped the charts:
Father & Son:
Julio Iglesias (solo 1981) and Enrique Iglesias (solo 2002)
Chip Hawkes (in The Tremeloes 1967) and Chesney Hawkes (solo 1990)
Ringo Starr (in The Beatles 1963) and Zac Starkey (in The Crowd 1985)
Father & Daughter:
Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra (both solo and together)
Mother & Son:
Hilda Woodward and Rob Woodward (both in Lieutenant Pigeon 1972)
Brother & Sister:
Shane Lynch (Boyzone) and Edele and Keavy Lynch (B*Witched).
Chart-topping groups which feature brothers in their line-ups include The Kinks, The Osmonds, The Real Thing, UB40, Oasis, Bee Gees, Spandau Ballet, The Jacksons (well, obviously) and no doubt plenty of others that I've forgotten. (And who'd bet against the The Pipes And Drums And Military Band Of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards including at least one pair of brothers?). One impressive fraternal feat belongs to brothers Mike McGear and Paul McCartney, the only blood relations to write two consecutive chart-toppers (respectively, Lily The Pink by The Scaffold and Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da as recorded by The Marmalade) and incidentally the only brothers to have both had christmas number ones.
Chart-topping groups featuring sisters include Sister Sledge (uh-huh...), All Saints and B*Witched.
Very few husband-and-wife combinations have topped the charts. Esther and Abi Ofarim, Sonny and Cher, and Enigma were husband-and-wife duos. Abba were uniquely made up of two married couples (at least to start with). The Goombay Dance Band also featured a married couple. Happy couple Gillian Gilbert and Steven Morris of New Order don't count as they didn't marry until several years after their number one hit. Siobhan Fahey of Shakespear's Sister and David A Stewart of Eurythmics were married (to each other, that is) at the time of her chart-topper but not at the time of his.
OTHER NUMBER ONE FACTS AND FEATS
The youngest solo chart-topper remains Little Jimmy Osmond who was just 9 when Long Haired Lover From Liverpool gave him the 1972 christmas number one. However, Dawn Ralph was just 8 when she sang lead on There's No One Quite Like Grandma by St Winifred's School Choir, and it is likely that some members of the choir were even younger. A children's chorus also featured on Clive Dunn's #1 Grandad but I suspect these were older children.
The first act to write their own number one hit was Dreamweavers. Young songwriters Wade Buff and Eugene Adkinson formed the group in desperation after their song It's Almost Tomorrow was repeatedly turned down by music publishers.
The first number one hit to be written, produced and entirely performed by a single person was A Different Corner by George Michael.
The last single to reach number 1 without the benefit of a CD format being available was Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter by Iron Maiden. They did in fact release a CD format a couple of weeks later but it didn't count toward their chart position as the single was already available on the maximum five formats (four vinyl and one cassette).
Only one Nobel Prize winner has ever written a UK number one hit single. US Vice-President Charles Gates Dawes, who won the Peace Prize in 1925, also wrote the melody of Tommy Edwards' 1958 chart-topper It's All In The Game. Carl Sigman wrote the words.
Mr Vain by Culture Beat was the first single since the 1950s to reach number one without being available on vinyl.
Only once since 1955 has there ever been an instance of three consecutive chart-toppers all being covers of previously-charted songs: In September 2001, Too Close by Blue (previously a hit for Next); Mambo No.5 by Bob The Builder (previously a hit for Lou Bega) and Hey Baby by DJ Otzi (formerly a hit for Bruce Channel) each had a week at the top.
Speaking of covers, during 2000, five cover versions reached number one. In four cases, the original had peaked at number 2; the fifth (We Will Rock You) had been the b-side of a number 2 hit.
UB40 enjoyed a string of hits with original material, yet all three of their number one hits were covers.
During the 80s, Neil Diamond's song Red Red Wine and David Gates' song Everything I Own reached the top spot as reggae covers (for UB40 and Boy George respectively). In both cases, the artists who took the song to the top were unaware of the original folk-rock versions and had taken previous reggae-fied covers as their source - namely Ken Boothe's version of Everything I Own and Tony Tribe's remake of Red Red Wine.
The fastest hat-trick of number one hits was by John Lennon - he notched up three number one hits in the space of just eight weeks following his death in December 1980.
| i don't know |
Formerly based in Ilkeston, which Newark brewery produces Christmas Cake Walk? | Living Local Nov / Dec 2001 by Gary Richards - issuu
issuu
Living Local Special Christmas edition of Newark’s GREAT free newspaper
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41 years on, Bud wins Vietnam medal
Fantastic 10-page festive food and drink section u PAGES 37-46
WIN great Christmas family day out
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2
Living Local
Tiling INSPIRATION
Balderton Tile Centre have a very good selection of bathroom wall & floor tiles. Many of our ranges of wall tiles have a matching floor available too. Many of the floor tiles now have an anti-slip coating which looks like a glossy finish but has a non-slip texture. If you don't require matching wall & floor tiles we have many contrasting colours for you to chose from. Black & white is still a very popular colour choice for bathrooms. so please feel welcome to visit our showroom at Brisbane Court & have a look around.
Fill Your Home with Jewel Colours Colours can transform the feel of any room. Sapphire & Ruby Red add warmth & depth to walls & floors. Red has proved a very popular colour this year especially for kitchen walls. Grey has been extremely popular for bathroom & en-suite areas, but the most popular tile range at the moment is the mosaic look. We have an excellent choice of mosaic tiles at Balderton Tile Centre. You can purchase mosaics in a variety of colours, shapes & sizes for a feature wall, border or mirror surround. They add details & interest to any room.
Warm up for winter Feel cozy & warm all year round in your own home with installing underfloor heating. The Devimat can be installed quickly & simply & is energy efficient with a running cost of around 0.5p per hour per metre square. The mats are available for both timber & concrete based floors. They come with a 10 year manufacturers’ warranty & a choice of silver or white thermostat/timer.
Seek inspiration from the experts Balderton Tile Centre is a family business & has been established for over 30 years. We offer an expert tiling service & can also give help & advice with regard to colours & design. We deal with the public, small trade accounts & supply/fit tiles for developers such as Barratt & David Wilson. Advice is also available with regard to fitting & materials. We sell top quality adhesives for both wall & floor tiling & grouts in a variety of colours. We also give free quotes for tiling & for stripping walls then re-tiling. We can also help with the cutting of tiles.
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Balderton Tile Centre have a very special offer on for this month on our best-selling range of tile. We are promoting our Capri Range of wall/floor tiles with a 15% discount. The Capri Range is offered in either a Beige or Ivory bathroom wall & floor tile with an anti-slip coating. You have the choice of either a mat or a gloss finish. The Capri kitchen wall is available in 4 colours - Beige, Ivory, Noce & Sand. This is a Travertine copy but does not need sealing & maintaining like a natural stone tile. We have a selection of matching borders to complement the Capri Range. So take advantage of the special offer whilst it lasts!!
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Living Local
AROUND AND ABOUT
YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER Welcome to our Christmas edition, packed with gift ideas, entertainment, features, competitions and everything you need to make the festive season special. Whether you’re looking for a place to enjoy a special meal or a particular gift idea, you can find all you need for Christmas right here in Newark and its surrounding villages. So happy Christmas to all our readers and advertisers. We’re back in January with the return of our usual expert columnists. Graham, Steph and june
THE TEAM Founder and creator Stephanie Bilton n Editorial Editor Graham Keal Women’s editor June Rowlands Weddings and events Sarah Dodd Craft column Abi Davies Gardening Gillie Wilkinson Retail Scene Stephanie Bilton Horoscopes and more Sara Chadd Reporter Richard Keeling Twitter and Facebook Howard Newport Folk music Terry Kelly Classical music Tina Pointing Heritage George Wilkinson Travel Alan Hudson
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Putting on the party glitz and glamour
Community news from Newark, Balderton, Fernwood, Farndon and surrounding villages
Hot food, warm welcome at Newark’s community cafe
uPAGES 28-31
PLUS ....
Christmas in Newark – what’s on where uPAGES 48-49
Don’t miss our fab festive food guide, weddings and events, gift guide, competitions, gardening, horoscopes and much more
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uPAGE 50
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3
Spud you believe it!
H
awtonville chippy The Jolly Friar also had a jolly potato peeler sitting outside the Newark shop after regular customer Katie Murphy ‘won’ a stint of spud-bashing – for the second time! As the latest in a series of charity fund-raisers, chip shop co-owner Austin Ryan organised a prize draw, with 50 prizes donated by local businesses and residents to raise money for the NSPCC. But in among the real prizes were a few booby prizes, and Katie, 21, won a two-hour spud-bashing session, having previously won one hour of doing the same thing, in the rain! “My husband Dominic thinks it’s funny,” says mother-of-two Katie, of St Mary’s Gardens. “I haven’t got a clue how many potatoes I’ll get through. I don’t peel potatoes at home – I get my husband to do it!” At least Katie had some consolation in between her potato peeling, because she did win a real prize, too – tattoos to the value of £40. “I think Katie has been a really good sport about it,” says Austin, whose shop has now raised more than £2,000 for good causes. “We started fundraising a year ago when we did one for Tommy’s (the charity funding research to help unborn children) and Mencap, then we did one for local baby Charlotte Wright, who has a kidney complaint, when we raised £1,200 for the family.” A charity Halloween party got the community involved and created a great atmosphere as well as helping a good cause, with the party and the prize draw raising £375 for the NSPCC.
Previous artwork is in reso
It’s not very good so whil Bit more modern but don
u Katie gets on with peeling potatoes, watched by Jolly Friar co-owner Austin Ryan. Picture: Chris Frostick. Thanks
“The local lads here get called ruffians but they helped deliver chips or burgers and more at the Halloween party. They really respect us and we’ve got no problem with the kids round here at all.”
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NEWS
Les gets VIP trip to LA
C
hristmas came early this year for Inizio’s Les Jones (above), in the shape of an unexpected invitation to fly out to Los Angeles in March to represent the UK in a prestigious event. Les, who is creative director of the Stodman Street hair salon, couldn’t wait to share the news with Living Local. He told me: “I’ll be one of just a handful of British stylists spending five days there, visiting a series of shows and events and taking part in a major photoshoot.” Called LA is the Place, the event is being organised by international hair care professionals Sebastian. “In October, they chose Inizio to host the launch of their new collection, bringing over 30 stylists from the East Midlands and South Yorkshire to Newark to see some of the latest inspirational looks,” said Les.
Living Local
EXCLUSIVE by June Rowlands
[email protected]
“Their creative director, Richard Windle, works closely with us so we already have a great relationship with them but the phone call was a complete surprise. “It’s a fabulous opportunity, not only to showcase my own work but also to meet top-ranking stylists from around the world and raise the profile of Inizio, too.” It will be VIP treatment all the way for Les during his all-expenses-paid visit to the States. l Follow him on Facebook at Inizio Hair for some of the highlights and find out in the April issue of Living Local how he got on when he made the trip from our town to Tinseltown.
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5
Living Local
Arresting images
u A powerful image (above) from Tom Martin’s exhibition alongside an aerial shot he took for a tourism project. Right and below left: Tom at work in Africa.
A
N alarming 24 hours in an African jail gave Newark documentary photographer Tom Martin the insight and inspiration for the latest London exhibition of his remarkable work. The exhibition, entitled Another Day on Earth, runs at the 12 Star Gallery at the EU’s London headquarters at Europe House in Westminster from November 30 to December 30. Tom, 26, a married father of two who lives in London Road, says the exhibited photographs are “mostly images that I’ve taken while working with the EU in Africa, focusing on the contrast between gritty reality of the humanitarian projects and the beauty of Africa.” Images of police, judges, soldiers, and a rural population caught up in a rapidly changing society feature alongside potent glimpses of the harsh life endured by prisoners, including women and children. This is a theme Tom has been drawn to ever since his own brief but traumatic incarceration five years ago.
“Back in 2006 I was on my first trip in Rwanda,” said Tom. “I naively decided to attempt to cover the general election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “I crossed the border in a rented Toyota Corolla with a local journalist and guide. Within one hour we were arrested at gunpoint, pushed into the back of a pick-up truck and taken to the prison cells, where we were separated. “We were in prison in Goma for about 24 hours and we were very lucky to be freed. The police wanted a $20,000 bribe to release us. “But as it turned out, the guide that we had picked up on the border with Rwanda was having an affair with one of the government ministers. The first I knew about it was when he arrived in a brand-new white Range Rover, and proceeded to shout very loudly at the police chief. I still have our ‘ticket du liberation’ – written on a Post-it note... “Brief as it was, this experience and the atrocities I saw have stayed with me. I felt some of
the extreme fear and isolation felt by both prisoners and the general population of the DRC. “But the exhibition also includes examples of my tourism work that captures some of the joys of Africa, because there has to be a balance. These were taken for travel magazines and to promote tourism.” Tom Martin was born and bred in Newark but works primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and undertakes commissions for organisations including the EU and UN and also works as a photojournalist. His latest exhibition follows an earlier one where his work was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery. It was spotted by the cultural attaché for the EC to the UK and he approached Tom about staging an exhibition in the gallery in their own HQ. l Tom Martin: Another Day on Earth, 12 Star Gallery, November 30-December 30, 10am6pm, Monday to Friday, Europe House, 32 Smith Square, London SW1P 3EU
Helping our clients enjoy a prosperous 2012 Beaumond Chambers London Road Newark NG24 1TN 01636 302020 www.wrightvigar.co.uk [email protected] 0845 880 5678 Lincoln | Gainsborough | London Newark | Retford | Sleaford
STAR INTERVIEW
How footie fandango fuelled Bernie’s career I
u Bernie Clifton and Oswald the ostrich see the sights of Newark..
nterviewing Newark Palace panto star Bernie Clifton on the hoof was an an interesting experience, though he had at least disentangled his legs from his yellow ostrich sidekick Oswald as we strode across town on the day of the panto’s press launch. Bernie plays Wishee Washee in the star-studded production of Aladdin and had just conducted a comedy masterclass in crowd control in the Market Square and outside the Palace as he bantered with fans and photographers. Bernie was there with co-stars Marshall Lancaster, Rob McVeigh, Antony Stuart-Hicks and Victoria Scott. Such unscripted antics could make some performers nervous, but Bernie just took it in his vigorous stride. Mind you, he has more than 40 years’ experience as a professional entertainer handling everything from working the cruise ships to extracting tears of laughter from the Queen in the 1979 Royal Variety Performance, so not much phases ex-plumber Bernie when it comes to entertaining. He started out as a dance band singer, and coming back to Newark prompted warm memories of his earliest local appearances, in a roadshow that came to Balderton Working Men’s Club. “I always found the clubs in Nottinghamshire were easier, more
by Graham Keal [email protected]
accepting, more gentle than Yorkshire and Lancashire, at a time when we were all learning our trade,” he said. “You were only on in between the bingo, so it didn’t matter that much if you weren’t very good. You could learn and gain confidence. You were not so naked and exposed.” This prompted me to share a memory of interviewing satirist and instant calypso king Lance Percival at a bingo club in Corby in the 70s. Not only was the crowd tough, the ‘dressing room’ consisted of three portable screens in the main hall, shielding a plastic chair, a bowl and a water jug. Lance washed his feet in the bowl as we talked. “Oh the glamour…” says Bernie. “Why do we do it? I don’t know. I think we are just a lucky breed. We are blessed to be involved
u Bernie with fellow panto stars.
in entertainment and to be able to express ourselves.” But the thrill of making an audience laugh must be a big part of it? “Yes, I remember when I was plumbing I didn’t get much applause. If there’d have been an absolute opposite to applause I’d have got a lot of that, because I wasn’t very good. But I think performing is in your bones somehow.” Bernie’s own comedy influences include Ken Dodd, Tommy Cooper and Les Dawson. Les was responsible for the change of direction that led to Oswald the Ostrich and to that Royal Variety show, when both Les and Bernie were on the bill. “I never went for the patter comics – apart from Les, who became something of a mentor. He stopped me reverting to the patter. He gave me a good shaking and said ‘Don’t do that. You should find your own direction. You’re only doing what a hundred others are doing.’ I’d got a few props and I loved visual comedy, so I went with that.” The change paid off, as a Newark shopper reminded him. “In about 1968 I was booked at Ilkeston Town Football Supporters’ Club and I drew the raffle at the end, and the tickets were in two biscuit tins, so I just stepped in the tins and did this fandango dance. “And a guy in the Market Place half an hour ago said to me ‘Thanks for all the laughter. I saw you years ago, dancing with a pair of biscuit tins,’ and I went ‘Wow!’ So from then on it was a downward spiral…” l Bernie stars in Aladdin at Newark Palace from December 7-31.
Paul Holman Associates present
7 to 31 December 2011
Box Office 01636 655 755 www.palacenewark.com
Antony Stuart-Hicks Victoria Scott International Illusionists The Reanleah Experience Tozer Dance Studio sponsored by
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8
NEWS
Living Local
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u Marjorie Hartley as Mary with angelic supporters. Right: Wendy Underwood as the Star of Bethlehem, with Pat Kirk as all three kings.
OAPs’ new take on age-old story
S
CHOOL Nativity plays don’t normally include a bossy teacher or an amorous innkeeper in the cast, but the Newark Chauntry Junior School Nativity was not a normal production. A dozen pensioners played children playing the parts of Mary, Joseph and the rest, and an audience of around 40 lapped it up as Newark Chauntry Group, a friendship group for older people, staged the play in the lounge area of Newark Palace Theatre on November 18. This was definitely a lighter take on the Nativity, narrated with deft humour by Geoffrey Foulds, dressed in woolly hat, woolly pully and short trousers. He also wrote, produced and directed. Marjorie Hartley played Mary, and John Lewthwaite was Joseph, doubling up as King Herod for good measure. Norman Brown was the innkeeper whose first response on the arrival of a
Befrodms
£35
heavily pregnant Mary was to deny all responsibility. Then Joseph did likewise. Doreen Anderson was suitably commanding as bossy teacher Miss Tomkins, Dianne Munford was the Angel Gabriel and Pat Kirk played all three gift-bearing kings. “I was very encouraged by the amount of laughter,” said Geoffrey Foulds. “There were quite a lot of ad libs in there, which is also encouraging.” Geoffrey explained how he came to provide the script. “We couldn’t find an adult Nativity play that would suit the age group so I thought ‘Oh blow it, write it yourself!’ It didn’t take very long. The story is quite well-known!” The Chauntry Group has been established over 40 years. It meets every Friday at the Palace and the first visit is free. For more information go to www.newarkchauntrygroup.co.uk or call 01636 659239.
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u Let there be light ... Major Tim Justice addresses the gathering at the centre, which gets some of its electricity from solar panels on the roof.
It’s hear, hear for the £1m dream
N
ewark’s new £1.1m, ecofriendly Salvation Army Centre in Mead Way, Balderton, has an excellent sound system, though given Commissioner John Matear’s wonderfully rich baritone he could probably have managed without as he addressed a packed congregation of around 200 worshippers and guests at the official opening. London-based Commissioner Matear is the Territorial Commander of the Salvation Army for the UK and the Republic of Ireland, but he proclaimed a special interest in the ambitious project dating back many years. “Twelve years ago my wife Betty and I were divisional leaders for the East Midlands, and Newark Salvation Army was part of our responsibility, so in the last six years as Territorial Commander chairing various business boards in London I’ve always paid particular attention whenever this project has appeared on the agenda. “It’s been a little bit of a journey, but all along I had a strong sense of global
Living Local
vision, of local determination and of God’s blessing on this project.” Commander Matear also prompted a rousing round of applause as the congregation stood and showed appreciation for the drive and initiative of Majors Tim and Jo Justice in seeing the project through to its conclusion. He had earlier cut the ribbon to officially open the building and unveiled a commemorative plaque before accepting a second plaque from Councillor Brian Grocock, Lord Mayor of Nottingham and chairman of the Wren Landfill Tax Credits Scheme, which had made a £50,000 grant for the project. Major Tim Justice thanked everyone who had helped create the new centre. “When you think of the numbers of cakes baked, cups of tea served, cars washed and hours spent it’s incredible. Raising £1,000 at a fair and thinking that we had to raise £1m was daunting, but it’s amazing how quickly it happened.” Divisional director of finance David Robinson said contributions included
9
u Above: “I promise to be careful with these scissors,” jokes Commander John Matear as he officially opens the new centre, flanked by (left to right) Majors Jo and Tim Justice, Commissioner Betty Matear and Lieutenant Colonels Mike and Wendy Caffull. u Right: The new £1.1m building in Balderton. £250,000 from local fund-raising and over £150,000 from legacies. Many other trusts and charities also made substantial donations. In addition to the main hall, the building houses a large meeting room and a “chill-out zone” for teenagers and children, office accommodation and a café. Eco-friendly heating using air-source heat pumps reduces the building’s carbon footprint, while photo-voltaic solar panels on the roof reduce power bills and generate income by exporting power to the National Grid. Major Justice said these measures were taken not just for financial reasons but also because “we felt the environmental issue was really important”. In terms of involving the community,
the new centre is already a runaway success. Tim Justice again: “The Lunch Club now has 55 members and a waiting list, 34 new families have joined the parent and toddler group which now has over 50 members, and over 50 children are attending the kids’ clubs on Wednesday evenings – 50 seems to have become a magic number for us.” Tim’s wife Jo said the building had lots more potential for serving the local community, while David Howarth, divisional director for evangelism, told Living Local that the new centre had got off to a great start. “It’s a new beginning for us. It’s a venue where lives are going to be changed,” he said. The official opening was on October 29, though the centre has been in use since September.
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u Newark MP Patrick Mercer presents Alan ‘Bud’ Snell with his Vietnam medal.
KEY events in the background to the Vietnam war:
1954 At Geneva Conference
Vietnam is split into North (Communist) and South at the 17th Parallel.
Vietnam begin infiltrating the South.
1962 Number of US military advisers in South Vietnam rises to 12,000.
1963 Vietcong, the Communist
guerrillas operating in South Vietnam, defeat units of ARVN, South Vietnamese Army. President Diem overthrown.
1964 American destroyer allegedly 1965 200,000 American combat troops arrive in South Vietnam.
1967 US troop numbers in Vietnam rise to 500,000.
1968 Tet Offensive – a combined
assault by Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army on US positions – begins.
1969 President Nixon draws back US ground troops from Vietnam.
1970 Nixon’s National Security
adviser, Henry Kissinger, and Le Duc Tho, for the Hanoi government, start talks in Paris.
1973 Ceasefire agreement, US
troop pull-out completed by March.
1975 North Vietnamese troops
invade the South and take control of the whole country.
F
ORMER merchant seaman, aerial rigger and local pub landlord Alan ‘Bud’ Snell has a bit of extra glitter to hang on his Christmas tree this year – after he finally received what could be a unique medal for a British seaman, for services to the US military in the Vietnam War. Newark MP Patrick Mercer played a leading role in Bud – as he is known to his friends – gaining the honour, and he presented him with the American-issued medal at his local office, witnessed by Living Local and Hugh Brown, a former merchant seaman from Newark who also
1959 Weapons and men from North
attacked by North Vietnamese patrol boats. This triggers start of US bombing raids on North Vietnam.
Bud wins EXCLUSIVE by Graham Keal
[email protected]
worked on Vietnam-bound Shell tankers during the prolonged war between North and South. The award comes 41 years after Bud, of Main Street, South Muskham, left the Merchant Navy. He had begun his US medal trail after he received, out of the blue, a British-issued medal for serving our own military bases in far-flung trouble spots such as Malaya,
Danger at sea and
T
eenager Alan ‘Bud’ Snell had never been abroad when he signed up as a callow 16-year-old Merchant Navy recruit. But Bud, of South Muskham, went on to serve all over the world and made two dangerous trips to war-ravaged Vietnam, on Shell tankers delivering aviation fuel to the US Air Force. Alan, known to his Newark area friends as Bud, gave up seafaring in 1970, but the medal which MP Patrick Mercer recently presented
to him is the latest extraordinary twist in a career which saw him not only heading for war zones in the Merchant Navy but also working in some of the world’s most volatile countries, including Libya and Angola, as a maintenance engineer on military and civilian communications antennae. It was all a long way from the pit town of Normanton which straight-talking Yorkshireman Bud left behind. Was it a steep learning curve? “Oh, bloody ’ell, I’d never been
out of the country – never been out of Yorkshire! And all of a sudden I gets this train to Sharpness in Gloucestershire and after training there got a ship straightaway, out of Tilbury. “I caught the midnight mail train from Normanton, got in to London at 6am and had to wait until the Underground opened. I’d never seen an Underground train before!” At Tilbury he clapped eyes on the Oti – “the biggest ship I’d ever seen … loading sacks of coffee beans to take to Rotterdam and Amsterdam
and logs for Genoa in Italy, then it was off to West Africa. In fact, it wasn’t that big, but it was to me.” The Oti belonged to the Elder Dempster Line, whose ships worked routes to West Africa. Bud soon saw much more of the world, including Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana and the Congo. “I just loved West Africa. That’s where they picked the logs up,” said Bud. “You would go into dark creeks to pick up the floating logs and all you could see was mud huts. The local people would come
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COVER STORY
Living Local
11
Vietnam war medal Malacca, Sarawak and Borneo, from 196070. “When I phoned the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall about the Merchant Navy medal, the man said that I would be entitled to one for serving the Americans in Vietnam, too.” Bud confided in his friend the late district councillor Peter Prebble, who passed on the story to Patrick Mercer. “Patrick wrote to the American Embassy but I heard nothing back and got a bit disheartened, but Patrick said to keep on trying,” said Bud. The result is a bit of history in the making.
41 YEARS AFTER HE LEFT MERCHANT NAVY ... AMERICANS HONOUR EX-SEAMAN FOR ROLE IN CONFLICT
on dry land ... out in dug-out canoes. The nearest I’d seen anything like it was in Tarzan films. I was mesmerised!” When violence flared in the Congo, Bud’s ship had to rescue missionaries who were at risk. “They were beheading them and all sorts …” Vietnam was another dangerous destination – crews on British tankers were paid a war bonus for being so close to hostilities. Both Bud and ex-merchant seaman Hugh Brown, who was present at the medal presentation and himself worked as an engineer on tankers serving Vietnam, had some hair-raising experiences. One morning about 4am I thought we had been hit, but there was a US destroyer pulled up alongside us, shelling the Vietcong,” said Bud. “They would send remotecontrolled reconnaissance drones over the jungle to pinpoint where they were, send the coordinates back to the ship and fire at their positions. “I thought security was very lax. We had two GIs on board to patrol the decks and make sure nobody climbed up, but when you’re young you don’t think about the danger. It was just a job to me. “One Shell tanker did sink after hitting a mine in the Mekong Delta ... We were too big to go up-river to
u Bud the Body as a young merchant seaman. “I was only 10 stone – then I tried that Charles Atlas ‘Dynamic Tension’ bodybuilding course.”
Saigon so we used to offload into a little German coaster. That hit a mine and went down, all hands lost.” Apart from humid war zones Bud also took fuel to frozen whaling stations and his ship had to be
Muskham in the 1990s – but there were more adventures in between. Using his experience as a rigger on ships, Bud worked in the 80s for Granger Associates, maintaining communications antennae. He worked extensively in Libya and spotted IRA terrorists in training – he was advised to “keep your head down and keep moving”. Even while training for Granger Associates, Bud witnessed an international incident. Sent to repair a mast on the Nigerian Embassy in London, he was turfed out of u A souvenir sweet tin the lift by two Nigerians with a presented to Bud while training large bag. on board the liner Queen “So I go home to my digs and Elizabeth. Below: The Russian I’m watching the news and I see the b******s who got me icebreaker that rescued Bud’s out of the lift had been arrested. trapped fuel tanker. They’d kidnapped a Nigerian diplomat, put him in diplomatic luggage and tried to fly him out of the country to face corruption charges back home.” Bud recalls another incident while he was in London in the 80s. He was working next door to the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall. “I just stopped to rescued by a Russian icebreaker have a sandwich when all these when trapped in the Arctic Circle lasses came out on to the roof and north of Sweden. one said ‘We’re going to war with Argentina over the Falklands.’ After he left the Merchant Navy in 1970 Bud and his late wife Babs “I said ‘You’re joking!’ But I was became publicans in Normanton. probably one of the first to know They moved to the Crown at about the war.”
u Above: The Americanissued Vietnam medal – a rare award for a British seaman. Below: Bud’s British Merchant Seaman’s medal.
How war poisoned the countryside for generations
‘ u Hugh Brown recalls how Agent Orange wiped out even the dragon flies in the jungle.
During my 15 years with the Merchant Navy I went to Vietnam three times. The first time, I was just 18. We carried fuel oil from Singapore to a Shell refinery up the Mekong Delta near Saigon – lush green undergrowth, very hot and steamy. We were told to be careful on deck due to possible sniper fire – no helmets or flak jackets available! Giant dragon flies were everywhere; they were even blown down the vents into the engine room. One night I talked to some US soldiers, specifically a very young Texan, fascinated by my white tropical uniform. Morale was clearly not good. I hope
This is an edited extract from ex-marine engineer Hugh Brown’s own moving, thought-provoking account of his time in Vietnam on British tankers. Hugh, of Harewood Avenue, Newark, is still haunted by it. To read his full account log on to www.livinglocal.co.uk and search for ‘Hugh Brown dragon flies’
he made it back home safely. All the time helicopters were flying so low over the ship, and at night the artillery fire was clearly visible. The American military were everywhere; I saw very few South Vietnamese. Again in 1970 I found myself in Vietnam, the same refinery, no shore leave allowed, I was serving on the SS Hindsia, a real rust-bucket – round the clock engine repairs, with asbestos
everywhere. I can’t describe the heat and the exhausting nature of it. The big shock was the Mekong Delta and the effects of Agent Orange, a vicious chemical that caused and continues to cause tragedy and suffering for many. The jungle had gone. As far as the eye could see there was a brown mass. People were dying and suffering, atrocities on both sides, poisoned land. The dragon flies had gone.
My resounding memory of my final visit in1974 is of being in the engine room at night – loud explosions, shockwaves and shrapnel hitting the side of the ship below the water level. A frantic phone call comes: ‘Stop the cargo pumps – it’s too dangerous to continue!’ Allegedly the South Vietnamese believed the Vietcong were in the area, so they were firing into the water round the ship and lobbing grenades. The whole ship was shaking after the shock waves. After a couple of days we did complete the discharge and received orders to load again in Singapore for the South Sea Islands, Tahiti and other places. What a contrast!
12
David’s on a mission to give Africans the tools for the job
If I had a hammer by Graham Keal
I
[email protected]
f someone gave you an old hammer, a pair of elderly screwdrivers or an outmoded sewing machine for Christmas you would probably not be too thrilled, but in Africa old tools and equipment can bring one of the most precious gifts of all – independence. And Newark motor engineer David Longstaff is helping to make this happen, by collecting old, discarded or simply unwanted tools, machine tools, kitchen equipment and gardening gear for national charity TWAM – Tools With A Mission: “We’re not just recycling things to do something else with them, we are taking these tools and ensuring that people can use them and benefit from them. It’s wonderful isn’t it? I think it’s a fantastic thing, and one of the best recycling ideas there is,” says David, who lives in Coddington but has been a motor engineer in Newark for 50 years, as was his father, Harold, before him. “The majority of this equipment is just in people’s garages, sheds, chicken coops and all the rest, lying there doing absolutely nothing, and it will probably continue to lie there until somebody dies and then it will be chucked out or go to the skip. “Whereas it could have a useful life, and it’s not costing us anything! It’s a win-win situation.” David stores donations in fatherin-law Ron’s garage. When there is a big enough batch, a volunteer van driver collects it. At the TWAM warehouse in Ipswich, items are sorted, refurbished and repackaged to suit particular trades. Last year 20 containers “packed to the brim with tools” were sent out to East and Central Africa, equipping nearly 400 projects where TWAM trains people how to earn a living, then gives them the tools for the job. Anything from a spanner to a lathe can be put to good use. David already has an Aladdin’s cave of donations awaiting dispatch: “We’ve got two hand-operated sewing machines, the promise of another, a lovely Kenwood mixer, a lot of gardening tools – forks, spades, all sorts of woodworking tools, electric drills. We take anything that could be put to use.” Computers, printers, knitting and sewing machines are all grist to the mill. A TWAM leaflet shows a
u David explaining TWAM at the new Salvation Army Centre. Photo: Graham Evans u Below: A TWAM project teaching carpentry skills with recycled tools in Uganda.
u A happy Nigerian bears his sewing machine lightly as he goes out looking for work.
smiling Nigerian carrying a sewing machine on his head, scissors in his hand – Twam equipped him not only with the machine but also with the training and the sewing materials needed to make it productive: “He’s going from house to house doing jobbing work. When they get this equipment they can go from dependency to self-sufficiency. They don’t need a big income to do that. These are basically very poor countries.” Tape measures, thimbles, thread, surplus ribbon, working zips, material, buttons, buckles and even pins are all useful. Tools that have seen better days can be brought back to good productive use before being sent overseas. “On the video on TWAM’s website (www.twam.co.uk) you see guys reconditioning tools and so on. A lot of them are retired people who have probably worked with tools in
industry all their life.” Small gifts (or large ones) of tools and equipment can make huge differences to impoverished communities. David cites the example of townships where corrugated roofs are weighted down with boulders instead of nailed down, simply for lack of a hammer. Another big TWAM project in Uganda provides clean fresh water to communities where trekking for water once took enormous time and effort. And water sources are not always safe. Twam’s solution is a team of locally recruited workers who use wooden moulds to create cement water containers, fed by rainwater collected from roofs. David again: “A lot of the children die because of contaminated water, and this gives them a relatively clean source. The water is filtered to exclude insects and debris as it goes
in, and in the bottom there is a sand filter.” The sand filter acts as an effective bacteriological layer and provides clean water for up to two years before it needs to be replaced. TWAM has been an established charity for 27 years but I confess I’d not heard of it until now, so how did David get involved? “I only became the local collector this summer… One of the reasons I do this is because I’m a Christian, and Christians believe in helping people, or they should do,” he laughs. “I’d heard about TWAM some time ago but had never come in direct contact with it until July when we went to the Keswick Christian Convention, a fantastic event that
runs for three weeks, with about 6,000 people going each week. “Various missionary societies and similar have a massive marquee where they put their stands up and I came to the TWAM stand and thought ‘Yes, that’s something I could help with.” Since then he has spread the word with stands at the new Salvation Army Church Centre in Balderton, where David worships, and the old tools have poured in. l Anyone willing to donate tools can drop them off at David’s garage/ workshop just behind the Jet petrol station by Beaumond Cross in Newark, or call David on 01636 700858.
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Chris Rafferty, General Store Manager, welcomes you to your new Asda Newark. When a fantastic new store opens in town, who better to introduce it than the person in charge? “ Hello and a very warm welcome to your new Asda Newark – the store with everything you need under one roof. We’re proud of what we can offer the local community. We hope that you’re proud to shop here, because there really is something for everyone.
& Fish Retailer of the Year 2011! So why not come down and see us in the run up to Christmas? There’s a wonderful festive range of Extra Special food and drinks to get you started. We’ve even got an Asda Price Guarantee* pod so you can check your receipt in-store.
From a late-opening Pharmacy to an in-store Bakery and Pizza counter – and our very own Asda Café, situated upstairs, with great value food, drinks and kids’ meals.
We look forward to you visiting the store. And if you can’t find something, please ask me or one of my colleagues – we’re always happy to help.”
There’s also great George ranges, with fashion for all the family, and an awardwinning selection of meat and fish – Asda was recently named the SuperMeat
Chris Rafferty General Store Manager
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*powered by Asda Price Guarantee includes comparable grocery shopping only. Comparison made against Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose only. Your shopping must consist of a minimum of 8 different grocery products, of which at least 1 must be comparable. Claims must be made within 28 days. Difference via voucher for comparable products. £100 total claim in any one month. Maximum 10 claims per month. Exclusions apply. For example: If your comparable grocery shop cost you £100 at Asda and £100 at Tesco, Asda will give you a voucher for £10. If your comparable grocery shop cost you £95 at Asda and £100 at Tesco, Asda will give you a voucher for £5. For further information, full terms and conditions go to www.ASDA.com/priceguarantee. Always read the label. Photography shows serving suggestion(s).
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New store… familiar faces. Your Asda Newark store may be brand new, but there are some familiar faces from the community ready to serve you. The launch of the new Asda Newark has created 238 jobs, including that of community colleague Andrea Jeffrey, who will become a familiar face in Newark as she establishes strong links with the local community. So with friendly local faces, community initiatives and famously low prices, Asda Newark has everything needed Lincoln to be Aa46success. A1 Why not come and see Northgate for yourself? Retail Park EN
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We are very pleased to have them on board and both have had superb feedback during training. With these two on the front line at 617 A the checkouts, new customers will always Southwell see a smiling face and receive the best 6 A4 possible service.”
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Sara Mayfield, aged 39 from Newark and Justin Atherley, aged 20 and also from Newark are two of Asda’s brand new colleagues transferred from Netto. With over 13 years’ combined retail experience, Store Manager Chris Rafferty, has already seen a positive impact from the pair ahead of the store’s launch.
He said: “Sara and Justin’s experience is extremely valuable in delivering a positive shopping experience for the people of Newark. We have been recruiting for colleagues with the right attitude, skill and enthusiasm and Sara and Justin have these in abundance.
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That’s because Asda Newark has brought on board experienced colleagues from the town’s recently acquired Netto store, ensuring continuous employment for them, and a familiar service for previous customers.
B63 26
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u Bob and Jill McGhee have transformed the shop ‘from drab to fab’.
F YOU go down to Newark’s Hallmark shop today you’re in for a big surprise, and not just because of the talking teddy bears, chocolate shoes, hand-painted glasses or all the other unusual and unique gifts you can find at the Paxton’s Court store and post office. “It’s quite deceptive when you see the little shop at the front and come in and see the size inside and the range of things we have,” says Bob McGhee, who with wife Jill took over the post office franchise and adjacent shop space from the Co-op in May. “The retail side is about 3,000 square feet.” What was formerly a rather dreary waiting area and redundant retail space has gone “from drab to fab” as Bob points out. The couple have created a spacious, air-conditioned box of delights with all manner of lovely gifts, gorgeous chocolates, inventive toys, attractive jewellery, amusing novelties, hand-painted glass – even ladies’ scarves! And this is all in addition, of course, to the town’s most comprehensive range of cards and gift wrap: “We have a huge selection of wrap – probably the biggest in Nottinghamshire,” says Bob. “People are still finding out what’s here, although the post office gives us an effective kick-start because people amble in and say ‘Oh, it’s changed!’ and ‘Ooh, you’ve got this!’ or ‘Oh, you’ve got that!’ “So the response has been very pleasing indeed. Initially people might have thought ‘Oh no, not another card shop,’ but we like to think we are different to the vast majority of them.” And there is so much more to the store than a comprehensive card selection. Beautiful, elaborately handpainted glassware in the Lolita range makes an
Congratulations to Newark Post Office
Living Local spotlight on
eye-catching gift and, from America, there’s a comprehensive range of beautifully perfumed candles in the Yankee Candle range. “They are superb quality, very consistent in fragrance throughout the burn of the candles, and they have a huge following,” says Bob. Fragrances include special imports from the USA that are exclusive in this area, as well as great seasonal fragrances such as Christmas Eve and White Christmas. Another key attraction in the run-up to Christmas is the Pralibel chocolate concession – finest Belgian chocolates which are amongst the most exclusive in Britain. Pralibel is a top Belgian manufacturer which has recently licensed retailers in other countries. “I’ve not tasted any as good as these. We are the second place in the UK to have them,” says Bob. “The other is in Hungerford. Any favourite centres he recommends? “I like lots of them but the Lemon Praline (pictured left) is one of my favourites. It’s topped with a candied lemon sliver and has crystalised lemon segments inside as well so it balances nicely with the
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Bob and all of his staff
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Here’s to continued success for Bob and Jill from all the
Living Local Hallmark proud to be working with Newark Post office and Gift Store
...From drab to fab!
team and thank you for your support If you’d like to showcase your business online and in print to our readers, call the advertising team on 07756 026973 to find out how easy and cost-effective it is
We wish them every success and look forward to keeping them
'warm' or 'cool' for many years to come! From everyone at
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Living Local
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shop with a big heart u Left: Hallmark’s spacious store. u Top right: Reading buddy Jingle, the barking husky pup. u Right: Hand-painted glasses are among the shop’s stock. Pictures: Jim Molloy, Queen’s Court Studio Photographers dark chocolate, which is very smooth and rich.” The store also has seasonal novelties such as chocolate chess and draughts, using good-quality chocolate made by the Creative Chocolate Company in Kendal, for just £4.99. Most astonishing of the chocolate lines, though, are the exquisitely crafted Choco Rico stiletto shoes and matching handbags. Killer heels you can eat! “These are hand-made in Bristol from very fine Belgian chocolate. They are a little expensive but beautifully made and unique.”
If you need an usual gift for a young child, Bob has the answer here, too: “Two lines have been fabulous really this year. One is the recordable storybooks (£14.99). You can read and record the story and the recipient opens it and listens to it. “We’ve had some fantastic customer stories with these. One mum bought Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for her five-year-old daughter. It was her favourite story and the five-year-old was going to record it, then send it to Australia to her grandparents,” says Bob. “We’ve had some bitter-sweet ones, too. Quite
Newark's brand new one-stop Christmas shopping shop
...From drab to fab! Exclusive Chocolates Fine imported Yankee Candles Hand-painted glass Cards and Gift Wrap Gifts, Toys and so much more... You can even post your gifts and cards at the post office inside Hallmark Newark
Paxton’s court (just near Morrison's)
01636 613300
a number have been sent out to Afghanistan because the dad is not going to be back for Christmas, but they can send back the story they’ve recorded and be back home in essence. “The other fantastic success is Cooper, Watson and Jingle. These are rather clever and won the Toy of the Year award. They’re called reading buddies. “Watson is a cuddly interactive raccoon, Cooper is a talking teddy bear and Jingle is a husky pup looking for a home for Christmas. Squeeze their ear to switch them on and when
you reach the red lines in the story, Watson and Cooper talk and Jingle barks. “They’re designed to encourage children to listen to reading, and as they move on to encourage them to read themselves, because they get a response from the characters.” Cooper and Co cost £19.99 each complete with one book, Additional books are £5.99. “And we have an offer on for a short period,” says Bob. “If you buy either Cooper or Watson, you can have Jingle for £10, while our initial stocks last .” Sounds like a must for Christmas.
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Girl About Town
’VE tried all sorts of new things as Living Local’s Girl About Town but none of them have put my nerves to the test quite as much as the most recent one, when I joined Laura, Lesley, Chris and Becky as a model at Blessed’s charity fashion show in Newark. It’s one thing doing something for the first time in relative privacy but doing it in front of an audience? The more I thought about it, the more I began to wonder if this was such a good idea after all. Then again, it might be fun and it was for a good cause, raising money for Beaumond House; so putting aside my doubts, I decided to give it my best shot. There’s a whole lot more to modelling than just turning up on the night and strutting your stuff along the catwalk. Our preparations began in September; owner Carly Aldred invited us to the store, where we spent two hours trying on the clothes, choosing accessories and making a mental note of the things that would be finding their way on to our personal wish lists. A few weeks later, it was time for a practice run-through. Another couple of hours sped by as we changed from one outfit to the next at high speed and sashayed down the runway to music. After a summer in sandals, putting on heels for the first time in months came as a bit of a shock; would I be able to re-learn the art of walking tall in time for the show? Glamorous clothes need equally glamorous hair and make-up, so when Thursday, October 27 finally came around, our first stop was The Nail Room in White Hart Yard. Samantha and Anna were standing by with some exotic enhancements at the ready; then, fingertips suitably sparkly, it was straight round to Stodman Street. Here Inizio’s Les and Paulina worked their magic on our hair, with braids, pleats, ponytails and a few strategically placed hairpieces, before makeup artist Jo took over to add the finishing touches.
by June Rowlands
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ack at Blessed, the audience was already arriving, the paparazzi were out in force and that’s when the butterflies really kicked in. Time for a stiff drink perhaps? Then again, maybe not – I’ve got to get up uChris (left) and Girl About Town June step out on the catwalk. and down the runway nine times in those heels. Taking heart from the fact that the rest of the girls seemed just as nervous, there was only one thing for it – deep breath, now go! In a flurry of activity, outfits were quickly donned and just as quickly If you have ideas About Town to june@ discarded as we went from one collection for things you’d livinglocalnewspapers. to another – thank heavens for dressers! co.uk or give me a call like me to check out Out front, the audience was blissfully on 07850 845351. on your behalf, why unaware of the backstage frenzy as we not get in touch? Send made our way along the catwalk in a your suggestions for Girl whirl of silk, chiffon and lace. And then it was over – the snow
Just let me know u
June
u Laura struts her stuff, with Lesley (inset top left) and Becky. Pictures: TomTom Advertising and Public Relations
An Elle of a good time on the catwalk machine brought the show to a suitably festive finish and the audience headed inside for a closer look at their personal favourites. Reluctantly, I shed my uberelegant Christmas outfit – definitely on my wish list for the party season – and joined the throng for a welcome glass of champagne. Congratulations to Carly and her team who rose to the occasion and pulled it all together very professionally. The evening raised around £900 for Beaumond House
and a great time was had by all. Would I do it again? If you’d asked me as I stood waiting to make the first trip down the catwalk, I’d probably have said no. An hour later, flushed with success (or was it just the champagne?) I was more than ready for a repeat performance. Despite my initial qualms, I really enjoyed my debut as a supermodel – but somehow I don’t think Elle, Agyness and Kate will be losing any sleep on my account!
Light up a Life this Christmas and support Beaumond House We would like to invite you to be part of our Light up a Life Campaign by dedicating a light to someone you love. All it takes is a donation to Beaumond House Community Hospice to dedicate a glowing Christmas light to that special person. All names and dedications will be entered in our Book of Remembrance which will be on display at Beaumond House from Sunday 4th December until Twelfth Night.
Beaumond House would also like to invite you to be part of our Light up a Life Carol service. Our Christmas Tree will be lit with hundreds of lights, each one shining for special people nominated by you. The switch on will be at Beaumond House on Sunday, 4th December at 4pm. The service will be a mixture of readings and Christmas carols led by The Newark Salvation Army Band and Holy Trinity School Choir.
Pick up a leaflet from Beaumond House or donate online justgiving.com/bhlual2011
Sunday 4th Dec from 4pm
GIRL ABOUT TOWN
It’s a wrap for a winter warm-up
Living Local
Girl About Town June Rowlands gets taken out of her comfort zone to help make her nice and comfy for the big chill ...
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T’S hard to believe that only a couple of months reflecting the ever-changing face of fashion, alongside ago I was driving around Newark with the soft top accessories such as scarves, bags and jewellery from down and, even more incredibly, getting the bikini simple to lavish for the perfect finishing touch. back out to top up my tan. Faced with so much to choose from, I turned to Sarah Now that brief Indian summer is just a for her expert help. A quick glance was enough memory, and suddenly there’s something to establish my size – “Don’t forget you’ll be missing from my wardrobe. I really need a wearing extra layers to keep out the cold, new winter coat … so go for one that fits without being too The timing was perfect for a trip to snug,” said Sarah. Shirtsleeves, where the latest collections Then, after a few questions to We like are bursting with cosy layers in the rich determine things like favourite warm tones set to be the biggest stories of colours and general lifestyle, she soon customers the autumn/winter season. assembled a selection which included to try Owner Sarah Tacey opened her everything from fake furs and an up-toMiddlegate store in November 1988 something the-minute knitted cape to tailored wool and over the years has created a relaxed coats. Among her choices was one that, different left to my own devices, I wouldn’t even u Snug fit ... June Rowlands tries on the coat, atmosphere where shoppers can browse at their helped by Shirtsleeves owner Sarah Tacey. leisure or find friendly advice on putting together have taken from the racks; and yes, you’ve the ideal outfit for a special occasion. guessed it, that was The One! Down-filled coat in pewter by Fransa, £175; Ranges such as Oui, Passport, Mexx, Kapalua, Olsen “With a major investment like a winter coat, it’s scarf, £49. Right: A cool cardy to keep you warm. and Lauren Vidal offer versatile, good-quality clothes tempting to play safe and go with what you’re used to,” said Sarah, “but we like to get customers added a whisper-soft scarf that picked to try something different, too. Although up the pewter of the coat, I took a few we always take their preferences into moments to enjoy the sudden warmth – account, we move them out of their decidedly snuggly – before turning to comfort zone a little and encourage them the mirror for the final reveal. to experiment with colours, shapes or Definitely no sign of the Michelin man styles they might not normally consider. here – with its nipped-in waist, the shape It doesn’t always work but you’d be was sleek and stylish, perfect with the surprised how often it does.” jeans and boots I’d chosen to wear that Thinking out of the box like this, Sarah day and versatile enough to take me persuaded me to try a down-filled pewter from the streets of Newark to the ski coat from Danish fashion brand Fransa. slopes of St Anton. Mission accomplished! Padded jackets are something I’ve always l Visit Shirtsleeves between Monday, steered well clear of – wrapping up warm December 5, and Friday, December is one thing but let’s face it, who wants to 9, for a special festive treat, with the look like the Michelin man? opportunity to win a £150 gift voucher, Overcoming my reluctance, I decided to complimentary gift wrapping for every go with the flow, taking comfort from the purchase and delicious home-made mince fact that at least the colour wasn’t too far pies with hot mulled wine. But if you u The Shirtsleeves shop in Middlegate and (right) an from my preferred navy or grey. While take my advice, you won’t wait till example of its winter outfits. Sarah adjusted the drawstring collar and then to check out those winter coats.
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7 Middlegate | Newark-on-Trent | Nottingham | NG24 1AG | t: 01636 605880 | www.shirtsleeves.net
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FASHION AND BEAUTY
Living Local With Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to get glamorous! Shop for chic dresses, sparkly bags, statement jewellery and shimmering make-up – women’s editor June Rowlands takes a look at what’s in store in Newark for the party season ...
Putting on u Left: Perfect for Christmas lunch with the family – purple vest (£35) and long-sleeved ruffled shrug (£69) by Tina Taylor; steel grey trousers (£52) by Brandtex; silver and crystal necklace, part of a set with matching earrings included (£28). From Yvette, Queens Head Court (01636 702916)
u Right: Re-apply your make-up without leaving the dance floor. Both lip gloss and mascara have a mirror on the side and an automatic light when you take off the top – just slick them on and keep on dancing! Clubworks Lighten Up Lip Gloss and Mascara: £5.99 from Superdrug, Stodman Street (01636 707943) u Left: Available in six wild shades – silver, purple, bronze, navy, green and nude – these little pots of creamy mousse give you fierce smoky eyes and can be used as a sheer wash of colour or built for more intensity. 17 Wild Metallic Cream Eyeshadow: £3.99 each from Boots, Stodman Street (01636 703489)
u Right: Angel delight! Embellished top (£47), shrug (£40.99) and leggings (£30), all DKNY; worn with Angel’s Face heart-embellished tutu (£56) and plaited bracelet (£8.99). From Lollypop’s Boutique, Middlegate (01636 678786)
u Pictures: Chris Frostick.
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the party time glitz
u Left: These bags are just big enough to hold all your party essentials – pink lace clutch, also available in blue or gold (£19.99); silver lace clutch with bow and diamanté detail (£22); purple sequined clutch, also available in silver (£19.99); silver sequin and bead clutch (£25) and matching iPod case (£16.95). From Shirtsleeves, Middlegate (01636 605880)
u Above: Avoca Anthology dress (£159); Pilgrim necklace (£39.50). From Domino, Stodman Street (01636 612006)
u Above: Polish up your act with fabulous fingernails – after all that Christmas shopping, you deserve a treat so how about a manicure at Newark’s brand-new nail spa? Manicure by Claire at Inizio’s Vanilla Nail Therapy, Stodman Street (01636 678008) using Jessica Nails’ Shall We Dance?, Blue Ice, Sunset Boulevard with Black Ice, Sapphire and Amethyst. Manicure from £15, deluxe treatments from £25.
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u Above: Add instant sparkle to the simplest outfit with statement pieces like these – necklets £26.99-£98.99; earrings £13.50-£22.99; hairpieces £11.99-£17.99; belts £29.99-£96.99; bracelets £12.99; phone cases £13.50. From Fascinators of Design, St Mark’s Place (01636 647252) Picture supplied by Newark Advertiser
u Right: All dressed up and ready to party! Michaela Louisa black slashsleeved dress with diamanté detail (£130) and About Face necklace (£25.50); Michaela Louisa red animal print stretch satin dress (£119) with About Face necklace (£18) and bangle (£7.50). From Domino, Stodman Street (01636 612006)
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Put a festive icing on the cake of romance
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S THE nights are drawing in and we are all more likely to be wearing warm woollies and boots than summer dresses (well us girls, anyway!), maybe most readers wouldn’t be thinking of this time of year for a wedding. Well, yes, of course, there are many bonuses to having a spring or summer wedding, mostly because of the likelihood of good weather and the relaxed atmosphere that results if a couple are lucky enough to be having their celebrations at a venue with gardens, but winter weddings also bring their own kind of magic. A crisp, bright, sunny morning is a fabulous start to a wedding day and SNOW (so long as guests can reach the wedding) is the absolute icing on the cake of romance. Generally, the colour themes tend to be richer at this time of year, with creams, gold/brown, dark green and deep reds being most popular. Venue décor containing more candle/lantern features and materials such as organza can be used to give a decadence and depth, both on the tables, chairs and reception areas. Although they’re not the typical choices many would expect for bridal bouquets
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and table arrangements at this time of year, again there is richness of colour and some amazing and unusual options, as well as the traditional, romantic favourites such as roses. Topiary and lighting, along with foliage dressing of main venue features, are always very effective and even if not a Christmas wedding, these touches make for a very
welcoming Winter Wonderland for party guests. Winter brides have an amazing choice of dresses, of course, but also, the luxury of some fabulous additional pieces, such as velvet or faux fur jackets or shrugs and they can perhaps carry more decadent jewellery or accessories, rather than in the spring or summer, when the accent tends to suit a much softer style, to complement the type of dresses and themes chosen. Also, of course, for the grooms, the suits, coats, etc are able to be worn without them sweltering. Choices made are, naturally, a very personal thing, but I would say that a winter wedding is a very good choice when a couple are considering a date for their big day, along with the fact that most suppliers aren’t quite as busy at this time of year, so there is likely to be more choice, whether a late booking or looking ahead. Ooooh and, of course, a winter wedding is the perfect excuse for mulled wine and festive nibbles. Yum! Whatever the celebrations you are attending over the festive period, may I wish you all A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR
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Do you want your wedding or event to be the Talk of the Town? Then contact Sarah Dodd on 07843 567207 – or email events@livinglocal newspapers.co.uk
TALK OF THE TOWN
Living Local
Each month Sarah is here to give advice about your special event Hi Sarah, I read your Talk of the Town feature with great interest, as I have always wanted to be a wedding planner. Do you have any hints and tips to get started? This is a topic I will be covering in much more detail in the new year, but in essence there are two main routes available, firstly a college course in conjunction with placement training, or the more direct route, which is working your way up through the ranks in hospitality/hotels/event suppliers to gain as much experience as possible, before deciding how you want to figure in the industry. There is now what is becoming an ever more popular third route into the business, however, and this is where a recent bride, or perhaps
someone who enjoys helping friends and family organise parties, feels she has the makings and passion to become a wedding/events planner and so set up on her own. This is a very tough route but for those with natural ability, dedication and flair for this industry it is a possible option. The role of a wedding/event planner is a rewarding one for many reasons, but it demands a great deal of hard work, long hours and commitment and an ability to take on many different roles and challenges with a genuine smile and kindness.
Dear Sarah, we are planning on getting married next year but my partner is adamant about not having children attending on the day. How would you suggest we deal with this without offending people? No matter how tactfully you try to approach this one, there are some parents who just won’t get it and may take offence. Generally, the wedding couple will have at least one or two young bridesmaids and/or pageboys and this can be used as the ‘only’ children allowed. Parents will mostly welcome a day without the children, so they can enjoy some precious grown-up time,
and the children also enjoy being spoilt at the grandparents or other favourite friends and family. I have only known a couple of instances in all the years I have been organising weddings where an invitation has been refused because there were no children allowed. You know your friends and family best and you and your partner will decide how best to approach this tricky matter. Good luck!
Contact me with your question at [email protected]
Spend your 2011 festive Season with us at ...
Festive Menu
With Lincolnshire Pigs in Blankets and stuffing.
Pan Fried Salmon Fillet
Served with rustic Bubble and Squeak and rich red sauce.
Braised Beef Blade
Slow-braised for 8 hours and served with a roast gravy and mashed potatoes.
Vegetarian Suet Pudding
Button mushrooms, chestnuts, shallots, leeks and carrots wrapped in a vegetarian suet pudding with vegetarian gravy.
A crayfish flavoured with broth of tomato, brandy and cream.
Smoked Chicken Tart
Warm smoked chicken tartlet served with a raspberry vinaigrette salad.
Salmon Trio
Warm smoked salmon, beetroot-flavoured gravadlax and a salmon mousse, all vying for your attention.
Caramelised Fig Salad
Garnished with pickled ginger, pomegranates and pistachios.
Main Courses
Farmhouse Cheddar cheese served with crackers, warm bread, butter, pickle and a cider taster.
Traditional Christmas Pudding
Served with brandy sauce or pouring cream.
White Chocolate Cheesecake
Set on a ginger biscuit base, accompanied by a fig and golden sultana compote.
Just the trick to conjure up a magic Christmas
S
O, HERE we go again! Is it manic shopping and cooking for the 5,000 and a compulsion to buy every possible wine and bizarrely coloured drink we can find, ‘just in case’? Just no need! Though I have to admit to having been guilty of all of the above for many years. Our house always seems to be the melting pot all our friends and family end up gravitating to and I love it. I find that keeping it simple, but special, showing you have put in the effort for your friends and family is what really counts. Hotpots, sausage ‘n’ mash and ‘bring a dish’ scrumminess for home parties is such a relaxed way of all being together and the dishes are so easy to prepare in the daytime and so much more comforting than trays of sandwiches and sausage rolls! Great music is essential and, although iPods are a godsend, a ‘free for all’ choosing of ‘memory-packed’ CDs can bring a great atmosphere (even if some of the guys’ dancing is cringeworthy – sorry, guys!). Party games are a must, although the men will immediately find their competitive streak for kids’ games like ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ or Twister and Jenga. Or you could
hire Giant Jenga and Connect4 as they’re brilliant for causing major chaos, if there’s room, and are available locally at very good prices. If it’s an ‘all ages’ party, I will do my best to create an extra special place for the kids to retreat to (away from us embarrassing adults!), maybe a Christmassy tent in one of the bedrooms or, weather permitting, a games grotto in the garage or garden. Creating that magical festive atmosphere in the house doesn’t have to be extravagant; it’s about making the effort. Along with scented candles and festive foliage, a fire (an open one is, of course, amazing) creates rich country smells. Then there are decorations made by the kids – annual favourites we carefully wrap and unwrap each year – and there just has to be some bling. Even at home parties, we girls NEED sparkly dresses and delicious shoes! We all lead such busy lives that when we can all get together at this time of year, I like our home to be filled with tradition and warm squidgyness, but remember, you don’t have to be Wonderwoman. Part of the feelgood factor is organising and cooking and enjoying the preparations with friends and family but it doesn’t have to be a perfect production, just a happy get-together, making lots of smiles and memories.
restaurant & bar
Sponge and black cherries set in a blackcurrant jelly, topped with custard and chocolate shavings.
Cream of White Onion Soup
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With hand-rolled Pigs in Blankets, chestnut stuffing and orange and cranberry sauce.
Vegetarian Suet Pudding
Filled with button mushrooms, chestnuts, shallots, leeks and carrots steamed and then smothered with vegetarian gravy. All main courses are served with roasted and mashed potatoes, roasted root vegetables and buttered brussel sprouts.
Desserts
Served with warm bread, celery, grapes, assorted crackers and our own pickle.
Traditional Christmas Pudding
The classic taste of Christmas served with your choice of double pouring cream or brandy and vanilla sauce.
Saint Clements Brûlée
The classic “burnt” custard dessert. Flavoured with citrus and served with home-made shortbread.
Christmas Ice Cream Sundae
A warm “Rumtopf” of dried winter fruits, soaked in brandy, topped with vanilla ice cream, chopped nuts and home-made shortbread.
Coffee & Mince Pies
Boxing Day Menu To Start
Chef’s Home-made soup
Seasonal vegetarian soup served with a warm bread roll.
Pan Fried Sea Bass Fillets
With a fruit chutney and toasted granary bread.
Sat on a mussel, prawn and saffron broth.
Seared Duck Breast
Sat on a cherry jus, accompanied by a confit duck leg.
Main Courses
Roast Topside of British Beef Roast Loin of English pork Roast Turkey Breast Roast Leg of Lamb All roasts are served with seasonal vegetables, roast and mashed potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and stuffing.
Pan Fried Salmon Supreme
Served on a mussel and prawn cream and sat on a spinach bed with buttered mashed potatoes.
Steamed Vegetable Suet Pudding
Filled with button mushrooms, chestnuts, shallots, leeks and carrots smothered in a vegetarian gravy and served with seasonal vegetables and mashed potatoes.
Desserts
Traditional Christmas Pudding
The classic taste of Christmas served with either double pouring cream or brandy and vanilla sauce.
Black Forest Trifle
Traditional Roast Rib of English Beef
With horseradish Yorkshire puddings and thick roast gravy.
Toasted Mushrooms
Sliced button mushrooms cooked in white wine, garlic and cream. Served on a ciabatta slice.
Smooth Chicken Liver Pâté
Sponge and black cherries set in a blackcurrant jelly, topped with custard, whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
Ice Creams
Three scoops of assorted ice creams or sorbets.
Cheeseboard
A selection of English cheeses served with warm bread, assorted crackers, grapes, butter and a cider taster.
Moorings Taster Salad
A selection of the kitchen’s antipasti, tossed through mixed leaves.
Telephone: 01636 611118 34 Castlegate, Newark, NG24 1BG www.themooringsrestaurantandbar.co.uk
Coffee & Mince Pies
Now Open Sundays
Foxy ideas for one-off fashion
T Relax and enjoy the Star Treatment in our Modern Salon. Experience the New Vibe in Styling. www.philosophy-hair.co.uk 56 Cartergater, Newark
u
01636 703105
HERE can’t be many fashion stores where the clientele ranges from trendy teenagers to style-conscious 60-somethngs, but being unique is what Vintage Vixen is all about. Whether you want to make an impression at a party or find a fashion classic, any outfit you buy at Vintage Vixen’s new Cartergate store will be the only one in Newark. That’s a large part of the appeal, according to owner Clare Parker. “That’s what I think people are after,” she says. Everyone says ‘At least when I go into town or go to the party, there’s no fear of someone else turning up in the same one.’ “I get 60-year-old ladies looking for classic dresses and 16-year-olds who just want to be a bit different, which is fantastic.” Retro fashions from the 60s, 70s and 80s include vintage dresses, chic and snug fake fur coats, stylish tweed blazers, leather shorts and more: “I don’t particularly go for the designer labels. I’m just looking for things that are of the period, are good quality and in good condition.
ADVERTISING FEATURE u Clare Parker of Vintage Vixen models one of her chic and warm fake furs.
Living Local spotlight on CARTER GATE “The tweed blazers are very popular. They’re like gold dust – their appeal cuts across all age ranges. “I’m now stocking a range of reworked vintage as well, like vintage dresses brought up to date – perhaps given waistbands or altered collars or things like that. “The reworked leather shorts are very popular with the young girls, too. They will have been leather trousers originally.” Clare’s personal favourites are the fake furs and classic sheepskins, which range from £50-£65 and can be a huge saving on buying new. “The curly sheepskin coats – some people call them teddy bear coats – are fantastic and I must admit I did have one
nd indivi a e du qu i al n
Ladies Clothing Christmas Gifts Blast from the past
Cartergate, Newark Tel: 07941 323229
of those myself,” says Clare. Accessories such as jewellery, bags and even period crockery, glassware and small items of furniture add interest and are very affordable. “I want to expand the accessories as much as possible because sometimes people perhaps can’t afford to buy a new dress but they can buy themselves a little piece of jewellery or something like that.” Even the music system is different. Customers immediately spot the 70s Ferguson record deck
on a low display shelf. It was playing a Rolling Stones album when Living Local first came calling. “A bit of vintage record crackle adds to the atmosphere, and it’s such a talking point! Some children don’t even know what a record player is, but the guys seem to like it as well.” l Vintage Vixen, 6-8 Cartergate, Newark. Open Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Evenings by appointment. Tel. 07941 323229, website www.vintagevixen.net
ADVERTISING FEATURE
Living the dream ... spotlight on THE BUTTERMARKET
Beautiful gowns – affordable for all!
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Newark's New Bridal Boutique is a destination store.
works with Nottingham-based designer Angela Vickers, to offer a bespoke service for brides wanting dresses made to their own designs. Completing the look, Solitaire stocks a full range of wedding accessories, from tiaras, veils, petticoats and garters to hats, shoes, gloves and jewellery. Dresses for bridesmaids and flower girls are also available and Samantha can offer advice, based on personal recommendation, on services such as wedding stationery, balloons and photography. Prom dresses by Pollyanna, Alexa Designs and Linzi Jay add splashes of vibrant colour to the showroom. “Most girls can’t wait to wear a wedding dress and for them going to the school prom is every bit as exciting. We see girls and
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u Samantha McAleese with one of Solitaire’s wedding gowns and (below) one of the shop’s prom dresses.
Living Local
s the mother of five boys, Samantha McAleese doesn’t get much chance to indulge her love of all things girly at home. But as soon as she enters her new shop Solitaire, she’s transformed from mother to Fairy Godmother, bringing a sprinkle of stardust into the lives of Newark’s brides-tobe and prom princesses. After 18 years as a textile merchant, Samantha stepped from behind the scenes to front of house when she opened Solitaire in September. Now she’s surrounded by beautiful bridal wear and pretty party frocks on the ground floor of the Buttermarket, giving her customers the dresses they’ve dreamed of, whatever their budget. “Shopping with a friend for her wedding dress, I was really disheartened to see how the level of service and attention to detail seems to suffer when it becomes obvious that the budget is limited,” she says. “I’m really privileged to be able to share the excitement that comes from choosing the perfect dress and I want to make sure every bride has the same magical experience.” Wedding gowns by London-based Pearl Bridal offer traditional styling with a contemporary twist, with prices starting at £650. Samantha also
Living Local
their mums planning for it a whole year in advance; it’s their chance to be a celebrity for the evening and we give every one of them the same personal service we give to our brides. Each detail is recorded – the date, the school and particularly the venue – to make sure we never sell the same dress, even in a different colour, for the same prom.” With first communion dresses, in-house alterations and a wedding planning service also available, Solitaire offers everything you’d expect from a big city store, in the heart of Newark. “I want to make beautiful things affordable, to give every girl the day of her dreams,” says Samantha, as she prepares to wave her magic wand and turn each one into a fairy princess.
Now opened in the Buttermarket.
Open Tuesday until Saturday.
Samantha and her team welcome all brides to be. The Buttermarket, Newark Telephone: 01636 610790 [email protected]
The team at Living Local would like to thank our readers, advertisers, columnists, contributors and distributors for your support and appreciation throughout 2011. We wish you all a very happy Christmas and a terrific New Year!
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Living Local
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Otham-based Zoe Edwards has been selling vintage shabby chic home accessories and gifts online and at craft fairs and markets for the last three years. Now she and her business partner Diane Peck have “come in out of the cold” to open Rose & Peck, a stylish little shop at 14 The Arcade in Newark. “I wanted to escape from all the pressures of the corporate rat race and do something I really loved,” says Zoe, who previously juggled working full time in financial services with being a mum of two. “Opening our own shop was quite a big step but, having taken the plunge, I’m already much happier and less stressed. We’ve been looking for the right location in Newark for some time; now we’ve found it and we’re looking forward to adding new lines like distressed furniture and more items made by local crafts people.” Housed in a former butcher’s shop that still features some of its original fittings, including exposed brickwork, a butcher’s hook in the window and black and white tiled floor, Rose & Peck is a tiny treasure trove which is becoming a go-to destination for anyone in search of unusual presents. From silk and linen scarves to metal storage tins and signs, scented tea lights and candles to felt daisy brooches and silver jewellery – just perfect for all that Christmas shopping!
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n the edge of town, sisters Carly Aldred and Cassie Masters have opened businesses side by side in the splendid red brick Warwick Brewery on Northgate. Dating back to the 19th century, this historic Newark building is now home to both Blessed and Flavours, which together offer the very latest in fashion and food. A diploma in fashion retail at Nottingham, followed by a stint as
Happy to get out of rat race Women’s editor June Rowlands meets three more of Newark’s growing band of Ladies Who Launch
In association with manager at the Bluewater Centre in Derby, set Carly on the route to launching Blessed in August. “When I decided to open my own shop, I wanted something a little bit different,” she says. “Visiting the top trade shows for ideas was useful but checking out some of London’s smaller boutiques gave me real inspiration. I was looking for clothes you just don’t find on the High Street of every town and what I saw in places like Sloane Street was exactly that. “I found lots of brands I simply fell in love with, that I knew would fit the shop I wanted to create. And looking through fashion magazines, I identified other up-and-coming brands I wanted to bring to Newark. Gallery
4 is a prime example – we’re really excited to be the first retail store to stock their exclusive new range.” Other leading fashion brands include Hoss Intropia, Charli, Antik Batik and American Vintage, complemented by Modalu bags and shoes by Cocorose. From softly casual loungewear to elegant evening wear, the collections feature luxury fabrics like silk and cashmere, hand-embellished accessories and striking jewellery.
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ust next door to Blessed, Cassie opened Flavours coffee shop and deli at the beginning of November. With a degree in hospitality business management from Sheffield, she has an extensive background in the
LADIES WHO LAUNCH
r
If you’ve recently joined the growing band of Ladies Who Launch, or you’re about to do so, we want to hear from you. Email june@ livinglocal newspapers. co.uk or call June on 07850 845351 to share your story with Living Local readers.
catering trade, from washing pots to working in restaurants, pubs, hotels and as catering manager of a children’s nursery. Like Carly, Cassie wanted Flavours to be something special. Setting up the business in a listed building was not without its problems but she was determined to keep the look and character of the old brewery. “The features are fabulous and finding solutions to the few restrictions we faced has been well worth it. “The location is unique and I believe what we have to offer stands out from the rest,” she says. “It’s all about using the very best ingredients and, unlike bigger chains, having the flexibility to give customers what they want.” With Northgate retail park just a stone’s throw away, Flavours is the ideal place to take a break from shopping. “Cake of the day is bound to be a favourite, especially served with Stokes of Lincoln coffee,” says Cassie. “We’ll have other daily specials, too, and I’m sure Sunday brunch at Flavours will quickly become a regular treat for lots of local families.” Individually, Blessed and Flavours are great additions to Newark’s shopping and eating experiences. Together they make the perfect combination – shop till you’re ready to drop in one, then re-fuel in the other and you’re ready to start again!
u Great escape: Zoe Edwards.
u Sister act: Carly Aldred (above) and Cassie Masters.
&
rose peck DAY CAFÉ The Gannets team launch our
Christmas Garden Market Promoting all the goodies at Gannets including our special Christmas Hampers - Perfect Christmas Gifts.
We look forward to seeing you.
SIMPLY STUNNING GIFTS FOR EVERYONE FOR EVERY OCCASION 14 The Arcade, Newark on Trent, NG23 1UD [email protected] www.roseandpeck.co.uk
We’re also at Carols at Christmas Market on December 4th. Please ask in store about our Willow Workshops. Learn a new skill. We are offering all day or part day courses with refreshments. Enjoy Gannets genuinely home made products.
We even make our own pastry! 35 Castle Gate Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire NG24 1AZ
Telephone: 01636 702 066
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u Mark Hennis and Naomi Moore – building a local brand you can trust.
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u Inset: Ableworld’s range of riser recliners.
The seat of success ...
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local store staffed by local people is often the place to go for the best service, but with mobility specialists Ableworld it’s also the place to go for the keenest prices and the most enjoyable shopping experience. Since Mark Hennis and Naomi Moore opened Ableworld in the former Spar store on Farndon Road, Newark, customers have been delighted by the wider, supermarket-style aisles, the ease of access, the care and expertise of the staff – and the prices. “I think the layout of the store has caught most people by surprise,” says Mark. “When “We are on average 20-30% cheaper on they walk in and see how big it is and, more everything we sell, across the board. People importantly, realise that they don’t have to leave think there’s some sort of catch and they have their wheelchair or scooter outside and struggle to buy today, or it’s not going to be the same around a tiny shop piled high with stock, that price tomorrow, or there’s a load of add-ons and goes down well. insurance. “The second thing is the time we spend with “But there’s no secret to it. Our prices are so every one of our customers, no matter what keen because as a group we buy 16 or 17 times they’re buying, to make sure they get the right as much as the nearest competitor, and we pass thing first time. the savings on to customers.” “For example, people think a chair is a chair It’s a big change to Mark and Naomi’s is a chair, until they get measured properly and previous life, running the Boot and Shoe pub find they’ve been sitting in the wrong size chair at Flintham, though Naomi previously worked for years. for the NHS. Now they feel they can offer a “There is a science to it, to make sure all your much-needed service to the community, while pressure points are their experience of covered and the chair customer service in is the right height the hospitality trade and depth for you. can apply equally That takes time, but well to their new it’s reputation we are clientele. They aim trading on at the end to build a local brand of the day.” people can trust. Ableworld’s Servicing and reputation for repairs are done in value and service is clients’ homes or unrivalled. The chain on site by resident was founded by uAbleworld’s store on Farndon Road. engineer Chris Mike Williams, who James, and when previously helped Chris surveys a home for a stairlift, he gives a establish B&Q as a major force in DIY. After straightforward price. opening a dozen Ableworld stores over the past “We will usually be there for 20 minutes,” decade, he franchised the concept. Newark is the says Mark. “We measure up, give the customer UK’s third Ableworld franchise. their options and the once and final price – not Now the chain is doing for mobility what a price where someone then pretends to phone B&Q did for DIY, offering the most competitive their boss to get a discounted price. And Chris prices on riser recliners, stairlifts, scooters, can often be back next day to fit it if you want to wheelchairs and more, plus friendly, expert go ahead.” service. Ableworld steers well clear of the highPrices in store are crystal clear and exactly pressure sales that have previously clouded this match prices on the Ableworld website. sector’s reputation. It certainly sounds like a recipe for success. “We’re looking for customers who will be with us for the next 15-20 years. We’re not looking l Ableworld, 112 Farndon Road, Newark NG24 4SE. Tel 01636 703598; www.ableworld.co.uk for a quick buck,” says Mark.
Living Local spotlight on
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Who to get in touch with ... FERNWOOD FOXES FOOTBALL CLUB Contact: Joe Whittaker joe.whittaker69@ googlemail.com
FERNWOOD AMATEUR DRAMATIC SOCIETY Contact: Mollie Weale 01636 647116
FERNWOOD RUNNING CLUB Contact: Neill Mison 07824 770065 or email neill.mison @gmail.com
FERNWOOD LADIES Contact: fernwoodladies @fernwoodvillagehall.co.uk
FERNWOOD OVER-55s Contact: Mollie Weale 01636 647116
NEWARK ROYAL AIR FORCES ASSOCIATION Contact: Chairman Allan Brooke 01636 688680 [email protected]
2nd BALDERTON GUIDES Contact: Sue Wilkinson 01636 707960
BALDERTON ART CLUB Contact: Jo Fagan 01636 626252
NEWS IN BRIEF
Book now ... Balderton bookworms should be prepared to stock up to keep themselves in library books over the Christmas and New Year period. The library will be closed from Friday, December 23, at 12.30pm and will reopen on Tuesday, January 3, at 2pm.
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BBD NINJUTSU TRAINING GROUP
TO start its 21st anniversary year, the Bujinkan Brian Dojo ninjutsu training group has just completed a 24-hour Ninjathon. The marathon training event was held over the weekend of October 22/23 at the dojo’s training HQ in Farndon. It was supported by 31 students, with 23 there for the full 24 hours. The event, the first of its kind, was the brainchild of the senior instructor at Newark, 3rd dan Kiyth Fotitt. He and his instructor team of Andy Osborn, Matt Clark and Alex Espin devised a 24-hour programe that would push and test all the students and the instructors. The time was divided into three-hour cycle patterns; the first hour being taijutsu (open hand/unarmed) and the second was traditional weapons training. The third hour was for peripheral skills training. Some of the Hattori junior students taking part were as young as nine. Some seniors either came straight from work or went to work from training and returned later. Two seniors arrived at 3am and 3.30am after they had finished taxi driving and delivering pizzas. Afterwards, all the students said it had been a fantastic exercise. On November 1, Kiyth Fotitt and Andy Osborn were guests of Newark Castle Rotary Club at their meeting at the Cedric Ford Pavilion at Newark Showground. Kiyth explained the idea behind Zero Tolerance UK and demonstrated with Andy ideas for escapes from grabs and holds. They then demonstrated some weapons improvisation by using everyday items such as keys, plastic card, umbrella, scarf and pen. The audience showed interest throughout and there is a possibility that future courses in self-defence may arise from it.
Around and about Memorial match raises £1,200
DOREWOOD WOMEN’S INSTITUTE
THE second annual Scott Whittaker memorial football match on Sunday, November 6, raised an astounding £1,200, with friends and family of the much-loved Fernwood resident coming out in droves to support his favourite causes. Scott (pictured inset) was a loving, loyal and jovial character who touched the hearts of so many people in his 36 years before losing his fight against a rare and aggressive form of cancer – synovial sarcoma – two years ago. Alongside his wife Suzy and close family and friends, he spent the last months of his life raising awareness and money for the Sarcoma Trust charity. Joe Whittaker, Scott’s brother, re-formed his team, the Scottenham Hotspurs, in a bid to defend their title as cup holders from last year’s match against Scott’s best friend Graham Pelling’s team, Scott’s 69ers. That first match had raised £708.20, most of which was donated to the Sarcoma Trust with the rest going to Fernwood Foxes – the youth football club Scott and Graham Pelling founded and of which Joe is co-chairman and manager. Sam Jordon gave Scott’s 69ers the lead within
DOREWOOD WI’s birthday party was celebrated in the Church Hall with a lovely meal provided by the catering committee and a cake made by Pauline Redmile.Speaker Jenni Storr was a most amusing addition.
The November meeting gave members a treat. Speaker Judy Theobald was introduced by president Heather Brummitt. Judy is a presenter on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. Her previous jobs of
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the first 10 minutes of this year’s match and they were soon 2-0 up. But Spurs fought back and the two sides ended the first half level at 3-3. The 69ers were back in front soon after the restart, with Ashley Calliss smashing in a 40yard strike. But the lead was short-lived, with Jamie Raikes replying for Hotspurs. Shaun Walton made some great saves for 69ers but, with Regis Sugden, Zak Ashmore, Dominic King, Andrew Price, Jason Penson all on the scoresheet, Scottenham went 10-4 up. A Graham Pelling penalty made the final score 10-5. The Ambitions Personnel Man of the Match award went to Shaun Walton. The £1,200 raised will be divided between the Sarcoma Trust (£700) and Fernwood Foxes (£500). The organisers say they would like to thank everyone who made the day so memorable. Plans are already in hand for a third match on November 4, 2012. l Anyone wishing to donate to this worthy cause should go to www.justgiving/ scottwhittaker
policewoman, poetry columnist, newspaper reporter/sub-editor and magazine editor produced many amusing stories. A Christmas shopping trip to Peterborough was enjoyed by
members. Doreen Wesson was thanked for arranging this trip. Three members took part in Craft Day at County House, displaying beadwork jewellery made by themselves.
Send your community news to [email protected]
Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year! ...To all our clients old and new!
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COMMUNITY NEWS
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NEWARK ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY
RIchard Thornton addressed the Newark Archaeological and Local History Society on the theme of Mrs Jordan: leading actress and royal mistress. Detailing several aspects of Mrs Jordan’s family tree, he showed how this lady had married into royal and political distinction. Her descendants, directly or indirectly, included a number of monarchs or members of the Royal Family, and politicians, one of whom is David Cameron. At another meeting of the society, Michael Beresford, from Southwell, explained the archaeology of selected areas of the Peak District. The next meeting of NALHS will take place on Wednesday, December 7, when Rod Fanthorpe will conduct a Christmas spoof. It will be held at Mill Gate Museum, at 7pm for 7.30pm. Seasonal refreshments will be available. All are welcome, but a charge of £2 will be made to non-members to cover overheads. Alternatively, anyone can enrol as a member of NALHS on the night. Details of the society’s programme until next summer are: January 4: Bolsover Castle through the ages – Ian Morgan. February 1: Joint meeting with Newark Engineering Society. March 7: Kathryn Swynford: ducal mistress and Lady of Kettlethorpe – Linda Tilbury. April 4: Work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission – Malcolm Ross. May 2: AGM with talk on heritage theme. June 6: Power and patronage in 18th-century Newark– Professor Stanley Chapman. The above meetings will be held at Mill Gate Museum, 7.30pm. Non-members currently pay £2 (subject to revision at the AGM in May). Meetings of the NALHS Family History Group will be: January 25: Meeting with speaker. February 29: Research evening. March 28: Meeting with speaker. April 25: Research evening. May 30: Meeting with speaker. June 2: Research evening. Family History Group meetings will take place at Newark Library, 7.30pm. Non-members pay £2.
Around and about
Living Local
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Who to get in touch with ... NEWARK BREAST CANCER SUPPORT GROUP Contact: Joyce 01636 683564 or Carole 01636 671782
SALVATION ARMY Contact: 01636 702753
BEAUMOND HOUSE HOSPICE Contact: 01636 610 556
Remembrance memories on DVD
CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU Contact: 01636 704391
NEWARK AND SHERWOOD CONCERT BAND Contact: Caroline 01636 893229 [email protected] www.newarkandsherwoodconcertband.weebly.com
NEWARK & SOUTHWELL nct (NATIONAL CHILDBIRTH TRUST) Contact: [email protected]
NOTFAST RUNNING CLUB Contact: stuartashley47@ btinternet.com or Kate Fisher at [email protected]
NEWARK ROYAL NAVAL ASSOCIATION Contact: Kevin Winter 01636 653321 or 07748577506 [email protected]
NEWArk archaeological and local history society Contact: Roger Peacock [email protected]
BALDERTON/FERNWOOD SAFER NEIGHBOURHOOD GROUP u Main picture: Members of local organisations dip their standards as a mark of respect during the playing of The Last Post and the two minutes’ silence in front of Balderton War memorial on Remembrance Sunday. Above: Remembrance Sunday paraders of all ages file into Balderton Parish Church. These photographs are by Walter Hurst, who also took around 200 more on the day and has made DVD copies with a music soundtrack. All sales proceeds to the Poppy Fund. For details call Walter on 01636 681105.
Send your community news to [email protected]
Postal Services Travel Insurance Foreign Currency
Balderton Post Office
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Sweets, Wines and Spirits Newspapers and Magazines delivered to your door or available in-store.
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Contact: 0300 300 99 99
BALDERTON METHODIST CHURCH BREAKFAST CLUB Contact: Mrs V. Carter 01636 678237 [email protected]
Supporting Our Community Main Street, Balderton 01636 704 732
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BALDERTON ROYAL AIR FORCES ASSOCIATION
NEWS IN BRIEF
Youth trust cash up for grabs NEWARK Youth Trust wants to spread the word that it has funds available to help local voluntary organisations which work with children. Malcolm Ellison, clerk to the trust, says: “Ideally, those seeking funding will be volunteer-led organisations or junior sections of adult clubs looking for funds for equipment. The trust is keen to help groups by funding projects that help with health, education and recreation.” Application forms are available online by searching for Newark Youth Trust and following the link on Newark and Sherwood District Council’s website. The trustees would expect to make a new batch of grants available early in the New Year.
Thyroid events
Thyroid conditions affect one in every 20 people and to increase knowledge of the signs, the symptoms and the treatments available, two special events have been held locally. The events, in Newark on November 10 and King’s Mill Hospital on November 15, were led by three local consultants – Professors George Thomson and Devaka Fernando and surgeon Keshav Nigam. Bridget O’Connor, local co-ordinator for the British Thyroid Foundation and HPTH UK (Hypoparathyroidism UK), said she hoped the events would raise awareness of the conditions. Thyroid and parathyroid conditions can cause fatigue, weight gain or weight loss, anxiety and other problems. l For more information on these conditions generally, call the local helpline on 01623 750330.
RBL officers
MAIN officers elected at Balderton Royal British Legion’s annual meeting were: President, Ken Fletcher; chairman, Alan Ellerby; vice-chairman, Walter Hurst; secretary, Pat Wood; membership secretary, Lydia Hurst; welfare committee chairman, Margaret Ellerby. The drumhead service was reported and photographs were shown of the crosses placed in a garden of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum by members of the Riders branch. Poppy Fund organiser Danny Banbury said he hoped that in this 90th year the poppy collection would surpass last year’s total. He paid tribute to the generosity of the people of Balderton. New members are always welcome and anyone wishing to join should contact Mr Fletcher on (01636) 702077 or Mr Ellerby on (01636) 701145.
THE Balderton branch of the Royal Air Forces Association would like to express sincere thanks to all those who helped with the collections for the 2011 Wings Appeal and to the staff of all the premises around the south and east of Balderton at which the collections were made. The combined collections for 2011 amounted to £2,000 and this will go towards RAFA’s national collection. At the Battle of Britain Parade held in Newark on September 11, the Balderton branch’s standard and members acted as guard of honour at the war memorial and a wreath was laid by the chairman, Michael Scatcherd, on behalf of the branch. The standard and branch members also supported the Air Bridge ceremony at Newark Cemetery on September 25 when wreaths were laid in memory of the 250 airmen who lost their lives in 1944 during the operation to drop goods and food to the people of Warsaw who were imprisoned and starved by the German occupation forces. On Sunday, November 13, branch members joined the remembrance parade in Balderton and in the afternoon took part in the remembrance service at the RAF memorial in Newark Air Museum. This concluded the branch’s parade schedule for 2011. Monthly meetings continue to be held at Balderton Cricket Club. 8pm on the second Friday of each month. As a charity by royal appointment, the RAFA has been supporting our heroes and their families for the past 70 years and the Royal Air Force has taken part in every conflict and confrontation occurring during that period. No fewer than 3,500 personnel have served or our still serving in Afghanistan. Some have lost their lives while others have been seriously injured. With your help, the RAFA Welfare Services and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund will be able to continue supporting the unfortunate ones. l For more information about the Balderton branch, email [email protected] or call 01636 678810.
Around and about League is up to standard THE New Newark Youth Football League has achieved the coveted FA Charter Standard League Award. Les Howie, head of grassroots coaching at the FA, presented the award at a league members’ meeting. Glenn Cobb, chairman of the league, was delighted. He said: “Some two years ago, with encouragement from the Nottinghamshire FA, the league committee made plans to work towards becoming an FA Charter Standard youth league. “Working closely with the Nottinghamshire FA and the sports and leisure department at Newark and Sherwood District Council, the league duly achieved this award at the beginning of this season.
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1st BALDERTON BOYS’ BRIGADE
THE 1st Balderton Boys’ Brigade Company meets on Tuesday evenings during term time only, from 6.15pm to 7.30pm at the Methodist Church Hall on Main Street. The company started a new term
u Ted Harris and Sally Sillery, from the New Newark Youth Football League, receiving the award from Les Howie, head of grassroots coaching at the FA. “We have become only the second league in Nottinghamshire to be awarded this national honour. The league is now striving to have all member clubs FA Charter Standard within the next two years.” Mr Howie passed on the league’s thanks to all member clubs and partners who “helped us achieve this magnificent award”. in September and the boys’ work towards their achievement awards was soon gathering pace. The first few weeks concentrated on harvest festival, culminating in a harvest celebration at family service in church. Members joined the company’s friends from Sunday school for an activity in the half-term school holidays and when they returned
they started practising a short play for the Christingle service, which will take place on Tuesday, December 6. The company would welcome any new member from the age of five to 11 and anyone needing more information should phone Jenni Vaughan (captain) on 01636 684572 or Julia Spooner (lieutenant) on 07791 396512.
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Light entertainment ... Fernwood Ladies’ October meeting saw the members getting messy with pumpkins, writes Sue Ashton. As Halloween was approaching they set to with hollowed-out pumpkins to make the best and scariest pumpkin lanterns possible. Members Becca and Jo launched the meeting with some interesting pumpkin facts and a display of pumpkins they had carved earlier. Did you know that the pumpkin capital of the world is Morton, Illinois, USA and that during 2008 pumpkin sales were valued at $1.4m? The tradition of carving pumpkins into lanterns began in ancient times
Craig Lee, Nottinghamshire FA football development officer, was full of praise for all involved. “The league committee and Holly Powell at Newark and Sherwood District Council have worked extremely hard supporting the league members to become FA Charter Standard. They thoroughly deserve this award.”
when pumpkins were believed to act as a protection against evil spirits. The lanterns were placed outside houses to welcome the spirits of deceased loved ones while keeping away those of an evil nature. Inspired by these nuggets of information and the pumpkins on display, the Ladies took their cutting tools, scrapers and scoopers and carved, scratched and punched holes and shapes into the pumpkins. The lanterns were to be donated to Fernwood Village Hall’s Halloween event so they had to look as good as possible. As members worked on their creations, Jo and Becca offered cups of pumpkin soup
r u Sue Ashton (left) and her sister Jackie go work on a pumpkin. Right and inset (left): Some of the finished lanterns, all lit up. and slices of pumpkin pie made from the hollowed-out fruits – delicious. The pumpkin pie was rather like a cinnamon egg custard tart and you would not have guessed it contained pumpkin. As the evening drew to a close, witches, ghouls, haunted houses and bats all made their scary appearance. Spiders and webs adorned some lanterns with glitter, glue and sequins
on others. Finally the moment came to light the candles. The lights were dimmed and the lanterns glowed and glimmered in the dark, casting their ghostly light across the room. It was a scary moment – a coven of lanterns all set to welcome in the spirits of Halloween! l For the recipe for pumpkin soup, log on to www.livinglocalnewspapers. co.uk and search for Fernwood Ladies.
Keeping safe and selfdefence will be the subject when Neil Robinson is the speaker at Fernwood Ladies’ next meeting on Tuesday, November 29, 7.30pm, at the village hall. There is no meeting in December but the AGM takes place on Tuesday, January 31, again at 7.30 at the village hall. Already the Ladies have an exciting calendar of events for 2012, including belly dancing, the history of Balderton Airfield, the Workhouse Storytellers, and another chance to take part in a tai chi session. There will also be special events such as wine tasting and a pamper evening.
COMMUNITY NEWS
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william ghent house senior citizens’ club MEMBERS of the William Ghent House Senior Citizens’ Club in Balderton are looking forward to their winter programme of events, which started off with a Christmas shopping trip to Barnsley on November 18. This was quickly followed by the annual Christmas fair on November 25, when it was hoped to raise enough money to take members to Christmas lunch and have a party in the centre. The club’s summer fete raised £345 for Diabetes UK and members also took part in a series of highly enjoyable summer trips. The club’s weekly activities are: l Monday: Bingo, 2pm (members only). l Tuesday: Coffee morning, 9.4511pm; chair-based excercise class, 2-2.45pm; dominoes, 3-4pm; ceramic painting, 5-7pm. All welcome to these events. l Wednesday: Ladies’ afternoon for knitting, nattering and different crafts, 2-4pm. All welcome. l Thursday: Bingo, 6.30-8.30 (members only). l Friday: Dominoes and games, 2-4pm. This a free afternoon with anyone welcome. All local residents can apply to become a member at a cost of £1.50 for the year. You can find out more by coming along to one of the Tuesday coffee mornings. Any queries call Eileen on 01636 673427.
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BALDERTON puffiNs group
Matlock Bath was the venue for Balderton Puffins’ September outing (pictured below). Members had a great day out and the weather was perfect after the winds of the days previously. The group’s September meeting
Around and about took the form of an afternoon of chair exercises, which was great fun, although a little boisterous at times. Members then had a welcome cup of tea with delicious fruitcake baked by one of the gentlemen. October saw members enjoying a tea and natter afternoon. It was then decided to have a beetle drive; some of the members had not played before and lots of laughter was heard when looking at the drawing of the beetles. The group’s latest meeting was on Wednesday, November 23, when Rodney Cousins entertained members with “What’s my line?” Meetings are held in the Community Centre, Coronation Street, Balderton, and everyone is welcome.
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NOTFAST RUNNING CLUB
NOTFAST Running Club member Mike Bullock recorded a splendid personal best in finishing 16th out of 1,000 competitors in the testing Rutland Water Marathon. This is set in an outstandingly pretty location. The Water is one of the country’s most important wildlife sanctuaries, home to some 20,000 birds, not least the magnificent 6ftwingspan osprey. A couple of hundred feet below these wheeling killing machines stand 1,000; none is looking to the skies, only to watches and Garmins. This is a toughie. Running round a big pond sounds lovely ...
wrong! Rutland Water was formed by combining three valleys and the result is a long series of hills. Success is measured in terms of survival, not time – well, at least for the majority. Mike knew it was going to be gruelling and reports an early fast start followed by a grim middle section but finishing in a Nitrofuelled finish. How about this then? A personal best by some two minutes of 3:14.04 – 16th out of 1,000. Brilliant! This time will give Mike a goodfor-age qualifying place for the Boston and Edinburgh Marathons – just reward for hard work and determination. Jill McIntyre took on the Evil Sheriff Duathlon at Sherwood Pines. This consists of a 5k trail run followed by 16k on the mountain bike and another 3k on foot. Jill would look at the runs as mere bagatelles but, by her own admission, is “not very accomplished” on the bike (“not very accomplished” is a term that is printable; her own description is very much less so). Nonetheless, her time of 2hrs 31mins must be applauded for her pluck and surely, next time, she will chop off a huge amount in the bike section. Go, Jill! On the same morning there was a 10k trail race at the same location in Sherwood Forest. A finer setting really cannot be found in this area and the three Notfasts who took part were treated to lovely weather and excellent organisation. For Adrienne Peach, it was especially exciting to pin a number on for the first time and complete her first 10k race in 58:35. Nice one, Peachy! Her clubmates’ times
were 54:15 for Ali Lawrence and 51:55 for Wyn Thomas. It was a case of trek for a treat when four Notfast members took part in the Skeleton Run – a fivemile night offroad event on the Friday before Halloween. The run was held at Beacon Hill Country Park, near Loughborough, with perfect weather, atmosphere and terrain and a great crowd enjoying a calm, starlit night. The Notfast quartet of Bob, David, Liz and Caroline enjoyed superb views from the high ground (250 metres of climb, 2.5 times). The event felt more like a big gang just out for a lark. It’s not really a race at all but it is very well organised. There were some fantastic costumes and make-up. Liz and Caroline looked great with bat masks, tutus, black lipstick and appropriate facial scarring and blood-dribbling mouths. And would you believe it that Notfast’s two blokes ran in dresses? However, the two luminous beasties that jumped out of the bushes on the final hill so took me by surprise that I couldn’t get my breath back and I had to walk a bit. The two lasses behind me echoed my own sentiment by calling them ‘b******s’. Marvellous! Liz reckoned she “could do this every Friday night” but I’m not so sure about that: at one point she was laughing so much in the back of the car that she had to use her inhaler. Chips on the way home at Bottesford just about rounded off a perfect night out. Many thanks to David ‘Dodo’ Watts (black frock) for being chauffeur. Bob Oakham (red frock)
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Buddhist abbot’s visit A Buddhist master will have the wellbeing of Newarkers in mind when his envoy makes a special visit to Muskham Hall and other Newark area venues on the weekend of December 9-12, writes Sara Chadd. Are you one of those people who believes in destiny? If so, it may be destiny that brought you to this page, just as destiny brought me to meet Abbot Paul King of the HanMi Esoteric Buddhism School of Tibet. Paul thanks destiny for his trip to Hawaii in 1989, when he happened to meet Dharma King Master Yu, a living Buddha, ranked with the Dalai Lama. To take account of our busy lives, Master Yu devised a condensed, 15-minute meditation programme which has shown amazing results for
some westerners. It is a concentrated teaching experience said to be equivalent to seven to eight hours per day of meditation. As a result of that chance meeting, Paul was initiated into the HanMi teachings and is bringing them to Newark. “Whatever your experience, the 15-minute meditation programme will have a beneficial effect. You will definitely get a feeling of enhanced wellbeing – or maybe more,” says Paul. The value of meditation is now acknowledged in the West as a way of bringing peace and inspiration into our lives. l If you would like to learn this technique, contact Sara Chadd on (01636) 700752 or e-mail ccc3@ talktalk.net.
Living Local
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Chuter Ede is growing strong If you have ever visited Chuter Ede Primary School, you will know what fabulous grounds the school has. It is extremely lucky in having large traditional playgrounds for the children to play on as well as a large grass field. Coupled with this, all the classrooms open out on to fantastic spaces that have been created by the children. Once a week, a talented gardener, Margaret Bruce, works with the children. They carry out maintenance to the grounds to ensure they stay looking fantastic, but they also tend the school’s vegetable allotment. This is in two forms – a traditional allotment using materials donated by Trent Valley Construction and in the World War II garden that the Year 5 pupils tend every year. Every week about 14 children stay with their parents or grandparents for the school’s gardening club. To date, they have sown, grown and harvested runner beans, peas, potatoes, carrots, pak choi, Swiss chard and finally – just in time for Halloween – pumpkins. These ingredients have been used in the after-school cooking club and for school lunches. Chuter Ede received funding to plant its own orchard of apple trees including Bramley, Scrumptious and Sunset. These will not only provide beautiful fruit, but as they grow will give much needed shade and habitat for wildlife. The pride of place, though, goes to the school’s bog and pond area. This is situated in a quiet, secure corner of the school field. The Ernest Cook Trust donated some money to allow vital equipment to be purchased so staff and children can use the area for pond dipping and wildlife hunting.
A fair trek ...
A Christmas gift fair was held on Saturday, November 26, at the Mount School, Newark, to raise money for the Beaumond House Sahara Trek. Products on offer included jewellery, gifts, accessories, sweet treats, bags, cards and artwork. Anyone interested in adding to the funds raised should contact Emma West on 07908 619014 or email her at [email protected] Another Christmas fair was held by 1st Walesby Brownies on the same date at the village hall in New Hill.
Walking bus offer for school
u Living Buddha ... Master Yu has devised a condensed 15-minute meditation programme.
PARKING outside schools remains a concern and Balderton Safer Neighbourhood Group heard at its meeting on November 3 that every option was being explored in an effort to alleviate the problem. The walking bus from the Chesters pub to Chuter Ede School is very effective, and the Co-op is willing to help with a similar scheme for the John Hunt School. Group chairman Councillor Walter Hurst agreed to contact the school to pursue this. Drink and drug-related anti-social behaviour remains fairly quiet in the area, although residents of Pinfold Lane are still finding empty alcohol containers in the street.
The PCSOs reported that the offroad team continued to have success in getting rid of the vehicles they caught. Great concern was expressed over the decision by the county council to remove bollards from the footpaths in Balderton. These have successfully deterred motorbikes from using the paths and the meeting heard that to take them away now made no sense. Anti-social behaviour on one of the estates was again discussed and the residents who attended the meeting were told that initiatives were being pursued to tackle this problem. l For crime reduction advice or to report a suspicious incident, call the police on the new number, 101.
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AD a lovely job last month – entertaining the RAC Ladies’ Luncheon Club in Epsom, Surrey, with my ‘Oprah Winfrey Touched My Elbow’ talk. The venue, Woodcote Park, is a lush country club set in 350 acres of parkland, and Diana Boulter of DBA Speakers had me booked in for an overnight stay (nice one, Diana). Next morning as dawn mists lifted from the Downs, I wandered through the grounds to reach the sports complex housing the 30-metre swimming pool. As back gardens go, it made Downton look downmarket. And the ladies later obliged me by laughing in all the right places. If only all jobs were like this. I will have to write another talk, just so I can wangle a return invitation. One thing puzzled me – the name on one room door, ‘Blink Bony’. What on earth was that about? A friendly concierge explained – rooms were named after famous racehorses. The only Google reference I could find on this one referred to a Blink Bonny (sic) who notched up 14 wins, but since this mare was born in 1854 it might explain the lack of web presence. That’s the thing about journalists, though, we’re incurably curious – as in nosy, not as in odd. Though we are that, too, of course.
Obama for Xmas A friend forwarded an email showing a placard at an American antiTea Party Rally. It was quite apt for Christmas. The message was: “Obama is not a brown-skinned, anti-war socialist who gives away free health care … You’re thinking of Jesus.”
Vintage Hendrix I FELT a burst of nostalgia popping in to see Clare Parker at her Vintage
Living Local
Outdoing Downton
u There ain’t nothing like a dame, as another show famously mentioned, and former manager of Newark Waitrose Peter Gibbs certainly looks convinced as he figures out how to handle Widow Twankey (Antony Stuart-Hicks) during a visit by the cast of Palace panto Aladdin. Peter oversaw the £3m-plus refit of the Newark store during his year-anda-bit as manager but that challenge probably paled into insignificance compared to this one. Peter has now moved on to manage the Waitrose branch in Otley, near Leeds, and we all wish him well in his new post while welcoming his successor, Leigh Ford, to Newark ... At least Leigh now knows what he’s in for next year.
Editor at Large Vixen store. There’s a poster of Engelbert Humperdinck on the wall and Clare’s dad had just bought tickets to see him. I was never really a fan, but I did see Engelbert perform, on April 20, 1967, at the long-gone Lincoln ABC cinema. I can be precise about the date thanks to Google. Engelbert’s first number one Release Me was dropping down the charts at the time and he was second on the bill only to the Walker Brothers. Fourth down was Cat Stevens, and third was the real prize – the Jimi Hendrix Experience. This tour must surely be the only time Jimi ever played Wild Thing with his teeth on the same bill as Engelbert, but these rather wonderful mixed-bag one-nighters were common then.
The little pic (left) is proof – Jimi, Cat, Walker Brother Gary Leeds and Engelbert himself, pictured at the Finsbury Park Astoria.
Book of the month Colleen McCullough – The Touch (Arrow Books, £7.99). A good rollicking read to last you through Christmas – a 639-page saga from the author of The Thorn Birds, following the life and loves of a single-minded Scotsman who leaves home in the 1870s. In Australia, his talent for engineering and sniffing out gold makes him fabulously rich, but money can’t buy the love of his child bride. The story is compelling and, initially at least, Colleen’s detailed research is hugely impressive – teaching
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you more than you ever needed to know about developments in steam engineering, mining techniques, early Australian politics, etc. After a few hundred pages, though, it’s tempting to skip another see-howmuch-research-I-did lecture on hightensile sprocket flanges or whatever, and get back to the enthralling love lives of the main characters.
Tipple tip Local expert Ann Hayes of Ann et Vin recommends her Christmas
dessert wine on page 38, and I asked her to select a best-value red to go with the turkey. Ann suggested Boutinot Les Coteaux, Côtes du Rhône Villages (£8.75), an elegant, multi-awardwinning 2008 blend of grenache and syrah that immediately made me think “sour cherries” before, on further breathing (the wine, not me) they mellowed into a softer hints of marzipan. A great value Christmas treat.
GRAHAM KEAL
Living Local
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It’s the cup that cheers for village hall A STAGE adaptation of a Booker-nominated novel has been put on to help drag facilities at Flintham Village Hall “into the 21st century”. The version of J. L. Carr’s How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won the FA Cup was performed by the New Perspectives Theatre Company at the village hall on November 25, following a successful run at this year’s Edinburgh Festival. Hall trustee Christopher Wynne said funds raised by the performance would go towards improvements to the Inholms Road premises. “The hall was an old Victorian church school and unfortunately has facilities
to match,” said Christopher. “We held this performance to raise funds to enable us to drag our toilet block into the 21st century. “The show was part of the Village Ventures scheme, which seeks to bring the performing arts to rural locations in Nottinghamshire.” The play, described as “fastmoving, uproariously funny and highly entertaining”, looks at what just might happen if a PSYC HIC SARA maverick coach and a village football team chairman with the ambition of Napoleon were, by fair means or foul, able to get their hands on top-flight players.
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AST year saw The Grove School in Balderton produce its version of hit West End musical We Will Rock You to rave reviews. This year the school hopes to match this success with its version of Fame. Head of drama Ally Sadler described Fame as “a rollercoaster ride through the dreams and disappointments” of star-struck pupils at New York’s School for the Performing Arts. “From audition to graduation the show follows the pupils’ journeys into the limelight, through pleasure, pain discovery and loss. Romances and friendships develop as the story makes a social statement.”
Richard Keeling reports on the preparations for The Grove School’s forthcoming production
The decision to perform Fame was made in June last year and auditions for parts began almost as soon as the school returned from the summer holidays, with rehearsals starting shortly afterwards. Some of the pupils are experiencing a role-reversal by playing the parts of the teachers. Around 75 pupils, aged from 11 to
18, are involved in the production. Past shows from the school have included Les Miserables, Grease and Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Ally said they chose Fame as they “needed a show that combined dance, drama and music and that would reach out to the young people of The Grove School”.
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pupils^ helping and with ARIES backstage March 21 - Apr il 20 You fan a cha costumes ascywell asnge performing on alone. Partnership actof scene but don ivitiesBarley stage.are Local dance teacher a born leader but rem are well-sta ember to ke sweet or you may find Greentroo ispschoreographing the the show m des _ TAU RUS Aprsubject il 21 and Paul O’Leary, leader You’ve got the bit bet - May 20 ween your politicalis for music, teaching cor rectness, the cast teeth not go amiss. ConsideTLC and diplomac r the singing and organising a band needstoof oth storm ahead to victory in wor k and rom accompany show. ` GEMIthe NI May 21 - June 21 Nice and l Fame willeas run from y doe s it. Wednesday A spo t of quiet o could land you a new love inte to Friday, December 14-16, atrest. Why spruce up the nest ready for a new visito enjoy homLilly the school’s and Stone site. e sweet home this sum mer. a CA Tickets areNC available The ER June from 22 July 22 Keep others in the fram e to avoor Grove site reception, id frus homSchool e and wor k. Time for a move, eithtra er holiday. But by calling 01636 They this is615000. not the time for secret make sure you keep ple info rmed. cost £7.50 for adultspeo (£5.50 for concessions). Family tickets are SARA C available at £25. To Benjamin our "'ickle man"
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SHOWTIME/NEWS
Pensioner Al takes talent title
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HIS year’s Newark’s Got Talent winner, veteran singer Al Cotton, joked that the first thing he’d buy after his success would be a zimmer frame. Al, 70, was handed the crown after winning the most votes from the audience and gaining plaudits from the judges, including Catherine Davey admitting that Al was her “guilty pleasure”. A full house at the Palace enjoyed the fifth annual contest on November 6, organised by Martin Seymour, with judges Tom Gribby, Lynn Baker, Justin Baker-Smith, Susie Chambers and Catherine Davey. Thirteen acts took to the stage, including singers, dancers and even magician Billy Fearon, whose card tricks gained him third place. This year’s runners-up were street dance trio AYD, who performed to loud cheers from the audience. The trio, who have been dancing together for the past year, combined several tracks and created their routine in just under a month. AYD, which stands for Achieve Your Dreams, said on the night: “We create moves by dancing in a way no one else has done before.” Winner Al was taken aback by his victory and by the cheers from the audience. “I’m shocked,
u He’s top talent ... Al Cotton was described by one judge as her ‘guilty pleasure’.
I can’t believe it!” Al told host Howard Newport after his win. “I’ve been singing since I retired,” said Al, from Honington, Lincolnshire. “I took part in Newark’s Got Talent just for the enjoyment – I honestly never thought that I would win. My dream would be sing with Frank Sinatra. He’s a true legend, and that’s why I sang My Way at the final. I just enjoy being on stage, that’s why I took part in the show.” Contest organiser Martin Seymour commented: “It was a great night, with a worthy winner. It’s great to see all the acts all come together at the final and respect each other’s talents.”
Head judge Tom Gribby said: “All the contestants raised their game for the final. Anyone could have won – it was a truly open contest. But Al was a much-deserved winner.” Martin added: “The show is a platform for any type of artist to showcase their talent on a large, professional stage, in front of an enthusiastic audience. It’s getting more rare for local artists to perform at the Palace, which is a shame as there is a lot of hidden talent in Newark and the surrounding areas.” Plans are already in place for next year’s event, with details being revealed early next year. “It’ll be bigger and better,” said Martin.
Hospital volunteers honoured THREE volunteers who between them have helped out at Newark Hospital for a total of 80 years have been presented with long-service awards. Barbara Mabbott, who works on the voluntary help desk, has devoted 30 years to assisting patients, visitors and staff. And two volunteers at the outpatients’ tea bar, Joan North and Ruth Pilkington, have each put in 25 years’ service. They were among 38 volunteers presented with long-service medals by trust chairman Tracy Doucét at the Town Hall on Thursday, November 3. The Town Mayor of Newark, Councillor Bryan Richardson,
Living Local Special Christmas edition
of Newark’s GREAT free
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Fantastic 10-page festive food and drink section
41 years on, Bud wins Vietnam medal
u PAGES 37-46
WIN great Christmas family day out
FORMER Muskham pub landlord Alan ‘Bud’ Snell has received a medal for services to the US military in the Vietnam War – 41 years after he quit the Merchant Navy.
u FULL EXCLUSIVE STORY – PAGES 10/11
u PAGE 36
Panto star legs it – exclusive
u PAGE 7
Old tools for Christmas? Yes, please!
u Newark MP Patrick Mercer presents Mr Snell with his Vietnam Veteran’s medal.
attended the celebration, together with many of the hospital’s senior managers and board of directors. Newark Hospital has the support of over 235 volunteers working in various sections, including outpatient clinics, chaplaincy and tea bars – which the hospital is proud to acknowledge represents one of the strongest local support networks across the whole region in relation to the population it serves. Also presented with awards were: 15 years: Jo Baldwin, Cynthia Cox, Thelma Footitt, Maureen Glossop, Jean Loftus, Phyllis Parr (Mary Taylor coffee lounge), Joyce Bateman, Ursula Clifton, Janet Gillespie, Mary Jones, Jean Peet, Enid Stanwell, Marian Wright
4-page essential gift guide u PAGES 52-55
Ableworld – local service, keen prices
u PAGE 12
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u PAGE 27
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(voluntary help desk), Cate Fenlon (voluntary help desk and Mary Taylor coffee lounge), Gillian Howell (outpatients’ department), Josephine Tyndall (chaplaincy department), Rosemary White (assists with the flowers). 10 years: Joan Barker, Christine Broughton, Mary Forman (outpatients’ tea bar), Michael Bavin, Jean Scotney, Judith Senior (Mary Taylor coffee lounge), Eileen Bettney (Mercia Doughty pre-op assessment centre), Joan Ford (voluntary help desk and podiatry department), Pam Weir (outpatients’ department assisting on the fracture clinic). 5 years: Patricia Allen (Mercia Doughty pre-op assessment
centre), June Bayes, Barbara Wilcox (outpatients’ tea bar and Mary Taylor coffee lounge), Juliet Burt, Betty Dobbs (Mary Taylor coffee lounge), Pearl Fuller (Mary Taylor coffee lounge and helps with the flowers), Evelyn Golland (assists with the flowers), June Porter (voluntary help desk), Bruce Rhinds (voluntary help desk, outpatients’ tea bar, Mary Taylor coffee lounge and podiatry department). l For information about volunteering opportunities at Newark Hospital contact Nadia Whitworth in the customer services department on 01636 685692 or e-mail nadia. [email protected]
Find your Living Local here Here are just some of the places where you can pick up your free copy of Living Local. In addition to thousands of house-to-house deliveries in Balderton, Fernwood and Farndon, our distribution points in and around Newark include:
n Morrisons n Marks and Spencer n Waitrose n Lakeside Co-op n Sainsbury’s n Tesco n Asda n The Grove Gym n The Moorings n The Tawny Owl
n The Lord Ted n Romano’s Italian Restaurant n The Mayze n The Atrium n Newark Conservative Club n The Old Post Office n Boots Opticians
n Starbucks n Jackson’s Building Centre n Stodman Street/Castlegate Newsagents n Hawtonville Local, Beech Avenue n One Stop, Fernwood
And look out for Living Local in many of the shops, pubs and restaurants who advertise with us.
35
What’s in your stars
f SAGITTARIUS November 22 - December 21
It’s been an exhausting year but you can now enjoy the fruits of your labours. Have a harmonious Christmas. You are one of the more secure signs of the zodiac as the New Year dawns.
g CAPRICORN December 22 - January 20 Workaholic Capricorns can enjoy an oasis of calm as they embark on a successful new venture. Partners are unexpectedly supportive.
h AQUARIUS January 21 - February 18
The secret to making progress with a new project is to get the team on board first. Diplomacy rules. Take stock of your romantic situation: maybe better the devil you know.
i PISCES February 19 - March 20 Luck favours a community project and you are just the sign to win friends and influence people now, so go for it. While you are doing your field research you will take someone’s fancy. ^ ARIES March 21 - April 20
You seem to be between a rock and a hard place financially. Delay major decisions until around November 27. The New Year looks happier but patience is advised on a career matter.
_ TAURUS April 21 - May 20
Everything you have worked for this year has come to a satisfactory conclusion. Time to look for pastures new with a clear conscience – or a new project in familiar surroundings.
` GEMINI May 21 - June 21
It’s the season of goodwill, so forgive and forget and set your sights on a new venture for the new year. You could even get a reputation as a peace-maker.
a CANCER June 22 - July 22
You’re quiet and thoughtful, and it sometimes takes quite a shove to get you socialising. Get out there while the party mood takes you. Meeting new people will bring unexpected opportunities.
b LEO July 23 - August 22
You are rewarded for your hard work at last. Take advantage of your new-found popularity to swing a promotion. You seem to be indispensable – not just at work either. Enjoy.
c VIRGO August 23 - September 22
Don’t relax completely, for despite your natural charm, you still need to get results at work: an authority figure could assist you unexpectedly. Try not to manipulate a loved one.
d LIBRA September 23 - October 22
You are the harmonious home-maker of the zodiac and there’s no better time to excel in your favourite surroundings. Your peace-keeping example sparks more status for you at work.
e SCORPIO October 23 - November 21
Your imagination is in overdrive: take some time to work out which new idea is the most practical before embarking on a major change. Loved ones help you decide. Epic Scorpio celebrations spangle your Yuletide with memories.
SARA CHADD
Win magical day out for family
D
rayton Manor Theme Park’s Magical Christmas offers a great day out for families from the Newark area – and we have a family ticket to admit four people, worth £64, to give away in our simple festive quiz. Magical Christmas runs from November 26 to January 2. Featured attractions include Thomas Land, Drayton Manor Zoo, 4D Cinema, the Ben 10 Rollercoaster, the Big Wheel, Carousel and Jolly Buccaneer, plus the hotel and the Grill Inn. Thomas Land itself features over 20 rides and attractions and will be adorned with Christmas trees and lights as well as snow three times a day, with festive music playing in the background. Rides include Cranky’s Drop Tower, the Troublesome Trucks Coaster and the Blue Mountain Engines ride. There’s also a café and huge Thomas Land shop, while the zoo has more than 100 species from around the world such as tigers and other big cats, reptiles, birds of prey, monkeys and primates. New this year will be Santa’s Magical Workshop, where
children meet Jack Frost and his penguin friend Archie, who tells the story of the flying reindeer before the children share their Christmas wishes with the Ice Princess. Children then get to see Santa and his elf, Humphry, hard at work making toys in their workshop. Boys and girls aged nine and under will receive a free gift, too… if they’ve been good! Another new offering will be festive food stalls where visitors can enjoy cinnamon doughnuts, soups or bratwurst hot dogs, washed down with hot chocolate or gluhwein. The Staffordshire theme park is also looking for school choirs, singing groups and carollers to perform during its Christmas event. A different choir could perform every day from November 26 to January 2. Volunteer carollers should contact marketing officer Adel Aljaedy by emailing adelaljaedy@ draytonmanor.co.uk to arrange an audition. The group will receive free entry into the park, so, in addition to performing three carol sessions around the Christmas tree, they get to enjoy all the rides and attractions on offer. Family members of the singers will also be able to enter at the reduced price of £14. l Quiz question: What is the name of Jack Frost’s penguin friend in Thomas Land? Please email your answer and contact details to editor@ livinglocalnewspapers. co.uk by December 14.
LACEY’S LEARNING FUN
This is me and my new friend Cooper. I take him everywhere, and when my mummy reads me Cooper’s special storybooks, he joins in reading, too, which makes me laugh as he is so cute. In his stories, Cooper has lots of fun and uses his imagination just as I do when we play together. l For more on Cooper the interactive story buddy, see the Hallmark feature on pages 16/17
THEY’RE ON TO A WINNER WITH US n FIND THE OWLS The winner of last month’s Find the Owls competition was Monica Lawrence, of Newark, who wins a family meal for four from the two-for-one menu at the Tawny Owl in Fernwood. Please claim your prize, Monica, by emailing editor@ livinglocalnewspapers.co.uk or by calling 01636 703226. n FESTIVAL OF PRIDE Winners of our competition for tickets to the Festival of Pride food festival at Newark
Showground were Derrick and Margaret Lewis, of Loveden Close, Balderton. n FACEPAINTING Our online poll in the GoPhotography facepainting competition (www.livinglocal newspapers.co.uk) was won by Amber Heath, whose family wins admission to the star-studded Palace panto press night (December 9). Please email [email protected] or call us on 01636 703226 to claim your prize.
Find the owls and win a family meal THE Living Local Tawny Owl has found various places to perch in the paper. See if you can spot them all, count them up (including this one) and email your answer to competitions@ livinglocalnewspapers.co.uk. One winner will receive a prize of a family meal for four from the two-for-one menu at the Tawny Owl in Fernwood.
Advertising Feature Salesperson Wanted Help make our great product a greater success! Lively, reliable person with good telephone manner required for part-time work selling small display ads from home in Living Local. Good leads supplied, sales experience preferred.
Call Steph on 07756 026976 or email [email protected] for details
FESTIVE FOOD AND DRINK
10-page special starts here
Our flourishing Polish community will be celebrating Christmas Polish-style in homes all over Newark and surrounding villages. Graham Keal visited a happy Polish family to find out more about their festive traditions, and discovered some surprises ...
Living Local
37
Poles keep true taste of the past
u From top: Barszcz (beetroot soup), makowiec (poppy seed cakes) and bigos (meat and cabbage stew).
F
inding out about a typical Polish family Christmas and the food and traditions that go with it was simply fascinating. We tend to think of Christmas as a time u Polish Christmas past in Newark – (left to right) Bozena Meszko, sister Danuta, to indulge in rich foods and treats, but one of Daniel Dogiel, Pawel Meszco and Mateusz Dogiel with his mum Agnieszka. the most important foods for a Polish family has more to do with nourishing the spirit than the Inset: Danuta, Daniel, Mateusz and Agnieszka ready for Christmas 2011. body. foods at Bocian Polish Food Store on Albert turkey. The traditional dish is a hearty meat and These are wafers imported from Poland – large, the women prepare in the kitchen and the father decorates the Christmas tree with the children. Street or the Maja Deli on Barnbygate, while a cabbage stew called bigos, and while Christmas white rectangles embossed with scenes depicting We wait for the first star in the sky before we more recent opening has been the bustling Eden Eve is for close family, Christmas Day is for Christ’s birth, reflecting, too, the religious ritual start to eat, between five and six o’clock.” store on Appletongate. visiting friends and being sociable, “like your that underpins the Catholic Mass. Boxing Day”, says Daniel. “It’s really exciting for the children, too, as Other dishes might include beetroot soup Their significance was explained to me by Agnieszka and Daniel, who works at the it’s this day that we put the presents under the (barszcz – like the Russian borscht), dumplings Daniel Dogiel and his wife Agnieszka, who had Laurens Patisseries, came to Newark about six Christmas tree and open them,” adds Agnieszka. with sauerkraut and mushrooms and lots of kindly invited me join them in their immaculate years ago and more family members followed, home-made cakes (ciasta) and desserts. home in Newark, along with son Mateusz, 5, and Despite all the food preparation, this is seen including mum Danuta and her husband and Agnieszka’s mother Danuta. Poppy seed cakes with sultanas (makowiec), as a day of fasting rather than Danuta’s sister Bozena. gingerbread with honey (piernik) and chocolate, feasting, because they eat no meat “For us, the wafers are very The family attends Mass three days running vanilla or fruit-topped cheesecake (sernik) are and drink no alcohol on Christmas important. Usually people try to and in all of this there’s no mention of shopping popular choices. Eve, at least not until after the bring them from Poland,” says online over Christmas, dashing around Boxing family has attended Midnight Daniel. “Every lady likes to make something Day sales or any of that madness. Mass. No one goes hungry, though, special which is from her, not bought from a “Every person must share a In some ways it seems more akin to how including passing strangers. “It’s supermarket, so that in every house, every cake wafer with ever other person and Christmas was in Britain 50 years or more ago, traditional that there must be 12 is different,” says Daniel. give their best wishes for the next when families did things together instead of dishes on the table and you must year. Usually we start with the Straw is put under place mats “because when peeling off to play computer games and such. I taste every dish,” says Daniel. oldest person there, trying to show Jesus was born he was laid on this. And after must admit, it sounds hugely appealing. “Before we start the 12 dishes we respect.” supper we never clear the table share the wafers and then sing – so that if anyone comes they Showing love and respect for Christmas carols. can feed all the pets.” our elders seems to have rather “And however many people you gone out of fashion in Britain, but Feed the pets? Did I hear that I was already beginning to feel the u Detail from a Polish invite, you always set one place right? Seems so – in Poland extra, in case a poor and hungry warm glow of Polish family life at Christmas wafer. it’s a traditional belief that on person comes to the door. This Christmas, which for them retains this day animals can speak tradition comes from the Bible, I think.” much more spiritual significance than for many like humans, the nearest thing Fresh carp, boiled then fried and served with native Brits. I guess to leaving mince pies vegetables, is the centrepiece of the 12 dishes, for Santa and his reindeer. The wafers are eaten and exchanged on and with Newark now well served with Polish, “But we’ve never heard them Christmas Eve, the key day of Christmas for Lithuanian or Eastern European shops, the talking,” smiles Agnieszka. Polish families. “For us Christmas Eve is very family can buy what they need right here. important and we prepare a lot of dishes for On Christmas Day itself u Newark’s Eden Polish food store on Appletongate. that,” says Daniel.“It’s traditional that all day Agnieszka and family tend to shop for Polish there’s still no rush to roast a
Christmas Parties
LUNCH EVENING EVENING ITALIAN RESTAURANT
£9.95 3-Courses
£19.95 4-Courses
Only a few dates left in December...Book early to avoid disappointment
OPEN CHRISTMAS DAY Christmas & New Year’s Eve Bookings also being taken Open 7 days a week Monday to Sunday 12 noon - 2pm and 6pm - 10pm
49/50 Stodman Street . Newark. NG24 1AW. www.RomanosNewark.co.uk
38
FESTIVE FOOD AND DRINK
Living Local
Raspberry ful de OR many people, myself included, Christmas lunch wouldn’t be complete without a generous helping of rich, dark pudding, flamed at the table and served with lashings of custard, cream or brandy butter, writes June Rowlands. But if you’re looking for a lighter alternative to follow the traditional “turkey and all the trimmings���, here’s home economist Teresa Bovey’s recipe for a simple yet sophisticated dessert which can trace its roots back to Tudor times. Serve your lemon syllabub with biscotti – little Italian biscuits which are hard and crunchy because they’re
Sweets for your sweet
twice-cooked (‘bis’ is Italian for twice and ‘cotti’ for cooked). Also known as cantuccini, they were originally made at the beginning of the 19th century with aniseed and almonds; there are now lots of different flavour combinations available and you’ll find them in most supermarkets. But, for an extra festive touch, why not try making Teresa’s special Christmas version, which uses slightly less sugar and no fat? Any dried fruit or nuts can be substituted and try adding a teaspoon of mixed spice to the recipe, too, if you like.
Teresa Bovey has been a professional home economist for over 30 years. She has worked alongside many of the top celebrity chefs and runs cookery demonstrations from her home in Thurgarton, at food festivals and in partnership with local farm shops and restaurants. For details of upcoming demonstrations and other events, visit www.teresabovey.co.uk or call 01636 831460.
Lemon Syllabub with Christmas Biscotti For the syllabub (serves 8) 100mls sweet white wine 1 lemon 75g caster sugar 300mls double cream For decoration – raspberries, lemon zest, mint leaves
For the biscotti (makes 27) 250g plain flour 1½ tsp baking powder Zest of 1 lemon 125g caster sugar 3 medium eggs, lightly whisked 50g dried cranberries
50g dates, pitted and chopped 50g mixed peel 50g flaked almonds 125g roughly chopped pistachios
To make the biscotti l Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ Gas 4. l Place the flour, baking powder, lemon rind and sugar into a large bowl and mix well. l Stir in the eggs, dried fruit and nuts and mix well. l Divide the dough into 3 pieces and roll each piece into a sausage shape about 12in x 2in (30cm x 5cm). The
mixture will be slightly wet and sticky. Cook’s tip – using wet hands makes the dough easier to roll. l Place on to a baking sheet which has been lined with non-stick baking paper. l Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. l Reduce the oven temperature to 160C/325F/Gas 3. l Cut each sausage shape diagonally into 8 to 9 pieces. Place back on to the baking sheet and bake for a further 12 to 15 minutes. Leave to cool, then
store in an airtight tin until required.
To make the syllabub l Thinly peel the lemon and squeeze out the juice. l In a small saucepan, gently heat the wine, lemon juice, rind, and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes, then cool and leave to infuse for 2 to 3 hours. l Strain the mixture into a bowl, add the double cream and whisk with an electric mixer until the mixture is thick and just holds its shape. l Pour into espresso cups, decorate with raspberries, lemon zest and mint and serve with the biscotti.
FOR the perfect accompaniment to this luscious lemon dessert, choose a Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley, says local wine expert Ann Hayes, of Ann et Vin. With its distinctive aromas of apricot and grapefruit, Clos de Nouys Vouvray Moelleux (£12.25 a bottle) is a medium sweet wine with intense apple and honey flavours. Or try a half bottle of Baumand Coteaux du Layon (£9), made from grapes affected by the wonderfully named “noble rot”. This fungus attacks the already ripe grapes, concentrating them into sweet, shrivelled berries that give a butterscotch richness with a lively acidity still coming through at the end.
l Ann et Vin is at 23 Castlegate, Newark – Tel 01636 700900 – www. annetvin.co.uk
Mertrmyas Chris We sell everything you need to decorate your own creative Christmas cakes, cup cakes and so much more... We also make celebration cakes for every occasion. Take a closer look at our online gallery or pop into our new store on Baldertongate.
Finest
We stock everything you could want for Christmas cake
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54 Carter Gate, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1UB Telephone: 01636 700461
FESTIVE FOOD AND DRINK
Only here for the beer S
u Richard Banks stocks around 70 different beers from breweries around the Newark area.
ifting through the exotic variety not a ‘session’ beer at that sort of strength. by Graham Keal of beers in Newark’s Real Ale But that’s the thing with a lot of these [email protected] Store in Kirkgate was really just 20 beers. They are more satisfying because minutes of pure self-indulgence, you’ve got the depth of flavour, so you with strong malt flavours, good bitterness masquerading as work. It also solved don’t have to be quaffing pints and pints.” and gentle hops. one of the most difficult Christmas gift Other eye-catching examples include “If you’re wanting something lighter, conundrums – what to give “the man who Wentwell, a new micro-brewery near then Prior’s Gold from the Prior’s Well has everything”. Derby which uses old family photos for brewery in Clumber Park (£2.25, 500ml, Most of us have one or two of those 4.7%) is a lovely golden ale, very crisp and labels. “One’s called Barrel Organ Blues to buy for, but unless he already has (£2.45, 500ml, 4.5%) – and that’s actually refreshing,” says Richard. everything from Trembling Rabbit beer, the head brewer’s grandfather on the barrel The exotic or enticing possibilities go made by Poacher’s Brewery at North organ.” on and on. “We’ve got around 70 different Hykeham, near Lincoln, to Hazelnut Grandad resorted to the barrel organ beers in from breweries around the area, Coffee Porter (a “smooth dark red when he couldn’t get work as a tailor, including Milestone Brewery in beer with coffee and syrup adding which may explain why he’s playing the Cromwell, the Maypole Brewery depth and richness to its natural dark blues. at Eakring, Oldershaw’s from malty character”) from the Saltaire Grantham, and the Magpie Brewery Then there’s Cleopatra (£2.35, 500ml, Brewery, there is definitely stuff here in Nottingham. There are some 5%), “a complex beer with a hint of apricot which ‘the man who has’ hasn’t got, very good ones around. A lot of the and a subtle bitterness” from Derventio and might relish. breweries will bring out Christmas Brewery, named after an old Roman fort I also put shop owner Richard beers so we will be getting those in. near Ashbourne. Banks (a good old brewing name) “And we’ve got beers from the Or Dorothy Goodbody’s Golden Ale on the spot by asking him to Orkney Islands right down to (£2.95, 500ml, 4.2%) complete with recommend one or two beers as a Cornwall.” Marilyn Monroe lookalike in a pin-up pose good accompaniment to Christmas There’s even a smattering of craft on the label. What man could resist? turkey and all the trimmings. beers from America – “I think I’d go for something quite “they’re doing fantastic dark and malty,” said Richard, “like stuff, really interesting,” the Belvoir Brewery’s Old Dalby, says Richard. Proof on from Leicestershire” (£2.60 for u Strong the shelves includes 500ml, 5.1%). The brewery describes stuff ... Black Chocolate Stout, this as “a rich, smooth, ruby red this US looking glossy and strong ale with roasted flavours and a stout Christmassy with its complex, warming character”. is 10% black and gold label, Richard’s alternatives include proof. a beer “pitch black in “the Flipside Brewery’s beer along colour with a rich roasted the same lines, The Flipping Best (£2.45, flavour” and a massive 10% 500ml, 4.6%), which comes from Colwick alcohol. Fortunately, the bottle in Nottingham.” contains just 355ml (£3.15). u Ale and hearty ... the store in Kirkgate. This is a traditional dark brown best bitter “You have to be careful – it’s
The Real Ale Store Cask Ales • British & Imported Bottled Beers
Breakfast Served until 11 am and a wide varied lunchtime menu with children's menu Freshly ground coffee • Espresso • Cappuccino Latte • Hot Chocolate • Tea • Speciality Teas Juices • Milk Shakes and Soft Drinks
With a �ine selection of 200+ beers. A great selection of LOCAL beers and the best of British and Imported Bottled Beers. Fantastic Gift Packs, Books and Glassware.
Opening Hours
Tuesday and Wednesday 11.00-7.00 Thursday - Saturday 10.00-7.00 Sunday 11.00-4.00
12-14 Kirkgate, Newark • Telephone 01636 918022
www.theRealAleStore.com
A traditional, ribbon presented Rushton's box for 2011 On all orders placed and paid before
RUSHTON’S
PRIVATE DINING EXPERIENCE A unique gift for your family, work colleagues or group of close friends. This package means a night out in Rushton's exclusive private dining room, all paid and serviced at an affordable rate. An opened-ended ticket to be used at their convenience for special birthday, anniversary, meeting or just an excuse to get together
Private dining gift package include:
17th December
• A glass of sparkling wine • Canapés 3 courses of their choice • (concessions for A La Carte Menu choices) Wine • (A bottle of house wine for every two people) • Coffee • No room hire
Collection only between the 19th & 23rd December from the deli. Rushton’s house wine (choose from Sauvignon Blanc for white and Cabernet Sauvignon for red)
A great Christmas gift for treating someone special!
Burgundy waxed Cropwell Bishop Stilton
£42.85 a massive 35% saving off a
Snowdonia’s Black Bomber Cheddar
Yours for just
Our perfect gift for a night out!
Normal price
Delicious Rushton’s Fruity Chutney Charcoal Wheat Wafers And our tasty mixed olives
Normal retail price with box £41.00
unique service. Available until the 24th December 2011. Valid until 30th November 2012 only.
for just
£28.00 per person
When booking your preferred date quote private dining voucher. Minimum booking of 6 people
For more information about these exclusive offers or to book a table in our restaurant please call 0845 8800 859/01636 605214
FESTIVE FOOD AND DRINK
The White Swan Christmas Party From
Thursday, 1st December, 2011
*Promotion excludes Guinness
All dishes served with Naan Bread, Poppadum, Mango Chutney, Rice and Chips.
It’s all in the best possible taste Living Local and our vibrant, redesigned website are the places to advertise your local restaurant, takeaway, food store or food product. At Living Local we understand good food, and we love local good food better than anything. Our readers savour our restaurant
reviews, and our website generates thousands of visitors. So why not get your restaurant in the news or put your takeaway menu on line and in view? It costs much less than you think! n For more information contact Stephanie on 07756 703226 or email [email protected]
42
Living Local
Discover fine dining at Cutlers this Christmas...
Enjoy the difference! Served from Saturday the 3rd of December until Wednesday the 21st of December
First Course
Choose from our delicious menu offering: Starters • Tandoori Bread • Tandoori Dishes Tandoori Masala Dishes • Biryani Dishes Meat, Chicken and Prawn Dishes Vegetable Side Dishes • Sundries
Asha Special Dishes Zeera Khori Gosth Khari Murgi Nawabi Tandoori Masala Venison (Deer) Specialities Heran Tikka Specialities Tava Chiken
House Specialities Shahi Gosh Turka Shahi Murgiturka Shahi Jhinga Tandoori Masala (Lobster) House Special Biryani
Stodman Street, Newark, Notts. Open seven days a week
12 noon-2.30pm 6pm-11.30pm Established 1986
Call for a reservation or to order your takeaway
01636 702870 / 676110 www.asharestaurant.co.uk
Butternut Squash Soup - finished with julienne of apple Red Onion and Marmalade Tartlet - topped with Cropwell Bishop Chilled Fantail of Melon - tropical fruits and lemon sorbet Chicken Liver and Pork Terrine - Victorian chutney and warm toast Prawn, Satsuma and Walnut Salad - sweet chilli mayonnaise
Main Course Roast Saddle of Turkey - with traditional yuletide accompaniments Braised Blade of Beef - Guinness gravy, creamed potatoes and wild mushrooms Pan Fried Duck Breast - red plum and port sauce Poached Supreme of Salmon - white wine and dill sauce Fresh Vegetable Fajita - roquette and cucumber salad all served with a selection of freshly prepared vegetables and potatoes
Dessert Christmas Pudding with rum sauce Chocolate and Grand Marnier Crème Brulee with amaretti biscuits Whole Pear Poached in Spiced Mulled Wine served chilled with vanilla ice cream Mango and Passion Fruit Cheesecake set on a tropical fruit coulis Mature Cheddar, Brie and Cropwell Bishop Stilton with date and walnut loaf, biscuits, crisp celery and grapes Coffee and Petits Fours
£29.95
Cutlers Sunday Festive Fayre Lunch £25.95 4th, 11th and 18th of December (other lunch dates are available on request)
We also cater for private parties for up to 40 guests
fine
r e s t a u r a n t
Please call Tom, Sandra or Gabor on 01636 703399 to make your reservation.
visit www.grangenewark.co.uk to find out more about the award winning Hotel and Restaurant situated in the heart of the town. Experience our impeccable customer service and warm welcome.
We even have lots of free parking
FESTIVE FOOD AND DRINK: NEW YEAR PARTIES
Living Local
SchoolReunion School Reunion A New Year's Eve Party
New Year’s Eve Party at the
Fancy Dress with parents dressed as school kids and kids dressed as teachers!
Adults £7.50 Children £2.50 Family £16.00 (2x Adults and 2x Children)
restaurant & bar
The Place to be seen!
70s, 80s & 90s Music Glass of Bubbles on arrival Fireworks at Midnight Games from days gone by Bar Open until 2am School Dinners Quiet room with bean bags, showing films etc
Entry £5
DJ and Drinks Promotions all night until 2am Be the best-dressed Hollywood Guys and Dolls character and win a prize! Optional buffet available for an extra £8.00 per person
New Year Fun for the whole family!
Telephone: 01636 611118
34 Castlegate, Newark, NG24 1BG
NEW YEAR’S EVE is a family time at the
Tawny Owl Fernwood
Disco Hot and Cold Buffet all included in the ticket price
7.30pm-12.30am
This event is ticket only so hurry! - Get your ticket soon. Call
01636 703765 and ask for
Shirley or Hannah
Adults £1 Children £ 2.50 Children u 5.00 5's are F nder REE
William Hall Way, Fernwood NG24 3NG
Telephone: 01636 703765 Email: [email protected] www.tawnyowlpub.co.uk
There’s still time to advertise your New Year event – do it it online with www.livinglocalnewspapers.co.uk Email steph@livinglocal newspapers.co.uk or call 07756 026973
44
FESTIVE FOOD AND WINE: ADVERTISING FEATURE
Living Local
Enjoying Onjance, by night...
F
IRST thing to savour when you step inside Onjance 1, Newark’s luxurious new restaurant and day café, is not the food but the décor. The Castlegate restaurant has an opulent interior in which the low beamed ceilings and quirky architecture of the centuries-old building contrast with the ultramodern luxury furnishings. Squishy sofas and high-backed dining chairs in soft cream leather, reflective metallic wall coverings, sophisticated mood lighting and sumptuous carpeting give the restaurant a special appeal before you even glance at the menu. The labyrinthine series of upstairs and downstairs rooms provide intimate spaces for a romantic dinner. Downstairs offers a livelier buzz, or you can book the private room for fine dining for your celebration or business dinner. Owners Alison Allwood and Chris McCleod were helped to realise their vision for Onjance by Ian Kay of No 16 Interiors. Alison had been nurturing the concept for several years as a way to build on her 14 years of success at the Trivet coffee bar in Chain Lane. The new restaurant and day café is open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 9.30pm – or later for drinks.
T
he unique name came courtesy of Chris’s three-year-old daughter. The business partners wanted an original name suggesting colour, and when Maya asked for orange juice it came out as ‘Onjance’. Result! Settling in downstairs, we chose from five starters – fresh mussels in a thick wine and garlic reduction with dipping breads, spiced pumpkin, chicken and jalapeno soup, Romano stuffed peppers with chilli jam and Mediterranean salad, goat’s cheese with black pudding, onion chutney, rocket and balsamic dressing, or seasonal pâté with
Living Local spotlight on u The opulent interior gives Onjance special appeal. Pictures: Lee Bryan Images sweet onion marmalade, rocket and toasted brioche. We shared one pâté – a good move because we do like to save room for dessert, and the portion was generous. The smooth, savoury pâté was neatly offset by the sweet onion marmalade, while the brown brioche was lovely – crispy on the outside, softly yielding inside and with a nutty flavour. Rocket and balsamic to garnish. Perfect. Seven main courses ranged from slow-baked Mediterranean vegetable moussaka topped with Lincolnshire Poacher cheese and served with garlic ciabatta, or hearty minted lamb stew with a hint of chilli served with creamy buttered mash and dipping breads, both £14.95, through to a prime 8oz fillet of beef with a brandy, mushroom and peppercorn sauce with a hint of chilli, served with dauphinoise potatoes, whole Chantilly carrots and purple sprouting broccoli (£22.95). I went for the beef fillet and was rewarded by a beautifully seared
medium steak with bags of flavour. Being a brute when it comes to seasoning, I’d have welcomed more peppercorns in there, but the dish worked very well with the creamy inside, crispy outside dauphinoise potatoes. My other half was torn between tender pork fillet cooked in an apple and cider reduction or panfried chicken breast cooked with an applewood smoked Cheddar reduction, with baby buttered potatoes and fresh veg. Both were £17.95. The chicken breast won and was moist and generous, while accompanying veg on the night were perfectly-cooked carrots and an appealingly glossy mound of fine beans. Nice.
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he wine list starts at £12.95 which gets you buttery Chilean chardonnay, a mellow Chilean merlot or a Californian Zinfandel rosé. We chose Les Deux Brasseurs (£17.50), a deliciously soft 2006 claret with lots of blackcurrant notes, a touch drier than most New World rivals, which suits us. If you really want to splash out, Champagnes start at £29.95 and run all the way to celebrity favourite Krug at £175. Having already heard women’s editor June Rowlands’ rave reaction to the velvet truffle cake, that had to be one of the dessert choices (all £5.95). Expectations were high and the truffle cake really delivered – lush, dense, intensely chocolatey
yet not cloying, garnished with strawberry and maple syrup swirls and served with a shot glass of cream. I had the lemon posset slice – a variation on the familiar cream, sugar and lemon dessert, taking those ingredients and blending them into a wonderfully moist lemon cake, garnished with strawberry, a shot glass
of cream and maple syrup. Lovely. Alison plans a tempting new range of cakes and desserts in the run-up to Christmas, so watch for those. Two ‘Illy’ black coffees were hot and strong, just how we like it, served in stylish cups on quirky off-centre saucers.
GRAHAM KEAL
... and by day Earlier in the week, Living Local founder Steph Bilton and I joined shoppers taking a break for lunch in the Onjance day café. One of the oldest buildings in Newark, it retains many original features, with the furniture and decor adding a sophisticated touch to the setting. At £6.95, my choice of a wholemeal open sandwich with griddled bacon, melted mozzarella and fresh tomatoes on a bed of seasonal leaves was topped with mustard mayonnaise, while Steph went for Sibley’s sausage with griddled tomato and melted
Cheddar cheese on a muffin, at £4.99. Beautifully prepared and presented, the portions were generous without being overwhelming for two ‘ladies who lunch’. Unfortunately, neither of us had room for dessert. Having called in for coffee a few days before, I knew exactly what we were missing – the velvet chocolate truffle cake is a chocoholic’s dream, the best I’ve ever tasted. So now we’ve got the perfect excuse, if one were needed, to make a return visit for afternoon tea!
JUNE ROWLANDS
Daytime Café Mon, Tues and Thurs From 9.30am Weds, Fri and Sat From 8.30am
Day Café Evening Fine Dining Lounge Bar The new restaurant and day café is open Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 9.30pm – or later for drinks. 57-59 Castlegate Newark Notts
Evening Dining Mon to Sat 6.30pm-9.30pm Open til late after dining times
FESTIVE FOOD AND DRINK
Living Local u Left: Clockwise from high chair, happy customers Georgia Dixon, 12 months, mother Melinda Dixon, sister Emily, two-anda-half, James Tall, three, and mum Ruth, Maya Swain, two, and mum Deanne, and Marion FoxGoddard with baby Edgar, five months, and son Hugh, three-anda-half.
Serving up community spirit on a plate
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nyone wanting to escape the winter chill can find a warm welcome and good company at Newark’s innovative Roots ‘n’ Fruits Community Café, not to mention home-cooked food at low prices. The café opens on Tuesdays (9am4pm) in term time at Charles Street Methodist Church and is entirely staffed by volunteers, all gathered together by Charles Street resident Heike Fust. “This area here is so densely populated but there was nowhere to go to meet people, you had to walk in to town,” said Heike. So she and friends Harriet Cockayne and Alison Court, later joined by Hannah Leese, provided a place where people could eat as well as meet. They have ambitious plans to broaden the scope by providing classes where people can learn new skills in arts and crafts, gardening, languages and more. The menu is vegetarian, mainly because fruit and veg are easier to source and store than meat or fish. “We just put the emphasis on healthy, local, home-grown foods, in a place where people can meet not just for food but to get to know each other,” says Heike, who originally
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comes from the Dortmund area of Germany. A £6,000 grant from National Lottery’s Rewards For All community fund helped set them up, funding a website (http://rootsnfruits.org.uk/) and enabling them to produce locally printed flyers, posters and business cards, along with uniforms with logos printed by Newark Embroidery Services. The menu certainly looked tempting – and the place was buzzing when Living Local dropped in for lunch and a chat. Dishes available included carrot and ginger soup (£1.50), Jamaican black bean pot with couscous and salad (£3.50), and fruit crumble (£1.50). The lovely home-made bread had been donated by Harcourt Street supporter Ruth McIntosh. Home-made cakes – Heike’s toffee apple upside-down cake came highly recommended – were just 50p to £1, and alternatives on the day included double chocolate cake, assorted muffins, Victoria sponge and more, so
u Heike Fust (left) with fellow-volunteers Hannah Leese (centre) and Harriet Cockayne. Pictures: Alan Hudson.
a coffee (£1) and a cake is affordable for almost everyone. Diners and supporters bring in surplus produce from gardens and allotments, and people donate cakes and other gifts for the café to sell. Once costs are paid, any extra income goes back into the project or the community. Heike again: “Every three months we pick a local charity, so this month we are writing a cheque for £100 for Sue’s Place. And then we are going to take another less well-known local charity. “We’re planning a soup kitchen for the homeless and needy before Christmas as well but we need to find out where the need is first. “Anybody can help us in any way they can, and they do. People bake for us, they come and wash up … It’s hard work but we have brought people together, and people who have maybe been out of a job for a long time come to volunteer and get their confidence back to go out there and do it.” All the volunteers involved in food preparation have gained hygiene
certificates which could also help gain paid employment. Young mums and their charges mixed with pensioners and passers-by on the day we went, with the mums listing the reasons they liked coming along – “good food”, “good value” and the fact that “they don’t mind rowdy kids” – though all the children behaved beautifully and were clearly enjoying their food.
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here was also a posse of hungry cyclists who had pedalled in from Grantham. One of their number, David Ibberson, said they discovered the café 15 months earlier just when an urgent refueling stop was needed: “We found it by chance. One of the lads was ‘on his limit’ and he had to have some food, so when we saw the sign outside we piled in. “We’re not a club as such but we’re all 60-plus, we just meet up on a Tuesday morning and whichever way the wind’s blowing we usually ride into it until we come across a café. “When the wind’s in the right direction we come here. It’s great. It’s a lovely atmosphere, you’re always made welcome, the food’s good, and we really enjoy it.” The community café idea does seem
to be catching on. Heike modelled this one on a similar operation in Nottingham, and now another is being started in Lincoln using the Newark café as a model. In the long term, Heike and friends would like to turn the café into a social enterprise so that, while all profits would go back into the project, one or two people might have paid employment there, as in Nottingham. That could mean a move to larger premises. The café is entirely non-religious but everyone involved is very grateful for the support of Charles Street Methodist Church, whose recently appointed minister Philip Macdonald was lunching there, too. Meanwhile, there’s the Christmas dinner to plan. That was still on the drawing board when we visited, but last year diners (who had to book) enjoyed a feast of soup, a choice of mushroom and blue cheese tartlets or feta cheese and chestnut filo parcels, followed by chocolate roulade, homemade mince pies and coffee – all for £7.50. Best book early if you want to join in the next one. l For more information call Heike Fust on 07530 339128.
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Living Local
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T’S the most important meal of the year and even experienced cooks can be daunted by the challenge. But don’t despair – follow our countdown and you’ll all be sitting down to the perfect Christmas lunch.
Countdown to Christmas
hour to go ... Roast the chipolatas and put 1turkey. stuffing in the oven if it’s not cooking in the Remove the foil from the turkey for the
last 30 minutes to brown the skin. Get someone else to do the first round of washing up!
Peel potatoes, carrots and sprouts; put potatoes in a pan of salted water and store carrots and sprouts in a bag in the fridge. Defrost frozen turkey – in a fridge, about 10 to 12 hours per kg; in a cool room, three to four hours per kg, longer if the room is particularly cold; at normal room temperature (about 20C) two hours per kg. When it’s fully defrosted, put it in the fridge till you’re ready to cook it. Work out cooking time for the turkey – 45 minutes per kg plus 20 minutes if it’s under 4.5kg; 40 minutes per kg if it’s 4.5-6.5kg; and 35 minutes per kg if it’s over 6.5kg. Our countdown is based on a 5kg bird, so adjust timings accordingly.
minutes to go ... Remove the turkey 30 from the oven. Once you’re sure it’s cooked (it’s piping hot all the way through;
none of the meat is pink when you cut into the thickest part; any juices run clear when you pierce it) cover with foil and a tea towel to keep it warm.
to go ... Cook carrots and 20 minutes sprouts. minutes to go ... Skim fat from the 15 turkey juices, add chicken stock, a glass of red wine and a little cornflour to make the gravy. Taste and add a little water if necessary.
u On Christmas Day
TIME FOR LUNCH ...
hours to go ... Remove the turkey from 6 the fridge and allow it to reach room temperature.
5
hours to go ... Parboil potatoes for 10 2 minutes in salty water. Drain them, shake the pan to fluff up the edges, then roast in the oven for an hour and a half.
u On Christmas Eve
hours to go ... If you’re making your own stuffing, do it now. Wrap chipolatas in pieces of bacon and grill for 10 minutes.
FESTIVE FOOD AND DRINK
the turkey but always clean worktops, chopping boards, dishes and utensils thoroughly after they have touched raw poultry.
rosemary, cover loosely with foil and put it in the oven now so it can rest for half an hour before it’s served. Baste it with its own juices every 30 minutes.
Carve the turkey, pull a cracker, put on a paper hat and enjoy your meal.
minutes later ... Microwave the 30 Christmas pudding and serve with cream, custard, brandy butter – or all three!
hours to go ... Stuff the turkey, fasten hour later ... Sit down, put your feet up, 1/ hours to go ... Preheat the oven to 4 the neck-end flap with a skewer and tie the hours to go ... Skewer the turkey all over 4 2 180C (350F, Gas Mark 4) and don’t 1 enjoy the well-earned compliments to the 3 to let excess fat run free and return to the legs together with kitchen string. Rub it with forget to remove the turkey giblets! The advice chef – and make sure someone else does that oven. from the Food Standards Agency is NOT to wash salt, pepper, olive or vegetable oil and thyme or final mountain of washing up.
A warm friendly welcome awaits you from all of the team at ...
restaurant & bar Sunday Lunch Menu Starters
Home made Soup of the Day £3.95 Chicken Liver Parfait £3.95 Marinaded Olives £2.95 Spiced Pineapple Carpaccio £4.95 Toasted Mushrooms £4.50
Mains
Roast Loin of Pork £7.95 Lemon and Thyme Roast Chicken £7.95 Roast Topside of Beef £8.95 Roast Lamb £8.95 Vegetarian Roast £4.95 OAP/Children only £4.95 All Served with Yorkshire Pudding, Sage Stuffing, seasonal vegetables, Roast Potatoes and delicious Gravy
And not so traditional...
Pan Fried Sea Bass Fillet £11.95 with Saffron and Lemon Potatoes and rustic Ratatouille Butternut Squash Risotto £10.00 Flavoured with Rosemary, Shallot and White Wine with glazed Goats Cheese
Desserts
White Chocolate Crème Brulee £5.45 Dark Chocolate Terrine £5.45 Vanilla Panacotta £5.45 Home made Classic Tiramisu £5.45 Cheese Board £6.95 Ice Creams and Sorbets £1.50 per scoop
Same quality produce, just at great new prices. Come and enjoy our family friendly menus.
New
Sunday Lunch & Early Bird Prices
We are situated off the main road of Castlegate accessible through an archway with FREE PARKING or by foot from the footpath of the River Trent opposite the Lock with views of the Castle.
Early Bird Menu
5-7pm (Tuesday to Thursday) 4-6pm (Friday and Saturday)
2 courses £9.95
3 Courses £12.95
Starters
Soup of the Day Smoked Haddock Fish Cake Ham Hock Deep fried Lemon Scented Goats Cheese
Mains
Blade of Beef Salmon Fillet Pheasant Breast Wild Mushroom Risotto
Desserts
Home made Sticky Puddings Roast Pecan and Honey Tart Selection of Ice Creams
Our Daily Lunchtime and A La Carte Menus are regularly changed for your enjoyment. Full menus are always on display. Telephone or call in to reserve your booking. We are looking forward to seeing you and your family.
Telephone: 01636 611118 34 Castlegate, Newark, NG24 1BG www.themooringsrestaurantandbar.co.uk
ASDA COMES TO NEWARK
‘Superstar’ superstore
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carnival atmosphere lifted expectant crowds as they queued outside Asda’s new 36,000 foot, 24-hour Newark store when the day of its longawaited opening finally arrived on November 14. A giant panda, or someone dressed as an unusually slender giant panda, handed out chocolates, staff gave away mince pies and a woman in a giant robin costume added to the fun as people awaited the official cutting of the ribbon by Councillor Keith Sheppard, chairman of Newark and Sherwood District Council. Balloons released in green and white Asda colours headed towards an even bigger balloon in the shape of a blimp high over the store, while inside a jazz band and a flute quartet played as Captain Jack Sparrow and assorted Pirates of the Caribbean (character
performers from a Derbyshire entertainment agency) cavorted around the aisles to give the opening a superstar flavour. Cllr Sheppard was accompanied by wife Sheila. Newark Town Mayor Bryan Richardson and his wife Pauline also officiated, and Asda colleagues Dawn Vann and Sara Mayfield joined in at the ribboncutting. Sara is a familiar and friendly figure to former Netto shoppers while Dawn was celebrated her 12th anniversary with Asda on the day. Two classes from Coddington Primary School and pupils from Chuter Ede School in Balderton were there after taking part in an Asdasponsored competition to draw a poster for the Newark Civil War trail. Joshua Hanstock, 9, won a £75 gift token to share with his Coddington
u Crowds snake around the building as the opening hour approaches. Picture: Phil Ulyatt, PA Photography
Happy Christmas to all our customers from Tony, Leigh and the team at Dry Clean-Plus and
www.DryClean-Plus.co.uk [email protected] The Clock Tower, Slaughter House Lane, Bargate, Newark NG24 1ES
Telephone 01636 918184
classmates while runners-up Emily Grant, 10, from Chuter Ede, and Olivia-Jade Allen, 9, from Coddington Primary, each shared £25 tokens. Asda’s local ‘Community Colleague’ Andrea Jeffrey said: “It was a fantastic, lovely day and the atmosphere was brilliant.” Branch manager Chris Rafferty agreed. “We had a really good opening day and 9,620 people made a purchase.” But with many people shopping as families Chris put the actual numbers in store much higher. “We weren’t expecting so many people.” Shoppers arriving by car can see an electronic read-out on entry saying exactly how many spaces remain in the 430-space car park.
Alison Frederick, of Yorke Drive, Newark, tried the new store the day after the opening. “It’s a bit hectic in there but it’s nice and clean and the prices were good,” she said. “It was nice to see kids’ clothes in Newark at competitive prices.” Suzi Taylor, of Winchilsea Avenue, Newark, hadn’t shopped in an Asda for 15-20 years: “I thought it was very good. “Obviously, like any supermarket, it takes a bit of getting used to, to find your way around. Some things I buy were the same price and some were considerably cheaper than the main competition. Overall, I was not as impressed with their fruit and veg but there are one or two things I would go back for – aubergines were 65p when I usually pay 99p. All I hope and pray is that it brings more people into town.”
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u Main picture: Cap’n Jack Sparrow and friends – alias performers from the Tru Entertainment agency – bring a film star touch to the opening. Top: Newark and Sherwood District Council chairman Keith Sheppard cuts the ribbon, watched by Asda staff and visiting dignitaries. Above: Poster competition winners Joshua Hanstock (centre) and Olivia-Jade Allen (left), both from Coddington Primary, plus Emily Grant, from Chuter Ede Primary School, with store manager Chris Rafferty. Asda’s regional marketing manager, Donna Bolton, was delighted with the turnout. “There was a nice queue waiting, all smiling and seeming happy, then happily buying things,” she said. Now the message is ‘Come to us at Christmas!’”
The team at Living Local would like to thank our readers, advertisers, columnists, contributors and distributors for your support and appreciation throughout 2011. We wish you all a very happy Christmas and a terrific New Year!
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All set for a feast of family festivities C
www.newarknativity.co.uk
u Holly Pickerill as Mary and Rhys Hawkins as Joseph in the Newark Nativity to be performed at the parish church on December 16-17.
hristmas in Newark promises to be a feast of fun, entertainment, retail therapy and spiritual renewal with a string of special events to lift the spirits and spread good cheer while keeping the town centre buzzing in the run-up to December 25. The Christmas Lights Switch-on kickstarted the celebrations on November 27 with the day’s charity and craft market opening at 11am and funfair rides too to attract early visitors. Live entertainment started with the winners of the schools’ carols competition taking to the stage. Newark’s Got Talent winner Al Cotton followed and attractions through the day included Newark and Mansfield Rock Choir, the Trent Chamber Academy (students from Newark Violin School), Newark Choral Society, local soul band Big Stuff, new boy band Eli Prime, headlining boy band Twenty Twenty, and the cast from Palace Theatre panto Aladdin. Newark Town Mayor Councillor Bryan Richardson and Newark and Sherwood chairman Councillor Keith Sheppard then switched on the lights and signalled the launch of the spectacular fireworks display.
The display was followed by the Community Carol Service at Newark Parish Church, St Mary Magdalene, which is, as you’d expect, a hive of activity for Advent. The fourth Newark Christmas Tree Festival runs there from December 3-11, culminating in carols and mulled wine at 6pm on the final day. More than 100 imaginatively and beautifully decorated trees from local businesses, community organisations and schools will be displayed amid the medieval magnificence of St Mary’s for the event, which made £5,000 last year. Admission is £2 (children 20p), all in aid of maintaining the church. The thousands of visitors will also find stalls selling Christmas gifts and cards, children’s toys and clothes, jewellery and more. Homemade refreshments, plus seasonal music including live choral singing, add to the magic. Main sponsors for the tree festival are Larken & Co and Ringrose Law, with many other firms and organisations in support, Living Local included. Howard Newport and Matt Colbourne host Carols in the Market Place on Sunday,
CHRISTMAS IN NEWARK
Living Local
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u All spruced up ... St Mary Magdalene Church will stage the third annual Newark Christmas Tree Festival from December 3-11. Picture: Shawn Rabon. u Below: Rob McVeigh and Marshall Lancaster check out Aladdin’s magic lamp for the panto being staged at the Palace Theatre. And shoppers will be hoping some of the lamp’s magic rubs off on them with a competition where there’s £800 up for grabs.
December 4, organised by Newark Business Club trio June Rowlands, Rachel Mosedale and Stephanie Bilton, from 11.30am-3.30pm. Chuter Ede School Choir, Newark Choral Society and Newark Town Band will perform, Santa Claus will be there and the everyone is invited to come and sing along. Living Local’s Stephanie Bilton, the business club’s retail chairman, said: “We’re also asking people to bring presents for needy children on the day, labelled for a boy or a girl and the approximate age, so we give them to the right children. Or donors can take presents into the Newark Advertiser during the following week.” The business club has also invited retailers to come out of their shops and take a market stall on the day. Contact Steph on 07756 026973 for
details. “It’s nice to see the shops ready for Christmas,” said Steph. “And it’s great that 40 retailers have given £20 gift vouchers for Newark’s Christmas competition, so we have £800 in the prize pot – £400 for the first prize.” Shoppers have to look for panto hero Aladdin’s magic lamp in shop windows to have a chance to win the prizes. “Retailers are really getting behind Christmas in Newark and pulling together as a community,” says Steph. “We have the new Asda open now to attract more Christmas shoppers here, and retailers have to embrace the situation and use it to their best advantage.” Aladdin runs at the Palace from December 7-31, starring Bernie Clifton (see interview on
page 7), TV’s Marshall Lancaster and Rob McVeigh from Any Dream Will Do. Meanwhile, back at St Mary Magdalene Church on December 16-17, Newark Team Ministry presents the ‘prequel’ to last year’s successful Passion Play – The Newark Nativity.
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olly Pickerill plays Mary and Rhys Hawkins is Joseph. Written and directed by Passion Play director James Pacey, 27, a verger at Southwell Minster, the Nativity is very much an ecumenical event with the cast coming from across the Christian denominations, and rehearsals taking place in the Team churches of Christ Church and St Leonard’s. “I was blown away by the support and success of the Passion,” says
James. “We raised over £2,500 for charity and brought new blood into the church. It is only right that we follow this up with something of equal scale, and what better than the greatest story ever told? “Just as with the Passion, our aim is to produce a play that appeals to both Christians and non-Christians alike. It is an attempt to explain the origins of Christ in an entertaining and powerful way.” Tickets are on sale in Newark Tourist Information Centre (655765) and St Mary’s vestry (706473), adults £4, under-11s £2. For further information, log on to www.newarknativity.co.uk l For a full report and video highlights of the lights switchon and associated events on November 27, go to www. livinglocalnewspapers.co.uk
u Christmas Tree Festival organiser Olivia Blackburn is “thrilled with how the plans are unfolding” for this year’s event. “This festival seems poised for take-off, so that Newark can become well-known for its Christmas Tree Festival,” said Olivia. “It’s bigger and better than ever before – our target was 100 trees, up from 90 last year, and we have over 100 already, with 25 new participants. We’re also having many more stalls this year, so that visitors can do Christmas shopping alongside beautiful Christmas tree-viewing.”
Christmas Newark
in
Boots Chemist
For your chance to be one of the three winners return the completed form to Newark Business Club Christmas Competition, C/O Living Local. Closing date for entries is 4pm, Friday 2 December 2011. Three winners will be chosen at random. The judge’s decision is final and no further correspondence will be entered into. The prizes are not transferrable or refundable. Business Club Committee Members are prohibited from entering. No purchase necessary. First prize - £400 made up of £20 vouchers, second prize £300 made up of £20 vouchers and third prize £100 made up of £20 vouchers. All vouchers will be selected by random from the stores listed above.
Supported by local retailers Sponsored by
Lamp no:
Crafty move
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ITH a little encouragement many of us can produce our own masterpieces, and in the present climate, Make Do and Mend is a must. Having a background in art and design after leaving school with low grades, I pursued my love of the arts. This journey took me from college in Lincoln, studying fashion and textiles, to the lights of London, where I studied film and theatre design. Once I had graduated I went on to work for West End costume designers, but struggled to make ends meet and moved back to my family home in Newark. This is where the bend in the road came. I found myself in education for the next eight years,
Craft fair organiser and former West End costume designer Abi Davies is set to be a regular contributor to Living Local, so she introduces herself here and reflects on the success of her first craft fair, held in Newark Town Hall’s Georgian ballroom encouraging young people to follow their dreams and create their own paths, while all the time wanting to move back to my first love of art. So with redundancy on the cards, three months ago, after much
u Abi’s first craft fair attracted over 500 visitors.
Hand-made from 100%wool Scottish tweed
Draycotts Designs m: 07969 723357 e: [email protected]
A research scientist by training, Christine’s precise eye and attention to detail now characterise her design work. Sourcing materials from the Scottish Highlands and local Antique Fairs, focusing on hand crafting bags, accessories and jewellery, she creates a fusion of classic quality and edgy style.
Christine Bradford
HARRIS HARE
prayer, I was back in the arts, organising events. My first, Abi Davies’ ‘A Christmas Fair’, was a great success and saw over 500 people come though the doors. I will be doing my next fair in the spring by popular demand, followed by a tea dance, so watch this space! In the regular column I will give step-by-step advice on making your own craft, and talking to local artists and crafters about theirs. So if you’d like to see your craft or shop featured here, I would love to hear from you. I have also started my own business hiring out vintage china for that special event or party, so if you would like to hire the collection please get in touch for a free consultation. l To contact Abi email abidavies. [email protected] or call her on 07850 465871.
Christine’s work is available through Baxter’s of Newark and rosiemckenzieart.com
If you’re a local crafter and you’d like to promote your work between now and Christmas you can advertise online with www.livinglocalnewspapers.co.uk Email steph@ livinglocal newspapers. co.uk or call 07756 026973
u Right: Margareta and a portrait of her daughter. Above: Her depiction of a strelitzia or bird of paradise flower.
Her life in colours Balderton artist and retired teacher Margareta Padgett is “thrilled to bits” with the response to her first ever solo art exhibition, which finished its run at Newark’s Gilstrap Centre on November 27. “I’ve sold quite a few paintings and had so much lovely feedback that it has really inspired me and given me a lot of confidence,” said Margareta. “When you are fumbling around doing your own thing, you really don’t know whether it’s good or not.” The variety of subjects and styles was one factor that impressed visitors to the exhibition entitled People, Plants and Places. Family portraits were mixed with strikingly vivid pictures of exotic flowers, landscapes, seascapes and townscapes captured on family holidays over the years. Venice, Brittany, Cornwall, the
Suffolk marshes, Lindisfarne and a rustic Greek harbour are among the places depicted. Her next subject is closer to home – Kirkgate in Newark. “It’s quite challenging to get all the details of the buildings,” she says. Strong colours are a common denominator whether Margareta is working in oils or water colours, a vivid picture of a purple, orange and green strelitzia or bird of paradise flower being a case in point. “I haven’t really got a style,” says Margareta modestly. “The subject matter dictates to me whether it’s going to be oils or a watercolour, and colour and light are important to me. I like light effects.” Margareta has been painting and drawing since childhood and is a member of Winthorpe Art Group.
ADVERTISING FEATURE
Market’s key role Living Local spotlight on NEWARK MARKET and helping to secure its future. With two retail outlets of his own, Cllr Laughton said he had an empathy with retailers and traders. “I felt it was absolutely essential that we as a council show our commitment to Newark market and to retail in Newark. “It is extremely important that as a district council we engage (with the market) and with the county council.” He said he had been working closely with district councillor Peter Duncan, who is also a retailer as co-owner of Ann et Vin, and county councillor Keith Girling. “And the council has already had a stall on Newark market which I attended with the leader to talk to the people who are using Newark market, because we recognise the need for vibrancy in the town – and the market can lead in that.”
Stodd’s Fruit and Veg Fourth generation market traders, on Newark Market every Saturday since 1977. Products fresh daily and locally grown whenever possible. Friendly, personal service. Quality and freshness the supermarkets can’t match. Keep it local – and reduce your carbon footprint! n Tel 07976 297577
Pink Dog Shoes Saturdays and Wednesdays on Newark Market. Ladies’ high-fashion shoes and comfort shoes – ex-chain store ranges and top brands at amazing prices, £8-£30. Brands including Anne Michelle, Annabelle, Dr Lightfoot, Dr Keller, Barratts, Wilfords etc. n Proprietors Clive and Belinda Watchorn.
Set your stall out As part of the Carols in the Market Place event on Sunday, December 4, Newark Business Club has invited retailers to come out of their shops and take a market stall on the day. n Contact Stephanie Bilton on 07756 026973 for details.
Ian Harrison said the market had been a presence in Newark for some 850 years and that retail markets nationally had an annual turnover of around £3.5 billion, sustaining around 66,000 businesses. “In Newark itself we believe about 120 businesses use the market place on a weekly basis.” Ian said feedback from retailers showed the market was “absolutely essential to retain footfall in Newark town centre”. As market traders gear up for the festive season after a difficult year for most retailers, this kind of support from the council is one of the best Christmas presents the market could hope to get. And if you are looking for Christmas presents at the best possible prices, or just buying your weekly fruit and veg, there’s no better place to go.
Cups, Cakes and Bakes Beautiful cup cakes. Delicious chocolate brownies and more Freshly made, finest quality Saturdays and Wednesdays on Newark Market. Celebration cakes for birthdays, events etc. n Proprietors: Harriet and Elaine Mallard. Tel 07894 572018; website: www. cupscakesandbakes.co.uk
Picture: Queen’s Court Studios
N
ewark’s market plays a vital role in helping to keep the town centre vibrant – and it’s not just Living Local that thinks so. Councillor Bruce Laughton and Newark and Sherwood business manager Ian Harrison delivered that same message to Newark Business Club’s November meeting, and it was music to a market fan’s ears. Both were keen to sweep away petty restrictions that deter traders, to find strategies and attractions to improve the market and attract more shoppers, maybe even bringing buses back into or next to the Market Square. Cllr Laughton is a council cabinet member who has responsibility for markets, while Ian Harrison recently took on the job of promoting Newark market
Newark Repair and Sales Centre Ltd
Living Local
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Smith’s Fruit and Veg Friendly staff serving fresh, top-quality fruit and veg at keenest prices – much of it sourced from familyrun, Lincolnshire farms for greatest freshness. No-quibble guarantee on all produce Every Wednesday and Saturday on Newark Market. Twenty-five years of service. n Proprietors – Roger and Brenda Smith.
T. E. Bethel – fine fresh fish Our stall offers the same top-quality fish as our long-established Leeds shop. Five-star certificate for hygiene. Fresh tuna, sea bass, natural haddock, finney (smoked) haddock etc. Special orders taken. n Proprietor George Leeming. Tel 07703 035413
Angell’s Quality Catering 100% fresh-ground Fair Trade coffee, cappuccino, latte, Americano, mocha, hot chocolate, Tetley tea. Best-selling toasties, local bacon, free-range eggs, fresh market produce. People keep coming back – it’s the quality! Private functions, corporate events, festivals, parties. n Proprietor Steven Angell.
m-r systems
Vacuum cleaner bags and hard-tosource spares for vacuums and other appliances, plus batteries, tools, gardening equipment. Vac sales and servicing. Every Saturday. Long-established stall, keen prices, sourcing quality parts for washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers, ovens etc. n Proprietors: Nigel Tucker and Lee Twigger. Tel 07812 142 897
Save £££s on ink! Epson original inks from £6.90; hp inks from £8. PCs from £279. Laptops from £149 PC repairs, upgrades, security, hardware, printers, home visits Newark Market every Saturday. Also at Unit 4, Jessop Way. n www.m-rsystems.com; [email protected] Tel 01636 605552 / 611158
North Notts Windows
Market yourselves
The area’s leading manufacturer and installer of high-quality PVCU windows, doors and conservatories. Our mobile display vehicle brings our business to the people – on Newark Market every Saturday. Free quotes. No pressure sales. Single windows to full house installations and conservatories. n [email protected] Tel 01623 835676
Are you a regular stallholder on Newark Market? Then why not advertise in Living Local to make sure people know you’re in the market for business? n Contact Stephanie on 07756 026973 or [email protected]
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GIFT GUIDE
Living Local As chairman of the Newark Business Club retail group, Living Local’s very own Stephanie Bilton knows all there is to know about shopping locally. So who better to put together this four-page Christmas gift guide, packed with presents for all the family?
It’s the spirit of
u Philosophy Hair and Beauty, Cartergate – Get the Christmas pamper package for the woman who has everything ... and save £20. You can treat her to a Glo Facial, manicure, scalp massage, hair treatment and blowdry for just £61, down from the usual price of £81.
u Domino, Stodman Street – Full of gorgeous gifts all year round, Domino really comes into its own at Christmas with everything you need to deck the halls in style.
s t – Glittery decoration u Riad, Church Stree ed to add sparkle to nte like these are guara g. tin set s ma rist Ch ur yo
u Marks & Spencer, Stodman Street – For a wide choice of festive crackers, such as these with Trivia game included, and some great gifts for men. Look out for the three-for-two offers as well.
u W H Smith, Marke t Place – Take your pic a huge range of bo k from ok hardbacks at two for s, including top-selling £10.
“...Christmas Introduction” The Magic of Theatre
Brought to you in a box...
A glamorous night at the theatre has never been so reasonable... Choose from four exciting new box packages...
Standard Box, Champagne Box, My Box and the Corporate Box.
RiAD Interiors and Gifts offers a variety of quality soft furnishings, homeware, lighting and decorative items for yourself, your home and garden. We stock an extensive range of gifts, jewellery and lots, lots more...
7 Church Street, Newark
01636 643 926
Interval drinks, canapés, flowers, limousine hire and your own personal usher service are just some of the things that can be included in your box package. A box at the Palace Theatre Newark is perfect for celebrations and special occasions. Starting from only £10 per box (plus your ticket price for 4 people)
Love your local theatre ♡ a& a&
Ask a member of our box office team for more details. Box Office: 01636 655 755 www.palacenewark.com
*All boxes are subject to availability.
GIFT GUIDE
Christmas presents u Ye Old Traditional Sweet Shop, Queen’s Head Court – All your old favourites and some new ones, too, including popular themed gift packs for a really sweet treat.
u Gannets, Castlegate – Spoil someone this Christmas with one of these festive hampers, filled to the brim with luscious homemade goodies.
Traditional Sweet Shop
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u Summer Pudding, The Buttermarket – From candles to cushions, bags to bunting, this little shop is packed with crafty Christmas ideas.
ngate u The Palace Theatre, Appleto ce? – Why not book a box at the Pala With bespoke packages offering ers, everything from pre-theatre dinn n champagne, chocolates or eve a ily a chauffeur, give friends or fam night to remember!
Ye Old
Living Local
u Boots, Stodman Street – Mix and match with three-for-two offers on a huge selection of toiletries and gifts for everyone.
Book now for your Christmas Make over...
ENJOY ALL YOUR FAVOURITE SWEETS, MANY WILL BE A BLAST FROM THE PAST..... WE HAVE A MASSIVE RANGE TO CHOOSE FROM.
We specialize in Wonka confectionery and many types of American candy. ALL YOUR FAVOURITES
Our sweet hampers and baskets make a perfect present for Christmas, you will be spoilt for choice, so maybe a gift voucher is the answer.
Visit our sweet store at 1 Queen’s Head Court, Newark or call us to find out more 07968 563747
heaven hair & beauty
We now offer more than hair dressing, we have a range of beauty treatments and services. Give us a call and find out more.
telephone 01636 706259
GIFT GUIDE
Living Local
The eyes have it u The Secret Boutique, Boar Lane – Flutter those lashes! Choose from over 100 different styles, with prices starting at just £2.49.
u Two’s Company, Middlegate – Piggy in the middle! One of a range of children’s money boxes starting at just £8 each.
u Monsoon, Stodman Street – Gorgeous little party dresses for gorgeous little girls!
u The Jewellery Stall, The Buttermarket – Whatever your budget, you’ll find ornaments, scarves and trinkets galore here.
Get the holiday look at the
Bronze Zone Salon Call for an appointment or just pop in.
Opening hours
Secret Boutique Newark's First Erotic Boutique is no longer a secret......
Visit SECRET BOUTIQUE on Boar Lane, Newark and discover Sumptuous Lingerie, Dress-Up, Stunning False Eye Lashes (over 100 sets to choose from), Adult fun toys and accessories. Don't be shy see you soon!
Monday to Friday: 9.30am-7pm Saturday: 9 30am-5pm Sunday: Closed 4-6 Boar Lane Newark-on-Trent
17 Kirkgate, Newark | 01636 679761
Telephone:
01636 706174
u Rose & Peck, The Arcade – Looking for something that’s a bit out of the ordinary? Another little shop that’s bursting with unusual gifts for her, him, home and garden.
GIFT GUIDE
Living Local
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Nice and spice u Honeytrap Lingerie, Cartergate – Add a touch of spice to the festive season with a gift for the lady in your life from this brand new range called Just For Christmas.
u Lulu Boutique, The Buttermarket – All the stylish accessories you need to make someone’s winter warmer!
u Ragazza, Middlegate – Arm candy no girl can resist, the perfect finishing touch to every outfit – it’s in the bag!
u Vintage Vixen, Cartergate – Looking for original gifts with a vintage pedigree? Look no further!
NS O I Christmas B
Portraits
NS
RO
u No Angel, Clinton Arms Court – Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to party!
A professional portrait From a loved one-to a loved one
Families Couples Singles and Pets “It’s a lot easier and cheaper than you think.” Queen’s Court Studio
ONEYTRAP 01636 706091 INGERIE Off Kirkgate, Newark
•
Hi Santa, I am calling to add the beautiful Lingerie set called Fleur Rouge by Gossard to my Christmas list, available from Honeytrap Lingerie. Don't worry, Denise and Sara know my size; I have been professionally measured.
•
Please add this to the robinsons copy. Make the advert better. feel free it's really boring advert to follow same size 165 mm h x 63 mm w Christmas greetings and thanks to all our loyal customers for their support throughout the year Perfect gifts for
Christmas
Stodman street 01636 703 629 www.queenscourtstudio.co.uk
www.domino.uk.net
GARDENING
“Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat Please put a penny in the old man’s hat”. So goes the old saying. At Eton Avenue Growers we’ve had more than a penny put in our hat! Trent Vale Landscape Partnership have just told us they will fund our water retrieval system – tubs, barrels and all the guttering etc. to go with them so that we can harvest all the rainwater
from our sheds and tunnels. What a fabulous Christmas present for us. We are busy making things to go on our stall at the charity market when the town Christmas lights are switched on, so do come and see us and say hello. Newark Allotment and Gardening Society is decorating a Christmas tree this year in the Parish Church, all about from “Plot to Plate”. In the vegetable garden there is still plenty to do. If you have any winter greens make sure there are no dead leaves around the bottom and stake anything tall to prevent rocking in high winds. Garlic can still be planted along with Japanese onion sets, broad beans and peas. If you prefer, sow the beans and peas in pots in a cold greenhouse and plant them out in spring. Personally I now prefer to sow indoors in February and transplant outside in March. Lettuce, salad leaves and Chinese leaves can still be sown in the greenhouse or tunnel – they will just take longer to reach edible size. In the house (or heated greenhouse) you can sow seeds for sprouting. I like green lentils, they have a nice nutty taste. Traditionally onions for the show bench are sown in the greenhouse
Out with the old, in with the new on Christmas or Boxing Day. For the rest of us February is quite soon enough, or just buy sets. We are gradually clearing away all the old plants, digging over the ground and covering with manure or carpet depending what is going in there next year. Do remember to rotate your crops on a three or four-year rotation. This helps prevent disease. In the flower garden the bulbs should nearly all be in by now. I try and buy a few bags of small bulbs every year and my small garden at the front of the house looks a picture with them and polyanthus. Wallflowers, forget-me-nots, sweet Williams, daisies and pansies are all available now along with heathers. Clear up dead leaves and either make a wire leaf cage or put in a black bin bag, splash in some water, make a few holes in the bag and chuck behind the shed! By this time next year you will have well rotted leaf mould. As soon as the fresh cranberries are in the shops I like to make cranberry and apple chutney to go with Christmas dinner. It really needs to sit for three or four weeks before use. This year I’m making my own mince pies or rather a mincemeat slice with a crumble topping. My daughterin-law makes the cakes and we buy the puddings. As we have a lot of vegetarians, Christmas dinner is a
u Large flowered viola ready for planting out and, left, still picking strawberries – in November! mixture, with beef, ham and, this year, a walnut savoury made with beautiful local walnuts I have been given – they taste so much nicer than shop-bought. As the nights draw in we pour over seed catalogues. This year has been so topsy-turvy with plants flowering at the wrong time and produce either early or late. I am STILL picking strawberries. I have three tubs full and they are now in the
cold greenhouse and still producing fruit. Have a good Christmas and I’ll see you all again in the New Year, l Gillie is chairman of Newark Allotments and Gardening Society and vice-chairman of the Eton Avenue Growers’ Association. She can be contacted on 01636 671413 or 07846 997 985 and at [email protected]
EN CEN T RD A
Liz’ s RE
Open 7 days a week Monday-Sunday 165 mm h x 130 mm w 9.30am-5.00pm Tel:some 01636 610199 1/4 page they don't have a logo and are very traditional, if you have A images of christams type veg and fruit like T potoes parsnips oranges etc etc tha R D brussells and EN CEN G
E
Gillie Wilkinson offers some seasonal tips to gardeners and allotment holders
wording below
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Nordman Firs
Ernest Banks Soft wide and flat dark green needles, has become the most popular the independent Green Grocer in Balderton based in the heart of the village on Main Street tree.vegatables It has a and lovely shape anddeliver excellent retention. the Christmas best quality fruit flowers and we to yourneedle home and business
Thank you to all our loyal customers for shopping with us in 2011 fro Karl HAzel and all the t
Blue Spruce
Dont forget we are taking you Christams Orders Very attractive tree needles are Now 1 to
1.5 inches long, shorter on Main the upper branches01636 and702787 very sharp needles to the touch. Ernset Banks Street Balderton It's colour is dull bluish grey to silvery blue.
Omorika Compact tree needles are short green on top with bluish-green colour at the bottom.
CHRISTMAS TREES NOW IN STOCK Traditional Norway Spruces
Frazer Firs
CUT AND POTTED, UNDER-COVER SELECTION. FREE NETTING SERVICE WREATHS, HYACINTH BOWLS, CYCLAMEN, POTTED PLANTS Members of the H.T.A and now sell and redeem National Garden Gift Vouchers
www.livinglocalnewspapers.co.uk
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Handy numbers n Emergency Services
n Councils
Newark Police 0300 3009999; emergency 999
Newark and Sherwood District CounciL 01636 650000
Ambulance 0115 9296151; emergency 999 Fire emergency 999 St John Ambulance 01636 681745
n Services Gas 0800 111999 Electric 0800 0568090
RAPID RESPONSE PLUMBING & HEATING
n Helplines Citizens Advice 01636 704391
Tony Buck
Just when you’re having one of those days!
FAST TRUSTED RELIABLE LOCAL
Seven Trent Water 0800 783 4444
Mind 01636 650228 Carers’ Support Group 01636 685612 Autistic helpline 01636 605913 Drugs 01636 650661
All types of plumbing, heating, gas engineers & property maintenance.
Give us a call today on 07803 046428 or 01636 671259
Beaumond House 01636 610556 Sue’s Place 01636 551739 Hope House 01636 700380 Alcoholics Anonymous 0115 9417100 Incest and Sexual Abuse Survivors 01636 610313 Relate 01623 636553 Stroke 0115 985 7868
Re-upholstery Repair Work Antique Restoration
C.B.T.S Upholstery
Our business is based on the quality of our work
n Health Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham 0115 924 9924
John Caunt
Lincoln County Hospital 01522 512512
City and Guilds Qualified and a Member of The Guild of Master Craftsmen
Contact us today for Free Advice & Quotation
Newark Breast Cancer Support Group 01636 612130
Newark Hospital 01636 681681
01636 611 234 07790 412 393 32 Castlegate, Newark (within Clark & English)
www.cbtsupholstery.co.uk
Nottinghamshire County Council 0115 982 3823 Balderton Parish Council 01636 703626 Councillors Neil Allen 01636 672800 Kenneth G Fletcher 01636 702077 Walter Hurst 01636 681105 John W. H. Page 01636 677998 Jason L Osborne 07833 488559 Tom Scott 01636 674321 Inga Walker 01636 703069 Neil R Allsopp 01636 681888 Betty M Brooks 01636 684717 Gordon Brooks 01636 684717 Lydia H Hurst 01636 681105 Angela M Jarvis 01636 611514 Olga Newstead 01636 685494 Raymond Rouse 01636 676097 Keith Walker 01636 703069 County councillor Keith Walker 01636 703069 District councillors Jason L Osborne 07833 488559 Neil R Allsopp 01636 681888 Gordon Brooks 01636 684717 Betty M Brooks 01636 684717 Clerk to the council Cheryl Davison-Lyth 01636 703626
The Samaritans 01476 591551
Newark Town Council 01636 680333
King’s Mill Hospital, Sutton-inAshfield 01623 622515
Fernwood Parish Council Councillors Neill Mison 07824 770065 jim Weale 01636 647116 Antony Barson 01636 671356 Francine McKay 01636 613024 Jim Gould 01636 605082 Anita Burke 07807 314461 Kevin Whitehead 07775 678529 District councillors Declan Logue 07904 004242 Ivor Walker 07817 338891 Clerk to the council Emma Thorpe 07919 564016
Please contact [email protected] to add your handy number in print (space allowing) but we will publish all numbers at www.livinglocalnewspapers.co.uk
Repairs, Service Parts and Installations Qualified Engineer Backed by DAC Same day and next day call out A-Z of Manufacturers Laundry and cooking Free-standing and built in
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Here’s the Living Local HANDY NUMBER if you’d like to advertise in the area’s newest, brightest paper. Just call 07756 026973 – or email sales@livinglocal newspapers.co.uk
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| Fair |
‘Rosey Nosey’ is a seasonal ale brewed by which Lincolnshire brewer? | Fit For Nothing: April 2012
Fit For Nothing
A diary of life, alcohol, collies and attempting to keep fit.
"for the happy, the sad, I don't want to be, another page in your diary"
Monday, 30 April 2012
Stand Up And Gorp
There was no waking any of the triumvirate that I share a bedroom with this morning and this was a weekend without activity. No runs, no dogs shows.
L tells me of her visit today to Bravissimo, the stand up and gorp bra shop, where they assess their customer’s measurements by simply looking. The mind boggles. I wonder if they just line up all their customers and do them all at once. Perhaps not. There are no job vacancies by the way.
In the evening, L is out running in Ockbrook whereas the boys and I are dog training. Not that we have a trainer and only four people turn up. Apparently there’s some mildly important match on TV tonight. So it’s a cosy and frantic session. Both boys get a spin and crawl back to the car, so job done on the exercise side at least.
(Monday 30th April)
Time To Brush Up On The Norwegian
Today I don’t have a race to run or a dog show to go to. OMG. What to do? Nothing. Well nothing that involves getting out of bed before lunchtime.
After a park session we head to Broadway, where we eat out for the third time in three days. So decadent.
Before we eat we take in another film and it’s my choice. I'll take L's Salmon and raise her one 'Headhunters', 1-0 to me I think, or to give it its original title - ‘Hodejegerne’. Yep it’s time to brush up on my Norwegian. Again.
It’s ostensibly a thriller based on a Jo Nesbø book produced by those Yellow Bird folk, the Dragon Tattoo people. Usually the book is a lot better than the film of the book. All I can say is; it must be some book.
Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie) works as a corporate headhunter but his job clearly doesn’t pay well enough to keep his woman (Synnøve Macody Lund) in the style she's become accustomed to. For which he has our sympathy.
He’s worried she’ll leave him because he's short with an inferiority complex whereas she's tall, blonde and beautiful. Perhaps he has a point. So to make her ends meet, he has a side job as an art thief.
Also on the side, he has mistress Lotte (Julie Ølgaard), which doesn’t really make sense. Why resort to crime to keep the woman of your dreams and then have a mistress... but then little is simple in Headhunters.
He uses his job to ascertain whether potential job recruits own any decent works of art, whether they live alone, have a dog etc... then he burgles them, replacing their paintings with fakes. He is aided and abetted by Ove (Eivind Sander), a security expert with a taste for Russian prostitutes.
When Roger is introduced to Clas Greve (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), a man who has allegedly an original Rubens hanging in his grandmother’s apartment, suddenly he has the ‘big one’, the one that will finance his trophy wife for good but this time he steals from the wrong guy. Greve turns out to be a psychopath, things get rapidly out of control from there on in and Roger finds out what it is to be headhunted himself.
He ends up fearing for his life but at first, he doesn't really know why. As the bodies mount up, he doesn't know whom he can trust and whom he can't. Nor can we.
The film is clever in that you start by seeing Roger one way but pretty soon your perception of him changes. Roger goes through a lot, a hell of a lot and ends up doing things he wouldn't ordinarily dream of doing, just to stay alive.
The film is full of surprises and at times leads us on a right merry dance. You think one thing but then you think something else. You start rooting for one guy and then end up rooting for another. It’s all done at great pace and with a rather dark, macabre sense of humour bubbling along just under the surface, including a rather shameless rehash of a scene from Slumdog Millionaire.
It would be impossible to spoil much more of the plot for you because there's so much of it and it gets increasingly more complex as the film goes on but it always remains plausible, just about. Just don’t dare blink.
See this before a Hollywood remake appears. Apparently Mark Wahlberg already has his hands on the script. Why bother? There’s no way on earth Hollywood could better this.
Posted by
Something Fishy
It’s all a bit of a rush job this morning as TV have, in their wisdom, moved all the final matches of the Championship season to 12.30 kicks offs when surely nobody will be watching. It makes me feel we’ve sort of been scraped under the carpet so that no one’s sees us.
That said the final weeks of this football season is a total mess. The Championship finishes today but the two divisions below do not finish until next week and the Premier League until the week after. Then the FA Final is going to be next Saturday before the Premier League ends but presumably because there’s normal League One and Two games going on it’s a 5.15 kick off. So again hardly anyone will be watching. Sprinkled randomly throughout these last few weeks will be playoff games, on any day I assume provided it’s not a weekend.
I manage a quick park session with the boys, before hurtling over to Derby for the match. At least I’m home in reasonable time and we decide to take in an early film.
L has read the book of and therefore desperately wants to see ‘Salmon Fishing In The Yemen’, I tag along, although I’m sure it’s just a RomCom in an ill-fitting disguise.
Ewan McGregor is Fred Jones, speaking for once in his native Scottish. Fred is a fisheries expert working for the government or the Environment Agency or something like that. Fred is told of an Arab sheikh who has more money than sense and wants to do that thing in the title. So I can’t complain the plot isn’t straightforward.
Once Fred has picked himself up off the floor from laughing at the prospect of taking salmon from cold rainy Scotland to the deserts of Yemen, he is told it is going to happen anyway. The government requires a feel good story to distract the gullible public from the bloodshed that is occurring in Afghanistan. Fred is sent off pronto to see the sheik’s representative, the impressively named Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt). Ah ha, at this point flashing lights and sirens go off as the ill-fitting disguise is cast aside revealing the irresistible shag interest.
Fred is so dull though, very well acted dull by McGregor as it happens, you'd think he was into fishing, oh he is. Whereas Ms Something-Somewhat can out of nowhere summon up an impressive knowledge of Mandarin Chinese. Why is she interested? Who knows, ask the fish.
So we have two ill matched people, who are thrust together by circumstance. They will naturally start off at odds but will gradually become fond of each other, then they’ll overcome some last minute crisis before living happily ever after amongst the fish. So, the usual then.
There’s a slight complication that Fred is married and Harriet has a soldier boyfriend (Tom Mison) of a mere three weeks. These though are circumstances that can easily be circumnavigated. Rest assured it's written large across the screen that Fred is not happily married and that Harriet's squeeze is going to die in action in Afghanistan.
Although he doesn't actually die, in a slight plot twist, he is the one person who not only survives an otherwise fatally unsuccessful military operation but is totally unscathed by it. The government whisk him out to Yemen immediately in a blatant PR stunt that no one seems to see through.
Yemen is but the backdrop, the back story of why the Yemenese people so want to sabotage this project is untold. Yet, despite the employment of top Chinese engineers from the Yangtze River dam, sabotage it they do.
That the film has its humorous moments is down to the deadpanning of McGregor but also to the excellent role of Kristin Scott Thomas who plays the Prime Minister’s pushy press officer, who chats with her boss on Instant Messenger. She gets practically all the best lines.
Apparently in the book practically everyone ends up dead or miserable, whereas this has a more predictable upbeat ending. Neither seems an ideal conclusion.
It’s the most undemanding film I’ve seen in some time but it’s harmless enough. A bit like fishing really.
Afterwards we retire next door to BrewDog’s new Nottingham venture, which is a pleasantly attired place. BrewDog is a craft brewer, which means they brew real ale but serve it like lager, which I think is a bit lazy. This means everything is gassy and over cold. The beers improve immensely if you give those two properties chance to wear off. It also means, as with lager, things improve markedly with strength and BrewDog have some seriously strong beers, some at 10%+. They have done real ale in the past but now they prefer to do it this way, for now, their publicity seeking approach seems to change pretty regularly.
The place serves nothing but beer, which is a bold move. Forcing some people out of their comfort zone I’m sure. Pleasant place, ok beers. I’m sure we’ll return but no rush.
Then we try somewhere else new, the Malaysian restaurant Nada Budaya that is in the same building. We get in without booking and are pleasantly impressed with the food, only the waitress who annoyingly keeps topping our wine distracts from a pleasant experience. This is something that happened a lot in Switzerland, very annoying, particularly if you’re keeping a close check on what you drink because you’re driving, which thankfully neither of us are tonight.
We break the walk home by stopping for a night cap in the Ropewalk.
(Saturday 28th April)
Unconditional Offer
Today is my birthday and L says we can do whatever I like tonight. I like unconditional offers like that.
We ought to go out but it seems unfair on the boys, who have been home alone all day. If the rain ever stops we could splosh our way up to Beeston.
The rain actually eases as the day goes on and I manage to run 10k or so after work. It was perhaps not the best of ideas, my calves, both of them, were still a bit tender from Wednesday's effort. Now afterwards one of them is really tight. Oh dear.
Perhaps a walk up to Beeston will ease it. It doesn’t, although the ale and the Indian Mixed Grill certainly help.
(Friday 27th April)
So Proud
I get an interesting email from Daughter this morning. She says she’s used the exact words 'the heating does not need to be on, if you're cold put on a jumper' to her housemates. She thinks she’s turning into me. I’m so proud. Though such frugality was not apparent the last time I looked at her bank balance.
The Rainbow 4 bus is to become the i4. ‘i’ for what? FFS.
Have they achieved a sponsorship deal with a certain computer company who is fond of putting ‘i’ on the front of everything? I doubt it.
People do like their re-brands but it's a bus. People don't get on a bus because of what it's called. People get on a bus because it goes where they want to go, when they want to go and is preferably comfortable and reasonably priced.
Well, I hope they keep the number ‘4’ as prominent as it is now because the only problem with the rebrand of the old 'Rainbow 5', now known as the ‘Indigo’, was that they removed the '5' off the front of it. Now, in the dark it is almost impossible to tell the ‘Indigo’ apart from all the other buses with ‘Nottingham’ on the front until it practically runs you over. Hopefully they won’t make the same mistake again... but I’m not confident.
I have a committee meeting of the dog club tonight, where I get a few more things passed and a few more ideas planted. The quiet revolution continues.
(Thursday 26th April)
Bedraggled
I think we're all thoroughly sick of this drought now, so go away and stop raining please. We now have flood warnings in the supposedly barren south-west .
To top it off I was too sluggish leaving home and missed the bus, which was then slow as it had to weave around the flooded areas of the A52. Late for work. To top that off I have my running kit with me, so that I can run in the blessed wet stuff later. Joy.
The weather does tease me a touch, fining up nicely during the afternoon before going deathly black overhead just before home time.
At least L’s had a good day at work ‘I can't decide whether to throw myself out of the window or go to the gym’. The latter may be more beneficial to her health.
I run quite a long way, three blocks (in the 'trade' they call them bricks) of three miles, so nine in all, if my maths is correct. I get the bus the last few miles, although at first I don’t think the driver is going to let me on. He gives me the sort of disgusted look that anyone would give a damp bedraggled person who is about to make their bus seats very wet. I give him a look that tries to say ‘I’ll stand up if you wish’. The nice man lets me on.
(Wednesday 25th April )
For Sale Signs, Traffic Cones And Advertising Hoardings
Unlike our teenagers, in Queensland, Australia they don’t bring home For Sale signs, traffic cones and advertising hoardings (I speak from recent experience), they bring home penguins . Oh hang on, they were Welsh.
Squash tonight, for a change on a Tuesday but without replicating last week’s late shift. The result isn’t any better though.
For some reason the pub’s TVs are all blacked out. Have they not paid their Sky subscription? So the place is really quiet, nicely quiet as it happens, as everyone goes elsewhere to watch those little old underdogs Chelsea take on and beat Barcelona. Didn’t they do well once they got rid of that John Terry guy!
(Tuesday 24th April)
Conscience
My calves ache this morning because I have micro tears, according to Runner’s World. That’s tears (rips) not tears (wet things). Perhaps if they get any more painful I’ll have both.
L spends the afternoon working from home, trying to keep the boys awake so that we can return to Sheffield again tonight with a clearer conscience.
It must be about time for another Feeder gig and they duly oblige with another four date preview of their new album 'Generation Freakshow' which is released today. The ‘main’ tour to promote the album isn't happening until November which seems a very odd marketing tactic and makes it all the more important to be here tonight in Sheffield.
Support comes from Manchester's Daystar, an unashamed indie rock five-piece for which you could name check almost any Manchester legend as an influence and not be far wrong. I mull over several, Stone Roses, The Smiths, Oasis before settling on The Charlatans, who aren’t actually from Manchester...
Lead singer, Simon Monaghan, certainly has a bit of Oasis or more precisely Liam Gallagher about him and a distinctive voice, relayed via a 1950’s microphone. I’m never completely convinced about his vocals during their thirty minute set, when it’s good it’s good but it seems to suit some tracks better than others. I am convinced by their lead guitarist, who is excellent and overall the whole band put in an assured performance.
They say and do all the right things, as support bands are supposed to. I think it must be compulsory to complement the main band's soundcheck, so I’m not sure we can read much in to their prediction that we’re in for treat when Feeder hit the stage. We knew that anyway.
Grant Nicholas, Taka Hirose and co open with ‘Tiny Minds’ which before the gig I’d got in my head as being dropped to make way for the superior newbie ‘Headstrong’ but ‘Tiny Minds’ was actually excellent tonight as the set opener. Still no ‘Headstrong’ though.
While the new album is clearly ‘lighter’ than their last, it doesn’t sound it live as ‘Oh My’ tumbles across the stage towards us.
Next up, it is a pleasure to welcome back ‘White Lines’, as this is my favourite Renegades era track and it is the first of three from that album tonight. ‘Sunrise’ meanwhile is definitely lighter and a throwback to more poppier days.
I hadn’t really noticed but the guitar intros to ‘Borders’ and ‘Buck Rogers’ are actually quite similar. Grant seems to play on this tonight, whether this is totally deliberate I’m not sure. It is ‘Borders’ that follows though. It has become quite a gig favourite and would certainly had been a big hit had it been released by the band during their prime.
‘Hey Johnny’ is the most blatant tribute to Jon Lee yet and Grant seems to put extra feeling into delivering this one. It is followed rather appropriately by the more subtle ‘Just The Way I'm Feeling’ during which, bizarrely, a fight breaks out on the floor.
Once order is restored we get a bit of a surprise. It’s always nice to get surprises in a band’s setlist but Feeder aren’t normally big on this in theirs. ‘Down To The River’ wasn’t really what I had in mind but I certainly didn’t see its inclusion coming.
This slower moment gives me chance to look around. The demographic at a Feeder gig has changed over the last few years. The couples who saw some of their power rock ballads as ‘their song’ have been replaced by more of the ‘old guard’, grizzled Feeder veterans like me, but also a considerable dose of younger blood who seem more animated by the newer rockier stuff than the old classics. All thanks to the rock-focused exuberance of ‘Renegades' I assume.
Feeder actually seem to be on 'repeat'. If 'Renegades' was them rediscovering their 'Polythene' roots now they've pretty much recorded a similar album to its follow up 'Yesterday Went Too Soon'. No bad thing.
At this point the Nirvana-esque ‘Idaho’ riffs into view, signifying on its own a timely throwback to the early days. It opens a repeat of that impressively heavy closing threesome from February, followed as it is by ‘Insomnia’ and the terrific title track to ‘Generation Freakshow’
That’s only thirteen songs in the set, so that surely leaves four ‘must plays’ in the encore. The crowd await their return, now bored with incessantly chanting ‘Feeder Feeder’ they revert to locality with ‘Yorkshire Yorkshire’.
‘Children of the Sun’ is ‘must play’ because it’s to be the next single and is released next week. It opened the set back in February but tonight it opens the encore with Grant again on the acoustic. It’s a pleasant track let down by what I think is a cringeworthy title. It tries perhaps over hard to be the next Feeder anthem. Personally I don't think we need another Feeder anthem but many will disagree.
Grant then asks for requests, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do that before. I think he was expecting a deluge of shouts for ‘Buck Rogers’ but I didn’t actually hear anyone call for it, although surely someone somewhere did. There was an impressive selection of requests offered but the loudest shouts were predictably for ‘Just A Day’ but close second was ‘Sweet 16’ but he played Buck anyway. Which naturally went down a storm but somehow I don’t think the world would have ended if he’d played something else. ‘High’, also on the ‘must play’ list, wasn’t played and the world is still spinning. Then to finish, it’s time to break a few ribs with the closing ‘Just A Day’.
Overall I really like the balance of the sets at the moment. Three tonight from Renegades, eight from Generation Freakshow and again much less reliance on the ‘old favourites’. I’m thinking Grant is getting the confidence to play simply what he wants to play rather than what he thinks he should play.
Later I blow up a photo I took of the set list but couldn’t make out clearly enough on my camera at the time. ‘Shade’ was down as an option to finish the set and an additional song was scheduled in the encore, one of the options was ‘Yesterday Went Too Soon’. If I’d got those two I’d be taking the day off work today to recover.
Unfortunately the band came on late and came up against a 10.30 curfew, so they probably ran out of time. Anybody at the other gigs this week could be in for a real nice bonus.
Afterwards we bump into some friends and adjourn to Sheffield Tap for a beer, in my case something dark, smoked and porterish from Thornbridge. Daughter joins us. We keep it brief, conscience is calling.
(Monday 23rd April)
It’s Enough To Make You Dizzy
While the whole country’s eyes were on that marathon thing in London, we’re in Sheffield for the much more modest Lord Mayor’s 10k, which is part of the Sheffield Festival of Athletics. It’s presumably all with the Lord Mayor’s blessing, as he’s there.
The event starts and finishes at the impressive Don Valley Stadium, actually inside the stadium unlike Sixways last week. It’s a nice touch to run on the track inside the stadium but I quickly grow a bit sick of the sight of it, as we start in it, finish in it, return to do a lap of the track (twice) and run around the top of it (three times). It’s enough to make you dizzy.
In between the route takes us around the pathways that surround the stadium and a lot of cones. The three lap course is ideal for spectators who could put their feet up in the covered grandstand and heckle you in comfort, no less than seven times. I really should have brought my father. Being under cover was useful as the weather was mixed.
The Festival of Athletics was going on as we lapped the stadium for the umpteenth time and you could watch the pole-vaulters trying to harm themselves. The rest of the course had one sharp incline, done three times naturally but other than that it was exceedingly flat by Yorkshire standards but very twisty. That’s not my sort of course but that probably wasn’t the reason why I was so slow, over 46 minutes. That’s lack of training. I did a bit extra as well, as I went the wrong way and had to be shouted back.
I wasn’t convinced about the course measurement, something not helped by the lack of km markers. I only saw 1, 4, 6 and 8 and as I had three laps to look for the rest of them, I’m pretty sure they weren’t there. It also took an age, well five and half minutes, to reach the first one, which means to me that it was in the wrong place. The markers all had ‘Varsity 10k’ on them, a different race held a month ago and my initial assumption was that they were reusing these but now, post-event, I’m thinking perhaps they had just been left up by accident. Apparently that race started in a completely different place, so it was all very confusing.
At the end I’m handed a nice Festival t-shirt, aside from being green, handed out by the Lord Mayor himself. I didn’t think the race was that inspiring and L enjoyed it more than me but then she’ll do anything for a green t-shirt.
This now leaves L with just 2.3 miles to run to complete her 500 mile target. Which is an absolute doddle with two weeks left to go, except that I’m forcing her to board a plane to Finland in order to complete it. I’m cruel like that.
Having finished the race, L gives Daughter a wakeup call and we head over to visit the den of student depravity that they call home and to take her to lunch. We find a nice little pub, in the shadow of Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane ground, which serves a decent beer and Sunday lunch for a fiver. The ground is also Daughter's current place of employment, she worked there as a food runner at their match last week. Well, probably more of a food brisk walker, then again, she's a student, so delete the brisk.
Sheffield United are currently 2nd in the league, so on course to go up automatically. So we’re all hoping for a few defeats so that they end up 3rd, in the playoffs and having to play an extra game, all so that Daughter gets an extra shift.
Back home, after a bit of R&R we head down to the Ropewalk for a couple of strong dark ones - a Bramble Stout and a Porter.
(Sunday 22nd April)
Fashionably Late
I lay in bed, deciding to arrive fashionably late at Lincoln and ad-lib our first course without pre-walking it.
When I arrive an hour late, it is to discover that they have delayed the start by about an hour due to a recent cloud burst. The good news is that I get to walk my first course after all, the bad news is that we now have nothing to do until lunchtime. I should have stayed in bed for another hour.
Perhaps it was a good job we got to walk that course after all. We bag 5th place in what is a qualifier, meaning we're into the final in September, although I’ll wait for written confirmation before I brag too much. We win some dog food and also create a clash with our proposed runs in either the Nottingham or Bristol halfs on the same weekend.
L is out on her bike, a real one. My phone rings and it's L. Oh no, puncture I think. There’s no one there, it’s just one of those heavy breathing calls. I assume she’s pedalling and has called me by accident. At least there's no puncture.
Just after lunch it starts hailing. Doggo is up next but suddenly isn’t looking so keen. Nor am I. Some of the hailstones are as large as marbles, then the thunder and lightning starts.
It subsides and Doggo negotiates an icy course to go clear. No rosette this week though. 17th.
By now it’s a mud bath around car park and a mini Glastonbury around the walkways but the competition rings remain in good condition. MD completes his day with a scrappy clear - 21st, an even scrappier 5 faults and then a complete mess up of a good last run. Which I'll accept was all my fault.
We head home covered in mud but clutching our prized rosette and dog food.
(Saturday 21st April)
Being Fluid
The legs are tired this morning; it must have been a harder squash game than I thought.
I'm hoping for a night out tonight but plans are fluid, as in flexible, not as in just fluids. Although I do have the inaugural Wollaton Beer Festival on my agenda but also as the weather isn’t quite so wet today, hopefully I’ll get the boys on the park first.
Then when I get home L is doing that lying on the bed looking seductive thing again. Best laid fluid plans and all that. The boys still get on the park and then we amble down to the Beer Festival at the cricket club. Bargain drinks at £2 a pint. Some decent stuff, a few 5%ers, Sarah Hughes Ruby, Burton Bridge Stout. Not enough seats though but that’s common for beer festivals. L isn’t too impressed and there’s nothing that sensational so we finish off in the Admiral Rodney where the Broadside tastes a little yeasty, perhaps not quite ready, but still very morish.
(Friday 20th April)
Den Of Iniquity
While L’s workplace is clearly a den of iniquity as she ponders which end of the king size bar of Galaxy to start at, ours is a palace to good health as someone carries a huge tray of mixed fruit in to our office. Pineapple, melon, strawberries and grapes, all naked e.g. not in muffins. We’ve had visitors but they never eat the healthy stuff. I bet they scoffed all the sausage rolls or took them home for their dogs.
I get home from work and contemplate if there’s a park sized weather window before squash. Nope. We manage a bit of training in the rain instead. This drought is dreadful.
Squash has been scheduled for the late shift of 8.15. Not that that's particularly late. We used to play 5-a-sides that kicked off at 10pm but my opponent will probably arrive tonight in his slippers.
0-5 but kind of close. He crawls through the last game and I’m supposed to be the injured one. He's even allowed out late for a drink.
(Thursday 19th April)
In For The Long Haul
L saves me this morning by making me late enough to miss the bus and therefore I don't get soaked in another of those drought inducing thunderstorms but I'm still in plenty of time to drive. In theory. The traffic is horrendous. I can’t even get on the A52 at Bramcote. Diverted through Stapleford nothing is moving there either, so I end up doing a u-turn and going through Ilkeston. I’m sure it’s only this bad when I elect to drive.
At least I’ve chucked some kit in the car and I head to John Carroll Leisure Centre after work. Although I’m not a great fan of the gym.
They only have two bikes in their gym and one of them has a sign on it, saying out of order. They do have two other bikes but they don’t have their pedals in the right place, they’re a bit like those pedal go-carts that some folk had as a kid but which seemed far too much effort to be of any use.
On the one unbroken (almost) proper bike is a chap in a woolly hat who seems to be in for the long haul. Thirty minutes later he’s still there. Which is perfectly fine. I wanted at least thirty minutes myself. It’s not really worth putting your leg over for less.
Unfortunately this leaves me with the dreadmill for company, which wasn’t what I had planned at all and this keeps cutting out every ten minutes telling me my session has ended, which obviously it hasn’t because I’m still here and having to restart it all over again. Stupid thing. After the thing cuts out for a third time I give up and go for a swim. I’m not a great fan of the gym.
I’m also not a great fan of the pool. I get into lowly lane four because it looks quietest. In it are just two other people and they aren’t doing much swimming. I assume they know each other because they stop for a grope and a snog after every length, not that they do many. This is good actually as it means they don’t get in my way.
Sadly after a while they get out, presumably to continue their performance elsewhere, and three lads replace them. The lads dawdle in the shallow end making it very difficult for me to actually touch the side to turn. They don’t show much sign of doing any swimming, perhaps as they’re teenagers they’ve forgotten how or simply CBA. I conclude they’re probably just ‘hanging out’, trying to look cool, trying to pull the chicks etc. In which case they’re wasting their time, she’s just pulled and got out. When one of them does finally remember how to swim, I duck out of the way of his flailing arms and decide it’s time to call it a day. I must have done at least thirty lengths anyway.
I get home in time to take the boys out but it’s still too wet to walk or train the dogs, so we'll just have to chuck hot dogs instead.
(Wednesday 18th April)
Drought
Just as the warning comes out that the current ‘drought’ could last until Christmas it starts chucking it down. At least I got the grass seed down. We have a hosepipe ban of course but then I thought the one they announced ten years or so ago was still in force. It never seems to make the news when they cancel it, if they ever do. If they’re short of water they ought to come to our garden, it never dries out and we have the pawprints to prove it.
Despite still feeling very stiff I attempt a run. One is often required to ease such aches. I follow orders and take it easy. The first mile to the bus is terrible and it doesn't get any more palatable as I hobble home from Stapleford. It felt like 10 miles but was probably only 200 yards. Thankfully the GPS thinks it was somewhere in the middle.
Back home I set up a few jumps in the garden and train MD in the rain.
(Tuesday 17th April)
Grounded
I hobble into work and crawl up the stairs. Both my calves ache, which is possibly a good sign. Two calves aching rather than just my damaged one could, I suppose, mean that I’m now injured in both legs or it could just be that it’s been a while since I did such a long race on zero training. Well, unless you count the 4Paws run, I've not ran at all since Reading a fortnight ago.
Apparently a dog that was at the same agility show as me on Good Friday has contracted parvovirus. It’s a highly contagious disease but is covered by a dog’s annual vaccination, so the boys should be fine. Scratching isn’t a symptom. The Kennel Club has a rule that states that any dogs who may have come into contact with an infectious disease cannot compete for 21 days. So that would rule the boys out of competing this weekend.
It’s the word ‘may’ that is contentious. There were probably around a thousand dogs at that show and the infected one was a puppy who stayed away from the competition areas. In the absence of a more definitive definition from the powers that be a lynchmob is forming to await anyone who was at that show and who attempts to attend another one within 21 days.
L won't be happy if we have to stay at home, as she plans to be glossing the bedroom. One hair on that and we’ll all be in the doghouse.
I decide that in the interests of global peace in the dog world it is best not to attend training tonight. Instead as it’s been dry all day with rain forecast for tomorrow, I cut the grass and sow some grass seed. Hopefully this is perfect timing. Then I collect L from her rave up this evening, something called ‘Dreamboats & Petticoats’. I didn’t get past the title but I’m sure it was very good.
(Monday 16th April)
Complex Mathematics
This was the first running of the Worcester Half and Full Marathon, so a few minor teething problems can be forgiven but as it was put on by an experienced ‘events’ company, Threshold, I’m not sure why they fell down on as many things as they did. Right from the off directions to the venue were a bit basic for a non local. There weren’t any. Just a venue, with a post code I suppose, but not even a sign from the nearby motorway.
The promised the 'small' parking charge turned out to be a hefty £3. Small = 50p. This caused a major tailback that backed up all the way down the dual carriageway as everyone had a whip-round in their pockets to find the cash. If you are going to charge for parking then either add it to the entry fee or at least disclose the amount to us in advance.
We were early enough to avoid the worst of the queue and could take advantage of the facilities at the Sixways Rugby Stadium. It was nice to have proper facilities as opposed to the usual portaloos.
The result of parking debacle was a delayed start by 15 minutes and a problem trying to keep warm. The start was on a very narrow country lane that presented little in the way of warming-up opportunities, nor vantage points for spectators but my father hadn’t made it to this one.
Once we started the route turned out to be pleasant enough. Scenic countryside with a few playful hills. In fact they took us up one almost straight from the start, which was a nice touch. At least, as I know we do this bit again in reverse, the finish will be down it. We were soon past the 13 mile point... Blimey that was a short run, about 12 minutes, a PB and a world record or is that sign just for the full marathon? Yes, some 200 folks are going to go around this course twice.
The route took us through villages and past local pubs, where there were plenty of spectators cheering everyone on but none of them were offering beer. Only sports drink in cups as well as water in bottles. Although I would have liked water before 4.5 miles and on the information sheet four drinks stations were promised but only three were delivered.
The weather was good, it started out chilly but soon warmed up. Well I warmed up, I’m not sure L did but then she’s a girl.
Although billed as the 'Worcester' half, we didn’t appear to go anywhere near the place. Perhaps in future it would be nice to take in some of it, if that’s possible and perhaps a stadium finish? As a first attempt though, it wasn't bad, a good turnout and a nice friendly feel.
They told us before we started that the 11 and 24 mile markers had been stolen, what they didn't mention was that miles 6, 7, 8 and 9 had gone AWOL too, along with the associated marathon distances. The organisers seem to think this was a ‘targeted removal’ rather than a prank, perhaps by the impatient driver who tried to mow half the field down. The roads weren't closed to traffic but most drivers were patient and considerate, some weren’t but that’s normal.
I was aiming for steady-ish but not too steady 8 minute miles, the lack of mile markers stuffed this as I continually tried to average my time out over more and more miles until my head exploded at the complexity of the maths of it all.
I also got blocked by a car on the downhill finish that I was so looking forward to it. Then it was a surprise to be diverted down the canal towpath at the end, which was a bit narrow, making overtaking difficult as people lifted their pace towards the finish. At least I didn't wobble into the canal.
The 26 mile marker also seemed well adrift from where it should have been, good job it didn't apply to me but it should have indicated .2 to go. Although us ‘halves’ had to do an annoying final loop around a cone, it still seemed well out of place.
Oddly there was no clock at finish line but my time of 1:49 isn’t bad considering, although I had targeted a 1:48. I’m handed a rather nice T- shirt. Yay, in cotton, so I can go out to the pub in it tonight. I’m a bit sick of technical t-shirts. They even seem to have enough in smaller sizes, which is a first because although I pick up a ‘small’ for L and she picks up a ‘medium’ for me there are still plenty of ‘smalls’ left.
The massages are outside and the two masseurs look a bit evil, so I skip that and rescue the dogs from the car instead. We wait for L, who does another decent time. Not as quick as Reading but this was a lot hillier and we did both run yesterday.
In the evening we do a mini pub tour on the ‘wrong’ side of town:- Vat and Fiddle, Canalhouse and the Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem ending up at the Laguna Tandoori for a well earned curry. A very good night.
(Sunday 15th April)
Unsettling The Opposition
It’s the fourth running of the Paws 10k at Cotgrave Country Park this morning and, for the first time in those four years, those with paws are allowed to run. How could I deny MD this opportunity? I couldn’t. I’m sure Doggo would have liked to have done it too but sorry mate, this is MD’s gig.
The main Paws event - the 10k, starring L, is off at 10am, so she could have had a lie-in this morning if MD and I weren’t doing the 4Paws 5k at 9am of course. Sorry.
My calf is definitely much improved but being dragged around 5k by the manic MD will certainly be the acid test. If the injury can survive that, then tomorrow’s Worcester Half Marathon is a mere formality.
First though, the pre-race warm up.
There are around a dozen of us and they set everyone off at five second intervals, meaning some mathematics will be required in adjusting the finish times. I’m a little disappointed not to get a mass start, as they are always fun but perhaps they are just being annoyingly sensible. Perhaps they’ve just taken note of MD.
He is a tad excited at the start, well I interpret his noisiness as excitement, it could have simply been annoyance at his Saturday morning lie-in going astray. Perhaps he’s just trying to unsettle the opposition. It works, everyone seems to be backing away from us, moving us nearer to the front.
Then we’re away. I try to hold him back, for his sake and for the sake of my dodgy calf but it’s no good, he won’t be constrained and I decide to go with the flow, his flow.
I have my best, newest, most cushioned, most expensive running shoes on as I know the Paws 10k is always on solid grit tracks. They omit to tell us that the 4Paws run isn’t, it’s across muddy grassland instead, so I wish I’d gone for some older footwear. It’s also not terribly well marked or marshalled. We gain a place as one of the ‘professionals’ an aggressively attired Cani-X refugee appears from behind a bush, seemingly having gone the wrong way. At least at the finish, that’s what she claimed she was doing behind the bush.
The race does seem to be a bit of an afterthought, or forethought as we’re before the main race, and I didn’t think the organisers took it terribly seriously. Not like MD, he’s deadly serious.
We cross the line in fourth, I think, where we are congratulated by a six foot tall fluffy dog, which MD eyes suspiciously but keeps his cool. Our position is adjusted down to fifth when the start times are checked. I’ll need to double check that on the official results, if there are any. I have my doubts. As I say, I didn’t think the organisers took it terribly seriously.
Having apparently sabotaged L and Doggo’s run at Catton last year, they get their own back as Doggo supports us over the last fifty metres or so causing MD to run this last stretch backwards, barking his regards to Doggo. That probably cost us fourth, which still wouldn’t have been good enough for a podium place but it's good enough for a bag full of dog treats.
After all that excitement, there’s not really much point putting on the main race as anything else is going to be an anticlimax but they do anyway.
L claims to be saving herself for Worcester but clocks just over an hour on a course that to me (last year) didn’t seem quick despite its relative flatness.
I head off to the match which is a must win affair for both Middlesbrough and Derby if either are serious about landing a playoff berth. I get the impression they are and we aren’t. At least nobody at the club has ever seriously mentioned the playoffs this season. Boro win 1-0.
A night in, Worcester tomorrow.
(Saturday 14th April)
A Statistic To Improve
It’s Friday the 13th, so I best not bike today either and anyway I’m meeting L and some friends straight from work in Nottingham.
If I drive I could probably be there for about 5.45 but then I can’t drink. If I bus, then I’ll be at the mercy of Trent Barton and it could be anytime between six and midnight when I get there. I risk the bus. The roads are still quiet, so it shouldn't be too bad. Although quiet roads are a mixed blessing, sometimes I can catch the 5.20 bus when its late but even that requires a sprint from work. Quiet roads will probably just mean it’ll be on time or early.
As it turns out, I manage to hotfoot it from work and leap onto the 5.20 just as they’re closing the doors. We meet in the Gooseberry Bush, which is packed, so obviously everybody likes a post work drink. We reckon it’s only about our third time ever. We must improve that statistic. The nice Milestone ale called Sup-porter, which is obviously nice and dark, gets my support.
We linger for a while after our friends have gone despite the fact we’re racing the next day. It's only Paws, L says. So it doesn’t sound like she’s taking it seriously but then she isn’t running with MD, like I am. Still, we’re not out late. We’re home to my team mate and Doggo for around 8.30.
(Friday 13th April)
Still A Victory In My Book
I need to be a squash for 6.45, so I best not bike as with my luck I’ll get another puncture. I don’t take the bus either as last week it was so late, I only just made it in time. So car it is. Now they’ll be hold up on the roads of course.
L swims but only 26 lengths. 26! I’m surprised she can live with herself, swimming such an unrounded number.
Daughter needs a black polo shirt for work, so I send her to the fashion disaster area that is SportsDirect. She’ll die going in there.
After my pub lunch I’m all fired up for squash and on time, thanks to it being the school holidays and there being little on the roads except cyclists repairing punctures.
L is home just after me and is dawdling about going out for a training run. I push her out of the door despite her trying, and succeeding, to look alluring on the bed, thinking it'll get her out of her run. I refuse to be more than a little distracted as I have a squash match to lose.
I play an excellent squash match, even if I do say so myself. I lead 1-0 and then 2-1, although it finishes 2-2, which is still a victory in my book. My opponent was well fed up, particularly when I served overarm, tennis style. Well, you have to try and vary it when you’re in my position, losing every week. I played lots of sidewall shots as well, which he says aren’t proper squash shots, well not the way I do them.
Then after a quick pint, its home to see if L still wants to distract me. She’s had a ‘crap run’ she says, so we console each other, with wine, and forget to eat.
(Thursday 12th April)
Don't Ask How We Are
‘Don't ask how we are’. Ah. I won’t then but L tells me anyway. This morning they were ‘escorted’ off the park by a pack of six deer, or the ‘bloody things’ as she calls them. Ah. An eventful morning for them then.
As is mine. I get a puncture; well I suppose it was about due. Of course I should have hushed this up and I certainly shouldn’t have told L. Not just as I’ve had her bike serviced and she’s preparing to relaunch her cycling career. The very thought of a puncture sends shivers down her spine. She'd rather be attacked by a heard of female deer.
I have my swimming stuff with me but the thing is I’m expecting another puncture on the way home because I rushed the tube change and when I do that I usually end up trapping the inner tube and yep... damn. I fix it again, take my time this time, do a better job, make it home but skip the swim.
There’s not really time now, not with dog class, where MD is brilliant. If only he could do that at shows.
(Wednesday 11th April)
Mudballs
A busy lunch time collecting L’s bike and doing some shopping. It’s amazing how much bike servicing now resembles car servicing. They always find something extra, you really ought to have this done... and there isn’t even an MOT test for bikes.
Then I have a pleasant evening throwing a ball in the mud for the mudballs, giving MD the chance to top up the dirt that is still encrusted in him from yesterday. Doggo seems to manage to indiscreetly dispose of his somewhere, on our bed usually, but MD likes to hang on to his despite the fierce brushing I give him tonight.
L’s at book club this evening, where I don’t think many of them were keen on the last book they were set to read. As punishment they get sent home with a right tomb of a novel, that will keep L quiet for weeks.
(Tuesday 10th April)
Skiving
Today I’m in the glamorous surroundings of a field in Solihull and its raining. In fact it drizzles for most of the day and for the rest of the time we get proper, full on, rain. Consequently it’s a very muddy field. I could have returned to help the club out in Shrewsbury today but it’s about half the distance to here. It’s amazing how many others from the club have pulled the same trick, basically skiving.
Our first run is Doggo in the Vets. He goes clear and gets a rosette for third. MD meanwhile demolishes the first jump of his first course but then does a perfect run for the rest of it. His time would have put him third and considering he hit that jump rather hard, disrupting his stride, he may well have made up the second or so he was behind and won it. Ho hum.
After that poles go down everywhere, MD doesn’t run well in the wet. Just like one of my old cars. So no clears. We stay for our last run, even though with it being for Grades 1-5, we stand little chance of success. By this point most sensible folk have gone home, having had enough of the mud. As we watch the competition I realise that we haven’t seen anybody go clear on it yet, with the difficult first section catching everybody out. So I try a different tactic that works a dream on the difficult start. Then it all goes pear-shaped as I traumatise MD by trying to change sides in front of him. We head home in disgrace.
L’s had a better day than us, 58.03 for her 10k on what is a far from fast course around the undulating grounds of Wayne Manor (formerly known as Wollaton Hall). The girl done well and is edging ever closer to the magic 500 miles.
She heads over to her parents’ from where I collect her later, after a stop off at my parents’ so that the dogs can spread their mud over their kitchen. My folks don't seem to mind and the boys even pick up some roast beef for their tea. I get a biscuit.
(Monday 9th April)
Pushy Parent
Unlike Christmas, Easter sort of just appears almost out of nowhere. Christmas is a tidal wave that gathers momentum from the summer until it has engulfed everything in its path and brings the country to a standstill. Easter meanwhile, just happens. Crème eggs and hot cross buns are a 365 days a year thing anyway but they're easy to ignore because every aisle isn't draped in tinsel. Easter just happens, we get on with it and we get over it. I quite like Easter.
You can even get a table to eat out, so after a lazy morning:- coffee in bed etc, park, Chris Hoy, we head over to Leamington for lunch with Son and his squeeze. We even potentially land him a job interview at the pub we have lunch in. How good is that? All thanks to L being a pushy parent, Son would probably never have got around to applying for the job, even though were in the place at the time with a board outside saying 'job available here now'.
Back to Hoy, he wins the Keirin by squeezing through a gap that even the minuscule Laura Trott may have not have got through. Perhaps she’s been giving him lessons. Also on the final day there’s silver for Wendy Houvenaghel in the individual pursuit, silver for Ben Swift (again) and Geraint Thomas in the Madison and bronze for Jess Varnish in the 500 but still we’re slightly eclipsed by Australia.
(Sunday 8th April)
Studently
Today I can be studently with L and lounge in bed. Meanwhile our Sheffield student has to go to work, ha ha, and much to her disgust, dressed in black.
Well actually, I get up at 10am and lounge studently in front of the live cycling. Omnium Gold for Laura Trott. Medals too for Jason Kenny and Chris Hoy in the Sprint but neither of them gold. Kenny’s beating of Hoy in the semi-finals looked decisive enough to me to deny Hoy getting the Olympics gig in the sprint but then what do I know. Then it was that man Ben Swift again with a hard-earned silver in the Points race.
Eventually I take the boys on the park and then head off to the match, which is a very typical end of season style 0-0 draw. Then I head straight up to Sheffield by train. It’s only 30 minutes by train from Derby, which is a lot quicker than driving. Yet the train takes almost an hour from Nottingham.
I meet L outside Sheffield station, where she is sat with Daughter’s huge bag, full mainly of books, wrapped around the middle with packing tape. Running repairs have clearly been required. Somehow L has managed to get it from home onto the train.
We embark on a joint baggage pull and wheel it the half a mile or so to Daughter’s flat. It doesn’t quite make it, one of the wheels collapses before we get there, but we drag it against its will the rest of the way.
Daughter has, by the time we get there, crawled home from work. Not that it's far, it’s only really across the road from her. She's had the ‘day from hell’. Apparently they’ve had her scrubbing walls. Ah good, I’ve always been in favour of hard labour for teenagers. She glosses over the good bits of her day. Bar work, waitressing etc.
As she sits in front of her TV, half asleep, in her PJs. Well actually L’s PJs, clearly recently half-hinched from home. It doesn’t look like she’ll be moving anywhere any time soon. What happened to her night out on the town with us?
So we set out on our Sheffield pub crawl without her. First stop the Devonshire Cat, which is very good. Plenty of real ales, their own extensive foreign beer menu and some decent food.
We could have stayed all night but we move on to nearby Henrys. The name didn't really inspire and despite a promising range of ale, we’re not that impressed with the place. Next, the Old House, which is a very nice place with again a good mix of British and Foreign beers. They refuse to serve L a Westmalle Belgian ale in anything but its correct glass, so we wait whilst they fetch fresh glassware from the storeroom. Nice touch. The wrong glass syndrome is something that does annoy us a lot in Nottingham.
Finally we move closer to the station to ensure we don’t miss our train home. There’s no chance of that with the Sheffield Tap being on the actual platform. It’s effectively a remote Brewery Tap for the Thornbridge Brewery. Enough said. Oddly L doesn’t have Jaipur but there are plenty of other beers of theirs (and from other breweries) to choose from.
(Saturday 7th April)
Not Quite Rocket Enough
I get up early and scrape the ice off the car before heading to Shrewsbury. I leave L in bed, where I understand she stays for some considerable time. Which is very studently of her and very wise.
I’m at a dog show of course and once the ice has melted off the equipment we get our first run. I’m only half joking. It’s pretty cold here.
That first run is a clear round for the Pocket Rocket but just not quite rocket enough. He comes fifth, which is promising but it could all be downhill from here. Yep. We can’t buy a clear round after that although Doggo is eighth in Veterans but MD’s fifth is the only rosette of the day.
The club are running a ring here and I’m managing it. We are given a ridiculous amount of dogs to get through and consequently I’m here from 8am until 6.30pm. A very long day. At least I get a decent lunch, including apple crumble, which is one of the compensations of ring managing. So all is not lost. The downside is being home for about 8.30. I tell L to chill the wine, the beer, the brandy, everything.
She's been painting in the bedroom whilst we’ve been out. It looks good but means the dogs, most likely Doggo, could end up stuck to the wall by the morning if they’re not careful. It might stop him scratching though; an uninterrupted sleep would be nice.
Another good day at the cycling. Victoria Pendleton has a very flaky psychological state at the best of times so when she crashed, hitting the track hard, in her sprint semi-final against her nemesis Anna Meares, you feared the worst.
You didn’t expect Vic to pick herself up, defeat Meares and then clinch the gold as well. Superb stuff.
(Friday 6th April)
Not A Job To Be Taken Lightly
Daughter’s visit home proves to be a brief one. This morning she’s on the train heading back to Sheffield for a job interview at Bramhall Lane football ground. Although I understand manager Danny Wilson’s job isn’t in jeopardy.
What this? Ah, she’s left us her suitcase to take up on Saturday. That’s nice of her. Looks like our ‘possible’ trip up at the weekend has become more definite.
I didn’t even get chance to brief her on the complex matter of dog feeding... It’s not a job to be taken on lightly. Munchies for Doggo, muesli for MD with a little water, not milk. Old git sprinkles for Doggo’s joints and bran sprinkles for both of them. Then there’s the biscuit for dessert. Forget that and MD will wear out the kitchen tiles with his pacing.
Daughter is soon texting me bank questions... so I assume she’s filling in a form, which sounds promising. Yep, she’s got the job. Starts Saturday, at home to Bournemouth.
Squash tonight, form the first time for ages. It goes ok, I don’t have any adverse reactions, injury wise. Score wise, not so ok.
More success at the cycling, another gold for GB with the women Team Pursuit trio breaking the world record twice on their way to gold.
(Thursday 5th April)
Easier Than Getting Olympic Tickets
I abandon the idea of biking today due to the heavy rain, the gales and the increasing occurrence of snow showers. There are light coverings in various places around here but some cars are driving around with a couple of inches on them. Up in Scotland Cairngorm and Lecht have reopened for skiing.
Once the snow passes over our back garden begins to resemble a lake, albeit a very muddy one. It all brings back ‘fond’ memories me of the Milton Keynes Half Marathon. Thankfully we have a nice cosy barn in which to shelter for our dog training tonight. Hmmm. I’ll pack an extra jumper.
Instead of biking, I take L’s bike in for a service.
It’s the first day of the Track Cycling World Championships today from Melbourne, Australia. As usual the BBC coverage is mixed. Excellent live coverage on the red button and over the internet but rubbish highlights.
There's a sort of unexpected but brilliant Team Pursuit gold for the men, I really didn’t think we’d beat the Aussies but they did, twice. They qualified fastest and then went on to break the world record against them in the final.
Even more unexpected was the Scratch Race gold for Ben Swift. A man left out of the Pursuit Team getting his just rewards.
Disappointment in the Team Sprints though. The women, who broke the World Record a month a go, came in fourth but the men looked promising with a German, the repatriated Philip Hindes, on the first leg despite getting disqualified.
I propose to L that we head to Minsk next year, as they’ve just awarded the 2013 Championships to Belarus. Belarus is Europe’s last remaining dictatorship, so it could be an interesting trip, if we can get a Visa. Still, it’s got to be easier than getting Olympic tickets.
(Wednesday 4th April)
Being Nosey
Doggo goes out for walk in his orange sock and seems to cope ok. Secretly we think he's rather proud of it. Although it’s now a slightly soggy, muddy, orange sock but even so MD will still want one the same.
I’m on the bus because after work I meet up with my old school friend for a few beers and on his insistence a curry. Not that I protested much.
We swap medical problems. I feel rather outdone with just my gammy leg compared with his portfolio but I’m not jealous.
Aren’t mobile phones great for being nosey, which is why I never ring anyone on mine in public. My journey home is livened up by overhearing the amusing saga of two teenagers being grounded via mobile for being late home. Good old parents. All due to the excessive punctuality of the Red Arrow. They were on time for the previous bus but the Red Arrow left early (as it often does) and they had to wait an hour for the next one. Good old Red Arrow, we’ve all been there.
The dogs welcome me at the door as I get home, pleased to see my pockets stuffed with left over naan bread but I’m sure they would have greeted me anyway.
(Tuesday 3rd April)
Self-Harming Dog
My leg is a bit stiff after yesterday’s little excursion around Reading but generally ok. So I guess it can be classed as a success. It’s interesting to see some of the media reports of the event and some wildly exaggerated participation figures. Some reports say 20,000. Sloppy research. The results clearly state just over 13,000 finishers and I’m sure 7,000 didn’t drop out.
At work my boss has gone part-time at very short notice, he only told us on Thursday. This means a load more work comes my way... nice. Soon our whole company will be on a reduced week.
Doggo has been self-harming, chewing the fur off his elbow. I think it’s his way of dealing with a touch of arthritis. The solution is he now has a nice orange sock covering it, taped at the top and bottom with surgical tape. It'll give him something new to chew on if nothing else.
Dog class and there’s no slowing MD down tonight. He’s also rather accurate as well as fast. All very promising for the new season which starts on Friday. All he needs is a decent handler. I was awful tonight.
(Monday 2nd April)
Life At The Back
So it’s 5am, its -2 degrees, its April Fools’ Day and we’re driving two and half hours down to Reading, gammy leg and all, with our return journey entirely dependent on people having left enough fuel in the pumps to get us home. You couldn’t make it up.
We leave the dogs behind. Daughter is home and can do the squeaky hot dog throwing, during the two hour window that these students can manage to stay awake.
The weather is soon warming up as wander across the gravelly car park that doubles as the race village, please tarmac it, and head to the start. By 10am, it's really quite pleasant. Sunny but still cool. In short, perfect race conditions, for anyone who’s fit enough to take advantage of them. E.g. not me.
I have a red number and a guaranteed spot in the front 10% of the race, just behind the Kenyans but I'm not there. Instead I'm stood next to a sign the says ‘2 hours’. Which is roughly where all the duck costumes, the tutus, those dressed up as pieces of fruit and others who are not taking it quite so seriously hang out. Well apart from the bananas, the bananas are always up front. Of course, there’s L too. Pretending not to take it seriously and publicly happy with anything under three hours but actually set to be gutted if she doesn’t break 2:15.
Sally Gunnell, Natasha Danvers and Reading FC chairman Sir John Madejski start the race but the Reading chairman is the only one of the three who joins in with the race. Danvers has an Olympics on her mind but Gunnell’s excuse of being ‘retired’ must have seemed a bit hollow as she watched the 70 year old Madejski disappear down the road.
Fair play to the football club who fielded quite a team including manager Brian McDermott and their furry mascot Kingsley the Lion. The lion kept out of my way, which was wise of him.
Back here in 2 hour land nothing actually happens when the race ‘starts’. I’m used to skipping across the line about 20 seconds or so after said Kenyans but not today, not back here. Somebody needs to devise some entertainment for these people while they wait for that start line to come into view.
It seems like an eternity but is actually ‘only’ 13 minutes before our race is finally underway and we can start the process of weaving around those who have started in too advanced a position for their ability. This is worse for us 2 hour-ers because back here so many people run two or three abreast chatting, creating a much wider road block, oblivious to the swearing of those behind them. Try that up front and somebody would have cracked you over the head with a bottle of Lucozade Sport or worse, poured the toxic liquid all over you. ‘Sorry mate, my hand slipped’. Seen it done.
Nor do we get people dropping bottles in the middle of the road. Tut tut. Nor do we get camel’s overtaking us... Oh, the shame. I reassure myself. It’s just a training run, stay cool. Don’t look at L grinning at you.
In a way I’m actually enjoying the leisurely pace. Although at 9:30 per mile, I’m currently towing L, who is behind me, ahead of her schedule and we stay at a solid 10:00 minute mile pace or less for the first six miles.
The crowds are out in force throughout Reading. In places where the route wasn’t barriered off they were encroaching on the route, narrowing the road, Tour de France style. Which was rather thrilling. Unfortunately in the centre of the town, shoppers took advantage of this by rushing across in gaps that weren’t there, causing some nasty moments and a few collisions. So barriers are required there, in places where watching isn’t going to be the primary activity and where ‘normal life’ hasn’t ceased. If you can call shopping normal life that is.
Meanwhile I’m still having a bit of camel trouble. The damn thing passes me three times, so I can only assume it does so, and then hides for a bit so that it can embarrass me all over again. Not funny. It’s given the chap next to me the hump or so he says. He makes not comment when the Gingerbread men come past us. I too am lost for words.
It’s enough to drive you to drink, so fortuitously at around seven and a half miles I’m hoping to get one. It was somewhere around here last year, just around a left hand bend. I move over to the left to make sure I don’t miss it. Yep, there it is. A pub dispensing its beer in little plastic cups so that you can top up your carbohydrates and anaesthetise your gammy leg, if you have one, all in one go. How thoughtful. I grab one and stop briefly to drink it.
I’m surprised to see L follow me and grab one too. Ever the professional though, she won’t stop to drink it and ends up giving half to me. Not a problem.
The leg is coping ok, although I do slow to walk on a steep but short incline in the city centre, causing L to suspect the leg has gone again but I’m just been cautious.
After 8 miles, L encourages me to push on ahead, if I so wish. I decide to test the leg out a bit and go off in search of Gingerbread men and that bloody camel, which is presumably hiding somewhere. No sign. Instead I come across a caterpillar powered by several army blokes, all in full army kit. Kudos for that. I reel them in, and then I put Scooby Doo to the sword before stalking Elvis all the way along the dual carriage way that makes up mile eleven. Still no sign of the damn camel.
The ‘pushing on’ does bring a few twinges to the leg, so it’s only a very gentle push on taking me back to around 9:30 pace at best. Well short of what I’d do if I was 100%.
Then after the out and back last mile in front of the Madjeski Stadium, it’s into the stadium itself for the finish. Which didn’t seem quite as impressive as last year. I’m sure last year they had people sat opposite the entrance, so that a wall of faces and sound hit you when you hobbled in. Rather than to the side and behind, as today. Never mind, it’s still good.
2:09 is my slowest half marathon ever but it was still an enjoyable run. L is a mere four minutes behind me.
I have a few gripes about the post-finish which was in too much of a confined area and water should have been handed out first not last. No t-shirt of course. Which is always a major downer; I’m not one for medals. A great goodie bag though, rammed full of both useful and useless things.
All in all, a grand day out again. One that I might have to pencil in the diary to repeat again, due to not being able to give this one my full attention.
We have a picnic in the car park as we await the gridlock to ease before embarking on the long journey home where the dogs await a rather delayed park session. A park session that we manage to ensure ends up in the Admiral Rodney pub.
The race results show that even if I’d been fit I couldn’t have kept pace with the likes of Kipyego, Chemugo and Martelletti who led the field home. Nor for that matter the first fruit home, a banana of course, in 1:22.
John Madejski did an impressive 02:29 beating his manager Brian McDermott's 02:37. We must have passed both of them. Their chip and gun times are so similar, that they obviously both started at the front.
Of course the bad news is that a chap collapsed and died at the finishing line, which puts everything into perspective.
(Sunday 1st April)
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In which year in the 50s was the first televised Queen’s speech? | The Christmas Broadcast, 1957 - YouTube
The Christmas Broadcast, 1957
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Uploaded on Dec 20, 2007
The first televised Christmas Broadcast or 'Queen's Speech', filmed at Sandringham House in Norfolk.
Category
| 1957 |
Which tv private investigator lived on the island of Oahu, Hawaii? | The Queen’s first televised Christmas message in 1957 - Telegraph
TV and Radio
The Queen’s first televised Christmas message in 1957
Peter Dimmock, the BBC’s head of outside broadcasting in 1957, recalls producing the Queen’s first televised Christmas message
The Queen's first televised Christmas message in 1957 Photo: popperfoto/getty images
By Richard Webber
12:52PM GMT 20 Dec 2012
The Queen’s Christmas message in 1957 was not only the first to be televised, but also marked the 25th anniversary of the inaugural radio broadcast by George V in 1932. It went out live from the Long Library at Sandringham at 3pm. I felt sorry for the Queen, thinking it must have spoilt her Christmas lunch.
I was 37 and, as the BBC’s head of outside broadcasting, in charge of the production. It was my responsibility to liaise between the BBC and the Royal family , so I had regular meetings at Buckingham Palace with the Queen’s private secretary, Lord Adeane. In television, we were keen to do everything that radio had done, so we asked the Palace if the Queen would consider reading the message live on television. She was a young monarch keen to enter into the spirit of the new era, and approved of the idea.
We had a run-through on the day and then went straight into the live broadcast. The Queen was extremely accomplished with the teleprompter and read the message brilliantly. She is a stickler for detail, and during her broadcast she refers to lines from John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, and picks up a book from her desk. The lines were printed on a sheet of paper inserted inside the book. However, in the run-through the Queen quickly spotted that it wasn’t the right book and asked whether there was a copy in the library. Sure enough, there was. I’m sure viewers wouldn’t have noticed but full marks to the Queen for thinking about it. We used one camera mounted on a dolly, which allowed us to push the camera closer to the Queen as she started reading. Everything went to plan but I was terribly nervous throughout.
From 1960 the Queen’s Christmas message came from Buckingham Palace. It was felt to be more convenient for everyone. That year was the first time it was recorded in advance. Before then, Commonwealth countries hadn’t been able to see the broadcast until a reel of film arrived via airmail several days later – recording it in advance meant the film could reach its destinations before the 25th.
As it was no longer within my remit I passed it over to the Films and Talks department. Although I understood the reason for the change, I was disappointed it would no longer be transmitted live. For me, recording the message took so much away from it: the Queen speaking to everyone live on Christmas afternoon had a tremendous cachet. With a recording, you seemed to lose that. Also, what would happen if there were a terrible disaster on Christmas morning? There never has been, thank goodness, but when it was live, she would have been able to comment.
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What do the letters BB represent in competitive gymnastics? | Gymnastics Glossary | iSport.com
Gymnastics Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
A skills - The lowest level moves in a gymnastic routine. For example a back handspring is an “A” level skill.
Acro - Tumbling skill on the floor or balance beam. Used most commonly when referring to a combination of dance requirements.
Acrobatics - Elements of gymnastics that require control, balance, strength and flexibility. Examples include slower skills like a front walkover for women or corner skills for men.
Adagio - A dance term that refers to a slow, sustained movement.
Adolph - A front somersault in the layout position with three-and-one-half twists; performed on trampoline.
Aerial - A gymnastics move, in which the gymnast rotates in the air without touching the apparatus with his or her hands. Also referred to as a no-handed cartwheel or front walkover.
All-around - A category of gymnastic competition that includes all of the events. The person with the highest total score from all the events is the all-around champion.
Allegro - A dance term used to describe fast, quick jumps. There are two types: grand (large jumps) and petite (small jumps).
Alternates - A tumbling pass that connects two somersaults (saltos) by use of a handspring. Usually refers to a backward tumbling pass. (e.g. roundoff whip back handspring whip.)
Amplitude - The height or difficulty of a movement. In general, the higher the movement, the better the amplitude and the score.
Apparatus - A piece of equipment used in gymnastics competitions. The common apparatuses used in gymnastics include: the balance beam, parallel bars, uneven parallel bars, pommel horse, vault, floor, still rings and horizontal bar.
Arabesque - A dance and gymnastics pose where the body is balanced on one leg and the other leg is extended up off the floor behind the body.
Arch position - A backwards curve of the body-- usually refers to the backwards curve of the spine.
Attitude - A dance pose similar to the arabesque. The body is balanced on one leg while the other leg is extended in front of the body, behind the body or to the side of the body in a slightly bent knee position.
B
Back flip - A backwards somersault in the air performed in either the tuck, pike or layout position.
Back giant - A skill performed on either the high bar, uneven parallel bar or parallel bar where the body circles around the bar. The movement starts from a handstand position and ends in the handstand position.
Back walkover - A control skill where a gymnast starts in the standing position, arches her into a backbend and kicks her legs over her head to land on her feet in a step-out landing (one leg followed by the other). It is performed as one continuous movement.
Backbend - A gymnastic skill where the body bends backwards in an arch position and the feet and hands touch the floor simultaneously.
Back-in, full-out - A double somersault with a full twist (the complete twist is performed during the second somersault).
Balance - Grounded and secure in position. A skill needed for apparatuses like the balance beam or pommel horse. Also refers to a routine that evenly distributes acrobatic skills and dance movements.
Balance beam - A long and narrow apparatus used by women in a routine designed to emphasize grace and balance. It is a solid piece of wood that is four feet high, four inches wide and 16 feet long. A balance bar routine includes a variety of acrobatic and dance skills that last for 70 to 90 seconds and ends with a dismount.
Ball-out - A front somersault on the trampoline that is performed by taking off after a bounce on the back.
Bar - An apparatus used by both men and women in gymnastics. Men use the high bar and the parallel bars. Women use the uneven parallel bars. Also referred to as a rail.
Barani - A forward somersault with a half twist performed in the layout position.
Blind change - Performed on the high bar or uneven bars. The gymnast performs a back giant, does a half turn on top of the bar, and continues in a front giant.
Block - A term used to describe a rapid bounce or rebound off the floor or vault with the arms.
Bonus points - Additional points awarded to a routine based on the combination of difficult skills. The FIG has given every gymnastics skill a point value based on skills that are ranked from A to E. The bonus points are awarded if C, D and E level skills are sequenced together in a routine.
Bridge - Another name for a backbend. Normally started by lying on the back, the hands and feet remain on the floor and the body is pushed up with the back arching and the stomach facing the ceiling.
Buck - A short gymnastics horse without pommels. It is often used to train a gymnast on the pommel horse. Also called a pommel buck.
C
Candlestick - A shoulder stand with the legs in the air, feet pointed towards the ceiling and the body rested on the top of the shoulders.
Cartwheel - A common gymnastic skill where a gymnast starts on one leg and places his/her hands on the ground while kicking his/her legs up into a side handstand, before continuing the motion and landing with one foot on the ground followed by the other.
Cat leap - A gymnastic and ballet leap where the gymnast takes off on one leg then bends the front leg at the knee while the back leg turns out with the toe pointed. It is also known as a Pas de Chat.
Chainé turn - A half turn executed on the balls of the feet. The half turns are chained together as the head whips around to look at one spot continuously throughout the sequence of spins.
Chassé - A dance movement where one leg makes a small jump and is followed by the other leg. In layman terms referred to as a gallop.
Choreography - A series of artistic elements, ballet movements and acrobatics that create a floor or balance beam routine.
Clear hip circle - When the body moves in a circle around the bar without the hips touching.
Code of points - The official rulebook for judging gymnastics skills.
Composition - The arrangement of moves in a gymnastics routine
Compulsories - Required routines that all gymnasts in certain levels (Level 4,5,6) must complete. These routines have elements and skills that gymnasts in a certain level of gymnastics should be able to perform and are determined by a governing body such as USA Gymnastics or International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG).
Cross - A strength skill performed on the still rings where the arms are placed outward in a “T” position with the body is perpendicular to the floor. Also called an iron cross.
D
Deduction - An error that causes a gymnast to lose points in his/her score.
Demi-plié - A ballet movement where the legs make a small bend at the knee while the feet remain flat on the ground.
Dismount - The exit from an apparatus at the end of a routine; usually performed with a difficult twist or somersault.
Dive roll - Describes a flying front somersault on the ground. The gymnast runs, leaps into the air and dives onto the floor in a handstand position and does a forward roll at the end.
Double back - Two back somersaults completed consecutively in the same skill movement.
Double double - Two back somersaults with two twists. One of the harder gymnastics skills performed on the floor exercise and usually performed in the layout or open tuck position.
Double full - A single back somersault in the layout position with two twists.
E
Eagle grip - A 180 degree outward turn of the thumb and hands when gripping the bar. This movement requires increased shoulder flexibility.
Elbow stand - A handstand performed on the forearms.
Events - The routines done by men and women on the different apparatuses. There are four events for women: balance beam, vault, uneven parallel bars and floor. There are six events for men: vault, pommel horse, still rings, horizontal bar, parallel bars and floor exercise.
Execution - How a routine is performed; the level of form and technique used to complete a routine. A good execution might include tight legs, a good toe point, and a stuck landing.
Extension - The height and stretch of the legs or arms that are raised during a dance movement.
F
Flip-flop - Nickname for a back handspring. This is a common movement where the gymnast takes off from one or two feet, jumps backwards onto her hands, and lands on her feet.
FIG - The International Federation of Gymnastics, the international governing body for the sport of gymnastics.
Flexibility - The ability of the body to stretch into various positions without pain or damage.
Flic-flac - Also see back handspring . A common gymnastic movement where a gymnast takes off from one or two feet, jumps backwards onto her hands and lands on her feet. Also known as a flip-flop or a back handspring .
Flip - A tumbling element where the body does a somersault in the air without the hands touching the ground. Also called a somersault or salto.
Floor exercise - A routine consisting of a variety of dance and acrobatic maneuvers and is performed on a 40 foot square spring floor.
Flyaway - A back somersault dismount from the uneven bars, horizontal bar, or parallel bars. It can be performed in either the tuck, pike or layout positions.
Front giant - A forward circle around the bars starting and ending in a handstand position. This is performed with the hands in a reverse grip.
Front handspring - A forward tumbling skill that starts with a step or a hurdle. The body then bounces onto the hands and rotates through a handstand before landing on the feet.
Front hip circle - A forward movement around the bar with the hips resting on the bar and the body rotating around the bar.
Front somersault - A forward flip performed in the air without hands. It can be performed in either the tuck, pike or layout positions. It can also refer to a forward somersault on the ground.
Front walkover - A gymnastic skill where the gymnast performs a forward handstand then moves into a backbend and up to his/her feet. The entire skill is performed in a continuous motion.
Full - A back somersault with one twist usually performed in the layout position.
Full turn - A complete 360 degree rotation usually performed on one foot. It is a required element for both the balance beam and the floor exercise.
Full-in, back-out - Two somersaults with one full twist where the twist is executed during the first somersault
Full-in, full-out - Two somersaults and two twists with one twist performed on the first somersault and one twist performed on the second somersault.
G
Gaylord - On the high bar, an execution that involves a front giant arm-swing into a front one-and-one half somersault over the bar, before re-grabbing the bar at the end. It was named after USA gymnast, Mitch Gaylord,
Giant - An arm swing on the bars in which the body and the arms are fully extended and move in a full circle around the bar.
Grande jeté - A ballet term used to describe a large split-legged leap.
Grande plié - A ballet movement where the legs bend deeply at the knees and the body almost touches the ground. The feet are normally turned out and are in first, second, third, fourth or fifth ballet position.
Grips - Leather straps that gymnasts wear on their hands to help them maintain a firm and solid grasp of the bar. Also known as hand guards.
H
Half-in, half-out - A double somersault with a half twist on the first somersault and a half twist on the second.
Handspring - (see also flic-flac) A hand touch somersault used on various apparatuses where the body springs from the feet onto the hands and lands back on the feet. It can be performed in either forward or backward direction; it is usually used to link movements of a routine together.
Handstand - A movement where the body is balanced on the hands and the feet are in the air, with the legs together or in a straddle or split position.
Head in - A position where the head is tucked into the gymnast’s body. It is usually seen when a gymnast is in a handstand position.
Head out - A position in a handstand where the head is out away from the body causing the back to arch. Not a favorable position in most events.
Healy - A gymnastics movement on the bars where a gymnast removes one arm while moving forward in a handstand and completes a full twist before re-grasping the bar with both hands.
High bar - This term can refer to men’s horizontal bar apparatus or the women’s top bar on the uneven parallel bars.
Hip circle - A circle around the bar in either the forward or backward motion where the hips are resting on the bar throughout the circle.
Hollow - A term referring to the body position of the gymnast. The hips are pulled under, the butt is tucked in and the core of the body is scooped in rounding the chest forward.
Horizontal bar - The high bar in the men’s gymnastics events.
Horse - Slang for the former vaulting apparatus for both men and women. Women would vault over it when it was sideways and men would vault over it length wise. In 2001 it was officially replaced with the vaulting table that both men and women use in competition.
Hurdle - The step and skip that is used prior to a tumbling movement on the floor exercise. It is usually seen right before a gymnast performs a round off.
I
Inverted cross - A strength pose on the still rings where the arms are outstretched in a “T” position and the body is in a handstand.
Iron cross - A strength pose on the still rings where the arms are outstretched in a “T” position and the body is perpendicular to the floor in a straight position or “L” shaped position.
J
Jeté - A ballet term used to describe a leap from one leg to the other. There are several types of jetés including grande and petite (big and small).
K
Kip - Usually performed on the bars, a movement that takes the gymnast from below the bars to above the bars. It is a compulsory requirement for level 5 gymnasts, ideally performed in a gliding motion.
Kolman - A release move performed on the bars where the gymnast leaves the bar, performs two back somersaults and one full twist over the bar and then re-catches the bar at the end. It is named after Yugoslavian gymnast Alajz Kolman.
L
Layout position - A straight and stretched body position.
Layout step out - A back somersault in the layout position where the legs are split in the air and the body lands on one leg followed by the other. It is normally performed on the balance beam as part of a tumbling series.
Leg circle - A pommel horse movement where the legs are together in a straight position and the body circles around the pommel horse. The hands alternate lifting up and down from one pommel to the other as the legs pass. This can also be performed on the floor, parallel bars and balance beam.
Leotard - A one piece uniform, similar to a bathing suit, that is standard for women’s gymnastics.
Limber - A term that describes a gymnast’s flexibility in the forward and backward direction.
Lunge - A position of the body where the legs are spread apart on the ground and the front leg is bent and the back leg is straight. The arms are generally above the head.
M
Mat - A piece of gymnastics equipment that is soft and made of polyurethane foam to help cushion landings on dismounts from apparatuses such as the bars, balance beam and vault. It is also used when a gymnast is learning new gymnastics skills.
Mixed grip - A term used to describe the grip of the hands on the uneven parallel bars and horizontal bar when one hand is in the forward grip position and the other hand is in the reverse hand grip position.
Mount - The entry onto apparatuses like the balance beam, parallel bars, uneven parallel bars, horizontal bars and pommel horse. It is also used to describe the first element in a gymnastics routine.
Music - Used in women’s gymnastics floor exercises when the routine performed is done to a specific piece of music. Gymnasts spend many hours developing a routine that is suitable to the music as well as choosing a piece of music that will best fit the gymnast and her routine.
N
Nail - (see stick) Refers to a perfect dismount from an apparatus or a tumbling pass where the feet make no movement once they touch the ground.
Needle scale - An arabesque performed on the floor and balance beam where the body is lowered while the hands are touching the toes, floor or balance beam. One leg remains planted on the floor or balance beam while the other leg is elevated up to the ceiling.
O
Okino - A balance beam skill where the gymnast performs a triple pirouette (turn). It is named after Betty Okino.
Olympic order - The competition order for international competition, decided by FIG. The order for women: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor. The order for men: floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar. The order for rhythmic gymnastics: rope, hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon.
Optionals - A category of gymnastics competition where the gymnasts and coaches create their own routines with individual skills and the required elements that are determined by the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG). Optional gymnasts are ranked higher than compulsory gymnasts.
Overgrip - The grip of the hands on the bar where the gymnast’s hands are on the bar and the palms of the hand are facing down with the fingers facing away from the gymnast’s body.
Overshoot - A release move from the high bar to the low bar. The gymnast starts on the high bar, swings up and over the low bar, does a half twist and catches the low bar.
P
Parallel bars - One of the events that men perform in artistic gymnastics. It consists of two bars that are the same height (195centimeters) and length (350cm) and about 52cm apart from one another. It is also referred to as p-bars.
Pas - A dance and gymnastic term that means “to step.”
Passé - A ballet position where one leg is firm on the ground and the other leg is raised so the thigh is horizontal, the knee is bent and the toes touch the inner part of the standing leg’s knee.
P-bars - Nickname for the parallel bars.
Peel - An involuntary release of the bar that generally results in a fall to the ground. This can happen on the uneven bars, p-bars or high bar.
Pike position - When the body is bent forward at the hips with the legs straight.
Pipe - A term used to refer to the men’s high bar.
Pirouettes - A ballet term that refers to the skill of turning the body on a longitudinal axis. It is either performed with one leg on the floor or while the body is in a handstand on the floor, balance beam or bars. The turns are generally measured by degrees of half turns.
Pit - A training tool that consists of large pieces of soft foam that are used to cushion a landing. It is used for almost every apparatus except the pommel horse.
Pivot - A dance term that refers to a turn on the ball of the foot.
Plié - A dance movement that is defined by the bending of the legs. The legs can either be bent deeply (grande) or slightly (demi). Most ballet techniques start with or end with a plié.
Point - Refers to a gymnasts toes that are stretched from the ankle to the toes, creating a straight line with the floor. A toe point is a very important element in gymnastics—judges expect to see pointed toes in almost all gymnastic movements.
Pommel horse - The apparatus used by men that is similar to a vaulting horse, but has two sets of handles or pommels on either side of the horse (45 centimeters apart). It is generally 115cm high, 35cm wide and 160cm long. A pommel horse routine is performed by using circular body movements around the horse and adjusting the hands on and off the pommels.
Puck - A slang term that describes a gymnastics position that is in between a tuck and a pike position. It is not a position that is allowed in competition.
Punch - A term that refers to bouncing off the floor, vault springboard, or balance beam instead of jumping. The legs are generally together and the reflexes are quick and strong. A common example is the punch front on the floor or balance beam: A forward somersault in the air that starts and ends with two feet.
Q
| Balance beam |
Who served as the ninth Governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009? | Gymnastics: Different group levels..., floor exercise, group levels
Different group levels...
Expert: Rik Feeney - 11/30/2007
Question
I often see different letters for groups at gymnastic meets. What do they mean? A, AA, B, BB, etc.
Answer
Dear Shelly,
The most common abbreviations used at meets are:
A = Athlete (?) (I haven't seen this one.) The "A" may also designate one of the squads or groups of girls rotating from event to event, in which case, there would likely be an A, B, C, & D squads. A squad itself may be broken into an A or B section denoting different competitive levels or simply to divide the group into warm-up rotations for each event.
AA = All Around (a gymnast who competes all four events).
V = Vault
B or UB = Uneven Bars
BB = Balance Beam
Rik Feeney
Expertise
I can answer questions regarding all levels of the sport of women's gymnastics, the business of gymnastics, and the marketing of gymnastics programs.
Experience
I am the author of "Gymnastics: A Guide for Parents and Athletes" currently being published by McGraw-Hill. I am also a ghostwriter and co-author of the Gymcert series of books "Levels 1-3 Gymnastics Coaches Certifications Manuals" for recreational gymnasts, and the "Levels 4 - 6 Skills and Drills" books as well as Safety Basics for Gymnastics Instructors. I have written several other books on the sport of gymnastics for Richardson Publishing, the latest of which is titled, "Back Handsprings: The Secret Techniques." Oh, and by the way, I was a competitive gymnast through high school and college (Temple University), gymnastics club owner for 10 years, and women's gymnastics coach for 30 years working with gymnasts at all competitive levels
Organizations
USA Gymnastics National Writer's union Florida Writer's Association
Publications
USA Gymnastics magazine Technique magazine International Gymnast magazine several newspaper articles
Education/Credentials
Temple University - Health Physical Education, Recreation & Dance Norwich University - Bachelors of Arts in Writing & Literature
Awards and Honors
Several state and national level gymnastics champions in different systems of competition.
Past/Present clients
| i don't know |
Which former ‘TOWIE’ star thought that Ebola virus was the name of a pop group? | Amy Childs mistakes deadly ebola virus for an up-and-coming band - Telegraph
Amy Childs mistakes deadly ebola virus for an up-and-coming band
The former The Only Way is Essex star looked perplexed when asked about the ebola virus
Towie's Amy Childs is no stranger to a touch of fake tan Photo: Getty Images
By Keith Perry
7:34PM GMT 11 Nov 2014
Amy Childs has carved out a successful career from her less-than-sharp Essex girl persona.
But now the reality TV star has taken dizziness to a whole new level after mistaking Ebola for a pop band rather than the highly publicised deadly virus, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives in Africa.
The The Only Way is Essex star made her embarrassing blunder as she was being interview by BBC presenter Jolyon Rubinstein, on the MOBO’s red carpet in London last month.
Mr Rubinstein asked Miss Childs: “Have we done enough to prevent the spread of Ebola?” To which a flummoxed Miss Childs responded: “What?”
The video then cuts to the presenter saying: “You know Ebola is going to be huge, don’t you?”
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Then Miss Childs appeared to warm to the subject, responding enthusiastically: “I might be a big fan after tonight… I think it will be absolutely amazing.”
The reality star became something of a household name during her brief tenure on The Only Way Is Essex.
Her lack of current affairs knowledge may be explained by her one-woman mission to find a man.
"I’m now ready to meet someone. I work seven days a week, I live on my own, I’ve got a dog, I’m ready to be with someone but I’m not going to rush into anything. I’m dating, but I’m not getting married or anything. It’s all good," she told the Mail Online. Singer Ella Eyre also fell victim to the 33-year-old The Revolution Will Be Televised presenter’s tricky questions when he asked her if she had a message for demonstrators in Hong Kong.
| Amy Childs |
When sending an email, what would be meant by the letters ‘bcc’? | Celebrities like Amy Childs are not the only ones who bluff and bluster - Telegraph
Celebrity news
Celebrities like Amy Childs are not the only ones who bluff and bluster
I feel nothing but sympathy for the reality TV star - most of of us lie to seem cleverer
Research last year revealed that eight in 10 people routinely lie to seem cleverer and more attractive Photo: Alamy
Comments
Here’s a quick litmus test of your humanity. When you heard that the reality TV celebrity Amy Childs mistakenly thought Ebola was the name of an up-and-coming band did you: a) laugh, b) have to Google her and then laugh, or c) recall your own youthful callowness back in the day when you referred to Evelyn Waugh as “she” and thought George Eliot was a man?
I felt nothing but sympathy for the Jessica Rabbit look-alike, who had turned up to add to the gaiety of an awards ceremony and found herself hijacked by a comedian.
When the former Only Way Is Essex star was asked on camera by Jolyon Rubinstein, presenter of spoof series The Revolution Will Be Televised, what she thought about the spread of Ebola, the 20-year-old was flummoxed. To be fair, it was a slightly left-field question for a ritzy glitzy red carpet. But Childs, better known for her cantilevered embonpoint than her overview of the Filoviridae viruses, wasn’t rattled for long and took an uneducated but not unreasonable guess as to the topic under discussion.
“You know Ebola is going to be huge don’t you?” asked the interviewer, homing in on her discomfiture. “I might be a big fan after tonight, I think it will be absolutely amazing,” she responded.
Before you laugh (all right, after), let he or she who has never bluffed to impress their audience cast the first aspersion. Research last year revealed that eight in 10 people routinely lie to seem cleverer and more attractive and it’s a well-established fact that two thirds of people pretend to have read their way through the canon of literary greats such as Madame Bovary, Ulysses, War and Peace and Nineteen Eighty-Four.
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13 Mar 2014
Facebook is founded on the three pillars of fibbage, bombast and towering mendacity and much of Twitter comprises a load of pseuds recirculating other people’s pensées in an effort to appear connected, in touch and interesting.
If that sounds harsh, it isn’t meant to (well not that much) because as humans we are programmed to gather and assimilate and share information. The modern world is changing at such a pace as to be unrecognisable; we’ve come a long way since 1911 when Encyclopedia Britannica could loftily, justifiably, lay claim to be the sum of all human knowledge. We can’t know everything about everything – or even anything about everything – so we wing it. Of course we do. Or at least we wing it until there’s Wi-Fi, when we Wiki it.
So we should spare a thought for high-profile figures who have to produce an answer on the spot.
The former US basketball player Shaquille O’Neal was once asked if he had visited the Parthenon during a visit to Greece. His historic rejoinder? “I can’t really remember the names of the clubs that we went to.”
When quizzed about his politics, Justin Bieber did his best to fudge the issue: “I’m not sure about the parties. But whatever they have in Korea, that’s bad.”
And poor Paris Hilton once found herself at such a rare loss when talking to the media about Wal-Mart, she couldn’t even begin to bluff: “Do they, like, make walls there?”
Ouch. There’s an argument that Amy Childs (who, despite her name and her cluelessness, is actually a grown-up) ought to have been familiar with Ebola, given the extent of the news coverage.
I’m pretty sure that of course she knew what it was, but after a day being spray-tanned and backcombed and then poured into her frock like quick-drying cement, her brain was addled with chemicals.
And besides, having Googled it, I can confirm there is actually a hard rock group called Ebola, hailing from Thailand. And if they do go huge, well, I think the last laugh will be Childs’s, don’t you?
| i don't know |
What is the correct term for ‘a nose job’? | Rhinoplasty (Nose Job) Surgery Procedure, Recovery, Complications, and More
Nose Job Recovery
Nose Job Basics
A nose job (technically called a rhinoplasty ) is surgery on the nose to change its shape or improve its function.
It can be done for medical reasons -- such as to correct breathing problems related to the nose or correct disfigurement resulting from trauma or birth defects .
It can also be done for cosmetic reasons, which will change the nose's shape and appearance.
Deciding on a Nose Job
If you are thinking about getting a nose job, set up an appointment with your surgeon to discuss it. During that meeting, talk about your goals and tell the doctor what bothers you about your nose and how you would like to change it.
Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a perfect nose. Surgery, though, can enhance facial features and emphasize your unique and natural beauty . A plastic surgeon can describe the facial features that make you unique and tell you how changes would enhance your appearance.
The surgeon will evaluate the structures of your nose and other facial features. After this evaluation, he or she can tell you if your expectations are realistic.
The surgeon will also consider your overall health and should discuss with you the risks, recovery time, and costs involved.
There are various techniques for reshaping the nose. Once you decide to go ahead, your surgeon should describe exactly what he or she proposes to do.
If you have health insurance , make sure you talk to your insurer in advance so you know what's covered and what you will need to pay for. Health insurance typically does not pay for procedures that are done only for cosmetic reasons.
Rhinoplasty: Step-by-Step
A nose job is usually done as an outpatient procedure, meaning there is no overnight stay. You'll get general or local anesthesia. With general anesthesia, you'll sleep through the operation. With local anesthesia, you will be sedated and your nose will be numbed so you are relaxed and unable to feel the pain.
During an operation, the surgeon makes cuts within the nostrils. In more difficult cases, the surgeon may also make cuts across the base of the nose. The surgeon then reshapes the inner bone and cartilage to produce a more pleasing appearance.
Continued
Nose Job Recovery
After a nose job, people usually wear a nasal splint for the first week. You can expect swelling and some bruising around the eyes after surgery that will begin to improve after the third day. It can, though, last up to two weeks.
Expect your nose to have a little swelling, which probably only you and your surgeon will notice. This will go away over the next six months. The final shape of your nose will be apparent after it has completely healed.
You should avoid strenuous activity for three to six weeks after surgery. You may return to your social activities as soon as within two to three weeks without any recognizable signs that you had a procedure done.
WebMD Medical Reference Reviewed by Debra Jaliman, MD on January 13, 2016
Sources
| Rhinoplasty |
Golfers have used terms such as twitches, staggers, jitters and jerks to describe what? | Deviated Septum Rhinoplasty
First 3D High Definition Septoplasty/Sinusitis Nasal Evaluation (Dr. Oz Show)
Nasal septum is a wall that is made of bone and cartilage, separating the two sides of the passage airway or the nasal cavity of the nose. A deviated septum may be associated or cause a "crooked" external nose appearance which can also be caused by impact trauma (a broken nose). Deviated septum can also be the result of a congenital disorder that is caused by compression of the nose during childbirth. Congenital disorder can also be caused by aging. It is an abnormal condition in which the wall (nasal septum) is not situated in the center of the nose and instead leans towards the left or the right. This situation creates a blockage of air flow within the nose and can create a number of problems, mainly difficulties in breathing, allergies, poor drainage of the sinuses, snoring and headaches.
According to Dr. Sam Rizk, who was selected as one of the top nose job surgeons in the world by Tatler magazine, although most people don’t have a perfectly straight septum, a good surgeon should evaluate the septum and determine if it is contributing to a crooked nose. If it is, a facial plastic surgeon who can correct both conditions. If there is a pain or a difficulty breathing caused by a deviated septum, it is necessary to correct it surgically since no medication can correct it.
The surgery in which the septum is straightened is called septoplasty. During the surgery, the surgeon may apply other surgical techniques to treat chronic sinusitis or to correct sleep apnea (snoring). The doctor may use endoscope (a thin, light instrument) to look at the nasal passages, evaluate the shape of the patient’s septum and devise a route that will minimize bleeding and inflammation. The patient will receive local or general anesthesia for the 45 minutes operation on to correct a deviated septum.
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Which Spanish city is famous for bull running during the eight-day San Fermin festival? | Running of the Bulls in Pamplona | San Fermin | Spanish Fiestas
8. Plaza de Toros
9. Plaza del Castillo
A third rocket is set off once all the bulls have entered the bullring and the fourth, and final, rocket means that the bulls are now in the bullpen and the bullrun has finished. The vast number of people taking part in the bullrun nowadays adds to the already considerable danger of running alongside wild bulls weighing in the region of 700kg each.
A word of warning … With the drinks flowing and the party in full swing you could be forgiven for forgetting that running the bulls is an extremely dangerous activity. Under no circumstances should you even consider running if you’re intoxicated. Not only are drunken people a risk to themselves they are also a risk to everyone else. There are plenty security guards and first aid personnel but there is little they can do during the running of the bulls such that 15 people have died and over 200 been seriously injured since 1924.
Watching the Bullrunning
Street: You can stand behind the fences that mark the route of the bullrun but you need to arrive by around 6.30am to get the best spots on the top of the fence directly overlooking the run. Another good spot is in front of the museum on c/ Santo Domingo where there isn’t a fence but the best spots here are usually taken before 6am leaving you with a cold two hour wait before the run starts.
Private Balconies: A great alternative is to get yourself onto a balcony overlooking the bullrun. You might be lucky enough to meet someone who invites you onto their terrace, alternatively, ask in the tourist information office (c/ Esclava, 1).
Plaza de Toros: Your only other options are to go to the bullring and watch the end as the bulls (and some terrified runners) arrive in the arena. Alternatively, you could head for a bar and watch the bull run which is shown live every morning on national TV.
Take a look at this incredible video produced by Spanish TV (RTVE) on 13th July 2013. It portrays all the tension and excitement of the bullrun culminating in horrific scenes at the entrance to the bullring where some runners had fallen which led to a major crush that blocked the entrance of the bulls. More injuries resulted that day than for many years.
Watching the Bullfights
On every evening of the fiesta beginning at 6.30pm on 7th July there is a bullfight in the Pamplona bullring. Tickets for the bullfights are sold out well in advance as the arena only holds 12,500 people. Every evening after the day’s bullfight some tickets go on sale for the next evening’s event at the ‘taquillas’ at the bull ring. You’ll usually find ticket touts operating around the Plaza de Toros during the day and before the bullfight selling at elevated prices.
Getting to Pamplona
Whilst there are no international flights into Pamplona Airport, you can fly to Madrid or Barcelona (seasonal) then take a connecting domestic service to get there. The airport is only 6km from the city centre. There are regular train services from Barcelona, Madrid and San Sebastian to Pamplona as well as frequent bus services. For more detailed information on how to get to Pamplona take a look at our comprehensive Pamplona Travel Guide .
Where to Stay in Pamplona
The city of Pamplona simply isn’t big enough to accommodate the vast number of people who flock there during Sanfermines. It’s more or less impossible to book Pamplona Hotels at short notice so if you want the comfort of a hotel bed you should consider booking many months in advance. Similary budget accommodation in hostels gets fully booked a long time before the event so planning your visit some time ahead is crucial.
My personal preference is to book a place on the campsite in Pamplona which lies about 7km from the city centre. Whilst it is also packed throughout the week of the fiestas they do take security seriously and offer bus transport in and out of town. The free campsite that appears near the Ezcaba campsite during the fiestas is another option but isn’t recommended for security reasons as petty crime is rife during San Fermin. Similarly sleeping in parks along with many others should be avoided for the same reason
An alternative to staying in Pamplona is to book a hotel in San Sebastian , Vitoria-Gasteiz or Estella and make the early morning trip to the bull run from there. The trouble is that getting public transport early enough in the morning to see the bullrun can prove impossible so this option is only really viable if you have your own vehicle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Every year in the run-up to San Fermín we receive the same questions about the fiestas. Here they are together with answers:
How Much Does it Cost to Run with the Bulls?
Whilst this does come as a surprise to many people who ask this question, there is no need to pay to run the bulls or even register for that matter. All you have to do is head for Plaza Consistorial near the start of the route preferably before 7am. Don’t turn up just before 8am as you’ll be too late to get a spot and don’t wait along Calle Estafeta as the police will clear everyone off this street before the bullrun commences.
Can Women Run With The Bulls?
Yes, there is nothing to stop women from participating although they tend to be very few in numbers. It’s very rare to see any Spanish females running, the majority normally seem to be Aussies.
The Navarra Tourist Board website is a handy resource for tourism information in this part of Spain.
| Pamplona |
The calcaneus is the Latin name for which part of the body? | spain_running_bulls - Photo 7 - Pictures - CBS News
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The opening ceremony of the San Fermin festival, Pamplona City Hall, in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 8, 2003.
Credit: AP
Bull chases crowd during traditional running of the bulls in Pamplona, northern Spain, Monday, July 7, 2003.
Credit: AP
People try to keep clear of fighting bulls and steers during an early morning bull run through the cobbled streets in Pamplona, northern Spain, Monday, July 7, 2003. The festival, made famous by U.S. author Ernest Hemingway, attracts thousands of people from all over the world.
Credit: AP
A fighting bull slips and falls in front of runners during an early morning bull run through the cobbled streets in Pamplona, northern Spain, Monday, July 7, 2003.
Credit: AP
People run with a fighting bull during the second day of the San Fermin 2003 bull run through the streets in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 8, 2003. The fiesta, famed for its all-night street parties, dates back to the late 16th century but gained world fame from Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises."
Credit: AP
Runners try to keep clear as a fighting bull stumbles during the second day of the San Fermin 2003 bull run through the streets in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 8, 2003. Two of the six fighting bulls, running along with six steers, became separated from the pack early in the 900-yard run, about the most dangerous thing that can happen at San Fermin.
Credit: AP
A fighting bull charges against two runners during the second day of San Fermin's 2003 bull run through the streets in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 8, 2003. The festival attracts thousands of people from all over the world. The man on left was gored in the arm.
Credit: AP
A runner is pinned to the ground after being gored by a fighting bull during the second day of the San Fermin 2003 bull run through the streets in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday July 8, 2003. Since record-keeping began in 1924, 13 people have been killed at the San Fermin festival. The last fatality was a 22-year-old American, gored to death in 1995.
Credit: AP
U.S. bull runner Al Chesson, 57, from Pittsburgh, Pa., is attended to by emergency workers after being gored by a fighting bull twice in the right thigh and once in the groin during the second running of the bulls in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 8, 2003. His injuries were not life threatening.
Credit: AP
U.S. bull runner Dallas Hatchcock, 24, from Los Angeles is taken away on a stretcher after being gored in the left arm by a fighting bull during the second day of the running of the bulls in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 8, 2003. His injuries were not life threatening.
Credit: AP
Bull runners reach out to touch fighting bulls during the second running of the bulls in Pamplona, northern Spain, Tuesday, July 8, 2003. The bulls spun around often and charged at runners, sending them scurrying for safety.
Credit: AP
A pack of fighting bulls and some steers charge through the street during the third day's San Fermin 2003 bullrun in Pamplona, northern Spain, Wednesday, July 9, 2003. The festival attracts thousands of people from all over the world.
Credit: AP
Bull runners scramble for cover as a pack of fighting bulls and steers charge through the streets during the daily running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, Thursday, July 10, 2003.
Credit: AP
Two bull runners are trampled by part of a pack of fighting bulls from the Jandilla ranch as they charge through the streets during the daily running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, Thursday, July 10, 2003.
Credit: AP
A bullrunner is trampled as others fall and scramble to get out of the way during the daily running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, Thursday, July 10, 2003.
Credit: AP
A bull runner falls in front of a pack of bulls from the Jandilla ranch during the daily running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain Thursday, July 10, 2003. The week-long festival, involves running with fighting bulls through the streets in the early morning, bullfights in the afternoon and around-the-clock partying.
Credit: AP
Bullrunners scramble to get out of the way as a bull from the Aldolfo Martin Andres ranch falls during the daily running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, Friday, July 11, 2003. Eight Spaniards suffered bumps and bruises Friday on the fifth day of the running of the bulls, officials said.
Credit: AP
A bullrunner dives for cover as another runs with a bull from the Aldolfo Martin Andres ranch as they enter the bullring during the daily running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, Friday, July 11, 2003. More than 1 million people are expected to visit Pamplona during the eight-day festival, which ends Monday.
Credit: AP
A bull runner is caught between two fighting bulls from the Adolfo Martin Andres ranch as they charge through the streets during the daily running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, Friday, July 11, 2003. The centuries-old festival, which features a nonstop street party, became internationally famous following the 1926 publication of Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Sun Also Rises."
Credit: AP
For over six centuries now, the Spanish have held gala festivals involving bulls, dancing and voluminous consumption of red wine. Pamplona, a small town in the northern part of Spain, hosts the wildest and most famous of all these festivals - La Fiesta De San Fermin. Running bulls through the town began as simply the easiest way to get them to the ring for bullfights, but eventually daredevils started running in front of them.
Credit: CBS
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The outer whorl of a flower is called a calyx . What is the plural form of the word? | Calyx | Definition of Calyx by Merriam-Webster
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Which tv soap is set in Glendarroch? | Meaning of SEPAL
Sepal
A sepal (l or l) is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). The term sepalum was coined by Noël Martin Joseph de Necker in 1790, and derived from the Greek σκεπη, a covering. Collectively the sepals are called the calyx (plural calyces), the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. The word calyx adopted from the Latin ca...
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Who played the title role in ‘Hamish Macbeth’? | Hamish Macbeth - articles
This article appeared in THE BIG ISSUE IN SCOTLAND March 1996.
From bampot Begbie to nice copper Hamish Macbeth...has Robert Carlyle gone soft?
Iain S Bruce finds out
What does Robert Carlyle think he's playing at? After winning acclaim for hard-hitting, controversial roles in Cracker and Trainspotting, what was the attraction of going back to playing an easy-going Highland plod in a show that at first glance appears to be a bizarre cross between Local Hero and The Bill.
Carlyle candidly accepts that his title role in the BBC's Hamish Macbeth isn't the meatiest part he's been offered, but he strenuously denies that the show is merely a tartan copy of the 'rural cop saves the day and wallows in nostalgia' formula of the astoundingly popular Heartbeat: "Heartbeat is a very successful show, but it's not something I'd want to be involved in."
"Obviously there are restrictions on a prime-time slot, but some of our episodes are very dark and deep. They're as punishing as anything I've done as an actor and I think we've come up with something that's as good as you're going tee get on a Sunday night." Ten million viewers, he adds, have also raised his profile far more than any of his more exalted roles, and he is delighted that it has brought in floods of offers for new parts in a diverse range of productions. Doubtless the money comes in handy too. Nor can it be particularly unpleasant to play a man who has every single woman in town between the ages of 16 and 40 throwing themselves at him.
The softly spoken Carlyle's newfound status as a sex symbol is one he intends to remain unaccustomed to: "I just can't see myself that way," he laughs. "I mean look at me, I'm five foot nothing. Guys like Mel Gibson - they're sex symbols, no' me. Maybe I've got some kind of cute Glaswegian thing going on but I cannae see it myself."
Carlyle's star may be rising faster than practically any other Scots actor's but he seems genuinely uncomfortable with most aspects of celebrity, and confesses to being "absolutely stunned" by the enthusiastic reaction to Trainspotting.
Born and bred in Glasgow's Maryhill and trained by the Royal Scottish Academy of Dramatic Art, Carlyle owns that the rising prominence of the Scottish arts has been a contributory factor in his success: "There is a real focus of attention moving towards Scotland and hopefully I can ride along on the back of that. The problem for Scottish actors in the past has been that there were far too many of them for the number of productions actually underway in the country at any one time. With a bit of luck, the recent upsurge in interest should go some way to solving that."
Isn't it surprising, then, that he turned down parts in both Braveheart and Rob Roy? Although quick to point out that both were fine films, Carlyle takes the view that he and his country are better served through other dramatic routes: "I'm interested in showing the current face of Scotland. While Braveheart kicks into the nationalist part of our psyche, Trainspotting does the opposite. I suppose the simple answer is that I'm more interested in today than yesterday, and I think we can achieve more by confronting the issues facing us now, not 600 years ago."
As an actor, he admits to being more interested in the characters he plays than the subjects tackled, and that his part in Hamish Macbeth affords him a pleasant divergence from more psychologically taxing roles. Yet Carlyle is obviously keen to maintain a political edge to his work. He speaks passionately of his role as a homeless man sleeping rough in London for Safe, one of his earliest films, and is outraged by what it taught him: "I slept out for eight days in preparation. I experienced that kind of life first hand and frankly, I think a society that allows that is a f***ing disgrace."
Some might question, however, what impact an airy-fairy, arty production could actually have on the socio-political climate. Carlyle takes the point, but hopes that if he can do anything at all, it is to inform people of some aspects of society's problems that they might otherwise have been unaware of. Drawing on his recent experiences filming amidst devastating poverty with director Ken Loach in Nicaragua, he cites the example of the USA's involvement in that country as an area he hopes to do some good in: "If it does anything, perhaps the film will make people aware of the terrible crimes America is committing in Nicaragua. I'm a lucky man to be able to use my political voice."
Given the current entertainment craze for 'gritty' drama, embodied by everything from Prime Suspect to Pulp Fiction, Carlyle should have plenty more opportunities to extend his realist and political bents Far from being delighted by the situation, however, he is appalled by what he considers to be a drop in standards as television's top boys jump on the bandwagon: "Take that Silent Witness," he says. "Totally formulaic, pure garbage. It's a disgrace that sub-standard, so-called 'gritty drama' like that is being pumped out." After all, he adds, an anaesthetised, formulaic depiction of real life is what we already get by the bucket-load from Hollywood.
But then entertainment is a fickle industry, prone to hailing one genre after another as the be-all-and-end-all, only to have completely forgotten about it and moved onto pastures new within 12 months (witness 60s experimental theatre and Hugh Grant). Carlyle is very aware of this, but points out that when they opened, Trainspotting took more at the box office than Sense and Sensibility while showing at only half the number of cinemas. It is, he hopes, evidence that harsh realism is gaining a grip on a British film industry previously devoted to churning out "dreary period dramas".
Just in case this isn't so, he's moving off now to explore new avenues, starting with a comedy set in Sheffield. Though it does, he adds with a smile, involve 'gritty' steel workers and their 'gritty' redundancies. Joking aside, Carlyle maintains a deep commitment to turning the film industry in Britain away from the gentle nostalgia he perceives it to be rooted in, and which he condemns as catering for "a conservative, middle-class audience with very little relevance to real people today."
He knows his view is controversial; not everyone prefers reality to escapism. But he remains steadfast in his view that it is an artform of far greater worth: "Trainspotting enlightened an audience who didn't know that there are people out there who choose not to choose life. If drama has any value at all, then it must be to explain to people that there are miseries out there that they don't and should know about."
| Robert Carlyle |
In 1830, the world’s first railway suspension bridge was opened over what British river? | Hamish Macbeth - Robert Carlyle OBE
Robert Carlyle OBE
Hamish Macbeth
Synopsis
Hamish Macbeth is based on a series of books of the same name and adapted by BBC Scotland television. It ran for three series between 1995 and 1997, with the first two series having six episodes and the third having eight. Macbeth, aided by his dog, a West Highland Terrier named Wee Jock, keeps the peace in his own way without undue reliance on the letter of the law, and with every intention of avoiding being promoted out of what is his ideal job. (Wikipedia)
Starring
Robert Carlyle Anne Lacey Brian Pettifer Stuart Davids Ralph Riach Barbara Rafferty
Shirley Henderson David Ashton Duncan Duff Valerie Gogan Jimmy Yuill Billy Riddoch
Links
S01E01 The Great Lochdubh Salt Robbery
S01E02 A Pillar of the Community
S01E03 The Big Freeze
S01E06 A Bit of an Epic
Series 2 1996
S02E01 A Perfectly Simple Explanation
S02E02 In Search of a Rose
S02E03 Isobel Pulls It Off
S02E04 Radio Lochdubh
S02E05 No Man Is an Island
S02E06 The Lochdubh Deluxe
S03E05 The Trouble with Rory
S03E06 More Than a Game
S03E07 Destiny (1)
Click on the thumbnails for full-sized versions.
Covers
Promotional photos and episode stills
Interview with Robert Carlyle, ETV, Issue 7, May/June 1997
“Farewell Lochdubh? Robert Carlyle has filmed his third and last series of Hamish Macbeth – but is this really the end? Maybe, maybe not, as he tells John Binns and Hilary Bonner...”
Actors can normally consider themselves lucky if they have one major success in their career. For Robert Carlyle it’s rather different: the runaway success that is Hamish Macbeth has been just another line on a very impressive CV, which also includes films like Trainspotting, Go Now, Priest and Carla’s Song, and a wealth of television roles (most notably as the unhinged Albie Kinsella in Cracker).
Hamish Macbeth, though, is the show that has made him a household name to millions of viewers. Playing the unconventional face of policing in the tiny Scottish village of Lochdubh has brought him a legion of followers, and much of the fan mail is from adoring women – many of them, apparently, besotted with his ‘pixie ears’.
“I don’t even know what it means!” Robert giggles a little nervously. “But I get loads of letters about my pixie ears. There must be lots of people out there with ear fetishes...”
During filming for the first series, he says, he received a lot of unexpected calls. “I got these funny phone calls, lots of them, and from different people,” he explains. In later series the producers had to take his name off the call-sheet to prevent it happening.
“When you are on television for six weeks playing to audiences of 10 million and more, it is a transformation in your life. You may have done well-received work before, but it has nothing like the effect of that,” says Robert.
“It’s done a lot for me,” he continues. “I’ll be eternally grateful for Hamish Macbeth, because it allowed people to put a name to the face. I think prior to Hamish I was known probably more within the business, the film and TV world. Obviously Hamish brought me in front of 10 million people every week, so that does change things.”
He has lost some of his privacy, of course – people in the street often recognise and talk to him – but it’s not something that bothers him too much. “You can never be annoyed by that,” he says. “99% of the people who approach me and talk to me are fantastic. It’s a consequence of what you do, and you can’t possibly feel annoyed, because if that wasn’t happening I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.”
More and more though, people are recognising Robert as Hamish Macbeth, rather than as Albie from Cracker or Begbie from Trainspotting. Robert’s wish not to get ‘tied down’ to the role is, he says, one of the reasons why he’s not doing a fourth series. “I think there’s always that danger. You don’t want to be rooted to the one spot for too long. I’ve always been fortunate that I’ve been able to diversify.”
He stresses, though, that the decision not to do another series wasn’t entirely his. “It was a collective decision. Zenith [the production company], the BBC, myself, and Danny Boyle [the creator and writer] decided that for the moment enough was enough. You’re dealing with a very small community, Lochdubh. If there was a murder every week, there’d be nobody left in the village! The danger is obviously that you start to repeat yourself. We’ve filmed 20 very different episodes so far, and that was the way we wanted to try and keep it.
“And of course like anything else, Hamish will hopefully improve with age. Perhaps people will look back and think that it’s even better than it is, which normally happens. I feel that perhaps people are just beginning to come to terms with Hamish Macbeth now, but that’s the ideal time to go!”
Other series have finished on a regular basis, though, and gone on to continue as one-offs and specials. As far as Robert at least is concerned, this could be the way forward for the show. “We’d have to talk to the various producers about it, but talking personally I would feel that perhaps the one-off format would be better for Hamish – specials and stuff like that – because people know the characters now. You don’t have to have a whole series to educate people about the programme.”
But from the start, Hamish has had fans of all ages – and not just in the UK, either. “The Australians went mad for the programme, they really seemed to enjoy it. We had busloads of Australians descending on the village last year which was very interesting. Plockton [where Hamish is filmed] was voted the best tourist village in Scotland even before Hamish Macbeth went there, so it was always doing okay for tourism, but anything that helps the area is great. It’s a wonderful place.”
Australia is the base for the Wee Jock Appreciation Society, a club devoted to Hamish’s West Highland White. Robert says he doesn’t mind being upstaged by the little fellow from time to time, as long as he remembers who the star of the show is: “You know what dogs are like, they demand too much! They want their money, they want their wine; you’ve got to just keep them in their place sometimes!”
Now that filming on Hamish has finished, Robert says he is taking a well-earned break for the first time in a couple of years.
“The one thing that I will definitely be doing this year is a film called Divorcing Jack, from the novel by Colin Bateman, which is set in Belfast. I play a journalist who basically insults both halves of the divide in Belfast, so he’s hated by all. It’s a political thriller, but it’s also very, very funny...”
The BBC have just commissioned a script from his production company, Raindog, for a film set in the 1830s about the life of a real-life Glasgow boxer called Benny Lynch. “He was Scotland’s first world champion at anything, so he’s quite a unique character. It’s very much a rags to riches to rags story. He went to the very height, won the world title and then threw it all away on alcohol...” Robert plans to play the role, and will be doing some training to look the part.
We’ll also be seeing Robert in two films this year after Hamish has finished. “The first one that’ll be out probably is called Full Monty, which was filmed in Sheffield. You’ll see quite a lot of me!” he says with a coy smile. “It’s the story of five ex-steelworkers who are redundant. They all need money for different reasons, so they form a kind of Chippendale-type act and take their clothes off for one night only, to try and get the money that they need.
“The second one is called Face, and it’s a heist film, a robbery film. What makes it different from other films in that genre is that the bad guys, as it were, have a life. There’s a psychotic character in Face – not played by me for a change! – who’s as violent and as aggressive as anything you’ve seen on screen. But you see this guy at home with his baby.”
One thing Robert won’t be doing for his career just yet is moving from his native Glasgow. Living outside London, he says, isn’t as detrimental to an actor as it once was: “Maybe 10 years ago that was the case, but I think things have changed quite dramatically since I left drama school in 1986. At that point the done thing, even then, was to come to London.
“I love Glasgow. It’s changed a great deal, over the years. But it’s got a vitality and it’s got a life, and it’s got a humour that I understand. And the people in Glasgow are my people, it’s where I come from. I just like to be there.”
There perhaps more than anywhere, Robert can get away from being a star and just be himself. “I try to disguise myself as much as possible, and just be as normal as you can be. A few nights ago I went to see a football match – Morton v Falcutt – there were about a thousand people there and I loved it, you know, I had my pie and my Bovril and I enjoyed myself, and I can become anonymous. That’s very important for me.
“The most important thing for an actor is observing life, observing people, how they move, how they conduct themselves, how they talk. And it’s very difficult to do that when they’re looking at you!”
The locations
Hamish Macbeth was set in the fictional village of Lochdubh, and was filmed in the village of Plockton on the West coast of Scotland.
The following photos were taken by Judith, Donna and Rachael
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Gaston Leroux wrote which 1911 novel, later a famous musical? | Phantom of the Opera - Gaston LeRoux, Joeming W. Dunn - Google Books
Phantom of the Opera
1 Review https://books.google.com/books/about/Phantom_of_the_Opera.html?id=W5Af7JwlGnkC
A graphic novel based on the Gaston Leroux classic, in which a disfigured musical genius, living under the Paris House, uses music to win the love of a beautiful opera singer.
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About the author (2010)
Gaston Leroux is best known as the creator of the 1911 novel, The Phantom of the Opera, about a masked figure who haunts the hidden parts of the Paris Opera House. The novel appeared first in serial installments a year before publication, ultimately grew into several movie versions, and later became an Tony Award-winning Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Leroux was born in Paris in 1868. The only child of financially well-off parents, he moved easily into a clerk job in a law office. While working there, he wrote essays and short stories, many of which were accepted by publishers. This fired his enthusiasm, and he became a full-time reporter/writer in 1890. Law experience covering famous cases and theater reviews fueled his writing career, but it was his news reporter job that took him around the world at the turn of the century, providing details for his novels. Leroux wrote several mystery and fantasy novels, including the well-received The Mystery of the Yellow Room (1907) and The Man Who Came Back from the Dead (1912). Leroux also helped pioneer the character of the amateur detective who solves crime, so commonly seen today in movies and television. Gaston Leroux continued to write until his death on April 16, 1927.
| The Phantom of the Opera |
From what English port does the Hispaniola set sail in ‘Treasure Island’? | Gaston Leroux - Biography - IMDb
Gaston Leroux
Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (2) | Trivia (7)
Overview (3)
Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux
Mini Bio (1)
A native of Paris, France, a poet, journalist and novelist, Gaston Leroux is known for his many creative horror stories, including "Rouilable", "The Haunted Chair" and "The Wax Mask", but is probably best known for his work "The Phantom of the Opera", which became Leroux's prize possession. He wrote the novel in 1908 about a disfigured man who dresses in masks and capes and terrorizes the Paris Opera House while falling in love with the leading lady. "The Phantom of the Opera" was based much upon Leroux's own experiences. During his early years as a journalist in the late 1800s, Leroux spent time going the Paris Opera House and watching performances, and was influenced by Charles Gounod 's opera "Faust", about a man who sells his soul to the devil. On one occasion, the chandelier which featured in the opera fell into the audience by accident. Combining the singers, Faust and the chandelier together, Leroux created "The Phantom of the Opera".
In 1923, Carl Laemmle , head of the new Universal Pictures in Hollywood, produced a film of the novel, The Phantom of the Opera (1925), with Lon Chaney in the lead. Leroux was impressed by this, but two years later he died. Since that time, "The Phantom of the Opera" has become so popular it has inspired five feature remakes, one in 1943 Phantom of the Opera (1943)), another in 1962 ( The Phantom of the Opera (1962) and again in 1989 ( The Phantom of the Opera (1989)). A television version was also made ( The Phantom of the Opera (1983)) and then a remake made in 1999 ( The Phantom of the Opera (1998)). The most recent remake is Joel Schumacher 's The Phantom of the Opera (2004), produced and cast by Andrew Lloyd Webber , with Gerard Butler , Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson , three quite unknown actors, rather than Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman , the original actors of the Broadway show. The novel was also made into a major London and Broadway stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Gaston Leroux will forever be remembered for "The Phantom of the Opera".
- IMDb Mini Biography By: [email protected]
Spouse (2)
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Who played Violet Kray, the mother, in the 1990 film ‘The Krays’? | The Krays Movie Review & Film Summary (1990) | Roger Ebert
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London had never seen anything quite like the brothers Kray, the sadistic twins who ran a protection empire and palled around with cafe society. They became celebrities of a sort. British professional criminals followed a more genteel tradition until the Krays came along in the 1950s and early 1960s. You might have gotten bashed on the head or even, after great provocation, shot dead, but until the Krays, it was unlikely anyone would pull out a sword and redecorate your face.
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The Krays got a reputation for performing their sickest crimes themselves, and then turning up, immaculately dressed, at posh nightclubs. The British tabloids made an industry out of them, but what nobody could quite believe was that they really did go back home every night to the humble East End semi-detached home they shared with their Cockney mom.
The genius of "The Krays," Peter Medak 's new film about the most notorious villains of modern British crime, is that the movie is not simply a catalog of stabbings, garrotings and bloodletting. It goes deeper than into the twisted pathology of twins whose faces would light up with joy when their mom told them they looked just like proper gentlemen.
Reggie and Ronnie, their names were. Ronnie was the instigator, the one who got off on killing, and Reggie was the weaker one who killed only once, under Ronnie's insistent pressure, but at the time there was nothing to choose between them: They were the two most feared men in the East End. And their mother, Violet, was treated very, very nicely, wherever she went.
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"She was the most important love interest in their lives," Billie Whitelaw was musing one afternoon after the movie's North American premiere. Whitelaw is the distinguished British actress who is known as the foremost interpreter of the works of Samuel Beckett, and she plays Mother Kray in the movie. It's quite a performance.
"Violet was just as well-known as the twins," she said, "but for different reasons. She was a classic East End mother figure. And the whole focus of the movie is domestic. Violet and her boys. There's a most horrific film to be made about the Krays, because what Peter Medak has done is just the tip of the iceberg of the atrocities they committed. If you wanted to make a gory horror movie out of the Krays, it's all there to make. But Peter has actually made a domestic film about a mother and her two sons." In "The Krays" (opening Friday in Chicago at the Fine Arts), Violet cheerfully rules her husband; her other son, Charlie, and all the neighbors and relatives. She's a forcible, opinionated, strong-willed woman who knows when she holds her twins for the first time that they're destined to be special. As children, they were mean and violent, and forged a strange bond of twinship that distrusted the rest of the world - except for Violet. She could see no evil in them.
She doted even on their "business," which all London knew was extortion.
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In the film, the Krays are played by brothers, Gary and Martin Kemp, whose sleek, good looks seem right at home in expensive suits and polished shoes. Their performances suggest an eerie quality to the twins - the notion that they are never entirely offstage, that everything they say is for effect, sometimes ironic effect, and that they are never more dangerous than when their oily politeness is on display.
Whitelaw knew the twins at height of their powers. "I was working at the Theatre Workshop with Joan Littlewood," Whitelaw remembered, "and they were around then. They actually offered Joan protection, but I think it was a courteous, nice protection. They loved theatricals." And yet the protection they were offering, I said, was basically protection against themselves.
"I suppose so, yes. But they always wanted to be considered gentlemen. That was very important to them. They behaved with great courtesy. Their brother Charlie, who I know quite well, the oldest one, always behaved with enormous courtesy. And a number of the old gang members who were around when we shot the film were extremely polite on the set. They very much wanted to be considered gentlemen, and in their own way, they are, sending flowers, doing this, doing that, standing up when a lady came into the room." You've been quoted, I said, as telling Charlie you didn't know if you could get Violet quite right; you didn't know if you could do her justice in terms of how warm she was, and what a good mother she was.
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"I know that these three boys were besotted with their mother," Whitelaw said. "They all three of them loved her. In fact, everyone I've spoken to who knew Violet Kray loved her. I was talking to Charlie about her very early on, in fact, and whenever I started to talk in detail about Violet, tears would come to his eyes. Even her brother loved her, and that's unusual, isn't it? For siblings to love one another, and I didn't know if I could be that lovable." Yet she gave birth to the most feared and violent London criminals of their time, twins who brought professional street violence to a city where the policemen didn't carry guns.
Whitelaw smiled. "They always claimed that they only slashed, beat up and tortured their own - the gangs with which they were constantly warring. It has been said if the Krays were around today that they would clean up the drug scene, that they would have it under control. But perhaps the price would be too high to pay." We were talking in Whitelaw's hotel suite in Toronto, where the film had just played in the film festival. It arrived on this continent having set box-office records in England, where the Krays are still serving the long prison sentences that brought an end to their empire.
The film is the Whitelaw's biggest hit to date. She does most of her work on the stage, and her best-known films are probably "No Love for Johnnie" (1961), as the wife of ambitious politician Peter Finch , and "Charlie Bubbles" (1968), for which she won a British Film Award as the wife of philandering football fan Albert Finney . The central fact of her career has been her long association with the work of Samuel Beckett, the late, great, exiled Irish playwright, who chose her as the key interpreter of his work.
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For Medak, the director, the film is a career high. The Hungarian-born filmmaker, long in Britain, is best known for " The Ruling Class " (1972), starring Peter O'Toole as a very, very strange aristocrat, but Medak's career in recent years has included such unexpected material as " The Changeling " (1979) and " Zorro, the Gay Blade " (1981).
The film works so well, I think, because it creates such a disturbing tension between the evil done by the Krays and the love they basked in at home. Whitelaw's concern that she could not make Violet lovable enough is significant; how could a woman that lovable have produced - and doted on - the Krays? "Perhaps love is blind," she said. "Actually blind. I mean, I love my children to bits. I do, and I would fight tooth and nail like a tigress for my children. But a lot of mothers love their sons, and they don't turn out to be psychopathic torturers. I was astonished when I saw the film at how angry I seemed to get, at how often I lost my temper, and I think it was because, as an actress, the way my love was coming out was in fiercely protecting those boys." Do you have any theories about whether her love may have led them in the wrong direction - or were they simply bad seeds? "I've always thought the fact that they were twins had something to do with it. And the fact that one of the twins was a psychopath had a hell of a lot to do with it. There's no question that both of those boys are very bright. If Reggie had been just one little chicken to come out of that egg, instead of two, I think he would have gone through the usual East End working-class pilfering - the bit of wheeling and dealing that goes on in all working-class areas - but he would have gone through that, and came out the other side. But Ronnie is a psychopath. And because of that, he had enormous influence on Reggie.
"It's sad," Whitelaw said, "if you are going to feel sad about these men at all, that Ronnie, who was the one who instigated all these things, is kept in a hospital. He's kept under sedation, so he's quite happy. He's getting happy pills all the time, and he's allowed to see people within reason, whenever he wants to, and he sits in a room, and they have coffee and talk. But Reggie, who was the sane one, was put in an ordinary hard-core prison situation, and is now the one who is acutely depressed. He is the one who now has great emotional and mental problems." And Violet sleeps beneath a huge marble stone that says, "Mother."
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| Billie Whitelaw |
Which character in ‘Oliver Twist’ is later revealed to be Oliver’s great uncle? | Ronnie and Reggie Kray ''HATED'' Martin and Gary Kemp's The Krays biopic film - Mirror Online
Ronnie and Reggie Kray ''HATED'' Martin and Gary Kemp's The Krays biopic film
The gangland twins particularly disliked scenes in the 1990 movie in which their on-screen mother Violet swore
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Ronnie and Reggie Kray were not people to get on the wrong side of.
But Martin and Gary Kemp risked their wrath in 1990 when they portrayed the gangland twins in movie The Krays - and we've now learned the real-life brothers, who have both since passed away, "HATED" the Peter Medak-directed movie.
Maureen Flanagan, who used to do their mum's hair every week and was seen as the Kray twins' little sister, revealed the pair particularly disliked scenes in the film in which their on-screen mother Violet - who was played by Billie Whitelaw - swore.
Former Kray insider reveals that the brothers ''HATED'' Martin and Gary Kemp's biopic film (Photo: ITV)
Speaking on ITV's Lorraine, she said: "They hated the film.
"When I first went after he'd had a DVD film sent into him [Ronnie] he said, 'I hate that film. How dare they allow our mother to swear. Our mother never swore in her life.'
"I can guarantee that but they hated that."
The Krays - Gary Kemp, Billie Whitelaw & Martin Kemp as Ronnie and Reggie Kray and their mum Violet
Maureen also admitted she didn't think Martin and Gary's portrayal was realistic enough because the pair didn't "frighten" her when she watched the motion picture.
She added: "When I looked at the Kemp brothers I thought, 'I'll go to see the film but if they don't frighten me then they won't be Ronnie and Reggie Kray.' They had to have this menace and that aura about them. And they didn't frighten me."
But Maureen - who has written a book, One of the Family: 40 Years with the Krays, which is out tomorrow - has high hopes for Tom Hardy's Krays movie Legend, in which the Hollywood actor plays both Ronnie and Reggie.
Ronnie and Reggie Kray at home in London 1966
She said: "He's got everything spot on so it will be a good film."
Despite the Kray twins' faults, Maureen insists the pair were always "very respectful to women" and while visiting Ronnie in prison once he made her move to the other side of the table so that she wouldn't have serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, who was in the same prison, in her eye-line.
Former Kray insider reveals that the brothers ''HATED'' Martin and Gary Kemp's biopic film (Photo: ITV)
She added: "He came to the table and he saw Peter Sutcliffe on the next table and said, 'I don't want you sitting next to that sl*g.'
"He said, 'Get up and walk around the table.' He didn't want me to be in the eyeline of Peter Sutcliffe."
Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe (Photo: NICHOLAS RAZZELL)
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In Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’, what M is the name of Prospero’s daughter? | Shakespeare’s The Tempest - Crisis Magazine
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Mitchell Kalpakgian
Magic (art) is a part of daily life. Whenever parents raise children, teachers educate students, or rulers govern societies, they require the knowledge of the arts that teach these skills. They become magicians or artists by the masterpieces of their craft that evoke wonder and admiration for the beauty, goodness, or perfection their handiwork achieves. Man as magician who sees how to bring out the image of God in human beings, how to lead the mind to the discovery of truth, and how to bring civilization out of chaos imitates God’s creative activity in the world that brings light out of darkness and good out of evil.
Prospero, the magician in The Tempest, plays many parts in the drama that demonstrate these arts. He refines and educates Miranda, the beautiful daughter that Ferdinand beholds as love’s contemplative. Prospero, overthrown as the duke of Milan by his usurping brother, survives on a barbaric island that he transforms into a lush paradise that astonishes upon first sight. Prospero, a master or teacher who studies the liberal arts, improves his two apprentices or servants, the invisible spirit Ariel and the primitive savage Caliban, son of a witch. As a magician whose art derives from his knowledge of the liberal arts and the books he cherishes, Prospero produces glorious miracles, beautiful works of art–not the sorcery of black magic to do evil used by the witch Sycorax in the play.
While black magic—whether in the form of alchemy, astrology, or temptation—deceives with half-truths and riddles that lure a person with false promises, white magic is the art of bringing out the potential that inheres in nature, seeing the form in matter, and creating masterpieces from the “givenness” of things. The art of Prospero’s magic resembles God’s work in the world as he “plays” God in The Tempest, that is, imitates God in the way an actor plays a part and assumes a role. With his vestments and wand Prospero performs his magic like an actor on the stage and then retires after the performance: “Our revels now are ended.”
Prospero’s first work of art on the island where he narrowly escapes from drowning on the sea is the release of Ariel from the tree where he has been impaled by the witch. Prospero sees the form of Ariel in the matter of the tree just as Michelangelo announced that he saw a David in the hunk of rock. Prospero’s knowledge sees the spirit camouflaged in the tree, and his art frees Ariel’s potential, his great creative energy. Another of Prospero’s masterpieces is his daughter Miranda whose name means miraculous (“she who ought to be wondered at”) and derives from the Latin miror (I am amazed). The epitome of purity, goodness, and beauty, Miranda implores her father to stop the tempest and spare the lives of the shipwrecked crew. Sensitive to human suffering and grateful for kindness, she wishes she might personally thank Gonzalo for saving their lives–for providing Prospero with books and rations in his desperate escape from Milan in a boat when besieged by enemies (“Would I might/ But ever see that man”). A beautiful soul and a lovely woman, Miranda moves Ferdinand to rapt contemplation: “Admired Miranda! / Indeed the top of admiration!”). Educated and civilized with manners and morals by her father, Miranda radiates the divine image of man that Prospero’s art has fashioned.
As the ruler of an island Prospero uses the same magic, finding a primitive island ruled by diabolical forces and transforming it into a civilized society governed by the light of reason and justice. The island “prospers” under Prospero’s government that brings the rule of law out of the barbarism of witchcraft and creates abundance out of scarcity. Like a philosopher-king who contemplates the ideal of justice and then governs according to this vision, Prospero renders decisions that temper justice with mercy and never resorts to revenge: “The rarer action is/ In virtue than in vengeance.” The conspirators who usurped his kingdom and put him adrift in a boat to perish are subjected to the fury of the tempest and his righteous anger but never harmed or killed. When first discovering the island after the tragedy of shipwreck, Gonzalo marvels at being alive: “But for the miracle–/ I mean our preservation—few in millions/ Can speak like us.” He is amazed at the lushness of the grass, the sweetness of the air, and the transfigured whiteness of their garments. Prospero’s magic this time brings good out evil just as he released Ariel from the tree and educed the divine image from Miranda’s human nature.
Prospero uses magic in his role as master or teacher of his two servants, Ariel and Caliban, whose natures vary as greatly as air and earth. Freed from the tree, Ariel travels all over the island utilizing earth, air, fire, and water to follow Prospero’s orders to cause a storm and lead all the members of the ship safely to land. Prospero does not grant Ariel freedom from his service until the spirit perfectly follows Prospero’s exact instructions and tends to every detail of the magician’s work of art—rewarding or punishing everyone according to his just deserts and perfectly balancing justice and mercy. The master curbs the apprentice’s undisciplined energy and demands obedience and excellence in finishing the work of art he is perfecting on the island. Likewise, Prospero punishes and disciplines the willful Caliban whose uncontrollable urges reduce him to savage or animal until Prospero refines him by teaching him speech and taming his wildness. As the magician-teacher, Prospero uses the art of checking the impulsive, whimsical Ariel and rousing the slothful, plodding Caliban. He brings out Ariel’s excellence and improves Caliban by respecting their God-given natures and seeing the possibilities they possess.
Prospero’s white magic, then, is art, the art of parenting, ruling, teaching, and creating—the art of releasing potential, eliciting the best and highest in human nature, awakening the latent powers that inhere in nature, and fashioning works of art and masterpieces that evoke wonder and contemplation. In this way Prospero imitates or “plays” God who brings light out of darkness, good out of evil, and comedy out of tragedy. Prospero’s love of justice, mercy, beauty, and human wisdom all reflect the attributes of God who is all-good, all-merciful, all-beautiful, and all-knowing.
Editor’s note: The image above is an engraving by James Heath, Engraver to his Majesty and his RH the Prince of Wales, after a painting by Thomas Stothard. This print of a scene from the Tempest was published in August 1803.
| Miranda |
“I have lifted up mine eyes unto the hills” is the motto of which English county? | The Tempest / Shakespeare's Globe
This production has now closed.
'We are such stuff as dreams are made on.'
Prospero, Duke of Milan, usurped and exiled by his own brother, holds sway over an enchanted island. He is comforted by his daughter Miranda and served by his spirit Ariel and his deformed slave Caliban. When Prospero raises a storm to wreck this perfidious brother and his confederates on the island, his long contemplated revenge at last seems within reach.
Imbued with a spirit of magic and the supernatural, The Tempest is Shakespeare’s late great masterpiece of forgiveness, generosity and enlightenment.
Jeremy Herrin’s previous work for Shakespeare’s Globe includes 2011’s much loved Much Ado About Nothing.
Roger Allam won the Olivier Award for best actor for his role as Falstaff in Henry IV parts 1 & 2 at the Globe in 2010. Other recent credits include The Thick of It (BBC) and Tamara Drewe (Film).
Colin Morgan is best known for playing Merlin in the long running BBC series Merlin.
This production will employ Renaissance costumes and staging.
Reviews
"The funniest and most touching Tempest I can recall."
* * * * The Independent
"Herrin’s exuberant staging remind us of the play’s deliberate theatricality and the fact that Prospero’s rough magic mirrors that of a dramatist as he drives events."
* * * * Finnancial Times
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In 1985, the remaining members of which pop band changed their name to Starship? | How Jefferson Airplane Became Jefferson Starship - And Then Just Starship
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Between synthesizers, drum machines, and MTV, it’d be hard to pick a single veteran rock act that managed to get through the ’80s without being forced to change their sound to some extent. But where acts like Heart and Chicago may have alienated longtime fans by indulging in extra hairspray and buying a few power ballads from outside writers, Starship paid the highest price of all, trading in the Summer of Love ideals espoused by their original incarnation, Jefferson Airplane , for a handful of Top 40 hits.
The change didn’t happen overnight. Jefferson Airplane actually folded following the release of 1972’s ‘Long John Silver’ album, morphing into Jefferson Starship for 1974’s ‘Dragon Fly’ LP. To say these were transitional years would be an understatement; the Airplane’s lineup had frequently been in a state of flux, and so it was with the Starship, with substance abuse, personal conflicts, and disagreements over musical direction frequently polluting the mix. Singer Grace Slick was forced from the group in 1978 after drunkenly taunting the crowd during a German concert, followed shortly thereafter by guitarist/vocalist Marty Balin, leaving co-founder Paul Kantner to find a new lead singer.
Watch Jefferson Airplane Perform ‘Somebody to Love’
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That role would be filled by former Elvin Bishop Group singer Mickey Thomas , who’d earlier risen to prominence after being invited to assume lead vocal duties for the eventual hit single ‘Fooled Around and Fell in Love.’ Jefferson Starship’s next release, 1979’s ‘Freedom at Point Zero,’ boasted the Top 20 hit ‘Jane,’ which pointed the way toward the radio-friendly love songs they’d eventually pursue full-time; with modern-sounding keys, guitar power chords, and Thomas’ elastic voice high in the mix, it fit right in with hits of the day from groups like Toto and Boston .
The fact that this direction was more or less a 180-degree turn from the counter-cultural stance of the Jefferson Airplane’s early records wasn’t at all lost on the members of the band, but times were changing, and the Airplane’s flower-powered political ideals had fallen out of favor about as rapidly as their messily unpredictable (but rarely dull) original sound. It’s hard to argue with hits, however, and for at least a little while, Jefferson Starship managed to find a middle ground that kept the band’s old guard happy while still capitulating to FM trends.
Watch Jefferson Starship Perform ‘Jane’
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In fact, for a brief period of time, it seemed like some members of the famously contentious Jefferson nucleus might actually find something like long-term harmony. Slick returned for some vocal cameos on 1981’s ‘Modern Times’ album, singing a duet with Thomas for ‘Stranger’ and adding backgrounds to a handful of songs; fittingly, the record included a Top 40 hit (‘Find Your Way Back’) as well as a ‘Stairway to Cleveland,’ a profane kiss-off to fans who’d complained about the shift in style.
That balance was too fragile to hold, however. Kantner in particular grew increasingly frustrated with the band’s singles-driven focus; as he told author Jeff Tamarkin for his Jefferson biography ‘ Got a Revolution! ,’ “I think we would be terrible failures trying to write pop songs all the time. … The band became more mundane and not quite as challenging and not quite as much of a thing to be proud of.” Things eventually got so bad that, while producer Ron Nevison was prepping 1984’s ‘Nuclear Furniture’ for release, Kantner absconded with the master tapes, holding them hostage in his car for several days until he could get the rest of the band to agree to a different mix. Shortly after the album was out, so was Kantner — and he took the ‘Jefferson’ part of their name with him, part of an out-of-court settlement reached after he quit.
Following Kantner’s exit, multi-instrumentalist/singer David Freiberg (who’d co-written ‘Jane’) was also out of the lineup, leaving the five-piece band — with its moniker freshly whittled down to simply Starship — to soldier on with its next LP, 1985’s ‘Knee Deep in the Hoopla.’ Hired to continue the band’s quest for radio relevancy, producer Peter Wolf (not of the J. Geils Band ) brought in stacks of material from a roster of outside writers that included Bernie Taupin , Michael Bolton , and Katrina and the Waves singer Kimberley Rew; only one track, ‘Private Room,’ bore the writing stamp of any Starship members.
It may have been music made to order, but the buying public responded in droves — ‘Hoopla’ broke the Top 10, spinning off a pair of No. 1 hits (‘Sara’ and the dreaded ‘We Built This City’) plus a third Top 40 single (‘Tomorrow Doesn’t Matter Tonight’). An increasing number of fans who remembered the Jefferson days wondered how their band of rock revolutionaries could settle for mechanized pop songs and corporate-sponsored tours, but as far as Slick was concerned, it was just a gig — albeit one very different from the old days.
“For me, the ’80s incarnation of Starship … felt entirely opposite from the 1969 version of Airplane,” Slick explained in her autobiography, ‘ Someone to Love? .’ “It was almost like having two different occupations. The two bands had different focuses, purposes, and conduct; one was a circus, the other a musical shopping mall. Starship was a working band: do the albums, do the videos, do the road trips. … I cut my hair, smiled for the cameras, answered press questions, watched the charts, made the records, and kept my ass out of jail.”
Watch Starship Perform ‘We Built This City’
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Slick had done enough time in the trenches to treat rock ‘n’ roll like a 9-to-5 occupation if that’s what she wanted, but Starship’s trajectory continued to cause lineup attrition. Before the band entered the studio for the follow-up to ‘Hoopla,’ 1987’s ‘No Protection,’ bassist Pete Sears would find his name added to the lengthening list of former members.
“One day, I’m standing onstage, and I’m playing this keyboard around my neck, which I hate,” recalled Sears later. “I’m looking at Mickey, who’s lying down on a park bench onstage, with a lamppost as a prop, like Las Vegas or something. I thought, ‘What in the hell am I doing here?'”
Sears’ absence had little impact on sales for ‘No Protection,’ which sent the record to No. 12 on the charts in advance of another No. 1 hit (the ‘Mannequin’ soundtrack anthem ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’) and the Top 10 single ‘It’s Not Over (‘Til It’s Over).’ But changes were on the horizon yet again: citing Thomas’ increasing control of the group, including his decision to cut the vocals to a planned duet (the AC hit ‘Set the Night to Music’) by himself, she walked away at the end of the ‘No Protection’ tour. Although Thomas later speculated that Slick may have just wanted him to “look at her more onstage,” Slick was fairly unequivocal about her reasons for letting her contract with the band expire, admitting that being in Starship “got “boring after awhile” and saying , “There’s no use beating a dead horse. And it was a dead horse as far as I was concerned.”
This left Thomas, guitarist Craig Chaquico, and drummer Donny Baldwin as the last men standing for what would prove Starship’s final album of new material for many years: 1989’s ‘Love Among the Cannibals,’ released August 15, 1989. Pilloried by resentful Jefferson Airplane fans and criticized by former bandmates, Thomas couldn’t resist taking the opportunity to use the name of the new release as a veiled dig at his detractors.
“The love generation was really a bunch of cannibals to me,” he shrugged when asked about the title. “That’s where I came up with the idea of a bone through the heart for the cover art.”
‘Love Among the Cannibals’ might seem a little snarky in that context, but Thomas was clear-eyed about which side his bread was buttered on — as well as Starship’s struggle to maintain momentum. “Because of the association with Jefferson Airplane and the music of the ’60s, any commercial success we achieved in the ’80s was viewed by some critics and older fans as a sign of selling out,” he later argued . “I’ll personally take the hit singles because that, more than anything, has allowed me the opportunity to have a long career.”
“Sure, we took a lot of criticism for songs like ‘We Built This City’ and ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,’ but what we created with those songs was a very conscious effort,” he pointed out in a separate interview . “We set out to re-invent the band to make it more commercial, and we succeeded in doing exactly what we had set out to do.”
Ironically, as the Starship prepared for its next flight, the classic Jefferson Airplane was busy reuniting for its own album, which ended up including a number of pop concessions of its own — including the arguably heavy hand employed by producer Ron Nevison, who later lamented bringing in so many session players to augment the group. “We probably should have just stayed with it, as bad as it was, because technically, the Airplane was never a great band,” he pointed out. “I think that if I had paid more attention to it, it could have been better.”
Jack Casady concurred, adding , “They had a keyboard player play what he thought was a modern ’89 bass part for me. Everybody would go off in their little corner…”
In the end, ‘Love Among the Cannibals’ was nominally the more successful of the two releases, reaching No. 64 on the album charts (behind the No. 12 hit ‘It’s Not Enough’) while ‘Jefferson Airplane’ stalled out at No. 85. But while the Airplane used the album as fuel for a well-received reunion tour, Starship saw dwindling crowds on the road in ’89 — and to make matters worse, their tour ended shortly after it started, when a post-show argument between Thomas and Baldwin following their Sept. 24 gig in Scranton ended in a violent assault that left Thomas so badly beaten he required major facial reconstructive surgery.
“He was one of my best friends in the world until that crazy night,” Thomas told the Marin Independent Journal in 2012. “It had to do with being on tour together for so many years in the crazy environment of the road. Being on the road is crazy enough without getting some other factors mixed in there, like resentment and alcohol and drugs. It was a very unfortunate incident that got out of hand. I’m sure each of us would love to go back and retrace our steps that night and make it different, but you can’t do that. You change one thing and you may change the whole course of your life.”
Watch Starship Perform ‘It’s Not Enough’
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It definitely altered courses for Starship, as the group’s promotional campaign for ‘Cannibals’ tumbled to pieces following Baldwin’s firing and Thomas’ long period of rehab from his injuries. At a moment when they needed to reassert their relevancy more than ever, the band members were forced to sit idly by while the momentum they’d built up since the mid-’80s vanished. By 1990, Chaquico was the only remaining band member who’d been part of the original Jefferson Starship, and he could no longer avoid the writing on the wall. “Everyone I had enjoyed playing and writing with over the many years with Starship had left the band, except for Mickey,” he recalled . “It became like Mickey Thomas is our star and everything is going to be about him.”
Under certain circumstances, having a group’s name function as a sales-boosting vehicle for de facto solo records from the last remaining member isn’t the worst idea — it’s worked well for certain other “bands” in the past. But by the time RCA commissioned a best-of compilation for the spring of 1991, Starship had really ceased to be — not only as a band, but in the minds of record buyers. The fans who’d followed them over from the Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship days were mostly gone, and although their mid-’80s singles had found traction at radio, they were cobbled together from such anonymous-sounding ingredients that they could have been recorded by almost anyone.
Perhaps fittingly, given how many hirings, firings, and lawsuits the group had seen over the years, the end of Starship came down to an executive decision. “I essentially fired the band,” stated longtime manager Bill Thompson. “There had been the incident with Mickey’s face, plus we weren’t selling tickets. I told RCA that we were done.”
Of course, band breakups only hold until someone with a claim to the name starts using it to make music again, and by the early ’90s, Thomas was back on the road with a new version of the group, which he dubbed Starship featuring Mickey Thomas — not to be confused with Kantner’s Jefferson Starship: The Next Generation, which eventually settled back on good old-fashioned Jefferson Starship.
Despite their similar monikers, the bands occupy wildly different ends of the spectrum; Kantner’s group hearkens back to Jefferson Airplane/Starship’s progressive days, while Thomas’ crew continues to tour and record in the vein of the band’s big ’80s hits — something for which Thomas still makes no apologies.
“‘Love Among The Cannibals’ is my personal all-time favorite Starship album. I think it still holds up today,” Thomas later reflected . “I think there were a number of factors why the album was a disappointment. It was the first album after the departure of Grace Slick. There was some backlash from the string of hit singles. Also, right after the release of the album we had a serious crisis in the band involving a violent fight that prevented us from touring and promoting the album. It was a huge disappointment, but it’s still my favorite.”
| Jefferson Starship |
What fine translucent cotton muslin is usually stiffened and used for women's clothing? | Starship | Biography & History | AllMusic
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Artist Biography by William Ruhlmann
Starship was a band created by the settlement of a lawsuit. Notwithstanding this curious beginning, the group went on to a series of hits in the mid-'80s, including the chart-toppers "We Built This City," "Sara," and "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" in a polished, mainstream pop/rock style before splitting up in the early '90s.
Starship was the remaining sextet of musicians that, with Paul Kantner , had made up Jefferson Starship until the rhythm guitarist/singer's exit from that band in June 1984. Kantner , a founding member of Jefferson Airplane , the precursor to Jefferson Starship , had also helped found Jefferson Starship in 1974. Ten years later, Kantner decried the band's tilt toward commercial rock and decided that it was time for the group to dissolve. His bandmates disagreed, and Kantner sued over money and the ownership of the band's name in October 1984. The suit was settled in March 1985, resulting in a cash payment to Kantner and the agreement that the name " Jefferson Starship " would be retired, while the band would change its name to simply Starship (with that name owned by singer Grace Slick and manager Bill Thompson ).
Thus, at its inception under its new moniker, Starship consisted of Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing in or near Chicago, IL, October 30, 1939), co-lead singer Mickey Thomas (born in Cairo, GA, December 3, 1949), guitarist Craig Chaquico (born September 25, 1954), keyboardist David Freiberg (born in Boston, MA, August 24, 1938), bassist Pete Sears (born May 27, 1948), and drummer Donny Baldwin . Freiberg , however, then dropped out. The newly christened band, freed from Kantner 's ties to their old sound, quickly entered the studio. The first product of their efforts was "We Built This City," written by Dennis Lambert , Martin Page , Bernie Taupin ( Elton John 's lyricist), and Peter Wolf (not the former singer of the J. Geils Band ), who co-produced the track and played keyboards on it. The song did two things that no Jefferson Airplane or Jefferson Starship single ever had: it hit number one in November 1985 and it went gold, proving a strong calling card for the first Starship album, Knee Deep in the Hoopla , which reached the Top Ten and went platinum, a better showing than any Jefferson Starship album since 1978. Starship followed with a second number one single, "Sara," written by Wolf with his wife Ina and also featured on the album. A third single, "Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight," made the Top 40.
The record sales established Starship as a separate entity with a new audience. The group was reduced to a quartet with the departure of Pete Sears prior to their next recording, a song from the movie Mannequin. Released as a single in January 1987, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now," written by Diane Warren and Albert Hammond , became Starship 's third number one hit in April and eventually was certified as their second gold 45. The second album, No Protection , released in July 1987, was prefaced by the single "It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)," which reached the Top Ten as the album peaked at number 12 and went gold.
At the start of 1988, Grace Slick left Starship , reducing the band to the trio of Thomas , Chaquico , and Baldwin . They added two new members, keyboard player Mark Morgan and bassist Brett Bloomfield , and in the summer of 1989 released their third album, Love Among the Cannibals , which boasted the Top 20 hit "It's Not Enough" but sold disappointingly. The band was set to tour from mid-August to the end of September, but on September 24, Thomas was involved in a fight that left him severely beaten, suffering serious facial injuries that required surgery. Although no charges were filed, it eventually emerged that he had been beaten by Baldwin , who immediately left the band. While Thomas recovered, Chaquico also departed in 1990. In the spring of 1991, the band's label, RCA, released Greatest Hits (Ten Years and Change 1979-1991) , which featured one new track, "Good Heart," written by Martin Page and performed by Thomas , Page , Wolf , and guitarist Peter Maunu . Released as a single, it reached number 81. With that, Bill Thompson declared Starship to be inactive.
In 1992, Thomas organized a band that began playing dates billed as " Mickey Thomas ' Starship " or " Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas ." Although Thomas did not own the right to use the name " Starship ," Thompson and Grace Slick , the co-owners of the name, took no action to stop him, and he continued to perform using the name. In 2003, the Brilliant label issued an album credited simply to Starship called Greatest Hits on which a Thomas -led band re-recorded Starship 's biggest hits and some songs from Thomas ' tenure in Jefferson Starship as well as "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," the hit Thomas sang with the Elvin Bishop Group in 1976.
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In what figure of speech is understatement used to emphasize a point by denying the opposite? | Litotes - YouTube
Litotes
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Published on Nov 29, 2014
In rhetoric, litotes (/ˈlaɪtətiːz/, US /ˈlɪtətiːz/ or /laɪˈtoʊtiːz/) is a figure of speech wherein understatement is used to emphasize a point by denying the opposite, often incorporating double negatives for effect. For example, "She's not unkind" could be used to express that someone is not particularly rude, but also isn't particularly considerate. The degree of emphasis depends on the context in which it is used. For instance, the commonly used phrase "not bad" could indicate that something was either average or excellent. Along the same lines, litotes can be used to diminish the harshness of an observation; "He isn't the cleanest person I know" could be used as a means of indicating that someone is a messy person.
Litotes is a form of understatement, always deliberate and with the intention of emphasis. However, the interpretation of negation may depend on context, including cultural context. In speech, it may also depend on intonation and emphasis; for example, the phrase "not bad" can be said in such a way as to mean anything from "mediocre" to "excellent". It can be used to soften harsher expressions, similar to euphemism.
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What word refers to a verb form which functions as a noun, ending in –ing? | HyperboleOverstatement A figure of speech that uses - ENGLISH - ?
Hyperboleoverstatement a figure of speech that uses
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Hyperbole/Overstatement: A figure of speech that uses deliberate exaggeration to achieve an effect (such as weather), serious, comic, or ironic. (overstatement) Understatement: (aka meiosis, litotes) for “lessening” typically used to describe something in a way that minimizes its evident significance or gravity. Used for humorous, ironic, or satiric effect. Litotes--- involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite. Underscores the pathetic or tragic. Metaphor: A direct comparison between two unlike things; the representation of one thing by another. Simile: compares two essentially unlike things by using words such as “like” or “as” to link the vehicle and the tenor. (Metaphors have no linkage words.) Metonymy: Substituting something closely Synecdoche: A part of something is used
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related for the thing actually meant Ex. the King might be called “the crown” (Green=more specific forms of the metaphor) to represent the whole or, occasionally, the whole is used to represent a part. The vehicle (image used) of the figure of speech is part of the tenor (the thing being represented) Ex. “All hands on deck” Irony: a contradiction or incongruity between appearance or expectation and reality. Ton, meiosis, character, rhetorical, paradoxical can be ironic. Paradox: A statement that seems self- contradictory or nonsensical on the surface but that, upon closer examination, may be used to grad the reader’s Oxymoron: a figure of speech that juxtaposes two opposite or apparently contradictory words to present an emphatic and dramatic paradox for a rhetorical purpose or effect. attention and to direct it to a specific point or image that provokes the reader to see something in a new way. Can also refer to any unexpected deviation from ordinary discourse or expectations. Bucolic/pastoral: things are set in the country (better and idyllic) Carpe diem: “size the day” live in this moment, some writing could have this tone *Symbol: something that, although it is of interest in its own right, stands for or suggests something larger and more complex---often an idea or range of interrelated ideas, attitudes, and practices. (cultural symbols, images, can be metaphors , allegories, or signs) *Imagery: the actual language that a writer uses to convey a visual picture (or to create and represent any sensory experience. The use of figures of speech, often to express abstract ideas in a vivid and innovative way. Makes use of simile, personification, metonymy, and many others). Types: visual, olfactory , gustatory, tactile, auditory Catalexis: end of a line of poetry, a syllable(s) [short/long] is left off Foot: basic unit of rhythm in verse, consisting of stressed and unstressed syllables Meter: number of poetic feet per line: -mono, - di, -tri, -tetra, -penta, -hexa, -septa, -octa Unstressed= ` Stressed: / Iamb(iambic): unstressed, stressed (short long) Ex.: Trochee(trochaic): stressed, unstressed (long short) Ex.: Anapest(anapestic): short, short, long Ex.: Dactyl(dactylic): long, short, short Ex.: Spondee(spondaic): long, long. (unnatural) Pyrric: short, short (irregular) Caesura: pause in the middle of a poetry line usually due to punctuation Blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter (usually royalty and the higher class) Free verse: (prose)
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D.C.J. What part did Denise Richards play in ‘The World is not Enough’ (1999)? | The World Is Not Enough (1999) - IMDb
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The World Is Not Enough ( 1999 )
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James Bond uncovers a nuclear plot when he protects an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can't feel pain.
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Edit
Storyline
James Bond is back. An oil tycoon is murdered in MI6 and Bond is sent to protect his daughter. Renard, who has a bullet lodged in his brain from a previous agent, is secretly planning the destruction of a pipeline. Bond gains a hand from a research scientist, Dr. Christmas Jones who witnesses the action which happens when Bond meets up with Renard, but Bond becomes suspicious about Elektra King, especially when Bond's boss, M goes missing. Bond must work quickly to prevent Renard from destroying Europe. Written by simon
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Taglines:
Some men want to rule the world... Some women ask for the world... Some believe the world is theirs for the taking... But for one man, The World Is Not Enough!!! See more »
Genres:
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence, some sexuality and innuendo | See all certifications »
Parents Guide:
19 November 1999 (USA) See more »
Also Known As:
$35,519,007 (USA) (19 November 1999)
Gross:
Did You Know?
Trivia
In early drafts of the script, the character that became Christmas Jones was a Polynesian insurance investigator (this was changed to avoid confusion with Pierce Brosnan 's female foil in The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)), Giulietta Da Vinci (Cigar Girl) was Sashenka Firo, and Dr. Molly Warmflash was Doctor Greatrex. See more »
Goofs
A remote head camera crane is visible during the opening boat chase (as the lead speedboat destroys the pier on left-hand bank, the wide shot reveals crane in the top left corner). See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Lachaise : So good of you to come see me, Mr. Bond, particularly on such short notice.
James Bond : If you can't trust a Swiss banker, what's the world come to?
See more »
Crazy Credits
The opening credits don't begin until approximately 15 minutes into the movie -- the longest delay in the series to date. See more »
Connections
(Manchester, England) – See all my reviews
Top casting and exciting action make this one of the most entertaining Bond films for a while.
Some may disagree, but I think Brosnan has the edge over Connery now. Sophie Marceau is fantastic as Electra, one of the most interesting characters to grace the series for a while. Carlyle, although shortlived, is a very believable and even sympathetic villain and Robbie Coltrane makes a meal of his second appearance as Valentin Zukovsky.
The opening scene of TWINE is probably the best action scene ever in a Bond film and while the ones that follow cannot quite match up to it, they are still top class. Director Michael Apted shows that he has a real talent for dealing with these parts of the movie, and the excellent soundtrack can only improve them.
I went to see this movie on consecutive days and bought the soundtrack (Garbage&David Arnold) the second time, this is the best recommendation that I can possibly give it.
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| The World Is Not Enough |
Six teenagers are aged 13, 13, 14, 16, 18, and 19. What is the median of their ages? | The World Is Not Enough | Variety
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November 14, 1999 | 11:00PM PT
"The World Is Not Enough," and neither is this new entry in the James Bond cycle. Although not without its moments, particularly an exciting pre-credits high-speed boat chase and some solid work by the nicely matched Pierce Brosnan and Sophie Marceau, 19th assignment of Bond's 37-year screen career sees 007 undone by villainous scripting and misguided casting and acting in a couple of key secondary roles.
“The World Is Not Enough,” and neither is this new entry in the James Bond cycle. Although not without its moments, particularly an exciting pre-credits high-speed boat chase and some solid work by the nicely matched Pierce Brosnan and Sophie Marceau, 19th assignment of Bond’s 37-year screen career sees 007 undone by villainous scripting and misguided casting and acting in a couple of key secondary roles. Underachievement will probably only occasion a moderate B.O. dip for the series (first two Brosnan starrers, “GoldenEye” and “Tomorrow Never Dies,” grossed a series-best $353 million and $345 million worldwide, respectively), but it should put producers on notice to do better next time around.
Daft, over-crammed plotting is a shame, because Brosnan grows noticeably more comfortable in the role with each outing, and here reveals a strong urge to make the most of his admittedly scant opportunities to invest Bond with interesting shadings and substance. The secret agent this time has an appealing vulnerable side, not only a physical one in the form of a dislocated collar bone but in a growing susceptibility to Marceau’s character, who is more his match than any woman he’s met in quite a while.
There is a palpable sense of strain in the script to come up with new set piece ideas, and one of the problems is that there are too many of them. But it’s impossible to take issue with the opening, which, at 15 minutes, must rate as the longest Bond prologue ever. Set in Bilbao, Spain, for the sole and entirely justifiable reason of using Frank Gehry’s new Guggenheim Museum as scenery, story launch has Bond come to collect a large stash of money recovered from a killed MI6 agent. After 007 narrowly escapes death there, he returns to London with the loot, only to see its rightful owner blown up, sending Bond into a wild chase aboard a jet speedboat on the Thames that winds up — where else? — on top of the new Millennium Dome at Greenwich. It’s an exhilarating sequence, one that sets up expectations that are unfortunately not matched on the rest of the trip.
The man with the money, it turns out, was a wealthy industrialist whose daughter Elektra (Marceau) will now inherit his vast holdings, which include an unfinished oil pipeline across Western Asia to Istanbul. Elektra also has a history with Bond’s boss M (Judi Dench), who botched a rescue attempt of the young woman when she was held by a terrorist kidnapper, from whom Elektra subsequently escaped.
As Elektra seems a likely target of any number of rivals in the former Soviet Union, Bond heads for the picturesquely ugly oil fields of Azerbaijan to protect her, which he needs to do the moment she takes him skiing and they’re attacked by machine-gunning marauders in airborne parahawks that become speedy snowmobiles once they’ve landed.
A visit to the casino in Baku enables James not only to order a martini, but also to try out some nifty X-ray specs that not only permit him to see that nearly everyone there is packing, but also to check out the ladies’ undergarments. It’s one of the film’s cleverest little inventions, one that could have been judiciously built into a nice running gag.
But just as James and Elektra find one another, her old tormentor, the terrorist Renard (Robert Carlyle), turns up. Not only are his plots now infinitely more dastardly, but he has nothing to lose — a bullet deeply lodged in his brain, which will one day kill him, has severed nerves so that he feels no pain, and it also makes him stronger. Unlike the see-through glasses, this scripting brainstorm seems not so clever, making Renard too much of a freaky sci-fi character and saddling the gifted Carlyle with a silly role that is more annoying than imposing in the best Bond tradition.
Much further beyond the pale, however, is “Starship Troopers” and “Wild Things” bimbette Denise Richards in the role she was born to play — a high-level nuclear weapons expert. Prancing around a rugged work site in regulation nuke scientist shorts and midriff-revealing shirt, Richards tries to look all business but can’t be anything but what she is, the token Yank in the cast cluelessly flailing about and certainly unable to hold her own with her more mature co-stars.
Nonetheless, she’s asked to be convincing at disarming a nuclear warhead while hurtling with Bond through an oil pipeline at express speed. Even within the fantasy context of the Bond world, nearly everything about her character is a joke, including her name, Christmas Jones, which at least provides what’s needed for the film’s groaningly funny sign-off line.
Action grows murky and rather tiresome in the second half, with at least one set piece too many — pic is far too infatuated with a pair of buzz-saw-dragging helicopters — and excessive liberties taken with Bond invisibly transporting himself from one remote location to another in the blink of an eye.
M is intriguingly brought to the site of the suspense climax in Istanbul, only to be cast aside in a cell. A major opportunity is missed in not having her execute the coup de grace to one of the villains (which would have made much more psychological and emotional sense) instead of Bond.
Final combat aboard a submerged nuclear sub merely demonstrates once again that water puts a literal damper on action sequences.
While Bond buffs had widely speculated what a name director like Michael Apted might add to the proceedings, the answer is: very little. Staging of the dramatic sequences is capable but straightforward, although it is possible that Apted might have urged Brosnan in the encouraging direction indicated here. As Rene Russo did in “The Thomas Crown Affair,” Marceau squares off very nicely opposite the star, displaying a confident ease in English-lingo thesping.
Robbie Coltrane reprises the Sidney Greenstreetish role of the rotund criminal businessman Valentin Zukovsky that he originated in “GoldenEye,” while the usual MI6 crowd is back along with the surprising addition of a cheeky John Cleese as R, the assistant and heir apparent of the ancient Desmond Llewelyn’s ever-inventive Q.
“World” has the customary Bond look and sound, which represent cozy satisfactions unto themselves.
The World Is Not Enough
Production
An MGM release of an Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Prods. Ltd. presentation. Produced by Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli. Directed by Michael Apted. Screenplay, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Bruce Feirstein, story by Purvis, Wade.
With
James Bond - Pierce Brosnan Elektra - Sophie Marceau Renard - Robert Carlyle Christmas Jones - Denise Richards Valentin Zukovsky - Robbie Coltrane M - Judi Dench Q - Desmond Llewelyn R - John Cleese Cigar Girl - Maria Grazia Cucinotta Moneypenny - Samantha Bond Tanner - Michael Kitchen Robinson - Colin Salmon Bull - Goldie Sir Robert King - David Calder Dr. Molly Warmflash = Serena Scott Thomas Davidov - Ulrich Thomsen Gabor - John Seru Colonel Akakievich - Claude-Oliver Rudolph
Camera (Deluxe color, Panavision widescreen), Adrian Biddle; editor, Jim Clark; music, David Arnold; production designer, Peter Lamont; supervising art director, Neil Lamont; art directors, Andrew Ackland-Snow, Steve Lawrence, Fred Hole, Simon Lamont, Mark Harris, Jim Morahan; set decorator, Simon Wakefield; costume designer, Lindy Hemming; sound (DTS/SDDS/Dolby Digital), Chris Munro; supervising sound editor, Martin Evans; visual effects supervisor, Mara Bryan; special effects supervisor, Chris Corbould; line producer, Anthony Waye; associate producer, Nigel Goldsack; second unit director, Vic Armstrong; second unit camera, Jonathan Taylor; addition unit director and camera, Arthur Wooster; stunt coordinator, Simon Crane; stunt supervisor, Sean McCabe; casting, Debbie McWilliams. Reviewed at MGM screening room, Santa Monica, Nov. 10, 1999. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 125 MIN.
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In which decade of the last century was the first patent application for a microwave oven? | Inventions of the Early 20th Century that Changed the World | AMOG
Inventions of the Early 20th Century that Changed the World
By Aaron Borland
Posted on November 11, 2010
In the age of technology, we’re often spoiled by the conveniences of life and take them for granted.
You don’t think so? Do you think about how much you appreciate inventors when you walk out of your house with your machine-made clothing on and wearing your sunglasses?
What about when you climb into your car, turn the radio on or pop in your favorite CD and turn the ignition and go? When you come to a traffic light do you think about who invented it? Of course not, but inventors have changed the course of our lives. In most cases, we believe that life is better with technology, but in some cases, technology can be a dangerous thing.
At any rate, we’ve seen countless inventions throughout history. It would be nearly impossible to cover them all, but we can look at the ones that have significantly changed our lives.
Household Items
Washing Machine
The first rotary washing machine was invented in the 19th century, but what really revolutionized the washing machine was when the first electric washing machine was invented in 1908. The “Thor” washing machine was invented by Alva Fisher and was introduced by Hurley Machine Company.
Vacuum Cleaner
Though there were mechanical carpet sweepers before the 20th century, the first vacuum cleaner was invented in 1901 by Hubert Cecil Booth. This monstrosity, which was based outside of the building while hoses were extended indoors, didn’t look anything like the vacuums of today, but it all started with Booth’s first vacuum.
Absorption Refrigerator
This type of refrigerator was a new concept in the early 20th century. It was the first refrigerator to use heat as a source of energy for the cooling system. Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters invented the first absorption refrigerator in 1922. In 1926, Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd created another design of an absorption refrigerator. This is the one that was on the market for households in the 1950s. However, without von Platen and Munters, this wouldn’t have been possible.
Microwave Oven
Did you know that the microwave wasn’t originally meant for cooking food? Originally it was designed to be installed in radar systems during World War II to spy on the Nazis. It was Percy Spencer that noticed that these radar waves melted the candy bar in his pocket. Due to his discovery in 1945, the first commercial microwave went on the market in 1954.
Food Products
Frozen Foods
Nowadays a lot of frozen foods are just for convenience like precooked meals that we can now just pop in the microwave. However, before frozen foods, fruits and vegetables would go bad. Thanks to Clarence Birdseye in 1923, that all changed.
Sliced Bread
The next time you hear the expression “the best thing since sliced bread”, think about how long ago that really was. In 1928, Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented the first “loaf at a time” bread slicer. This was the first time that a loaf of bread could be not only pre-sliced, but in even pieces. This may seem like a small deal to us now, but can you imagine the inconvenience of slicing a chunk of bread off of a loaf just to make a sandwich?
Clothing
The Bra
In 1913, Mary Phelps Jacob invented the bra. I think many people would be in support of this invention.
The Bikini
Louis Réard, a French engineer invented a shocking piece of clothing that would revolutionize bathing suits. You’ve guessed it. Réard invented the bikini. Hooray!
The Zipper
“The hookless fastener”, as it was once called was invented in 1913 by a Swedish scientist named Gideon Sundbach. In contemporary times we take for granted how convenient a zipper is and how much time it saves us each morning.
Hygiene
Disposable Razor
The year of 1901 was the year that the disposable razor blade was patented by King C. Gillette. He marketed the razors through his new company and by the end of the decade, he was a millionaire.
Dry Electric Shaver
Jacob Schick invented the dry electric razor in 1928 and seven years later it was put on the market. Immediately, people loved the fact that they could shave with more convenience and safer too. It didn’t take long before Schick’s invention made him a very wealthy man.
Convenience
Cellophane
Used especially to pack and store things, mainly food, cellophane was invented by Jacques E. Brandenberger in 1908. Think about how many uses cellophane has. It seems like a very trivial invention, but has changed our basic procedures as to how we store food.
Velcro
Velcro; it works like a charm! Unlike other fasteners, Velcro can work on many different types of materials and in many different places. In 1948, George de Mestral invented Velcro an though people laughed at first, he stuck by his invention.
Automated Teller Machine
Believe it or not, the very first ATM was invented in 1939 by Luther George Simjian. Since then, his original idea has been transformed into our modern day ATM for which most of us have become so dependant.
Music and Media
Enhancements in Photography
Though cameras were around before the twentieth century, color photography wasn’t invented until 1907. Since the initial invention of color photos by Auguste and Louis Lumiere, there have been many enhancements, but it al started with these two individuals.
Vacuum Diode
When you turn your radio or television on or even flip the on switch to your computer, you don’t think of John A. Fleming; but without him none of this would be possible. In 1904, he invented a device that would used to amplify, switch, or modify and electronic signal called the vacuum diode. His little invention paved the way for so many entertaining and convenient inventions that we treasure today.
Radio
Others made use of the invention of the vacuum diode for such applications such as radio broadcasting. Two inventions were key contributors to us turning on the radio today and jamming to our favorite songs: the radio receiver (invented in 1913 by Ernst Alexanderson and Reginald Fessenden) and the radio transmitter module (invented in 1914 by Ernst Alexanderson).
Just fifteen years later, Paul Glavin invented an ingenious device, the car radio. This meant that listening to the radio outside of your home was now possible. Where would you be now without your car radio?
Music
In 1948, Peter Goldmark invented the long playing record (or LP record). Though records have been replaced with CDs, without the invention of a long playing record, we never would have progressed.
That same year, another man by the name of Robert Hope-Jones invented the Wurlitzer jukebox. The idea of having a musical selection in a public area was a novel idea and one that gained ultimate popularity in the following decades.
Movies with Sound
Do you remember learning that movies didn’t always have sound? It’s difficult to believe, but imagine watching a silent film now. It would really limit the plot of a movie, wouldn’t it? In 1923, all of this changed as Lee DeForest invented sound film.
Television
Of course, there are many people responsible for our modern day televisions, but some of the inventors from the early twentieth century, and even some earlier ones are responsible for a lot of the ideas that built the foundation for where we are today. The first electronic television was invented in 1923 by Philo Farnsworth. In 1940, Peter Goldmark invented the first color television set.
Lighting and Environment
Lighting Systems
Before the tungsten filament (invented by Irving Langmuir in 1915) lighting used by sources such as light bulbs were a difficult task. However, in the first decade of the twentieth century, George Claude came up with the idea of neon lighting. This was used until tungsten filament came into play, but we still see neon lighting being used today on eye-catching signs.
Air Conditioner
Would you believe that the first air conditioner that regulated both humidity and temperature was invented in 1902? Willis Haviland Carrier is the guy who did it. It was originally designed to keep a printing company cool so that the temperature didn’t alter the print and images on paper.
Transportation
Automobile Related Inventions
Though the automobile was invented in the late nineteenth century, improvements on vehicles have been going on since that point. Some of the earlier inventions pertaining to the automobile are some that we still use today; one of which is the windshield wiper, invented by Mary Anderson in 1903.
Along with automobiles came the progression of the rules of the road and certain developments such as traffic lights. The earliest traffic signal with the three colors (green, yellow, and red) was invented in 1923 by Garrett A. Morgan.
Tractor
The caterpillar tractor, invented in 1904 by Benjamin Holt not only helped the farming industry, but was also said to have been the inspiration for tanks later on in history. The reason is because this tractor was the first vehicle with tracked wheels.
Air Travel
Of course, we all know that the foundation of flight was first successful by Orville and Wilbur Wright in 1903. From there, many ideas regarding flight took off (no pun intended).
In 1907, Paul Cornu developed a vertical flight machine. This was technically the first helicopter. However, in 1939, Igor Sikorsky came up with a design that helped revolutionize helicopter flight.
In the 1930’s two different people were credited with the invention of the jet engine: Frank Whittle and Hans von Ohain. They both independently came up with ideas for a jet engine. Whittle was the first to apply for the patent, but Hans von Ohain was the first to be granted the patent.
Combat
Gun Silencer
It’s probably more accurate to call this first invention of a silencer a sound suppressor for guns since it just reduced the sound. Hiram Percy Maxim was the one who invented this device in 1909.
Military Tank
The tank was one of the most impacting inventions in combat in the twentieth century and it was first invented by two men: Sir William Ashbee Tritton and Major Walter Gordon Wilson in 1914. Their inspiration for the tank was the first tractor with tracked wheels built back in 1904.
Guns
If you’re interested in the history of guns, then you probably have already heard of John M. Browning. He was an inventor that had over 100 gun patents. Among them were the .30 caliber machine gun (invented in 1901) and the Browning Automatic Rifle in 1910. In 1919, John T. Thompson invented the infamous Thompson submachine gun. Not familiar with it? Of course you are. This gun is better known as the Tommy Gun.
If we fast forward a little, we can talk about the very effective bazooka rocket gun. This gun was invented by Leslie A. Skinner C. N. Hickman in 1942 during World War II.
Atomic Bomb
The first atomic bomb was also invented during World War II – in 1945. From 1939 to 1946, there was a project to construct such a weapon. You would better know this project as the Manhattan Project.
Machinery
Bottle Making
Think for a moment about how many items you use that are stored in bottles or jars. This is all made possible by a man by the name of Michael J. Owens. He invented bottle making machinery in 1903.
Cotton Picker
The first practical spindle cotton picker was invented by John Rust in 1927. This cotton picker became the first mechanical harvester to pick one bale of cotton in a day. I know it doesn’t seem like much to today’s standards, but you have to start somewhere.
The O Ring
Perhaps one of the most important inventions as far as machinery goes is also the most overlooked – the modern O ring (invented by Niels Christensen in 1937). Because it creates a hydraulic seal, it can be used in all sorts of machinery, including transportation machinery. I’m sure you realize the importance of the O ring since a faulty one was the cause of the demise of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986.
Medical Inventions
Machinery in Medicine
Many machines make our lives so much easier and this is definitely true in the medical field. Machines in many cases help to diagnose patients and even save lives. One of the earliest machines from the twentieth century is the electrocardiograph (or EKG). The EKG was invented by Willem Einthoven in 1903 and is used to monitor and analyze past and present heart activity in an individual.
Another very important diagnosis tool that is still used in doctors’ offices and hospitals everywhere is the X-ray machine. This device was invented in 1913 by William D. Coolidge. It has since been refined, of course.
The name of this inventor, Philip Drinker, would lead you to believe that he should have invented something to help patients with bad livers or a medication to help with an alcohol addiction. However, this Harvard medical student, along with his co-creator Louis Agassiz Shaw, invented the first respirator in 1927. Before the term respirator though, it was referred to as the iron lung.
In 1929, Hans Berger invented the electroencephalograph (EEG), a device that records brain pulses. The main use for this machine is to help diagnose epilepsy. However, there are some other uses as well, such as measuring brain activity among comatose patients.
In 1944, Willem Kolff invented a machine that can temporarily replace kidney functions to a patient that has failing kidneys. Though this treatment doesn’t do the job permanently, it was a breakthrough in medical technology and has saved lives.
Medications and Miscellaneous Tools
In 1922, two inventors made things a lot easier and safer for diabetic patients. Sir Frederick Grant Banting invented insulin and Helen Free invented the home diabetes test. However, in 1928 someone else had invented something that would save even more lives. Alexander Fleming invented penicillin, eventually making what used to be lethal illnesses into fairly minor occurrences in the modern day. Also, in the 1920s to help prevent certain infections, Earle Dickson invented the adhesive bandage (band aid).
Science
Computer
Can you believe that the computer was actually invented in the early twentieth century? Well, it was; but it’s a bit of a controversy as to who actually built the first computer and when. In short, the first programmable computer was invented by Konrad Zuse in 1936. In addition, the first digital computer was invented by John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry in 1937.
Other Important Scientific Inventions
Have you ever heard of a Geiger counter? No it doesn’t count Geigers. It’s actually a device that was originally built by Hans Geiger and Ernest Rutherford in 1908 that detects beta and gamma radiation. Nearly 40 years later (1947), a mechanism used to amplify or switch electronic signals, the transistor was born (invented by William Shockley, Walter Brattain, and John Bardeen).
Art and Office
Think back to your childhood. Did you love to color? How would your life have been without the invention by Edward Binney and Harold Smith in 1903? What was the invention? The crayon, of course.
In 1938, Laszlo Biro invented a writing tool that would change the world and make things much neater and convenient. E invented the very first ball point pen.
Miscellaneous
In restaurants and in a lot of contemporary homes, you’ll find a lot of stainless steel. This was first invented in 1913 by Harry Brearley.
Over twenty years later in 1935, a light weight material was invented by Wallace Carothers. Nylon is used in materials from clothing to toothbrushes, so it’s difficult to imagine what life would be like without it.
So, as you go about your daily routines, make sure you stop and think about these incredible inventors and what they’ve done to make your life easier. Yea, right! If you stopped to do that with each one, your life wouldn’t be any easier and you wouldn’t save any time! Anyway, be thankful for the early inventors who created the foundation for all we have today and what we will have in the future.
| 1930s |
Which head of state was shot by firing squad on Christmas Day 1989? | Inventions of the Early 20th Century that Changed the World | AMOG
Inventions of the Early 20th Century that Changed the World
By Aaron Borland
Posted on November 11, 2010
In the age of technology, we’re often spoiled by the conveniences of life and take them for granted.
You don’t think so? Do you think about how much you appreciate inventors when you walk out of your house with your machine-made clothing on and wearing your sunglasses?
What about when you climb into your car, turn the radio on or pop in your favorite CD and turn the ignition and go? When you come to a traffic light do you think about who invented it? Of course not, but inventors have changed the course of our lives. In most cases, we believe that life is better with technology, but in some cases, technology can be a dangerous thing.
At any rate, we’ve seen countless inventions throughout history. It would be nearly impossible to cover them all, but we can look at the ones that have significantly changed our lives.
Household Items
Washing Machine
The first rotary washing machine was invented in the 19th century, but what really revolutionized the washing machine was when the first electric washing machine was invented in 1908. The “Thor” washing machine was invented by Alva Fisher and was introduced by Hurley Machine Company.
Vacuum Cleaner
Though there were mechanical carpet sweepers before the 20th century, the first vacuum cleaner was invented in 1901 by Hubert Cecil Booth. This monstrosity, which was based outside of the building while hoses were extended indoors, didn’t look anything like the vacuums of today, but it all started with Booth’s first vacuum.
Absorption Refrigerator
This type of refrigerator was a new concept in the early 20th century. It was the first refrigerator to use heat as a source of energy for the cooling system. Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters invented the first absorption refrigerator in 1922. In 1926, Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd created another design of an absorption refrigerator. This is the one that was on the market for households in the 1950s. However, without von Platen and Munters, this wouldn’t have been possible.
Microwave Oven
Did you know that the microwave wasn’t originally meant for cooking food? Originally it was designed to be installed in radar systems during World War II to spy on the Nazis. It was Percy Spencer that noticed that these radar waves melted the candy bar in his pocket. Due to his discovery in 1945, the first commercial microwave went on the market in 1954.
Food Products
Frozen Foods
Nowadays a lot of frozen foods are just for convenience like precooked meals that we can now just pop in the microwave. However, before frozen foods, fruits and vegetables would go bad. Thanks to Clarence Birdseye in 1923, that all changed.
Sliced Bread
The next time you hear the expression “the best thing since sliced bread”, think about how long ago that really was. In 1928, Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented the first “loaf at a time” bread slicer. This was the first time that a loaf of bread could be not only pre-sliced, but in even pieces. This may seem like a small deal to us now, but can you imagine the inconvenience of slicing a chunk of bread off of a loaf just to make a sandwich?
Clothing
The Bra
In 1913, Mary Phelps Jacob invented the bra. I think many people would be in support of this invention.
The Bikini
Louis Réard, a French engineer invented a shocking piece of clothing that would revolutionize bathing suits. You’ve guessed it. Réard invented the bikini. Hooray!
The Zipper
“The hookless fastener”, as it was once called was invented in 1913 by a Swedish scientist named Gideon Sundbach. In contemporary times we take for granted how convenient a zipper is and how much time it saves us each morning.
Hygiene
Disposable Razor
The year of 1901 was the year that the disposable razor blade was patented by King C. Gillette. He marketed the razors through his new company and by the end of the decade, he was a millionaire.
Dry Electric Shaver
Jacob Schick invented the dry electric razor in 1928 and seven years later it was put on the market. Immediately, people loved the fact that they could shave with more convenience and safer too. It didn’t take long before Schick’s invention made him a very wealthy man.
Convenience
Cellophane
Used especially to pack and store things, mainly food, cellophane was invented by Jacques E. Brandenberger in 1908. Think about how many uses cellophane has. It seems like a very trivial invention, but has changed our basic procedures as to how we store food.
Velcro
Velcro; it works like a charm! Unlike other fasteners, Velcro can work on many different types of materials and in many different places. In 1948, George de Mestral invented Velcro an though people laughed at first, he stuck by his invention.
Automated Teller Machine
Believe it or not, the very first ATM was invented in 1939 by Luther George Simjian. Since then, his original idea has been transformed into our modern day ATM for which most of us have become so dependant.
Music and Media
Enhancements in Photography
Though cameras were around before the twentieth century, color photography wasn’t invented until 1907. Since the initial invention of color photos by Auguste and Louis Lumiere, there have been many enhancements, but it al started with these two individuals.
Vacuum Diode
When you turn your radio or television on or even flip the on switch to your computer, you don’t think of John A. Fleming; but without him none of this would be possible. In 1904, he invented a device that would used to amplify, switch, or modify and electronic signal called the vacuum diode. His little invention paved the way for so many entertaining and convenient inventions that we treasure today.
Radio
Others made use of the invention of the vacuum diode for such applications such as radio broadcasting. Two inventions were key contributors to us turning on the radio today and jamming to our favorite songs: the radio receiver (invented in 1913 by Ernst Alexanderson and Reginald Fessenden) and the radio transmitter module (invented in 1914 by Ernst Alexanderson).
Just fifteen years later, Paul Glavin invented an ingenious device, the car radio. This meant that listening to the radio outside of your home was now possible. Where would you be now without your car radio?
Music
In 1948, Peter Goldmark invented the long playing record (or LP record). Though records have been replaced with CDs, without the invention of a long playing record, we never would have progressed.
That same year, another man by the name of Robert Hope-Jones invented the Wurlitzer jukebox. The idea of having a musical selection in a public area was a novel idea and one that gained ultimate popularity in the following decades.
Movies with Sound
Do you remember learning that movies didn’t always have sound? It’s difficult to believe, but imagine watching a silent film now. It would really limit the plot of a movie, wouldn’t it? In 1923, all of this changed as Lee DeForest invented sound film.
Television
Of course, there are many people responsible for our modern day televisions, but some of the inventors from the early twentieth century, and even some earlier ones are responsible for a lot of the ideas that built the foundation for where we are today. The first electronic television was invented in 1923 by Philo Farnsworth. In 1940, Peter Goldmark invented the first color television set.
Lighting and Environment
Lighting Systems
Before the tungsten filament (invented by Irving Langmuir in 1915) lighting used by sources such as light bulbs were a difficult task. However, in the first decade of the twentieth century, George Claude came up with the idea of neon lighting. This was used until tungsten filament came into play, but we still see neon lighting being used today on eye-catching signs.
Air Conditioner
Would you believe that the first air conditioner that regulated both humidity and temperature was invented in 1902? Willis Haviland Carrier is the guy who did it. It was originally designed to keep a printing company cool so that the temperature didn’t alter the print and images on paper.
Transportation
Automobile Related Inventions
Though the automobile was invented in the late nineteenth century, improvements on vehicles have been going on since that point. Some of the earlier inventions pertaining to the automobile are some that we still use today; one of which is the windshield wiper, invented by Mary Anderson in 1903.
Along with automobiles came the progression of the rules of the road and certain developments such as traffic lights. The earliest traffic signal with the three colors (green, yellow, and red) was invented in 1923 by Garrett A. Morgan.
Tractor
The caterpillar tractor, invented in 1904 by Benjamin Holt not only helped the farming industry, but was also said to have been the inspiration for tanks later on in history. The reason is because this tractor was the first vehicle with tracked wheels.
Air Travel
Of course, we all know that the foundation of flight was first successful by Orville and Wilbur Wright in 1903. From there, many ideas regarding flight took off (no pun intended).
In 1907, Paul Cornu developed a vertical flight machine. This was technically the first helicopter. However, in 1939, Igor Sikorsky came up with a design that helped revolutionize helicopter flight.
In the 1930’s two different people were credited with the invention of the jet engine: Frank Whittle and Hans von Ohain. They both independently came up with ideas for a jet engine. Whittle was the first to apply for the patent, but Hans von Ohain was the first to be granted the patent.
Combat
Gun Silencer
It’s probably more accurate to call this first invention of a silencer a sound suppressor for guns since it just reduced the sound. Hiram Percy Maxim was the one who invented this device in 1909.
Military Tank
The tank was one of the most impacting inventions in combat in the twentieth century and it was first invented by two men: Sir William Ashbee Tritton and Major Walter Gordon Wilson in 1914. Their inspiration for the tank was the first tractor with tracked wheels built back in 1904.
Guns
If you’re interested in the history of guns, then you probably have already heard of John M. Browning. He was an inventor that had over 100 gun patents. Among them were the .30 caliber machine gun (invented in 1901) and the Browning Automatic Rifle in 1910. In 1919, John T. Thompson invented the infamous Thompson submachine gun. Not familiar with it? Of course you are. This gun is better known as the Tommy Gun.
If we fast forward a little, we can talk about the very effective bazooka rocket gun. This gun was invented by Leslie A. Skinner C. N. Hickman in 1942 during World War II.
Atomic Bomb
The first atomic bomb was also invented during World War II – in 1945. From 1939 to 1946, there was a project to construct such a weapon. You would better know this project as the Manhattan Project.
Machinery
Bottle Making
Think for a moment about how many items you use that are stored in bottles or jars. This is all made possible by a man by the name of Michael J. Owens. He invented bottle making machinery in 1903.
Cotton Picker
The first practical spindle cotton picker was invented by John Rust in 1927. This cotton picker became the first mechanical harvester to pick one bale of cotton in a day. I know it doesn’t seem like much to today’s standards, but you have to start somewhere.
The O Ring
Perhaps one of the most important inventions as far as machinery goes is also the most overlooked – the modern O ring (invented by Niels Christensen in 1937). Because it creates a hydraulic seal, it can be used in all sorts of machinery, including transportation machinery. I’m sure you realize the importance of the O ring since a faulty one was the cause of the demise of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986.
Medical Inventions
Machinery in Medicine
Many machines make our lives so much easier and this is definitely true in the medical field. Machines in many cases help to diagnose patients and even save lives. One of the earliest machines from the twentieth century is the electrocardiograph (or EKG). The EKG was invented by Willem Einthoven in 1903 and is used to monitor and analyze past and present heart activity in an individual.
Another very important diagnosis tool that is still used in doctors’ offices and hospitals everywhere is the X-ray machine. This device was invented in 1913 by William D. Coolidge. It has since been refined, of course.
The name of this inventor, Philip Drinker, would lead you to believe that he should have invented something to help patients with bad livers or a medication to help with an alcohol addiction. However, this Harvard medical student, along with his co-creator Louis Agassiz Shaw, invented the first respirator in 1927. Before the term respirator though, it was referred to as the iron lung.
In 1929, Hans Berger invented the electroencephalograph (EEG), a device that records brain pulses. The main use for this machine is to help diagnose epilepsy. However, there are some other uses as well, such as measuring brain activity among comatose patients.
In 1944, Willem Kolff invented a machine that can temporarily replace kidney functions to a patient that has failing kidneys. Though this treatment doesn’t do the job permanently, it was a breakthrough in medical technology and has saved lives.
Medications and Miscellaneous Tools
In 1922, two inventors made things a lot easier and safer for diabetic patients. Sir Frederick Grant Banting invented insulin and Helen Free invented the home diabetes test. However, in 1928 someone else had invented something that would save even more lives. Alexander Fleming invented penicillin, eventually making what used to be lethal illnesses into fairly minor occurrences in the modern day. Also, in the 1920s to help prevent certain infections, Earle Dickson invented the adhesive bandage (band aid).
Science
Computer
Can you believe that the computer was actually invented in the early twentieth century? Well, it was; but it’s a bit of a controversy as to who actually built the first computer and when. In short, the first programmable computer was invented by Konrad Zuse in 1936. In addition, the first digital computer was invented by John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry in 1937.
Other Important Scientific Inventions
Have you ever heard of a Geiger counter? No it doesn’t count Geigers. It’s actually a device that was originally built by Hans Geiger and Ernest Rutherford in 1908 that detects beta and gamma radiation. Nearly 40 years later (1947), a mechanism used to amplify or switch electronic signals, the transistor was born (invented by William Shockley, Walter Brattain, and John Bardeen).
Art and Office
Think back to your childhood. Did you love to color? How would your life have been without the invention by Edward Binney and Harold Smith in 1903? What was the invention? The crayon, of course.
In 1938, Laszlo Biro invented a writing tool that would change the world and make things much neater and convenient. E invented the very first ball point pen.
Miscellaneous
In restaurants and in a lot of contemporary homes, you’ll find a lot of stainless steel. This was first invented in 1913 by Harry Brearley.
Over twenty years later in 1935, a light weight material was invented by Wallace Carothers. Nylon is used in materials from clothing to toothbrushes, so it’s difficult to imagine what life would be like without it.
So, as you go about your daily routines, make sure you stop and think about these incredible inventors and what they’ve done to make your life easier. Yea, right! If you stopped to do that with each one, your life wouldn’t be any easier and you wouldn’t save any time! Anyway, be thankful for the early inventors who created the foundation for all we have today and what we will have in the future.
| i don't know |
Which US comedian, whose stage persona was that of a miser, died on Boxing Day 1974? | Time Life: The Golden Age of Comedy Box Set One | DVD Review | Film @ The Digital Fix
Time Life: The Golden Age of Comedy Box Set One
12:00 on 10th Nov 2006
By James GrayJames Gray
- Bonus Sketch from The Soupy Sales Show, - Music CD
Soundtracks
Subtitles
None
James takes a look at the history of 1950s US live comedy with this set featuring some of the greats of the era.
The title of this marvellous box set from Time Life is slightly misleading. Although the five DVDs it contains features many if not all of the undisputed stars of comedy on American television in the 1950s, all the episodes are taken from the live variety shows that were such a staple of that early period in TV history. You�ll find none of the established sitcoms of the era, trailblazers such as I Love Lucy or The Phil Silvers Show, shows that did as much as, if not more than, the live shows to help make television the dominant form of entertainment for America by the end of the decade. Any story about this fascinating period in the growth of onscreen popular entertainment is incomplete without some samples from such shows, and it�s regrettable that it would appear that a companion volume to this set, which was scheduled to be released this year, appears to have been cancelled.
But that�s about the only criticism I can find to say about the contents of this set. In all other regards, it is a fabulously entertaining collection that succeeds both in representing the era these shows hail from and also painting a picture of the culture in which they were made. It turns out that the things that made people laugh fifty years ago were not so very different to what does now, from satirical digs at people in the news and laughing at each other�s idiosyncrasies to out-and-out buffoonery and slapstick. The style of the shows is one that, while quaint by today's standards, are instantly recognisable. Before a live theatre audience (theatre being the operative word, complete with curtains on the stage and one-dimensional backdrops) the star enacts a series of monologues and sketches, sometimes with a common theme, sometimes not, helped along by a special guest star, and with regular breaks for a word from the sponsors, often delivered by the star themselves. This was a world in which the audience were a vital player in proceedings, made complicit in the mayhem being enacted in front of them through the comedians� direct interaction with them and their raucous responses to what they were seeing. Together with the fact these shows were being transmitted live there is a dangerous, often hysterical quality to many of the shows, performers and watchers egging each other on, thrilling when a line is fluffed or a comic corpses. It is an atmosphere entirely without artifice or ironic cynicism, and all the more refreshing for it - this is good, old fashioned entertainment in all senses of the phrase.
All the shows share the same cultural heritage as almost without exception the stars came from a background of first vaudeville theatre and then radio, and it�s that vaudeville tradition that shines through. One of the kings of the era was Jack Benny, appearing on Volumes One and Three in the set, was one of American's television's first breakout stars and his history is characteristic of the other stars in this collection. Born Benjamin Kubelsky in 1894 in Illinois, he began his comedy career almost by accident. A promising violinist in his teens, he had begun to tell jokes during his time in the Navy during World War One, and following the cessation of hostilities had begun to tour the vaudeville circuit with his act �Ben K. Benny: Fiddle Funology.� Over time the comedy became the overriding focus of his performance, and after a decade spent refining and honing his comic persona, he was a respected and much-liked personality on the vaudeville circuit.
His big break came when he appeared as a guest on a radio programme presented by Ed Sullivan in early 1932. So good was he on that that he was instantly signed up to host The Canada Dry Ginger Ale Programme which was not, of course, a show singing the praises of popular soft drinks but a variety show which featured monologues from Benny alongside music and adverts. It was an instant hit and by the end of the same year Benny was voted �Most Popular Comedian on the Air,� beating such luminaries as the Marx Brothers and Burns & Allen to the accolade. But he was no flash in the pan; Benny continued to be loved by millions of listeners to his show for more than two decades. During that time the series evolved, moving away from the variety-style of Benny�s early career to a far more conventional situation comedy set-up, with Benny playing a character who, although also called Jack Benny, was virtually the antithesis of the man himself; smug, lazy, vain and basically an all-round jerk. In real-life Benny, who Bob Hope at his funeral described as �a gentle man,� was none of these.
When television came along Benny simply followed the axiom of if it ain�t broke don�t fix it and his TV show, broadcast first on CBS and then NBC, aped the format and style of his radio (indeed, he re-used several radio scripts for the visual medium). His first show, with the opening words �I�d give a million dollars to know what I looked like!� was broadcast in 1950 and, just as with the radio, was a big success right from the word go. At first Benny continued with both his television and radio shows but as the decade wore on it became clear that the golden years of radio were over, and his last radio show as broadcast in 1955. By that time he was a television star and everyone in the country knew what he looked like.
Although the episodes had two slightly different styles, the show always had exactly the same feel to it. One style opened with a monologue from Benny, then some jokey banter between him and his special guest, followed in the second half by some kind of skit which often tied in with whatever the guest was most famous for. The second style, which to be fair was not very different, was what we would see now as a conventional, albeit deeply primitive, situation comedy, in which Benny was surrounded by a cast of recurring characters, with the most notable being Benny�s butler Rochester, played by Eddie Anderson. One of the few coloured actors to be on television in those pre-Civil Rights days, Anderson�s participation in the series was made more extraordinary by the fact that more often than not he had the best lines, and was shown to be the voice of reason whenever his boss came up with his latest wacky schemes. In many ways, Anderson was a pioneer, and it�s heartening to see that even in those early days television was doing its bit to break down barriers.
As for Benny himself, television benefited him enormously in that now he was able to bring in the more physical comedy which had been a mainstay of his act during his vaudeville years. The four episodes on these discs showcase his visual talents perfectly; his dashing around, his facial tics, and, especially, his constant turning to the studio audience milking his laughs for all they are worth. His rapport with the audience was one of the main reasons for his success; like all really good comedians in the theatre, he made them feel part of the act, as though not only are they enjoying a good show but that they are in on an extra joke, such as the frequent times he and his guests crease in laughter. The routines themselves are, of course, very dated to a modern sensibility, simplistic but also touchingly innocent, and even though these days they are unlikely to raise much of a genuine chuckle (not least because so much of the style is so clich�d) it�s still genial enough and Benny�s command of the stage shows why he stayed on the top of his game for well over three decades.
Fittingly, he is the most represented of the stars on these DVDs, with four episodes from his show included. The first three fill Volume One of this collection, subtitled The Secret Word is Jack. This title is a reference to the first episode, which guest-stars a tired-looking Groucho Marx (who had, of course, also started his career in vaudeville and been a friend of Benny�s their entire working life), and sees Jack taking part in Marx�s gameshow You Bet Your Life (the one with the Secret Word and the duck which Bill Cosby had a go at reviving in the 1990s) and dates from April 1955. It�s vaguely amusing, particularly the first scene between Benny and Rochester. The second comes from October two years earlier and sees Humphrey Bogart making a rare appearance on television playing Babyface Bogart, who gets pulled into the local police precinct but manages to get away, obligatory gangster�s moll on his arm. This is an episode with a larger cast than the other two on the disc, and goes down extremely well with the audience, but, despite Bogey�s presence, the highlight is Benny�s monologue at the beginning, not especially because it�s rip-roaringly funny but just as a sample of seeing how the comic works his audience. The third show, coming from May 1954, guest-stars Bob Hope (with an uncredited cameo from Dean and Jerry) and sees Hope and Benny frolicking through a sketch called �Road to Nairobi� in which some cannibals put them in a cooking pot and sing about the joys of smoking Likely Strikes, the sponsors. As with the Bogart episode, the highlight of this show is not the sketch itself but a monologue, this time delivered by Hope, beforehand.
One of the things Jack Benny was most known for was the long-running �feud� he had with fellow comedian and real-life chum Fred Allen. Allen was arguably one of the most influential of his generation of comics, a genuine wit whose ad-libs and sense of the ridiculous made him yet another hugely popular performer on the radio. Best known for his Allen�s Alley slot in which he would ask denizens of said alley about news items of the week, he had a running battle with his network�s censors, who were constantly chiding him for what he could and couldn�t say, but they were perhaps the only people who didn�t appreciate his talent; certainly his fellow professionals held him in the greatest esteem. Unfortunately by the time television came along he was nearing the end of his life, and his only real success came as a panellist on What�s My Line? which he appeared on for two years until his death in 1956.
The running gag of his perpetual feud with Benny dated back to 1937 when Allen made a derogatory remark about Jack Benny�s violin playing. Over the next decade they kept at each other regularly over the airwaves, appearing on each other�s shows expressly to trade insults. Audiences loved it (aside from the ones who actually believed it was real, that is) and, as can be seen from the episode of Benny�s show on Volume 3 of this set, it carried on right up to Allen�s final years. The sketch sees Allen trying to persuade Jack�s sponsor to dump their man and put him in his place. It�s all good natured stuff and, in the fact it�s a simple, focused narrative with some good gags, is probably the best Benny episode in this collection. The two have that chemistry that comes from old friends who have worked together for years and while near the end it risks looking a little smug it�s still an entertaining show.
Benny�s show lasted on various networks until 1965 when, as is the way, a younger, hipper audience found him old-fashioned. However, he continued to work on television specials and popped up in movies for the remainder of his life; indeed, he was still working on a new show the week of his death, from pancreatic cancer, on Boxing Day 1974 leaving behind a legacy as one of the first true stars of the small screen.
Indeed, the only comedian who was arguably more popular - although he was certainly the bigger star - was Bob Hope himself. He simply was Mr Comedy in America for virtually his entire life, beloved by a nation who generally didn�t realise that he was born to the sound of bow bells to an English father and Welsh mother. Coming to the US at the age of four and becoming an American citizen when twenty, Hope swiftly rose up the ranks of the vaudeville circuit before moving on to radio and the movies. By the late 1940s he was already close to a national treasure with his Road to� series of films with Bing Crosby, live shows and radio broadcasts, all of which made him one of the most wealthy celebrities at that time. His fame continued through the 1950s with the comic regularly turning up on television shows, both presenting and guest-starring, and his regular gig presenting the Oscars. He did this a total of eighteen times, famously opening one ceremony with the line �Welcome to the Oscars or, as it�s known in my household, Passover,� and although he never won an Academy Award for a specific role, he did receive several honourary statues for his outstanding contributions to the merriment of the nation. Together with his frequent shows put on for the American army in hotspots around the world, from World War II to Vietnam and beyond, he was a genuine legend of showbusiness, which not even the persistent snipes about his army of scriptwriters feeding him his one-liners could tarnish.
Personally, though, he�s a performer I always find it hard to warm to, and the sample episode from his series on this collection illustrates the reason why perfectly. The show is found on Volume Two of this collection, a volume entitled Bob Loves Lucy which gives away his guest star Lucille Ball. This fifty-minute sketch show, sponsored by Chevrolet (to whom Hope refers often) also features Diana Dors in a weak duo of sketches illustrating the differences between a European couple and an American one, an on-form James Cagney doing a bit of a song and dance, the baseballer Don Larsen who had just pitched the first perfect game ever seen in a World Series (and who subsequently spent the rest of his life being asked about it) and the cast of I Love Lucy. It�s an interesting contrast to the Benny shows from Volume One; despite the odd jump cuts the presentation is slicker, with Hope, as well you might expect, the consummate professional but one who doesn�t have the genuine warmth of Benny - the modern-day Letterman, if you will, to Benny's Letterman of the early years, and one I personally always have a hard time actually liking. Still, it�s fun to see Ball and husband Desi messing around.
Of course, not all the stars with shows in that time were quite so successful as Benny and Hope. One whose TV career never quite managed to get off the ground was Ed Wynn. I�ve always felt a bit sorry for him; although in many ways a trailblazer for the likes of Jack and Bob, he never had the same breakthrough success as those luminaries and ended up an also-ran in the pantheon of American comedy. Perhaps this is down to his comic persona; unlike those who achieved greater fame Wynn was not an ordinary Joe who just happened to wisecrack but a clown in the old-fashioned sense of the word, complete with silly costumes, dippy voice and comic props. In many ways he reminds one of an earlier version of Tommy Cooper who had a similarly perpetually jolly but baffled manner. Unlike Cooper, however, Wynn never made it on television as a front man; after having a successful radio show in the 1930s he never found a niche for himself on TV, despite the fact his slapstick was far more specifically suited to the visual medium than, say, Hope�s gags.
Perhaps why he wasn't a success can be discerned from the two episodes from his 1949-50 show included here. Both episodes, one starring Buster Keaton (on Vol 2) and one the Three Stooges (Vol 3), suggest that although obviously an accomplished comedian, he doesn�t entirely convince as an MC while his ramshackle manner was possibly a style which America, never a country that likes to lose control, found difficult to take. A shame as he is many ways more appealing, and while the Three Stooges episode, in which the goons run round pretending to be television executives with the mission of improving Wynn�s show, is spoilt by the fact it has the Three Stooges in it, the Keaton episode is reasonably good. It�s far less sophisticated than the Hope extravaganza, consisting of only two sketches, but, while the first is quite weak the second, in which Keaton recreates an early routine of his with Wynn in support, is great fun.
Sadly, it didn�t last, and when Wynn found his comedy career weaning he followed (albeit reluctantly) his son�s advice and turned to acting. Here he had more success; although initially nervous about performing, he acquitted himself well, with perhaps his best known roles being Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins and the voice of the Mad Hatter in Disney�s Alice in Wonderland. Initially lacking confidence in his dramatic abilities, his concerns proved ill-founded when he was nominated for an Academy Award for The Diary of Anne Frank in 1959 but still acting wasn�t his first love and sadly he died of throat cancer in the mid-Sixties. Although he did lots of good work and had a career many others would have killed for I still can�t help feeling his was a struggle that once again proved that behind the smile of every clown there are tears.
Another performer television audiences found hard to take was Ernie Kovacs who, I suspect, I would have been a fan of had I been around in those days. Unlike most of the stars in this collection, who were effectively bringing to television the same style of shows they had performed for years on the stage and radio, Kovacs was one of the very first performers to actually sit down and think about how the medium of television itself could be used to best effect. A true innovator, he spent the 1950s confusing and thrilling audiences in equal measures as he experimented with the form a TV show could take, from employing elaborate camera tricks through to an absurdist, satirical sense of humour that parodied the style of other programmes, with a self-referential style which saw him incorporating his own life into his routines and outrageous comedy characters such as Pierre Ragout and horror hostess Auntie Gruesome. One of those comedians for who the phrase �years ahead of his time� was invented, most middle-of-the-roads audiences, used to seeing the conventional comedy schtick of other shows, were mystified. Where were the jokes? Was what he was saying real or made up? Why does he keep spinning the camera around? As a consequence, although he had a few shows on during the decade none lasted for more than a season (aside from a game show he hosted, which doesn�t really count) and sadly nowadays very few episodes of his work are in existence; shortly after he was killed in a car crash in 1962 (ten days before his forty-third birthday) his widow discovered that most of the tapes of his shows were being wiped and reused. Despite that he had a lasting influence on the small screen, and in a diverse series of ways, from the character comedy and anarchic streak that paved the way to Saturday Night Live (indeed, when Chevy Chase won an Emmy during his time on the show he thanked Kovacs) through to talk show hosts who adopt a casual air (David Letterman has often hailed him, and indeed for one year Kovacs co-hosted The Tonight Show with Steve Allen).
The episode on Volume Four of this set is from 1956 and is a good showcase of his material. It opens with a lengthy monologue in which he discusses getting a passport, before segueing into a spoof in which his real-life wife Edie Adams (who often co-starred with him) pretends to be Marilyn Monroe reading a self-written poem. The highlight, though, is a parody of a television newscast which in intent foreshadows Chris Morris� work on The Day Today by some four decades and contains many of the same gags. It�s a remarkable sketch for its time and a reflection of what Kovacs wanted to do. What a shame he didn�t live long enough to see his work become standard practise; he would have loved the self-referential irony of the Nineties in particular.
Technically speaking, of course, few of these stars actually owned the shows that bore their name. Instead, it was the sponsors who wielded the power, and many of the shows should technically be called something like, for example, The Lucky Strike Show starring Jack Benny. - indeed, witness the sketch from the Benny/Allen show, in which Benny and Allen compete with the sponsor for Benny�s show. This was an era when �selling out� was not so much a stigma as a necessity, with performers relying on big corporations to give them airtime and publicity. As a result, not every performer appeared on a weekly basis; certainly Benny didn�t in the early years of his show, alternating with a few other people. One of the shows that made a policy out of this revolving door system was The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950-55) which had a cycle of four acts who took it turns to host the NBC show. Who the four were varied over the five years it ran, with such names as Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope (inevitably), Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and Abbott and Costello. These shows benefited from the extra length, both with the number of sketches and also the design and style of the show, with more extras and more interesting backdrops being two readily noticeable differences from, say, the Wynn or Benny shows.
The good news is that this set features three samples from The Colgate Comedy Hour. The bad news is that two of them star Abbott and Costello. Truly the Little and Large of their day, they were massively popular at the time but in retrospect it�s really hard, even allowing for the different times they performed in, to imagine what people ever saw in this irritating duo. As with their contemporaries they had begun life on the stage, but unlike most of the other comedians being discussed in this set radio was not the medium that gave them their big breakthrough; instead they went almost straight from treading the boards to the high life in Hollywood. True, Hollywood had first noticed them on a wireless show in 1938 but it was their scene-stealing antics in One Night in the Tropics (a 1940 film ostensibly starring Allan Jones) which made the world sit up and take notice. For the next decade and a half they were regular attractions on the silver screen, making well over thirty films, nearly all of them unbearable to this reviewer, as well as a radio show (which this reviewer has never heard but suspects would be equally unbearable) and in the end, it was this excessive prolificacy that proved to be their undoing. By the time they joined The Colgate Comedy Hour their back catalogue of films, still a massive draw, were being regularly replayed in theatres which, combined with the facts that they were still making new additions to their cinematic canon (often two a year) and could be seen on television every four weeks meant people became first used and then tired of their antics. Theirs was a formulaic schtick which, while apparently amusing America if it saw them every so often, began to grate and grow repetitive when seen constantly. As a result, they became arguably the first stars to realise a hitherto unappreciated danger of the new medium of television: over-exposure can kill. By the middle of the 1950s they were struggling; the two began to row and the IRS started chasing them for unpaid taxes, leading to their breakup in 1956. Three years later Costello died of a heart attack, neither performer having found much to do once their partnership had dissolved. In later life Abbott expressed regret about how things had ended and, while he tried to find other sparring partners, said ruefully that none of them could hold a candle to Costello.
The two episodes they star in on these discs are typical. One episode, from January 1952 (and found on Volume Three) sees the gruesome twosome in a number of sketches based around a Western theme, and includes a scene-stealing, and utterly knowing, turn from Errol Flynn who, even in these last years of his life could still play the charmer, in a scene recreating one of their classic sketches. Abbott and Costello are my Ant �n� Dec - I can never remember which one is which - but the small shouty one spends his time shouting while the taller one is relegated for much of the time into the background. That said, it�s a well put together show, far more confident than even the Hope show in the number of sketches and general construction, and while it won�t tickle your funny bones that much, it�s actually surprisingly entertaining, with Flynn on wryly amusing form. The second, on Volume Five, dates from May 1952 and sees a plot in which the two, through a series of sketches, travel to Paris for the small shouty one to get singing lessons while encountering singers Vera Zorina and Tony Bavaar. It�s standard fare and I�m not sure I even cracked a smile once during its thirty-seven minute running time, but watch out for the list of sponsors at the end which is just fab.
Far better, of course, is the regretfully single episode presented by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The title of Volume Five, A Really Big Show, refers to the first sketch in which Jerry starts out by spoofing Ed Sullivan (who hosted a rival show broadcast at the same time) while sounding like Dr Evil, then there�s an amusing but overlong baby-sitting sketch, then Jerry spends four minutes telling everyone where Dean and he are touring before the show ends with a dance number. This is an interesting episode to see as it comes near the end of the Martin and Lewis partnership, in May 1955. There�s no sign of the animosity they were apparently already bearing each other (they split up acrimoniously the next year) and Lewis still has the youthful exuberance and Martin the slight weariness that had borne such fruit in their ten year partnership. It was a partnership that had been the making of both of them; before they had teamed up Martin had been a struggling crooner who didn�t seem to be anything out of the ordinary and Lewis a comedian just starting out on his career. Teaming up in New York they had swiftly found that their easy rapport translated into comedy gold on stage, club audiences lapping up their adlibbed banter. Martin, of course, was the straight man, Lewis the hyperactive manchild, with the latter ruining the former�s attempts to get through a song without being heckled.
In 1949 Paramount signed them to appear in My Friend Irma the first of seventeen films they made over the next seven years (the last, appropriately, called Hollywood or Bust.) Like Abbott and Costello they mixed their film work with regular appearances on TV; unlike the more established men, they were new and fresh, their anarchic spirit seeming to sum up the youth of 1950s America and reflecting a future that was exciting, full of possibilities and almost totally unpredictable. When they weren�t filming they were touring, and, as with so many others over the years who have lived in each other pockets for months at a time, they eventually began to have differences. Lewis (reportedly) was jealous when Martin made the hit record That�s Amore in 1953 while Martin began to feel that eternal frustration of the straight man. In 1956 it grew too much and the two men went their separate ways, not speaking for years (indeed, even when Frank Sinatra managed to get the two of them back on screen together for a 1976 telethon Martin walked away afterwards, not wishing to make amends, although to be fair he was having a lot of personal problems at the time). Out of everyone featured on this set, it�s Martin and Lewis that I wish had been around when I was young - one gets the impression that their live shows would have been a lot of fun.
They�re not the best thing to be found on these discs, however. That accolade goes to the last episode, chronologically speaking, and comes from Phil Silvers in 1960. Of course, he had spent the 1950s up to no good on Fort Baxter in the guise of Sgt Bilko but at the beginning of the 1960s decided to return to his roots in variety comedy shows. This disc holds one such special from 1960, Just Polly and Me. Unsurprisingly given that it comes from a later date than most of the shows on this collection this is a technically more ambitious show, with many more sets and costume changes in its relatively short thirty-five minute running time, but what does take one aback is how sophisticated the comedy is. Whereas the likes of Benny and Hope were content to spout out one-liners and make cultural references, the Silvers show is intelligent and has something to say, most notably about the artificiality of fame in an extended sketch in which he imagines what it would be like if a plumber became famous. Another sketch muses on the destructive nature of jealousy while even the last, which at first appears to be a one-gag scene extended beyond its natural running-time, ends on a delightful piece of whimsy that redeems it and makes for a heartening end to the programme. Throughout Silvers is given able support by Polly Bergen who, given that she has a large variety of different personalities to perform as opposed to Silvers one, is often the more impressive performer. Although Silvers never quite recaptured the magic of Bilko, this is a show that illustrates there was far more to him than just that one character, and from a detached viewpoint this is easily the most impressive show of the entire collection.
Of course, much on this set looks quaint now. There are shows which just aren�t funny at all - Abbott and Costello, I�m looking at you - and most of the material is badly dated, both in old-style unsophisticated jokes (one sketch between Hope and Benny consists entirely of people wearing the wrong trousers) and in cultural references which are today meaningless. It�s also hard for a cynic to watch some of the stuff without feeling that the pudding is being over-egged; the comedians can sometimes appear self-satisfied, especially when sparring off a chum (Hope is particularly bad at this), while there�s also the double-edged sword of knowing the fates of those one is seeing, especially someone like the unfulfilled Kovacs or the despondent Wynn, which can be a bit of a downer. The commercials, too, are hardly to be believed; there�s so much criticism these days of blatant product placing, but it�s nothing compared to moments when stars chat away at length about the sponsors of their show, even more chilling when that product is tobacco. The epitome of all that has changed from then to now is to be found in a scene from the Hope/Benny show in which a group of cannibals dance around on stage singing how marvellous it is to smoke Lucky Strike cigarettes. It fair takes your breath away, and reminds you that life was not all was the sweetness and light that these shows portray.
But there�s no getting away from the fact that also these guys truly were the best in the business at the time. As a chance to see the stars of the day doing their thing these shows are priceless, and represent not only the shows themselves, but the entire history of live American comedy of the first half of the twentieth century, charting the progression from the wooden boards of vaudeville theatre through to the heydays of the radio in the 1930s and on to the emerging dominance of television as the century grew into middle age; that these guys were able to stride like giants across all three mediums shows just how talented they were. Seeing them do their thing is one of the great joys of this collection, the other being seeing a snapshot of mainstream entertainment of that time. It�s well thought out too, with inclusions from the mainstream (Benny, Hope) to the avant-garde (Kovacs) to the also-rans (Wynn) meaning we are getting a full spectrum of the style out there. For anyone not interested in the history of US comedy it is, of course, a complete waste of money, as there�s little modern entertainment to be had. For those who are, it�s a marvellous dip into a world which is both very recognisable to our own and very, very different. Great fun.
The DVDs
The episodes come on five DVDs, and are accompanied by a music CD. Each one is held in a slimline case which comes with a couple of paragraphs worth of detail about each episode held on that disc which are never less than interesting and genuinely informative. The six cases are held in a sturdy cardboard box with similar artwork which reflects the many number of stars appearing.
The menus have a uniform format. Each one has the same sort of illustration as the cover, and lists each show, with the options Play Show and Chapters underneath. The Chapters pages are nicely illustrated by stills from the appropriate chapter, and the whole thing is accompanied by some jaunty Fifties music which, with all looped DVD menu music, will drive you mad if you listen to it more than a couple of times.
Video
Ranges from the barely acceptable to abysmal. These are prints that, while generally not showing a huge amount of wear and tear, still have an aged look to them, with plenty of artefacts popping up. The transfer is not successful, with just about every kind of digital artefact imaginable popping up regularly and some truly horrendous glare that bleaches some scenes almost completely white. It takes a lot to blank Diana Dors out, but somehow this manages it. It�s soft too, and overall some scenes are really hard to watch. That said, nearly all of the time you can tell what�s going on, you just can�t always see it. It doesn�t ruin the watching experience but does sometimes make the image look like you�re watching it through half-closed, blurred eyes. Some of the episodes do better than others - the Phil Silvers episode, for example, looks far better than most of the others, while the Benny and Hope shows in particular suffer.
Audio
Again, very clearly showing its age. It�s never crystal clear, and when there�s a lot of noise - such as some particularly enthusiastic audience laughter - much gets lost. That said, it�s of a far more steady quality than the video. Most of the time its muffled but audible, and it�s atmospheric rather than a chore to listen to, in the same way listening to a crackly old recording is.
Extras
Although not classed as such, two items in this collection would count as extras. The first is a five minute sketch from the 1962 show The Soupy Sales Show in which Soupy and a mailman battle over a garden hose. Sales, the only presenter on this collection still alive today, is a long-running children�s comedian on television with a pleasing knack for attracting controversy, whether it be advising his young audience to pilfer �funny green bits of paper� from their parents wallets and post them to him or the constant rumours he had a habit of sneaking in double entrendres into this act. Never having seen his show I can�t comment whether this is typical fare or not, but I think I�d much rather have seen the incident when a topless dancer nearly infiltrated his show, her modesty protected only by a balloon, than this sketch. Brian Cant must wonder where he went wrong.
Overall
There's not a lot more to be said; a collection that does exactly what it says on the tin, this is a must for nostalgia buffs with an interest in this period or one of the many guest stars featured. Of course not everyone from that era is included (there's no Sid Caesar or Milton Berle for example) while there are collections of these shows already doing the rounds, with plenty of Best of Jack Benny boxsets or Dean and Jerry shows, but as a potpourri of that era and genre it can't be bettered, a pick 'n' mix of the great and not so great. For anyone with more modern tastes there's nothing really here to appetise, but I loved it. Even if there is far too much of Abbott and Costello.
| Jack Benny |
The USA. In which state is the geographic centre of the contiguous states? | Time Life: The Golden Age of Comedy Box Set One | DVD Review | Film @ The Digital Fix
Time Life: The Golden Age of Comedy Box Set One
12:00 on 10th Nov 2006
By James GrayJames Gray
- Bonus Sketch from The Soupy Sales Show, - Music CD
Soundtracks
Subtitles
None
James takes a look at the history of 1950s US live comedy with this set featuring some of the greats of the era.
The title of this marvellous box set from Time Life is slightly misleading. Although the five DVDs it contains features many if not all of the undisputed stars of comedy on American television in the 1950s, all the episodes are taken from the live variety shows that were such a staple of that early period in TV history. You�ll find none of the established sitcoms of the era, trailblazers such as I Love Lucy or The Phil Silvers Show, shows that did as much as, if not more than, the live shows to help make television the dominant form of entertainment for America by the end of the decade. Any story about this fascinating period in the growth of onscreen popular entertainment is incomplete without some samples from such shows, and it�s regrettable that it would appear that a companion volume to this set, which was scheduled to be released this year, appears to have been cancelled.
But that�s about the only criticism I can find to say about the contents of this set. In all other regards, it is a fabulously entertaining collection that succeeds both in representing the era these shows hail from and also painting a picture of the culture in which they were made. It turns out that the things that made people laugh fifty years ago were not so very different to what does now, from satirical digs at people in the news and laughing at each other�s idiosyncrasies to out-and-out buffoonery and slapstick. The style of the shows is one that, while quaint by today's standards, are instantly recognisable. Before a live theatre audience (theatre being the operative word, complete with curtains on the stage and one-dimensional backdrops) the star enacts a series of monologues and sketches, sometimes with a common theme, sometimes not, helped along by a special guest star, and with regular breaks for a word from the sponsors, often delivered by the star themselves. This was a world in which the audience were a vital player in proceedings, made complicit in the mayhem being enacted in front of them through the comedians� direct interaction with them and their raucous responses to what they were seeing. Together with the fact these shows were being transmitted live there is a dangerous, often hysterical quality to many of the shows, performers and watchers egging each other on, thrilling when a line is fluffed or a comic corpses. It is an atmosphere entirely without artifice or ironic cynicism, and all the more refreshing for it - this is good, old fashioned entertainment in all senses of the phrase.
All the shows share the same cultural heritage as almost without exception the stars came from a background of first vaudeville theatre and then radio, and it�s that vaudeville tradition that shines through. One of the kings of the era was Jack Benny, appearing on Volumes One and Three in the set, was one of American's television's first breakout stars and his history is characteristic of the other stars in this collection. Born Benjamin Kubelsky in 1894 in Illinois, he began his comedy career almost by accident. A promising violinist in his teens, he had begun to tell jokes during his time in the Navy during World War One, and following the cessation of hostilities had begun to tour the vaudeville circuit with his act �Ben K. Benny: Fiddle Funology.� Over time the comedy became the overriding focus of his performance, and after a decade spent refining and honing his comic persona, he was a respected and much-liked personality on the vaudeville circuit.
His big break came when he appeared as a guest on a radio programme presented by Ed Sullivan in early 1932. So good was he on that that he was instantly signed up to host The Canada Dry Ginger Ale Programme which was not, of course, a show singing the praises of popular soft drinks but a variety show which featured monologues from Benny alongside music and adverts. It was an instant hit and by the end of the same year Benny was voted �Most Popular Comedian on the Air,� beating such luminaries as the Marx Brothers and Burns & Allen to the accolade. But he was no flash in the pan; Benny continued to be loved by millions of listeners to his show for more than two decades. During that time the series evolved, moving away from the variety-style of Benny�s early career to a far more conventional situation comedy set-up, with Benny playing a character who, although also called Jack Benny, was virtually the antithesis of the man himself; smug, lazy, vain and basically an all-round jerk. In real-life Benny, who Bob Hope at his funeral described as �a gentle man,� was none of these.
When television came along Benny simply followed the axiom of if it ain�t broke don�t fix it and his TV show, broadcast first on CBS and then NBC, aped the format and style of his radio (indeed, he re-used several radio scripts for the visual medium). His first show, with the opening words �I�d give a million dollars to know what I looked like!� was broadcast in 1950 and, just as with the radio, was a big success right from the word go. At first Benny continued with both his television and radio shows but as the decade wore on it became clear that the golden years of radio were over, and his last radio show as broadcast in 1955. By that time he was a television star and everyone in the country knew what he looked like.
Although the episodes had two slightly different styles, the show always had exactly the same feel to it. One style opened with a monologue from Benny, then some jokey banter between him and his special guest, followed in the second half by some kind of skit which often tied in with whatever the guest was most famous for. The second style, which to be fair was not very different, was what we would see now as a conventional, albeit deeply primitive, situation comedy, in which Benny was surrounded by a cast of recurring characters, with the most notable being Benny�s butler Rochester, played by Eddie Anderson. One of the few coloured actors to be on television in those pre-Civil Rights days, Anderson�s participation in the series was made more extraordinary by the fact that more often than not he had the best lines, and was shown to be the voice of reason whenever his boss came up with his latest wacky schemes. In many ways, Anderson was a pioneer, and it�s heartening to see that even in those early days television was doing its bit to break down barriers.
As for Benny himself, television benefited him enormously in that now he was able to bring in the more physical comedy which had been a mainstay of his act during his vaudeville years. The four episodes on these discs showcase his visual talents perfectly; his dashing around, his facial tics, and, especially, his constant turning to the studio audience milking his laughs for all they are worth. His rapport with the audience was one of the main reasons for his success; like all really good comedians in the theatre, he made them feel part of the act, as though not only are they enjoying a good show but that they are in on an extra joke, such as the frequent times he and his guests crease in laughter. The routines themselves are, of course, very dated to a modern sensibility, simplistic but also touchingly innocent, and even though these days they are unlikely to raise much of a genuine chuckle (not least because so much of the style is so clich�d) it�s still genial enough and Benny�s command of the stage shows why he stayed on the top of his game for well over three decades.
Fittingly, he is the most represented of the stars on these DVDs, with four episodes from his show included. The first three fill Volume One of this collection, subtitled The Secret Word is Jack. This title is a reference to the first episode, which guest-stars a tired-looking Groucho Marx (who had, of course, also started his career in vaudeville and been a friend of Benny�s their entire working life), and sees Jack taking part in Marx�s gameshow You Bet Your Life (the one with the Secret Word and the duck which Bill Cosby had a go at reviving in the 1990s) and dates from April 1955. It�s vaguely amusing, particularly the first scene between Benny and Rochester. The second comes from October two years earlier and sees Humphrey Bogart making a rare appearance on television playing Babyface Bogart, who gets pulled into the local police precinct but manages to get away, obligatory gangster�s moll on his arm. This is an episode with a larger cast than the other two on the disc, and goes down extremely well with the audience, but, despite Bogey�s presence, the highlight is Benny�s monologue at the beginning, not especially because it�s rip-roaringly funny but just as a sample of seeing how the comic works his audience. The third show, coming from May 1954, guest-stars Bob Hope (with an uncredited cameo from Dean and Jerry) and sees Hope and Benny frolicking through a sketch called �Road to Nairobi� in which some cannibals put them in a cooking pot and sing about the joys of smoking Likely Strikes, the sponsors. As with the Bogart episode, the highlight of this show is not the sketch itself but a monologue, this time delivered by Hope, beforehand.
One of the things Jack Benny was most known for was the long-running �feud� he had with fellow comedian and real-life chum Fred Allen. Allen was arguably one of the most influential of his generation of comics, a genuine wit whose ad-libs and sense of the ridiculous made him yet another hugely popular performer on the radio. Best known for his Allen�s Alley slot in which he would ask denizens of said alley about news items of the week, he had a running battle with his network�s censors, who were constantly chiding him for what he could and couldn�t say, but they were perhaps the only people who didn�t appreciate his talent; certainly his fellow professionals held him in the greatest esteem. Unfortunately by the time television came along he was nearing the end of his life, and his only real success came as a panellist on What�s My Line? which he appeared on for two years until his death in 1956.
The running gag of his perpetual feud with Benny dated back to 1937 when Allen made a derogatory remark about Jack Benny�s violin playing. Over the next decade they kept at each other regularly over the airwaves, appearing on each other�s shows expressly to trade insults. Audiences loved it (aside from the ones who actually believed it was real, that is) and, as can be seen from the episode of Benny�s show on Volume 3 of this set, it carried on right up to Allen�s final years. The sketch sees Allen trying to persuade Jack�s sponsor to dump their man and put him in his place. It�s all good natured stuff and, in the fact it�s a simple, focused narrative with some good gags, is probably the best Benny episode in this collection. The two have that chemistry that comes from old friends who have worked together for years and while near the end it risks looking a little smug it�s still an entertaining show.
Benny�s show lasted on various networks until 1965 when, as is the way, a younger, hipper audience found him old-fashioned. However, he continued to work on television specials and popped up in movies for the remainder of his life; indeed, he was still working on a new show the week of his death, from pancreatic cancer, on Boxing Day 1974 leaving behind a legacy as one of the first true stars of the small screen.
Indeed, the only comedian who was arguably more popular - although he was certainly the bigger star - was Bob Hope himself. He simply was Mr Comedy in America for virtually his entire life, beloved by a nation who generally didn�t realise that he was born to the sound of bow bells to an English father and Welsh mother. Coming to the US at the age of four and becoming an American citizen when twenty, Hope swiftly rose up the ranks of the vaudeville circuit before moving on to radio and the movies. By the late 1940s he was already close to a national treasure with his Road to� series of films with Bing Crosby, live shows and radio broadcasts, all of which made him one of the most wealthy celebrities at that time. His fame continued through the 1950s with the comic regularly turning up on television shows, both presenting and guest-starring, and his regular gig presenting the Oscars. He did this a total of eighteen times, famously opening one ceremony with the line �Welcome to the Oscars or, as it�s known in my household, Passover,� and although he never won an Academy Award for a specific role, he did receive several honourary statues for his outstanding contributions to the merriment of the nation. Together with his frequent shows put on for the American army in hotspots around the world, from World War II to Vietnam and beyond, he was a genuine legend of showbusiness, which not even the persistent snipes about his army of scriptwriters feeding him his one-liners could tarnish.
Personally, though, he�s a performer I always find it hard to warm to, and the sample episode from his series on this collection illustrates the reason why perfectly. The show is found on Volume Two of this collection, a volume entitled Bob Loves Lucy which gives away his guest star Lucille Ball. This fifty-minute sketch show, sponsored by Chevrolet (to whom Hope refers often) also features Diana Dors in a weak duo of sketches illustrating the differences between a European couple and an American one, an on-form James Cagney doing a bit of a song and dance, the baseballer Don Larsen who had just pitched the first perfect game ever seen in a World Series (and who subsequently spent the rest of his life being asked about it) and the cast of I Love Lucy. It�s an interesting contrast to the Benny shows from Volume One; despite the odd jump cuts the presentation is slicker, with Hope, as well you might expect, the consummate professional but one who doesn�t have the genuine warmth of Benny - the modern-day Letterman, if you will, to Benny's Letterman of the early years, and one I personally always have a hard time actually liking. Still, it�s fun to see Ball and husband Desi messing around.
Of course, not all the stars with shows in that time were quite so successful as Benny and Hope. One whose TV career never quite managed to get off the ground was Ed Wynn. I�ve always felt a bit sorry for him; although in many ways a trailblazer for the likes of Jack and Bob, he never had the same breakthrough success as those luminaries and ended up an also-ran in the pantheon of American comedy. Perhaps this is down to his comic persona; unlike those who achieved greater fame Wynn was not an ordinary Joe who just happened to wisecrack but a clown in the old-fashioned sense of the word, complete with silly costumes, dippy voice and comic props. In many ways he reminds one of an earlier version of Tommy Cooper who had a similarly perpetually jolly but baffled manner. Unlike Cooper, however, Wynn never made it on television as a front man; after having a successful radio show in the 1930s he never found a niche for himself on TV, despite the fact his slapstick was far more specifically suited to the visual medium than, say, Hope�s gags.
Perhaps why he wasn't a success can be discerned from the two episodes from his 1949-50 show included here. Both episodes, one starring Buster Keaton (on Vol 2) and one the Three Stooges (Vol 3), suggest that although obviously an accomplished comedian, he doesn�t entirely convince as an MC while his ramshackle manner was possibly a style which America, never a country that likes to lose control, found difficult to take. A shame as he is many ways more appealing, and while the Three Stooges episode, in which the goons run round pretending to be television executives with the mission of improving Wynn�s show, is spoilt by the fact it has the Three Stooges in it, the Keaton episode is reasonably good. It�s far less sophisticated than the Hope extravaganza, consisting of only two sketches, but, while the first is quite weak the second, in which Keaton recreates an early routine of his with Wynn in support, is great fun.
Sadly, it didn�t last, and when Wynn found his comedy career weaning he followed (albeit reluctantly) his son�s advice and turned to acting. Here he had more success; although initially nervous about performing, he acquitted himself well, with perhaps his best known roles being Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins and the voice of the Mad Hatter in Disney�s Alice in Wonderland. Initially lacking confidence in his dramatic abilities, his concerns proved ill-founded when he was nominated for an Academy Award for The Diary of Anne Frank in 1959 but still acting wasn�t his first love and sadly he died of throat cancer in the mid-Sixties. Although he did lots of good work and had a career many others would have killed for I still can�t help feeling his was a struggle that once again proved that behind the smile of every clown there are tears.
Another performer television audiences found hard to take was Ernie Kovacs who, I suspect, I would have been a fan of had I been around in those days. Unlike most of the stars in this collection, who were effectively bringing to television the same style of shows they had performed for years on the stage and radio, Kovacs was one of the very first performers to actually sit down and think about how the medium of television itself could be used to best effect. A true innovator, he spent the 1950s confusing and thrilling audiences in equal measures as he experimented with the form a TV show could take, from employing elaborate camera tricks through to an absurdist, satirical sense of humour that parodied the style of other programmes, with a self-referential style which saw him incorporating his own life into his routines and outrageous comedy characters such as Pierre Ragout and horror hostess Auntie Gruesome. One of those comedians for who the phrase �years ahead of his time� was invented, most middle-of-the-roads audiences, used to seeing the conventional comedy schtick of other shows, were mystified. Where were the jokes? Was what he was saying real or made up? Why does he keep spinning the camera around? As a consequence, although he had a few shows on during the decade none lasted for more than a season (aside from a game show he hosted, which doesn�t really count) and sadly nowadays very few episodes of his work are in existence; shortly after he was killed in a car crash in 1962 (ten days before his forty-third birthday) his widow discovered that most of the tapes of his shows were being wiped and reused. Despite that he had a lasting influence on the small screen, and in a diverse series of ways, from the character comedy and anarchic streak that paved the way to Saturday Night Live (indeed, when Chevy Chase won an Emmy during his time on the show he thanked Kovacs) through to talk show hosts who adopt a casual air (David Letterman has often hailed him, and indeed for one year Kovacs co-hosted The Tonight Show with Steve Allen).
The episode on Volume Four of this set is from 1956 and is a good showcase of his material. It opens with a lengthy monologue in which he discusses getting a passport, before segueing into a spoof in which his real-life wife Edie Adams (who often co-starred with him) pretends to be Marilyn Monroe reading a self-written poem. The highlight, though, is a parody of a television newscast which in intent foreshadows Chris Morris� work on The Day Today by some four decades and contains many of the same gags. It�s a remarkable sketch for its time and a reflection of what Kovacs wanted to do. What a shame he didn�t live long enough to see his work become standard practise; he would have loved the self-referential irony of the Nineties in particular.
Technically speaking, of course, few of these stars actually owned the shows that bore their name. Instead, it was the sponsors who wielded the power, and many of the shows should technically be called something like, for example, The Lucky Strike Show starring Jack Benny. - indeed, witness the sketch from the Benny/Allen show, in which Benny and Allen compete with the sponsor for Benny�s show. This was an era when �selling out� was not so much a stigma as a necessity, with performers relying on big corporations to give them airtime and publicity. As a result, not every performer appeared on a weekly basis; certainly Benny didn�t in the early years of his show, alternating with a few other people. One of the shows that made a policy out of this revolving door system was The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950-55) which had a cycle of four acts who took it turns to host the NBC show. Who the four were varied over the five years it ran, with such names as Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope (inevitably), Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and Abbott and Costello. These shows benefited from the extra length, both with the number of sketches and also the design and style of the show, with more extras and more interesting backdrops being two readily noticeable differences from, say, the Wynn or Benny shows.
The good news is that this set features three samples from The Colgate Comedy Hour. The bad news is that two of them star Abbott and Costello. Truly the Little and Large of their day, they were massively popular at the time but in retrospect it�s really hard, even allowing for the different times they performed in, to imagine what people ever saw in this irritating duo. As with their contemporaries they had begun life on the stage, but unlike most of the other comedians being discussed in this set radio was not the medium that gave them their big breakthrough; instead they went almost straight from treading the boards to the high life in Hollywood. True, Hollywood had first noticed them on a wireless show in 1938 but it was their scene-stealing antics in One Night in the Tropics (a 1940 film ostensibly starring Allan Jones) which made the world sit up and take notice. For the next decade and a half they were regular attractions on the silver screen, making well over thirty films, nearly all of them unbearable to this reviewer, as well as a radio show (which this reviewer has never heard but suspects would be equally unbearable) and in the end, it was this excessive prolificacy that proved to be their undoing. By the time they joined The Colgate Comedy Hour their back catalogue of films, still a massive draw, were being regularly replayed in theatres which, combined with the facts that they were still making new additions to their cinematic canon (often two a year) and could be seen on television every four weeks meant people became first used and then tired of their antics. Theirs was a formulaic schtick which, while apparently amusing America if it saw them every so often, began to grate and grow repetitive when seen constantly. As a result, they became arguably the first stars to realise a hitherto unappreciated danger of the new medium of television: over-exposure can kill. By the middle of the 1950s they were struggling; the two began to row and the IRS started chasing them for unpaid taxes, leading to their breakup in 1956. Three years later Costello died of a heart attack, neither performer having found much to do once their partnership had dissolved. In later life Abbott expressed regret about how things had ended and, while he tried to find other sparring partners, said ruefully that none of them could hold a candle to Costello.
The two episodes they star in on these discs are typical. One episode, from January 1952 (and found on Volume Three) sees the gruesome twosome in a number of sketches based around a Western theme, and includes a scene-stealing, and utterly knowing, turn from Errol Flynn who, even in these last years of his life could still play the charmer, in a scene recreating one of their classic sketches. Abbott and Costello are my Ant �n� Dec - I can never remember which one is which - but the small shouty one spends his time shouting while the taller one is relegated for much of the time into the background. That said, it�s a well put together show, far more confident than even the Hope show in the number of sketches and general construction, and while it won�t tickle your funny bones that much, it�s actually surprisingly entertaining, with Flynn on wryly amusing form. The second, on Volume Five, dates from May 1952 and sees a plot in which the two, through a series of sketches, travel to Paris for the small shouty one to get singing lessons while encountering singers Vera Zorina and Tony Bavaar. It�s standard fare and I�m not sure I even cracked a smile once during its thirty-seven minute running time, but watch out for the list of sponsors at the end which is just fab.
Far better, of course, is the regretfully single episode presented by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The title of Volume Five, A Really Big Show, refers to the first sketch in which Jerry starts out by spoofing Ed Sullivan (who hosted a rival show broadcast at the same time) while sounding like Dr Evil, then there�s an amusing but overlong baby-sitting sketch, then Jerry spends four minutes telling everyone where Dean and he are touring before the show ends with a dance number. This is an interesting episode to see as it comes near the end of the Martin and Lewis partnership, in May 1955. There�s no sign of the animosity they were apparently already bearing each other (they split up acrimoniously the next year) and Lewis still has the youthful exuberance and Martin the slight weariness that had borne such fruit in their ten year partnership. It was a partnership that had been the making of both of them; before they had teamed up Martin had been a struggling crooner who didn�t seem to be anything out of the ordinary and Lewis a comedian just starting out on his career. Teaming up in New York they had swiftly found that their easy rapport translated into comedy gold on stage, club audiences lapping up their adlibbed banter. Martin, of course, was the straight man, Lewis the hyperactive manchild, with the latter ruining the former�s attempts to get through a song without being heckled.
In 1949 Paramount signed them to appear in My Friend Irma the first of seventeen films they made over the next seven years (the last, appropriately, called Hollywood or Bust.) Like Abbott and Costello they mixed their film work with regular appearances on TV; unlike the more established men, they were new and fresh, their anarchic spirit seeming to sum up the youth of 1950s America and reflecting a future that was exciting, full of possibilities and almost totally unpredictable. When they weren�t filming they were touring, and, as with so many others over the years who have lived in each other pockets for months at a time, they eventually began to have differences. Lewis (reportedly) was jealous when Martin made the hit record That�s Amore in 1953 while Martin began to feel that eternal frustration of the straight man. In 1956 it grew too much and the two men went their separate ways, not speaking for years (indeed, even when Frank Sinatra managed to get the two of them back on screen together for a 1976 telethon Martin walked away afterwards, not wishing to make amends, although to be fair he was having a lot of personal problems at the time). Out of everyone featured on this set, it�s Martin and Lewis that I wish had been around when I was young - one gets the impression that their live shows would have been a lot of fun.
They�re not the best thing to be found on these discs, however. That accolade goes to the last episode, chronologically speaking, and comes from Phil Silvers in 1960. Of course, he had spent the 1950s up to no good on Fort Baxter in the guise of Sgt Bilko but at the beginning of the 1960s decided to return to his roots in variety comedy shows. This disc holds one such special from 1960, Just Polly and Me. Unsurprisingly given that it comes from a later date than most of the shows on this collection this is a technically more ambitious show, with many more sets and costume changes in its relatively short thirty-five minute running time, but what does take one aback is how sophisticated the comedy is. Whereas the likes of Benny and Hope were content to spout out one-liners and make cultural references, the Silvers show is intelligent and has something to say, most notably about the artificiality of fame in an extended sketch in which he imagines what it would be like if a plumber became famous. Another sketch muses on the destructive nature of jealousy while even the last, which at first appears to be a one-gag scene extended beyond its natural running-time, ends on a delightful piece of whimsy that redeems it and makes for a heartening end to the programme. Throughout Silvers is given able support by Polly Bergen who, given that she has a large variety of different personalities to perform as opposed to Silvers one, is often the more impressive performer. Although Silvers never quite recaptured the magic of Bilko, this is a show that illustrates there was far more to him than just that one character, and from a detached viewpoint this is easily the most impressive show of the entire collection.
Of course, much on this set looks quaint now. There are shows which just aren�t funny at all - Abbott and Costello, I�m looking at you - and most of the material is badly dated, both in old-style unsophisticated jokes (one sketch between Hope and Benny consists entirely of people wearing the wrong trousers) and in cultural references which are today meaningless. It�s also hard for a cynic to watch some of the stuff without feeling that the pudding is being over-egged; the comedians can sometimes appear self-satisfied, especially when sparring off a chum (Hope is particularly bad at this), while there�s also the double-edged sword of knowing the fates of those one is seeing, especially someone like the unfulfilled Kovacs or the despondent Wynn, which can be a bit of a downer. The commercials, too, are hardly to be believed; there�s so much criticism these days of blatant product placing, but it�s nothing compared to moments when stars chat away at length about the sponsors of their show, even more chilling when that product is tobacco. The epitome of all that has changed from then to now is to be found in a scene from the Hope/Benny show in which a group of cannibals dance around on stage singing how marvellous it is to smoke Lucky Strike cigarettes. It fair takes your breath away, and reminds you that life was not all was the sweetness and light that these shows portray.
But there�s no getting away from the fact that also these guys truly were the best in the business at the time. As a chance to see the stars of the day doing their thing these shows are priceless, and represent not only the shows themselves, but the entire history of live American comedy of the first half of the twentieth century, charting the progression from the wooden boards of vaudeville theatre through to the heydays of the radio in the 1930s and on to the emerging dominance of television as the century grew into middle age; that these guys were able to stride like giants across all three mediums shows just how talented they were. Seeing them do their thing is one of the great joys of this collection, the other being seeing a snapshot of mainstream entertainment of that time. It�s well thought out too, with inclusions from the mainstream (Benny, Hope) to the avant-garde (Kovacs) to the also-rans (Wynn) meaning we are getting a full spectrum of the style out there. For anyone not interested in the history of US comedy it is, of course, a complete waste of money, as there�s little modern entertainment to be had. For those who are, it�s a marvellous dip into a world which is both very recognisable to our own and very, very different. Great fun.
The DVDs
The episodes come on five DVDs, and are accompanied by a music CD. Each one is held in a slimline case which comes with a couple of paragraphs worth of detail about each episode held on that disc which are never less than interesting and genuinely informative. The six cases are held in a sturdy cardboard box with similar artwork which reflects the many number of stars appearing.
The menus have a uniform format. Each one has the same sort of illustration as the cover, and lists each show, with the options Play Show and Chapters underneath. The Chapters pages are nicely illustrated by stills from the appropriate chapter, and the whole thing is accompanied by some jaunty Fifties music which, with all looped DVD menu music, will drive you mad if you listen to it more than a couple of times.
Video
Ranges from the barely acceptable to abysmal. These are prints that, while generally not showing a huge amount of wear and tear, still have an aged look to them, with plenty of artefacts popping up. The transfer is not successful, with just about every kind of digital artefact imaginable popping up regularly and some truly horrendous glare that bleaches some scenes almost completely white. It takes a lot to blank Diana Dors out, but somehow this manages it. It�s soft too, and overall some scenes are really hard to watch. That said, nearly all of the time you can tell what�s going on, you just can�t always see it. It doesn�t ruin the watching experience but does sometimes make the image look like you�re watching it through half-closed, blurred eyes. Some of the episodes do better than others - the Phil Silvers episode, for example, looks far better than most of the others, while the Benny and Hope shows in particular suffer.
Audio
Again, very clearly showing its age. It�s never crystal clear, and when there�s a lot of noise - such as some particularly enthusiastic audience laughter - much gets lost. That said, it�s of a far more steady quality than the video. Most of the time its muffled but audible, and it�s atmospheric rather than a chore to listen to, in the same way listening to a crackly old recording is.
Extras
Although not classed as such, two items in this collection would count as extras. The first is a five minute sketch from the 1962 show The Soupy Sales Show in which Soupy and a mailman battle over a garden hose. Sales, the only presenter on this collection still alive today, is a long-running children�s comedian on television with a pleasing knack for attracting controversy, whether it be advising his young audience to pilfer �funny green bits of paper� from their parents wallets and post them to him or the constant rumours he had a habit of sneaking in double entrendres into this act. Never having seen his show I can�t comment whether this is typical fare or not, but I think I�d much rather have seen the incident when a topless dancer nearly infiltrated his show, her modesty protected only by a balloon, than this sketch. Brian Cant must wonder where he went wrong.
Overall
There's not a lot more to be said; a collection that does exactly what it says on the tin, this is a must for nostalgia buffs with an interest in this period or one of the many guest stars featured. Of course not everyone from that era is included (there's no Sid Caesar or Milton Berle for example) while there are collections of these shows already doing the rounds, with plenty of Best of Jack Benny boxsets or Dean and Jerry shows, but as a potpourri of that era and genre it can't be bettered, a pick 'n' mix of the great and not so great. For anyone with more modern tastes there's nothing really here to appetise, but I loved it. Even if there is far too much of Abbott and Costello.
| i don't know |
The building known as the Atomium can be found in which European city? | Atomium in Brussels
Looks like there's not enough activity around Atomium to show here today.
The #Atomium plays hide & seek in #Brussels. #Repost inti_rock. #morning #bruxelles #bruss… http://t.co/VFDwP0e8kv http://t.co/KCoteGEaIW
Posted by The Hotel Brussels - 2 years ago
L'Atomium, now. #Bruxelles ❄️❄️ http://t.co/MFXe76QPFL
Posted by Baptiste T. - 2 years ago
#Brussels #Atomium by #night , unit cell of #ironcrystal - Europe's most bizarre building according to CNN. #arch... http://t.co/OEc77mSmV1
Posted by Gavriil Papadiotis - 2 years ago
Building of the Atomium in Brussels(via http://t.co/ZaopYz2uxS) http://t.co/3sglwEpQiw
Posted by Tilo Jung - 2 years ago
Killer image. And for once some tags: #brussels #expo58 #atomium http://t.co/aGS0nFHmOF
Posted by Guillaume Kayacan - 2 years ago
Showing the skyline to freetherobots #brussels #highoutput #atomium http://t.co/5dArByyYvU
Posted by lefto. - 2 years ago See image
Always welcome in Belgium! Feat Stunning @Tesla_Europe #ModelS & #Atomium #Tesla #EV #Brussels http://t.co/fZ0ghQs6wO http://t.co/GrV9Vws9sx
Posted by Tesla Club Belgium - 2 years ago
Atomium in Brussels, Belgium. wasdesigned to open the world exhibition in 1958. #travel http://t.co/WUlHbCf4N5
Posted by sobore - 2 years ago
The extraordinary #Atomium in Brussels represents the relationship between modern science and man. #WidenYourWorld http://t.co/OW8SM0WDIK
Posted by Turkish Airlines - 3 years ago
Awesome!! Protest for Europe’s dolphins attracts hundredshttp://t.co/pcwiqpbonF#Brussels #Atomium #Tweet4Dolphins http://t.co/5ggCMEZpdY
Posted by clicks n' whistles - 3 years ago See image
Join demo 'Close #dolphinaria in #Europe' 6/28 @ Atomium in Brussels! #CaptivityKills close all European dolphinaria! http://t.co/R10LotDC8H
Posted by WDC - 3 years ago See image
Dear People of Belgium: Come to our live podcast at the Brussels Atomium this Saturday! Details below http://t.co/aMQnIO6Ywx
Posted by NoSuchThingAsAFish - 2 years ago
Day in Brussels with my princess @paubea8ser👸, first stop: Atomium 👭 http://t.co/6GFoFg9IXd
Posted by Loading . . . - 2 years ago
#designexhibitions #Brussels @atomium | "Intersections #3 Belgian Design" http://t.co/xGFSVxVhOw
Posted by Centre Documentació - 2 years ago See image
#Brussels #Cycling Classic on Saturday 6 September (Cinquantenaire-Atomium): http://t.co/VObqb1A904
Posted by City of Brussels - 2 years ago See image
Our #Wingseat solution: Brussels! You can see the @atomium clearly. Well done to those who knew. http://t.co/lFt6YNXrcZ
Posted by bmi regional - 3 years ago
@NiallOfficial the atomium in Brussels turned very niall-ish for your birthday!! http://t.co/5qnQF3qW5o
Posted by lindsay - 2 years ago
Ruskin in Brussels: First blossoms around the Atomium http://t.co/IdVlVmDZCD
Posted by Botanic Garden Meise - 2 years ago
Little view after work ✨💫 #atomium #brussels #belgium https://t.co/VLXrnY0982
Posted by Ann-Sophie Ickroth - 2 years ago
I have arrived at Atomium ! The biggest Atom in the world ! #Belgium #ImAHugeNerd @neiltyson would love this http://t.co/3xdLYF7zYw
Posted by CarChen - 2 years ago
Whoa! The 9 round balls represents the 9 regions of Kingdon of Belgium ;) #Atomium #Brussels #Belgium… https://t.co/vj6DzZtQMi
Posted by FramesGermanottaJore - 2 years ago
MGM Café: Party at the foot of the atomium in Bruparck, just a stone's throw from Kinepolis and publ... http://t.co/iYyBp0nyqb #Brussels
Posted by discoverbrussels - 2 years ago See image
Incredible photo of the "Atomium" under construction, World's Fair, Brussels, 1958 (and what it looks like today.) http://t.co/kheEVmMXhs
Posted by Pablo Maurer - 2 years ago
Spiky red sculpture installed beneath the Atomium monument in Brussels: http://t.co/4tiXFYbGTI http://t.co/DLJPAzX39u
Posted by Dezeen - 3 years ago
The Atom #brussels #belgium @ Atomium Parc https://t.co/l6wvW9UL22
Posted by Frederick Gaghauna - 2 years ago
Lunch at the #atomium in #Brussels with great American #meetingplanners #visitflanders #steigenberger http://t.co/WPH3tNY7KW
Posted by Meet in Flanders - 2 years ago
Photo of the Day: Brussels, Belgium http://t.co/QlVIeYOjha #atomium #backpacking #belgium #brussels
Posted by Divergent Travelers - 2 years ago See image
Christophe Willem announced a show at the Atomium in Brussels on March 3rd, 2015! Tickets are on sale already: http://t.co/fksdO1shfO
Posted by Live Nation Belgium - 2 years ago
Brussels' Atomium was built in 1958 for the World Exhibition and still shines brightly this holiday season! http://t.co/Ab51AA2gYm
Posted by Arch Journal - 2 years ago
| Brussels |
Born in 1849, Edmund Barton became the first Prime Minister of which country? | Brussels City Guide - What to do, what to see | Free-City-Guides.com
Brussels Atomium: Read more, links & map…
Grand Place – This large cobbled square is the heart of the old centre of Brussels and the architecture here is impressive. The old town hall is the building that really stands out, but all of the others are worth seeing too. You’ll find a nice atmosphere in the square on a busy day too and it’s surrounded by restaurants and bars. Make sure you come back at night to see the lights of the square too. The Grand Place is also a World Heritage Site. Nearest Metro stop is Bruxelles Central/Brussel-Centraal but if you’re in the city centre anyway, just follow the crowds!
Brussels Grand Place: Read more, links & map…
Town Hall (Hotel de Ville) – The gothic tower of the town hall is the thing that grabs your attention as soon as you enter the Grand Place. The building is almost as impressive inside too and is a bizarre mix of local council offices and works of art, particularly tapestries.
Manneken Pis – This is a tiny statue of a little boy urinating. That’s pretty much it, but bizarrely it has become one of the most famous landmarks in Brussels! You have to go to say you’ve seen it, but it’s not worth spending a lot of time to do it. Occasionally you’ll find he’s been dressed in a costume which can make him a bit more interesting. The Manneken Pis is at the junction of Rue de l’Étuve/Stoofstraat and Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat and is only a short stroll from the Grand Place.
Mannekin Pis: Read more, pics, links & map…
The Royal Museum of Art in Brussels
Visit the Museums – There are lots of museums in Brussels dedicated to everything from modern art though to musical instruments. We’d recommend the following museums….
The Royal Museum of Art (Musees Royaux des Beaux Arts) – This is the place for you if you like traditional art. It’s on Rue de Musee.
The Museum of Musical Instruments (Musee Des Instruments De Musique) – They have hundreds of instruments here and the art nouveau building is impressive too. It’s on Rue Montagne de la Cour near the Museum of Art.
Horta Museum (Musee Horta) – The house of Victor Horta, one of the founders of Art Nouveau. It’s outside the city centre at 25 Rue Americaine.
The Gueuze Museum (Musée Bruxellois de la Gueuze Brussels) – Part of the Cantillon brewery which is still in operation and has some fine beers to taste. It’s at Gheudestraat 56, Rue Gheude.
The Royal Palace – This palace is the home of the Belgian Parliament and is also used for state receptions, royal audiences and court ceremonies. It’s only open from July to September each year, but if you happen to be in Brussels at this time, it’s worth a trip and admission is free. The Royal Palace is on the edge of the Parc de Bruxelles on Place des Palais.
The Royal Greenhouses – You’ll find these huge greenhouses next to the Palace of Laeken where the royal family actually lives. Once again, the glasshouses are only open for a short time each year – usually late April and Early May, but they are stunning. There are so many in the grounds of the Palace that it’s like a huge glass city and the plants inside are meticulously looked after. We stumbled on the glasshouses being open by accident, but they turned out to be one of the highlights of our city break. Admission is cheap and the Palace and glasshouses are on the Avenue du Parc Royal. They are within walking distance of the Atomium and it’s a lovely walk too.
Royal Greenhouses: Read more, links & map…
Place du Grand Sablon – Another of the beautiful squares of Brussels. It’s surrounded by antique shops and upmarket stores and it’s worth exploring the small streets that lead from the square as they’re filled with unusual shops and boutiques. The square is a short walk from Brussels Central Metro stop. The European Union Buildings – Everyone knows Brussels as the home of the EU these days, but most of the buildings are just faceless offices so there’s nothing really to recommend that you see. A good introduction to the buildings though is the open top bus tour which tells you what some of the buildings are as you whizz past.
Food and Beer – Brussels is famous for both and in our eyes, eating out and drinking local beers is as much a part of visiting the city as seeing the sights. When had some lovely meals in Brussels, but they were expensive! As a general rule of thumb, the food gets cheaper, the further you move away from the Grand Place.
MORE THINGS TO DO IN BRUSSELS
Take a Tour – One of the great things about Brussels is its proximity to other beautiful European cities. If you have enough time on your stay, you can use Brussels as a base to explore places like Ghent & Bruges or even Amsterdam . The Ghent & Bruges Day Trip From Brussels sightseeing tour consistently gets great reviews too. More tours & activities in Brussels…
OUR TOP TIP IN BRUSSELS
Beware of taxi drivers trying to rip you off! Sadly, our first experience in Brussels was a negative one after a taxi driver overcharged us on arrival. The bill seemed expensive for a short trip from the station to the hotel, but when you’re new in a city you can’t be sure it’s not right. It was only when we walked around the city the next day that we realised he’d taken us on a very long detour and had somehow added extra fees to the meter. It was too late to do anything about it then as we didn’t have his licence number, so all we can do is warn others travellers. The vast majority of taxi drivers in Brussels are honest and reliable, but it only takes one to cloud your opinion. Our basic message is to ask before you get in roughly how much it will be. We are experienced travellers, but we were still taken in.
ACOMMODATION IN BRUSSELS
NH Brussels City Centre Hotel
There are lots of hotels in Brussels to cater for the European Union HQ, but unless there are big events on, they are rarely full and they need to fill their rooms with tourists like you! We found that even the really luxurious hotels in Brussels were really quite reasonably priced and there are often good deals for staying longer like money off, or free nights. We stayed at the NH Brussels City Centre which was under 100 Euros and provided perfectly pleasant accomodation. However, next time we go, we’ve heard very good things about the Sofitel Brussels Le Louise Hotel , so we plan to stay there.
GETTING AROUND BRUSSELS
The Metro system is fast and efficient, but if you’re only in Brussels for a couple of days you could also consider the open top bus tour. Tickets last two days and the bus takes you to all the major sights including the Atomium. After you’ve done the whole tour, you can just use you bus pass to get around!
Getting from the airport depends on which airport you have flown into. We wouldn’t recommend Charleroi (Ryanair call this Brussels) as it’s a long way away and the coach transfer is expensive. We used the trains from the airport station last time we flew to Brussels and found it simple and efficient. If you’d prefer a shared or private transfer, we’ve found reasonable prices here
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What was the first name of Henry VIII’s elder sister, who married James IV of Scotland? | Women in the Tudor Dynasty - Sisters of Henry VIII
Women in the Tudor Dynasty
Sisters of Henry VIII
Updated April 02, 2016.
Henry VIII also had two sisters who are important to history:
Margaret Tudor : queen of James IV of Scotland, she was the grandmother of Mary, Queen of Scots , and great-grandmother of James VI of Scotland who became James I of England. Margaret Tudor's second marriage, to Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, made her the mother of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox , who was the mother of Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley , one of the husbands of Mary, Queen of Scots , and the father of their son and heir, James VI of Scotland who became James I of England. Thus, through Henry VIII's sister's marriage comes the name of the dynasty that succeeds the Tudors, the Stuarts (the English spelling of Stewart).
Henry VIII's younger sister , Mary Tudor, was married at 18 to the 52-year-old King of France, Louis XII. When Louis died, Mary secretly married Henry VIII's friend, Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. After surviving Henry's angry reaction, they had three children. One, Lady Frances Brandon, married Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, and their child, Lady Jane Grey , was briefly Queen of England in the dynastic squabbles when Henry VIII's only male heir, Edward VI, died young -- thus fulfilling Henry VIII's dynastic nightmares. Lady Catherine Grey , sister of Lady Jane Grey , had her own problems and briefly ended up in the Tower of London.
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Some Minions have two eyes, but many have only one. In which 2010 film did they first appear? | James IV of Scotland | Belfast Child
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) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain . [11] [12] [13] It shares a border with England to the south, and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to the east and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the south-west. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, [14] including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides .
Edinburgh , the country’s capital and second-largest city, was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual, and industrial powerhouses of Europe . Glasgow , Scotland’s largest city, [15] was once one of the world’s leading industrial cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, [16] containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union . This has given Aberdeen , the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe’s oil capital. [17]
The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, King James VI of Scotland became King of England and King of Ireland , thus forming a personal union of the three kingdoms . Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain . [18] [19] The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain , which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England . The Treaty of Union was agreed in 1706 and enacted by the twin Acts of Union 1707 passed by the Parliaments of both countries, despite popular opposition and anti-union riots in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and elsewhere. [20] [21] Great Britain itself subsequently entered into a political union with Ireland on 1 January 1801 to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland .
Scotland’s legal system has remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland , and Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in public and private law. [22] The continued existence of legal, educational and religious institutions distinct from those in the remainder of the UK have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and national identity since the 1707 union. [23] Following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, this time as a devolved legislature with authority over many areas of home affairs. The Scottish National Party , which supports Scottish independence , won an overall majority in the 2011 general election . [24] An independence referendum held on 18 September 2014 rejected independence by a majority of 55% to 45% on an 85% voter turnout . [25] [26]
Scotland is a member nation of the British–Irish Council , [27] and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly . Scotland is represented in the European Union and the European Parliament with six MEPs. [28]
Etymology
Main article: Etymology of Scotland
“Scotland” comes from Scoti , the Latin name for the Gaels . The Late Latin word Scotia (“land of the Gaels”) was initially used to refer to Ireland. [29] By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to (Gaelic-speaking) Scotland north of the river Forth , alongside Albania or Albany, both derived from the Gaelic Alba . [30] The use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages . [18]
History
See also: Timeline of prehistoric Scotland
Repeated glaciations, which covered the entire land mass of modern Scotland, destroyed any traces of human habitation that may have existed before the Mesolithic period . It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, as the ice sheet retreated after the last glaciation . [31] [32]
Groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period. Neolithic habitation, burial and ritual sites are particularly common and well preserved in the Northern Isles and Western Isles , where a lack of trees led to most structures being built of local stone. [33]
The 2009 discovery in Scotland of a 4000-year-old tomb with burial treasures at Forteviot , near Perth , the capital of a Pictish Kingdom in the 8th and 9th centuries AD, is unrivalled anywhere in Britain. It contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves. [34] [35]
Scotland may have been part of a Late Bronze Age maritime trading culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age , which included other Celtic nations , and the areas that became England, France, Spain, and Portugal. [36] [37] [38] [39]
In the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. [40] In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, known as “Skerrabra”. When the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. [40] [41] William Watt of Skaill, the local laird , began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses, the work was abandoned in 1868. [41] The site remained undisturbed until 1913, when during a single weekend the site was plundered by a party with shovels who took away an unknown quantity of artefacts. [40] In 1924, another storm swept away part of one of the houses and it was determined the site should be made secure and more seriously investigated. [40] The job was given to University of Edinburgh ‘s Professor Vere Gordon Childe who travelled to Skara Brae for the first time in mid-1927. [40]
Roman influence
Main article: Scotland during the Roman Empire
The written protohistory of Scotland began with the arrival of the Roman Empire in southern and central Great Britain, when the Romans occupied what is now England and Wales, administering it as a province called Britannia . Roman invasions and occupations of southern Scotland were a series of brief interludes.
Edinburgh Castle . Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of this early settlement is unclear.
According to the Roman historian Tacitus , the Caledonians “turned to armed resistance on a large scale”, attacking Roman forts and skirmishing with their legions . In a surprise night-attack, the Caledonians very nearly wiped out the whole 9th Legion until it was saved by Agricola’s cavalry. [42]
In AD 83–84, the General Gnaeus Julius Agricola defeated the Caledonians at the Battle of Mons Graupius . Tacitus wrote that, before the battle, the Caledonian leader, Calgacus , gave a rousing speech in which he called his people the “last of the free” and accused the Romans of “making the world a desert and calling it peace” (freely translated). [42] After the Roman victory, Roman forts were briefly set along the Gask Ridge close to the Highland line (only Cawdor near Inverness is known to have been constructed beyond that line). Three years after the battle, the Roman armies had withdrawn to the Southern Uplands . [43]
The Romans erected Hadrian’s Wall to control tribes on both sides of the wall [44] so the Limes Britannicus became the northern border of the Roman Empire; although the army held the Antonine Wall in the Central Lowlands for two short periods – the last of these during the time of Emperor Septimius Severus from 208 until 210. [45]
The Roman military occupation of a significant part of what is now northern Scotland lasted only about 40 years; although their influence on the southern section of the country, occupied by Brythonic tribes such as the Votadini and Damnonii , would still have been considerable between the first and fifth centuries. The Welsh term Hen Ogledd (“Old North”) is used by scholars to describe what is now the North of England and the South of Scotland during its habitation by Brittonic -speaking people around AD 500 to 800. [44] According to writings from the 9th and 10th centuries, the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata was founded in the 6th century in western Scotland. [46] [47] The ‘traditional’ view is that settlers from Ireland founded the kingdom, bringing Gaelic language and culture with them. However, recently some archaeologists have argued against this view, saying there is no archaeological or placename evidence for a migration or a takeover by a small group of elites. [48]
Middle Ages
Main articles: Scotland in the Early Middle Ages , Scotland in the High Middle Ages and Scotland in the Late Middle Ages
The class I Pictish stone at Aberlemno known as Aberlemno 1 or the Serpent Stone.
The Kingdom of the Picts (based in Fortriu by the 6th century) was the state that eventually became known as “Alba” or “Scotland”. The development of “Pictland”, according to the historical model developed by Peter Heather , was a natural response to Roman imperialism. [49] Another view places emphasis on the Battle of Dun Nechtain , and the reign of Bridei m. Beli (671–693), with another period of consolidation in the reign of Óengus mac Fergusa (732–761). [50]
The Kingdom of the Picts as it was in the early 8th century, when Bede was writing, was largely the same as the kingdom of the Scots in the reign of Alexander I (1107–1124). However, by the tenth century, the Pictish kingdom was dominated by what we can recognise as Gaelic culture, and had developed a traditional story of an Irish conquest around the ancestor of the contemporary royal dynasty, Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin). [51] [52] [53]
From a base of territory in eastern Scotland north of the River Forth and south of the River Oykel , the kingdom acquired control of the lands lying to the north and south. By the 12th century, the kings of Alba had added to their territories the English -speaking land in the south-east and attained overlordship of Gaelic -speaking Galloway and Norse -speaking Caithness ; by the end of the 13th century, the kingdom had assumed approximately its modern borders. However, processes of cultural and economic change beginning in the 12th century ensured Scotland looked very different in the later Middle Ages.
The push for this change was the reign of David I and the Davidian Revolution . Feudalism, government reorganisation and the first legally recognised towns (called burghs ) began in this period. These institutions and the immigration of French and Anglo-French knights and churchmen facilitated cultural osmosis, whereby the culture and language of the low-lying and coastal parts of the kingdom’s original territory in the east became, like the newly acquired south-east, English-speaking, while the rest of the country retained the Gaelic language, apart from the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland, which remained under Norse rule until 1468. [54] [55] [56] The Scottish state entered a largely successful and stable period between the 12th and 14th centuries, there was relative peace with England, trade and educational links were well developed with the Continent and at the height of this cultural flowering John Duns Scotus was one of Europe’s most important and influential philosophers.
The Wallace Monument commemorates William Wallace , the 13th-century Scottish hero.
The death of Alexander III in March 1286, followed by that of his granddaughter Margaret, Maid of Norway , broke the centuries-old succession line of Scotland’s kings and shattered the 200-year golden age that began with David I. Edward I of England was asked to arbitrate between claimants for the Scottish crown, and he organised a process known as the Great Cause to identify the most legitimate claimant. John Balliol was pronounced king in the Great Hall of Berwick Castle on 17 November 1292 and inaugurated at Scone on 30 November, St. Andrew’s Day . Edward I, who had coerced recognition as Lord Paramount of Scotland , the feudal superior of the realm, steadily undermined John’s authority. [57] In 1294, Balliol and other Scottish lords refused Edward’s demands to serve in his army against the French. Instead the Scottish parliament sent envoys to France to negotiate an alliance. Scotland and France sealed a treaty on 23 October 1295, known as the Auld Alliance (1295–1560). War ensued and King John was deposed by Edward who took personal control of Scotland. Andrew Moray and William Wallace initially emerged as the principal leaders of the resistance to English rule in what became known as the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296–1328). [58]
The nature of the struggle changed significantly when Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick , killed his rival John Comyn on 10 February 1306 at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries . [59] He was crowned king (as Robert I) less than seven weeks later. Robert I battled to restore Scottish Independence as King for over 20 years, beginning by winning Scotland back from the Norman English invaders piece by piece. Victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 proved the Scots had regained control of their kingdom. In 1315, Edward Bruce , brother of the King, was briefly appointed High King of Ireland during an ultimately unsuccessful Scottish invasion of Ireland aimed at strengthening Scotland’s position in its wars against England. In 1320 the world’s first documented declaration of independence, the Declaration of Arbroath , won the support of Pope John XXII , leading to the legal recognition of Scottish sovereignty by the English Crown.
However, war with England continued for several decades after the death of Bruce. A civil war between the Bruce dynasty and their long-term Comyn-Balliol rivals lasted until the middle of the 14th century. Although the Bruce dynasty was successful, David II’s lack of an heir allowed his half-nephew Robert II to come to the throne and establish the Stewart Dynasty . [55] [60] The Stewarts ruled Scotland for the remainder of the Middle Ages . The country they ruled experienced greater prosperity from the end of the 14th century through the Scottish Renaissance to the Reformation . This was despite continual warfare with England, the increasing division between Highlands and Lowlands , and a large number of royal minorities. [60] [61]
This period was the height of the Franco-Scottish alliance. The Scots Guard – la Garde Écossaise – was founded in 1418 by Charles VII of France . The Scots soldiers of the Garde Écossaise fought alongside Joan of Arc against England during the Hundred Years War . [62] In March 1421, a Franco-Scots force under John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan , and Gilbert de Lafayette, defeated a larger English army at the Battle of Baugé . Three years later, at the Battle of Verneuil , the French and Scots lost around 7000 men. [63] The Scottish intervention contributed to France’s victory in the war.
Early modern era
Main article: Scotland in the Early Modern Era
James VI succeeded to the throne of England and Ireland (as James I) in 1603.
In 1502, James IV of Scotland signed the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Henry VII of England . He also married Henry’s daughter, Margaret Tudor , setting the stage for the Union of the Crowns . For Henry, the marriage into one of Europe’s most established monarchies gave legitimacy to the new Tudor royal line. [64] A decade later, James made the fateful decision to invade England in support of France under the terms of the Auld Alliance . He was the last British monarch to die in battle, at the Battle of Flodden . [65] Within a generation the Auld Alliance was ended by the Treaty of Edinburgh . France agreed to withdraw all land and naval forces. In the same year, 1560, John Knox realised his goal of seeing Scotland become a Protestant nation and the Scottish parliament revoke papal authority in Scotland. [66] Mary, Queen of Scots , a Catholic and former queen of France, was forced to abdicate in 1567. [67]
In 1603, James VI, King of Scots inherited the thrones of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Ireland , and became King James I of England and Ireland, and left Edinburgh for London. [68] With the exception of a short period under the Protectorate , Scotland remained a separate state, but there was considerable conflict between the crown and the Covenanters over the form of church government . The Glorious Revolution of 1688–89 saw the overthrow of the King James VII of Scotland and II of England by the English Parliament in favour of William and Mary . As late as the 1690s, Scotland experienced famine, which reduced the population of parts of the country by at least 20 per cent. [69]
In 1698, the Scots attempted an ambitious project to secure a trading colony on the Isthmus of Panama . Almost every Scottish landowner who had money to spare is said to have invested in the Darien scheme . Its failure bankrupted these landowners, but not the burghs. Nevertheless, the nobles’ bankruptcy, along with the threat of an English invasion, played a leading role in convincing the Scots elite to back a union with England. [70] [71]
On 22 July 1706, the Treaty of Union was agreed between representatives of the Scots Parliament and the Parliament of England and the following year twin Acts of Union were passed by both parliaments to create the united Kingdom of Great Britain with effect from 1 May 1707. [19]
18th century
With trade tariffs with England now abolished, trade blossomed, especially with Colonial America . The clippers belonging to the Glasgow Tobacco Lords were the fastest ships on the route to Virginia. Until the American War of Independence in 1776, Glasgow was the world’s premier tobacco port, dominating world trade. [72] The disparity between the wealth of the merchant classes of the Scottish Lowlands and the ancient clans of the Scottish Highlands grew, amplifying centuries of division.
David Morier’s depiction of the Battle of Culloden .
The deposed Jacobite Stuart claimants had remained popular in the Highlands and north-east, particularly amongst non- Presbyterians , including Roman Catholics and Episcopalian Protestants . However, two major Jacobite Risings launched in 1715 and 1745 failed to remove the House of Hanover from the British throne. The threat of the Jacobite movement to the United Kingdom and its monarchs effectively ended at the Battle of Culloden , Great Britain’s last pitched battle . This defeat paved the way for large-scale removals of the indigenous populations of the Highlands and Islands, known as the Highland Clearances .
The Scottish Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution made Scotland into an intellectual, commercial and industrial powerhouse [73] –so much so Voltaire said “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation.” [74] With the demise of Jacobitism and the advent of the Union, thousands of Scots, mainly Lowlanders, took up numerous positions of power in politics, civil service, the army and navy, trade, economics, colonial enterprises and other areas across the nascent British Empire . Historian Neil Davidson notes “after 1746 there was an entirely new level of participation by Scots in political life, particularly outside Scotland.” Davidson also states “far from being ‘peripheral’ to the British economy, Scotland – or more precisely, the Lowlands – lay at its core.” [75]
19th century
Shipping on the Clyde, by John Atkinson Grimshaw , 1881
The increased the number of Scottish MPs and widened the franchise to include more of the middle classes. [76] From the mid-century there were increasing calls for Home Rule for Scotland and the post of Secretary of State for Scotland was revived. [77] Towards the end of the century Prime Ministers of Scottish descent included William E. Gladstone , [78] and the Earl of Rosebery . [79] In the later 19th century the growing importance of the working classes was marked by Keir Hardie ‘s success in the Mid Lanarkshire by-election, 1888 , leading to the foundation of the Scottish Labour Party , which was absorbed into the Independent Labour Party in 1895, with Hardie as its first leader. [80]
Glasgow became one of the largest cities in the world, and known as “the Second City of the Empire” after London. [81] After 1860 the Clydeside shipyards specialised in steamships made of iron (after 1870, made of steel), which rapidly replaced the wooden sailing vessels of both the merchant fleets and the battle fleets of the world. It became the world’s pre-eminent shipbuilding centre. [82] The industrial developments, while they brought work and wealth, were so rapid that housing, town-planning, and provision for public health did not keep pace with them, and for a time living conditions in some of the towns and cities were notoriously bad, with overcrowding, high infant mortality, and growing rates of tuberculosis. [83]
Walter Scott , whose Waverley Novels helped define Scottish identity in the 19th century.
While the Scottish Enlightenment is traditionally considered to have concluded toward the end of the 18th century, [84] disproportionately large Scottish contributions to British science and letters continued for another 50 years or more, thanks to such figures as the physicists James Clerk Maxwell and Lord Kelvin , and the engineers and inventors James Watt and William Murdoch , whose work was critical to the technological developments of the Industrial Revolution throughout Britain. [85] In literature the most successful figure of the mid-19th century was Walter Scott . His first prose work, Waverley in 1814, is often called the first historical novel. [86] It launched a highly successful career that probably more than any other helped define and popularise Scottish cultural identity. [87] In the late 19th century, a number of Scottish-born authors achieved international reputations, such as Robert Louis Stevenson , Arthur Conan Doyle , J. M. Barrie and George MacDonald . [88] Scotland also played a major part in the development of art and architecture. The Glasgow School , which developed in the late 19th century, and flourished in the early 20th century, produced a distinctive blend of influences including the Celtic Revival the Arts and Crafts Movement , and Japonisme , which found favour throughout the modern art world of continental Europe and helped define the Art Nouveau style. Proponents included architect and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh . [89]
This period saw a process of rehabilitation for Highland culture. In the 1820s, as part of the Romantic revival , tartan and the kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland, but across Europe, [90] [91] prompted by the popularity of Macpherson’s Ossian cycle [92] [93] and then Walter Scott’s Waverley novels. [94] However, the Highlands remained very poor and traditional. [95] The desire to improve agriculture and profits led to the Highland Clearances , in which much of the population of the Highlands suffered forced displacement as lands were enclosed, principally so that they could be used for sheep farming. The clearances followed patterns of agricultural change throughout Britain, but were particularly notorious as a result of the late timing, the lack of legal protection for year-by-year tenants under Scots law , the abruptness of the change from the traditional clan system, and the brutality of many evictions. [96] One result was a continuous exodus from the land—to the cities, or further afield to England, Canada, America or Australia. [97] The population of Scotland grew steadily in the 19th century, from 1,608,000 in the census of 1801 to 2,889,000 in 1851 and 4,472,000 in 1901. [98] Even with the development of industry there were not enough good jobs. As a result, during the period 1841–1931, about 2 million Scots migrated to North America and Australia, and another 750,000 Scots relocated to England. [99]
The Disruption Assembly was painted by David Octavius Hill .
After prolonged years of struggle in the Kirk, in 1834 the Evangelicals gained control of the General Assembly and passed the Veto Act, which allowed congregations to reject unwanted “intrusive” presentations to livings by patrons. The following “Ten Years’ Conflict” of legal and political wrangling ended in defeat for the non-intrusionists in the civil courts. The result was a schism from the church by some of the non-intrusionists led by Dr Thomas Chalmers , known as the Great Disruption of 1843 . Roughly a third of the clergy, mainly from the North and Highlands, formed the separate Free Church of Scotland . [100] In the late 19th century growing divisions between fundamentalist Calvinists and theological liberals resulted in a further split in the Free Church as the rigid Calvinists broke away to form the Free Presbyterian Church in 1893. [101] Catholic Emancipation in 1829 and the influx of large numbers of Irish immigrants, particularly after the famine years of the late 1840s, mainly to the growing lowland centres like Glasgow, led to a transformation in the fortunes of Catholicism. In 1878, despite opposition, a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical hierarchy was restored to the country, and Catholicism became a significant denomination within Scotland. [101]
Industrialisation, urbanisation and the Disruption of 1843 all undermined the tradition of parish schools. From 1830 the state began to fund buildings with grants; then from 1846 it was funding schools by direct sponsorship; and in 1872 Scotland moved to a system like that in England of state-sponsored largely free schools, run by local school boards. [102] The historic University of Glasgow became a leader in British higher education by providing the educational needs of youth from the urban and commercial classes, as opposed to the upper class. [103] The University of St Andrews pioneered the admission of women to Scottish universities. From 1892 Scottish universities could admit and graduate women and the numbers of women at Scottish universities steadily increased until the early 20th century. [104]
Early 20th century
Royal Scots with captured Japanese flag, Burma , January 1945.
Scotland played a major role in the British effort in the First World War . It especially provided manpower, ships, machinery, fish and money. [105] With a population of 4.8 million in 1911, Scotland sent over half a million men to the war, of whom over a quarter died in combat or from disease, and 150,000 were seriously wounded. [106] Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig was Britain’s commander on the Western Front.
The war saw the emergence of a radical movement called “ Red Clydeside ” led by militant trades unionists. Formerly a Liberal stronghold, the industrial districts switched to Labour by 1922, with a base among the Irish Catholic working class districts. Women were especially active in building neighbourhood solidarity on housing issues. However, the “Reds” operated within the Labour Party and had little influence in Parliament and the mood changed to passive despair by the late 1920s. [107]
The shipbuilding industry expanded by a third and expected renewed prosperity, but instead a serious depression hit the economy by 1922 and it did not fully recover until 1939. The interwar years were marked by economic stagnation in rural and urban areas, and high unemployment. [108] Indeed, the war brought with it deep social, cultural, economic, and political dislocations. Thoughtful Scots pondered their declension, as the main social indicators such as poor health, bad housing, and long-term mass unemployment, pointed to terminal social and economic stagnation at best, or even a downward spiral. Service abroad on behalf of the Empire lost its allure to ambitious young people, who left Scotland permanently. The heavy dependence on obsolescent heavy industry and mining was a central problem, and no one offered workable solutions. The despair reflected what Finlay (1994) describes as a widespread sense of hopelessness that prepared local business and political leaders to accept a new orthodoxy of centralised government economic planning when it arrived during the Second World War . [109]
The Second World War brought renewed prosperity, despite extensive bombing of cities by the Luftwaffe. It saw the invention of radar by Robert Watson-Watt , which was invaluable in the Battle of Britain as was the leadership at RAF Fighter Command of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding . [110]
Since 1945
After 1945, Scotland’s economic situation became progressively worse due to overseas competition, inefficient industry, and industrial disputes. [111] Only in recent decades has the country enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance. Economic factors contributing to this recovery include a resurgent financial services industry, electronics manufacturing , (see Silicon Glen ), [112] and the North Sea oil and gas industry. [113] The introduction in 1989 by Margaret Thatcher’s government of the Community Charge (widely known as the Poll Tax) one year before the rest of the United Kingdom, contributed to a growing movement for a return to direct Scottish control over domestic affairs. [114] Following a referendum on devolution proposals in 1997 , the Scotland Act 1998 [115] was passed by the United Kingdom Parliament to establish a devolved Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government with responsibility for most laws specific to Scotland. [116]
Government and politics
Main articles: Politics of Scotland , Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government
The debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament building (left) and the Scottish Parliament building itself (right)
Scotland’s head of state is the monarch of the United Kingdom, currently Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952). The regnal numbering “Elizabeth II” caused controversy around the time of the Queen’s coronation because there had never been an Elizabeth I in Scotland. A legal action, MacCormick v. Lord Advocate (1953 SC 396), was brought to contest the right of the Queen to entitle herself Elizabeth II within Scotland, arguing that this was a breach of Article 1 of the Treaty of Union. The Crown won the case. It was decided that future British monarchs would be numbered according to either their English or their Scottish predecessors, whichever number is higher. [117] For instance any future King James would be styled James VIII—since the last Scottish King James was James VII (also James II of England, etc.)—while the next King Henry would be King Henry IX throughout the UK even though there have been no Scottish kings of that name.
Scotland has limited self-government within the United Kingdom, as well as representation in the UK Parliament. Executive and legislative powers respectively have been devolved to the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood in Edinburgh since 1999. The UK Parliament retains control over reserved matters specified in the Scotland Act 1998 , including UK taxes, social security, defence, international relations and broadcasting. [118] The Scottish Parliament has legislative authority for all other areas relating to Scotland, as well as a limited power to vary income tax . [119]
The Scottish Parliament can give legislative consent over devolved matters back to the UK Parliament by passing a Legislative Consent Motion if United Kingdom-wide legislation is considered more appropriate for a certain issue. The programmes of legislation enacted by the Scottish Parliament have seen a divergence in the provision of public services compared to the rest of the UK. For instance, university education and care services for the elderly are free at point of use in Scotland, while fees are paid in the rest of the UK. Scotland was the first country in the UK to ban smoking in enclosed public places. [120]
Bute House , official residence of the First Minister of Scotland , located within 6 Charlotte Square , Edinburgh
The Scottish Parliament is a unicameral legislature with 129 members (MSPs): 73 of them represent individual constituencies and are elected on a first past the post system; the other 56 are elected in eight different electoral regions by the additional member system . MSPs serve for a four-year period (exceptionally five years from 2011–16). The Queen appoints one Member of the Scottish Parliament, nominated by the Parliament, to be First Minister . Other ministers are appointed by the First Minister and serve at his/her discretion. Together they make up the Scottish Government, the executive arm of the devolved government. [121]
In the 2011 election , the Scottish National Party (SNP) formed a majority government after winning 69 seats out of 129. This was the first majority government since the modern post-devolution Scottish Parliament was established in 1999. The leader of the SNP, Alex Salmond , continued as First Minister until 2014. The Labour Party continued as the largest opposition party, with the Conservative Party , the Liberal Democrats , and the Green Party also represented in the Parliament. As of 29 September 2014, there are also three independent MSPs sitting in parliament. On 19 November 2014, Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister of Scotland, the first woman to hold the office. The next Scottish Parliament general election is due to be held on 5 May 2016.
Scotland is represented in the British House of Commons by 59 MPs elected from territory-based Scottish constituencies. In the most recent general election , held on the 7th of May 2015, the Scottish National Party won 56 of the 59 seats and saw elected the youngest current member of the House of Commons, Mhairi Black . [122] The next United Kingdom general election is due to be held in May 2020. The Scotland Office represents the UK government in Scotland on reserved matters and represents Scottish interests within the UK government. [123] The Scotland Office is led by the Secretary of State for Scotland , who sits in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom ; the current incumbent is David Mundell .
Constitutional changes
A policy of devolution had been advocated by the three main UK parties with varying enthusiasm during recent history. The late Labour leader John Smith described the revival of a Scottish parliament as the “settled will of the Scottish people”. [124] The devolved Scottish Parliament was created after a referendum in 1997 found majority support for both creating the Parliament and granting it limited powers to vary income tax . The constitutional status of Scotland is nonetheless subject to ongoing debate.
The Scottish National Party (SNP), which supports Scottish independence , was first elected to form the Scottish Government in 2007 . The new government established a “ National Conversation ” on constitutional issues, proposing a number of options such as increasing the powers of the Scottish Parliament, federalism , or a referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. In rejecting the last option, the three main opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament created a commission to investigate the distribution of powers between devolved Scottish and UK-wide bodies. [125] The Scotland Act 2012 , based on proposals by the commission, is currently in the process of devolving additional powers to the Scottish Parliament. [126]
In August 2009 the SNP proposed a bill to hold a referendum on independence in November 2010. Opposition from all other major parties led to an expected defeat. [127] [128] [129] After the 2011 elections gave the SNP an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament, a referendum on independence for Scotland was held on 18 September 2014. [130] The referendum rejected independence by a majority of 55% to 45%. [131] [132] During the campaign, the three main parties in the UK Parliament pledged to extend the powers of the Scottish Parliament; an all-party commission chaired by Lord Smith of Kelvin has been formed. [133] [134]
Administrative subdivisions
Historical subdivisions of Scotland included the mormaerdom , stewartry , earldom , burgh , parish , county and regions and districts . Some of these names are still sometimes used as geographical descriptors.
Modern Scotland is subdivided in various ways depending on the purpose. In local government, there have been 32 single-tier council areas since 1996, [135] whose councils are responsible for the provision of all local government services. Community councils are informal organisations that represent specific sub-divisions of a council area.
In the Scottish Parliament, there are 73 constituencies and eight regions. For the Parliament of the United Kingdom, there are 59 constituencies. Until 2013 the Scottish fire brigades and police forces were based on a system of regions introduced in 1975. For healthcare and postal districts, and a number of other governmental and non-governmental organisations such as the churches, there are other long-standing methods of subdividing Scotland for the purposes of administration.
High Court of Justiciary , Edinburgh
Scots law has a basis derived from Roman law , [138] combining features of both uncodified civil law , dating back to the Corpus Juris Civilis , and common law with medieval sources . The terms of the Treaty of Union with England in 1707 guaranteed the continued existence of a separate legal system in Scotland from that of England and Wales. [139] Prior to 1611, there were several regional law systems in Scotland, most notably Udal law in Orkney and Shetland , based on old Norse law. Various other systems derived from common Celtic or Brehon laws survived in the Highlands until the 1800s. [140]
Scots law provides for three types of courts responsible for the administration of justice: civil, criminal and heraldic . The supreme civil court is the Court of Session , although civil appeals can be taken to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (or before 1 October 2009, the House of Lords ). The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The Court of Session is housed at Parliament House , in Edinburgh, which was the home of the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland with the High Court of Justiciary and the Supreme Court of Appeal currently located at the Lawnmarket . The sheriff court is the main criminal and civil court, hearing most cases. There are 49 sheriff courts throughout the country. [141] District courts were introduced in 1975 for minor offences and small claims. These were gradually replaced by Justice of the Peace Courts from 2008 to 2010. The Court of the Lord Lyon regulates heraldry.
For many decades the Scots legal system was unique for being the only legal system without a parliament. This ended with the advent of the Scottish Parliament, which legislates for Scotland. Many features within the system have been preserved. Within criminal law, the Scots legal system is unique in having three possible verdicts: “guilty”, “not guilty” and “ not proven “. [142] Both “not guilty” and “not proven” result in an acquittal , typically with no possibility of retrial in accordance with the rule of double jeopardy . There is however the possibility of a retrial where new evidence emerges at a later date that might have proven conclusive in the earlier trial at first instance, where the person acquitted subsequently admits the offence or where it can be proved that the acquittal was tainted by an attempt to pervert the course of justice – see the provisions of the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011 . Many laws differ between Scotland and the other parts of the United Kingdom, and many terms differ for certain legal concepts. Manslaughter , in England and Wales, is broadly similar to culpable homicide in Scotland, and arson is called wilful fire raising . Indeed, some acts considered crimes in England and Wales, such as forgery, are not so in Scotland. Procedure also differs. Scots juries, sitting in criminal cases, consist of fifteen, rather than twelve jurors, as is more common in English-speaking countries.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) manages the prisons in Scotland, which collectively house over 8,500 prisoners. [143] The Cabinet Secretary for Justice is responsible for the Scottish Prison Service within the Scottish Government.
Geography and natural history
The island of Little Cumbrae with Isle of Arran in the background (left). Traigh Seilebost Beach on the Isle of Harris (right)
The mainland of Scotland comprises the northern third of the land mass of the island of Great Britain, which lies off the north-west coast of Continental Europe . The total area is 78,772 km2 (30,414 sq mi), [144] comparable to the size of the Czech Republic. Scotland’s only land border is with England, and runs for 96 kilometres (60 mi) between the basin of the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast and the North Sea is to the east. The island of Ireland lies only 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the south-western peninsula of Kintyre ; [145] Norway is 305 kilometres (190 mi) to the east and the Faroes , 270 kilometres (168 mi) to the north.
The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and the Kingdom of England [146] and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway. [19] Important exceptions include the Isle of Man , which having been lost to England in the 14th century is now a crown dependency outside of the United Kingdom; the island groups Orkney and Shetland , which were acquired from Norway in 1472; [144] and Berwick-upon-Tweed , lost to England in 1482.
The geographical centre of Scotland lies a few miles from the village of Newtonmore in Badenoch . [147] Rising to 1,344 metres (4,409 ft) above sea level, Scotland’s highest point is the summit of Ben Nevis , in Lochaber , while Scotland’s longest river, the River Tay , flows for a distance of 190 kilometres (118 mi). [148] [149]
Geology and geomorphology
Main article: Geology of Scotland
Relief map of Scotland
The whole of Scotland was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages and the landscape is much affected by glaciation. From a geological perspective, the country has three main sub-divisions.
The Highlands and Islands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault , which runs from Arran to Stonehaven . This part of Scotland largely comprises ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian , which were uplifted during the later Caledonian Orogeny . It is interspersed with igneous intrusions of a more recent age, remnants of which formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and Skye Cuillins .
A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstones found principally along the Moray Firth coast. The Highlands are generally mountainous and the highest elevations in the British Isles are found here. Scotland has over 790 islands divided into four main groups: Shetland, Orkney, and the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides . There are numerous bodies of freshwater including Loch Lomond and Loch Ness . Some parts of the coastline consist of machair , a low lying dune pasture land.
The Central Lowlands is a rift valley mainly comprising Paleozoic formations. Many of these sediments have economic significance for it is here that the coal and iron bearing rocks that fuelled Scotland’s industrial revolution are found. This area has also experienced intense volcanism, Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh being the remnant of a once much larger volcano. This area is relatively low-lying, although even here hills such as the Ochils and Campsie Fells are rarely far from view.
The Southern Uplands are a range of hills almost 200 kilometres (124 mi) long, interspersed with broad valleys. They lie south of a second fault line (the Southern Uplands fault) that runs from Girvan to Dunbar . [150] [151] [152] The geological foundations largely comprise Silurian deposits laid down some 4–500 million years ago. The high point of the Southern Uplands is Merrick with an elevation of 843 m (2,766 ft). [18] [153] [154] [155] The Southern Uplands is home to the UK’s highest village, Wanlockhead (430 m or 1,411 ft above sea level). [152]
Climate
Main article: Climate of Scotland
The climate of Scotland is temperate and oceanic , and tends to be very changeable. As it is warmed by the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic , it has much milder winters (but cooler, wetter summers) than areas on similar latitudes, such as Labrador , southern Scandinavia , the Moscow region in Russia, and the Kamchatka Peninsula on the opposite side of Eurasia . However, temperatures are generally lower than in the rest of the UK, with the coldest ever UK temperature of −27.2 °C (−17.0 °F) recorded at Braemar in the Grampian Mountains , on 11 February 1895. [156] Winter maxima average 6 °C (42.8 °F) in the Lowlands, with summer maxima averaging 18 °C (64.4 °F). The highest temperature recorded was 32.9 °C (91.2 °F) at Greycrook , Scottish Borders on 9 August 2003. [157]
The west of Scotland is usually warmer than the east, owing to the influence of Atlantic ocean currents and the colder surface temperatures of the North Sea . Tiree , in the Inner Hebrides, is one of the sunniest places in the country: it had more than 300 hours of sunshine in May 1975. [157] Rainfall varies widely across Scotland. The western highlands of Scotland are the wettest, with annual rainfall in a few places exceeding 3,000 mm (118.1 in). [158] In comparison, much of lowland Scotland receives less than 800 mm (31.5 in) annually. [159] Heavy snowfall is not common in the lowlands, but becomes more common with altitude. Braemar has an average of 59 snow days per year, [160] while many coastal areas average fewer than 10 days of lying snow per year. [159]
Economy and infrastructure
A drilling rig located in the North Sea .
Scotland has a western style open mixed economy closely linked with the rest of Europe and the wider world. Traditionally, the Scottish economy has been dominated by heavy industry underpinned by shipbuilding in Glasgow, coal mining and steel industries . Petroleum related industries associated with the extraction of North Sea oil have also been important employers from the 1970s, especially in the north east of Scotland.
De-industrialisation during the 1970s and 1980s saw a shift from a manufacturing focus towards a more service -oriented economy. Edinburgh is the financial services centre of Scotland, with many large finance firms based there, including: Lloyds Banking Group (owners of HBOS ); the Government owned Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Life . Edinburgh was ranked 15th in the list of world financial centres in 2007, but fell to 37th in 2012, following damage to its reputation, [179] and in 2014 was ranked 64th. [180]
In 2012, total Scottish exports (excluding intra-UK trade) were estimated to be £26 billion, of which 59% (£15.4 billion) were attributable to manufacturing. [181] Scotland’s primary exports include whisky , electronics and financial services. The United States, Netherlands, Germany, France and Norway constitute the country’s major export markets. [181] Scotland’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), including oil and gas produced in Scottish waters, was estimated at £150 billion for the calendar year 2012. [4] If Scotland became independent, it would hold 95% of the UK’s current oil and gas reserves if they were split geographically using a median line from the English-Scottish border.[ citation needed ] If the reserves were split by population, that figure would be reduced to 9%. [182] Scotland also has renewable energy potential , especially in tidal energy and offshore wind. [183]
Scotland was, and still is, famous for its shipbuilding industry, which has produced world-class ships such as Queen Elizabeth 2 (pictured)
Whisky is probably the best known of Scotland’s manufactured products. Exports increased by 87% in the decade to 2012 [184] and were valued at £4.3 billion in 2013, which was 85% of Scotland’s food and drink exports. [185] It supports around 10,000 jobs directly and 25,000 indirectly. [186] It may contribute £400-682 million to Scotland, rather than several billion pounds, as more than 80% of whisky produced is owned by non-Scottish companies. [187] Tourism is also widely recognised as a key contributor to the Scottish economy. A briefing published in 2002 by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) for the Scottish Parliament’s Enterprise and Life Long Learning Committee stated that tourism accounted for up to 5% of GDP and 7.5% of employment. [188]
In February 2012, the Centre for Economics and Business Research concluded that “Scotland receives no net subsidy” from the UK, as greater per capita tax generation in Scotland balanced out greater per capita public spending. [189] More recent data, from 2012–13, show that Scotland generated 9.1% (£53.1bn; this included a geographical share of North Sea oil revenue – without it, the figures were 8.2% and £47.6bn) of the UK’s tax revenues and received 9.3% (£65.2bn) of spending. [190] Scotland’s public spending deficit in 2012–13 was £12bn, a £3.5bn increase on the previous year; over the same period, the UK’s deficit decreased by £2.6bn. [191] Over the past thirty years, Scotland contributed a relative budget surplus[ clarification needed ] of almost £20billion to the UK economy. [192]
In the first quarter of 2014, the Scottish economy grew by 1.0%, above the 0.8% recorded for the UK. [193] It also expanded by a further 0.9% in the second quarter of the year, this time the same rate as that of the UK. [194] As of October 2014, Scotland outperforms the UK as a whole in all three labour market indicators. The Scottish unemployment rate of 5.5% is below the UK rate of 6.0%, the Scottish employment rate of 73.9% is higher than the UK figure of 73.0% and the rate of economic inactivity is 21.7% in Scotland but 22.2% in the UK. [195]
Religion
Main article: Religion in Scotland
Iona Abbey , an early centre of Christianity in Scotland
Just over half (54%) of the Scottish population reported being a Christian while nearly 37% reported not having a religion in a 2011 census. [243] Since the Scottish Reformation of 1560, the national church (the Church of Scotland , also known as The Kirk ) has been Protestant and Reformed in theology. Since 1689 it has had a Presbyterian system of church government, and enjoys independence from the state. [18] About 12% of the population are currently members of the Church of Scotland, with 40% claiming affinity. The Church operates a territorial parish structure, with every community in Scotland having a local congregation.
Scotland also has a significant Roman Catholic population, 19% claiming that faith, particularly in the west. [244] After the Reformation, Roman Catholicism in Scotland continued in the Highlands and some western islands like Uist and Barra , and it was strengthened during the 19th century by immigration from Ireland. Other Christian denominations in Scotland include the Free Church of Scotland , various other Presbyterian offshoots, and the Scottish Episcopal Church .
Islam is the largest non-Christian religion (estimated at around 40,000, which is less than 0.9% of the population), [245] and there are also significant Jewish , Hindu and Sikh communities, especially in Glasgow. [245] The Samyé Ling monastery near Eskdalemuir , which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2007, is the first Buddhist monastery in western Europe. [246]
Health care
Glasgow Royal Infirmary , an NHS Scotland hospital
Healthcare in Scotland is mainly provided by NHS Scotland , Scotland’s public health care system. This was founded by the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947 (later repealed by the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978) that took effect on 5 July 1948 to coincide with the launch of the NHS in England and Wales. However, even prior to 1948, half of Scotland’s landmass was already covered by state funded health care, provided by the Highlands and Islands Medical Service . [247] Healthcare policy and funding is the responsibility of the Scottish Government’s Health Directorates . The current Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing is Alex Neil and the Director-General (DG) Health and chief executive, NHS Scotland is Paul Gray. [248]
In 2008, the NHS in Scotland had around 158,000 staff including more than 47,500 nurses, midwives and health visitors and over 3,800 consultants. In addition, there are also more than 12,000 doctors, family practitioners and allied health professionals, including dentists, opticians and community pharmacists, who operate as independent contractors providing a range of services within the NHS in return for fees and allowances. These fees and allowances were removed in May 2010, and prescriptions are entirely free, although dentists and opticians may charge if the patient’s household earns over a certain amount, about £30,000 per annum. [249]
Life expectancy for those born in Scotland between 2010 and 2012 is 76.5 years for males and 80.7 years for females. [250] This is the lowest of any of the four countries of the UK. [250]
Military
Vanguard-class nuclear submarine at HMNB Clyde
Of the money spent on UK defence, about £3.3 billion can be attributed to Scotland as of 2013. Although Scotland has a long military tradition predating the Treaty of Union with England, its armed forces now form part of the British Armed Forces , with the notable exception of the Atholl Highlanders , Europe’s only legal private army. In 2006, the infantry regiments of the Scottish Division were amalgamated to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland . Other distinctively Scottish regiments in the British Army include the Scots Guards , the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the Scottish Transport Regiment , a Territorial Army Regiment of the Royal Logistic Corps .
Because of their topography and perceived remoteness, parts of Scotland have housed many sensitive defence establishments, with mixed public feelings. [251] [252] [253] Between 1960 and 1991, the Holy Loch was a base for the US fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines . [254] Today, Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde , 25 miles (40 kilometres) north west of Glasgow, is the base for the four Trident -armed Vanguard class ballistic missile submarines that comprise the UK’s nuclear deterrent . Scapa Flow was the major Fleet base for the Royal Navy until 1956.
Two frontline Royal Air Force bases are also located in Scotland. These are RAF Leuchars and RAF Lossiemouth , the last of which is the most northerly air defence fighter base in the United Kingdom. A third, RAF Kinloss will close as an RAF unit in 2013–14. RAF Leuchars is due to be turned into an army barracks, ending the RAF’s connection in Fife . [255]
The only open-air live depleted uranium weapons test range in the British Isles is located near Dundrennan . [256] As a result, over 7000 potentially toxic munitions lie on the seabed of the Solway Firth . [257] [258]
Culture
A Pipe Major playing the Great Highland Bagpipe
Scottish music is a significant aspect of the nation’s culture, with both traditional and modern influences. A famous traditional Scottish instrument is the Great Highland Bagpipe , a wind instrument consisting of three drones and a melody pipe (called the chanter), which are fed continuously by a reservoir of air in a bag. Bagpipe bands , featuring bagpipes and various types of drums, and showcasing Scottish music styles while creating new ones, have spread throughout the world. The clàrsach (harp), fiddle and accordion are also traditional Scottish instruments, the latter two heavily featured in Scottish country dance bands. Today, there are many successful Scottish bands and individual artists in varying styles including Annie Lennox , Amy Macdonald , Runrig , Boards of Canada , Cocteau Twins , Deacon Blue , Franz Ferdinand , Susan Boyle , Emeli Sande , Texas , The View , The Fratellis , Twin Atlantic and Biffy Clyro . Other Scottish musicians include Shirley Manson , Paolo Nutini and Calvin Harris . [259]
Scotland has a literary heritage dating back to the early Middle Ages. The earliest extant literature composed in what is now Scotland was in Brythonic speech in the 6th century, but is preserved as part of Welsh literature . [260] Later medieval literature included works in Latin, [261] Gaelic, [262] Old English [263] and French. [264] The first surviving major text in Early Scots is the 14th-century poet John Barbour ‘s epic Brus , focusing on the life of Robert I, [265] and was soon followed by a series of vernacular romances and prose works. [266] In the 16th century the crown’s patronage helped the development of Scots drama and poetry, [267] but the accession of James VI to the English throne removed a major centre of literary patronage and Scots was sidelined as a literary language. [268] Interest in Scots literature was revived in the 18th century by figures including James Macpherson , whose Ossian Cycle made him the first Scottish poet to gain an international reputation and was a major influence on the European Enlightenment. [269] It was also a major influence on Robert Burns , whom many consider the national poet, [270] and Walter Scott , whose Waverley Novels did much to define Scottish identity in the 19th century. [271] Towards the end of the Victorian era a number of Scottish-born authors achieved international reputations as writers in English, including Robert Louis Stevenson , Arthur Conan Doyle , J. M. Barrie and George MacDonald . [272] In the 20th century the Scottish Renaissance saw a surge of literary activity and attempts to reclaim the Scots language as a medium for serious literature. [273] Members of the movement were followed by a new generation of post-war poets including Edwin Morgan , who would be appointed the first Scots Makar by the inaugural Scottish government in 2004. [274] From the 1980s Scottish literature enjoyed another major revival, particularly associated with a group of writers including Irvine Welsh . [273] Scottish poets who emerged in the same period included Carol Ann Duffy , who, in May 2009, was the first Scot named UK Poet Laureate . [275]
Television in Scotland is largely the same as UK-wide broadcasts, however the national broadcaster is BBC Scotland , a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation , the publicly funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It runs three national television stations , and the national radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio nan Gaidheal , amongst others. Scotland also has some programming in the Gaelic language. BBC Alba is the national Gaelic-language channel. The main Scottish commercial television station is STV . National newspapers such as the Daily Record , The Herald , and The Scotsman are all produced in Scotland. [276] Important regional dailies include the Evening News in Edinburgh The Courier in Dundee in the east, and The Press and Journal serving Aberdeen and the north. [276] Scotland is represented at the Celtic Media Festival , which showcases film and television from the Celtic countries. Scottish entrants have won many awards since the festival began in 1980. [277]
As one of the Celtic nations , Scotland and Scottish culture is represented at interceltic events at home and over the world. Scotland hosts several music festivals including Celtic Connections (Glasgow), and the Hebridean Celtic Festival (Stornoway). Festivals celebrating Celtic culture, such as Festival Interceltique de Lorient ( Brittany ), the Pan Celtic Festival (Ireland), and the National Celtic Festival ( Portarlington , Australia), feature elements of Scottish culture such as language, music and dance. [278] [279] [280] [281] [282] [283] [284]
Sport
The Old Course at St Andrews
Sport is an important element in Scottish culture, with the country hosting many of its own national sporting competitions. It enjoys independent representation at many international sporting events including the FIFA World Cup , the Rugby Union World Cup , the Rugby League World Cup , the Cricket World Cup and the Commonwealth Games , but not at the Olympic Games where Scottish athletes are part of the Great Britain team. Scotland has its own national governing bodies, such as the Scottish Football Association (the second oldest national football association in the world) [285] and the Scottish Rugby Union . Variations of football have been played in Scotland for centuries, with the earliest reference dating back to 1424. [286] Association football is the most popular sport and the Scottish Cup is the world’s oldest national trophy. [287]
Scotland contested the first ever international football game in 1872 against England. [288] The match took place at Hamilton Crescent , Glasgow, home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club . Scottish clubs have been successful in European competitions with Celtic winning the European Cup in 1967, Rangers and Aberdeen winning the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1972 and 1983 respectively, and Aberdeen also winning the UEFA Super Cup in 1983. Dundee United have also made it to a European final, reaching the UEFA Cup Final in 1987, but losing on aggregate 2-1 to IFK Göteborg .
With the modern game of golf originating in 15th century Scotland, the country is promoted as the home of golf . [289] [290] [291] To many golfers the Old Course in the Fife town of St. Andrews , an ancient links course dating to before 1574, is considered a site of pilgrimage. [292] The world’s oldest golf tournament, and golf’s first major, is The Open Championship , which was first played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland, with Scottish golfers winning the earliest majors . [293] There are many other famous golf courses in Scotland , including Carnoustie , Gleneagles , Muirfield , and Royal Troon . Other distinctive features of the national sporting culture include the Highland games , curling and shinty . In boxing, Scotland has had 13 world champions, including Ken Buchanan , Benny Lynch and Jim Watt .
Scotland has competed at every Commonwealth Games since 1930 and has won 356 medals in total—91 Gold, 104 Silver and 161 Bronze. [294] Edinburgh played host to the Commonwealth Games in 1970 and 1986 , and most recently Glasgow in 2014 . [295]
National symbols
Main article: National symbols of Scotland
Saint Andrew depicted on a 16th-century coat of arms of the burgh of St. Andrews
The image of St. Andrew , martyred while bound to an X-shaped cross, first appeared in the Kingdom of Scotland during the reign of William I . [296] Following the death of King Alexander III in 1286 an image of Andrew was used on the seal of the Guardians of Scotland who assumed control of the kingdom during the subsequent interregnum . [297] Use of a simplified symbol associated with Saint Andrew, the saltire , has its origins in the late 14th century; the Parliament of Scotland decreeing in 1385 that Scottish soldiers should wear a white Saint Andrew’s Cross on the front and back of their tunics. [298] Use of a blue background for the Saint Andrew’s Cross is said to date from at least the 15th century. [299] Since 1606 the saltire has also formed part of the design of the Union Flag . There are numerous other symbols and symbolic artefacts, both official and unofficial, including the thistle , the nation’s floral emblem (celebrated in the song, The Thistle o’ Scotland ), the Declaration of Arbroath , incorporating a statement of political independence made on 6 April 1320, the textile pattern tartan that often signifies a particular Scottish clan and the royal Lion Rampant flag. [300] [301] [302] Highlanders can thank James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose , for the repeal in 1782 of the Act of 1747 prohibiting the wearing of tartans. [303]
Although there is no official national anthem of Scotland , [304] Flower of Scotland is played on special occasions and sporting events such as football and rugby matches involving the Scotland national teams and since 2010 is also played at the Commonwealth Games after it was voted the overwhelming favourite by participating Scottish athletes. [305] Other currently less popular candidates for the National Anthem of Scotland include Scotland the Brave , Highland Cathedral , Scots Wha Hae and A Man’s A Man for A’ That .
St Andrew’s Day , 30 November, is the national day , although Burns’ Night tends to be more widely observed, particularly outside Scotland. In 2006, the Scottish Parliament passed the St. Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007 , designating the day an official bank holiday . [306] Tartan Day is a recent innovation from Canada.
The national animal of Scotland is the unicorn , which has been a Scottish heraldic symbol since the 12th century. [307]
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Who was the last Whig Prime Minister of the UK? | The Whigs
The Whigs
▼ Primary Sources ▼
The Whigs
In the late 17th century the term Whig was used to describe those opposed to the religious policies of Charles II . In 1714 Queen Anne became very ill. The true heir to the throne was James Stuart , the son of James II . Many Tory ministers supported James becoming king. However, James Stuart was a Catholic and was strongly opposed by the Whigs . A group of Whigs visited Anne just before she died and persuaded her to sack her Tory ministers. With the support of the Whigs, Queen Anne nominated Prince George of Hanover as the next king of Britain. When George arrived in England, he knew little about British politics nor could he speak very much English. George therefore became very dependent on the Whigs who had arranged for him to become king. This included Robert Walpole who was made Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1715.
Walpole was such a powerful figure in the government he became known as Prime Minister, the first in Britain's history. He was also given 10 Downing Street by Prince George , which became the permanent home of all future Prime Ministers.
Robert Walpole believed that the strength of a country depended on its wealth. The main objective of Walpole's policies was to achieve and maintain this wealth. For example, he helped the business community sell goods by removing taxes on foreign exports.
Walpole did all he could to avoid war, as he believed it drained a country of its financial resources. However, in 1739 Britain became involved in a war with Spain. George II was in favour of the war and became Britain's last king to lead his troops into battle. Walpole, who thought the war was unnecessary, did not provide the dynamic leadership needed during a war. The Tory opposition accused Walpole of not supplying enough money for the British armed forces. Robert Walpole gradually lost the support of the House of Commons , and in February 1742 he was forced to resign from office.
Charles Fox was one of the most important Whigs in the 18th century. After 1780 Fox became a supporter of parliamentary reform . He advocated the disfranchisement of rotten and pocket boroughs and the redistribution of these seats to the fast growing industrial towns. When Lord Frederick North's government fell in March 1782, Fox became Foreign Secretary in Rockingham's Whig government. Fox left the government in July 1782, on the death of the Marquis of Rockingham as he was unwilling to serve under the new prime minister, Lord Sherburne. Sherburne appointed the twenty-three year old William Pitt as his Chanchellor of the Exchequer. Pitt had been a close political friend of Fox and after this the two men became bitter enemies.
For a short period in 1783 the Duke of Portland became leader of the Whig administration. The Duke of Portland's government was concerned with the power of the East India Company and in 1783 Charles Fox attempted to persuade Parliament to pass a bill that would replace the company's directors with a board of commissioners. George III made it known to the House of Lords that he would consider anyone voting with the Bill an enemy. As a result of this interference, Portland's government resigned.
When the French Revolution broke out in 1789 Charles Fox was initially enthusiastic describing it as the "greatest event that has happened in the history of the world". He expected the creation of a liberal, constitutional monarchy and was horrified when King Louis XVI was executed. When war broke out between Britain and France in February 1793, Fox criticised the government and called for a negotiated end to the dispute. Although Fox's views were supported by the Radicals, many people regarded him as defeatist and unpatriotic.
In April 1792, a group of pro-reform Whigs to form the Friends of the People . Three peers ( Lord Porchester , Lord Lauderdale and Lord Buchan ) and twenty-eight Whig MPs joined the group. Other leading members included Earl Grey , Richard Sheridan , Major John Cartwright , Lord John Russell , George Tierney,Thomas Erskine and Samuel Whitbr ead . The main objective of the the society was to obtain "a more equal representation of the people in Parliament" and "to secure to the people a more frequent exercise of their right of electing their representatives". Charles Fox was opposed to the formation of this group as he feared it would lead to a split the Whig Party.
On 30th April 1792, Earl Grey introduced a petition in favour of constitutional reform. He argued that the reform of the parliamentary system would remove public complaints and "restore the tranquillity of the nation". He also stressed that the Friends of the People would not become involved in any activities that would "promote public disturbances". Although Charles Fox had refused to join the Friends of the People , in the debate that followed, he supported Grey's proposals. When the vote was taken, Grey's proposals were defeated by 256 to 91 votes.
On 6th May 1793, Earl Grey once again introduced a parliamentary reform bill. Grey argued that one of the basic principles established by the Glorious Revolution of 1688 was the freedom of elections to the House of Commons . Grey added that "a man ought not to be governed by laws, in the framing of which he had not a voice, either in person or by his representative, and that he ought not to be made to pay any tax to which he should not have consented in the same way." Grey also attacked William Pitt , the Prime Minister, for the way that he exploited the present system. Grey pointed out that Pitt had created 30 new peers who nominated or indirectly influenced the return of a total of 40 MPs.
Charles Fox and Richard Sheridan supported Grey in the debate that followed. Robert Jenkinson and Lord Mornington , spoke against. So also did William Pitt who argued that any reform at this time would give encouragement to the Radicals in Britain who were supporting the French Revolution . When the vote was taken, Grey's proposals were defeated by 282 to 41. Members of the Friends of the People now realised they had no chance of persuading the House of Commons to accept parliamentary reform and the group disbanded.
In February, 1806 Lord Grenville was invited by the king to form a new Whig administration. Grenville, along with his Foreign Secretary, Charles Fox , were strong opponents of the slave trade . Grenville and Fox had both spoken against the trade in nearly all the debates on the subject since the first time it was discussed in the House of Commons in 1789.
Grenville was determined to bring an end to British involvement in the slave trade. Fox and William Wilberforce led the campaign in the House of Commons , whereas Grenville, had the more difficult task of persuading the House of Lords to accept the measure. Grenville made a passionate speech where he argued that the trade was "contrary to the principles of justice, humanity and sound policy" and criticised fellow members for "not having abolished the trade long ago". When the vote was taken the Abolition of the Slave Trade bill was passed in the House of Lords by 41 votes to 20. In the House of Commons it was carried by 114 to 15.
Lord Grenville now turned his attention to Catholic Emancipation . However, with the death of Charles Fox in September, 1806, Grenville government was severely weakened. When George III rejected Grenville's attempt to bring an end to Catholic disabilities in March 1807, he resigned from office.
Several attempts were made to persuade Grenville to return to government but he preferred to work from the backbenches. He continued to campaign against slavery and in 1815 argued against the Corn Laws . Grenville did support the introduction of the Six Acts and this led to Lord Liverpool offering his a place in his government. He refused and in 1823 a paralytic attack brought an end to his political career.
In June 1830 Earl Grey made an impressive speech on the need for parliamentary reform . The Duke of Wellington , the prime minister and leader of the Tories in Parliament, replied that the "existing system of representation was as near perfection as possible". It was now clear that the Tories would be unwilling to change the electoral system and that if people wanted reform they had to give their support to the Whigs .
On 15th November, 1830 Wellington's government was defeated in a vote in the House of Commons . The new king, William IV , was more sympathetic to reform than his predecessor and decided to ask Earl Grey to form a government. As soon as Grey became prime minister he formed a cabinet committee to produce a plan for parliamentary reform. Details of the proposals were announced on 3rd February 1831. The bill was passed by the Commons by a majority of 136, but despite a powerful speech by Earl Grey, the bill was defeated in the House of Lords by forty-one.
The defeat of the Reform Act resulted in Earl Grey calling a general election. The Whigs were popular with the electorate and after the election they had a larger majority than before in the House of Commons . A second reform bill was also defeated in the House of Lords . When people heard the news, riots took place in several British towns. Nottingham Castle was burnt down and in Bristol the Mansion House was set on fire.
In 1832 Earl Grey tried again but the House of Lords refused to pass the bill. Grey now appealed to William IV for help. He agreed to Grey's request to create a large number of new Whig peers. When the Lords heard the news, they agreed to pass the Reform Act . On 7th June the Bill received the Royal Assent and large crowds celebrated in the streets of Britain.
Earl Grey now called another general election and in the new reformed House of Commons , Grey had a majority of over a hundred. The Whigs were now able to introduce and pass a series of reforming measures. This included an act for the abolition of slavery in the colonies and the 1833 Factory Act . After the passing of the 1834 Poor Law Earl Grey decided to resign from office. Lord Melbourne was asked to became prime minister. Melbourne was not an ambitious man and had to be persuaded to take the post. William IV was now in a much stronger position and after four months the king dismissed the Whig government and appointed the Tory , Sir Robert Peel as his new prime minister.
As there were more Whigs than Tories in the House of Commons , Sir Robert Peel found government very difficult. Peel was only able to pass legislation that was supported by the Whigs and on 8th April 1835 he resigned from office. William IV was forced to reappoint Lord Melbourne as his prime minister.
Lord Melbourne was opposed to some of the measures being advocated by some of the more radical Whigs such as Lord John Russell and Henry Brougham . This included the proposal for the secret ballot and the idea of state education. Russell, the Home Secretary in Melbourne's government, did manage to introduce some progressive legislation. His first measure concerned the reform of local government. For many years most English towns had been under the control of a self-elected body of aldermen and councillors. Under the terms of the Municipal Corporations Act , these men now had to be elected by the whole body of ratepayers.
In 1836 Lord John Russell was responsible for several new reforms including the establishment of the civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths, and the legislation of the marriage of dissenters in their own chapels. The following year Russell proposed a bill that would reduce the number of offences to which capital punishment was applicable.
William IV died in 1837. His replacement, the eighteen year old Queen Victoria , unlike William, was willing to listen to the advice of her prime minister. Melbourne, whose wife and only child had recently died, became her mentor. An apartment was made available for him at Windsor Castle and it was estimated that Melbourne spent six hours a day with Victoria. Her feelings for Melbourne were clearly expressed in her journal. On one occasion she wrote: "he is such an honest, good kind-hearted man and is my friend, I know it."
Some people objected to this close relationship. Melbourne's old friend, Thomas Barnes , the editor of The Times wrote "Is it for the Queen's service - is it for the Queen's dignity - is it becoming - is it commonly descent?" In the autumn of 1837 a rumour circulated that the 18 year old Victoria was considering marrying the 58 year old Melbourne. Queen Victoria wrote in her diary that she was growing very fond of Melbourne and loved listening to him talk: "Such stories of knowledge; such a wonderful memory; he knows about everybody and everything,; who they were and what they did. He has such a kind and agreeable manner; he does me the world of good."
In 1839 Lord Melbourne resigned after a defeat in the House of Commons . Sir Robert Peel , the Tory leader, now became prime minister. It was the custom for the Queen's ladies of the bedchamber should be of the some political party as the government. Peel asked Victoria to replace the Whig ladies with Tory ladies. When Victoria refused, Peel resigned and Melbourne and the Whigs returned to office.
Lord John Russell had for a long time been a advocate of reforming the Corn Laws . This eventually became the policy of Lord Melbourne's government. However, when the proposed changes were defeated by thirty-six votes on 18th May, 1841, the government resigned. The following general election resulted in Sir Robert Peel becoming prime minister.
Although Lord Russell was opposed to most of Peel's policies, he fully supported his plans to reform the Corn Laws . In a speech he made on 22nd November 1845, Russell called for a total repeal of the corn laws. Peel was also coming to the same conclusion and with Whig support, the corn laws were finally abolished on 26th June 1846.
When Sir Robert Peel resigned the following month, Lord John Russell was asked to form a new government. Russell immediate problem was to deal with the potato famine in Ireland . Russell attempted to help by allocating £10 million to be spent on public works in Ireland. Russell also vigorously supported John Fielden in his campaign for factory reform. This resulted in the passing of the 1847 Factory Act . The following year he managed to persuade parliament to accept his government's Public Health Act that gave municipalities powers to set up local boards of health.
In December 1851 Lord John Russell sacked his foreign minister, Lord Palmerston , after he had recognised the government formed by Napoleon III in France without consulting with his fellow cabinet ministers. Palmerston gained revenge by proposing an amendment to the Militia Bill that was carried by eleven votes. As a result of this defeat Russell resigned and was replaced by the Earl of Derby .
Lord John Russell returned to the government when Lord Aberdeen became prime minister in 1852. In December Russell brought before the cabinet a new parliamentary reform bill. Many members of the cabinet, including Lord Palmerston , disagreed with the measure and threatened to resign. Disappointed by the lack of support from his colleagues, Russell decided to leave office.
Aberdeen's coalition government was very popular with the public at first. However, attitudes changed when Britain became involved in the Crimean War in 1854. Aberdeen was blamed for the mismanagement of the war and he was forced to resign in February 1855.
The aristocratic connotations surrounding the Whig name caused some politicians to refer to themselves as Liberals , a term used by reforming politicians in Europe. However, the term Liberal was not used officially until 1868 when William Gladstone became Prime Minister.
| John Russell, 1st Earl Russell |
Which pop group’s last UK number 1 single was entitled ‘Holler’? | History of Lord John Russell, 1st Earl Russell - GOV.UK
GOV.UK
Lord John Russell, 1st Earl Russell Whig 1865 to 1866, 1846 to 1852
Born
18 August 1792, Mayfair, London
Died
28 May 1878, Richmond Park, London
Dates in office
1865 to 1866, 1846 to 1852
Political party
Factory Act 1847: limitations on factory working hours.
Public Health Act 1848: improving the sanitary conditions of towns and populous places.
Interesting facts
He was the last Whig Prime Minister.
Charles Dickens dedicated the novel, A Tale of Two Cities, to him, “In remembrance of many public services and private kindnesses.”
“I have made mistakes, but in all I did my object was the public good.”
Lord John Russell, later Earl Russell, was the principal architect of the Great Reform Act in 1832, and was one of the main promoters of parliamentary reform in the nineteenth century. As Home Secretary, he reduced the number of criminal offences punishable by death, so that only murder and high treason could be punished by execution.
Russell was shy, vain and uninterested in cultivating the rapidly expanding media. This made his governments easy targets for radical critics who condemned his 1846 to 1852 ministry as aristocratic and out of touch.
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What is the name of the central family in ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’? | ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ cast: Where are the Griswolds now? | Fox News
‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ cast: Where are the Griswolds now?
Published December 24, 2012
Chevy Chase then and now. (Getty Entertainment )
Juliette Lewis then and now. (Getty Entertainment )
Beverly D'Angelo then and now. (Getty Entertainment )
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Decades after the Griswolds celebrated Christmas in the 1989 holiday hit “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” audiences around the world can still enjoy (and relate to) the family's tortured enthusiasm for the holidays. The film has become an American holiday classic that’s watched over and over each year. While the memorable characters are forever frozen in time (along with daughter Audrey's eyeballs and lower limbs), Snakkle.com takes a look at what happened to the actors who played them all so well.
Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold
Clark Griswold is determined to enjoy "the most fun-filled, old-fashioned family Christmas ever," so the famously hapless father invites a bunch of dysfunctional relatives to the Chicago home he shares with his wife Ellen and their kids Rusty and Audrey. Too bad his well-intentioned holiday plans quickly spiral out of control as he trips, falls and bumbles his way through one iconic scene after the other. After all, no Griswold Christmas celebration would be complete without 25,000 lights encasing the house, an electrocuted cat in the yard, an exploding turkey on the table and a S.W.A.T. team ready to break down the front door.
PHOTOS: See all 25 pics in the “Where are they now ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ gallery
Chevy Chase NOW
Chevy Chase reprised his role as Clark in the comedy “Vegas Vacation” (1997). Since then he’s continued acting with steady but lower profile work, like a two-episode guest appearance on “Brothers & Sisters” in 2007 and sporadic appearances on the program that launched his career in 1975, “Saturday Night Live.” More recently, fans saw Chase in his role as Pierce Hawthorne on the show “Community.” But perhaps his biggest achievement to date is his long-lasting relationship with Jayni Chase. The couple married in 1982, and they’ve raised three children together.
Juliette Lewis as Audrey
Audrey is still as snarky as ever, and she really lets loose when faced with the idea of spending her holiday trapped at home with “loved ones.” “Would it be indecent to ask the grandparents to stay at a hotel?” she asks. The answer is yes, so she’s forced to share a bed with her brother Rusty. In the film, she’s frozen from the waist down on a chilly expedition to get the family Christmas tree. No worries! “It’s all part of the experience!” shouts her dad about her frost-induced blindness.
Juliette Lewis NOW
Juliette Lewis was relatively unknown when she played Audrey in 1989—but her fortunes quickly improved. That year, Lewis began a four-year relationship with heartthrob Brad Pitt after the two met while working on a TV movie. “Dating Brad Pitt isn’t the most interesting thing that ever happened to me,” insists Lewis, who would later be married for two years to skateboarder Steve Berra. Perhaps she’s prouder of her Oscar nomination for her role as Danielle Bowden in the thriller “Cape Fear” (1991) or critically acclaimed roles in hits like “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (1993) and “Natural Born Killers” (1994). After quitting acting for six years to perform with her punk-rock band Juliette and the Licks, she’s now back on the small screen as Tammy in the TV show “The Firm.”
Beverly D’Angelo as Ellen Griswold
In this holiday installment of the Griswold family movies, Ellen returns as the levelheaded voice of reason. As always, she’s less than impressed with her husband’s efforts to create the perfect family memory. "Clark! Slow down! I don't want to spend the holidays dead!" she complains after they hop in the car to look for the perfect Christmas tree. Later she sums up the whole experience as best she can: “I don't know what to say, except, it's Christmas and we're all in misery.”
Beverly D’Angelo NOW
Beverly D’Angelo’s Hollywood career has run the gamut in the years since her Christmas adventure with Chevy Chase. She played the ill-fated Kitty Menendez in the made-for-television film “Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills” (1994) and Doris Vinyard in “American History X” (1998). Proving she can’t be typecast, D’Angelo shone as Barbara “Babs” Miller, Ari Gold’s mentor on “Entourage” (2005-2011). The actress’ love life has been just as varied. For a time she was married to Lorenzo Salviati, an Italian duke, and her seven-year relationship with Al Pacino produced twins Olivia and Anton in 2001. The couple split two years later.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Margo Chester
Snooty Margo Chester has no problem letting her neighbors know how much she hates their Christmas spirit – with or without her husband’s support! “If you’re not man enough to put an end to this s**t, then I am!” she snipes to Todd Chester of the chaos raging next door. Bah humbug!
Julia Louis-Dreyfus NOW
Despite her role as a not-so-nice neighbor, Julia Louise-Dreyfus must have been a very good girl because in 1990 she began a lucrative eight-year stint as Elaine Benes on “Seinfeld.” Even her voice became famous as she gave life to Gloria, Mr. Burn’s love interest, on “The Simpsons” from 2001 through 2008. Today she’s busy starring on the HBO comedy “Veep.” The mother of two sons is just as successful in her personal life – she’s been married to television writer Brad Hall since 1987.
| The Griswolds |
What real bird was later replaced by a fake one in traditional ‘hunts’ on Boxing Day? | 'Christmas Vacation' cast, 25 years later - CNN.com
'Christmas Vacation' cast, 25 years later
Breeanna Hare, CNN
Updated 10:29 AM ET, Mon January 26, 2015
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – Chevy Chase, who starred in the "Vacation" franchise as disaster-prone patriarch Clark Griswold, survived the "Christmas" installment to go on to movies like "Vegas Vacation" and "Hot Tub Time Machine," as well as TV comedies like "Community." He's filming another "Vacation" sequel set to bow in 2015.
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – Beverly D'Angelo played Clark's incredibly patient wife, Ellen, in all the "Vacation" movies and she has stayed busy on the big and small screens since. That includes stints in movies like "American History X" and "The House Bunny," and TV shows such as "Entourage" and "Law & Order: SVU." D'Angelo is also expected to appear in 2015's "Vacation."
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – How adorable was little Johnny Galecki as Rusty Griswold? Since his days helping Chase's Clark string up those Christmas lights, Galecki has become a consistent face on TV. Between "Roseanne" and "The Big Bang Theory," the former child star has some of the medium's biggest comedies on his resume.
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – Juliette Lewis played Griswold daughter Audrey, a part that has rotated through a few actresses since the original "Vacation" arrived in 1983. Lewis was a natural fit thanks to her comedic talent, but she's also become a drama giant too: She's since starred in movies like "Cape Fear," "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and more. Lewis is filming the Fox drama-mystery series, "Wayward Pines."
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – Diane Ladd already had an impressive career by the time she joined "Christmas Vacation" as Clark's mom, Nora Griswold, and she didn't slow down once that movie was done. Bouncing between movies and TV, Ladd has been in classics like "Primary Colors" and HBO's short-lived comedy "Enlightened."
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – Doris Roberts was another cast member whose career preceded her when she walked onto the set of "Christmas Vacation." After working on Broadway and starring in TV series like "Soap" and "Remington Steele," Roberts played a Griswold in-law long before she became the overbearing mother on "Everybody Loves Raymond."
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – We're pretty sure every family has at least one Cousin Eddie in the family tree. Randy Quaid made this kooky Griswold relative not only funny, but also endearing, and he reprised the role in 1997's "Vegas Vacation." Quaid's career has recently been overshadowed by gossip after he and his wife, Evi, sought asylum in Canada in 2010 on the grounds that there were "murderous people in Hollywood" out to get them. The couple reportedly tried to return to the United States in 2014 without success.
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – Miriam Flynn was so devoted to playing the memorable Cousin Catherine that she revived the role in 2003's made-for-TV "Christmas Vacation" sequel alongside Quaid. Outside the "Vacation" series, Flynn also has appeared in a number of TV series, and has done voice work for animated programs like "ChalkZone" and "The Land Before Time."
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – If the Griswolds' next-door neighbor Todd wasn't so snobby, we'd almost feel sorry for what he endured from the family over the holiday. Since his "Christmas" role, Nicholas Guest has stuck mainly to TV, including a part on the '90s sitcom "USA High." In recent years he's been more active as a voice actor, doing work in Disney hits like "Frozen" and "Tangled."
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – Right before we all came to know Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine on "Seinfeld," she was Margo, the other annoying neighbor sniping about the Griswolds. Louis-Dreyfus was fresh off a stint on "Saturday Night Live" when she starred in "Christmas Vacation," and she has held on to her funny bone in years since. Lately, she's winning Emmys with "Veep."
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – Being a lovable actor obviously runs in the Murray family. Brian Doyle-Murray, the older brother of Bill Murray, played an insufferable boss in "Christmas Vacation" but we can't help but adore him anyway. Doyle-Murray is now more likely to be found on the small screen, with roles in projects like "The Bill Engvall Show," "The Middle" and, most recently, "Sullivan & Son."
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – When you've done "The Crucible" and "Waiting for Godot" on Broadway, not to mention starring roles in "12 Angry Men" and "Tora! Tora! Tora!," "Christmas Vacation" is just a drop in the bucket. But we're always thrilled to see E.G. Marshall as Clark's father-in-law whenever we catch the comedy classic. The actor continued to work in film and TV right up until his death at age 84 in 1998.
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Photos: 'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now
'Christmas Vacation' cast: Where are they now – With a career that spanned more than five decades, Tony winner John Randolph was the kind of actor who defined "range." He appeared in TV, film and on the stage, and brought that versatility with him when he played Clark Griswold Sr. in "Christmas Vacation." Randolph died at age 88 in 2004.
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‘The knight of the doleful countenance’ refers to what literary figure? | Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997) – Knight of the Doleful Countenance
Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997)
Knight of the Doleful Countenance
In Chapter 19 of Part One of Don Quixote (1605-1615) by Miguel de Cervantes , Sancho Panza describes the Don as "El Caballero de la Triste Figura", which can be translated as "Knight of the Doleful Countenance". The phrase has a complex effect on many readers, partly because Don Quixote's response is itself complex. Panza has so dubbed him (he says) because the author of the Story which is being told about them needed a soubriquet at this point, and so wrote it in. This metafictional sophistication certainly makes it natural to assign to post-Cervantes versions of the KOTDC a high degree of selfconsciousness about being entrapped in a told story.
More immediately, the phrase clearly describes the comical half-crazed gaunt simpleton Knight of Part One, the quixotic old gentleman who believes he has been called upon to redress wrongs and who, in a world far more mundane than his chivalric romances have depicted, finds himself tilting against windmills in the belief that they are Giants . In the behaviour of this wasted ectomorph – whom illustrators have been wont to picture as hyperactive and praying-mantis-like – there is no glimmer of consciousness that he occupies an embarrassing position in a world which he takes to be Twice-Told but which – in fact, despite his assumption that he is being written – is without Story .
The KOTDC is also the saddened old man who, at the end of Part Two, now understands that the world he has been attempting to defend is nothing but a play of Shadows , and that secular reality was far harsher – and immeasurably less interesting – than the world of his dreams, the world he thought was being told. He has come to the end of his book. He turns his face and dies.
But what if he had lived on? As the term is used in this encyclopedia, the KOTDC is a figure of sustained, selfconscious Belatedness , a figure caught in a Thinning world who has not only failed to pass through any knot of Recognition into Eucatastrophe (>>> Healing ) but who has set his face against attempting to do so. He lives, therefore, in the aftermath of a profound disappointment in the nature of the world, and bears his nature as a kind of wound – Fisher-King imagery tends to suffuse descriptions of the KOTDC, even though he may be defined, like King Fisher in Michael Tippett 's Opera The Midsummer Marriage (1955) or King Haggard in Peter S Beagle 's The Last Unicorn (1968), as one who in fact refuses the role – which necessitates his attempts to recline within an aesthetic posture of world-weariness, or to rule a world he blights through his refusal to permit growth. He is an aristocrat who feigns to abjure a world whose contempt he has not actually earned. He remains quixotic, in the sense that he tends to retain an inveterate (though mournful) interest in the minutiae of science and in contriving aesthetic solutions to the problems of getting through the day; but the moment of truth for him is always something sunk deep into the past (> Stemma ), and the formulae which give shape to his day-to-day existence are entered into with a profound sigh.
The KOTDC re-entered literature in the first decades of the 19th century as a kind of Twin to Accursed Wanderers like the protagonist of Charles Maturin 's Melmoth the Wanderer (1820); he also very closely resembles the first literary Vampires – figures like Lord Ruthven (based on Lord Byron ) in John Polidori 's The Vampyre: A Tale (1819 chap). But the KOTDC reached full flower as an Icon in the form of the White Knight in Lewis Carroll 's Through the Looking-glass, and What Alice Found There (1871), through his Bondage to the progress of the Chess match whose rules shape the text (and cause him constantly to fall off his horse in a parody of the Knight's Move), because of the unavailing fertility of his mind (for none of his inventions work) and through his romantic melancholy. The White Knight, as portrayed by Sir John Tenniel (who was closely briefed by Carroll), is clearly modelled on Don Quixote.
KOTDC figures surface intermittently in the literature of Decadence : in Joris-Karl Huysmans 's À rebours (1884; trans as Against the Grain 1922), whose hero, Des Esseintes, attempts to seek aesthetic release; or in Villiers de L'Isle-Adam 's Axel (1890; trans 1925), whose eponymous hero wards off the secular world from within the Polder of an impregnable castle, inside which he engages in arcane dilettantism – he is famous for his closing utterance: "Live? Our servants will do that for us." He is parodied – as Axel Heist – in Victory (1915) by Joseph Conrad . The elderly aristocrat known as the Penguin in Gustav Meyrink 's Walpurgisnacht (1916; trans 1993), dancing like a spastic water spider over the ruins of his past life, is clearly a KOTDC, as are the marquises of Carabas (> Puss-In-Boots ) in Sylvia Townsend Warner 's "The Castle of Carabas" (in The Cat's Cradle Book coll 1940 US), for the original Marquise's guilt at betraying Puss has locked his descendants into a state of paralysed refusal – whenever one of them sees a cat, for instance, he swoons. A far more comprehensive figure is Lord Sepulchrave, the father of Titus in Mervyn Peake 's Gormenghast sequence (1946-1959). Sepulchrave's profound bondage to ritual, the enormously complicated pattern of his daily life, his posture, his distance, his haunted weariness: all amounts to a definitive portrait of the type.
Sepulchrave has almost certainly been a central influence – along with the White Knight – in the creation of many fantasy lords and mages at whose hearts despair gnaws, like King Haggard (see above), whose woundedness creates a genuine Waste Land ; and of numerous Dying-Earth characters in the works of writers like Michael Moorcock , whose Dancers at the End of Time sequence is rich in such figures, as are M John Harrison 's Viriconium books and Elizabeth Hand 's Winterlong sequence. The quixotism of Caesar Grailly, in The Knight on the Bridge (1982) by William Watson (1931- ), devolves under the pressure of history into a "sane" refusal of transcendental gesture. The guilt-ridden protagonists of Tanith Lee 's "Bite-Me-Not or Fleur de Fur" (1984), of Richard Grant's (1952- ) Rumors of Spring (1987), of Alexander Jablokov's sf Carve the Sky (1991) and of Paul Hazel 's The Wealdwife's Tale (1993) all show evidence of a continuing (and evolving) image. [JC]
This entry is taken from the Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997) edited by John Clute and John Grant. It is provided as a reference and resource for users of the SF Encyclopedia, but apart from possible small corrections has not been updated.
Encyclopedia of Fantasy
| Don Quixote |
According to legend who was the son of Uther Pendragon? | Benengeli | Article about Benengeli by The Free Dictionary
Benengeli | Article about Benengeli by The Free Dictionary
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Benengeli
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Don Quixote
(also Don Quijote), the hero of M. Cervantes’ novel El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha (2 vols., 1605-15).
While wandering about the ruined and oppressed Spain of the late 16th century, Don Quixote is always prepared to undertake knightly deeds in the name of love for humanity, even though life roughly crushes his illusions. The incongruity of the latter with historical reality leads to innumerable ironical and grotesque situations. Don Quixote embodies the tragedy of a humanist who becomes convinced that the ideals of justice and harmony in human relations cannot be realized. His tragicomic and humanistic meaning has universal human significance. Don Quixote, the “knight of the doleful countenance,” has been variously interpreted in works of world literature and art, and his name has come to be used to designate a man who is noble, bold, and magnanimous but remote from reality. Don Quixote has often been mentioned in the critical and journalistic essays of many Russian writers, including V. G. Belinskii, N. A. Dobroliubov, D. I. Pisarev, I. S. Turgenev, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, F. M. Dostoevsky, and A. V. Lunacharskii.
REFERENCES
Turgenev, I. S. “Gamlet i Don-Kikhot.” In Polnoe sobranie sochinenii i pisem v 28 tomakh. Soch., vol. 8. Moscow-Leningrad, 1964. Pages 169-92.
Derzhavin, K. N. Servantes: Zhizn’ i tvorchestvo. Moscow, 1958. Snetkova, N. Don Kikhot Servantesa. Moscow-Leningrad, 1965. Servantes i vsemirnaia literatura: Sb. statei. Moscow, 1969. Predmore, R. L. The World of Don Quixote. Cambridge (Mass.), 1967.
M. A. G
| i don't know |
What kind of creature is a fluke? | What does fluke mean?
A trematode; a parasitic flatworm of the trematoda class, related to the tapeworm.
The man had become infected with flukes after eating a meal of raw fish.
fluke(Noun)
Either of the two lobes of a whale's or similar creature's tail.
The dolphin had an open wound on the left fluke of its tail where the propeller had injured it.
fluke(Noun)
Any of the triangular blades at the end of an anchor, designed to catch the ground.
The fluke of the anchor was wedged between two outcroppings of rock and could not be dislodged.
fluke
A metal hook on the head of certain staff weapons (such as a bill), made in various forms depending on function, whether used for grappling or to penetrate armour when swung at an opponent.
The polearm had a wide, sharpened fluke attached to the central point.
fluke
In general, an offshoot from a central piece.
After casting the bronze statue, we filed down the flukes and spurs from the molding process.
Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:
Fluke(noun)
an instrument for cleaning out a hole drilled in stone for blasting
Fluke(noun)
an accidental and favorable stroke at billiards (called a scratch in the United States); hence, any accidental or unexpected advantage; as, he won by a fluke
Origin: [Cf. LG. flunk, flunka wing, the palm of an anchor; perh. akin to E. fly.]
Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:
Fluke
Fluke are an English electronic music group formed in the late 1980s by Mike Bryant, Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier with Julian Nugent as the band's manager. The band's conception was influenced by the members interest in the burgeoning acid house music scene and particularly the work of Cabaret Voltaire and Giorgio Moroder. The band are noted for their diverse range of electronic styles spanning the house, techno, ambient and blues genres; for their reclusivity, rarely giving interviews; and for lengthy timespans between albums. Many listeners know of Fluke only through the inclusion of their music in many blockbuster film soundtracks—most notably The Matrix Reloaded and Sin City—as well as featuring prominently on the soundtracks to Need for Speed: Underground 2 and the Wipeout video game series. The film The Experiment uses their song "YKK". To date Fluke have produced five original studio albums, two "best of" compilations and two live albums. Throughout their career they have made several changes to their line-up with credited appearances attributed to Neil Davenport playing guitars, Robin Goodridge on drums and Hugh Bryder as a DJ. When Fluke were touring for Risotto they were joined on stage by Rachel Stewart who acted as a personification of the band's official mascot, a character from the Wipeout series named Arial Tetsuo. Stewart continued as lead female vocalist and as a dancer for all of Fluke's live performances between 1997 and 1999.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:
Fluke
flōōk, n. a flounder: a parasitic trematoid worm which causes the liver-rot in sheep, so called because like a miniature flounder: a variety of kidney potato. [A.S. flóc, a plaice; cf. Ice. flóke.]
Fluke
flōōk, n. the part of an anchor which fastens in the ground.—adj. Fluk′y. [Prob. a transferred use of the foregoing.]
Fluke
flōōk, n. a successful shot made by chance, as at billiards: any unexpected advantage.
Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:
fluke
the test was a fluke.
Numerology
The numerical value of fluke in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
| Worm |
What used to be called the Trucial States? | * Fluke (Animals) - Definition,meaning - Online Encyclopedia
Schistosoma mansoni/japonicum/mekongi/haematobium ...
Gill Flukes (Dactylogyrus, Cichlid ogyrus, Tetraonchus)
S: Tiny worm -like flukes infest the gill membranes causing redness and slimy gills, panting at the surface, rapid breathing, and emaciation.
A: Flukes lay eggs that are resistant to medication.
High fluke: The fluke is also triangular and very thick. Flukes are lifted very high out of the water before a whale begins a deep dive.
Flukes
Tapeworms
Whipworms
Warble fly larvae, Rhino estrus giraffae - parasitic maggot that burro ws into lining of nose and throat.
Whale flukes often can be used as identifying markings, as is the case for humpback whale s. This is the method by which the publicized errant Humphrey the whale was identified in three separate sightings.
Last Chance to See
Great excitement as the giant of the ocean shows its tail! ...
A: The tail or fluke of a gray whale consists of two large flukes with a notch between them and is positioned horizontally on the whale . The tail fluke of an adult gray can measure over 3 metres (9 feet) across and weighs up to 180 kilograms (400 pounds)! ...
Members of this group include planarian s, tapeworms, and flukes. Flatworm s are soft-bodied invertebrates that have no body cavity, no circulatory system, and no respiratory system. Oxygen and nutrients must pass through their body wall by means of diffusion.
giant liver fluke s, rumen flukes (Paramphistomum spp.), and tapeworms (hydatid worm (Echinococcus granulosus) and Taenia spp.), nematodes (e.g.
The fin has two flukes, one on each side. They are both symmetrical and are flat and rigid and lie horizontally. The flukes move up and down while they swim. Flukes are usually 18 feet long. Blue Whale s have to breathe too, so they have blowholes situated on the top of their heads.
Their fluke or tail fin, which can be 5.5 m wide, is serrated and pointed at the tips. One of the humpback 's more spectacular behaviors is the breach. Breaching is a true leap where a whale generates enough upward force with its powerful flukes to lift approximately 2/3 of its body out of the water.
Blue whale s have a long, streamlined body that tapers to its tail flukes. The head of a blue whale is wide and flat and contains 50-60 ventral pleats that allow the mouth of the whale to expand and hold more water. This water is then pushed through 260-400 baleen plates that filter out food.
A small, toothed whale ; upperparts, top of pectoral fins, and flukes blackish; underparts and upper lip, white; dorsal fin small, situated posterior to the mid-point on back, the tip pointing backwards; pectoral fin short and "spear-shaped"; blowhole an oblique crescent left of midline; ...
A short beaked dolphin with a high dorsal fin with a broad base, situated about midway from snout to flukes. The colour is dark grey dorsally and light grey ventrally. The Bottlenose dolphin weights about 150-350 kg with maximum head and body length of about 4 m, with males being larger than females.
Colouration: mostly black, belly sometimes white, flippers and underside of flukes nearly all white, baleen plates black with black or olive-black bristle.
*** Although humpback whale s have a variety of individually unique markings and coloration patterns, the underneath surface of the flukes provides the best opportunity for identifying individuals.
They are small cetaceans, with robust bodies and small heads, flukes, and flippers. Reproductively, they differ from many cetaceans by breeding annually, calving in June or July and mating soon thereafter. This means females are nursing young while pregnant with next year's offspring.
Imported emerald s tend to have intestinal worms and should be taken to a veterinarian for treatment of both roundworm s and flukes. Captive-bred snake s are less likely to carry worms, but have a vet at least check a stool sample.
The body is robust and narrows rapidly in front of the huge tail flukes. Its colour is black (occasionally brown) and sometimes mottled, with white patches on the chin and belly. The head is large comprising 30% of the length of the body.
Humpback s are powerful swimmers, and they use their massive tail fin, called a fluke, to propel themselves through the water and sometimes completely out of it. These whale s, like others, regularly leap from the water, landing with a tremendous splash.
The unique white patches on their tail flukes, combined with notches in the flukes and other unique markings, make it possible to identify individual humpback whale s, and thus track their movements across their entire lifespan. We see some whale s return to the bay year after year.
Some Blue Whale s in the North Atlantic and North Pacific raise their tail fluke when diving. When breathing, the whale emits a spectacular vertical single column blow (up to 12 metres (40 feet), typically 9 metres (30 feet)) that can be seen from a great distance on a calm day.
The Dugong is a large, grey brown bulbous animal with a flattened fluked tail, like that of a whale , no dorsal fin, paddle like flippers and distinctive head shape. The broad flat muzzle and mouth are angled down to enable ease of grazing along the seabed.
I'm tremendously jealous though I probably shouldn't be; I guess I'm probably one of the few birders to totally fluke a sunbittern sighting when they had absolutely zero expectation of one - a bird flew past our boat as we were moored up photographing orinocco crocs having just seen the first tapir ...
Flukers (and other companies) produce a bubbling bowl that will put more moisture into the cage. If your humidity is not quite up to 70%, mist the enclosure, especially the leaves of the plants inside, daily. If the humidity is still too low, a humidifier might be necessary.
Dugong is the common name for a large, herbivorous, fully aquatic marine mammal, Dugong dugon, characterized by gray-colored, nearly hairless skin, paddle-like forelimbs, no hind limbs, a fluke-like (forked) tail, a sharply downturned snout, and tusks.
Dugong s are cousins of manatee s and share a similar plump appearance, but have a dolphin fluke-like tail. And unlike manatee s, which use freshwater areas, the dugong is strictly a marine mammal.
In the Cetaceans which are fully aquatic, the hind limbs have been so adapted to become the tail flukes - a single member. This 'tail' has the flukes horizontal rather than vertical like the tail of a fish. Others will toboggan on snow.
Cetaceans have long torpedo -shaped bodies and tails that end in flukes. They have an air or blow hole on the top of their head. Like most mammals, they give birth to live young and feed them milk. There are about 80 species in this order.
Top
Chiroptera - bats ...
Sitatunga is a common host animal for the parasite Schistosoma, a blood fluke found in mesentery blood vessels. (Delany, 1979)
When being pursued, sitatunga 's may avoid detection by submerging in swamps until only their nostrils and eyes remain above water. (Estes, 1991) ...
Their large bodies are streamlined (hydrodynamic), like a submarine, for moving through the water. Whale s have flukes or a tail used for swimming. The flukes are moved in an up-and-down motion to accelerate.
Whale s have streamlike bodies with highly compressed neck vertebrae, dorsal fins, and a tail with two finlike flukes arranged horizontally. Modern whale s have greatly elongated anterior skull bones, and the nostrils are located on the top of the head, forming the blowhole.
North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena japonica) - the smooth-edged flukes.
Photograph by Jim Scarff. Some rights reserved. (view image details)
NORTH PACIFIC RIGHT WHALE FACTS ...
16, 2016 " Scientists used the full DNA sequences of Schistosoma mansoni parasites from Africa and the French Caribbean to discover the fluke’s origins, map its historic transmission and identify the secrets ... read more
Jawless Fish Brains More Similar to Ours Than Previously Thought ...
Usually caused by a parasitic fluke infestation, a "floating" turtle is unable to submerge itself in water to swim. Our incredible vets rehabilitate numerous "floating" turtle s through a two-week treatment process, followed by a bit of extra recovery time before releasing them back into the wild.
This is the field Zimmer unblinkingly explores, replete with scenes of dissections that expose the worms, flukes, and single-celled organisms that invade a host. Gross! ...
The front edges of the flippers (which are up to 4m long) carry so many of these that they are wavy in outline, as is the deeply notched tail fluke. Their colour is variable: always black above, and dark through to almost white below.
'Tail lobbing' is another favourite pastime. This involves raising their broad tail flukes out of the water and then crashing them down. They will also use their flippers to slap the water surface. The behaviours may be useful in communication between individuals.
logging (resting)
skim feeding (feeding at or just below the water's surface)
posturing (arching its back bringing both flukes and head out of the water)
surface active group behavior (two or more whale s socializing at the surface).
Also, liver fluke s carried by elk can be fatal to moose . This double-whammy is believed to have been a key factor in the decline in moose populations. It is also one of the main reasons that wardens have begun to evict elk from Banff townsite ...
| i don't know |
Which publication used to call itself The London Charivari? | Punch, or the London Charivari: An Introduction
Victorian Web Home —> Periodicals —> Punch ]
Titlepages of Punch. Left to right: (1) Punch as Dionysius worshipped by nymphs and at least one drum-playing satyr. (2) Triumphant Re-eection of Mr. Punch — Member for Everywhere. (3) Punch as St. George slaying the Dragon.
The title of the famous magazine of Victorian humour, Punch, is probably short for Punchinello, adapted from the Neapolitan dialectal "polecenella," a young turkey cock, to the hooked bill of which the hooked nose of Punch's mask in the Commedia del Arte bears some resemblance.
One evening at the beginning of June, 1841 Mark Lemon and Henry Mayhew , met at the Edinburgh Castle in the Strand, London, to discuss the possibility of starting a new comic journal. Lemon and Mayhew were both reforming liberals and the plan was to combine humour and political comment. Others invited to the original meeting included Douglas Jerrold, a journalist with the reputation for campaigning against poverty, and John Leech , a medical student whose drawings had impressed Lemon. During the meeting at the Edinburgh Castle, someone remarked that a humourous magazine, like good punch, needed lemon. Mayhew, remarked "A capital idea! Let's call the paper 'Punch'."
Mark Lemon and Henry Mayhew found three other men to help finance the magazine, the printer, Joseph Last, the engraver, Ebenezer Landells and Stirling Coyne. Lemon and Mayhew recruited a team of young journalists and artists. Douglas Jerrold was probably the most important journalist on the magazine, but other writers who contributed included Shirley Brooks, William Wills and William Makepeace Thackeray . As well as John Leech, who was with the magazine from the start, Richard Doyle and Archibald Henning produced the drawings. (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jpunch.htm)
Thus, Punch, or the London Charivari , the famous illustrated magazine of humour, was founded by journalists Henry Mayhew (1812-87), Joseph Stirling Coyne (1803-68), and Mark Lemon (1809-7) in 1841 (first number published on 17 July). At first, a strongly radical journal, it gradually mellowed in outlook over the 1850s. One or two such comic papers had already appeared in London in the 1830s, notably Figaro in London (1831-9), edited first by Gilbert Abbott à Beckett, and then by Henry Mayhew, and Punchinello (1832) illustrated by George Cruikshank . Early imitators of Figaro were Mark Lemon's Punch in London and Thomas Hood's annual Comic Offering . Meantime, in Paris, Philippon's Charivari was all the rage, so it occurred to Ebenezer Landells, a draughtsman and wood-engraver, that a similar illustrated paper might do well in London. He submitted the idea to the popular journalist Henry Mayhew, who in turn enlisted the support of Mark Lemon, the well-known humourist, journalist, and dramatist.
In December 1842, owing to financial difficulties (although early numbers of Punch sold 6,000 copies a week, sales of at least 10,000 were needed to cover costs), the firm of Bradbury and Evans, both printers and publishers, acquired the magazine. The firm made the most of its capital investment in presses and types by printing both Punch and the novels of Dickens and Thackeray. Under its first editor, Lemon, Punch provided an outlet for comic writers such as Thackeray and such comic artists as John Leech, Richard Doyle, John Tenniel , Charles Keene (whose first drawing appeared in 1851, and who joined the staff in 1860), and George Du Maurier (who began contributing in 1860, and joined the staff in 1864), all of whom were also noted book illustrators. Other cartoonists who worked for Punch during this period included Harry Furniss, Linley Sambourne, Francis Carruthers Gould, and Phil May. This group usually referred to itself as "The Punch Brotherhood," although to outsiders they were "those Punch people."
In the 1840s a number of them were closely associated with Charles Dickens, who abandoned Chapman and Hall for Bradbury and Evans, the publishers of Punch, after they failed to secure him �1,000 clear on the December 1843, publication of A Christmas Carol . The magazine's artists were closely associated with the subsequent Christmas Books , John Leech being the principal illustrator for each of succeeding four. Furthermore, Mark Lemon, John Leech, Henry Mayhew, Douglas Jerrold, and Gilbert à Beckett played alongside Dickens in such amateur productions as Ben Jonson's Every Man in His Humour (1844). With Dickens the Brotherhood shared what were regarded as "radical" sentiments, including cynicism about government and a genuine concern about the welfare of the working poor.
Employers who treated their workers badly were also condemned. In 1843 Punch Magazine published Thomas Hood's poem "The Song of the Shirt." This powerful indictment of capitalism was supported by cartoons such as "Capital and Labour" and "Cheap Clothing", by John Leech, that illustrated the growth of inequality that was taking place in Britain during the 1840s. The magazine also campaigned against the Corn Laws , the 1834 Poor Law and reform of parliament. although Punch Magazine supported Moral Force Chartists it was totally opposed to those such as Feargus O'Connor who advocated the use of force to obtain the vote. [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jpunch.htm]
although there were still some social and political campaigns that Mark Lemon did support, such as a reduction in the hours of shopworkers and attacks on the the bungling of the Crimean War , after 1850, the magazine began more and more to reflect the conservative views of that the growing portion of the British middle class that were the Punch readership.
Though comic monthlies such as William Harrison Ainsworth 's Ainsworth's Magazine (1842-54) and various Christmas annuals continued to appear, Punch reigned supreme in the category of humorous journals. Its satire often had a political subject, such as the Second Reform Bill (1866-7) and parliamentary debates concerning Irish Home Rule in the 1880s. The journal not only attacked such politicians as Prime Ministers Sir Robert Peel and Benjamin Disraeli , but even royalty; on one occasion, the journal pointed out that while Prince Albert's annual stipend was �30,000, the total amount spent on educating the poor in England was only �10,000. The only serious threat to Punch was Fun, which featured the humour of W. S. Gilbert .
After Lemon's death in 1870, the editorship passed to Shirley Brooks; in 1874, he in turn was replaced by a Scot, the radical dramatist Tom Taylor, author of some hundred pieces for the stage, including a protest against the penal system, The Ticket of Leave Man (1863), and, perhaps of more significance to Americans, Our American Cousin (1858), the comedy that President Lincoln was watching on the night of Good Friday, 14 April, 1865, when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, D. C. In 1880, F. C. Burnand took over from Taylor, his twenty-seven year tenure marking a pronounced decline in the magazine's radical sentiments. The remaining editors were Owen Seamen (1906-1932), E. V. Knox (1932-1949), Cyril Bird (1949-1952) and Malcolm Muggeridge (1953-1957).
In the twentieth century Punch Magazine employed Britain's top cartoonists including F. H. Townsend, Frank Reynolds, Bernard Partridge, Alexander Boyd, Sidney Sime, Henry M. Brock, Cyril Bird, H. M. Bateman, Jack B. Yeats, Leonard Raven-Hill, George Stampa, Frederick Pegram, Lewis Baumer, George Belcher, George Morrow, Edmund Sullivan , Bert Thomas, James Dowd, F. G. Lewin, A. Wallis Mills, David Low and Leslie Illingworth. [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jpunch.htm]
According to The Oxford Companion to English Literature , From 1864 to 1956, the magazine used the famous cover drawing designed by Richard Doyle, when Muggeridge decided the journal needed a new look and had a different design, usually featuring Punch and his dog, Toby, each week. but retaining the original Doyle drawing at the top of the Charivari page.
| Punch (magazine) |
Which cocktail consists of vodka, Galliano and orange juice? | CHARIVARI | Richard Ford
Richard Ford
Books, Printed Ephemera and Manuscripts
CHARIVARI
[ C. S. Keene [ Charles Samuel Keene ] (1823-1891), Punch illustrator; Henry Keene; M. Jackson ]
Publication details:
Drawing undated. Jackson's letter on letterhead of 79 Warwick Road, Earl's Court, S.W. [ London ] 10 October 1891.
£90.00
The three items are unconnected, but clearly derive from the papers of a descendant. All three are in good condition, with light signs of age. ONE: The charcoal drawing, in colours, is on a 13 x 19.5 cm piece of wove paper, and is an impressionistic representation of his head, close cropped and with eyes closed, sleeping or in death. TWO: The letter from 'M. Jackson' is 3pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In it Jackson invites Henry Keene, shortly after C. S.
Keywords:
[ Linley Sambourne. ] Large printed 'Memorial Card', carrying engraving of 'the Liberal Monument to Mr. Gladstone erected within the Palace of Westminster'.
Author:
Linley Sambourne [ Edward Linley Sambourne ] (1844-1910), English cartoonist and illustrator who worked with Punch [ William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), Liberal Prime Minister ]
Publication details:
Without date or place. 'Linley Sambourne invt et delt V & C'.
£85.00
Printed in black on one side of a 19 x 29 cm piece of stiff card, with rounded corners. In fair condition, lightly-aged, with 4cm vertical closed tear at head. The memorial to a stern-faced Gladstone is depicted - a setting sun blazing behind it - between two mythical seated women, Justice on the right, and a hooded woman with a hand mirror on the left. In the background are the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. The card is made out in manuscript to 'Edward C Young' (with '186357' at foot), and the caption at the foot reads: 'This Memorial Card was issued to [ Edward C Young.
Keywords:
[ Sir John Tenniel and his Punch cartoons. ] Printed and illustrated invitation card to a private view of his drawings for 'Punch Cartoons'.
Author:
Sir John Tenniel (1820-1914), English illustrator, famed for his Punch cartoons and work with 'Lewis Carroll' (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) [ Punch, or the London Charivari; Fine Art Society ]
Publication details:
At the Fine Art Society's, 148 New Bond Street [ London ]. 30 March [ 1895 ].
£56.00
Printed in black on one side of a 12.5 x 17 cm card. In fair condition, on aged and creased paper, with a little light staining. To the right of the page is an illustration by Tenniel of Mr Punch holding Yorick's skull, while a pug dog looks on. Text reads: 'Sir John Tenniel requests the honour of a visit from [blank] and friend, On Saturday, March 30th, To the Private View of some of his Drawings for "Punch Cartoons," etc., At the Fine Art Society's, 148, New Bond Street. 10 to 6 o'clock.'
Keywords:
J. M. Montefiore, Chairman, Mark Lemon Fund [ Mark Lemon (1809-1870), editor of 'Punch' ]
Publication details:
[ Mark Lemon Fund. ] 5 January 1872.
£120.00
4pp., 12mo. Bifolium. In fair condition, on aged and worn paper. Headed '"Mark Lemon Fund."' Begins with communication from 'J. M. Montefiore, Chairman', dated 'Crawley, Oct. 1871', appealing for assistance for the 'Widow and unmarried Daughters of the late MARK LEMON - for thirty years Editor of "Punch"'', who are in 'straitened circumstances'. A list of 154 subscribers follows, each with the amount pledged, beginning with 'Joseph M. Montefiore, Esq.' (£35) and including 'Wilkie Collins, Esq.' (£5), 'Mrs.
Keywords:
'F. C.' [original drawings for cartoons in Punch, or the London Charivari]
Publication details:
The cartoons were published in Punch (London): 26 August 1865; 18 May and 2 June 1866; 18 May 1869.
£250.00
Four charming and amusing cartoons from Punch's golden age. All four are executed in a similar style, but the identity of the cartoonist or cartoonists is unknown. (The first of the two cartoons in Item Two below, as published by Punch, has the monogram signature 'F C' engraved in the bottom right-hand corner. No Punch cartoonist with these initials is apparent.) ONE: Captioned: 'Another Brilliant Idea, Only Brillianter!' 21 x 13.5cm. In good condition, on leaf of browned high-acidity paper torn from a notebook. Two men idle in a punt while two women hold up sheets.
Keywords:
Douglas William Jerrold (1803-1857), playwright, journalist and contributor to Punch
Publication details:
Putney. 29 November [no year].
£28.00
1p., 32mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. The note reads: 'My dear Webster, | I have fasted all the week in joyful expectation of the 1st of December. | Every truly your's [sic] | Douglas Jerrold'.
Keywords:
[Shirley Brooks, editor of Punch.] Autograph Letter Signed to William Glen, commending his 'friend's verses', which have 'an echo of Keats in them'.
Author:
Shirley Brooks [Charles William Shirley Brooks] (1816-1874), journalist and novelist, editor of Punch, 1870-1874 [William Glen; the Literary Gazette]
Publication details:
On letterhead of the Literary Gazette Office, 4 Bouverie Street, EC [London]. 5 October [circa 1858].
£45.00
1p., 12mo. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Brooks (who conducted the Literary Gazette between 1858 and 1859) writes that he has read Glen's 'friend's verses carefully, and with much pleasure. There is an echo of Keats in them, but no mere invitation.
Keywords:
[Victorian homoeopathy; homoeopathic; Punch, or the London Charivari]
Publication details:
Without place or date. [From 'Punch's Almanack', London, 1859.]
£80.00
1p.,12mo. Fifty-three lines of small type. Good, on lightly-aged and ruckled paper, with traces of mount on blank reverse. The item begins: 'MR. PUNCH is accustomed to receive letter and treaties, imploring him not to call homoeopathy fudge, and some of them attempting to assign reasons why he should not. In all these communications, the medical opponents of homoepathy are called "allopathists."' Later on the author comments: 'PROFESSOR HOLLOWAY is perhaps an allopathist; however he does not tell us on what principle his pills and ointments cure all diseases.
Keywords:
Autograph Note Signed from the editor of 'Punch' Mark Lemon, asking the publisher Frederick Chapman of Chapman & Hall to listen to a proposal from Joseph Swain, 'principal engraver upon Punch'.
Author:
Mark Lemon (1809-1870), editor of 'Punch' [Frederick Chapman (1823-1895), partner in the London publishers Chapman & Hall; Joseph Swain (1820-1909), wood engraver]
Publication details:
On letterhead of the Punch Office, 85, Fleet Street, with printed date 1853.
£56.00
2pp., 12mo. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with reverse of second leaf laid down on part of leaf removed from album. Addressed to 'Fredk Chapman Esq', the letter reads: 'My dear Sir, | Will you hear what Mr Swaine [sic] (long since principal engraver upon Punch) has to say & if you can serve him you will oblige | Yours very truly | Mark Lemon'.
Keywords:
Bernard Partridge [Sir John Bernard Partridge] (1861-1945), cartoonist and illustrator, best-known for his work with 'Punch'
Publication details:
Without place or date.
£20.00
On one side of a 4.5 x 13 cm strip of paper, cut from the bottom of a letter. In good condition, on lightly-aged paper. All in Partridge's hand. Reads: '[...]ment of time occupied. | With many regrets, | I am truly yours, | Bernard Partridge.'
Keywords:
Autograph Letter Signed ('F. C. Bernand') from the humorist Sir Francis Cowley Burnand to the illustrator Harry Furniss, lamenting that there will be 'no dinner for the Punch boys' in Christmas week, and discussing an unsuccessful illustration.
Author:
F. C. Burnand [Sir Francis Cowley Burnand] (1836-1917), English humorist and dramatist, a main contributor to 'Punch' [Harry Furniss (1854-1925), 'Punch' caricaturist and illustrator]
Publication details:
On Burnand's letterhead, 27 The Boltons, SW [London], 8 December 1891.
£56.00
2pp., landscape 12mo. Addressed to 'Dear Furniss'. He is glad to hear of Furniss's success: 'Your tour ends after the last dinner but one of the year. No dinner Xmas week! awful that isn't it? When all are feasting no dinner for the Punch boys!!' He hopes Furniss will be 'here with us'. Had Furniss been 'on the spot' Burnand would have got him 'to substitute something for your John Bull picture in almanack which no one (I do not speak of "The Table" but of our best friends outside) comprehends.
Keywords:
Autograph Letter Signed ('F C B') from the humorist F. C. Burnand [Sir Francis Cowley Burnand], joking about a prophecy made by his 'Punch' colleague Harry Furniss in a letter to 'The Times', addressed to 'Dear H. F. Vates et Vox Stellarum'.
Author:
F. C. Burnand [Sir Francis Cowley Burnand] (1836-1917), English humorist and dramatist, a main contributor to 'Punch' [Harry Furniss (1854-1925), 'Punch' caricaturist and illustrator]
Publication details:
On Bernand's letterhead, 27 The Boltons, SW [London], 21 July 1892.
£80.00
2pp., landscape 12mo. On aged and dusty paper. This item is a jocular response to a letter by Furniss, printed in The Times of 21 July 1892 under the heading 'A Parliamentary Prophecy'. Both the Times letter and the present item are published in Furniss's 'Confessions of a Caricaturist' (1901), with other matter and the context explained. In this item Burnand teases Furniss about a misprint ('Is that setter-up-of-type still alive?
Keywords:
Autograph Letter Signed from the satirist Percival Leigh to 'My dear Brooks' [fellow 'Punch' contributor Shirley Brooks], regarding his writing, the nature of the joke, the unsuitability of his Hampshire surroundings to literature, and other matters.
Author:
Percival Leigh (1813–1889), satirist, the first writer to carve his name into the 'Punch' table [Charles William Shirley Brooks (1816-1874), editor of 'Punch' from 1870 to his death]
Publication details:
Shirley Warren, near Southampton. 28 July 1865.
£120.00
4pp., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He considers the cut excellent, and is grateful to Brooks for having 'managed so well' with his article. 'Many such an article of mine has been sacrificed, though absolutely a pretty good one, and comparatively to that which stood in its place, superexcellent. But such is my luck. By the by, don't measure the quantity of all that I do by what appeareth.' He reports that 'Fred is much amused with the verses on the Queen's first baby. I said that there are two men here besides himself who understand a joke.
Keywords:
Autograph Letter Signed ('W P Frith') from the artist William Powell Frith [W. P. Frith] to an unnamed correspondent [Lawrence Alma Tadema?], regarding a forthcoming lecture by the 'Punch' cartoonist and novelist George du Maurier.
Author:
William Powell Frith [W. P. Frith] (1819-1909), English genre painter [George du Maurier (1834-1896), 'Punch' cartoonist and author of 'Trilby'; Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912), Victorian artist]
Publication details:
On letterhead of Ashenhurst, 7 Sydenham Rise, SE [London]. 13 May 1892.
£56.00
1p., 12mo. Good, on lightl-aged paper. He regrets that 'absence from London' will prevent him from 'attending the lecture' of his 'old friend Dumaurier', to whom he wishes 'every possible success'. He thanks the recipient for 'the compliment implied' in his invitation. On 25 May 1892 The Times reports a lecture that day at 'Prince's Hall: Mr. Du Maurier on "Social Pictorial Satire," Mr. Alma-Tadema, R.A., in the chair, 9.'
Keywords:
Autograph Letter Signed from the dramatist and editor of 'Punch' Tom Taylor to J. Watkins [the photographer John Watkins?], regarding the construction of a case for a portrait of him.
Author:
Tom Taylor (1817-1880), playwright and comic writer, author of 'The Ticket of Leave Man' (1863) and editor of 'Punch' [John & Charles Watkins, London photographers]
Publication details:
On letterhead of the Local Government Act Office, 8 Richmond Terrace, Whitehall; 30 January [1864?].
£60.00
3pp., 8vo. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper, with remains of stub along one edge. Second leaf inserted into a paper windowpane mount. Written in a hurried and difficult hand. Taylor writes that he wishes to have a portrait put into a case 'by the workman you employ for such work'. He gives instructions, concluding 'The portrait I think the most satisfactory that has yet been taken of me.' The National Portrait Gallery possesses an albumen carte-de-visite of Taylor ('1864 or before') by John & Charles Watkins.
Keywords:
Sir John Tenniel (1820-1914), illustrators [Punch, or the London Charivari; Fenians; revolutionary plots]
Publication details:
From "Punch, or the London Charivari", November 30, 1867.
£75.00
On paper roughly 33 x 25.5 cm. The illustration itself is clear and complete on lightly-aged paper. Creasing around extremities and to left of caption. Tenniel's monogram, with number 61, in bottom left-hand corner. Britannia grips King Mob by the throat, while a paper crown (with 'MOB LAW' written on it) falls from his head.
Keywords:
Sir John Tenniel (1820-1914), illustrators [Punch, or the London Charivari; Fenians; Trade Unions; revolutionary plots]
Publication details:
From 'Punch, or the London Charivari', 12 October 1867.
£95.00
On paper 52 x 33 cm. Tenniel's monogram, with number 58, in bottom left-hand corner. An giant female figure, with black mask, blazing torch and sash on which is written 'MURDER', directs an assemblage of Fenians and Sheffield trade unionists. The caption reads 'Fenian conspiracies and outrages in Ireland and Manchester - co-incident with the revelations of murderous Trade-unionism at Sheffield and elsewhere - agitated the public mind, and seemed like an evocation of the Spirit of Slaughter to trample on the Law.
Keywords:
Autograph Letter Signed from the editor of 'Punch' F. C. Burnand to T. H. Lacy, regarding the publication of a farce.
Author:
F. C. Burnand [Sir Francis Cowley Burnand] (1836-1917), English comic writer and editor of 'Punch' [Thomas Hailes Lacy (1809-1873), actor and theatrical publisher]
Publication details:
29 April 1869; on letterhead of Hale Lodge, Edgware.
£56.00
12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium. Fair, on aged paper. He begins 'Print the farce', and gives two conditions, ending 'There that's definite'. He will have the farce published after it is performed in London, 'at a good theatre of course'. 'But get on with it and lets have the proofs.' He will 'most likely' play it himself 'at Manchester and somewhere else, when I will put all this stage business &c in'. Ends 'Toole wants to do it. | Yours Tooley - I mean Truly'. In one of two postscripts he hopes Lacy has 'a good supply of Billy Taylor. Hopewood & Crew publish it.'
Keywords:
Autograph Letter Signed to 'Dear Mr Taylor'.
Author:
Barry Pain [Barry Eric Odell Pain] (1864-1928), English humorist and contributor to Punch magazine [Sir Hubert von Herkomer (1849-1914)]
Publication details:
13 April 1905; on letterhead of Hogarth House, Bushey, Herts.
£38.00
12mo, 1 p. Thirteen lines. Text clear and complete. On aged and foxed paper with some fraying to edges (not affecting text). He would like to show Taylor 'something of interest with reference to Sir Herbert Taylor [sometime soldier and Private Secretary to teh KIng]' and suggests meeting that night. 'It seems rather late, but I shall be at von Herkomer's till then'.
Keywords:
Letter, headed 'Copy', in contemporary hand, from 'X.' to 'Mr. Editor' [of Punch].
Author:
Punch, or The London Charivari' [Mark Lemon (1809-1870), editor; John Leech; Charles Kean; William Williams (1788-1865), Radical M.P. for Lambeth]
Publication details:
01/05/59
£56.00
12mo, 4 pp. Bifolium. Watermarked 'TOWGOOD'S | SUPER FINE | 1859'. Eighty-seven lines of text. Text clear and complete on aged and grubby paper. With little hope of influencing the editor of Punch, the author feels compelled to 'write and tell you what I and many others think about your Publication and the malignant spite you display towards individuals who happen to incur your wrath'. This 'malignity', he feels, 'must be derived from that murderous old ruffian from whom your publication takes its name, and which alone prevents it being an influential publication.
Keywords:
Author:
Bernard Partridge [Sir John Bernard Partridge] (1861-1945), English cartoonist and illustrator, best-known for his work for 'Punch'
Publication details:
24 January 1897 ('M.dccc.xc.vij: | jan: xxiv.'); on letterhead of 11 Marlborough Road, St John's Wood, [London] N.W.
£56.00
12mo, 3 pp. Bifolium. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Attractive red letterhead, in the Arts and Crafts style. The writings she referred to in a previous letter have not come. 'You probably forgot to enclose them. I expect to read some of the papers in the days when I look in the P[all]. M[all]. G[azette].' He asks her to give him 'an idea of what the publisher proposes to spend on the illustrations, and also the size of them, and the style - pen & ink, or "wash".' He has heard news of her 'from Welsh, Ethel Johnson's husband, who is with me at the Haymarket'.
Keywords:
Date and place not stated.
£35.00
Dimensions of paper roughly 10.5 x 4.5 cm. Two edges straight and two rough. Aged and grubby, with a 3 cm closed tear (repaired on reverse with archival tape), extending from the right and affecting the last two letters of Cruikshank's bold signature, which is 7 cm long and initially 3 cm high, with the final 'e' of the Christian name in superscript and the surname underlined in a backwards stroke continuing the final letter. Neatly mounted on a piece of card (roughly 9 x 14 cm) and presented in a plastic sleeve.
Keywords:
8 October 1865; on monogrammed letterhead.
£60.00
Three pages, 12mo. Very good on lightly aged paper with slightest trace of previous mount adhering to blank verso of second leaf of bifolium. He has 'looked out' and is sending 'a few interesting Autographs', and would have sent them before, had he not been 'a great invalid all summer'. 'I will get Miss Chapman a good collection of the autographs of literary men. I am now very closely connected with Punch & other publications and shall have frequent opportunities.' Agnew's family, as partners in Bradbury & Agnew, were for many years the publishers of 'Punch'.
Keywords:
9 August 1906; on letterhead 'BULLS CLIFF, FELIXSTOWE.'
£100.00
Four pages, 12mo. Very good on lightly aged paper. Docketed by Gaskell at head of first page 'This letter is written to myself in reply to my offer of the loan of 91 Shirley Brooks' letters. | J. B. Gaskell'. Acknowledges the receipt of the letters which Gaskell has 'so generously' placed at his disposal, and assures him that they will be 'treated with the greatest care' and returned as soon as possible, together with the photograph of 'Epicurus Rotundus' (Brooks's pen name), 'which is new to me'. Asks for 'any reminiscences, hearsay or otherwise of S. B.
Keywords:
31 July 1893; on letterhead 'Whitefriars, London.'
£56.00
12mo: 2 pp. On creased, discoloured paper, with small closed tear and traces of previous mount adhering to reverse. An amusing, playful letter in a smudged, expansive hand. Reads 'My dear Phil | The other Phil Phil May will Phil the page in Xmas No. This will fill up & give it a fillip. ergo no Caran d'Ache | With Phil we're full. | Ought to be a fine number. | Have asked Phil May to contribute previously - | Well Phil May - but will Phil? | perhaps a wilfil person'. Accompanied by long typed commentary, giving provenance 'From a group of letters to Phil Agnew.
Keywords:
| i don't know |
Which creature fought the lion in Alice Through the Looking Glass? | The Lion and the Unicorn | Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll
7. The Lion and the Unicorn
Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll
THE next moment soldiers came running through the wood, at first in twos and threes, then ten or twenty together, and at last in such crowds that they seemed to fill the whole forest. Alice got behind a tree, for fear of being run over, and watched them go by.
She thought that in all her life she had never seen soldiers so uncertain on their feet: they were always tripping over something or other, and whenever one went down, several more always fell over him, so that the ground was soon covered with little heaps of men.
Then came the horses. Having four feet, these managed rather better than the foot-soldiers; but even they stumbled now and then; and it seemed to be a regular rule that, whenever a horse stumbled, the rider fell off instantly. The confusion got worse every moment, and Alice was very glad to get out of the wood into an open place, where she found the white King seated on the ground, busily writing in his memorandum-book.
'I've sent them all!' the King cried in a tone of delight, on seeing Alice. 'Did you happen to meet any soldiers, my dear, as you came through the wood?'
'Yes, I did,' said Alice: 'several thousand, I should think.'
'Four thousand two hundred and seven, that's the exact number,' the King said, referring to his book. 'I couldn't send all the horses, you know, because two of them are wanted in the game. And I haven't sent the two Messengers, either. They're both gone to the town. Just look along the road, and tell me if you can see either of them.'
'I see nobody on the road,' said Alice.
'I only wish I had such eyes,' the King remarked in a fretful tone. 'To be able to see Nobody! And at the distance too! Why, it's as much as I can do to see real people, by this light!'
All this was lost on Alice, who was still looking intently along the road, shading her eyes with one hand. 'I see somebody now!' she exclaimed at last. 'But he's coming very slowly — and what curious attitudes he goes into!'
(For the Messenger kept skipping up and down, and wriggling like an eel, as he came along, with his great hands spread out like fans on each side.)
'Not at all,' said the King. 'He's an Anglo-Saxon Messenger — and those are Anglo-Saxon attitudes. He only does them when he's happy. His name is Haigha.' (He pronounced it so as to rhyme with 'mayor'.)
'I love my love with an H,' Alice couldn't help beginning, 'because he is Happy. I hate him with an H, because he is Hideous. I fed him with — with — with Ham-sandwiches and Hay. His name is Haigha, and he lives —'
'He lives on the Hill,' the King remarked simply, without the least idea that he was joining in the game, while Alice was still hesitating for the name of a town beginning with H. 'The other Messenger's called Hatta. I must have two, you know — to come and go. One to come, and one to go.'
'I beg your pardon?' said Alice.
'It isn't respectable to beg,' said the King.
'I only meant that I didn't understand,' said Alice. 'Why one to come and one to go?'
'Don't I tell you?' the King repeated impatiently. 'I must have two — to fetch and carry. One to fetch, and one to carry.'
At this moment the Messenger arrived: he was far too much out of breath to say a word, and could only wave his hands about, and make the most fearful faces at the poor King.
'This young lady loves you with an H,' the King said, introducing Alice in the hope of turning off the Messenger's attention from himself — but it was of no use — the Anglo-Saxon attitudes only got more extraordinary every moment, while the great eyes rolled wildly from side to side.
'You alarm me!' said the King. 'I feel faint — Give me a ham-sandwich!'
On which the Messenger, to Alice's great amusement, opened a bag that hung round his neck, and handed a sandwich to the King, who devoured it greedily.
'Another sandwich!' said the King.
'There's nothing but hay left now,' the Messenger said, peeping into the bag.
'Hay, then,' the King murmured in a faint whisper.
Alice was glad to see that it revived him a good deal. 'There's nothing like eating hay when you're faint,' he remarked to her, as he munched away.
'I should think throwing cold water over you would be better,' Alice suggested: '— or some sal-volatile.'
'I didn't say there was nothing better,' the King replied. 'I said there was nothing like it.' Which Alice did not venture to deny.
'Who did you pass on the road?' the King went on, holding out his hand to the Messenger for some hay.
'Nobody,' said the Messenger.
'Quite right,' said the King: 'this young lady saw him too. So of course Nobody walks slower than you.'
'I do my best,' the Messenger said in a sullen tone. 'I'm sure nobody walks much faster than I do!'
'He can't do that,' said the King, 'or else he'd have been here first.
However, now you've got your breath, you may tell us what's happened in the town.'
'I'll whisper it,' said the Messenger, putting his hands to his mouth in the shape of a trumpet and stooping so as to get close to the King's ear. Alice was sorry for this, as she wanted to hear the news too. However, instead of whispering, he simply shouted, at the top of his voice, 'They're at it again!'
'Do you call that a whisper?' cried the poor King, jumping up and shaking himself. 'If you do such a thing again I'll have you buttered! It went through and through my head like an earthquake!'
'It would have to be a very tiny earthquake!' thought Alice. 'Who are at it again?' she ventured to ask.
'Why the Lion and the Unicorn, of course,' said the King.
'Fighting for the crown?'
'Yes, to be sure,' said the King: 'and the best of the joke is, that it's my crown all the while! Let's run and see them.' And they trotted off, Alice repeating to herself, as she ran, the words of the old song:
'The Lion and the Unicorn were fighting for the crown:
The Lion beat the Unicorn all round the town.
Some gave them white bread, some gave them brown:
Some gave them plum-cake and drummed them out of town.'
'Does — the one — that wins — get the crown?' she asked, as well as she could, for the run was putting her quite out of breath.
'Dear me, no!' said the King. 'What an idea!'
'Would you — be good enough —' Alice panted out, after running a little further, 'to stop a minute — just to get — one's breath again?'
'I'm good enough,' the King said, 'only I'm not strong enough. You see, a minute goes by so fearfully quick. You might as well try to stop a Bandersnatch!'
Alice had no more breath for talking; so they trotted on in silence, till they came into sight of a great crowd, in the middle of which the Lion and Unicorn were fighting. They were in such a cloud of dust, that at first Alice could not make out which was which; but she soon managed to distinguish the Unicorn by his horn.
They placed themselves close to where Hatta, the other Messenger, was standing watching the fight, with a cup of tea in one hand and a piece of bread-and-butter in the other.
'He's only just out of prison, and he hadn't finished his tea when he was sent in,' Haigha whispered to Alice: 'and they only give them oyster-shells in there — so you see he's very hungry and thirsty. How are you, dear child?' he went on, putting his arm affectionately round Hatta's neck.
Hatta looked round and nodded, and went on with his bread-and-butter.
'Were you happy in prison, dear child?' said Haigha.
Hatta looked round once more, and this time a tear or two trickled down his cheek; but not a word would he say.
'Speak, can't you!' Haigha cried impatiently. But Hatta only munched away, and drank some more tea.
'Speak, wo'n't you!' cried the King. 'How are they getting on with the fight?'
Hatta made a desperate effort, and swallowed a large piece of bread-and-butter. 'They're getting on very well,' he said in a choking voice: 'each of them has been down about eighty-seven times.'
'Then I suppose they'll soon bring the white bread and the brown?' Alice ventured to remark.
'It's waiting for 'em now,' said Hatta; 'this is a bit of it as I'm eating.'
There was a pause in the fight just then, and the Lion and the Unicorn sat down, panting, while the King called out 'Ten minutes allowed for refreshments!' Haigha and Hatta set to work at once, carrying round trays of white and brown bread. Alice took a piece to taste, but it was very dry.
'I don't think they'll fight any more to-day,' the King said to Hatta: 'go and order the drums to begin.' And Hatta went bounding away like a grasshopper.
For a minute or two Alice stood silent, watching him. Suddenly she brightened up. 'Look, look!' she cried, pointing eagerly. 'There's the White Queen running across the country! She came flying out of the wood over yonder — How fast those Queens can run!'
'There's some enemy after her, no doubt,' the King said, without even looking round. 'That wood's full of them.'
'But aren't you going to run and help her?' Alice asked, very much surprised at his taking it so quietly.
'No use, no use!' said the King. 'She runs so fearfully quick. You might as well try to catch a Bandersnatch! But I'll make a memorandum about her, if you like — She's a dear good creature,' he repeated softly to himself, as he opened his memorandum-book. 'Do you spell "creature" with a double "e"?'
At this moment the Unicorn sauntered by them, with his hands in his pockets. 'I had the best of it this time!' he said to the King, just glancing at him as he passed.
'A little — a little,' the King replied, rather nervously. 'You shouldn't have run him through with your horn, you know.'
'It didn't hurt him,' the Unicorn said carelessly, and he was going on, when his eye happened to fall upon Alice: he turned round instantly, and stood for some time looking at her with an air of the deepest disgust.
'What — is — this?' he said at last.
'This is a child!' Haigha replied eagerly, coming in front of Alice to introduce her, and spreading out both his hands towards her in an Anglo-Saxon attitude. 'We only found it to-day. It's as large as life, and twice as natural!'
'I always thought they were fabulous monsters!' said the Unicorn. 'Is it alive?'
'It can talk,' said Haigha solemnly.
The Unicorn looked dreamily at Alice, and said 'Talk, child.'
Alice could not help her lips curling up into a smile as she began: 'Do you know, I always thought Unicorns were fabulous monsters, too? I never saw one alive before!'
'Well, now that we have seen each other,' said the Unicorn, 'if you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you. Is that a bargain?'
'Yes, if you like,' said Alice.
'Come, fetch out the plum-cake, old man!' the Unicorn went on, turning from her to the King. 'None of your brown bread for me!'
'Certainly — certainly!' the King muttered, and beckoned to Haigha. 'Open the bag!' he whispered. 'Quick! Not that one — that's full of hay!'
Haigha took a large cake out of the bag, and gave it to Alice to hold, while he got out a dish and carving-knife. How they all came out of it Alice couldn't guess. It was just like a conjuring trick, she thought.
The Lion had joined them while this was going on: he looked very tired and sleepy, and his eyes were half shut. 'What's this!' he said, blinking lazily at Alice, and speaking in a deep hollow tone that sounded like the tolling of a great bell.
'Ah, what is it, now?' the Unicorn cried eagerly. 'You'll never guess! I couldn't.'
The Lion looked at Alice wearily. 'Are you animal — or vegetable — or mineral?' he said, yawning at every other word.
'It's a fabulous monster!' the Unicorn cried out, before Alice could reply.
'Then hand round the plum-cake, Monster,' the Lion said, lying down and putting his chin on his paws. 'And sit down, both of you,' (to the King and the Unicorn): 'fair play with the cake, you know!'
The King was evidently very uncomfortable at having to sit down between the two great creatures; but there was no other place for him.
'What a fight we might have for the crown, now!' the Unicorn said, looking slyly up at the crown, which the poor King was nearly shaking off his head, he trembled so much.
'I should win easy,' said the Lion.
'I'm not so sure of that,' said the Unicorn.
'Why, I beat you all round the town, you chicken!' the Lion replied angrily, half getting up as he spoke.
Here the King interrupted, to prevent the quarrel going on: he was very nervous, and his voice quite quivered. 'All round the town?' he said. 'That's a good long way. Did you go by the old bridge, or the market-place? You get the best view by the old bridge.'
'I'm sure I don't know,' the Lion growled out as he lay down again. 'There was too much dust to see anything. What a time the Monster is, cutting up that cake!'
Alice had seated herself on the bank of a little brook, with the great dish on her knees, and was sawing away diligently with the knife. 'It's very provoking!' she said, in reply to the Lion (she was getting quite used to being called "the Monster"). 'I've cut several slices already, but they always join on again!'
'You don't know how to manage Looking-glass cakes,' the Unicorn remarked. 'Hand it round first, and cut it afterwards.'
This sounded nonsense, but Alice very obediently got up, and carried the dish round, and the cake divided itself into three pieces as she did so. 'Now cut it up,' said the Lion, as she returned to her place with the empty dish.
'I say, this isn't fair!' cried the Unicorn, as Alice sat with the knife in her hand, very much puzzled how to begin. 'The Monster has given the Lion twice as much as me!"
'She's kept none for herself, anyhow,' said the Lion. 'Do you like plum cake, Monster?'
But before Alice could answer him, the drums began.
Where the noise dame from, she couldn't make out: the air seemed full of it, and it rang through and through her head till she felt quite deafened. She started to her feet and sprang across the little brook in her terror,
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
and had just time to see the Lion and the Unicorn rise to their feet, with angry looks at being interrupted in their feast, before she dropped to her knees, and put her hands over her ears, vainly trying to shut out the dreadful uproar.
'If that doesn't "drum them out of town",' she thought to herself, 'nothing ever will!'
Through the Looking Glass
| Unicorn |
Opened in 1921, In which US city is the Wrigley Building? | "The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown..." (Through the Looking-glass) - YouTube
"The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown..." (Through the Looking-glass)
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Published on Nov 11, 2013
Through the Looking-glass and What Alice Found There
Hampshire College, April 2013
| i don't know |
Which multi medal winning track athlete will make his London marathon debut in April? | When is the 2014 London Marathon? A guide - Telegraph
London Marathon
When is the 2014 London Marathon? A guide
Double world and Olympic champion Mo Farah will be making his eagerly anticipated debut over 26.2 miles when he competes in the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday April 13. Here is everything you need to know about the race
Flying the flag: Mo Farah is aimng for glory at his longest distance yet - a gruelling 26.2 miles Photo: GETTY IMAGES
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Can Mo Farah really win on his marathon debut?
That is the question no-one can really answer, which is what makes this year’s race so intriguing. His three world titles and two Olympic gold medals have made him the dominant force in global distance running in recent years but whether he can handle 26.2 miles while taking on the world’s greatest marathon specialists remains to be seen. Farah admits the race is the biggest challenge of his career – tougher even than his Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 metres finals.
So who’s he up against?
Only the world record-holder, Wilson Kipsang, as well as London course record-holder Emmanuel Mutai, last year’s winner, Tsegaye Kebede, and the in-form Geoffrey Mutai, who beat Farah convincingly in the New York City Half Marathon last month. Seven men in the field have run a marathon in under 2hr 5min, while Kipsang’s world mark, which he set in Berlin last September, stands at 2hr 3min 23sec. As an introduction to marathon running, Farah could not have picked a more difficult race.
How has Farah been preparing?
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He has spent three months training at high altitude in Kenya, his longest ever training camp, punctuated by a single warm-up race: the New York City Half Marathon. That ended disastrously for the Londoner when he collapsed after crossing the finish line in second place though he recovered quickly and insists it was a minor setback. He returned to Kenya afterwards for a final tune-up with his American coach, Alberto Salazar – himself a former marathon star of the 1980s.
What are Farah’s hopes for the race?
His official target is to break the British record of 2hr 7min 13sec which has been held by Welshman Steve Jones since 1985 but he will hoping to go considerably quicker than that. He and Salazar are using the race as a test to see whether he is capable of contesting the Olympic marathon in Rio in 2016. If he finishes outside 2hr 5min he is likely to stick to what he knows best on the track.
How fast is the race likely to be?
That all depends on the weather but the great Haile Gebrselassie will carry out pace-making duties for the first 30km and is under instruction to take the field through at world record pace.
When was the last time a British man won the London Marathon ?
You have to go back all of 21 years to when Eamonn Martin won a closely fought race in 1993, crossing the line in 2hr 10min 50sec. Since then the race has provided thin pickings for British men and it was left to Paula Radcliffe to fly the flag for Britain with her victories in 2002, 2003 and 2005. In 2003, when Radcliffe set her world record of 2hr 15min 25sec, she was quicker than Britain’s fastest male athlete.
How’s the women’s race shaping up this year?
In any other year, Tirunesh Dibaba’s marathon debut would be big news. With three Olympic gold medals and five world titles on the track, the Ethiopian is one of the greatest female distance runners of all time so it is unfortunate that her first outing over 26.2 miles has been overshadowed by Farah’s debut in the capital. Nevertheless, the women’s race should be a cracker, with defending champion Priscah Jeptoo, Olympic gold medallist Tiki Gelana and world champion Edna Kiplagat also in the line-up.
What about the wheelchair races?
After finishing a disappointing fifth last year, quadruple Paralympic champion David Weir is eager to make amends by winning a record seventh London title. He blames his 2013 result on lack of fitness after scaling back his training last year but insists he is hungrier than ever to make history in his home city. In the women’s race, American Tatyana McFadden will be strongly fancied to retain he title following her recent adventures at the Sochi Winter Olympics, where she won a cross-country skiing silver medal.
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Who was Emperor of Rome when the invasion of Britain was completed? | RUNNING TO BUZZ | Sports Marketing Surveys Inc.
RUNNING TO BUZZ
Posted on June 24, 2014
Each year, more than 36,000 people take to the start line of the world-renowned London Marathon, preparing to run the 26.2 miles along the River Thames via some of the city’s most iconic landmarks, including a striking finish at Buckingham Palace down The Mall.
The vast majority of runners will not be running to win the race, but purely to participate and be part of something special; special and inspired by Chris Brasher’s experience at the 1979 New York marathon.
On returning from New York in 1979 Brasher, an international British middle-distance runner wrote a piece for The Observer: “To believe this story, you must believe that the human race can be one joyous family, working together, laughing together, achieving the impossible”. He reflected “last Sunday, in one of the most trouble-stricken cities in the world, 11,532 men and women from 40 countries in the world, assisted by over a million black, white and yellow people, laughed and cheered and suffered during the greatest folk festival the world has seen.”
Shortly afterward in 1981, the London Marathon was founded. Evidently London caught on, and Brasher’s masterpiece continues to motivate the nation to run. The thrill not only captures the masses but also the world’s elite distance runners: this year saw Team GB’’s double Gold medal winning track athlete Mo Farah finish tenth in his full London Marathon debut on 13th April.
The mass appeal of Running is clear: it is the third most participated sport in the UK (behind swimming and cycling), with 16.8% of UK adults running in the last year. It offers an easy and cheap avenue to exercise, the roads are always open, and the equipment needed is minimal. Once runners begin to get more involved in the sport, many fall into the category of ‘Core Runners’. These are dedicated, competitive participants, characterised by high levels of activity and competition: many run 20km or more per week, the vast majority run in organised events such as the London marathon, 5k, 10k charity races, or fun runs; and most had competed in a half marathon in the last year.
These runners are also the core market for the running retailer, as they make regular purchases of shoes, apparel and equipment. The majority of these devoted runners still prefer to buy their shoes through a “Bricks-&-Mortar” store where they can get a good feel for the shoe, selection, and make full use of retailer expertise. Many specialty stores also have the technological facility to analyse a runner’s gait and landing, and thus offer computer intelligence as to which pair of shoes the runner should purchase. This helps to explain why just one-third of speciality running retailers offer the option of online sales.
SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC. conducted research among Runner’s World readers, many of whom fall into the ‘Core Runner’ category. Over 80% of these runners had bought a pair of running shoes in the last year, spending an average of £80 on their most recent pair. Manufacturers typically suggest that running shoes should be replaced after around 400 miles when the structure wears and thus biomechanics are affected. As such core runners should be replacing their shoes at least every eight months; SMS Inc.’s research suggests that these high-level participants are aware of this, as almost 90% had bought a new pair of shoes in the past year.
Further SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC. research among specialty running retailers shows that two-thirds of speciality running dealers’ shoe sales came from models priced at under £100 RRP, and just 5% of sales came from those priced over £130. Despite the small amount of kit required to run, only 58% of speciality running dealers’ income derives from shoes, and over one-quarter stems from apparel: the apparel item most frequently-bought by core runners is their socks. Three quarters had purchased a new pair in the last year.
As the appeal of partaking in organised events extends further to the masses, the seasoned runner has also become tempted to the new- style thrill events such as Triathlon, Ultra races, or alternative trail races. Four-fifths of core runners have previously competed in a 10k race, three-quarters in half-marathons, and just under half have previously taken part in a marathon in their life and thus some members of this group are searching for a new buzz.
Shoe manufacturers such as Mizuno have recognised this need, and in June Mizuno will host ‘Endure 24’ a 24 hour trail race, termed ‘Glastonbury for runners’. Nick Pope, Mizuno’s Running Business Unit Manager for EMEA confirms this: “(Endure 24) embodies what a lot of people are looking for in new events and challenges, where there is a great opportunity to have fun doing something different. It is also a trail race and we see trail events becoming more important both here in the UK and in Europe. …we have launched a new trail line for winter ‘14 and I think you will see us more involved in trail events in the future.”
In 2014, more core runners are planning to compete in Ultra and Triathlon races than had participated in them previously. These are the new challenge events, but are they where we shall see the next participation boom?
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What fortification did the Romans build from the Forth to the Clyde? | 1000+ images about Antonine Wall of Scotland on Pinterest | Emperor, Bar and Search
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The Bridgeness Slab (RIB 2139) was found in Bo'ness, Scotland in 1869 on a promotory close to Harbour Road. The slab is a Roman Distance slab, marking a portion of the Antonine Wall built by the Second Legion, (Legio II Augusta) and was created around 142 CE.http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_119/119_133_142.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bridgeness_Slab
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Who was the first woman jockey to complete the course? | Roman Britain AD 43-410
Emperor Claudius .
In 410,
Emperor Honorius encouraged British towns to grow a pair because Rome would discontinue all military support. Henceforth, the people of Britannia had to fight for themselves.
However, the use of the year 410 as the exact time of the departure of all Roman forces, the severance of all British ties to Rome, and the cessation of Roman longing for control over Britain would be an oversimplification of the actual events.
But thus cautioned, let's say the Roman invasion and occupation of ancient Britain stretched from 43-410.
This time period can be divided into three chapters — conquest, occupation, and settlement.
What About Julius Caesar's Visit to Ancient Britain?
It's true,
Julius Caesar invaded Britain twice, in 55 BC and again in 54 BC. But he also left again each time soon after.
Britain did not become part of the Roman Empire as a result of Julius Caesar's invasions. Nor did the Romans follow up on his short-lived conquests. At least not for another century.
Did the Romans Ever Conquer Britain Completely?
They did not, as any Scot today will be delighted to point out.
Here is the map of the Roman advance in Britain:
Map of Early Britain: Stages of Roman Conquest
Illustrating Roman conquest from AD 43-47, from 49-78, until 79, and until 80
(See more under
Early British tribes: Brigantes, Ordovices, Silures, Corieltavi, Iceni, Catuvellauni, Trinovantes, Atrebates, Dobunni, Belgae, Durotriges, Dumnonii
Encyclopaedia Britannica Map
Why Did The Romans Withdraw?
Some say that the natives were too tough to beat. Others say, the Romans could have conquered and held all of Britain but they didn't tag it as a priority. They had other fish to fry on more important frontiers of their large empire.
The truth is probably a mixture of both.
What Was the Northernmost Point the Romans Reached?
As far as frontier lines are concerned, the Gask Ridge frontier of AD 83 was probably the northernmost frontier. Much better fortified was of course the Antonine Wall of 142.
However, the Romans trekked all the way up to the Moray Firth. There are remains of a Roman marching camp at Bellie, and a large coin hoard was found at Birnie.
Britain Before Claudius' Invasion in AD 43
100 BC The
Belgae begin to migrate from Northern France and settle in Britain, pushing the native tribes further inland.
58 BC The
Gallic Wars begin. Rome vs. the tribes of Gaul.
55 BC In August of 55 BC, Julius Caesar launches his first British invasion. He has 100 warships and 2 legions, or 10,000 troops, at his disposal.
54 BC Julius Caesar's second and last invasion of Britain. This time he brings with him 800 warships, 5 legions, and 2,000 cavalry.
The Trinovantes become a Roman ally, and together they defeat Cassivellaunus, the king of the Catuvellauni tribe.
Here is an excerpt from Julius Caesar's notes:
. . . greater forces of the Britons had already assembled at that place, the chief command and management of the war having been intrusted to Cassivellaunus, whose territories a river, which is called the Thames, separates, from the maritime states at about eighty miles from the sea. At an earlier period perpetual wars had taken place between him and the other states; but, greatly alarmed by our arrival, the Britons had placed him over the whole war and the conduct of it.
The interior portion of Britain is inhabited by those of whom they say that it is handed down by tradition that they were born in the island itself: the maritime portion by those who had passed over from the country of the Belgae for the purpose of plunder and making war; almost all of whom are called by the names of those states from which being sprung they went thither, and having waged war, continued there and began to cultivate the lands.
The number of the people is countless, and their buildings exceedingly numerous, for the most part very like those of the Gauls: the number of cattle is great.
They use either brass or iron rings, determined at a certain weight, as their money. Tin is produced in the midland regions; in the maritime, iron; but the quantity of it is small: they employ brass, which is imported. There, as in Gaul, is timber of every description, except beech and fir. They do not regard it lawful to eat the hare, and the cock, and the goose; they, however, breed them for amusement and pleasure. The climate is more temperate than in Gaul, the colds being less severe.
The island is triangular in its form, and one of its sides is opposite to Gaul. One angle of this side, which is in Kent, whither almost all ships from Gaul are directed, looks to the east; the lower looks to the south. This side extends about 500 miles. Another side lies toward Spain and the west, on which part is Ireland, less, as is reckoned, than Britain, by one half: but the passage from it into Britain is of equal distance with that from Gaul.
In the middle of this voyage, is an island, which is called Mona: many smaller islands besides are supposed to lie there, of which islands some have written that at the time of the winter solstice it is night there for thirty consecutive days. We, in our inquiries about that matter, ascertained nothing, except that, by accurate measurements with water, we perceived the nights to be shorter there than on the continent.
The length of this side, as their account states, is 700 miles. The third side is toward the north, to which portion of the island no land is opposite; but an angle of that side looks principally toward Germany. This side is considered to be 800 miles in length. Thus the whole island is about 2,000 miles in circumference.
The most civilized of all these nations are they who inhabit Kent, which is entirely a maritime district, nor do they differ much from the Gallic customs. Most of the inland inhabitants do not sow corn, but live on milk and flesh, and are clad with skins.
All the Britains, indeed, dye themselves with woad*, which occasions a bluish color, and thereby have a more terrible appearance in fight. They wear their hair long, and have every part of their body shaved except their head and upper lip. Ten and even twelve have wives common to them, and particularly brothers among brothers, and parents among their children; but if there be any issue by these wives, they are reputed to be the children of those by whom respectively each was first espoused when a virgin.
* Woad, also called dyerswoad:
(Isatis tinctoria), biennial or perennial herb, in a genus of about 80 species in the mustard family (Brassicaceae), formerly grown as a source of the blue dye indigo.
Woad (Isatis tinctoria)
AD 10 Tasciovanus, the king of the Catuvellauni tribe, establishes Verulamium, today's St. Albans. Death of Tasciovanus. He is succeeded by his son, Cunobelinus.
The Trinovantes, Julius Caesar's former allies, are conquered by the Catuvellauni.
AD 42 Cunobelinus, the king of the Catuvellauni tribe, dies.
Roman Emperor
Claudius (41-54)
43 Under Claudius, the Romans invade southern England. Claudius himself takes part in the final maneuvers of his first campaign. The conquering invasion force consists of approx. 50,000 Roman soldiers. Britannia becomes a Roman province.
Some of the native tribes strike a deal with Rome, like the Dobunni of Gloucestershire, for example. Other tribes do not, and are consequently overrun by the Romans, like the Deceangli of northern Wales.
And then there are old friends, like the Trinovantes who had combined forces with Julius Caesar back in the days. After Caesar's departure, they were defeated by the Catuvellauni. Now, Claudius liberates them.
Roman Governor of Britain
Aulus Plautius (43-46)
Aulus Plautius is the first Roman governor of Britain, or legatus Augusti pro praetore (propraetorian legate [or deputy] of the emperor).
Roman Governor of Britain
47 The Romans conquer the West Midlands.
And here is a map of Wales from AD 47:
Wales AD 47, Roman Britain
49 The first Roman colony is founded at Camulodunum (today's Colchester). Here, and in line with Roman emperor worship, Emperor Claudius orders to build the Temple of Claudius.
50 Publius Ostorius Scapula defeats the Catuvellauni tribe, whose king, Caratacus, flees to the Brigantes tribe. The queen of the Brigantes, Cartimandua, hands Caratacus over to the Romans.
Roman Governor of Britain
Gaius Suetonius Paullinus (59-61)
60 The Iceni tribe, led by their Queen
Boudicca , and the Trinovantes tribe revolt against Rome. Meanwhile, Governor Suetonius Paullinus wages his war on druids on the island of Mona (today's Anglesey).
The rebels take advantage of the Governor's absence and sack Camulodunum (today's Colchester).
Some residents of Camulodunum barricade themselves in the city's Temple of Claudius. The rebels besiege the temple for two days, after which they burn it, its defenders, and the entire town to the ground.
And here is
Tacitus ' account of the events in 60 and 61:
Now, however, Britain was in the hands of Suetonius Paulinus, who in military knowledge and in popular favour, which allows no one to be without a rival, vied with Corbulo, and aspired to equal the glory of the recovery of Armenia by the subjugation of Rome's enemies. He therefore prepared to attack the island of Mona which had a powerful population and was a refuge for fugitives. He built flat-bottomed vessels to cope with the shallows, and uncertain depths of the sea. Thus the infantry crossed, while the cavalry followed by fording, or, where the water was deep, swam by the side of their horses.
On the shore stood the opposing army with its dense array of armed warriors, while between the ranks dashed women, in black attire like the Furies, with hair dishevelled, waving brands. All around, the Druids, lifting up their hands to heaven, and pouring forth dreadful imprecations, scared our soldiers by the unfamiliar sight, so that, as if their limbs were paralysed, they stood motionless, and exposed to wounds. Then urged by their general's appeals and mutual encouragements not to quail before a troop of frenzied women, they bore the standards onwards, smote down all resistance, and wrapped the foe in the flames of his own brands. A force was next set over the conquered, and their groves, devoted to inhuman superstitions, were destroyed. They deemed it indeed a duty to cover their altars with the blood of captives and to consult their deities through human entrails.
Suetonius while thus occupied received tidings of the sudden revolt of the province. Prasutagus, king of the Iceni, famed for his long prosperity, had made the emperor his heir along with his two daughters, under the impression that this token of submission would put his kingdom and his house out of the reach of wrong. But the reverse was the result, so much so that his kingdom was plundered by centurions, his house by slaves, as if they were the spoils of war. First, his wife Boudicea was scourged, and his daughters outraged. All the chief men of the Iceni, as if Rome had received the whole country as a gift, were stript of their ancestral possessions, and the king's relatives were made slaves.
Roused by these insults and the dread of worse, reduced as they now were into the condition of a province, they flew to arms and stirred to revolt the Trinobantes and others who, not yet cowed by slavery, had agreed in secret conspiracy to reclaim their freedom. It was against the veterans that their hatred was most intense. For these new settlers in the colony of Camulodunum drove people out of their houses, ejected them from their farms, called them captives and slaves, and the lawlessness of the veterans was encouraged by the soldiers, who lived a similar life and hoped for similar licence.
A temple also erected to the Divine Claudius was ever before their eyes, a citadel, as it seemed, of perpetual tyranny. Men chosen as priests had to squander their whole fortunes under the pretence of a religious ceremonial. It appeared too no difficult matter to destroy the colony, undefended as it was by fortifications, a precaution neglected by our generals, while they thought more of what was agreeable than of what was expedient.
Tacitus Annals 14.29-14.30
Before, during, or after destroying Camulodunum, the rebels completely annihilate the Roman 9th legion on their way to aid the citizens of Camulodunum.
Governor Paulinus (or Paullinus) and his 14th legion march the 200 miles back from Anglesey to deal with Boudica's uprising.
The rebels go on to sack and burn Londinium (London) and then Verulamium (St Albans).
The Romans are on the brink of losing Britain.
Boudica and her army march north on what will become known as Watling Street. They clash with the Romans about 100 miles north of London. The exact location of the battle is unknown.
The Romans are outnumbered by at least 3 to 1. Yet, they are victorious and crush Boudica's rebellion. How was this possible?
Although outnumbered, Paullinus had the advantage of choosing the battlefield. And he chose wisely. They met on a field that was wide at one end (where Boudica would line up her army), narrow at the other (where he would place his troops), and framed by woods on the sides.
There was not much room to maneuver a superior sized army on this terrain. And there was no way to outflank the Romans.
Additionally, after charging, the Romans had two spears per person that they could launch, and then, in close combat, they had the advantage of a short sword. The Brits were equipped with longer swords that were more difficult to wield in the thick of things.
Boudica's army started to retreat, but they encountered a self-made obstacle. They ran right into a wagon line that they had circled themselves previously. Here, their women and children had assembled to cheer their men's certain victory.
The Romans pushed back, squeezing the Natives between enemy and baggage trains. The rest was a hacking fest. The Romans didn't spare a soul.
There are two versions of how Boudica perished. She either died in battle or she took poison.
If we want to believe Tacitus, Boudica's army suffered a loss of 80,000 men from this battle and the Romans lost only 400 men. These numbers are exaggerated, of course, seeing that Tacitus wrote with a Roman viewpoint. But historians today still believe that Boudica lost thousands, whereas the Romans lost only hundreds.
Either way, this Roman victory marks the end of effective resistance in Britain. The Britains have been conquered by Rome.
Furthermore, this rebellion will qualify as the most successful revolt in the entire history of Roman Britain. In effect, by quelling this revolt, the Romans secured their possession of Britain. At least for the next 350 years.
Prompted by the recent outbreak of hostility, the Romans build a series of fortifications across the Midlands including the Lunt Fort at Coventry.
Reconstructed Timber Gate of the Lunt Fort
Roman Fort at Baginton, Coventry, West Midlands
G.M. Sherring-Lucas / Warwickshire County Council
Roman Emperor
Vespasian (69-79)
69 The Brigantes tribe, led by Venutius, oust their pro-Roman Queen Cartimandua. Venutius not only rebels against his queen, she was also his ex-wife. In fact, her divorcing him was the final straw that led to this insurrection.
Governor Marcus Vettius Bolanus has to rescue Cartimandua from the mob.
Roman Governor of Britain
Quintus Petillius Cerialis (71-73)
71 Cerialis has more troops at his disposal than did his predecessor Marcus Vettius Bolanus. He takes advantage of this, moves swiftly, subdues the Brigantes tribe, and builds a fortress at Eboracum or Eburacum (York).
Roman Governor of Britain
74 Frontinus builds a fortress at Caerleon.
76 The Romans pick Deva (Chester) to become one of their main strongholds.
77 By the end of his governorship, Frontinus has defeated the strong Silures tribe of southern Wales. He has also fought the Ordovices of northern Wales with much success, but failed to conquer the tribe completely.
Roman Governor of Britain
80 The amphitheater at Isca Silurium (Caerleon) is completed.
Roman Emperor
Domitian (81-96)
83 The Romans cross the Forth River. After subduing the Lowlands, Agricola aims for the Highlands.
83 or 84 Battle of Mons Graupius . Roman victory over the Caledonians. This is the first recorded battle on Scottish soil. The battle takes place somewhere in the coastal plain of north-east Scotland, but the exact location is unknown. Agricola wins an important victory.
The Romans establish the Gask Ridge frontier along the Grampian Mountains, also called the Highland Line, as their first northern frontier. See also
What Was the Northernmost Point the Romans Reached?
Muir o' Fauld Roman Signal Station is set up, a Roman watch tower on the Gask Ridge.
Around this time, the Romans commence the construction of Inchtuthil on the River Tay, in today's Perthshire, west of Dundee and 10 miles north of Perth. This will be the Roman's northernmost legionary fortress.
As opposed to smaller sized and temporary forts, a legionary fortress covers around 20 hectares / 50 acres. This is 10 times the size of the London Olympic stadium.
Inchtuthil will also be the fort that the Romans will occupy for the shortest amount of time. After just a few years, Inchtuthil will be demolished and evacuated even before the temporary quarters of the commanding officer could be replaced by a fitting permanent version.
Agricola is recalled to Rome, receives great honors, and retires.
Roman Governor of Britain
Sallustius Lucullus (84-96)
85 Around this time the fort at Ardoch is set up. Ardoch is located next to today's Braco, Perthshire, Scotland, UK.
Roman Fort at Ardoch
At the time, the fort was surrounded by many temporary camps. No stones remain, but apparently, this is the best preserved Roman earthwork in the Roman Empire.
Google Map
Also around this time, the fort at Stracathro is built. This will be the northernmost Roman post for a while.
87 The Roman Empire is threatened on other frontiers in mainland Europe, esp. on the Danube River. Roman forward movement into Scotland comes to a standstill, then they draw back. The Romans evacuate their fortress at Inchtuthil. The Highlands are left to be conquered another day.
90 All forts north of the Earn River are evacuated. The Romans will withdraw all the way back to the Tyne-Solway line.
Roman Emperor
Quintus Lollius Urbicus (139-142 or 143)
142 Under
Antoninus Pius , the Romans push further north once again, abandoning Hadrian's Wall. They return to Perthshire and rebuild some of their former forts, Ardoch for example. They also build a new wall some 100 miles north of Hadrian's Wall, the Antonine Wall. In charge is Quintus Lollius Urbicus.
The wall is made out of turf and timber and runs 37 miles or 59 kilometers long. It stretches coast-to-coast and connects today's Bo'ness on the Firth of Forth in the east with Old Kilpatrick on the Firth of Clyde in the west.
This wall marks the farthest extent of Roman occupation in ancient Britain, and is therefore also called Rome's Final Frontier.
Here is the map:
Didius Severus Julianus (March 28 � June 1, 193)
Septimius Severus (193-211)
208
Roman Emperor Severus commences the third and last major Roman invasion into today's Scotland. He is ready to conquer Caledonia once and for all.
211 Severus dies at York. This concludes his campaign in Scotland.
Roman Emperor
Caracalla (211-217)
Caracalla , instead of continuing his father's Scotland campaign, makes peace with the natives and returns to Rome.
212 Caracalla grants Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. This is the Edict of Caracalla.
213 Around 213, Britain is divided into two provinces, Britannia Superior (capital: Londinium / London) and Britannia Inferior (capital: Eboracum / York).
Upper Britain, Lower Britain, and Caledonia (Scotland)
Click to enlarge
Also illustrating: Hebudae (Hebrides), Vararis Aestuarium (Moray Firth), Taexalorum Promontorium, Clota Aestuarium (Clyde Firth), Bodotria Aestuarium (Forth Firth), Itunae Aestuarium (Solway Firth), Segedunum (Wallsend), Monapia (Isle of Man), Mona (Anglesey), Abus (Humber), Metaris Aestuarium (The Wash), Sabrinae Aestuarium (Bristol Channel), Vectis (Isle of Wight), Tamesa (Thames)
395 The Roman Empire splits permanently into East and West.
410
Emperor Honorius receives a request for military aid from Britannia. His answer is a negative. This reply is also known as the Honorian Rescript. The exact role that this decree plays in the closing stages of Roman Britain is debated.
In any event, by the year 411 Rome was unable to enforce its control in Britain.
On August 24, 410, the
Visigoths , led by Alaric, enter Rome. They will loot the city for three days.
Here are the maps illustrating the situation in Britain at the end of the Roman occupation:
The Roman Army
Composition, organization, and formation of the Roman military changed over time. But for the sake of a quick mental grasp, let's say that,
A centuria comprised 80 to 100 troops. Their leader was the centurion.
A cohort comprised 400 to 500 troops. Five to six centuriae made a cohort.
A legion comprised 5,000 to 6,000 troops. Ten cohorts, or sixty centuriae, made a legion.
For the native eye, marching Roman soldiers must have been quite impressive. When 20,000 troops were on the move, for example, their entire convoy could be 5 miles long.
Not all Roman soldiers came from the motherland. In fact, many had never seen Rome.
The Roman Empire recruited men from all its conquered territories. Thus, Roman soldiers who fought in Scotland, for instance, could very well be natives of North Africa, Belgium, England, or France.
Main Roman Towns in Ancient Britain A-Z
Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester in Hampshire)
Camulodunum (Colchester in Essex)
Moridunum (Camarthen, exact location unknown)
Nervia Glevensium (Gloucester in Gloucestershire)
Noviomagus Regensium (Chichester in West Sussex)
Ratae Coritanorum (Leicester in Leicestershire)
Venta Belgarum (Winchester in Hampshire)
Venta Silurum (Cearwent in Gwent)
Verulamium (Saint Albans in Hertfordshire)
Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter in Shropshire)
Roman Ruins
Traces and archaeological remains from 365 years of Roman occupation are abundant. There are over 125 known forts, many fortlets, and mile castles or signal posts. Very often, the military presence encouraged civilian settlements in the immediate neighborhood.
Map of Britannia - Principal Roman Sites in Ancient Britain
Illustrating: Hadrian's Wall, Hardknott, York, Caernarfon, Chester, Wroxeter, Caerleon, Caerwent, Cirencester, St. Albans, Colchester, Bath, Silchester, London, Richborough, Fishbourne, Portchester, Pevensey
See more from
You can visit the
Roman Army Museum , located at Greenhead, at the site of Carvoran Roman Fort on Hadrian's Wall.
Vindolanda .
One car hour southeast of Edinburgh, or 15 km / 9 miles south of Jedburgh, you will find Pennymuir Camps, linear earthwork outlining Roman marching camps, or temporary camps.
Pennymuir Camps were a pit stop on Dere Street, a Roman road that connected Eboracum (York) with the northern border of the Empire.
Two miles southeast of Lockerbie you will find Burnswark Hill, which was the location of a large native hill fort.
This hill fort was sandwiched by two military encampments or siege camps.
Image: Google
It is disputed whether or not the hill fort had been abandoned by the time the Roman siege forts were set up.
Depending on that answer, Burnswark Hill was either used as practice or training grounds for Roman soldiers, or this was the real deal and a wicked siege took place at this address. Some called it Scotland's own Massada.
Either way, this is a remarkable site.
Image: RCAHMS
Hardknott Roman Fort is located in the beautiful Cumbrian Mountains. It was founded under Emperor Hadrian.
Remains of the headquarters building, the commandant's house and the bath house can be visited. And 218 yards / 200 meters to the east lies the parade-ground.
Image: Google
| i don't know |
What road divides Aintree and is crossed by National runners? | 2 miles 5 furlongs 110 yards (18 fences to negotiate)
No. of Runners
21
Boxer Georg, Brunswick Gold (withdrawn), Cottage Oak, Court Red Handed, Dead Or Alive, Douglas Julian, Earth Dream, Fresh Air And Fun, Harry Flashman, Himalayan Express, Island Life, Keenan�s Future, Mossey Joe, Orfeo Conti, Pentiffic, Richard�s Sundance, Sizing America, Supreme Doc, Swallows Delight, Tartan Snow, Warne, Cool Friend
The loose horse having been captured, the go-ahead was given and soon they were off.� Amazingly the race started less than a minute behind schedule.� The favourite Mossey Joe and second favourite Warne were in the front line as they jumped the first fence.� At the back of the field, the first casualty was Supreme Doc who unseated his rider, Jamie Codd; the jockey still on crouched down on hands and knees but help arriving as the horses headed towards fence number two.� (I�m omitting the Miss or Mr prefixes which denote amateur status because every rider taking part in this race is an amateur!)
Warne and Mossey Joe were disputing the lead as they cleared fence number two, the latter towards the inside of the track.� Showing up close behind were the white-faced chestnut Harry Flashman, Island Life and Richard�s Sundance.� To the outside of the field Pentiffic ploughed through the fence, his nose touching the ground as he recovered but his jockey was unbalanced by the error; he waivered to his left, and back to his right ... but he�d had lost his right iron and after a few strides gravity claimed him!�
The remaining nineteen headed to the chair, where Island Life who had already lost ground from his prominent early position lost further with a slight error.� Dead Or Alive was well behind the others at this early stage.� The field headed over the water-jump, around the bend and out into the country; Warne and Mossey Joe still leading the way.� Behind this duo was Earth Dream against the rail, Harry Flashman, Boxer Georg and Richard�s Sundance.�� As they crossed the Melling Road, Dead Or Alive was a long way behind the field but still carried on.
Warne continued to lead the way under Sam Waley-Cohen, a length behind was Mossey Joe.� All the runners safely negotiated the first two in the line of fences leading down to Becher�s Brook.� However, Boxer Georg had lost his place completely having drifted back through the field and he had only four or five horses behind him when he dived through the top of the open-ditch and unseated Patrick Mullins.� The tailed-off Dead Or Alive was pulled up before reaching this fence.
Sizing America blundered at the eighth fence; now at the rear of the field were Island Life and Keenan�s Future, ridden by the only two lady riders in the race!� Come on girls, don�t let the side down!� Warne had begun to put distance between himself and his pursuers by the time he jumped the next, the fence before Becher�s; his sole company the two loose horses.� The field was beginning to string out now; all the horses negotiated the famous fence within incident.� In second place continued to be Mossey Joe, followed by Earth Dream, Court Red Handed, Fresh Air And Fun, Cottage Oak, Richard�s Sundance and Harry Flashman.�
Both Richard�s Sundance and Fresh Air And Fun made errors at the Fionavon fence; with Will Biddick losing the fight with gravity.� Warne continued to extend his lead as he approached and flew over the Canal Turn; he was preceded by one of the loose horses (Supreme Doc).� Some way back in the field, Orfeo Conti made an error at this fence.�
Having cleared Valentine�s without incident, the leader did suffer a spot of bother as the loose horse wandered in from the right and crossed his path on the approach to the next fence, but got over safely.� There was an error here by Cottage Oak, who landed steeply and whose nose almost touched the turf as a result.� Also from Himalayan Express against the inside rail whose jockey almost went out the rear door; he held on grimly to the horse�s reins and managed to survive.� Orfeo Conti also slightly blundered in the latter�s wake.
The leader continued on to the next, the final open-ditch, which he cleared with ease.� Mossey Joe continued to travel in second position, from Earth Dream, Cottage Oak, Court Red Handed, Tartan Snow, Richard�s Sundance and Swallows Delight; these were clear of the remainder.� Warne retained the advantage as he cleared the third last and headed across the Melling Road, pursued by Mossey Joe and the improving teenager, Tartan Snow.� His nearest pursuer had closed to within a couple of lengths as they headed around the final bend and faced up to the penultimate obstacle; the leader jumped this upsides one of the loose horses (Pentiffic), and Mossey Joe still hadn�t bridged the remaining gap.
Sam Waley Cohen had actually let his mount take a breather because, having cleared the last, he began to extend his advantage once more.� His main danger now, as he approached the elbow, were the two loose horses, especially Pentiffic who wandered across his path and forced Sam to switch towards the far rail to avoid further trouble.� Having now got a clear run, Warne galloped on to win by 13 lengths at the line.� Tartan Snow belying his years completed in 2nd, with Mossey Joe fading into 3rd and Earth Dream 4th.��
That will teach Jamie Hamilton to desert last year�s winner Tartan Snow for a younger model!!!� His 100-1 victory last year hadn�t been such a fluke after all.� Last to finish was the tailed-off Harry Flashman.�
My vantage point can sometimes be an exciting place, during a race, with loose horses arriving at the gallop and sometimes finding it hard to apply their brakes!� On this occasion, the infamous number 15, Pentiffic galloped up to the gates following the race, the on-foot �horse wranglers� quickly in attendance to catch hold of him.� He had his reins trapped around one of his forelegs, they struggled to unbuckle them but eventually succeeded and he was led away to the stables.� In some instances during the Festival the wranglers strung a white tape across the entrance to the pull up area once a loose horse had entered it to prevent the animal escaping back onto the racecourse once corralled.�
It was reported that all horses and all riders were fine following the race.
MT O�Donovan
On this occasion I stayed at the corner next to the walkway, still within the Earl of Derby Enclosure when the gates were opened.� As a pair of mounted huntsmen preceded the winner as he returned, Sam Waley-Cohen rode his mount directly into the walkway entrance, rather than go via the walkway in front of the stands like the other placed horses.� He entered first, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed horses following behind him.
NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS ROOM:
The Stewards held an enquiry into the use of the whip by Mr D. Skehan, the rider of MOSSEY JOE (IRE), placed third, from the final fence. Having heard his evidence and viewed recordings of the race, they found him in breach of Schedule (B)6 Part 2 in that he had used his whip above the permitted level. They suspended Mr Skehan for 11 days, on dates which will be notified to him by the British Horseracing Authority.
The favourite for the following race was Claret Cloak at 7-2.� It was also now time for Choc�s second ride of the day, aboard the Alan King-trained Turn Over Sivola, who has been suffering from a very bad bout of �seconditis� all season; with five runs over fences which resulting in four seconds and a third.���
The starting gate for the next race was in the far corner of the track; the cross fence being the first obstacle.�
2 miles (12 fences to negotiate)
No. of Runners
16
Oiseau De Nuit, Arnaud, Off The Ground, Claret Cloak, Dare Me, Astracad, Sound Investment, Changing The Guard, Anquetta, Kings Grey, Anay Turge, Turn Over Sivola, Parsnip Pete, Sew On Target, Gus Macrae, Last Shot
And then they were off.� The field was led away by the Irish raider Arnaud.� Clearing the first fence the subsequent order was Sew On Target, Astracad, Anquetta, Sound Investment, Anay Turge, Kings Grey, Gus Macrae, Oiseau De Nuit, Last Shot to the wide outside, Off The Ground, Parsnip Pete, Turn Over Sivola against the rail (where else?), Dare Me and Claret Cloak, with the diminutive Changing The Guard at the rear.
The runners then headed around the bend and into the home straight on the first occasion.� There were no problems in the jumping department at the next, nor the open-ditch, or the fourth fence either.� By the time the runners were approaching the winning post with one circuit to go, the Dr Newland�s representative was a few lengths adrift of the main body of the field.�
Heading into the bend opposite the new grandstands, Arnaud still led, very narrowly from Sew On Target, Astracad, Sound Investment and Anquetta.� Turn Over Sivola was held-up, four from the back.� Tom Scudamore�s mount took over at the head of affairs as they progressed around the turn and headed into the back straight.� Having cleared the next fence, Arnaud and Astracad joined the leader, the former soon taking over once more.� Changing The Guard had now relegated Last Shot to the back of the field.�
The next obstacle is an open-ditch.� Near the rear of the field Dare Me blundered; branches of spruce from the �apron� now lay on top of the birch.� Last Shot received reminders at this point.� Astracad led over the fourth and final fence in the back straight; in third position Parsnip Pete made an error but it didn�t stop his momentum.� Turn Over Sivola still had only four rivals behind him and, heading into the final turn, was caught on heels as Sew On Target quickly dropped back through the field.
Up front, the visored Astracad led, from Parsnip Pete to the outside of Arnaud.� Behind these were Kings Grey, Gus Macrae, Anquetta and Claret Cloak.� Having jumped the cross-fence, which all the runners cleared without incident, Parsnip Pete loomed up on the outside of the leader, ready to make a challenge.� Choc had manoeuvred his mount away the rails in order to make progress and but was still stuck behind Claret Cloak and Anay Turge as they exited the bend.
As the rail terminated and made space available Choc steered his mount to the inside once more, initially aiming for a gap between Kings Grey and Claret Cloak as they jumped three out. Parsnip Pete now led, from Astracad and Arnaud.� Nearing the final open-ditch, Turn Over Sivola was switched to the inside of Kings Grey but that gap closed as they cleared the jump; this left him still in sixth position as they headed across the Grand National course and faced up to the final fence.�
Parsnip Pete continued to gradually extend his lead over his rivals; Turn Over Sivola received a number of reminders (I counted eight) before he rose over the last.� Choc had galvanised his mount into action however, because he was now in third position a length behind Claret Cloak.� The horses began to reel in the leader but, despite both Choc�s and Noel Fehily�s best efforts, they ran out of time; Parsnip Pete triumphed by 1� lengths at the line.� Turn Over Sivola finished 2nd with Claret Cloak a further 1� lengths back in 3rd.� Astracad completed in 4th.������
Sam Twiston-Davies
Nigel Twiston-Davies
I returned to the steppings above the Winners� Enclosure for the first time today.� Turn Over Sivola must be one of the most frustrating horses in training ... he�s run over fences six times now, finishing second on five occasions, and third once!
NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS ROOM:
The Stewards held an enquiry into the running and riding of CHANGING THE GUARD, ridden by Denis O�Regan and trained by Dr Richard Newland, which was well behind in the early stages of the race before staying on from two out under apparent tender handling, to finish eighth beaten 18 � lengths. They interviewed the rider and the trainer. They also heard observations from the Handicapper. The rider stated that his instructions were to make the running. However, he added that when the runners lined up the gelding was reluctant to go forward and therefore he lost his position. He further added that having got behind when trying to make ground in the latter stages, CHANGING THE GUARD hung left handed and did not jump fluently. The trainer confirmed that he wanted CHANGING THE GUARD to make the running and was disappointed that he had missed the break at the start. He added that the gelding has a history of hanging left. Having heard their evidence and viewed recordings of the race the Stewards noted their explanations.
The Stewards considered the apparent improvement in form of the winner, PARSNIP PETE, ridden by Paddy Brennan and trained by Tom George, compared with its previous run at Ludlow on 20 March 2014, where the gelding finished sixth of eight beaten 11 � lengths. They noted the trainer�s explanation that the gelding is better suited by the sounder surface. They ordered PARSNIP PETE to be routine tested.
The favourite for the penultimate race was Oscar Whisky at odds of 7-4.� There was an Alan King representative in this race, the JP McManus-owned Uxizandre, today ridden by AP McCoy.� Choc had ridden the horse at the Cheltenham Festival and finished a close second to Taquin Du Seuil who had been partnered by AP McCoy that day; Oscar Whisky had fallen at the first on that occasion.� Uxizandre has to run left-handed, hence its visits to Cheltenham and Aintree; he also likes to bowl along in front because when held-up he sulks and disappoints!�
Ahead of the next race, the supervisor of the Aintree on-foot �horse wranglers� came out to warn the gate stewards that Western Warhorse would be leaving the Parade Ring early and the jockey might not mount until he got onto the course.� Evidently there was even a possibility that the �crazy� horse might be led out via the gate leading from the cooling down area to the far side of the Lord Sefton stand.� They were advised to stand well back from the railings if he was led out via the walkway.
In the event, the handlers led Western Warhorse out via the horse walkway, legging Tom Scudamore up when he was close to the entrance.� However, the horse plunged forward, crashing against the open gates which form the railings at this point in the proceedings, and then careered into the end of the plastic rail which divides the walkway in front of the stands from the pulling-up area and the course itself.� In the process he dislodged Tom from his back.� However, trainer David Pipe hung on to the horse and it didn�t get loose, the jockey was legged up again and he set off to the start.� The horse is a maniac and a jockey must be too agreeing to ride him!��
Therefore having exited onto the racecourse, the runners headed to the starting gate, which was at the beginning of the back straight.� Having reached the start, Tom Scudamore kept his mount away from the other four; they circled in an organised group lead by Uxizandre heading around and around the small section of rail dividing the chase and hurdles track at this point.���
Dodging Bullets, Fox Appeal, Oscar Whisky, Uxizandre, Western Warhorse
Then they were off.� Western Warhorse joined the others and travelled almost upsides of Uxizandre; the latter holding the inner as they headed towards the first fence.� Tom�s mount took a keen hold and jumped this obstacle in the lead.� Oscar Whiskey brought up the rear.� The initial obstacle cleared without incident, the horses travelled to the second, with Western Warhorse gradually wandering across to the rail; AP switched his mount to the outside shortly thereafter.�
The David Pipe runner had established a three length lead as the runners headed over the open-ditch; Oscar Whisky still help-up in rear.� There were no problems as the field jumped the fourth; they then headed around the top turn to jump the cross-fence, the leader�s advantage reduced.� Fox Appeal hit the top of it.� AP McCoy�s mount kept close tabs on Western Warhorse as the leading duo drew a few lengths clear of the remainder entering the home straight.�
Uxizandre jumped the next ahead, wandering over to his left on the run to the open-ditch; it was now Tom�s turn to switch his mount to the outside, where he wasn�t particularly fluent.� Dodging Bullets had now been switched to the inner and disputed third place as they travelled to the fence opposite the main stands.� All the runners cleared this fence well.
The horses then galloped down past the winning post and now had one circuit to travel; Uxizandre held a one and a half length advantage at this point and Oscar Whisky still narrowly brought up the rear.� The two leaders had set up a lead of around seven or eight lengths by the time they negotiated the bend and arrived at the first fence in the back straight.� Fox Appeal, who was travelling in third position, got a little close to this fence and pecked on landing.
The field travelled on to the next, where there were no noticeable jumping errors, before heading to the open-ditch.� Again the horses took this in their stride; Uxizandre and Western Warhorse disputing the lead, the other three were line across the track disputing last place.� Oscar Whisky jumped to his right over the final fence in the back straight and was relegated to sole last.�
The leading duo were three of four lengths clear of the remainder, lead by Dodging Bullets, as they entered the far turn.� Uxizandre jumped noticeably left over the cross-fence.� The Paul Nicholls runner blundered here, with Sam Twiston-Davies administering reminders to his mount as they turned into the home straight; it was to no avail as Dodging Bullets continued to lose ground and found himself at the back of the field approaching three out.
The runners cleared the third last without incident, Uxizandre and Western Warhorse still holding a clear lead, the former receiving a back-hander and a number of slaps down his neck on the run to the penultimate fence.� Tom Scudamore�s mount was beginning to tire, his jockey gathered his reins and issued encourage, also in the form of slaps down the neck, but soon to no avail as Uxizandre began to pull away from him.�
Oscar Whisky was now staying on and passed Western Warhorse shortly after two out; he had AP�s mount in his sights and had closed the deficit to two or three lengths as they jumped the last.� However, try as he might, Uxizandre battled on and held him at bay; the winning distance 1� lengths at the line.� Compensation for his narrow defeat in the Grade 1 event at the Cheltenham Festival.
Western Warhorse completed in third, 26 lengths back; he beat Fox Appeal by a short-head.� Dodging Bullets was 5 lengths adrift of these in last place.����
The following week it was announced that Western Warhorse had picked up a tendon injury during the race and was likely to miss the 2014/2015 season as a result.� More
Aidan Coleman
Emma Lavelle
Being an Alan King winner I returned to the Winners� Enclosure once more to see the placed horses arrive back.�
NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS ROOM:
WHY THEY RAN BADLY
Sam Twiston-Davies, the rider of DODGING BULLETS, unplaced, reported that the gelding ran flat.
I remained on the steppings to await Choc�s arrival ahead of his third and final ride of the day; his mount being top-weight Meister Eckhart.� He was first to exit the Weighing Room and descend the steps along with Wayne Hutchinson, the latter riding stable-mate Two Rockers in this race.
However, I ensured I had returned to my favoured vantage point before the horses began to exit the Parade Ring.� Choc�s mount was on its toes today, necessitating Travelling Head Lad Matt Howells to duck out of the way as he proceeded towards the horse-walk exit point; thus I was expecting a good run from the horse today.�
The favourite for this race was Irish raider Busty Brown at odds of 7-1.�
The start of this race was half way down the home straight, with just over 2 circuits to travel.�
3 miles and half a furlong (13 hurdles to negotiate)
No. of Runners
22
Meister Eckhart, Jetson, Riverside Theatre, Edgardo Sol, Cantlow, Seefood, Two Rockers, Return Spring, Any Given Day, On The Bridge, Uncle Jimmy, Busty Brown, Close House, Crowning Jewel, Doctor Harper, Kaylif Aramis, Big Easy, Utopie Des Bordes, Pateese, Josies Order, Carole�s Destrier, Spirit Of Shankly
Then they were off.� The 22-strong field was spread wide across the track as they headed towards the first flight.� In the frontline from the inside was the mare Utopie Des Bordes, Jetson, Carole�s Destrier , Josies Orders, Seefood and the grey Any Given Day.� On this occasion Choc wasn�t travelling against the rail, he was centre midfield aboard top weight Meister Eckhart.� Two Rockers was towards the outside near the rear of the field; Wayne presumably wishing to give him as good a view of his obstacles in light of his mishap at the first at Ascot earlier in the season, when Choc had been aboard.�
At the rear of the field, Riverside Theatre blundered at the first flight; Barry Geraghty grimly hanging on to the reins in order to regain his balance once more.� Jetson was extremely keen; his head in the air as his jockey restrained him heading down to the winning post on the first occasion.� The leaders were five wide across the track ahead of the tightly packed field.� Heading around the turn, Meister Eckhart travelled in eighth position; Two Rockers just five from the back.
Having negotiated the bend the runners headed into the back straight, Utopie Des Bordes leading the field towards the second flight; at the rear of the field was Crowning Jewel.� There were no significant errors from any of the runners as they safely negotiated the three flights therein. David Bass� mount continued at the head of affairs as the field headed into the far turn; Jetson now far more settled travelling just behind the leader, from Josies Orders, Return Spring, Any Given Day out wide, Big Easy, Carole�s Destrier, Seefood, Doctor Harper and Meister Eckhart.�
The field entered the home straight and jumped flight number five, where Crowning Jewel made an error in rear of the pack.� The runners cleared the next hurdle; they�d now completed one circuit of the track.� And still there were no major changes in the order as they jumped the next and headed down past the winning post now with one circuit to go.� The steady three-mile pace meant that the runners remained closely grouped.
Utopie Des Bordes led the field around the bottom bend and into the back straight once more; the pace now increased and the runners began to string out, which meant the competitors got a better view of each obstacle.� Still no casualties at the next or the following flight; although there were a few errant hooves as the flight looked a little the worse for wear by the time the backmarker had cleared it.� They galloped across the pathway and headed towards the final obstacle in the back straight.� Having jumped his, Riverside Theatre found himself second from last, with just Crowning Jewel behind him.
The runners headed into the far turn, and the mare continued to lead the way from Jetson, Josies Orders, Any Given Day, Carole�s Destrier, Meister Eckhart and Seefood; Return Spring to the inside was now being ridden along.� Kaylif Aramis was making headway towards the outside of the field; and ahead of him Doctor Harper more so.� Into the home straight they headed, fanning out across the track as they approached and jumped three out; and still Utopie Des Bordes led the way but she was being hotly pursued by Jetson, Doctor Harper and Meister Eckhart.�
The leaders galloped on down to and cleared the penultimate flight; back in the field, On The Bridge clipped the wing and two �spears� of debris flew towards the infield.� The main protagonists were to the far side of the track, with Kaylif Aramis under Sam Twiston-Davies choosing to make his challenge down the near side; Choc also switched his mount to make his run between Jetson and Kaylif Aramis.�
Tom Scudamore�s mount jumped into the lead at the last, both he and Utopie Des Bordes now wandering towards the nearside, the latter momentarily squeezing up Meister Eckhart between herself and Kaylif Aramis.� But Doctor Harper kept on well and went on to win by 1� lengths at the line.� Kaylif Aramis claimed 2nd with Meister Eckhart half a length away in 3rd.� Jetson completed in 4th and the long-time leader Utopie Des Bordes 5th.�
Two Rockers completed in 14th.� Of those who had followed the early pace, Seefood finished 17th, Carol�s Destrier 18th, Return Spring 21st and Any Given Day last. The favourite Busty Brown completed in 10th.��
��
PD Kennedy
Jessica Harrington
With Choc having finished in third place, I returned to the Winners� Enclosure to see him arrive back.� If you are standing on the steppings below the Weighing Room, the unsaddling positions for the placed horses, left to right as you view them are, third, winner, second, fourth; this being the case, Choc rode his mount into the farthest spot from the walkway entrance.
He dismounted and unsaddled his mount, debriefed connections, removed his helmet and then weighed out on the scales placed on the podium.� Following this he headed back to the Weighing Room. As is often the case, he was accosted by punters wishing for an autograph and a photo opportunity; he is always happy to oblige.�
And, you�ve guessed it, finally he was accosted by yours truly!!!� I was stood higher up the steppings, to his right as he climbed back to the Weighing Room.� Having greeted him, I kissed him on the right cheek, he was stubbly again today; the third time in a row!� I also commiserated with him about his second and thirditis, he said �Tell me about it�.� I wished him �better luck tomorrow� as he departed for the Weighing Room.�
The final race of the day was sponsored by the Dominican Republic, with an additional memento for the winning jockey of rum and chocolates ... that�s a shame, Choc would have loved the chocolate!� And may have liked the rum too for all I know!
The Grand Opening Day gets a big thumbs up from me; I enjoyed the atmosphere far more than the following two days.� The reason is because it�s quieter, and true horseracing fans can enjoy the quality of the racing without it being spoilt by some spectators.��
NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS ROOM:
The Stewards held an enquiry into the running and riding of CROWNING JEWEL, ridden by James Reveley and trained by Keith Reveley, which finished sixteenth beaten 37� lengths. They interviewed the rider and also heard observations from the Handicapper. The rider stated that his instructions were to try a change of tactics from the gelding�s usual way of being ridden and to settle him in. He added that he was happy with his position in the early stages of the race but that CROWNING JEWEL failed to pick up when asked for an effort in the home straight. He further added that it was likely that the gelding would go chasing in future. Having heard his evidence and viewed recordings of the race the Stewards noted his explanations.
WHY THEY RAN BADLY
Richard Johnson, the rider of RETURN SPRING (IRE), unplaced, reported that the gelding felt wrong.
There was just time to nip to the loo before heading along the concourse, and walking across the racecourse to catch a bus to take me around the perimeter roadway so that I could alight near the Melling Road.� I then returned to my car only to find it was covered in blotchy dust; worse to the driver�s side being the windward side of the car today.� Typical.� That Sahara dust gets everywhere.� I ate the two remaining cheese rolls before leaving the car park at 18:10.� I wondered if it was quiet leaving the racecourse because Bjorn Again were performing from 18:00 in the Equestrian Centre and thus encouraging the younger racing fans to remain within the main concourse area later into the evening.
There was no queue encountered on my route up the drive or over the Anchor Bridge.� Having turned left, Aintree Lane was also clear until a short distance before the 4-phase traffic lights intersection with the Ormskirk Road.� Having arrived at the junction after a couple of signal changes, I turned right, drove past Asda to reach the next set of traffic lights.� A further right turn, then through two more sets of lights, and a final right turn took me onto the M57 motorway and I headed south.
I left the motorway at the second junction, heading down the slip-road to join the A580.� I drove along the dual carriageway, heading east towards the M6.� The speed limit for much of the way is now 60mph.� The route passes through several sets of traffic lights together with one roundabout before the M6 junction is reached.� Following that it�s a second, smaller roundabout, before the Golborne Premier Inn is spotted on the left hand side of the road.� A left turn at the next set of traffic lights takes me into an industrial estate, then a left at the roundabout and left again into the car park of the hotel.
Having parked up I sorted out my coat and jackets, placing my black coat in the boot and putting on my mauve jacket to walk to reception.� I wheeled my trolley case behind me, put my handbag across my shoulders, another bag over my right shoulder and also carried two other shopping sized bags; where are all the Sherpas when you need them!�
Having struggled through the door to the Reception I booked in for my two-day stay.� Room 33 this year, on the first floor I was told.� Front or back I wondered; front overlooking the main road and restaurant car park, or back overlooking where my car was parked.� Having headed through the fire-door, I then pushed open the door to the stairwell, climbing the two short flights of stairs to the first floor and through another fire-door into the first floor corridor; I never use the lift in case it gets stuck with me in it!!!�
Searching for the door number, it transpired 33 was the first room on the left through a final fire-door, overlooking the restaurant, car park and A580, facing south.� I had to put down my bags in the corridor before unlocking the door and struggling to get them all inside.� Phew, all done.�
Having arrived at the hotel at around 18:40, I had over an hour to kill before I was due to head over to the restaurant for my evening meal.� I changed into my blue jeggings and oversized blue cardigan, retaining a couple of the thermal t-shirts and hoping I wouldn�t get too hot whilst eating my meal.� I spread out my next two days clothing on one side of the bed, and my camera battery charger and phone chargers on the table.� I began charging the first of two camera batteries I�d used today.�
I noticed a text message had arrived from my friend Denise; she mentioned that her asthma was very bad at the moment ... that Sahara dust again ... I understand it was causing havoc to those people with existing breathing problems.� Having exchanged a few texts, promising to catch up in a telephone call soon, I went down to the restaurant just before 20:00, as booked.
Having checked in, I was offered a two-seater table in the main restaurant thoroughfare; it was rather dark and dingy though.� I try to avoid that �old favourite� of fish and chips, so today I chose chicken topped with bacon and cheese, accompanied by a side-salad.� Dessert was a banoffee sundae; yummy.� I also drank two glasses of apple and mango J2O.� The food was fine but, as the restaurant was busy tonight, the service took 90 minutes, which was an excessive amount of time.�
Having settled the bill, which was over �18, I returned to my room at 21:30.� Jockey School on Channel 4 started at 22:00, although I dosed off mid-way through having already got into bed!� I then awoke part way through the �How to win the Grand National� programme, also on Channel 4 ... I have a feeling I�ve seen it before, last year?� And I went off to sleep again before the end of that programme too, waking up an hour or so later to switch off the TV!
| melling road |
What is the capital of Suriname? | 2 miles 5 furlongs 110 yards (18 fences to negotiate)
No. of Runners
21
Boxer Georg, Brunswick Gold (withdrawn), Cottage Oak, Court Red Handed, Dead Or Alive, Douglas Julian, Earth Dream, Fresh Air And Fun, Harry Flashman, Himalayan Express, Island Life, Keenan�s Future, Mossey Joe, Orfeo Conti, Pentiffic, Richard�s Sundance, Sizing America, Supreme Doc, Swallows Delight, Tartan Snow, Warne, Cool Friend
The loose horse having been captured, the go-ahead was given and soon they were off.� Amazingly the race started less than a minute behind schedule.� The favourite Mossey Joe and second favourite Warne were in the front line as they jumped the first fence.� At the back of the field, the first casualty was Supreme Doc who unseated his rider, Jamie Codd; the jockey still on crouched down on hands and knees but help arriving as the horses headed towards fence number two.� (I�m omitting the Miss or Mr prefixes which denote amateur status because every rider taking part in this race is an amateur!)
Warne and Mossey Joe were disputing the lead as they cleared fence number two, the latter towards the inside of the track.� Showing up close behind were the white-faced chestnut Harry Flashman, Island Life and Richard�s Sundance.� To the outside of the field Pentiffic ploughed through the fence, his nose touching the ground as he recovered but his jockey was unbalanced by the error; he waivered to his left, and back to his right ... but he�d had lost his right iron and after a few strides gravity claimed him!�
The remaining nineteen headed to the chair, where Island Life who had already lost ground from his prominent early position lost further with a slight error.� Dead Or Alive was well behind the others at this early stage.� The field headed over the water-jump, around the bend and out into the country; Warne and Mossey Joe still leading the way.� Behind this duo was Earth Dream against the rail, Harry Flashman, Boxer Georg and Richard�s Sundance.�� As they crossed the Melling Road, Dead Or Alive was a long way behind the field but still carried on.
Warne continued to lead the way under Sam Waley-Cohen, a length behind was Mossey Joe.� All the runners safely negotiated the first two in the line of fences leading down to Becher�s Brook.� However, Boxer Georg had lost his place completely having drifted back through the field and he had only four or five horses behind him when he dived through the top of the open-ditch and unseated Patrick Mullins.� The tailed-off Dead Or Alive was pulled up before reaching this fence.
Sizing America blundered at the eighth fence; now at the rear of the field were Island Life and Keenan�s Future, ridden by the only two lady riders in the race!� Come on girls, don�t let the side down!� Warne had begun to put distance between himself and his pursuers by the time he jumped the next, the fence before Becher�s; his sole company the two loose horses.� The field was beginning to string out now; all the horses negotiated the famous fence within incident.� In second place continued to be Mossey Joe, followed by Earth Dream, Court Red Handed, Fresh Air And Fun, Cottage Oak, Richard�s Sundance and Harry Flashman.�
Both Richard�s Sundance and Fresh Air And Fun made errors at the Fionavon fence; with Will Biddick losing the fight with gravity.� Warne continued to extend his lead as he approached and flew over the Canal Turn; he was preceded by one of the loose horses (Supreme Doc).� Some way back in the field, Orfeo Conti made an error at this fence.�
Having cleared Valentine�s without incident, the leader did suffer a spot of bother as the loose horse wandered in from the right and crossed his path on the approach to the next fence, but got over safely.� There was an error here by Cottage Oak, who landed steeply and whose nose almost touched the turf as a result.� Also from Himalayan Express against the inside rail whose jockey almost went out the rear door; he held on grimly to the horse�s reins and managed to survive.� Orfeo Conti also slightly blundered in the latter�s wake.
The leader continued on to the next, the final open-ditch, which he cleared with ease.� Mossey Joe continued to travel in second position, from Earth Dream, Cottage Oak, Court Red Handed, Tartan Snow, Richard�s Sundance and Swallows Delight; these were clear of the remainder.� Warne retained the advantage as he cleared the third last and headed across the Melling Road, pursued by Mossey Joe and the improving teenager, Tartan Snow.� His nearest pursuer had closed to within a couple of lengths as they headed around the final bend and faced up to the penultimate obstacle; the leader jumped this upsides one of the loose horses (Pentiffic), and Mossey Joe still hadn�t bridged the remaining gap.
Sam Waley Cohen had actually let his mount take a breather because, having cleared the last, he began to extend his advantage once more.� His main danger now, as he approached the elbow, were the two loose horses, especially Pentiffic who wandered across his path and forced Sam to switch towards the far rail to avoid further trouble.� Having now got a clear run, Warne galloped on to win by 13 lengths at the line.� Tartan Snow belying his years completed in 2nd, with Mossey Joe fading into 3rd and Earth Dream 4th.��
That will teach Jamie Hamilton to desert last year�s winner Tartan Snow for a younger model!!!� His 100-1 victory last year hadn�t been such a fluke after all.� Last to finish was the tailed-off Harry Flashman.�
My vantage point can sometimes be an exciting place, during a race, with loose horses arriving at the gallop and sometimes finding it hard to apply their brakes!� On this occasion, the infamous number 15, Pentiffic galloped up to the gates following the race, the on-foot �horse wranglers� quickly in attendance to catch hold of him.� He had his reins trapped around one of his forelegs, they struggled to unbuckle them but eventually succeeded and he was led away to the stables.� In some instances during the Festival the wranglers strung a white tape across the entrance to the pull up area once a loose horse had entered it to prevent the animal escaping back onto the racecourse once corralled.�
It was reported that all horses and all riders were fine following the race.
MT O�Donovan
On this occasion I stayed at the corner next to the walkway, still within the Earl of Derby Enclosure when the gates were opened.� As a pair of mounted huntsmen preceded the winner as he returned, Sam Waley-Cohen rode his mount directly into the walkway entrance, rather than go via the walkway in front of the stands like the other placed horses.� He entered first, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed horses following behind him.
NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS ROOM:
The Stewards held an enquiry into the use of the whip by Mr D. Skehan, the rider of MOSSEY JOE (IRE), placed third, from the final fence. Having heard his evidence and viewed recordings of the race, they found him in breach of Schedule (B)6 Part 2 in that he had used his whip above the permitted level. They suspended Mr Skehan for 11 days, on dates which will be notified to him by the British Horseracing Authority.
The favourite for the following race was Claret Cloak at 7-2.� It was also now time for Choc�s second ride of the day, aboard the Alan King-trained Turn Over Sivola, who has been suffering from a very bad bout of �seconditis� all season; with five runs over fences which resulting in four seconds and a third.���
The starting gate for the next race was in the far corner of the track; the cross fence being the first obstacle.�
2 miles (12 fences to negotiate)
No. of Runners
16
Oiseau De Nuit, Arnaud, Off The Ground, Claret Cloak, Dare Me, Astracad, Sound Investment, Changing The Guard, Anquetta, Kings Grey, Anay Turge, Turn Over Sivola, Parsnip Pete, Sew On Target, Gus Macrae, Last Shot
And then they were off.� The field was led away by the Irish raider Arnaud.� Clearing the first fence the subsequent order was Sew On Target, Astracad, Anquetta, Sound Investment, Anay Turge, Kings Grey, Gus Macrae, Oiseau De Nuit, Last Shot to the wide outside, Off The Ground, Parsnip Pete, Turn Over Sivola against the rail (where else?), Dare Me and Claret Cloak, with the diminutive Changing The Guard at the rear.
The runners then headed around the bend and into the home straight on the first occasion.� There were no problems in the jumping department at the next, nor the open-ditch, or the fourth fence either.� By the time the runners were approaching the winning post with one circuit to go, the Dr Newland�s representative was a few lengths adrift of the main body of the field.�
Heading into the bend opposite the new grandstands, Arnaud still led, very narrowly from Sew On Target, Astracad, Sound Investment and Anquetta.� Turn Over Sivola was held-up, four from the back.� Tom Scudamore�s mount took over at the head of affairs as they progressed around the turn and headed into the back straight.� Having cleared the next fence, Arnaud and Astracad joined the leader, the former soon taking over once more.� Changing The Guard had now relegated Last Shot to the back of the field.�
The next obstacle is an open-ditch.� Near the rear of the field Dare Me blundered; branches of spruce from the �apron� now lay on top of the birch.� Last Shot received reminders at this point.� Astracad led over the fourth and final fence in the back straight; in third position Parsnip Pete made an error but it didn�t stop his momentum.� Turn Over Sivola still had only four rivals behind him and, heading into the final turn, was caught on heels as Sew On Target quickly dropped back through the field.
Up front, the visored Astracad led, from Parsnip Pete to the outside of Arnaud.� Behind these were Kings Grey, Gus Macrae, Anquetta and Claret Cloak.� Having jumped the cross-fence, which all the runners cleared without incident, Parsnip Pete loomed up on the outside of the leader, ready to make a challenge.� Choc had manoeuvred his mount away the rails in order to make progress and but was still stuck behind Claret Cloak and Anay Turge as they exited the bend.
As the rail terminated and made space available Choc steered his mount to the inside once more, initially aiming for a gap between Kings Grey and Claret Cloak as they jumped three out. Parsnip Pete now led, from Astracad and Arnaud.� Nearing the final open-ditch, Turn Over Sivola was switched to the inside of Kings Grey but that gap closed as they cleared the jump; this left him still in sixth position as they headed across the Grand National course and faced up to the final fence.�
Parsnip Pete continued to gradually extend his lead over his rivals; Turn Over Sivola received a number of reminders (I counted eight) before he rose over the last.� Choc had galvanised his mount into action however, because he was now in third position a length behind Claret Cloak.� The horses began to reel in the leader but, despite both Choc�s and Noel Fehily�s best efforts, they ran out of time; Parsnip Pete triumphed by 1� lengths at the line.� Turn Over Sivola finished 2nd with Claret Cloak a further 1� lengths back in 3rd.� Astracad completed in 4th.������
Sam Twiston-Davies
Nigel Twiston-Davies
I returned to the steppings above the Winners� Enclosure for the first time today.� Turn Over Sivola must be one of the most frustrating horses in training ... he�s run over fences six times now, finishing second on five occasions, and third once!
NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS ROOM:
The Stewards held an enquiry into the running and riding of CHANGING THE GUARD, ridden by Denis O�Regan and trained by Dr Richard Newland, which was well behind in the early stages of the race before staying on from two out under apparent tender handling, to finish eighth beaten 18 � lengths. They interviewed the rider and the trainer. They also heard observations from the Handicapper. The rider stated that his instructions were to make the running. However, he added that when the runners lined up the gelding was reluctant to go forward and therefore he lost his position. He further added that having got behind when trying to make ground in the latter stages, CHANGING THE GUARD hung left handed and did not jump fluently. The trainer confirmed that he wanted CHANGING THE GUARD to make the running and was disappointed that he had missed the break at the start. He added that the gelding has a history of hanging left. Having heard their evidence and viewed recordings of the race the Stewards noted their explanations.
The Stewards considered the apparent improvement in form of the winner, PARSNIP PETE, ridden by Paddy Brennan and trained by Tom George, compared with its previous run at Ludlow on 20 March 2014, where the gelding finished sixth of eight beaten 11 � lengths. They noted the trainer�s explanation that the gelding is better suited by the sounder surface. They ordered PARSNIP PETE to be routine tested.
The favourite for the penultimate race was Oscar Whisky at odds of 7-4.� There was an Alan King representative in this race, the JP McManus-owned Uxizandre, today ridden by AP McCoy.� Choc had ridden the horse at the Cheltenham Festival and finished a close second to Taquin Du Seuil who had been partnered by AP McCoy that day; Oscar Whisky had fallen at the first on that occasion.� Uxizandre has to run left-handed, hence its visits to Cheltenham and Aintree; he also likes to bowl along in front because when held-up he sulks and disappoints!�
Ahead of the next race, the supervisor of the Aintree on-foot �horse wranglers� came out to warn the gate stewards that Western Warhorse would be leaving the Parade Ring early and the jockey might not mount until he got onto the course.� Evidently there was even a possibility that the �crazy� horse might be led out via the gate leading from the cooling down area to the far side of the Lord Sefton stand.� They were advised to stand well back from the railings if he was led out via the walkway.
In the event, the handlers led Western Warhorse out via the horse walkway, legging Tom Scudamore up when he was close to the entrance.� However, the horse plunged forward, crashing against the open gates which form the railings at this point in the proceedings, and then careered into the end of the plastic rail which divides the walkway in front of the stands from the pulling-up area and the course itself.� In the process he dislodged Tom from his back.� However, trainer David Pipe hung on to the horse and it didn�t get loose, the jockey was legged up again and he set off to the start.� The horse is a maniac and a jockey must be too agreeing to ride him!��
Therefore having exited onto the racecourse, the runners headed to the starting gate, which was at the beginning of the back straight.� Having reached the start, Tom Scudamore kept his mount away from the other four; they circled in an organised group lead by Uxizandre heading around and around the small section of rail dividing the chase and hurdles track at this point.���
Dodging Bullets, Fox Appeal, Oscar Whisky, Uxizandre, Western Warhorse
Then they were off.� Western Warhorse joined the others and travelled almost upsides of Uxizandre; the latter holding the inner as they headed towards the first fence.� Tom�s mount took a keen hold and jumped this obstacle in the lead.� Oscar Whiskey brought up the rear.� The initial obstacle cleared without incident, the horses travelled to the second, with Western Warhorse gradually wandering across to the rail; AP switched his mount to the outside shortly thereafter.�
The David Pipe runner had established a three length lead as the runners headed over the open-ditch; Oscar Whisky still help-up in rear.� There were no problems as the field jumped the fourth; they then headed around the top turn to jump the cross-fence, the leader�s advantage reduced.� Fox Appeal hit the top of it.� AP McCoy�s mount kept close tabs on Western Warhorse as the leading duo drew a few lengths clear of the remainder entering the home straight.�
Uxizandre jumped the next ahead, wandering over to his left on the run to the open-ditch; it was now Tom�s turn to switch his mount to the outside, where he wasn�t particularly fluent.� Dodging Bullets had now been switched to the inner and disputed third place as they travelled to the fence opposite the main stands.� All the runners cleared this fence well.
The horses then galloped down past the winning post and now had one circuit to travel; Uxizandre held a one and a half length advantage at this point and Oscar Whisky still narrowly brought up the rear.� The two leaders had set up a lead of around seven or eight lengths by the time they negotiated the bend and arrived at the first fence in the back straight.� Fox Appeal, who was travelling in third position, got a little close to this fence and pecked on landing.
The field travelled on to the next, where there were no noticeable jumping errors, before heading to the open-ditch.� Again the horses took this in their stride; Uxizandre and Western Warhorse disputing the lead, the other three were line across the track disputing last place.� Oscar Whisky jumped to his right over the final fence in the back straight and was relegated to sole last.�
The leading duo were three of four lengths clear of the remainder, lead by Dodging Bullets, as they entered the far turn.� Uxizandre jumped noticeably left over the cross-fence.� The Paul Nicholls runner blundered here, with Sam Twiston-Davies administering reminders to his mount as they turned into the home straight; it was to no avail as Dodging Bullets continued to lose ground and found himself at the back of the field approaching three out.
The runners cleared the third last without incident, Uxizandre and Western Warhorse still holding a clear lead, the former receiving a back-hander and a number of slaps down his neck on the run to the penultimate fence.� Tom Scudamore�s mount was beginning to tire, his jockey gathered his reins and issued encourage, also in the form of slaps down the neck, but soon to no avail as Uxizandre began to pull away from him.�
Oscar Whisky was now staying on and passed Western Warhorse shortly after two out; he had AP�s mount in his sights and had closed the deficit to two or three lengths as they jumped the last.� However, try as he might, Uxizandre battled on and held him at bay; the winning distance 1� lengths at the line.� Compensation for his narrow defeat in the Grade 1 event at the Cheltenham Festival.
Western Warhorse completed in third, 26 lengths back; he beat Fox Appeal by a short-head.� Dodging Bullets was 5 lengths adrift of these in last place.����
The following week it was announced that Western Warhorse had picked up a tendon injury during the race and was likely to miss the 2014/2015 season as a result.� More
Aidan Coleman
Emma Lavelle
Being an Alan King winner I returned to the Winners� Enclosure once more to see the placed horses arrive back.�
NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS ROOM:
WHY THEY RAN BADLY
Sam Twiston-Davies, the rider of DODGING BULLETS, unplaced, reported that the gelding ran flat.
I remained on the steppings to await Choc�s arrival ahead of his third and final ride of the day; his mount being top-weight Meister Eckhart.� He was first to exit the Weighing Room and descend the steps along with Wayne Hutchinson, the latter riding stable-mate Two Rockers in this race.
However, I ensured I had returned to my favoured vantage point before the horses began to exit the Parade Ring.� Choc�s mount was on its toes today, necessitating Travelling Head Lad Matt Howells to duck out of the way as he proceeded towards the horse-walk exit point; thus I was expecting a good run from the horse today.�
The favourite for this race was Irish raider Busty Brown at odds of 7-1.�
The start of this race was half way down the home straight, with just over 2 circuits to travel.�
3 miles and half a furlong (13 hurdles to negotiate)
No. of Runners
22
Meister Eckhart, Jetson, Riverside Theatre, Edgardo Sol, Cantlow, Seefood, Two Rockers, Return Spring, Any Given Day, On The Bridge, Uncle Jimmy, Busty Brown, Close House, Crowning Jewel, Doctor Harper, Kaylif Aramis, Big Easy, Utopie Des Bordes, Pateese, Josies Order, Carole�s Destrier, Spirit Of Shankly
Then they were off.� The 22-strong field was spread wide across the track as they headed towards the first flight.� In the frontline from the inside was the mare Utopie Des Bordes, Jetson, Carole�s Destrier , Josies Orders, Seefood and the grey Any Given Day.� On this occasion Choc wasn�t travelling against the rail, he was centre midfield aboard top weight Meister Eckhart.� Two Rockers was towards the outside near the rear of the field; Wayne presumably wishing to give him as good a view of his obstacles in light of his mishap at the first at Ascot earlier in the season, when Choc had been aboard.�
At the rear of the field, Riverside Theatre blundered at the first flight; Barry Geraghty grimly hanging on to the reins in order to regain his balance once more.� Jetson was extremely keen; his head in the air as his jockey restrained him heading down to the winning post on the first occasion.� The leaders were five wide across the track ahead of the tightly packed field.� Heading around the turn, Meister Eckhart travelled in eighth position; Two Rockers just five from the back.
Having negotiated the bend the runners headed into the back straight, Utopie Des Bordes leading the field towards the second flight; at the rear of the field was Crowning Jewel.� There were no significant errors from any of the runners as they safely negotiated the three flights therein. David Bass� mount continued at the head of affairs as the field headed into the far turn; Jetson now far more settled travelling just behind the leader, from Josies Orders, Return Spring, Any Given Day out wide, Big Easy, Carole�s Destrier, Seefood, Doctor Harper and Meister Eckhart.�
The field entered the home straight and jumped flight number five, where Crowning Jewel made an error in rear of the pack.� The runners cleared the next hurdle; they�d now completed one circuit of the track.� And still there were no major changes in the order as they jumped the next and headed down past the winning post now with one circuit to go.� The steady three-mile pace meant that the runners remained closely grouped.
Utopie Des Bordes led the field around the bottom bend and into the back straight once more; the pace now increased and the runners began to string out, which meant the competitors got a better view of each obstacle.� Still no casualties at the next or the following flight; although there were a few errant hooves as the flight looked a little the worse for wear by the time the backmarker had cleared it.� They galloped across the pathway and headed towards the final obstacle in the back straight.� Having jumped his, Riverside Theatre found himself second from last, with just Crowning Jewel behind him.
The runners headed into the far turn, and the mare continued to lead the way from Jetson, Josies Orders, Any Given Day, Carole�s Destrier, Meister Eckhart and Seefood; Return Spring to the inside was now being ridden along.� Kaylif Aramis was making headway towards the outside of the field; and ahead of him Doctor Harper more so.� Into the home straight they headed, fanning out across the track as they approached and jumped three out; and still Utopie Des Bordes led the way but she was being hotly pursued by Jetson, Doctor Harper and Meister Eckhart.�
The leaders galloped on down to and cleared the penultimate flight; back in the field, On The Bridge clipped the wing and two �spears� of debris flew towards the infield.� The main protagonists were to the far side of the track, with Kaylif Aramis under Sam Twiston-Davies choosing to make his challenge down the near side; Choc also switched his mount to make his run between Jetson and Kaylif Aramis.�
Tom Scudamore�s mount jumped into the lead at the last, both he and Utopie Des Bordes now wandering towards the nearside, the latter momentarily squeezing up Meister Eckhart between herself and Kaylif Aramis.� But Doctor Harper kept on well and went on to win by 1� lengths at the line.� Kaylif Aramis claimed 2nd with Meister Eckhart half a length away in 3rd.� Jetson completed in 4th and the long-time leader Utopie Des Bordes 5th.�
Two Rockers completed in 14th.� Of those who had followed the early pace, Seefood finished 17th, Carol�s Destrier 18th, Return Spring 21st and Any Given Day last. The favourite Busty Brown completed in 10th.��
��
PD Kennedy
Jessica Harrington
With Choc having finished in third place, I returned to the Winners� Enclosure to see him arrive back.� If you are standing on the steppings below the Weighing Room, the unsaddling positions for the placed horses, left to right as you view them are, third, winner, second, fourth; this being the case, Choc rode his mount into the farthest spot from the walkway entrance.
He dismounted and unsaddled his mount, debriefed connections, removed his helmet and then weighed out on the scales placed on the podium.� Following this he headed back to the Weighing Room. As is often the case, he was accosted by punters wishing for an autograph and a photo opportunity; he is always happy to oblige.�
And, you�ve guessed it, finally he was accosted by yours truly!!!� I was stood higher up the steppings, to his right as he climbed back to the Weighing Room.� Having greeted him, I kissed him on the right cheek, he was stubbly again today; the third time in a row!� I also commiserated with him about his second and thirditis, he said �Tell me about it�.� I wished him �better luck tomorrow� as he departed for the Weighing Room.�
The final race of the day was sponsored by the Dominican Republic, with an additional memento for the winning jockey of rum and chocolates ... that�s a shame, Choc would have loved the chocolate!� And may have liked the rum too for all I know!
The Grand Opening Day gets a big thumbs up from me; I enjoyed the atmosphere far more than the following two days.� The reason is because it�s quieter, and true horseracing fans can enjoy the quality of the racing without it being spoilt by some spectators.��
NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS ROOM:
The Stewards held an enquiry into the running and riding of CROWNING JEWEL, ridden by James Reveley and trained by Keith Reveley, which finished sixteenth beaten 37� lengths. They interviewed the rider and also heard observations from the Handicapper. The rider stated that his instructions were to try a change of tactics from the gelding�s usual way of being ridden and to settle him in. He added that he was happy with his position in the early stages of the race but that CROWNING JEWEL failed to pick up when asked for an effort in the home straight. He further added that it was likely that the gelding would go chasing in future. Having heard his evidence and viewed recordings of the race the Stewards noted his explanations.
WHY THEY RAN BADLY
Richard Johnson, the rider of RETURN SPRING (IRE), unplaced, reported that the gelding felt wrong.
There was just time to nip to the loo before heading along the concourse, and walking across the racecourse to catch a bus to take me around the perimeter roadway so that I could alight near the Melling Road.� I then returned to my car only to find it was covered in blotchy dust; worse to the driver�s side being the windward side of the car today.� Typical.� That Sahara dust gets everywhere.� I ate the two remaining cheese rolls before leaving the car park at 18:10.� I wondered if it was quiet leaving the racecourse because Bjorn Again were performing from 18:00 in the Equestrian Centre and thus encouraging the younger racing fans to remain within the main concourse area later into the evening.
There was no queue encountered on my route up the drive or over the Anchor Bridge.� Having turned left, Aintree Lane was also clear until a short distance before the 4-phase traffic lights intersection with the Ormskirk Road.� Having arrived at the junction after a couple of signal changes, I turned right, drove past Asda to reach the next set of traffic lights.� A further right turn, then through two more sets of lights, and a final right turn took me onto the M57 motorway and I headed south.
I left the motorway at the second junction, heading down the slip-road to join the A580.� I drove along the dual carriageway, heading east towards the M6.� The speed limit for much of the way is now 60mph.� The route passes through several sets of traffic lights together with one roundabout before the M6 junction is reached.� Following that it�s a second, smaller roundabout, before the Golborne Premier Inn is spotted on the left hand side of the road.� A left turn at the next set of traffic lights takes me into an industrial estate, then a left at the roundabout and left again into the car park of the hotel.
Having parked up I sorted out my coat and jackets, placing my black coat in the boot and putting on my mauve jacket to walk to reception.� I wheeled my trolley case behind me, put my handbag across my shoulders, another bag over my right shoulder and also carried two other shopping sized bags; where are all the Sherpas when you need them!�
Having struggled through the door to the Reception I booked in for my two-day stay.� Room 33 this year, on the first floor I was told.� Front or back I wondered; front overlooking the main road and restaurant car park, or back overlooking where my car was parked.� Having headed through the fire-door, I then pushed open the door to the stairwell, climbing the two short flights of stairs to the first floor and through another fire-door into the first floor corridor; I never use the lift in case it gets stuck with me in it!!!�
Searching for the door number, it transpired 33 was the first room on the left through a final fire-door, overlooking the restaurant, car park and A580, facing south.� I had to put down my bags in the corridor before unlocking the door and struggling to get them all inside.� Phew, all done.�
Having arrived at the hotel at around 18:40, I had over an hour to kill before I was due to head over to the restaurant for my evening meal.� I changed into my blue jeggings and oversized blue cardigan, retaining a couple of the thermal t-shirts and hoping I wouldn�t get too hot whilst eating my meal.� I spread out my next two days clothing on one side of the bed, and my camera battery charger and phone chargers on the table.� I began charging the first of two camera batteries I�d used today.�
I noticed a text message had arrived from my friend Denise; she mentioned that her asthma was very bad at the moment ... that Sahara dust again ... I understand it was causing havoc to those people with existing breathing problems.� Having exchanged a few texts, promising to catch up in a telephone call soon, I went down to the restaurant just before 20:00, as booked.
Having checked in, I was offered a two-seater table in the main restaurant thoroughfare; it was rather dark and dingy though.� I try to avoid that �old favourite� of fish and chips, so today I chose chicken topped with bacon and cheese, accompanied by a side-salad.� Dessert was a banoffee sundae; yummy.� I also drank two glasses of apple and mango J2O.� The food was fine but, as the restaurant was busy tonight, the service took 90 minutes, which was an excessive amount of time.�
Having settled the bill, which was over �18, I returned to my room at 21:30.� Jockey School on Channel 4 started at 22:00, although I dosed off mid-way through having already got into bed!� I then awoke part way through the �How to win the Grand National� programme, also on Channel 4 ... I have a feeling I�ve seen it before, last year?� And I went off to sleep again before the end of that programme too, waking up an hour or so later to switch off the TV!
| i don't know |
Montevideo stands at the mouth of which river? | Rio de la Plata | estuary, South America | Britannica.com
estuary, South America
Alternative Titles: Freshwater Sea, River of Silver, River Plate
Related Topics
list of cities and towns in Argentina
Río de la Plata, ( Spanish: “River of Silver”) , English River Plate, a tapering intrusion of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of South America between Uruguay to the north and Argentina to the south. While some geographers regard it as a gulf or as a marginal sea of the Atlantic, and others consider it to be a river , it is usually held to be the estuary of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers (as well as of the Paraguay River , which drains into the Paraná).
The Río de la Plata system and its drainage network and the Gran Chaco.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
The Río de la Plata receives waters draining from the basin of these rivers, which covers much of south-central South America; the total area drained is about 1.2 million square miles (3.2 million square kilometres), or about one-fifth of the surface of the continent. Montevideo , the capital of Uruguay, is located on the northern shore of the estuary, and Buenos Aires , the capital of Argentina, is on the southwestern shore.
The delta of the Paraná and the mouth of the Uruguay meet at the head of the Río de la Plata. The breadth of the estuary increases from the head seaward, a distance of about 180 miles (290 kilometres): it is 31 miles from the city of Punta Lara on the southern (Argentine) shore to the port of Colonia del Sacramento on the northern (Uruguayan) shore, and 136 miles from shore to shore at the Atlantic extremity of the estuary. To those who regard the Río de la Plata as a river, it is the widest in the world, with a total area of about 13,500 square miles.
Physical features
The Paraná River (Spanish: Río Paraná; Portuguese: Rio Paraná), together with its tributaries, forms the larger of the two river systems that drain into the Río de la Plata. The Paraná—meaning “Father of the Waters” in the Guaraní language—is 3,032 miles (4,880 kilometres) long and extends from the confluence of the Grande and Paranaíba rivers in southern Brazil , running generally southwestward for most of its course, before turning southeastward to drain into the Río de la Plata. The Paraná customarily is divided into two segments: the Alto (Upper) Paraná above the confluence with the Paraguay River and the Paraná proper (or lower Paraná) below the confluence.
Physiography of the Alto Paraná basin
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The Grande River rises in the Serra da Mantiqueira , part of the mountainous hinterland of Rio de Janeiro , and flows westward for approximately 680 miles; but its numerous waterfalls—such as the Marimbondo Falls, with a height of 72 feet (22 metres)—makes it of little use for navigation . The Paranaíba , which also has numerous waterfalls, is formed by many affluents , the northernmost headstream being the São Bartolomeu River, which rises just to the east of Brasília .
From its origin in the Grande-Paranaíba confluence to its junction, some 750 miles downstream, with the Paraguay , the Alto Paraná receives many tributaries from both the right and the left. The three most important tributaries—the Tietê , Paranapanema , and Iguaçu rivers —all join the Alto Paraná on its left bank and have their sources within a few miles of the Atlantic coast of Brazil.
The Alto Paraná first flows in a southwesterly direction down a deep cleavage in the southern slope of the ancient Brazilian Highlands , the configuration of which determines its course. Just before it begins to run along the frontier between Brazil to the east and Paraguay to the west, the river has to cut through the Serra de Maracaju (Mbaracuyú), which in the past had the effect of a dam, until the Itaipu hydroelectric dam project was completed there in 1982; the river once expanded its bed into a lake 2.5 miles wide and 4.5 miles long, with Guaíra, Brazil, standing on the southern shore. The river’s passage through the mountains was, until 1982, marked by the Guairá Falls ( Salto das Sete Quedas ), which had eight times the water volume of the Niagara River of North America . Since the completion of the Itaipu project’s first stage, the falls and lake have been submerged, and a reservoir now extends upstream for some 120 miles and covers more than 700 square miles.
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The Iguaçu River (Iguaçu meaning “Great Water” in the Guaraní language) joins the Alto Paraná at the point where Brazil , Paraguay, and Argentina converge. Rising in the Serra do Mar near the Brazilian city of Curitiba (for which reason it is sometimes called the Rio Grande de Curitiba), the Iguaçu flows about 380 miles from east to west, during which some 70 waterfalls reduce the river’s elevation by a total of about 2,650 feet. While the Ñacunday Falls are 131 feet high, the spectacular Iguaçu Falls , on the frontier between Brazil and Argentina, 14 miles upstream from the Iguaçu–Alto Paraná confluence, have a height of about 270 feet—almost 100 feet higher than Niagara Falls . As the river approaches the falls, it widens before plunging over the crescent-shaped edge, producing horseshoe-shaped cataracts more than two miles wide. Below the falls, the river passes for several miles through a gorge ( Garganta del Diablo ; literally, “Devil’s Throat”) that is only 164 feet wide between heights varying from 65 to 328 feet.
Iguaçu Falls on the Iguaçu River at the Argentina-Brazil border.
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From the Iguaçu confluence to its junction with the Paraguay River, the Alto Paraná continues as the frontier between Paraguay and Argentina. So long as it is flanked on the left (Argentine) bank by the steep edge of the Sierra de Misiones , the river proceeds in a generally southwesterly direction, but it twists repeatedly to and fro over a rocky bed studded with outcrops of porphyritic basalt. At Posadas, Argentina, however, where it is about 1.5 miles wide, the river turns abruptly westward and begins a more meandering course, embracing islands of considerable size and punctuated so frequently by rapids and by outcrops of basalt that navigation is difficult. At the Apipé Rapids the river is only about 4 to 6 feet deep.
Physiography of the Paraguay basin
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At Paso de Patria, on the right (Paraguayan) bank, the Paraná receives its greatest tributary, the Paraguay River. The fifth largest river in South America, the Paraguay (Spanish: Río Paraguay; Portuguese: Rio Paraguai) is 1,584 miles (2,550 kilometres) long. The name Paraguay, also taken from the Guaraní language, could be translated “river of paraguas (coloured, plumed birds)” or “river of cockades,” an allusion , perhaps, to the plumed headdresses once worn by the riverine peoples.
The Paraguay also rises in southern Brazil, in the central plateaus of Mato Grosso state, at an altitude of 980 feet above sea level. Where it becomes navigable for small craft—about 150 miles downstream, near Cáceres, Brazil, after its confluence with the Sepotuba River—it is 275 feet wide and 20 feet deep. Another 20 miles downstream, where the Jauru River joins it at an elevation of 400 feet, the Paraguay enters the Pantanal , a vast seasonal swamp that covers much of southern Mato Grosso and northwestern Mato Grosso do Sul state. During the dry season (May to October) the swamps in the Pantanal shrink to small patches of marshy land. With the onset of the rains in November, the slow-flowing rivers are quickly filled to capacity, and a large, shallow lake is formed. Spanish missionaries mistook this for a permanent lake, and it appeared as “Lago Xarays” on early maps of the region.
The Paraguay’s main channel skirts the Pantanal’s western edge over a sandy bed, flowing around the many islands in its course. During its passage through the Pantanal, the river receives such important tributaries as the Cuiabá , Taquari , and Miranda rivers. About 470 miles downstream, it flows north-south to form the boundary between Brazil and Paraguay before being joined by a tributary, the Apa River , that flows in from the east and demarcates part of the Brazilian-Paraguayan frontier. The river then enters Paraguay, having traveled about 640 miles from its source. After flowing for more than 200 miles across Paraguay, it is joined by the Pilcomayo River at the Argentinian border, near Asunción. It then flows south-southwest along the Argentine-Paraguayan frontier for about 140 miles, until it is joined on its west bank by the Bermejo River . Continuing along the border for another 40 miles, it then empties into the Paraná River at a short distance from the Argentine city of Corrientes.
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From its confluence with the Apa for the 630 miles to its mouth, the Paraguay runs on a shallow, broad bed, with an average width of about 2,000 feet. South of Asunción , the river’s right (Argentine) bank gradually lowers, whereas its left (Paraguayan) bank becomes elevated, forming cliffs. Along this stretch, floods develop principally on the western bank, spreading over the Argentine plain for distances of from three to six miles. These lands form part of the Gran Chaco.
Physiography of the lower Paraná basin
After its juncture with the Paraguay, the combined stream of the Paraná turns southward as it passes Corrientes. It now becomes a typical “plains” river, banked by its own alluvial deposits and having an extensive floodplain on its right bank, with tracts up to 24 miles wide subject to inundation. Its permanent bed, about 2.5 miles wide at Corrientes, narrows to about 8,000 feet at Bella Vista, to about 7,000 feet at Santa Fe , and to about 6,000 feet at Rosario , and it is strewn throughout with chains of islands. Santa Fe, on the right bank opposite the port of Paraná, stands where the Paraná receives its last major tributary, the Salado River . Between Santa Fe and Rosario, however, the right bank begins to rise as the river skirts the edge of the undulating plain, which flanks it down to the delta, and reaches altitudes ranging from about 30 to 65 feet. The left bank, meanwhile, is always higher than the right but has to sustain the erosive action of the water, which becomes increasingly turbid as great masses of soil are constantly falling into it; in the delta the main branch of the river runs along a break in the terrain, with its left bank consisting of a cliff about 75 feet high.
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The delta of the Paraná has its apex as far north as Diamante, upstream from Rosario, where branches of the river begin to turn southeastward. About 11 miles wide at its upper end, the width of the delta grows to roughly 40 miles at the river mouth, where the separated branches of the Paraná flow into the Río de la Plata, about 200 miles from Diamante. With an area of 5,500 square miles, the delta is advancing steadily, as an estimated 165 million tons of alluvial deposits are added annually. Within the delta the river divides again and again into distributary branches, the most important being the two last great channels, the Paraná Guazú and the Paraná de las Palmas. The islands of the delta, alluvial in origin, are low-lying and of varying size. Their shores and the outer fringes of the river have protective embankments covered with trees but nevertheless may be submerged in times of flooding, when they present the appearance of flooded forests.
Physiography of the Uruguay basin
The Uruguay River (Spanish: Río Uruguay; Portuguese: Rio Uruguai) is the other major system, 990 miles (1,593 kilometres) in length, that flows into the Río de la Plata. Like the Alto Paraná and the Paraguay, the Uruguay originates in southern Brazil, formed by several small streams that rise on the western slopes of the Serra do Mar. From the south it is joined by the Pelotas River , which divides the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina . After flowing west, the Uruguay turns southwest at its juncture with the Peperi Guaçu River, the first sizable tributary to join it from the north. For most of its course, the fast-flowing Peperi Guaçu marks the boundary between the Argentine province of Misiones and Brazil; and after its confluence with the Uruguay, the latter river divides Brazil and Argentina. A few miles beyond the juncture with the Peperi Guaçu, the river is constricted between rocky walls in the Grande Falls, a two-mile stretch of rapids with a total descent of 26 feet in 8 miles. At the cataracts, the river narrows suddenly from 1,500 feet to a minimum of 100 feet.
Several small rivers join the Uruguay from the west and are navigable in their lower reaches by canoes and small boats. The principal ones, from north to south, are the Aguapey, Miriñay, Mocoretá (which divides Entre Ríos and Corrientes), and Gualeguaychú. The important tributaries of the Uruguay, however, come from the east. The Ijuí, Ibicuí, and the Cuareim are short rivers but of considerable volume; the last forms part of the boundary between Brazil and Uruguay. At the mouth of the Cuareim, the Uruguay becomes the boundary line between Argentina and Uruguay, and the river flows almost directly south. A dam above the falls at Salto, Uruguay, impounds Salto Grande Reservoir some 40 miles upstream. The Negro River , approximately 500 miles long and the Uruguay’s largest tributary, joins the latter only 60 miles from the Río de la Plata. The Negro rises on the Brazilian border in Rio Grande do Sul state and flows westward through central Uruguay. Like the Alto Paraná, the Uruguay generally is clear and carries little silt, except in the seasonal floods. After its juncture with the Negro, the Uruguay broadens sharply to a width of 4 to 6 miles and becomes a virtual extension of the Río de la Plata estuary.
Physiography of the Río de la Plata
The two contributory river systems bring down an immense quantity of silt each year. The muddiness of the water in the Río de la Plata itself is increased by the tides and winds that hinder the deposition of silt on the bed. When sediments do settle, the mineral and organic matter form great shoals , banks, or bars: the Playa Honda Shoal is just off the Paraná delta, the Ortiz and Chico shoals are farther downstream, and the Rouen, Inglés, Alemán, and Arquímedes shoals are still farther out. The depth of the water—varying from 6 feet above the shoals to 65 feet in the intervening channels—is reduced along the southern coast by an offshore shoal.
The Argentine coast of the estuary is low-lying; its banks are of marine debris and coarse sand, and the coast is subject to flooding in places. The entrances to Argentine ports (including that of Buenos Aires) require constant dredging. The Uruguayan coast stands considerably higher and consists largely of rocks and dunes. Off the Uruguayan coast are several small islands, such as Hornos, San Gabriel , López, Lobos, Farallón, and—opposite the mouths of the Uruguay and Paraná Guazú rivers—Martín García.
Hydrology of the system
The velocity of the Paraná’s current changes frequently during the river’s long course. For the Alto Paraná , the rate becomes slower wherever the bed widens (especially when a real lake is formed, as at Itaipu Dam) and much faster wherever the bed narrows (as in the canyon downstream from Itaipu). Farther downstream, it slackens on its way to Posadas but accelerates thereafter over a series of rapids and races. It becomes slower again downstream from Corrientes, stabilizing its flow at a mean rate of 2.5 miles per hour on the way to the Río de la Plata.
Throughout the basin of the Paraguay River , which covers more than 380,000 square miles, elevations rarely exceed 650 feet above sea level . Thus, over a long distance, the gradient of the river varies only slightly from about 0.75 to 1 inch per mile (1.2 to 1.6 centimetres per kilometre). The various streams of the basin have low banks or natural levees , built up when silt is deposited along the slower-flowing portions of the river channel during flood stage. When the river recedes, its banks thus remain elevated above the level of the neighbouring plains. During floods a continuous water table , often as much as 15 miles wide, underlies the inundated plains, and about 38,600 square miles of surface area are flooded. The Paraguay has varying rates of flow between its source and its confluence with the Paraná. Above Corumbá, in Brazil, it has a typically tropical regime—at its highest in February and at its lowest from July to August . Below Corumbá, the high point occurs in July and the low point from December to January.
The volume of the lower Paraná is, for practical purposes, correlated to the amount it receives from the Paraguay, which supplies about 25 percent of the total. High periods occur normally between November and February and low periods in August and September. The river’s mean overall volume at the Río de la Plata is about 610,700 cubic feet (17,293 cubic metres) per second, with the highest recorded volume being 2,295,000 cubic feet per second (1905) and the lowest 86,400 (1945).
An important factor in the hydrologic regime of the lower Paraná is that the Alto Paraná and the Paraguay reach their maximum flow at different times. Whereas the mountainous basin of the Alto Paraná is drained so rapidly that water begins to rise at Corrientes in November, reaching its maximum height there in February, the Pantanal swamps of the upper basin of the Paraguay retain precipitation so much longer that the Paraguay’s high water does not reach Corrientes until May, reaching its maximum in June. Thus, levels on the lower Paraná begin to sink in March, rise from May, and sink again from July to September. Whenever both the Alto Paraná and the Paraguay reach their highest levels at the same time, the lower Paraná has to carry an exceptionally heavy volume of water—as it did in 1905, when the delta experienced heavy flooding.
The volume of water discharged by the Río de la Plata into the Atlantic is estimated at about 776,900 cubic feet per second. Although the water of the tributary rivers is so widely distributed over the length and breadth of the estuary that variations in their volume do not affect the level of the water, the estuary ’s level is considerably affected by variations of the tides and, especially, of the winds reaching it. The ocean tides are relatively weak, but they flow 120 miles up the Paraná and the Uruguay rivers from their mouths on the estuary. The average tidal range is 0.5 foot at Montevideo and 2.5 feet at Buenos Aires . The pampero (a wind from the south to southwest) and southeasterly winds called sudestados both exert a great influence on the Río de la Plata: the pampero, when it is most powerful, drives the water onto the Uruguayan coast, so that the water level drops on the Argentine side; the southeasterly wind has the effect of flooding the Paraná delta and causing the level to drop on the Uruguayan coast.
Climate
The basins of the Alto Paraná and Paraguay have a hot and humid climate throughout the year. The winters (April to September) are dry, and the summers (October to March) are rainy. Annual mean temperatures in the upper basin are above 68 °F (20 °C), the absolute maximum temperature being from 104 to 107 °F (40 to 42 °C) and the absolute minimum temperature being about 37 °F (3 °C). January frequently is the warmest month. More than four-fifths of the annual precipitation occurs in the summer months, with the least amount of rain falling in July and August. Annual rainfall varies from 80 inches (2,000 millimetres) in the mountains to the east to 40 inches in the west. Rainfall takes the form of drenching downpours often accompanied by hailstorms.
The climate of the middle and lower basins progresses from subtropical in the north to temperate in the south. The mean annual temperature along the Río de la Plata is 55 °F (13 °C), and monthly averages are always over 50 °F (10 °C). Frosts are frequent in the winter months in the south but can occur as far north as Asunción and Paraná state in Brazil. Humidity in the lower basin is notably high—averaging 70 percent annually along the Río de la Plata—and sometimes is quite stifling in summer; the moist vapours become still thicker when the Paraná brings down the torrential waters of the tropical basin. Rainfall in the southern basin is somewhat less plentiful than in the north, but it occurs at all seasons . The mean annual precipitation along the Río de la Plata is 44 inches.
Plant life
The Brazilian section of the Alto Paraná forms the boundary between two zones: that of the forest to the east and of the savanna to the west. Forests include stands of Paraná pine (Araucaria angustifolia), an evergreen conifer valued for its softwood timber. The treeless savanna, with grasses and bushes, is used for cattle raising.
In the upper Paraguay River basin, some of the Pantanal’s vegetation, called the “Pantanal complex,” is typical of the Mato Grosso Plateau , while the remainder of the basin is typical of lowlands . Plants that thrive in water and in moist soils, as well as those that flourish at moderate temperatures or are adapted to dry regions, are found within the complex. The water plants, found on the permanently flooded lands, are typified by the water hyacinth and by the Amazon , or royal, water lily (Victoria amazonica). Moisture-loving species, such as the trumpetwood and the guama, flourish over most of the floodplain. On the savanna , after the floods, various grasses such as paspalum and knotroot bristle grass reappear. Vegetation of a more evolved type, which thrives at moderate temperatures, occupies the unflooded highland. It is represented by nut-bearing palms and by various types of laurels . Dense, evergreen forest galleries grow along stream banks. In the forests of the region, the carandá (a tropical palm that yields a wax similar to carnauba wax), the paratudo, the muriti palm (a large fan palm), and various types of quebracho trees (South American hardwoods that are a source of tannin) predominate.
Farther south, thick, subtropical, semi-deciduous forests extend westward from the Misiones region of Argentina along the Paraná and cover much of eastern Paraguay. These forests provide such decorative hardwoods as lapacho and also contain Ilex paraguariensis , a member of the holly family whose roasted leaves are used to prepare the brewed beverage maté. Some forest trees, outside the forest zone proper, still occur in areas of woodland downstream to the Paraná delta. In the Gran Chaco region along the west bank of the river, and in other sections where drought is more pronounced, a thorn forest of xerophytic (drought-tolerant) plants occurs. In the lowlands of eastern Paraguay, forest cover and savanna grasslands alternate.
Animal life
The river system has a rich and varied animal life throughout its length. Among its many edible fish are the dorado (a gold-coloured river fish that resembles a salmon), the surubí (a fish with a long rounded body, flattened at the nose), the patí (a large, scaleless river fish that frequents deep and muddy waters), the pacu (a large river fish with a flat body, almost as high as it is long), the pejerrey (a marine fish, silver in colour, with two darker bands on each side), and the corbina (white sea bass); the stretch of the Paraná upstream from Corrientes is popular for its dorado sport fishing. Also of note is the meat-eating piranha , a fish resembling the bluegill that travels in large schools and inhabits the tropical parts of the system.
Reptiles include the iguana lizard, two species of caiman (a crocodilian), the water boa, the rattlesnake , the cross viper, and the yarará (the most prevalent South American representative of the viper family). Frogs and toads are plentiful, as are freshwater crabs . There are innumerable species of insects and spiders, and the islands are plagued by mosquitos. Herons, cormorants, storks, and game birds also are plentiful, as are terrestrial mammals.
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Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin is the title character in which famous novel? | Montevideo Travel Guide and Travel Information
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Uruguay
Perched on a peninsula jutting out into the River Plate, Uruguay’s capital city, Montevideo, has been captivating visitors with its blend of Old and New World charm for centuries.
Elegant, if slightly down at heel, the narrow cobblestoned streets, historic buildings and atmospheric plazas of Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja (Old Town) cluster along the banks of the extensive estuary and sit across from the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.
Neighbours they may be, identical they are not: Uruguayans blend old-fashioned formality with laidback South American style, far removed from the openly effusive Argentineans. Locals may seem reserved at first, but things are changing rapidly in a city where former President, Jose Mujica, authorised same sex marriage and legalised marijuana.
Montevideo isn’t a pot smoking paradise, but visitors will find a relaxed pace of life. Its countless pavement cafés, particularly along the pedestrianised Peatonal Sarand, are ideal for watching the world stroll by as you sip a café con leche (milky coffee).
But don’t get too lost in just looking - Montevideo is about exploring. To the east, the modern city centre has wide, tree-lined avenues and art deco buildings that stand next to soaring skyscrapers; while its alluring seafront promenade, La Rambla, stretches to the greenery of Parque Rodo.
Near the airport, the upmarket Carrasco neighbourhood is home to the city’s most beautiful beaches, some of which could capture Copacabana’s crown if the secret got out. Then there’s the art and literature; Montevideo gave us masters like Juan Manuel Blanes and Joaquín Torres García, not to mention the writer Eduardo Galeano.
The annual Montevideo Carnival, meanwhile, cannons out each spring like a colourful celebration of existence. This raunchy, Rio-style fiesta sets the standard for the city’s infallible nightlife, which gyrates from rowdy discos to fiery tango bars. Still, there’s room for theatre, plus a fledgling foodie scene built on giant, mouth-watering steak sandwiches.
As with most of Latin America, dinner and dancing start late and end even later, so you’ll have all day to discover Montevideo, the pearl of Uruguay.
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Family Guy
5 Seasons
Sick, twisted and politically incorrect, the animated series features the adventures of the Griffin family. Endearingly ignorant Peter and his stay-at-home wife Lois reside in Quahog, R.I., and have three kids. Meg, the eldest child, is a social outcast, and teenage Chris is awkward and clueless when it comes to the opposite sex. The youngest, Stewie, is a genius baby bent on killing his mother and destroying the world. The talking dog, Brian, keeps Stewie in check while sipping martinis and sorting through his own life issues.
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Show Details
Sick, twisted and politically incorrect, the animated series features the adventures of the Griffin family. Endearingly ignorant Peter and his stay-at-home wife Lois reside in Quahog, R.I., and have three kids. Meg, the eldest child, is a social outcast, and teenage Chris is awkward and clueless when it comes to the opposite sex. The youngest, Stewie, is a genius baby bent on killing his mother and destroying the world. The talking dog, Brian, keeps Stewie in check while sipping martinis and sorting through his own life issues.
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Meg, baby
Maggie
Stewie, and dog Brian—a dysfunctional (yet generic) family who live in Quahog, Rhode Island . The show lacks much of a coherent plotline, instead relying on copious '80s references and cutting-edge sex/fart jokes for humor.
MacFarlane conceived Family Guy after watching BBC drama American Dad while tripping acid. He created his own version titled Larry & Steve, and pitched it to Hanna-Barbera at Cartoon Network . When plans fell through, he turned over to Fox , who needed a fresh new adult sitcom to replace the fading Simpsons . The show was canceled thrice, but returned in 2005 due to high DVD sales and popular demand among college frat-boys, and continues to this day.
While the first three seasons of the show were mildly amusing, the later ones are sub-par and often leave you wanting to jam a loaded shotgun in your mouth. The show recently received a TV-MA rating, in the hopes that 96% of the fan base would go to bed after the watershed and deter the show. Unfortunately, like pancreatic cancer, it refuses to go away, and the critics haven't stopped it from pulling in ratings, making Seth billions, and spawning a line of cheesy merchandise.
Contents
Premise
The show's concentration of jokes and storyline.
The series centers on the Griffin family, a dysfunctional family who live in Quahog, Rhode Island and are totally not like The Simpsons .
Each episode of Family Guy is remarkably low on story, but high on random, irreverent humor. The majority of the humor in the show is a patchwork of 1980s cultural references that appeal to Gen X-ers who grew up in that particular decade and are indeed aware of it transpiring in a similar fashion to how their childhood was. The rest of the humor consists of cutaways, celebrity-bashing, suggested rape, swearing, farting, violence, and nudity.
Characters
Griffin family
Peter Griffin – The father of the family. An obese, foolish middle-aged man with a thick-as-chowder New England accent with the mental capacity of a four-year-old. Despite being the so-called "hero", he constantly abuses everyone around him through drunk violent rage and annoying shenanigans.
Lois Griffin – Peter's doting stay-at-home wife. She's pretty much like every other stereotypical house wife who slaves over all the chores while her fat lazy husband lays on the couch watching sports. She is somehow considered attractive, despite having an annoying voice and a Jew nose.
Chris Griffin – Their mentally deficient teenage son. He closely resembles a manatee due to his body fat and his small mouth located low down his chubby face. He has blonde hair despite the fact that neither Peter, Lois, or their parents are natural blondes.
Meg Griffin – Their awkward teenage daughter who the entire universe seems to despise. She could never seem to get any dates (with the exception of Mayor West, and Brian when he was really drunk).
Stewie Griffin – Their baby with a football-shaped head. He started off as an evil genius bent on world domination, but is now a happy-go-lucky homosexual with a crush on Brian.
Brian Griffin – An anthropomorphic white canine who serves as the family pet, ever since Peter bought him from a Chinese restaurant as take-out and then decided not to eat him. He started out as the voice of reason, but is now an odious self-absorbed douche who constantly preaches his liberal agenda.
Supporting
Glenn Quagmire – The wacky next-door rapist and airline pilot. Despite constantly stalking Lois, he is somehow one of Peter's closest friends. He has also kidnapped hundreds of women and has never once been arrested by Joe Swanson. How does he keep getting away with this? The answer is simple: He's Quagmire! Giggity-Giggity-Goo!
Joe Swanson – A cripple police officer who screams at the top his lungs during random intervals. He strongly resembles Stan Smith due to his large chin, but is in no way related.
Cleveland Brown – A slow-talking black man who talks slow and is the proprietor of the local delicatassen. The guy who voices him is actually white . He is seen falling out of bathtubs a lot due do to Peter's antics.
Evil Monkey – An evil monkey who lurks in Chris's closet.
Ernie the Giant Chicken – A man-sized anthropomorphic chicken who is the archenemy of Peter, ever since Peter ate chicken nuggets made out of Ernie's son.
Mayor Adam West – Some guy who is know for his random yet hilarious antics and somehow ended up the mayor of Quahog.
Herbert - Another hilarious rapist, this time an elderly gay pedophile. Despite his multiple attempts to molest Chris being as common as him saying hello, and living on the same block as Joe, he has also never been arrested.
The Giant Chicken
In the show's great tradition of jokes that go for way, way, way too long, in the early episode "Da Boom" there was a 3-minute-long cutaway where Peter fought a giant chicken. For some reason, Seth thought this "joke" was comedy gold, so he bought it back several times and it now comprises about 40% of the show's content. It is so popular, in fact, that it has an entire DVD committed only to showcasing the battles.
Production
Development
Original "Famiry Gaijin" from 1986-ish.
One night in 1995, Seth MacFarlane , a student at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), was joking with his roommates about wacky! and dated! '80s pop culture that they grew up with. Hey guys, remember ThunderCats? How about The Facts of Life? He got a brilliant idea: poorly congeal Things We Remember into a cartoon. MacFarlane pitched his idea, titled Larry & Steve, to Hanna-Barbera at Cartoon Network and created a pilot short. However, he left the network after discovering that even kids were too intelligent to enjoy his work.
MacFarlane retitled the show Family Guy, added a dash of fart jokes and swearing, and began work on a pilot. The pilot took his production company, Seth's American Studios (SAS), eighteen months to create. The process was long and tiring, as the studio wasn't air conditioned and consisted only of a chair, MacFarlane's sleeping bag, and a Windows NT workstation.
Once the pilot was finished, MacFarlane pitched it to Fox . Executives were very impressed by the show's cutaway dynamic, and greenlit it for two seasons.
Cancellation
Fox decided to cancel Family Guy in 2000, due to the fact that nobody was watching it and reviews were positively scathing.
Cancellation (again)
But. Fox made a last decision to renew it for a third season in 2001. By 2002, further abysmal ratings caused it to be cancelled. Again.
Cancellation (again again)
Then, Adult Swim brought the show back through syndication, and aired one "banned" episode in 2003. Then the show ended, a third time, for good...or not.
Revival
Fox released seasons 1–3 on DVD all over the American Empire , which were an instant success with the 18–24 year-old college frat-boy/stoner demographic. This convinced executives to renew the show for a fourth season in 2005, and it thrives to this day.
Episodes
Family Guy has had nearly 250 episodes and 13 seasons, and they can be summed up as such:
Seasons 1 and 2 were great.
Season 3 was good.
The first half of season 4 was OK, but the second half was 80% flashbacks and Meg-bashing.
Anything after is not worth your time.
Merchandise
Family Guy enjoys success, and has spawned t-shirts, pens, underwear, drinking mugs, panties, flamethrowers, a video game, a rap album, syndicated re-runs, and multiple TV movies, like that one where Peter discovers the lost city of Atlantis...
Peter: So, this is Atlantis, huh?
Brian: Yep, this is it!
Peter: I've heard all the Mermen here are gay . Is that true?
Brian: Peter, I...what?
Peter: Look out! A monkey!
A monkey jumps out of a tree and beats Brian with a stick
So far, there have been only three Family Guy movies. The first movie is about Stewie going into the future to learn that he's gay . The second movie was a carbon copy of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope . The third film is a carbon copy of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back . MacFarlane plans on making a carbon copy of the sixth movie, all the Indiana Jones films, and a movie about abortion , but says that he simply doesn't have the time at the moment, considering he has to swim through piles of money ever day, like Scrooge McDuck .
A theatrical Family Guy film is planned for sometime in the near future, which will be followed by Family Guy On Ice. Seth is also planning to film a documentary on himself to showcase the tools that work for him and help to stroke his over-inflated ego on a daily basis, and help to raise awareness on vocal yeast infections when brushing teeth with Vagisil due to all of the queefing that takes place inside of his mouth. One can only wait and hope that these new upcoming projects will contain his rarely used references to the 1980's.
Reception
Family Guy retains a strong fandom, which consists mostly of loud, stoned college kids who chant quotes from the show like mantras. Some of them will excuse the fact that the show is 80% fart jokes by prattling on about its excellent post-modernist commentary. If you were to insult Family Guy to a fan, said fan would likely rant on how much you "Have no sense of humor" , and how "You should like Family Guy. Why? 'Cause it's funny, dude!"
Numerous critics have argued that Family Guy is a mere ripoff of The Simpsons . And they'd be right considering both shows feature a lovable idiot, his busybody wife, a loser son, a daughter who hates him, and an intelligent baby. South Park has repeatedly attacked Family Guy, arguing that its writers are manatees who use "idea balls" to create plotlines. MacFarlane has grumbled at this, as he's been known to hate any show that's actually funny.
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What was Queen Victoria’s comment upon witnessing an impersonation of herself? | Victoria | queen of United Kingdom | Britannica.com
queen of United Kingdom
Albert, prince consort of Great Britain and Ireland
Victoria, in full Alexandrina Victoria (born May 24, 1819, Kensington Palace, London, England —died January 22, 1901, Osborne, near Cowes , Isle of Wight ), queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1837–1901) and empress of India (1876–1901). She was the last of the house of Hanover and gave her name to an era, the Victorian Age . During her reign the English monarchy took on its modern ceremonial character. She and her husband, Prince Consort Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , had nine children, through whose marriages were descended many of the royal families of Europe .
Queen Victoria, c. 1890.
Overview of Queen Victoria’s reign.
Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz
Victoria first learned of her future role as a young princess during a history lesson when she was 10 years old. Almost four decades later Victoria’s governess recalled that the future queen reacted to the discovery by declaring, “I will be good.” This combination of earnestness and egotism marked Victoria as a child of the age that bears her name. The queen, however, rejected important Victorian values and developments. Although she hated pregnancy and childbirth, detested babies, and was uncomfortable in the presence of children, Victoria reigned in a society that idealized both motherhood and the family. She had no interest in social issues, yet the 19th century in Britain was an age of reform. She resisted technological change even while mechanical and technological innovations reshaped the face of European civilization.
Most significantly, Victoria was a queen determined to retain political power; yet unwillingly and unwittingly she presided over the transformation of the sovereign’s political role into a ceremonial one and thus preserved the English monarchy. When Victoria became queen, the political role of the crown was by no means clear; nor was the permanence of the throne itself. When she died and her son Edward VII moved from Marlborough House to Buckingham Palace , the change was one of social rather than of political focus; there was no doubt about the monarchy’s continuance. That was the measure of her reign.
Lineage and early life
On the death in 1817 of Princess Charlotte, daughter of the prince regent (later George IV ), there was no surviving legitimate offspring of George III ’s 15 children. In 1818, therefore, three of his sons, the dukes of Clarence, Kent, and Cambridge , married to provide for the succession. The winner in the race to father the next ruler of Britain was Edward, duke of Kent, fourth son of King George III. His only child was christened Alexandrina Victoria. After his death and George IV’s accession in 1820, Victoria became third in the line of succession to the throne after the Duke of York (died 1827) and the Duke of Clarence (subsequently William IV ), whose own children died in infancy.
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Victoria, by her own account, “was brought up very simply,” principally at Kensington Palace , where her closest companions, other than her German-born mother, the Duchess of Kent, were her half sister, Féodore, and her governess, Louise (afterward the Baroness) Lehzen, a native of Coburg . An important father figure to the orphaned princess was her uncle Leopold , her mother’s brother, who lived at Claremont, near Esher, Surrey, until he became king of the Belgians in 1831.
Victoria’s childhood was made increasingly unhappy by the machinations of the Duchess of Kent’s advisor, Sir John Conroy. In control of the pliable duchess, Conroy hoped to dominate the future queen of Britain as well. Persuaded by Conroy that the royal dukes, “the wicked uncles,” posed a threat to her daughter, the duchess reared Victoria according to “the Kensington system,” by which she and Conroy systematically isolated Victoria from her contemporaries and her father’s family. Conroy thus aimed to make the princess dependent on and easily led by himself.
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Strong-willed, and supported by Lehzen, Victoria survived the Kensington system; when she ascended the throne in 1837, she did so alone. Her mother’s actions had estranged her from Victoria and taught the future queen caution in her friendships. Moreover, her retentive memory did not allow her to forgive readily.
Accession to the throne
In the early hours of June 20, 1837, Victoria received a call from the archbishop of Canterbury and the lord chamberlain and learned of the death of William IV, third son of George III. Later that morning the Privy Council was impressed by the graceful assurance of the new queen’s demeanour. She was small, carried herself well, and had a delightful silvery voice, which she retained all her life. The accession of a young woman was romantically popular. But because of the existence in Hanover of the Salic law , which prevented succession by a woman, the crowns of Great Britain and Hanover became separated, the latter passing to William IV’s eldest surviving brother, Ernest , the unpopular duke of Cumberland.
The crown of Queen Victoria; in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.
Tim Graham/Getty Images
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The queen, who had never before had a room to herself, exiled her mother to a distant set of apartments when they moved into Buckingham Palace. Conroy was pensioned off. Only Lehzen, of whom Victoria was still in awe, remained close to the queen. Even her beloved uncle Leopold was politely warned off discussions of English politics. “Alone” at last, she enjoyed her new-found freedom. “Victoria,” wrote her cousin, Prince Albert , who later married her,
is said to be incredibly stubborn and her extreme obstinacy to be constantly at war with her good nature; she delights in Court ceremonies, etiquette and trivial formalities.…She is said not to take the slightest pleasure in nature and to enjoy sitting up at night and sleeping late into the day.
It was, in retrospect, “the least sensible and satisfactory time in her whole life”; but at the time it was exciting and enjoyable, the more so because of her romantic friendship with Lord Melbourne , the prime minister .
Melbourne was a crucial influence on Victoria, in many ways an unfortunate one. The urbane and sophisticated prime minister fostered the new queen’s self-confidence and enthusiasm for her role; he also encouraged her to ignore or minimize social problems and to attribute all discontent and unrest to the activities of a small group of agitators. Moreover, because of Melbourne, Victoria became an ardent Whig.
Victoria’s constitutionally dangerous political partisanship contributed to the first two crises of her reign, both of which broke in 1839. The Hastings affair began when Lady Flora Hastings, a maid of honour who was allied and connected to the Tories , was forced by Victoria to undergo a medical examination for suspected pregnancy. The gossip, when it was discovered that the queen had been mistaken, became the more damaging when later in the year Lady Flora died of a disease that had not been diagnosed by the examining physician. The enthusiasm of the populace over the coronation (June 28, 1838) swiftly dissipated.
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Between the two phases of the Hastings case “the bedchamber crisis” intervened. When Melbourne resigned in May 1839, Sir Robert Peel , the Conservative leader, stipulated that the Whig ladies of the bedchamber should be removed. The queen imperiously refused, not without Melbourne’s encouragement. “The Queen of England will not submit to such trickery,” she said. Peel therefore declined to take office, which Melbourne rather weakly resumed. “I was very young then,” wrote the queen long afterward, “and perhaps I should act differently if it was all to be done again.”
The Albertine monarchy
Victoria’s wedding to Prince Albert served as a stage for displays of political partisanship: very few Tories received invitations, and the Tories themselves rejected Victoria’s request that Albert be granted rank and precedence second only to her own. Victoria responded violently, “Monsters! You Tories shall be punished. Revenge! Revenge!” Marriage to Albert, however, lessened the queen’s enthusiasm for Melbourne and the Whigs. She admitted many years later regarding Melbourne that “Albert thinks I worked myself up to what really became rather foolish.” Albert thus shifted Victoria’s political sympathies; he also became the dominant figure and influence in her life. She quickly grew to depend on him for everything; soon she “didn’t put on a gown or a bonnet if he didn’t approve it.” No more did Victoria rule alone.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert riding in Windsor Park.
© Photos.com/Thinkstock
Marriage to Albert
Attracted by Albert’s good looks and encouraged by her uncle Leopold, Victoria proposed to her cousin on October 15, 1839, just five days after he had arrived at Windsor on a visit to the English court. She described her impressions of him in the journal she kept throughout her life: “Albert really is quite charming, and so extremely handsome…a beautiful figure, broad in the shoulders and a fine waist; my heart is quite going.” They were married on February 10, 1840, the queen dressed entirely in articles of British manufacture.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a youthful married couple.
© Photos.com/Thinkstock
Open Door policy
Children quickly followed. Victoria, the princess royal (the “Vicky” of the Letters), was born in 1840; in 1858 she married the crown prince of Prussia and later became the mother of the emperor William II . The Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) was born in 1841. Then followed Princess Alice, afterward grand duchess of Hesse, 1843; Prince Alfred, afterward duke of Edinburgh and duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, 1844; Princess Helena (Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein), 1846; Princess Louise (duchess of Argyll), 1848; Prince Arthur (duke of Connaught), 1850; Prince Leopold (duke of Albany), 1853; and Princess Beatrice (Princess Henry of Battenberg), 1857. The queen’s first grandchild was born in 1859, and her first great-grandchild in 1879. There were 37 great-grandchildren alive at her death.
Victoria never lost her early passion for Albert: “Without him everything loses its interest.” Despite conflicts produced by the queen’s uncontrollable temper and recurrent fits of depression, which usually occurred during and after pregnancy, the couple had a happy marriage. Victoria, however, was never reconciled to the childbearing that accompanied her marital bliss—the “shadow-side of marriage,” as she called it. Victoria explained to her eldest daughter in 1858:
What you say of the pride of giving life to an immortal soul is very fine, dear, but I own I cannot enter into that; I think much more of our being like a cow or a dog at such moments; when our poor nature becomes so very animal and unecstatic.
At the beginning of their marriage the queen was insistent that her husband should have no share in the government of the country. Within six months, on Melbourne’s repeated suggestion, the prince was allowed to start seeing the dispatches, then to be present when the queen saw her ministers. The concession became a routine, and during her first pregnancy the prince received a “key to the secret boxes.” As one unwanted pregnancy followed another and as Victoria became increasingly dependent on her husband, Albert assumed an ever-larger political role. By 1845 Charles Greville, the observer of royal affairs, could write, “it is obvious that while she has the title, he is really discharging the functions of the Sovereign . He is the King to all intents and purposes.” Victoria, once so enthusiastic about her role, came to conclude that “we women are not made for governing.”
Relations with Peel
The prince came into his own to negotiate with Peel a compromise on the bedchamber question after the Melbourne government had been defeated in the general election of 1841. The queen’s first interview with Peel went well, eased by Melbourne’s advice to his successor:
The Queen is not conceited—she is aware there are many things she cannot understand and she likes to have them explained to her elementarily—not at length and in detail but shortly and clearly.
If, as Lady Lyon once noted, “there was ‘a vein of iron’ which ran through the Queen’s extraordinary character,” the iron could bend; Victoria was able to revise her opinions and reevaluate her judgments. Peel’s very real distress when in the summer of 1842 an attempt was made to assassinate the queen—together with the affinity between the prince and the new prime minister—soon converted the “cold odd man” of the queen’s earlier comment into “a great statesman, a man who thinks but little of party and never of himself.” Lord Aberdeen , the foreign secretary, also became a great favourite. “We felt so safe with them both,” she told King Leopold.
The departure of the possessive Lehzen for Germany in 1842 signaled Albert’s victory in the battle between the two for Victoria’s loyalty and for power in the royal household. He became effectively the queen’s private secretary—according to himself, “her permanent minister.” As a result of Albert’s diligence and refusal to accept the obstacles that ministers threw in his path, the management of the queen’s properties was rationalized and her income thus increased.
A visible sign of the prince’s power and influence was the building of the royal residences of Osborne, on the Isle of Wight, and Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Albert, who taught the once party-loving Victoria to despise London, played a central role in the acquisition of both properties as well as in designing the homes he and Victoria erected on them between 1845 and 1855.
Victoria described Osborne as “our island home” and retreated there frequently; it was, however, at Balmoral that she was happiest. The royal pair and their family were able to live there “with the greatest simplicity and ease,” wrote Greville. The queen soon came to hold the Highlanders in more esteem than she held any other of her subjects. She liked the simpler life of the Highlands , as her published journal was to reveal: she came to make the most of the thin stream of Scottish blood in her veins; also, so long as the sermons were short enough, she came to prefer the Scottish form of religious service. “You know,” she was to tell her prime minister, William Ewart Gladstone , “I am not much of an Episcopalian”; and she developed a comfort in the consolations of the Reverend Norman Macleod and also a delight in the plain speech of John Brown, the Highland servant who stalked with Albert and became her personal attendant.
The royal couple’s withdrawal to Scotland and the Isle of Wight bore witness to a new sort of British monarchy. In their quest for privacy and intimacy Albert and Victoria adopted a way of life that mirrored that of their middle-class subjects, admittedly on a grander scale. Although Albert was interested in intellectual and scientific matters, Victoria’s tastes were closer to those of most of her people. She enjoyed the novels of Charles Dickens and patronized the circus and waxwork exhibitions. Both Victoria and Albert, however, differed from many in the middle class in their shared preference for nudes in painting and sculpture. Victoria was not the prude that many claimed her to be. She was also no Sabbatarian: “I am not at all an admirer or approver of our very dull Sunday.”
Victoria’s delight in mingling with the Scottish poor at Balmoral did little to raise the level of her social awareness. Although in 1846 she and Albert supported the repeal of the Corn Laws (protectionist legislation that kept the price of British grain artificially high) in order to relieve distress in famine-devastated Ireland, they remained much more interested in and involved with the building of Osborne and foreign policy than in the tragedy of Ireland. Victoria, moreover, gave her full support to the government’s policy of repression of the Chartists (advocates of far-reaching political and social reform) and believed the workers in her realm to be contented and loyal. In 1848, rejoicing in the failure of the last great Chartist demonstration in London, the queen wrote:
The loyalty of the people at large has been very striking and their indignation at their peace being interfered with by such worthless and wanton men—immense.
The consequences of continental revolutions led her to conclude:
Revolutions are always bad for the country, and the cause of untold misery to the people. Obedience to the laws and to the Sovereign, is obedience to a higher Power, divinely instituted for the good of the people, not the Sovereign, who has equally duties and obligations.
Yet, revolution or no revolution, many of her people lived in “untold misery,” a fact Victoria rarely confronted.
For both the queen and the prince consort the highlight of their reign came in 1851, with the opening of the Great Exhibition . Albert poured himself into the task of organizing the international trade show that became a symbol of the Victorian Age. Housed in the architectural marvel of the Crystal Palace , a splendid, greenhouse-inspired glass building erected in Hyde Park , the Great Exhibition displayed Britain’s wealth and technological achievements to a wondering world. To Victoria the success of the Great Exhibition provided further evidence of her husband’s genius: “I do feel proud at the thought of what my beloved Albert’s great mind has conceived.” Profits from the Great Exhibition funded what became the South Kensington complex of colleges and museums.
Albert has been credited with teaching Victoria the importance of remaining above party. Certainly he saw the danger in the Whig partisanship she openly displayed before their marriage; more clearly than Victoria he realized the fine sense of balance required of a constitutional monarch. Albert’s own actions, however, such as his much-criticized appearance in the gallery of the House of Commons during Peel’s speech on the first day of the Corn Laws debates (and thus his open and partisan show of support for Peel), revealed his political sympathies. Gladstone noted in 1846 that
the Prince is very strongly Conservative in his politics and his influence with the Q. is over-ruling; through him she has become so attached to Conservative ideas that she could hardly endure the idea of the opposite Party as her ministers.
Like the queen, Albert believed that the sovereign had an important and active role to play in British politics. The fluid political situation operating during the prince’s lifetime made such an active role seem possible. After the repeal of the Corn Laws (1846) there was a period, not ending until the election of 1868, when politics tended to consist of a series of temporary alliances between splinter groups and no single group could guarantee its extended control over the House of Commons : the golden age of the private member, a condition rendering active political intervention by the crown not only possible but sometimes even necessary. There was a role for the cabinet maker, especially in helping to compose coalitions. Its significance must not, however, be overemphasized; although Victoria probably would not have admitted it, the queen’s role, albeit “substantial,” was always “secondary.”
Foreign affairs
The tradition also persisted that the sovereign had a special part to play in foreign affairs and could conduct them alone with a secretary of state . Victoria and Albert had relatives throughout Europe and were to have more. Moreover, they visited and were visited by other monarchs. Albert was determined that this personal intelligence should not be disregarded and that the queen should never become (as his own mentor the Baron Stockmar had indicated) “a mandarin figure which has to nod its head in assent or shake it in denial as its Minister pleases.” The result was a clash with Lord Palmerston , the foreign secretary, who could look back on a career of high office beginning before the royal couple was born. The prince distrusted Palmerston’s character, disapproved of his methods, thought his policy shallow, and disagreed with his concept of the constitution.
Even after Victoria insisted to Palmerston in 1850, “having once given her sanction to a measure, that it be not arbitrarily altered or modified by the minister,” the foreign secretary continued to follow policies disapproved of by both Albert and Victoria, such as his encouragement of nationalist movements that threatened to dismember the Austrian Empire. Finally, after Palmerston expressed his approval of the coup d’état of Louis Napoleon (later Napoleon III ) in 1851 without consulting the queen, the prime minister, Lord John Russell , dismissed him. Within a few months the immensely popular Palmerston was back in office, however, as home secretary. He would serve twice as prime minister. After Albert’s death Victoria’s disapproval of Palmerston diminished; his conservative domestic policy and his insistence that Britain receive its due in world affairs accorded with her own later views.
On the eve of the Crimean War (1854–56) the royal pair encountered a wave of unpopularity, and Albert was suspected, without any foundation, of trying to influence the government in favour of the Russian cause. There was, however, a marked revival of royalist sentiment as the war wore on. The queen personally superintended the committees of ladies who organized relief for the wounded and eagerly seconded the efforts of Florence Nightingale : she visited crippled soldiers in the hospitals and instituted the Victoria Cross for gallantry.
With the death of Prince Albert on December 14, 1861, the Albertine monarchy came to an end. Albert’s influence on the queen was lasting. He had changed her personal habits and her political sympathies. From him she had received training in orderly ways of business, in hard work, in the expectation of royal intervention in ministry making at home, and in the establishment of a private (because royal) intelligence service abroad. The English monarchy had changed. As the historian G.M. Young said, “In place of a definite but brittle prerogative it had acquired an undefinable but potent influence.”
Widowhood
After Albert’s death Victoria descended into deep depression—“those paroxysms of despair and yearning and longing and of daily, nightly longing to die…for the first three years never left me.” Even after climbing out of depression, she remained in mourning and in partial retirement. She balked at performing the ceremonial functions expected of the monarch and withdrew to Balmoral and Osborne four months out of every year, heedless of the inconvenience and strain this imposed on ministers. After an initial period of respect and sympathy for the queen’s grief, the public grew increasingly impatient with its absent sovereign. No one, however, could budge the stubborn Victoria.
Queen Victoria.
EB Inc.
Although Victoria resisted carrying out her ceremonial duties, she remained determined to retain an effective political role in the period after Albert’s death and to behave as he would have ordained. Her testing point was, then, her “dear one’s” point of view; and this she had known at a particular and thereafter not necessarily relevant period in English political life. Her training and his influence were ill suited to the “swing of the pendulum” politics that better party organization and a wider electorate enjoined after the Reform Bill of 1867. And since she blamed her son and heir for Albert’s death—the prince consort had come back ill from Cambridge, where he had gone to see the Prince of Wales regarding an indiscretion the young prince had committed in Ireland —she did not hesitate to vent her loneliness upon him or to refuse him all responsibility. “It quite irritates me to see him in the room,” she startled Lord Clarendon by saying. The breach was never really healed, and as time went on the queen was clearly envious of the popularity of the Prince and Princess of Wales. She liked to be, but she took little trouble to see that she was, popular.
It was despite, yet because of, Albert that Victoria succumbed to Benjamin Disraeli and thus made herself a partisan in the most famous political rivalry of the 19th century. Albert had thought Disraeli insufficiently a gentleman and remembered his bitter attacks on Peel over the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846; the prince, on the other hand, had approved of Gladstone , Disraeli’s political rival. Yet Disraeli was able to enter into the queen’s grief, flatter her, restore her self-confidence, and make the lonely crown an easier burden. Behind all his calculated attacks on her affections there was a bond of mutual loneliness, a note of mystery and romanticism, and, besides, the return to good gossip. Disraeli, moreover, told the queen in 1868 that it would be “his delight and duty, to render the transaction of affairs as easy to your Majesty, as possible.” Since the queen was only too ready to consider herself overworked, this approach was especially successful. Gladstone, on the other hand, would never acknowledge that she was, as she put it, “dead beat,” perhaps because he never was himself; Disraeli, however, tired easily. The contrast between Disraeli’s gay, often malicious , gossipy letters and Gladstone’s 40 sides of foolscap is obvious. And there was no Albert to give her a neat précis. Gladstone, moreover, held the throne as an institution in such awe that it affected his relations with its essentially feminine occupant. His “feeling” for the crown, said Lady Ponsonby, was “always snubbed.” The queen had no patience with Gladstone’s moralistic (and, she believed, hypocritical) approach to politics and foreign affairs. His persistent and often tactless attempts to persuade her to resume her ceremonial duties especially enraged her.
Over the problem of Ireland their paths separated ever more widely. Whereas “to pacify Ireland” had become the “mission” of Gladstone’s life, the queen (like the majority of her subjects) had little understanding of, or sympathy for, Irish grievances. She disliked disorder and regarded the suggestion of Irish Home Rule as sheer disloyalty. The proposal of an Irish “Balmoral” was repugnant to her, especially when it was suggested that the Prince of Wales might go in her place. To avoid the Irish Sea , she claimed to be a bad sailor; yet she was willing in her later years to cross the English Channel almost every year. In all, she made but four visits to Ireland, the last in 1900 being provoked by her appreciation of the gallantry of the Irish regiments in the South African War .
The news of Gladstone’s defeat in 1874 delighted the queen. “What an important turn the elections have taken,” she wrote.
It shows that the country is not Radical. What a triumph, too, Mr. Disraeli has obtained and what a good sign this large Conservative majority is of the state of the country, which really required (as formerly) a strong Conservative party!
If, years before, Melbourne, almost despite himself, had made her a good little Whig, and if Albert had left her, in general, a Peelite, temperamental and subsequently doctrinal differences with Gladstone helped make it easy for Disraeli to turn Victoria into a stout supporter of the Conservative Party.
One of the bonds shared by Victoria and Disraeli was a romantic attachment to the East and the idea of empire. Although she supported Disraeli’s reform of the franchise in 1867, Victoria had little interest in or sympathy with his program of social reform; she was, however, entranced by his imperialism and by his assertive foreign policy. She applauded his brilliant maneuvering, which led to the British purchase of slightly less than half of the shares in the Suez Canal in 1875 (a move that prevented the canal from falling entirely under French control), especially since he presented the canal as a personal gift to her: “It is just settled; you have it, Ma’am.” The addition of “Empress of India” in 1876 to the royal title thrilled the queen even more. Victoria and Disraeli also agreed on their answer to the vexing “Eastern question”—what was to be done with the declining Turkish empire? Even the revelation of Turkish atrocities against rebelling Bulgarians failed to sway the sovereign and her prime minister from their position that Britain’s best interests lay in supporting Turkey , the “Sick Man” of Europe. The fact that Gladstone took the opposing view, of course, strengthened their pro-Turkish sympathies. With the outbreak of a Russo-Turkish war in 1877, however, Disraeli found himself in the uncomfortable position of having to restrain his bellicose sovereign, who demanded that Britain enter the war against Russia . At the Congress of Berlin in 1878 Disraeli emerged triumphant: Russian influence in the Balkans was reduced, and Britain gained control of the strategically located island of Cyprus . The queen was ecstatic.
Victoria’s delight in Disraeli’s premiership made further conflict with Gladstone inevitable. When in September 1879 a dissolution of Parliament seemed imminent , the queen wrote to the Marchioness of Ely (who was, after the Duchess of Argyll, perhaps her most intimate friend):
Dear Janie,…I hope and trust the Government will be able to go on after the Election, as change is so disagreeable and so bad for the country; but if it should not, I wish the principal people of the Opposition should know there are certain things which I never can consent to.…
I never COULD take Mr. Gladstone…as my Minister again, for I never could have the slightest particle of confidence in Mr. Gladstone after his violent, mischievous, and dangerous conduct for the last three years.
After the blow fell with the Conservative Party’s defeat in 1880, Victoria sent for Lord Hartington .
Mr. Gladstone she could have nothing to do with, for she considers his whole conduct since ’76 to have been one series of violent, passionate invective against and abuse of Lord Beaconsfield, and that he caused the Russian war.
Nevertheless, as Hartington pointed out, it was Gladstone whom she had to have. She made no secret of her hostility, she hoped he would retire, and she remained in correspondence with Lord Beaconsfield (as Disraeli had become). Gladstone, indeed, said that he himself “would never be surprised to see her turn the Government out, after the manner of her uncles.” The queen abhorred Gladstone’s lack of Disraelian vision of Britain’s role in the world. Over the abandonment of Kandahar in Afghanistan, in 1881, for example, Sir Henry Ponsonby had never seen her so angry: “The Queen has never before been treated,” she told him, “with such want of respect and consideration in the forty three and a half years she has worn her thorny crown.”
Victoria convinced herself that Gladstone’s government, dominated (she believed) by Radicals, threatened the stability of the nation:
No one is more truly Liberal in her heart than the Queen, but she has always strongly deprecated the great tendency of the present Government to encourage instead of checking the stream of destructive democracy which has become so alarming.…She will not be a Sovereign of a Democratic Monarchy.
Nevertheless, Victoria did act as an important mediating influence between the two houses to bring about the compromise that resulted in the third parliamentary Reform Act in 1884.
Victoria never acclimatized herself to the effects of the new electorate on party organization. No longer was the monarchy normally necessary as cabinet maker; yet, the queen was reluctant to accept her more limited role. Thus, in 1886 she sought to avoid a third Gladstone ministry by attempting to form an anti-Radical coalition. Her attempt failed. Irish Home Rule, not the queen, would defeat the “People’s William.”
Last years
In the Salisbury administration (1895–1902), with which her long reign ended, Victoria was eventually to find not only the sort of ministry with which she felt comfortable but one which lent a last ray of colour to her closing years by its alliance, through Joseph Chamberlain , with the mounting imperialism that she had so greatly enjoyed in Disraeli’s day when he had made her empress of India.
The South African War (1899–1902) dominated her final years. The sufferings of her soldiers in South Africa aroused the queen to a level of activity and public visibility that she had avoided for decades. With a demanding schedule of troop inspections, medal ceremonies, and visits to military hospitals, Victoria finally became the exemplar of a modern monarch.
Victoria absorbed a great deal of the time of her ministers, especially Gladstone’s, but after 1868 it may be doubted whether, save in rare instances, it made a great deal of difference. She may have postponed an occasional evil day; she certainly hampered an occasional career. And sometimes that “continuous political experience,” which Walter Bagehot remarked as a long-lived monarch’s greatest asset, was invaluable: in stopping “red tapings,” as the queen called them, or in breaking a logjam. Meanwhile—“a comparatively late growth”—she had gained the affection of her subjects. The sheer endurance of her reign in a time of swift change deepened her symbolic value and hence heightened her popularity. Lord Salisbury observed in the House of Lords (January 25, 1901) after her death that:
She had an extraordinary knowledge of what her people would think—extraordinary, because it could not come from any personal intercourse. I have said for years that I have always felt that when I knew what the Queen thought, I knew pretty certainly what views her subjects would take, and especially the middle class of her subjects.
The queen, as the Jubilees of 1887 and 1897 showed, was popular. Gone were the days when pamphlets were circulated asking what she did with her money. More and more fully with advancing years, she was able to satisfy the imagination of the middle class—and the poorer class—of her subjects.
She remained, nevertheless, either aloof from or in opposition to many of the important political, social, and intellectual currents of the later Victorian period. She never reconciled herself to the advance of democracy, and she thought the idea of female suffrage anathema . The sufferings of an individual worker could engage her sympathy; the working class, however, remained outside her field of vision. After Albert’s death Victoria had little contact with intellectual and artistic subjects and so remained happily unaware of the unsettling new directions being explored in the world around her. Her reign was shaped by the new technology—without the railroad and the telegraph, her extended stays in Osborne and Balmoral would have been impossible—yet she never welcomed innovation .
Many of the movements of the day passed the aged queen by, many irritated her, but the stupendous hard work that Albert had taught her went on—the meticulous examination of the boxes, the regular signature of the papers. To the very end Victoria remained a passionate and strong-willed woman.
Those who were nearest to her came completely under her spell; yet all from the Prince of Wales down stood in considerable awe. A breach of the rules could still make a fearsome change in the kindly, managing great-grandmother in black silk dress and white cap. The eyes would begin to protrude, the mouth to go down at the corners. Those who suffered her displeasure never forgot it, nor did she. Yielding to nobody else’s comfort and keeping every anniversary, she lived surrounded by mementos, photographs, miniatures, busts, and souvenirs in chilly rooms at the end of drafty corridors, down which one tiptoed past Indian attendants to the presence. Nobody knocked; a gentle scratching on the door was all that she permitted. Every night at Windsor Albert’s clothes were laid out on the bed, every morning fresh water was put in the basin in his room. She slept with a photograph—over her head—taken of his head and shoulders as he lay dead.
Queen Victoria had fought a long rearguard action against the growth of “democratic monarchy”; yet, in some ways, she had done more than anyone else to create it. She had made the monarchy respectable and had thereby guaranteed its continuance—not as a political power but as a political institution. Her long reign had woven a legend , and, as her political power ebbed away, her political value grew. It lay, perhaps, more in what the electorate thought of her, indeed felt about her, than in what she ever was or certainly ever believed herself to be. Paradoxically enough, her principal contribution to the British monarchy and her political importance lay in regard to those “dignified” functions that she was accused of neglecting rather than to the “business” functions that, perhaps sometimes, she did not neglect enough.
The queen died after a short and painless illness. “We all feel a bit motherless today,” wrote Henry James , “mysterious little Victoria is dead and fat vulgar Edward is King.” She was buried beside Prince Albert in the mausoleum at Frogmore near Windsor . Young said,
She had lived long enough. The idol of her people, she had come to press on the springs of government with something of the weight of an idol, and in the innermost circle of public life the prevailing sentiment was relief.
Her essential achievement was simple. By the length of her reign, the longest in English history until that of Elizabeth II , she had restored both dignity and popularity to a tarnished crown: an achievement of character, as well as of longevity. Historians may differ in their assessment of her political acumen , her political importance, or her role as a constitutional monarch. None will question her high sense of duty or the transparent honesty, the massive simplicity, of her royal character.
| Queen Victoria |
Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA fame collaborated with Tim Rice on which hit musical? | Reptile Windsors and Royal Insider
Reptile Windsors and Royal Insider
archived 11-22-99
Reptile Windsors and Royal Insider
Reply-To: Conspiracy Theory Research List
From: Andrew Hennessey
Subject: Reptile Windsors and Royal Insider
-Caveat Lector-
QUOTE [taped] from Christine Fitzgerald - Princess Diana's personal confidant - who then threatened to sue if the transcript of the tape - a tape made in front of witnesses - appeared published in David Icke's Book 'The Biggest Secret'
"The Queen Mother... now that's a serious piece of wizardry. The Queen Mother is a lot older than people think To be honest, the Royal Family hasn't died for a long time, they have just metamorphosised. It's sort of cloning, but in a different way. They take pieces of flesh and rebuild the body from one little bit. Because it's Lizard, because it's cold blooded, it's much easier for them to do Frankenstein shit than it is for us. The different bodies are just different electrical vibrations and they have got that secret, they've got the secret of the microcurrents, it's so micro, so specific, these radio waves that actually create the bodies. These are the energies I work with when I'm healing.
They know the vibration of life and because they are cold-blooded, they are reptiles, they have no wish to make the Earth the perfect harmony it could be, or to heal the Earth from the damage that's been done. The Earth's been attacked for zeons by different extraterrestrials. It's been like a football for so long. This place was a bus stop for many dfferent aliens. All these aliens, they could Cope with everythng, including the noxious gases. They're landing all the time and coming up from the bowels of the Earth.
They looked like reptiles orignally, but they look like us when they get out now through the electrical vibration, that life key I talked about. Tbey can manifest how they want to. All the real knowledge has been taken out and shredded and put back in another way. The Queen Mother is "Chief Toad" of this part of Europe and they have people like her in each continent. Most people, the hangers on, don't know, you know, about the reptles. They are just in awe of these people because they are so powerful-
"Balmoral is a 'very, very nasty place. That's somewhere they want to dig underground. They will find reptile fossils, it goes back that far. Don't think of people like the Queen Mother and Queen Victoria, as different people' Think of them as the same person which after a while has had to replace their coat. when the flesh dies, that energy. while it's dying, will be immediately up someone else's jacksy (backside) It's very vampire, worse than vampire.
They are not going to come to you with hooked teeth and suck you're blood. Fear is their food, they can actually take fear and manifest it into a tangible thing. The key is the vibrational current. At that vibrational current, they can manifest anything from anything. its like a holographic image. We are all mineral and water vibrating. This is all an illusion we are living in. Ihat's the secret. You know when the monarchy's fallen, it's not the end of it- They will manifest in another form. The reptiles have never been defeated and this is the closest they have come to it. The reason they are so threatened today is because the Earth is in such trouble and the mental power of people is returning.
This is their most frightening time, but this is not going to kill them. There are long centuries before it's over yet. The difference this time is that it'll be more difficult for them and they are going to have to settle for less and the Earth people are going to get more. But even though these reptilian ones are fuckers, they are sad, pathetic beasts really, white humanity is galloping towards light.
From David Icke's 'Biggest Secret' and taped interview with princess Diana's confidant Christine Fitzgerald
Andrew Hennessey
| i don't know |
Which acid occurs naturally in the human stomach? | BBC Science & Nature - Human Body and Mind - Organ Layer
Location: Between a muscular tube called the oesophagus and the small intestine
Physical description: A J-shaped elastic sac which is the widest part of your digestive system
Function: Storing food, breaking food down and mixing it with juices secreted by your stomach lining
Food store
Your stomach is a short-term food-storage facility. This allows you to consume a large meal quickly and then digest it over an extended period of time. When full, your stomach can hold around one litre of chewed up food.
Swallowed food is propelled down your oesophagus into your stomach. Food is enclosed in your stomach by two circular muscles, known as sphincters.
Chemical breakdown
As soon as food enters your stomach, your stomach lining releases enzymes that start breaking down proteins in the food. Your stomach lining also secretes hydrochloric acid, which creates the ideal conditions for the protein-digesting enzymes to work. The potent hydrochloric acid kills bacteria, protecting your body from harmful microbes which can enter your body in food.
Your stomach protects itself from being digested by its own enzymes, or burnt by the corrosive hydrochloric acid, by secreting sticky, neutralising mucus that clings to the stomach walls. If this layer becomes damaged in any way it can result in painful and unpleasant stomach ulcers.
Physical breakdown
Waves of muscular contraction along your stomach wall, known as peristalsis, break food down into smaller pieces, mix it with fluids secreted from your stomach lining and move it through your stomach. This creates a mixture that resembles thick cream.
Release of food into small intestine
When food has been broken down sufficiently, small amounts are squirted out of your stomach into your small intestine for further processing. This normally occurs within four hours of eating a meal, but can take six or more hours if your meal has a high fat content.
| Hydrochloric acid |
Boris the ………….. (The Who)? | How to Balance Stomach Acid and Improve Acne & Rosacea FAST! | The Whole Journey
How to Balance Stomach Acid and Improve Acne & Rosacea FAST!
Pinterest
Creating and maintaining the appropriate acid balance in the stomach is a hugely important yet challenging task. When acid imbalance is prolonged it may result in unhealthy absorption and digestion within the GI tract. It’s important for stomach acid to be in balance not only because it help us breakdown and absorb nutrients, but it creates a much needed and important barrier to invading organisms.
Hydrochloric acid (HCL) is naturally secreted in the stomach in order to digest food in order to be absorbed into the bloodstream. Many people have a deficiency of this acid, which can lead to other vitamin deficiencies and chronic imbalances. After the age of 50, the body’s ability to produce HCL begins to decline. Chronic stress also tends to deplete HCL, characterized by consistent indigestion, and resulting nutritional deficiencies.
Stomach acid is secreted from parietal cells, which are in charge of making HCL. This highly acidic environment helps to breakdown proteins, activate digestive enzymes, and facilitate in absorption. Parietal cells are hugely important because of the role they play in making the HCL.
Normal function of parietal cells can be affected by different factors such as chronic inflammation, stress, or free radical activity. They can also be damaged by the overuse of antacids. When HCL is low, the food in the stomach is not digested quickly, and therefore the food lingers longer than it is suppose to, resulting in fermentation, and the increase of the wrong type of acid.
Balanced HCL levels also help to destroy organisms swallowed in food (preventing parasitic infection). Therefore low stomach acid carries an increased risk of yeast, mold and bacterial infections – invaders that don’t belong in the GI tract and otherwise would be relegated out of it with proper biochemical balance. In extreme cases, low HCL, also known as achlorhydria, can lead to stomach cancer if left untreated.
Fortunately, there are many natural ways to increase HCL in the stomach. Adding a natural version of hydrochloric acid in supplement form can help improve absorption of nutrients and aid in digestion. However, when it comes to digestive enzymes it’s important to remember that when used in excess, the body begins to rely on them therefore creating less on its own. Digestive enzymes can be a useful approach for a short period of time, or can be used with foods that are difficult to digest.
Low HCL and Acne/Rosacea:
Many clients have come to me with rosacea, that butterfly-like red rash that stretches across the bridge of the nose and cheeks, sometimes also covering the forehead and chin. Then there’s acne rosacea or just acne that is also a major complaint.
By the time they find me, they’ve usually accumulated a list of western interventions trying to get their complexion back which includes topical creams, steroids which thin the lining of their gut (creating more gut infections/issues) and give the adrenals a run for their money, or antibiotics (which ultimately make your digestive and skin health worse…ugh).
Back when I had raging Candida and lots of gut infections, I had very bad rosacea. People would comment on how “flushed” I was all the time and I would feel embarrassed (and get more red ;). I had no idea it was connected to low HCL!
As the saying goes, if I only knew then what I know now…. 🙂
Well now you know that rosacea and acne are connected to low HCL.
There are about 5 key medical doctors who’ve studied gastric secretions with rosacea to find out in clinical trials that 75% of patients with rosacea have low stomach acid.
Furthermore to speak to the root cause, Japanese researchers have found that 2/3 of individuals with rosacea are actually infected with the H. pylori (helicobacter pylori) which routinely causes low stomach acid and ulcers.
These studies were originally published all the way back in 1931 in the Cal West Medical Journal and are starting to come back around again. Mainstream medicine and dermatologists often ignore this link and continue to treat rosacea aggressively with pharmaceuticals that further exacerbate the true imbalance, hence my reason for writing this blog – to share a little truth and hope it spreads and helps a lot of folks who don’t think there is any other alternative.
A Food-Based Way to Balance Stomach Acid
I love learning from Asian practices on how to use food as medicine. That is where this recipe for the “Ginger Pickle” was born. In India, they use a homemade pickled ginger for training the body to secrete adequate stomach acid. Also, in Japan, pickled ginger is routinely served with raw fish to protect the system from any potential parasites in the fish.
The Ginger Pickle works famously and is easy to prepare. I show you how in the video above. Here’s the recipe:
One full ginger root peeled (the size would cover the palm of your hand 1.5x), peeled and shredded with a carrot shaver or cheese grater
Juice of one full, organic lemon
1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Mix together and put in a jar. Let “pickle” overnight and take ½-1 teaspoon before bigger meals daily for 2-4 weeks.
Supplements to Balance Stomach Acid
I like to use the little-known Trikatu , an Ayuverdic herbal blend of herbs and spices that acts almost like an adaptogen. It helps the body produce more of its own HCL and digestive enzymes, thereby increasing nutrient absorption. It’s also a gentler approach than using straight, HCL – although I have witnessed immeasurable times the near-magic that HCL supplementation can do as well.
This is why I’m sharing with you what is called the HCL challenge. In the HCL challenge, we supplement with HCL to the point of burning, and then back off by 1. By repeating this process, one can challenge the body to begin to produce its own natural amounts of HCL again.
Before you jump right in to taking HCL, you should read up on Dr. Wright’s info from his book, Why Stomach Acid is Good for You because he highly advises against taking HCL if you are taking any kind of pharmaceutical or over the counter anti-inflammatory like Prednisone, aspirin, or ibuprofen. These medications can damage the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and adding HCL to the mix could aggravate that or increase the risk of an ulcer.
“This simple test can help you determine whether you have the appropriate level of hydrochloric acid in your stomach for optimal digestion. You should not complete this test, however, if you have ulcers or are currently taking antacid medications.
Instructions:
Begin by taking 1 capsule of betaine hydrochloride (BH) before your largest meal of the day. You should feel a burning or warming sensation in your stomach or upper abdomen. You may also feel slightly “acidic,” or as though you have indigestion. Any reaction of this nature indicates you should stop taking the pills and that your stomach acid is sufficient. This is a good test to repeat each year since stomach acid levels tend to decrease with age as well as stress.
If no reaction is felt after taking the BH, repeat the process the following day with 2 pills before your largest meal. If you still do not feel anything, continue to increase by one pill per day until you feel any change in your digestive system or you reach the maximum of 14 pills. Remember, you should feel something after one or two pills – this is normal. Taking more without feeling any response is a definite indication your stomach acid level is low.
Once you reach the point at which you feel the warming or burning sensation it’s important to not cease taking the HCL capsules. In fact, you have just uncovered your level of deficiency. Simply take one less pill the next day and remain at this number of pills daily until the warming sensation returns. Continue to decrease in this manner by one pill each time you feel the warming sensation. This weaning down process restores your stomach acid levels.
Be patient and stick with it. This process will ensure you have just the right amount of stomach acid – not too much and not too little –for excellent nutrient absorption, one of the key secrets to looking and feeling your best every day.”
What Brands are Best?
As you know, I research supplement quality sort of obsessively because efficacy directly correlates to the quality of the supplements. In the video above I had Solaray but that was only because I ran out at home and that was all they had at Whole Foods the night before the show. It contains maltodextrin so I much prefer the quality of these four brands if you are going to supplement with HCL or employ the HCL challenge:
Thorne
Other Strategies to Support Stomach Acid:
16 oz of room temperature (mineralized) water with 2 teaspoons of raw organic apple cider vinegar upon waking.
Stress management such as breath work, yin yoga, or meditation.
Test pH levels in the urine and saliva. Ideal pH is between 6.8-7.2.
Increase dietary antioxidants
Chew your food!
Increase consumption of garlic. Allium, a substance that occurs naturally in garlic, helps prevent ulcers caused by the Helicobacter pylori (h. pylori) bacteria.
Decrease consumption of coffee, tea, tobacco, sugar, alcohol, spices from hot peppers/hot sauce, and fried foods – all deplete HCL and thin the gut lining.
Give your body time to digest. Try to go to bed before 10pm when digestion becomes active again.
For those interested in learning more about our 5 Steps to Gut Healing approach, details are at gutthrive.com . Or, if you already know about Gut Thrive and are ready to reboot your entire digestive system with us, join us here !
References:
| i don't know |
What bird did sailors call Mother Carey’s Chicken? | A.Word.A.Day -- stormy petrel
stormy petrel
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg
Birds get little respect. We tend to look down at non-human animals in general, but we are particularly unfair when it comes to birds (although we have to look up at them).
We call a stupid fellow a "bird brain". Australians call him a galah (a type of cockatoo). Something useless is said to be "for the birds". We name someone vain and self-conscious a peacock. One who is talkative or a hoarder is labeled a magpie. A cowardly or fearful fellow is a chicken... the list is endless.
We even kill two birds with one stone. I'd rather the idiom be to feed two birds with one grain.
This week we feature five terms coined after birds. Catch as many of these bird words as you can. After all, a word in the head is worth two in the book.
stormy petrel
stormy petrel (STOR-mee PE-truhl) noun
1. Any of various small sea birds of the family Hydrobatidae having dark feathers and lighter underparts, also known as Mother Carey's Chicken.
2. One who brings trouble or whose appearance is a sign of coming trouble.
[The birds got the name storm petrel or stormy petrel because old-time sailors believed their appearance foreshadowed a storm.
It's not certain why the bird is named petrel. One unsubstantiated theory is that it is named after St Peter who walked on water in the Gospel of Matthew. The petrel's habit of flying low over water with legs extended gives the appearance that it's walking on the water.]
See more usage examples of stormy petrel in Vocabulary.com's dictionary .
"A colourful stormy petrel of the Conservative Party, Anthony Beaumont-Dark frequently found himself at odds with the party line in the Commons, and was well known for expressing his dissent in memorably quotable form."
Obituary: Sir Anthony Beaumont-Dark; The Times (London, UK); Apr 4, 2006.
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In some circumstances, the refusal to be defeated is a refusal to be educated. -Margaret Halsey, novelist (1910-1997)
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| Storm petrel |
What was the alter ego of Music Hall comedian Arthur Lucan in the inter-war years? | Omens - definition of omens by The Free Dictionary
Omens - definition of omens by The Free Dictionary
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/omens
1. A phenomenon supposed to portend good or evil; a prophetic sign.
2. Prognostication; portent: birds of ill omen.
tr.v. o·mened, o·men·ing, o·mens
To be a prophetic sign of; portend.
[Latin ōmen.]
1. a phenomenon or occurrence regarded as a sign of future happiness or disaster
2. prophetic significance
1. any event believed to portend something good or evil; augury; portent.
2. prophetic significance; presage.
3. to be an omen of; portend.
4. to divine, as if from omens.
[1575–85; < Latin]
Omen
handwriting on the wall A portent or prophecy of disaster, a sign of impending and unavoidable doom, an indication or sense of what is to come; often the writing on the wall. The allusion is to the Book of Daniel in the Bible, in which a hand mysteriously appeared and wrote a message on Balshazzar’s palace wall foretelling his destruction and the loss of his kingdom.
my little finger told me that Pain or pleasurable sensation in the fingers was considered by the ancient Roman augurs a sign of evil or joy to come. The pricking of one’s thumb was considered a portent of evil.
By the pricking of my thumbs Something wicked this way comes. (Shakespeare, Macbeth, IV, i)
Thus, one’s finger or thumb can be said to “tell” the future. Sometimes my little finger told me that is used to indicate that one has access to certain information, the source of which may be controversial and unscientific.
stormy petrel One whose arrival is seen as a harbinger of trouble. Stormy petrels (Procellaria pelágica) are the sea birds which sailors call Mother Carey’s chickens. Petrel is derived from the Italian Petrello ‘little Peter,’ in allusion to the way these birds appear to walk on the sea, just as St. Peter walked on the Lake of Gennesareth. Stormy petrels are most often observed just prior to and during a storm; thus, their arrival portends deteriorating weather conditions. The expression may now be applied to anyone whose coming is inevitably followed by disaster or tragedy.
Dr. von Esmarch is regarded at court as a stormy petrel, and every effort was made to conceal his visit to the German emperor. (The World, April, 1892)
See also Mother Carey is plucking her chickens, WEATHER .
weather breeder See WEATHER .
| i don't know |
The Household Cavalry consists of the Life Guards Regiment and which other? | Household Cavalry - British Army Website
Household Cavalry
The Household Cavalry
The Household Cavalry maintains a world famous tradition dating back to 1660 and it consists of The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals. They are the oldest and most senior regiments in the British Army and are split between two different units equipped to perform two quite different roles.
History & Tradition
Ready for short-notice operations, at home or abroad, the Household Cavalry Regiment continues an unbroken tradition of service to the country spanning nearly four centuries. In the Armoured Cavalry role, the HCR is tasked to reconnoitre swiftly ahead of other forces, scouting for the enemy and understanding the human and physical terrain. The regiment today capitalises upon recent experience of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq but also in Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, the Falklands Islands and within the UK. At home, the HCR has played a critical role in varied UK Operations, from providing security for the 2012 Olympic Games to providing flood relief to local residents in Datchet.
Ceremonial
In London, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment provides the Army’s mounted State Ceremonial & Public Duties capability – the public face of the British Army to the world and the mounted escort to Her Majesty The Queen.
Throughout these diverse activities, our people provide our continuity and our currency; soldiers dual-trained in operational and ceremonial soldiering.
Career
The variety of opportunity in the Household Cavalry requires soldiers who can adapt to the unique challenges and requirements of modern day soldiering.
More often than not, the Household Cavalrymen who ride down the Mall in gleaming State Ceremonial uniforms were only recently operating armoured vehicles or conducting specialist reconnaissance work on exercise or operations.
Opportunities & prospects
If you were to join the Household Cavalry you could acquire new practical skills in vehicle mechanics, complex communications systems, education, command, leadership management, and a number of equine qualifications. You will also develop greater confidence, self-discipline and make friends for life through an unparalleled diversity of opportunity that the Household Cavalry enjoys.
| Blues and Royals |
In which town is the Officer Training School for the Royal Navy? | Changing the Guard | Household Division / Household Cavalry
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Changing the Guard | Household Division / Household Cavalry
The Household Cavalry are Cavalry Regiments who along , with the five Foot Guards Regiments, form the Household Division .
Formed in 1661 under the direct order of King Charles II the Household Cavalry today consists of the two senior regiments of the British Army ? The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals who have two roles:
The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, equipped with horses, consists of a Squadron of The Life Guards, and a Squadron of The Blues and Royals who provide ' The Queen's Life Guard ' and carry out ceremonial duties, including the provision of the Sovereign's Escort for State and Royal occasions.
The operational role, of the The Household Cavalry Regiment, is in armoured fighting vehicles and they have been involved in Britain's military operations including the Falklands, the Gulf, Bosnia, Kosovo and most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Identifying the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiments
Regiment
Red
The Life Guards
The Life Guards, although not the oldest, is the most senior regiment of the British Army
They were formed by Prince Charles, later King Charles II, when he was exiled at the end of the civil war from loyal followers who traveled with him to Holland.
Since their first action in the Battle of Maastricht in 1672 the Life Guards have won numerous battle honours, including Waterloo, Marne, Brussels and El Alamein.
The Life Guards who always ride black horses, except the Trumpeters who ride greys, wear scarlet tunics and metal helmets with white plumes.
During inclement weather they sometimes wear a long red cloak with a blue collar.
The Blues And Royals
The Blues and Royals were formed in 1969 when The Royal Horse Guards, which was known as 'The Blues' or 'The Oxford Blues', and The Royal Dragoons, which was known as 'The Royals' were merged.
They are the only regiment in the British Army officially known by their nickname, 'The Blues and Royals, Instead of being known as the Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons.
Their battle honours stretch back to Tangiers 1662-1680 and include the Battle of Waterloo where they captured the Napoleonic Eagle of the French 105th Infantry Regiment.
The Blues and Royals wear blue tunics and metal helmets with red plumes. Except for the Trumpeters who ride greys, they ride black horses .
During poor weather they may wear a long blue cloak with a red collar.
The Household Cavalry Museum
The Household Cavalry Museum is situated at Horse Guards, in the heart of historic London.
Horse Guards, dating from 1750 is still the headquarters of the Household Division, where the Household Cavalry has changed the Queen?s Life Guard in a daily ceremony that has remained broadly unchanged for over 350 years.
The museum is not just a dazzling display of uniforms, weaponry and priceless artifacts it is a living museum which provides a behind the scenes look the ceremonial and operational roles of the Household Cavalry.
At the Household Cavalry Museum you can see the troopers, in the original 18th century stables, working with their horses through a large glazed partition. Hear compelling personal stories, first hand accounts of the troopers' rigorous and demanding training.
This may not be one of the largest museums you will find in London but audio guides, interactive displays and the chance to try on the uniform of Her Majesty The Queen's Life Guard combined with collection of stunning rare objects make the Household Cavalry Museum well worth the visit.
Household Cavalry Bands
| i don't know |
What was the nickname of American bank robber Charles Floyd? | 1000+ images about Gangsters_Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd on Pinterest | Pretty boy floyd, Robin hoods and Days in
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Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd - Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd, shot and killed by FBI agents a year after the Kansas City Massacre; the Bureau insisted that he was one of the killers, but Floyd denied being one of the killers with his dying breath.
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| Pretty Boy |
What is the name for the centre player in the front row of a rugby scrum? | Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd | Carnegie Public Library
Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd
Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd
Robin Hood of the Cookson Hills
You can see the whole story of Pretty Boy Floyd by visiting our pages about his life and death.
Here you will find some of the myths and legends that abound about this 1930's gangster from Oklahoma who became "public enemy # 1" and met his demise here in the East Liverpool, Ohio area.
Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd was born out of the trials of being a poor farmer in the times of the Great Depression. He was raised in a small farming community of Akins, Oklahoma, close to the Cookson Hills which later would become his refuge from the arm of the law.
The people throughout the area were losing their farms to the banks. The banks wanted the land for the expansion of farming and its profits. Small farms were unprofitable. The people had done everything that they could to keep their homes even holding off the bank's tractors with shot guns, daring then to take what was rightfully theirs.
Into this story comes Charles Floyd, poor, out of work, with a young family. He would take odd jobs but that did not help. Many of the younger generation would not go hungry. They became armed bandits. Floyd was one of such people. He would rob the banks that were robbing them and whilst he was in the banks taking their money he would destroy or steal the mortgages to the local farms. With no record of a mortgage how could the banks take the land? He would also use his ill gotten money by buying food and distributing it to the members of the community. In return they protected him, became his communication system, fed him and welcomed him to their homes when he "dropped by".
Of all the bandits who hung-out in the Cookson Hills, some of whom were Ford Bradshaw, Troy Love, Aussie Elliott and Ed Newt Clanton, Charles "Pretty-Boy" Floyd's name is the best known. He was never called "Pretty-Boy" by any who knew him well, most called him "Chock". In 1931 and 1932 he robbed so many banks in Oklahoma that the bank insurance rates doubled. He even robbed two banks in one day at Paden and Castle, Oklahoma on December 12, 1931. He used a submachine gun and a bullet proof vest. Most of the time he worked alone but occasionally had one companion or fellow thief. He rarely concealed his identity and often introduced himself to his victims. Often it was said that when he left the scene of a robbery he would make the bank officials ride on the running boards of his car so that he was protected.
During his crimes however he did manage to get 10 notches on his lucky piece which always carried with him. He was so well thought of by the community that he could walk around in public unmolested and even went to church in Earlsboro.
The newspapers called him the "Robin Hood of the Cookson Hills". He was pleased with this nickname and once stated that, " I have robbed no-one but moneyed men"
"Pretty-Boy"
Charles Floyd always hated the nickname "Pretty-Boy".
The Kansas City Massacre: Was Floyd there or not?
"Dear Sirs,
I----Charles Floyd---- want it made known that I did not participate in the massacre of officers at Kansas City.
Charles Floyd"
Captain Higgins received this message on a plain business postcard in the mail. It was post marked, Springfield, Missouri.
The debate still rages about whether or not Floyd took part in what was the event that would make him "Public Enemy # 1".
In his book "The Bad Ones" (1968) Lew Louderback writes about this major event that would change Floyd's reputation. Floyd was wanted for a possible murder in Oklahoma (it is thought that he killed John Mills, the man who was tried and then acquitted of the murder of Floyd's father.) so he set out for "Tom's Town" (Kansas City) where he quickly disappeared into the criminal underworld. He moved around the country his reputation growing as a violent criminal even though it is thought that some of the events that are attributed to him were not of his doing.
In 1933 Frank Nash, a veteran bank robber, had been arrested in Hot Springs, Arkansas by FBI agents and was being transported via train through Kansas City back to Leavenworth, from where he had escaped three years earlier. Word was fast spreading through the "underworld" of what was happening. Verne Miller decided that he would try to facilitate his escape before Nash reached his destination.
Floyd and Adam "Eddie" Richetti were also traveling toward Kansas City with two hostages in the back of their car, Sherriff Killingsworth and Walter Griffith. Upon arriving in the city they stopped and Floyd confered with some people. Upon returning to the car he told Richetti to get their guns and change cars. He told the hostages to drive to Lee's Summit, eat dinner and then head home.
The next day, June 7, the train, the Missouri Pacific Flyer, was to arrive at Union Station at 7:15 am. Later a Lottie West was to describe the events that would take place. She arrived for work and found a man sitting at her chair in her booth at the station. She described him as "round-faced, rather fleshy, weighing about two hundred pounds." He yielded the chair to her and was later seen loitering at the entrance as if he was waiting for someone. Outside a car carrying Special Agents Raymond Caffrey and R.E. Vetterli arrived. They would be taking Frank Nash to Leavenworth. There was also an armored police car with two city detectives, W.J. "Red" Grooms and Frank Hermanson.
Around 7:20 am the police and Nash were spotted coming up the stairs from the platform wearing a white shirt and his hands cuffed in front of him. She said, "That must be Pretty-Boy Floyd." The man who had been waiting around darted across the station ahead of the group of police. Outside the station they headed for the green Chevrolet driven by the FBI agents. Three men came by on the running boards of a car, each with a Thompson submachine gun. They opened fire on the men.
If this had been an attempt to rescue Nash it was a dismal failure as he was killed along with many of the police involved. Some have wondered whether it was not an attempt at rescue but more likely retribution in pay-back for events that had transpired throughout Nash's colorful criminal career. Agent Lackey was seriously injured, Vetterli was shot in the arm, Caffrey, Grooms, Hermanson, Chief Reed and Nash were dead and Agent Frank Smith escaped unharmed. It was called the "Kansas City Massacre" and the unidentified gunmen the "MadDog Killers of KC."
Into the investigation Sheriff Thomas B. Bash of Jackson County interjected his theory that Floyd and Richetti were involved because they had arrived in Kansas City the night before and their hostages had seen them talking with two other men and they had driven off with them. Kansas City Captain of Detectives, Thomas J. Higgins, scoffed at the idea. He had been tracking Floyd for 4 years and felt that he knew him fairly well and that this was definitely not Floyd's style.
Bash would not be deterred and during his investigation he interviewed Lottie West and showed her photograph's. She identified Floyd as the man who was sitting in her chair and whom she had seen across the street operating a machine gun. By morning every newspaper in the country was running a headline that Floyd was part of the Massacre. However much he protested Floyd was never able to shake the suspicions and accusations of his part in the event. Many historians now believe that he was not involved although he may have been in Kansas City at the time.
Blackie Audett even named the killers as Verne Miller, Maurice Denning and Solly Weisman. He stated." I knowed better, (that it wasn't Floyd and Richetti) because I seen with my own eyes who was in that car. Both of them that was in it got clean away." At another time he said, "Me and Mary McElroy watched the whole thing from less than fifty yards away." Being the right-hand man of Johnny Lazia, the man he says recruited the men for the job, he had advanced notice and was on hand to watch. Blackie also states that the mob hunted down and killed the men involved because they "botched" the job. Floyd and Richetti were left alone and able to live peacefully amongst them for at least a year after the event. Solly Weisman was built like Floyd and could have been confused with him.
Floyd and Richetti parted ways for a while but were later spotted in Wellsville, Ohio. Richetti was shot but not killed and Floyd was killed a few days later in the area of the Beaver Creek near Sprucevale. (But that's another story).
Early Life: Charles Arthur Floyd, soon to be called "Chock" Floyd, was born on February 3, 1904 in Georgia, one of seven children, but moved to a small farming community in Oklahoma, which he was to call home. His parents had a small farm, they were dirt-poor. His father spent most of his time trying to stay one step ahead of foreclosure. Droughts, plagues and dust storms brought farm production down to a crawl. In an attempt to help keep themselves fed, the family became involved in the bootlegging business.
In 1921 he married 16 year old Ruby Hargrove, they eventually had a son, Jack Dempsey Floyd. Money was scarce. Looking for a better life he left his home and traveled north looking for harvest work. Many nights were spent in hobo camps.
Charles was ready to work but there just wasn't any available. Eventually he gave up looking and brought his first gun. It wasn't long after that, at the age of 18, he pulled his first crime. He held up a post office for $350 in pennies. This was "easy money". He was arrested on suspicion of the crime but his father gave him an alibi.
He took the train to St. Louis where he robbed a Kroger store of approximately $16,000. The money kept them for a few weeks but after spending it on expensive clothes and big meals they were broke again. He was arrested because local police found it suspicious that he had new clothes and a new Ford. When they searched his house they found some of the money still in it's wrapper. He was sentenced to 5 years in the Jefferson City Penitentiary. During his incarceration his wife gave birth to their son, Jackie, and divorced him. He was released after 3 years and vowed never to be locked up again.
Later life and criminal history: On a visit to his parents farm he discovered that his father had been shot to death in a family feud with J. Mills. The accused was acquitted of the crime. Charles took his father's rifle went into the hills and J. Mills was never seen again.
In the mid 1920's Floyd lived and operated in the East Liverpool, Ohio area as a hired gun for the bootleggers and rum-runners along the Midland, PA and Steubenville, OH stretch of the Ohio River.
He became most notorious after he left the East Liverpool area. He headed west and found refuge in "Tom's Town" ( now Kansas City ), a town run by Tom Pendegast. Hired guns, murderer's and successful gangsters hung out here. It was here that he learned to use a machine gun and acquired the nickname "Pretty Boy". It was a name given him by a madam, Beulah Baird Ash, in a brothel and he hated it. However, it stuck and made him into a colorful criminal. Floyd is reputed to have maintained relationships with both Ruby and Beulah throughout the rest of his life even posing as their husbands under assumed names.
During the next 12 years he robbed as many as 30 banks, killing 10 men. During his crime sprees in Oklahoma the bank insurance rates doubled. He filed a notch in his pocket-watch for everyone he killed. His first bank robbery is reported to have been the Farmers and Merchants bank in Sylvania, Ohio. Floyd was arrested at his Akron, Ohio hideout for this crime. He was tried and convicted but escaped by jumping out of the train window near Kenton, Ohio while on his way to the Ohio Penitentiary.
The first person he killed was a police officer, Ralph Castner, who stopped him from robbing a Bowling Green, Ohio bank on April 16, 1931.
At this time Floyd was accompanied by William (Willis) Miller, known as "Billy the Killer", Beulah and her sister Rose. A clerk in a store recognized them when they were purchasing dresses for the women. The clerk alerted the police who arrived as the group were walking down the street. As they ordered the group to stop, Floyd and Miller opened fire. Castner was killed, Chief Carl Galliher dropped to the ground, killing Miller and injuring Beulah, 21. Rose Baird, 23 was captured but Floyd escaped in a car.
On June 17, 1933 Floyd and an associate, Adam Richetti were reported as the culprits behind the " Union Station Massacre " in Kansas City where 5 men including FBI agent, Raymond Caffrey were gunned down in an attempt to free Frank "Gentleman" Nash a notorious underworld figure. Floyd maintained to his death that he was never involved in this crime.
During the next 17 months Floyd and Richetti were hunted by every law enforcement officer in the country. After the capture and death of John Dillinger, Floyd was named as Public Enemy No.1 with a $23,000 dollar dead or alive reward on his head.
Floyd's reign of terror brought him back to the East Liverpool area.
Folk Stories and Quotes about his life:
Jack Floyd, although he saw his father infrequently, said in an article for the San Francisco Examiner June 20, 1982, "He was a fun guy to be around. He was like a regular father. He always had some puppies or other presents for me. What I knew about him didn't keep me from loving him."
He was a folk hero to the people of Oklahoma who perceived him as a "Sagebrush Robin Hood" or the "Robin Hood of the Cookson Hills", stealing from the rich banks to help the poor eat by buying them groceries and tearing up their mortgages during the robberies.
He has been written into legend through song, in Woody Guthrie's "Pretty Boy" Floyd.
He was never part of a gang. He worked with a few trusted accomplices. Boldly entering banks in broad daylight and never wearing a mask. He was a gentleman even in his crimes, always well groomed, immaculately dressed and courteous to his victims.
Final Days: On October 19, 1934 he was spotted after three men dressed as hunters and carrying shotguns robbed the Tiltonsville Peoples Bank. Both Adam Richetti and "Pretty Boy" Floyd were positively identified as two of the men involved. Police and FBI were put on alert throughout Ohio for the suspects. The following day a shoot-out between two criminals and the Wellsville, Ohio Police ended in the capture of Richetti. Floyd escaped, kidnapping a Wellsville florist and stealing his car.
On October 22, 1934 things would finally come to a fatal end for "Pretty Boy" Floyd. The local police were called out, including Chief McDermott and patrolman Chester Smith. Firearms were issued, but Smith refused a weapon, instead, he kept his 32-20 Winchester Rifle. He told everyone that if they found Floyd he would be running. They checked all the back-roads in the area that Floyd had been reported. Finally they came to the Conkle farm on Sprucevale Rd.
Floyd had knocked on the Conkle farm door posing as a lost hunter and had asked for a ride to the bus line. Ellen Conkle took pity on him and welcomed him into her home, feeding him a meal for which he paid $1. After eating, Mrs. Conkle volunteered her brother, Stewart Dyke, to drive Floyd to the bus station. The Dyke's and Floyd were getting into the car when two police cars were spotted speeding along the narrow dirt road. Floyd jumped from the car to hide behind a corn crib.
As the police approached the farm they spotted a man behind the corn crib. Chester Smith recognized the face. Floyd started to flee. After being told to halt and not doing so Smith fired a shot from his rifle hitting Floyd in the arm. Floyd dropped his gun, grabbed his right forearm where he had been hit, but still jumped up and continued to run, darting for cover in the wooded area nearby. After another call to halt which also went unheeded Floyd was shot again, in his back right shoulder. The federal agents and local police all started firing at this time. Floyd fell to the ground, his gun by his side.
Smith checked the body, he was not yet dead, and noticed that Floyd had another weapon in his belt. He had two Colt .45 automatics but never fire a single shot. Patrolmen Smith, Roth and Montgomery carried Floyd to the shade of an apple tree. "He was alive when we carried him to the apple tree. But he died then within minutes." Smith said. A call was placed to J. Edgar Hoover. Smith recalls, "Floyd was dead before Purvis returned (about 4:25 p.m.). We put Floyd's body in the back seat of the local police car, propping him up between me and Curly. That's how we hauled him to East Liverpool and turned him over to the Sturgis Funeral Home." Floyd had $120 in his pockets.
There is much speculation about the actual events of the fateful day. One report states that Agent Purvis of the FBI ordered Floyd shot whilst he was sitting under the apple tree because he refused to answer when asked if he was involved in the Kansas City Massacre.
Smith's daughter said that Smith took the days events in a matter-of-fact way, coming home late for supper and just stating that he didn't have time to eat because he had just shot "Pretty Boy" Floyd. He washed up, changed and went back to work.
At the Funeral Home: Although Floyd's mother did not want her son's body viewed by the public, by the time Chief McDermott had received her wire there were thousands of people wanting to view the notorious criminal. He would be later shipped back to Oklahoma but in the mean time over 10,000 people passed by the body from 8:30 p.m. and 11:15 p.m., about 50 per minute. The mob had stormed the Funeral home and in the space of three hours, the porch railing had been torn off, shrubbery trampled and the lawn completely ruined.
Final resting place: At 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday October 23, 1934 Charles Arthur " Pretty Boy " Floyd's body left East Liverpool in a baggage car. One year before at the Akins Cemetery in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, Floyd had told his mother,
"Right here is where you can put me. I expect to go down soon with lead in me. Maybe the sooner the better. Bury me deep. " 20,000 people attended his funeral. His head stone has been desecrated by souvenir hunters and was stolen in 1985. A new headstone now marks his grave.
Marker Erected: A marker along Sprucevale Road between East Liverpool and Rogers, Ohio has been erected in the location of the Conkle farm to mark for all time the place where America's Public Enemy No.1 was shot. This marker, erected in 1993 by the East Liverpool Historical Society and the Ohio Historical Society was stolen in August, 1995 and recovered about two weeks later in a wooded lot on Bank Street, East Liverpool. It was later re-erected on the same site.
Resources: Most of the material for this page are from existing old papers and microfilm on record at the Carnegie Public Library of East Liverpool and from Records and Photographs in the possession of the Dawson Funeral Home. Michael Wallis has also written a very good in depth book called "Pretty Boy" if you would like more reading.
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If someone is crapulous - in what condition are they? | Coma - NHS Choices
Coma
Coma
Introduction
A coma is a state of unconsciousness where a person is unresponsive and cannot be woken.
It can result from injury to the brain, such as a severe head injury or stroke . A coma can also be caused by severe alcohol poisoning or a brain infection (encephalitis) .
People with diabetes could fall into a coma if their blood glucose levels suddenly became very low (hypoglycaemia) or very high (hyperglycaemia) .
You may find the following information useful if you have a friend or loved one who is in a coma. It covers:
Support and more information
What is a coma?
Someone who is in a coma is unconscious and has minimal brain activity. They're alive, but can't be woken up and show no signs of being aware.
The person's eyes will be closed and they'll appear to be unresponsive to their environment. They won't normally respond to sound or pain, or be able to communicate or move voluntarily.
Someone in a coma will also have very reduced basic reflexes such as coughing and swallowing. They may be able to breathe on their own, although some people require a machine to help them breathe.
Over time, the person may start to gradually regain consciousness and become more aware. Some people will wake up after a few weeks, while others may go into a vegetative state or minimally conscious state (see recovering from a coma , below).
Caring for and monitoring a person in a coma
Doctors assess a person's level of consciousness using a tool called the Glasgow Coma Scale . This level is monitored constantly for signs of improvement or deterioration. The Glasgow Coma Scale assesses three things:
eye opening – a score of one means no eye opening, and four means opens eyes spontaneously
verbal response to a command – a score of one means no response, and five means alert and talking
voluntary movements in response to a command – a score of one means no response, and six means obeys commands
Most people in a coma will have a total score of eight or less. A lower score means someone may have experienced more severe brain damage and could be less likely to recover.
In the short term, a person in a coma will normally be looked after in an intensive care unit (ICU) . Treatment involves ensuring their condition is stable and their body functions, such as breathing and blood pressure, are supported while the underlying cause is treated.
In the longer term, healthcare staff will give supportive treatment on a hospital ward. This can involve providing nutrition, trying to prevent infections, moving the person regularly so they don't develop bedsores, and gently exercising their joints to stop them becoming tight.
What you can do as a visitor
The experience of being in a coma differs from person to person. Some people feel they can remember events that happened around them while they were in a coma, while others don't.
Some people have reported feeling enormous reassurance from the presence of a loved one when coming out of a coma.
When visiting a friend or loved one in a coma, you may find the advice below helpful:
when you arrive, announce who you are
talk to them about your day as you normally would – be aware that everything you say in front of them might be heard
show them your love and support – even just sitting and holding their hand or stroking their skin can be a great comfort
Research has also suggested that stimulating the main senses – touch, hearing, vision and smell – could potentially help a person recover from a coma.
As well as talking to the person and holding their hand, you might want to try playing them their favourite music through headphones, putting flowers in their room or spraying a favourite perfume.
Recovering from a coma
A coma usually only lasts a few weeks, during which time the person may start to gradually wake up and gain consciousness, or progress into a different state of unconsciousness called a vegetative state or minimally conscious state.
a vegetative state – where a person is awake but shows no signs of being aware of their surroundings or themselves
a minimally conscious state – where a person has limited awareness that comes and goes
Some people may recover from these states gradually, while others may not improve for years, if at all. See the page on disorders of consciousness for more information about these conditions.
People who do wake up from a coma usually come round gradually. They may be very agitated and confused to begin with.
Some people will make a full recovery and be completely unaffected by the coma. Others will have disabilities caused by the damage to their brain. They may need physiotherapy , occupational therapy and psychological assessment and support during a period of rehabilitation, and may need care for the rest of their lives.
The chances of someone recovering from a coma largely depend on the severity and cause of their brain injury, their age and how long they've been in a coma. But it's impossible to accurately predict whether the person will eventually recover, how long the coma will last and whether they'll have any long-term problems.
Further information and support
For further information and support from healthcare professionals and the families of people in a coma, you may find the following websites helpful:
| Alcohol intoxication |
Which cartoon character says ‘Drat and double drat’? | Coma - NHS Choices
Coma
Coma
Introduction
A coma is a state of unconsciousness where a person is unresponsive and cannot be woken.
It can result from injury to the brain, such as a severe head injury or stroke . A coma can also be caused by severe alcohol poisoning or a brain infection (encephalitis) .
People with diabetes could fall into a coma if their blood glucose levels suddenly became very low (hypoglycaemia) or very high (hyperglycaemia) .
You may find the following information useful if you have a friend or loved one who is in a coma. It covers:
Support and more information
What is a coma?
Someone who is in a coma is unconscious and has minimal brain activity. They're alive, but can't be woken up and show no signs of being aware.
The person's eyes will be closed and they'll appear to be unresponsive to their environment. They won't normally respond to sound or pain, or be able to communicate or move voluntarily.
Someone in a coma will also have very reduced basic reflexes such as coughing and swallowing. They may be able to breathe on their own, although some people require a machine to help them breathe.
Over time, the person may start to gradually regain consciousness and become more aware. Some people will wake up after a few weeks, while others may go into a vegetative state or minimally conscious state (see recovering from a coma , below).
Caring for and monitoring a person in a coma
Doctors assess a person's level of consciousness using a tool called the Glasgow Coma Scale . This level is monitored constantly for signs of improvement or deterioration. The Glasgow Coma Scale assesses three things:
eye opening – a score of one means no eye opening, and four means opens eyes spontaneously
verbal response to a command – a score of one means no response, and five means alert and talking
voluntary movements in response to a command – a score of one means no response, and six means obeys commands
Most people in a coma will have a total score of eight or less. A lower score means someone may have experienced more severe brain damage and could be less likely to recover.
In the short term, a person in a coma will normally be looked after in an intensive care unit (ICU) . Treatment involves ensuring their condition is stable and their body functions, such as breathing and blood pressure, are supported while the underlying cause is treated.
In the longer term, healthcare staff will give supportive treatment on a hospital ward. This can involve providing nutrition, trying to prevent infections, moving the person regularly so they don't develop bedsores, and gently exercising their joints to stop them becoming tight.
What you can do as a visitor
The experience of being in a coma differs from person to person. Some people feel they can remember events that happened around them while they were in a coma, while others don't.
Some people have reported feeling enormous reassurance from the presence of a loved one when coming out of a coma.
When visiting a friend or loved one in a coma, you may find the advice below helpful:
when you arrive, announce who you are
talk to them about your day as you normally would – be aware that everything you say in front of them might be heard
show them your love and support – even just sitting and holding their hand or stroking their skin can be a great comfort
Research has also suggested that stimulating the main senses – touch, hearing, vision and smell – could potentially help a person recover from a coma.
As well as talking to the person and holding their hand, you might want to try playing them their favourite music through headphones, putting flowers in their room or spraying a favourite perfume.
Recovering from a coma
A coma usually only lasts a few weeks, during which time the person may start to gradually wake up and gain consciousness, or progress into a different state of unconsciousness called a vegetative state or minimally conscious state.
a vegetative state – where a person is awake but shows no signs of being aware of their surroundings or themselves
a minimally conscious state – where a person has limited awareness that comes and goes
Some people may recover from these states gradually, while others may not improve for years, if at all. See the page on disorders of consciousness for more information about these conditions.
People who do wake up from a coma usually come round gradually. They may be very agitated and confused to begin with.
Some people will make a full recovery and be completely unaffected by the coma. Others will have disabilities caused by the damage to their brain. They may need physiotherapy , occupational therapy and psychological assessment and support during a period of rehabilitation, and may need care for the rest of their lives.
The chances of someone recovering from a coma largely depend on the severity and cause of their brain injury, their age and how long they've been in a coma. But it's impossible to accurately predict whether the person will eventually recover, how long the coma will last and whether they'll have any long-term problems.
Further information and support
For further information and support from healthcare professionals and the families of people in a coma, you may find the following websites helpful:
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What will our Sun become in the first stage of its death? | ASP: Biography of a Star: Our Sun's Birth, Life, and Death
Biography of a Star: Our Sun's Birth, Life, and Death
Just Right
Depending on the size of the original lump of gas and dust, the process of stellar birth can give rise to different sorts of stars. A small lump never develops high enough pressures and temperatures to start nuclear fusion. It is doomed to remain a dark, dismal stellar wanna-be -- a so-called brown dwarf. A larger lump becomes a large star, so hot and bright that it burns itself out in a few tens of millions of years. A lump in the middle, not too small and not too large, becomes a middling star such as the Sun. Which is good: If the Sun had been much smaller, Earth would have been a dark, dead world; much larger, and Earth would have been broiled.
The middle-aged suburbanite. The Sun is a two-car-garage kind of star. Its stability and temperance make it an ideal provider for tender planets. Photo courtesy of Mount Wilson Observatory.
In its early years, the Sun went through a tempestuous youth, whipping up strong winds that cleared the solar system of whatever gas had not been incorporated into a planet. But then the Sun settled down. From studying rocks, fossils, and Antarctic ice, scientists think the Sun has been brightening over time, but only slightly.
And how much longer will it continue to shine? For an idea of the Sun's life expectancy, astronomers look to clusters of stars, such as one named Messier 67, which is about the same age as our Sun. By simulating the life cycles of these stars on a computer, astronomers have ascertained how long stars live. They predict that the Sun will be able to fuse hydrogen into helium in its core at about the same rate for another 5 billion years. (What a relief!) If the Sun were a car, the gas tank would now be half full.
What will happen when the Sun does run out of gas? (Hydrogen gas, that is.) Fortunately, the Sun will still have reserves of hydrogen in the layers that surround the core. The core will heat up this shell of hydrogen. When the shell gets hot enough to fuse hydrogen to helium, the release of energy will carry on there. It is as if the driver of the car poured an extra few gallons into the fuel tank.
But this trick has a price. The source of energy will no longer be the dense, massive core, but rather a shell closer to the surface -- and that will make a big (so to speak) difference in the structure of the Sun. The Sun will puff up until its radius is 30 times greater. It will become a red giant, similar to the star Arcturus, though much smaller than a supergiant such as Betelgeuse (see photo on p. 3). A red giant is red because its exterior cooled from 9,000 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit as it expanded; for a star, red means cool. This red-giant stage will last for about 2 billion years.
That Time Bomb in the Middle
The last fling. Its normal life over, Betelgeuse is now a red supergiant — red, because its surface is a comparatively cool red-hot, and supergiant, because it is hundreds of times larger than the Sun and ten times more massive. Its waistline, however, is not a sign of might, but of impending death. Photo courtesy of Andrea Dupree, Ronald Gilliland, NASA, and the European Space Agency.
The striking but now-outdated video Universe, produced by NASA in the 1970s, shows the red-giant Sun engulfing the Earth. Though certainly dramatic, this is now thought to be incorrect. Astronomers have had to scale down their estimates of the size of red giants based on data from the satellite Hipparcos and from the new optical and infrared interferometers -- networks of telescopes which can take images of large, nearby stars. Now we think the Sun will not engulf us when it becomes a red giant.
But that is small comfort. In its retirement from normal core fusion, our previously nurturing star will care little for its planetary children. It will be pumping out a thousand times more energy, making Earth a good approximation to hell. To add insult to injury, the solar wind -- a stream of particles which now gives us fun things such as the aurora borealis -- will become a cyclone that will make radio communication impossible and perhaps evaporate the atmosphere altogether. Looking on the bright side, the red-giant Sun may be warm enough to melt the water-rich but now-frozen moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Humanity, if it is still around, might relocate there.
Meanwhile, what happens to all that helium being produced in the shell? It gently rains onto the dead, but still toasty, core of the Sun, making the core more massive and more compressed. This raises the temperature of the core until suddenly -- and I really do mean suddenly, as in seconds -- the helium in the core fires up and begins to fuse itself into carbon. Using the fuel-tank analogy, this is as if the exhaust itself starts to burn.
The end is drawing near. Now the Sun has to rearrange its internal structure all over again, as its source of energy is once again the central core. The Sun will contract back to a bit larger than its original radius and will give off 10 times as much energy as what we are used to now. This phase only lasts another 500 million years, as there are a lot fewer helium nuclei (it took four hydrogen nuclei to make one helium nucleus, and three heliums to make one carbon) and the energy production is much less efficient.
As the Sun exhausts the helium in the core, it desperately staves off the inevitable by resorting again to those reserves in its outer layers. Again the Sun expands. This time, it grows so large that its outer edge is only weakly gravitationally bound to the core. The Sun barely holds itself together anymore. This eleventh-hour attempt at life-support is pitifully ineffective; the final red-giant stage can be maintained for only 100 million years.
At this point, things will really start falling apart. The Sun's outer layers, freed from the gravitational clutches of the core, will waft away. Over the course of about 10,000 years, these layers will spread out into space as an enormous sphere of gas lit up by the now-naked hot core. These layers constitute a "planetary nebula," so called because in a small telescope the gas cloud looks a bit like the disc of a planet (see photo on p. 3). The hot core is now a "white dwarf," a stellar cinder. As a white dwarf, the ex-Sun will glow white-hot for a near-eternity.
The cremation. After stars like the Sun fuse their last atom, they scatter their ashes into space as a so-called planetary nebula, such as Abell 39. At the center of the nebula is what’s left of the star: a slowly decaying “white dwarf.” Photo courtesy of George Jacoby of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories.
Alas, there will be no dramatic explosions to entertain our distant descendants: The Sun would have had to start with at least eight times more mass to die the spectacular death of a supernova. The Sun, modest in life, is subdued in death. After the planetary nebula fades, there is no nuclear fusion at all (no extra fuel, no fuel tank, not even the trunk is left), just a lump of hot carbon and some happy memories. The Sun will be well and truly dead.
The sphere of gas drifts off and eventually is gathered up in a new cloud, and become part of the next generation of star formation. Perhaps one day, the ashes of the Sun will throw their lot in with another star to be born, live, die, and, perhaps, give sustenance to other warm little planets.
BETH HUFNAGEL is a postdoctoral researcher at Michigan State University in East Lansing. As an auditor, she used to ferret out the secrets of corporate finance -- talents now applied to the evolution of Sun-like stars. Her email address is [email protected] . George Musser contributed to this article.
| Red giant |
Apart from the Sun which is the nearest star to Earth? | The Evolution of the Sun
The Evolution of the Sun
A cloud of gas and dust begins to contract under the force of gravity. In regions of star birth , we find gaseous nebulae and molecular clouds. These sites of pre-birth are dark patches called globules.
The protosun collapsed. As it did, its temperature rose to about 150,000 degrees and the sun appeared very red. Its radius was about 50 present solar radii.
When the central temperature reaches 10 million degrees, nuclear burning of hydrogen into helium commences.
The star settles into a stable existence on the Main Sequence, generating energy via hydrogen burning . This is the longest single stage in the evolutionary history of a star, typically lasting 90% of its lifetime. Thermonuclear fusion within the Sun is a stable process, controlled by its internal structure.
The hydrogen in the core is completed burned into helium nuclei. Initially, the temperature in the core is not hot enough to ignite helium burning. With no additional fuel in the core, fusion dies out. The core cannot support itself and contracts; as it shrinks, it heats up. The rising temperature in the core heats up a thin shell around the core until the temperature reaches the point where hydrogen burning ignites in this shell around the core. With the additional energy generation in the H-burning shell, the outer layers of the star expand but their temperature decreases as they get further away from the center of energy generation. This large but cool star is now a red giant, with a surface temperature of 3500 degrees and a radius of about 100 solar radii.
The helium core contracts until its temperature reaches about 100 million degrees. At this point, helium burning ignites, as helium is converted into carbon (C) and oxygen (O). However, the core cannot expand as much as required to compensate for the increased energy generation caused by the helium burning. Because the expanion does not compensate, the temperature stays very high, and the helium burning proceeds furiously. With no safety valve, the helium fusion is uncontrolled and a large amount of energy is suddenly produced. This helium flash occurs within a few hours after helium fusion begins.
The core explodes, the core temperature falls and the core contracts again, thereby heating up. When the helium burns now, however, the reactions are more controlled because the explosion has lowered the density enough. Helium nuclei fuse to form carbon, oxygen, etc..
The star wanders around the red giant region, developing its distinct layers, eventually forming a carbon-oxygen core.
When the helium in the core is entirely converted into C, O, etc., the core again contracts, and thus heats up again. In a star like the Sun, its temperature never reaches the 600 million degrees required for carbon burning. Instead, the outer layers of the star eventually become so cool that nuclei capture electrons to form neutral atoms (rather than nuclei and free electrons). When atoms are forming by capturing photons in this way, they cause photons to be emitted; these photons then are readily available for absorption by neighboring atoms and eventually this causes the outer layers of the star to heat up. When they heat up, the outer layers expand further and cool, forming more atoms, and releasing more photons, leading to more expansion. In other words, this process feeds itself.
The outer envelope of the star blows off into space, exposing the hot, compressed remnant core. This is a planetary nebula .
The core contacts but carbon burning never ignites in a one solar mass star. Contraction is halted when the electrons become degenerate, that is when they can no longer be compressed further. The core remnant as a surface temperature of a hot 10,000 degrees and is now a white dwarf .
With neither nuclear fusion nor further gravitational collapse possible, energy generation ceases. The star steadily radiates is energy, cools and eventually fades from view, becoming a black dwarf.
With this understanding of how the Sun will evolve, we can follow its evolution on the HR diagram .
Suggested readings:
"Giants in the Sky: The Fate of the Sun", Kaler, James, B., 1993, Mercury, Mar-Apr, pp. 34-41.
| i don't know |
What term describes the plucking of string instruments? | String Music Terms | Musical Terms | String Instrument Music Terms
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Glossary of String Music Terms
Welcome to our Glossary of String Music Terms where you can get the basic knowledge of terms used in the string music profession.
These string music terms are the names of instruments:
Violin: The violin or “fiddle” is a string instrument which is played with a bow. It is the smallest member of the string family of orchestra instruments. The violin has 4 strings. The names of the strings are E, A, D and G. The violin is very similar to the viola, but the violin has plays higher pitches. The violin comes in fractional sizes 1/64 to 3/4 and of course the 4/4 size violin. Shop for Violins under $1000. Shop for Violins over $1000.
Viola: The viola is a little bit bigger then the violin. The viola string instrument is measured by inches no fractions like the violin. The viola is available in 14″ – 17.5″ but if you need a smaller viola, it is possible to put viola strings on a violin. The viola has four strings which are A, D, G and C. Shop for Violas under $1000. Shop for Violas over $1000.
Cello: The cello is much larger then the violin or viola. It is played sitting down but is still a bowed string instrument. The strings on the cello are A, D, G and C but sound one octave lower then the Viola. Cellos are available is 1/10 – 4/4 sizes. Shop for Cellos under $4000. Shop for cellos over $4000.
Bass: The Bass is the largest instrument in the string family. It is played standing or sitting on a tall stool. The bass is also commonly called the string bass, double bass, stand up bass or acoustic bass. The strings on the bass are G, D, A and E. Basses are available in 1/8 – 4/4 sizes. Shop for Basses.
These String Music Terms are parts and accessories for string instruments:
Bow: A violin bow, viola bow, cello bow or bass bow is made of wood and have horse hairs which pull the strings to make a sound. There is rosin that is applied to the horse hairs to make them sticky enough to grab the string. Shop for Bows.
Rosin: Rosin is made of tree sap which has been cooked into a solid so that it may be rubbed on the hairs of a bow. Shop for Rosin.
End Pin: The Cello End Pin or Bass End Pin is a metal rod that comes out of the bottom of a cello or bass to support the instrument. It rests on the floor allowing the cello or bass to be suspended and easier to play. When the Cello or Bass is put away the end pin conveniently slides into the body of the instrument for storage. Violins and Violas do not have end pins.
Fittings: The fittings of a string instrument include the Pegs, Bridge, Tail Piece, Chin Rest (on violins and violas), or End Pin (on cellos and basses). A string instrument that comes “set up” with have all of these parts included.
Chin Rest: A Violin Chin Rest or Viol Chin Rest is an accessory that usually comes as part of the fittings of the violin or violin. The chin rest helps the violinist hold the violin in place on the shoulder by using just the head and not the hands. The name chin rest is actually a misnomer because the JAW is the body part that goes in the chin rest not the CHIN. WE should call it the JAW REST. 😉
Shoulder Rest: A violin or viola shoulder rest is used to help support the violin or viola on the musicians shoulder. The added support helps in holding the violin or viola without the hands. Cellists do not need shoulder rests. There are many different shoulder rest options available. Shop for Shoulder rests .
Rock Stop: A Cello Rock Stop or Bass Rock Stop is a type of end pin anchor that goes on the floor to keep the end pin from slipping. Violinists and Violists do not need Rock stops. There are many different rock stop options available. Shop for Rock Stops.
These String Music Terms are techniques that string players use:
Vibrato: Vibrato is an expression that string players (like vocalists) can add to music. The pitch is fluctuated rapidly but subtly. Vibrato can be used to add warmth and character to all types of music.
Accent: An accent in sheet music looks like this: > or this: v and means to emphasized a note with a little force. An accented note will have a “consonant” sound at the beginning of it “k” or “t”
Pizz: Pizz. is an abreviation for Pizzicato (not pizza;-) and means to pluck the string. A + sign means LEFT HAND Pizzicato.
Arco: Arco means with the bow and often appears in music after pizz. (pizzicato or plucked) passages of music
These String Music Terms can be found in sheet music and are related to tempo (or speed):
A tempo: A tempo (or in tempo) means to return to the original tempo or speed from the beginning. It usually shows up in music after a change in temp has occurred.
Accelerando – Accelerando can be abbreviated Accel. and means to Accelerate or speed up gradually.
Presto – Very Fast
Allegro: An Allegro Tempo is Fast and Happy. Allegro is not as fast as Presto. Sometimes a movement of a piece of music will be called “Allegro”
Andante: Andante literally means “walking tempo” and would be considered a moderately slow tempo.
Allegretto: Allegretto is moderately fast. An Allegretto tempo would be slower than allegro, but faster than andante.
Vivace: A Vivace Tempo is lively and brisk. Vivace would be slightly faster than allegro.
Adagio: A slow, leisurely tempo, often considered to be slower than andante, but not quite as slow as largo. Sometimes a movement of a piece of music will be called “Adagio”
Moderato Moderato means to play at a moderate tempo or speed. This term sometimes modifies others such as Allegro moderato, which means moderately fast.
Largo: A broad, slow tempo that is dignified and stately in style. Largo is the slowest of tempo markings.
These String Music Terms are Dynamics (how loud and soft the music is supposed to be played)
Pianissimo: Pianissimo is written pp and means very soft.
Piano: Piano is written p and means soft.
Forte: Forte is written f means “loud”
Fortissimo: Fortissimo is written ff and means very loud
Fortississimo: Fortississimo is written fff and means “very, very loud”
Crescendo: A Crescendo in sheet music looks can be abbreviated “cresc.” This string music terms mean to get louder little by little.
Diminuendo: A Diminuendo in sheet music can be abbreviated “dim.” It can also be called a decrescendo (abbreviated decresc. or decr.) This string music terms mean to get softer little by little. This is the opposite of a Crescendo.
These String Music Terms have to do with the “road map” or where you go in the music:
Repeat Signs: A double bar with two dots is a repeat marking, and indicates the music in between the repeat signs should be repeated. If there is only one repeat sign with the dots facing to the left, go back to the beginning and play the entire section of music again.
Da Capo: A Da Capo is written “D.C.” and means “back to the head” or to repeat all the way to the beginning of the song.
Coda: Coda means the “tail” or ending of a piece of music. Codas are often written as a “tag” ending to the piece.
Dal Segno: A Dal Segno is written “D.S.” and means “back to the sign” or to repeat to the sign which look like this:
D.C. al Coda: This means to go “back to the head” or to repeat all the way to the beginning of the song but then to jump to the “Coda” when you reach the coda sign which looks like this:
D.C. al Fine: This means to go “back to the head” or to repeat all the way to the beginning of the song but then end at the “Fine” marking.
Fine: Fine is pronounced “feenae” and means END
These String Music Terms have to do with the way the music is played:
Legato: Legato indicates the notes should be smoothly connected, played either in one or several bows. Slurs are often used to indicate legato.
Marcato: An Italian term which means marked or accentuated.
Martelé: Martelé means hammered. Each note is percussive, and commences with a sharp accent or “pinch” at the beginning of the note, followed by a quick release. Martelé may be notated in more than one way: with dots, hammer heads or accents.
Muted A direction for the musician to play with a mute. For string players, mutes are small clamps of wood, metal, rubber, leather or plastic, which fit onto the bridge and result in a softer, muted sound with a veiled quality. Shop for Mutes
Slur A slur is a curved line grouping notes together, and means the notes included in the slur should be played in the same bow
Sonata The word sonata comes from the Italian word sonore, meaning “to be played” (as opposed to cantata, a vocal work which means “to be sung”). A sonata is an instrumental form of music, and describes a multi-movement work for an instrument, often with accompaniment. The term has had varied meanings during different music eras, and during the Baroque period, the trio sonata was one of the most popular forms of sonata (often for two violins and continuo). During the Classical period, sonata came to mean a multi-movement work for a solo instrument with piano accompaniment, or piano alone.
Spiccato Spiccato is an off-the-string, controlled bouncing bow stroke which produces a crisp sound and very short notes. It is the slowest of the bouncing strokes. Dots above or under the notes may be used to indicate spiccato.
Staccato Staccato indicates the bow should remain on the string to play shortened and detached notes, distinctly separate from successive notes. Staccato is sometimes used with slurs (slurred staccato) for a series of short, stopped notes played in the same up or down bow (many violinists perform slurred staccato as a series of slurred martelé strokes).
String Quartet A string quartet is a composition for four stringed instruments: two violins, a viola and a cello. String quartet music generally is composed in a multi-movement form. The term string quartet is also used to describe a performance group comprised of four stringed instruments.
Symphony A symphony is an extended composition for orchestra and is often comprised of three to five movements.
Tie When a slur is placed between two notes with the same pitch, this is called a “tie” and the two notes are played in one bow for the duration of both notes.
Tremolo Tremolo means rapidly repeating a single note or chord (see bowing chart for more details).
Trill A trill ornaments a note, and is a rapid alternation between two pitches, usually a major or minor second above the note. The letters tr and a wavy symbol are used as trill markings. Accidentals are often used to indicate whether the trill is a major or minor trill.
Up bow The sign for up-bow is and indicates an upward stroke of the bow from the point (or tip) to the frog (or nut).
Whole Bow Initials are sometimes used in music to indicate what part of the bow should be used:
WB = Whole Bow; LH = Lower Half; UH = Upper Half; MB = Middle of the Bow.
These String Music Terms are Types of Music:
Waltz: A type of dance in a 3/4 time signature.
Chamber music: Chamber music is used to describe instrumental music performed by a small ensemble such as a quartet, trio or chamber orchestra.
Concerto: An instrumental composition for solo a instrument with three movements. The sequence +of the movements in a concerto generally is usually fast-slow-fast.
Theme & Variations: A composition with a theme and variations of that theme.
Opera: A musical form of drama, originating in Italy, set to music. In an opera, most or all of the text is sung, using musical forms such as arias, songs, recitatives, duets, and choruses, with instrumental accompaniment. A few of the various subcategories of opera include heroic or grand opera, comedy opera and comic opera.
Symphony A symphony is an extended composition for orchestra and is often comprised of three to five movements.
| Pizzicato |
What is the term for the background of a heraldic shield? | Physics of Sound and Music-- PHYS 152-- Lecture 13
Brass Instruments
Tone Quality:
We will structure this discussion as we did for woodwinds, speaking first about the sound source, the aspects of instrument shape and size that determine its sound, and how notes are played using valves.
source of sound
shape and size of tub, bell, etc.
mutes
playing notes using valves
Of course other things, such as construction materials, finishes, mouthpiece grade, etc. are also important, but we will focus on these four elements and how physics addresses them.
Sound sources:
Let's all get buzzy: All brass instruments employ the same mechanism as a sound source within the instrument. They make "buzzy" sounds with their lips within the confines of a mouthpiece. Here is an mp3 file of this buzzy sound from the very fine University of New South Wales (UNSW) site. Perhaps one reason that brass players all appear to be smiling strangely is that they know they are blowing a raspberry at their audience when the perform.
Lips got mass! Clearly, the brass player has the ability to modulate their lips and change the frequency content of the sound source. The UNSW site describes lips as being springy (having player-controllable tension (return) forces that cause them to return to "normal" position) and having mass. Thus, they have all the elements of an oscillator.
The lip operator blows air through the lips to get things going. In the usual (that is Bernouli Effect) way, the air blowing through the lips causes them to pull together, which builds up pressure behind them, which forces them open again, etc. The power supplied by the brass player is in the form of air pressure maintained behind the lips, plus muscle tension on the lips to control their vibration. Here is a nice image from the UNSW site showing the steps of a cycle of lip oscillation.
What is this strange movie of a man playing a didjeridu about?
A lawyer or a mouthpiece? Adding a mouthpiece changes the amount the lips can move and shelters the area inside the moutpiece from outside air pressure. It also defines the effective length of the "lip wall" that vibrates when playing. It is desireable for the length of this wall to be longer for lower-frequency instruments such as baritones and tubas. My daughter the trumpet player discovered a vast improvement in sound (with the tradeoff of being harder to play) in upgrading to a higher grade/smaller bore mouthpiece. The smaller bore (diameter at lips) facilitates playing higher notes more easily, probably by supporting a shorter "lip wall" (that's my term, like it?) that did her beginner's mouthpiece.
Adding what was mentioned in class this morning by a REAL brass player, one can move the mouthpiece to different, assymetric positions while playing to emphasize overtones, etc. For example, one can move the mouthpiece up and shorten the "lip wall" (and its mass) for the lower lip, thus increasing the overtone content of the source sound (buzzing upper and lower lips at different frequencies).
The UNSW brass page (scroll down to "Playing softly and loudly") also gives a nice explanation of how overtone content changes when playing softly and loudly. For quieter notes, the lips act more like a classical oscillator (behave linearly) and the fundamental frequency dominates the note. For louder sounds, the sound source becomes non-linear (this probably describes the various return forces) and overtones become much more important.
Brass instrument shapes:
Stick this in your pipe.... First, we will want to determine what type of pipe (open-open, open-closed) best models our brass instruments.
This will help us understand what the instrument's Fourier spectra look like. So let's ask questions about what boundary conditions we expect at each end of the "pipe" of a brass instrument:
What would pressure be doing at the mouthpiece end of the instrument? Would it be constant, or changing up and down? Does that mean it is a pressure node or antinode?
What about the bell end of the instrument. What column of red graphs, left or right above, would represent the pressure envelopes for the first few harmonics of the brass instrument?
What about air velocity nodes and antinodes for brass instruments?
How would we express the wavelength of the fundamental in terms of the length of the pipe, L? What frequency would that correspond to?
What about the first overtone? How could we determine its frequency expressed in terms of the frequency of the fundamental?
The UNSW brass acoustics web page gives diagrams showing the pressure waves for the fundamental and first two overtones and expressions for their wavelengths and frequencies. Scroll down to "Resonances and harmonics of pipes with different shapes."
We could, of course, explore this in an alternate way measuring the spectrum of a brass instrument playing a simple note and examine it for overtones. Here are spectra of a trumpet for different notes:
Well this is all just great, but why do I see even harmonics in the spectra above? For example, the lowest peak for the C6, above, appears to be a little under 500 Hz (0.5 kHz) and the next peak is just below 1000 Hz, double the presumed fundamental. The C5 appears to have peaks at frequencies of about 250, 500, 750, 1000, etc. Hz (actually, slightly less). Yes, the 3rd peak of C5 is the highest, but shouldn't the 2nd and 4th peaks be more suppressed?
Here is John T. Lynch's measure spectra of a trumpet , where he glued a speaker to the mouthpiece and swept (continuously raised, then repeated) source sound frequencies while measuring sound level at the bell (top graph). Again we see all harmonics, not just the odd ones.
(we'll have to get to this later....)
That trumpet sure has a flare for bright sound: The shape of brass instruments is that of a flared tube with a bell. The effect of the flare is to increase the fundamental frequency, as indicated under "The effects of the bell" on the UNSW web site . Sonically, the bell serves to brighten (increase the intensity of..) the overtones, giving it more of a brass sound. The bell can be though of as providing an improved (pressure) impedance match between inside the tube and outside relative to the straight cylinder, which is why higher frequency overtones pass more easily from the pipe to the outside. The tradeoff is that high transmission of sound through the bell to outside results in low reflection of sound back into the pipe.
Look under the heading "Weakness of higher harmonics" to see and hear what high transmission of sound does to higher frequency brass notes.
Ahah! I wonder if this serves to weaken the "bell boundary condition" that assumes a pressure node at this end of the pipe. If we view the bell end as a mixed pressure node and antinode, does this result in the presence of even harmonics in the spectra?
Regardless, the flared (conical) shape also serves to decrease the spacing between resonances because the pressure intensity must fall for the antinodes as the diameter of the tube increases towards the bell end. See the explanation at the UNSW web page "Pipes and Harmonics" for more background, but in the context of different woodwind instruments.
So it is the flare that does it. Flaring the tube of a brass instrument and adding a bell at the end serve to:
"Brighten" the sound by making louder overtones.
String Instruments
Tone Quality:
We will structure this discussion as we did for woodwinds and brass, speaking first about the sound source, the aspects of instrument shape and size that determine its sound, and how notes are played using bows or pizzicato (plucked).
source of sound
shape and size of sound box, layout of neck, etc.
mutes
playing notes
Of course other things, such as construction materials, finishes, string quality, etc. are also important, but we will focus on these four elements and how physics addresses them.
Sound sources:
It's a standing wave string thing: All string instruments employ the same mechanism as a sound source-- standing waves excited on a string (or strings). We spent quite a bit of time early on discussing the physics underlying standing waves excited on a string. It's worth reviewing a bit here:
Standing waves are the result of traveling sound waves on the string. These sound waves travel at the speed of sound on the string (which varies) in both directions, and the resulting standing waves are superpositions of these traveling waves.
The speed at which these sound waves travel depends on:
tension of the string (how hard the string is stretched). In terms of oscillators, this determines the return force on the string. So, what does a higher tension or return force do to frequency?
linear mass density of the string. This affects the inertia of the oscillator, which I like to think of as the "slugishness" of the oscillator. Why are the strings for lower (bass) notes "wirewound" versus the higher note strings on a guitar?
String instruments are tuned by:
... using tuning pegs that adjust the tensions of the strings. What, specifically, is the user adjusting when tuning a string in terms of our important fundamental descriptors. Don't forget our highly important relationship:
wave speed and, thus, frequency for a fixed wavelength is determined by Mersenne's laws . Let's revisit these laws briefly using a spiffy Physics Demonstration Room apparatus:
String instruments are played by:
... affecting another import fundamental descriptor. What is it? Does the relationship above have any bearing on this? What, effectively, are you changing in the above equation when you play a guitar or violin?
Plucking or bowing a note (of any, fixed length) on a stringed instrument:
... creates a certain set of overtones because (effectively) several wavelengths of / frequencies of standing waves (harmonics) are excited simultaneously. The frequencies of these overtones have known relationships relative to the fundamental frequency, and represent certain musical intervals relative to the "note played" (with strings, always the fundamental unless one is playing harmonics).
Stringed instrument elements and shapes:
Just like a bridge over troubled harmonics.... A key component of all stringed instruments is the bridge. Although bridges look different for guitars and related instruments (dobros, banjos, etc) than they do for orchestral stringed instruments, they serve the same purpose in both cases: they serve as a vibration node for one end of a string and they serve to transfer energy from the vibrating strings to the body of the instrument which resonates in reponse to these signals.
The bridge is a great place for an electronic pickup, which converts vibrations into electrical signals, because it undergoes the most pronounced vibrations anywhere on the instrument with the exception of the strings themselves.
Time for a belly laugh: On orchestral stringed instruments an hollow body guitars, etc., the bridge sits over the top plate of the resonant body (sound box) of the instrument. This is penetrated by two holes-- "f holes" cut into the body so as to: 1) provide air-air coupling between inside and outside the body (e.g., "efficiently let the sound inside out") and 2) allow the center section of the top plate (the belly) to vibrate with less restriction. This type of stringed instrument also has a sound post that physically connects the front plate to the back plate of the sound box. Its purpose is both structural-- to provide support for the bridge-- and acoustic-- to transfer vibrations of the bridge directly to the back plate.
Luthiers and scientists use Chladni patterns to analyze the motion of the sound box in response to standing waves excited on the strings. We will examine these patterns in more detail in the next lecture.
That resonates with me... shape of string instrument resonant bodies also greatly impacts the amplitudes of different played notes. The UNSW site about violins shows a graph giving the response of two violins over a range of frequencies. String players often know about the effect of this response curve on notes they play, and bow more loudly or softly to compensate. This particular bass player has lusted for a full-size string bass for several years because their resonance peak sits at a lower frequency than those for the more common 3/4-size basses (shown):
The sound box, or body, of a stringed instrument serves to more efficiently convert sound energy in vibrating strings into sound waves propagating from the instrument. It doesn't serve to "amplify" the sound in the sense that an electronic amplifier uses electrical energy to multiply the sound output from, say, a humbucker pickup.
Mutes:
Mutes for orchestral stringed instruments sit on the instrument bridge and serve to parasitically dampen bridge vibrations. They do affect the spectral (overtone) content of particular notes as their dampening is frequency dependent, but they mostly serve to quiet the sound of the instrument.
Playing notes:
As mentioned above, the stringed instrument player chooses notes by adjusting the effective length of the string. For fretted instruments this process involves pressing down a string with fingers so that the fret above (towards the vibrating part of the string) becomes a new and temporary nut. (The nut serves as the vibrational antinode for the string that sits on the other end from the bridge, and is found at the top of the fingerboard). For orchestral strings, the finger serves directly to play the role of the "temporary nut," and it can be rolled back and forth to slowly change the length of the string over a small range-- this is called pitch vibrato.
If a guitar string was plucked in a forest... and nobody was there to... Standing waves on stringed instruments are excited in one of two ways (generally speaking): bowing or picking:
Bowing-bowing:
The process of bowing is that of stick, slip, stick, slip. The University of New South Wales Physics of Music group has a very nice web page that goes into detail about bowing, which I won't repeat here. It does mention an important bit for understanding how bows can excite a continuous standing wave on a string-- "thus the cycle of stick and slip on the bow has the same period as the vibration of the string." We will, however, revisit bowing in Lecture 14 and hear and see the difference made by bowing nearer and further from the bridge.
Picky-picky:
The process of bowing is that of stick, slip, stick, slip. The University of New South Wales Physics of Music group has a very nice web page that goes into detail about bowing, which I won't repeat here. We will, however, revisit bowing in Lecture 14 and hear and see the difference made by bowing nearer and further from the bridge.
Web Resources:
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Who plays Martha Costello QC in the BBC’s legal drama Silk? | BBC - BBC TV blog: Silk: Maxine Peake on playing Martha
Post categories: actress , bbc one , drama
Fiona Wickham | 09:21 UK time, Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Series two of Silk opens on BBC One tonight, with Martha Costello now a QC. Actress Maxine Peake answered our questions about the return of the courtroom drama.
How has Martha's character developed in series two ?
I don't know whether Martha has developed much as a character as we seem to stay well away from her personal life in this series and focus on her cases much more.
I think if anything she's becoming tougher but it hasn't been easy.
Maxine Peake as Martha Costello QC
You said "it would be extremely challenging for me to play Martha" when series one came out. What was most challenging about it?
I think convincing myself I could credibly play a barrister .
When you have an accent as specific as mine people do tend to pigeon-hole you. Especially as far as class and education are concerned.
I think people associate being middle class with a lack of accent. That is not the case, especially up north, and that a university education would neutralise any accent. We really need to change our way of thinking!
The amount of dialogue to learn too bordered sometimes on the impossible!
How do you get into character?
I have to create a detailed back story for each character I play.
I find it really useful to use music, literature and art as keys to their personality. What they like to listen to, read. Art that stimulates them. I find a song or painting which I think represents them.
A friend of mine, Lex Shrapnel, said to me after a Fleet Foxes concert that the beautiful thing about music is that you can tell a whole story in a few minutes and I think that goes for encapsulating a character's inner life.
Peter [Moffat] very kindly would adapt his scripts to fit my back story too. Which was fantastic.
Tell us a bit about Clive and Martha's relationship and how they test each other over the series.
Martha and Clive are now the best of friends and as with the people you love the most, they challenge and taunt each other.
I adore their relationship. As Rupert put it perfectly: they are like brother and sister who sometimes get a little confused!
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Martha annoys Clive by calling him a 'note taker'
Did you do any further research for series two?
I went back to the Old Bailey for a couple of days with Rupert this time and we sat in on a murder trial.
I also met up with a female QC at a chambers in Manchester and she talked me through the highs and lows.
With the cuts to legal aid it's very difficult at the moment and hopefully if Silk goes to a third series Peter might highlight that.
How do you feel during this period between finishing shooting and the programme airing?
I fortunately went straight into another job so didn't give it much thought. Although this year I felt we became much more of a team and did miss everyone a little.
We had the fabulous Frances Barber , Indira Varma , Phil Davis and Shaun Evans on board so we all had to up our game.
Can you enjoy watching your performance on screen or does it make you uncomfortable?
I hate it! It sends me into the depths of despair!
Which of the actors did you most enjoy working with?
I love my scenes with Neil Stuke , he's such an open and energetic actor you just have to react to him.
I bloody love Rupert, he's funny and terribly self-deprecating and I was over the moon when Shaun Evans joined us. He's such a great actor and I've always had a wee bit of a crush on him, but don't tell him that!
What was your personal highlight?
Getting to finally meet Frances Barber. What a woman!
Maxine Peake plays Martha Costello QC in Silk .
Silk returns tonight at 9pm on BBC One and BBC One HD . For further programme times, please see the episode guide .
Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.
| Maxine Peake |
Which was the first capital city to host the Winter Olympics? | Silk, BBC One: a lawyer's verdict - Telegraph
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Silk, BBC One: a lawyer's verdict
Sarah Palin, a barrister, says that Peter Moffat's new BBC One legal drama is an impressive portrayal of life at the Bar.
Maxine Peake stars in BBC One's Silk Photo: BBC
12:44PM GMT 22 Feb 2011
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As a barrister, I – along with my colleagues – have been eagerly awaiting Silk, a new legal drama series shot last summer in and around the Temple in London, where many of our chambers are based. Luckily, from the episodes I’ve seen in advance, we’re unlikely to be disappointed: despite the odd far-fetched plotline, Silk offers a realistic insight into the frenetic goings on inside the ancient Inns of Court.
Its writer, Peter Moffat, a former barrister, has written two of the best and most accurate legal dramas seen on television: Kavanagh QC and the lamentably short-lived North Square, which was set in a criminal set of chambers in Leeds. In his new drama, Moffat returns to the daily trials and tribulations of a group of young criminal barristers, while at the same time offering an insight into the ethical clashes which confront them.
“I wanted Silk to be full of politics and intrigue. From my experience at the Bar, I felt life in chambers had all of those components, with big stories and lots of courtroom drama – but I wanted to make it as much about barristers and their life in chambers as about the trials,” says Moffat.
Gone is the irreverence and cynicism of North Square, to be replaced by a more sober, yet still entertaining, portrayal of the profession.
The central conceit is that the two main characters are applying to become Queen’s Counsel, or to “take silk” – a term deriving from the silk gowns they wear if successful. The selection panel will only recommend the appointment of one barrister from their chamber, pitting the two against one another.
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Silk, BBC One, preview
22 Feb 2011
Maxine Peake plays Martha Costello, a passionate defence barrister in her late 30s, who is struggling with the demands of her job and her desire to have a family. Her rival in the race for silk is the arrogant, self-assured and venally ambitious Clive Reader (Rupert Penry-Jones).
Central to the barristers’ careers and lives is the senior clerk, Billy Lamb, played by Neil Stuke. Not quite the grotesque exaggeration that was his counterpart in North Square, Billy Lamb is the tough but warm-hearted senior clerk who takes a percentage of all the barristers’ fees and does the wheeling and dealing to bring in the briefs and allocate them to his sparring barristers.
Through the travails of the characters, Moffat’s objective is no less than to “tell it as it really is. Silk is based on my experience at the Bar.”
The opening episodes do a good job of capturing the relentless pressure of the criminal Bar, the late-night briefs and trial preparation in the early hours, the quick thinking on your feet in court, the snatched conferences with clients under acute stress, the clash between driven self-employed individuals and the familial collective of chambers.
The competition for silk, while a useful plot device, also accurately reflects the fiercely competitive nature of the Bar - even if the characters featured are a little more youthful than their real-life counterparts tend to be.
Some allowance inevitably must be made for dramatic excess – for instance, a pupil barrister shop-lifting his wig and gown strikes an absurd note. Nonetheless, from the episodes I saw, Moffat gives the viewer a real insight into life in chambers.
“I wanted to make sure that every big case, every trial in every episode, brings with it a really meaty, complex ethical or moral dilemma, which will affect the barristers in their professional and even personal lives,” says Moffat. “Martha only defends, that’s her reason for being a barrister. I wanted to explore how her ideals hold up given the number of people she’s represented who have done very bad things. It throws up the question, what’s it like representing someone who you know is guilty – and what does that mean for you personally?”
This question is a dinner party staple for barristers, and the programme does indeed attempt to answer it, if a little self-consciously. Moffat effectively shows how sometimes the law has little to do with natural justice or discovering the truth, and how a barrister’s personal opinions and desire to win can throw up various moral problems.
It will be interesting to see, as the series develops, whether the characters are sufficiently well-drawn and the dialogue sharp enough to make consistently compelling viewing out of such ethical dilemmas.
For many, the zip and wit that made North Square so entertaining will have been replaced by something disappointingly earnest. However, if most people’s knowledge of the English legal system comes from watching TV dramas, and with the most radical review of legal funding and the provision of legal representation underway by the Government, the premium on portraying the profession accurately has never been higher.
Sarah Palin is a barrister practising in media law at One Brick Court, Temple.
Silk begins tonight on BBC One at 9.00pm.
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Which king founded Eton College in 1440? | briefhistory
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A brief history of Eton College
Eton was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore” to provide free education to 70 poor boys who would then go on to King's College, Cambridge, which he founded 1441.
When Henry founded the school, he granted it a large number of endowments, but when he was deposed by Edward IV in 1461, the new king removed most of its assets and treasures to St George's Chapel, Windsor, on the other side of the River Thames. Construction of the chapel, originally intended to be slightly over twice its current length was stopped hurriedly, but by this time the chapel in its current form and the lower storeys of the current cloisters, including College Hall, had been completed. With reduced funds, little further building took place until around 1517 when Provost Roger Lupton built the tower which now bears his name together with the range of buildings which now includes Election Hall and Election Chamber.
The earliest records of school life date from the 16th century and paint a picture of a regimented and Spartan life. Scholars were awakened at 5 am, chanted prayers whilst they dressed, and were at work in Lower School by 6am. All teaching was in Latin and lessons were supervised by “praepostors”, senior boys appointed by the headmaster. There was a single hour of play, though even at that time football appears to have been popular, for a sentence set for Latin translation in 1519 was “We will play with a bag full of wynde”. Lessons finished at 8pm and there were only two holidays, each of three weeks duration at Christmas (when the scholars remained at Eton) and in the Summer. These holidays divided the school year into two “halves” a word which has survived despite the change to a three-term year in the 18th century.
From the earliest days of the school, the education received by the scholars was shared by others who did not lodge in College, but who lived in the town with a landlady. By the early 18th century the number of such “Oppidans” (from the Latin “oppidum” meaning “town”) had grown to the extent that more formal arrangements were needed, and the first of the “Dame’s Houses”, Jourdelay’s, was built in 1722. By 1766 there were thirteen houses, and increasingly the responsibility for running them fell to masters as much as to the dame.
The school continued to grow and flourished particularly under the long reign of George III (1760-1820). George spent much of his time at Windsor, frequently visiting the school and entertaining boys at Windsor Castle. The school in turn made George’s birthday, the Fourth of June, into a holiday. Though these celebrations now never fall on that day, Eton’s “Fourth of June”, marked by “speeches”, cricket, a procession of boats, and picnics on “Agar’s Plough” remains an important occasion in the school year.
By the middle of the 19th century reform was long overdue; the Clarendon Commission of 1861 investigated conditions in the major boarding schools of the day and led to significant changes including improved accommodation, a wider curriculum and better-qualified staff. Numbers continued to grow, and by 1891 there were over 1000 boys in the school, a figure which grew pretty steadily until the 1970s, by which time the school had reached its present size of around 1300 boys.
The new millennium saw the introduction of a more meritocratic entry system, with boys no longer being entered on house lists at birth – from 2002, all boys had to win their places through the current procedure of an interview, reasoning test and reference from their previous school.
In the 21st century, emphasis continues to be on widening access, with boys joining us from more and more schools and growing numbers receiving substantial fee remissions.
| Henry VI |
Old Wykehamists are former pupils of which school? | King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
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King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Formally named The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies besides the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city.
King's was founded in 1441 by Henry VI, soon after he had founded its sister college in Eton. However, the King's plans for the college were disrupted by the Wars of the Roses and resultant scarcity of funds, and his eventual deposition. Little progress was made on the project until in 1508 Henry VII began to take an interest in the college, most likely as a political move to legitimise his new position. The building of the college's chapel, begun in 1446, was finally finished in 1544 during the reign of Henry VIII.
King's College Chapel is regarded as one of the greatest examples of late Gothic English architecture. It has the world's largest fan-vault, and the chapel's stained-glass windows and wooden chancel screen are considered some of the finest from their era. The building is seen as emblematic of Cambridge. The chapel's choir, composed of male students at King's and choristers from the nearby King's College School, is one of the most accomplished and renowned in the world. Every year on Christmas Eve the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (a service devised specifically for King's by college dean Eric Milner-White) is broadcast from the chapel to millions of listeners worldwide. On 12 February 1441 King Henry VI issued letters patent founding a college at Cambridge for a rector and twelve poor scholars. This college was to be named after Saint Nicholas, upon whose saint day Henry had been born. The first stone of the college's Old Court was laid by the King on Passion Sunday, 2 April 1441, on a site which lies directly north of the modern college and which was formerly a garden belonging to Trinity Hall. WilliamOn 12 February 1441 King Henry VI issued letters patent founding a college at Cambridge for a rector and twelve poor scholars. This college was to be named after Saint Nicholas, upon whose saint day Henry had been born. The first stone of the college's Old Court was laid by the King on Passion Sunday, 2 April 1441, on a site which lies directly north of the modern college and which was formerly a garden belonging to Trinity Hall. William Millington, a fellow of Clare College (then called Clare Hall) was installed as the rector.
Old Court Henry directed the publication of the college's first governing statutes in 1443. His original modest plan for the college was abandoned, and provision was instead made for community of seventy fellows and scholars headed by a provost. Henry had belatedly learned of William of Wykeham's 1379 twin foundation of New College, Oxford and Winchester College, and wanted his own achievements to surpass those of Wykeham. The King had in fact founded Eton College on 11 October 1440, but up until 1443 King's and Eton had been unconnected.However, that year the relationship between the two was remodelled upon Wykeham's successful institutions and the original sizes of the colleges scaled up to surpass Wykeham's. A second royal charter which re-founded the now much larger King's College was issued on 12 July 1443 . On 1 September 1444, the Provosts of King's and Eton, and the Wardens of Winchester and New College formally signed the Amicabilis Concordia ("friendly agreement") in which they bound their colleges to support one another legally and financially.
Members of King's were to be recruited entirely from Eton. Each year, the provost and two fellows travelled to Eton to impartially elect the worthiest boys to fill any vacancies at the college, always maintaining the total number of scholars and fellows at exactly seventy. Membership of King's was a vocation for life. Scholars were eligible for election to the fellowship after three years of probation, irrespective of whether they had achieved a degree or not. In fact, undergraduates at King's – unlike those from other colleges – did not even have to pass university examinations to achieve their BA degree and instead had only to satisfy the college. Every fellow was to study theology, save for two who were to study astronomy, two civil law, four canon law, and two medicine; all fellows save those studying secular subjects were obliged to take Holy Orders and become priests, on pain of expulsion. In 1445 a Papal Bull from Eugenius IV exempted college members from parish duties, and in 1457 an agreement between the provost and chancellor of the university limited the chancellor's authority and gave the college full jurisdiction over internal matters. Millington, a fellow of Clare College (then called Clare Hall) was installed as the rector.
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Which school has famous old boys – Jeremy Clarkson, Roald Dahl and Graeme Garden? | Repton School - Wikipedia, Photos and Videos
Repton School
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For the school of the same name in Dubai, see Repton School Dubai .
Repton School
( Latin : "The gate is free from blame")
Established
Land for school acquired: 1559
Type
Independent day and Boarding School
Religion
.uk
Repton School is a co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils in Repton , Derbyshire , England. The school has around 660 pupils aged between 13 and 18, of whom 451 are boarders.[ citation needed ] Repton School taught only boys for its first 400 years; Repton started accepting girls in the sixth form early in the 1970s, and within 20 years became completely coeducational.[ citation needed ]
Contents
History[ edit ]
Foundation and early years[ edit ]
The school was founded by in a bequest of Sir John Port of Etwall , who died in 1557 leaving funds to establish a grammar school at Etwall or Repton, provided the students prayed daily for his family's souls. [1]
In 1559 Gilbert Thacker granted buildings at the site of Repton Priory for the school, but lawsuits quickly began between the School and the Thacker family focusing on use of the approach to their home. [2] Relations with the Thackers deteriorated such that, by 1650s, the school and the family were embroiled in litigation. In 1642, the school commenced an action against the Thacker family and in 1652 the family also brought an action against the school which was settled out of court. The atmosphere around the dispute was aggressive and on occasions the Thackers diverted drains into the school's buildings by constructing dams. In 1670 a wall was built to keep the parties apart. [2]
Pupil numbers seem to have oscillated between 80 and 200 in the first hundred years, but as the school was free until 1768 it is unclear how teaching was afforded.
The headmaster was free to keep, and did keep, cattle in a room within the school in this period. [2]
A pupil's letter home in 1728 relates to his father that the headmaster, George Fletcher, would withhold meals from the boys if they were unable to recite scripture. [2]
Decline and Renewal in the 18th and 19th Centuries[ edit ]
The school declined in the 1700s and the 1800s.
Pupil numbers were below 50 by 1833, and a former pupil recalled after leaving:
"even more than the paucity of its numbers, was the almost total absence of all those facilities... cricket ground we had none. Football was played upon the gravel, between the Arch, and the broken pillars...No gymnasium, no fives court, no racquet court...No French, no German, no Music, no Natural Science... No chapel, no master's house beyond the Arch, no bridge (at first) across the Trent, no railway.... Why did even 50 boys resort to Sir John Port's old School?" [2]
Although by 1830s some of the reforms of Dr. Thomas Arnold were being implemented at the school, [2] the school went into further decline in the following decades.
Decline was finally arrested by headmaster Steuart Pears, who worked hard to raise the school's status and reputation. There was a significant struggling with Charity Commissioners and the Clarendon Commission to have the school accepted as one of the great public schools, [2] however the Commissioners excluded Repton from their 1864 report (which included only nine schools), and so the school was excluded from the Public Schools Act 1868 . [3]
In 1884, a chapel was added to the school's buildings. [4]
20th Century[ edit ]
Harold Abrahams CBE, the Olympic champion in the Paris Olympics of 1924 in the 100m sprint, depicted in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire , joined Repton School in 1914. Recalling his time at the school, Abrahams said he encountered anti-semitism often feeling bullied and alone. [5]
In 1907 a gymnasium was added, this building is now listed at grade II. [6]
1,912 former pupils of the school served in the First World War, of these 355 died in service. [7] A war memorial was added to the school's site in 1921. [8]
In the 1920s, the poet Vernon Watkins was sent to Repton; his quiet, gentle character provoked regular bullying in his early years, but in his last years he attained more popularity once he was able to show ability in sports. When he died the school wrote that he was "perhaps the best poet Repton has had". [9]
In the Second World War, 188 former members of the school lost their lives serving their country. [10] The school itself struggled before and during the War: the school owed £50,000 and, in 1941, the Board of Education said its 'future is doubtful’. [11] One boarding house (The Cross) was closed in 1938 and a second (Latham House) was closed in 1942. The total number of pupils was 353 on the outbreak of war but only 273 in 1943. Numbers then recovered. The Cross was reopened in 1945 and Latham House in 1947. By the time the school celebrated its quatercentenary in 1957, it was full with 470 pupils. [12]
Jeremy Clarkson[ edit ]
In the 1970s, broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson attended Repton. During his time at the school other pupils forced him, he says, to lick the toilets clean, defecated in his tuck box, cut up his clothing and so on. He has stated this extreme bullying made him a "suicidal wreck". [14] Clarkson has stated that as he entered the sixth-form he was expelled for "drinking, smoking and making a general nuisance"; [15] the school maintains he left by consensus.[ citation needed ] The 'Stigg' character in Top Gear is said to have been named after the school's pejorative slang term for new boys, a private reference with the producer Andy Wilman who attended Repton with Clarkson. [16]
Recent events[ edit ]
The school has grown and invested; in 2013 a £9 million Science Priory was built. During the preparations for the building work, archaeological digs were undertaken which indicated the site had been occupied in the Roman period. [17] [18] The School is from time to time included in the Tatler 'Guide to Top Prep and Public Schools'. [19]
Health and safety offence[ edit ]
Criminal enforcement proceedings were brought against the school by the Health and Safety Executive in October 2014. [20] Magistrates fined the school £10,000 following a guilty plea to a health and safety indictment after an incident of negligence which resulted in a grandmother sustaining serious back, head and hand injuries.
Sexual misconduct by teacher[ edit ]
A former Head of Physics was disqualified from teaching indefinitely by the National College for Teaching and Leadership , following a finding of unacceptable professional conduct. [21] [22] [23]
Other events[ edit ]
In 2011, the Headmaster contacted all parents following an incident in which some 13- and 14-year-old girls obtained alcohol, after which one was required to attend hospital. [24]
Inspections[ edit ]
The School is inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. The most recent Integrated Inspection took place in March 2014, finding the school to be "exceptionally successful in achieving its aims... the quality of the pupils' achievements is excellent". [25]
The Department for Education ordered an emergency inspection in January 2015 reviewing welfare and safeguarding compliance under the Independent School Standard Regulations (ISSRs) and the National Minimum Standards for Boarding (NMS). The school failed to meet national minimum standards. However, it successfully implemented an action plan in time to met all the standards and requirements at a Monitoring inspection in November 2015. [26]
Fees[ edit ]
Per year, fees currently stand at £33,066 for boarders, and £23,475 for day pupils. [27] There are scholarships available for drama, sport, art, music, academic capacity and 'all rounder talent'. There is also some bursary assistance. [28]
Buildings[ edit ]
Repton Priory was a 12th-century Augustinian foundation dissolved in 1538. After dissolution, the Thacker family lived at the Priory until 1553, when, fearing the priory would be recommissioned under Queen Mary I , Gilbert Thacker destroyed the church - a task almost entirely completed in a day [29] [30] - stating: "He would destroy the nest, for fear the birds should build therein again." [29]
Accordingly, only parts of the original buildings remained when the school was established: [31] [32] footings of areas of the priory remain in some areas, uncovered during construction work in 1922; the bases of a cluster of columns of the former chancel and chapels; fragments of an arch belonging to the former pulpitum , moved to their current position in 1906; [32] and fragments of the door surrounds of both the chapter house and warming room. [31] [33]
The largest portion of the priory to survive is known as "Prior Overton's Tower", which is post 1437; largely altered, it has been incorporated into a 19th-century building. [34]
The School Arch, formerly part of Repton Priory , it was moved to its current site in 1906. [32]
Houses and Pastoral Arrangements[ edit ]
A little over two thirds of students are boarders. [35] The school has 10 houses: 6 for boys and 4 for girls, the houses comprise
the Abbey,
School House [36]
Although the school is in a low crime area, there are occasional incidents: for example in May 2015 a cache of laptops and mobiles were stolen from pupils in a boarding house, [37] while a further theft of a valuable chalice from the chapel occurred in March 2016. [38] In contrast to its twentieth century history, the school has now got strong anti-bullying policies [39]
There is a chapel which is Anglican in foundation. [40]
Sports and clubs[ edit ]
The school competes in various sports. [41] Notable sporting former pupils include 1932 Wimbledon tennis finalist, Bunny Austin and several first-class cricketers. [42] In 2013 six former pupils played in the same international hockey match. [43] The school has a Combined Cadet Force and a music school, as well as various after school clubs. [44]
Motto[ edit ]
The school's motto, Porta Vacat Culpa ("the gate is free from blame"), is a quotation from Ovid's Fasti . [45] 'The gate' (Porta) refers to the school's arch [46] [ non-primary source needed ] and, by a synecdoche of pars pro toto , the school itself, whilst also being a pun on the name of the school's founder, Sir John Port . [47]
Overseas client schools[ edit ]
The school set up Repton International Schools Ltd (RISL) in 2013 to establish, develop and maintain the highest quality British international schools. The client schools are generally funded by partners, sometimes private equity firms, who are licensed to use the Repton School "brand". [48]
RISL covenants its profits to Repton School Trust in the UK, which helps fund capital projects and bursaries.
Client schools comprise: Repton School Dubai , which opened in September 2007 and is situated on a site in Nad al Sheba;[ citation needed ] Repton School Abu Dhabi, which opened in 2013 on Al Reem Island , Abu Dhabi ; Foremarke Dubai opened in 2013 and is located in Dubiotech, Al Barsha South and the Repton New English School in Amman Jordan.
Further relationships are in development in, amongst others Oman, India and China. [49]
Prep school[ edit ]
A junior school, Repton Preparatory School , was founded in 1940. It moved to nearby Foremarke Hall in 1947.
Social action[ edit ]
In May 2016 the school made defibrillators on its site available to the local community. [50] Some of the staff at the school have been vocal about the issue of speeding traffic in the village of Repton , and have participated in public speed gun enforcement. [51]
Many of the school's facilities are used by the wider community. Olympic gold medal and world record holder Adam Peaty used Repton's swimming pool as a training facility. His coach, Melanie Marshall also teaches swimming at the school. [52]
Film and TV settings[ edit ]
The school has twice, in the 1930s and 1980s respectively, represented the fictional Brookfield School in a 1939 film and a 1984 BBC version of Goodbye, Mr. Chips . [53] [54]
Around 200 students were extras in the 1939 film. [55]
Notable Old Reptonians[ edit ]
See also: Category:People educated at Repton School
This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification . Please help by adding reliable sources . Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful.
(June 2013)
| Repton |
Who was manager of Melchester Rovers when Roy Race joined the club? | Exploring the village of Repton - one of South Derbyshire’s gems - Places - Derbyshire Life and Countryside
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The tower and spire of St Wystan's Church
After cautiously descending an uneven flight of steps through a curving low passageway, you come to a subterranean chamber that is a mere sixteen feet square. As your eyes adjust to the dim light, you begin to pick out four columns that support the low vaulted ceiling. Clearly pre-Norman, the columns are decorated with crudely-etched spirals and topped with simple block-shaped capitals.
The still, silent space in which you are standing is the tiny crypt of St Wystan’s Church in Repton, which Sir John Betjeman memorably described as ‘Holy air encased in stone’. Nominated by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as ‘one of the most precious survivals of late Saxon architecture in England’, the crypt served a mausoleum for the Kings of Mercia, who ruled over a great swathe of England stretching from the Humber to the Thames, with Repton as its capital.
Repton began to lose its status as long ago as 699AD, when the bishopric of the diocese of Mercia was moved to Lichfield. However, if we interpret the adjective ‘capital’ as a term for ‘excellent’, the village still deserves to be called a ‘capital place’. It certainly has many examples of excellent architecture, not least in the magnificent form of St Wystan’s fourteenth-century tower and its elegant recessed spire, which reaches the commanding height of 212 feet.
Until the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the church abutted an Augustinian priory founded in 1172. The ruins and grounds of the former priory were purchased under a bequest made in 1557 by Sir John Port, enabling Repton’s famous public school to come into being on this ancient site.
The Priory Arch at the entrance to Repton School
After passing through the Priory Gateway, I was met by Kathy Twigg, the Marketing and Development Officer, who had offered to show me around the school, which charges fees of £32,000 per year and has some 650 students, including 450 boarders. Famous alumni include writers Roald Dahl and Christopher Isherwood, actors Basil Rathbone and Graeme Garden, and Michael Ramsey, who became Archbishop of Canterbury, as did two former Headmasters. Controversial broadcaster and journalist Jeremy Clarkson is another former Repton student but, by his own admission, he was asked to leave the school after ‘behaving unacceptably’.
Founded as a boys’ school, Repton has been fully coeducational since 1990 and its female students are now carrying on a tradition of sporting excellence exemplified by alumni such as cricketer CB Fry, tennis champion Bunny Austin and runner Harold Abrahams, of ‘Chariots of Fire’ fame. The U18 Girls’ Hockey team were national champions for eight years between 2005 and 2013. One of their players was Kathy Twigg’s daughter, Georgie, who won Bronze at the London Olympics.
The school’s buildings had their own moment of national recognition in 1984, when they featured in the television version of ‘Goodbye Mr Chips’. After an earlier appearance in the original film of 1939 starring Robert Donat and Greer Garson. Apart from Prior Overton’s Tower and the bases of several pillars, most buildings in the former priory site date from the 19th century. The Library, the Undercroft, and the Pears Building are located on the perimeter of the Priory Garth, much like buildings in an Oxbridge quad. Adding to the idyll is a cricket field with a thatched pavilion.
The school has now expanded well beyond the confines of the former priory. The theatre, chapel, sports hall, games pitches, tennis courts, indoor swimming pool, squash courts, fitness centre, business centre, music school, art school and the New Court Gallery are all located outside the old priory precincts. The most recent addition is the state-of-the-art Science Priory, which includes a 3D lecture theatre that projects images of biological specimens from all angles.
Repton School pupils on the Paddock in front of the Pears Building Photo: Andy Weekes
Given these facilities, it is hardly surprising to read in the most recent Independent Schools Inspection report that ‘the school is exceptionally successful in achieving its aims’. Next April, Alastair Land, who is currently Deputy Head Master at Harrow, will become the 35th Headmaster of a school that has always sought to enable all its students to flourish and realise their potential.
As Cathy Twigg stressed, ‘The students are also aware of their role in the village. Many take on community service by helping older residents with shopping or gardening, while others help at village events and at the local primary school. And the villagers are welcome to use the school’s swimming pool, visit its art exhibitions and attend its drama and musical productions.’
The Chairman of the Parish Council, Barbara McArdle, is one of many villagers who use the school’s indoor pool. She told me: ‘The school gives life to Repton and makes every effort to be a part of the community. Their pupils are a welcome presence in the streets and the school is equally welcoming to villagers. The campus is not cut off in any way and public footpaths even go through the grounds.’
In her role as Chairman, Barbara has a particular interest in preserving and maintaining the extensive network of paths and bridleways in the parish, but she has several other priorities. She says: ‘As a council, we are giving financial support to the Village Hall Committee’s project to replace their present hall with a modern, flexible building. We are also seeking funds to restore the ancient Market Cross, which is being eroded by water ingress.
Thatched cottages on Willington Road
The iconic cross stands at the intersection of three main roads that pass through the village. All of these roads feature some fine examples of Repton’s 49 listed buildings. A picturesque terrace on Wilmington Road comprises thatched and timbered dwellings dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. An equally fine cottage on Burton Road has a thatched roof and a timbered gable and could have been part of a fourteenth-century aisled hall. And a black-and-white Tudor Lodge on High Street is said to incorporate stones from the old priory church.
Hoping to protect this superb townscape and locally important open spaces from inappropriate development, the Parish Council is sponsoring the drafting of a Neighbourhood Plan that will be drawn up by residents. Members of the steering committee for the plan will be looking at the most suitable locations for new homes, shops and community facilities, as well as ways of promoting rural businesses and encouraging tourism in this former capital of the ancient Kingdom of Mercia.
Peter Rainey, who is one of the people working on the plan, highlighted the concerns being voiced by many residents. He said: ‘Plans for 148 new houses have already been approved and proposals for a further 52 have been submitted. We accept the need for new homes, including affordable housing, but we are worried that the building of 200 new dwellings could put a considerable strain on local services and bring a large increase in traffic to the narrow roads of our village.’
After negotiating the traffic that currently uses High Street, I sought refuge in Boot Lane, a much quieter street where I came across the eighteenth-century Boot Inn, which serves the popular Boot Bitter, brewed at the pub’s own micro-brewery. Another favoured place for refreshment for visitors and locals alike is the Repton Tea Rooms, managed for many years by Kathy Crogan. As well as enjoying scrumptious home cooked food, including Kathy’s delicious cakes, customers can savour a wonderful panoramic view of the grounds and buildings of Repton School: a view that brings to mind the famous vista of the colleges of Cambridge University from the ‘Backs’.
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The Sovereign Base Areas are on which island? | Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty
Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty
Bureau of Intelligence and Research
Washington, DC
! New change, since previous list
Short-form name
Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Australia
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Territory of
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
China
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha
United Kingdom
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
United
None
NOTES
Note 1: Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes (GENC) Standard two-letter and three-letter codes. GENC is the replacement standard for FIPS 10-4 and is the U.S. Government profile of the ISO 3166 international country code standard. For more information on GENC please see https://nsgreg.nga.mil/genc/discovery.
Note 2: Antarctica consists of the territory south of 60 degrees south latitude. This area includes claims by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the legal status of which remains in suspense under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. The United States recognizes no claims to Antarctica.
Note 3: Chagos Archipelago (including Diego Garcia).
Note 4: U.K. Overseas Territory (also claimed by Argentina).
Note 5: French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and Reunion are first-order administrative divisions of overseas France, and are therefore not dependencies or areas of special sovereignty. They are included in this list only for the convenience of the user. The Department of Guadeloupe includes the nearby islands of Marie-Galante, La Desirade, and Iles des Saintes.
Note 6: The French Southern and Antarctic Lands includes Île Amsterdam, Île Saint-Paul, Îles Crozet, and Îles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean; the "Iles Eparses" (Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island and Tromelin Island) in the Mozambique Channel and western Indian Ocean; and the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Terre Adélie." The United States does not recognize the French claim to "Terre Adélie" (see note 2).
Note 7: The Bailiwick of Guernsey includes the islands of Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and nearby smaller islands.
Note 8: Under a Sino-British declaration of September 1984, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese control on July 1, 1997. It is now a semi-autonomous entity that exists pursuant to international agreement and maintains its own government apart from the People's Republic of China.
Note 9: Administered from Oslo, Norway, through a governor resident in Longyearbyen, Svalbard.
Note 10: Under the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau signed in 1987, Macau reverted to Chinese control on December 20, 1999. It is now a semi-autonomous entity that exists pursuant to international agreement and maintains its own government apart from the People's Republic of China.
Note 11: The Netherlands Antilles dissolved on October 10, 2010. Curaçao and Sint Maarten (the Dutch two-fifths of the island of Saint Martin) became autonomous territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius now fall under the direct administration of the Netherlands.
Note 12: South China Sea islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam.
Note 13: The territory of Saint Helena includes the island group of Tristan da Cunha and Ascension Island.
Note 14: South China Sea islands claimed in entirety by China and Vietnam and in part by Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia; each of these states occupies some part of the islands.
Note 15: United Kingdom sovereign base area on the island of Cyprus.
Note 16: The joint force headquarters, under the Commander of the British Forces Cyprus, administers both sovereign base areas from Episkopi.
Note 17: The island of Saint Martin is divided: the northern three-fifths form the French collectivity of Saint-Martin, while the southern two-fifths (Sint Maarten) is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Source: Office of The Geographer and Global Issues, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC.
In This Section:
| Cyprus |
Which dictator called himself ‘Brother Number One’? | A GUIDE TO THE BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES - Telegraph
A GUIDE TO THE BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES
Passed to the Telegraph by WikiLeaks
9:09PM GMT 04 Feb 2011
Ref ID: 09LONDON1039
Classification: CONFIDENTIAL
Destination: 08LONDON2667|09LONDON993|09NASSAU169
Header: VZCZCXRO4441PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSRDE RUEHLO #1039/01 1211502ZNY CCCCC ZZHP 011502Z MAY 09FM AMEMBASSY LONDONTO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2183INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITYRUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES PRIORITY 0297RUEHBH/AMEMBASSY NASSAU PRIORITY 0203RUEHPL/AMEMBASSY PORT LOUIS PRIORITY 0137RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC PRIORITYRHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITYRHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITYRHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITYRUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1425RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITYRUVNSAO/NAVSUPPFAC DIEGO GARCIA PRIORITYRUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITYRUENAAA/SECNAV WASHDC PRIORITY
Tags: PGOV,PREL,ECON,ETRD,MOPS,MARR,AY,CJ,FK,GI,IO,PC,SH,TK,UK
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 LONDON 001039 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/WE E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2029 TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ECON, ETRD, MOPS, MARR, AY, CJ, FK, GI, IO, PC, SH, TK, UK SUBJECT: A GUIDE TO THE BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES REF: A)NASSAU 169 B)LONDON 993 C)08 LONDON 2667 Classified By: Political Affairs Counselor, Rick Mills for reasons 1.4 (b, c, and d) Introduction and Summary ------------------------
1. (C) The British Overseas Territories (BOT) are fourteen far-flung possessions under British sovereignty that hearken to the era when Britannia truly ruled the waves. One Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) official accurately characterized the BOTs as "remnants of empire" -- acquired by Great Britain when the phrase "the sun never sets on the British Empire" could be spoken without a trace of irony. The territories run the gamut from remote locales without a permanent population, such as South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, to largely autonomous entities like Bermuda. Some, such as the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar, are subject to sovereignty claims by other nations - although the overwhelming percentage of the populations of both the Falklands and Gibraltar strongly prefer to remain under British rule. The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT, which includes the atoll of Diego Garcia), Ascension Island, and the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on Cyprus, are notable for their strategic value to the US government. The BOTs comprise a mosaic of distinct cultural traditions, reflecting their worldwide locations. Since 2002, BOT citizens have been British citizens, with limited exceptions. However, the BOTs are not constitutionally part of the UK. Each has a distinct constitution and a unique legal relationship to the UK. HMG guarantees the defense of all BOTs and handles their foreign relations. Many aim for economic self-sufficiency, with tourism and finance playing a significant part in the economies of many BOTs.
3. (SBU) This telegram provides an overview of the BOTs. The FCO Country Profiles pages at www.fco.gov.uk offer specific information about individual BOTs, as does the CIA World Factbook. Both are valuable sources of in-depth information about the BOTs, as are the websites of many of the BOTs themselves. End Introduction and Summary.
What They Are -------------
4. (SBU) The fourteen BOTs are, in alphabetical order, Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Antarctic Territory, the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), the British Virgin Islands (BVI), the Cayman Islands, the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, the Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena and its dependencies (Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The BOTs are sometimes mistakenly lumped in the popular British imagination with the Crown Dependencies. However, Crown Dependencies are possessions of the British Crown, as opposed to BOTs or colonies. Crown Dependencies are the Channel Island bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.
5. (C) Facts and figures about each BOT are available on the FCO's Country Profiles pages at www.fco.gov.uk. As one FCO officer with extensive experience covering OT issues recently told Poloff, these territories are "the remnants of empire." Indeed, Britain acquired most of them at the apogee of its national power and prestige, with dates of acquisition ranging from the 17th to the early 20th century. Bermuda was the first, settled in 1609; Britain claimed the last, the British Antarctic Territory, in 1908.
6. (U) The overall population of the BOTs totals approximately 200,000, ranging from 67,000 in Bermuda to about 50 on the Pitcairn Islands. Some BOTs have a transient population, but no permanent inhabitants. For example, the LONDON 00001039 002 OF 004 inhabitants of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands include British officials, scientists, and support staff from the British Antarctic Survey who maintain scientific bases on the islands. The transient populations of the BIOT atoll of Diego Garcia and Ascension Island in the South Atlantic consist of U.S. and UK military personnel, as well as civilian contractors of various nationalities. Where They Are --------------
7. (SBU) Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus are the only BOTs located in Europe and fall under EU jurisdiction. -Five OTs -- Anguilla, the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands--are located in the Caribbean Sea. Bermuda is situated in the North Atlantic, off the U.S. coast on roughly the same latitude as Charleston, South Carolina. -The Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha, and Ascension Island are all located in the South Atlantic. Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited island in the world, about 1700 miles west of Cape Town. -The Pitcairn Islands, officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands in the South Pacific 1550 miles southeast of Tahiti. Only Pitcairn Island - the second largest - is inhabited. -The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), which comprises the Chagos Archipelago and includes the atoll of Diego Garcia, lies between Africa and Indonesia. -The British Antarctic Territory comprises that sector of the Antarctic south of latitude 60 degrees south, between longitude 20 degrees and 80 degrees west. So What IS a British Overseas Territory? ----------------------------------------
8. (U) The BOTs are constitutionally not part of the UK. Each has a separate constitution. All have governors that are appointed by Queen Elizabeth II, except the uninhabited ones. For these, HMG appoints a commissioner, who is an FCO employee. The governors and commissioners dually represent HMG in the BOT and the BOT before HMG.
9. (U) Each BOT is constitutionally unique. The degree of self-government depends on the BOT's constitutional relationship with the UK. Larger, more developed BOTs are largely autonomous in regard to their internal affairs, as is the case with Bermuda, Gibraltar, the Falklands, and others. The common thread among them is recognition of UK sovereignty, acknowledgment of the Queen as the Head of State, and British citizenship.
10. (U) HMG can and will intervene directly and significantly in a BOT's internal government under extraordinary circumstances, as is presently the case in the Turks and Caicos Islands (see Paragraph 16). Larger BOTs, such as the Cayman Islands and the BVI, have popularly-elected legislatures and executive heads, and the UK-appointed governors have limited control over local affairs. For example, Gibraltar has an independent parliament and the governor does not intervene in local affairs; Bermuda is largely self-governed, and practically independent in all areas other than foreign relations and defense. The Falkland Islands and Saint Helena have elected legislative councils, but the governors appointed by the Queen are the heads of government. The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia have no locally elected government and are represented by the Commander of the British Forces in Cyprus. Cypriots who live in that BOT are subject to the LONDON 00001039 003 OF 004 laws of Cyprus.
11. (SBU) The BOTs are supported in HMG by the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA). UKOTA acts like a lobbying group in London; it exists to promote and defend the common interests of the BOTs, as well as promote cooperation and common positions among BOT governments. UKOTA's members are the BOT governments themselves, represented by a delegate named by each government. Who are BOT Residents? ----------------------
12. (U) With the signing of the British Overseas Territories Act in 2002, nearly all residents of the BOTs became full citizens of the UK. There are limited exceptions. For example, those connected solely with the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus are not entitled to full British citizenship. Some BOT citizens had British citizenship prior to the 2002 Act, e.g. Falkland Islanders. The 2002 Act changed the official name of the areas from British Dependent Territories to British Overseas Territories.
13. (U) Although the BOTs are united by their common British sovereignty, they are a mosaic of different cultures. For example, Gibraltar is a melting pot of English, Spanish, and North African influences. The Falkland Islands are mostly populated by people of British origin, with more sheep than human beings on the islands. Bermuda and the Caribbean BOTs are vibrant mixtures of diverse cultures and languages. Unsurprisingly, these sunny BOTs are popular tourist destinations for UK residents. Some BOTs have unique languages or dialects. For example, Pitcairn residents speak "Pikern," a mixed language of 18th century English dialect infused with Tahitian elements. Economy -------
14. (SBU) Tourism and financial services account for most of the revenue generated in the BOTs. Shipping and the sale of fishing licenses are also revenue sources for many BOTs. As philatelists know, the BOTs also generate revenue from the sale of postage stamps. HMG has, for example, issued stamps for the BIOT and the uninhabited British Antarctic Territory. Many BOTs are self-sustaining, except for defense costs. Saint Helena, the Pitcairn Islands, and Montserrat depend on subsidies from HMG. The BOTs do not make a direct contribution to the British Exchequer, although some contribute towards the cost of the governor and his staff.
15. (U) Bermuda has an economy roughly the size of all the other BOTs combined. Bermuda's economy is based on providing financial services for international business and tourism. According to the FCO, the Bermuda per capita GDP in 2007 was USD 91,477. Problems --------
16. (C) The FCO has identified several problems facing the BOTs. According to the FCO, many BOTs face challenges common to all small island economies, i.e. smaller countries risk marginalization in a globalized economy. Some BOT economies are fragile because of dependence on one or two sectors (e.g. tourism and international finance). Some of the BOTs, especially those in the Caribbean, are vulnerable to drug-trafficking and associated crime. In some instances, the lack of a developed civil society, a strong legislature and/or a vibrant press mean there are few checks on the executive. For example, in July 2008, HMG conducted an inquiry into allegations of corruption in the Turks and Caicos Islands' government. The embattled Premier resigned and HMG intervened directly in governance (see ref A). The final report of the Commission of Inquiry has been delayed until the end of May, the FCO has confirmed. The islands are LONDON 00001039 004 OF 004 currently deeply in debt, due in large part to executive mismanagement.
Who Else Claims Them? ---------------------
(SBU) Some BOTs are sources of international controversy based on competing sovereignty claims. Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982, but Britain retook them after a fiercely fought, seven-week-long armed conflict. Argentina's constitution claims the Falkland Islands, although Argentina agreed in 1995 to no longer use force to press its claim. HMG continuously rejects requests for sovereignty talks between the UK and Argentina, citing the strong preference of the Falklands' population to remain British subjects. Argentina also claims South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
18. (C) HMG will contest Argentina's claim for sovereign rights (including oil and mineral rights) to seabed surrounding Britain's South Atlantic Overseas Territories, including the Falkland Islands. Great Britain will submit its own claim for seabed rights for its South Atlantic territories to the UN body that considers claims for seabed rights. HMG does not presently plan to file seabed rights claims for the British Antarctic Territory, but will reserve the right to make claims in the future (see ref B).
19. (SBU) Gibraltar was ceded from Spain to Great Britain in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht. Although Spain claims Gibraltar, the population overwhelmingly wants to remain under British sovereignty. HMG has affirmed that it will not consider independence or a power-sharing agreement with Spain without the consent of Gibraltar's citizens. 20. (SBU) Mauritius claims the Chagos Islands (BIOT), contending that the islands were "wrongfully detached" by the UK before Mauritius became independent from British colonial rule. The BIOT has been the subject of a legal battle between HMG and some of the islands' former inhabitants, whom the UK relocated off the archipelago in the early 1970s. "Chagossians" and their advocates contest the legality of the islanders' resettlement and seek the right to return (see ref C).
Strategic Relevance -------------------
21. (C) Diego Garcia, in the BIOT, presently is home to a joint U.S.-UK naval support facility. The atoll is of vital strategic importance for defense purposes to the U.S. and UK, including in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Note. For further information about the U.S. Navy Support Facility on Diego Garcia see www.cnic.navy.mil/DiegoGarcia. End Note.) Ascension Island (Saint Helena BOT) is the location of Wideawake Airfield, which is a joint facility of the RAF and the U.S. Air Force. The island was used extensively by the U.S. during WWII and was integral to British success in the Falklands War. 22. (C) The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on Cyprus are geographically distinct military bases. RAF Akrotiri is an important aircraft staging point and one of the few major RAF stations located outside the United Kingdom. Visit London's Classified Website: XXXXXXXXXXXX TOKOLA
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Which is the American state of Wisconsin’s most populous city? | Wisconsin: Map, History, Population, Facts, Capitol, Flag, Tree, Geography, Symbols
10 largest cities (2010 est.): Milwaukee , 594,833; Madison , 233,209; Green Bay , 104,057; Kenosha , 99,218; Racine , 78,860; Appleton , 72,623; Waukesha , 70,718; Oshkosh , 66,083; Eau Claire , 65,883; Janesville, 63,575
Land area: 54,310 sq mi. (140,673 sq km)
Geographic center: In Wood Co., 9 mi. SE of Marshfield
Number of counties: 72
Largest county by population and area: Milwaukee, 947,735 (2010); Marathon, 1,545 sq mi.
State parks, forests, and recreation areas: 95
2015 resident population est.: 5,771,337
2010 resident census population (rank): 5,686,986 (20). Male: 2,822,400 (49.6%); Female: 2,864,586 (50.4%). White: 4,902,067 (86.2%); Black: 359,148 (6.3%); American Indian: 54,526 (1.0%); Asian: 129,234 (2.3%); Other race: 135,867 (2.4%); Two or more races: 104,317 (1.8%); Hispanic/Latino: 336,056 (5.9%). 2010 percent population 18 and over: 76.4; 65 and over: 13.7; median age: 38.5.
Map of Wisconsin
The Wisconsin region was first explored for France by Jean Nicolet , who landed at Green Bay in 1634. In 1660 a French trading post and Roman Catholic mission were established near present-day Ashland.
Great Britain obtained the region in settlement of the French and Indian Wars in 1763; the U.S. acquired it in 1783 after the Revolutionary War . However, Great Britain retained actual control until after the War of 1812 . The region was successively governed as part of the territories of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan between 1800 and 1836, when it became a separate territory.
Wisconsin is a leading state in milk and cheese production. Other important farm products are peas, beans, beets, corn, potatoes, oats, hay, and cranberries.
The chief industrial products of the state are automobiles, machinery, furniture, paper, beer, and processed foods. Wisconsin ranks first among the paper-producing states. The state's mines produce copper, iron ore, lead, and zinc.
Wisconsin is a pioneer in social legislation, providing pensions for the blind (1907), aid to dependent children (1913), and old-age assistance (1925). In labor legislation, the state was the first to enact an unemployment compensation law (1932) and the first in which a workman's compensation law actually took effect. In 1984, Wisconsin became the first state to adopt the Uniform Marital Property Act.
The state has over 14,000 lakes, of which Winnebago is the largest. Water sports, ice-boating, and fishing are popular, as are skiing and hunting. The 95 state parks, forests, and recreation areas take up one-seventh of the land.
Among the many points of interest are the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore ; Ice Age National Scientific Reserve; the Circus World Museum at Baraboo; the Wolf, St. Croix, and Lower St. Croix national scenic riverways; and the Wisconsin Dells .
For several weeks in early 2011, tens of thousands of state employees and teachers staged protests in Madison, Wisconsin, camping out near the Capitol's rotunda. They were protesting Governor Scott Walker's plan to cut collective bargaining rights and workers' benefits in an effort to solve the state's budget problems. The protests received international attention, especially from countries like Egypt, which were involved in their own political uprisings at the same time.
In June 2012, Scott Walker became the first governor in U.S. history to survive a recall election. Once again he beat Tom Barrett, mayor of Milwaukee and Walker's 2010 opponent.
See more on Wisconsin:
| Milwaukee |
Brasilia is the capital but which city in Brazil has the largest population? | Boomtowns: The most populous city in each state
Boomtowns: The most populous city in each state
by Kori Hill, Special for USA TODAY | Published on August 28, 2015
Alabama - Birmingham, population of 212,237. Birmingham, the “Magic City,” holds one quarter of Alabama’s population.
Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau
Alaska - Anchorage, population of 291,826. More than 40% of Alaskans live in the state’s largest city, Anchorage. Several attempts have been made to make it the state capital instead of Juneau.
Medioimages/Photodisc, Getty Images
Arizona - Phoenix, population of 1,445,632. Not only is Phoenix the most populous city in Arizona, it is also the most populous state capital in the United States –and still growing!
Visit Phoenix
Arkansas - Little Rock, population of 193,524. Little Rock, state capital of Arkansas, received its name from a small rock formation that served as a landmark for a popular river crossing.
Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau
California - Los Angeles, population of 3,792,621. With over 3.7 million people, Los Angeles is not only the most populous city in California, it's also the second largest city in the USA.
Los Angeles Tourism
Colorado - Denver, population of 600,158. Also referred to as the Mile-High City, Denver was originally named after Kansas Territorial Governor James W. Denver.
Visit Denver
Connecticut - Bridgeport, population of 144,229. Bridgeport is the most populous city in Connecticut and the fifth largest city in the Northeast.
flicker.com/auvet
Delaware - Wilmington, population of 70,851. Wilmington is located in New Castle county, which is one of the only three counties in the whole state.
Jupiterimages, Getty Images
Florida - Jacksonville, population of 821,784. Over 874 square miles in size, Jacksonville actually has the most land area of any city in the USA.
Sean Pavone, Getty Images/iStockphoto
Georgia - Atlanta, population of 420,003. In the 2010 US census, Atlanta was shy of half a million residents, but the city boasts the ninth largest surrounding metropolitan area in the USA.
Kevin C Rose/Atlanta CVB
Hawaii - Honolulu, population of 337,256. A major tourist destination, Honolulu is the also the most western and most southern major American city.
Hawaii Tourism Authority / Tor Johnson
Idaho - Boise, population of 205,671. On New Year's Eve, instead of dropping a ball, Boise drops a giant Idaho potato.
Boise CVB
Illinois - Chicago, population of 2,695,598. Chicago is famous for its beautiful architecture and was responsible for building the very first skyscraper in 1885.
Patrick L. Pyszka/City of Chicago
Indiana - Indianapolis, population of 820,445. Indianapolis is referred to as the Crossroads of America because the city marks a junction for six interstates, six US highways, and four state roads.
Rich Clark
Iowa - Des Moines, population of 203,433. Presidential candidates often set up campaign headquarters in Des Moines because Iowa is home to the first caucuses of the presidential primary cycle.
Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau
Kansas - Wichita, population of 382,368. Wichita is well known for its leadership in aircraft manufacturing and is home to companies such as Beechcraft and Cessna.
Visit Wichita
Kentucky - Louisville, population of 597,337. Louisville is named after King Louis XVI of France and is one of the oldest cities west of the Appalachian Mountains.
Go to Louisville
Louisiana - New Orleans, population of 343,829. New Orleans, home to the famous French Quarter, boasts many cultural highlights, including Mardi Gras, delicious cuisine, and the creation of jazz music.
Richard Nowitz/New Orleans CVB
Maine - Portland, population of 66,194. The Portland metropolitan area holds more than one-third of Maine’s total population.
EJJohnsonPhotography, Getty Images/iStockphoto
Maryland - Baltimore, population of 620,961. Baltimore’s boasts the second-largest seaport in the USA, and is the 26th most populous city.
Dean Ray/Visit Baltimore
Massachusetts - Boston, population of 617,594. Boston is the largest city in New England and the 10th largest metropolitan area in the United States.
Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau
Michigan - Detroit, population of 713,777. Between 2000 and 2010, Detroit’s population fell 25% causing the city to focus on serious revitalization efforts in the recent years.
Jason Vaughn
Minnesota - Minneapolis, population of 382,578. Minneapolis and St. Paul together are the “Twin Cities,” making up the second largest metropolitan area in the Midwest after Chicago.
Meet Minneapolis
Mississippi - Jackson, population of 173,514. Jackson is named after President Andrew Jackson to honor his victory at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.
Visit Jackson
Missouri - Kansas City, population of 459,787. Originally only called “Kansas”, “City” was added to eliminate confusion after the territory of Kansas was created. .
ChrisBoswell, Getty Images/iStockphoto
Montana - Billings, population of 104,170. Billings is the only city in the state to surpass 100,000 people. It is located in beautiful Yellowstone Valley and surrounded by the Billings Rimrocks.
Visit Billings
Nebraska - Omaha, population of 408,958. New York might be the city that comes to mind when you think of billionaires, but Warren Buffett makes his home in Omaha.
steveodonnell, Getty Images/iStockphoto
Nevada - Las Vegas, population of 583,756. Las Vegas is most famous for being the “Adult Playground” of the United States, with dominance in gambling, nightlife, shopping, and other entertainment culture.
Thinkstock Images, Getty Images
New Hampshire - Manchester, population of 109,565. Manchester is the largest city in Northern New England, which includes Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
Denis Jr. Tangney, Getty Images/iStockphoto
New Jersey - Newark, population of 277,140. Newark sits only 8 miles west of Manhattan and is the second most populous city in the New York metropolitan region.
Harry Prott
Fullscreen
New York - New York, population of 8,175,133. New York City is the most populous city in the USA, and a global power city, home to the headquarters of the United Nations and two of the largest stock exchanges in the world.
Marley White
Fullscreen
North Carolina - Charlotte, population of 731,424. Charlotte is the third fastest-growing major city in the United States. “The Queen City” is well known as a banking hub, housing Bank of America’s headquarters and the east coast center for Wells Fargo.
Charlottesgotalot.com
North Dakota - Fargo, population of 105,549. Made most famous by the movie of the same name, Fargo was recently ranked the 4th fastest-growing small town in the USA.
Ben Harding, Getty Images
Ohio - Columbus, population of 787,033. Columbus is not only the largest city in Ohio, but also the 15th largest in the United States.
Rod Berry/Ohio Stock Photography
Oklahoma - Oklahoma City, population of 579,999. Oklahoma City, or "OKC" as some locals call it, is Oklahoma’s largest metropolitan area and a world leader in livestock.
Ron_Lane, Getty Images/iStockphoto
Oregon - Portland, population of 583,776. Portland is home to more independent breweries than any other city in the world. The unofficial slogan of the city is “Keep Portland Weird”.
Rob Finch/www.travelportland.com
Pennsylvania - Philadelphia, population of 1,526,006. Philadelphia is the sixth largest city in the USA, and served as a temporary capital while D.C. was under construction.
discoverphl.com
Rhode Island - Providence, population of 178,042. Providence is one of the oldest cities in the United States, and is said to have the most coffee/doughnut shops per capita of any city in the country.
D Amadio Photo, Getty Images/iStockphoto
South Carolina - Columbia, population of 129,272. Columbia is home to the state’s largest university and the largest army base for combat training, Fort Jackson.
Columbia Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau
South Dakota - Sioux Falls, population of 153,888. According to census data, Sioux Falls' population has increased 22% since 2000, making it the 47th fastest growing city in the United States.
Sioux Falls CVB
Tennessee - Memphis, population of 655,155. The largest city along the Mississippi River, Memphis is commonly known for its ties to rock ‘n’ roll and delicious BBQ.
KamalRoyKarmakar, Getty Images/iStockphoto
Texas - Houston, population of 2,100,263. Houston is the fourth largest city in the USA, is home to NASA’s Mission Control Center, and has the largest concentration of health and research institutions.
Visit Houston
Utah - Salt Lake City, population of 186,440. Salt Lake was founded by Mormon leaders and though it remains the headquarters of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, Mormons account for less than half of the population.
Adam Barker / Visit Salt Lake
Vermont - Burlington, population of 42,417. Though Burlington might be known for being the largest city in Vermont, it’s bigger claim to fame is being the home of ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s.
ErikaMitchell, Getty Images/iStockphoto
Virginia - Virginia Beach, population of 447,021. Virginia Beach is a resort town, with miles of beaches, hotels, and restaurants. The area is noted for having many landmarks surrounding America's founding.
Virginia Beach CVB
Washington - Seattle, population of 608,660. Seattle is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region, and is home to technology companies Amazon.com and Microsoft.
tonda, Getty Images/iStockphoto
West Virginia - Charleston, population of 51,400. Not to be confused with the city of Charleston in South Carolina, sometimes West Virginians lovingly refer to the city as “Charlie West”.
Aneese, Getty Images/iStockphoto
Wisconsin - Milwaukee, population of 594,833. Milwaukee has had its share of visitors: French missionaries and explorers were coming here as early as the late 1600s to trade with the Native Americans.
Visit Milwaukee
Wyoming - Cheyenne, population of 59,466. Cheyenne holds the largest outdoor rodeo, called Cheyenne Frontier days, which takes place during the last full week in July.
Comstock, Getty Images
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Which is the biggest Indian city by population? | Top 10 Largest Cities in India in terms of population
Top 10 Largest Cities in India in terms of Population
Posted on
May 27, 2015
India is 2nd largest country in the World in terms of population after China. As per 2012 figure, India’s population is 1.237 billion which is the second largest after China (1.351). As per the latest analysis and prediction, India will become world’s largest country in population by 2020. It is the most alarming figure for India to control population. If India failed to do so, it will be difficult to provide basic facilities to all and result in failure state. We have mentioned here list as per figure of 2011 census.
Top 10 Largest Cities in India
1. Mumbai, Maharashtra
Mumbai is the most populous city of India. It is the financial capital of India as well as political capital of Maharashtra. Mumbai’s total population is 12,478,447 as per the 2011 census. Mumbai is also world’s 5th largest city by population. Due to business opportunities in the city, most of people in the country wants to settle down in the city.
Mumbai Traffic Jam
2. Delhi
Delhi is the national capital of India. Delhi is also known as the National Capital Territory (NCT) of India. Delhi is the most important city and centre of power in the country. As per the history, Delhi was inhabited before the second millennium BC. Its total population is 11,007,835 as per the census of 2011. Delhi is tenth largest city in the World.
Qutb Minar Delhi
3. Bangalore, Karnataka
Bangalore is the Information Technology (IT) hub of India. People came here from across the country for their career growth. Bangalore is also known as Bengaluru and its total population is 8,425,970 as per 2011 census. Bangalore was expanded in 2007 and this figure represent new city limits. Bengaluru is 22th largest city in the World in population.
Read Also: Tourist Places in Bangalore
4. Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad is the capital of Andhra Pradesh and another growing IT hub of India. Its now capital of both states Andhra Pradesha and newly created state Telangana. Due to high growth and business opportunities, rush towards Hyderabad has been increased and it makes fourth largest city in India with total population of 6,809,970. Hyderabad is also 34th largest city in the World.
Charminar, Hyderabad
5. Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Ahmedabad is the financial capital of Gujarat and one of the fastest growing city in India. Earlier, it was known as the ‘Manchester of India’. Ahmedabad’s total population is 5,570,585 which makes it fifth largest city in India. Ahmedabad is world’s 39th most populous city in the World.
Sidi Sayeed Masjid, Ahmedabad
6. Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Chennai is the capital of Tamil nadu and one of the most important port in the country. Chennai’s total population is 4,681,087 which makes it 6th largest city in India and 16th most populous city in the world. Chennai is major business hub of the country. It is also one of the largest city in the Southern India.
Anna International Airport Chennai
7. Kolkata, West Bengal
Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal and largest city of eastern India. Kolkata’s total population is 4,486,679 which makes it 7th largest city in India and world’s 51th largest city in the World. Its metropolis area is 185 square km. In earlier times, Kolkata was known as Calcutta. Now, mostly Kolkata name is used in all places.
Kolkata Tram
8. Surat, Gujarat
Surat is 8th most populous city in India with total population of 4,462,002 as per 2011 census. Surat is world famous diamond hub. Due to diamond industry as well as textile industry, every year thousands of people rush towards the city. Surat is the most developed city in the country and provides better opportunities to all.
Surat City
9. Pune, Maharashtra
Pune is emerging Information Technology hub in India after Bangalore and Hyderabad. Already thousands of small IT companies are working in the city which provides employment opportunities at it best. Pune’s total population is 3,115,431 which makes it ninth largest city of India in population.
Pune Airport
10. Jaipur, Rajasthan
Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan state which was founded on 18th November, 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. Jaipur is widely known for its heritage hotels and royal palaces. Jaipur is also best tourist destination in the state which provides best job opportunities to all. Jaipur’s total population is 3,073,350 which makes it 10th largest city in India by population.
Jaipur Old City Gate
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Gordon Comstock is the chief protagonist in which Orwell novel? | List of Most populated cities of India
City Census 2011
City Census 2011
The official census in India is calculated every 5 years. The most recent one was conducted in the year 2011. The entire process was done in 2 main phases of house listing and population listing respectively. The official census calculation started in the month of April, 2010. The town, district, village and city population 2011 was calculated over a period of 1 year. There are over 6lac villages and thousands of towns and districts in India.
The data was collected on the basis of several categories like age, sex, occupation, housing details, ownership details, literacy rates, standard of living and other details. There were certain criteria and definitions chalked out for the census of 2011. The total population of Urban Agglomeration (UA) and the city's population 2011 were calculated. The total census population of India 2011 was found out to be 1,210,854,977. Due to fast urbanization and developing and growing technology, it has been predicted that within 50 years, the population will go beyond one and a half billion.
Now, we need to know which places fell under the category of cities and UA category. All places which had a municipality, a corporation, notified town area community or a cantonment board was known to fall under the category of city or UA. Also these places were chosen under the category as all of them had a population over 5000 and more than 75% of the male population was found to be engaged in non-agricultural working sectors. The basic city population in India had seen a good amount of growth due to urbanization and raised literacy levels. It was calculated that in the year 2011, there are 4041 statutory towns, 3894 census towns, 475 UAs and 981 outgrowths from a number that was 3799 for statutory towns, 1362 for census towns, 384 UAs and 962 outgrowths. So there was an increase in every one of the places.
Here are the details of population about the major cities (excluding Agglomeration) . Mumbai - 12,442,373, Delhi - 11,034,555, Bangalore - 8,443,675, Hyderabad - 6,731,790, Ahmadabad - 5,577,940, Chennai - 4,646,732, Kolkata - 4,496,694, Surat - 4,467,797, Pune - 3,124,458, Jaipur - 3,046,163. Urbans areas surrounding Cities are combinely called Urban Agglomeration.
The City Populations 2011 clearly shows how important cities are in India and how fast India is developing. The urbanization factor and the educational factors are the most important factors which play a huge role in this kind of urban population density.
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