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Lowther Gardens
July 19, 2019 No comment(s) Parks, Sport & Outdoors Free, Lytham, Parks, Theatre
Lowther Gardens is the oldest park in Lytham St Annes, one of the flagship parks in the borough of Fylde.
Lowther Gardens surround Lowther Pavilion, between the seafront and the main road into town. It's a popular green space for local people and visitors. You can enjoy activities and events, visit the cafe or just take in the beautiful greenery.
Lowther Gardens Today
This beautiful public space is the oldest park in Lytham St Annes. Find out more about Lowther Gardens past further down this page.
It covers an area of 5.65 hectares, occupying the space between the main A584 coast road (West Beach) and Church Road. Woodville Terrace at the northern edge and Lowther Terrace at the south.
The address for Lowther Gardens is West Beach, Lytham, FY8 5QQ
Click here or on the map to go to Google maps
Google map of where to find Lowther Gardens
Have you been to Lowther Gardens? It's a lovely space for everyone to use – whether you're visiting leafy Lytham or lucky enough to live here. Lowther Gardens has held the Green Flag quality award for many years.
Gates to Lowther Gardens in Lytham
Like most other community parks, Lowther Gardens has changed and grown over the years. Additions over the years include the Sports Pavilion, Tennis Courts, Play Area and Toilets.
More recently the bowling greens were improved, along with the beautiful herbaceous border.
Herbaceous border at Lowther Gardens
There must have been sore backs when a whopping 1100 new roses were planted in 2002 to restore the rose garden. Fifteen new seats, added at the same time, make for a delightful spot to sit awhile and take in the fragrance.
Why don't you try out the children's play area, tennis courts and bowling greens? Or just have a walk through the park to look at the plants, flowers and wildlife.
Lowther Gardens, a Historical Park
As it's the oldest park in the town, you'd expect it to be recognised in some way. And it is, because Lowther Gardens is on the English Heritage list of historical parks and gardens.
Local Historian Nick Moore is the author of 'The History of Blackpool and the Fylde of Lancashire'.
Nick tells us that it was way back in 1860 when Colonel John Talbot first constructed public pleasure grounds in Lytham. "A pond and fountain issued from a central rockery, there was extensive tree and shrub planting, pathways, lawns, a small wooden shelter (pavilion), and flower beds. The boundaries were marked by Lowther Terrace at the Eastern extremity and Woodville Terrace the Western."
The Gardens as we know them, opened on 27 August 1872. It's built on what was originally rough grazing land, known as Hungry Moor. The gardens were intended to provide facilities for locals – and to try to tempt Blackpool's visitors to come to Lytham!
Named in Memory
The gardens were built by Squire J Talbot Clifton, in honour of his wife, Eleanor Cecily Clifton. She was of the Lowther family from Cumbria, and the gardens were in her father's memory. He died in 1868 and that's where the name comes from.
The gardens was designed and laid out by George Rowbotham, head gardener at Avenham Park in Preston. Then along came Mr Tomlinson who worked on the Clifton Estate. He set to work on the newly landscaped site and supervised its transformation into a beautiful park and gardens.
The Gardens were given to the council in 1905. If you look at the old Ordnance Survey map from 1908 you can see the original layout of the park. Interestingly, you'll also see that most of that original design is still in place today.
Statue of a shrimper in the pond at Lowther Gardens
Changes at Lowther Gardens
Given the fact that it's been around for well over 150 years, you'd expect it to have seen a few changes. Even though it's shape and layout is mostly intact, there have been alterations through the decades.
In 1905 the Bowling Greens were laid out.
The first Lowther Pavilion was added in 1922. It was replaced in 1981 and still stands today (below).
Lowther Pavilion
New entrances (below) and car parking were added in 1936 and the Aviary was added in 1934.
1936 photo of the new entrance
In 1999 the beautiful herbaceous border was planted to replace the rose bed near the pitch and putt.
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About Visit Lytham
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What's on at Lytham Hall January 17, 2020
Snowdrop Season at Lytham Hall January 9, 2020
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Natural stones are unique and you won't find two exactly the same. For this winter brooch I chose a dendrite agate – one of a kind stone in every possible way. Every example has an unrepeated pattern and black and gray shapes which look like leafs, trees or parts of beautiful scenery. Because of it dendrite agate is sometimes called landscape stone. For the first winter brooch I made a setting which repeats the round shape of the stone. The silver plate continues landscape pattern of the stone through contrast of a bright satin finish and blackened silver. On the photos you can see examples of dendrite agate I have in my workshop at this moment. Please send the 'message to seller' on the checkout to inform me which one you like the most and I will design a unique brooch for you. As you can see it's more like a custom order than ready item and you will be a part of the designing process. In result you will receive a personalized piece of jewelry - one of a kind winter brooch, which can be something precious for you or a special gift for a person you love.
Dendrite agates I have bring to my mind snowy winter or mountain landscape. I think that this winter brooch can be a great gift for a mountain lover, nature lover and a person born in winter as well. But most of all for somebody who love unique and unrepeatable jewelry.
Your winter brooch will arrive in an elegant box ready for giving. I can ship it to a third party and include a special card with a personal message from you inside the box if you wish.


When I look back at all the women who have "meant business" in my life it's a long and illustrious list. I'm not talking business as in the running a business or managing people business. I mean the "kid you better straighten up" business. As in —"no funny business." Here is short list of some of the "Business Women" who impacted my life in some small way. I have to start with my Grandma Loretta. One hundred percent Irish, she was born, raised and lived her entire life surrounded by the steel mills of Pittsburgh. She played a mean game of gin rummy and her favorite expression to me was to "go play in the traffic." Usually right after she took all my pennies from the card game. Next was my third grade teacher at St. Thomas, Sister Joan Anthony. You know this can't be good if a Nun has a man's name as part of hers. Sister Joan Tony made third grade a miserable experience for me. Not that any other grade was full of joy and wonderment; she made that class my own personal purgatory. I still to this day get the cold shakes when I see blackboard erasers. My parents thought I was going prematurely grey at 8 years old, because of the chalk dust I'd bring home on me. Staying on the scholastic side of things, how could I have ever forgotten my ninth grade algebra tormentor, I mean instructor, Mrs. Peterson? I never saw her smile once, even on the last day of school. I'm not sure how you can take a dull and uninteresting class and make it worse, but she did day in and day out. Don't get me wrong here, I wanted to get through her class, as it was the last one I had before lunch. The only redeeming aspect of that class is I didn't have to clean those dreaded blackboard erasers. There have been countless other women in my life who've "meant business." In the past I've worked with many couples designing and building their homes and I can honestly say the women all meant business. When a couple is building a home the woman gets the home, the man gets the garage. If I had a nickel for every time I was in the middle of an uncomfortable conversation, make that debate, between and husband and wife on the color of a countertop I could retire. So men, watch out for the women who mean business, especially the one you're married to. Pete Ruffing is the Sales Director at M3 Group in downtown Lansing. He and his wife of 14 years Brenda live in Okemos.
For Pete's Take: Fifty Shades of….


Company Blažeks was founded in 1990 as family manufacture. In XXI century Blažeks is modern company whose main activity is production of office and business furniture. Up today Blažeks produced more than 400.000 chairs, equipped more than 4.000 offices and more than 100 halls.
Business success is not measured only by competitive product and service, but also by innovative thinking and market knowledge. This is why we are pleased to present brand new line of modernly designed top office and conference tables with metal sides and office cabinets.
Brand Blažeks, as a sign of quality, joins values that our clients recognize in product assortment of office and conference tables and drawer units, administrative, file and other cabinets in combination with office desks and other units necessary to build business ambience. Ergonomic shapes and European design of our chairs will make your work hours more comfortable, and atmosphere will be your own choice: warmth of classical office space or spirit of modern and futuristic.
And it is this new, modern world that gave us new tasks. Necessity to fully use space brought us to new domestic product – telescopic/folding grandstands, certificated by Mechanic faculty from University in Belgrade.
Our production capacities satisfy needs for most demanding clients, which include also equipping large spaces: city halls, university centers, amphitheaters, cinemas and sports halls, schools, medical facilities, show rooms and other public spaces.
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All our products are certified by Institute for furniture quality control in authorized Faculty of Forestry. Highlight of our success is international certificate for quality management ISO 9001:2008. Recently we were certified for quality management ISO 14001 and health protection and work safety OHSAS 18001.


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MAURO PICOTTO: YOU GOTTA HAVE HEART
The Italian titan of the decks Mauro Picotto returns...
Mauro Picotto.jpg
Sarah Polonsky
Mauro Picotto is like his native Italy's finest desert, tiramisu. His nature is sweet and easy to indulge in. You know what you're getting when it comes to the 48-year-old producer, DJ, Alchemy label boss and now-author — no substitutes or false layers need apply.
After a five-year hiatus from the dance music racket, Mauro returns with a new album, 'From Heart To Techno', as well as an autobiography bearing the same title, which he'll release this month.
He's flown to London for the day from his Jersey home in the UK specifically to meet with DJ Mag USA, where we're gearing up for ADE. Some artists you chase for weeks to nab an interview; Mauro, on the contrary, is gracious and goes the distance for his second coming.
As we kick back over a few beers, discussing his pioneering days of groovy techno and getting up to speed on his many new endeavors, it becomes clear that one thing has remained constant when it comes to Mauro Picotto: with some savory dashes of techno sprinkled in for good measure, he's essentially all heart.
You're on the heels of releasing a book and an album, both with the same title, 'From Heart To Techno', after five years? Where have you been?
"I've been in fatherhood full time because I had a daughter a long time ago, and I missed that side, I missed the children. I wanted to enjoy it, and be with the family. Before, to me, the music was number one; now it's number two. Still very high, but it's still number two.
The children are in school, I have more free time and I felt something was missing in the music because it was all about loop and groove, groove and loop. I felt there was a gap in my side, and that's why I'm back in the music business.
I am re-launching [my label] Alchemy and I made a new album; that is actually what inspired me to start again with energy, melody, groove and techno. The most important thing in 'From Heart To Techno' is I found a way to make music in different ways than others. There's a lot of energy but there's also emotion."
What was the process that went into creating it?
"I felt like I was going to clubs, listening to the other DJs and all of them were playing not the same tracks, but the same sounds."
Like the EDM stuff?
"No, even in the underground, even in the pop-y underground. It was more minimal. Actually there weren't many surprises; still yes, Sven [Väth] is the only one, even he struggles sometimes because with vinyl there's not so much choice. Now there's more, but he's still the only one who can manage to surprise me.
He's a mood catcher. For the others it's all about the brand. For me, the challenge is to find something new, at least something new for me. That's why I started this new album, to try to create a track that's like a journey around the world.
You know, it's like when you watch a movie, you feel emotion in some moment of the movie. I felt I was missing that in the club, and that's what I tried to bring in my album, a cinematic melody in the track, in the music."
Would you say there's a narrative to the album? Or, is just one sonic vibe or something else entirely?
"As the title says, 'From Heart To Techno' — heart you can catch emotionally, to techno, [which is] more for your legs, for your arms. To give an example of how eclectic I am, I don't like to produce one unique or one mono sounding music like many artists are these days.
They say, 'That's my sound, that's my music'. But I actually think it's sometimes boring because that's the maximum you can go. I like to explore more. I need to feel some emotion."
And now some of the guys like Marco Carola, who spun your longstanding Meganite residency at Privilege Ibiza back in the day, is a king of the White Island today. How does someone like him sound to you now? Are you still friends?
"It was simple. We were friends. We were playing South America and I was doing some party there and I was meeting Marco there as well and it just became simple. I'd just ask, 'You want to come play for me?' We did the first party and it was in a space in Miami.
Then, Meganite party Ibiza was the same. It was just calling and saying, 'Marco you want to play?' And every year he was coming back, and coming back until then he realized, 'I'm a big man, I'm going to do Music On' … and he's right to do it because he created his own sound."
Would you ever go play at a Music On party?
"I don't think my sound would fit with what he's doing; maybe not for his room, better not for the main room. He has his own world, his own sound, it's not the opposite but we are completely different styles. I also go and visit all of them in the summer because for me it's an experience, but it's also good to go listen to them. You can always learn, from watching a small DJ to a big DJ."
Now this sound is bigger than it's ever been, especially in America, but it's different in America. Would you call upon on anybody specifically to collaborate, or maybe do remixes?
"I don't know, I'm not a big fan of remixes. I think when an artist creates a track, I'm talking about a successful track, to be honest — when it's a normal track, someone can make it better and that's welcome. It's always in the plan to make remixes … but I much prefer original stuff. Maybe a collaboration for a new track, it's something that would be in the plans for sure."
Are you going to tour the new album? Do you feel you have to tour the album?
"Yes, but I want to try to give myself time. One week a month, I know the artist life; when it's nice you can't say no but I still want to think, 'I don't care'. One week a month I want to stay home, and I want to enjoy myself."
What about the festivals?
"I was living in Italy and I moved to Jersey now. Jersey Live, they do in July and on the beachside of the island. It's in a beautiful location and now that I'm there, I met the guy who throws it and he said, 'If you want, I can put you in charge of the techno stage and you're going to take care of that'.
I'm very excited about this, and I think next year I want to move my Alchemy Festival there. I will still do the party in Italy but since I'm not there I would want to take care of this one in July, in Jersey."
How is your album going to translate live? Obviously you can't play an album live; some DJs do it with a USB stick, but you're not going to do that…
"No, I've never been like that. I need seven to eight hours. It needs to be a journey; it needs to be a compilation. The idea is, especially when I'm touring, obviously when you go somewhere far from your hometown there's always some fan following you because they want to hear some of the old stuff.
I don't want to play my old stuff as it was say, 15 years ago. I want to do it with a new dress-up, like 2015, and that's my plan in the studio at the moment. I'm working on organizing some of my most popular tracks in like a mega mix, where you will hear all of them in less than 10 minutes."
Do you see yourself returning to the forefront of electronic music?
"My goal is not that. However, that would come if I reach my goal, which is to make my sound interesting for the new generation. It's not that the sound isn't interesting; it's me, I disappeared, I wasn't in the market for the last five years."
Is there anybody that you could point out in the DJ super realm?
"The techno guys always have that kind of purist [attitude], and some people like techno, some people like house, some people like trance. I just like good music."
Besides the techno guys, are you into any of today's modern DJ superstars, say in the Avicii or the Afrojack realm?
"No, I'm sorry, I never went to listen to one of them. I can't judge. I can't talk. I can just say I've never been to one of their performances. I still like to go see people with vinyl."
What's the plan for the re-launch of Alchemy?
"I have already six new tracks. I always want to go in the studio now and make some new stuff because I'm playing again. I didn't promote a tour but every week I still go play like I played for Jersey Festival and the after party last weekend.
I was in Italy, in a club with Dubfire on a Tuesday. It's open air, it's beautiful — anyway, when I tried the track and I saw the reaction in the crowd to the track they never heard before, to me, that is the most important thing you can do."
What about the book?
"The book was an idea that my wife had because she was touring with me a long time ago when there was no media or web media, to create documentation of what was happening 15 years ago, or even more. She was always saying, 'You should write a book with your new album.'
I started to write my point of view for the book; my memory, moments of my life traveling … I just started writing. I put together a proper autobiography, from when I was born in my hometown with my family, to how I developed to a DJ. I sent it to an editor in Italy and they saw it and said they wanted it.
In the end we put a CD sampler in. I did it because in Italy there's no record shops — there's some, but not many. I want to go to the normal crowd with my story from age 16 or 14 to 60, to explain how DJs work, which is why I chose a CD, because a CD [can be played] in every house or every car."
In this day and age, you should put a USB stick in it…
"If you want the USB, go to Beatport and buy the real album because it's 11 tracks and the sampler isn't the main one … it's the teaser."
Words: SARAH POLONSKY
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You are sat down with an article or review. Now you want to critically appraise it. This blog features a checklist of 20 questions to allow you to do just that.
We hear the word "evidence-based medicine" too often but why is evidence-based medicine important? And what's the difference between eminence-based medicine? This post addresses those questions and give some examples of both evidence and eminence-based medicine practice.
Can two chocolate bars a day really keep the doctor away?
Deevia critically appraises the latest evidence!
Richard takes a look at Greenhalgh and colleagues, BMJ article "Evidence based medicine: a movement in crisis?".
Casper takes a look at the IDEAL Collaboration and evidence-based surgery.
Danny has reviewed Testing Treatments Interactive, a website to help you understand more about fair tests and research.
Conducting trials where the trialled therapeutic must be commenced urgently raises specific practical and ethical problems. Here I discuss a recent New England Journal of Medicine paper looking at the use of intracranial pressure monitoring for severe traumatic brain injury as an example of how these issues may affect a trial's utility and how this can be managed.
Want to find out more about treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? Here, the PACE trial for CFS is evaluated using the CASP Tools for Randomised Controlled Trials.
Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) provides many tools to help you read and appraise evidence. This tool will help you make sense of the information provided in any systematic review so you can conclude if that review is valid and reliable.
This tutorial covers how to use appropriate statistical tests and what are confidence intervals and how do you use them.
CASPin provide many tools to help you systematically read evidence and this specific tool will help you make sense of any case control study and assess its validity in a quick and easy way.
This is a short, clearly written tutorial explaining the basic concepts of evidence-based medicine.
The EBM Pyramid shows the various levels of information available in evidence-based medicine.


> always shows 10000 unique requests.
> > 1) For CSV data set config : Is your sharing model set to all threads?
> > schemes like using a UUID (e.g.
> >> count 1000 to achieve the same.
> >> backend HTTP URL expecting unique string for each http hit.
> >> Now I have tried with the below approaches.
> >>    thread groups are reading the same data.
> >>    unique pattern all the time win HTTP Request sampler.
> >> count keeps increasing.


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text:
DD Tank: Duplex Drive Tanks
Weapons of D-Day
The following article on the DD Tank is an excerpt from Barrett Tillman' D-Day Encyclopedia. It is available for order now from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
For Operation Overlord, 514 tanks were modified with duplex drive kits intended to give the armored vehicles an amphibious capability. This transformed them into the "DD Tank" — the duplex drive tank. The modifications—a British concept—mainly comprised a twin-screw propulsion system at the rear of the vehicle for water navigation and inflatable skirts, or ''bloomers,'' to aid buoyancy. Though the arrangement worked well for shallow water, such as rivers, it proved disastrous in ocean swells. The skirts afforded only a low freeboard, which left the hulls susceptible to being swamped.
Gen. Bernard Montgomery's Twenty-first Army Group staff decided to send the DDTanks ashore in the first wave, supported by naval gunfire. It was felt that the early presence of the DDTank on the beaches would demoralize Germans and provide rallying points for the assault troops, plus badly needed firepower against enemy strongpoints.
The DD tank was expected to churn their way through rough seas and headwinds from as much as three nautical miles offshore, but very few survived the trip. Of one group of twenty-nine DD Shermans launched five thousand yards out, only two reached shore. Many crews drowned with their tanks, while others were forced to ''abandon ship'' when the ungainly vehicles sank or capsized. However, others were more fortunate, including one in an LCM with a bow that refused to lower, requiring the craft to beach itself for unloading. Some commanders had realized that the concept was totally unsuited to conditions off Normandy that day and ignored the order to launch the DD tanks. The 743d Tank Battalion delivered all of its Shermans directly to the beach.
This article on the DD Tank is from the book D-Day Encyclopedia, © 2014 by Barrett Tillman. Please use this data for any reference citations. To order this book, please visit its online sales page at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
This article is part of our larger resource on the WW2 weapons development. Click here for our comprehensive article on the WW2 weapons.
"DD Tank: Duplex Drive Tanks" History on the Net
July 16, 2019 <https://www.historyonthenet.com/dd-tank>


text:
Q: How does Time Machine make room for new users? This is more of a hypothetical question, but we've been using a Time Capsule to back up our Macs, and it has steadily been filling up since the year or so that we've had it.
We've since brought a few new Macs onto the network and have started backing them up to the Time Capsule as well. From what I've read, Time Machine makes incremental backups of Macs, and apparently deletes old backups to make room for new ones.
My question is twofold:

*

*How does Time Machine decide which backup information to delete, especially amongst several Macs backed up to a single Time Capsule?

*As we add more users to the Time Capsule, and it begins to fill, will Time Machine be smart enough to give new users enough space by deleting old backups from other users? If not, how can we achieve this?

A: My experience is that TimeMachine does not cross the "per-machine" boundary when deleting old backups.
We have a disk attached to an AirportExtreme AC and which is the target for four Macs. These machines have significant differences in the size of their backups. One of them in particular is an old Mini running 10.6.8 that does not see much activity other than the occasional software update, so the incremental backups are rather tiny. The MacBook Pros on the other hand are a lot more active and regularly submit incrementals that are several GB in size.
Whenever the MacBook Pros need space TM just discards their own history, never touching the others' directories.
This fact is immediately evident when comparing the number of backups for each machine. The Mini has a long history saved, the MBP's quite shorter ones.
Hope it helps.

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text:
Autographs of Declaration Signers on Offer at University Archives' May 15 Auction
Westport, CT - Anyone looking to start, add to or complete their collection of signers of the Declaration of Independence will have that opportunity in University Archives' next online-only auction, set for Wednesday, May 15th, starting at 10:30 am Eastern time. All but one of the Declaration's 56 signers will be offered as individual lots - not as a set - many for the first time.
"Rarely do you see a nearly complete set of Declaration signers come up for bid, especially as single lots," said John Reznikoff, president of University Archives. "Some of these signatures have been off the market for a hundred years. This is a rare opportunity for collectors to own a piece of American history, or more than one piece if they're filling in spaces in their collections."
Mr. Reznikoff is no stranger to Declaration signers. Twice before he's sold several complete sets once for well over one million dollars. "That was one of the finest sets in existence," he remarked, "and the buyer was more than happy to pay that much." Reznikoff added he's probably sold more Declaration signer material than any other auction house or dealer alive.
Button Gwinnett - the only signer not in the auction - was a British-born American Founding Father and Georgia's representative to the Continental Congress. He also served briefly as Georgia's provisional president. The reason his signature is so rare is that he was killed in a duel by rival Lachlan McIntosh following a dispute after a failed invasion of East Florida, in 1777.
But the rest of the signers - from John Hancock to John Adams to Benjamin Franklin to Samuel Adams to George Wythe - are all in the sale, to include George Taylor (Opening Bid: $8,500); Arthur Middleton (OB: $7,000); Thomas Lynch (OB: $5,000); and Francis Lightfoot Lee (OB: $3,000). The Declaration announced and explained the United States' separation from England.
Live bidding for the auction will be posted by April 25th. That's when the full catalog will be available for view, at. www.UniversityArchives.com. As with all University Archives auctions, it will be loaded with rare, highly collectible autographed documents, manuscripts, books, photos and relics. Internet bidding will also be available via Invaluable.com and LiveAuctioneers.com.
In addition to the Declaration signers, other noteworthy consignments include four items signed by Abraham Lincoln and two items signed by George Washington (with possibly more of each on the way); a large aviation archive; a letter written and signed by Founding Father and political theorist Thomas Paine; plus the usual smattering of scarce, curated and highly collectible items.
As with all University Archives online auctions, this one will be packed with important, rare and collectible signed documents and other items relating to some of the most famous names in all of history. The firm has become world-renowned as a go-to source for rare material of this nature.
University Archives is currently seeking quality material for future auctions. The deadline to consign for the May 15th sale has technically passed, but if anyone has an item or collection that might complement the trove of Declaration signers or other material pertaining to U.S. history, they may contact John Reznikoff, at (203) 454-0111, or [email protected].
"We can offer up to a 100 percent cash advance and a highly competitive commission structure," Reznikoff said. "We're only able to do this owing to our position in the industry as the premier auction house for signed historical documents, letters and manuscripts. Our reputation is rock-solid worldwide and has been earned over a period of four decades. People respect us globally."
University Archives was founded in 1979, as a division of University Stamp Company, by John Reznikoff, who started collecting stamps and coins in 1968, while in the third grade. Industry-wide, Reznikoff is considered the leading authenticity expert for manuscripts and documents. He consults with law enforcement, dealers, auction houses and both major authentication companies.
For more information about University Archives and the Wednesday, May 15th Internet-only auction, please visit www.universityarchives.com. For phone bidding, please call 800-237-5692.
Image: All but one of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence will be offered as individual lots in University Archives' online auction slated for Wednesday, May 15th.


Birmingham has long been established as one of the UK's leading universities for postgraduate study, and our research has proven international impact. The most recent REF assessed the majority of research in the Department of Civil Engineering is rated as internationally excellent. Join us and work with academics who are globally recognised in their field.


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Students Receive Behind-the-Scenes Tour of GMA
MMC students tour the GMA studio
Students in Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Arts Dan Hunt's Storytelling Across Media seminar were treated to a VIP tour of the Good Morning America (GMA) set.
All semester, students in Storytelling Across Media have been learning about story structure and the different tools a media maker can use to tell stories—including print, sound, photographs, and video. On December 7, the class met in midtown for a VIP, behind-the-scenes tour of Good Morning America, arranged by Taylor Behrendt, an MMC alumna who is a producer at GMA. During this excursion, students were able to see how a national live television show is executed and how the producers at GMA use media to tell stories and convey information. After the experience, students wrote reflection papers analyzing their observations.
Communication and Media Arts
CMA Clubs
Department Events
Professor Laura Tropp Receives Erving Goffman Award
Laura Tropp, Ph.D., Professor of Communication Arts, received the Erving Goffman Award for Outstanding Scholarship in the Ecology of Social Interaction for her recent book Grandparents in the Digital Age: The Third Act.


A recent update to s2Member changed the way s2Member loads the CSS/JS so that it's more efficient. Unfortunately, in a few cases, such as when the Pro-Forms are called with the do_shortcode() function, this causes problems.
If you call do_shortcode() from a Post/Page that's not a problem. The problem comes in whenever do_shortcode() is called from a custom PHP include file or WordPress template file.
I'm using this at one of my sites and it seems to be working great, so another potential solution.
Thank you Bruce, that is very informative and helpful. It sounds like everything will be okay and that the URL variations in the log files aren't an indication of an issue in and of themselves. I'll continue forward while keeping a close eye on things. Thanks again.
Yes I understand what you are saying, thanks for taking the time to help us understand.
Is this explained to potential s2 customers somewhere? (I haven't seen it) As mentioned, a LOT of s2 customers will need to know about this issue, as the subdirectory/root configuration (as described) is very common. I'm glad to post and tweet about this if it will help get the word out.
…where s2Member attempts to connect to your site by grabbing the Site's URL, and is sent to something like http://example.com/wp-login.php when it should be sent to http://example.com/wp/wp-login.php.
I use .htaccess to redirect all requests for wp-login.php to the correct file (which may explain why s2 seems to work fine); so which additional URLs is s2member looking for that could be redirected to the actual file? If there are only a few, perhaps this could be a simple workaround for people who are in this situation.
So based on what you are saying, installing WP in a subdirectory and then setting the "WordPress Address (URL)" to serve WP from the root directory (i.e., example.com) is an issue? Can you elaborate?
I find that surprising because such configuration is very common among WP sites.
It's also surprising because there are no errors and s2member is working fine on several sites where WP is installed in a subdirectory (example.com/wp) and served via root (example.com).
But if that is the case, is there a workaround or way to resolve whatever issue you're referring to? Otherwise, it sounds like s2member isn't suitable for subdirectory installations of WP, which of course would mean a LOT of customers would be effected.
Is this why I am seeing the two different URLs in s2 logs? AND more importantly, is it normal and/or OK for s2member? Usually such discrepancies indicate or lead to issues. Just want to make sure nothing needs changed before going live with the site.
Thanks Eduan. I had posted the same question in another forum and Jason helped to clarify things. I appreciate all the work you guys do with s2member, thank you for your continued support.
Yes, that is very helpful, thank you.
Permissions error. The security-enabled logs directory (/wp-content/plugins/s2member-logs) is not writable. Please make this directory writable (chmod 777).
So I guess it's normal that s2member needs write access even if logging is explicitly disabled..? It seems that it would make more sense to not display that warning when logging is disabled.
In other words, users should be able to lock down permissions on the log directory when it's not being used for anything. Seeing that warning implies that some log activity is still happening even when it's explicitly disabled. If not, then why is s2member concerned about the permissions of the log directory?
Please, let us hear your response for both of the two scenarios you mention. Both scenarios are likely to be encountered by s2 users, and thus both will be valuable to help the community.
It would be unwise to delete transient data of any kind (especially s2Member's IPN transient data), as it is important for the time that it is there, and when it's not needed WordPress will delete the data automatically.
Further, when searching for answers or clues to this issue, that Bruce thread is the only thing available. Hence this new post to clarify. Hopefully it helps others in the same situation.
Thanks for the information, Cristián. I went ahead and deleted all 4,310 of the s2m transients and everything seems to continue to work great. I'll report back if anything weird happens or if something breaks.
Note to anyone reading this thinking about deleting their s2m transients: make a backup of your options table and entire database before deleting anything, just in case.
I'll try to do as much of the troubleshooting as I can and as time allows.
WordPress Transients API, which offers a simple and standardized way of storing cached data in the database temporarily by giving it a custom name and a timeframe after which it will expire and be deleted.
Based on this, at some point it should be fine to delete all of the s2m transients.. ultimately they are meant to be temporary, correct?
Thanks for the reply. Yes everything (cron, user registration, etc.) is working perfectly fine with no issues whatsoever.
The information you posted is interesting, but does not resolve anything. What I need is a actionable way to remove the 4000+ (and growing) transients from my database table. They are consuming an ever-increasing amount of space that will eventually cause serious problems.
Please let me know exactly how to remove the transients from the options table, or other solution for resolving this issue.
Apparently a protected post/page is an s2 requirement, so my workaround won't work.
How do I stop the registration notification from happening, or how do I prevent the URL fields from being auto-populated?
Correct, I remove one or both of the notification URLs and they keep coming back. I've tried everything including the save button (lol) but no luck. I thought Jason might have a way of either disabling one of the notifications or preventing the auto-inclusion of the affiliate URL.
An easy workaround/solution is to let WP handle access to the "Specific Post/Page" in question, but I would rather let s2Member do it if at all possible..
So to sum up: How do I disable/prevent one of those API Notifications from happening?


Keep your candles in place - lit or stored - with these country style Candle Storage & Sconces Plan. Includes four different sconce designs.
Keep your candles in place - lit or stored - with these country style Candle Storage & Sconces Plan. Includes four different sconce designs.


The headline sets up the ad: "The world is growing by more than 70 million people a year. … So is that a problem, or a solution?" That's an interesting start, making us wonder where this ad is headed.
"With our planet's population continuing to increase… our demand for energy is also growing. And to meet everyone's needs 25 years from now may take 50% more energy than we use today.
Now, we might fault the ad for not recognizing that God is more powerful than all of mankind. But the point of the ad is to contrast the power of man as opposed to the power of fossil fuels. Nonetheless, the ad is still remarkable for its key insight: namely, that you either see human beings as a problem, or as a solution. You either see human life as a curse, or as a blessing.
Catholics believe in the inalienable dignity of every human life, from the moment of conception until natural death. And yet, we live in the midst of a culture that not only does not share this belief. We live surrounded by a culture that does everything in its power to root God out of every area of society, including health care, the education of our children, and the definition of marriage.
In the face of this, we need the courage to face squarely the culture that surrounds us. This courage does not come from resignation, or by turning inward to a bunker mentality, or by aggressively condemning those with whom we disagree. The courage that God calls us to exercise is a courage that refuses any other way than the Gospel, even when doing so entails difficulty, hardship, and suffering. This is a courage that desires that those who disagree would see that life is a gift: that they would join us in seeing life as a blessing to be promoted, fostered, and chosen.
But how do you bring about such a complete change of view? It would almost be like a blind man regaining his sight.
Reflect on how the greatest gift—the strongest virtue—that Jesus offers us is the divine virtue of caritas (sometimes called "divine charity", and sometimes simply called "love"). This greatest, strongest virtue is the glory of what it means to be human. God's divine glory is the end—that is, the goal—of man. We pray this truth in praying the Rosary: the Joyful, Luminous and Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary all lead to the Glorious Mysteries in the same way that the chapters of a novel lead to its climax. Likewise, all the virtues of the Christian life lead to its goal: the divine virtue of caritas; divine charity; divine love: the life of the Trinity who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We can only see how and why this is true if we see human life itself as gift. And we only see this truth, if we get the reason for the blind man receiving his sight in today's Gospel passage. Jesus did not restore Bartimaeus' sight just to ease his earthly life. Jesus worked this miracle also to ease Bartimaeus' path to Heaven.
Jesus tells us that the blind man regains his sight because of his faith. But the blind man shows us his faith by what he does. When Jesus releases Bartimaeus by saying, "Go / your / way," the man with vision follows Jesus on Jesus' way. In other words, the person with vision makes the Way of Jesus his own way. There is no other way for us to walk if we want to be truly happy. Every other path results in a dead-end, or an endless circle going nowhere.
So, then, how do we travel this Way of Jesus? The answer is: by a wheel. Picture a wheel in your imagination, and use this image to sum up how the Christian virtues work in concert inside the healthy Christian soul.
The first virtue always is humility. Humility is like the center of the wheel. All the other virtues radiate out from humility. Or in other words, humility is the mother of all the other virtues.
Then, the virtue of prudence is like the axle of the wheel. Or in other words, prudence is the "inner ear" of the soul, that helps us to keep our balance, and to steer us.
Most of the other virtues are like the spokes of the wheel. Take courage, for example. To begin with, courage flows from humility. By contrast, false courage seeks to dominate, and make "my ego" ever larger. But in Christian courage, I do not worry about my ego. The martyr is even willing to sacrifice his life, because his courage is so firmly rooted in humility. But this courage also has to be steered, and given balance by prudence. After all, even the martyr has to choose the best time to be courageous: he doesn't want to be foolhardy, giving up his life for a cause that could be defended in a simpler way.
But what is the goal of this virtue of courage? If the spokes radiate out from humility, and are steered by prudence, where do they radiate out towards? The goal of every virtue—including courage—is the divine virtue of caritas. Humility leads us to caritas. Prudence leads us to caritas. Courage leads us to caritas.
And so, in humility, we give up our own self, so that we can be transformed into the likeness of Jesus, who is divine caritas in the flesh. Prudence steers us in all things away from self-indulgence towards the divine virtue of caritas. Every other virtue, whether it's courage or patience, justice or diligence, faith or hope, propels us towards the goal of divine caritas.
All of this is what happens in the life of the blind person, as he gives up his own way through the world, which in blindness is no way at all. Remember that Bartimaeus was sitting at the side of the road because of his blindness. In his blindness, he could go nowhere. But after gaining his sight, he could walk his own way, but because of his faith, Bartimaeus knew that walking his own way apart from Jesus would be as aimless as sitting on the sideline. Bartimaeus instead follows Jesus who is the way. Bartimaeus follows Jesus on the Way, as the evangelist puts is: the Way that leads to Calvary, and through Calvary into the eternal life of God.
This divine virtue of caritas is the wheel's tire. This divine virtue is where—so to speak—the rubber hits the road, and the Catholic Faith is actually lived out in your daily life.
Reflect on your daily life. What is the difference between this divine virtue of caritas and the human act of charity? Sometimes caritas is translated as "charity", but the danger in this is that we might reduce the divine virtue of caritas to something smaller than it is.
Human acts of charity in and of themselves—whether feeding the hungry, giving shelter to the homeless, or any other corporal work of mercy—focus on this world. Of course, making this world better is not bad in and of itself. The very same acts, however, become acts of divine charity only when they have their origin and goal in God: that is, when we feed the hungry because we see the image of God in each hungry person, and when we offer that food, not merely to fill a stomach and to make our conscience more at ease, but because this sort of action becomes a channel for God's peace in this world. Whenever we fulfill the commands of Jesus to exercise the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, we primarily do so not for those in need, and not primarily for ourselves, but for God. God is all.
Put another way: acts of divine "charity" are not primarily about the need of the poor for assistance, or the need of students to learn, or the need of the blind to see; or even about our need to give. These acts are primarily about manifesting God's glory in this world of darkness, so that the Father's Will might be "done on earth as it is Heaven". Through this call, each person on earth can be invited into the life of God in Heaven. The beauty of this call is what moves others to see why every one of us finds the meaning of our life in making the Way of Jesus, our own way.


Thailand, the Land of Smiles, is Asia at its most welcoming. From cosmopolitan Bangkok and jungle elephant safaris to cooking classes, long-tailed boat rides and stunning beaches, you'll be immersed in exquisite experiences that reveal the magnificent culture of this land. You'll experience the traditional Buddhist rituals, the exotic hill tribes' customs, tranquil islands, lush rainforests, bamboo rafting, superb cuisine and fabulous artistic achievements.


Seng Chiu didn't plan to start his own volleyball club. Though he had a lifelong love for the sport, he was perfectly content spending most of his career career coaching at the high school and college level.
Notable stops for him included George Mason University, the University of Nevada-Reno and the College of William & Mary, where he played club volleyball.
But as volleyball exploded in popularity, Chiu recognized two problems: Young players were being systematically weeded out, as most clubs targeted elite-level athletes, and those who endured oftentimes burned out.
When he coached for the Northern Virginia Volleyball Association, Chiu recalls one class with 1,200 girls in middle school.
"But by their senior year," Chiu recalls, "only 12 were still playing. That drop off was eye-opening for me."
So when he started Dulles Volleyball three years ago, Chiu says he created a culture built around love of the game, not skill in playing it. That culture lays a foundation for the club's values, goals and beliefs about the sport and competition. And that culture impacts all those involved — from players to parents to coaches and even competitors — on how they behave and communicate.
"For the most part, many clubs focus on those top kids who want to play in college. 'Hey, our program gets x number of kids into college,' " Chiu says. "But our culture is, 'We love the sport, and we're going to find opportunities for you to play.' "
Chiu consistently helps players earn college scholarships to play volleyball, but he is proud to provide a competitive outlet for athletes of all ages, including many into their 60s.
But one particular group of players Chiu has provided a home for are the young ones who may not be good enough to play in high school, even though they love the sport. Chiu estimates one-third of players quit the sport simply because they didn't make their high school squad.
When he started Oregon Junior Volleyball Academy about a dozen years ago, Steve Suttich says his emphasis was on training and a club-first mentality.
"We don't get the best athletes," Suttich says, "but we work hard and train better."
"Effective and efficient" are points of emphasis at OJVA, with a focus on maximizing the practice time they have.
And in practice, each athlete is required to wear OJVA practice shirts.
"That means something," he says. "You're learning our way, our work ethic, our terms."
Suttich says OJVA also provides programs based on skill level. There are national, regional and local programs. Naturally, the national program is more expensive, since it requires travel costs.
"Not everyone has parents who can afford travel all over the country, and not everyone wants that," he says. "But each one of those kids is trained at the same level, with the same expectations. What changes is schedule and locations and length of tournaments."
Athletes who do not make the elite teams are always provided options elsewhere so they can continue to play volleyball. And a coach personally delivers that information.
Suttich is mindful of that because of his own experience. As a high school freshman, he was devastated to learn he didn't make the junior varsity baseball team by reading a piece of paper on a board.
"If kids give it their best," he says, "we deserve to give them a look in the eye."
In Cincinnati, Kelly Crowley says Tri-State Elite Volleyball's culture is driven by the athletes. He and his staff are intent on communicating with the athletes and abiding by a key rule.
"We don't promise anybody anything," he says. "We're really open with the kids up front about what their role may or may not look like."
And for the teenagers, particularly older ones, they are counted on to "drive the conversation" if any issues arise.
"We are really, really lucky," Crowley says. "I think we have a really, really positive culture. I can count on one hand any parent interaction."
For related reading on club culture click here. Fore related reading for club directors click here.
Dulles Volleyball, Oregon Juniors Volleyball Academy and Tri-State Elite are all member clubs of the Junior Volleyball Association. To learn more about the value of a JVA membership, click here.


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Q: I can't display image generated as byte[] My controller (ASP MVC):
 public FileResult getTimelineChart(DateTime tsInic, DateTime tsEnd, string typeReq = "normal")
    {
            var rep = new AfterSalesWind.Models.OM_Repository();
            var chart = rep.getTimelineChart(tsInic, tsEnd);

            System.IO.MemoryStream ms = new System.IO.MemoryStream();
            chart.SaveImage(ms, ChartImageFormat.Png);

            return File(ms.ToArray(), @"image/png");
    }

Angular controller:
getTimelineChart = function (codSap, revStr) {
    dataService.getTimelineChart($scope.dateFilter.dt1, $scope.dateFilter.dt2, function (result) {
        $scope.imageChart = "data:image/png;base64," + result;
    });
}

Angular service:
getTimelineChart = function (tsInic, tsEnd, callback) {
    $http({
        url: '/OM_API/getTimelineChart',
        method: 'POST',
        data: {
            tsInic: tsInic,
            tsEnd: tsEnd
        }
    }).success(function (result, status, headers) {
        return callback(result);
    }).error(function (error) {
        return callback(error);
    });
}

My html:

According to I have read this code should allow me display a image png.
An error is ocurred:

When I call to service the result looks like this

Where I am wrong?
Thanks.

A: With your MVC, you are returning it as a File which treats it as a real file, not something that is Base 64 encoded. You can simply put it on your ng-src.

A: First of all, I don't know if it is a good solution, I just know that it works for me.
I have got display image only when it was encoded in base-64. Then I changed my reply from MVC like this:
 public String getTimelineChart(DateTime tsInic, DateTime tsEnd, string typeReq = "normal")
{
        var rep = new AfterSalesWind.Models.OM_Repository();
        var chart = rep.getTimelineChart(tsInic, tsEnd);

        System.IO.MemoryStream ms = new System.IO.MemoryStream();
        chart.SaveImage(ms, ChartImageFormat.Png);

        return Convert.ToBase64String(ms.ToArray());
}


If you have questions, would like a brochure or to schedule a visit at the Front Gate at Fair Oaks Ranch 70, please complete the form and we will be happy to contact you shortly.
Take Loop 1604 West to the IH-10 West Exit. Travel on I-10 W towards El Paso, and take the Fair Oaks Pkwy. Exit #546. Turn right onto Fair Oaks Pkwy, and then turn left onto Front Gate. The model home is on the right.
Take Loop 1604 East to the IH-10 West Exit. Travel on I-10 W towards El Paso, and take the Fair Oaks Pkwy. Exit #546. Turn right onto Fair Oaks Pkwy, and then turn left onto Front Gate. The model home is on the right.
2,999 - 3,593 Sq. Ft.


text:
Asgarabad (, also Romanized as 'Asgarābād; also known as 'Askarābād, Sa'dābād Davān, and Sa'dābād-e Davān) is a village in Deris Rural District, in the Central District of Kazerun County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 685, in 126 families.

References

Populated places in Kazerun County

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Things have really changed. Mothers have preferred other ingredients which are chemical based compared to our native condiments that have stood the test of time and provided adequate nutrition to us all. I remembered those days I and my siblings visited our grandmother at Surulere in the early 90s, her soups and stews were really delicious even though she would not add ingredients like seasonings with Monosodium glutamate and other processed condiments. One of such native ingredients that have helped her stew became a delight for everyone is Locust Bean which is commonly called Iru by the Yorubas. In the South East, their form of Iru is called Ogiri and in the North, the natives call it Dawadawa. Globally, it is referred to as African locust bean with botanical name as Parkia biglobosa.
In Nigeria, especially among the Yorubas, the beans is fermented and then converted to two different forms; Mashed (Iru Pete) and whole (Iru Woro) used in different types of soup to achieve different results.
The African locust bean as it is commonly called by the whites has also been found to possess numerous benefits that have helped in improving the health of people for centuries. It only surprises me that this fermented condiment has been eradicated from the cooking cupboard of elites and educated for other less or no nutritious ingredients. Also, a few ill informed people are of the opinion that locust bean is added to stews for the purpose of improving taste only, little did they know that it can help in curbing many debilitating diseases as science have proven its nutritional and health properties. Let's see how it helps you.
Considering the fact that most people cannot afford to consume adequate amount of meat and fish protein, which are the primary sources of protein, it becomes essential to include other sources of cheap protein to avoid its deficiency. According to WHO, more and more children and women are becoming protein deficient in Africa, leading to stunted growth, poor development and other associated complications. It is important to note that locust beans contain high protein and can account for a reasonable percentage of your daily protein requirement if frequently used in your meals.
According to proximate analysis, Locust beans are estimated to contain protein (30 per cent), fat (15 per cent) crude fibre (four per cent) ash (two per cent and carbohydrates (49 per cent). The attractive yellow colour shows a reasonable presence of phytochemicals and carotenoid; an important precursor for retinol (Vitamin A) which indicates that this ingredient could help to improve vision.
Research has also shown that the fermented beans contain high levels of High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) – the good cholesterol. The research was carried out in animals and has been found to stabilize cholesterol level within healthy limits in the human body.
Apart from the edible portion of the plant, it has also being reported that the crushed bark of the locust bean tree can help in wound healing and serves as one of the ingredients used in treating leprosy. The bark is also useful in fever treatment and to relieve toothache.
Finally, do not forget to add Locust beans to all your soups and stews not only because it tastes good and can serve as a tastier alternative to other condiments but because it is loaded with numerous health benefits. You would not regret you did.
Advice: When you add locust beans (Iru) into your meals, try to monitor the quantity of table salt you will be adding to the meals, because some amount of salt had already been added to some Iru type to preserve it.
I find this article very interesting and confirmation of health rule i have been following several years back especially Iru. Thank for your contribution to awareness of good living and nation building.
Do Eggs Need To Be Refrigerated Or Just Stored At Room Temperature?


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nordicviola
Creating and Sharing Music in the North Atlantic
Forthcoming Performances
About Nordic Viola
Tag: Caithness
From Stromness to Somerset
It's been an exceptionally busy month for Nordic Viola which has seen me travel the length of the UK, with Nordic Viola's most southerly concerts to date!
At the very end of September I renewed my partnership with Icelandic pianist, Arnhildur Valgarđsdóttir, with a programme of music entitled "A Journey Around the North Atlantic" for the Orkney Norway Friendship Association. At the heart of the programme were the two sonatas we performed in Seyđisfjörđur in the summer; Jón Thorarinsson's Sonata and Adrian Vernon Fish's Greenland-inspired Qaanaaq. We also included music closely connected to the heritage of Iceland and Orkney; Gemma McGregor's Raven Banner and Heyr Himna Smiđur ("Hear, smith of the heavens") a famous hymn tune by þorkell Sigurbjörnsson to words by Kolbeinn Tumason The programme opened with a March by Orkney resident Tom Deyell, which he wrote for the Shetland Folk Society Tune Competition.
We had a fabulous audience, which included travellers from Norway and Canada and we very much enjoyed swapping stories whilst being entertained by the fabulous young musicians from the Stromness Strathspey and Reel Society.
Arnhildur introduced us to some tales from the Sagas. What we forgot to talk about was her ancestral links to Orkney. She can trace her family line back to Rognvald Eysteinsson, also an ancestor of St. Magnus. Arnhildur's family line traces back to Icelandic chieftain Hrollaug before branching off at Thordis (see below). Arnhildur was excited to visit Orkney and we enjoyed an afternoon exploring history in St. Magnus' Cathedral, Kirkwall.
We had some true Orcadian weather (read 70mph gusts and lashing rain!) so I spent the morning of the concert in Stromness Museum, learning more about Orkney's exploration and trading in the Arctic – sure that will find its way into a project someday.
Northern Stories Festival- Lyth Arts
I've been following the great work done by Charlotte Mountford at Lyth Arts in Caithness for sometime now, so when the opportunity came to take Sagas and Seascapes to the Northern Stories Festival, which was exploring Caithness' Norse heritage, I absolutely jumped at the chance.
On this occasion I was presenting a screening of the Sagas and Seascapes film as per the original version for Orkney International Science Festival in 2021, but also including live performances of William Heinesen's Variations on a Faroese Hymn Tune, Kári Bæk's Wogen and The Drummer, the Scottish traditional tune that inspired the Danish Dromer. I also took Orla's paintings with me.
Lyth Arts is a totally rejuvenating place for an artist to stay – at least for one who needs space around them! It is set in the flatlands of Caithness between Wick and Thurso, backing onto the peatlands of the Flow Country. Set up originally by local artist William Wilson, it has space for exhibitions and workshops as well as a small theatre. Artists are accommodated in the adjacent house and it's a great place to meet and share ideas.
I was sharing with accordionist Neil Sutcliffe (coincidentally a friend of Orla's) and Danish Storyteller Svend-Erik Engh as well as Svend's partner, Alice, also a storyteller. I attended their workshop in the morning where I learned lots about how to tell a story engagingly before I joined the musicians in improvising along to the words.
Back in Thurso I had a couple of days to absorb myself in the landscapes that constantly inspire my music. I'm more used to seeing the Caithness coast from the Orkney boat but I think a new love affair has begun. The perilous coastline is riddled with hidden geos (rocky inlets), caves and blowholes. I also got to see an upwards waterfall (blown upwards by the wind)! You need your wits about you exploring those cliffs but the yield is a wealth of exciting colours, shapes and sounds. This was all topped off by the sight of a full moon reflecting on the water across Thurso Bay after an earlier golden sunset.
More museum time was had at the North Coast Visitor Centre. The expected displays on Norse and Pictish culture were there, but also absorbing panels on the ecology of the Flow Country. Every time I travel through that area it draws me in with its isolated peaks, saturated ground that now and again breaks out into a small lochan. On the surface of it, it looks barren, but it's teeming with birdlife and, at ground level, the delicate sphagnum mosses are full of colour with their intricate little leaves. Autumn is one of the most beautiful times to see it with the russet-red dying bracken set against gunmetal skies, laden with heavy downpours.
Into late October and a change of pianist on the stool as I joined Kevin Duggan for three concerts down in the south-west of England. We started with two concerts in Glastonbury and Midsomer Norton performing much of the programme I'd played with Arnhildur, but adding in Rebecca Clarke's characterful and varied Shorter Pieces and a new piece by Kevin based on Icelandic hymn tune, Almáttigur Guð.
Kevin is a native of Somerset and proved a wonderful guide, taking us out into the Mendips and introducing us to some of the prehistoric archaeological sites of Wiltshire. There is a connection to Orkney here, as it has been mooted that the ancient Orcadians may have travelled south and passed on their architectural skills gleaned from building edifices such as the Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae to those constructing the likes of Stonehenge and West Kennet Longbarrow. In the dark warmth out of a hefty downpour, it felt right to get the viola out for a quick improvisation to these ancient peoples.
Dunsden, Reading
Our final performance was at Dunsden Church near Reading at the behest of composer Adrian Vernon Fish, who wrote Qaanaaq.
Being with people who know, love and have connections in Greenland is always a special experience for me as there are not so many people in this country that I can talk to and who I know have experienced what it is to spend time there living and working with Greenlanders. I felt a real responsibility to communicate the emotions and tell the stories that Adrian crafted so well in his Qaanaaq Sonata: the intense outpouring of the Aria and the helter-skelter chaos of the dogsled ride, Qimmusseq before the final Piseq or drum dance, which for me exemplifies the slower pace of life and patience of Greenlanders.
Before Qaanaaq and as a tribute both to Greenland and to Adrian who shares a love of that country with me, I played a short improvisation on an East Greenland Entertaining Song.
It was a wonderful, moving occasion and a concert that'll stay in my mind for a long time.
Adrian Vernon Fish, Arctic, Arnhildur Vargarðsdóttir, Caithness, composition, Contemporary Music, Faroe Islands, Flow Country, Gemma McGregor, Greenland, Iceland, Icelandic Sagas, Jón Thorarinsson, Kári Bæk, Kevin Duggan, Lyth Arts, Neil Sutcliffe, Nordic Culture, Norse, North Coast Visitor Centre, Northern Stories Festival 2022, OISF, ONFA, Orkney, Orkney Norwegian Friendship Association, Orkneyinga Saga, Orla Stevens, Picts, Qaanaaq, Sagas and Seascapes, Shetland, St. Magnus Cathedral, Stromness Museum, Svend-Erik Engh, Thorkell Sigurbjörnsson, Thurso, Tom Deyell, Traditional music, Viola, William Heinesen
Sagas and Seascapes at Northern Stories Festival 11th October
Sagas and Seascapes will be part of the Northern Stories Festival at Lyth Arts in Caithness on Tuesday 18th October at 8pm. Northern Stories Festival 2022 is a spectacular celebration of the stories of the Far North of Scotland, taking place across Caithness this October.
Nordic Viola will screen Craig Sinclair's Sagas and Seascapes film alongside live performance by Katherine Wren on viola of Variations on a Faroese Hymn Tune by William Heinesen, Wogen by Kári Bæk and The Drummer, a traditional Scottish Tune that inspired the Danish tune arr. by the Danish String Quartet The Dromer, which features at the end of the film.
Norse stories form the inspiration for this programme. Award-winning Irish composer Linda Buckley's Aud draws on the Icelandic Sagas. Lillie Harris' Elsewhen seeks to capture the strangeness, wonder, and melancholy of Orkney's ancient sites, whilst in Carry His Relics, Orkney composer Gemma McGregor describes a journey along the St Magnus Way.
Orla Stevens' art from the project, inspired by music from Gemma McGregor, Lillie Harris and Linda Buckley, will also be on display at Lyth Arts.
Northern Stories Festival 2022 is a spectacular celebration of the stories of the Far North of Scotland, taking place across Caithness this October.
'Sharing the stories of the Far North of Scotland.'
Celebrating our ancient Nordic connections and our close ties to North America, the festival will connect the lochs and coastline of the North Highlands, the fjords of Norway and the Great Lakes of Canada.
An exciting programme of online and in-person events will include an international line-up of performers and story-tellers from the Highlands, Scandinavia and Canada. With talks, workshops, films and exhibitions, there will be something for all the family to get involved in.
You can view the full festival programme at https://lytharts.org.uk/events/category/northern-stories-festival/list/
Don't forget, too, that Katherine and Arnhildur Valgarðsdóttir (piano) will be performing for the Orkney-Norway Friendship Association in Stromness Town Hall on 30th September at 7:30pm. More information on that here.
We look forward to seeing you at one or both of these events.
Caithness, Contemporary Music, Faroe Islands, Gemma McGregor, Iceland, Kári Bæk, Lillie Harris, Linda Buckley, Lyth Arts, Nordic Culture, Northern Stories Festival 2022, Orkney, Orkneyinga Saga, Prehistoric Orkney, Sagas and Seascapes, Traditional music, Viola, William Heinesen
Performances of Sagas and Seascapes in Edinburgh
And so our run of Sagas and Seascapes at the Scottish Storytelling Centre as part of the Made In Scotland Showcase has come to an end and what a great run of performances we had! Three nights of practically full houses, each with their own energy. All were made to feel very welcome and we had Audio Description and captions available at our relaxed performance, which for me was the show with the most intimate vibe and connection with the audience.
It was amazing to see Craig Sinclair's beautiful film in high definition on the big screen and people loved watching Orla Stevens creating the beautiful paintings which we had on show in the courtyard.
Click here to find out what others said about our performances.
Northern Edgelands by Orla Stevens
Orla's trip to Orkney to film with Nordic Viola was just the start of her relationship with Orkney and sparked a whole series of works, now on show at the Macrobert Arts Centre at Stirling University until 25th September. It's a beautiful show in a beautiful space and comes highly recommended. You can also view our Sagas and Seascapes film there.
Sagas and Seascapes goes to Caithness
Full details are yet to be released, but the film version of Sagas and Seascapes will be going to Caithness very soon, accompanied by Orla's beautiful paintings. I will play a couple of pieces live and tell the stories behind our work.
I'm particularly excited to take this work to Caithness as it is, of course, part of our central character Aud's story. It was in Caithness that her son, Thorstein was killed by the Scots and from where she set sail to Orkney en route to West Iceland. I'll update you with performance details when they're announced. In the meantime, enjoy "Aud" by Linda Buckley with art by Orla Stevens and film by Craig Sinclair.
Aud, Caithness, composition, Contemporary Music, craig sinclair video, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Icelandic Sagas, Linda Buckley, Macrobert Arts Centre, Nordic Culture, Northern Edgelands, Orkney, Orla Stevens, Sagas and Seascapes, Scottish Culture, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Viola
June update – Sagas and Seascapes Recording, Competition and a Live Concert!
The end of May saw Nordic Viola playing together under the same roof for the first time since March 2020! And what a way to start, bringing our new commission, "Aud" by Linda Buckley, to life for the first time as we recorded "Sagas and Seascapes" for Orkney International Science Festival 2021. It's always an amazing feeling to realise a new work and I love that collaborative process of working with a composer as we work together to unite the concepts of what they imagined as they created the music and how we interpret those dots as performers.
Covid made that experience slightly unusual as we went straight into the recording studio with "Aud" and still haven't heard the complete score. I'm on absolute tenterhooks whilst Linda and our amazing recording team, Hedd Morfett-Jones and Simon Lowden work their magic and unite musicians with the electronic soundtrack.
Already the music has such a strong sense of journeying, depicting as it does Aud the Deep-Minded's journey from Ireland via Caithness, Orkney, and the Faroes before settling in Iceland. There is so much energy in the shifting textures and a sense of the music "flickering" through the distinct timbres of the three string instruments and the clarinet. It's easy to think of string instruments as one body, but Linda's writing really highlights how the colour of each pitch can vary across the three instruments.
There's also a strong sense of yearning in the music – perhaps for that very human desire to be on the move and to explore that so many of us have missed during lockdown.
UK premiere of new Faroese work
We are also extremely grateful to the Aura Duo for allowing us to give the UK premiere of upcoming Faroese composer Eli Tausen á Lava's Søgnin um Kópakonuna í 10 Myndum
Søgnin um Kópakonuna í 10 Myndum (Faroese: the Legend of the Seal Woman in 10 Pictures) is inspired by a set of 10 drawings by Faroese artist Edward Fuglø, which were originally drawn for the 2007 stamp issue titled Kópakonan (the Seal Woman).
Edward Fuglø's drawings illustrate the Faroese legend of a female selkie, a mythological Ecapable of transforming from seal to human by shedding its skin, who is forced to live as a human when a young man from the village of Mikladalur steals her sealskin.
Søgnin um Kópakonuna í 10 Myndum was commissioned by Aura Duo and was composed with the support of Koda Kultur. The piece was due to be premiered in the Faroes in 2020/1 but has had to be postponed due to Covid. We'll be introducing Eli and the Aura Duo to you in August.
Elsewhen by Lillie Harris
In our biggest ensemble to date, we recorded Lillie Harris' "Elsewhen" an incredibly eery, almost primitive at times (think stomping, Rite-of-Spring-style chords) depiction of Orkney's prehistoric monuments and how they have come to us through time. "Elsewhen" is written for flute, clarinet and string quartet and, as well as its eery textures and footstamping rhythms, it features yearning melodies in the wind instruments and violins.
Lillie is an old friend of Nordic Viola, writing my first commission, "AND" for solo viola. She has an uncanny way of capturing the essence of a place, sometimes prior to even visiting it. "Elsewhen" was originally composed for the St. Magnus Composers' Course in 2017.
As well as our audio team, we had Craig Sinclair working on video and Matthew Smith on lighting and, as you can see above, they created a stunning stage for us to work on. We consider ourselves very lucky to have been able to record in the RSNO's purpose-built New Auditorium.
Filming in Orkney
Craig is now in the driving seat as the composers, Linda Buckley, Lillie Harris and Gemma McGregor head to Orkney to capture footage of the landscapes, monuments and tales that inspired their music. Craig and I first worked together on "Histories and Herstories" during lockdown last year. Despite being reliant on stock footage, I loved how he matched the rhythm of the music with film and I'm eager to see how much more can be done when he is set free to film on location.
In another first for us, the emotions of the composers as they explore these historic sites and experience the nature and seascapes of Orkney will be captured and interpreted by landscape artist Orla Stevens. Orla, too is fascinated by seastories and landscapes and often captures the energy of the sea in paintings with a considerable textural element to them. She is also a keen musician and is interested in exploring the parallels between rhythm in music and art. I'm very excited and intrigued to see how she interprets these musical worlds.
Seastories Competition
We're at the halfway point in our Seastories Competition. We've received some very imaginative entries from Shetland, the Faroes and Greenland. Last Saturday Gemma McGregor led our first international zoom workshop alongside myself and Faroese trombonist and, on this occasion, interpreter, Dávur Juul Magnussen.
We explored ways of creating music about the sea and the techniques we could use to expand our musical ideas. We also took time to share our experiences of the sea in our home countries and explored common stories, such as legends across the North Atlantic about seals, and also explored Norse words that have survived in dialect in the Northern Isles. At a time when travel is nigh on impossible, I hope we were able to help the young people imagine a world beyond their own shores and to connect with others whose cultures overlap with ours.
We'll announce our competition winners next week.
Live in Orkney
I'll leave you with a wee teaser – whilst I'm in Orkney, I'll be performing in a programme entitled "Birds and Landscapes of the North" with composer Gemma McGregor on flute. We're in Stromness Town Hall on Friday 2nd July at 7:30pm and you can buy tickets here. Tickets are strictly limited due to Covid, so you need to book in advance.
More on the programme next time.
As you can see, there's a lot happening with Nordic Viola at the moment. If you want to stay up-to-date, you can subscribe here:
Finally, I'd like to thank our funders: Creative Scotland, PRSF Women Make Music for supporting Linda Buckley, The Royal Philharmonic Society Enterprise Fund for allowing me to learn more about video alongside Craig Sinclair and the William Syson Foundation for supporting our education work.
Aura Duo, Caithness, composition, Contemporary Music, Dávur Juul Magnussen, Eli Tausen á Lava, Faroe Islands, Gemma McGregor, Iceland, Lillie Harris, Linda Buckley, New Music, Nordic Culture, Nordic Viola, Orkney, Orkney International Science Festival, Orla Stevens, Viola, Workshops
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Screening for cervical cancer: a review of women's attitudes, knowledge, and behaviour. (1/413)
The United Kingdom (UK) cervical screening programme has been successful in securing participation of a high proportion of targeted women, and has seen a fall in mortality rates of those suffering from cervical cancer. There remains, however, a significant proportion of unscreened women and, of women in whom an abnormality is detected, many will not attend for colposcopy. The present work reviews the psychological consequences of receiving an abnormal cervical smear result and of secondary screening and treatment, and examines reasons for women's non-participation in the screening programme. Psychological theories of screening behavior are used to elucidate women's reactions and to suggest methods of increasing participation, of improving the quality of the service, and of reducing women's anxiety. A literature search identified studies that examine factors influencing women's participation in the screening programme, their psychological reaction to the receipt of an abnormal cervical smear result, and experiences of colposcopy. Reasons for non-participation include administrative failures, unavailability of a female screener, inconvenient clinic times, lack of awareness of the test's indications and benefits, considering oneself not to be at risk of developing cervical cancer, and fear of embarrassment, pain, or the detection of cancer. The receipt of an abnormal result and referral for colposcopy cause high levels of distress owing to limited understanding of the meaning of the smear test; many women believe the test aims to detect existing cervical cancer. The quality of the cervical screening service can be enhanced by the provision of additional information, by improved quality of communication, and by consideration of women's health beliefs. This may result in increased participation in, and satisfaction with, the service. (+info)
Factors influencing default at a hospital colposcopy clinic. (2/413)
OBJECTIVE: To identify factors reducing compliance at diagnosis, treatment, and review stages among women referred with abnormal cervical smears to a hospital colposcopy clinic. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of sociodemographic data from hospital notes of the attenders and defaulters during one year (1989-90) and prospective collection of information by structured interviews of a sample of defaulters and attenders during five months (May-September 1990). SETTING: One hospital colposcopy clinic. PATIENTS: 238 women defaulting on two consecutive occasions and 188 attending regularly (retrospective analysis) and a subset of 40 defaulters and 24 attenders (interview sample). MAIN MEASURES: Sociodemographic data and interview responses about attitudes, behaviour, choice, accessibility cultural understanding, communications, and emotional response. RESULTS: 22 (12%) women defaulted at diagnosis, 24(13%) at treatment, 39(21%) at the first check up after treatment, and 84(45%) at the review stage; 19(10%) defaulted from the first check up after diagnostic examination revealed no need for treatment. Age and social class differed between the two groups. 181(76%) defaulters were under 30 compared with 91(48%) attenders; 14(6%) compared with 41(23%) were over 40(p < 0.001). The proportion of women in social classes 4 and 5 was 33%(20/60) for defaulters and 21%(25/120) for attenders (p < 0.05) and unemployed was 66%(158/238) and 36%(68/188) respectively. 63(28%) defaulters were pregnant compared with 11(6%) attenders (p < 0.001). More defaulters came from gynaecology or antenatal clinics. Most defaulters (93%) had child care responsibilities and they knew and understood less about colposcopy. Their explicit reasons for defaulting included child care commitments and fear and their implicit reasons lack of understanding, inaccessibility of information, and staff attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: Compliance may be improved by promoting women's understanding of treatment and encouraging health professionals to develop a service more sensitive to the various needs of women in different socioeconomic groups. (+info)
Is default from colposcopy a problem, and if so what can we do? A systematic review of the literature. (3/413)
It has been reported that many women referred to outpatient colposcopy clinics fail to attend for their appointments. The aim of this paper is to search the literature to assess the extent of default from colposcopy and to identify interventions, suitable for implementation within primary care, to reduce the proportion of women defaulting. Searches were performed on MEDLINE, PsychLIT, Bids and Cancerlit from 1986 to September 1997 using the terms colposcopy or cervical/Pap smear in association with default, non-attendance, adherence, patient compliance, treatment refusal, patient dropouts, attendance, barriers or intervention. The inclusion criteria for primary papers were that they contained data that enables the calculation of default rates for colposcopy or the results of interventions aimed at improving the default rates. Thirteen publications describing default rates and four describing interventions were included as primary papers. Combining the data from these studies suggests default rates of 3%, 11%, and 12% for assessment/treatment visits, first review, and second review respectively. The intervention studies suggested a need to tailor the intervention to the population and the type of information to suit the individual. Varying definitions make comparison of default rates difficult, and the use of a crude non-attendance rate may result in an overestimate of default rates. The vast majority of women invited to colposcopy eventually attend. It is questionable if there is a need for interventions to increase compliance. Where necessary, greater cooperation across the primary/secondary care interface and use of the extended primary care team may be a more cost-effective means of increasing compliance. (+info)
HPV testing in the evaluation of the minimally abnormal Papanicolaou smear. (4/413)
Minor cytologic abnormalities of the cervix, such as atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), are vastly more common than high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions or invasive cancer. Current guidelines for the management of ASCUS include repeating the Papanicolaou (Pap) smear at specific intervals, referring all patients for colposcopy or using an adjunctive test such as hybrid capture human papillomavirus (HPV) testing or cervicography. The usefulness of the Pap smear is limited by its considerable false-negative rate and its dependence on clinician and laboratory performance. Colposcopy is a highly sensitive procedure, but many patients with ASCUS have normal colposcopic findings. The hybrid capture test not only measures quantitative HPV load but also detects both oncogenic and nononcogenic HPV types, thereby increasing the probability that serious cervical disease is not missed. Hybrid capture sampling is simple to perform, and positive results are strongly associated with cervical dysplasia. HPV testing in women with ASCUS can be used as an adjunctive test to identify those with HPV-associated disease; it can also serve as a quality assurance measure. Together, repeat Pap smears and HPV testing should identify most patients with underlying cervical dysplasia. Combined testing may also minimize the number of unnecessary colposcopic examinations in women who have no disease. (+info)
A matched prospective study of human immunodeficiency virus serostatus, human papillomavirus DNA, and cervical lesions detected by cytology and colposcopy. (5/413)
OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence and type of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in the genital tract of human-immunodeficiency-virus- (HIV) seropositive and -seronegative women matched for cytology and to examine prospectively the relationship of HPV DNA, colposcopic findings and cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) in these matched seropositive and seronegative cohorts. METHODS: A matched prospective study of HIV-seropositive and -seronegative women undergoing cytologic screening, colposcopy, and testing for HPV DNA and other infections at each visit. RESULTS: Twenty-three HIV-seropositive women were matched with 23 seronegative women by cervical cytology reading, lifetime number of sexual partners, age, and follow-up length. Fourteen pairs of these women had follow-up visits every 4 months, for 56 and 53 total visits in seropositive and seronegative women, respectively. After matching, the groups had a similar overall prevalence of HPV DNA and of HPV oncogenic (high risk) types at baseline. On follow up, HIV-seropositive women were more likely than seronegative women to develop SIL (38% vs. 10%), less likely to have negative cytology (34% vs. 60%, overall P = 0.03), more visits with HPV DNA detected (68% vs. 40% P = 0.04), and more visits with multiple HPV DNA types detected (18% vs. 0%, P = 0.02). Colposcopic lesions in the seropositive women were more likely to have sharp borders or mosaicism or to be thick white (P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: After matching for baseline Papanicolaou smear readings, these data suggest that over time seropositive women have more visits that yield abnormal cytology, more persistent HPV DNA detection, and more colposcopic abnormalities than seronegative women. (+info)
The effects of three nonoxynol-9 preparations on vaginal flora and epithelium. (6/413)
To evaluate the effects of nonoxynol-9 (N-9) on the vaginal flora and epithelium, 48 women (16 in each group) were evaluated by use of quantitative vaginal cultures and colposcopy. at baseline and at 0.5, 4, 24, 48, and 72 h after insertion of one of three N-9 preparations (4% gel [Conceptrol], 3.5% gel [Advantage-24], or a 28% vaginal contraceptive film). The proportion positive for H2O2+ or H2O2- lactobacilli did not change significantly with any of the preparations, but lactobacilli concentrations decreased transiently. Both the proportion of women with Gardnerella vaginalis and the concentration of G. vaginalis decreased transiently. The proportion of women with Escherichia coli increased with the 4% gel, and the concentration increased with all preparations. The number with anaerobic gram-negative rods increased, although the concentrations decreased. Symptoms and colposcopic abnormalities were rare. Changes in levels of vaginal bacteria were transient after single applications of N-9, but adverse effects may be enhanced with frequent, chronic use. (+info)
Cervical screening interval: costing the options in one health authority. (7/413)
BACKGROUND: This is a study of the costs of the cervical screening programme in one health authority with a mixed three and five year, and thus inequitable, cervical screening interval. The costs of three year and five yearly screening are compared, and considered in terms of likely numbers of averted cases of and deaths from cervical cancer. METHODS: The study uses an activity-based costing procedure to calculate the component and total costs of the cervical screening programme. RESULTS: The main costs of the cervical screening programme are the costs of taking and processing smears. In 1994-1995 the total cost of a three year recall policy was 768 570 pound silver per 100000 eligible women and that of a five year recall policy was 476768 pound silver per 100000 eligible women. Best estimates of the numbers of cases of and deaths from invasive cervical cancer averted by three over five yearly screening are 1.4 and 0.7 per 100000 eligible women, respectively. Because of uncertainty regarding colposcopy costs a sensitivity analysis was carried out, giving a range of cost differences between three and five yearly screening of 278477 pound silver and 351 768 pound silver. CONCLUSIONS: The health service costs of three yearly screening are considerably greater than those of five yearly screening. Despite this, a significant proportion of smear-takers are screening more frequently than five yearly, with implications for anxiety of screened women, as well as health service costs. (+info)
Variations in vaginal epithelial surface appearance determined by colposcopic inspection in healthy, sexually active women. (8/413)
A total of 107 sexually active women, aged 18-35 years, was recruited through family planning clinics in four centres in different countries. Each woman underwent two or three gentle but thorough and systematic vaginal inspections using a consistent technique with colposcopic magnification over a 4-6 month period to look for changes in vaginal and cervical appearance which might be related to sexual intercourse, tampon use, contraceptive method used, cigarette smoking or other environmental factors. Obvious changes in appearance were photographed at x10 magnification. These 'appearances' or 'conditions' were classified according to a modification of the recommendations of a workshop sponsored by the World Health Organization, the Population Council and the Conrad Program. Most of these alterations in the appearance of the vaginal epithelium were judged to be of such minor clinical importance that they have been termed 'conditions' or 'changes in appearance' rather than 'lesions'. In all, 56 'conditions' or 'appearances' were noted in 314 inspections, the commonest being petechiae (53.6%). Potentially significant conditions justifying the term 'lesions' (three microulcerations, two ecchymoses, five abrasions and one mucosal tear; 3.5% of inspections) usually healed spontaneously and disappeared rapidly. The incidence of these conditions was highest when the inspections followed intercourse in the previous 24 h (25.2 versus 14.2%; P < 0.0008), or tampon use (32.4 versus 15.9%; P < 0. 0001). These processes may be regarded as a reflection of regular minor trauma to the vaginal epithelium. (+info)