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GENESIOS AND THE CONTINUATION OF THEOPHANES
THE Basileiai of Genesios (written c. 944-948 A.D.) and the Chronography (Books 1-4, written, under the auspices of Constantine VII., 949-950 A.D.)1 known as the Continuation of Theophanes, which along with George and Simeon are the chief sources for the continuous history of our period, have been analysed in detail by Hirsch in his Byzantinische Studien. He has determined some of their sources, and he has made it quite clear that, as we should expect, the author or authors of Cont. Th. used the work of Genesios. Some of his particular results admit of reconsideration, but for the most part they are sufficient as a guide to the historical student. There are two things, however, which may be pointed out.
(1) Joseph Genesios was a kinsman of Constantine the Armenian, for whom he evinces a particular interest in his history. Constantine was Drungarios of the Watch under Michael III. (see above, pp. 147, 157, etc.), and from Simeon (Leo Gr. 249 = Theod. Mel. 174) we learn that he was ο πατήρ θωμά πατρικίου και Γενεσίου.
ó Hirsch concluded that Genesios the historian was his son. But de Boor (B.Z. x. 62 sqq.) has shown that Simeon refers to another Genesios who was a magister in the reign of Leo VI., while Joseph Genesios the historian was Chartulary of the Ink (ó émè TOû kavek delov) under Constantine VII. The rel
The relationship is
Constantine, δρουγγ. τ. βίγλας.
Joseph Genesios
(και επί τ. καν.). (2) It can be proved, I think, from a number of comparisons 1 Cp. Bury, Treatise De adm. imp. 570 sqq.
that the Continuators of Theophanes used, along with Genesios, the source of Genesios.
There are passages in Cont. Th. in which the relationship to Gen. is plain, but there are additions which cannot be explained either as amplifications invented by the author or as derived from oral tradition, and which, therefore, probably come from the source used by Gen. and were omitted by him. It will be sufficient here to mention two examples. In the account of the campaign of Theophilus in A.D. 837, the close interdependence of Cont. Th. 124 and Gen. 63-64 is obvious in the similar phraseology; but while Gen. particularises only the capture of Zapetra, Cont. Th. records that two other cities were also taken. There is no probability that this record came from any other source than that which Gen. used. Again, the two relations of the rescue of Theophilus by Manuel, and Manuel's subsequent flight (Gen. 61-62; Cont. Th. 117 sq.), are manifestly interdependent. But Cont. Th. designates the person who accused Manuel of treasonable designs, while Gen. confines himself to a generality. Here, too, this addition probably comes from the source which Gen. used; and I suspect that the further particulars
I of Manuel's services to the Saracens should be referred to the same origin. For other additions in Cont. Th. which may be derived from the common source, cp. above, pp. 46, 54, 87, 88, 93, 95, 97, 99, 106, 290.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR BETWEEN MICHAEL II. AND
THOMAS THE SLAV
Our authorities supply singularly few landmarks for the chronology of the Civil War. It will be well to set down in a list exactly what determinations of time they furnish, before we consider what inferences may or must be drawn. (1) The whole revolt lasted three years.
We have this on early authority : George, p. 797 TÒV v Tploivéteou .. πόλεμον. It is repeated by Genesios, 34 (cf. Cont. Th. 67). It might almost be inferred also from the Letter of Michael to Lewis, which describes the whole course of the rebellion, and was written in April 824.
(2) The siege of Constantinople lasted a year. For this we have the authority of the besieged Emperor himself in his Letter (p. 418), and also that of George (797) ¢ ¢va xpóvové Topoñcas.
(3) The siege began in December of the 15th Indiction, that is December 821 A.D. We get this date from Michael's Letter (ii.). Cp. Cont. Τh. 61 άτε δή και χειμώνος επιγενομένου.
(4) Having wintered elsewhere, Thomas returned to the siege of the city in the spring following (i.e. spring of 822). Cont. Th., ib. ήδη δε του έαρος ήμερον επιλάμποντος.
(5) The embassy of the Bulgarians is only indicated roughly by Genesios as taking place when the first decade of the Thirty Years' Peace with Leo was nearly coming to a close : p. 41 ai yàp υπό Λέοντος του βασιλέως προς αυτούς τριακοντούτεις σπονδαι ήδη την πρώτην δεκαετηρίδα συνεπλήρουν σχεδόν.
(6) The battle of Diabasis belongs to the third year of the war :
( Cont. Τh. 67 τρίτος γάρ (χρόνος) εξηνύετο (wrongly rendered in the Latin translation, cum-fluxisset); the third year was current.
(7) The siege of Arcadiopolis lasted five months : Michael's Letter, p. 419.
(8) The tyrant Thomas was slain in the middle of October. This we learn from Genesios, 45 μηνός Οκτωβρίου μεσούντος ήδη, and Cont. Th. 70.
These are the dates with which we have to work. It is clear, of course, that the three years of the war correspond to 821, 822, and 823. The rebellion against Michael began with his accession and lasted till the end of 823.
The first year was occupied with the movements in Asia Minor, the visit to Syria, and the crossing to Thrace. In December 821 (3) the tyrant appeared at Constantinople and made the first grand assault. Then he retired until March or April—till spring was well advanced (4)—and made the second grand assault. Then came the revolt of Gregory Pterôtos, and later the arrival of the ships from Greece. During the later part of the year nothing striking seems to have occurred.
From reading the Letter of Michael, or putting (2) and (3) together, it would be natural to conclude that the siege was raised in December 822.
In that case
we must suppose that the negotiations with the Bulgarians belong to the end of 822, and that the battle of Kêduktos was fought either in December 822 or January 823; for it is clear from the story that it followed hard upon the departure of Thomas from the city.
The vague date of Genesios does not help us here. Assuming that the treaty of Leo with the Bulgarians was concluded as early as the middle of 815, the first decade had not elapsed until the middle of 825. If, then, the date of Genesios refers to December 822, the first decade had still two and a half years to run. His oxedov must be taken in a wide sense.
But such an early date as January 823 for the battle of Kêduktos involves us in some difficulties. Our next positive date is that of the death of Thomas in the middle of October 823. His death followed immediately on the surrender of Arcadiopolis. Therefore the siege of Arcadiopolis, which lasted five months (7), probably began in the first half of the month of May. The battle of Diabasis immediately preceded the siege—the interval cannot have been longer than a few days—and therefore took place in the first days of May or at the very end of April.
The question then is: how long an interval may we assume between the battle of Kêduktos and the battle of Diabasis. If the first battle was fought in the first half of January and the second in the latter half of April, Thomas was allowed to ravage the neighbourhood of Constantinople for more than three months. This seems improbable, and is not suggested by the accounts of Genesios and the Continuer. We cannot believe that Michael would have been so impolitic as to leave a foe, who had been profligatus by the Bulgarians, to gather new strength in such close proximity to the city during such a long space of time. Promptitude was certainly Michael's policy in the circumstances.
I therefore believe that the battle of Kêduktos was fought in April or at earliest in the last days of March. I hold that we should count the year of the siege from the spring of 822, and not from December 821. For it was in spring 822 that the continuous blockade really began. During the months which intervened between December 821 and spring 822 the city was not formally besieged. It is true that the Letter of Michael does not convey this impression ; but, on the other hand, it does not really contradict my interpretation. Michael is only giving a rough outline of the events, and omits the details of the siege.
It is quite intelligible that he should have formally mentioned the date of the first appearance of the tyrant before the walls; that he should have omitted to mention his second appearance and the beginning of the regular siege ; and that then he should have stated the length of the siege as a year, without explaining that he counted from a later date than December.
This postponement of the Bulgarian episode lightens, though but slightly, the burden that has to be laid on oxedov in Genesios (see above, Chap. XI. p. 360).
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MWM to introduce politics of peace unity and happiness
Allama Raja Nasir Abbas Jafri, secretary general of Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), has said that MWM is committed to introduce the politics of Ahl-e-Bait that is based on unity, peace and happiness.
He expressed these views while speaking at chehlum of the martyrs in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan on Sunday.
He said that it is not a Sunni-Shia issue but it is the issue of who is friend and who is enemy of Islam and Muslims and of humanity.
"Please don't vote for the enemies and their agents. Please use the power of vote to defeat enemies and their agents," he urged.
Allama Nasir Abbas Jafri said that Hazrat Zainab (peace be upon her) is role model for Muslims who want to defeat enemies. He said that governments should work under the guidance of Islam and Quran.
He said that United States and Zionist regime of Israel are those enemies who conspire against the Islamic world and they have their agents in the Muslim countries.
He said that Hazrat Ali Akbar (AS) is a role model for youths. He said that youths should follow Hazrat Ali Akbar (AS).
"Identification of the enemies is necessary. To identify the enemies correctly is a work to be done. We have to save our millat from enemies and their agents," he asserted.
The MWM chief said the United States wants that peace should not be established in Muslim countries including Pakistan. He said on one hand the U.S. conspire and on the other India doesn't like to see a prosperous Pakistan.
He urged people to use the power of vote in a way that foil the plots of the enemies of Islam, humanity and of Pakistan. He said that people should not follow the time but they should have knowledge of future requirements and should be able to meet the requirements of present and future.
Abbas Allama and happiness introduce Jafri MWM Nasir of Peace politics Raja to unity
A Shia Muslim martyred in Karachi
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Charlotte started her career in 1997 as legal counsel at Deloitte and subsequently joined the Belgian full service business law firm Laga where she was a member of the M&A and Corporate Law department. Her last transaction as a corporate lawyer was the sale of Betafence (currently Praesidiad) by Bekaert to private equity funds Gilde and CVC. In 2006 she became the General Counsel of Praesidiad, responsible to ensure a professional in house legal department at group level. Beginning of 2018, Charlotte joined Bridon-Bekaert as General Counsel, ensuring legal compliance and limiting risks and exposure while being a true business partner and becoming a member of the executive team as of September 2018.


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Thanks to Pepperidge Farm for sponsoring today's conversation! While this is a #sponsored post, all ideas, content and opinions are my own.
This recipe is double caramel, y'all (and to me, that will win fall over the ever-popular pumpkin). Apple pie just leveled up and there's no way I am going back to just simple apple pie. Nope. The filling is caramel appley goodness and the top is drizzled with, you guessed it- caramel and sprinkled with sea salt. It is a match made in heaven.
Once upon a time, I believed "caramel" was spelled the way we here pronounce it- "carmel". I couldn't believe it had that extra "a" in it! Perhaps it was because I'd seen it spelt that way in the Bible referring to the place. Who knows! But, it still takes me a little bit to translate "carmel" to the actual correct spelling of "caramel." Regarless of phoenetics and spellings, this is one delicious fall recipe you should add!
I've never used Puff Pastry until this recipe and I am now wondering why it has taken me this long. I have a dear appreciation for pie crust crafting, but friends, it is just not in my repertoire of skills yet! I will gladly use something delicious and easy!
I have memories using this cookie cutter when I was little. It is special to use it in baking for my own family. There is something almost sacred about flour on old handles and pieces that just brings family heritage and history to life!
10 minutes in the oven and ba-bing! Done. Drizzle the pies with caramel sauce (the same that goes in as the apple filling) and garnish with a little sea salt. Waiting for it to cool is, of course, optional!
Are you team pumpkin or apple pie?


With 3D printing capabilities become more and more advanced, it was only a matter of time before personal 3D printing became achievable and affordable. Well, it's just become more achievable and affordable that you'd probably ever thought thanks to OLO, the world's first ever 3D printer for your smartphone!
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Nina Simone is one of our favorites here at the mad house. She is multifaceted and complex, just like this glitter. It looks silver but then every color in the rainbow sparkles all at the same time; it's next to impossible to tell how many colors it actually has!
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Suman: Namaste Swami ji, I have read this criticisism of gayatri mantra in a khalistani website, can you reply me the truth. This is the gyatri mantra and it is basic to Hindu Dharma. In the beginning of this Mantra Hindu Rishis have added/ It means "the sun god that makes possible all life frees us from all difficulties and maladies. It is evident one can address one's prayer to it. It destroys our sins and directs our senses. We contemplate and fix our attention on it.†These days many Hindu scholars interpret Gyatri in respect of God but in fact it is in praise of the sun. Vishvamittar is the author of the Gyatri.
In addition, the study of Vedas reveals that he who has studied Vedas has performed daily yajyen with ved mantras and after hard practice of Ashtang Yoga has attained the title of a Rishi vide Atharvaveda mantra 4/30/3. He is only authorized to give the true explanation of any ved mantra with words and meanings. We must always beware of false prophets. False meaning of ved mantras effect the public who is ignorant but cannot effect ved mantras, learneds and Almighty God. Secondly, the knowledge of Ved mantras emanates directly from Almighty God and is originated in the heart of four Rishis of non-sexual creation, in the beginning of the universe. So, Vedas have not been written by any Rishi-Muni, men-women, yogi, saint etc. being busy, I cannot throw more light on this matter but will try to explain more and place it on this website in future, soon.
Vinod Vidyarthi: Pujya guruwar sadar charan vandan… kripaya ye bataye ki vastik geeta me kitne shlok hai?
Swami Ramswarup: Mera aapko hardik ashirwad. Kshama karein meiney abhi tak vastavik Geeta nahin padi hai kewal Bhagwad Geeta padhi hai.
Abhay: Guruji, Sadar pranam! How can one reduce the hour of sleep so that the extra time may be utilized for self realization?
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My Grandma Ruth made up this recipe for her children and it was a family tradition to have them every holiday for breakfast! I love them, and hope they warm your hearts and belly's as they do mine!
Heat sour cream to lukewarm in a large pan. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, baking soda and salt. In a separate container dissolve the yeast into the warm water to activate the yeast. Once activated add that to the sour cream mixture. Add egg, shortening, and flour to the mixture. Mix well, use hands if necessary. Turn dough on floured board or counter and knead until smooth. Roll the dough into an oblong 24 x 12". Spread one half length with filling, fold the other half over. Cut into 20-24 strips 1" wide. Hold strips at each end and twist. Place twisted rolls onto a greased cookie sheet and press ends to the pan. Cover and let rise until doubled in size about 1 hour (heat oven to 200 Degrees for about a minute and then shut off, this will be warm enough to raise the dough). Bake at 300 Degrees for about 6-8 minutes depending on your stove. Frost with glaze while still warm.
These are light, and delicious! They have an amazing flavor, my Grandma is an amazing cook! We would have them every Holiday growing up, so they have a festive feeling to me. These went over great with my whole family, including my In Laws. I give them 4 Stars!


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Here are the last 15 minutes from Diablo 3 Beta while playing with the Wizard class. You can see the full Cathedral run and of course the Skeleton King fight. This video is full HD and let you see the amazing graphics Diablo 3 has. When King Leoric is slayed, you can see the epic message: "Congratulations! You have defeated Diablo 3 Beta" after the amazing death animation. If you play with the Wizard, the encounter with the Skeleton King is easy. All you need to do is to be careful when he summons skeletons and don't get yourself overwhelmed. The drop from Skeleton King was relatively good, three magic items and one rare item.
Bellow if a full HD video that covers all the Wizard skills from Diablo 3 Beta. Some of the Wizard skills from Diablo 3 beta are: Spectral Blade, Magic Weapon, Ice armor, Magic Missle, Shock Pulse, Electrocute, Arcane Orb, Wave of Force, Frost Nova, Diamond Skin etc. Watch the wizard in action cleaning Tristram Cathedral and defeating the Skeleton King with these skills.


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'Fastest Car' On Netflix: When Is Season 2?
By Josh Sorokach Twitter @joshsorokach Apr 23, 2018 at 10:30am
7 Shows Like 'Julie and the Phantoms' to Watch While You Wait for Season 2
Netflix's Fastest Car isn't just a reality racing show for gearheads. Now streaming on Netflix, the eight-episode docuseries combines storytelling and street racing as each installment follows three "sleeper" cars — an automobile that looks deceptively ordinary but is secretly souped-up — who square off against one of the world's most sought-after supercars. The action of the Fast & Furious franchise mixed with absorbing personal stories of the combatants, Fastest Car is an enjoyable ride for car buffs and motor novices alike.
Almost everyone who's watched the first season wants to know if and when there'll be a Fastest Car Season 2. Here's everything we know about a potential Season 2 of Fastest Car.
DO YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE CAST OF NETFLIX'S FASTEST CAR?
You bet! We recently wrote about Season 1 standouts Debbie Foreman (aka Batventador) and Lisa Clark.
HAS NETFLIX'S FASTEST CAR BEEN RENEWED FOR SEASON 2?
As of now, no. Netflix hasn't renewed its racing reality series for Season 2.
DO YOU THINK FASTEST CAR WILL BE RENEWED FOR SEASON 2?
*** UPDATE: Fastest Car Season 2 arrives on Netflix on 9/20/19! ***
Great question. Right now, I'd say there is a 75% chance. The series currently has a 68% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a Season 2 would allow Netflix to continue its push into producing more expansive reality content.
Tangentially related to Fastest Car, Netflix renewed Ultimate Beastmaster for a Season 2 back in November.
IF NETFLIX DOES RENEW THE SERIES, WHEN WOULD SEASON 2 OF FASTEST CAR DEBUT ON NETFLIX?
The first season of Ultimate Beastmaster premiered on February 24, 2017, while Season 2 dropped on December 15th, 2017. Due to Beastmaster's international production, we can't expect Fastest Car to follow that exact timeline, but it's a similar model. It depends on if/when Netflix announces a Season 2.
Right now, with the limited information at our disposal, I'd say we could expect Season 2 to drop around May or June of 2019.
Where to stream Fastest Car


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'Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White', by Perez 'Prez' Prado & His Orchestra – The UK Number 1s Blog Anniversary Special
On January 31, 2019 April 1, 2020 By UK #1s blogIn 1955 #1s, Instrumentals, LatinoLeave a comment
This week marks the 1st anniversary of The UK Number 1s Blog (** Trumpet Fanfare**)! In the past year we've covered the period from Nov. '52 to Nov' 61, with 129 chart-topping songs featured. We've survived pre-rock, rode the rock 'n' roll revolution, and are now well on our way towards the swinging sixties… Thanks to everyone who has read, followed, commented and enjoyed.
To celebrate this milestone, I'm going to take a short break from the usual countdown to repost seven songs that I have really enjoyed discovering over the past year. These aren't necessarily the best songs to have topped the charts – there'll be no Buddy Holly, Johnnie Ray, Connie Francis, Elvis or The Everly Brothers (follow the links if you want to read about them) – as I've been listening to, and loving, those artists for years. This week will be all about the forgotten gems, the hits I'd never heard before, the songs that have slipped through the cracks…
Next up is the one song, out of the 129 covered, that I'm happiest about discovering. Mambo isn't a style of music that I'm very familiar with, and a trumpet-led instrumental wasn't the type of record that I expected to blow me away. But, hoo boy, it did. 'Sexiness' was in short supply as we plodded through the very earliest UK #1 singles – with the focus on pure and proper romantic declarations from frightfully earnest young singers. David Whitfield, Eddie Fisher and Vera Lynn I'm looking at you… But 'Prez' Prado… well, this disc just oozes sexiness. Listen to that low, low note he hits at strategic moments throughout this song, and try to tell me that it doesn't put the filthiest thoughts in your mind! I named this as 'Best Song' in one of my recaps, and need no excuse to revisit it again here…
Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White, by Perez 'Prez' Prado & His Orchestra (his 1st and only #1)
2 weeks, from 29th April to 13th May 1955
I've given instrumentals a hard time so far in this rundown. The lack of any lyrics creates a barrier, for me, between the song and the listener. You can listen to a Mantovani record and think "Isn't that a nice melody", but the fact that there are no words to tie it to a particular feeling or experience in your life means that the record is that step further removed from you. Like a film beautifully acted but in a language you cannot understand.
Having said all that… I'm going to prove myself massively wrong with this post. The fourth instrumental to top the UK Singles chart is also, by far, the sexiest record to top said singles charts. And there are no words. Well – there are no words aside from 'Huh!', 'Hah!' and 'Oooh'. Which is a large part of this track's said sexiness.
Following on from 'Mambo Italiano' (which wasn't really a mambo, but hey), the UK was clearly in some sort of Latin fever in early 1955. Though perhaps not, as a quick glance at the chart for the week Perez 'Prez' hit the top shows only one other record that sounds vaguely Latino… A different version of 'Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White' (which we'll meet very soon at the top of the charts). But, for the purposes of this narrative, let's say that the UK – finally casting off the shackles of rationing and wartime rubble – wanted to shake some booty and, while perhaps not quite ready for straight up rock 'n' roll, turned to some equally raunchy mambo. Further evidence towards my idea that rock 'n' roll didn't just arrive with 'Rock Around the Clock' – it was slowly filtering in through Rosemary Clooney's giggle, Winifred Atwell's boogie and Johnnie Ray's yelps. And Perez 'Prez' Prado's trumpet.
Except the trumpet that makes this record isn't being played by the man on the credits. We'll get to that in a second. First – this record has perhaps the most intense intro we've heard yet. Basically it's BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM on a load of trumpets and cymbals, before the rhythm kicks in. The lead trumpet was played by a man called Billy Regis, who absolutely makes this record by drawing out one note in particular over and over again, by sliding it down then up in a manner that sounds a little bit drunk, a little bit woozy, and that, most importantly, would allow a couple in a Southend ballroom to draw that little bit closer for a second, before the main melody jumped back in.
Prado was more of a conductor, I guess, and it is his 'Huhs' and 'Hahs' that can be heard as he exerts his charges to squeeze every drop of sexiness from their instruments (that sounded ruder than I intended – you know what I mean). There are also some other trumpets (I guess they are trumpets) playing notes so low that it's almost obscene. I recognise them from Lou Bega's classic cover of 'Mambo No.5', from another golden age of Latin music in the UK charts, which we won't be getting to for a long, long time. Incidentally, Perez Prado recorded the original version of that song, too.
But the final word has to go to Billy Regis, whose trumpet ends the record. He reimagines the bombastic ending – from which so many earlier chart-toppers have suffered – and it works so much better without lyrics. THIS IS THE END OF THE SONG becomes DOOO DOOO (pause) DOOOOOOOOO, and it again allows Janet and John from Southend to draw close and to feel one another's bodies, taught and trembling from two and a half minutes of intense mambo.
'Huh!' and, indeed, 'Hah!'
'Look at That Girl', by Guy Mitchell – The UK Number 1s Blog Anniversary Special
On January 30, 2019 January 28, 2019 By UK #1s blogIn 1953 #1s, PopLeave a comment
Song Number Three is by the artist that I've 'discovered' the most over the past year. I'd heard the name 'Guy Mitchell' before, but didn't know any of his songs. His career was the 1950s – he was a regular in the Top 10 between 1952-'59, with four #1s along the way. 'Look at That Girl' was his 2nd, and I've picked it as I think it was the 1st 'modern' pop song (verse-chorus etc) to top the charts, and it was also the first to feature a guitar solo! Plus, he had a voice every bit as sexy and smooth as Elvis. Enjoy!
Look at That Girl, by Guy Mitchell (his 2nd of four #1s)
6 weeks, from 11th September to 23rd October 1953
Ladies and Gentlemena, we are finally rocking and rolling. The invasion is here!
Not at first, mind. We begin on familiar territory. We've got the jaunty guitars from 'Don't Let the Stars…' and Mitchell's previous #1, 'She Wears Red Feathers' (compared to which this is ten times better!), and some trumpets (or clarinets, or bassoons, whatever…), and Mitchell's voice still sounds like he thinks he should be singing a comedy number.
Look at that girl, she's like a dream come true… Ah look at that girl, can blue eyes be so blue…? But this is no simple song of longing. No, Sir. It turns out the girl is already his. We think. With each word my heart just skips, oh if I could kiss those lips… He's keeping it ambiguous. Maybe they've got a thing going. Maybe not.
And as the song goes on – we start to rock. And I don't mean ROCK (tongue out, fist raised). I mean 'rock', like it's 1953. There are hand-claps. Mm-hmm. And a guitar. Woo! And Mitchell has a little call and response with the backing singers, when they take the lead lyric Look at that girl… and he quips back I don't believe it they're making it up! And then there are the lyrics: the kissing, the holding her tight… Pass the smelling salts…
It sounds to me as if a battle is taking place here, between traditional easy-listening and the burgeoning rock 'n' roll movement. On the one hand you've got the usual twee backing singers and floaty trumpets, parping away at the end of each line; on the other you have the hand claps and the guitar solo. That's right. Solo. In a symbolic move, the trumpets begin the solo and play it in tandem with the guitar for a couple of bars, before the guitar takes it over completely.
And having said that Mitchell sings the song with a slight giggle in his voice, after the 3rd or 4th listen it works. He's having a good time. We're having a good time. He's a nice singer – he sounds like he could be belting it out if he wanted to, but he doesn't. The song doesn't require belting out (That's something old Eddie Fisher could have learned to look out for…)
If you stick with this blog for long enough, you'll soon see I'm a sucker for a straight-up, unpretentious pop song. A couple of verses, couple of choruses, a solo and a final verse. Maybe a key change. Then finish. The sort of song that sounds simple but is pretty darn hard to get right. (I say, having never even attempted to write a song in my life). This is one such song. And I like it. It's my favourite so far.
'Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes', by Perry Como with The Ramblers – The UK Number 1s Blog Anniversary Special
On January 29, 2019 April 1, 2020 By UK #1s blogIn 1953 #1s, Easy Listening, Pop3 Comments
Next up is Perry Como, with 'Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes' – another song that surprised me with its upbeat tempo (and funky trumpet solo). And like Kay Starr, he was another artist with enough about him to make it out of the pre-rock age alive…
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes, by Perry Como with the Ramblers (Como's 1st of two #1s)
5 weeks, from 6th February to 12th March 1953
One of my biggest chart bugbears, back when I started chart-watching, was one-week number ones. In the late '90s and early '00s it seemed like there were a never ending parade of songs waiting to shoot straight in at number one, only to be replaced by another brand new song a week later, as if record companies had worked it all out beforehand in some sort of dastardly pact. And I assumed that it never used to be that way, that ye olden charts were creaky, slow moving things where records languished at the top for weeks and months. Which is true to an extent – Al Martino had nine weeks, and wasn't alone in having that length of stay, while later in 1953 we'll reach the song which still holds the record for most weeks at number one…
But what we have here is a fourth new chart topper in as many weeks. It turns out that the record buying public of the pre-rock era were just as fickle as those in 1999! Perry Como, though, did halt the turnover and kept this jaunty little tune at the top for a month and a bit. That's star quality shining through.
This track is a welcome relief after its overwrought predecessor. Perky guitars, a lively brass section, and tongue-twister lyrics: Love blooms at night in daylight it dies don't let the stars get in your eyes or keep your heart from me for some day I'll return and you know you're the only one I'll ever love delivered in just the one breath. This seems to have been a thing, a gimmick almost (at least it seems gimmicky to modern ears), as Kay Starr was at it in 'Comes A-Long A-Love'. It's not vocal gymnastics of the Mariah Carey kind; more lyrical gymnastics, if such a thing can exist.
We've also heard similar lyrics already in this countdown, in that Como is telling his sweetheart not to forget about them, or to stray, while away. The best bit of it all, though, is the trumpet solo. At least I think they're trumpets; I really can't tell one brass instrument from the other. Anyway, they put me in mind of the oompah band at a German Bierfest.
The one downside to the song is the backing singers, The Ramblers. They're just a bit… barbershop, in that they are basically there to repeat verbatim the line that Como just sang. In case some one missed it? I don't know. And their one bit of improvisation is to sing what sounds like pa-pa-papaya between lines. Are they imitating the trumpets? Is it just gibberish? Are they actually singing about papayas?
Perry Como (American! Died aged 88! The run continues!) is the biggest name to top the chart so far. I'd say, at least. Both of the female chart toppers were new to me, Al Martino was known to me solely as the singer of the first ever UK #1, and Eddie Fisher had entered my consciousness due to his ladykilling (the romantic type of ladykilling, that is). Perry Como was a big star and I could have named his biggest hit ('Magic Moments', fact fans) without looking it up. And after looking up his discography it's clear that if the the charts had begun earlier he would have racked up a load more hits – he was scoring US #1s throughout the '40s. Now, in 2018, he's no longer a household name, a Sinatra or Presley, I wouldn't have thought. Very few of these stars from sixty-odd years ago are, I suppose.
'Comes A-Long A-Love', by Kay Starr – The UK Number 1s Blog Anniversary Special
On January 28, 2019 April 1, 2020 By UK #1s blogIn 1953 #1s, Jazz Pop1 Comment
First up: only the 3rd song ever to top the UK charts, in January 1953, and the song that showed me that the pre-rock years weren't just going to be a procession of melodramatic ballads and perfectly-pronounced pop. Miss Kay Starr, take it away…
Comes A-Long A-Love, by Kay Starr (her 1st of two #1s)
1 week, from 23rd to 30th January 1953
Snazzy! And jazzy! I really thought – and more fool me – that these pre-Rock 'n' Roll hits would be dull, twee, chaste… one step up the danceability chart from hymns, basically. How wrong I was. It wasn't all bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover.
Though bluebirds do feature in this song, they do so as a symbol of being in love and suddenly becoming aware of the world around you. Birds! Flowers! The sun! Comes A-Long A-Love suddenly though you never sang you're always singing… Comes A-Long A-Love suddenly chimes you never heard begin a-ringing… The lyrical message being that falling in love will make you a better, livelier person.
Kay Starr's voice is in complete contrast to the Jo Stafford record that went before. It's husky, then sing-songy, she pauses where you least expect it and then rushes through tongue twister lines phrases like petty little things no longer phase you, which I'll bet you can't say five times fast. You might even say she's flirting with the listener… And, yes, a quick search shows Ms. Starr was quite the little minx (that's what they called them in those days). Those eyebrows! What didn't they suggest! This song could be seen as a challenge – she's daring you not to fall in love with her.
But again, it's another song that paints love in a positive light. Three number ones in and nobody's had their heart broken… Even lonely old Al Martino was hopeful that his lover would say 'yes'. That's something I'm going to look out for: the first ever reference to heartbreak in a UK number one hit. And, again, Kay Starr enunciates so damn well. This isn't an easy song to sing, but she makes it sound like she's ad-libbing her way through it. I've got to hand it to these old-timers, before the days of auto-tune, because they really could sing. Gran was right all along…
Some bits do jar, slightly. Starr uses 'Mister', and 'Brother', in a way that you wouldn't these days. And the aforementioned reference to being in love and seeing bluebirds is a bit of a Disneyfied image. It must have been easy for songwriters, at the birth of modern pop music – love is great, you see bluebirds, do-bee-do – before people discovered cynicism. So far, though, all three number ones have been recorded by American artists. Perhaps that explains the saccharine sentiments! As everyone knows, Americans are sickeningly positive. How brilliant would it be, then, if the first UK recorded #1 turned out to be a piece of proto-Morrissey miserabilism…
One final thing I've noticed, while looking up these first three UK chart toppers, is how long they all lived. Jo Stafford died in 2008, aged ninety. Al Martino died in 2009 at eighty-two. Kay Starr died in November 2016, having reached a grand old innings of ninety-four. That means two of them outlived Michael Jackson, who wouldn't have his first number one hit for another twenty-eight years. They were made of sterner stuff in those days, mind.
129. 'Little Sister' / '(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame', by Elvis Presley
On January 25, 2019 By UK #1s blogIn 1961 #1s, Rock 'n' Roll15 Comments
Just when you were thinking that we hadn't heard from him in a while, along comes Elvis with his 4th (fourth!) number one single of the year. I'm not sure when he was first christened 'The King', but this is definitely the period in which his reputation as the biggest-star-that-ever-was-and-ever-will-be was confirmed. I recently stuck him up as the header image on this blog's homepage because, well, he was the UK singles chart between 1960-62.
Little Sister / (Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame, by Elvis Presley (his 9th of twenty-one #1s)
4 weeks, from 9th November – 7th December 1961
And while a large contributor towards the making of said reputation is the fact that he could release any old shit and watch it soar to the top of the charts (*cough* 'Wooden Heart' *cough cough*), this is not such an occasion. Elvis's 9th #1 is a record worthy of note.
First, though, some housekeeping. To me, 'His Latest Flame' is the more famous of these two songs – the 'main' side of this particular double 'A'. It featured on my first ever Elvis Greatest Hits whereas 'Little Sister' didn't. But the Official Charts company lists the latter first, and on the record sleeves of the time 'Little Sister' is presented as the main event. Let's tackle that one first, then, shall we…
It's not a song that I know at all well, and the first thing that strikes me after pressing play is that they've nicked the riff from 'Shakin' All Over'. Lil' sister don't you… (Diddle-iddle-iddle-iddle-din…) Lil' sister don't you… (Diddle-iddle-iddle-iddle-din…) Fair enough, really – it is a peach of a riff. The scuzzy bass is really cool here too. And appropriate, cos this is a scuzzy little song. Elvis, it seems, is chasing two sisters…
Lil' sister don't you kiss me once or twice, Then say it's very nice, And then you run… It's a 'dangerous woman' type of song – the same kind of lyrics we've seen crop up recently in 'Please Don't Tease' and 'Temptation'. But the plot thickens. Lil' sister don't you do what your big sister done… Oh Elvis, you dirty, dirty dog.
Big sister, it turns out, ran off with one Jim Dandy while El was buying candy (seriously) at the county show. She's mean and she's evil, Like that lil' ol' Bo Weevil, Guess I'll try my luck with you… I mean, yeah. It is 1961, after all. It's tongue -in-cheek, it's forgivable.
At least, it's forgivable until the final verse. That's where things get creepy, and we begin to wonder at the age-gap between the sisters… Well I used to pull your pig-tails, And pinch your turned up nose, But you've been a-growin', And baby it's been showin', From your head down to your toes… And you can tell by the way Elvis lingers over that last line he ain't just talking about her height.
Still, dubious verses aside, it's nice to hear Elvis rocking again after all the ballads and the operatics and the lederhosen that have plagued him since his post-army comeback. And – heavens be praised – he keeps it up on the flip side of the disc with a riff that's even more recognisable.
Dun-da-dun-da-dun…dun-dun, Dun-da-dun-da-dun…dun-dun… The Bo Diddley riff. Used most famously by Bo Diddley, obviously, but also on rock 'n' roll standard 'Not Fade Away', and now this. The riff follows us, steady and unchanging, as Elvis unfurls his tale of heartache. A very old friend, Came by today, Cause he was tellin' everyone in town, Of the love that he'd just found, And Marie's the name, Of his latest flame… His friend talks and talks of his new found love, of her beautiful eyes and long dark hair – Elvis has to just suck it up and smile. It's a familiar theme given a nice twist. In hearing of his betrayal second-hand, from 'a very old friend,' the sense of heartbreak is heightened.
It peaks in the bridge – the only part of the song that breaks from the Bo Diddley riff: Though I smiled the tears inside were a-burnin', I wished him luck and then he said goodbye, He was gone but still his words kept returnin', What else was there for me to do but cry…? You can hear the suppressed heartache in Elvis's voice. It's not a song that requires much effort, not his most technically challenging vocal performance; but he sells it. The King sells whatever he's singing. He could sing the phonebook and sell it.
This is my favourite post-army Elvis #1 so far, on a par with his fifties chart-toppers 'One Night' and 'All Shook Up'. I'm in good company on this, too – '(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame' is a favourite of punk and alternative bands who want to 'do Elvis'. Even The Smiths (not a band I've ever been able to love, but still) covered it in the eighties, with Morrissey claiming it to be his favourite Elvis song, period.
I started this post by mentioning that fact that this was Presley's fourth chart-topper of 1961. Take a moment to appreciate this, because it's is an extremely rare feat – four #1s in a calendar year. Cliff never managed it, The Beatles never managed it. The only other act to ever manage it are… (***spoiler alert***)… Westlife. Yep. In 1999. If you extend the idea of a 'calendar year' to being any twelve-month period, rather than insisting on January-December, then you can include The Spice Girls in 1996-97 and B*Witched in 1998-99. But… if you do that then you have to mention the fact that Westlife actually managed FIVE chart-toppers between April 1999 and April 2000.
But, without wanting to go all snobby and belittling of the achievements of these nineties popsters, the charts of the late-nineties were a completely different landscape to those of the early sixties: much faster moving, with a much higher turnover of #1s. Westlife's five chart-toppers spent a total of nine weeks in the top spot. Elvis's 1961 chart-toppers amounted to a grand total of eighteen weeks.
Plus… If we're applying the Westlife-rule to Elvis we have to take into account the fact that 'It's Now or Never' hit #1 in November 1960, exactly one year before 'Little Sister' / 'His Latest Flame'. So, five number ones and a whopping twenty-six weeks at the top… Elvis wins! Hurrah! And just to prove he's The King, the GOAT in the UK Singles Charts – like Lio Messi bending yet another free-kick into the top corner or Roger Federer lifting his umpteenth Wimbledon title – he'll do it all over again in 1962.
128. 'Walkin' Back to Happiness', by Helen Shapiro
On January 22, 2019 January 22, 2019 By UK #1s blogIn 1961 #1s, Pop12 Comments
She's back. Barely two months after a gorgeous slice of teenage angst, 'You Don't Know', made her the youngest ever solo chart topper, our Helen returns to the top of the charts. And this time she's feeling much perkier.
Walkin' Back to Happiness, by Helen Shapiro (her 2nd and final #1)
3 weeks, from 19th October – 9th November 1961
Funny but it's true, What loneliness can do… OK, it's not immediately very perky, but bear with it… Since I've been away… Wait for it… I have loved you more each day!
And we're off. This is a pop record that whips along at breakneck speed – the drums, the guitar, the violins, even the backing singers – none of them linger too long over a single note. Carried along, you really can imagine Miss Shapiro skipping gayly through a field of daffodils. Or something. And the hook; what a hook. Walkin' back to happiness, Whoopa-oh-yeah-yeah…! Add it to the wop-bop-ba-loomas and the rama-lama-ding-dongs of pop music lore. To most people in 2019, Helen Shapiro's entire career has probably been reduced to this very line. It certainly had been for me before starting this blog.
Contrast if you can the in-your-face optimism of this tune with the moodiness of her first chart-topper. On 'You Don't Know', Helen was languishing in the exquisite pain of loving a boy who never noticed her. She could never tell him. She was condemned to suffer in silence. Here, though… Spread the news I'm on the way, Whoopa-oh-yeah-yeah, All my blues have blown away, Whoopa-oh-yeah-yeah… Technically this song is about someone returning to their lover (I never knew I'd miss you, Now I know what I must do…), but it's tempting to view it as a riposte to 'You Don't Know' – now she's head over heels in love. Maybe it's with the guy who, just two months before, was passing her by in the corridor?
In terms of managing the career of a teen star, her 'team' did very well here (she was managed by Norrie Paramour, fifties/early sixties producer du jour – we've already heard his work with stars like Cliff and The Shadows, Ruby Murray and Michael Holliday). Shapiro's two chart-toppers are simultaneously different and yet complimentary. While so many stars have recently followed up big hits with very-similar-sounding hits (Adam Faith, the Everlys, Cliff) it's refreshing to hear the youngest star of the time return with something completely different. It reminds me of Connie Francis's double-whammy of 'Who's Sorry Now' and 'Stupid Cupid' from a few years back.
The best bit of this whole affair is the bridge, when Miss Shapiro lets rip with a Walkin' back to happiness with yo-ou, mm-hmm-hmm… It's still hard to imagine that someone with a voice this rich and honeyed was just fifteen when she recorded this. Though I do feel that, as good as this record is, her voice has a natural air of melancholy which suited her previous #1 better. That's me nit-picking, though. This is a pure pop classic – a disc that can't help but make you smile.
Helen Shapiro's star burned brightly but briefly. Her two chart-toppers aside, she only had three other Top 10s, and by the mid-sixties she was struggling to make the Top 40 at all. Going by her Greatest Hits, she had a go at all the pop classics of the day: 'It's My Party', 'A Teenager in Love', 'Please Mister Postman' and the ultimate teeny-bopper anthem 'Lipstick on your Collar' (that Mary-Jane, eh). She then moved into acting – both on TV and in the West End – and officially 'retired' from showbiz in 2002.
While we've had girls with perky pop songs hitting the top of the charts before now – Rosemary Clooney and Connie Francis say 'Hi!' – they were both American. Helen Shapiro is British, and can thus be seen as the start of a chain linking us right through the 1960s, taking us past Cilla Black, Sandie Shaw, Lulu and more. Female chart-toppers are few and far between in this decade, and the ones that do pop up tend to do so with some pretty special songs…
127. 'Michael', by The Highwaymen
On January 20, 2019 January 20, 2019 By UK #1s blogIn 1961 #1s, Folk, Religious5 Comments
We begin our next chart-topper with a whistle. We haven't had a whistle-y #1 for a while, maybe not since the 'Age of Whistling' back in 1957-'58. And then an oh-so gentle, almost soothing acoustic guitar comes in…
Michael, by The Highwaymen (their 1st and only #1)
1 week, from 12th – 19th October 1961
Back in my last post, I asked you to imagine this year, 1961, as a huge variety show, with all manner of artists on the bill. Well, keep that image in mind and picture, as The Shadows wrap up their little Hawaiian interlude, the curtains parting to reveal a forest backdrop, a pile of leaves and upturned logs, a 'fire' made from strips of crepe paper and a fan, and five fresh-faced boys – The Highwaymen.
The tune is instantly recognisable, by anyone who's visited a church, or been a Boy Scout, or attended a Primary School… Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah, Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah… Just when you thought 1961 couldn't get any more eclectic – we're getting a hymn!
Fifty percent of this song is that very chorus, repeated over and over, and over. In between, each Highwayman takes turns in singing a single-line verse: Sister help to trim the sails, Hallelujah… The river Jordan is chilly and cold, Hallelujah… The river is deep and the river is wide, Milk and honey on the other side… Hallelujah, Hallelujah and Hallelujah… It ends with the same haunting whistles that kicked us off. And that's it.
Wiki lists this as 'Collegiate Folk', and I am 100% certain that this is the first and only 'Collegiate Folk' record to top the UK Singles Charts. It's a very accurate genre title too, as all five Highwaymen were undergraduate students at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Under what circumstances they went from a mere college band to trans-Atlantic chart-toppers is unclear. It really does beg the question…
…what in seven hells is this doing atop the UK hit parade? If you thought The Temperance Seven or Shirley Bassey's show-tunes were a bit on the random side then this is completely out of the left-field. At the same time, though, I will at some point have to realise and accept that literally anything can top the singles chart. We've had some weird number ones; and there is weirder to come, trust me on that.
And yet… This may be a weird chart-topper; but it's a very simple, very normal song. Kinda dull. You can understand why Benny Hill, and Mr Blobby, and The Teletubbies – with all their technicolour silliness – have UK #1s more than you can understand this becoming the biggest selling single in the country for one week in the autumn of '61. The five boys in this band – Dave, Bob, Chan and two Steves – are spectacular in their ordinariness. They look like the sweetest bunch of apple-pie lovin', church-goin', all-American boys-next-door. A 'highwayman', as far as British readers will be aware, was a 17th-18th century armed robber, which makes it look like an odd choice of band name for such sweet looking lads. Even their voices are – how to put this nicely? – fairly ordinary. But what do I know – maybe their ordinariness is what won people over? They are clearly not trying to be Elvis, or Liberace, or even Cliff, and people do like an everyman with an acoustic guitar…
I have to admit that – as one of the most irreligious people around – I want to hate this record. But I can't. It's a nice song. It's soothing. I'll put it on next time I can't sleep. And The Highwaymen didn't much bother the charts after this. All but one of them returned to their studies after the success died down. But maybe, just maybe, the folk scene that grew so big in the mid-to-late sixties – The Byrds, The Seekers, Peter, Paul and Mary, even Bob Dylan – can perhaps trace a small part of its popularity back to this unlikely smash hit.
Two other things to mention before we're done… One: that these Highwaymen are in no way related to the Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash supergroup (though they did try to sue them for appropriating their name). And two: the fact that this great African-American gospel hymn was white-washed to such success at the height of the US Civil Rights movement perhaps says something about American society at the time… Something that I am in no way qualified to discuss and will just leave hanging here…
That aside, I'm just excited to see what on earth 1961 will throw up at the top of the UK singles charts next! Pan-pipes? The can-can? Mongolian throat-singing?? Whatever's coming – bring it on!
126. 'Kon-Tiki', by The Shadows
On January 17, 2019 April 6, 2020 By UK #1s blogIn 1961 #1s, Instrumentals, Rock 'n' Roll7 Comments
As we continue our slow meander along the highways and bye-ways of 1961 –it does feel that this year is taking a little longer to get through than previous ones – it's time for a little interlude.
Kon-Tiki, by The Shadows (their 6th of twelve #1s)
1 week, from 5th – 12th October 1961
Picture, if you possibly can, the year 1961 as a TV variety show. On the bill are some huge, established stars – Elvis, the Everlys, Shirley Bassey – along with some new up and coming teen sensations – Johnny Tillotson, Helen Shapiro – and some quirky little gems – Floyd Cramer and The Temperance Seven. Maybe Cliff – who won't actually be hitting #1 this year – can be the MC. OK? Well, to this weird mental image you can add the house band, the ones that pop up and play as the curtains drop and the scenery gets shifted. They are, of course, The Shadows.
'Kon-Tiki' is another instrumental. A lilting little slice of surf-rock. It's got cool drum-fills, a nice crunchy, tinny edge to the guitars and a hint of reverb around the main riff. There's a couple of call and response bits between the lead and the bass, and the ending has some gnarly (did they say 'gnarly' in the early sixties?) echo. It's a decent enough record – I'm not sure that the Shadows made many poor 'solo' records – but when it ends less than two minutes in you're left wondering… Is that it?
It's far from being one of their bigger hits (I wasn't particularly familiar with it before starting this post) and it kind of feels like filler. Something thrown together as the guys were jamming. A 'B'-side, maybe? But hey, what do I know. It was a UK number one single; only the band's second solo chart-topper.
The Kon-Tiki was actually a raft used in a 1947 expedition across the Pacific Ocean by the Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl. 'Kon-Tiki' was chosen as it was an old name for the Incan sun-god. What all this had to do in inspiring the writing of this perky guitar instrumental is, to be honest, unknown. My best guess is that it sounds kinda tropical, kinda surfy, and could work well as the soundtrack to a sunset luau on the beaches of Hawaii. Compared to 'Apache', which really did conjure up images of Indian braves galloping across the plains, 'Kon-Tiki' is a little more abstract.
Maybe that's fine, though. It's a nice enough tune, a pleasant one-week interlude on our journey through 1961. It reminds us that The Shadows are still around, are still the biggest British band of the time. Maybe it needs no further meaning than that.
As I mentioned at the start of this post, it does feel like we've been lingering in 1961 for quite a while now. In actual fact, with twenty-one number one singles, 1961 has by far the most chart-toppers of any year yet covered. But that's OK. It's proving a nice place to be. Jazz, rock, showtunes, instrumentals… all genres are welcome here. And, if you thought it's been eclectic recently; just wait till you hear what's up next!
125. 'Reach For the Stars' / 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain', by Shirley Bassey
On January 14, 2019 By UK #1s blogIn 1961 #1s, Ballads, Soundtracks11 Comments
Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time to welcome back on stage a member of British pop royalty. Dame Shirley, of Bassey, claiming her rightful place atop the UK charts…
Reach for the Stars / Climb Ev'ry Mountain, by Shirley Bassey (her 2nd and final #1)
1 week, from 21st – 28th September 1961
Except, despite being singer of huge repute, a diva with a seven-decade long career in the upper echelons of British popular culture, the singles charts never were Shirley Bassey's natural stomping ground. This is only her second number one – and it's her last! She's had five weeks in total at the top of the listings, and only ever had twelve top ten hits in her whole career… Compare that to the titans of the UK Singles Charts – Elvis, Cliff, The Beatles, Madonna – and that ain't nothing.
But perhaps it's not so surprising when, amid the teeny-bopper pop and the rock 'n' roll that was shaping the sound of the early sixties, she was releasing discs like this. Perhaps the biggest surprise here is that this record got to #1 at all… The first song, 'Reach for the Stars', sounds out of place the second the soaring intro kicks in.
I reach for the stars, When I reach for your love, For so far above me, You always will be… It's a song about adoring someone, about loving them completely… When you come to my arms, In that moment divine, All the stars in the sky, Are mine… It's not a song about longing, or about a love unrequited. It's a song about being utterly besotted with someone. (A song that might terrify you slightly if it were about you…)
The lyrics are all about stars and clouds, and the sky, and Dame Shirley sings it as if making sure that she'll be heard up there in the firmament. The last chorus and verse are absolutely belted out, while the way she packs around four different notes into that last sky-y-y is spine-tingling, as is the way she drags the final all mine…! out to within an inch of its life. In terms of pure singing technique, this is one of the very best-sung chart-toppers so far.
You might, then, expect the flip-side of this disc to be a subtler affair – yin and yang, and all that. But nope. That's not how this Dame plays. On 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain', she cranks the operatics up even further… Climb ev'ry mountain, Search high and low, Follow ev'ry bye-way, Ev'ry path you know… (on a song that's already pretty old-fashioned, that Victorian apostrophe in 'ev'ry' is just the icing on the cake)… She's following rainbows, fording streams, doing all these things in search of her dream. It's a motivational number, lyrically very simple, about never giving up.
Before writing this, I wasn't familiar with either of these songs – but I had strong suspicions from the first listen that 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain' was a piece of musical theatre (the David Whitfield-esque backing singers are a dead giveaway). But I was astounded to learn that this song wasn't just from any old two-bit musical – it's from the bloody 'Sound of Music'! How did that pass me by? Admittedly I've managed to go through thirty-three years on this earth without ever seeing said movie, but I've picked up a lot through pop-culture osmosis – the Von Trapps, nuns and Nazis, 'The Hills are Alive..' 'Doe, a Deer…', the one about the flowers… 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain', though…? No idea. You learn something new every day.
This song ends with a bang every bit as big as 'Reach for the Stars'. Perhaps too big a bang. While on the former song Bassey stayed the right side of bombastic; here she over-eggs the pudding. The recording crackles as she launches into the final Till you find your dream…, the equipment clearly unable to cope with Shirley's lung-power. The woman could sing, and still can. Aged eighty-one, she still regularly appears at Royal Variety performances, at the Queen's garden parties and on her own TV specials – 2011's 'Shirley' for example (no surname required, clearly). As we leave her here, in September 1961, her most famous songs still lie ahead – 'Goldfinger', 'Diamonds Are Forever', 'Big Spender' and so on – while her biggest hits have come and gone – this and 'As I Love You' almost forgotten in 2019.
It's slightly sad to wave such a premature goodbye to Dame Shirley. But this disc is a real outlier in the charts of '61 and, as I wrote at the start, perhaps offers an insight as to why she never really set the singles charts alight. These are two superbly sung and gorgeously orchestrated ballads, but they aren't indicative of the general trends in popular music at this time. They do, however, add the eclectic mix of chart-toppers that we've enjoyed in 1961 –long may that continue.
Finally, it would be remiss not to mention that this double 'A'-side lives on in a much more recent song… S Club 7's smash-hit from 2000, 'Reach', which incorporates the titles of both these songs into its chorus; but whose bubble-gum pop cheesiness couldn't be further from Dame Shirley's ear-drum shattering balladry. Anyway, I'm happy I got to link to an S Club song several decades earlier than I thought I would (what an utter guilty pleasure that one is…) Onwards!
124. 'Johnny Remember Me', by John Leyton
On January 12, 2019 January 12, 2019 By UK #1s blogIn 1961 #1s, Pop8 Comments
If you enjoyed the OTT angst of our previous #1 – Woaah-oo-wooah-oo-woaah… 'You Don't Know' – then you'll probably love this next one. Probably. Because while Helen Shapiro coyly flirted with melodrama on her hit, this next disc grabs melodrama by the hand and elopes with it.
Johnny Remember Me, by John Leyton (his 1st and only #1)
3 weeks, from 31st August – 21st September / 1 week, from 28th September – 5th October 1961 (4 weeks total)
Picture the scene. A rainy, misty moor. Wind whistling across the heather. A galloping rhythm introduces the recently bereaved John Leyton. I hear the voice of my darlin', The girl I loved and lost a year ago… Then we hear said voice of his late love… Johhnnnnyyy Remember Meeeee…. straight from the cheapo ghost house at the local carnival. Off the top of my head, this is the first and perhaps only #1 to feature the 'voice' of a dead person.
Well it's hard to believe I know, But I hear her singing in the sighin' of the treetops, Way above me… I'd like to point out here that moors tend not to have many trees – what with them being bleak and open spaces – but I feel that trying to apply logic to this song might be missing the point. As it progresses I'm on the fence. This is clearly a ridiculous song. But is it good-ridiculous; or bad-ridiculous?
One moment sways it for me: when poor, bereaved John lets rip with a Yes, I'll always remember…! He doesn't sound like he particularly wants to keep remembering her; but she does insist on speaking to him from the treetops. Till the day I die, I'll hear her cry, Jooohhnnnny remember meeee… He goes on, in the final verse, to describe that while he's sure he'll find another love, he is equally sure that he'll never be allowed to forget his first love. She'll always be there… Joooohhhnnnnyyyy…. I love that. Who knows, maybe the singer is the one who killed her off, and it's his conscience he can hear in the wind…? It's like a full Gothic novel in under three minutes, this song.
What to make of all this, then? I can't file it under 'Novelties' – the musicianship is too good, and the lyrics are clearly heartfelt. But at the same time… Who was buying this and taking it seriously? It's extremely camp – a word that I've found myself writing quite a lot in recent entries ('Surrender', 'You're Driving Me Crazy', 'Tell Laura I Love Her'…) Turns out people in the early-1960s had a much higher tolerance for camp than we do now. Or at least, they clearly didn't think of this stuff as 'camp'. They took this song at face value – the BBC banned it, for God's sake, due to all the references to death – and connected with the sentiment. In the intervening fifty-eight years since 'Johnny Remember Me' became a huge hit record, we've become a much more cynical, irony-loving people. This song just wouldn't work in 2019.
This is, of course, another dreaded Death-Disc! Dun-dun-dun! That oh-so early sixties phenomenon. It joins 'Running Bear', 'Tell Laura I Love Her' and 'Ebony Eyes' to become the fourth death disc to hit the top in the UK… But it'll be the last. And, for what it's worth, I think this is the best of the four. It's mad, it's OTT and then some; but it grabs your attention and doesn't let go till it's done. John Leyton was actually an actor by trade, starring at the time in an ITV drama in which he played a rock star. Said rock star sang this song in one episode and, hey presto!, it became a real-life hit. Leyton had very few others in his singing career, but once he returned to acting he did star in one of the most famous British films of all time, 'The Great Escape' (you're humming the theme already, aren't you?)
Perhaps worthy of more note than Leyton himself is the fact that this disc was produced by Joe Meek, a man who was dragging rock music forward thanks to his innovation in the recording studio. He overdubbed, he sampled, he added lots of echo and reverb, using his recording equipment like an extra instrument. The real stars of this song – the eerie atmosphere and the shrill voice of the 'dead' woman – all stem from him, and we'll hear from Meek again before long in this countdown. Along with Del Shannon's recent 'Runaway', and its use of the Musitron, we're starting to get a glimpse of the future of pop music as the sixties unfold. What started off as a funny, campy, Halloweenish gimmick of a record is actually pointing the way forward… Listen carefully and you can just about hear it beckoning… Joooohhhnnnnyyyy….


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The Howard Stern Show: How Jamie Foxx mentored Ed Sheeran
Love Ed Sheeran's folksy pop? Believe it or not, you have Jamie Foxx to thank.
The comedian/singer/actor gave the then unknown Sheeran a place to crash and make music back in 2010, he said Tuesday on The Howard Stern Show.
"He sought me out," Foxx said.
"He heard that the party place was your place, you have all the musicians there, lot of trendsetters," Stern said of Foxx's L.A. home.
"So I see him perform. I'm like, 'Damn, you're good at s**t.' He's like, 'Yeah, I'm just starting my album.' I said, 'Well you can sleep right here on the couch in my studio.' So he worked in the studio," Foxx recalled. "My daughter's like, 'Dad, who's in your house now?' I said, 'That dude right there's gonna be something.' She heard it and she said, 'Oh my God, he's amazing.'"
Soon after, Sheeran landed a major record deal … after Foxx truly put his talent to the test, bringing him out at a hip-hop concert.
Though the crowd seemed skeptical, "10 minutes [in], he got a standing ovation," Foxx said. "They went crazy."
Watch Sheeran perform Castle on the Hill during a recent Stern Show visit below, and you can listen to Jamie Foxx's The Foxxhole on Ch. 96.
Hear the full interview on demand on theSiriusXM app. For more coverage of The Howard Stern Show, follow @sternshow on Twitter and check out HowardStern.com. Hear more Howard on SiriusXM Ch. 100 and 101.
Click here to listen online from anywhere.
Music, Pop
Ed Sheeran Reveals He Sang 'Perfect' for Robert Kraft and Dana Blumberg's First Dance
Ed Sheeran's 2023 '+ – = ÷ x Tour': Get Presale Access
Entertainment, Hip-Hop/R&B, Music
Post Malone confirms to Howard Stern that he is the father of a baby girl & engaged


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IRS Oversight Board
The latest news involving the IRS Oversight Board
IRS Oversight Board's Public Forum Focuses on Transforming Customer Service at IRS Through Technology; Budget and Human Capital Issues at Forefront of Quarterly Meeting
5/23/2014 Media Contact: Joelle Jordan | 202-288-3241
(Washington, DC) The IRS Oversight Board held its annual public forum on May 13th in Washington, DC, with this year's theme, "Pivoting Away from Paper: How the IRS Can Overhaul Customer Service and Transform its Business Practices."
IRS Commissioner John A. Koskinen opened the forum by thanking the members of the Oversight Board for the excellent work it does to support the IRS in an advisory capacity. "The role you play in helping the IRS fulfill its mission is more critical than ever, given the challenges we face," said Commissioner Koskinen. He noted that the Oversight Board regularly provides the IRS with critical support and guidance in the area of electronic filing and tax administration.
The Commissioner also discussed the IRS' current budget situation, saying he shared the Board's views expressed in its recently-released budget report, noting that "underfunding the IRS only punishes taxpayers and endangers the fiscal health of our nation and critical programs upon which Americans depend."
The forum's first panel consisted of experts from the United States Postal Service, the Social Security Administration, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and the Council for Electronic Revenue Communication Advancement, with experience transforming customer service at the federal, state and local level. The panelists discussed successful customer service overhauls outside of tax administration; the strategies employed to realize the transformations; and lessons learned. They covered a wide range of topics including balancing customer service across channels and encouraging customers to use "digital first."
Building upon this discussion, the second panel, which included representatives from the state revenue departments of New York and California, the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee, the National Association of Tax Professionals, and the National Society of Tax Professionals, explored how the IRS can provide better service to taxpayers and tax preparers by leveraging technology to overhaul customer service across channels. Some of the topics covered during the session included comprehensive online services for taxpayers, providing data services for tax professionals, major roadblocks to pivoting away from paper processes, and balancing the funding for providing services today while investing in the future.
Board Chair Paul Cherecwich, Jr., who moderated the second panel, observed that "shifting customer expectations, combined with shrinking resources, factor most prominently" in the reasons that the private sector and government are shifting from paper to electronic transactions and communications.
Written statements of all the panelists are available at http://www.treasury.gov/IRSOB/meetings/Pages/default.aspx
Highlights from Board's Quarterly Meeting
The day after the Public Forum, the Oversight Board held its quarterly meeting, where it was briefed on a variety of topics by Commissioner Koskinen and his senior leadership team. Recently confirmed Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin was also in attendance on behalf of the Secretary of the Treasury; this was her first Oversight Board meeting.
One of the most important issues discussed was the IRS budget. The IRS is currently being funded at levels just below the FY2010 levels and was one of a few government agencies not to see its funding restored to pre-budget sequestration levels.
Commissioner Koskinen was frank in his assessment of the implications of continued underfunding of the IRS. He stated that should the current budget environment prevail, the IRS would only be able to deliver a limited set of core tax administration responsibilities, while continuing to experience a decline in customer service and enforcement. The Commissioner assured the Board that IRS employees would continue to perform at the highest level but the agency had reached the limit of its ability to do more and more with less and less.
"One of the Board's most important functions is to provide long-strategic guidance to the IRS," said Board Chair Cherecwich. "However, providing this long sightline is becoming increasingly difficult given the continued uncertainty surrounding the IRS' budget. We need to be able to say where we want the IRS to be 10 years from now but we are missing a key element in that planning, namely a steady and reliable funding stream," he concluded.
Human capital is another major issue confronting the IRS. The Board was briefed on IRS attrition rates, including those for members of the Senior Executive Service. Retirements, reduced budgets and a hiring freeze since 2010 are cited as reasons for continued employee attrition. The IRS now has eight percent fewer employees to carry out its expanded portfolio of duties, including the aforementioned unfunded legislative mandates. Training has also been slashed during the past few years; since 2010, training costs have been reduced by 87 percent. As a result, approximately 90 percent of training is now delivered online.
"The Board is deeply concerned by the state of training at the IRS," observed Board Chair Cherecwich. "The IRS cannot build a highly talented, knowledgeable and proficient workforce without quality training; nor can it achieve its strategic goals. Inadequate training means that employees will struggle to provide quality service, which in turn, can result in additional burden on taxpayers and tax practitioners," he concluded.
The IRS briefed the Board on its digital strategy, which is focused on how to structure IRS' online customer service offerings with the dual goals of providing better service to taxpayers and delivering that service more efficiently. Among the online services described as being in the very early planning stages are approaches that would allow a taxpayer to securely log in to their account with the IRS and check his or her transactions in real time, such as filing status, payments and refunds.
The Board was briefed on actions that the IRS is exploring to foster improved competency with the tax preparation profession. Recent court rulings have determined the IRS lacks the statutory authority to regulate all paid tax return preparers.
The Board also heard about IRS' ongoing effort to implement tax provisions contained in the Affordable Care Act, particularly on preparing for the 2015 filing season. The IRS will ramp up outreach efforts to communicate to individuals, employers, and insurers about their tax responsibilities under the Act.
The 2015 filing season will present other challenges as well, the Board learned. Approximately 66 tax provisions will expire this year, affecting 111 tax products. Late legislation in extending these tax provisions could have a detrimental impact on the 2015 filing season.
In addition to tax-related identity theft, the IRS faces many challenges in its efforts to reduce Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) fraud, such as the lack of reliable third party data. The Board was told that the IRS is revising its EITC preparer-based treatment processes and pursing other strategies that it expects will improve EITC compliance.
Lastly, the Board was updated on IRS Enterprise Risk Management, including the implementation roadmap for the program.
The next meeting of the Board is September 16, 2014 in Washington, DC.
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Basketball Player Born in Pennsylvania#30
Libra Named Michael#33
28 Year Old Basketball Player#40
NBA small forward who was selected 2nd overall in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats after playing one season at the University of Kentucky.
He was ranked as the third best player in the country by ESPN after a standout career at New Jersey's St. Patrick High School.
He won an NCAA Championship at Kentucky in 2012, playing alongside star center Anthony Davis.
His mother, Cindy Richardson, raised him alone after his father died.
He joined Kemba Walker on the Bobcats in 2012.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Popularity
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Is A Member Of
First Name Michael
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Fans Also Viewed
Walker Bryant
Lilly Singh
More Libras
Maddie Ziegler


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package com.podio.sdk.domain;

import com.podio.sdk.internal.Utils;

/**
 * A Java representation of the QuestionOptionDTO API domain object.
 *
 */
public class QuestionOption {

    private final Long question_option_id = null;

    private final String text = null;

    public long getQuestionOptionId() {
        return Utils.getNative(question_option_id, -1L);
    }

    public String getText() {
        return text;
    }
}


Because she insists on fighting with words instead of her fists, 13-year-old Nita is regularly tormented by a gang of classmates. One day, running to escape their blows, she hides in the only safe place nearby-the library. When a book about wizardry catches her eye, Nita finds the help she needs in its pages. As she moves from chapter to chapter, Nita learns more sophisticated spells. Soon, stepping through a worldgate, she enters a shadowy city swirling with vicious taxicabs and carnivorous fire plugs. What begins as a simple quest quickly becomes a struggle to keep a powerful and ominous force from passing back into Nita's world. Ranked with the best of Madeleine L'Engle and Diana Wynne Jones, Diane Duane's magical tale of wizardry and wisdom has become a modern fantasy classic. Christina Moore's delightful narration captures all the excitement and danger in this thrilling fantasy adventure.
I loved this story growing up so listening to it again now has been a real treat; great narration too! Truly brings the characters to life!


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HomeEventsThe Journal of Marketing-AMBS Research Development Workshop: Developing and Publishing Research about Real-World Marketing Questions
The Journal of Marketing-AMBS Research Development Workshop: Developing and Publishing Research about Real-World Marketing Questions
This workshop will offer knowledge and skills to advanced doctoral students, early career scholars as well as more advanced academics interested in publishing research on important real-world marketing questions and problems.
12 Sep 08:00 - 13 Sep 14:00
Alliance Manchester Business School, Booth Street West, Manchester M15 6PB
Research workshops and seminars
A highlights article from this event is available to read here.
The 1.5 day event (full day on Thursday the 12th, half day on Friday the 13th), held at Alliance Manchester Business School, will involve plenary speakers associated with the Journal of Marketing – Editor-in-Chief Christine Moorman and co-editor Robert Palmatier, as well as associate editors and members of the editorial review board – followed by workshop-style activities in which participants will have an opportunity to develop and pitch their research ideas to the editorial team and other participants.
The Journal of Marketing is one of the leading outlets for research in marketing. It develops and disseminates knowledge about real-world marketing questions useful to scholars, educators, managers, policy makers, consumers, and other societal stakeholders around the world. This workshop supports Journal of Marketing's mission in important ways.
Alliance Manchester Business School's globally recognised research influences businesses, policy makers and many other stakeholders. Our experts address some of the world's biggest issues and generate insights that make a real difference for the better; we disseminate our findings in collaborations with international partners, as well as in our teaching, advisory and public speaking roles. The Management Science and Marketing Division at Alliance Manchester Business School is proud to host this workshop.
Booking your place
If you are an advanced doctoral student, an early career scholar or more advanced academic looking for new research insights and approaches, please register your interest to attend by selecting "Book my place" and by providing the requested information by August 1, 2019. The information will be used for allocating participants into workshop groups (this will be done predominantly based on areas of research interest and levels of scholarly experience). We do not pass your details to third parties to use (for more details on how we use the details as well as our privacy statement, please click "Book my place").
Please note that limited amount of spaces is available. Therefore, we recommend you to register soon. Once we have received your registration, we will contact you and confirm that you have secured a place, or that you have been added to the waiting list.
We are also looking for a small number of workshop facilitators. If you are an experienced marketing scholar (Associate Professor / Senior Lecturer or above) and interested in supporting this event by participating the workshop discussions as a facilitator, please indicate this when booking your place. As a way to thank our external facilitators for supporting the event, their participation fee will be waived.
Any questions about the workshop should be directed to Matti Jaakkola, Associate Professor of Marketing at Alliance Manchester Business School, matti.jaakkola@manchester.ac.uk, who will also review all of the registrations.
Dates: September 12-13, 2019
Venue: Alliance Manchester Business School, Manchester, UK
Participation fee: £100
Original Thinking Lecture - Felicity Algate
Feb 2, 2022 | Online
Senior Leader Apprenticeship Webinar
Vital Topics - From Sustainability to Sustainable Performance
Feb 10, 2022 | Alliance Manchester Business School (online also available)
FinTech Seminar Series: Designing Digital Market Offerings
Feb 14, 2022 | Online
Women Leading in Business February 2022
Manchester MBA information session
Feb 24, 2022 | Alliance Manchester Business School
Annual Grigor McClelland lecture - Business ethics for the transition to Net-Zero
Mar 3, 2022 | Alliance Manchester Business School (online also available)
Original Thinking Lecture - Kieron Flanagan
Mar 16, 2022 | Alliance Manchester Business School (online also available)
Scale-Up Forum: Workplace Wellbeing & its Impact on Productivity
Original Thinking Lecture - Wing Lam


In the windows of old-fashioned inns in English market-towns may still be seen notices to the effect that an ordinary is held within at noon or at one o'clock on such and such a day every week; but the ordinary is no longer a London institution. Public dinners in the metropolis, at a fixed price and at fixed hours, are now all dubbed with the French name, table-d'hôte, and the good old English term has disappeared; but in country towns, especially those where farmers congregate on one or more days of the week, the ordinary still flourishes, and the ordinary is the bucolic table-d'hôte.
In the time of Queen Elizabeth this system of dining all-comers at a set hour, at a fixed price, was of very recent introduction, and the proper thing to do was to dine at an ordinary. For humble folk there were plenty of cookshops, and these abounded in the streets and passages that led out of Fleet Street. One of these passages, Ram Alley, which gave its name to a once popular play, was famous for its eating-houses. "The knave thinks still he's at the cook's shop in Ram Alley," says a character in Massinger's New Way to Pay Old Debts; and another dramatist speaks of the savoury smell that greeted the passers-by in the alley.
Many of the more fashionable ordinaries flourished in the neighbourhood of St Paul's Cathedral—the grand old building destroyed by the great fire of 1666. When eleven o'clock sounded on the cathedral clock the busy throng of gallants and well-dressed idlers who crowded the nave of the great church, exchanging greetings with acquaintances and showing off the bravery of their apparel, began to melt away, and by half-past eleven no person with any pretension to fashion remained. The hungry and unfortunate creatures who lacked the price of a dinner stayed behind to "dine with Duke Humphrey," while their more fortunate brethren filled the ordinaries in the streets hard by the cathedral. Dinner was usually served at noon, and the preliminary half-hour was spent in conversation, exchange of the "divine weed" in the shape of snuff, recital of adventures, and so forth. All the news of the town was talked over, the last new play or poem discussed, and scandal invented and circulated.
The table at an Elizabethan ordinary would appear to be but barely furnished according to more modern notions. Its equipage consisted of little but knives, spoons, salt-cellars, and pieces of bread. Table-forks did not come into use until the third or fourth decades of the seventeenth century, and only then in the face of many protests from sticklers for old ways and customs, who took for their motto, "Fingers were made before forks." Even in Pepys's time the guests at a Lord Mayor's banquet were expected to bring their own forks, the festive board being laid with knives only.
The "ordinary" dinner was usually of the good old substantial kind; but at some of the more expensive houses, where foreign fashions were imitated, French and other "kickshaws," as more vigorous John Bullish diners called them, could be obtained. Guests did not sit down promiscuously. Their positions at table were assigned according to rank. A great salt-cellar stood in the middle of the board, and those highest in rank sat on either side of this symbol of dignity. The rest of the guests arranged themselves in due order, taking the salt-cellar as the standard, those lowest in rank being farthest removed from that potent receptacle.
A good dinner could be had for a shilling, but there were ordinaries at threepence a head. Dekker describes a threepenny ordinary as one "to which your London usurer, your stale batchelor, and your thrifty atturney do resort." The rooms were very crowded, and the business of eating was taken very seriously. Dekker, who did not love lawyers, says: "The compliment betweene these is not much, their words few, for the belly hath no ears; every man's eie heere is upon the other man's trencher, to note whether his fellow lurch him or no; if they chance to discourse, it is of nothing but of statutes, bonds, recognizances, fines, recoveries," and so forth.
At the twelvepenny ordinary the company was choicer—knights, courtiers, and gallants rubbed shoulders with templars, justices of the peace up from the country, and gay citizens with money in their pouches, who wished to cut a dash with the fashionable young men from the Court. Here, as soon as dinner was over, the proper thing to do was to fall to gambling, with dice or cards, until the time arrived to go to the play or other diversion.
In the course of this hour or two of dining and card-playing much wine and tobacco were consumed, and much money changed hands. Country squires and Justice Shallows who came to town for a frolic often had good reason to regret the dinners at the ordinary when they returned home with empty pockets, and their estates more or less heavily "dipped," for gambling debts must be paid whatever other creditors may wait. The money that many a sober, thrifty citizen gathered together by dint of hard work and steady attention to business through long years was dissipated by a thoughtless, spendthrift, would-be fashionable son in an "ordinary" gambling-hell in the course of a few weeks or days.
Naturally enough, the ordinaries were infested by sharpers and cheats of all kinds. To them the dinner was merely a preliminary to the business of card-playing and dicing, when they might enjoy the process of plucking a "gull." "Gulls," usually young men of fortune and no great wisdom, were systematically sought out, enticed to the ordinary, and there carefully and thoroughly despoiled by gangs of confederate cheats. Greene describes how some of the sharpers, when they heard of the arrival in town of a possible "gull"—a young man, son of a citizen or squire just dead, who had been left "ten or twelve thousand pounds in ready money, besides some hundreds a year"—would lie in wait for him, would discover what "apothecary's shop he resorts to every morning, or in what tobacco shop in Fleet Street he takes a pipe of smoke in the afternoon," and, getting into conversation with him, would lure him to an ordinary, and so to his doom. Some of the rascally fraternity would pretend to be his friends and offer advice and occasionally advance ready money; but the end was always the same—the pigeon was plucked, and the rooks secured the plunder. The "gull," in his turn, when reduced to penury, would often take a hand in the plucking of others of his own class. Many of the Elizabethan ordinaries, in fact, were simply gambling-hells of the worst type, in which the dinner was a mere introduction to the real business of the hour and place.


It's CASology time and we have some leafy goodness for you this week. Our new cue card is: FOLIAGE...and boy do I wish we were seeing more of it around here instead of this wintery mix!
I wanted the edges of my card to be the same shiny gold as my sentiment, so I edged my card with Versamark watermark ink and heat set the gold embossing powder. I love this trick to make my cards shine!
The rest of the DT want to "leaf" you with some cool ideas this week too, so head on over to see them! And say hi to our guest designer this week!
Thanks of popping in to say hi! I can't wait to see your creations this week!
Love this...the colors and the play of the stencil are fantastic!