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An English Poet in Georgian Malta
On my holidays this year I seem to have been bumping into the long arm of the Georgian navy at every turn. In August and September I wrote about encounters in Canada with Queen Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent, and uncle, William IV when he was a naval officer. Last month I visited Malta and, standing in front of the Grand Master's Palace in the heart of Valletta, found myself looking up at an unmistakable coat of arms on the opposite side of St George's Square.
Even without seeing the date of 1814, this is clearly a Georgian coat of arms with the white horse of the house of Hanover as the other supporter with the British lion. So what was it doing there? I should have remembered that Malta was one of the Mediterranean islands that fell to the British after the defeat of the French navy at the Battle of the Nile in 1798. Translated the motto reads: "The love of the Maltese and the voice of Europe assigned these Islands to great and unconquered Britain. A.D. 1814." No shortage of self-confidence there…
The Grand Harbour is one of the greatest harbours of the world, as the Knights of St John who had governed Malta for hundreds of years appreciated. In 1798 the French ousted the Knights and took over the supremely strategic island and even after the Battle of the Nile the French clung on to Malta, with some of the surviving ships of the fleet sheltering in the harbour. The British navy promptly blockaded the island. They were helped by the Maltese population who, although they were weary of the Knights' rule, seem to have liked the French even less. In September 1800 the French ships tried to break out and were captured and the island fell. In 1814, the date on the coat of arms, Malta became a British colony, finally achieving independence in 1964.
Throughout history Malta has been of huge strategic importance in the Mediterranean which has made it all too often the target of fierce fighting – notably under the Knights and during the Second World War where its population endured the most appalling conditions and were awarded the George Cross as a tribute to their courage. With the arrival of the British in 1800 the island found an unexpected peace and prosperity. British merchants came in droves and it became an invaluable distribution point for British exports and the harbour and the presence of the fleet created huge commercial and employment opportunities. Not all was sweetness and light – the history of Anglo-Maltese relations is too complex to explore here – but the British presence for over 160 years has left a deep impression on the island.
The Grand Master's Palace (below) became the seat of government and the residence of the British Governor.
Opposite is the Main Guard Building (below) which was built by the Knights in 1603 as the guardhouse for the Palace. The neo-classical portico was added, along with the coat of arms, in 1814.
So what was the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, perhaps now most famous for his poems The Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan, to do with this? To my surprise I found a plaque to him on a building on the corner of St George's Square. Apparently, in 1804, despite health problems and an increasing opium addiction, he travelled to Sicily and then to Malta where he found a post as Acting Public Secretary under the Civil Commissioner, Sir Alexander Bell. Despite being successful in the role he resigned and returned to England in 1806.
Filed under Buildings, Military, Napoleon, Travel
Tagged as Battle of the Nile, British in the Mediterranean, Georgian navy, Knights of St John, Malta, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Valletta
Nelson's Triumph or Bonaparte in the Dumps!
I always enjoy finding links to British history when I'm abroad and the Mediterranean is a fruitful source of mid-late Georgian connections. My last holiday, in Sicily, produced connections to Nelson and the Battle of the Nile.
On October 4th 1798 The Times carried as its most prominent advertisement:
Nelsons' Triumph or Bonaparte in the Dumps
New fireworks analogous to the glorious Battle, off
the Mouth of the Nile, on the 1st of August last, between
the British and french fleets.
…consisting of Song, Dance and
Pantomime; a view of the Egyptian country and also a
view of the two Fleets in real action…
The country had been waiting for the news of this battle since April that year when Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson had been dispatched to Toulon to engage the French fleet which was at anchor there. However, the French slipped through and Nelson's ships took a battering in a storm. In June more ships joined the British squadron and Nelson was given orders to track down the French.
There followed a game of blind man's bluff with Nelson unable to pin down the enemy. When Bonaparte invaded Malta on June 10th criticism at home became acute, although The Times stoutly defended the Admiral. Nelson learned of the invasion almost two weeks later, along with the news that the French fleet was off Sicily. When he arrived he was given inaccurate information about the enemy who were only 50 miles distant, and sailed on to Alexandria, then Syria, missing the French who took Alexandria on July 1st. The army proceeded to march south to capture Cairo while Nelson, still with no news of the French, sailed into Syracuse on the south cost of Sicily for supplies on July 21st.
I was in Syracuse, one of my favourite Italian cities, last week and found traces of Nelson's visit. The Great Harbour at Syracuse is magnificent and was in use as a great naval centre since the city – or, rather Ortygia, the original island – was founded in 733BC as a Greek colony. Two immensely significant sea battles took place in the harbour in 413BC when the Athenian fleet attempted to take the city with 73 triremes. Nelson would have been aware of this significant episode in the Peloponnese War, although whether he had time to think about it is another matter! Above – The masts of sailing ships are a ghost of Nelson's fleet amongst the modern yachts in Syracuse's Grand Harbour
He had his fleet's water casks refilled at the beautiful Spring of Arethusa (below), a remarkable fresh water spring right on the shore of the Grand Harbour. It's reliable flow was the reason for the initial settlement on the island and today it is the only place outside Egypt where papyrus grows wild – I wondered whether it was growing there in Nelson's time and whether he could have seen it as an omen.
The magnificent Baroque palazzo where the Admiral stayed while the re-victualing was in progress can be seen in the cathedral square, close to the Spring. It is known as the Beneventano del Bosco Palace, home to Baron Guglielmo Benevento Maria del Bosco and is still in the family today. (Tallest building on the right below)
On July 25th Nelson led his fleet east in a desperate search for Bonaparte. On August 1st the Alexander and the Swiftsure saw the tricolour flying over Alexandria and that afternoon Nelson received signals that the French were lying in Aboukir Bay. He did not delay and at 5.30pm Nelson signalled to the fleet "form a battle line as most convenient" and engaged the enemy. At 10pm L'Orient, the French flagship exploded – Nelson had won the Battle of the Nile.
By August 11th rumours of a battle reached London, but via the Paris papers which were claiming a French victory. By Monday 13th The Times reported "it seems however to be generally believed that an action has taken place, of which we hourly expect to receive advice." By the 17th the story was that Nelson had captured L'Orient with Napoleon on board but it was not until October 1st that The Times could write "The Government is yet without any official news from Admiral Nelson, but several reports were in circulation on Saturday which tend to corroborate the account of the victory."
Nelson became an international celebrity as a result of this victory and was created Baron Nelson of the Nile. (By all accounts he was disgruntled by this and thought a viscountcy more appropriate!) The print at the top of this post is a Gilray cartoon "Extirpation of the Plagues of Egypt" showing Nelson clubbing tricolour crocodiles.
Filed under Napoleon, Regency caricatures
Tagged as Battle of the Nile, British navy, Emma Hamilton, French navy, Napoleonic Wars, Nelson, Sicily, Sir William Hamilton, Syracuse
The Real Castle of Otranto
In 1764 Horace Walpole published The Castle of Otranto, A Story. Translated by William Marshal, Gent. From the Original Italian of Onuphrio Muralto, Canon of the Church of St. Nicholas at Otranto. [Image: British Library]
Walpole (1717-97) was the son of Robert Walpole, recognised as Britain's first Prime Minister, and was variously a Whig politician, a dilettante, an antiquarian and the creator of the wonderful Gothic masterpiece, Strawberry Hill, his house in Twickenham.
Walpole's book – often considered to be the first Gothic novel – has the lot: a giant supernatural helmet that crushes a bridegroom to death, thwarted love, tragic stabbings, lustful noblemen, vengeful fathers, sword fights, ghostly happenings and much, much more. Frankly, attempting to summarise the plot is impossible but a short extract gives the flavour:
Manfred, whose spirits were inflamed, and whom Isabelle had driven from her on his urging his passion with too little reserve, did not doubt but that the inquietude she had expressed had been occasioned by her impatience to meet Theodore. Provoked by these conjectures, and enraged at her father, he hastened secretly to the great church. Gliding softly between the aisles, and guided by an imperfect gleam of moonlight that shone faintly through the illuminated windows, he stole towards the tomb of Alfonso…
After the success of the first edition, purporting to be a translation of an ancient manuscript, Walpole came clean for the second edition and admitted to writing it. It was hugely popular, spawned an entire genre of fiction and inspired numerous stage melodramas.
I was recently on a small ship cruise in the Mediterranean in the footsteps of Edward Lear and found myself in the Italian port of Otranto. Obviously the priority was to seek out the castle. I had visions of gothic towers, creepy turrets, gloomy dungeons, gargoyles… Actually, it is nothing like that at all, which was rather a disappointment.
It is known as The Castello Aragonese, was rebuilt by Alphonso II of Naples in 1485–98 and is an aggressively militaristic edifice with not a gargoyle in sight. Over the entrance is the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1500-58) who owned southern Italy when it was part of the Kingdom of Aragon.
An impressive castle – but not, I fear, the house of horrors of Walpole's imagination, unless one pictures the huge coat of arms taking off on those strange wings behind it and crashing down on some unfortunate bridegroom…
Napoleon stationed naval ships in Otranto harbour from 1804 and in 1808 created the hereditary title Duc d'Otrante for his Minister of Police Joseph Fouché when the town became duché grand-fief in the satellite Kingdom of Naples. The dukes now live in Sweden and the title is still extant, apparently without any gothic nightmares to haunt the family.
Filed under Architecture, Books, Buildings, Literature, Napoleon
Tagged as Georgian literature, Gothic novel, Horace Walpole, Otranto, The Castle of Otranto
The Road to Waterloo: Week 17. The Battle is Fought, The Tourists Arrive, Napoleon Flees, The Regent Weeps
So much has been written – and is being written – about the battle of Waterloo itself that this post is not going to go into any details but will concentrate on what was known to be happening in London. The detail below shows the fighting on the left wing of the battle.
On the 18th Londoners were going about their normal Sunday business – attending church, followed, for the gentlemen, by reading the papers which had no up-to-date news from Flanders. Readers could safely turn to lighter matters such as the report in th e Marriages column: "Some days ago, at Gretna Green, Capt. Bontein, of the Life Guards, son of Sir G.B. to the daughter of Sir E. Stanley. The parties rode out from Lady Bontein's to take an airing before dinner; they took post-chaise and four at Barnet, and proceeded to Gretna Green, wither they were unsuccessfully pursued by Lady Stanley. The only objection to the match, was, it is said, the age of the bride, who is under fourteen and has a handsome fortune. The parties have since been re-married in London." Where, presumably, Captain Bontein was enjoying the company of his child bride and her handsome fortune while his comrades plunged into battle.
A glimpse into the state of the London streets, with vast herds of livestock being driven through them daily, is captured in the report that, "On Friday-forenoon, a large bullock that ran from a drove in Newgate-street, ran into the shop of Messrs. Baldwin & Co. booksellers, and the parlour door being open, he walked in, where there were three or four ladies sitting who were very much frightened…they were at length rescued… by a drover…all the furniture had to be piled in one corner to make room for the animal to turn around: he then walked out very deliberately." The picture shows a detail from a print of Soho Square (Ackermann's Repository 1812)
By Monday 19th there was still nothing in the newspapers, but rumours of three days' fighting around Brussels were beginning to spread by word of mouth from the Channel couriers.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the first tourists had arrived from Brussels, despite the desperate needs of the wounded in the city and on the battlefield, the state of the roads and the appalling scenes. In his Journal of the Waterloo Campaign, Kept through the Campaign of 1815, Cavalié Mercer, who commanded G Troop Royal Horse Artillery during the battle, records some of the very first tourists. On the morning of the 19th he recalls surveying the field, helping get water to the wounded and seeing his men were fed, surrounded by mangled corpses and the wounded. "We had not yet finished our meal, when a carriage drove on the ground from Brussels, the inmates of which, alighting, proceeded to examine the field. As they passed near us, it was amusing to see the horror with which they eyed our frightful figures; they all, however, pulled off their hats and made us low bows. One, a smartly-dressed middle-aged man, in a high cocked-hat, came to our circle, and entered into conversation with me on the events of yesterday. He approached holding a delicately white perfumed handkerchief to his nose; stepping carefully to avoid the bodies (at which he cast fearful glances en passant), to avoid polluting the glossy silken hose that clothed his nether limbs…With a world of bows my man took leave, and proceeded, picking his steps with the same care as he followed the route of his companions in the direction of Hougoumont."
Finally some hard news reached the London papers on Tuesday 20th June, albeit four days out of date. Under the headline, "Commencement of Hostilities" the Morning Post reported, "Yesterday afternoon an Officer arrived with dispatches from the Duke of WELLINGTON, announcing the important fact of BONAPARTE having, soon after his arrival on the frontiers, put his army in motion, and attacked the Prussian outpost at Givet. This took place on the morning of the 16th, on the evening of which day a Prussian officer arrived in Brussels to communicate the intelligence to the Duke of WELLINGTON. His Grace lost not a moment in putting his whole army in motion…A general battle has in all probability ere taken place. In Heaven we trust that our confident hopes in regard to it will be speedily and completely realised."
The Morning Post on the 21st reported rumours of a great battle and stated that, "an Officer was on the road to London with the official accounts, and in the meantime the report brought by MR SUTTON, the Packet Agent [ie in charge of the mail boats] was sufficiently circumstantial to prove its authenticity." The article repeated the news about the 16th and stated that Wellington had brought Bonaparte into "a sanguinary contest" on the 17th. News of the death of General Picton was given, but all the details were unclear.
By now Napoleon had reached Paris and late that same evening Wellington's exhausted aide Henry Percy arrived in London, having started out a few hours after the battle with the Duke's dispatches and two captured eagles. He travelled day and night, with the eagles poking out of the chaise window, and reached Horse Guards between eleven and midnight. He found no-one in authority but eventually tracked Lord Liverpool down who insisted they go immediately to tell the Prince Regent who was dining with the Duke of York at Mrs. Boehm's house (now no.14) in St. James's Square.
Lord Liverpool, followed by footmen carrying the eagles, announced to the Prince Regent, "I have brought Major Percy, who comes with the news of a great victory for your Royal Highness."
"Not Major Percy, but Lieut.-Colonel Percy," said the Prince as Percy knelt and kissed his hand. " We have not suffered much loss, I hope."
"The loss has been very great indeed," replied Percy and the Regent burst into tears. Major Percy was finally to escape and go to bed for the first time since the battle.
The second edition of the Morning Post on the morning of the 22nd carried "Official Bulletin of the Complete Overthrow of Bonaparte's Army With a List of the British Officers Killed or Wounded." The dispatch was brief and to the point, the list of casualties very long – and that was just the officers. Londoners would have been left in no doubt that a great victory had been won at enormous cost. The Morning Post wrote, "With hearts gratefully elate (sic) and all thanks due to Heaven for the event, we have this day the supreme happiness of announcing one of the most complete and comprehensive victories ever attained, even by British valour…While Bonaparte… coward at heart…narrowly effected his escape."
As Londoners were reading the news, in Paris Napoleon was abdicating in favour of his son.
Filed under Accidents & emergencies, Agriculture, Battle of Waterloo, Love and Marriage, Napoleon, Prince Regent
Tagged as Ackermann's Repository, Battle of Waterloo, elopement, Gretna Green, Henry Percy, Napoleon, Prince Regent, Royal Horse Artillery, Soho Square
The Road to Waterloo: Week 16. The Young Men Frolic, Napoleon Invades, the Duchess Holds her Ball – the Conflict Begins
On June 11th Napoleon marched an army of approximately 120,000 men to war against Wellington's 93,000 and Blücher's 115,000 men. Wellington was still poised to invade France and was uncertain whether the French would halt at the frontier or whether he would have to meet them once they had crossed it. His main anxiety was to protect the "hinge", the weak point between his army and Blücher's.
Nick Foulkes in his engrossing social history of the months leading up to the battle, Dancing Into Battle, notes a "holiday atmosphere" amongst the Allied officers and the upper classes living in and around Brussels. "They may have been assembled to fight the most daunting military commander of the age, but in many cases the regiments were filled with and run by boys still in their teens and on their first trip abroad. They were young, they had foppish uniforms and they were having the time of their lives."
Horse racing was a particular favourite amongst the young officers. The Earl of Albermarle (sixteen at the time) recalled that, "Races on a grand scale came off at Gramont on 13th June…Everyone was determined to make the most of the holiday." The crowds numbered thousands.
The impact of so many spirited young men on Brussels was, probably, predictable. Wine, women, parties, petty vandalism (no statue was safe) and pranks kept the officers busy when they weren't with their troops, and the charismatic teenage ensign James, Lord Hay, ADC to General Maitland, was one of the leaders of the mischief. "Very poor I hear…[but] very good looking I know and particularly gentlemanlike," sighed one smitten young lady. He took to jumping the boundary fences of the Parc, the smaller-scale Brussels equivalent of Hyde Park, and reveled in being chased by the park keepers and the local gens d'armes. It was only when complaints were made to Wellington that he stopped.
On the 15th the French crossed the Sombre at Charleroi which placed their forces in the gap between the cantonment areas of Wellington's army, to the west, and Blücher's army to the east. Napoleon had found the weak spot in the Allies' defenses with his usual tactical brilliance – Wellington had concentrated his forces at Nivelles, twelve miles from the Prussians who were at Ligny.
The news of the French move to the frontier reached the London papers on the 15th and the country must have been bracing itself for the news of the coming clash. The Morning Post reported receiving "advices from Paris of the 11th inst. stating that BONAPARTE had left the city for the head-quarters of the Army of the North and that orders for laying an embargo on all shipping had been sent off to several ports in the channel. The communication between this country and France was therefore expected to be immediately cut off. All accounts agree in stating that hostilities would commence about this time, and the present day (the 15th) is mentioned by some as the particular day, on which a blow would be struck, every arrangement for that purpose being complete. There has been no arrival of French Papers since Monday."
Thursday 15th was, of course, the date set for the Duchess of Richmond's famous ball, shown in an entertaining, but particularly inaccurate picture at the top of this post. The Duke, perhaps maintaining his pretense of insouciance, assured her it could go ahead, although by the evening rumours were already circulating around Brussels. Some officers were already leaving the city to go to their troops, others were coming in, unaware as yet of the increasing certainty that Napoleon was on the move. In the event the news hit the revelers at some time around 11pm. Lord Uxbridge announced, "You gentlemen who have engaged partners, had better finish your dance, and get to your quarters as soon as you can." In full dress uniforms and evening slippers the young officers headed south.
By the 16th Wellington's forces were still all attempting to concentrate around Quatre Bras to meet Marshal Ney's troops – not all of them made it in time for the battle. Meanwhile Napoleon led the main French force against the inexperienced Prussian troops at Ligny. The Prussians suffered heavily, but thanks to Blücher's generalship, and a chaotic French mix-up which sent 16,000 French troops marching from Quatre Bras to Ligny only to be immediately recalled, the Prussians were able to retreat in relatively good order.
On the 17th Wellington had held back Ney at Quatre Bras (above), but with the Prussian defeat at Ligny he now had the French army on his eastern flank. Fortunately the Prussians were retreating northwards to Wavre, not east back to their base, and the armies were able to stay in contact while Wellington fell back to the ridge at Mont St Jean. That evening the heavens opened in a thunderstorm of epic proportions. As Private Wheeler of the 51st Regiment wrote later, "The ground was too wet to lie down…the water ran in streams from the cuffs of our jackets." The exhausted men of both sides faced spending the night soaking wet, cold and muddy with the prospect of battle the next day.
That day the London papers were confidently predicting that the first action in the conflict would be the Allies invading France. Meanwhile the social round in London continued unabated with the society pages full of routs and balls.
Filed under Battle of Waterloo, Dance, Napoleon, Wellington
Tagged as Duchess of Richmond's Ball, Napoleon, Quatre Bras, Wellington
The Road to Waterloo Week 14: Napoleon Presents Eagles, Haymaking Begins & The Cavalry Passes in Review
On the first, and only, sunny Sunday of the entire 100 Days, Napoleon held a great military parade at La Place du Carrousel in Paris. 25,000 troops passed before him, comprising five regiments of line, four of the Young Guard and a party of recruits, not yet in uniform. They shouted Vive l'Empereur as they marched and he came down from his podium to join the Guard. Paris was full of troops now, as they marched through towards the border.
By the end of May the total armed forces available to Napoleon had reached 198,000 with 66,000 more in depots training up but not yet ready for deployment.
Finally the much-postponed Champ-de-Mai arrived, on June 1st. The sun had deserted Paris again and it was a cold, grey day as 200,000 people assembled in the Champ de Mars, most of them unable to see what was going on within the wooden arena built for the ceremonial. The court, the university, the magistrates, all turned up in their robes and then had to wait for hours until Napoleon finally appeared in a purple mantle that was too tight and too short and which gave him great problems as he came down the steps to his throne. One observer described him as looking "ungainly and squat". Declarations and promulgations were read, speeches were made and a Te Deum sung. Napoleon then processed to a throne on a pyramid, surrounded by soldiers brandishing swords and flags while he distributed eagles to the National Guard and the army.
I was thrilled to see two of the actual eagles Napoleon distributed at the "Bonaparte and the British" exhibition at the British Museum. They were captured at Waterloo and sixty seven of them were presented to Wellington by a grateful King Louis. The banners are beautifully worked in silver bullion thread on silk.
A British observer noted that all the enthusiasm came from the troops – the ordinary people were mainly silent.
In London the ton were making ready to depart to country estates, spas or seaside resorts. "Fashionable Departures" noted in the Morning Post for June 1st included the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle, off to Lincolnshire; the Duke of Marlborough to Sion Hill; Mr Drake, MP, for Tunbridge Wells and, more ominously, "Captain Mackenzie for the continent." The sun was shining at last and farmers were getting ready for haymaking. Below is an idyllic country scene of harvesters
Near Brussels things were clearly moving towards a confrontation. On 29th May the Earl of Uxbridge held a review of British cavalry near Ninove, a major event which was attended by Blücher, the Duke of Brunswick, the Prince of Orange and the King of the United Netherlands as well as a large number of Russian and Prussian generals. The day before there was a parade in Brussels and Wellington hosted a dinner. The next day the cavalry assembled in the meadows – almost 7,000 in number. "46 of the finest squadrons of cavalry ever seen were drawn up in a place in their lines, with 6 troops of Horse artillery and a Brigade of rockets," with thousands of spectators, including "all the haut ton of Brussels," according to one spectator.
It was followed at 5 o'clock by a banquet for a hundred guests, all accompanied by "the finest wines." Apparently the meal ended and the party broke up at 8 o'clock, far too early for Marshall Blücher, (shown below left) a man who enjoyed hard drinking.
Despite this clear indication that the fighting could not be far off, the British in Brussels thought that the Allied troops would march off to meet the French close to, or over, the border. Visitors to Brussels and to Flanders generally, continued to arrive on sightseeing trips, quite confident of their personal safety.
Filed under Agriculture, Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon
Tagged as Blucher, British cavalry, Champ de Mai, Earl of Uxbridge, Napoleon's eagles
The Road to Waterloo Week 13: War Is Declared at Last, the Prince Regent Builds and the Mob Protests
France was still in the grip of a miserable, cold, foggy Spring but Napoleon would have been encouraged by Britain's reluctance to declare war, giving him more time to wrestle with his constitutional and political problems and continue to expand his army.
An insecure British government was facing Radical opposition within the Commons and on the streets, the economy was shaky and everyone was depressed by the weather. The price of bread was rising, the farmers were having a tough time because of the rain and the King's health kept him out of the public eye – "his disorder continues without any sensible alteration," according to the bulletins.
Only the Prince Regent seemed to be in a good mood – or perhaps he was keeping his spirits up with an orgy of lavish building works. A gothic-style dining room was added to Carlton House along with a library in the same style and a golden drawing room. Above is a detail of the Blue Velvet Room at Carlton House, a good example of the Regent's lavish taste. At the same time John Nash was working on a "cottage" for the Regent in Windsor Great Park, a large and elaborate house the cottage orné style, with thatched roofs, verandas, and a conservatory. (It was demolished by William IV and the Royal Lodge now stands on the site). Nash was also working on further plans for the Pavilion at Brighton. Below is an example of the cottage orné style, although this is a much smaller example than Nash's would have been. The drawing is from Ackermann's Repository (November 1816)
The Whigs were attacking the head of the diplomatic corps, Lord Castlereagh, and, through him the Congress of Vienna, dominated by Russia, Prussia and Austria who, they said, were a threat to independent nations. Vociferously led by Samuel Whitbread they argued that Napoleon had the support of the French people and it was wrong to go to war simply because Britain did not like him. Whitbread argued that the Emperor was now peace-loving, Castlereagh countered that once he had assembled 400,000 troops it would soon become apparent how peace-loving he was.
The harassed government was faced with mobs on the streets protesting about the Corn Law, the Income Tax, the slave trade and the Prince Regent's extravagance, but they finally decided that Napoleon was secure on the French throne and that war was inevitable. The Allied Treaty, signed at Vienna on 25th March, was laid before the House at last – if Parliament ratified it, it became a declaration of war. It was approved in the Lords by 156 votes to 44 and in the Commons by 331 to 92 on 25th May. War was now inevitable, the only question was – when?
The firebrand Samuel Whitbread fell strangely silent after this, his place as the radical leader taken by Francis Burdett and Henry Hunt. Whitbread may have been in financial difficulty and earlier in the month he had resigned his management of Drury Lane Theatre, in which he had invested a great deal of money.
At Drury Lane on the 24th, there was a benefit performance by Edmund Kean, announced as a never-before performed tragedy by Shakespeare. The newspapers the next day were respectful of Kean, but sarcastic about the play.
"MR KEAN took his benefit last night. A tragedy by SHAKESPEARE – "never acted" had been announced as the performance of the evening; but "insurmountable difficulties" opposing the execution of this design, (no great wonder, bye the bye, for what play, undoubtedly SHAKESPEARE'S, can we at this time of day, take upon ourselves to assert, had never been acted?) the tragedy of the "Revenge", was substituted, and MR KEAN appeared for the first time as the representative of Zanga."
Filed under Architecture, Entertainment, Napoleon, Prince Regent
Tagged as Ackermann's Repository, Brighton Pavilion, Carlton House, Conduit Street, cottage ornee, Drury Lane, Drury Lane theatre, Edmund Kean, John Nash, Napoleonic Wars, Prince Regent, Windsor Great Park
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courtship & marriage
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Jane Austen's London · Exploring the world of late Georgian and Regency London


To give advice is easier… Following it requires hardwork.
32. Leave the past for Allah subhanahu wa ta ala, don't dwell on, dig into, or bring it up.
Before you moan and groan that it's another of one those lists, just give it a quick skim. I can almost guarantee you there are things on this list that you know for sure you are not doing, and know that if you did do, it'll create a lot more love and harmony in your marriage.


text:
Q: A complicated dynamic table in HTML I want to create a table where the same headings gets repeated in the same tr. It is a transcript in which semesters shall come side by side in the same row and it is fully dynamic, which means different marks according to semester will be shown as well as count of subjects may differ in each semester.
Could you please help me with this?
Here you can see the image of what the end result should look like

BTW, my approach was as follows:

  @foreach($exambatch as $exb)

   Semester-{{ $semester->semester }}

     {{ Subject }}

     Something

     ......

     ......

  @foreach($sub as $subject)

    {{ $sub->sub_name }}

  @endforeach

But it doesn't work at all, I tried to use a table inside the td which worked however it didn't come in a singe row. Any good approach?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


YOUTH team graduate Michael Emmerson has signed professional terms for next season.
Striker Emmerson, 18, was the only second-year apprentice to be offered a senior contract at the end of the last campaign.
The Middlesbrough-born forward joined the club in 2002.


We welcome all inquiries. Please see our short video introduction below.
Potential collaborators and investors are asked to please contact Fred@XCellAssay.com for further information.
Support has included research grant funds awarded by the Partnership for Clean Competition. Founded in 2008 by the US Olympic Committee, the US Anti-Doping Agency, the National Football League and Major League Baseball, the Partnership for Clean Competition is the premier anti-doping research collaborative that works to protect the integrity of sport and public health by engaging and supporting the world's top scientists and innovators in high-quality anti-doping research and development. Dr. Schaufele has received two grants from Partnership for Clean Competition "Detection of novel androgenic anabolic activities in urine and serum with a highly sensitive, cost-efficient Androgen Receptor BioAssay" (project completed at UCSF) and the successor study "Androgen monitoring of amateur and youth athletes" (project underway at XCellAssay).


Once the new facility is functional, the government will consider shifting the 'declared foreigners' lodged in the six existing facilities to the new centre.
The Assam government has got the go-ahead from the Centre to build a new detention facility for holding people who were unable to prove their citizenship at the Foreigners' Tribunals (FTs) in the state, officials said. The six existing camps — in jails at Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Tezpur, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Silchar — hold 1,000-odd 'declared foreigners'. Overall, the FTs in Assam have declared over 85,000 people as 'foreigners'.
The new centre, with a capacity to hold 3,000 people, is seen as an effort to reduce overcrowding and related problems in the existing camps. It is planned in Matia area of Goalpara district at an estimated cost of Rs 47 crore. District administration officials in Goalpara said that 20 bighas of land was sanctioned last year for the purpose.
Once the new facility is functional, the government will consider shifting the 'declared foreigners' lodged in the six existing facilities to the new centre, Changsan said.
In June, social activist Harsh Mander resigned as the Special Monitor for Minorities at the National Human Rights Commission, saying that no action was taken — despite several reminders — after he submitted his report on the "conditions of persons deemed to be foreigners in Assam detention camps" that the body had asked him to prepare. Mander, who visited two detention centres in Goalpara and Kokrajhar earlier this year, said the conditions in the camps were contrary to the humanitarian principal as well as the Constitution and international laws.
"The situation [of the 'declared foreigners'] is even worse than regular prisoners. We saw they did not even have facilities that regular prisoners have… Families [if multiple members are declared 'foreigners'] are also separated," Mander said.
Changsan clarified that the development of the new detention centre was not related to the NRC publication.


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Q: Laravel - eloquent complex where clause Could somebody help how can I accomplish something like this below
->where("YEAR( date_field )", '>=', 2014)

date_field is a mysql date like: 2014-03-22

A: A raw() command should work:
->whereRaw('YEAR(date_field) >= ?', array(2014))

A: The less raw you use the better, Laravel uses Carbon as its DateTime internal class, so you can:
$year = \Carbon\Carbon::createFromDate(2014)->firstOfYear();

It will return a date like this:
2014-01-01 00:00:00

So, if your are filtering by the year and you need all records starting in 2014, you can do this:
->where('date_field', '>=', $year)

Don't forget you can create helper functions or methods:
public function year($year)
{
    return \Carbon\Carbon::createFromDate(2014)->firstOfYear();
}

And then just:
->where('date_field', '>=', year(2014))

A: Raw is an option of course, but since v4.1.25 you can use following methods as well:
->whereYear('column', '>=', 2014);

// and for month or day:
->whereMonth('column', '>=', 5);
->whereDay('column', '>=', 15);


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CA2M Centro de Arte 2 de Mayo
Avda. Constitucion, 23 - 25
+34 91 2760213 FAX +34 91 6180469
Ivan Argote, Sara Ramo and Teresa Solar Abboud
From Tuesday until Sunday 11:00a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Marta Martinez
Ivan Argote
Teresa Solar Abboud
Tania Pardo
CA2M Centro de Arte 2 de Mayo, Madrid
No Heroics, Please is the title of a posthumous compilation of short stories written by Raymond Carver. The exhibition, does credit to the book, focus on the idea of the demystification of the creative act, considering that the proper creation itself is a heroic and claiming act, in this case, the importance of the daily happenings considered as daily militancy.
curated by Tania Pardo
No Heroics, Please is the title of a posthumous compilation of short stories written by the American novelist and poet Raymond Carver during his youth, who understood that the value of the writing is within the daily happenings. As Carver stated "Years ago, I read a letter written by Chekhov. It was kind of an advice given to one of those persons who wrote him. Something like that: Dear friend, you don´t have to write about heroes accomplishing memorial and extraordinary acts. (…) Reading that letter written by Chekhov and other similar ones, and after reading also his short stories, I started seeing everything from a different perspective"
The exhibition, does credit to the book, focus on the idea of the demystification of the creative act, considering that the proper creation itself is a heroic and claiming act, in this case, the importance of the daily happenings considered as daily militancy. The exhibition is conceived as a set of three: the solo exhibitions of Iván Argote (Bogotá, 1983), of Sara Ramo (Madrid, 1975) and of Teresa Solar Abboud (Madrid, 1985); three narratives gestated as independent stories joined together by a subtle common motto under the same title. Three stories where the poetic narrative has left behind the questioning about major heroics to approach us to particular territories. A metaphor of what once Flaubert referred to when advised that just by closely watching something it will become interesting, in turn, the cinema has successful transmitted it by closing- up an object, a face, a detail… in principle, unimportant.
Three particular stories, where each of the artists talk through their work about the fact of changing reality into fiction, subverting it, changing it, inventing it and, even, getting over it. Three narratives gestated as independent stories joined together by a subtle common motif, these artists generate logical stories which bring contents exceed the operation of the structure itself. Structures, therefore, of looking and use, reflections on how to observe, how do we understand and how do we use, altering the generic and transform what is abnormal into normal, and backwards.
The transformation of the daily happenings through its identity and its particular references is maybe the strongest link between these three artists, who appear in a place and develop their work in another: a Madrid-origin artist who has carried out most of her work in Brazil; a Colombian artist who works in Paris and a Madrid-born artist who reflects her mother´s Egyptian roots in some of her works. They all have in common the specification of the place, the use of the absurd, the generosity assumed within the commitment to art and the sense of humor are all characteristics which appear in their works.
In this tri-solo exhibition, the show will also introduce highly distinct thematic: from the investigation process and overlapping of spaces by Teresa Solar Abboud, who reflects about the language learning process and the importance of communication through repetition of images already created –her two videos the artist brings us to film scenarios in a process of des-localization of the images and, also, of friction between what is fiction and real- to the absurd and the alteration of the established order in Ivan Argote´s work, who proposes to live new experiences by carrying out specific shared actions. In this occasion, the action consists on celebrating every day, for the period of the exhibition, the birthday of a person in one of the galleries of the exhibition. This action emphasizes the idea of celebrating the trace of time as a common and private ritual which introduces the viewer as the real protagonist.
Finally, the transformation of the places is emphasized within Sara Ramo´ art work. Ramo has created an specific installation which ironically plays with the idea of symptom by displaying a big structure made of different materials and understood as a architectonical monster, making reference to the Benjaminian idea of the modern city which is, at the same time, a contemporary ruin.
This show does not offer a lineal narration, on the contrary, proposes to participate from different experiences and reflex on the relation between surface and depth, between what is exhibited and what is hidden behind. It is, in reality, an invitation to look in front what escapes from the corner of our eyes, but of course, the three works understood under the same motto No Heroics, Please.
An exhibition catalogue will be published with articles from Tania Pardo, Manuel Segade, Julia Rebouças, Sergio Rubira and Carlos Fernández Pello.
Mara Canela
Marta Martínez
Rosa Naharro
Vicepresidencia, Consejeria de cultura y deporte Comunidad de Madrid C/ Alcalá, 31 Madrid 28014
Tel.: 91 7208213 - 618337122 prensa.cultura@madrid.org
Opening: 15 march 2012
CA2M Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo
Avda. Constitución 23 28931 Móstoles, Madrid
Punk. Its traces in Contemporary Art

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
China Cancels Broadcast Of Two NBA Preseason Games, State TV 'Strongly Dissatisfied' With Freedom Of Expression
(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
David Hookstead Smoke Room Editor-in-Chief
October 08, 2019 8:06 AM ET
Two NBA preseason games taking place in China will no longer be broadcast in the communist country, and state television has now taken aim at freedom of expression.
According to ESPN early Tuesday morning, two games between the Nets and Lakers taking place in China will no longer be aired on state TV. The move comes after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted his support of Hong Kong protesters, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver said "we are not apologizing for Daryl exercising his freedom of expression." Silver's latest comments show that he grew a bit of a spine after initially bending the knee to the Chinese. (RELATED: 'South Park' Mocks The NBA With Apology To China After Being Banned)
A post shared by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Oct 5, 2019 at 7:06pm PDT
That was apparently enough to get upcoming preseason games banned from TV in the country.
"We're strongly dissatisfied and oppose Adam Silver's claim to support Morey's right to freedom of expression," Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said in response to Silver and to the broadcast of the games being canceled, according to the same ESPN report.
What a laughable situation. It's heartbreaking to learn the Chinese don't like our "right to freedom of expression."
What a shame! I guess we should just shed the Constitution.
It was already dumb enough when the Chinese were complaining about Morey simply tweeting his support for the pursuit of freedom in Hong Kong.
Now, China, a country with a terrible record on human rights, wants to let us know the fact we're allowed to talk openly offends them.
Below is a live look at my message to the communist dictatorship over there.
Silver should just pull the games out of China. The NBA is already taking some serious heat after bowing down to China early on.
They might as well earn some credibility back by holding the line against China and everybody else who wants to trash our way of life.
It's better to be late than never show up at all. Either way, the NBA needs to end this nonsense sooner than later.
It's incredibly embarrassing and a slap in the face to freedom-loving people everywhere.
Tags : brooklyn nets china houston rockets los angeles lakers national basketball association
David Hookstead
Follow David Hookstead on Twitter and Instagram


7-Eleven offers everyone free large-size coffee on Friday September 28, 2012. Just stop by anytime that day between 6-10 am for your free cup. Find your closest 7-Eleven here.
7-Eleven calls this CofFree Day and it's in celebration of National Coffee week. The free coffee is one of the promotions currently featured on the 7-Eleven website.
Of all its own products, 7-Eleven sells more coffee than anything else: over 1 million cups of coffee are sold everyday! That will translate into lots of free coffee on September 28 at 7-Elevens across the US and Canada.
Thanks to 7-Eleven for free coffee on CofFree Day, September 28, 2012!
For more free coffee this week from other stores, check out our National Coffee Days 2012 list.


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University Endowment Lands
Settlements similar to or like University Endowment Lands
Unincorporated area that lies to the west of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and adjacent to the University of British Columbia and the lands associated with that campus. Wikipedia
Neighbourhood located in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Named after Squamish Chief August Jack Khatsahlano, and the neighborhood is located in Vancouver's West Side along the south shore of English Bay, between the neighborhoods of West Point Grey and Fairview. Wikipedia
Public research university with campuses in Vancouver and Kelowna, British Columbia. British Columbia's oldest university. Wikipedia
Guofang Li
Professor of education at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She holds the Canada Research Chair in Transnational/Global Perspectives of Language and Literacy Education of Children. Wikipedia
University Hill Secondary School
Public secondary school in Vancouver, just west of the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Now University Hill Elementary School. Wikipedia
Major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2016 census recorded 631,486 people in the city, up from 603,502 in 2011. Wikipedia
Metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Roughly coterminous with the geographic area governed by the Metro Vancouver Regional District, though it predates the 1966 creation of the regional district. Wikipedia
Sentences forUniversity Endowment Lands
UBC's main campus is located on the tip of Burrard Peninsula, just west of the University Endowment Lands with the city-proper adjacent to the east.Vancouver-Wikipedia
UBC also started working on a proposal for a speed skating oval in the University Endowment Lands, which could then be built in conjunction with the hockey arena.Richmond Olympic Oval-Wikipedia
The University of British Columbia and the University Endowment Lands, both located to the west of the City of Vancouver's limits, are not subject to governance by any municipality.Greater Vancouver-Wikipedia
The Vancouver campus is situated on the unceded territory of the Musqueam people in the University Endowment Lands, about 10 km west of Downtown Vancouver.University of British Columbia-Wikipedia
A board of nine trustees normally manages this district that serves the city of Vancouver and the University Endowment Lands.Vancouver School Board-Wikipedia
Neighbouring the University Endowment Lands, on-campus residential services are provided by the Province of BC and by UBC.University of British Columbia-Wikipedia
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Comparing methods of analysis of agricultural systems.
Thessalonicki, Crete, Campinas and Gainesville.
In particular form to Dr. C. A. Tsatsarelis and his graduated student Dalia Khalaf.
With our best wishes for good cooperation.
estimatives and some of them will change in the following months according with the research advance.
This page will be actualized continuously!
Last revision: March 17th, 1999.


This season Deana Shaaban launches her highly anticipated Spring/Summer 2015 collection.Available in Zamalek, Maadi and Cairo Festival City Mall, these new designs are expected to become this season's favorite pret-a-porter collection.
Exuding color and personality, DS Spring/Summer 2015 is furnished with comfortable harem pants, loose garments, sensual patterns, and signature Deana Shaaban summer dresses.Of course, the collection would not be complete without the staple multi-colored, flowy maxi designs perfect for both a fabulous morning function and this season's multiple beach weddings.
The new collection's cultural inspirations are driven from her frequent travels around the world; with a special focus on Asia.Within each design, Indonesia, Turkey and Korea, have played a frivolous role in color choice, material and patterns.The eastern panache is, in fact, evident in almost each item; every design takes the wearer to an exotic travel destination, welcoming Spring/Summer 2015 in formidable style.
To emphasize the expression of freedom and comfort, both very important to the brand, Deana breaks the traditional norms by combining asymmetric layers of delicate fabrics such as: Viscose, Cotton, Linen and Batik to Chiffon and Satin.


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Bridge is one of the most popular card games played today throughout the world. Modern Bridge was developed from whist, which has been played for centuries. It is from Russian Whist, called "Biritch" (from where the name Bridge derives) that Auction Bridge developed in 1904. The American, Harold Vanderbilt, in 1925, set out the rules for Modern Contract Bridge, which with some additional changes is the game we play today. Bridge is thought to be an excellent way of keeping the brain exercised and active. Do come and join us The U3A Bridge Group meets at Sandringham Court, every Wednesday starting at 09:15 am. We are a sociable group of players with a range of skills from novice to experienced. The emphasis is on enjoying playing bridge in a pleasant and friendly atmosphere. On the first Wednesday of each month, we have an experienced Bridge Teacher come and run a session on different aspects of playing Bridge. If you have any questions or would like to chat about what we do, you can contact Iain Harborow by phone as in our newsletter.
To see the full schedule of our meetings click the button to go to the timetable page.
Use your browser "Back" button to return to this page
Enrol now and join in the activity!
If you have any questions or would like to chat about what we do,
you can contact Iain Harborow by phone as in our newsletter.
Page updated by Doug for web team


Editor's Comment: Panama experiences the heaviest rains during this part of the year, the very end of the rainy season, now through early December as the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone moves from the South to the North, passing over our heads as the season changes. Panama usually sees severe problems with flooding and landslides in November and early December. Have a plan. Be prepared.
Editor's Comment: It seems like recently, every time the SINAPROC issues one of these warnings, someone drowns at the beach anyway. Most of the time someone gets sucked off of the beach by a riptide, they don't know how to deal with it, they wear themselves out fighting against the current, and drown.
Editor's Comment: Every year as the Northern hemisphere heads into the fall and winter, down here in Panama the InterTropical Convergence Zone begins its annual migration back over our heads, from the South towards the North. Once it finishes passing over us, then we enter the "dry season" which lasts for about three months. Our best weather here in Panama coincides with the winter months in the Norther Hemisphere. As the winter ends and springtime starts up North, the ITCZ comes back down over our heads again, this time moving from the North to the South, and we see very heavy rains again as that happens.
Every year Panama usually sees its heaviest rainfalls during the months of October and November, sometimes extending into early December. We can see very large rain producing storms that arrive over Panama and then stall, dumping massive amounts of water on a relatively small area in a short period of time. This sort of thing happens almost every year in some part of the country. Remember the rains, floods, and fatal mudslides that devastated the Portobelo area in early December 2010? Well, that same weather pattern is getting ready to fire up again. Pay particular attention to flood warnings and watches starting right now, until dry season is in full swing. If you don't use Twitter you should because it's great for getting real time breaking news, headlines, and alerts. You should follow Panama Guide on Twitter, because if there's something like this sort of thing breaking - or a tsunami warning, or an earthquake, or a fire, or whatever else - I try to cover it as best I can in real time, and I blast out the warnings via email, Twitter, and Facebook.
Editor's Comment: It seems like every time the SINAPROC issues one of these high tide alerts, two to three people drown on Panama's beaches due to rip tides. If you're going into the water you might want to take some kind of a flotation device with you. So even if you get sucked off of the beach by a rip tide, you can just float it out, wait for it to lose it's power, swim parallel to the beach, and paddle your way back in. If you panic and try to fight it, you die.
One person was killed in Bocas del Toro, about 25 trees were blown down, and six houses lost their roofs in the province of Panama, as the result of strong winds that hit the country yesterday. Yesterday morning, strong winds suddenly appeared, the product of a low pressure system that originated in the Gulf of Urabá, located east of the border between Panama and Colombia, and moved to the Western part of the province of Panama. This was announced by Cesar Osorio, the Chief Weather Forecaster for the Electricity Transmission Company, S. A. (ETESA), who said that strong winds affected the Guna District, Panama East, Central and West. According to Osorio, the company measured winds of 75 kilometers per hour in the village of Tocumen.
Arturo Alvarado, the Director General of the Civil Protection System (Sinaproc) reported that the bad weather yesterday came from the intertropical convergence zone. "This area is in Panama during the nine months of the rainy season and is not associated with any external phenomenon," said Alvarado.
IMPACT - Yesterday afternoon, in the province of Bocas del Toro, there were also strong winds that caused several trees to fall. Marcos Esteban Palacio, 11, died after being hit by a huge tree that fell due to high winds. The child, who was returning with his grandmother from a nearby farm, died instantly causing consternation in the community of Débora, in the district of Guabito where he lived.
By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Received this morning via email: "Hey Don, Attached are pictures of the house next door in Coco del Mar that was severely damaged by the wind storm at 9:30 this morning. JT."
Editor's Comment: Thanks. Yeah, that storm blew in with an edge. Hope no one got hurt.


8 tracks found with the tag "Thomas Newman"
Solnatt is a Norwegian word that means 'Night Sun' (roughly). Inspired by the northern midnight sun, this is a fragile and reflective piano piece, with hope and light mixed with melancholy. Highly suitable for use in film or other media or art, this track is somewhat inspired by the tender film music style of Thomas Newman.


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Home » St. Louis fed Louisville branch announces changes to board of directors
Jake Kratzenberg
St. Louis fed Louisville branch announces changes to board of directors
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has announced the following changes to its Louisville Branch board of directors, effective Jan. 1:
Emerson M. Goodwin, senior vice president of business development at KentuckyCare in Paducah, Ky., has been reappointed by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to a three-year term. He will continue to serve as board chair.
Dave W. Christopher Sr., executive director of AMPED Louisville in Louisville, Ky., has been appointed by the St. Louis Fed board of directors to a three-year term.
Also serving on the board are:
Tara E. Barney, CEO of Evansville Regional Economic Partnership in Evansville, Ind.; Patrick J. Glotzbach, director of The New Washington State Bank in Charlestown, Ind.; Sadiqa N. Reynolds, president and CEO of the Louisville Urban League in Louisville, Ky.; David E. Tatman, director of engineering at Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake LLC in Bowling Green, Ky.; and Blake B. Willoughby, president of First Breckinridge Bancshares Inc. in Irvington, Ky.
Members of the St. Louis Fed's board of directors and those of its branch boards in Little Rock, Ark., Louisville, Ky., and Memphis, Tenn., are familiar with the economic and credit conditions of their respective regions. Their observations—along with the economic data and information gathered and analyzed by St. Louis Fed staff—help ensure that conditions of Main Street America are represented in Federal Open Market Committee deliberations in Washington, D.C.
Click here for more Corporate Moves.
TagsCorporate moves
Legislation further lowering Kentucky's individual income tax sent to the governor's desk
Kentucky joins national initiative to expand access to college and career pathways
Health Enterprise Network hires Logan Gatti as director
Board of Directors announced for Kentucky Primary Care Association


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Deadly Valentine
Delecoeur
Giveaway/Freebies
Jenna's Stuff
Live with Harte
Old Flames Never Die
Southern Heat
My Fiction Writing Bullet Journal
JHarte Video Blog, Write, Writing	Bullet Journal, writing	0
I recently started using a bullet journal to track my novel projects, book sales, web stats, and writing tools and information. A couple of weeks ago, I made a video showing the section that included my NaNoWriMo prep. That video has had quite a few views, so I thought I'd share the rest of my writing bullet journal. It offers a behind the scenes view to writing and being an author.
December	23	2016
JHarte Uncategorized, Write, Writing	writing	0
One of the most common questions asked of writers is, "Where do you get your story ideas?" Most authors I know answer this question with a shrug and say, "They come from everywhere." Before I was a publishing writer, I hated that answer. Surely there was a better way to get ideas without waiting for the universe to present them.
In reality, they're right; story ideas are everywhere. But finding them isn't a matter of waiting for them to present themselves. Instead, it's in noticing them because they're always there. When asked where he got his ideas for his quirky characters and odd-ball situations, Carl Hiaasen said they were from the local newspaper. Stephan King said he got the idea for Mr. Mercedes after reading about someone driving their Mercedes into a crowded McDonalds. Suzanne Collins of Hunger Games fame got the idea for her series from reality TV. These authors where reading the newspaper, watching the news or reality TV and from that ideas formed.
My ideas come from unique places as well. I just figured out the idea for book three in a cozy series I'm working on while searching Google on the equivalents between fresh and ground nutmeg. I got hooked on the show Airplane Repo and knew I had to have a character that was an airplane repo man. Recently, I had an entire short story come to me in a dream, but I think the trigger was a Facebook question about romantic Christmas gifts.
Sometimes I already have a kernel of an idea or I know I need to come up with the next idea for a series, but I don't have the important details needed to create a full-fledged story. For example, in the Valentine series, I know each book needs a murder mystery that takes place in Tess and Jack's circle of acquaintances. Using my cast of characters, I pick one for each book and try to figure out a plot. The idea about who's murdered and why often comes from things I see or read in the world. I linked Tess' first engagement ring to the Hope Diamond right around the time it was revealed that the blue stone was first the French Blue. This was helpful because at the time, I didn't have a compelling reason for the ring to be so valuable that the bad guys would seek it out and kill to have it.
In the second Valentine book, Old Flames Never Die, I was stuck on how to make the crime work until I saw an episode of a forensic show on ID TV. Thank goodness I saw it, because it was the idea that made the whole plot work.
The idea for book four of the Valentine series ('Til Death Do Us Part), came from the fascination fans have in the love lives of celebrities, especially those who have great on-screen chemistry. Luckily, I'd mentioned a celebrity friend of Jack's in the first book, so I had a way to use this idea.
I'm fascinated by the prohibition era and have an idea of a cozy series set during that period. Interestingly enough, that idea started as a romance featuring a different couple set in contemporary times. Over time, it has morphed from the influence of watching Miss Fisher and Boardwalk Empire.
While some ideas show up while you're busy living your life, some arrive while you're writing. I have an idea for a vampire story, but the unique details of my vampire world came from my research on Romanian folklore. That research also helped me create a character for a new cozy I'm working on who loves fairy tales and folklore.
The point is, that while stories are developed, that initial spark of idea often comes from unusual and unexpected places. The unique plot twists and turns in stories often come the same way. If you're a writer, the trick is to recognize and remember these ideas. That's where keeping a notebook or having a note taking app on your phone can help. After that, it's about asking questions to see where the idea can lead so you can flesh it out into a story or fit it into a book you're already working on.


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Archerfield Weather
Past 24hrs for Archerfield Ap
5.9°C 3.2°C 83% -
Wind: S 6 km/h Gusts: 7km/h
Wind: N 0 km/h Gusts: 0km/h
Wind: SSW 11 km/h Gusts: 13km/h
Wind: S 11 km/h Gusts: 13km/h
Wind: SSE 6 km/h Gusts: 7km/h
11.5°C 7.2°C 75% -
Wind: NNE 11 km/h Gusts: 13km/h
Wind: N 9 km/h Gusts: 15km/h
Wind: NNW 6 km/h Gusts: 9km/h
Wind: NW 9 km/h Gusts: 15km/h
Wind: WSW 7 km/h Gusts: 13km/h
Wind: WSW 11 km/h Gusts: 17km/h
Wind: SW 17 km/h Gusts: 20km/h
Wind: SSW 9 km/h Gusts: 11km/h
Wind: S 9 km/h Gusts: 11km/h
Back to Archerfield details
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News at Brisbane Times


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Reserved Seating Goes All Pacino: HANGMAN
by Rob DiCristino and Adam Riske
The review duo who are puzzled by this movie.
Adam: Welcome to Reserved Seating! I'm Adam Riske.
Rob: And I'm Rob DiCristino.
Adam: This week we're reviewing Hangman, a new VOD thriller starring Karl Urban, Brittany Snow and Reserved Seating favorite, Al Pacino. It tells the story of a pair of detectives (Pacino and Urban) trying to solve the case of a mysterious new serial killer named the Hangman because he leaves each victim with a letter carved into their bodies and a Hangman puzzle game (with that letter added) at the crime scene. Brittany Snow plays a journalist with a hidden motive (it's really stupid when you learn what it is). Before I get into my reaction, I'd like to start this review with a question for Rob: Isn't this one of the worst movies you've ever seen in your life?
Rob: I'll say this: Hangman is certainly one of the blandest things I've ever seen in my life. There are less competently made movies out there, but it's rare to find one so aggressively indifferent to its characters, plot, and audience. It's one big shrug, ninety minutes of cop movie clichés (literally every cop movie cliché - I kept a list) starring generically attractive people stumbling through an uninteresting mystery. Watching Hangman is like mixing valium with red wine. There are entire scenes where the lead characters seem to forget what they're supposed to be saying, look up at the ceiling, and then walk out of the frame. It's kind of insane. The only one who seems like he might care a bit is Karl Urban, who was probably so honored to be working with the sleepwalking Pacino that he decided to pull every bit of meat off the bare bones he was given. The most exciting thing about Hangman might be its opening credits, which are ripped straight from Se7en in a kind of misguided declaration of intent from director Johnny Martin (Vengeance: A Love Story). This is a bad, bad movie and a very sad chapter in The Pacino Saga.
Adam: Back in 2008, Mr. Pacino had the tandem of 88 Minutes and Righteous Kill, which I thought would surely be the worst films in his filmography, but add nine years and what we have here is a near-comatose Pacino. As you said, it's really sad. He seems lively in a pre-credits scene that I thought would serve some purpose to the plot, but doesn't. It's like a Bond cold open but not good. I also was a bit baffled by the accent he was trying in Hangman. It's like sleepy, low Cajun and that's when he's audible. I swear that half of his dialogue is unintelligible. I agree with you that Karl Urban is trying and Brittany Snow seems to be too, but is given a ridiculous character to play that is basically just there because she wants to honor cops? Did they ever explain why she wanted to honor these two specific detectives?
This type of mystery/thriller drives me crazy because the killer isn't identified until the third act and it's a person that is not mentioned at all until the identity reveal. It works in something like Se7en, where there's a theme in place or a motive, but in Hangman the motive is hidden from us as well as the identity so it's just random who it ends up being. There's no way for the audience to piece it together with the main characters. When the killer is revealed, the actor (who I have seen be good in other movies) does that serial killer thing where he just has his mouth and eyes wide open to show that he's crazy. It's so stock and sad. Plus, the hidden backstory to the Pacino character is another case (like in Righteous Kill) where the bad guy is mad at the good guy for reasons that are sort of unreasonable; like there's nothing for the hero to atone for! Also, that fucking twist ending stinger in the last thirty seconds of this movie is downright embarrassing. I know you love Lionsgate straight-to-video movies so I was curious how this stacks up with those. What do you think?
Rob: Early in the movie, I texted you that I thought Pacino's character was essentially just Al Pacino wandering around on the set of a cop movie without knowing why. I went through the rest of it with that scenario in my head, so my favorite parts were the three or four times when someone would present a clue or a piece of cop-related information and Al would go, "Oh, yeah? That's good!" I was laughing pretty hard at that. Otherwise, it's somehow better made, better cast, and yet catastrophically worse than the majority of Lionsgate DTV offerings. There's nothing really fun about any of this. Like you said, all the characterization comes in the last twenty minutes, and by then, it's too late to matter. I watched that last act twice (because I dozed off the first time), and I still don't entirely know what I was supposed to get out of it.
With movies like this, I often think about the behind-the-scenes drama that led to such a bizarre final product. This feels like one of those productions that sits in development for a while - attracting big stars and above-the-line talent at first - then gradually gets moved down the schedule until interest wanes and people like Karl Urban show up as favors or to begrudgingly meet some contractual obligation. And you're right about Pacino: he looks very weak, almost anemic. I hope he's okay. Do you think this is the worst movie he's ever done?
Adam: It's bottom five. 88 Minutes, Righteous Kill and Jack and Jill also come to mind, but even he is sort of funny in that deplorable movie. I hope he's okay, too. I was stunned by how old and frail he seems in comparison to his last role I'd seen him in, which was just two years ago in Danny Collins. He's lively in that movie and gives a good performance, so I'm hoping he is making a performance choice in Hangman and that's all.
I'd like to talk about a few moments that made me laugh hard in Hangman because we might as well get some enjoyment out of all this suffering. 1) The finale is live streamed on the internet even though it seems like the movie doesn't understand the internet at all. 2) The cold open where Pacino ignores his peers request to wait for the bomb squad and he just rolls up on the guy because he sideswiped his car. There's a very awkward bravado happening there. 3) The scene where Brittany Snow gives this passionate monologue and the response to it from Karl Urban is nothing and Pacino just goes "Okay" and they drive off. 4) There's a chase where Urban is trying to apprehend a suspect on foot and he runs for a long time only for Pacino to cut that person off with his car, even though there is no way for Pacino to know where they ran to and no chance he catches up with them that fast, even with a car and 5) The early Saw rip-off kill where a corpse with a pig's head swings from the ceiling and kicks Pacino in the chest and it looks like he knocks him into the afterlife. OMG...this movie is so bad.
Rob: This is one of the first Reserved Seating movies where I honestly wish we were doing a commentary track or something instead of writing. There are so, so many of those moments you're talking about, and we don't have the room to cover them all. The internet thing is so egregiously silly that it almost had me convinced (along with the Cop Movie Handbook dialogue) that the screenwriters have never actually met real human beings or participated in the world or its culture. How about the moment with the priest in the church? They go, "Let's look for that guy," and a cop says, "That guy? He's here!" Al goes, "He's here?" and the cop says, "Yeah!" Urban says, "Where?" and the cop says, "He's over there!" and Al goes, "Oh, yeah? That's good!" This scene goes on for thirty-five minutes. It's amazing. Damnit, this always happens. I start writing thinking a movie is forgettable and end up wanting to watch it again.
Adam: Don't forget that the movie only has "House of the Rising Sun" (a cover version no less) on its soundtrack and just plays it over and over and over to establish mood. Probably because the filmmakers couldn't afford to also add "Paint it Black." Or how about when they crack the case by looking at a model replica of their town complete with a running train set? Also, aren't we supposed to be under the impression Pacino was at one time a good (not even great) detective? Now it's just like Urban saying "The victim knew the suspect" and Pacino replies "Maybe. We will see. That could be it. I am not ruling it out. That is a possibility. It's 50/50. It could go one way or the other." I laughed out loud too when Brittany Snow excuses herself from the movie in the third act because she needs to get home to be abducted as bait by the killer in the finale. P.S. I am convinced this movie was made in late August after Mr. Pacino found out about my impression of him so he added a Cajun tinge to it to give me a challenge. Good news is I can do his Hangman voice good too. Nice try, Al. This movie has to be reverse engineered just to troll an inside joke between you and me.
Rob: If I grit my teeth really hard, I bet I can do Karl Urban. That's it. We've got Halloween 2018 all sorted. Anything else on Hangman? It's a Mark Off for me, for sure. Are you picking the next entry of All Pacino? What are we seeing next week? Help me, my friend. I'm as lost as Al.
Adam: This movie also has lines like "He's not gonna stop until he finishes the game" and cops who announce to each other "We've got a serial killer!" Sigh. I'm voting Mark Off on Hangman obviously. We'll do Donnie Brasco for the next All Pacino in January. As for next week - The Disaster Artist sounds good. Either that or Just Getting Started!!!!
Rob: A Reserved Seating about The Disaster Artist? Good thinking! And we'll get to Just Getting Started. I wouldn't miss your thoughts on it for the world. Until next time…
Adam: These seats are reserved.
Posted by Patrick Bromley at 12:00 PM
Labels: 2017 movies, al pacino, cop movies, hangman, karl urban, reserved seating
Villain December 5, 2017 at 12:23 PM
Saw this was available for rental last week. This has convinced me that giving this film any money would be a stupid decision
Chaybee December 5, 2017 at 1:50 PM
This did just the opposite for me and made me really want to see it, haha!
Kunider December 5, 2017 at 2:33 PM
nothing beats a good trainwreck. i really want to see this too.
Nickey May 2, 2018 at 9:08 PM
We really enjoyed it.


www.peugeot206cc.co.uk - peugeot 206cc owners club • View topic - What was your first car?
nonsense and other stuff - Don't enter if easily offended !!!!!
My first car was a Morris Ital in pageant blue. A 1.3L. One of Leylands finest. I suspect it started to rust before it even left the factory. Spent many happy summers filling it with fibreglass and bodge. It lasted me for about 10 years then passed it onto my brother in law for free. He sold it to a stock car racer. I bet he had a suprise the first time he hit anything!!
I had a Fiat 126 as a project. I was in the process of fitting a Renault V6 and transaxle, but I lost my storage, so it had to go.
I'm considering a 126 as a little toy. They are plentiful and cheap as cheaps over here, plus spares are available over the counter for pennies too.
2003 2.0. Dyno'd @ 134BHP. 2.5" full stainless exhaust system, lexus style rear lights, LED sidelights and interiors. Latest mod - Full stainless steel Group N gear linkages.
There are a few people putting big Motorbike engines in lots of cars now. My Classic group is the Austin A30 & A35s and we have a couple with big 1100/1300 Kawasaki engines.
One owner is building a 1275 A-series with a 16v BMW bike head .. estimating around 135bhp! A small increase over the 28bhp the original 803cc engine made!


text:
Q: How can I print only the c file's name and authority of the c file in Bash shell? I want to print only the name and authority of the c file in Bash. I know how to print the names and permissions of all files with the awk command, but how can I print only the c file?

A: ls -la *.c | awk '{print "Permission:" $1 " Filename:"  $9 }'

Should work with this.


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You are here: Home>History>Local Lives>Squadron Leader Glyn Ashfield DFC AFC
Squadron Leader Glyn Ashfield DFC AFC
Left to Right: Unknown, Sgt. R. H. Leyland, P/O G. E. Morris, F/Lt. Glyn Ashfield, Unknown, Sgt. E. F. LeConte. Taken at FIU Ford, date unknown.
Battle of Britain London Monument
The grave of Squadron Leader Glyn Ashfield DFC AFC, in St. Peter's churchyard, Limpsfield
Jane Collman
Glyn 'Jumbo' Ashfield, who could, and frequently did, put the stately Blenheim through a series of aerobatic manoeuvres unimagined by its designers. His apparent speciality was high speed, low level flying under electricity cables!
(Wing Commander Chamberlain)
Although Glyn is not believed to have been stationed at RAF Kenley, he and his parents Ernest Andrew and Elizabeth Selina Ashfield, lived in Limpsfield and Oxted, Surrey for most of their lives.
Glyn was born on 10th August 1912 in Chelmsford, Essex and joined the RAF , aged just 16 years, as an Aircraft Apprentice. He received a number of postings before joining 29 Squadron at Ambala, India in 1932.
Whilst in India, he applied for pilot training, moving to 30 Squadron in Iraq in 1935 as a Sergeant Pilot.
Returning to the UK in August 1937, he joined 79 Squadron at Biggin Hill and in September 1939 he was granted a permanent commission as Pilot Officer.
By this time he had married a nurse, Ruby Houghton Williams.
As a Pilot Officer he spent several months as an instructor before being posted to the Fighter Interception Unit at Tangmere on its formation in April 1940.
Just under two weeks into the Battle of Britain, during the night of the 22nd/23rd July, Glyn was captain of a Bristol Blenheim, L6836, equipped with airborne interception equipment. Together with his crew, P/O Morris (observer) and Sgt Leyland (AI operator), they made the first successful interception leading to the destruction, at night of what is believed to have been a Dornier DO 17Z off Bognor Regis, Sussex.
According to the combat report from that night, Glyn reported –
We flew full throttle until inside own AI range and at about 400/500 (yards) I opened fire. As I could not see my foresight I closed with continuous fire and by the huge firework display which resulted from bullets making contact, I knew the aim to be ok. I continued to fire, with the E/A looking the size of a house, it gave a lurch to STBD and nose fell. I attempted to follow it still firing, when the whole of the cabin perspex was covered with oil from the E/A. In the next few seconds we were on our back and recovery was not made until 700ft by which time we had lost contact with the enemy.
With great skill, he was able to control the Blenheim, landing blind but safely at Tangmere. The crew from the Dornier were all later rescued from the sea.
Glyn and his crew were credited with being the very first to destroy an enemy aircraft by using airborne radar.
Two months later in September, Glyn was promoted to Flying Officer and he and his crew escaped unhurt when he had to make a forced landing at Tangmere after the cockpit roof of the Beaufighter R2059, he was flying, flew off during a night patrol. He collided with an unlit truck on landing.
For his work with FIU, Glyn was mentioned in dispatches in January 1941 and awarded the Air Force Cross just two months later in March. September, saw a further promotion to the rank of Flight Lieutenant.
February 1942 and Glyn moved to 157 Squadron as Senior Flight Commander. The squadron was in the process of being equipped with Mosquitos.
On the 19th October, flying Mosquito NF II DD612, he damaged a Ju 88, his fifth overall claim.
Sadly, Glyn was killed, aged just 30 years, on December 12th 1942, when his Mosquito W4099 struck a tree during an Army Co-operation Exercise in Radwinter, Essex, killing him and his Navigator F/O Beale.
Only 8 days before his death, he was awarded the DFC.
His citation reads –
This officer has completed numerous sorties, many of them in adverse weather at night. He has at all times displayed exceptional keenness to engage the enemy and, by his skilful and untiring efforts has contributed materially to the successes achieved by the squadron he commands. He has destroyed 2 and probably destroyed further enemy aircraft.
He is buried in St Peters Churchyard, Limpsfield, Nr Oxted, Surrey and also remembered at the Battle of Britain Monument, Capel-le-Ferne in Kent.
Rest in peace Sir and thank you for your service.
Service Number – 535242 and 36225
Rank – Squadron Leader
Squadrons – 29, 30, 79,Fighter Interception Unit, 157
Nationality – British
Date of death – 12.12.42
Age at death – 30
Memorial or graveyard – St Peters, Churchyard, Limpsfield, Nr. Oxted, Surrey
Grave details – Sec B Row E Grave 17
Many thanks to Edward McManus at Battle of Britain London Monument.
Kenneth G Wynn: The Men of The Battle of Britain.
The London Gazette and Supplement
Chris Ashworth: Action Stations 9.
Traces of War
RAF Commands
Bristol Blenheim (2)
Limpsfield (1)
Oxted (1)
2nd Lieutenant Charles Henry Albert Godfrey
Alistair's Memories
Ann Welch - Aviatrix Extraordinaire
Group Captain William Samuel Caster MC
LAC Walter James "Bill" Tyrrell of 615 Squadron
Leading Aircraftman Cedric Wort - National Serviceman
Memories of William Battle
Sheila Wilkie's Memories of Douglas Bader
The Bourne Society Bulletin 201 - Recollections - 1939-1945
The Bourne Society Volume 46 - Memories of the Early 1950's
The Bourne Society Volume 59 - On the Ground at Kenley in September 1940
The Bourne Society Volume 60 - Life in Caterham in the 1940's and 1950's
The Bourne Society Volume 72 - Wartime Fire Service in Caterham
Wallace Royle Juden Lidbetter - Gunner to Home Guard


Vinosource Riche Ultra Cream is a non-irritating anti-wrinkle cream for extremely dry skin. Skin in soften and wrinkles smoothed. Vinosource's patented grape-seed Polyphenols and Vinolevure moisturize the skin while correcting the signs of aging, leaving your skin nourished and fortified. Recommended for people with very dry skin looking for anti-wrinkle protection. Apply to cleansed face and neck.


Release to contain featurettes and webisodes.
Our angry inner-city critic takes a look at this weekend's three big releases.
EXCLUSIVE: Watch 3 TV Spots & 8 Clips from Death Sentence!
James Wan directs Kevin Bacon in the crime drama.
COMIC-CON 2007 EXCLUSIVE: One On Wan with the Director of Death Sentence!
We get to the bottom of the Wan vs. Movieweb fued.
COMIC-CON 2007 EXCLUSIVE: Kevin Bacon & Jordan Garrett Talk Death Sentence!
The duo talks about working with director James Wan.
The director tells us a little bit about his new project.
EXCLUSIVE: First Look at Kevin Bacon in Death Sentence!
We've got 5 exclusive photos from the James Wan directed thriller.
Watch Kevin Bacon go Crazy!
After his family members suffer at the hands of gang members, a father (Kevin Bacon) sets on a mission to kill each thug involved with the crime.


Your housemate 'Bez' has the gift of the second sight.
Cheers Pic. Well, admittedly, not knowing Steed personally, my theory on Harvest's 'exaggeration' is just that, a theory. However, I am sticking to it because noone in their right mind would have made Harvest like that on puprose for any other reason It's not ineptitude that makes it cheap and nasty, it's design at it's most arch! - On page 2 of this thread, about six posts from the bottom, I briefly explain why I think Harvest is supposed to be an exaggeraton.
Oh dear, you should be an english teacher, you could then get paid for being a smartarse when it comes to stories etc.
The distorting mirror of sopron is a metaphor for the medium of television and its amplified reflection of society, projected back at us, the viewer. In other words, the episode, for us, is sopron and we are looking at it and getting a distorted image of ourselves. This amplification of society is thrown back at us through the exaggerated relationship between Jarvik and Servalan. It is often claimed that Jarvik is a sexist, misogynist pig with his seeming contempt for Servalan. This is what it appears on the surface, I don't deny that, however, this is merely an amplified reflection of our own relationships with each other in the 'real' world. Aren't we all, in some small way perhaps, Jarviks or Servalans and what can we learn from them?
I'm strongly impressed with the theory about the sopron and B7. B7 really has the feature to project a disproportional sopron-like impression on the fans (including myself).
This [TV set] is simply a box with a glass wall, which we are free to watch or not watch. When an individual's gaze falls upon a dark screen, the movement of his or her eyes is controlled exclusively by internal nerve impulses or the psychological process taking place in his or her consciousness. For instance, an individual might notice that the screen is fly-spotted. Or he or she might decide that it would be a good idea to buy a television twice as big. Or think that it would be a good idea to stand it in a different comer. Until a television is switched on it is in no way different from the objects with which people had to deal in the Buddha's time, be it a stone, the dew on a blade of grass or an arrow with a divided head -- in short, everything that the Buddha used to illustrate his talks.
But when a television is turned on, it is transformed from an object of the first type into an object of the second type. It becomes a phenomenon of an entirely different order. And although the person looking at the screen does not notice this customary transformation, it is truly immense. For the viewer the television disappears as a material object that possesses weight, size and other physical properties. Instead of this the viewer has the sensation of being present in a different space, a sensation familiar to all who are assembled there.
This is all very deep!
Servalan and her slutty side - tramp!
This is not the worst but the most pathetic Episode I have ever watched, there's a giant Ant, A Space Ship where they were dumped and Servalan gets fooled by that old thing.
You've got to Hand-It To Servalan though! That little Oliver Twist thing," Please Sir, I want some-MORE!!!
There will de dancing in Afrovile over that last post!
Well Done, thot gor. Obviously, there's a being of sound judgement in our midst!
Oh my God. I freaking love this episode! I'm not sure but there must be flaws but I don't care, I freaking love this episode! When I began rewatching the entire series, I thought that maybe my feelings about season three (and to some extent four) would change. I happen to think that these two seasons are better than one and two in many ways. This episode seems like a shot in the arm to revive the show.
This episode has everything: a new Federation "villain" that cannot be any different from Travis if they tried; Servalan getting turned on by what she calls a primitive man but who has some honor and who doesn't just kill his henchmen (Mutos or Mutoid deaths are okay to him) and who feels and does not think that computers are better than feeling and thinking; a VERY dangerous planet; the crew acting as thieves for the first time in a long time; more of Tarrant (say, did he just WINK at Vila!?) and Dayna back to being a warrior. Gosh, Jarvis, I wish you could have lived to become a main villain for the next two seasons at least somewhat but I'm guessing the show doesn't want to fall into the same trap that they did with Travis and to be fair, Jarvis GOT the Liberator and bested Tarrant (and almost Dayna, who's life he saved!).
On top of everything, we have Servalan getting on board the Liberator, seeing Cally again, having plans for Orac and that failing, using and meeting Zen (just how did she hear of Zen's impudence? Who told her about Zen? Vila? Vila's calls during Aftermath?), and getting some kind of "love" for Jarvis---she really didn't seem to want to see him die (although moments after his death she's still planning on killing Dayna if she could).
AND we have Avon disinterested in the gang's heist and more interested in a rock! Yes, that's right. While everyone else lives for and is abandoned by the Federation (the poor laborers are left behind along with one sadistic guard...hope HE gets his comeuppance) for a different valuable rock, Avon has another, living rock or so some believe it to be. Avon's obsession with it is just the right side of ...strange and pure Avon. AND Avon gets at least one brilliant scene with Servalan and gets the better of her under a losing situation. Just wonderful!
Then we have those monsters. To be honest, there have been worse DW monsters, worse Lost In Space and Space; 1999 monsters and have you looked at the Star Trek Gorn lately? This is no better or worse than some of those and the monsters do not dominate the episode as they would have in DWho. They fulfill what they need to do and present a danger.
Everything seems to come together in this episode at least for me. One thing: that module: where did it come from? Was it an early landing thing that was just left there after the Federation returned? I don't think we ever found out. I don't care. I love it and I love this episode.
Again, Avon and Vila (less so this time for Vila) have some of the best lines but there are great lines between Servalan and Jarvis and between Tarrant and Avon (who gets to use his "present company NOT excepted" for the first time...and reuses it in the LIBERATOR CHRONCILES VOLUME 3---a VERY good audio of three disks that reintroduces Anna Grant's brother).
Very entertaining. And love the space battles too. Forgot to mention Servalan's shoulder decoration: fashion victim but not as bad as other episodes' outfits. And someone did mention why they need the money? AND also why didn't they look in the boxes? I don't care about these flaws, did I say that?
Good grief, surely there can't be ANOTHER Harvest of Kairos fan?!?!
Citizen Kane, Casablanca, The Godfather, Dr. Strangelove, Harvest,, amazing how the great ones manage to stand the test of time!
Did he call Jarvik Jarvis?


Yesterday, I had the privilege of photographing a very inspiring group of people. The oceanside event was hosted by Olgi's Soul Suite, in a beautiful and intimate setting. Through meditation and positive reinforcement, participants got in touch with their creative side and relaxed into a meditative painting practice. Here are the higlights.


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Students are set to go back to school on Tuesday, Sept. 3. (Black Press Media files)
School returns in B.C. with uncertainty surrounding contract for teachers
Negotiations are scheduled to resume on Sept. 23
Sep. 1, 2019 8:45 a.m.
Teachers in British Columbia will be returning to the classroom without a contract despite the help of a mediator who spent 13 days this summer at the bargaining table with their union and the employer.
A six-year agreement expired in June, followed by five days of talks in July after the BC Public School Employers' Association requested the Labour Relations Board appoint a mediator, who met with both sides for another eight days at the end of August.
Negotiations are scheduled to resume on Sept. 23.
"This break will give the two sides time to work on their proposals. In particular, the BCTF Bargaining Team is still very concerned about the government's proposals that would roll back the parts of the Collective Agreement that were restored by the Supreme Court of Canada.
— BCTF (@bctf) August 30, 2019
Tess Riley, who will be starting her second year of teaching at the Cariboo Chilcotin School District, said she's hoping for a smooth transition to a new contract under the NDP after the former Liberal government stripped contract provisions in 2002 for class size and composition of students, including those with learning challenges.
Years of labour strife followed, with a provincewide teachers' strike that had students out of school for five weeks in 2014 when the employer imposed a partial lockout that lasted 25 days.
A landmark Supreme Court of Canada victory for the BC Teachers' Federation in 2016 restored class-size and composition provisions, forcing the government to hire more teachers.
Riley said the uncertainty around the current negotiations is "scary" considering the toxic relationship forged between the union and the former Liberal government, which was defeated by the NDP in May 2017.
"I'm hoping that in the next few days they're able to reach common ground so we can roll forward. I think the uncertainty is also really tough for families and people who have to think of contingency plans if something happens," she said.
READ MORE: 'Plenty of time for a deal': Teachers' union expects kids back in school on Sept. 3
Federation president Teri Mooring said the union representing 43,000 teachers is also aiming to wrap up contract talks without any issues reminiscent of past attempts to reach a contract.
"We had hoped, with a new government, that we wouldn't be in the same position where we're month-to-month at the table and then a mediator but that's where we're at," Mooring said.
The union is demanding higher wages and class size and composition language in the contract for grades 4 to 12 in some districts around the province.
They include West Vancouver, where a cap of 20 students exists in kindergarten, with a maximum of 22 students in grades 1 to 3 but no provisions on class-size limits beyond that. Those gaps existed before the Supreme Court ruling and the union is now looking to fill them, Mooring said.
While the School Act limits 30 students per class for grades 4 to 12, she said, a school district superintendent and a principal can change that number so it's not uncommon for high school physical education classes in some districts to have more students.
Data from the federation show its teachers are the second-lowest paid among their counterparts in other provinces, with Quebec at the bottom, Alberta at the top and Ontario in second place.
Sandra Johnston, lead bargainer of the Alberta Teachers' Association, said using the Calgary Board of Education's wages as an average, teachers with five years of education and 10 years' experience earn $97,372 annually in the province, which has no cap on class sizes.
READ MORE: B.C. education minister says focus is on new curriculum, filling on-call teacher ranks
Mooring said B.C. teachers with similar credentials are paid about $92,000, suggesting the higher salary in Alberta could lure them to the neighbouring province, though Johnston said there's no indication that is happening.
She said Alberta teachers' wages have been frozen for six of the last seven years and arbitration aimed at increasing them is set for mid-November, two months later than expected after the United Conservative Party introduced legislation that also delays talks for other public-sector unions.
"They're expecting to table a budget in October, which has left a great deal of uncertainty for school boards here because they don't know how much money they will be receiving from government," Johnston said. "If government reduces funding we might see teachers from Alberta looking at other places for work."
B.C. Education Minister Rob Fleming said efforts to recruit more teachers are paying off, with 906 out-of-province teachers hired last year, mostly from Ontario, and funding for all 60 school districts was increased for the first time since 2006.
"We're hiring at a time when we're making significant adjustments to our school system and other provinces are not, and that may continue to be the case in Ontario, and I think there's a high degree of uncertainty for teaching professionals in Alberta now," he said.
As for B.C. teachers' relatively low wages, Fleming said "that's historic."
"We want to work with teachers to get an agreement that's good for the teaching profession, that's good for parents and kids. The offer that's on the table, which we're going to negotiate, is significantly higher than what the previous government offered."
ALSO READ: B.C. health officials to focus on unvaccinated kids heading back to school
James Ellis, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia's faculty of education, said teachers in the province were the highest paid of all provinces in the 1950s but have slid further down the salary scale.
Ellis said one factor that may have worked against the B.C. Teachers' Federation during successive rounds of contract talks since at least the early 2000s is its insistence on bargaining class size, adding that in Ontario, for example, it's been capped by the government, which recently announced the size of high school classes would be increasing from an average of 22 to 28 students over four years.
"If they want to bargain class size that's going to cost more than wages, probably, because it'll mean (needing) more teachers and maybe that's where they've come undone," Ellis said.
"The honeymoon might be over, not on the wages, but on class size and composition."
ALSO READ: Canadian kids eating healthier in school, B.C. study suggests
Camille Bains, The Canadian Press
Death toll in West Texas shooting rampage rises to 7
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