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Pep 'N Cheds
Steak Strips
Steak Nuggets
McSweeney's 2020 Memorial Cup Contest
Better Tasting
McSweeney's is sure to please with our variety of bold flavours and offerings.
Pep 'N Cheds
McSweeney's is the Canadian brand of meat snacks. It was here we were born and here where our heart and our people reside.
For the past 25 years McSweeney's has proudly provided Canadians with delicious meat snacks made with care. We come from modest beginnings and have developed into a brand that's trusted coast to coast.
We are Proudly Canadian.
For McSweeney's it's about the people who make up our communities and the things that create a national identity. Our meat snacks are made by Canadians for Canadians. We are honoured to be part of a nation made up of caring and hard-working individuals and we're proud to support our communities and the activities that you're passionate about.
We love this country and all of the things that make it unique. Whether it's a game of neighbourhood pond hockey in the middle of winter, or an impromptu summer road trip on the Trans-Canada; we provide meat snacks for on-the- go and we encourage you to get out and experience Canada with us.
At McSweeney's, our business is to provide the best meat snacks in Canada. We don't own or operate any farms, but we understand the fundamental importance of good animal welfare practices and the link between animal health, animal welfare, and food quality/safety. As an organization, we are committed to sharing the same values as our customers which includes looking after the welfare of animals raised for our products.
It is our intention that all meat producers and processors associated with the McSweeney's brand must ensure good welfare conditions for all farm animals. We believe there are always better, more compassionate ways available to raise animals.
Over the next five years, we will be working with our partners and suppliers to put those methods into full practice. Today, we already require animal welfare audits from processors who are suppliers of McSweeney's. This animal welfare program is an extension of that policy and a commitment to living our values at the farm-level. Annual targets for farmers and processors will be monitored and assessed by and an advisory body to ensure we meet our strict goals. In doing so, not only will McSweeney's be improving the lives of animals raised for our products, but we hope our commitment will inspire the right behaviours from other meat snack producers and the farms who supply our highly valued Canadian Beef.
© 2020 Direct Plus Food Group | Privacy Statement | Website by SplitMango

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Lomography Lomo'Instant review
Instant photos from the loveable retro Lomo brand
By Amy Davies
Nobody is buying a camera like this because they want super sharp shots every time. Rather, it's designed as a bit of fun – and in good light you can get some nice results.
(opens in new tab)at SSENSE (opens in new tab)
Instant prints
Some manual control
Costly to run
Viewfinder not accurate
Some guesswork needed
Performance and verdict
"Digital is boring," says Lomography, and Lomo cameras have certainly proven very popular in the past couple of years, bringing retro, analogue cameras back into fashion.
Now the company has produced its first instant camera, funded by a Kickstarter campaign, and which uses Fuji's Instax mini film to develop photos in front of your eyes. This film is relatively easy to pick up, certainly from online retailers, and is much cheaper than other forms of instant film, such as the Polaroid-compatible film from another instant photography company, Impossible Project.
Lomography Lomo'Instant (White) at Amazon for $99 (opens in new tab)
As this is deemed to be a more advanced instant camera, the Lomo Instant features quite a few different settings and comes packed in the box with a variety of options to expand it.
There is one built in lens, with a 0.4 metre closest focusing distance and an equivalent focal length of 27mm. Three additional lens converters can be fitted to the in-built lens, to give you fisheye, portrait and close-up lenses.
Other features include the ability to create multiple and long exposures, add coloured gels for the inbuilt flash and work in three different shooting modes.
Build Quality and Handling
As you might expect of something which accepts instant film, the camera has a very boxy appearance. While it's certainly not heavy – far from it – it's reasonably large and will therefore take up a decent amount of room in your bag.
Loading the film is very easy, which makes it less fiddly than many analog cameras. You simply open the camera's back and slot the rectangular film pack, lining up the yellow line on the pack with the yellow line on the camera. Once it's inserted, you take a shot to dispose of the protective black piece of plastic on the film pack.
There's a switch on the bottom which turns the camera on. You can choose from three different operating modes: automatic (designed for all purpose situations) which is marked with an A, creative with flash, and creative no flash. If you switch to automatic, the flash will always fire when needed.
On the front of the camera you'll find all the switches for controlling various aspects of the camera. On the side of the main camera section there's a switch for changing the focus range, allowing you to switch from 0.4-0.9 metres and 1 metre to infinity.
Just above this switch is another for controlling multiple exposures. Move this arm to MX and you can take as many exposures as you like on a single frame; move it back down and the film will be released.
On the top of the camera is a dial for changing exposure compensation. You can leave it on automatic or switch between +2 and -2. Here you'll also find the shutter release. It's worth noting that if the camera has switched itself off automatically and you attempt to take a photo, this will result in a double exposure the next time you switch the camera on.
The extra lenses simply screw onto the in-built lens. The viewfinder sits at the top left of the camera, and while it's reasonable for assessing the composition when the in-built lens is used, when any adaptors are added you'll need to use your best guess at the framing, something which you do eventually get used to judging once you've been using the camera a while.
Lomography Lomo'Instant: Price Comparison
Current page: How it works
Next Page Performance and verdict
Amy Davies
Amy has been writing about cameras, photography and associated tech since 2009. Amy was once part of the photography testing team for Future Publishing working across TechRadar, Digital Camera, PhotoPlus, N Photo and Photography Week. For her photography, she has won awards and has been exhibited. She often partakes in unusual projects - including one intense year where she used a different camera every single day. Amy is currently the Features Editor at Amateur Photographer magazine, and in her increasingly little spare time works across a number of high-profile publications including Wired, Stuff, Digital Camera World, Expert Reviews, and just a little off-tangent, PetsRadar.
4K HDR support means the Mac mini M2 Pro might be ideal for your home theater


Find the 2622T Biljax Boom Lift listings shown below. Each diagram will take you direct to the 2622T Biljax Boom Lift Parts repair part listings and part views for your model.
0096-0047 Biljax Washer-Nylon-M10-.387 I.D. X .


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package net.akehurst.application.framework.technology.interfaceComms;

import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;

public interface IPublishSubscribeRequest {

    void requestSubscribeTo(ChannelIdentity channelId, Map<String, Object> channelConfiguration) throws PublishSubscribeException;

    void requestPublisherOf(ChannelIdentity channelId, Map<String, Object> channelConfiguration) throws PublishSubscribeException;

    <T> void requestPublish(ChannelIdentity channelId, byte[] data) throws PublishSubscribeException;

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Bristol Facials are at The Practice Rooms, 57-59 The High Street, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol BS9 3ED.
or you can book on line via the link below.
All my Facials are given as Bespoke Treatments so you do not have to select a Treatment in advance. I can combine different Techniques and Modalities to suit your needs on the day. The longer treatment times simply allow for a bit more to be included.


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11 Mar 15 19 Mar 15
Syria: An unacceptable humanitarian failure
By Dr Joanne Liu, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) International President
As Syria enters its fifth year of conflict , the war continues to be defined by brutal violence that does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, and half the population has fled either within Syria or into neighbouring countries.
Syrian cities are besieged and cut off from any outside assistance. People are trapped between the ever shifting frontlines as government troops and myriad armed opposition forces wage battle.
Find out more about the current situation in Syria
Thousands of medics killed, kidnapped or displaced
Thousands of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and paramedics have either been killed, kidnapped, or displaced by violence, leaving a massive gap in medical expertise and experience. From an estimated 2,500 doctors working in Aleppo at the beginning of the conflict, fewer than one hundred remain in the hospitals still operating in the city.
The Syrian people's cries for help fill social media, but it seems they have become the background murmur of the Syrian war. With millions of people in need of assistance, MSF should be running some of the largest medical programmes in its 44-year history. Why isn't it?
When the conflict began, MSF began providing supplies to networks of Syrian medical personnel treating the wounded. We were unable to obtain authorisation from the government to work inside the country.
But by directly engaging opposition groups, we managed to negotiate access to areas they held in the north, and began providing direct, cross-border aid to the population.
A deserted street in Aleppo city, April 2013.
Negotiating with armed groups
By 2013, we were running six hospitals in opposition-held areas, providing thousands of consultations, deliveries, and surgical interventions. Negotiations with the numerous armed groups, while challenging, allowed us to send international medical teams to work side-by-side with Syrian colleagues.
We had to repeatedly negotiate agreements with different local commanders to ensure respect for our presence, for the safety of our teams, and for non-interference with our medical activities.
The groups changed frequently, and we renegotiated agreements with commanders from Jeish el Mujahideen, Islamic Front, Jahbat Al Nusra, different factions of the Free Syrian Army, and ISIS, among others.
However, we were never able to provide direct assistance to the majority of the Syrian people caught up in the heart of the conflict. Violence and insecurity, attacks on health facilities and medical workers, and the absence of government authorisation to work in Syria have been some of the main obstacles to extending medical activities.
Yet, however unsatisfied we were with our limitations, we were still doing more than what we can do today.
A view inside a Syrian emergency room, supported by MSF.
IS kidnapping of MSF staff
In mid-2013, when fighters with ISIS (renamed Islamic State - IS - in 2014) arrived in areas where MSF had been running most of its hospitals, agreements were reached with their commanders that they would not interfere with the management of the hospitals and that MSF medical structures and staff would be respected.
However, on 2nd January 2014, ISIS abducted 13 MSF staff members. Among them were eight Syrian colleagues who were released after a few hours.
The remaining five international staff members were held captive for up to five months. The abduction precipitated the withdrawal of our international teams and the closure of MSF health facilities in ISIS-held areas.
Local leaders of the newly renamed IS have repeatedly requested that MSF resume its medical assistance in their areas of control. But we cannot consider this, given that IS targeted our teams and broke an agreement they had committed to.
Necessary guarantees have not been obtained from IS leadership that MSF patients and staff will not be taken or harmed. MSF still operates three hospitals run by MSF Syrian staff, one in Atmeh and two in Aleppo, in addition to three other health structures in northern Syria. But assistance is limited.
Barrel bombings in Aleppo
Aerial bombardments in Aleppo have killed and wounded thousands, and have destroyed houses and infrastructure.
In eastern Aleppo, access to healthcare is now virtually impossible due to lack of supplies and qualified medical staff. MSF teams have observed an increase in medical complications, such as a rise in obstetric complications, miscarriages and preterm births.
Difficulties to provide post-operative care and shortages of antibiotics are resulting in infections and an increased mortality rate among surgical patients.
While we have been forced to reduce direct medical activities in Syria, we have continued to support Syrian medical networks in their tireless quest to treat patients.
Donating medicines and medical material is essential for Syrian medical staff working in besieged areas and active conflict zones.
Medical supplies are dispatched along dangerous roads dotted with checkpoints. The probability of confiscation of materials, arrest, or even death, is high.
This form of support certainly falls far short of what is needed. Many of the supported facilities still lack equipment and are short staffed, and we are unable to provide direct assistance to meet the needs.
Kim Clausen/MSF
Joanne visiting MSF's trauma centre in Kunduz, Afghanistan, in February 2015. "I saw in Kunduz a real human approach to medicine."
Complex war zones
A medical director in a besieged area near Damascus told us that his makeshift hospital received 128 wounded patients after a severe bombing of a crowded market. His team managed to save 60 people, but 68 patients died.
His team used almost all their remaining stock of medical supplies on that single day.
MSF teams are today working in some of the most complex war zones, from Afghanistan to South Sudan to Yemen. An MSF trauma centre I recently visited in northern Afghanistan illustrates the sort of assistance MSF should be able to provide to the population in Syria.
In an 80-bed trauma centre run by MSF in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, wounded combatants lie in beds next to former enemies or alongside civilians, all in need of medical care.
Afghan colleagues and international staff working in the hospital are accepted by all groups in this contested part of the country.
Safe working conditions and medical non-interference have been negotiated with all stake-holders and actors, including the Afghan government, Taliban leadership (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan), and with American-led ISAF forces
While a large scale international humanitarian effort is desperately needed in Syria, it will not happen until the parties to the conflict engage with aid organisations and identify practical steps to permit them to operate safely and effectively.
All armed parties to this conflict must allow humanitarian access to civilians, as they are obliged to do under international humanitarian law.
The people of Syria have suffered unimaginably over the last four years. The continued obstruction of humanitarian aid greatly compounds their misery.
The people of Syria are being denied the most fundamental assistance and the world cannot continue to look away. We can and must do more for them.
Find out more about MSF's work in Syria
Yemen: MSF-supported hospitals in Sana´a treat mass casualties caused by airstrikes
Philippines: Four months after the battle for Marawi began
Yemen: Over 50,000 people affected by cholera


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Merchants Of Air
Poster Wall
Audio & Video Zone
A Small, Neat Journal
Bottom Of The Pops
Merchants Of Air releases
Logos and banner
Nidra / K.M. - Epitaph Of Solitude
Doom metal - dark metal
Epitaph Of Solitude by NIDRA / K.M.
Casus Belli Musica
I wrote one review today and for the rest of they day two other albums have been continuously playing in this household. One of these two will be reviewed later but I did want to introduce you to one of the best doom split albums I've heard in ages. I know, I often mention that this or that album is one of the best doom albums in a certain period of time but I just can't help it. This is pitch black melodic doom at an extremely high level.
Nidra
Nidra is a dark metal band from Perm, Russia. Their style reminds me of bands like Novembers Doom, Saturnus or Swallow The Sun. This duo has roots in black metal and somehow you can actually hear that in the music. However, the bleak atmosphere and blast beats made place for mesmerizing keyboards and deep growls. There is actually a lot of variation in vocals, ranging from the usual growls to angsty screams and clean vocal lines.
'Pathways Of A Dream (Kali)', my favourite on the album, has a dark ambient intro which remains present throughout the entire song. 'Prisoner' is a very strong modern day doom track that somehow makes me a bit homesick for the nineties. 'Thorns Of Never Existed' is another beautiful piece of doom metal that drives on dark eighties keyboards and a melancholic feel, a bit like a blend of Tiamat and Anathema. The three songs that Nidra delivered are amazing, very emotional and with a lot of variation.
Nidra / K.M.
'Abyss' is a Bethlehem cover. Now, I've never really gave this dark/black metal band a lot of attention so I can't remember what the original sounded like. Yet, I do like this cover, it reminds me a bit of Moonspell, be it a lot rougher and edgier.
K.M. stands for 'Katharos Melancholin'. This one-man project is also firmly rooted in the black metal scene and still active in several bands. His songs breathe a grim atmosphere, very much like many depressive black metal bands do. Furthermore, K.M. incorporates some influences from post-rock, gothic metal and even a bit of ethereal music. The result is once again stunning, three brilliantly dark songs.
For a twelve minute anthem, 'Mutilated By The God' seriously rocks. This, mostly mid-tempo, song really is a pleasure to listen to. I know because I've listened to it for at least seven times now and I still love every minute of it. 'Having Begun To Hate This World' and 'Cognizing The Grief' also come up with a lot of melody while still being able to maintain a strong rhythm.
In all, I really think this is a brilliant dark metal album, bringing the best elements of death, doom and black together. I'm sure this CD will find my neighbour-torturing-sound-device quite often in the following months and I'm going to keep an eye on these bands, that's for sure...
Neo Folk
Neo-folk
Noise-rock
minds


Tamil Nadu Paramedical course merit list 2019 has been released for admissions into various courses on Sep 29, 2019 which you can check it now.
Candidates who've applied for the Paramedical Courses may check When the merit list of applicants be published for counselling.
2. Ranking of the candidates will be based on the total marks obtained in Science subjects after normalization of marks computed to maximum marks of 200.
3. Only marks obtained through first appearance will be considered.
For courses B.Pharmacy, B.ASLP/B.Optom if you've Physics, Chemistry, Maths & or other than Biology, P+C+M will be taken into consideration.
v) Computerised random number assigned. Higher value of random number will be taken into consideration.
6. Students will be called for TN Paramedical counselling as per the merit list .
Hope it's clear now on How Merit list for para medical courses are calculated and when will the paramedical course merit list be published.
If you've any doubts or want to know anything further regarding the same, do let us know in comment box.
Ithu unga bio cut off ah?
Ithu unga bio cutoff ah?
I'm santhiya my cut off mark is 180.25 sir will I get bpharm in government college ?
When will the paramedical merit list release?
Sir…My cut off mark is 167.5….I have applied for b.optom….Will I get gov college?????….pls reply me sir….


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Supreme Court won't hear Pechanga membership case
An attempt to put enrollment matters before the U.S. Supreme Court failed on Monday when the justices rejected a lawsuit filed by former members of a prominent California tribe.
Without comment, the court refused to hear the pleas of more than 130 people who have been kicked out of Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, the owners of a highly successful casino. The former members argued that the tribe's enrollment committee broke Pechanga law by disenrolling them.
But in a decision that stands as a result of yesterday's move, the state courts in California will have to stay out of the controversial dispute. Although a judge in Riverside County had allowed the case to move forward, the tribe successfully petitioned an appeals court to halt the lawsuit before it went to trial.
In its August 2005 decision, the appeals said "we are persuaded that Congress did not intend that the courts of this state should have the power to intervene -- or interfere -- in purely tribal matters. Insofar as plaintiffs sue for violations of 'Pechanga Band Law,' it is for the Band to determine what that law is and whether or not it has been violated."
The lawsuit is just one of several that have tested the power of tribes to remove people from the rolls. In California, an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 have been disenrolled from tribes with hefty casino profits.
"When I first started, it was taboo in Indian Country to talk about them," said Jon Velie, one of the lawyers who represents the ousted Pechangas.
"It is an epidemic, it's one of the worst epidemics in Indian Country right now," said Velie at the Federal Bar Association's Indian law conference last month.
Marc Macarro, the chairman of the Pechanga Band, disagrees with Velie and the former tribal members. In a statement read at the conference, he said that most of the disenrollment cases have actually been reversed ever since the tribe adopted removal procedures in 1988.
The federal and state courts have sided with Macarro and other tribes. As recently as September, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said it wouldn't get involved in internal tribal matters such as enrollment no matter how fair or unfair the process might be.
The ousted Pechangas sought to get around tribal immunity issues by citing Public Law 280, the law that granted the state of California, and other states, civil and criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country.
The law did not divest tribes of their sovereignty. The lawsuits filed by the former Pechanga member say it can be used to resolve disputes between individual Indians. In their cases, they sued members of the Pechanga Band's enrollment committee rather than the tribe itself.
But the cases face dismissal since the federal and state courts are staying away. One lawsuit seeks $38 million in damages for casino per capita payments that the former tribal members lost as a result of their disenrolled.
The ousted Pechangas aren't giving up, however. John Gomez, the leader of one group of disenrollees, formed the American Indian Rights and Resources Organization in hopes of seeking more civil rights protections for individual Indians.
Disenrolled tribal members have staged protests at the California Nations Indian Gaming Association's annual conference and at the State Capitol. On Saturday, they met for AIRRO's first annual membership meeting in hopes of coming up with strategies to address what they call are violations of their basic rights.
Case Documents:
Salinas v. LaMere (Native American Rights Fund)
California Appeals Court Decision:
Lamere v. Superior Court (August 8, 2005)
Pechanga Tribal Disenrollment - http://www.pechanga.info
Bureau-of-Indian-Affairs.com, Disenrollment site - http://www.bureau-of-indian-affairs.com
• Sherman Indian School educator honored
• Opening statements set for ex-Bush official's trial


According to local newspaper reports, Saudi Arabia has promulgated a new law to tackle terrorism and terrorist funding. The new law which is now in effect aims to protect the Kingdom from terrorist attacks and maintain national security. It also clamps down on the use of charities and non-profit institutions as facades to cover the funding of terrorist activities. Under the Law, prosecutors will be able to request records or documents from suspicious institutions and compel charities to implement provisions of the law.


Ihave been outside!! I know, crazy talk. I had a little trip to the coast and took a picture of the sea.
Thankfully I did not break any bones whilst traversing the rocks. Though I did have an altercation with a seagull, which I turned to stone…. using superglue, obviously.
Meanwhile, back in the studio I am bordering on prolific as I have made another one of these….
Inspired by the icy weather at the weekend, I cut up some more vintage books to illustrate how I was feeling, and recycled a blog comment – we shouldn't simply throw them away, should we? They will probably cause mayhem in the future if left abandoned all over the Blogosphere – think of the bots choking on the code!!
And, I decided my avatar would look fetching on a stamp….
Okay, Mr Devine, you can stop holding your breath now….
This entry was posted in Art, Creative Writing and tagged collage, duckpool, handwriting, mixed media, recycling on April 17, 2019 by Scarlet.
Where is my Loopy Letter?
Where is your Loopy Letter?
It will all come good. Promise. Also, I really enjoy making these….
…so some people may receive one of these.
….full of bounce and attitude. And this is how the address turned out on the envelope….
As soon as I know someone is going to see my work I become self-conscious and a lot of the jaunty attitude is lost. It's something for me to work on, apart from the more I work on something the more self-conscious I become! Aargghh!
This is my mad dog. His name is Sid. He needs 5 miles of walking every day. Currently he gets closer to 3 miles. EVERY DAY. Yes, I have been out in the harsh Winter weather, I have felt every biting wind on my face, and every dollop of snow on my head. Put it this way – I am not an outdoorsy sort of person, and each day when I return from my walk I collapse in a heap and I am fit for nothing. To be fair, what I have achieved so far is a flipping miracle.
I am still working on the Loopy Letter project!! I have not forgotten!! I have not given up!!!
This entry was posted in Calligraphy, loopy letter project and tagged calligraphy envelope, collage, copperplate, letter writing, modern calligraphy uk on March 20, 2018 by Scarlet.


The Holy See expressed its "shame and pain" for the sexual abuse committed for decades by priests in Pennsylvania, United States, and reiterated the call of Pope Francis to make every effort to eradicate "this tragic horror that destroys the lives of innocents ". On Tuesday, August 14, the Supreme Court of the State of Pennsylvania published a report revealing more than a thousand alleged cases of sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy during the past 70 years in the dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton. The 884-page report was written by 23 members of a grand jury, which for 18 months examined half a million pages of documents.
The FBI helped with the investigation of these cases between 1947 and 2017. The Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Greg Burke, indicated that "in light of the report that has been made public in Pennsylvania this week, there are two words that can express feelings about these horrible crimes: shame and pain." "The Holy See takes the work of the Investigating Grand Jury of Pennsylvania and the long Interim Report that it has produced very seriously.
The Holy See unequivocally condemns the sexual abuse of minors," it said in a statement released on August 16. "The abuses described in the report are criminal and morally reprehensible. These facts have betrayed trust and robbed the victims of their dignity and their faith. The Church must learn hard lessons from its past, and there should be assumption of responsibility, both by the abusers and by those who allowed it to occur." The statement also notes that "most of the report refers to abuses committed before the early 2000s." "Having found hardly any cases after 2002, the conclusions of the Grand Jury are consistent with previous studies that show how the reforms made by the Catholic Church in the United States have drastically reduced the incidence of abuses committed by the clergy."
"The Holy See urges to be in constant reform and vigilance at all levels of the Catholic Church, to ensure the protection of minors and vulnerable adults. It also emphasizes the need to obey civil legislation, including the obligation to report cases of child abuse," it said. Greg Burke said that "the Holy Father understands well how these crimes can shake the faith and encouragement of believers, and reiterates the call to make every effort to create a safe environment for minors and vulnerable adults in the Church and throughout society." "The victims should know that the Pope is on their side. Those who have suffered are its priority, and the Church wants to listen to them to eradicate this tragic horror that destroys the lives of the innocent," said the spokesman of the Holy See.
The final report, drafted by a popular jury to which the conclusions of the investigation had been submitted, indicates that "almost all cases" have already been prescribed and cannot be criminally prosecuted. However two priests are charged, one for repeated sexual assaults on several children, the most recent in 2010. The other priest, accused of assaulting a 7-year-old boy, pleaded guilty at the end of July, but the accusation is held a felony, not a crime, and only a maximum of five years in prison.
Although they cannot be investigated, the jury has also made public the names of dozens of men in the Church accused of pedophilia in the investigation. The report speaks of sexual assaults at times against alleged victims of less than 10 years. It cites the case of a priest who abused five sisters, of whom the youngest was only 18 months old when the alleged acts began. Many of the facts narrated in the report show that the hierarchy often acted so that cases of sexual abuse were not disclosed and to protect the perpetrators of the attacks.
Bishops and cardinals "were protected, and many of them, some of them mentioned in this report, were promoted."As long as that does not change, we believe it is too early to close the chapter of the sexual scandals of the Catholic Church. At the end of July, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, accused of sexually abusing a teenager. Other senior prelates were forced to resign because they closed their eyes, like Cardinals Roger Mahony (Los Angeles) and Bernard Law (Boston), who died at the end of 2017.


Are you thinking of redesigning your website and looking for a website redesign checklist? If yes, then you have come to the right place! In this blog article, not only are we going to discuss some of the key points you should have on your checklist, but also at the end of this article we are going to offer you a complete workbook that you can use as a template for your website redesign project plan.
3. Determine which marketing channels are working the best for you: Do you know which of your marketing channels are bringing in the most visitors, leads and customers for you? Here are some key questions to consider: How social media is driving leads to your business? How much of your search traffic can be attributed to search engine optimization, and how much you're paying for it? Which channels brought in serious leads versus website visitors who just came to look around?
If you need help in answering any of these questions, you may sign up for a free assessment of your inbound marketing readiness with us.
For example, if you remove a page that has a higher number of inbound links, you could lose a lot of SeO credit, which could decrease keyword rankings.
5. Know your competition well: While we don't recommend obsessing over your competitors, it helps to know how you compare.
a. Run your website through Marketing Grader (http://marketing.grader.com) to get a report card of how your website and marketing is performing today.
b. Next, run your competitors through Marketing Grader so you are aware of their strengths and weaknesses.
c. Take a look at their websites, note what you like and what you don't. BUT, this is not meant to copy them. That's the last thing you want to do. Instead, you'll uncover what you can do better.
Once you run the analysis, put together an action list of what areas you can improve and what you can do differently than your competitors.
6. Know your uniqueness on the Internet: Before you begin crafting your content, be clear about you Unique Value Proposition (UVP) so that it is consistent across your entire website. if you attract a high number of unique visitors, or you're a new business, your visitors might not be very familiar with you and what you do. You need to immediately answer if what you do is right for them, and why they should buy/convert/ stay on your website and not flee to your competitors.
When crafting your UVP, make sure you sound human. Do not use unnecessary jargon while describing yourself or your services.
7. Design your website keeping in mind your target audience or buyer personas: Your website is not just about you. Your visitors ask, "what's in it for me?" Speak to them in their language by designing content around buyer personas.
A buyer persona is when you slice your marketplace into individual groups of people. They are fictional representations of your ideal customers, based on real data about customer demographics and online behavior, along with educated speculation about their personal histories, motivations, and concerns.
For instance, if you are a marketing manager at a hotel who is looking to bring in new business, you might target five buyer personas: an independent business traveler, a corporate travel manager, an event planner, a vacationing family, and a couple planning their wedding reception.
Your website is a great way to match your messaging to the needs of different buyer personas. Build your pages into categories to fit these personas, or offer content in a way that your prospects can easily find what's relevant for them.
8. Consider search engine optimization for your website: Getting found online is essential to improving the rest of your site metrics. if no one is coming to your site, how can you increase leads, downloads, or sales?
9. Think of having the right calls-to-action buttons: Calls-to-action are the elements on your website that drive visitors to take an action, whether it's a whitepaper download, contacting sales, or product purchase. Your website shouldn't be a static brochure but should prompt your visitors to do something that further engages them with your brand.
f. Contact us / consultation / demonstration / etc.
While the "design" of your website is important, focus on functionality. Make sure there are plenty of calls-to-action so you don't lose visitors.
a. Blog: A blog is a great way to create content on an ongoing basis, and to converse with your customers and prospects.
b. Landing pages & calls-to-action: Landing pages and calls-to-action are critical lead generation components. Create awesome landing pages as part of the redesign for your offers and assets.
c. Add RSS subscription: RSS allows some content from your website to be automatically pushed out to other websites and people, increasing the reach of your content.
d. Shareability: Add social media sharing buttons/links to all your pages. You can use tools like ShareThis or AddThis.
e. Analytics: It's critical you are measuring the performance of your website from the start. Insight is everything for a marketer.
Finally, please use this link or the button below to download a free website redesign checklist and workbook for your project.
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text:
Q: Looping name backwards in C I want to print my name backwards from n times (n = 1-100). I can't seem to figure it out. As you can see by my code, the strrev() does not work when looping as it constantly reverses over and over again. I would also like to somehow enforce the user to enter a letter and not number for name, but that is not as imperative.
#include<stdlib.h>
#include<stdio.h>
#include<string.h>

int main ()
{
    int choice;
    char name[255];
    int loopCounter;
    int count;
    int number;

    do
    {
        printf("1.Display Your Name\n");
        printf("2.Display Your Name (From 1-100)\n");
        printf("3.Display your Name Backwards\n");
        printf("4.Display Your Name Backwards (From 1-100)\n");
        printf("5.Quit\n");

        printf("Enter your name:\n");
        scanf("%s", name);

        printf("Enter your choice:   ");
        scanf("%i", &choice);

        switch(choice)
        {
            case 1:
                printf("Your name is %s.\n", name);
                break;
            case 2:
                printf("How many times to display your name? (1-100) ");
                scanf("%i", &count);

                if ( 100 < count)
                {
                    printf("Please enter 1 through 100\n");
                }
                else
                {
                    loopCounter = 0;
                    while (loopCounter < count )
                    {
                        loopCounter++;
                        printf("%d %s\n", loopCounter,name);
                    }
                }
                break;
            case 3:
                printf("Your name backwards is: %s\n\n", strrev(name));
                break;
            case 4:
                printf("How many times to display your name backwards? ");
                scanf("%i", &count);
                if ( 100 < count)
                {
                    printf("Please enter 1 through 100\n");
                }
                else
                {
                    loopCounter = 0;
                    while (loopCounter < count )
                    {
                        loopCounter++;
                        printf("%d %s\n", loopCounter, strrev(name));
                    }
                }
                break;
           case 5:
               printf("Goodbye!!!!\n");
               break;
           default:
               printf("Was not 1 through 5\n");
               break;
       }
   } while (choice!=5);
}

A: Your problem is that strrev() reverses the string in place.
If you want to keep the original, you should make a copy of name and use strrev() to reverse it once, before the loop. Then in the loop, just call the reversed name.
Otherwise, just do this:
loopCounter = 0;
strrev(name);
while (loopCounter < count ) {
    loopCounter++;
    printf("%d %s\n", loopCounter, name);
}

A: There is another solution where there is not requirement of strrev.. Watch the following code:--
main()
{
char name[255];
int loopcounter;
  for(loopcounter = strlen(name)-1; loopcounter>=0; loopcounter--)
  {
     printf("%c", name[loopcounter]);
  }
}

This code will definitely help you....ok

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Silver ring with black or white fresh water pearl.
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Three blueish feathers in a 3D printed blue cap.
White fresh water pearl hat pin or lapel pin.
3D printed Space Invader hat pin with three fresh water pearls.
3D printed heart "Respect All Cultures" hat pin or lapel pin.
Two greyish feathers in a 3D printed grey cap.
Four redish feathers in a 3D printed red cap.
3D printed "BOY "and "GIRL" hat pin.
3D printed Space Invader Gold Digger hat pin.
3D printed Little Mister hat pin.
3D printed Space Invader hat pin.


I doubt this will interest many people other than rebreather divers so you have been warned!
In late 2016 I decided to evolve from manually operated to hybrid rebreather. It was a tough decision as I have mostly enjoyed diving the Pelagian DCCCR and the investment of time and money in learning to dive a new model is pretty hefty. However I made the switch and six months and 180hrs diving later I thought I'd put down some comments, pros and cons etc.
Why did I decide to make the switch? As I've already alluded to this was quite an expensive and time consuming thing to do so it was not a decision I made lightly. There were a few reasons I chose to switch some of which were logistical and financial. The overriding reason though was that, as a cameraman, I believed I would be better served by diving a unit with a solenoid so that I could set my P02 on my computer and let the unit do a lot of the work for me. While I loved (and still love) the Pelagian for many reasons, it is a fully manual rebreather. I've had instances where I've been very focused on filming and have failed to monitor my gauges for a few minutes so let my PO2 rise or fall significantly. Filming natural history often means I need to be 99% focused on the situation and my camera and trust my dive gear to do its job for a little while.
Once I made the decision to switch I looked around for an instructor. I had two options in SE Asia. Davy Koh in Singapore and Marc Crane in Bali. The costs for each were pretty similar but I preferred Bali as a destination so I went with Marc. Marc is one of the owners and operators of Bali Dive Trek in Amed. It's about a 2-3hr drive from the airport in Denpasar. It has a really nice setup for tech diving with ample room to tear down and setup gear, a great classroom and a nice deep training pool. It is a little isolated, being a short drive from the small town of Amed, but that suited me as I could dive, eat, sleep and study with no distractions. Diving is accessed by a 10-15min drive to one of the nearby shore dives. The crossover course consisted of three days of theory and training dives and one day of diving. The theory and drills were extensive and it was much more intensive than I had imagined. As you'd expect Marc is a very experienced diver and on top of the course I gained a lot of useful knowledge on dive planning, bailout strategies and tips and tricks for getting the most out of my unit. I would recommend Bali Dive Trek and Marc unreservedly for anyone who is thinking of crossing over to the rEvo or training on it as their first unit.
So after 180hrs underwater what do I like about the rEvo….
Well engineered with everything laid out well and hoses etc tidied away.
Easy and quick to assemble and disassemble, change scrubber.
Excellent scrubber time due to the cycling method.
Hybrid – manual or auto options.
5 02 cells mean 3 on shearwater and 2 on rEvo dreams so lots of redundancy.
The ADV trigger fires too easily. Luckily I learnt a fix for that but it does seem to be a flaw.
I have seen a few other units now and, having had some experience on two rebreather models, I feel that I have a good idea of what to look for now in a rebreather. I can safely say that currently I am very happy with my decision to switch to a rEvo. It's an amazing tool for my job.


Jordan Peele is bringing back one of the greatest TV shows of all time, The Twilight Zone, for CBS All Access in April with a slew of amazing guest stars like Adam Scott, Sanaa Lathan, John Cho, Steven Yeun, Rhea Seehorn, Taissa Farmiga and many more.
This week on the podcast, Zach, Chris and Joe talk about Stranger Things 2 (and try to figure out what's Billy's deal), the terrible retconning of Jigsaw, the new Assassin's Creed and South Park games, what makes a good Spider-Man game, the inability of anyone to reboot The Twilight Zone and much more.
The first week of February for new comics is jam packed with new series from Marvel, including a new solo Punisher, two Forever Evil books from DC, the return of Turok and much more.
The last day for new comics in 2013 brings a new Twilight Zone comic and the latest from Guardians of the Galaxy, Superman and Wolverine.
TMNT gets bumped back, Groot has been cast for Guardians of the Galaxy, a director may have been chosen for The Twilight Zone movie and much more in this week's News Shotgun.
The big news this week was obviously the buying of Lucasfilm by Disney but there was a ton of other news this week including some plot details revealed, directing and casting news and release dates for some highly anticipated comedy returns.
This week the trio of Zach, Chris and Joe discuss classic literature that has been turned into movies, the premiere of Season Two of The Walking Dead, question why the new The Thing exists, Batman, the bizarre new genre of action/romantic comedies and much more.


text:
Sherburn in Elmet
A Historic Yorkshire Village
THE RESIDENT MAGAZINE
Home News Sherburn Meets Hollywood
Sherburn Meets Hollywood
Lynn Lowry a Hollywood horror actress has traded the luxurious LA life style for the far more carming county of Yorkshire.
Lynn who starred in the 1975 horror film, 'The Shivers', has travelled from the USA to Leeds for a new short comedy-horror which is being filmed in Sherburn in Elmet.
The film is called 'First Impressions Can Kill' and is directed by the award winning Eddie Bammeke and written by Michael Haberfelner.
Speaking to Yorkshire Spotlight she said: "Last year I worked on Talk of the Dead with Michael and Eddie and I actually spoke with Michael about this film and gave him the idea.
"I actually quite like working on smaller productions like this because they're more family oriented and people working on the film want to make it special. Then you get the big, really expensive productions, and nobody seems to care, it is just a job for them."
When we asked Lowry why she only ever seems to do horror films she explained that she has just been put in the genre since her early career. "Since doing my early work, which was horror, I have always been put in that genre." she said. "I love doing horror comedy, it is a lot of fun and I can do other things but this is just what I ended up doing. I love doing horror."
Director Eddie Bammeke said how he would like this film to go around the world. He said: "My vision for this is to get it out there and for it to go around the world, getting it on the TV. It is an extremely good, dark horror for people to watch. It is very physiological, twisted and bloody.
"A lot of the cast are from the north and being a man who lived in Wakefield for a while, it is good to be back up here. I really like Yorkshire and the northern hospitality is great which is really special when filming something like this."
Author and screenwriter for First Impressions can Kill, Michael Haberfelner, has given the film the tagline 'If you're well prepared, an audition can be a wonderful experience except if you're auditioning against Jane Higgins.'
Haberfelner said: "This film was an idea from Lynn and I made up this crazy story about an audition situation where everything is getting horrific, but, it is a horror-comedy so you can't really take it too seriously. We have made it like a thriller but the laughs come at all the wrong points really, which is exactly how we wanted it to be."
The youngest star of the production is 11-year-old Kayla Holesworth who plays the part of 'the girl on the bike'. She said how excited she was to be working with Lowry: "It feels amazing to know that I am filming with a Hollywood star and I am really excited to just be here. All my friends pretend they don't care but they really do. I just can't wait to see the final film."
Filming only took the production team one night and it is now in the post-production phase.
Keep an eye out online or even on your TV's to see if you can catch First Impressions can Kill
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I still consistently get the issue on a reconfigure or even a destroy/deploy using latest 6.0.0.0rc2 version and the additions in the above commit are present in my bootstrap.yml. This is on ubuntu 16.04 on the same server as the deployment. The mariadb container is running fine.
I still consistently get the issue on a reconfigure or even a destroy/deploy using latest 6.0.0.0rc2 version and the additions in the above commit in the other answer are present in my bootstrap.yml. This is on ubuntu 16.04 on the same server as the deployment. The mariadb container is running fine.


text:
You are in : All News > An "insult to the public's intelligence": NGOs slam EU-proposed ban on meat terminology in vegan products
An "insult to the public's intelligence": NGOs slam EU-proposed ban on meat terminology in vegan products
29 Jul 2019 --- Ten animal protection, consumer, environment and food NGOs have united in an open letter to urge recently-elected MEPs to drop proposals to outlaw phrases such as "vegan sausage roll" and "veggie burger" across the EU. The prospective ban would effectively prohibit plant-based products from using names that have typically been associated with meat products and preparations, such as "steak," "sausage," "drumstick" and "burger," reserving these terms for exclusive use on meat-derived products. Petitions against this proposal have already gathered around 80,000 signatures.
In April, the EU Parliament AGRI Committee voted in support of far-reaching changes to EU food labeling rules. These proposals, however, did not pass through the rest of the EU policy process before the May 2019 EU Parliament elections. The opposing NGOs note it is currently unclear as to whether the new EU AGRI Committee will want to press ahead with the amendments, or rethink action. The proposals would need to pass through the full EU policy-making process before coming into effect.
The proposed labeling ban is an "attempt to undermine the growing success of plant-based alternatives to animal products," the NGOs assert, adding that this proposal would have the effect of banning widely-used and widely-understood product terms. The proposal also prospects further prohibiting terms such as "yogurt style", "cheese imitation" or "butter substitute" in plant-based dairy alternatives.
Innova Market Insights data shows that meat substitutes accounted for 11 percent of new meat product launches (meat, poultry and meat substitutes) reported in Europe in 2018, up from 9 percent in 2013. The global picture shows stronger growth, with 14 percent of meat launches in 2018 being meat alternatives, compared to 6 percent in 2013.
"The letter shows the breadth of opposition across Europe to these proposals," says Richard Parr, Managing Director of The Good Food Institute Europe, which led the petition. "The idea that we should ban phrases like 'veggie burger' and 'vegan sausage roll' is an insult to the intelligence of the European public."
"MEPs on the AGRI Committee now have the opportunity to reflect over the summer – and drop these misguided proposals. Plant-based meat, dairy and eggs are better for animals, public health and the planet – and are a huge opportunity for the European economy. We should be encouraging them, not undermining them with absurd restrictions," adds Parr.
Click to Enlarge"There is no evidence of consumer confusion regarding the naming of plant-based alternatives to animal products," the NGOs assert.While the proposed ban aims to elevate uniformity in labeling to prevent buyers from being misled, the open letter emphasizes that there is no evidence of consumer confusion regarding the naming of plant-based alternatives to animal products. "On the contrary, consumers purchase these items because they do not contain meat or dairy," it states.
"The amendment also goes against consumers' choices for more sustainable food. Plant-based foods have a significantly lower climate and environmental impact compared to animal-based foods and the CAP should not discourage food choices that align with the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions, as mandated by the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Climate Agreement," the NGO's stress.
For years European consumers have been accustomed to the use of terms such as "vegan sausage" or "veggie burger" for plant-based alternatives to meat, the letter highlights. To ban the use of those widely-used terms is unnecessary and would only result in "confusing consumers" and "preventing them from making informed choices" while purchasing products.
Since its release, the proposal has received widespread negative coverage in the mainstream international media. Given the serious work expected from the European Parliament during this new mandate on issues such as climate change, seeking to restrict commercial speech and slow the growth of the plant-based market is "counterproductive." This is particularly true, as numerous studies have shown the environmental and climate benefits of plant-based diets, the letter stresses.
Participating NGOs in the open letter are listed as: Compassion in World Farming-EU; Eurogroup for Animals; European Environmental Bureau; European Vegetarian Union; FOUR PAWS; Humane Society International/Europe; ProVeg International; SAFE-Safe Food Advocacy Europe; The Good Food Institute Europe; and The Vegan Society.
EU Parliament EU Agriculture and Rural Development Vegan Plant-based Meat alternatives
"Stop plant-based censorship": EU's dairy-free sector petitions against bans on packaging and advertising
15 Jan 2021 --- Europe's plant-based industry leaders are hitting back at a proposed amendment to a ban that would extend restrictions of the "imitation or... Read More
Weekly Roundup: PepsiCo doubles climate actions goals, Waitrose taps into holistic living trend
15 Jan 2021 --- This week, PepsiCo revealed plans to double its climate action goals and pledged net-zero emissions by 2040. Campbell Soup announced it would close its Georgia, US... Read More
Sugar-free ice cream brand Nick's scoops US$30M, while CEO continues "international expansion"
14 Jan 2021 --- Swedish ice cream brand Nick's has landed US$30 million in funding to expand its production capacity, as well as its global reach with US and Germany at the... Read More
Bühler and DIL combine forces to accelerate next-gen extruded meat substitutes
11 Jan 2021 --- Bühler is partnering with German food science researchers at the German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL) to propel the sustainable production of healthy... Read More
Veganuary sign-ups reach 540,000: How has COVID-19 propelled the movement?
11 Jan 2021 --- Veganuary – a UK organization encouraging consumers to go vegan for January – has topped 540,000 global sign-ups, with that number still... Read More


text:
Consumer spending grew 14.2 per cent in October
Spending on essential items saw a smaller uplift than September, as fuel spend returned to modest growth after last month's surge
Cinemas and digital content & subscriptions had strong growth, boosted by titles such as 'No Time To Die', 'Squid Game' and 'Succession'
International travel recorded its strongest post pandemic performance, as restrictions continued to lift
Clothing and pubs, bars & clubs fared less well than last month, as concerns around rising household bills led Brits to cut back on nice-to-haves
The Barclaycard report combines hundreds of millions of customer transactions with consumer research to provide an in-depth view of UK spending
Despite the backdrop of inflation concerns and rising household bills, overall consumer card spending grew by 14.2 per cent in October, compared to the same period in 2019. While growth slowed in some non-essential categories, such as clothing and hospitality, it was a particularly good month for entertainment, digital subscriptions, and travel.
Data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation's credit and debit card transactions, reveals that spending on essential items increased 13.2 per cent – slightly less than September's uplift of 14.4 per cent, as fuel spend returned to modest growth (5.5 per cent) after last month's 11.1 per cent surge.
While shopping at supermarkets and food & drink specialist stores grew 14.2 per cent and 69.2 per cent respectively, almost four in 10 (38 per cent) consumers report finding it harder than normal to buy essential items due to shortages on the shelves – though this does represent an improvement on last month (46 per cent). The top five items among shoppers who were struggling to make some purchases were: fresh fruit and vegetables (42 per cent), ingredients for home cooking (30 per cent), frozen goods (28 per cent), fresh meat and fish (25 per cent) and soft drinks (24 per cent).
Spending on non-essential items rose 14.6 per cent, including a 127.1 per cent jump in online takeaway spend, as the colder weather led more Brits to order fast food via delivery apps.
The release of popular new series and boxsets such as 'Squid Game' and 'Succession' fuelled demand for sign-up services, with digital content & subscriptions rising 38.6 per cent, 7.1 per cent higher than last month's growth (31.5 per cent).
In entertainment (up 28.4 per cent), spend on cinema bookings showed the highest level of growth (17.3 per cent) since October 2019 – largely due to the launch of the new James Bond film, 'No Time to Die'. October also marked the first month that cinema spending crossed over into positive growth since the start of the pandemic.
There was also encouraging news for the travel sector – spending on international trips recorded its strongest performance since before the pandemic began, as restrictions continued to lift. Travel agents and airlines saw much smaller contractions of -26.9 per cent and -28.1 per cent compared to last month, when the categories declined by -45.4 per cent and -49.5 per cent respectively. Public transport also had its smallest drop (-20.0 per cent) since February 2020, as more workers returned to commuting by tube, train and bus.
However, in signs that shoppers may be cutting back on retail spending, some categories recorded smaller growth than last month, including clothing – which saw an 8.9 per cent increase compared to 10.1 per cent in September – and department stores, which fell back into decline (-3.1 per cent) after two months of growth.
This comes as almost nine in 10 (88 per cent) consumers say they are worried about the impact of rising inflation on their household finances – a minor improvement on September (90 per cent). A similar number (89 per cent) are concerned that rising bills will have a negative impact on their household finances, with 38 per cent of these Brits spending less on nice-to-have items.
In addition, three in 10 (29 per cent) of those concerned about rising household bills are cutting back on social events, including drinks and meals outs, which may explain why spending on bars, pubs & clubs (+37.1 per cent) saw a smaller rise this month than in September (+43.5 per cent), and restaurant spending had a larger decline (-8.3 per cent) than last month (-2.1 per cent).
Ongoing supply chain shortages continue to weigh on Brits' minds, with over a third (34 per cent) being so concerned about shortages in stores that they are changing their approach to Christmas shopping this year.
In fact, over half (52 per cent) of these consumers are buying Christmas gifts earlier than usual, including toys and other child-related items, with online spend at these stores growing 38.4 per cent in October, compared to just 9.9 per cent in September. Meanwhile, close to three in 10 (28 per cent) are seeking to save money by buying gifts during the Black Friday or other seasonal sales.
Jose Carvalho, Head of Consumer Products, said: "The expensive festive period on the horizon, combined with ongoing concerns around the impact of inflation and supply chain shortages, has meant we've seen steady yet cautious spending from consumers in October.
"While the uncertainty around rising household bills appears to be weighing on Brits' minds, the encouraging growth we've seen in entertainment and international travel shows that consumers are still keen to enjoy leisure activities and holidays. As the nation continues its Christmas shopping and gears up for Black Friday and other sales, we're confident that November should bring some welcome cheer to retailers."
Essential 13.2% 10.3%
Non Essential 14.6% 22.1%
OVERALL 14.2% 17.1%
Household 15.5% 5.1%
Electronics 3.7% 1.1%
Furniture Stores 16.6% -5.1%
Discount Stores 28.5% 12.9%
Other Specialist Retailers 19.8% 9.8%
Hospitality & Leisure 11.7% 22.1%
Restaurants -8.3% -20.1%
Entertainment 28.4% 28.5%
Hotels, Resorts & Accomodation 10.9% 10.1%
Travel -22.1% -1.2%
Public Transport -20.0% -2.7%
Other Travel -4.4% 8.2%
Motoring 3.4% 17.4%
F2F 5.4% 9.0%
We have changed the way we produce our monthly Consumer Spending Index. Starting in March, all calculations moved to a two-year comparison (i.e. comparing October 2021 against October 2019), instead of a year-on-year comparison. This includes any prior period comparisons included in the release (e.g. comparing July 2020 to July 2018), to ensure that all comparisons are like-for-like. This provides a more realistic view of the UK's long-term recovery from the impact of coronavirus, and of whether spending has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Barclaycard sees nearly half of the nation's credit and debit card transactions, which provides us with unique insight into UK consumer spending. The monthly spending data in this press release is based on Barclaycard credit card and Barclays debit card transactions, and is analysed by the Barclays Market and Customer Insights team. It relates to the period 25th September to 22nd October 2021. It is compared with 28th September to 25th October 2019.
The consumer confidence survey in this press release was carried out between 22nd and 25th October 2021 by Longitude Research on behalf of Barclaycard. There were 2,000 respondents, providing a representative sample of UK consumers by age, gender, region, and income group.
For more information, please contact please contact Oliver Stevenson at oliver.stevenson@barclaycard.co.uk or on +44 (0)7880 184 177 or Rebecca Butler at rebecca.butler@barclaycard.co.uk or +44 (0)7881 318 767.
Barclays Market and Customer Insights helps businesses keep up to date with spending trends, monitors their market position and enhances their understanding of customer behaviour, based on actual customer spending. Visit insights.uk.barclays/MCI or email contact-MCI@barclays.com.


Resume Sample, Software Engineer Resume was posted October 25, 2018 at 10:46 pm by i-italy.us . More over Software Engineer Resume has viewed by 260 visitor.
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Through the ups-and-downs of her career, there's always been reason to believe in Kori Carter.
I remember watching her destroy high school kids during her prep career in Southern California, where she was a five-time state champion. Then it took her a few years to get into her stride at Stanford, but once she did, it was game over.
Carter's explosive junior year in 2013 was one of the more impressive I've ever seen. She rolled through the outdoor season with PR after PR, closing it all out with a collegiate record 53.21 seconds at the NCAA Championships.
With little left to prove on the college level, Carter proceeded to go professional, sign with Brand Jordan, and join Bobby Kersee's Los Angeles-based training group that included the likes of Allyson Felix and Dawn Harper-Nelson.
Carter, however, experienced mixed success during her stint in L.A. She was still among America's best in the 400 meter hurdles but didn't put up the mind-blowing times she did in 2013.
After finishing an agonizing fourth at last year's Olympic Trials, Carter decided to return to the tutelage of her college coach Edrick Floreal, now the head coach at the University of Kentucky.
In Lexington, she joined a training group plenty of star power in its own right— it features Olympic gold medalist Omar McLeod, world record holder Keni Harrison, and will soon include Sydney McLaughlin.
It's pretty clear Floreal's guidance has gotten Carter back to her winning ways. Carter finally broke that PR from 2013 with a 52.95 runner-up finish in a historically fast 400 meter hurdles race at USA's.
Then came today's World Championships final in London.
All eyes were on Olympic champ Dalilah Muhammad, who was seeded in the middle of the track in lane four, while Carter was out in lane nine.
Muhammad shot out of the blocks like a bullet and opened up a significant early on. But Carter quietly went out quite hard as well and pulled even with Muhammad around the final turn.
With Muhammad tiring after her fast start, Carter mustered the strength to pull away over the final two hurdles to win in 53.07 seconds, nearly a half-second ahead of Muhammad, who replicated her silver medal from Worlds in 2013.


text:
Over the firm's tenure, Wexler Wallace has earned praise from our peers, clients, and members of the judiciary. Below is a sampling of what others have to say about working with Wexler Wallace.
The quality of counsel in this case on both sides was outstanding. Every issue was aggressively and very professionally litigated and I put great stock in the fact that each side thinks this is a fair settlement to both sides… I have to consider the complexity of the litigation and this case had my head spinning for the two motions that I decided. These were really hard issues. And finally, the professional, skill and standing of counsel involved in both sides. As far as I'm concerned, these counsel, all of them, are at the top of their profession… Thank you. It was a real privilege to work with you folks on this case. I was just telling my new law clerk that this was one of the hardest cases I've had in five years and one of the very best litigated. So thank you very much. I appreciate everybody's hard work and a sensible resolution of a hard case. Take care. – Hon. Matthew F. Leitman, Kerrigan v. Visalus, Inc.Case No.: 2:14-cv-12693-MFL-DRG E.D. Michigan (November 13, 2019)
"I've been a district judge for 18 years now and I think there [are] a number of things I love about what I do: Always challenging, always being exposed to. . . and meeting new lawyers and, in particular, highly-talented, highly-skilled lawyers like those of you that are here in the courtroom today. . . I'm surrounded in this courthouse by other judges who have, people that are very experienced in MDL work. . . But I speak for [Hon. Magistrate Judge Teresa J. James] and for me for sure that we're very excited to be handling this case and very excited to be working with such a fine group of accomplished and experienced lawyers." – Julie A. Robinson, D.Kan. (Init'l Conf. Hr'g. Tr. 10-11.)
"[T]his multiplier is justified by the risk of non-recovery in this case and the need to reward counsel for their significant achievement on behalf of the End-Payor Class . . . End-Payor Plaintiffs' counsel are highly experienced in complex antitrust class action litigation . . . . they have obtained a significant settlement for the Class despite the complexity and difficulties of this case." – Hon. John R. Padova, Nichols v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., No. 00 Civ. 6222, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7061, at *71-72, 79 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 22, 2005)
"I wanted to express appreciation again to class counsel for taking this case. I believe these are the kind of cases Federal Courts should do and are appropriate for class resolution." – Hon. Patti B. Saris, In re Pharmaceutical Industry Average Wholesale Price Litig., MDL No. 1456, No. 01-cv-12257-PBS (D. Mass.) (final settlement hearing, with defendant GlaxoSmithKline, July 19, 2007)
"I admire very much the work that you have done in this case, and you have taught me something. I think I'm more knowledgeable and a better judge because I've had contact with you. And thank you very much." – Hon. G. Patrick Murphy, Clancy-Gernon Funeral Homes, Inc. v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., No. 09 Civ. 1008 (S.D. Ill.)
"Despite a small roster of attorneys, (Wexler Wallace LLP) regularly goes toe-to-toe with some of the largest companies and corporations in the world." -Benchmark Plaintiff, 2012


text:
SOTY 2015: Lost in the woods: Hong Kong orienteering star Harmony Lam tells us about the terror and triumphs of her sport
SOTY 2015: From sports to science to art - HK's leading lights shine fiercely bright
The ultimate lower body workout that you can do at home to get the best results
News - Sports
Diocesan Boys' School student and badminton star Jason Gunawan follows in his father's footsteps
Hong Kong Schools Jing Ying Badminton Tournament 2019: DGS and DBS crowned singles champs
The best no-equipment home workout for beginners
Heading into the woods with only a map and a compass sounds scary, but for orienteering star Harmony Lam, it's an adventure
By Ben Pang December 06, 2016
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Harmony Lam says her sport isn't just a walk in the park.
Photo: Tam Wing-chung
Ben Pang
I am Ben Pang. If you want to talk about Liberal Studies, History, Faye Wong and sports, then I am always here for you!
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To learn more about the sport of orienteering, we went to an expert: last year's SCMP Student of the Year (Sportsperson) winner Harmony Lam Cho-yu. She explains that the sport puts you in a random place, where you have to find several checkpoints. The first athlete to find them, and reach the final destination, wins.
"That's all there is to it," says the 19-year-old student from the University of Hong Kong. "In this sport, it's just you, a compass, and a map to find the checkpoints."
But Harmony told Young Post that the sport takes more than just map-reading skills. It requires observation, stamina, planning and courage. It also takes a great deal of physical strength, something Harmony says many people don't realise.
"Don't forget, the winner is the one who arrives at the final checkpoint first, so you have to be very fast," she says. "Running plays a significant role in my training, as it boosts my leg muscles, my agility, and my endurance."
How to stand out from the crowd – SOTY-style
And to make things even more challenging, you're not competing on the athletic track – this race takes place in the wild. Athletes need to run on uneven terrain and through unpredictable weather.
"You can't escape running uphill, which is the most exhausting part," says Harmony. "Another issue is the weather. It can be windy and cold, but suddenly it becomes hot and humid. Other than being physically tough, you need to be resilient when you encounter anything unexpected."
Whenever she begins a race, the first thing Harmony does is use her compass and a map to navigate a particular route.
"But it's not always the right way," she says. "What happens if you take the wrong path? Don't stop. Keep running. Look for some landmarks around you, such as mountains, rivers, valleys – or even stones. Match these features with the map so you can discover another trail. If you stop, you won't see these landmarks and you'll waste time finding your way."
Harmony herself got lost while taking part in the 2015 Junior World Orienteering Championship (middle distance) final in Norway. She described the place as a "no man's land" with no one around. Loneliness and emptiness filled her heart, but she tried not to let it overwhelm her.
"Crying was not going to help me anyway," Harmony explains. "I had to stay calm and continue running until I found some familiar trails, which led me to the endpoint." She finished 11th in the race, but the experience taught her how to tackle difficulties and get through rough times.
After the race in Norway, Harmony went straight to Engadin Scuol, in Switzerland, to prepare for this year's Junior World Orienteering Championship.
"The environments of both Switzerland and Norway are very different from Hong Kong," she says. "These European countries are mostly mountainous and cold, so training in these areas could improve my tenacity and breathing."
The alpine training paid off, as Harmony finished ninth in this year's middle distance.
Now she's set her sights on the top five, when she competes in the Annual Orienteering Championships 2016 at Black Hill, Hong Kong, from December 25-27. She hopes she can reach the level of local orienteering athlete and runner Yu Wing-hay, who has been an inspiration for Harmony.
"Yu taught us not to stop when we stumble," she says.
"If you keep noticing everything around you, it's always possible to find your way out."
Edited by Sam Gusway
Harmony Lam,
orienteering,
SCMP Student of the Year,
Junior World Orienteering Championship,
Annual Orienteering Championships 2016 cum WRE,
Black Hill,
The Maze Runner,
HKU,


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HomeBook
The Sealed Nectar Book In English & Urdu (Reviews, PDF File & More)
The Sealed Nectar or Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum is an award-winning biography of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) written by famous scholar Safiur Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri.
The Sealed Nectar
(Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum)
Theme Biography of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Author Safiur Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri
Original Languages Arabic and Urdu
Recognition First Prize in worldwide competition for Prophet Muhammad biographies.
Download the PDF/download/button
The Sealed Nectar overview.
If you want to know the whole lifestyle of Prophet Muhammad in detail, then it wouldn't be unfair to recommend you to read The Sealed Nectar once.
The seerah book won the first prize in the international competition held at Makkah in 1979.
From His birth to the last days, the book chronicles the events of Muhammad ﷺ at different stages of his life in the light of authentic Ahadith and Qur'an and other reliable sources. It also gives account of the significant events of Islamic history related to His life like Battle of Badr, Farewell Hajj, etc.
It also gives the comprehensive details about the lineage of Prophet Muhammad, His message, His Jihad and His social interactions.
The Sealed Nectar was originally written in Arabic and Urdu language but now it has been translated in other languages including English and Bengali under experts supervision.
The author of the book, a notable scholar of contemporary time, Safiur Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri is originally from Uttar Pradesh of India.
He served in the Islamic University of Madinah for several years before he to moved to Riyadh and worked as a research scholar for Maktabah Darussalam.
Reviews of the book.
The book earned outstanding reviews from its readers owing to the fact that the author did not make the length of the book unusually long, nor did he make it too short but a complete biography.
Among the many while reviewing the Sealed Nectar, one says:
The most beautiful book I have ever read!
Another reader notes:
What a book!! A Masterpiece!! It's a book about life and struggles of our beloved Prophet (PBUH). It's not only a biography but it also enables you to understand what a great leader and commander our Prophet (ﷺ) was.
Audience ratings:
The book has been rated in different famous platforms as follows:
Google: 4.8/5 ⭐.
Goodreads: 4.6/5 ⭐.
Darussalam: 5/5 ⭐.
Download the pdf form in English/Urdu.
We will strongly recommend you to purchase this book which is also available in e-commerce websites.
For reviewing purpose or any other legitimate purpose, you can download this book either in English or Hindi in pdf from the link given below.
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You are here: Home / Simona Ahrnstedt's series sold to Piatkus in the UK
Simona Ahrnstedt's series sold to Piatkus in the UK
February 4, 2016 /in Rights sold /by Anna Frankl
We are thrilled to announce that Scandinavia's queen of romance, Simona Ahrnstedt, was recently sold in a three book deal to Piatkus Fiction. The well-known UK publisher will release All In, the first part in Simona's contemporary romance series, in July 2016 and so readers will see a simultaneous launch in the US (with Kensington Books) and UK.
https://i2.wp.com/www.nordinagency.se/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/rights_sold_wb.png?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1 500 500 Anna Frankl http://www.nordinagency.se/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/new_logo.png Anna Frankl2016-02-04 11:55:262016-05-13 14:32:08Simona Ahrnstedt's series sold to Piatkus in the UK
Johanne Hildebrandt in two book deal to Jaguar, Poland Simona Ahrnstedt on High-Demand Hot List


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NewsLocalRegional/National
The Virginia Zoo is doing a membership swap with Mariners' Museum. Here's how it works
By John Mangalonzo
The Mariners' Museum. (WYDaily photo/Courtesy of Mariners' Museum and Park)
The Virginia Zoo participates in membership swaps with other museums around Hampton Roads from time to time and for the month of May the zoo will be swapping memberships with The Mariners' Museum in Newport News.
Virginia Zoo members who visit The Mariner's Museum will enjoy free admission for up to six people each day, a 10 percent discount in the gift shop and $1 off movie tickets, according to a news release from the zoo.
Members of the zoo can also take advantage of one additional month on Mariners' Museum memberships if they become members of the museum in May.
To enjoy that benefit, visitors need to show their current membership card and photo ID at the admissions desk.
The same goes for members of the Mariners' Museum — they will get free admission for up to six people at the zoo and the 10 percent discount in the zoo gift shop and food service locations.
Members of the museum that also become members of the Virginia Zoo during the month of May can take advantage of a $5 discount on zoo memberships.
The Mariners' Museum and Park is located at 100 Museum Drive, Newport News and is open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Click here to visit the museum's website or call 757-596-2222 for more information.
The Virginia Zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily.
Mariners' Museum Park
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Former FBI Director James Comey discusses integrity, ethics in career at W&M talk
John Mangalonzohttp://wydaily.com
John Mangalonzo (john@localdailymedia.com) is the managing editor of Local Voice Media's Virginia papers – WYDaily (Williamsburg), Southside Daily (Virginia Beach) and HNNDaily (Hampton-Newport News). Before coming to Local Voice, John was the senior content editor of The Bellingham Herald, a McClatchy newspaper in Washington state. Previously, he served as city editor/content strategist for USA Today Network newsrooms in St. George and Cedar City, Utah. John started his professional journalism career shortly after graduating from Lyceum of The Philippines University in 1990. As a rookie reporter for a national newspaper in Manila that year, John was assigned to cover four of the most dangerous cities in Metro Manila. Later that year, John was transferred to cover the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines. He spent the latter part of 1990 to early 1992 embedded with troopers in the southern Philippines as they fought with communist rebels and Muslim extremists. His U.S. journalism career includes reporting and editing stints for newspapers and other media outlets in New York City, California, Texas, Iowa, Utah, Colorado and Washington state.
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On February 10, 2011, Dr. Fritz Francois will receive the MLK Humanitarian Award for his work on Haitian relief, exactly 50 years after the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech on the campus of New York University that advocated for civil rights and championed nonviolent protest for social change. This event is part of NYU's MLK Week. For more information on Dr. Francois be sure to read the article about him in NYU Alumni Connect.
For a complete list of MLK events please click here.


Science and theology agree that critical questions facing all of humanity involve our origin, the cause of our creation, and explanations of our existence. Recent scientific findings may focus increased worldwide attention on the level of agreement by science and theology on those questions.
A recent CNN report was headlined, "Scientists detect 'fingerprint' of the earliest light in the universe." The report, found in the Feb. 28 issue of the journal "Nature," reveals scientific statements that may be compared to statements in the Book of Genesis in the Bible.
As a scientist, I can assert that where diverse data agree, we should not reject the testing of the agreement. As a Christian, I can assert that the agreement noted above provides profound justification of religious concepts. I suggest we discuss this as a community.


The kindness and empathy of our staff combined with our family environment make us a home away from home. Meet our caring team!
Former President Of Chamber of Commerce previously served on the Nursing Home Board of Examiners, former owner of multiple facilities with over 40 years of experience in healthcare administration.
Dr. Hadadz has been of service to the community for over 15 years.
Nelly gained he Bachelor of Science Major in Chemistry ( Manila, Philippines) A forensic Chemist, and studied Nursing in the United States with 18 years of experience as a Director of Nursing.
Bonnie has been of service to patients with 25 years of experience in Rehabilitation.


With Memorial Day cookouts approaching, the Division of the Fire Marshal, Office of Research Services, would like to share a few tips that will make using your propane barbecue grill a fire-safe and enjoyable experience.
More than 200,000 propane fueled barbecue grills are purchased by Americans every year and, on most nice, summer days, some four million gas barbecues are in use in the United States. Because they are easy to use, homeowners sometimes take these appliances for granted. Many times gas grills are not inspected, maintained, used and/or stored in a safe and appropriate fashion.
Propane fueled barbecues are quick to light, easy to control, fast and practical. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and with various accessories. However, they all have two things in common - they must be used in a safe manner and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.
When assembling a new unit, follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully. When in doubt, take it back to the store or dealer, or call a qualified propane service technician.
On all barbecues, make certain the burner ports are free of rust or dirt, and that the burner gas supply throat (the tube connected to the burner) is free of dust, dirt or cobwebs. Leak test all the fittings that run from the propane tank to the barbecue. To do this, prepare a solution of dishwashing detergent and water (one cup of water with a tablespoon of detergent). With the barbecue connected to the propane cylinder (make sure the barbecue valve is turned off), turn on the propane tank cylinder valve. Spray the soapy solution generously over all hose connections and fittings, and all over the hose. If bubbles appear and become larger or more numerous - you have a leak.
Never check for leaks with an open flame. If you discover a leak, turn off the propane cylinder valve and replace the hose and fitting or have them checked and repaired by a qualified service technician. Also, on may gas grills, the nozzle type fitting on the hose which is threaded into the propane cylinder, has a rubber "O" ring on the end. If you have this type of barbecue, check that ring every time you connect the hose fitting to a propane cylinder, and replace the "O" ring if it appears cracked, torn or is losing its shape.
When lighting a gas barbecue without a built-in 'igniter,' have the match or lighter already burning and the lid of the grill open before you turn on the barbecue gas control valve. Also, never move the barbecue after it has been lit. When you are finished cooking, turn off both the barbecue gas control valve(s) and the propane cylinder valve. Always use gas grills outside - never in a house or garage and do not use a gas grill on a combustible surface such as a wood deck.
Store, transport and use propane cylinders only in the upright, vertical position. When transporting a cylinder in a vehicle, secure it in an upright position, making certain it will not tip over, and leave your trunk or vehicle windows open. Whenever a propane cylinder is not attached to an appliance, the cylinder valve must be closed and plugged with a POL (Put On Left/Counterclockwise) plastic plug. Check the tank collar for the date of manufacture or the latest inspection. All propane tanks must be inspected and re-certified every 10 years.
Treat empty propane tanks with the same respect as full ones. Always avoid dropping and/or rough handling of a propane tank and keep it away from sparks or open flames.
Prior to using an open flame barbecue on either the NIH Bethesda campus or the NIHAC Poolesville campus, please obtain a "Burn" Permit by dialing 301-496-0414.
If you have any questions regarding fire-safety issues for gas fueled barbecue grills, please contact the Division of the Fire Marshal, Office of Research Services at 301-496-0487.


Riley: sun, sand and being dog.
Have you ever met a dog that's ridiculously happy?
It was hard to believe when I met him that he was the runt of the litter who was never picked up by his expected new owner. As a result, he was just given to his mum Claire.
You can tell they have an unbreakable bond. He was always watching her during our shoot to see where she was.
And believe it or not, when we met this 7-year-old was just at the end of his recovery period for a lower spinal injury!
A little shy at first, we kept our distance on the walk down to the beach till Riley realized I'm here to give treats, not cause any harm.
Once our dynamic was established, this beautiful chocolate boy just continued to open up and show off his amazing personality.
Every time I thought I had got "the shot", he surprised me by posing for another!
I laughed all the way through the selection process to choose Riley's final images and being honest when I was done there was still 90 I could have happily given to his mum.
Culling this gallery was a tough one because there were so many delicious images to choose from.
Check out Riley's gallery below and for more Pawtraits and you can always find more photography on my Instagram, @pawtraitireland.


text:
Peter Simon
Father's Fruitful Legacy Plants Seeds of Self Esteem
Dorothy West
When I was 10 years old I was accepted by the Girls' Latin School as a suitable candidate for admission to the sixth class, the level from which one progressed to the pinnacle of the first class. The average age of sixth class students was 12, which has a more impressive sound than 10. I was worried by that age gap which was compounded by the fact that I was small for my age, and maybe looked as young as nine, an absurd situation for a student who, I had been told, was addressed by her teachers as "Miss."
I asked my mother if my classmates would make fun of me. In my lower school, attended by both boys and girls, the boys had made fun of me because I was colored. With them name-calling had been routine. In the Brahmin Boston of that day, boys of their simple background needed a scapegoat for their self-esteem.
My mother's reassuring answer was that people of proper background never made fun of other people because of conditions over which they had no control, like being 10, like being small for 10, like being colored. I must never forget, she reminded me, as she frequently reminded me, that I was my father's daughter. He had survived the condition of slavery. I would never face an endurance test more difficult than that.
So I went to the Latin School on opening day, holding my head erect, hearing myself formally addressed by my teachers, and not for a moment feeling that the title crowned my head unbecomingly. Then it was lunchtime and I made my way down the long hall to the lunchroom, never having even seen a school lunchroom before, or paid for a meal by myself before, but determined to treat it as an everyday occurrence, and not spill anything.
Two presumably first class young women, tall and perfection in appearance, saw me, stopped dead in their tracks, enchanted by my difference, their faces spread with smiles. They rushed toward me, pulling me back and forth between them, one of them saying, she's my baby, the other one saying, no, she's mine.
In that comic tug and pull the title my teachers had conferred on me in my passage from childhood lost all meaning. I was stunned and speechless. Then I wriggled, found my voice and said urgently, "Beg your pardon. I'm not a baby. I'm not really as little as I look. I'm 10 years old."
At that, to my surprise, instead of sobering, they burst out laughing and walked away doubled over with mirth, the sound of which lingered with me for the rest of the day.
That encounter made me feel a great unease about another matter which I had never let surface, knowing my mother knew the truth of it, but not yet sure I was ready to surrender my chosen belief to her reality. Nevertheless I wanted to avoid a misstep and stand on firm ground in front of the 12-year-olds in my class. I could no longer put off facing the truth about Santa Claus.
If 10 seems too old not to know whether Santa Claus is real or not, that period in America's history was called the age of innocence for the general population, at least for those who had never had to struggle with want. I was one of those so blessed.
When my mother said that my father was Santa Claus, I wasn't demolished. I know I felt sad, but I think I felt relieved. Now I could talk to my classmates about Christmas without skirting around the edges. That I was shedding the last vestige of my childhood was not traumatic, considering that in return I saw my father in a special light.
Slavery ended when he was seven. His mother, who had been a cook, found hire in a boarding house, my father sharing her quarters, and shining shoes, running errands for the boarders, and putting his pennies and nickels and occasional dimes in a cigar box except for a small sum he paid an indigent townsman to teach him to read and write and figure sums. The latter became one of my father's indispensable skills.
When he was eight or so, he went to the open market with the boarding house owner to carry her baskets when they were laden, and watched her pick and choose, heard her haggle over prices, listened to the market talk of the men. The Christmas that he was 10 he knew what he wanted. He wanted a business of his own. He got out his cigar box with his savings, and asked his mother how much she had in savings. He told her, this 10-year-old man-boy, that he wanted to go into business for himself, he wanted a boarding house of his own. If he could borrow her money and services, he promised that he would make her rich in return.
I am told that he did, that he had a boarding house and a restaurant in Richmond, Virginia, that my grandmother learned to wear silk.
My father moved on, as men seeking wider opportunities do. I don't think it ever occurred to him that his race and former condition of servitude might be handicaps. They were not. He came north to Springfield and apprenticed himself to a wholesale buyer of fruits and vegetables. When he had learned the art of trading, he opened two stores, one a retail fruit store, the other an ice cream parlor, catering to those who could afford to eat fruit every day, to whom an ice cream parlor was a pleasant place to dally.
My father's dream was to be a wholesale merchant of fruits and vegetables in the venerable Boston Market. And so he was. His place of business was on South Market street just opposite Fanueil Hall, and I will cherish forever the sound of the great dray horses' hooves on the cobblestones as I waited, with my hand in my mother's, to cross the street to my father's store, with its big banana rooms, and the big store cat that thought small children were varmints to attack.
My father was a generation older than my mother. Yet I cannot imagine either one married to anyone else. I cannot imagine belonging to anybody else. On the Christmas of my father's tenth birthday he prepared my own coming of age in my tenth year on Christmas Day. Then I knew the gift he had given me was endurance and strength of will. The tangible gifts were just extras.
First published in the Gazette on Dec. 18, 1981.
D. Williamson, Edgartown MA
A very special great retelling of a real story of real and wonderful people. Thank you for printing it in the paper. More people should read and appreciate this life story!
December 26, 2013 - 9:31am
Sonia, Bronx, NY
What a great story of ambition, confidence and dreams realized. Thank you for posting.
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