text:
Partially ordered group

In abstract algebra, a partially ordered group is a group (G, +) equipped with a partial order "≤" that is translation-invariant; in other words, "≤" has the property that, for all a, b, and g in G, if a ≤ b then a + g ≤ b + g and g + a ≤ g + b.

An element x of G is called positive if 0 ≤ x. The set of elements 0 ≤ x is often denoted with G+, and is called the positive cone of G.

By translation invariance, we have a ≤ b if and only if 0 ≤ -a + b. So we can reduce the partial order to a monadic property: if and only if

For the general group G, the existence of a positive cone specifies an order on G. A group G is a partially orderable group if and only if there exists a subset H (which is G+) of G such that:
 * 0 ∈ H
 * if a ∈ H and b ∈ H then a + b ∈ H
 * if a ∈ H then -x + a + x ∈ H for each x of G
 * if a ∈ H and -a ∈ H then a = 0

A partially ordered group G with positive cone G+ is said to be unperforated if n · g ∈ G+ for some positive integer n implies g ∈ G+. Being unperforated means there is no "gap" in the positive cone G+.

If the order on the group is a linear order, then it is said to be a linearly ordered group. If the order on the group is a lattice order, i.e. any two elements have a least upper bound, then it is a lattice-ordered group (shortly l-group, though usually typeset with a script l: ℓ-group).

A Riesz group is an unperforated partially ordered group with a property slightly weaker than being a lattice-ordered group. Namely, a Riesz group satisfies the Riesz interpolation property: if x1, x2, y1, y2 are elements of G and xi ≤ yj, then there exists z ∈ G such that xi ≤ z ≤ yj.

If G and H are two partially ordered groups, a map from G to H is a morphism of partially ordered groups if it is both a group homomorphism and a monotonic function. The partially ordered groups, together with this notion of morphism, form a category.

Partially ordered groups are used in the definition of valuations of fields.

Examples

 * The integers with their usual order
 * An ordered vector space is a partially ordered group
 * A Riesz space is a lattice-ordered group
 * A typical example of a partially ordered group is Zn, where the group operation is componentwise addition, and we write (a1,...,an) ≤ (b1,...,bn) if and only if ai ≤ bi (in the usual order of integers) for all i = 1,..., n.
 * More generally, if G is a partially ordered group and X is some set, then the set of all functions from X to G is again a partially ordered group: all operations are performed componentwise. Furthermore, every subgroup of G is a partially ordered group: it inherits the order from G.
 * If A is an approximately finite-dimensional C*-algebra, or more generally, if A is a stably finite unital C*-algebra, then K0(A) is a partially ordered abelian group. (Elliott, 1976)

Archimedean
The Archimedean property of the real numbers can be generalized to partially ordered groups.

 * Property: A partially ordered group $$G$$ is called Archimedean when for any $$a, b \in G$$, if $$e \le a \le b$$ and $$a^n \le b$$ for all $$n \ge 1$$ then $$a=e$$. Equivalently, when $$a \neq e$$, then for any $$b \in G$$, there is some $$n\in \mathbb{Z}$$ such that $$b < a^n$$.

Integrally closed
A partially ordered group G is called integrally closed if for all elements a and b of G, if an ≤ b for all natural n then a ≤ 1.

This property is somewhat stronger than the fact that a partially ordered group is Archimedean, though for a lattice-ordered group to be integrally closed and to be Archimedean is equivalent. There is a theorem that every integrally closed directed group is already abelian. This has to do with the fact that a directed group is embeddable into a complete lattice-ordered group if and only if it is integrally closed.

title: Partially ordered group


text:
Adrian Conan Doyle

Adrian Malcolm Conan Doyle (19 November 1910 – 3 June 1970) was the youngest son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his second wife Jean, Lady Doyle or Lady Conan Doyle. He had two siblings, sister Jean Conan Doyle and brother Denis, as well as two half-siblings, sister Mary and brother Kingsley.

Adrian has been depicted as a racing car driver, big-game hunter, explorer, and writer. Biographer Andrew Lycett calls him a "spendthrift playboy" who (with his brother Denis) "used the Conan Doyle estate as a milch-cow".

He married Danish-born Anna Andersen, and was his father's literary executor after his mother died in 1940. He founded the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Foundation in Switzerland in 1965. On his death, his sister Jean took over as their father's literary executor.

Additional Sherlock Holmes stories
Adrian Conan Doyle produced additional Sherlock Holmes stories, some with the assistance of John Dickson Carr. The basis of his production was to complete those tales referenced in his father's stories, which his father had never written. (Carr had published an "authorized" biography of Sir Arthur in 1949.) These additional Sherlock Holmes tales were written in 1952 and 1953, and a hardcover collection of the stories was published as The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes in 1954. They have been reissued subsequently, while other authors have also written Sherlock Holmes stories based on the same references within the original tales.

Discovery of unpublished Holmes story
On 12 September 1942, the Associated Press announced that an authentic, unpublished Sherlock Holmes story had been found by Adrian Conan Doyle. Supposedly written in his father's distinctive neat handwriting, the story was buried in a chest that contained family documents. (Actually, Jon Lellenberg reported in 1990, the manuscript was not in Sir Arthur's handwriting but typewritten.) Sir Arthur's daughter Jean said she knew the manuscript was not written by her father. Adrian Conan Doyle refused to publish it. A month later, the Baker Street Irregulars wrote a letter to the Saturday Review of Literature, insisting that the story be published.

In the United States, Cosmopolitan magazine obtained it and published it in their August 1948 issue under the uncharacteristic title "The Case of the Man who was Wanted". It was also published in London's Sunday Dispatch magazine the following January. Sherlock Holmes expert Vincent Starrett doubted that the story was written by the elder Doyle and suggested that Adrian was the author.

In September 1945, a letter was sent to Hesketh Pearson, one of Sir Arthur's biographers. It stated, "My pride is not unduly hurt by your remark that 'The Man who was Wanted' is certainly not up to scratch for the sting is much mitigated by your going on to remark that it carries the authentic trade-mark! This, I feel, is a great compliment to my one and only effort at plagiarism." The letter was written by an architect named Arthur Whitaker who had sent the story to Arthur Conan Doyle in 1911, suggesting that they publish it as a joint collaboration. Doyle refused, but sent Whitaker a "cheque for ten guineas" in payment for the story.

After seeing it attributed to Sir Arthur in the Sunday Dispatch, Whitaker wrote a letter to Denis Conan Doyle stating that he was the true author. Denis forwarded the letter to his brother Adrian, who became angry, demanded proof, and threatened legal action. Whitaker had retained a carbon copy, and, after seeing this and listening to people who had read it in 1911, the Doyles admitted in 1949, that Whitaker was the author. The story that many people had accepted as the work of Sir Arthur has since been published as "The Adventure of the Sheffield Banker" in the collection The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Works about his father
Sir Arthur's widow, Jean, chose a spiritualist, the Rev. John Lamond, to write an authorised biography, Arthur Conan Doyle: A Memoir (John Murray, 1931). The memoir, which emphasised his paranormal interests, was not what readers wanted, so after their mother's death, Adrian and Denis grudgingly allowed Hesketh Pearson to write Conan Doyle: His Life and Art (Methuen, 1943). However, Pearson's book offended Adrian and Denis by saying that the secret of their father's success was that he was the "common man". Adrian threatened criminal proceedings against Pearson's "fakeography", wrote an article in protest, and later, a book: The True Conan Doyle (John Murray, 1945).

According to Lycett, "When the BBC commissioned an anniversary talk from Hesketh Pearson, Adrian announced that if it went ahead it would never broadcast another Sherlock Holmes story. The Corporation caved in."

Sherlock Holmes stories
The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (1954 collection) (Author credits are as given in the book's table of contents.) By Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr By Adrian Conan Doyle
 * "The Adventure of the Seven Clocks"
 * "The Adventure of the Gold Hunter"
 * "The Adventure of the Wax Gamblers"
 * "The Adventure of the Highgate Miracle"
 * "The Adventure of the Black Baronet"
 * "The Adventure of the Sealed Room"
 * "The Adventure of the Foulkes Rath"
 * "The Adventure of the Abbas Ruby"
 * "The Adventure of the Dark Angels"
 * "The Adventure of the Two Women"
 * "The Adventure of the Deptford Horror"
 * "The Adventure of the Red Widow"

Non-Holmes works

 * Heaven Has Claws (1952, London, John Murray)
 * Tales of Love and Hate (1960, London, John Murray)
 * The Woman Who Slew; Black Hyde; Lady Moresby's Secret; A Tooth for a Tooth; The Red Swallowtail; The Lover of the Coral Glades; The Gunman of Corpus Christi; Jungle Lore; The Pearl of Dying Boys' Reef; Johnny Death
 * Lone Dhow (1963, London, Murray)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Adrian Conan Doyle


text:
Hasselt

Hasselt is a Belgian city and municipality. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region.

As of 1 August 2023, Hasselt had a total population of 80,846. The old town of Hasselt is surrounded by a number of satellite hamlets including Kiewit, Runkst, Banneauxwijk, Godsheide and Rapertingen. Further away are several sub-municipalities which were once within independent municipalities, including Kermt, Kuringen, Sint-Lambrechts-Herk, Spalbeek, Stevoort, Stokrooie, and Wimmertingen.

Geographically, Hasselt is located between the Campine region, north of the Demer river, and the Hesbaye region, to the south. Both the Demer river and the Albert Canal run through the municipality.

In terms of economic regions, Hasselt is within the transnational Meuse-Rhine Euroregion, connecting neighbouring regions in Wallonia, the Netherlands and Germany.

History
Hasselt was founded in approximately the 7th century on the Helbeek, a tributary of the Demer river. During the Middle Ages it became one of the free cities of the county of Loon (which had borders approximately the same as the current province of Limburg). It was first named in a document in 1165. In 1232 Arnold IV, Count of Loon gave the city the freedoms like those enjoyed in Liège. Even though the city of Borgloon was the original capital of Loon, Hasselt was to become the biggest city thanks to its favourable setting and the proximity of the count's castle at Herkenrode in Kuringen. In 1366 the county of Loon came under the direct rule of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and remained so until the annexation by France in 1794.

During the First French Empire, the city of Maastricht became the capital of the French Department of the Lower Meuse. This comprised not only the area of the modern province of Limburg in Belgium, but also what is now the province of Limburg in the Netherlands. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, all of what is now Belgium became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. During this time, it was King William I who re-named the Lower Meuse department after the medieval Duchy of Limburg. This Duchy was in fact named after Limbourg on the Vesdre river, now in the Liège province of Belgium, which had never encompassed Hasselt or Maastricht. Belgium split from the Netherlands in 1830, but the status of Limburg was only resolved nine years later in 1839, with the division of Limburg into Belgian and Dutch parts. Hasselt became the provisional capital of the Belgian province of Limburg. In ecclesiastical terms, Belgian Limburg became an independent entity from the Diocese of Liège only in 1967, and Hasselt became the seat of the new Diocese of Hasselt.

Etymology
The name Hasselt is derived from the Germanic word Hasaluth which refers to the common hazel.

Town centre
The centre is mostly car-free and contains a number of historical buildings. Among the oldest buildings in the town centre are the St. Quentin's Cathedral (11th to 18th centuries) and the Refuge of Herkenrode Abbey, the city's oldest civic building (1542). The Grote Markt (Grand Market) and the nearby streets are lined with restaurants brasseries, cafes and taverns.

The Demerstraat and the Koning Albertstraat are the most important shopping streets, while the Kapelstraat and Hoogstraat house upscale shops and brands. Another major religious building besides the cathedral is the Virga Jesse Basilica. The churches must cede domination of the skyline of the city to the modern twin towers of the TT-wijk (TT Quarter), however. In 2003, the renovation of this complex, now including a shopping mall and a hotel, gave the centre a new boost. In 2004, Hasselt was the first city to receive the title "most sociable city in Flanders".

Demographics
In 1977, Hasselt merged with several surrounding municipalities attaching the current sub-municipalities of Kermt, Kuringen, Sint-Lambrechts-Herk, Stevoort and Wimmertingen and adding 22.309 inhabitants at the time to its 1977 population of 40.446 inhabitants. As of 1 August 2023, Hasselt had a total population of 80,846 (39,589 men and 41,257 women).

Languages

 * Dutch in Hasselt is often spoken with a distinctive Limburgish accent and vocabulary, which should not be confused with the Limburgish language.
 * Limburgish (or Limburgian) is the overlapping term for the tonal dialects spoken in the Belgian and Dutch provinces of Limburg. The Hasselt dialect is only one of many variants of Limburgish. Limburgish is a language, and not the same as the regional variation of Dutch spoken in Dutch Limburg and Belgian Limburg. Hasselt Sint-Quintinuskathedraal 1.JPG]]Since Limburgish is still the mother tongue of many inhabitants, Limburgish grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation can however have a significant impact on the way locals speak Dutch in public life.
 * French was historically spoken by some of the city population within living memory.

Religion
Hasselt is the main seat of the diocese of Hasselt, which covers the entire Belgian province of Limburg. The main church is St. Quentin's Cathedral. Hasselt also consists of about 30 parishes. Next to the Catholic Church, Hasselt houses both a Moroccan and Turkish mosque as both communities are well-established in the city and the surrounding municipalities.

Main sights

 * Gothic St. Quentin's Cathedral, seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hasselt
 * Virga Jesse Basilica, late-baroque and early-neoclassical architecture
 * Herkenrode Abbey, Cistercian monastery
 * Beguinage of Hasselt
 * Grote Markt, including the timber-framed house Het Sweert
 * Havermarkt, including the Old Post Office, the Old Courthouse, and the Augustinian Abbey
 * Several buildings in the style of Mosan Renaissance architecture, among them the former Grauwzustersklooster (Abbey of the Grey Sisters of the Third Order)
 * Several buildings in the style of eclectic architecture, among them the Old Post Office and the Old Provincial Government Building
 * Neoclassical Old City Hall
 * Refuge of Herkenrode Abbey, the city's oldest civic building
 * Old Prison, now housing Hasselt University
 * Oud Kerkhof, historic cemetery
 * New City Hall, christened 't Scheep (The Ship)
 * New Courthouse
 * Art Museum Z33 in the Beguinage
 * National Jenever Museum
 * City Museum of Hasselt
 * Fashion Museum in the former Grauwzustersklooster
 * Cultuurcentrum Hasselt
 * Japanese gardens, the largest in Europe
 * Kiewit Nature Park
 * Kiewit Airfield (recreational)

Events

 * The Virga Jesse festival, featuring a Procession of the historic wooden statue of infant Jesus with Mary, is celebrated every seven years, it will be in August 2024.
 * The yearly Jenever Festival celebrates the history of Jenever in Hasselt.
 * Hasselt celebrates Carnival, but at a slightly different date than most places.
 * The suburb Kiewit is the location of the yearly Pukkelpop (Pimple Pop) festival, one of Europe's largest alternative music festivals with over a hundred concerts. Rimpelrock (Wrinkle Rock), a festival with music for an older audience, is held at the same location one week prior.
 * As in most Belgian cities, there is an annual Kermesse on a date associated with the local church's patron saint - in this case Saint Lambert -, which takes place in September.
 * The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was held in Hasselt.
 * The Grand Prix van Hasselt is a cyclo-cross race held in November which is part of the BPost Bank Trophy.
 * Gaz de France Stars was a WTA Tour tennis tournament held in Hasselt from 2004 to 2006.
 * The European Darts Championship was held in the city's Trixxo Arena three times from 2015-2017.

Gastronomy
Hasselt brands itself as the "Capital of Taste", owing to its local distilleries of Jenever, the Hasselt Jenever Festival, Hasselt speculaas, and chocolate production.

Hasseltse Jenever (Hasselt gin)
Hasselt is famous for its gin, locally known as Jenever. Even though the spirit is produced across the entire country of Belgium, Hasselt Jenever became famous when the city escaped the 1601 ban on the sale and production of the beverage imposed by Albert VII, Archduke of Austria and Isabella Clara Eugenia, both Archduke and Archduchess of the Habsburg Netherlands, because it belonged to the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. Dutch troops stationed in the city from 1675 to 1681 ensured that Hasselt Jenever, more than any other Belgian jenever, carried aromas of herbs and berries. At the end of the 19th century, dire living conditions among the working population and cheap Jenever prepared from sugar beet molasses led to the annual consumption of 9.5 litres of Jenever (50% vol) per inhabitant of Belgium. Jenever production was the most important industry in Limburg in the 19th century with most distilleries being located in Hasselt. However, increase in excise duty, competition from cheap industrial alcohol, the confiscation of copper stills by the Germans during World War I, and the Vandervelde law against alcohol abuse caused most distilleries in Hasselt to disappear or to be taken over by larger competitors.

By the early 21st century, Hasselt only housed two distilleries (known as 'stokerij' in Dutch): the National Jenever Museum and Stokerij Wissels, which was later bought by the larger Stokerij Fryns, based in Ghent, which resumed Jenever production on the former Wissels grounds under the Fryns name. Today, three Jenever distilleries operate in Hasselt: the National Jenever Museum, Stokerij Fryns, and Stokerij Vanderlinden, founded in 2017.

Hasselt Jenever Festival
Every year during the third weekend of October, the two-day Hasselt Jenever Festival takes place. It includes, among other elements, musical, dance, and street theatre performances, the Borrelmanneke fountain on Maastricherstraat being transformed from a water fountain into a Jenever fountain for the day and a Waiters' Race through the city center.

Hasselt speculaas
Hasselt speculaas is a type of speculaas originating from and only produced in Hasselt. It differs from the type of speculaas eaten in the rest of Belgium in its greater thickness, its smaller reliance on spices - which gives it a milder taste -, and in its structure, with a crispy crust and soft, doughy insides.

Speculaas was baked in Hasselt as early as the 14th century. According to tradition, Hasselt speculaas was eaten with chilled Jenever. The early 19th century saw the introduction of the Spéculation de Hasselt - the Hasselt speculaas -, which was soon exported to Brussels and to Liège, among others. Until the Second World War, Hasselt speculaas was only baked around Saint Nicholas Day, since then it has been sold throughout the entire year.

Economy
With 3,000 employees, the Jessa Hospital in Hasselt is the city's biggest employer with two health care campuses and one logistical campus. Cegeka Group, a European provider of IT solutions, services, and consultancy is also one of the city's largest employers, generating a turnover of €744 million. The city also provides an ecosystem for start-ups, scale-ups, and major companies through its Corda Campus, surrounded by government organizations and research institutions. Currently, 5,000 people work in 250 companies over a land area of 9 acres, formerly being occupied by Philips. By 2030, an investment of €150 million at the site is planned to generate employment for 7,500 people in 350 companies on an area of 14 acres.

Road
Hasselt lies at the junction of important traffic arteries from several directions. The most important motorways are the European route E313 (Antwerp-Liège) and the European route E314 (Brussels-Aachen). The old town of Hasselt is enclosed by 2 ring roads. The outer ring road serves to keep traffic out of the city center and main residential areas. The inner ring road, the Green Boulevard, serves to keep traffic out of the commercial center, which is almost entirely a pedestrian area. There are also important traffic arteries to Tongeren, Sint-Truiden, Genk, and Diest.

The city lies within approximately an hour's drive from the airports of Brussels, Liège, Antwerp, Charleroi, Cologne/Bonn, and Düsseldorf. Within a three-hour radius, the major hubs of Paris and Frankfurt can be reached. Small private aircraft can land in Hasselt itself, on the airfield of Kiewit.

Bus
Hasselt introduced a zero-fare policy for all public buses in 1997. By 2006, the usage of public transport had increased by 800–900% compared to pre-zero-fare numbers. In 2013, bus subsidies were reduced, resulting in the reintroduction of fares (60 cents per ride).

The city's official website records passenger growth as follows:

A Belgian website describes Hasselt identity cards as becoming "like gold in value", because of free bus travel.

In 2013, Hasselt cancelled free public transportation due to financial reasons. The operator increased its claim towards the city, which the city could not pay. Now persons up to the age of 19 travel for free.

Rail
Hasselt railway station, run by NMBS, is located near the city centre, outside the innermost ring road. InterCity trains link the city to major Belgian centres such as Brussels, Antwerp, Liège, and Leuven, as well as to Brussels Airport.

Light rail
In February 2007, a plan was launched for the construction of an international light rail connection between Hasselt and Maastricht (Hasselt – Maastricht tramway). Agreements between the relevant governments were reached in June 2008 and December 2011. The line was planned to reduce the current travel time of 61 minutes by bus to only 36 minutes. Construction should have started in 2014, with the line expected to go into service in 2017. The construction eventually was delayed several times due to problems with the Wilhelminabrug in Maastricht, concerns about the profitability and the numbers of passengers making use of the planned line as well as opposition from the Hasselt city council regarding the planned route through the city. The Flemish government eventually stopped the project, with various Dutch governments reporting to have spent more than €20 million without any major construction happening. The line has now been proposed to be replaced by a so-called electric trambus system. However, concerns were raised too as the new alternative might not fulfill the cross-border high-quality public transport needs of the Dutch and Belgian provinces of Limburg.

Education
Hasselt has two university colleges: University College PXL and University Colleges Leuven-Limburg (UCLL). These offer courses in healthcare, social work, art, commercial sciences, and teacher training, among others.

Hasselt University, established in 1971, operates campuses in the city and in the neighbouring town of Diepenbeek and, as of 2023, has more than 7,000 students and 1,700 academic, administrative, and technical staff. The university houses 7 faculties, 4 research institutes, 3 research centres, and 3 doctoral schools. In the Times Higher Education ranking of the world's best universities under 50, Hasselt University is ranked 35th out of 605.

Sports
Hasselt is home to Limburg United, one of the Belgium's top professional basketball teams. The team plays its home games at Sporthal Alverberg. The city's largest football club is Sporting Hasselt, which plays its home games at Stedelijk Sportstadion Hasselt. The city's rugby club is RC Hasselt.

Famous inhabitants

 * Hendrik van Veldeke, writer of romance, lyric, and hagiography; first vernacular writer in the Low Countries (c. 1140–c. 1190)
 * Francis Rombouts, Mayor of New York City from 1679 to 1680
 * Jean-Joseph Thonissen, professor at law (1817–1891)
 * Louis Willems, doctor and one of the pioneers of bacteriology and immunology (1822–1907)
 * Adrien de Gerlache, officer of the Belgian Navy and leader of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1866–1934)
 * Willy Claes, politician and former Secretary General of NATO (b. 1938)
 * Guy Bleus, artist (b. 1950, Hasselt)
 * Luuk Gruwez, poet (b. 1953)
 * Steve Stevaert, politician (1954–2015)
 * Dana Winner, singer (b. 1965, Hasselt)
 * Stef Driesen, Antwerp-based artist (b. 1966, Hasselt)
 * Luc Nilis, footballer (b. 1967)
 * Axelle Red, singer-songwriter (b. 1968)
 * Regi Penxten (born 1976), artist, producer
 * Anthony Kumpen, racing driver (b. 1978)
 * Bram Castro, footballer (b. 1982)
 * Daniel Guijo-Velasco, footballer (b. 1984)
 * Brecht Evens, Paris-based graphic novellist and illustrator (b. 1986)
 * Charlotte Adigéry, singer, musician (b. 1990)
 * Laurens Vanthoor, racing driver (b. 1991, Hasselt)
 * Casper de Norre (born 1997), footballer
 * Max Verstappen, Three-times Formula One Champion (b. 1997, Hasselt)
 * Dries Vanthoor, racing driver (b. 1998)

Twin and partner cities

 * 🇩🇪: Detmold (since 1976)
 * 🇳🇱: Sittard-Geleen (since 1980)
 * 🇯🇵: Itami, Hyogo (since 1985)
 * 🇺🇸: Mountain View, California (since 1987)
 * Hasselt is a member city of Eurotowns network

title: Hasselt


text:
Louis Theroux

Louis Sebastian Theroux (born 20 May 1970) is a British-American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received three British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award.

After graduating from Magdalen College, Oxford, Theroux moved to the United States and worked as a journalist for Metro Silicon Valley and Spy. He moved into television as the presenter of offbeat segments on Michael Moore's TV Nation series.

Theroux is known for his numerous documentaries with the BBC, beginning with Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends (1998–2000), followed by When Louis Met... (2000–2002) and 50 BBC Two specials (2003–present). His work includes studies of unusual and taboo subcultures, crime and the justice system, and celebrities. The majority of his documentaries are set in the United States, but he has also studied cultures in South Africa, Israel, Nigeria, and the UK. The New Yorker described Theroux's work as "a piercingly humane, slyly funny guide through the funkier passages of American culture".

Early life
Louis Sebastian Theroux was born in Singapore on 20 May 1970, the son of English mother Anne (née Castle) and American father Paul Theroux, a noted travel writer and novelist. His paternal grandmother, Anne Dittami, was an Italian-American grammar school teacher, while his paternal grandfather, Albert Eugène Theroux, was a French-Canadian salesman for the American Leather Oak company. Theroux holds dual British and American citizenship. He is the nephew of novelist Alexander Theroux and writer Peter Theroux. His older brother, Marcel, is a writer and television presenter. His cousin, Justin, is an actor and screenwriter.

Theroux moved with his family to England when he was one year old, and was raised in the Catford area of south London. He went from primary school to Tower House School in East Sheen in 1979 or 1980 and then to Westminster School, a public school within the precincts of Westminster Abbey. There, he befriended comedians Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish, and future Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, with whom he travelled to America. He also performed in a number of school theatre productions including Bugsy Malone as Looney Bergonzi, Ritual for Dolls as the Army Officer, and The Splendour Falls as the Minstrel. He read Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford (1988–1991), graduating with first-class honours.

Early career
Theroux's first employment as a journalist was in the United States with Metro Silicon Valley, an alternative free weekly newspaper in San Jose, California. In 1992, he was hired as a writer for Spy. He also worked as a correspondent on Michael Moore's TV Nation series, for which he provided segments on offbeat cultural subjects, including selling Avon to women in the Amazon Rainforest, the Jerusalem syndrome, and attempts by the Ku Klux Klan to rebrand itself as a civil rights group for white people.

When TV Nation ended, Theroux signed a development deal with the BBC, where he developed Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends. He has written for a number of publications, including Hip Hop Connection and The Idler.

Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends
In Weird Weekends (1998–2000), Theroux followed marginal (mostly American) subcultures such as survivalists, black nationalists, white supremacists, and porn stars, often by living among or close to the people who were involved in them. His documentary method subtly exposes the contradictions or farcical elements of his subjects' seriously held beliefs. He described the aim of Weird Weekends as:

"Setting out to discover the genuinely odd in the most ordinary setting. To me, it's almost a privilege to be welcomed into these communities and to shine a light on them and, maybe, through my enthusiasm, to get people to reveal more of themselves than they may have intended. The show is laughing at me, adrift in their world, as much as at them. I don't have to play up that stuff. I'm not a matinee idol disguised as a nerd."

When Louis Met...
In the series When Louis Met... (2000–02), Theroux accompanied a different British celebrity in each programme in their daily lives, interviewing them as they go. His episode about British entertainer Jimmy Savile, entitled When Louis Met Jimmy, was voted one of the top documentaries of all time in a 2005 survey by Britain's Channel 4. Some years after the episode was filmed, the NSPCC described Savile as one of the most prolific sex offenders in Great Britain.

In an interview in 2015, Theroux expressed his intention to produce a follow-up documentary about Savile for the BBC to explore how the late entertainer had continued his abuse for so long, to meet people he knew closely, and examine his own reflections on his inability to dig more deeply into the first case. This follow-up documentary, with the title Savile, aired on BBC Two on Sunday, 2 October 2016, and lasted 1 hour, 15 minutes.

In When Louis Met the Hamiltons, the former Conservative MP Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine were arrested during the course of filming, due to false allegations of indecent assault.

In When Louis Met Max Clifford, Max Clifford tried to set up Theroux, but he was caught lying as the crew recorded his live microphone during the conversations.

After this series concluded, a retrospective called Life with Louis was released. Theroux made a documentary called Louis, Martin & Michael about his quest to get an interview with Michael Jackson to which he lost out to Martin Bashir who went on to make the documentary Living With Michael Jackson. Selected episodes of When Louis Met... were included as bonus content on a Best-Of collection of Weird Weekends.

BBC Two specials
In these special programmes, beginning in 2003, Theroux returned to American themes, working at feature-length and in a more natural way. In March 2006, he signed a new deal with the BBC to make 10 films over the course of three years. Subjects for the specials include criminal gangs in Lagos, Neo-Nazis in America, ultra-Zionists in Israel. He also explores child psychiatry, and the prison systems in California and Florida. A 2007 special, The Most Hated Family in America, received strong critical praise from the international media.

My Scientology Movie
In October 2016, Theroux premiered a feature-length documentary, My Scientology Movie. Produced by Simon Chinn—a school friend of Theroux's—and directed by John Dower, the film covers Theroux attempting to gain access to the secretive Church of Scientology. It premiered at the London Film Festival in 2015 and was released in cinemas in the UK on 7 October 2016.

Forbidden America
Forbidden America is a three-part series focusing on social media use in the United States among several groups, including the alt-right, rappers and pornographic film actors. On the Extreme and Online Louis meets the latest incarnation of the American far right: a political movement born out of the internet and increasingly making its presence felt on the political stage. Theroux interviews Nick Fuentes and Baked Alaska.

Interviews
In 2022, the BBC announced a series of interviews conducted by Theroux under the title Louis Theroux Interviews, in which he meets and talks to celebrities from stage, screen and music about their successful careers and their personal lives. The first series started airing weekly on BBC Two on 25 October 2022 and features interviews from rapper Stormzy, actress Dame Judi Dench, musician YUNGBLUD, adventurer Bear Grylls, comedian Katherine Ryan and singer Rita Ora. The second series of Louis Theroux Interviews started airing on 7 November 2023 and includes interviews from boxer Anthony Joshua, musician Pete Doherty, actress Joan Collins, singer Raye, activist Chelsea Manning and actor Ashley Walters.

Books
Theroux published his first book, The Call of the Weird: Travels in American Subcultures, in Britain in 2005. In it, he recounts his return to the United States to learn about the lives of some of the people he had featured in his television programmes.

Theroux released a memoir, Gotta Get Theroux This, in September 2019. He released his third book, Theroux the Keyhole, a diary recorded during the UK COVID-19 lockdowns, in November 2021.

Podcasts
In April 2020, during a COVID-19 lockdown, Theroux started the BBC Radio 4 podcast Grounded with Louis Theroux from his home, in which he interviews well-known people he finds particularly fascinating and to whom he would not necessarily have had a chance to speak before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beginning on 6 June 2023, he started hosting The Louis Theroux Podcast as part of an exclusive deal with Spotify.

Other appearances
Theroux makes a few appearances on The Adam and Joe Show DVD and has been a guest many times on Adam & Joe's radio shows, as well as on The Adam Buxton Podcast.

As part of the Weird Weekends episode "Porn", Theroux agreed to film a cameo in the 1997 gay pornography film Take a Peak. He did not perform sexual acts in the film, but made a brief appearance as a park ranger in search of a criminal. In the Weird Weekends episode "Infomercials", he featured as a live salesman for an at-home paper shredder for the Home Shopping Network.

In December 2015, Theroux captained the team representing Magdalen College, Oxford on BBC Four's Christmas University Challenge. In their first-round match, the team beat the University of Exeter's team by 220 to 130 and went on to win the tournament.

In April 2022, Theroux went viral after a clip of him on the YouTube show Chicken Shop Datein which he performed a short rap he had originally written and performed in the Weird Weekends episode "Gangsta Rap" 22 years earlierwas autotuned by a TikTok user and turned into a reusable audio track with backing music. The trend saw users lip-syncing to the sound and performing an accompanying dance. It has led to more footage of Theroux's rapping ability being unearthed, leading the BBC to publish an article listing seven times he "proved he was a massive hip hop head". In May, Theroux released "Jiggle Jiggle", a full version of the rap which he created alongside Manchester DJ duo Duke & Jones.

Personal life
Theroux's first marriage was to Susanna Kleeman from 1994 until they divorced in 2001; he later told Sathnam Sanghera of the Financial Times, "What happened was that my girlfriend was living with me in New York. She was having trouble finding work ... legally. So we got married, to make it easier for her. We never really considered ourselves married in the full sense – there were no wedding photos or anything like that. It was really a marriage of convenience."

Theroux married his long-time girlfriend, Nancy Strang, on 13 July 2012. They have three sons together. In a 2012 masterclass, he spoke of the challenges of combining family life with the need to work on projects. They lived in the Harlesden area of London until temporarily moving to Los Angeles in early 2013, allowing him more time to focus on his LA Stories series. In 2017, they relocated to Los Angeles. Theroux and his family spent COVID-19 lockdowns at their home in North-West London.

Theroux is an atheist. He dabbled with cannabis at 17 and later said that, while he acknowledges that cannabis is an intoxicant and can trigger certain mental health issues, he supports its legalisation. He has also revealed that he has a fear of flying. In 2023, he announced that he suffers from alopecia that has caused facial hair loss.

In 2018, Theroux's Twitter account was hacked by cybersecurity firm Insinia as part of their attempt to highlight a longstanding security flaw in Twitter's system.

Theroux is a supporter of West London football club Queens Park Rangers.

title: Louis Theroux


text:
Hastings, New Zealand

Hastings (Heretaunga) is an inland city of New Zealand and is one of the two major urban areas in Hawke's Bay, on the east coast of the North Island. The population of Hastings (including Flaxmere) is (as of  with a further  people in Havelock North  and  in Clive. Hastings is about 18 kilometres inland of the coastal city of Napier. These two neighbouring cities are often called "The Bay Cities" or "The Twin Cities".

The city is the administrative centre of the Hastings District. Since the merger of the surrounding and satellite settlements, Hastings has grown to become one of the largest urban areas in Hawke's Bay.

Hastings District is a food production region. The fertile Heretaunga Plains surrounding the city produce stone fruits, pome fruit, kiwifruit and vegetables, and the area is one of New Zealand's major red wine producers. Associated business include food processing, agricultural services, rural finance and freight. Hastings is the major service centre for the surrounding inland pastoral communities and tourism.

Māori history
Near the fourteenth century CE, Māori arrived in Heretaunga or Hawke's Bay, settling in the river valleys and along the coast where food was plentiful. It is believed that Māori arrived at Heretaunga by canoe, travelling down the coast from the north, landing at Wairoa, Portland Island, the Ahuriri Lagoon at Westshore, and at Waimārama. Their culture flourished, causing gradual deforestation of the land. The forest was replaced by bracken, making this one of the few regions of New Zealand where sheep could be brought in by later European settlers without felling the bush first. In the sixteenth century, Taraia, great-grandson of the great and prolific chief Kahungunu, established the large tribe of Ngāti Kahungunu, which eventually colonised the eastern side of the North Island from Poverty Bay to Wairarapa. They were one of the first Māori tribes to come in contact with European settlers.

European settlers' history

The Māori owners leased approximately seventy square kilometres on the Heretaunga Plains to Thomas Tanner in 1867; Tanner had been trying to purchase the land since 1864. In 1870, twelve people, known as the "12 apostles", formed a syndicate to purchase the land for around £1 10s an acre (£371 per km2). Many local people firmly believe that Hastings was originally named Hicksville, after Francis Hicks, who bought a 100 acre block of land, which now contains the centre of Hastings, from Thomas Tanner. However, this story is apocryphal. The original name of the location which was to become the town centre was Karamu.

In 1870, Colonial Treasurer Julius Vogel launched the most ambitious development programme in New Zealand’s history. He proposed to borrow huge sums from Britain to revitalise and accelerate New Zealand development. One of the leading projects was the building of a national railway linking all main centres. Hawkes Bay development involved building a railway south from Napier and eventually to Palmerston North where it would connect to the proposed main trunk line. The decision on the route out of Napier was based largely on two reports by Charles Weber, the provincial engineer and surveyor in charge of the railways. Francis Hicks owned land in the central in the Heretaunga Plains and offered to donate land for a railway station. The offer was accepted and in 1873 Francis Hicks subdivided 100 acres into residential and suburban sections. On 7 June 1873, the Hawke's Bay Herald reported: "The name of the new town is to be Hastings. We hear it now for the first time." Exactly who chose the name has been disputed, although Thomas Tanner claimed that it was him (see Hawke's Bay Herald report 1 February 1884) and that the choice was inspired by his reading the trial of Warren Hastings. In any event, the name fitted well with other place names in the district (Napier, Havelock and Clive), which were also named after prominent figures in the history of British India. In 1874, the first train took the twelve-mile (19 km) trip from Napier to Hastings, opening up Hastings as an export centre, through Port Ahuriri. Another big jump in the local economy occurred when Edward Newbigin opened a brewery in 1881. By the next year, there were 195 freeholders of land in the town of around six hundred people. The town was incorporated as a borough on 20 October 1886.

Hastings first received power in 1912, followed by Napier in 1915.

In 1918, nearly 300 people died of a flu epidemic that swept Hawke's Bay.

1931 Earthquake
On 3 February 1931, at 10:47 am, most of Hastings (and nearby Napier) was levelled by an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale. In Hastings, the ground subsided roughly 1 metre. The collapse of buildings and the ensuing fires killed 258 people, of which 93 were in Hastings. The centre of Hastings was destroyed in the earthquake, and was subsequently rebuilt in the Art Deco and Spanish Mission styles, which were both popular at that time. Due to quick thinking by residents and the Local Fire Department, Hastings did not suffer the extent of fire damage that Napier did. Most deaths were attributed to collapsing buildings, namely Roaches' Department Store in Heretaunga Street where 17 people died.

The Hastings Clock Tower was commissioned in 1934 by the Hastings Borough Council as a symbol of triumph over the adversity to celebrate the rebuild of Hastings. The design was by competition, which was won by local architect Sydney Chaplin. In 1995 the Hastings District Council added two memorial plaques to the base of tower in memory of those who died in the earthquake.

1932 to 1999

During World War II, Allied troops were billeted at the Army, Navy and Air Force (ANA) Club, and in private homes. One hundred and fifty members belonging to sixteen different local clubs packed supplies to be sent to Allied soldiers. In 1954, Hastings was the first city in New Zealand to introduce fluoridation of its water supply. The intention was to compare the effect on tooth decay with that in the unfluoridated city of Napier over a ten-year period. The study was criticised for its methodology and results, and remains controversial.

On 10 September 1960, the Hastings Blossom Parade (at the time a significant national event) was cancelled at 11 am for the first time in its history due to rain. Parade attendees drank in bars for several hours and when, subsequently, an 'impromptu' parade began at 2 pm, a riot started as police tried to arrest those intoxicated in public. This was considered a significant event in New Zealand society, with modern youth rebellion culture being labelled antisocial, and was subsequently much publicised with the national election later that year.

Hastings grew rapidly throughout the 1960s and 1970s (Hastings at this time was the fastest growing city in New Zealand), and there was a major issue dealing with encroachment of suburban expansion on highly productive land. Flaxmere was established as a satellite suburb to absorb rapid growth and was built upon the stony, arid soils of the abandoned course of the Ngaruroro River. Although the land seemed worthless back then, it has subsequently proved highly valued for grape growing, and now is a prized region of red wine varietals in the world-famous Gimblett Gravels wine-growing region. Starting with economic decline nationally in the late 1970s, coupled with agricultural subsidy reforms in the early 1980s, Hastings went into recession with more unemployment and low economic growth. It was not until the mid-1990s that the economy of Hastings began to turn around.

During the 1989 local government reforms Hastings City amalgamated with the Havelock North Borough and Hawke's Bay County to form the modern Hastings District. The County Council offices in Napier were closed in favour of Hastings, and the new Hastings District Council offices were built on two sites. The Napier City boundary was expanded to include Bay View and Meeanee. However, unlike largely urban Napier (population density 540.0 per km2), much of the newly formed Hastings District is rural and sparsely populated (population density 14.0 per km2), the Hastings District has approximately residents.

Because of their proximity to each other and their relatively small populations, Hastings and Napier are often seen as candidates for further amalgamation. This was attempted with the 1999 Amalgamation Referendum, where 75% of Napier residents opposed, and 64% of Hastings residents were in support.

2000 to today
At 11.25 pm on 25 August 2008, the city was hit by an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale. The epicentre was based only 10 km south of the city, near Mt Erin, at a depth of 32 km. The earthquake caused minor damage to shops, where stock was shaken off shelves. Power outages were also reported. This was the most powerful earthquake to hit the region since the 5.8 Hastings earthquake in October 2001.

In 2010, the city, together with New Plymouth became one of the two walking and cycling "model communities", qualifying for further co-funding by the national government to improve its walking paths and cycleways, and encourage people to use active forms of transport.

In August–September 2016, 5,200 people after the local water supply in Havelock North tested positive for the pathogen Campylobacter jejeuni. One death in a nursing home was suspected to be due to the outbreak. It is suspected that after heavy rain fell on 5–6 August, water contamination from flooding caused the outbreak, although this is the subject of a government Inquiry. It is the largest outbreak of waterborne disease ever to occur in New Zealand. All schools in Havelock North closed for two weeks, with the Hastings District Council advising an urgent notice to boil water for at least one minute before consumption. This notice was lifted on September the 3rd, with the outbreak officially under control.

Chlorination of the Havelock North water supply started on Friday the 12th, and 9 water tankers were brought in containing water from the Hastings water supply. One of these trucks again tested positive for E-Coli contamination, prompting the Hastings District Council to chlorinate the water supply of both Hastings and Flaxmere as a precautionary measure.

In November 2017, Sandra Hazlehurst, formerly Councilor for Hastings-Havelock North Ward, became the first woman Mayor of Hastings. Hazlehurst was elected as a result of a by-election triggered by the formal resignation of Mayor Lawrence Yule in June.

Timeline

 * 1867: Māori owners leased 70 sq kilometres of land from the Heretaunga Plains to Thomas Tanner; it was the site of Karamu Junction.
 * 1873: The town of Karamu Junction was officially renamed Hastings.
 * 1874: Hastings (along with Napier) was connected to the North Island Main Trunk line.
 * 1886: 20 October. Hastings town was incorporated as a borough.
 * 1912: Hastings was connected to electricity, followed by Napier in 1915.
 * 1914: Heretaunga Street is laid with stone for motor vehicle traffic.
 * 1918: Nearly 300 people died of a flu epidemic that swept Hawke's Bay.
 * 1931: 3 February. Hastings was rocked by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, killing 256 people (93 in Hastings).
 * 1932: 16 September. Hastings was rocked by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake. It was the final large earthquake in the 1931–1932 earthquake events.
 * 1935: Hastings Clock Tower erected to celebrate the rebuild of Hastings post 1931 earthquake
 * 1950: The first Blossom Parade was held in Hastings; it is now a popular annual event.
 * 1951: 10 February. Hastings was rocked by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake at 3:27 pm.
 * 1954: Hastings was the first city in New Zealand to introduce fluoridation of its water supply.
 * 1960: 10 September. The Hastings Blossom Parade (at the time a significant national event) was cancelled at 11 am for the first time in its history due to rain.
 * 1989: Hastings City and the Havelock North Borough amalgamated to form the modern-day Hastings District.
 * 1993: 11 April. A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck 15 km south-west of Hastings and was felt as far south as Christchurch.
 * 2008: 25 August. A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centred 10 km south of Hastings caused an estimated $5 million in damage.
 * 2010: The city became a walking and cycling "model community".
 * 2016: August and September. 5,200 residents fell ill with campylobacteriosis, prompting a district-wide health crisis. It was the largest outbreak of waterborne disease to ever occur in New Zealand.
 * 2023: 12–18 February. Cyclone Gabrielle severely impacts Hastings, claiming the lives of 7 people in Hastings District. Multiple rivers burst their banks, destroying 6 bridges and causing an estimated $13 billion NZD in damage.

Geography and climate
Located on New Zealand's east coast, to the east of the Central Plateau and the rain shadow of the Kaweka Ranges, Hastings is situated on the fertile alluvial Heretaunga Plains. The plains were originally covered in swamp and mangroves, but have since been drained for agriculture. The local area is very productive, with orchards, farms and vineyards, and lies upon New Zealand's most economically valuable aquifer. Hastings lies roughly 250 km north-east of the nation's capital Wellington (294 km by road) and 350 km south-east of the largest city, Auckland (429 km by road).

Hastings enjoys an oceanic climate (according to Köppen climate classification). Sunshine hours rank over 2200 annually while rainfall averages less than 800 mm (31.5 in). It is one of the country's warmest urban areas annually. Because of its location 15 km inland, the sea breeze does not tend to have the same effect on Hastings' climate as it does on Napier. It is not uncommon for the temperature to be in the low 30 °C's (90 °F) on summer days, while in winter, days of 15 °C+ (60 °F) are frequent, occasionally exceeding 20 °C (68 °F) with north-west winds. Winters tend to be quite still and crisp with frequent frosts, followed by bright, sunny days.

Demographics
Due to restrictions on encroachment of land, satellite suburbs have absorbed the residential expansion of the city. Compared to other cities of similar size, Hastings has grown relatively quickly since it was settled in 1864 (over 150 years ago). Hastings is known for its gridiron city planning system, crisscrossed by the railway line running northeast–southwest and the main southeast–northwest artery, Heretaunga Street, which also links the city with its suburban centres of Havelock North and Flaxmere.

Many Hastings residents work in the city, and the area is populated by middle-to-upper income families, particularly in Havelock North and then middle-to-lower income families in other areas, namely Camberley and the north end of Flaxmere.

The Hastings urban area had a usual resident population of 44,940 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 5,019 people (12.6%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 5,724 people (14.6%) since the 2006 census. There were 21,804 males and 23,136 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.94 males per female. Of the total population, 10,593 people (23.6%) were aged up to 15 years, 9,528 (21.2%) were 15 to 29, 18,210 (40.5%) were 30 to 64, and 6,603 (14.7%) were 65 or older.

In terms of ethnicity, 60.2% of the population identified as European (Pākehā), 35.4% as Māori, 12.2% as Pacific peoples, 8.1% as Asian, and 1.4% as other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).

Redevelopment
Architecturally speaking, Hastings suffered similarly to Napier in the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake. However, because of the lesser damage by fire, Hastings maintained more pre earthquake buildings. Both towns gained a legacy from the disaster by rebuilding in the then-fashionable and highly distinctive Art Deco style, similar to that of Miami, Florida, USA. Hastings also possesses a large amount of Spanish Mission architecture (popular as with Art Deco in the early 1930s). However, Hastings succumbed to rapid redevelopment in the 1960s and 70s, which saw many 1930s buildings replaced.

By the end of the twentieth century, Hastings, along with most of New Zealand, was suffering from the recent economic downturn with industries and freezing works closing due to the agricultural subsidy reforms in the early 1980s. However, after multimillion-dollar regeneration projects and the employment of artists, Hastings has seen a change in its aesthetics. A CBD strategy was enforced to revitalise the central retail core, while promoting Havelock North as a 'luxury boutique' destination. The strategy proved extremely successful, and Hastings vacancy rates hit an all-time low in 2005. The current goal of the council is to continue developing Hastings CBD to attract additional national chains, while attracting more cafes and entertainment venues is currently active in the eastern blocks of Heretaunga St.

The Hastings District Council has recently relocated and consequently rebuilt the Hastings Sports Park at a new facility on the edge of the Hastings urban area to make way for a large megacentre, also known as "large format stores". A comprehensive study was conducted before the sale, concluding that retaining big box development within the CBD will help boutique stores prosper as opposed to locating the development on a greenfield site. Charter Hall, the developers behind 'The Park' megacentre, had confirmed as of August 2010, the major anchors of the development will be the relocation of Hawkes Bay's largest 'The Warehouse' and the relocation of the cities' Mitre 10 Mega. The new sports park is proposed as a regional facility and includes a velodrome, all-weather athletics track and sports grounds for most other sporting codes represented in NZ sport. Since its completion, the Hastings sports park now hosts multiple tennis courts, netball courts and an internationally recognised hockey turf.

Horse of the Year show
Hawkes Bay A&P Showgrounds in Hastings is the home to the annual NZ Horse of the Year show, held in March. It is one of the biggest sporting events in the Southern Hemisphere, and attracts 2500 horse and rider combinations competing in 19 disciplines including Dressage, Showhunter, Eventing, Showjumping, polocrosse and many breed classes. It has a budget of around NZ$3 million, and attracts over 70,000 visitors from over NZ and internationally over the five-day show.

Suburbs

City suburbs:
 * Hastings Ward: Akina, Camberley, Frimley, Hastings Central, Mahora, Mayfair, Parkvale, Raureka, St Leonards, Stortford Lodge, Tomoana, Waipatu, Whakatu
 * Havelock North Ward: Havelock North Central, Anderson Park, Iona, Te Mata, Te Mata Hills,
 * Flaxmere Ward: Flaxmere East, Kingsley-Chatham, Lochain, Woolwich

Outlying communities: Bridge Pa, Karamu, Longlands, Mangateretere, Maraekakaho, Omahu/Fernhill, Pakipaki, Pukahu, Twyford.

Road
Hastings is served by State Highway 2, which connects Hastings with Napier, Wairoa and Gisborne to the north and (via Dannevirke) Wellington, Masterton and Palmerston North to the south. SH 2 used to run through Hastings. Due to the road layout of Hastings, SH 2's northern and southern sections did not meet up. There once was a point in SH 2's continuation where there was a gap. SH 2 now connects Hastings to Napier through the Hawke's Bay Expressway, and provides a more direct link between the two cities and to both Hawke's Bay Airport and Port of Napier for heavy-vehicle traffic coming from Hastings. The former designation of SH 2 is now State Highway 51. SH 51 enters and exits Hastings in a north-east direction. Heading north-east, it passes through residential Hastings, then follows the Clive River through the towns of Whakatu and Clive, bridges across the Clive, Tutaekuri and Ngaruroro Rivers before following the coast into Napier.

State Highway 50 begins at a junction just north of Takapau, and connects Hastings and Hawke's Bay to the Ruataniwha Valley and western Hawke's Bay. It provides an alternative, quieter and (in terms of distance) shorter route into Hawke's Bay. It also connects Hastings to many of Hawke's Bay's wineries, for which the region is known internationally. It makes up part of the Hawke's Bay Wine Trail.

Buses
Go Bus operates 9 Go Bay routes in Hastings, with funding from Regional Council. Bee Cards replaced goBay cards on 24 August 2020.

Rail
The Palmerston North–Gisborne Line (PNGL) is a secondary main line railway that runs through the centre of Hastings (a planned feature unique to the city) and joins the North Island Main Trunk railway near Palmerston North. The railway divides Hastings from southwest to northeast and cuts off many of the main streets in the centre of the city, many being labelled as east or west depending on what side of the railway they originate from. Passenger services ran to Hastings until it was closed in 2001, and the Hastings railway station is now a major centre for freight services along the PNGL and provides the Port of Napier with many of its freight exports.

Utilities
The Hastings Borough Council established the city's first public electricity supply in 1912, with electricity generated by two diesel engines in Eastbourne Street. Originally, electricity was supplied using a 230/460-volt three-wire DC system, converting to the now-standard 230/400-volt three-phase AC system in the 1920s. Hastings was connected to the Mangahao hydroelectric scheme in 1927, and the Waikaremoana hydroelectric scheme in 1929. The Hawke's Bay Electric Power Board took over from the borough council in 1935.

The 1998 electricity sector reforms saw the electric power board (then named Hawke's Bay Power) sell its retail base to Contact Energy, with the remaining lines business renamed Hawke's Bay Networks and later Unison Networks. Today, Unison Networks continues to own and operate the local electricity distribution network servicing the city, with electricity fed into it primarily from the Transpower substations at Fernhill and Whakatu.

Natural gas arrived in Napier and Hastings in 1983, with the completion of the high-pressure pipeline from Palmerston North to Hastings. The high-pressure transmission pipelines supplying the city are now owned and operated by First Gas, with Powerco owning and operating the local natural gas distribution network. In February 2004, the city and wider Hawke's Bay Region lost natural gas supply for six days after a flood washed away a bridge near Ashhurst supporting the high-pressure pipeline to the region.

Parks
Hastings has numerous parks and reserves.

Notable people

Notable residents of the Hastings metro area have included:

 * Rita Angus - artist
 * Donna Awatere Huata – former politician
 * Geordie Beamish – 2024 World Indoor Athletics Championships, 1500 metres champion
 * Joh Bjelke-Petersen – Premier of Queensland, Australia
 * Martin Campbell – TV and film director
 * Alan Duff – author (Once Were Warriors) and co-founder of Duffy Books in Homes
 * Georgina Evers-Swindell – Olympic rowing gold medalist
 * Caroline Evers-Swindell – Olympic rowing gold medalist
 * Robert Felkin – medical missionary, explorer and ceremonial magician
 * Paul Holmes – radio and television broadcaster
 * Phil Judd – musician, composer and founding member of Split Enz
 * Cobber Kain – first Allied fighter ace of WW2, 14 kills in the Battle of France
 * Josh Kronfeld – All Black rugby player who attended Hastings Boys High
 * Liam Lawson - Professional racing driver
 * Ross McEwan - Former CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland, now CEO of the National Australia Bank
 * John McIntyre - racing driver
 * Alfred Meebold – botanist, writer, and anthroposopher
 * Greg Murphy – V8 Supercar racer
 * George Nēpia – All Black who attended Maori Agricultural College
 * Mark Paston – New Zealand representative football goalkeeper
 * Abe Phillips - lead singer of Hastings band, The Shadracks
 * Bruce Robertson – All Black rugby player who attended Hastings Boys High
 * Taine Randell – rugby player who captained the All Blacks and attended Lindisfarne College in Hastings
 * Jason Reeves – radio and television host who attended Karamu High School in Hastings
 * Ian Smith – New Zealand representative cricketer
 * John Timu – rugby player who represented New Zealand in rugby union and rugby league, and attended Lindisfarne College in Hastings
 * Kirsten Warner – novelist, poet and journalist
 * James Wattie – industrialist/entrepreneur and founder of Wattie's
 * Joan Wiffen – amateur palaeontologist who discovered the first dinosaur fossils in New Zealand
 * Chrissy Witoko – owner of the Evergreen Coffee Lounge, meeting place for Wellington's LGBTQIA+ community
 * Eric Young – Prime TV news presenter

title: Hastings, New Zealand


text:
Nigel Buxton

Nigel Edward Buxton (29 May 1924 – 30 November 2015) was a British travel writer and wine critic, also known for appearing as  in the Channel 4 comedy series The Adam and Joe Show.

Early life
Buxton was born at Cowfold, Sussex, where his father, Gordon Offord Buxton, worked as a 'general factotum' at Brook Hill House, owned by Lt-Col Edward William ('Robert') Hermon of the 1st King Edward's Horse, to whom the elder Buxton had been a servant since 1908, accompanying him as his batman during World War I.

Travel writer
After education at Collyer's Grammar School, Horsham and the Imperial Service College, Windsor, followed by the University of Glasgow and Worcester College, Oxford, at the latter of which he read Modern History, graduating in 1954, Buxton became travel columnist - later travel editor - of The Sunday Telegraph in 1961.

BaaadDad
In the 1990s, Buxton appeared as "BaaadDad" on The Adam and Joe Show on Channel 4, which was written and presented by his son Adam Buxton along with Adam's friend Joe Cornish. The comedy behind the character of BaaadDad was the juxtaposition of the fact that he was clearly an elderly and upper middle class man with the topics that he discusses, which relate to youth culture - clubbing, drug use, and so on. In this character, he featured in the video for Frank Black's single "Dog Gone".

Personal life and death
During the Second World War, having been commissioned in the Royal Artillery in 1943, Buxton served in France and Germany. Prior to his journalistic career, Buxton also served as assistant adjutant in India during the last days of the British Raj. With his wife, Valerie (née Birrell), Buxton had a daughter and two sons.

Buxton wrote several books, including A Penguin Guide to Travel in Europe, published by Penguin in 1965, Travel '67, published by Follett in 1967, and Walking in Wine Country, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 1993.

Buxton died from complications arising from lung cancer at his son Adam Buxton's Norfolk home on 30 November 2015.

title: Nigel Buxton


text:
Corinne Griffith

Corinne Griffith (née Griffin; November 21, 1894 – July 13, 1979) was an American film actress, producer, author and businesswoman. Dubbed "The Orchid Lady of the Screen," she was widely regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses of the silent film era. In addition to her beauty, Griffith achieved critical recognition for her performance in Frank Lloyd's The Divine Lady (1929), which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Originally from Texas, Griffith pursued a film career after winning a beauty contest in Southern California. In 1916, she signed a contract with Vitagraph Studios, appearing in numerous films for the studio through the remainder of the decade. In 1920, she began making films for First National Pictures and became one of the studio's bigger stars. In the mid-1920s, she began executive-producing features and served as a producer on 1925's Déclassée and Classified, in both of which she starred.

In the latter part of the 1920s, Griffith's film career slowed, though she had lead performances in Outcast (1928) and the drama The Garden of Eden (also 1928). The following year, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Divine Lady. She starred in Lilies of the Field, a remake of the 1924 film in which she had also starred. Her following film, Back Pay (1930), was promoted as Griffith's final screen appearance before her retirement. She did, however, appear as the lead in Lily Christine (1932) two years later.

After 1932, Griffith retired from acting and became a successful author and businesswoman, writing numerous fiction and non-fiction books, as well as venturing into real estate, in which she had begun investing in the 1920s. She married her third husband, Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, in 1936, and remained married to him until 1958. She made her final film appearance with a minor role in Paradise Alley (1962), which marked her first screen appearance in 28 years. A biographical film about Griffith was released in 1963 titled Papa's Delicate Condition, based on her 1952 memoir and focusing on the relationship between her and her father. After suffering a stroke in July 1979, Griffith was hospitalized in Santa Monica, California, where she died shortly after of a heart attack. She left behind a reported estate of $150 million, making her one of the wealthier women in the world at that time.

1894–1932: Early life and Vitagraph films
Griffith was born Corinne Griffin on November 21, 1894 in Waco, Texas, one of two daughters born to John Lewis "Jack" Griffin, a Methodist minister and train conductor of the Texas & Pacific railway, and Amboline Ghio. Griffith's maternal grandfather, Antonio Ghio, was an Italian immigrant who became a successful businessman in Texas and was a three-time mayor of Texarkana; her maternal grandmother, Maria Anthes, also an immigrant, was a native of Darmstadt, Germany. At the time of Griffith's birth, her mother Amboline was in her early 20s, while her father, John, was nearly 40. Griffith's parents had married in 1887, and the wedding was a celebrated event among local high society.

Griffith and her sister were raised Catholic. Her early years were spent in Waco before the family moved to Texarkana, Texas, where Griffith lived until age 10; she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to attend the Sacred Heart Convent school. Her father died in Mineral Wells, Texas on March 20, 1912. After completing her primary education, Griffin enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin for the 1912–1913 semester year. She also worked as a dancer before she began her acting career.

Accounts of Griffith's entry into the film industry vary. At some point after her father's death, Griffith left Texas and relocated with her mother and sister, Augusta, to Southern California. Some sources claim she was urged by Vitagraph Studios director Rollin S. Sturgeon to pursue an acting career after winning a beauty contest in Santa Monica, California, in which Sturgeon was a judge. According to another account, Griffith met Sturgeon at a high-society event in Crescent City, California, and he offered her a film contract on the spot. In a 1919 newspaper article, Griffith said she was approached by Sturgeon in New Orleans after she won a pageant during the Mardi Gras festival. According to Griffith, Sturgeon suggested she become an actress, and several months later she traveled to California to meet with executives at Vitagraph. In 1916, she signed a $15-weekly contract with Vitagraph and took the stage name Corinne Griffith. She made her screen debut in a short film titled La Paloma, opposite Earle Williams. She appeared in a series of short films for the studio before becoming a leading lady. On April 22, 1920, Griffith married her first husband, Webster Campbell, in a private ceremony in Oceanside, California.

Griffith's performance in one of her later films for Vitagraph, The Broadway Bubble (1920), was described by a critic of the Austin American-Statesman as the "strongest and most fascinating role in her notable career" and lauded it as her "crowning achievement."

1923–1932: First National contract
In 1923, after three years of marriage, Griffith divorced Campbell, whom she claimed was an abusive alcoholic. The same year, Griffith left Vitagraph Studios, signing a more lucrative contract of $10,000 a week with First National, where she became one of their most popular stars. Her first film for the studio was Frank Lloyd's Black Oxen (1923), a drama in which she portrayed a mysterious Austrian countess. The film, in which Griffith co-starred with Conway Tearle and Clara Bow, became a hit.

Griffith married producer Walter Morosco in February, 1924. The same year, she starred in and executive-produced three pictures: Single Wives, Love's Wilderness, and Lilies of the Field. All three of the films were box-office hits. By 1927, Griffith had begun investing her film income in real estate and owned approximately $500,000 worth of properties.

In 1928, she had the starring role in The Garden of Eden for United Artists which, though critically praised, was not a box-office hit. Disappointed by the film's lackluster dividends, Griffith returned to First National to appear in Frank Lloyd's The Divine Lady (1929), a sound film featuring synchronized music, but no audible dialogue. Griffith earned critical accolades for her performance, including a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Griffith's first full sound film was Lilies of the Field, a remake of her 1924 silent film in the same role. Griffith's voice, which was regarded as nasal, did not record well (The New York Times stated that she "talked through her nose"), and the film was a box office flop. The following year, she starred in the drama Back Pay (1930), based on a story by Fannie Hurst, which was promoted as her final screen appearance. After a two-year hiatus, Griffith starred in the British film Lily Christine (1932) and then left the public eye completely.

1933–1964: Post-film career
After her retirement from film, Griffith divorced Morosco in 1934. Two years later, she married businessman and Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall. In December 1941, the couple adopted two daughters, Pamela and Cynthia. In the early years of her marriage to Marshall, she wrote the lyrics to the original Redskins fight song, "Hail to the Redskins".

In the 1940s, Griffith began investing in real estate in the Los Angeles area. She funded the construction of four commercial buildings on all four corners of the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and South Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, California. The construction of the buildings, each named after her, proved lucrative, and she turned down an offer of $2.5 million for them in 1950. The same year, she spoke at the inaugural National Association of Real Estate Boards convention in Florida. "I liked the vacant business lots I saw in Beverly Hills with the For Sale signs on them," she recalled. "They were so near the beautiful homes there in that section and I couldn't help but feel that someday the business section would grow up to the great buying power of these wealthy estates."

In addition to her real estate ventures, beginning in the 1950s, Griffith became a vocal supporter of repealing the 16th Amendment, which authorized income tax. Over the ensuing decade, she gave approximately 500 speeches on the subject. Commenting on her dedication to the topic, she stated: "We have no substitute of other taxes because we have no substitute for waste, graft and corruption. If the federal government will eliminate only part of its waste, just 40 billions of dollars a year of its waste... I can prove to you in dollars and cents that the government does not need the income tax." Griffith also spoke in support of women seeking their own financial autonomy: "I got my money without the help of any man. Women wise enough to earn their own money will get a broader understanding of life, a new respect from their husbands and a bank account which they can use without resorting to the old tricks that sicken every wife at heart."

Griffith was also an accomplished writer who published eleven books, including two best-sellers, My Life with the Redskins (1947), and the memoir Papa's Delicate Condition (1952), which chronicled her upbringing and family life in Texarkana. Her third publication, 1955's Eggs I Have Known, was a recipe book with gossipy anecdotes interspersed. In 1958, Griffith divorced Marshall (who she referred to in print as "The Marshall without a plan"). In 1960, she was honored for her contributions to the motion picture industry with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street. She later published her fourth book, Antiques I Have Known, a non-fiction book about her interest in antiques. Griffith returned to the screen in 1962 in the low-budget melodrama Paradise Alley, which received scant release and marked her final film role. Also in 1962, she published two books: Hollywood Stories, a selection of short fiction, and Taxation Without Representation—or, Your Money Went That-a-Way, which argued against the income tax. The following year, her memoir Papa's Delicate Condition was made into a biographical feature film of the same name starring Jackie Gleason.

1965–1979: Claims about identity and final years
In February 1965, she married her fourth husband, Broadway actor Danny Scholl in Alexandria, Virginia. Scholl was 44 years old, more than 25 years younger than Griffith. The couple separated after two months of marriage. Within the year, Griffith filed for a divorce after a judge denied her motion for an annulment; she contended that the marriage had not been consummated. Pending trial, she was ordered to pay Scholl alimony of $200 per month beginning in December 1964.

During the divorce court proceedings in May 1966, Griffith testified that she was actually not Corinne Griffith. She instead claimed that she was Corinne's younger sister, who, although twenty years younger, had taken Corinne's place when she died in 1924. She also denied having married her former two husbands, Webster Campbell and Walter Morosco. In court, Scholl's attorney proposed that Griffith had falsified her age in the couple's marriage documents as well as failed to disclose her previous two marriages. Upon being questioned about her age, Griffith refused to comment, stating that her religion, Christian Science, prevented her from publicly disclosing it. She also claimed not to have kept record of her age since she was 13 years old. Actresses Betty Blythe and Claire Windsor, who had both known Griffith since the 1920s, contradicted her testimony, but did not shake her story, and she continued to claim that she was in fact Corinne's sister.

In a subsequent interview, Griffith further complicated her story, claiming to be Corinne's twin named Mary, rather than her younger sister: "I am Mary Griffith. Her twin sister. Let me explain. She, Corinne, was starring in a film in Mexico in 1920. She was stricken by a mysterious local malady and died suddenly at age twenty-four. Mr. Adolph Zukor, head of Paramount, called me in person and told me I must save the day; a cancellation of the picture would be a disaster for the studio. He told me what had happened; I cried and cried. He said I must pull myself together: there was a million dollars in it if I would become my sister. I had never acted and didn't want to act. But I couldn't resist the money, and I felt Corinne would want me to help. So I went to Mexico and took over, and nobody knew the difference. From then on, I was Corinne Griffith."

In the same interview, she stated that Corinne had been buried in an unmarked grave in Mexico.

Following the publicity surrounding her divorce and identity claims, Griffith spent the remainder of her years writing. In 1969, she published Not for Men Only – but Almost, a non-fiction book detailing the appeal of sports to men and its lack of appeal for most women. She published another collection of personal non-fiction stories titled This You Won't Believe in 1972. Her final book I'm Lucky at Cards (1974) was a book of her essays.

Screen and public image
Griffith was lauded by numerous publications for her beauty. Valeria Beletti, a secretary of Samuel Goldwyn, described Griffith as "the most beautiful of all the silent stars, talented or otherwise," despite the fact that she personally found Griffith abrasive: "very haughty and disdainful. She looks at no one but her dogs, and is generally disliked by all." According to biographer Anthony Slide, the common phrase "the camera loves her" was coined for Griffith.

In addition to her appearance, Griffith took efforts to maintain a decorous and healthful image, claiming never to have smoked or drunk alcohol. She also avoided swearing and refrained from wearing make-up when not appearing on film. Columnist Adela Rogers St. Johns once referred to Griffith as "innocence personified."

Death
Griffith suffered a stroke in early July 1979, brought on by cerebral arteriosclerosis, and was hospitalized at Saint John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. She died there shortly after of a heart attack on July 13, aged 84. Her sister Augusta, from whom she had been estranged, had died only weeks earlier. Griffith's remains were cremated by the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles and buried at sea in the Pacific Ocean. At the time of her death, Griffith's estate was valued at $150 million, principally real estate.

title: Corinne Griffith


text:
Knitting needle

A knitting needle or knitting pin is a tool in hand-knitting to produce knitted fabrics. They generally have a long shaft and taper at their end, but they are not nearly as sharp as sewing needles. Their purpose is two-fold. The long shaft holds the active (unsecured) stitches of the fabric, to prevent them from unravelling, whereas the tapered ends are used to form new stitches. Most commonly, a new stitch is formed by inserting the tapered end through an active stitch, catching a loop (also called a bight) of fresh yarn and drawing it through the stitch; this secures the initial stitch and forms a new active stitch in its place. In specialized forms of knitting the needle may be passed between active stitches being held on another needle, or indeed between/through inactive stitches that have been knit previously.

The size of a needle is described first by its diameter and secondly by its length. The size of the new stitch is determined in large part by the diameter of the knitting needle used to form it, because that affects the length of the yarn-loop drawn through the previous stitch. Thus, large stitches can be made with large needles, whereas fine knitting requires fine needles. In most cases, the knitting needles being used in hand-knitting are of the same diameter; however, in uneven knitting, needles of different sizes may be used. Larger stitches may also be made by wrapping the yarn more than once around the needles with every stitch. The length of a needle determines how many stitches it can hold at once; for example, very large projects such as a shawl with hundreds of stitches might require a longer needle than a small project such as a scarf or bootie. Various sizing systems for needles are in common use.

Single-pointed needles
The most widely recognized form of needle is the single-pointed needle. It is a slender, straight stick tapered to a point at one end, with a knob at the other end to prevent stitches from slipping off. Such needles are always used in pairs and are usually 10-16 inches (25.4–40.6 cm) long but, due to the compressibility of knitted fabrics, may be used to knit pieces significantly wider. The knitting of new stitches occurs only at the tapered ends. Fictional depictions of knitting in movies, television programs, animation, and comic strips almost always show knitting done on straight needles. Both Wallace and Gromit and Monty Python, for example, show this type of knitting.

Flexi single-pointed needles
Flexi single-pointed needles are used as single-pointed needles.

Flexi single-pointed needles have a rigid needle part, a plastic cable and a stopper at the end of the cable.

Flexi single-pointed needles can be bought readymade or it is possible to make them yourself, if you have a set of interchangeable circular knitting needles and cables and stoppers.

Double-pointed needles

The oldest type of needle is the straight double-pointed needle. Double-pointed needles are tapered at both ends, which allows them to be knit from either end. They are typically used (and sold) in sets of four and five, and are commonly used for circular knitting. Since the invention of the circular needle, they have been most commonly used to knit smaller tube-shaped pieces such as sleeves, collars, and socks. Usually two needles are active while the others hold the remaining stitches. Double-pointed needles are somewhat shorter than single-pointed or circular needles, and are usually used in the 13–20 cm length range, although they are also made longer.

Double-pointed needles are depicted in a number of 14th-century oil paintings, typically called Knitting Madonnas, depicting Mary knitting with double-pointed needles (Rutt, 2003).

A cable needle is a special type of double-pointed needle that is typically very short and used to hold a very small number of stitches temporarily while the knitter is forming a cable pattern. They are often U-shaped, or have a U-shaped bend, to keep the held stitches from falling off while the primary needle is being used.

Circular needles

The first US patent for a circular needle was issued in 1918, although in Europe they may have been used a little earlier. Circulars are composed of two pointed, straight tips connected by a flexible cable and may be used for both knitting flat or knitting in the round. The two tapered ends, typically 4–5 inches (10.5–13 cm) long, are rigid, allowing for easy knitting, and are connected by the flexible strand (usually made of nylon or coated wire). The tips may be permanently connected to the cable and made in overall lengths from 9 in to 60 in or composed of cables and interchangeable tips. This allows various lengths and diameters to be combined into many different sizes of needles, allowing for a great variety of needs to be met by a relatively few component pieces. The ability to work from either end of one needle is convenient in several types of knitting, such as slip-stitch versions of double knitting.

In using circulars to knit flat pieces of fabric the two ends are used just as two separate needles would be. The knitter holds one tip in each hand and knits straight across the width of the fabric, turns the work, and knits or purls back the other way. Using circular needles has some advantages, for example, the weight of the fabric is more evenly distributed, therefore less taxing, on the arms and wrists of the knitter and, the length of the cable may be longer than would be practical with rigid needles since the cable and fabric rest in the lap of the knitter rather than extending straight out past the arms.

The lack of a purl row in stockinette stitch, since in the round (commonly referred to as ITR) knitting is all done using the knit stitch, is often perceived to be one of the greatest benefits of ITR. Knitting ITR with circulars is done in a spiral, the same way as using double-pointed needles (usually called DPNs). Additionally, circulars eliminate the need to continually switch from one needle to the next, and there is no possibility of stitches falling off the back end of the needles, as may happen when using DPNs. Much larger tubes may be knit ITR, too, helping items to be completed more quickly. Construction of garments such as sweaters may be greatly simplified when knitting ITR, since the finishing steps of sewing a back, two fronts, and two sleeves of a sweater together may be almost entirely eliminated in neck down ITR knitting.

Knitting educator and authority Elizabeth Zimmermann helped popularize knitting ITR specifically with circular needles.

Numerous techniques have been devised for the production of narrow tubular knitting on circular needles. One common method is to use two needles in place of the four or five double-pointed needles traditionally used, while a newer technique is to use one circular needle that is significantly longer than the circumference of the item being knitted. This technique is known as Magic Loop and has recently become a popular method of producing tubular knitting, as only one needle is required.

The Guinness World Record for knitting with the largest knitting needles
The current holder of this title is Elizabeth "Betsy" Bond who is a British art student and creator of the world's largest knitting needles, which are 14 feet long. To achieve the world record in 2018, Bond needed to knit at least 10 stitches and 10 rows of yarn with her needles. The yarn she used for the feat was made of 35 pounds of machine knitted, hand-twisted cotton material.

She beats Julia Hopson of Penzance in Cornwall. Julia had knitted a tension square of ten stitches and ten rows in stocking stitch using knitting needles that were 6.5 cm in diameter and 3.5 metres long.

Needle materials
In addition to common wood and metal needles, antique knitting needles were sometimes made from tortoiseshell, ivory and walrus tusks; these materials are now banned due to their impact on endangered species, and needles made from them are virtually impossible to find.

There are, however, a now vintage style of needle which appears to be tortoiseshell, but is actually made from a celluloid, sometimes known as shellonite. These needles were made in Australia, but are no longer manufactured.

Modern knitting needles are made of bamboo, aluminium, steel, wood, plastic, glass, casein and carbon fibers.

Needle storage
A tall, cylindrical container with padding on the bottom to keep the points sharp can store straight needles neatly. Fabric or plastic cases similar to cosmetic bags or a chef's knife bag allow straight needles to be stored together yet separated by size, then rolled to maximize space. Circular needles may be stored with the cables coiled in cases made specifically for this purpose or hung dangling from a hanger device with cables straight. If older circulars with the nylon or plastic cables are coiled for storage it may be necessary to soak them in hot water for a few minutes to get them to uncoil and relax for ease of use. Most recently manufactured cables eliminate this problem and may be stored coiled without any difficulty. Care must be taken not to kink the metal cables of older circulars, as these kinks will not come out and may damage or snag yarn as it is knit.

Needle gauge
A needle gauge makes it possible to determine the size of a knitting needle. Some may also be used to gauge the size of crochet hooks. Most needles come with the size written on them, but with use and time, the label often wears off, and many needles (like double-pointed needles) tend not to be labelled.

Needle gauges can be made of any material, but are often made of metal and plastic. They tend to be about 3 by 5 inches. There are holes of various sizes through which the needles are passed to determine which hole they fit best, and often a ruler along the edge for determining the tension (also called gauge) of a sample.

Needle sizes and conversions

In the UK, the metric system is used. Previously, needles 'numbers' were the Standard Wire Gauge designation of the wire from which metal needles were made. The origin of the numbering system is uncertain but it is thought that needle numbers were based on the number of increasingly fine dies that the wire had to be drawn through. This meant thinner needles had a larger number.

In the current US system, things are opposite, that is, smaller numbers indicate smaller needles. There is an "old US system" that is divided into standard and steel needles, the latter being fine lace needles. Occasionally, older lace patterns will refer to these smaller needles in the old measurement system. Finally, there was a system used in continental Europe that predated the metric system. It is largely obsolete, but some older or reprinted patterns call for pins in these sizes.

title: Knitting needle


text:
The Divine Lady

The Divine Lady is a 1929 American pre-Code Vitaphone sound film with a synchronized musical score, sound effects, and some synchronized singing, but no spoken dialogue. It stars Corinne Griffith and tells the story of the love affair between Horatio Nelson and Emma Hamilton. It featured the theme song "Lady Divine", with lyrics by Richard Kountz and music by Nathaniel Shilkret, which became a popular hit in 1929 and was recorded by numerous artists, such as Shilkret, Frank Munn, Ben Selvin (as the Cavaliers), Smith Ballew, Adrian Schubert, Sam Lanin, and Bob Haring.

The film was adapted by Harry Carr, Forrest Halsey, Agnes Christine Johnston, and Edwin Justus Mayer from the novel The Divine Lady: A Romance of Nelson and Emma Hamilton by E. Barrington. It was directed by Frank Lloyd.

The film won the Academy Award for Best Director and was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Corinne Griffith) and Best Cinematography. It is the only film to be awarded Best Director without a Best Picture nomination (one year earlier, Two Arabian Knights was awarded for Best Director of a Comedy Picture without being nominated for Best Picture).

Plot
In the late 18th century, Lady Hamilton has had a somewhat turbulent relationship with the British people, especially the aristocracy. Born Emma Hart from a very humble background (she being the daughter of a cook), she was seen as being vulgar by the rich, but equally captivating for her beauty. In a move to protect his inheritance, Honorable Charles Greville, Emma's then lover and her mother's employer, sent Emma to Naples under false pretenses to live with his uncle, Sir William Hamilton, where she would study to become a lady.

Surprisingly to Greville whose deception Emma would eventually discover, Emma ended up becoming Hamilton's wife in a marriage of convenience. But it is Emma's eventual relationship with Horatio Nelson of the British navy that would cause the largest issue. A move by Lady Hamilton helped Nelson's armada defeat Napoleon's fleet in naval battles, which Nelson would have ultimately lost without Lady Hamilton's help. Beyond the dangers of war, Lady Hamilton and Nelson's relationship is ultimately threatened by the court of public opinion as both are married to other people.

Cast

 * Corinne Griffith as Emma Hart
 * Victor Varconi as Horatio Nelson
 * H. B. Warner as Sir William Hamilton
 * Ian Keith as Honorable Charles Greville
 * Marie Dressler as Mrs. Hart
 * Montagu Love as Captain Hardy
 * William Conklin as Romney
 * Dorothy Cumming as Queen Maria Carolina
 * Michael Vavitch as King Ferdinand
 * Evelyn Hall as Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
 * Helen Jerome Eddy as Lady Nelson

Music
The film featured a theme song entitled “Lady Divine,” by Richard Kountz (words) and Nathaniel Shilkret (music). Also featured on the soundtrack is a song entitled “Pearl Of Mine” by Percy Fletcher.

Preservation status
The film still survives intact along with its Vitaphone soundtrack. This film was a joint preservation project of the UCLA Film and Television Archive and the Museum of Modern Art Department of Film in cooperation with the Czechoslovak Film Archive. It was restored in conjunction with the project American Moviemakers: The Dawn of Sound.

Home media
In 2009, the film was released on manufactured-on-demand DVD by the Warner Archive Collection.

title: The Divine Lady