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Real Change

Real Change is a weekly progressive street newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, USA written by professional staff and sold by self-employed vendors, many of whom are homeless. The paper provides them with an alternative to panhandling and covers a variety of social justice issues, including homelessness and poverty. It became weekly in 2005, making it the second American street newspaper ever to be published weekly. Real Change is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with an annual budget of $950,000.

History and Circulation
Real Change has been published by the Real Change Homeless Empowerment Project since 1994; the paper's founder, Tim Harris, founded the Spare Change News street newspaper in the Boston area in 1992. After moving to Seattle in 1994, he started Real Change as a monthly paper with only one staff member. Later, the paper started producing every other week.

In February 2005, Real Change began publishing weekly due to increasing interest and sales, making it the second street newspaper in the country to do so. In addition to becoming a weekly newspaper, it hired several professional journalists shifting its focus to become a broadly progressive alternative paper. As a biweekly, it sold 18,000 copies every two weeks; and now has a weekly circulation of 16,000 papers. In April 2013, the paper's price increased from one dollar to two dollars and was the sixth street newspaper to do so.

In 2012, it sold 872,562 copies and raised $957,949: 68.42 percent from donations and grants; 31.26 percent from circulation, advertising and subscriptions; and 0.32 percent from other sources. As of 2017, it has a yearly circulation of 550,000 copies and sales account for 30 percent of the $1.2 million budget; beginning in 2019, vendors are able to take payment using the Venmo app.

Contents
The topics covered in Real Change are a mixture of progressive local news and information specifically pertaining to the homeless and poor. Though it covers local news, it still openly advocates for "social justice" and attempts to educate readers about homelessness. Some readers, though, admit that they buy the paper more to help out and interact with the vendors than to actually read the contents; this pattern of buying is common among street newspapers. Part of the reason for the paper becoming a weekly publication in 2005 was to attract more readers and move the newspaper's image from a "charity buy" to a legitimate source of news.

Vendors
Anyone may be a Real Change vendor. However, most are poor or unable to hold a regular job due to physical disability, mental illness, criminal records, or other issues. After attending an orientation and signing a code of conduct, Vendors get their first 10 papers free. They then buy the paper for sixty cents and sell it for two dollars keeping the difference, plus any tips. The paper has an average of 350 to 400 active vendors each month and there as many as 800 vendors in a year, if occasional vendors are included.

Most vendors sell within Seattle proper, although some sell in the Eastside, as far north as Bellingham, and as far south as Olympia, WA. Vendors may sell without restriction on sidewalks and public spaces, and sometimes need to obtain permission to sell in commercial areas like malls. Several vendors are very successful, selling as many as 2,000 papers a month and being known as "fixtures" in the community, however most sell far less than that. Real Change's "turf system" allows vendors selling over 300 papers per month to have priority at certain spots; according to Harris, this system allows buyer-vendor relationships to grow and for vendors to become well known in communities, and can minimize  conflict and competition between vendors.

Not all the vendors of Real Change are homeless, several are able to afford an apartment by selling the paper and others share accommodations with others. Like Washington, D.C.'s Street Sense, Real Change does not screen incoming vendors for income or living situation, nor does it "retire" vendors after they have obtained stable housing. The paper's staff have stated, however, that the majority of vendors are living in poverty and no vendors are "living in the bling-bling" from selling papers.

Awards
2004:
 * Susan Hutchison Bosch Award for outstanding achievement

2006:
 * First place, personalities

2008:
 * Best feature writing
 * First place, general news reporting
 * First place, social issues
 * First place, minorities
 * Third place, humorous writing
 * Honorable mention, personalities

2009:
 * First place, educational reporting
 * First place, social issues reporting
 * First place, Arts reporting and criticism

2011:
 * First place, education news
 * First place, consumer affairs news
 * Third place, social issues, religion, minority affairs
 * Third place, personality profile

2012:
 * First place, general news coverage
 * First place, lifestyle reporting
 * First place, page design
 * Second place, government and politics reporting
 * Second place, feature photography
 * Third place, page design

2013:
 * First place, general news coverage
 * First place, government and politics reporting
 * First place, education reporting
 * First place, page design
 * Second place, page design
 * Second place, social issues reporting
 * Second place, general excellence
 * Third place, sports reporting

title: Real Change


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East Haven

East Haven or Easthaven may refer to:

 * Places
 * East Haven, Angus, Scotland
 * East Haven, Connecticut, United States
 * East Haven, Indiana, United States
 * East Haven, Vermont, United States

 * Games
 * Easthaven (card game), a variant of the patience or solitaire known as Westcliff
 * Easthaven, a place in the role-playing video game Icewind Dale

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

title: East Haven


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Martin Verkerk

Martin Willem Verkerk (born 31 October 1978) is a retired professional Dutch tennis player. He reached the final of the French Open in 2003 and achieved a career-high singles ranking of No. 14 in September 2003. During his career, he won two ATP singles titles.

Early life
Verkerk began playing tennis at the age of seven, playing in local tournaments and training with his parents. He played in a tennis facility in his hometown of Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands, where his talent was recognized by local coaches, and he soon had the opportunity to train with many better players. He later won the 18 and Under Dutch title in 1995.

Career
In 2003, playing in only his third Grand Slam event and ranked 46, Verkerk reached the final of the French Open. Along the way, he beat Željko Krajan, Luis Horna, Vince Spadea and Rainer Schüttler before overcoming experienced clay court players Carlos Moyá (seeded 4th) and Guillermo Coria (seeded 7th). In the final, he lost to Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets.

His unexpected run at the French Open as an underdog and his expressive on-court antics made him popular in the Netherlands. The final was watched by even more households in the Netherlands than when his countryman Richard Krajicek won Wimbledon in 1996. However, hampered by various injuries and mononucleosis, Verkerk was unable to reproduce similar results during the rest of his career, never advancing beyond the third round in any subsequent Grand Slams.

During his career, he won two titles and reached the quarter-finals of the 2003 Rome Masters. Verkerk played a close match against Roger Federer at the 2003 Paris Masters, losing in three tiebreak sets after holding four match points.

Playing style
Verkerk's game was based on powerful serves and backhands. He used a single-handed backhand and his favorite surface was clay.

title: Martin Verkerk


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Economy of England

The economy of England is the largest economy of the four countries of the United Kingdom. England's economy is one of the largest and most dynamic in the world, with an average GDP per capita of £37,852 in 2022.

His Majesty's Treasury, led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and economic policy. Government involvement is also primarily exercised by the Department for Business and Trade and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Regarded as a highly developed social market economy, it has adopted many free market principles, yet maintains an advanced social welfare infrastructure.

England is a highly industrialised country. It is a leader in the high-tech, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry, and the manufacturing side of the software industry. It is also an important producer of textiles and chemical products. Although automobiles, locomotives, and aircraft are among England's other important industrial products, a significant proportion of the country's income comes from the City of London and its financial hubs, banking, insurance, investment management and other related financial services. The UK technology sector is valued at US$1 trillion, third behind the United States and China, mostly based in England.

The service sector of the economy is largest in England and one the largest in Europe. Construction industry, technology, and business services continue to produce economic growth, provided mainly by the growing services, administrative and financial sectors. Creative industries (arts, film production, product, fashion, design, music, IT, etc.) remain important to the national economy, with England having the second largest creative industry sector in Europe.

In the 18th century, England was the first nation to industrialise. In common with most other advanced industrialised economies, England has seen a decline in the importance of both manufacturing industries and primary-based extractive industries. Since the 1990s, the financial services sector has played an increasingly significant role in the English economy and the City of London is one of the world's largest financial centres. Banks, insurance companies, commodity and futures exchanges are heavily concentrated in the city.

The London Stock Exchange, the United Kingdom's main stock exchange and the largest in Europe, is England's financial centre, with 100 of Europe's 500 largest corporations being based there. The official currency in England is the pound sterling, whose ISO 4217 code is GBP. The "pound sterling" is the oldest currency in continuous use. Taxation in England is quite competitive when compared to much of the rest of Europe – the basic rate of personal tax is 20% on taxable income up to £31,865 above the personal tax-free allowance (normally £10,000), and 40% on any additional earnings above that amount.

England is a nation within the United Kingdom, which is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G7, the G8, the G20, the CPTPP, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the United Nations.

GDP
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures are estimated (using a variety of means) for independent nations, and used to measure and compare aggregate (total) wealth between countries. Since England is not an independent state, but constitutes one of the four major nations of the UK (along with Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), there are fewer internationally comparable figures available.

History
In medieval times (c. 11th–15th centuries), the wool trade was the major industry of England, and the country exported wool to Europe. Many market towns and ports grew up on the industry and flourished. Following the Black Death and the agricultural depression of the late 15th century, the population began to increase; but it was less than 2 million in 1600. The growing population stimulated economic growth, accelerated the commercialisation of agriculture, increased the production and export of wool, encouraged trade and promoted the growth of London.

The high wages and abundance of available land seen in the late 15th and early 16th centuries were replaced with low wages and a land shortage. Various inflationary pressures, perhaps due to an influx of New World gold and a rising population, set the stage for social upheaval, with the gap between the rich and poor widening. This was a period of significant change for the majority of the rural population, with manorial lords beginning the process of enclosure of village lands that previously had been open to everyone.

John Leland left rich descriptions of the local economies he witnessed during his travels from 1531 to 1560. He described markets, ports, industries, buildings and transport links. He showed that some small towns were expanding, through new commercial and industrial opportunities, especially cloth manufacture. He suggested that investment by entrepreneurs and benefactors had enabled some small towns to prosper. Taxation was a negative influence on economic growth, since it was imposed not on consumption, but on capital investments. Exports increased significantly and privately owned companies traded with the colonies in the West Indies, North America and India.

The Company of Merchant Adventurers of London brought together London's leading overseas merchants in a regulated company in the early 15th century, in the nature of a guild. This enabled them to import a large range of foreign goods. Elizabethan England avoided major defeats and built up a powerful navy. On balance, it can be said that Elizabeth I provided the country with a long period of general if not total peace and generally increased prosperity due in large part to stealing from Spanish treasure ships, raiding settlements with weak defences, and selling African slaves. Having inherited a virtually bankrupt state from previous reigns, her policies restored fiscal responsibility. Her fiscal restraint cleared the regime of debt by 1574, and ten years later the Crown enjoyed a surplus of £300,000.

Under Elizabeth I crafts and manufacturing activities received a boost. Glass, ceramic, silk industry and exports of wool manufactures could be promoted. Economically, Sir Thomas Gresham's founding of the Royal Exchange (1565), the first stock exchange in England and one of the earliest in Europe, proved to be a development of the first importance, for the economic development of England and soon for the world as a whole. With taxes lower than other European countries of the period, the economy expanded; with more wealth to go around at the end of Elizabeth's reign than at the beginning. This general peace and prosperity allowed the attractive developments of the "Golden Age".

17th century
In 1600, the queen chartered the East India Company (later the British East India Company) in an attempt to break the Spanish and Portuguese duopoly of Far Eastern trade. It established trading posts, which in later centuries evolved into British India, on the coasts of what are now India and Bangladesh. Larger scale colonisation in North America began shortly after Elizabeth's death. Originally chartered as the "Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East-Indies", the East India Company rose to account for half of the world's trade during the mid-1700s and early 1800s, particularly in basic commodities including cotton, silk, indigo dye, sugar, salt, spices, saltpetre, tea, and opium. The Bank of England was established in 1694 by Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax to act as the English Government's banker. It was primarily founded to fund the war effort against France. The king and queen at the time, William and Mary, were two of the original stockholders. The original Royal Charter of 1694, granted by King William and Queen Mary, explained that the Bank was founded to ‘promote the public Good and Benefit of our People’. According to Derek Hirst, the 1640s and 1650s saw a revived economy with growth in manufacturing, the elaboration of financial and credit instruments, and the commercialisation of communication. The gentry found time for leisure activities, such as horse racing and bowling. In the high culture important innovations included the development of a mass market for music, increased scientific research, and an expansion of publishing. All the trends were discussed in depth at the newly established coffee houses.

England became one of the most prosperous economic regions in Europe between 1600 and 1700. Industrialisation in England from the mid-18th century resulted in economic developments described by many historians as the Industrial Revolution.

As a result, Great Britain was one of the premier economies in Europe throughout the 19th century, the most prominent industrial power in the world economy, and a major political power. Its industrialists were major innovators in machinery such as steam engines (for pumps, factories, railway locomotives and steamships), textile equipment, and tool-making. England pioneered the railway system, and built many systems and manufactured most of the equipment other nations used. Its businessmen were leaders in international commerce and banking, trade and shipping. Its markets included both areas that were independent and those that were part of the expanding British Empire. After 1840, an economic policy of mercantilism was abandoned and replaced by free trade, with few tariffs, quotas or restrictions. The powerful Royal Navy protected British commercial interests, shipping and international trade, while the British legal system enabled the resolution of disputes relatively inexpensively, and the City of London functioned as the economic capital and focus of the world economy.

Food and drink
The food and drinks industry is an important sector in England, worth £10.2 bn as of 2021, although this is down 9% from 2020 and 15% from 2019. Fruit and vegetable sales have been hit hardest, with sales down by 36%.

The top food and drinks export categories are:

 * Agriculture and Fisheries
 * Alcoholic beverages (such as gin, wine, and whisky) (£2.3 bn)
 * Miscellaneous (£1.7 bn)
 * Hot beverages (such as coffee and tea) and spices (£1.2 bn)
 * Sugar and honey (£245.4 m)

The top export destination for food and drinks exports from England is Ireland with 15% of all exports at a value of £1.5bn in 2021; this is down by 25% from 2020. There were also increases in exports to France and the USA with exports up by 12% and 10% respectively, with Germany and the Netherlands also among the top five export markets for the English food and drink sector.

Agriculture and fishing
Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanised and efficient by European standards, producing 60% of food needs with only 2% of the labour force. Two-thirds of production is devoted to livestock, the other to arable crops. The main crops that are grown are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, sugar beets. England retains a significant and large fishing industry. Its fleets bring home fish of every kind, ranging from sole to herring. It is also rich in natural resources including coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, and silica.

The United Kingdom fishing industry contributed £446 million in 2019 in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA); this represents 0.02% of the UK's total GVA. In 2021, 53% of fishers were based in England and Wales, 40% in Scotland and 8% in Northern Ireland. The largest English region was the South West, contributing 10% of overall output in the sector.

The fishing industry in England catches a variety of different fish and seafood including ( North Sea Cod, North Sea Whiting, North Sea Haddock,  Southern Sea Crab,  West of Scotland Nephrops and  Eastern English Channel Scallops.

The Environment Agency is a non-departmental public body, established in 1995 and sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with responsibilities relating to the protection and enhancement of the environment in England. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the minister responsible for environmental protection, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in England.

Alcoholic beverages
In 2018 England sold 550,000 bottles of English wine to 50 countries worldwide, this is up from 256,000 in 2018.

In 2022 the total value of English wine exports was £9.6 million ($11.8 million) with 800,000 bottles sold.

Major English wine brands include: Ridgeview Bloomsbury, Bolney Wine Estate, Lyme Bay, Aldwick Court Farm, Hattingley Valley, Lyme Block, Chapel Down, Brightwell Vineyard, and Stopham Estate.

As of March 2021 there are more distilleries in England (311) than in Scotland (214); this is due to an increase in English gin sales which increased the number of English distilleries to over 300 for the first time.

As of 2023 there are currently 38,000 casks of English whisky maturing, with an estimated 50,000 casks expected to be laid down by 2024. The estimated value of the maturing whisky stock is £1bn.

Major English whisky brands include: English Whisky Co, Cotswolds, The Lakes, Bimber, The Oxford Artisan, and Dartmoor.

Industry
The leading industrial sectors in England are services, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and tourism. The service industry in England comprises several key industries, including finance and business services, retail, food and beverage, and entertainment. The Industrial Revolution started in England with an initial concentration on the textile industry, followed by other heavy industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining and steelmaking. English merchants, shippers and bankers developed overwhelming advantage over those of other nations allowing the country to dominate international trade in the 19th century. Shipbuilding continues, between September 2021 and the end of 2022, the government announced £4.34 billion in shipbuilding contracts to UK companies. The UK also produces luxury boats from Princess, Sunseeker and Fairline. Manufacturing remains a significant part of the economy but accounted for only 16.7 per cent of national output in 2003. The automotive industry employs around 800,000 people, with a turnover in 2015 of £70 billion, generating £34.6 billion of exports (11.8 per cent of the UK's total export goods). In 2015, the UK produced around 1.6 million passenger vehicles and 94,500 commercial vehicles. England is a major centre for engine manufacturing: in 2015 around 2.4 million engines were produced. including luxury cars such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Range Rover. It is also the world's fourth-largest exporter of engines, as of 2021.

The motorsport industry employs around 41,000 people, comprises around 4,500 companies and has an annual turnover of around £6 billion. 7 of the 10 Formula One teams are based in England, with their technology being used in supercars and hypercars from McLaren, Aston Martin and Lotus.

Research and development spending is also high in the UK. In 2019, total expenditure on R&D was £38.5 billion. R&D investment has risen steadily over the past few decades, from £20.4 billion in 1986 to the current total of £38.5 billion, an increase of 96%. England's research and development funding and incentives and business infrastructure help support an environment of technology innovation.

The United Kingdom was ranked ranked in the top 5 countries in the Global Innovation Index 2023. London has been named as the fastest growing technology hub in Europe, with England having over 100 unique tech companies with a value of $1 billion or more. A boom in investment in technology has led to tech and IT-related vacancies now making up 13% of all UK job vacancies. In Eastern England, overall hiring has increased by nearly 14% in the tech sector, and 12% in North West England and South West England. The UK technology sector is valued at US$1 trillion, third behind the United States and China, mostly based in England.

A growing number of technology companies are based in London, notably in East London Tech City also known as Silicon Roundabout. Investment in London's technology sector was $2.28 billion in 2015, 69 per cent higher than the $1.3 billion raised in 2014. Since 2010, London-based technology companies have collectively raised $5.2 billion of venture capital funding. A report by EY highlighted the importance of London to the UK's FinTech industry in terms of availability of expertise and demand for services.

The Haldane principle, that decisions about what to spend research funds on should be made by researchers rather than politicians, is influential in research policy. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body that directs research and innovation funding. There are several university departments with a focus on science policy, such as the Science Policy Research Unit. There are nine bodies in UKRI, comprising the seven research councils and two additional bodies, Innovate UK and Research England. Research England is responsible for the Research Excellence Framework. The research councils include:
 * Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
 * Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
 * Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
 * Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
 * Medical Research Council (MRC)
 * Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
 * Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

The Department for Business and Trade and Secretary of State for Business and Trade has responsibility for business. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, and Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation has responsibility for science and innovation development in England.

Construction
The construction industry of England employed around 2 million people and contributed gross value of £123.2 billion to the economy in 2019.

One of the largest construction projects in England in recent years was Crossrail, costing an estimated £19 billion. Opened in 2022 by Queen Elizabeth II and named the Elizabeth line, it is a new railway line running east to west through London and into the surrounding area, with a branch to Heathrow Airport. It was the largest construction project in Europe. The main feature of the project is construction of 42 km (26 mi) of new tunnels connecting stations in central London. Ongoing construction projects include the High Speed 2 line between London and the West Midlands. Crossrail 2 is a proposed rail route in the South East of England.

Finance
The UK financial services industry added gross value of £116,363 million to the UK economy in 2011. England's exports of financial and business services make a significant positive contribution towards the country's balance of payments. England's capital houses the City of London, a major financial district, and one of the world's leading financial centres. The City of London is a major business and financial centre, and the Bank of England is headquartered in the City of London. Throughout the 19th century, the City of London was the world's primary business centre, and it continues to be a major meeting point for finance. The London Stock Exchange, the United Kingdom's main stock exchange and the largest in Europe, is England's financial centre, with 100 of Europe's 500 largest corporations being based there. , the total market value of all companies trading on the London Stock Exchange was £3.8 trillion. It was founded in 1801, making it one of the oldest exchanges in the world. It is part of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).

There are over 500 banks with offices in London, and it is the leading international centre for banking and insurance, Eurobonds, foreign exchange trading and energy futures. London's financial services industry is primarily based in the City of London and Canary Wharf. The City houses the London Metal Exchange, Lloyd's of London, and the Bank of England.

Canary Wharf began development in the 1980s and is now home to major financial institutions such as Barclays Bank, Citigroup and HSBC, as well as the Financial Services Authority. Developed on the site of the former West India Docks, Canary Wharf contains large offices and banks. It comprises many open areas, including Cabot Square and Westferry Circus. After the London Docklands closed in 1980, the government adopted policies to stimulate redevelopment of the area, including the creation of the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) in 1981 and the granting of Urban Enterprise Zone in 1982. London is also a major centre for other business and professional services, and four of the six largest law firms in the world are headquartered there.

Financial services in the United Kingdom contributed a gross value of £86 billion to the UK economy in 2004. It creates significant benefits for the England, UK, European and global economies. The industry employed around 1.2 million people in the third quarter of 2012. The estimated amount of total taxes paid by the Financial Services Sector in the year to 31 March 2012 is £63bn, 11.6% of the total UK government tax receipts.

Service industries, particularly banking, insurance, investment management, business services and other related financial services account by far for the largest proportion of GDP. Leeds is England's second largest financial centre, with over 30 national and international banks based in the city. Over 124,000 people are employed in banking and financial services in Leeds, and over in the wider Leeds City Region. Manchester is the largest financial and professional services sector outside London and is the mid tier private equity capital of Europe.

Manufacturing
In the 1970s, manufacturing accounted for over 20 percent of the economy. Total employment in manufacturing fell from 7.1 million in 1979 to 4.5 million in 1992 and only 2.7 million in 2016, when it accounted for 10% of the economy. Manufacturing has increased in 36 of the last 50 years and was twice in 2007 what is in 1958.

In 2011 the UK manufacturing sector generated approximately £140,539 million in gross value added and employed around 2.6 million people. Of the approximately £16 billion invested in R&D by UK businesses in 2008, approximately £12 billion was by manufacturing businesses, mostly located in England. In 2008, the UK was the sixth-largest manufacturer in the world measured by value of output.

The aerospace industry of the UK is the second- or third-largest aerospace industry in the world, depending upon the method of measurement. The industry employs around 113,000 people directly and around 276,000 indirectly and has an annual turnover of around £20 billion. English companies with a major presence in the industry include BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce (the world's second-largest aircraft engine maker). European aerospace companies active in England and the UK include Airbus, whose commercial aircraft, space, helicopter and defence divisions employ over 13,500 people.

The pharmaceutical industry employs around 67,000 people in the UK and in 2007 contributed £8.4 billion to the UK's GDP and invested a total of £3.9 billion in research and development. In 2007 exports of pharmaceutical products from the UK totalled £14.6 billion, creating a trade surplus in pharmaceutical products of £4.3 billion. England is home to GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, respectively the world's third- and seventh-largest pharmaceutical companies. England remains a key player in the aerospace, defence, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, and English companies worldwide continue to have a role in the sector through foreign investment.

Renewable energy
Successive UK governments have outlined numerous commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. England is one of the best sites in Europe for wind energy, and wind power production is its fastest growing supply. The total of all renewable electricity sources provided 38.9 per cent of the electricity generated in the UK in the third quarter of 2019, producing 28.8 TWh of electricity. England is home to Hornsea 2, the largest offshore wind farm in the world, situated in waters roughly 89 kilometres off the coast of Yorkshire.

The Climate Change Act 2008 was passed in Parliament with an overwhelming majority across political parties. It sets out emission reduction targets that the UK must comply with legally. It represents the first global legally binding climate change mitigation target set by a country. In June 2017 renewables plus nuclear generated more UK power than gas and coal together for the first time and new offshore wind power became cheaper than new nuclear power for the first time.

Government energy policy aims to play a key role in limiting greenhouse gas emissions, whilst meeting energy demand. Shifting availabilities of resources and development of technologies also change the country's energy mix through changes in costs. United Kingdom is ranked 2 out of 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index. A law has been passed that greenhouse gas emissions will be net zero by 2050 in England. The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has said it would be affordable. The target for 2030 is a 68% reduction compared with 1990 levels. As part of an economic stimulus to attempt to get out of the COVID-19 recession a green industrial policy was announced. One of the methods of reducing emissions is the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. Businesses and employees are given tax breaks for electric cars and a much larger proportion of business vehicle purchases are electric than those of consumers.

Retail
By the 17th century, permanent shops with more regular trading hours were beginning to supplant markets and fairs as the main retail outlet. Provincial shopkeepers were active in almost every English market town. As the number of shops grew, they underwent a transformation. The trappings of a modern shop, which had been entirely absent from the sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century store, gradually made way for store interiors and shopfronts that are more familiar to modern shoppers.

Prior to the eighteenth century, the typical retail store had no counter, display cases, chairs, mirrors, changing rooms, etc. However, the opportunity for the customer to browse merchandise, touch and feel products began to be available, with retail innovations from the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Following the Great Fire of London (1666), the city of London was completely rebuilt. Shops were permitted in the principal street or 'high street', but not in the by-lanes or back streets. This may have been based on the need for high visibility in order to regulate retail trade, as well as to avoid congestion in the narrow lanes and back streets. Accordingly, from the 17th century, the term "High Street" gradually assumed a narrower meaning and came to describe thoroughfares with significant retail in large villages and towns. In the late 17th and 18th centuries, the number of High Streets increased markedly. The 19th century was a "golden era" for high street shops. The rise of the middle class in Victorian England contributed to a more favourable attitude to shopping and consumption. Shopping centres became places to see and be seen, for recreational shopping, and for promenading.

The retail sector in England includes the motor trade, auto repairs, personal and household goods industries. The sector added gross value of £151,785 million to the UK economy in 2011. As of 2016, high-street retail spending accounted for about 33% of consumer spending and 20% of GDP. Because 75% of goods bought in the United Kingdom are made overseas, the sector only accounts for 5.7% of gross value added to the British economy. Online sales account for 22% of retail spending in the UK, third highest in the world after China and South Korea, and double that of the United States.

The grocery market in England is dominated by four companies: Tesco (27% market share), Sainsbury's (15.4%), Asda (14.9%) and Morrisons (10%), these supermarkets are known as the "Big Four". However, supermarkets such as Aldi have grown in popularity. London is a major retail centre and in 2010 had the highest non-food retail sales of any city in the world, with a total spend of around £64.2 billion. Outside of London, Manchester and Birmingham are also major retail destinations, the UK is also home to many large out of town shopping centres like Meadowhall, away from the main high streets in town and city centres. Whilst the big international names dominate most towns and cities have streets or areas with many often quirky independent businesses. Tesco is the fourth-largest retailer in Europe measured by turnover.

Tourism
Tourism accounted for £96 billion of GDP (8.6% of the economy) in 2009. It employs over 2 million people – around 4% of the working population. England has a rich history in areas such as architecture, tradition, art and sport and is home to over 1,600 museums, most free of charge to visit.

English Heritage is a governmental body with a broad remit of managing the historic sites, artefacts and environments of England. It is currently sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body. It is tasked with protecting the historic environment of England by preserving and listing historic buildings, scheduling ancient monuments, registering historic parks and gardens and by advising central and local government.

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty is a charity which also maintains multiple sites. Of the 25 United Kingdom UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 17 are in England. Some of the best known of these include Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites, Tower of London, Jurassic Coast, Palace of Westminster, Roman Baths, City of Bath, Saltaire, Ironbridge Gorge, Studley Royal Park and more recently the English Lake District. The northernmost point of the Roman Empire, Hadrian's Wall, is the largest Roman artefact anywhere: it runs for a total of 73 miles in northern England.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility for tourism, arts and culture, cultural property, heritage and historic environments, libraries, and museums and galleries in England. The largest centre for tourism is London, which attracted close to 20 million tourists in 2016 alone. The British Museum (featuring over 8 million objects in its vast collection) has served as a major tourist attraction with over 5,906,716 visitors in 2017 alone. It is largely considered a global centre of finance, art, and culture.

Transport and logistics
The Department for Transport is the government body responsible for overseeing transport in England. The department is run by the Secretary of State for Transport. The transport and storage industry added a gross value of £59,179 million to the UK economy in 2011 and the telecommunication industry added a gross value of £25,098 million in the same year.

England has a dense and modern transportation infrastructure. There are many motorways in England, and many other trunk roads, such as the A1 Great North Road, which runs through eastern England from London to Newcastle (much of this section is motorway) and onward to the Scottish border. The longest motorway in England is the M6, from Rugby through the North West up to the Anglo-Scottish border, a distance of 232 mi. Other major routes include: the M1 from London to Leeds, the M25 which encircles London, the M60 which encircles Manchester, the M4 from London to South Wales, the M62 from Liverpool via Manchester to East Yorkshire, and the M5 from Birmingham to Bristol and the South West.

Figures from the Department for Transport show in 2018 people made 4.8 billion local bus passenger journeys in England, 58% of all public transport journeys. There were 1.8 billion rail passenger journeys in England. Light rail and tram travel also continued to grow, to the highest level (0.3 million journeys) since comparable records began in 1983. Rail travel tends to be used for longer journeys. Over half (57%) of all trips by rail are for either commuting or business purposes. On average, people made 48 trips by bus and travelled 441 kilometres compared to 22 trips and 992 kilometres by rail in 2018. In 2018/19, there was £18.1bn of public expenditure on railways, an increase of 12% (£1.9bn).

Bus transport across the country is widespread; major companies include Arriva, FirstGroup, Go-Ahead Group, Mobico Group, Rotala and Stagecoach Group. The red double-decker buses in London have become a symbol of England. Rail transport in England is the oldest in the world: passenger railways originated in England in 1825. Much of Britain's 10000 mi of rail network lies in England, covering the country fairly extensively. These lines are mostly standard gauge (single, double or quadruple track) though there are also a few narrow gauge lines. There is rail transport access to France and Belgium through an undersea rail link, the Channel Tunnel, which was completed in 1994.

During the age of steam locomotion, the economy in England strove to develop reliable technology for powering high-speed rail services between major cities. High-speed rail in England is provided on five upgraded railway lines running at top speeds of 125 mph and one purpose-built high-speed line reaching 300 kph. Trains currently travel at 125 mph (200 km/h) on the East Coast Main Line, Great Western Main Line, Midland Main Line, parts of the Cross Country Route, and the West Coast Main Line. High Speed 1 (HS1) line connects London to the Channel Tunnel, with international Eurostar services running from St Pancras International to cities in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands at 186 mph (300 km/h). HS1 line was finished on time and under budget. The line is also used by high-speed commuter services from Kent to the capital. The CTRL project saw new bridges and tunnels built, with a combined length nearly as long as the Channel Tunnel itself, and significant archaeological research undertaken. In 2002, the CTRL project was awarded the Major Project Award at the British Construction Industry Awards. Since 2019 construction has been ongoing on a major new purpose-built high-speed rail line, High Speed 2 (HS2) which will link London with Birmingham at 360 kph and reduce journey times to Scotland.

Government-backed plans to provide east–west high-speed services between cities in the North of England are also in development, as part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail project to boost the economic activity of the North. In June 2014, the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed a high speed rail link High Speed 3 (HS3) between Liverpool and Newcastle, Sheffield and Hull. The line would utilise the existing route between Liverpool and Newcastle and Hull, and a new route from to Sheffield will follow the same route to Manchester Victoria, and then a new line from Victoria to Sheffield, with additional tunnels and other infrastructure. In July 2019 the Prime Minister announced a high-speed Leeds to Manchester route.

Great British Railways is a planned state-owned public body that will oversee rail transport in Great Britain. The Office of Rail and Road is responsible for the economic regulation of England's railways. England has extensive domestic and international aviation links. The largest airport is Heathrow, which is the world's busiest airport measured by number of international passengers. Other large airports include Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Luton and Birmingham.

Education
In 2007/08 higher education institutions in the UK had a total income of £23 billion and employed a total of 169,995 staff. In 2007/08 there were 2,306,000 higher education students in the UK with 1,922,180 studying in England.

English higher education has a strong international reputation, with over half of international students citing this as one of the main factors in deciding to study in the UK (compared to 22 percent of international students studying in Canada, 21 percent in Australia and 15 percent in the US). In specific subject rankings, English universities have performed well with a quarter of all top rankings taken by English universities in world rankings. The University of Oxford is rated top in most subjects among English universities, with the Royal College of Art first in the world for art and design, the Institute of Education, part of University College London, for education, University of Sussex for development studies and Loughborough University for sports-related subjects. England's universities include some of the highest-ranked universities in the world; University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Imperial College London, University College London and King's College London are all ranked in the global top 30 in the QS World University Rankings. The London School of Economics has been described as the world's leading social science institution for both teaching and research. The London Business School is considered one of the world's leading business schools and in 2010 its MBA programme was ranked best in the world by the Financial Times.

The University of Westminster achieved internationally excellent status for most of their work, ranking second for communications, cultural and media studies research, sixth for art and design research, in addition to the university performing strongly in architecture and the built environment, and geography and environmental studies. University of Manchester, University of Bristol, University of Liverpool and University of Birmingham are other English universities in global rankings.

The Department for Education is the government department responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including education. State-run and state-funded schools are attended by approximately 93% of English schoolchildren. Education is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Education. Children who are between the ages of 3 and 5 attend nursery or an Early Years Foundation Stage reception unit within a primary school. Children between the ages of 5 and 11 attend primary school, and secondary school is attended by those aged between 11 and 16. State-funded schools are obliged by law to teach the National Curriculum.

The Programme for International Student Assessment coordinated by the OECD currently ranks the overall knowledge and skills of British 15-year-olds as 13th in the world in reading literacy, mathematics, and science with the average British student scoring 503.7, compared with the OECD average of 493. Out of the United Kingdom nations, England performed the strongest.

Further education colleges and sixth form colleges often form part of a secondary school site. Further education covers a wide curriculum of apprenticeships like BTEC Awards and NVQs. T Levels are apprenticeship based qualifications in England developed in collaboration with employers and businesses so that the content meets the needs of industry and prepares students for the labour market. Pupils gain a broad knowledge; with skills and behaviours necessary for employment in an occupation or industry related to their field of study, an opportunity to develop specialist technical skills relevant to at least one occupation, and the relevant English, Maths, Science and Digital skills. The pathways include:

 * Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care
 * Business and Administrative
 * Catering and Hospitality
 * Childcare and Education
 * Construction
 * Creative and Design
 * Digital
 * Engineering and Manufacturing
 * Hair and Beauty
 * Health and Science
 * Legal, Finance and Accounting
 * Protective Services
 * Sales, Marketing and Procurement
 * Social Care
 * Transport and Logistics

Healthcare
The National Health Service (NHS), is the publicly funded healthcare system responsible for providing the majority of healthcare in the country. The NHS began on 5 July 1948, putting into effect the provisions of the National Health Service Act 1946. It was based on the findings of the Beveridge Report, prepared by economist and social reformer William Beveridge. The NHS is largely funded from general taxation including National Insurance payments, and it provides most of its services free at the point of use. The government department responsible for the NHS is the Department of Health and Social Care, headed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

The average life expectancy of people in England is 77.5 years for males and 81.7 years for females, the highest of the four countries of the United Kingdom. The South of England has a higher life expectancy than the North, however, regional differences do seem to be slowly narrowing: between 1991–1993 and 2012–2014, life expectancy in the North East increased by 6.0 years and in the North West by 5.8 years, the fastest increase in any region outside London, and the gap between life expectancy in the North East and South East is now 2.5 years, down from 2.9 in 1993. The NHS in England is by far the largest of the four parts and had a turnover of £92.5 billion in 2008.

Creative industries
The creative industries accounted for 5.9% of the UK's GVA in 2023, having grown by 43.6% over a decade. Key areas include London and the North West of England, which are the two largest creative industry clusters in Europe. According to the British Fashion Council, the fashion industry's contribution to the economy in 2014 is £26 billion, up from £21 billion in 2009. London is one of the world's leading fashion capitals.

England is also home to the world's largest advertising company, WPP.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, headed by the headed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is the department with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and building of the digital economy and creative industries. It also has responsibility for the tourism and leisure. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport definition recognises ten creative sectors, namely:
 * Advertising and marketing
 * Architecture
 * Crafts
 * Design: product, graphic and fashion design
 * Film, TV productions, TV, video, radio and photography
 * IT, software and computer services
 * Publishing
 * Copyright, patent, trademarks
 * Museums, galleries and libraries
 * Music, performing and visual arts

London dominates the media sector in England: national newspapers and television and radio are largely based there, although Manchester is also a significant national media centre. The University of Salford also has a media campus and research center based at MediaCity. The UK publishing sector, including books, directories and databases, journals, magazines and business media, newspapers and news agencies, has a combined turnover of around £20 billion and employs around 167,000 people.

The Creative Industries Federation is a national organisation for England's creative industries, cultural education and arts. It advocates for the sector, aiming to ensure that the creative industries are central to political, economic and social decision making. Through this advocacy and by leveraging the combined influence of its 1,000+ members across all creative sectors, the Federation further seeks to secure the investment required to retain the creative industries' position as the fastest growing sector of the national economy, currently worth £111.7bn.

Currency and taxation

England uses the pound sterling which is the world's oldest currency that is still in use and that has been in continuous use. It is currently the fourth most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market and is the world's fourth-largest reserve currency (after the United States dollar, euro, and yen). London is the world capital for foreign exchange trading, with a global market share of 38.1% in 2022 of the daily $7.5 trillion global turnover. Since 1997 the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, headed by the Governor of the Bank of England, has been responsible for setting interest rates at the level necessary to achieve the overall inflation target for the economy that is set by the Chancellor each year.

Taxation in England involves payments to at least three different levels of government: central government (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs) and local government. Central government revenues come primarily from income tax, National Insurance contributions, value added tax, corporation tax and fuel duty. Local government revenues come primarily from grants from central government funds, business rates in England, Council Tax and increasingly from fees and charges such as those for on-street parking. In the fiscal year 2014–15, total government revenue was forecast to be £648 billion, or 37.7 per cent of GDP, with net taxes and National Insurance contributions standing at £606 billion. Business rates were introduced in England in 1990 and are a modernised version of a system of rating that dates back to the Poor Relief Act 1601.

The Budget of His Majesty's Government is an annual budget set by HM Treasury for the following financial year, with the revenues to be gathered by HM Revenue and Customs and the expenditures of the public sector, in compliance with government policy. The budget is one of two statements given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with the Spring Statement being given the following year. Budgets are usually set once every year and are announced in the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Since autumn 2017 the budget typically takes place in the Autumn in order to give notice of tax changes well before the start of each fiscal year.

Regions and cities
Manchester is considered to be a 'beta global city', rated as the second most globally influential city in England after London. The region is now an economic knowledge-led centre, with research and enterprise clustered around the University of Manchester, where research ranked as the third most powerful in the UK behind Cambridge and Oxford. Typical industry areas include digital and creative, financial, legal and business services, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, environmental technologies, tourism, global sports brands, media and real estate. The city is also a key location for many foreign owned companies and headquarters, and almost half of the Northwest's top 500 businesses. Along with London, Manchester featured in the top 30 cities in the world for investment, and of the top 30, Manchester was 12th for the highest proportion of urban economy derived from financial and business services. Manchester City Council also plays a uniquely active role in business, where it owns key infrastructures such as bus services.

The economy in Liverpool is dominated by service sector industries, both public and private. In 2007, over 60% of all employment in the city was in the public administration, education, health, banking, finance and insurance sectors. Public administration, education and health are combined, the single largest employment sector within Liverpool's economy, accounting for approximately 40% of all jobs in the city. The level of employment in these sectors remains higher than the average for the other core cities of England. The banking, finance and insurance sectors are one of the fastest growing areas of Liverpool's economy with a 5.3% increase in jobs in these areas 2006/07. Major private sector service industry concerns have also invested in Liverpool especially the financial services sector with Barclays, JPMorgan, Alliance & Leicester, Royal Bank of Scotland Group and the Bank of Ireland either opening or expanding their sites, a number of major call centres have opened in recent years too and the professional advice sector.

Birmingham is an important manufacturing and engineering centre, employing over 100,000 people in the industry and contributing billions of pounds to England's economy. Research at the University of Birmingham, both theoretical and practical has contributed to the success of the city and the West Midlands region and had worldwide impact for more than a century. The university ranks as high as 10th in the UK according to the QS World University Rankings. Scientific research including research into nano technology at the University of Birmingham, is expanding in the city and will possibly play a part in the city's economic future. In 2011, Birmingham's financial and insurance services industry was worth £2.46 billion, the 4th largest in the United Kingdom. Birmingham has the two largest sets of barrister's chambers in the country; a local law society; 50 major property firms and one of Europe's largest insurance markets.

Leeds is the most diverse economy of all of England's main employment centres and has seen the fastest rate of private-sector jobs growth of any UK city and has the highest ratio of public to private sector jobs of all the core cities of England. Leeds has the third-largest jobs total by local authority area with 480,000 in employment and self-employment at the beginning of 2015. Leeds is the largest legal and financial centre in England outside of London. Its financial and insurance services industry was worth £2.1 billion, with more than 30 national and international banks located in the city. Leeds has nearly 1,800 companies engaged in a diverse range of manufacturing activities, including specialised engineering, print, food and drink manufacture, chemicals and medical technology. Both the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan University have established business schools, their presence being supported by businesses in the city.

The economy in Bristol has long connections with the sea and its ports. In the 20th century aeronautics played an important role in the economy, and the city still plays a role in the manufacture of aircraft. Bristol was the first UK city to be named European Green Capital. Its modern economy is built on the creative media, technology, electronics and aerospace industries. Bristol is also a tourist destination, and has significant media, information technology and financial services sectors. Reports released in 2018 showed that the city is growing exponentially with a projected 2.3 percent annual growth rate.

In 2008, Sheffield ranked among the top 10 cities in the UK as a business location, and aims to regenerate itself as a modern technology and sports based city. Sheffield was the first National City of Sport, with a range of high quality facilities. Sheffield has an international reputation for metallurgy and steel-making. It was this industry that established it as one of England's main industrial cities during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. High technology businesses such Fluent, Inc. have chosen Sheffield as the centre for their international operations and so has Jennic, specialists in semiconductor design for the home automation, commercial building automation, and industrial process monitoring and control markets. The University of Sheffield supports the growth of technology transfer in the Sheffield City Region through the innovation centers which houses enterprises as well as startup companys working in similar areas alongside the University of Sheffield. Organised by the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Sheffield Business Awards is an awards ceremony held on an annual basis to help highlight and promote business and industry in Sheffield and boost the economy of the region.

Newcastle played a major role during the 19th-century Industrial Revolution, and was a leading centre for coal mining, shipbuilding, engineering, munitions and manufacturing. Heavy industries in Newcastle declined in the second half of the 20th century; with office, service and retail employment now becoming the city's staples. Newcastle is the commercial, educational and the cultural hub of North East England. Newcastle's economy contributes around £13 billion to the UK GVA. This figure is mostly produced by corporate activity in Newcastle's Central Business District, located in the centre of the city (bounded by the Haymarket, Central Station and the Quayside areas). The city's thriving nightlife is estimated to be worth £340 million per year, and consequently is seen as a major contributor to Newcastle's economy. The UK's first biotechnology village, the Centre for Life, is located by Central Station. The village is the first step in the City Council's plans to transform Newcastle into a science city.

Regional variation
The strength of the English economy varies between regions. The following table shows the total GVA (gross value added) and GVA per capita of each of the nine English regions.

title: Economy of England


text:
East Hills

East Hills may refer to:

 * Australia
 * East Hills, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
 * Electoral district of East Hills, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
 * East Hills Boys High School
 * East Hills Girls High School
 * East Hills Hostel
 * East Hills railway station on the East Hills railway line

 * United States
 * East Hills (Idaho), a small mountain range that is a subrange of the Albion Mountains
 * East Hills, New York, a village in Nassau County
 * East Hills (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, the easternmost neighborhood in the city of Pittsburgh
 * East Hills Mall, a shopping mall in St. Joseph, Missouri

title: East Hills


text:
User talk:Waza

Hello and welcome to Wikipedia!

Here are some tips to help you get started:

 * If you haven't already, please add your name to the new user log to let others know a little about yourself.
 * Read the article describing how to edit a page and feel free to experiment in the Sandbox.
 * When editing pages, use the preview button before submitting and try to fill in the summary box for every edit.
 * Eventually, read the Manual of Style and Policies and Guidelines.
 * If you need help, post a question at the Help Desk or ask me on my talk page.
 * Explore, be bold in editing pages, and, most importantly, have fun!

Good luck! Jrdioko

P.S. One last helpful hint. To sign your posts like I did above (on talk pages, for example) use the '~' symbol. To insert just your name, type (3 tildes), or, to insert your name and timestamp, use ~ (4 tildes).

WikiProject on Comics
Hi! I've gotten the impression that you're interested in articles related to comics and sequential art. I've created a project called WikiProject on Comics in order to establish consensus on the organization and content of such articles, and I hope you'll join in. See the main project page and please leave comments on the Talk page. Thanks! -leigh (φθόγγος) 22:35, Dec 5, 2004 (UTC)

D&D copyediting
Waza, I've been really impressed with the work you're putting in to the Dungeons & Dragons article. I think your game-centric perspective is right on, and the reorganization you've done has made it flow a lot better. Thanks for spending so much time on it.

The one thing I've noticed is that there are a lot of typos, spelling errors, and a few grammar problems slipping in. I think some of that is natural given the size of the article; when you're making wholesale edits you're going to make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. But it's precisely because the article is so huge that I'm worried; typos and the like will "hide" more easily in a large article than a small one. So if you don't mind my being presumptious, I think there are a few things we could do to make it easier to maintain a uniformly high quality. One technique is to make your edits in smaller "chunks"; this lets other editors look at those chunks individually, which makes proofreading easier. But I know that that's not always possible, particularly when you're doing big reorgs like you've been doing. For those, maybe you could put the proposed changes on the talk page, and we can copyedit it there before it goes live? Don't feel like you have to do this -- it's just a thought. Let me know what you think on my talk page.

The one grammar thing I'll mention is that you have a slight tendency for run-on sentences, particularly when trying to list all the core D&D races and classes in one long breath :-). A good rule of thumb is:  if a sentence would be too long to say in one breath, it's too long to read.  In those cases, break the sentence up.  Periods are free!

Thanks for listening, and I hope this advice isn't too unwelcome. Nandesuka 03:01, 9 September 2005 (UTC)

Invitation to the Forgotten Realms project
Hi,

We are working on a Forgotten Realms Project to map Toril (mostly Faerûn, at the present). Since you contributed quite a lot on a Forgotten Realms-specific entry, we'ld like to invite you to join the project, so we could improve the “Mapping the Realms” project.

The goal is to create a sort of World Factbook for the Realms. This means:
 * A consistent content
 * Use of templates
 * Entries should be limited to “sovereign places”: states and free cities, as well a moderately-inhabited place such as the Western Highlands.

On top of this, we also plan to cover Lost Empires, such as Pelvuria or Imaskar and, of course, Netheril

 * The project is located here
 * The Geographical index of Toril is a good start to get a visual of had been done, as well as the Halruaa entry.

Main contributors are presently
 * David Latapie (founder)
 * Poulsen

If you know some other person who would be interested, feel free to forward the invitation!

Feel free to take a look. We hope to see you soon mapping the Realms with us!

Dyslexic insomniac agnostic
That's actually my cousin, likes to stay up all night... lol Dyslexic agnostic 05:31, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Story Teller Discretion
Could I ask for your help in making the Story Teller Discretion article sensible? I have almost no knowledge on RPGs, so I'm afraid I wouldn't be of much help. I've tagged this article twice (once for merge to D&D, and again after your comment forwikify), and left a message on the author's talk page. I don't want to submit it to AfD, because I think that there may actually be something to it, but without some attention, I don't think its of any value. Thanks, --Bugwit grunt 23:25, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth
Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia! We appreciate your contributions to the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth article, but we cannot accept copyrighted text or images borrowed from other web sites or printed material. Perhaps you would like to rewrite the article in your own words. For more information, take a look at Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. Happy editing! Michael Bauser 05:59, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

Orphaned fair use image (Image:Terror in The Dark Box.jpg)
Thanks for uploading Image:Terror in The Dark Box.jpg. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently orphaned, meaning that it is not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable under fair use (see our fair use policy).

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Orphaned fair use image (Image:Advanced Heroquest Box.jpg)
Thanks for uploading Image:Advanced Heroquest Box.jpg. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently orphaned, meaning that it is not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable under fair use (see our fair use policy).

If you have uploaded other unlicensed media, please check whether they're used in any articles or not. You can find a list of 'image' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "Image" from the dropdown box. Note that any fair use images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. This is an automated message from BJBot 16:56, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Opinion on renaming section of Dungeons & Dragons
Given all your great work on Dungeons & Dragons, I definately wanted to request your input on my proposal to rename the "Sources and Influences on the Development of D&D" section of the D&D article. — Alan De Smet | Talk 23:24, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

Uncategorized articles
Please be aware that putting a stub marker on an article, as you did with David "Zeb" Cook, isn't good enough - please put in an actual category. Stub categories are Wikipedia maintenance categories, not subject categories. Eli Falk 08:53, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for fixing typo's on Ravenloft (D&D module)
Just wanted to say thanks. These are exactly the type of errors that I particularly have problems seeing on something I have worked so long on. They are things easy to spot on somethign you are reading for the first time, but not somethign you have already read dozens of times. Appreciate the imput. -Waza 22:08, 18 March 2007 (UTC)
 * No problem. Along those lines, it should be "typos", not "typo's" in the section header :-) Either way, I made those edits with AutoWikiBrowser, a great wiki editing too. You may want to try it out! — M ETS 501 (talk) 23:37, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

Dragons of XXXXX
The only thing that appeared to be agreed upon by both sides was that redirecting was an acceptable solution, so that's how they were closed. However, history was not deleted, as there was no consensus to do so. Any merging of content is an editorial decision, if you feel a merge would be beneficial to any other article, please do! Seraphimblade Talk to me 01:18, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks mate
Just wanted to say thanks for your work on all the Dragonlance stuff. I know sometimes what I write might be inaccurate, but I'm working without gaming knowledge and used to be mostly alone in this. Your changes to Dragons of Autumn Twilight are massively appreciated, cause it's kind of my pet article. My first and (for now) only GA. So thanks for everything!  Dooms Day349  21:00, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Jimbo is coming to Sydney
Sorry to spam you if you aren't interested. See Meetup/Sydney for more info if you are interested. - Ta bu shi da yu 08:55, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Unsigned edit from top of this Talk page
I am moving this unsigned edit down from top: By user:Bmader (07:41, 21 April 2007) Welcome to Wikipedia. We invite everyone to contribute constructively to our encyclopedia. Take a look at the welcome page if you would like to learn more about contributing. However, unconstructive edits are considered vandalism and immediately reverted. If you continue in this manner you may be blocked from editing without further warning. Please stop, and consider improving rather than damaging the work of others.

D&D wiki project consensus
A call to all members of the D&D wiki project. We are currently having a major dispute that needs to be settled by all members of the D&D wiki project. The dispute is as follows. 1. Should we put disambiguation tags on D&D articles preemptively or should we wait until there is an article conflict with some other Wikipedia article. Vote on preemptive or wait.

2. What should we label these tags? Example "child's play (module)", or "child's play (adventure)" and at this point we are taking all suggestions.

email me at Dm2ortiz@aol.com or post on the D&D wiki project talk page

Fair use rationale for Image:Monster_Manual_3.5.jpg
Thanks for uploading or contributing to Image:Monster_Manual_3.5.jpg. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in Wikipedia articles constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use. Suggestions on how to do so can be found here.

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If you have uploaded other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on those pages too. You can find a list of 'image' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "Image" from the dropdown box. Note that any non-free media lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. ShakespeareFan00 19:53, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Image:MC15RavenloftAppendix2.jpg
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Image:MC1_Monstrous_Compedium.jpg
I have tagged Image:MC1_Monstrous_Compedium.jpg as no rationale, because it does not provide a fair use rationale. If you believe the image to be acceptable for fair use according to Wikipedia policy, please provide a rationale explaining as much, in accordance with the fair use rationale guideline, on the image description page. Please also consider using or one of the other tags listed at Image copyright tags. Thank you. ShakespeareFan00 19:55, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

GURPS
Hi! In the Talk:GURPS page you mentioned a review of GURPS published by White Dwarf. Now somebody asked for references to the GURPS article. Do you happen to have more details on thet review (author, title...)? Can you find other material supporting that article, especially about the less "factual" parts, as the relations with previous games, and so on? Thanks, Goochelaar 16:27, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

TfD nomination of Template:Cite newspaper
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Trinity (DC Comics)
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boardgame entry to Notre Dame
Hi, Waza. I have reverted your entry to this article per the manual of style for disambiguation pages at MOS:DAB. As the article Alea (game publisher) (which redirects to Ravensburger) contains no mention of Notre Dame, you added a non-article entry. Disambiguation pages are there to help users quickly find a specific article in wikipedia, not serve as mini-article for exploration of the ambiguous term. So, the board game should not be added until there is a wikipedia article specifically about it or until it has a significant mention in a closely related article that can be linked to. Best wishes and happy editing. -Gwguffey (talk)

WP AH
Zombie Hunter Smurf (talk) 13:28, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

D&D articles for Wikipedia 0.7
Hi there! :)

As someone who's worked on D&D and/or RPG articles before, I'm inviting you to participate in our goal to both improve articles that have been selected to be placed in the next Wikipedia DVD release, as well as nominate more to be selected for this project. Please see the WikiProject D&D talk page for more details. :) BOZ (talk) 19:30, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms
Hello. :) If you hadn't heard, Gary Gygax and Wizards of the Coast have recently been promoted to "Good Article" status. I was also thinking of nominating Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms, and I figured I'd contact you since you've done some work on at least one of those. See the project talk page for discussion on that. BOZ (talk) 20:21, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Ravenloft (D&D module)
Hey there. :) I notice that you've put some work into the "Good Article", Ravenloft (D&D module). On the heels of a successful bid to get Gary Gygax and Wizards of the Coast up to GA status, the Wikiproject D&D members are focusing on the Ravenloft module article, with the goal being to get it a few steps closer to FA status. Feel free to discuss on the article's talk page. BOZ (talk) 04:05, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Wikiproject for Ultima related topics created. Please join us.
Since you are a fan of the Ultima series, I thought I'd contact you ask if you were interested in our new WikiProject dedicated to improving all Ultima related articles on Wikipedia. If so, please sign up at WikiProject_Video_games/Ultima  D r e a m Focus  15:27, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

Proposed deletion of Lenard Lakofka

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title: User talk:Waza


text:
Talk:Economy of England

Lead image
I think would be better suited for the lead image as it looks nicer and lines up better with the picture. The picture used already is already used on the City of London page and it's nice to have a bit of diversity.--2economist2 (talk) 13:24, 14 May 2023 (UTC) Blocked sock. 74.73.224.126 (talk) 20:05, 14 May 2023 (UTC)

I agree and support. --148.252.141.75 (talk) 13:25, 14 May 2023 (UTC) Blocked sock. 74.73.224.126 (talk) 20:05, 14 May 2023 (UTC) Also, there is repeated text in the energy sector section. I tried to remove it but someone keeps reverting my edits due to an edit war which was resolved already.--148.252.141.75 (talk) 13:28, 14 May 2023 (UTC) Blocked sock. 74.73.224.126 (talk) 20:05, 14 May 2023 (UTC)

For the information of future participants interested in seeking consensus on both these issues, the above user and IP have been engaged in edit-warring and in restoring each other's edits. I've been around long enough on Wikipedia to have learnt that coincidences rarely, oh so rarely, occur. --Technopat (talk) 13:36, 14 May 2023 (UTC)

 * This looks like classic Sockpuppet_investigations/Lam312321321. Belbury (talk) 08:53, 13 June 2023 (UTC)
 * is already tagged as such. 74.73.224.126 (talk) 14:47, 14 June 2023 (UTC)
 * It wasn't at the time, it was merged after I flagged it. Belbury (talk) 14:57, 14 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Ah, I see I should've checked the history then. Thanks for being on top of this one, I'll keep on eye out for them in the future. 74.73.224.126 (talk) 15:27, 14 June 2023 (UTC)

Weird reference in Manufacturing section
There is a reference in the manufacturing section to a company.

In the 1970s, manufacturing accounted for over 20 percent of the economy. Total employment in manufacturing fell from 7.1 million in 1979 to 4.5 million in 1992 and only 2.7 million in 2016, when it accounted for 10% of the economy. Manufacturing has increased in 36 of the last 50 years and was twice in 2007 what is in 1958, manufactures include Autodesk.

The reference to Autodesk doesn't flow with the style of the paragraph, the reference link is strange, and the company listed here might not be the best representative of traditional manufacturing in the UK. I think the reference should be removed. Narkie (talk) 18:53, 5 September 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 26 November 2023
cuture = culture 75.82.33.0 (talk) 02:13, 26 November 2023 (UTC)
 * ✅ Cannolis (talk) 04:28, 26 November 2023 (UTC)

Food and drink
, The areas I have put into farming falls under the food and beverage industry, the citation provides support this position. ChefBear01 (talk) 18:58, 20 December 2023 (UTC)

 * Hi @ChefBear01, as you can see, there is an agriculture sector section already. That section already explains what the farming sector produces in England. Liamstar2 (talk) 19:13, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * There is crossover in regards to farming and agriculture, the citations support a move to merge agriculture into the food and drinks industry as these areas are cited as being part of the food and drinks industry.
 * we should see if there is consensus either way, I would like to invite users to give their thoughts on the topic being discussed
 * ChefBear0119:22, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you for your point of view. However, this is a page about the economy of England; it's a short overview of all the sectors of the English economy. The agriculture section is already well detailed along with the food and drink section under it.
 * You can add more detail into the food and drink industry in England page. Liamstar2 (talk) 20:15, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * The information in that article includes information you have removed from the food and drinks section, also please note that that is not how wikipedia works, in the event of a disagreement a discussion takes place to see whether there is majority support for either view as per WP:CONSENSUSChefBear01 (talk) 20:28, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
 * , thank you for your assistance in this discussion, I suspected there may be WP:Sockpuppet but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions as per WP:GOODFAITH. They have made more edits before the point it was reverted to and I am unsure if it all needs fixing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ChefBear01 (talk • contribs)
 * , I have been thinking and would like your advice, would it be better to just have the main opening text on the food and drink section with the list and remove the rest to prevent the article becoming too cluttered, there is a link to the main article which goes into detail on each area, or do you think it is better to have a short breakdown of each catergory on this article?.ChefBear01 (talk) 05:43, 21 December 2023 (UTC)
 * I don't know much about the subject and I would have reverted all of their edits if yours weren't mixed with them (something that you're more than welcome to do). Best, M.Bitton (talk) 12:44, 22 December 2023 (UTC)
 * , Thank you for your reply and input, I think that someone has reverted their previous edits I am not well versed in the WP:SOCK wiki policy though I have a general idea of the main article policies.ChefBear01 (talk) 13:54, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Economy of England


text:
East Manchester

East Manchester may refer to:
 * East Manchester Township, York County, Pennsylvania, United States
 * East Manchester, in Manchester, England
 * East Manchester Line
 * The East Manchester Academy

title: East Manchester