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Northern and Eastern Railway

The Northern & Eastern Railway (N&ER) was an early British railway company, that planned to build a line from London to York. Its ambition was cut successively back, and it was only constructed from Stratford, east of London, to the towns of Bishop's Stortford and Hertford. It was always short of money, and it got access to London over the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR). It was built at the track gauge of, but it converted to standard gauge in 1844.

Its main line opened progressively between 1840 and 1842. It was worked by the neighbouring ECR, and it leased its network to that company in from the beginning of 1844 for 999 years. From that time it was a financial company only, it amalgamated with the ECR's successor, the Great Eastern Railway, in 1902.

The entire network is still in use and is now electrified, and part of the original main line now forms a section of the West Anglia Main Line between London Liverpool Street and Cambridge.

Proposals
When the Stockton and Darlington Railway was opened in 1825, great enthusiasm for railway transport was generated. A number of schemes were put forward for connecting London and York, and some of these were planned to pass through Cambridge. A canal engineer, Nicholas Wilcox Cundy, surveyed such a line, to be known as the Grand Northern & Eastern Railway, in 1834, and the following year another survey was made, by Joseph Gibbs, for another line from London through Cambridge to York. This scheme went to Parliament in the 1836 session as a proposed "Great Northern Railway" (nothing to do with the subsequent Great Northern Railway a decade later). The 1836 proposal was rejected by Parliament.

Meanwhile, a public meeting was held at Cambridge Town Hall on 23 January 1836, at which it was decided to support a route surveyed by James Walker. A bill for a Northern & Eastern Railway was prepared; it was to run from London to Cambridge, with a branch from a little south of Cambridge to Newmarket, Norwich and Great Yarmouth. The extension from Cambridge to Lincoln was not included, as the surveys had not been completed. The bill was passed, but the route was cut back to run from London to Cambridge only; it received royal assent on 4 July 1836. Authorised share capital was £1,200,000. Although the construction cost was large, the company was confident of a 16% return.

The London terminus, and track gauge
The N&ER was to have its London terminus at Islington. The topography was such that this would have required tunnelling to reach it, and it was realised that this was an expensive proposition. An approach was made to the Commercial Railway (later the London and Blackwall Railway) with a view to using its final approach to London and Minories terminus. This was unsuccessful, so the ECR was contacted, with a view to using its Shoreditch terminus. This was agreed to, and Parliament ratified the arrangement, so the N&ER's planned line was rerouted south of Tottenham to join the ECR at Stratford. The rental for this arrangement was to be £7,000 a year, with an additional charge per passenger. The ECR agreed to build a separate terminus at Shoreditch for the N&ER.

When the ECR determined its track gauge of, the N&ER had to adopt the same gauge in order to use the approach tracks. The first section of the ECR was opened on 18 June 1839, from a temporary terminus at Mile End to another temporary terminus at Romford.

Contract award, and a retrenchment of scope
At the end of 1837 a contract for construction of the line was awarded to David Macintosh. In March 1838 construction began, with Michael Borthwick as resident engineer. From the beginning, the N&ER was unable to raise the capital it needed for building its line. By May 1837 the contractor was in difficulties, and Robert Stephenson was appointed as engineer-in-chief, with Borthwick continuing as resident engineer. George Parker Bidder was appointed as the new contractor. Engineering contractors Grissell and Peto were approached late in 1837 about building the line as far as Bishop's Stortford. In March 1840 they started work between Stratford and Tottenham, and finally took over the work between Tottenham and Broxbourne from David McIntosh.

The N&ER company obtained a further act of Parliament, the (3 & 4 Vict. c. lii), which received royal assent on 4 June 1840; the line beyond Bishop's Stortford to Cambridge was abandoned, and the share capital was reduced to £720,000.

Opening
On 15 September 1840 the N&ER started operation between the ECR's Stratford station and Broxbourne, a distance of about 15 mi. At first this was a single track; it was doubled in 1841. Trains ran through from Bishopsgate, but the ECR insisted that Shoreditch to Stratford journeys were exclusive to them.

The line was extended as far as Harlow Mill on 9 August 1841; to Spelbrook (a temporary terminus) on 19 November 1841; and as far as Bishop's Stortford on 16 May 1842.

A criticism of the route of the N&ER was that the line followed the valley of the River Lea, while nearly all of the settlements were on higher ground, and were some distance from their respective stations. Tottenham Hale was used as the railhead for cattle being brought in to London; they were driven on foot from there to the city markets. In the second half of 1842 a dividend of 2% was paid.

Hertford branch
In June 1841 parliamentary assent was given for a branch from Broxbourne to Hertford; it became the present-day Hertford East Branch Line. Work on the Hertford branch line began early in 1843, and it opened as a single track on 31 October 1843. It was doubled in October 1846 (after the lease by the ECR).

Hockerill
The northernmost extent of the line was at Bishop's Stortford, opened before the end of 1843, when the N&ER ceased to control its own network. However a special arrangement was made to receive excursion trains at Hockerill, 1/2 mi or so north of Bishop's Stortford station. The overbridge at that point today carries Hockerill Street, and Stortford was then a much smaller community; Hockerill was a distinct village. (The later Hockerill Halt station on the Dunmow branch was opened in 1910.) An advertisement in The Times in October 1843 read:

"Newmarket Houghton Meeting—A special train, consisting of first-class carriages only, of the Northern and Eastern Railway, stopping only at Tottenham and Broxbourne, will leave the London Terminus, Shoreditch, for Hockerill, Bishop's Stortford, on Monday, 23d inst., at half-past-seven a.m., and return from Hockerill at half-past nine o'clock at night, thereby enabling persons attending Newmarket to see the whole of the races and return to London the same evening. Ample accommodation may be had at Hockerill should parties prefer to send their private horses and carriages the day before to wait the arrival of the trains. Horse and carriages can be taken on at the Tottenham station, thereby avoiding passing through the city. Previous notice should be given by parties taking their own horses and carriages, to prevent the possibility of disappointment. Extra post horses and carriages will be in attendance to convey persons forward, and may be ordered to be in readiness by sending a letter to Messrs. Edwards and Stokes of Hockerill. Places may be secured [to travel] by coaches meeting the train to Newmarket and back, at the Golden Cross, Charing-cross. Fares—Hockerill to Newmarket and back, inside £1 10s, outside £1 1s."

These excursions were advertised to be run on 9 and 11 October 1843, and (after the lease of the N&ER to the ECR) on 15 and 28 October 1844.

Leased to the Eastern Counties Railway
On 25 October 1843 an agreement facilitated by G. P. Bidder was reached by the ECR and N&ER, and from 1 January 1844 the entire N&ER system was leased to the ECR for 999 years; the arrangement was formally ratified by Parliament in May 1844. The ECR was to pay the N&ER 5% annually on the £970,000 capital cost of building the line, and profits would be apportioned. The N&ER continued as a nominally independent company, receiving the lease charges but not operating any railway; eventually it merged into the Great Eastern Railway in 1902.

Gauge change
At the same time as the discussion about the lease took place, the two companies agreed that their uncommon track gauge of was a hindrance, and they decided to alter it to the British standard gauge of. The physical conversion was undertaken between 5 September and 7 October 1844; it was achieved without interruption to the running of trains, except on the Hertford branch.

Engineering details
Whishaw reported that the rails are "of the double parallel form" (that is, not fish-bellied and broadly similar to modern bullhead rail) in lengths of 12 and 15 ft. "The upper and lower webs are not of similar section": Whishaw meant that the head and foot are not identical. The sleepers were of larch, 9 ft in length, and 10 by in cross section. The ballasting was of gravel, of at least 2 ft in thickness throughout.

From 1844
From the first day of 1844, the N&ER was simply a financial shell company, receiving lease charges from the ECR but not having any rail operations of its own. The N&ER network extended from Stratford to Bishop's Stortford and from Broxbourne to Hertford, and it became the stem of the important main line to Cambridge, which was built and owned north of Stortford by the ECR. The approach to London was later altered to run through Hackney Downs, but the Stratford to Copper Mill Junction (Tottenham Hale) section was retained, and became a key link for goods traffic approaching Temple Mills Yard.

In 1849 the ECR opened a branch line from Angel Road to Enfield.

The ECR and certain other companies in the east of England amalgamated to form the Great Eastern Railway (GER) in 1862. The GER adopted a policy of running frequent passenger services on the London suburban lines: in 1864 there were 29 departures per day for the N&ER line. Shoreditch station had been renamed Bishopsgate, but it was obviously inadequate for both main line traffic and N&ER line traffic, and the decision was taken to extend westwards: Liverpool Street station was opened in 1871, with a connection to the underground Metropolitan Railway opening in 1875.

In 1872 a new shorter route towards Broxbourne was opened, from Bethnal Green, near Liverpool Street, via Hackney Downs to Copper Mill Junction, south of Tottenham Hale station. In time this became the dominant route from London. In 1891 the Churchbury loop was opened, from Bury Street Junction via Edmonton Green to Cheshunt. The area was undeveloped and the sparse train service failed to encourage residential travel. It closed to ordinary passenger trains in 1909.

The N&ER line never became the primary route from London to York (which was the Great Northern Railway's route via Peterborough and Newark), but from 1882 the GER participated with the GNR in a joint railway, the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, which gave it access to Doncaster, and by means of running powers to York. A significant flow of coal ran south from Yorkshire to London over the N&ER's line, and for a while an express passenger train, the Cathedrals Express, ran over the route. The cathedrals alluded to were Ely, Peterborough and Lincoln, and the service ran from 1892 to 1918.

The twentieth century
Passenger use of the line intensified in the 20th century, particularly for residential travel as people became accustomed to travelling longer distances in order to live in more rural surroundings. Cambridge too became increasingly significant as a regional centre, attracting express passenger trains over the route. Goods and mineral traffic too remained dominant, although declining steeply after 1955.

Organisationally the N&ER company was absorbed into the GER in 1902; the GER was a constituent of the new London and North Eastern Railway in 1923 (as part of the "grouping" of the railways) and in 1948 the LNER in turn was nationalised.

The Churchbury Loop from Bury Street Junction, near Enfield, and Cheshunt, had been dormant so far as passenger use was concerned, since 1909. In 1960 it was electrified and reopened as part of a new electrified suburban network; the line was retitled the Southbury loop. At first six trains an hour were run, although this was later reduced. The new suburban electric trains ran as far as Bishop's Stortford and Hertford. For the time being the southern part of the N&ER route remained unelectrified, but electrification was provided from May 1969.

The entire network remains in use at the present day. The dominant traffic is on the section between Copper Mill Junction and Bishop's Stortford, part of the route from London Liverpool Street station to Cambridge and Stansted Airport.

Stations
Only stations marked in bold are still in existence.

Main line

 * Junction with Eastern Counties Railway main line

 * Stratford; opened April 1842; combined with ECR station 1 April 1847;
 * Lea Bridge; opened 15 September 1840; also known as Lea Bridge Road; closed 8 July 1985; reopened 15 May 2016;
 * Direct line via Hackney Downs (built 1872) converges

 * Tottenham; opened 15 September 1840; renamed Tottenham Hale after 1875;
 * Marsh Lane (or Marsh Lane Tottenham); opened 1842; closed after December 1842; reopened June 1843; renamed Park in 1852; renamed Northumberland Park 1923;
 * Edmonton; opened 15 September 1840; closed after December 1842; reopened June 1843; renamed Water Lane (Junction); later renamed Angel Road; closed 31 May 2019 and replaced by Meridan Water;
 * ECR Enfield branch (built 1849) diverges

 * Ponders End; opened 15 September 1840;
 * Waltham Cross; opened 15 September 1840; relocated 1885; at times known as simply Waltham, or Waltham Cross and Abbey;
 * Cheshunt; opened 31 May 1846;
 * Cadmores Lane Cheshunt; opened by December 1841; closed after May 1842;
 * Broxbourne; opened 15 September 1840; renamed Broxbourne Junction; relocated 1960;
 * Hertford branch diverges

 * Roydon; opened 9 August 1841;
 * Netteswell; opened by September 1841; soon renamed Burnt Mill and Netteswell; renamed Burnt Mill 1843; renamed Harlow Town 1960;
 * Harlow; opened 9 August 1841; renamed Harlow Mill 1960;
 * Sawbridgeworth; opened 22 November 1841;
 * Spelbrook; opened 22 November 1841 as temporary terminus; closed 16 May 1842;
 * Stortford; opened 16 May 1842; renamed Bishop's Stortford 1845;
 * Line continues as ECR to Cambridge

 * Hockerill; temporary excursion station (on ECR line) in use in October 1843 and October 1844.

Hertford branch

 * From Broxbourne:

 * Rye House; opened privately 1845; opened to public 31 May 1846;
 * St Margarets; opened 31 October 1843; relocated 3 July 1863;
 * Ware; opened 31 October 1843;
 * Hertford; opened 31 October 1843; relocated 27 February 1888; renamed Hertford East 1923; still open.

Whishaw reported that "At Shoreditch this Company is accommodated with part of the Eastern Counties station. The intermediate stations already opened to the public are at the Lea Bridge Road, Tottenham, Edmonton, Enfield-Highway and Ponder’s End, Waltham Cross, and Broxbourne." In fact the two parts of Stratford station were to the east of the point of junction; the present day platforms 1 and 2 are on the site of the original N&ER station. The station was approached by Station Road, connecting to Angel Lane. The present-day main entrance in Gibbins Road came much later.

Locomotives
The company purchased 14 2-2-2 locomotives from four builders: The locomotives were regauged to standard gauge in September and October 1844.
 * Robert Stephenson and Company
 * Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy
 * R. B. Longridge and Company (of Bedlington, Northumberland)
 * Charles Tayleur and Co (later Vulcan Foundry)

Whishaw said that "The principal engine-station [depot] is near the Stratford junction."

Carriages
Carriages were 20 ft long and 7 ft wide. They had six wheels and were first, second or third class with capacity for 24, 32 and 60 to 70 passengers respectively. They had footboards to allow passengers to board at locations with no or low platforms. The third class carriages were open to the elements.

Whishaw had a comment about the carriages: "The carriages on this line present a novelty in being mounted on six instead of four wheels, except those of the Great Western and Blackwall lines. One of the advantages of this mode of construction is, that the carriages are less likely to run off the line, or to give way by reason of an axle breaking on the journey."

title: Northern and Eastern Railway


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Wckr Spgt

Wckr Spgt is an American musical band, that formed in 1981 in Claremont, California. With influences that include dadaism and punk rock, they were part of an early movement focused primarily on experimental home recording and cassette culture in the Pomona Valley at that time. The band consists of Joel Huschle, Mark Givens, and Dave Carpenter and, over the years, several guest musicians and artists, notably John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, Ian Carlson of The Desperation Squad, and the members of Nothing Painted Blue (Franklin Bruno, Kyle Brodie, and Peter Hughes).

Early audio cassettes were distributed throughout the Pomona Valley at local music stores. In the 1990s the record label Shrimper distributed Wckr Spgt recordings including 1997's Everybody's Dead (Oh, No). Their solitary 7-inch EP 'Cream' (1993) came in a limited edition of 450 in a hand-drawn sleeve sprinkled with glitter.

The Wckr Spgt film Bug-Free America was expected in 2006, but has yet to debut.

Shrimper Records

 * 5 Years (Aloha) (Shrimper Cassette)
 * Drops Of Love (Shrimper Cassette)
 * The Charles Mansion (Shrimper Cassette)
 * Dance 'Til You Stop (Shrimper Cassette)
 * Who Will Die (Shrimper Cassette)
 * CRTV (Shrimper Cassette)
 * Everybody's Dead (Oh, No) (Shrimper CD)
 * Cream (Shrimper 7-inch)

JUPA Records

 * (4 song) EP (JUPA 003)
 * Fortune Came Today (JUPA 006)

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

title: Wckr Spgt


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Greg Germann

Gregory Andrew Germann (born February 26, 1958) is an American actor who is known for playing Richard Fish on the television series Ally McBeal, which earned him a Screen Actors Guild award. He also is known for his roles as Eric "Rico" Morrow on the sitcom Ned & Stacey, Tom Koracick in Grey's Anatomy and as Hades in Season Five of Once Upon a Time.

Early life
Germann was born in Houston. The family moved to Lookout Mountain outside of Golden, Colorado. His mother, Marlene Marian (née Faulkner), was a homemaker and his father, Edward A. Germann, was a playwright and professor. While living in Colorado, Germann expressed interest in acting. He starred in stage plays during his middle and high-school years, before moving to New York in 1982.

Early work
He started in several Broadway plays while in New York, including a role in 1982 alongside Matthew Broderick in the play Fancy This, which Germann also co-wrote. He received praise for roles in the 1982 musical Chicago, and the 1983 musical The Wizard of Oz. He continued to have roles in plays before seeing a poster for wanted actors for a film in 1985. He moved to Hollywood to find film success, and got his first role in the teen comedy film, The Whoopee Boys in 1986. The supporting role in that film helped Greg's career, so he could star in bigger and mainstream films. His next film was 1990's Child's Play 2, in which he played the character Mattson, in the well-received sequel to one of the most popular horror films of all time.  Child's Play 2, and the 1991 romantic comedy Once Around, helped the actor gain mainstream success. In 1990, Germann originated the role of John Hinckley Jr. in Stephen Sondheim's Assassins.

1990s success and Ally McBeal
After Child's Play 2 and Once Around were released, he gained fame as a character named Petey in the 1994 critical and commercial success Clear and Present Danger, and landed a supporting role as Rico on the sitcom Ned & Stacey, which lasted from 1995 to 1997.

In 1997, after Ned & Stacey, Germann was offered the role as Richard Fish on the legal-comedy series Ally McBeal which he played for five seasons, from 1997 to 2002. During this time, he received three nominations for the Screen Actors Guild awards, winning one. Germann directed a few Ally McBeal episodes, including "Fear of Flirting" (season 5, episode 4). He appeared on ABC's In Case of Emergency as Sherman Yablonsky until it was canceled after one season, and was also in the pilot episode of Eureka. He did not reprise the role, and his character's disappearance was explained in the official comic book as having been reassigned to Alaska.

2000s work
After Ally McBeal ended Germann starring in several films, including Down to Earth, Sweet November, and Joe Somebody, all being released in 2001. He guest-appeared twice on The Bernie Mac Show.

He got lead roles in 2005 in the family comedies Family Plan and Down and Derby.

In 2006, he guest-starred in the series, Desperate Housewives

In 2009, he starred in the Nickelodeon made-for-television musical film Spectacular!. He portrayed the role of Mr. Virgil Romano.

2010s work
In 2010, he played Jerry Erickson in the holiday film The Santa Incident.

Germann has appeared in NCIS since the season 10 episode "Shiva", playing NCIS Assistant Director Jerome Craig. Later, in the episode "Canary", he briefly took over the agency while the director at the time (Leon Vance) was on temporary leave following a family tragedy.

Germann has appeared infrequently in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit playing ADA Derek Strauss.

In 2016, Germann appeared in the ABC fantasy series drama Once Upon a Time portraying Hades, the God of the Underworld, for ten episodes. He was in the film Foster Boy.

He also appeared as neurosurgeon Tom Koracick in Grey's Anatomy.

Personal life
His son with the actress Christine Mourad, Asa Germann, is also an actor.

title: Greg Germann


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Category:Fashion designers

Designers of clothing/garments, either independent or employed by fashion houses. Where possible, people should be categorised by their nationality, rather than under this parent category.

title: Category:Fashion designers


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Talk:Overbetuwe

An anonymous user added this to the Elst redirect page: Elst (Utrecht) of Elst(Gelderland) What does it mean? --Ardonik 11:39, Aug 11, 2004 (UTC)

 * It means that Elst should be a disambiguation page. It is now. Eugene van der Pijll 21:18, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:Overbetuwe


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Talk:Preverb

Preverb v. coverb
As far as I know, "preverb" is the usual term used in the case of Chinese. Chinese preverbs are lexically verbs but syntactically prepositions. That is to say, the Chinese equivalent of a preposition is a verb preceeding a noun, and the term for this is "preverb". — Hippietrail 11:40, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * Interesting to know. Can you tell me a bit more about this so I can put it into the article? (Or you could add it yourself if you like.) thefamouseccles 22:32, 19 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * Unfortunately I don't know much more. I heard the terms "preverb" and "coverb" once and read up on them a bit once. I very quickly checked what I knew with Google. The second term is much harder to find info on by the way! — Hippietrail 04:01, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC)

 * I'm pretty sure coverb and preverb refer to the same thing in Chinese. There's no article on coverb currently, but I can write one up when I get the chance.  -- Umofomia 22:51, 24 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * The introduction of the coverb article suggests that "preverb" and "coverb" are often used synonymously, and for more than one concept. Hungarian also has separable verb prefixes that are often called "preverbs", e.g. on Duolingo. Hungarian isn't covered by this article, it only refers to (Caucasian, Amerind and) "Indo-European languages", but most IE languages don't have them, whereas in Hungarian they're a salient feature. Maybe change to "European languages", even though that isn't a linguistic term?--2A02:8071:81C1:F900:881A:146A:FA7E:B8D3 (talk) 08:16, 14 March 2022 (UTC)

Georgian
I'm finding the new Georgian information here very very interesting but I would really love to see the native script along with the transliterations. — Hippietrail 13:12, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Done. Gnothidichselbst (talk) 10:30, 20 August 2021 (UTC)

Algonkian
I added the section on Algonkian, but I am neither a native speaker nor good with references. I think what I wrote checks against the grammars and dictionaries I've seen, but none is in front of me now.--Algonkian wanna learn (talk) 22:56, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

title: Talk:Preverb


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Ungnadia

Ungnadia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae containing one species, Ungnadia speciosa, the Mexican buckeye. It is native to northern Mexico, as well as Texas and southern New Mexico in the United States. The name honours Austrian ambassador Baron David von Ungnad, who brought the horse chestnut to Vienna in 1576, introducing the plant into western Europe.

It differs from the buckeyes in the related genus Aesculus but the seeds and nuts are similar. Another similar related genus is the soapberry (genus Sapindus). Ungnadia seeds are poisonous despite their sweetness, and sometimes used as marbles. The foliage is toxic and rarely browsed by livestock, but bees produce honey from the floral nectar.

Description
Ungnadia speciosa is a deciduous shrub or small tree (< 25 ft) that is often multi-trunked. The leaves (5 –) are alternate and pinnately compound with 5 to 9 leaflets. The leaflets are long (3 –), narrow, and pointed with slight serrations.

title: Ungnadia


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London Buses

London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus services to TfL, controlled by the Mayor of London.

Overview
Transport for London's key areas of direct responsibility through London Buses are the following:
 * planning new bus routes, and revising existing ones
 * specifying service levels
 * monitoring service quality
 * management of bus stations and bus stops
 * assistance in 'on ground' set up of diversions, bus driver assistance in situations over and above job requirements, for example Road Accidents
 * providing information for passengers in the form of timetables and maps at bus stops and online, and an online route planning service
 * producing leaflet maps, available from Travel Information Centres, libraries etc., and as online downloads.
 * operating NMCC, London Buses' 24‑hour command-and-control centre based in Southwark

Bus operations
All bus operations are undertaken under a tendering system in which operators bid for routes in return for a set price per route operated. Until April 2022, contracts were normally for five years, with two-year extensions available if performance criteria were met. From April 2022, contracts will be for seven years with a performance based two year optional extension.

Routes are set up, controlled and tendered out by Transport for London (TfL) and they provide day to day assistance via CentreComm which coordinates a large scale network of Network Traffic Controllers to help with any traffic issues that may occur. Operators provide staff to drive the buses, provide the buses to operate and also adhere to set TfL guidelines. Operators are then in return paid per mile that each bus runs, the pricing is announced on new tenders.

Publications
London Buses publishes a variety of bus maps. In 2002, TfL introduced the first spider maps. Rather than attempting to cover the entire city, these maps are centred on a particular locality or bus station, and convey the route information in the schematic style of Harry Beck's influential Tube map, capitalising on TfL's iconic style of information design. The arachnoid form of bus routes radiating from a centre earned them the nickname spider maps, although TfL refer to them on their website as route maps. The maps are displayed at most major bus stops, and can be downloaded in PDF format via the Internet from the TfL website.

Legal status
The legal identity of London Buses is London Bus Services Limited (LBSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London. East Thames Buses was the trading name of another wholly owned subsidiary of TfL called, rather confusingly, London Buses Limited (LBL).

LBL was formed on 1 April 1985 as part of the privatisation of London bus services, and acted as an arm's-length subsidiary of TfL's precursor organisation, London Regional Transport (LRT), holding twelve bus operating units (from late 1988) and other assets. The operating units were sold off in 1994/95, and their purchasers make up the majority of companies awarded bus operating tenders from the current London Buses (LBSL).

After 1994/95, the LBL company lay dormant, passing from LRT to TfL. It was resurrected when East Thames Buses was formed, separated by a Chinese wall from LBSL, and acted as a London bus operator by proxy.

Scope
The local bus network in London is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. , 8,776 buses operate on over 670 different routes. In 2019/20, 2.09 billion passenger journeys were made.

Fares and concessions
Buses in the London Buses network accept Travelcards, Oyster card products (including bus passes and Oyster pay as you go) and contactless debit and credit cards. Cash fares have not been available since 6 July 2014, but Day Bus passes (issued either as a single use Oyster card, or on paper from station ticket machines) were re-introduced on 2 January 2015. Single journey fares used to be charged in relation to length of journey (fare stages), but are now charged as single flat fares for any length of journey. From 2000, the flat fare was higher for journeys in Zone 1 than in outer zones, although from 2004 this difference was eliminated, the change coinciding with the introduction of Oyster card flat fares. , the single fare is £1.75.

With Oyster pay as you go, users are charged a set amount for single journeys, although there is a "daily cap", which limits the maximum amount of money that will be deducted from the balance, regardless of how many buses are taken that day (from 04.30 to 04.29 the next day). Alternatively, weekly and monthly passes may also be purchased and loaded onto an Oyster card.

Passengers using contactless payment cards are charged the same fares as on Oyster pay as you go. Unlike Oyster cards, contactless cards also have a 7-day fare cap though it currently only operates on a Monday-Sunday basis.

Under 11s can travel free on London buses and trams at any time unaccompanied by an adult; they do not need an Oyster card or a ticket. Children aged 11 to 15 travel free on buses with an 11–15 Oyster photocard; without an Oyster card or Travelcard, they have to pay the full adult fare. Visitors can have a special discount added to an ordinary Oyster card at TfL's Travel Information Centres. There are also concessions for London residents aged 16 to 18.

The Freedom Pass scheme allows Greater London residents over state pension age, and those with a disability, to travel free at any time on buses and TfL's rail services. People who have concessionary bus passes issued by English local authorities travel free on TfL bus services at any time.

Current
Bus services in London are operated by (in order of fleet size):
 * Go-Ahead London, (Blue Triangle, Docklands Buses, London Central, London General, Metrobus)
 * Arriva London
 * Stagecoach London (East London, Selkent, Thameside)
 * Metroline
 * RATP Dev Transit London (London Sovereign, London Transit, London United)
 * Transport UK London Bus
 * Sullivan Buses
 * University Bus

Historic

 * First London

 * Tower Transit – majority of operations acquired by RATP Dev Transit London in 2021 with remaining operations under Lea Interchange acquired by Stagecoach London in 2022
 * HCT Group

Each company has its own operating code, and every bus garage in London has its own garage code.

Vehicles
, the London Buses fleet total of 8,776 buses includes 3,826 hybrid buses, 1,397 battery electric buses, and 20 hydrogen fuel cell buses. The zero emission fleet is the second largest in Europe, behind Moscow. All buses have been accessible and low floor since 2006, one of the first major cities in the world to achieve this.

The various bus operators providing services under contract to London Buses operate a wide variety of vehicles, about the only immediately obvious common feature being their use of a largely red livery, mandatory since 1997, as well as white-painted roofs featuring aerial roof markings to help cool down the bus during the summer, first introduced during 2006. For each bus route, London Buses sets a specification for buses to be used, with the choice of particular vehicle that meets the specification left up to the operator. Particular examples of London Buses specification include the use of separate exit doors (increasingly unusual on buses in the United Kingdom outside London) and, on double-deckers, the use of a straight staircase. Additionally, London Buses has previously specified that vehicles operating in London use traditional printed roller destination blinds, whereas in most other parts of the country, electronic dot matrix or LED displays are the norm on new buses.

iBus
All of London's buses use the London iBus system, an Automatic Vehicle Location system that provides passengers with audio visual announcements and is able to trigger priority at traffic junctions. The system was on trial in 2006, and was extended to all bus routes by 2009.

title: London Buses


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User talk:Caliban16

Hello, Caliban16, welcome to Wikipedia!

BTW, you're not supposed to copy images from other sources unless they explicitly permit you to do this. Please see Image talk:Zizekbio.gif.

See you. --Romanm 11:43, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Caliban16


text:
Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm

In mathematics and computing, the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm (LMA or just LM), also known as the damped least-squares (DLS) method, is used to solve non-linear least squares problems. These minimization problems arise especially in least squares curve fitting. The LMA interpolates between the Gauss–Newton algorithm (GNA) and the method of gradient descent. The LMA is more robust than the GNA, which means that in many cases it finds a solution even if it starts very far off the final minimum. For well-behaved functions and reasonable starting parameters, the LMA tends to be slower than the GNA. LMA can also be viewed as Gauss–Newton using a trust region approach.

The algorithm was first published in 1944 by Kenneth Levenberg, while working at the Frankford Army Arsenal. It was rediscovered in 1963 by Donald Marquardt, who worked as a statistician at DuPont, and independently by Girard, Wynne and Morrison.

The LMA is used in many software applications for solving generic curve-fitting problems. By using the Gauss–Newton algorithm it often converges faster than first-order methods. However, like other iterative optimization algorithms, the LMA finds only a local minimum, which is not necessarily the global minimum.

The problem
The primary application of the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm is in the least-squares curve fitting problem: given a set of $$m$$ empirical pairs $$\left (x_i, y_i\right )$$ of independent and dependent variables, find the parameters $\boldsymbol\beta$ of the model curve $$f\left (x, \boldsymbol\beta\right )$$ so that the sum of the squares of the deviations $$S\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )$$ is minimized:

 * $$\hat{\boldsymbol\beta} \in \operatorname{argmin}\limits_{\boldsymbol\beta} S\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right ) \equiv \operatorname{argmin}\limits_{\boldsymbol\beta} \sum_{i=1}^m \left [y_i - f\left (x_i, \boldsymbol\beta\right )\right ]^2,$$ which is assumed to be non-empty.

The solution
Like other numeric minimization algorithms, the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm is an iterative procedure. To start a minimization, the user has to provide an initial guess for the parameter vector $\boldsymbol\beta$. In cases with only one minimum, an uninformed standard guess like $$\boldsymbol\beta^\text{T} = \begin{pmatrix}1,\ 1,\ \dots,\ 1\end{pmatrix}$$ will work fine; in cases with multiple minima, the algorithm converges to the global minimum only if the initial guess is already somewhat close to the final solution.

In each iteration step, the parameter vector $\boldsymbol\beta$ is replaced by a new estimate $\boldsymbol\beta + \boldsymbol\delta$. To determine $\boldsymbol\delta$, the function $$f\left (x_i, \boldsymbol\beta + \boldsymbol\delta\right )$$ is approximated by its linearization:

 * $$f\left (x_i, \boldsymbol\beta + \boldsymbol\delta\right ) \approx f\left (x _i, \boldsymbol\beta\right ) + \mathbf J_i \boldsymbol\delta,$$

where
 * $$\mathbf J_i = \frac{\partial f\left (x_i, \boldsymbol\beta\right )}{\partial \boldsymbol\beta}$$

is the gradient (row-vector in this case) of $f$ with respect to $\boldsymbol\beta$.

The sum $$S\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )$$ of square deviations has its minimum at a zero gradient with respect to $\boldsymbol\beta$. The above first-order approximation of $$f\left (x_i, \boldsymbol\beta + \boldsymbol\delta\right )$$ gives
 * $$S\left (\boldsymbol\beta + \boldsymbol\delta\right ) \approx \sum_{i=1}^m \left [y_i - f\left (x_i, \boldsymbol\beta\right ) - \mathbf J_i \boldsymbol\delta\right ]^2,$$

or in vector notation,
 * $$\begin{align}

S\left (\boldsymbol\beta + \boldsymbol\delta\right ) &\approx \left \|\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right ) - \mathbf J\boldsymbol\delta\right \|^2\\ &= \left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right ) - \mathbf J\boldsymbol\delta \right ]^{\mathrm T}\left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right ) - \mathbf J\boldsymbol\delta\right ]\\ &= \left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )\right ]^{\mathrm T}\left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )\right ] - \left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )\right ]^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J \boldsymbol\delta - \left (\mathbf J \boldsymbol\delta\right )^{\mathrm T} \left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )\right ] + \boldsymbol\delta^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J \boldsymbol\delta\\ &= \left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )\right ]^{\mathrm T}\left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )\right ] - 2\left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )\right ]^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J \boldsymbol\delta + \boldsymbol\delta^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J\boldsymbol\delta. \end{align}$$ Taking the derivative of this approximation of $$S\left (\boldsymbol\beta + \boldsymbol\delta\right )$$ with respect to $\boldsymbol\delta$ and setting the result to zero gives

 * $$\left (\mathbf J^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J\right )\boldsymbol\delta = \mathbf J^{\mathrm T}\left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )\right ],$$

where $$\mathbf J$$ is the Jacobian matrix, whose $i$-th row equals $$\mathbf J_i$$, and where $$\mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )$$ and $$\mathbf y$$ are vectors with $i$-th component $$f\left (x_i, \boldsymbol\beta\right )$$ and $$y_i$$ respectively. The above expression obtained for $\boldsymbol\beta$ comes under the Gauss–Newton method. The Jacobian matrix as defined above is not (in general) a square matrix, but a rectangular matrix of size $$m \times n$$, where $$n$$ is the number of parameters (size of the vector $$\boldsymbol\beta$$). The matrix multiplication $$\left (\mathbf J^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J\right)$$ yields the required $$n \times n$$ square matrix and the matrix-vector product on the right hand side yields a vector of size $$n$$. The result is a set of $$n$$ linear equations, which can be solved for $\boldsymbol\delta$.

Levenberg's contribution is to replace this equation by a "damped version":

 * $$\left (\mathbf J^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J + \lambda\mathbf I\right ) \boldsymbol\delta = \mathbf J^{\mathrm T}\left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )\right],$$

where $\mathbf I$ is the identity matrix, giving as the increment $\boldsymbol\delta$ to the estimated parameter vector $\boldsymbol\beta$.

The (non-negative) damping factor $\lambda$ is adjusted at each iteration. If reduction of $S$ is rapid, a smaller value can be used, bringing the algorithm closer to the Gauss–Newton algorithm, whereas if an iteration gives insufficient reduction in the residual, $\lambda$ can be increased, giving a step closer to the gradient-descent direction. Note that the gradient of $S$ with respect to $\boldsymbol\beta$ equals $$-2\left (\mathbf J^{\mathrm T}\left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )\right ]\right )^{\mathrm T}$$. Therefore, for large values of $\lambda$, the step will be taken approximately in the direction opposite to the gradient. If either the length of the calculated step $\boldsymbol\delta$ or the reduction of sum of squares from the latest parameter vector $\boldsymbol\beta + \boldsymbol\delta$ fall below predefined limits, iteration stops, and the last parameter vector $\boldsymbol\beta$ is considered to be the solution.

When the damping factor $\lambda$ is large relative to $$ \| \mathbf J^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J \| $$, inverting $$ \mathbf J^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J + \lambda \mathbf I $$ is not necessary, as the update is well-approximated by the small gradient step $$ \lambda^{-1} \mathbf J^{\mathrm T}\left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )\right ]$$.

To make the solution scale invariant Marquardt's algorithm solved a modified problem with each component of the gradient scaled according to the curvature. This provides larger movement along the directions where the gradient is smaller, which avoids slow convergence in the direction of small gradient. Fletcher in his 1971 paper A modified Marquardt subroutine for non-linear least squares simplified the form, replacing the identity matrix $\mathbf I$ with the diagonal matrix consisting of the diagonal elements of $\mathbf J^\text{T}\mathbf J$:

 * $$\left [\mathbf J^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J + \lambda \operatorname{diag}\left (\mathbf J^{\mathrm T} \mathbf J\right )\right ] \boldsymbol\delta = \mathbf J^{\mathrm T}\left [\mathbf y - \mathbf f\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )\right ].$$

A similar damping factor appears in Tikhonov regularization, which is used to solve linear ill-posed problems, as well as in ridge regression, an estimation technique in statistics.

Choice of damping parameter
Various more or less heuristic arguments have been put forward for the best choice for the damping parameter $\lambda$. Theoretical arguments exist showing why some of these choices guarantee local convergence of the algorithm; however, these choices can make the global convergence of the algorithm suffer from the undesirable properties of steepest descent, in particular, very slow convergence close to the optimum.

The absolute values of any choice depend on how well-scaled the initial problem is. Marquardt recommended starting with a value $\lambda_0$ and a factor $\nu > 1$. Initially setting $$\lambda = \lambda_0$$ and computing the residual sum of squares $$S\left (\boldsymbol\beta\right )$$ after one step from the starting point with the damping factor of $$\lambda = \lambda_0$$ and secondly with $\lambda_0 / \nu$. If both of these are worse than the initial point, then the damping is increased by successive multiplication by $\nu$ until a better point is found with a new damping factor of $\lambda_0\nu^k$ for some $k$.

If use of the damping factor $\lambda / \nu$ results in a reduction in squared residual, then this is taken as the new value of $\lambda$ (and the new optimum location is taken as that obtained with this damping factor) and the process continues; if using $\lambda / \nu$ resulted in a worse residual, but using $\lambda$ resulted in a better residual, then $\lambda$ is left unchanged and the new optimum is taken as the value obtained with $\lambda$ as damping factor.

An effective strategy for the control of the damping parameter, called delayed gratification, consists of increasing the parameter by a small amount for each uphill step, and decreasing by a large amount for each downhill step. The idea behind this strategy is to avoid moving downhill too fast in the beginning of optimization, therefore restricting the steps available in future iterations and therefore slowing down convergence. An increase by a factor of 2 and a decrease by a factor of 3 has been shown to be effective in most cases, while for large problems more extreme values can work better, with an increase by a factor of 1.5 and a decrease by a factor of 5.

Geodesic acceleration
When interpreting the Levenberg–Marquardt step as the velocity $$\boldsymbol{v}_k$$ along a geodesic path in the parameter space, it is possible to improve the method by adding a second order term that accounts for the acceleration $$\boldsymbol{a}_k$$ along the geodesic

\boldsymbol{v}_k + \frac{1}{2} \boldsymbol{a}_k $$

where $$\boldsymbol{a}_k$$ is the solution of

\boldsymbol{J}_k \boldsymbol{a}_k = -f_{vv}. $$

Since this geodesic acceleration term depends only on the directional derivative $$f_{vv} = \sum_{\mu\nu} v_{\mu} v_{\nu} \partial_{\mu} \partial_{\nu} f (\boldsymbol{x})$$ along the direction of the velocity $$\boldsymbol{v}$$, it does not require computing the full second order derivative matrix, requiring only a small overhead in terms of computing cost. Since the second order derivative can be a fairly complex expression, it can be convenient to replace it with a finite difference approximation

\begin{align} f_{vv}^i &\approx \frac{f_i(\boldsymbol{x} + h \boldsymbol{\delta}) - 2 f_i(\boldsymbol{x}) + f_i(\boldsymbol{x} - h \boldsymbol{\delta})}{h^2} \\ &= \frac{2}{h} \left( \frac{f_i(\boldsymbol{x} + h \boldsymbol{\delta}) - f_i(\boldsymbol{x})}{h} - \boldsymbol{J}_i \boldsymbol{\delta} \right) \end{align} $$

where $$f(\boldsymbol{x})$$ and $$\boldsymbol{J}$$ have already been computed by the algorithm, therefore requiring only one additional function evaluation to compute $$f(\boldsymbol{x} + h \boldsymbol{\delta})$$. The choice of the finite difference step $$h$$ can affect the stability of the algorithm, and a value of around 0.1 is usually reasonable in general.

Since the acceleration may point in opposite direction to the velocity, to prevent it to stall the method in case the damping is too small, an additional criterion on the acceleration is added in order to accept a step, requiring that

\frac{2 \left\| \boldsymbol{a}_k \right\|}{\left\| \boldsymbol{v}_k \right\|} \le \alpha $$

where $$\alpha$$ is usually fixed to a value lesser than 1, with smaller values for harder problems.

The addition of a geodesic acceleration term can allow significant increase in convergence speed and it is especially useful when the algorithm is moving through narrow canyons in the landscape of the objective function, where the allowed steps are smaller and the higher accuracy due to the second order term gives significant improvements.

Example

In this example we try to fit the function $$y = a \cos\left (bX\right ) + b \sin\left (aX\right )$$ using the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm implemented in GNU Octave as the leasqr function. The graphs show progressively better fitting for the parameters $$a = 100$$, $$b = 102$$ used in the initial curve. Only when the parameters in the last graph are chosen closest to the original, are the curves fitting exactly. This equation is an example of very sensitive initial conditions for the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm. One reason for this sensitivity is the existence of multiple minima — the function $$\cos\left (\beta x\right )$$ has minima at parameter value $$\hat\beta$$ and $$\hat\beta + 2n\pi$$.

title: Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm


text:
Philip Simmons

Philip Simmons (June 9, 1912 – June 22, 2009) was an American artisan and blacksmith specializing in the craft of ironwork. Simmons spent 78 years as a blacksmith, focusing on decorative iron work. When he began his career, blacksmiths in Charleston made practical, everyday household objects, such as horseshoes. By the time he retired 77 years later, the craft was considered an art form rather than a practical profession.

Examples of Simmons' work, including iron gates, can be seen throughout the city of Charleston, South Carolina, as well as the rest of South Carolina Lowcountry. His pieces are displayed at the Smithsonian Museum, South Carolina State Museum, Paris, France, and China.

Biography
Philip Simmons was born on June 9, 1912, in Daniel Island, South Carolina. He was raised by his grandparents, before being sent to Charleston in 1920 to live with his mother when he was 8 years old. Simmons resided on Vernon Street and enrolled in school at the Buist Elementary School, which is now known as the Buist Academy. Later in his life, Simmons would design and create the iron arch which now stands over the school's entry gate.

Simmons became interested in the craftspeople who lived in his neighborhood, and soon began visiting various workshops near his home. In particular, Simmons became interested in a smithy on Charlotte Street run by Peter Simmons, who was not related to Philip. Philip Simmons soon quit school and began an apprenticeship with Peter Simmons, a former slave, when he was 13 years old. He became a full blacksmith when he was 18 years old, after a five-year apprenticeship.

Simmons began working with ornamental and decorative ironwork in 1938 at his own blacksmith shop.

In the early 1940s, Simmons began working with a Charleston businessman named Jack Krawcheck. Krawcheck commissioned a wrought iron gate for the rear of his store, which was located on King Street. However, Simmons had to create the gate out of scrap iron because the demand for iron during World War II made it impossible to acquire new iron. This was the first iron gate that Simmons ever crafted and delivered to a customer. The Krawcheck family would ultimately acquire more than 30 iron pieces from Simmons during his career.

Though he had begun working on ornamental ironwork in 1938, the Krawcheck gate marked a turning point in Simmons' career as an iron artisan. Over the course of his seven decades long career, Simmons created over 500 separate pieces, including iron balconies, window grilles, fences and gates. For example, Simmons forged and designed five iron gates along Stolls Alley in Charleston alone. In 1976, he created a "star and fish gate" for the Smithsonian Institution, which was designed to look like the fish was swimming.

Simmons also created smaller, metal objects to supplement his income, including tools, shutter dog and fireplace pokers. In 1970, Simmons created a cup holder for a Volvo, which was crafted from a coat hanger.

Most of his work was created at his workshop at his home on Blake Street.

Recognition
John Michael Vlach, an author and professor of American studies at George Washington University, penned a biography of Simmons and his work in a 1981 book entitled Charleston Blacksmith: The Work of Philips Simmons. The book was re-released as a second, updated edition eleven years later. In a separate essay called, "The Buildings of Charleston," Vlach later wrote of Simmons' career, "At the outset of his career he took orders; now he gives them...In the midst of his time-bound trade and even while preserving the historic appearance of Charleston, he remains his own man. He has found self-expression in the communal tradition."

The National Endowment for the Arts bestowed Simmons with a National Heritage Fellowship in 1982. During his acceptance speech at the ceremony, which Simmons gave following a performance by a blues group, Simmons remarked, "My instrument is an anvil. I guess some of you have heard me play ... a tune on the anvil, the old blacksmith tune. ... I'm proud of that anvil, really proud. ... That anvil fed me when I was hungry and that anvil clothed me when I was naked. That anvil put shoes on my feet."

Although he officially retired at age 75, Simmons continued to teach his craft to younger artisans late into his life. In 1991, the Vestry of his church, St. John's Reformed Episcopal Church, formed the Philip Simmons Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization to develop and maintain a commemorative garden on the grounds of the church as a tribute to the man and his work. The church and garden is located at 91 Anson Street in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. In 2004, a gate designed by Simmons and executed by artisans he taught received a commemorative plaque from the General Services Administration's Art in Architecture Program.

A documentary on Simmon's life titled Keeper of The Gate won the 1995 Southeastern Regional Emmy Award in the category of Cultural Documentary. It was written and directed by David Flander. Simmons and Flander struck a friendship during filming and remained friends. They would go to local Charleston sporting events together.

In 2006, Simmons received an honorary doctorate from South Carolina State University for his contributions to the field of metalworking.

Later life
Simmons moved from his home to the Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community in Charleston in the spring of 2008. He died there on June 22, 2009, at 9 P.M. at the age of 97.

Awards and honors
Simmons was a recipient of a 1982 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. That year's fellowships were the first bestowed by the NEA. On January 31, 1994, he was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame.

South Carolina Governor David Beasley bestowed the Order of the Palmetto, the state's highest honor, on Simmons in 1998. He was later awarded the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Governor's Award for "Lifetime Achievement in the Arts" in May 2001. He was also honored by the South Carolina Legislature for his work.

Berkeley County School District honored Simmons by naming three public schools located on Daniel Island, his birthplace, after the artist and educator. These include Philip Simmons Elementary, Philip Simmons Middle and Philip Simmons High.

List of awards

 * 1982, National Endowment for the Arts, National Heritage Fellowship
 * 1982, Lifetime Achievement Award, South Carolina General Assembly for "lifetime achievement" and commissions for public sculptures by the South Carolina State Museum and the city of Charleston
 * 1994, South Carolina Hall of Fame, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
 * 1998, Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian award given in South Carolina, by Governor David Beasley
 * 2001, Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Governor's Award for "Lifetime Achievement in the Arts"

title: Philip Simmons


text:
Hilary Timmins

Hilary Timmins is a New Zealand television personality born in 1967.

Career
Timmins first appeared on New Zealand Television in 1986 after studying English literature and ancient history at Auckland University coupled with a busy modelling career – when she began her co-hosting role of the iconic NZ game show It’s in the Bag.

Born in New Zealand to Scottish parents, Timmins went on to become a household name, appearing on many successful television shows for an unbroken 22 years.

In 1992, Timmins began her long association with the New Zealand Lotto; a relationship that continued until 2008 when she left to travel abroad. In addition to scripting and creating aspects of the production, she fronted the weekly live Lotto Draw during this period. Her involvement with Lotto also stretched to the directing of many community grants and celebrity inserts, as well as appearing in numerous brand commercials and fronting sponsorship and promotional campaign including the America's Cup and Festival of New Zealand.

She also worked constantly as a guest speaker and host of corporate and black tie fundraisers, public and civic functions, as well as high-profile product endorsement and commercials.

Timmins has been actively involved in community and charity work. She was the Chief Celebrity Ambassador for Variety New Zealand and has worked as an ambassador for Skylight children's charity and Victim Support. She has interviewed many celebrities and personalities including Michael Crawford, Dannii Minogue, Christina Aguilera, Jewell, Vanessa May, Jimeoin, Russell Watson and Jonah Lomu. She is also known for filming “It’s In The Bag” from Scott Base, Antarctica, co-anchoring various telethons, hosting and performing as a singer for the Live Lotto Draw in front of a crowd of 250,000 at Xmas in the Park, Auckland and Christchurch, being New Zealand's first female game-show host on Telebingo, and sailing during elimination races on the New Zealand America's Cup yacht "Black Magic".

Timmins currently lives in London and recently wrote and directed the TV and educational series "Dream Catchers", a series about inspirational New Zealanders in the UK for which she received a Points of Light award from the then British Prime Minister Teresa May. The series also featured as part of the Oceania exhibition at the Royal Academy and is used in NZ schools as a careers guide. She is currently occupied with new writing projects. Timmins is married to New Zealand film producer/financier Robert Whitehouse.

title: Hilary Timmins


text:
Tottenham Hale

Tottenham Hale is a district of north London and part of the London Borough of Haringey, bounded by the River Lea and located to the south/south-east of Tottenham proper. From 1850 to 1965, it was part of the Municipal Borough of Tottenham, in Middlesex.

The area is currently undergoing major regeneration.

Etymology
Tottenham Hale takes its name from the old English word Hale (to hoist or pull), as goods (particularly timber) were unloaded from the River Lea for onward transport by road at this point.

Character of the area
Centred around Tottenham Hale station the area was formerly largely industrial in character with an emphasis on timber related products. The industrial sites have become large residential areas and a retail park. The retail park was looted and set alight in the 2011 England riots. Since then there have been a large-scale housing project constructed, and Haringey Council has formulated plans to redevelop the area.

The east of Tottenham Hale borders the London Borough of Waltham Forest and the Walthamstow Reservoirs including the Walthamstow Wetlands. The River Lea runs through the east of Tottenham Hale. This includes the Tottenham Lock and the Pymmes Brook merging with the river. Surrounding these are a series of residential areas: Hale Village, the Ferry Lane Estate, Heron Wharf and the under construction Hale Wharf development.

Hale Village's design is based on Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm, Sweden.

Tottenham Hale is currently part of a major regeneration programme, which includes £1 billion of development investment, backed by Haringey Council and the GLA.

Demography
The district is represented by the Tottenham Hale ward in the London Borough of Haringey. In the 2011 census the ward counted a population of 17,300. The largest ethnic group (making up 22% of the population) was Whites not of British ancestry, followed by White British (18%), Black African (16%) and Black Caribbean (13%). The median age as of 2013 was 29 years. The life expectancy was 78.1 years for males and 84.0 years for females. The median house price as of 2014 was £251,500, compared to £326,500 in the Tottenham Green ward. A majority (54.4%) of homes in the ward were flats/apartments/maisonettes.

Wildlife
The nearby Walthamstow Reservoirs and River Lea support a variety of waterfowl including herons, geese, swans, moorhens and coots.

The Walthamstow Reservoirs was awarded a Heritage Lottery grant, funding their development into Europe's largest Urban Wetland Park.

The Paddocks Nature Park provides a nesting site for birds such as song thrush, blackbird and various warblers. Weasels and hedgehogs as well as bats reside in the park.

Tottenham Hale Retail Park
Tottenham Hale Retail Park is a major 22 acre retail park located adjacent to the local tube station on Ferry Lane. The site has a total retail space of 200,000 square feet, and is occupied by retailers including Adidas, TK Maxx, Curry's, Lidl, Iceland and Costa.

Industry
The following companies are or have been located in the Tottenham Hale area:

Transport
Tottenham Hale station is on the Victoria line and also has National Rail Abellio Greater Anglia services. This includes the Stansted Express, the West Anglia Main Line and the Lea Valley Lines. The station is also part of the proposed Crossrail 2 project.

The redevelopment of Tottenham Hale bus station was completed in December 2014. The railway and Underground station was redeveloped and completed in April 2022. Work has begun on installing an extra National Rail track to increase the frequency of services.

The following bus routes serve the bus station: 41, 76, 123, 192, 230, W4, N41 and N73.

title: Tottenham Hale


text:
Public holidays in the Gambia

This is a list of public holidays in The Gambia.

Variable dates

 * 2020
 * Good Friday – April 10
 * Easter Monday – April 13
 * Qadr Night (Revelation of the Quran) – May 20
 * Korité (Breaking of the Ramadan fast) – May 24
 * Tabaski (Feast of the Sacrifice) – starts July 31
 * Ashura – starts sundown, August 28
 * Mawlid – starts at sundown, October 28
 * 2021
 * Good Friday – April 2
 * Easter Monday – April 5
 * Qadr Night (Revelation of the Quran) – May 9
 * Korité (Breaking of the Ramadan fast) – May 13
 * Tabaski (Feast of the Sacrifice) – starts July 20
 * 2022
 * Good Friday – April 15
 * Easter Monday – April 18
 * Qadr Night (Revelation of the Quran) – April 29
 * Korité (Breaking of the Ramadan fast) – May 2
 * Tabaski (Feast of the Sacrifice) – starts July 9
 * 2023
 * Good Friday – April 7
 * Easter Monday – April 10
 * Qadr Night (Revelation of the Quran) – April 17
 * Korité (Breaking of the Ramadan fast)– April 21
 * Tabaski – starts June 28
 * 2024
 * Good Friday – March 29
 * Easter Monday – April 1
 * Qadr Night (Revelation of the Quran) – April 6
 * Korité (Breaking of the Ramadan fast)– April 10
 * Tabaski (Feast of the Sacrifice) – starts June 16
 * 2025
 * Good Friday – April 18
 * Easter Monday – April 21
 * 2026
 * Good Friday – April 3
 * Easter Monday – April 6

title: Public holidays in the Gambia


text:
Hugh Bigod (Justiciar)

Hugh Bigod (c. 1211 – 1266) was Justiciar of England from 1258 to 1260. He was a younger son of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk.

In 1258 the Provisions of Oxford established a baronial government of which Hugh's elder brother Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk was a leading member, and Hugh was appointed Chief Justiciar. He also had wardship of the Tower of London, and, briefly, of Dover Castle. But at the end of 1260 or in early 1261 he resigned these offices, apparently due to dissatisfaction with the new government. Thus in 1263 he joined the royalists, and was present on that side at the Battle of Lewes. That battle took place by a village called Fletching, north of Lewes. Hugh escaped but the King and his son, Prince Edward, were taken prisoner.

Marriage and issue
Bigod married, before 5 February 1244, Joan de Stuteville (d. before 6 April 1276), widow of Hugh Wake of Bourne, Lincolnshire, and daughter and heiress of Nicholas de Stuteville by Dervorguille, daughter of Roland Fitz Uchtred, Lord of Galloway, by whom he had four sons and four daughters:

 * Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk, who married firstly Aline Basset, and secondly Alice of Hainault, but had no issue by either marriage.
 * Ralph Bigod.
 * John Bigod, a cleric, who was heir to his elder brother, Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk.
 * Richard Bigod.
 * Elizabeth Bigod.
 * Rohese Bigod.
 * Maud Bigod.
 * Joan Bigod, who married Sir Philip de Kyme.

There is no contemporary evidence for the assertion, first recorded in the seventeenth century, that Bigod had an earlier wife called Joanna Burnard (or Burnet or Burnell); if indeed a Hugh Bigod married Joanna, it probably was his father that did so.

title: Hugh Bigod (Justiciar)


text:
Tottenham Hale station

Tottenham Hale is an interchange station located in Tottenham Hale, North London for London Underground and National Rail services.

On the National Rail network it is on the West Anglia Main Line, 6 mi from London Liverpool Street, and is served by Greater Anglia and Stansted Express. On the Underground it is on the Victoria line between Blackhorse Road and Seven Sisters. The station is in Travelcard Zone 3.

The station was opened in 1840, with Underground services added in 1968. A new station building and an additional platform has been added as part of a regeneration scheme.

19th century
Locations served by Tottenham Hale trains in previous years included London St Pancras (via the Tottenham and Hampstead Joint Railway), North Woolwich via the low level platforms at (after the Palace Gates Line service was cut back) and York (via Cambridge and the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway). Until recently, the next station served to the south on the line to was Clapton, but only a small number of trains to and from Tottenham Hale served Clapton. Clapton is now exclusively served by trains on the Chingford branch instead.

The station opened on 15 September 1840 as Tottenham, on the Northern & Eastern Railway (N&ER) line from Stratford in east London to Broxbourne in Hertfordshire. The Northern and Eastern Railway was leased by the Eastern Counties Railway in 1844 who took over operation of the line. The line was initially laid to a gauge of ; however, this had already been identified as non-standard, and between 5 September and 7 October 1844 the whole network was re-laid to.

On 12 September 1858 a passenger train collided with some goods wagons that had been shunted onto the main line. Nobody was seriously injured. Eighteen months later on 20 February 1860 the station was the site of a serious railway accident when a locomotive derailed, killing the driver, fireman and seven passengers.

The Eastern Counties Railway was taken over by the Great Eastern Railway in 1862.

Until 1868 Tottenham Hale was a railhead for cattle traffic from East Anglia. Trains were unloaded there, and the cattle driven miles down what is now the A10 road towards London. In 1868 the link (since removed) to the Tottenham and Hampstead Junction Railway was opened and the cattle traffic transferred to Tufnell Park, which was closer to the site of the cattle market off Caledonian Road.

Four years later in 1872 the route via Clapton was opened, offering a slightly more direct route to Liverpool Street.

In 1875, the suffix 'Hale' was added to the station's name; this was removed in November 1938, before being restored in 1968.

In 1882 the line through Tottenham Hale became part of a major rail freight artery, with the opening of the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway. This provided a link for the Great Eastern from the coalfields in the north to London. This led to a second pair of running lines known as the Slow Lines being added in 1913. The slow lines that exist today were previously known as the fast lines.

20th century
On 29 August 1913 a northbound mail train (carrying passengers) ran into the back of a freight train just south of the station at Tottenham South Junction. The cause was a signal passed at danger in foggy conditions. Two passengers were badly injured, 16 less so.

The area was always susceptible to flooding, one of the worst instances being between 18 and 22 February 1919 when the River Lea overflowed its banks and rail traffic was suspended.

In 1919 there were, as well as the two sets of main lines, some private sidings serving local industries. Other sidings in the area were used to clean passenger rolling stock when not in service.

In 1923 operation passed to the London & North Eastern Railway, and following nationalisation in 1948 the station became part of British Railways Eastern Region.

On 12 February 1927 an express passenger train, hauled by LNER Class D15 4-4-0 No. 8808, was in collision with a lorry on a level crossing. Owing to foggy conditions, the train was not travelling at high speed.

On 4 October 1929, another accident occurred at Tottenham North Junction (just south of the station) when a goods train, hauled by LNER Class J15 0-6-0 No. 7938, passed a signal at danger and was hit by a passenger train, which was hauled by LNER Class B17 4-6-0 No. 2808 Gunton. There were no fatalities.

On 21 March 1944 (during World War Two) a number of incendiary bombs fell close to the station, destroying a lineside hut.

In 1961 the link from Tottenham South Junction to the Tottenham and Hampstead Line was closed.

On 14 July 1967 planning permission was granted for the addition of the London Underground Victoria line station. The station was renamed Tottenham Hale on 1 September 1968, when it became an interchange station with London Underground on the opening of the first stage of the Victoria line.

The Lea Valley line between Copper Mill Junction and Cheshunt was electrified at 25 kV in 1969. Many of the private goods sidings were removed at this time. Prior to electrification, between 1958 and 1969 passenger services between Cheshunt and London Liverpool Street through Tottenham Hale were normally operated by Class 125 diesel multiple units (which had been purpose-built for the line).

When sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Network SouthEast until the privatisation of British Railways.

In the late 1990s, at the same time as the Stansted Express service to Stansted Airport was started, the British Rail station at Tottenham Hale was totally rebuilt; the Underground station was revamped at the same time. None of the original Victorian station now exists.

With the privatisation of the UK's railways in 1994 operation of the station was initially allocated to a business unit which succeeded the old British Railways structure before being taken over by West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN) in January 1997.

21st century
Initially owned by Prism Rail, National Express took over operation in July 2000. In 1994 responsibility for the operational infrastructure passed to Railtrack.

In August 2002 signalling control was transferred to the Liverpool Street Integrated Electronic Control Centre (IECC).

The WAGN franchise was replaced in 2004 by One, this was renamed National Express East Anglia.

The following year, following financial difficulties, Railtrack was superseded by Network Rail.

From 11 December 2005, a new service to and from Stratford reintroduced a direct passenger connection between Tottenham Hale and Stratford via the mainly freight line across Walthamstow Marshes. For many years the only service on this route had been a parliamentary "ghost train" to Enfield Town via Stratford operated to save lengthy closure (to passenger) procedures.

In February 2012 operation of the station changed once again, with Greater Anglia taking over the franchise.

Tottenham Hale Bus Station
Tottenham Hale bus station is located beside the railway station.

Following the 2011 England riots which began in Tottenham, a redevelopment of the tube, bus and rail stations was used to encourage investment in the area. The £110 million bus and rail interchange project for Tottenham Hale was completed in 2014. As part of the project the bus station was roofed with ETFE, which is also used in the Eden Project.

The bus station roof was a finalist for Best Urban Design in the 2018 Haringey Design Awards 2018, and in the 2015 British Constructional Steelwork Association Structural Steel Design Awards.

Buses
The following bus routes serve the bus station London Buses route 41, 76, 123, 192, 230, W4, N41 and N73.

Services
Tottenham Hale is served by trains operated by Greater Anglia and on London Underground's Victoria line. Services at the station are:

National Rail
Additional services call at the station during peak periods. On Sundays, the services between Stratford and Bishops Stortford do not run, and the Hertford East services a routed to Stratford via Lea Bridge to maintain the 4tph service.
 * 8 tph to London Liverpool Street (6tph non stop, 2tph via Hackney Downs)
 * 4 tph to Stansted Airport (2 tph non-stop to Bishops Stortford, 2 non-stop to Harlow Town
 * 2 tph to Hertford East (All stations except Northumberland Park and Meridian Water)
 * 2 tph to Cambridge North (Both non-stop to Cheshunt, then 1 semi fast and 1 all stations)
 * 4 tph to Stratford (All via Lea Bridge)
 * 2 tph to Meridian Water (All stations)
 * 2 tph to Bishop's Stortford (Both semi-fast to Cheshunt, then 1 semi-fast and 1 all stations)

London Underground

 * 27 tph to Walthamstow Central
 * 27 tph to Brixton

Future
Transport for London has active plans for the station to be expanded.

Specifically, the proposed Tottenham Hale Station Upgrade development comprises the following elements:

Stages already completed are:

Those that have yet to be completed are:
 * creating a new landmark entrance to the Station;
 * increasing the capacity of the Station concourse, by doubling the size of the current ticket hall;
 * improving interchange by relocating the Greater Anglia and London Underground gatelines;
 * providing new access to platforms via the new Access for All (AfA) bridge being delivered separately by Network Rail;
 * removing the existing subway which links the south side of Ferry Lane with the Station;

 * extending the existing bridge to form a new Station entrance from Hale Village, providing improved access from the east to Tottenham Hale transport interchange;
 * re-routing the London Underground escape route and relocating the vent shaft;
 * providing a new, upgraded Station control facility; and
 * retail units.

The full plans can be seen on Haringey Council's website.

Funding is being sought to increase the number of lines from Coppermill Junction (between Lea Bridge and Tottenham Hale) and Meridian Water to provide a turn-up-and-go four trains per hour service for the Lea Valley.

In February 2013, the Crossrail task force of business group London First, chaired by former Secretary of State for Transport Andrew Adonis, published its recommendations on Crossrail 2, favouring a route almost identical to the regional option proposed by TfL in 2011. The report was endorsed by Network Rail.

This proposal will see four tracks restored through Tottenham Hale and direct links to South-West London.

title: Tottenham Hale station


text:
Public holidays in Jamaica

The following is a list of Public holidays in Jamaica, which includes Christian holidays and secular holidays.

Public holidays

 * New Year's Day, 1 January (public holiday)
 * Ash Wednesday, Between 4 February and 10 March (public holiday)
 * Good Friday, Friday of Holy Week, late March or early April(public holiday)
 * Easter Monday, Monday after Easter(public holiday)
 * Labour Day, 23 May (public holiday) People participate in community improvement projects.
 * Emancipation Day, 1 August (public holiday). Honors the 311,000 slaves freed in 1840.
 * Independence Day, 6 August (public holiday). Independence from the British Empire in 1962.
 * National Heroes Day, Third Monday of October (public holiday). Honors Alexander Bustamante, Nanny of the Maroons, and five other heroes.
 * Christmas Day, 25 December (religious and public holiday)
 * Boxing Day, 26 December (public holiday)

title: Public holidays in Jamaica


text:
Secessionist movements of Canada

There have been various movements within Canada for secession.

List
This list is composed of both historical and active movements for secession or autonomy.
 * Secessionist movements

Alberta

 * Proposed state: Flag of Alberta.svg Alberta or part as Western Canada
 * Political party: Maverick Party, Wildrose Independence Party, Independence Party of Alberta

British Columbia together with the Pacific Northwestern US (United States)

 * Proposed state: Cascadia
 * Political party: BC Cascadia Party, Cascadian Independence Party

// The Maritimes: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, & Nova Scotia
 * Ethnic group: Canadians, Acadians
 * Proposed state: Maritime Union or Flag of Acadia.svg Acadia
 * Political party: Parti acadien

Newfoundland and Labrador

 * Proposed State: Newfoundland Tricolour.svg Newfoundland and Labrador

Quebec

 * Regional group: Québécois people
 * Proposed state: Flag of Quebec.svg Republic of Quebec
 * Civil organization: Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society, Mouvement national des Québécois et des Québécoises (MNQ), Rassemblement pour l'indépendance du Québec (RIQ), Les Intellectuels pour la souveraineté (IPSO), Mouvement de libération nationale du Québec (MLNQ), Réseau de Résistance du Québécois (RRQ)
 * Labour union: Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), Fédération des travailleurs du Québec (FTQ), Union des artistes (UDA)
 * Political party: Parti Québécois, Bloc Québécois, Québec solidaire, Marxist–Leninist Party of Quebec

Saskatchewan
 * Proposed state: Flag of Saskatchewan.svg Saskatchewan or part as Western Canada
 * Political party: Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan, Maverick Party

Vancouver Island
 * Proposed state: Flag of Vancouver Island.svg Vancouver Island
 * Political party: Vancouver Island Party

/// Western Canada

 * Proposed state: Western Canada
 * Political party: Maverick Party, Western Canada Independence Party
 * Pressure group: Wexit

Alberta
 * Autonomist movements
 * Proposed autonomous area: Flag of Alberta.svg Alberta
 * Political party: Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta, Alberta Independence Party

Quebec
 * Proposed autonomous area: Flag of Quebec.svg Quebec
 * Political party: Coalition Avenir Québec, Équipe Autonomiste

Newfoundland and Labrador
There is a secessionist movement in Newfoundland and Labrador based on its unique history, and as a result of its grievances and broken promises with both the federal government and the government of Quebec. Prior to 1949, the area was a self-governing Dominion (Dominion of Newfoundland). "The root of our trouble is centred in the relationship between the two countries, between Newfoundland as a country and Canada" according to James Halley, a former lawyer involved in negotiating a deal to get Newfoundland into Canada in 1949. According to a July 2003 report, secessionism was on the rise. In 2004, a "flag flap" occurred when the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Danny Williams, removed all Canadian flags from government buildings and raised provincial flags instead. Tensions have since eased; however, a non-organized movement has emerged amongst citizens and the ability of potential premiers to appeal to a strong sense of Newfoundland nationalism is imperative to forming a government.

The secessionist movement is most commonly associated with a flag under several names, including the "Pink, White and Green", "Flag of the Republic of Newfoundland and Labrador", or officially as the Newfoundland Tricolour.

Nova Scotia
Shortly after the Confederation of three British colonies (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada) to form the Dominion of Canada in 1867, opponents of Confederation in Nova Scotia began promoting the withdrawal of that province from the new confederation. The Anti-Confederation Party won 18 of the 19 Nova Scotia seats in the new House of Commons of Canada in the 1867 general election, and 36 of the 38 seats in the Nova Scotia legislature; however, the party was unsuccessful in achieving independence for Nova Scotia.

In 1990, just before the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, then-premier John Buchanan predicted Nova Scotia and the rest of Atlantic Canada would have to join the United States if the accord failed.

Quebec
The Quebec sovereignty movement seeks independence from Canada for the province of Quebec. This movement often seeks what has been termed "sovereignty-association", which is sovereignty for Quebec within an economic association or union with the rest of Canada. Since the Quiet Revolution, the many available options have garnered support from Quebecers.

The sovereignty movement has spawned a variety of political parties, such as the Parti Québécois, a social democratic political party at the provincial level in Quebec that has governed the province for various periods since 1976, and the Bloc Québécois, which sometimes wins the majority of seats in Quebec. This party aims to promote Quebec's sovereignty and purports to defend the interests of Quebec at the federal level of government.

The Front de libération du Québec (FLQ), was a terrorist organization in the 1960s and early 1970s that used violence to promote independence for Quebec. Although they both advocated a sovereigntist agenda, the FLQ and its violent tactics were denounced by the Parti Québécois.

Since the Quiet Revolution, sovereigntist sentiments have been stoked by the patriation of the Canadian constitution in 1982 which was introduced without the consent of the National Assembly of Quebec and by numerous failed attempts at constitutional reform, which have sought to address Quebec's distinct society. Two provincial referendums, in 1980 and 1995, rejected proposals for sovereignty, with majorities of 60% in 1980 and only 50.6% in 1995, respectively. Given the narrow federalist victory in 1995, a reference was made by the Chrétien government to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1996 regarding the legality of a unilateral secession of Quebec. This resulted in the passage of the Clarity Act in 2000.

Western Canada
Numerous political parties in the western provinces, believing there to be no other solution for stemming apparent "Western alienation" by Central Canada, have sought independence. These movements are strongest in Alberta and British Columbia, but lesser ones exist in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. These movements have also assumed that Canada's northern territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut) would also be a part of a new Western Canadian union. Parties advocating Western separation include the Western Canada Concept, the Western Independence Party, and the Western Block Party. These parties have not achieved much success, however.

In the early 1980s, in Saskatchewan, the Unionest Party advocated the western provinces join the United States.

In 1995, Premier of Saskatchewan Roy Romanow secretly formed a committee on consequences if Quebec seceded. The most seriously studied option was strengthening Saskatchewan's relationships with other western provinces because Romanow said in 2014, Ontario would become closer to the US economically and Atlantic Canada would become "an island". Other possibilities included also seceding from Canada, and joining the US. Romanow said that predecessor Allan Blakeney had similarly studied options for Saskatchewan during the 1980 Quebec referendum.

On July 12, 2003, the Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan (WIPS) was created and registered as a Provincial Party, running candidates in 17 ridings in the 2003 Saskatchewan general election. It was de-registered in May 2019.

A poll by the Western Standard conducted from June 29, 2005, to July 5, 2005, finds 35.6% of residents of the four provinces think "Western Canadians should begin to explore the idea of forming their own country."

On January 12, 2020, the Wexit party, a party advocating for separation, was formed federally.

Alberta
The Alberta Independence Party promoted independence for the province of Alberta, either on its own or in union with the other western provinces, in the 1990s, but it is now defunct. The Separation Party of Alberta nominated candidates in the 2004 Alberta provincial election.

Manitoba
In January–February 1868, a small group of settlers declared a Republic of Caledonia, later the Republic of Manitobah, at Portage-la-Prairie in Hudson's Bay Company land that was to be incorporated into Canada. These settlers aimed to use this declaration to obtain favourable terms (for themselves) for the entry of the area into Confederation. The declaration was not recognized by Canadian or British authorities, and the republic soon collapsed.

In the 19th century, the Manitoban secessionist movement has support from the Fenians and secessionist Liberals.

British Columbia and Yukon
Shortly after joining Confederation, British Columbia threatened to secede after the initial failure of the transcontinental railway promises which were one of its conditions for joining Canada. During the disputes over what led to the Columbia River Treaty, BC Premier WAC Bennett threatened to take BC out of Canada - and to take Yukon as well - if Ottawa and Washington would not accede to his demands. There is an ongoing informal movement in British Columbia to create a separate country of Cascadia.

While Yukon lacks a formal separatist movement or party, there is an element of dissatisfaction in the territory as well. However, as anticipation of a Conservative government in Ottawa built, the number of Yukoners that would be in favour of secession (if it included British Columbia and Alberta) has steadily dropped from a high of 18% in August 2005 to a mere 8% by January 2006.

Many First Nations politicians and some First Nations in BC, nearly all claiming and still technically holding unceded sovereignty, want varying degrees of autonomy, with some asserting outright independence.

The Vancouver Island Party is the first secessionist movement that aims to secede from British Columbia and become a separate province by 2021, instead of leaving Canada like other secession movements.

Cascadia
The Cascadian Independence movement seeks separation from Canada and the United States.

Republic of Madawaska
The Republic of Madawaska occupied what is now the northwest corner of New Brunswick, and lies partially in Quebec and the American state of Maine. The origins of the so-called republic lie in the 1783 Treaty of Versailles, which established the border between the United States of America and the British North American colonies. The Madawaska region remained in dispute between Britain and the US until 1842. In Canada, Madawaska was considered part of Quebec until the 1850s, when the border with New Brunswick was modified. The "Republic" is now a purely ceremonial entity.

In popular culture
Occasionally regions of Canada have declared themselves to be "independent" in a non-serious, satirical or promotional way. These "movements" are taken for what they are and not considered secessionist.

Republic of Rathnelly
The Rathnelly neighbourhood in Toronto made headlines in 1967, while celebrating Canada's 100th birthday. During the celebrations, Rathnelly residents playfully declared themselves as a republic independent of Canada. To mark their independence, the "Republic of Rathnelly" elected a queen, organized a parade, and issued Republic of Rathnelly passports to everyone in the neighbourhood. The new nation conscripted all 8- to 14-year-old citizens to form a militia, known as the Rathnelly Irregulars, and armed them with 1,000 helium balloons (the Rathnelly "air force"). The "Republic of Rathnelly" continues to hold annual street parties.

title: Secessionist movements of Canada


text:
Christopher Backus

Christopher Backus is an American actor, director and screenwriter. Backus made his television debut in NBC's Will & Grace, followed by landing roles in The O.C., Life on Mars, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Sons of Anarchy, The Mentalist, Perception, and The Last Templar. He also appeared in films such as Redline starring Eddie Griffin and 3 Days Gone directed by Scott McCullough.

Early life and education
Backus grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. His mother, Teryl Backus, is a retired colonel in the United States Marine Corps, and his father, Terry Backus, was a lawyer who died when Christopher was a child. He has one sister, Michele.

Career
Backus moved with friend Rob McElhenney from New York City to Los Angeles during pilot season of 2003. Shortly after arriving, Backus landed his first role in Benjamin Splits, while McElhenney developed the sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. After landing supporting roles in NBC's hit show Will & Grace and Fox's The O.C., Backus starred opposite Dominique Swain in Nick Vallelonga's All In. He returned to television in Malik Bader's HUGE in which he portrayed a struggling frontman of an indie rock band. He starred in 3 Days Gone along with Patrick J. Adams, Nothing Personal with Paz de la Huerta, and Elevator with John Getz and Anita Briem.

Backus returned to television to play the leader of the Weather Underground in ABC's period drama Life on Mars, then he reteamed with director Nick Vallelonga on a western with Michael Biehn and James Russo, Yellow Rock.

In 2011, the feature film Union Square, co-written and directed by the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Award Winner, Nancy Savoca, was premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. In it, Backus appears alongside Mira Sorvino, Patti Lupone, Tammy Blanchard, Mike Doyle, and Michael Rispoli.

In summer 2011, Backus appeared as Marlene Dietrich in My Fair Lidy.

In 2012, he starred as Marcus in Among Friends, directed by "scream queen" Danielle Harris.

Backus was set to direct a thriller titled The Sessionist, but dropped out of the project due to creative differences.

Personal life
Backus met Mira Sorvino at a friend's charades party in August 2003. On June 11, 2004, they married in a private civil ceremony at the Santa Barbara, California, courthouse, then later had a hilltop ceremony in Capri, Italy. The couple have four children. He has also starred in films with Sorvino such as Indiscretion and Mothers and Daughters.

title: Christopher Backus


text:
Public holidays in Ghana

There are approximately thirteen nationally recognized public holidays in Ghana, a sub-Saharan country in Africa. The primary National holiday is Independence Day, which is on 6 March. It is a National Day and is set to honor the memory of Ghana's independence from the United Kingdom in 1957.

This is a list of public holidays in Ghana.

title: Public holidays in Ghana


text:
Anaerobic exercise

Anaerobic exercise is a type of exercise that breaks down glucose in the body without using oxygen; anaerobic means "without oxygen". In practical terms, this means that anaerobic exercise is more intense, but shorter in duration than aerobic exercise.

The biochemistry of anaerobic exercise involves a process called glycolysis, in which glucose is converted to adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the primary source of energy for cellular reactions.

This type of exercise leads to a buildup of lactic acid. All-out Exercise does significantly increase blood lactate levels. For further review, see the Krebs Cycle. The mitochondrial process in the cell provides the energy required before the "oxygen debt" is initiated and the body moves into an aerobic process.

Anaerobic exercise may be used to help build endurance, muscle strength, and power.

Metabolism
Anaerobic metabolism is a natural part of metabolic energy expenditure. Fast twitch muscles (as compared to slow twitch muscles) operate using anaerobic metabolic systems, such that any use of fast twitch muscle fibers leads to increased anaerobic energy expenditure. Intense exercise lasting upwards of four minutes (e.g. a mile race) may still have considerable anaerobic energy expenditure. An example is high-intensity interval training, an exercise strategy that is performed under anaerobic conditions at intensities that reach an excess of 90% of the maximum heart rate. Anaerobic energy expenditure is difficult to accurately quantify. Some methods estimate the anaerobic component of an exercise by determining the maximum accumulated oxygen deficit or measuring the lactic acid formation in muscle mass.

In contrast, aerobic exercise includes lower intensity activities performed for longer periods of time. Activities such as walking, jogging, rowing, and cycling require oxygen to generate the energy needed for prolonged exercise (i.e., aerobic energy expenditure). For sports that require repeated short bursts of exercise, the aerobic system acts to replenish and store energy during recovery periods to fuel the next energy burst. Therefore, training strategies for many sports demand that both aerobic and anaerobic systems be developed. The benefits of adding anaerobic exercise include improving cardiovascular endurance as well as build and maintaining muscle strength and losing weight.

The anaerobic energy systems are:
 * The alactic anaerobic system, which consists of high energy phosphates, adenosine triphosphate, and creatine phosphate; and
 * The lactic anaerobic system, which features anaerobic glycolysis.

High energy phosphates are stored in limited quantities within muscle cells. Anaerobic glycolysis exclusively uses glucose (and glycogen) as a fuel in the absence of oxygen, or more specifically, when ATP is needed at rates that exceed those provided by aerobic metabolism. The consequence of such rapid glucose breakdown is the formation of lactic acid (or more appropriately, its conjugate base lactate at biological pH levels). Physical activities that last up to about thirty seconds rely primarily on the former ATP-CP phosphagen system. Beyond this time, both aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis-based metabolic systems are used.

The by-product of anaerobic glycolysis—lactate—has traditionally been thought to be detrimental to muscle function. However, this appears likely only when lactate levels are very high. Elevated lactate levels are only one of many changes that occur within and around muscle cells during intense exercise that can lead to fatigue. Fatigue, which is muscle failure, is a complex subject that depends on more than just changes to lactate concentration. Energy availability, oxygen delivery, perception to pain, and other psychological factors all contribute to muscular fatigue. Elevated muscle and blood lactate concentrations are a natural consequence of any physical exertion. The effectiveness of anaerobic activity can be improved through training.

Anaerobic exercise also increases an individual's basal metabolic rate (BMR).

Examples
Anaerobic exercises are high-intensity workouts completed over shorter durations, while aerobic exercises include variable-intensity workouts completed over longer durations. Some examples of anaerobic exercises include sprints, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and strength training.

title: Anaerobic exercise


text:
Talk:British and Irish Quidditch teams

Would it be better if all the subarticles didn't start with the same preamble, which is essentially the same as at the top of the page? Best, mat_x 12:08, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Adding new details
When adding new details for teams, please keep to the template below for consistency and ease of reading. Thanks - Curlyjimsam 08:30, 26 Sep 2004 (UTC).

Founded:

Robes:

Location:

Achievements:

Notable players:

Other information:

pictures for each of the quidditch teams
I've created shields for each of the teams. I'm sure others could do better but these might do until others eventuate. Anyone think we should include illustrations in this article? I'll need some instruction in uploading if so.Astonspider 17:24, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Ballycastle bats
There is a Ballycastle in County Mayo as well. How do we know the Co Antrim town is homes of the Bats? user:Sevenplusone 00:29, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Gregorgovitch Dragomir
I don't quite remember, but isn't Gregorgovitch Dragomir, the chaser from Chudley Cannons, actually Dragomir Gorgovitch? When Harry had the "dream" thing about Gregorovitch, the wandmaker, and Ron asked him if he was thinking about Gorgovitch, the chaser from Chudley Cannons. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.59.23.140 (talk • contribs)

 * Yes, you're right. But it's Gorgovich. —MC 18:00, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Dumbledore's support
Is there any textual evidence that Dumbledore supports the Chudley Cannons? I was under the impression that he was a Puddlemere United supporter (Quidditch through the Ages - "May I also take this opportunity to wish Puddlemere United the best of luck this season." Frickeg 05:10, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

Book seven - any quote would be a spoiler (and, despite any policy, I think we should avoid that here) but it's made pretty clear. Bduddy 05:57, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

No it didn't, it was just a comparrison. He was just saying that because most Quidditch supporters would know that the Chudley Cannons are rubbish and finish in last place every year. There is no evidence to state that Dumbledore himself is a fan of them.Wild ste 10:50, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

title: Talk:British and Irish Quidditch teams


text:
Talk:Lladró

Current To Do list

 * Lladró family
 * Major Collections
 * Picture or two.
 * "Little Pals" (history section) The original price is in the Authorised Reference Guide, what was it? I think it was $95 but need to confirm
 * Marketing - provide examples of name changes through a run, and of names that don't directly translate from the Spanish.

Anything else?

How about a discussion of the NAO line. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.4.59.205 (talk) 05:46, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Pronunciation
The user 81.225.31.119 pointed out that the double "L" in Lladró is pronounced with a "J" sound in some regions of the world. Although this is true, it is not so for the whole wide world. If one is to mention one method of pronunciation, we should provide other pronunciations (correct or not) so that the readers know what they are hearing on the streets and reading on Wikipedia are, in fact, the same subject. Also, the sentence can be improved by adding a more professional tone and widely accepted English dictionary type pronunciation characters (since this IS en.wikipedia.org). BTW, in Japan, Lladró is pronounced "Li A Do Ro" and registered under that pronunciation because of a import/export misfiling in the early days. --Emana 15:19, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

 * Actually, since Lladró is a catalan word, it should be pronounced "lyaDRO".

 * The pronounciation would be yaDRO, with the first part said as "yeah". The "ja" pronounciation )english ja, not spanish ja) would be spanish from Argentina, not from Spain, or English.

 * I think it would be best to remove it, because of the confusion.168.122.160.46 06:04, 19 March 2006 (UTC)

The user 81.225.31.119 has not responded in over two months. I think we have come to the conclusion that the pronunciation of "Lládro" differs in all parts of the world. The fact that the Lládro company has registered their name in the local pronunciation in foreign countries shows that THE company is open to many pronunciations. Therefore I see it fit to remove the original post by 81.225.31.119. Those who diagree may continue with this discussion and/or add to the article in a more neutral and educated manner. --Emana 16:37, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

Quality?
Is there an objective standard by which Lladro's product can be described as "high quality"? If not, should the phrase be removed? Tsuguya (talk) 02:41, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

title: Talk:Lladró