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Fat Pizza

Fat Pizza is a 2003 Australian comedy film based on the Pizza television series, both of which were created, produced, written and starred in by Paul Fenech. The film's story takes place between seasons two (episode "Desert Pizza") and three (episode "Brand New Pizza") of the television series. It features Rebel Wilson's first movie credit.

It was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures and SBS Independent (uncredited). It was filmed in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, specifically Bass Hill and Chullora. Scenes were also filmed in the Hills District of Sydney, at Kellyville and Norwest Business Park. It was released by Roadshow Entertainment on 10 April 2003 and made $2,146,843 at the box office.

Plot
The film is set in Canterbury-Bankstown and opens with the protagonist, Pauly (Paul Fenech), claiming that the following events are all true and that real names are used.

Pauly arrives late at work to find his employer, Bobo (Johnny Boxer), has hired a new delivery driver, Davo (Jason Davis). Pauly explains to Davo that Bobo is crazy from being a forty-year-old virgin who lives with his mother, but is getting married the next day to a Vietnamese mail-order bride, Lin Chow Bang (Tuyen Le), who is sneaking into the country illegally. Pauly then shows Davo the "Former Employee Hall of Shame", which features Sahib (Desan Padayachee), who was forced out for being too polite and not tough enough. In retribution for being fired, Sahib and his friends opened their own pizzeria, Phat Pizza.

Later on, Pauly gets into a traffic accident with clown mascot Ronnie Mcdoggle (George Kapiniaris), whom Pauly mocks and assaults. Dozens more clown mascots surround Pauly, forcing him to single-handedly fight them all off, after which the clowns decide to back down and Pauly flees the scene in his delivery car. Ronnie and his fellow clown mascots later show up at the Pizzaria to look for Pauly, but Bobo scares them away with his chainsaw.

Meanwhile, Davo is late delivering a pizza to a house of bikies. While looking around the delivery address, he finds a drug lab producing homemade steroids and a large amount of marijuana. He is then discovered by the bikie gang who fight with and subdue Davo. The bikies are about to kill Davo as the lab catches light and explodes as a result of Davo dropping a joint during the fight. Davo and the bikies survive the explosion, but Davo is able to escape. Back at the Pizzeria, Davo meets fellow delivery driver Sleek the Elite (Paul Nakad), who tells him how he feigns romantic interest in unattractive women so he can meet and sleep with their attractive friends. Sleek then details how he has another delivery driver, Habib (Tahir Bilgic) secretly film his sexual encounters without the women's knowledge. Sleek then asks Davo what he used to do before becoming a pizza deliverer, which Davo reveals he was a heavy marijuana user, and that he got the pizza delivery job after getting arrested for possession of marijuana and being sencenced to six years of work release due to prison overpopulation.

While Pauly is getting ready to go clubbing with the other delivery drivers, as well as with Habib and Rocky (Rob Shehadie), Sahib steals his employee uniform from his clothes line and uses it to sneak into the pizzeria and tamper with the phonelines, redirecting all incoming calls to steal their business. Upon leaving, he is spotted by a group of the clown mascots who mistake him for Pauly and beat him up. As a result of their tampering, Phat Pizza then receives a phone call from the bikie gang asking for their address. Meanwhile, Bobo is forced to stay back at the Pizzaria while a Department of Health worker performs a safety inspection, but after the worker insults Bobo's mother, Bobo kills him by forcing him into the oven. During the night out with the other delivery drivers, Sleek runs into Toula (Rebel Wilson), one of the girls he has been leading on. Toula and her friends drug Sleek and abduct him. Upon awaking, they tell Sleek that they are sick of him using them to date their attractive friends and rape him as an act of revenge.

Come the next day, Sleek is on his way to the wedding when he is attacked by a coalition of organised crime syndicates who have allied against Sleek because the mafia leaders' daughters were victims of Sleek and Habib's voyeurism. Scared for his life, Sleek calls Habib and Rocky for help, who rallies a Lebanese mob to come to Sleek's defence. However, Rocky discovers that his sister was one of the girls Sleek slept with and had Habib film, leading him to turn on Sleek and join the gangs in beating him and Habib up. Bobo, his bride and their guests discover at the wedding that the priest quadruple booked the church, causing the priest to hastily marry all of the couples. Pauly then declares in a cut-away that "At this point, all that was left to do was go and get pissed".

In the post-credit scenes, Sleek calls Bobo from the hospital to ask for workers compensation only to be fired. The bikie gang members then kill the Phat Pizza employees mistaking them for the staff of Fat Pizza.

Reception
The film received a mostly positive response from critics. Adrian Martin, a PhD in Film Style, gave the film a 3 out of 5 rating, praising it for its strong, outrageous jokes, saying they elevate it above most Australian comedies. Martin also commended its energy, brash confidence and appeal to its target audience. Louise Keller of Urban Cinefile said that the film's offensive humour was "very funny" and praised it for being irreverent, high-energy and over-the-top.

Controversy
The film was a source of controversy because of its use of vulgar humour, racial stereotypes and ethnic slurs (including choco, for non-white people). Some have argued that the portrayal of ethnic-minority characters in the film links vulgarity to ethnic identity and social class. The film is also accused of disingenuously passing off its representations of ethnic minorities as satire to excuse its harmful implications. As such, it is an example of self-stereotyping, like other Australian ethnic-minority lead comedies are.

A counterargument to this that has been raised is that the film gives representation to ethnic minorities, such as Lebanese and Vietnamese people, who were previously absent from Australian comedy and that it is an example of ethnic minorities representing themselves and pushing against mainstream representations. Therefore, Fat Pizza—among other films—marks a shift in the representation of minorities in Australian media away from sensitive, serious portrayals towards market driven entertainment (Khorana, 2019). The favored reception of the film is argued to represent a large, youthful, ethnic-minority audience looking for an outlet against being minoritized in Australian media.

Paul Fenech stated in an interview "It's a very hard country for a lot of people to survive, and that's why people come to my shows, doesn't matter whether they are Greek or bogan."

Sequel
The television show for which the film was adapted from went on to be renewed for another three seasons, which aired in mid-2003 (several months after the movie was released), 2005 and 2007 on SBS. A crossover film between Fat Pizza and Housos – another television show created by Paul Fenech – was released on 27 November 2014. The Fat Pizza television show was revived for a sixth season in 2019 by Paul Fenech and premiered on 7mate, November, 2019.

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

title: Fat Pizza


text:
Misato Watanabe

Misato Watanabe (渡辺 美里) is a Japanese pop singer.

Albums

 * Eyes (2 October 1985)
 * Lovin' you (2 July 1986)
 * Breath (15 July 1987)
 * Ribbon (28 May 1988)
 * Flower bed (1 July 1989)
 * Tokyo (7 July 1990)
 * Lucky (6 July 1991)
 * Hello Lovers (8 July 1992)
 * Big Wave (21 July 1993)
 * Baby Faith (7 September 1994)
 * She loves you (15 July 1995)
 * Live Love Life (13 November 1995)
 * Spirits (12 July 1996)
 * Hadaka no Kokoro (1 July 1998)
 * Sweet 15th Diamond (Compilation Album) (19 July 2000)
 * Love♥Go Go!! (19 July 2000)
 * Uta no Ki - Gift (6 December 2000)
 * Café mocha – Uta no Ki - (20 March 2002)
 * soleil (10 July 2002)
 * The Legend Misato Watanabe Golden 80's Collection (Compilation Album) (1 January 2003)
 * ORANGE (6 August 2003)
 * Blue Butterfly (14 July 2004)
 * Uta no Ki seasons "Fuyu" (17 November 2004)
 * Uta no Ki seasons "Haru" (23 February 2005)
 * Uta no Ki seasons "Natsu" (25 May 2005)
 * M Renaissance (13 July 2005)
 * Uta no Ki seasons "Aki" (24 August 2005)
 * Sing and Roses – Uta to Bara no Hibi - (23 November 2005)
 * Kokoro Ginga (4 July 2007)
 * Dear My Songs (8 October 2008)
 * Song Is Beautiful (Best Album) (27 January 2010)
 * Serendipity (3 August 2011)
 * ID (7 August 2019)

Singles

 * 'I'm Free' (2 May 1985)
 * 'Growin' Up' (25 August 1985)
 * 'Shinderu mitai ni Ikitaku nai (=Don't want to live like the dead)' (5 December 1985)
 * 'My Revolution' (12 January 1986)
 * 'Teenage Walk' (2 May 1986)
 * 'Long Night' (21 July 1986)
 * 'Believe' (22 October 1986)
 * 'It's Tough / Boys Cried (Ano toki kara kamo shirenai (=Perhaps from that time))' (2 May 1987)
 * 'Kanashii ne (=Sad, isn't it?)' (2 December 1987)
 * 'Koi shitatte Ii janai (=Love as I want to)' (21 April 1988)
 * 'Senchimentaru Kangarū (=Sentimental Kangaroo)' (21 July 1988)
 * 'Kimi no Yowasa (=Your weakness) / 10 years' (21 October 1988)
 * 'Mūnraito Dansu (=Moonlight Dance)' (1 June 1989)
 * 'Suki (=I love you)(Apricot Mix)' (1 September 1989)
 * 'Niji o Mitakai (=Have you ever seen the Rainbow?)' (21 October 1989)
 * 'Samãtaimu Burūsu (=Summertime Blues) / Boys kiss Girls' (12 May 1990)
 * 'Koi suru Pankusu (=Punks in Love)' (1 July 1990)
 * 'Home Planet – Chikyū koso Watashi no Ie (=The Earth is my home) -' (22 August 1990)
 * 'Power – Ashita no Kodomo (=Children of the future) -' (21 September 1990)
 * 'Sotsugyo(=Graduation)' (18 April 1991)
 * 'Natsu ga Kita! (=Summer has come!)' (21 June 1991)
 * 'Kurisumasu made Matenai (Yukidaruma Version) (=I can't wait until Christmas)' / Jump (Daimajin Version) (21 November 1991)
 * 'My Revolution -Dai 2 sho-(Chapter Two)' (22 April 1992)
 * 'Naichaisou dayo (=About to cry)' (10 June 1992)
 * 'Merī-gõ-rando (=Merry-Go-Round)　/ Aozora (=Blue Sky) (21 November 1992)
 * 'Itsuka Kitto (=Someday, surely)' (1 February 1993)
 * 'Big Wave Yatte kita (=All the way came the Big Wave)/ Sunao ni Nakeru Hi Waraeru Hi (=The days I could cry and laugh honestly)' (1 July 1993)
 * 'Manatsu no Santakurõsu (=Midsummer's Santa Claus)' (21 May 1994)
 * 'Cheri ga Mittsu Narabanai (=Three cherries going different ways)' (1 August 1994)
 * 'Sincerely' (1 February 1995)
 * 'Sekai de Ichiban Tōi Basho (=The farthest place in the world)' (1 June 1995)
 * 'My Love Your Love – Tatta Hitori sika inai Anata he (=To the one and only you)-' (17 June 1996)
 * 'Issho dane (=We will be together, won't we?)' (28 May 1997)
 * 'Natsu no Uta (=The Summer Song)' (30 July 1997)
 * 'Sugao (=Natural face)' (21 February 1998)
 * 'Taiyō wa Shitte iru (=Summer knows)' (20 June 1998)
 * 'Atarashii Hibi (=The new days) / Kurisumasu wa Dōsuru no (=What are you doing for Christmas?)' (21 November 1998)
 * 'Motto Toku he (=Further away) / Shinkokyū (=Deep breath)' (24 May 2000)
 * 'Araburu Mune no Shinbaru Narase (=Hit the cymbal of my careless heart)' (2 August 2000)
 * 'Natsuyaki Tamago (=The summer burning egg)' (18 July 2001)
 * 'Yasashiku Utatte (=Sing softly) – Killing me softly with his song -' (20 February 2002)
 * 'You – Atarashii Basho (=The new venue) – / Hana (=Flower) – Kono Boku de Ikite Yuku (=I'll live with this me) -' (24 April 2002)
 * '12 gatsu no Kamisama (=God of December)' (4 December 2002)
 * 'Doraemon no Uta (=The song of Doraemon)' (18 June 2003) – An opening song for Doraemon
 * 'Koyubi (=Little finger)' (16 July 2003)
 * 'Jũ no Himitsu (=10 Secrets)' (17 December 2003)
 * 'Tomato / No Side' (19 October 2005)
 * 'Onegai Taiyō – natsu no kiseki (=Please sun – The miracle (or footstep) of summer)' (21 June 2006)
 * 'Aoi Tori (=Blue bird)' (27 September 2006)
 * 'Sono te o tsunaide (=Take that hand)' (14 March 2007)
 * 'yes' (6 February 2008)

DVD

 * Seibu Stadium Live History 1986 – 1999 – Sweet 15th Diamond Born 2000 - (19 July 2000)
 * Uta no Ki – Welcome (6 December 2000)
 * Misato Born Aug 1986 – Mar 1987 (21 November 2001)
 * Misato born II Aug 1987 – mar 1988 (21 November 2001)
 * Misato – sad songs born II special edition (21 November 2001)
 * Misato born III Flower bed from eZ the Movie (21 November 2001)
 * Misato born IV Ai to Kando no Cho-Seishun Live (21 November 2001)
 * Misato born V tokyo 1990 (21 November 2001)
 * Misato born special version misato clips (21 November 2001)
 * Ultra Misato born VI (21 November 2001)
 * Stadium Densetsu born VII (21 November 2001)
 * Misato born 8 Brand New Heaven (21 November 2001)
 * She loves you born 9 10th anniversary video collection 1985 – 1995 (21 November 2001)
 * Misato born 10 Free Spirits Tour (21 November 2001)
 * Jya Jya Uma Narashi Tour '02 (3 December 2003)
 * Stadium Legend forever 1986 – 2005 BORN FINAL (21 December 2005)
 * Misato Stadium Legend V20 saishusho No Side (21 June 2006)
 * Uta no ki gift box (29 November 2006)
 * Voice I (18 July 2007)
 * Misato Matsuri 2006 (Blu-ray Disc) (5 December 2007)

title: Misato Watanabe


text:
Martin Armstrong (writer)

Martin Donisthorpe Armstrong (2 October 1882 – 24 February 1974) was an English writer and poet, known for his stories.

Armstrong was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, and educated at Charterhouse and Pembroke College, Cambridge.

During World War I he volunteered with the British Army and served in France as a Private in the Artists' Rifles. He was commissioned into the 8th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, T.F. in 1915 and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1916. He was included in the final Georgian Poetry anthology.

He married in 1929 Canadian writer Jessie McDonald after she had divorced Conrad Aiken, making Armstrong the stepfather of the young Joan Aiken. He appears in disguised form as a character in Conrad Aiken's Ushant.

Works

 * Exodus (1912) poems
 * Thirty New Poems (1918)
 * Lady Hester Stanhope (1920) biography
 * The Buzzards and Other Poems (1921)
 * The Puppet Show (1922) stories
 * Jeremy Taylor, A selection from his works (1923) editor
 * The Foster-Mother (n.d.)
 * The Bazaar and Other Stories (1924)
 * The Goat and Compasses (1925) novel
 * Desert, a Legend (1926) novel
 * The Stepson (1927) novel [published in the U.S. as The Water is Wide]
 * Sir Pompey and Madame Juno (1927) stories
 * Saint Hercules and Other Stories (1927), Paul Nash illustrator
 * St. Christopher's Day (1928) novel
 * Portrait of the Misses Harlowe (1928) story
 * The Three-Cornered Hat (1928) translation
 * Laughing (1928) essay
 * The Sleeping Fury (1929) novel
 * The Bird-catcher and other poems (1929)
 * The Fiery Dive and Other Stories (1929)
 * Adrian Glynde, A Novel (1930)
 * Collected Poems (1931)
 * Blind Man's Mark (1931)
 * The Paintbox, "How and Why" Series (1931)
 * The Romantic Adventures of Mr. Darby and of Sarah his Wife (1931) novel
 * The Fothergill Omnibus (1931) anthology
 * Lover's Leap (1932)
 * Fifty-four Conceits: A Collection of Epigrams and Epitaphs Serious and Comic (1933)
 * General Buntop's Miracle and Other Stories (1934)
 * The Major Pleasures of Life (1934) an Anthology selected and arranged by Armstrong
 * Venus Over Lannery (1936) novel
 * A Case of Conscience and Other Tales (1937)
 * Spanish Circus: Charles IV of Spain (1937)
 * The Snake in the Grass (1938) novel
 * Victorian Peepshow (1938) autobiography
 * Simplicity Jones and Other Stories (1940)
 * Chichester Concert (1944) ode
 * George Borrow (1950)
 * Selected Stories (1951)
 * The Crumb for the Bird (1970)

title: Martin Armstrong (writer)


text:
John Braxton Hicks

John Braxton Hicks (23 February 1823 – 28 August 1897) was a 19th-century English medical doctor who specialised in obstetrics.

Early life and education
He was born to banker Edward Hicks (b. 1785 - d. 1861) in Rye, Sussex. He was educated privately and in 1841 entered Guy's Hospital Medical School. He obtained his MB at the University of London in 1845 and an MD in 1851. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1866.

Career
In 1856 Hicks was appointed assistant obstetric physician at Guy's Hospital and full physician in 1868. In 1888 he became obstetric physician at St Mary's Hospital, London. Hicks was the first physician to describe the bipolar and other methods of the version of a fetus. In 1872, he described the uterine contractions not resulting in childbirth now known as Braxton Hicks contractions.

In 1862 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society by virtue of his interest in Natural History, about which he wrote numerous papers. He gave the Hunterian Oration to the Hunterian Society in 1868 and was elected their president for 1879.

Personal life
Hicks fathered coroner Athelstan Braxton Hicks (b. 1854 - d. 1902).

Death
Hicks died at Barratt Homes of The Brackens, Brackley, West Northamptonshire, England on August 28, 1897 at age 74 and is buried at St Thomas Church, Winchester, Hampshire. In his honor, an obstetric ward at St Thomas' Hospital was named after him (now currently closed).

title: John Braxton Hicks


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Ad fontes

Ad fontes is a Latin expression which means "[back] to the sources" (lit. "to the sources"). The phrase epitomizes the renewed study of Greek and Latin classics in Renaissance humanism, subsequently extended to Biblical texts. The idea in both cases was that sound knowledge depends on the earliest and most fundamental sources.

History
The phrase ad fontes occurs in Psalm 42 of the Latin Vulgate:

"Quemadmodum desiderat cervus (or Sicut cervus desiderat) ad fontes aquarum ita desiderat anima mea ad te Deus. (As a hart longs for the flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God.)"

The phrase in the humanist sense is associated with the poet Petrarch, whose poems Rerum Vulgarium Fragmenta (c.1350) use the deer imagery of the Psalm.

Erasmus of Rotterdam used the phrase in his De ratione studii ac legendi interpretandique auctores: "Sed in primis ad fontes ipsos properandum, id est graecos et antiquos.

(Above all, one must hasten to the sources themselves, that is, to the Greeks and ancients.)"

For Erasmus, ad fontes meant that to understand Christ in the Gospels in an educated way involved reading good translations of the New Testament, and the Greek and Roman philosophers and Church Fathers in the five hundred years surrounding Christ, over the earlier Old Testament and later Scholastics.

The most extreme version of ad fontes was the Protestant Reformation called for renewed attention to the Bible as the primary source of Christian faith, to the extent of denying extra-biblical apostolic teaching authority: sola scriptura. This need to select a core that could reject unattractive Catholic doctrines lead to the Protestant rejection of the Deutero-canonical scriptures and queries, e.g. by Luther, on the canonicity or value of the Epistle of James.

Sylvia Wynter is quoted as suggesting that ad fontes heralded a power grab in which the formerly taken-for-granted authority of theology was replaced by “the authority of the lay activity of textual and philological scrutiny.”

The phrase is related to ab initio, which means "from the beginning". Whereas ab initio implies a flow of thought from first principles to the situation at hand, ad fontes is a retrogression, a movement back towards an origin, which ideally would be clearer or purer than the present situation.

Counter views
Ad fontes may be contrasted with various views of the development of doctrine:

 * The softest being of Aquinas, whose views according to G.K. Chesterton were that doctrine developed the way a puppy develops into a dog: not changing and compromising into a cat but "becoming more doggy not less."

 * The view of John Henry Newman "It is indeed sometimes said that the stream is clearest near the spring. Whatever use may fairly be made of this image, it does not apply to the history of a philosophy or belief, which on the contrary is more equable, and purer, and stronger, when its bed has become deep, and broad, and full."

 * The most strident, representing perhaps a less extreme version of the Joachimite heresy, was the "Manual tradition": the Scholastic tendency to use Sentences (Excerpts), Catena (commentaries), Summa (exhaustive theologies) and the subset of Scriptures used in the daily office and Mass rather than primary material in context: the other material, not being in the standard available manuscripts, was in effect jettisoned and little-known to theologians or to the public. Representative of a linear view of history, the medieval selections (which favoured Augustine over other Church Fathers) and interpretations were deemed so excellent that they superseded the primitive primary material, rendering the philology concerns of the humanists extraneous. Louvain theologian Jacques Masson, who conducted the attempts to convert William Tyndale in prison, wrote that "the genuine sense of scripture is found in its purest form in the expositions and commentaries" of the scholastic doctors.
 * The view of a number of bishops at the Council of Trent that the Vulgate was better than even the Greek originals because "it" had 1500 years of improvements, as guided by the Holy Spirit.

It may be noted that promoters of ad fontes did not necessarily deny the validity of the developments of dogma: notably Erasmus, who saw clarifications of doctrine (by Church Councils and the Pope) as a necessary part of their peace-keeping and uniting role that did not negate the wisdom of ad fontes.

title: Ad fontes


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Folk Catholicism

Folk Catholicism can be broadly described as various ethnic expressions and practices of Catholicism intermingled with aspects of folk religion. Practices have varied from place to place and may at times contradict the official doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church.

Description
Some forms of folk Catholic practices are based on syncretism with non-Catholic or non-Christian beliefs or religions. Some of these folk Catholic forms have come to be identified as separate religions, as is the case with Caribbean and Brazilian syncretism between Catholicism and West African religions, which include Haitian Vodou, Cuban Santería, and Brazilian Candomblé.

Similarly syncretism between Catholic practice and indigenous or Native American belief systems, as are common in Maya communities of Guatemala and Quechua communities of Peru are typically not named as separate religions; their practitioners generally regard themselves as good Catholics.

Other folk Catholic practices are local elaborations of Catholic custom which do not contradict Catholic doctrine and practice. Examples include compadrazgo in modern Iberia, Latin America, and the Philippines, which developed from standard medieval European Catholic practices that fell out of favor in Europe after the seventeenth century; the veneration of some local saints, and pilgrimages in medieval and modern Europe. Folk Catholic practices occur where Catholicism is a major religion, not only in the oft-cited cases of Latin America and the West Indies. Folk accommodations between Catholicism and local beliefs can be found in Gaelic Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Poland, Germany, Austria, the Philippines, and southern India.

In Ireland, openly Catholic worship was banned due to the Penal Laws. This led to storytellers inventing their own tales to teach the Gospel or add further lessons. These further lessons however often ended up contradicting the teaching of the Catholic Church. Within these stories a variety of recurring characters and themes appear such as the Virgin Mary, priests, Paul the Apostle, Satan, and Jesus himself.

In the Philippines, the custom of Simbang Gabi developed from the farming community. Simbang Gabi is a devotional nine-day series of Masses leading up to Christmas. On the last day of the Simbang Gabi, which is Christmas Eve, the service is instead called Misa de Gallo (Spanish for "Rooster's Mass"). It has an important role in Philippine culture. It has its origins in the early days of Spanish rule over the Philippines as a practical compromise for farmers, who began work before sunrise to avoid the noonday heat out in the fields. Despite being exhausted by a long day's labor, the people would still attend the customary evening novenas. In 1669, the priests began to say Mass in the early mornings instead of the evening novenas more common in the rest of the Hispanic world. This cherished Christmas custom eventually became a distinct feature of Philippine culture and became a symbol of sharing.

The Catholic Church takes a pragmatic and patient stance towards folk Catholicism. For example, it may permit pilgrimages to the site of reported apparitions (e.g. Međugorje) without endorsing or condemning belief in the reported apparitions and will often declare Marian apparitions and similar miracles "worthy of belief" (e.g. Our Lady of Fatima) or will confirm the cult of local saints without actually endorsing or recommending belief. When the Catholic Church considers that there is a blatant heresy occurring, it actively rejects it and tells Catholics to stay away from such practices. This is the case of the cult of Santa Muerte (Saint Death, a personification and veneration of death). The Church has condemned the cult as blasphemous, calling it a "degeneration of religion".

Haiti
One of the biggest and well-known folk religions is Vodou. It first appeared in Haiti in the 17th century, and has grown to a large religion which has over 60 million worshippers globally.

It began in tribal regions of the Dahomey Kingdom which is near present-day Nigeria.

Vodu is from the Fon language of Dahomey and means "god" or "spirit". Vodu and was the religion for many people in this part of West Africa. It is also the origination of the rhythmic drum beating which became a big part of worship and lwa.

Once they arrived in Haiti, the enslaved people were forbidden from practicing any religion except Christianity by their new owners. Many slaves were baptized. In order to continue worship, they adopted Catholic saints and traditions. The saints became stand-ins for their lwa; St. Peter, for instance, was Legba. In this manner, they were able to practice their faith and please the slaveowner at the same time. Something similar happened with enslaved Africans brought to other countries as well, though Vodou is one of the best examples of the syncretism that occurred between Catholicism and native West African beliefs.

Philippines
In the Philippines, among the most relevant celebration of popular Catholicism is the novena Christmas known as Simbang Gabi, which arose within the farming community and consists of a nine-day devotional gesture of masses in preparation for Christmas. On the last day of Simbang Gabi, which coincides with Christmas Eve, the most important service is held, called in Spanish Misa de Gallo ("Mass of the Rooster").

This is an ancient tradition celebrated since 1669, brought to the Philippines by Spanish missionaries: originally, the nine masses were held very early in the morning, because most of the country's inhabitants were farmers who had to go to work before dawn, to avoid being in the fields during the hottest hours of the day.

While evening novenas were more common in the rest of the Hispanic world, this Christmas custom eventually became a distinctive feature of Philippine culture and a symbol of shared participation of popular faith.

Italy

In Italy, the spread of popular Catholicism is due to three main factors:

 * the regional sense of belonging to the Catholic Church, which has its headquarters in Italy;
 * diffuse traditional forms of devotion towards Jesus, Madonnas, angels, saints and patrons that are present in every Italian region and linked to sanctuaries, symbols, relics and religious holidays;
 * the charitable and cultural activities of local Catholic aggregations.

Events that contributed to the formation of popular Italian Catholicism include the Counter-Reformation, the Council of Trent, and then the social and civil commitment of the Catholic movement between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Among the most popular saints and patrons in Italy are San Pio (Padre Pio), Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Francis of Assisi (San Francesco), Santa Rita of Cascia, St. Joseph, St. Michael, Mother Teresa, Saint Clare of Assisi, Saint Rosalia, Januarius, St. Agatha, St. Ambrose, and St. Catherine of Siena. Simon of Trent is also amongst popular figures of Italian folk Catholicism.

To the Italian peasantry, the presence of the sacred was associated with rites of traditional magic called benedicaria. This form of magic was practiced by the strolghe (le streghe, 'witches'), combining knowledge of herbs, formulas and spells with the sacraments and prayers of the Catholic Church.

Ireland
Ireland has a rich heritage of folk Catholicism. Among the many customs and practices is the tradition of holy wells. These sacred wells are scattered throughout Ireland and are visited by people seeking bodily cures, for example eye ailments. The holy wells contain water blessed by a Catholic priest or bishop and are usually dedicated to one of a myriad of native Irish saints, for example St. Senan's holy well on Scattery Island.

Another tradition is the holy ribbon. The most famous being the Brat Bhride in honour of St. Brigid. This is a piece of cloth or ribbon which is left over night on a windowsill on the eve of the saint's feast day. The belief is that the saint will pass through Ireland that night and touch the ribbon which is then kept by individuals and venerated as a holy object which may be used to help the sick or for protection. Other examples of the holy ribbon include the Ribin Cainnear in honour of St. Cainnear and St. Gobnait's Measure. Another custom in Ireland sees people take a piece of straw from the crib in a church at Christmas and this is supposed to bring financial security for the year ahead.

Germany
The Amorsbrunn chapel in Amorbach, Franconia, Bavaria, has a fountain that is purported to help in conceiving children if bathed in and is a pilgrimage site for both Christians and non-Christians, who share the water. The water's purported powers and the pilgrimage to them predates the construction of the chapel; the pre-existing sacred site was intentionally incorporated into the new building and its associated religion, i.e. Catholicism, creating a "cult of continuity". The water's powers were then attributed to "some medieval Catholic saints", but these "appear as spurious, being poorly motivated." The site's power was previously attributed to a Germanic legendary figure called Mother Holle/Holda and she was venerated there. More generally, she lives on as a fairy tale character, weather, specifically snow, maker, and general cultural figure, even appearing in movies based on the fairy tale named for her.

title: Folk Catholicism


text:
Mike Gayle

Mike Gayle (born October 1970) is an English journalist and novelist.

Biography
Gayle was born in Quinton, Birmingham, to parents from Jamaica, and is the younger brother of broadcaster Phil Gayle. He attended Lordswood Boys' School where he was Head Boy. He studied Sociology and Journalism at university.

Gayle edited a music fanzine and joined a Birmingham listings magazine before moving to London and beginning a postgraduate diploma in journalism. Before having his first novel published, he was a features editor and later an agony aunt for Just Seventeen and Bliss. As a freelance journalist he has written for the Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Times, the Daily Express, FHM, More!, The Scotsman and Top of the Pops.

Gayle is a chick-lit author, although he has expressed a dislike for the term. Alongside Tony Parsons and Tim Lott, he has also been associated with a "new wave of fictions about inadequate young British masculinities".

Gayle is friends with Danny Wallace, who has dubbed Mike his Minister of Home Affairs in the Kingdom of Lovely. He lives in Harborne with his daughters and his wife Claire.

Novels

 * My Legendary Girlfriend. London: Flame, 1998. ISBN 0-340-71816-1
 * Mr. Commitment. London: Flame, 1999. ISBN 0-340-71825-0
 * Turning Thirty. London: Flame, 2000. ISBN 0-340-76794-4
 * Dinner for Two. London: Flame, 2002. ISBN 0-340-82342-9
 * His 'n' Hers, 2004. ISBN 0-340-82537-5
 * Brand New Friend, 2005. ISBN 0-340-82539-1
 * Wish You Were Here, 2007. ISBN 0-340-82542-1
 * The Life & Soul of the Party, 2008. ISBN 0-340-82544-8
 * The To Do List, 2009. ISBN 0-340-93675-4
 * The Importance of Being a Bachelor, 2010. ISBN 0-340-91851-9
 * The Stag and Hen Weekend, 2012. ISBN 1444742825
 * Turning Forty, 2013. ISBN 978-0-340-91853-1
 * Seeing Other People, 2014. ISBN 978-1-4447-0863-9
 * The Hope Family Calendar, 2016. ISBN 978-1-4736-0895-5
 * The Man I Think I Know, 2018. ISBN 978-1-473-60899-3
 * Half a world away, 2019. ISBN 978-1-473-68733-2
 * All The Lonely People, 2020.

title: Mike Gayle


text:
Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre

Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre (formerly the Bamfield Marine Station) is a marine research station established in 1972, located in Bamfield, Barkley Sound, British Columbia and run by the University of Victoria, the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, the University of Alberta, and the University of Calgary. The Centre hosts numerous public education programs in marine related science. BC Field Trips organizes many instructional and educational programs for school-aged children at the Centre. The Centre also runs courses for university students during the summer (May to late August or early September) and during the fall (September to mid-December) through their affiliated universities.

The Centre is housed in the original building used as the western terminus of the British Empire's worldwide undersea cable called the All Red Line. Originally the site of the Pacific Cable Board (PCB) Cable Station, which served as the eastern terminus of the trans-Pacific telegraph cable linking Canada to Fanning Island (1,600 kilometres south of Hawaii). The telegraph cable operated from 1901 to 1959.

From 1969 to 1980, the Bamfield Marine Station was part of the British Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program, collecting coastal water temperature and salinity measurements for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans everyday for 11 years.

The Centre also lends continued logistical support for Folger Passage and Barkley Sound with Ocean Networks Canada.

In April 2016, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre and the Huu-ay-aht First Nations partnered with the Hakai Institute to launch a drone. The drone took a series of photos, which were then used to map portions of the Barkley Sound area.

On July 1, 2018, Dr. Sean Rogers, a biology instructor at the University of Calgary, was named director of the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre for a five-year term. Rogers has taught university courses at the Centre, and had been named acting director in 2016.

title: Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre


text:
Life Guards (United Kingdom)

The Life Guards (LG) is the most senior regiment of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry, along with The Blues and Royals.

History
The Life Guards grew from the four troops of Horse Guards (exclusively formed of gentlemen-troopers until the transformation of the last two remaining troops into Regiments of Life Guards in 1788) raised by Charles II around the time of his restoration, plus two troops of Horse Grenadier Guards (rank and file composed of commoners), which were raised some years later.
 * The first troop was originally raised in Bruges in 1658 as His Majesty's Own Troop of Horse Guards. They formed part of the contingent raised by the exiled King Charles II as his contribution to the army of King Philip IV of Spain who were fighting the French and their allies the English Commonwealth under the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell in the Franco-Spanish War and the concurrent Anglo-Spanish War.
 * The second troop was founded in 1659 as Monck's Life Guards.
 * The third troop, like the first troop was formed in 1658 from exiled Royalists and was initially known as The Duke of York's Troop of Horse Guards.
 * The fourth troop was raised in 1661 in England.
 * The first troop of horse grenadier guards was formed in 1693 from the amalgamation of three troops of grenadiers.
 * The second troop of horse grenadier guards was raised in Scotland in 1702.

These units first saw action during the Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1672 and then at the Battle of Sedgemoor during the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685.

The 3rd and 4th troops were disbanded in 1746. In 1788, the remaining 1st and 2nd troops, along with the two troops of Horse Grenadier Guards, were reorganised into two regiments, the 1st and 2nd Regiments of Life Guards (from 1877, simply 1st Life Guards and 2nd Life Guards). From then on (1788), rank and file were mostly formed of commoners giving rise to their pejorative nickname: "the cheesemongers", while the bulk of the gentlemen-troopers were pensioned off.

From 1812 to 1814, two squadrons from each of the Life Guard regiments served in the Peninsular War. In 1815 they were part of The Household Brigade at the Battle of Waterloo under Major-General Lord Edward Somerset. This would be their last active service for more than 60 years, during which time they performed ceremonial and public order duties in London.

In 1821, the Life Guards under the command of Captain Oakes fired upon mourners trying to redirect the funeral procession of Queen Caroline through the city of London. Two civilians were killed. Though charges of manslaughter and murder were brought, no Life Guards were prosecuted.

Elements of the Life Guards, along with the Royal Horse Guards, formed the Household Cavalry Composite Regiment (HCCR) for active service. The HCCR was in action in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882 and the Second Boer War of 1899 to 1902. THe HCCR was mobilised again in 1914 at the start of the First World War, where they formed part of the British Expeditionary Force and fought in most of the major battles on the Western Front.

In 1918, the two Life Guards regiments gave up their horses and were re-roled as machine gun battalions, becoming the 1st and 2nd Battalions, Guards Machine Gun Regiment. They reverted to their previous names and roles after the end of the war. In 1922, the two regiments were merged into one regiment, The Life Guards (1st and 2nd). In 1928, it was re-designated The Life Guards.

During the Second World War, again forming part of the HCCR, the Life Guards undertook armoured reconnaissance duties in Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Italy. In 1944, the Life Guards took part in the Normandy landings and the advance through France to liberate Brussels. In the late 1940s, they were deployed to the Middle East, initially in Egypt, garrisoned at Kasr-el-Nil Barracks in Cairo from 1946 to 1947, and then in Palestine from 1947. In 1948, the unit left the Middle East and returned to England on leave. In 1952, it returned to Germany as part of the 11th Armoured Division.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the unit repeatedly rotated from Britain to Germany. In 1965, the unit was deployed to Asia for the first time in central Malaysia until 1968, returning to England. Like in the past decades, the unit was stationed in West Germany and England through the early to late 1970s. During its deployments, the unit always maintained a squadron in London conducting public duties. In 1971 several squadrons were deployed to Northern Ireland during The Troubles, and the regiment would see action there several more times through the mid-1970s. In March 1979, B Squadron was deployed to Cyprus as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, and this would become another location that components of the unit would be deployed to.

In 1980, the unit's headquarters would be moved from Combermere Barracks in Windsor to Lothain Barracks in Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany as a part of the 4th Armoured Division of the British Army of the Rhine, with a reconnaissance role and also tasked with the defense of part of the North German Plain. In January 1981 it became a component of the 20th Armoured Brigade. The unit provided a mounted escort for then Charles, Prince of Wales and then Lady Diana Spencer during their wedding ceremony on 29 July 1981, in London. Throughout the rest of the 1980s-1990s its headquarters moved frequently from Germany to Britain, and in January 1984 had squadrons deployed to Cyprus as part of a UN tour. In 1990-1991, the Life Guards saw action with their Challenger 1 tanks in the Gulf War.

In 1992, as part of the Options for Change defence review, The Life Guards were joined with the Blues and Royals in a 'Union', becoming part of the new Household Cavalry, classified as a corps, not an amalgamation, forming the Household Cavalry Regiment (armoured reconnaissance) and the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (ceremonial duties). However, both units maintain their regimental identity, with distinct uniforms and traditions, and their own colonel. Like The Blues and Royals, they have a peculiar non-commissioned rank structure: In brief, they lack sergeants, replacing them with multiple grades of corporal. Since the union, the Household Cavalry Regiment has seen active service in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2018, the Life Guards began admitting women. In 2020, Elizabeth Godwin became the first woman to be commissioned as an officer in the Life Guards.

Previous names
Names used by the regiment were as follows:
 * From 1788, 1st Regiment of Life Guards and 2nd Regiment of Life Guards
 * The following troops were reorganised into 1st Regiment of Life Guards
 * 1st Troop of Horse Guards
 * 1st Troop, Horse Grenadier Guards
 * and the following troops were reorganised into 2nd Regiment of Life Guards
 * 2nd Troop of Horse Guards
 * 2nd Troop (Scots), Horse Grenadier Guards
 * From 1877, 1st Life Guards and 2nd Life Guards
 * From 1922, The Life Guards (1st and 2nd)
 * From 1928, The Life Guards

Uniform
On ceremonial occasions The Life Guards wear a scarlet tunic, a metal cuirass and a matching helmet with a white plume worn bound on the top into an 'onion' shape; the exceptions to this are the regiment's trumpeters, who wear a red plume, and farriers, who wear blue tunics and have a black plume. In addition, The Life Guards wear their chin strap below their lower lip, as opposed to The Blues and Royals who wear it under their chin. On service dress The Life Guards Officers and Warrant Officers Class One wear a red lanyard on the right shoulder, as well as a Sam Browne belt. The Life Guards, as part of the Household Division, does not use the Order of the Bath Star for its officer rank "pips", but rather the Order of the Garter Star.

Battle honours
The battle honours are: [combined battle honours of 1st Life Guards and 2nd Life Guards, with the following emblazoned]:
 * Dettingen, Peninsula, Waterloo, Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, South Africa 1899–1900
 * The Great War: Mons, Le Cateau, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Messines 1914, Ypres 1914, Passchendaele 1917 '18, Somme 1916 '18, Arras 1917 '18, Hindenburg Line, France and Flanders 1914–18
 * The Second World War: Mont Pincon, Souleuvre, Noireau Crossing, Amiens 1944, Brussels, Neerpelt, Nederrijn, Nijmegen, Lingen, Bentheim, North-West Europe 1944-45, Baghdad 1941, Iraq 1941, Palmyra, Syria 1941, El Alamein, North Africa 1942–43, Arezzo, Advance to Florence, Gothic Line, Italy 1944
 * Wadi al Batin, Gulf 1991, Al Basrah, Iraq 2003.

Commanding Officers
The Commanding Officers of the regiment have been:
 * Lt Col Emerson M. Turnbull: November 1959–April 1962
 * Lt Col Julian P. Fane: April 1962–May 1964
 * Lt Col Sir James W. Scott: May 1964–October 1966
 * Lt Col Ian B. Baillie: October 1966–May 1969
 * Lt Col Henry Desmond A. Langley: May 1969–September 1971
 * Lt Col Simon E. M. Bradish-Ellammes: December 1971–December 1973
 * Lt Col Simon C. Cooper: December 1973–August 1976
 * Lt Col Andrew J. Hartigan: August 1976–October 1978
 * Lt Col Arthur B. S. H. Gooch: October 1978–February 1981
 * Lt Col James B. Emson: February 1981–July 1983
 * Lt Col Timothy J. Earl: July 1983–November 1985
 * Lt Col V. Anthony L. Goodhew: November 1985–June 1988
 * Lt Col James W. M. Ellery: June 1988–December 1990
 * Lt Col Anthony P. de Ritter: December 1990–October 1992

Colonels-in-Chief
The Colonels-in-Chief of the regiment were:
 * 21 May 1922 – 1 February 1936: King George V
 * 1 February 1936 – 10 December 1936: King Edward VIII
 * 10 December 1936 – 6 February 1952: King George VI
 * 6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022: Queen Elizabeth II
 * 8 September 2022 — present: King Charles III

Regimental Colonels
The Regimental Colonels were:
 * 1922: 	Major General The Hon. Sir Cecil Edward Bingham (from 2nd Life Guards; Joint Colonel)
 * 1922: 	Field Marshal The Rt Hon. The Viscount Allenby (from 1st Life Guards; Joint Colonel)
 * 1936–1957: Major General The Rt Hon. The Earl of Athlone
 * 1957–1965: Field Marshal The Rt Hon. The Lord Harding of Petherton
 * 1965–1979: Lieutenant General The Rt Hon. The Earl Mountbatten of Burma
 * 1979–1999: Major General The Rt Hon. Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard
 * 1999–2019: Field Marshal The Rt Hon. The Lord Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank
 * 2019–present: Lieutenant General Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne

title: Life Guards (United Kingdom)


text:
Joseph Dietzgen

Peter Josef Dietzgen (December 9, 1828 – April 15, 1888) was a German socialist philosopher, Marxist and journalist.

Dietzgen was born in Blankenberg in the Rhine Province of Prussia. He was the first of five children of father Johann Gottfried Anno Dietzgen (1794–1887) and mother Anna Margaretha Lückerath (1808–1881). He was, like his father, a tanner by profession; inheriting his uncle's business in Siegburg. Entirely self-educated, he developed the notion of dialectical materialism independently from Marx and Engels as an independent philosopher of socialist theory. He had one son, Eugene Dietzgen.

Life
Early on in his youth, Joseph Dietzgen worked with the famed Forty-Eighters of the 1848 German Revolution. It was there that he first met Karl Marx and other socialist revolutionaries, and began his career as a socialist philosopher. Following the failure of the 1848 Revolution he spent some time in the United States from 1849 to 1851, returning once again for a visit from 1859 to 1861. While in the New World he traversed the American South and witnessed first hand the lynchings which had come to characterize the slave states. During the period between his travels, Dietzgen joined the Alliance of Communists with Karl Marx back in Germany in 1852. In 1853, after marrying his wife Cordula Finke, he established his tannery business in Winterscheid (today part of Ruppichteroth), Germany. When he returned to the United States in 1859 he set up another tannery in Montgomery, Alabama. From 1864 to 1868, he lived with his son Eugene in St. Petersburg, where he was manager of the state tannery. He worked with the Tsar of Russia on improvement of the Russian methods. During his time spent in Russia he wrote one of his earliest texts, The Nature of Human Brain-Work, which was published in 1869. Upon his first reading of the text, Marx forwarded a copy to Engels, remarking, "My opinion is that J. Dietzgen would do better to condense all his ideas into two printer's sheets and have them published under his own name as a tanner. If he publishes them in the size he is proposing, he will discredit himself with his lack of dialectical development and his way of going round in circles." While he traveled, his wife managed the family tannery business back in Germany until he returned in mid-1869. Once he was back home, he was visited by Marx and his daughter, who proclaimed that Joseph had become "the Philosopher" of socialism. By 1870, Marx had embraced Dietzgen as a friend, and later praised him and his theory of dialectical materialism in the 2nd edition of the first volume of Das Kapital.

On June 8, 1878, Dietzgen was arrested following the publication of a lecture he gave in Cologne: The future of the social democracy. He spent 3 months in prison on remand before his trial was held. Although Joseph was released along with copies of his article, he was re-arrested twice and finally released. In 1881 Joseph sent his son Eugene to the United States in order to avoid the Kaiser's upcoming army draft, to safeguard his articles and documents, as well as to secure a family home in the new world. Young Eugene was 19 when he arrived in New York, but quickly jump started a thriving family business in Chicago, the Eugene Dietzgen Company. It became one of the world's top drafting and surveying supply manufacturers and distributors and remained such through most of the 20th century. The company still exists today as a division of Nashua Paper, and its two buildings still stand in Chicago's now trendy Printer's Row and Lincoln Park areas. During this period, Eugene and Joseph kept in close contact through extensive letters which are currently being documented and published. In the same year, Joseph ran for the elections of the German Reichstag (the parliament), but emigrated in 1884 to New York City. He moved to Chicago two years later, where he became editor at the Arbeiterzeitung. Unfortunately Joseph's death in 1888 marked an end to his son's dependency, but his family line would continue to be part of some of the biggest engagements of the 20th century; from World War I, to the 1936 Berlin Olympics, to the heart of World War II.

Dietzgen's words and life have for some underscored the unity that existed on the political left at the time of the First International, before Anarchists and Marxists were later divided: "For my part, I lay little stress on the distinction, whether a man is an anarchist or a socialist, because it seems to me that too much weight is attributed to this difference." This suggests he took a more concilliatory, or at least more aloof view of the disputes of the moment (see Anarchism and Marxism).

Philosophy
Dietzgen's most significant influece is generally described as specific philosophical theory of dialectical materialism, drawing from Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's concept of dialectic and materialism, in particular that of Ludwig Feuerbach (himself earlier a Young Hegelian). Similar positions were developed independently by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in their writings. According to his preface to Dietzgen's "The Positive Outcome of Philosophy", it seems the Communist Manifesto in particular was significantly influential on the development of his thought prior to his earliest philosophical works.

In the earlier "Thirteenth Letter on Logic", Joseph Dietzgen gave the following summary of his philosophical positions:

"The red thread winding through all these letters deals with the following points: The instrument of thought is a thing like all other common things, a part or attribute of the universe. It belongs particularly to the general category of being and is an apparatus which produces a detailed picture of human experience by categorical classification or distinction. In order to use this apparatus correctly, one must fully grasp the fact that the world unit is multiform and that all multiformity is a unit.

It is the solution of the riddle of the ancient Eleatic philosophy: How can the one be contained in the many, and the many in one

An explicit evocation of the Eleatics (Parmenides, Zeno of Elea and Melissus of Samos) in particular is distinctive, and sets the language apart from the "mainstream" of dialectical materialism as is more commonly considered.

After his death, Joseph's son Eugen gave the following view of the relevance of his father's philosophy:

"If the founders of historical materialism, and their followers, in a whole series of convincing historical investigations, proved the connection between economic and spiritual development, and the dependence of the latter, in the final analysis, on economic relations, nevertheless they did not prove that this dependence of the spirit is rooted in its nature and in the nature of the universe. Marx and Engels thought that they had ousted the last spectres of idealism from the understanding of history. This was a mistake, for the metaphysical spectres found a niche for themselves in the unexplained essence of the human spirit and in the universal whole which is closely associated with the latter. Only a scientifically verified criticism of cognition could eject idealism from here. (p iv)"

This prompted a negative reaction Georgi Plekhanov, as one of the earliest Russian Marxists (as well as co-founder of the Iskra magazine and Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party, and himself the author of "The Monist View of History", an attempt at an interpretation of historical materialism, and "reconstruction" of the views of Karl Marx:

"Despite all our respect for the noble memory of the German worker-philosopher, and despite our personal sympathy for his son, we find ourselves compelled to protest resolutely against the main idea of the preface from which we have just quoted. In it, the relationship of Joseph Dietzgen to Marx and Engels is quite wrongly stated'"

It is of some notability Vladimir Lenin extensively quoted the writings of Joseph Dietzgen in his later notorious polemic against Ernst Mach (and more pertinently and directly, his rival Alexander Bogdanov), Materialism and Empiriocriticism: Critical Comments on a Reactionary Philosophy (which was later made part of exemplary canon, in particular during the rule of Joseph Stalin). Besides the mentioned text, Lenin also made certain erstwhile notes concerning Dietzgen among the notes later grouped as his Philosophical Notebooks (Collected Works, Vol. 38., Lawrence & Wishart, 1980).

In the note on pages 403-406 he compared him unfavourably to Feuerbach: ...To be does not mean to exist in thought. In this respect Feuerbach’s philosophy is far clearer than the philosophy of Dietzgen. “The proof that something exists,” Feuerbach remarks, “has no other meaning than that something exists not in thought alone.”

Death
Dietzgen died at home smoking a cigar. He had taken a stroll in Lincoln Park, and was having a political discussion in a "vivacious and excited" manner about the "imminent collapse of capitalist production". He stopped in mid-sentence with his hand in the air – dead of paralysis of the heart. He is currently buried at the Waldheim Cemetery (now Forest Home Cemetery), in Forest Park, Chicago, near the graves of those executed after the Haymarket Affair (popularly known as the Haymarket Martyrs).

Legacy
Anton Pannekoek, the Dutch astronomer and council communist (a left-communist, belong to the group or position which Lenin called "Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder noted that, in "Materialism and Empirio-criticism", Lenin cited Dietzgen's penultimately composed work (the "Letters on Logic"), but not the final one to be composed ("The Positive Outcome of Philosophy").

In his 1938 book on Lenin, written after the work had already been given the status of a paradigm of philosophy in the USSR, Pannekoek included a highly critical response to the text. In particular, Pannekoek charged that Lenin had completely ignored Dietzgen's last composed philosophical work and therefore misunderstood the development of Dietzgen's thought.

It is largely through the legacy of the followers and supporters of Pannekoek and his positions (which sought support and legitimacy from Dietzgen, in particular in groups like the Council Communist Collective, that the writings of Dietzgen are most discussed and attract the most interest.

In fact, it seems Pannekoek treated Dietzgen’s writings as a key source for textual legitimacy. Besides that, there has historically remained little interest in Dietzgen beyond the lifetimes of his contemporaries.

Considering the background of Pannekoek's views, it seems his treatment of Dietzgen was in some part as a potential source of, or "license" for critique of, at least some qualities "mainstream" Marxist discourse (that would be able to maintain legitimacy within its discourse).

Though he was sometimes mentioned and of some relevance to the first “Marxist” generation, it is perhaps that much of what had been Pannekoek’s attraction to Dietzgen, was arguably already being superseded in many circles in the eyes many to whom it might have appealed. For example, one attraction may have been a desire for certain more extensive philosophical investigation as well as justification of one’s position within the bounds of, and on the basis of a strictly understood form of Marxist discourse.

In particular, it seems Dietzgen did not any others those who nevertheless intended to apply or make reference to a specifically "Marxist" normative structure of discourse, with some adherence its characteristic nominal rules for justification of positions.

With the downfall of the Second International and other developments creating new and different discursive lines of division, the more pure textual-critical approaches lost their attraction because of greater opposition to or disillusionment with, claims to authority or superseding authority on the basis of textual sources such as those that Pannekoek referenced in his polemics.

Dietzgen figured on a commemorative postage stamp issued in the German Democratic Republic.

Major works

 * Das Wesen der menschlichen Kopfarbeit, 1869, engl "The Nature of Human Brainwork",
 * "The Religion of Social Democracy" (in six sermons from 1870 to 1875).
 * "Scientific Socialism" (1873).
 * "The Ethics of Social Democracy" (1875).
 * "Social Democratic Philosophy" (1876).
 * "The Inconceivable: a Special Chapter in Social-Democratic Philosophy" (1877).
 * "The Limits of Cognition" (1877).
 * "Our Professors on the Limits of Cognition" (1878).
 * "Letters on Logic" (addressed to Eugen Dietzgen) (1880–1884).
 * "Excursions of a Socialist into the Domain of Epistemology" (1886).
 * "The Positive Outcome of Philosophy" (1887).

More recent editions:

 * Nature of Human Brain Work: An Introduction to Dialectics, Left Bank Books, Reprint 1984
 * Philosophical Essays on Socialism and Science, Religion, Ethics; Critique-Of-Reason and the World-At-Large, Kessinger Publications, 2004, ISBN 1-4326-1513-0
 * The Positive Outcome of Philosophy; The Nature of Human Brain Work; Letters on Logic, Kessinger Publications, 2007, ISBN 0-548-22210-X

Collected writings

 * Josef Dietzgen, Sämtliche Schriften, hrsg. von Eugen Dietzgen, 4. Auflage, Berlin, 1930
 * Joseph Dietzgen, Schriften in drei Bänden, hrsg. von der Arbeitsgruppe für Philosophie an der Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR zu Berlin, Berlin, 1961–1965

Secondary literature
English
 * Anton Pannekoek: "The Standpoint and Significance of Josef Dietzgen's Philosophical Works" – Introduction to Joseph Dietzgen, The Positive Outcome of Philosophy, Chicago, 1928

German
 * SPD-Protokollnotizen S. 176; Liebknecht 1988, Biographisches Lexikon 1970, Dietzgen 1930, Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung, Digitale Bibliothek
 * P. Dr. Gabriel Busch O.S.B.: Im Spiegel der Sieg, Verlag Abtei Michaelsberg, Siegburg 1979
 * Josef Dietzgen, Sämtliche Schriften, hrsg. von Eugen Dietzgen, 4. Auflage, Berlin, 1930
 * Joseph Dietzgen, Schriften in drei Bänden, hrsg. von der Arbeitsgruppe für Philosophie an der Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR zu Berlin, Berlin, 1961–1965
 * Otto Finger, Joseph Dietzgen – Beitrag zu den Leistungen des deutschen Arbeiterphilosophen, Berlin, 1977
 * Gerhard Huck, Joseph Dietzgen (1828–1888) – Ein Beitrag zur Ideengeschichte des Sozialismus im 19. Jahrhundert, in der Reihe Geschichte und Gesellschaft, Bochumer Historische Schriften, Band 22, Stuttgart, 1979, ISBN 3-12-913170-1
 * Horst Gräbner, Joseph Dietzgens publizistische Tätigkeit, unveröffentlichte Magisterarbeit an der J-W-G-Universität, Frankfurt/M, 1982
 * Anton Pannekoek, "Die Stellung u. Bedeutung von J. Dietzgens philosophischen Arbeiten" in: Josef Dietzgen, Das Wesen der menschlichen Kopfarbeit; Eine abermalige Kritik der reinen und praktischen Vernunft, Stuttgart: J. H. W. Dietz Nachf., 1903

Dutch
 * Jasper Schaaf, De dialectisch-materialistische filosofie van Joseph Dietzgen, Kampen, 1993

title: Joseph Dietzgen


text:
Sinfonia concertante

Sinfonia concertante (also called symphonie concertante) is an orchestral work, normally in several movements, in which one or more solo instruments contrast with the full orchestra. It emerged as a musical form during the Classical period of Western music from the Baroque concerto grosso. Sinfonia concertante encompasses the symphony and the concerto genres, a concerto in that soloists are on prominent display, and a symphony in that the soloists are nonetheless discernibly a part of the total ensemble and not preeminent. Sinfonia concertante is the ancestor of the double and triple concerti of the Romantic period corresponding approximately to the 19th century.

Classical era
In the Baroque period, the differences between a concerto and a sinfonia (also "symphony") were initially not all that clear. The word sinfonia would, for example, be used as the name for an overture to a stage work. Antonio Vivaldi wrote "concertos" which did not highlight individual soloists and which were stylistically more or less indistinguishable from his "sinfonias." The Baroque genre that comes closest to the Classical sinfonia concertante is the concerto grosso; among the most famous of these are those by Arcangelo Corelli and George Frideric Handel.

By the Classical period (roughly 1750–1800), both the symphony and the concerto had acquired more definite meanings, and the concerto grosso had disappeared altogether. This led in the last decades of the 18th century to attempts to combine the two genres, such as those by composers of the Mannheim school. Johann Christian Bach (the so-called "London Bach" and youngest son of Johann Sebastian) was publishing symphonies concertantes in Paris from the early 1770s on, as was Joseph Bologne, the 'famous Chevalier de Saint-Georges.' Mozart, who likely heard the early Sinfonia concertantes of Bologne, was also acquainted with the Mannheim school from 1777 and probably aware of J.C. Bach's publications, put considerable effort into attempts to produce convincing sinfonie concertanti. His most successful are the following:

 * Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra K. 364 (the only one Mozart is actually considered to have finished that exists in an authentic copy).
 * Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon and Orchestra K. 297b (known from an arrangement, possibly inauthentic).

Joseph Haydn also wrote a Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Cello, Oboe and Bassoon during his visit to London, in a friendly challenge to his former student Ignaz Pleyel, who also stayed in London at the time, and whose works in the genre were highly popular. Haydn also wrote symphonies with long soloist parts, especially early in his career, such as the "Time of Day" symphonies 6–8. These are, however, rightfully considered symphonies rather than sinfonie concertanti. Other examples from the era are Kozeluch's Sinfonia Concertante in E flat major for mandolin, trumpet, double-bass, piano, Gossec's Symphonie Concertante for Violin and Cello in D major and Gresnick's Symphonie Concertante in B flat major for Clarinet and Bassoon.

Romantic era
Few composers still called their compositions sinfonia concertante after the classical music era. However, some works such as Berlioz's Harold en Italie, for viola and orchestra approach the genre.

Ludwig van Beethoven did not write anything designated as a sinfonia concertante, although some feel his Triple Concerto qualifies for inclusion in the genre.

Felix Mendelssohn wrote two concertos for two pianos and orchestra: one in E major and one in A-flat major, which can both be seen as sinfonie concertanti.

Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3 features an organ that is partially immersed in the orchestral sound, but also has several distinct solo passages. The second half of this work also features a semi-soloistic part for piano four hands.

By the end of the 19th century, several French composers had started using the sinfonia concertante technique in symphonic poems, for example, Saint-Saëns uses a violin in Danse macabre, and Franck a piano in Les Djinns.

Richard Strauss's Don Quixote (1897) uses several soloists to depict the main characters, namely cello, viola, bass clarinet and tenor tuba.

Lalo's best known work, the Symphonie espagnole, is in fact a sinfonia concertante for violin and orchestra.

A work in the same vein, but with the piano taking the "concertante" part is d'Indy's Symphony on a French Mountain Air.

Brahms's concerto for violin, cello and orchestra in a minor, Op. 102, the last of his four concertos, is effectively a sinfonia concertante.

Bruch explored the boundaries of the solistic and symphonic genres in the Scottish Fantasy (violin soloist), Kol Nidrei (cello soloist), and Serenade (violin soloist). He also wrote a concerto for clarinet, viola and orchestra in E minor, and a concerto for two pianos and orchestra in A-flat minor, which are both equal to a sinfonia concertante.

Ferruccio Busoni wrote an enormous piano concerto in C major, containing five movements, lasting over an hour and even finishing with a male choir, that can be considered a sinfonia concertante.

20th century
In the 20th century, some composers such as George Enescu, Darius Milhaud, Frank Martin, Edmund Rubbra, Florent Schmitt, William Walton and Malcolm Williamson again used the name sinfonia concertante for their compositions. Martin's work, more reminiscent of the classical works with multiple soloists, features a piano, a harpsichord, and a harp. Karol Szymanowski also composed a sinfonia concertante (for solo piano and orchestra), also known as his Symphony No. 4 "Symphonie-Concertante." Other examples include Joseph Jongen's 1926 Symphonie Concertante, Op. 81, with an organ soloist, the Sinfonia Concertante (Symphony No. 4), for flute, harp and small string orchestra by Andrzej Panufnik written in 1973, and Peter Maxwell Davies's Sinfonia Concertante for wind quintet, timpani and string orchestra of 1982.

The Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů wrote two works in this genre: Sinfonia Concertante for Two Orchestras, H. 219 (1932) and Sinfonia Concertante No. 2 in B-flat major for Violin, Cello, Oboe, Bassoon and Orchestra with Piano, H. 322 (1949). In fact, all but one of the composer's symphonies feature a piano, as do most of his orchestral works, but the two afore-mentioned works were the only two in his output which he labelled concertante symphonies.

Wilhelm Furtwängler completed in 1937 his Symphonic Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in B minor, which lasts over one hour and is one of the longest piano concertos ever written.

Sergei Prokofiev called his work for cello and orchestra Symphony-Concerto, stressing its serious symphonic character, in contrast to the light character of the Classical period sinfonia concertante. Benjamin Britten's Cello Symphony and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Symphony No. 2 also showcase a solo cello within the context of a full-scale symphony.

Peter Schickele as P. D. Q. Bach produced a spoof "Sinfonia Concertante" utilizing lute, balalaika, double reed slide music stand, ocarina, left-handed sewer flute, and bagpipes.

title: Sinfonia concertante


text:
Talk:Joseph Dietzgen

needs
This article needs: Lupo 10:41, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Precise dates for birth and death,
 * More research to find out whether he was elected to the Reichstag in 1881, and
 * A discussion of his philosophy.

 * Yes, especially it needs the philosophy — if Dietzgen influenced Lenin, he presumably influenced world history, but what did he contribute? And if it's significant that Lenin ignored Dietzgen's last book while extensively quoting others, what's in it that might have contradicted, or altered, Lenin's ideas?
 * If rewritten, this article could be an important contribution. I recall coming across a mention of Dietzgen in a footnote decades ago, but all it said was, in effect, "Isn't it marvelous that an ignorant proletarian could have concocted a primitive version of these ideas all his own." I remember thinking at the time I'd like to see that version, and I came to this page hoping to finally learn more about his thoughts.
 * There are also style problems to fix, such as the redundant "early on in his youth".Chelydra (talk) 09:32, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

Agree with the above. Also the part about 'family line' seems a bit superfluous and/or sounds almost like we are dealing with some kind of eugenics. This is about Joseph Dietzgen. Ninjabeard (talk) 09:16, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

Independent development of dialectical materialism
Dietzgen was never independent from Marx et al in his intellectual forays A. Rosenberg (talk) 19:55, 6 October 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Joseph Dietzgen


text:
Caroline Lamb

Caroline Lamb has served as the Chief Executive of NHS Scotland and Director General of Health and Social Care directorates since 2021.

Early life
Lamb studied at the King's College London, before training as a chartered accountant with KPMG. She worked with clients Castle Cement, Citibank, Nestlé and the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva.

Career
Lamb qualified as a chartered accountant and later moved to Scotland, where she worked as the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources in NHS Education for Scotland (NES) from 2004 to 2014. She later served as the Acting Chief Executive for NES, before being appointed into the role on a full term basis the following year.

In December 2019, Lamb joined the Scottish Government, where she led the Digital Health and Care Directorate. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, she took on further responsibility for leading on the COVID-19 related ICU surge requirements; acting as Portfolio Director for Test and Protect in May 2020; and becoming Delivery Director for the Extended Seasonal Flu and COVID-19 vaccination programmes in August 2020.

In December 2020, she was announced as the new Chief Executive of NHS Scotland, as well as the new Director-General of the Scottish Government's Health and Social Care Directorates. She assumed both offices the following month.

title: Caroline Lamb


text:
Category:Concertante symphonies

Sinfonia concertante is a musical form that originated in the classical music era, and is a mixture of the symphony and the concerto genres:
 * It is a concerto, in that it has one or more soloists (in the classical music era usually more than one).
 * It is a symphony in that it does not particularly put the soloist in the spotlight: the impression is rather symphonic as a whole, with some solistic interventions not outspokenly dominating the orchestra.

title: Category:Concertante symphonies


text: User talk:166.121.37.7

title: User talk:166.121.37.7


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Buddy Lee Russell

Buddy Lee Russell was proposed for deletion. This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was delete

Obvious vanity article. Thue | talk 10:52, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete, young person vanity. I have taken the liberty of removing the reference from List_of_people_by_name:_Ru; on the offchance notability of the subject is established, it can easily be readded. --Ianb 17:58, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Vanity.   — Gwalla | Talk 19:04, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete Poorly written CV. Jongarrettuk 22:31, 30 Sep 2004 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like other '/delete' pages is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion or on the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


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Rotherham Titans

Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a rugby union club from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the National League 1 at the end of the 2019–2020 season.

Rotherham achieved multiple promotions within the league structure in the 1990s and early 2000s. This meteoric rise ultimately culminated in two unsuccessful spells in the English Premiership. Rotherham is perhaps best known for the Rugby Football Union blocking its entry into the Premiership, its subsequent legal challenges, and a partially successful appeal to the Office of Fair Trading to break an alleged Premiership cartel.

Rotherham have developed several international players, including David Strettle, Hendre Fourie and Erik Lund.

1923–1986
During the 1920s and 1930s the club regularly turned out two teams and on odd occasions three, normally in school holiday periods when local 6th-formers played.

Rotherham in common with many clubs shut down during the Second World War and the club was reformed in 1946 at Clifton Lane. The next fifteen years were a struggle in terms of running teams and raising finance to improve facilities. The club received a big boost when a local secondary modern school started rugby and soon a regular supply of players were coming through. Rugby started to be played in many local schools and the arrival of a number of Physical Education teachers in the area who were rugby specialists helped both the playing standard and the club organisation.

Prior to the advent of a national league structure, Rotherham struggled to get fixtures against establishment sides, largely from the south of England, meaning when the league was established they were placed well down the league structure despite always showing an ambition to develop. This perceived snub by other top teams, and placement at the bottom of the rugby hierarchy fired the initial drive up the leagues and led to several former players such as Mike Yarlett investing their time and resources to transform the club.

1987–1995
Rotherham entered league rugby in 1987 enjoying enormous success with seven subsequent promotions culminating by eventually reaching the Premiership. In the 1988–89 season, Rotherham won the North East 1 title and so began its rise up the rugby pyramid. This was immediately followed up by five further promotions in six seasons to propel the club to the fourth tier of English rugby by 1995–96.

This period in the club's development was later to be considered the start of the "golden decade", and secured legendary status for several players including John Dudley, Richard Selkirk, Craig West and Kevin Plant. During this period Rotherham attracted some criticism for their early adoption of paying players during a period later referred to as "Shamateurism" as most progressive clubs in essence paid their players while keeping up the pretence of being Amateur clubs.

In this era, the Yorkshire Cup, still a prestigious competition in which all the top Yorkshire sides competed, became a symbolic quest for the Rotherham players and management. The competition had been dominated for the previous 25 years by Wakefield, Harrogate and the four big Leeds clubs, Headingley, Roundhay, Morley and Otley, none of whom would give Rotherham a fixture prior to the introduction of league rugby. Rotherham reached the final for the first time in their history in 1993, going down 22–5 to Otley, however 2 years later there was no doubting that Rotherham had arrived as they defeated Harrogate 39–3 at Kirkstall to win the Cup for the first and to date only time.

The 1994 County Championship final at Twickenham also provided further evidence of Rotherham's ascent to senior club status in Yorkshire, as Kevin Plant and Craig West were members of the Yorkshire side (along with soon to be Rotherham scrum-half Guy Easterby — then with Harrogate) who won the championship in exhilarating fashion with a 26–3 triumph over Durham.

Summarising the success in 1995, the independent put Rotherham's success into context saying: The Morley outside-half Kevin Plant was the next significant arrival at Clifton Lane, with the RAF and Lancashire scrum-half Steve Worrall soon joining him. However, Forster's masterstroke was to persuade the Yorkshire No 8 Richard Selkirk to leave Headingley and take over the captaincy. With Selkirk and Forster at the helm, Rotherham swept through the Northern League, winning promotion three times – twice after unbeaten campaigns and each time as champions – to lift the Whitbread Junior Club of the Year trophy in 1992.

1996–1999
Rotherham eventually reached the Courage National Division 1 in 1996–97, finishing seventh in their first season. 1997 also witnessed one of Rotherhams stellar days at Clifton Lane in the 6th round of the Pilkington Cup. Rotherham Lost 23–42. Rotherham Advertiser 31 January 1997 said of the game: But one thing was certain, it was another landmark in Rotherham's climb towards the top of the game. Playing Quins in the league may seem a impossibility in the current financially governed rugby climate – but then again it's not too long ago that the thought of Will Carling trotting out at Clifton Lane was merely a dream. The 1997–98 season saw Rotherham improve on their first Division One season to fourth, while the next year 1998–99 saw Rotherham finish equal on points with first place Bristol, the West Country side prevailing on points difference, setting Roth up for a promotion playoff. Ultimately they were denied cruelly by the aggregate tries rule, having tied the scores with the Premiership's second bottom side Bedford at 38–38, leaving Rotherham to endure another season in National Division One. However, in 1999–2000 Rotherham enjoyed a near faultless season, losing only two games and winning their first National League 1 title, setting up a promotion playoff re-match with Bedford. The first leg saw Rotherham score four tries winning 40–20 at home, while the second leg was one of Rotherham's most dramatic; conceding two penalty tries losing 14–0 to win on aggregate 40–34 gaining promotion to the top tier.

2000–2003
For 2000–01 Rotherham won promotion to become Yorkshire's first ever representative in the top tier of English rugby. The Independent said of Rotherham entry to the premiership:

There will be a culture shock awaiting rugby union's elite clubs when they arrive in Rotherham this season, especially in the clubhouse which resonates with rugby virtues from a bygone era.... Rotherham do not recognise celebrity; they are without artifice or pretension. The club endured a torrid yet promising year as they struggled to win games, several were lost by mere points. However, highlights of the season included victories at Clifton Lane against London Irish (19–18) and Saracens (19–8), which saw some of the biggest attendances in the club's history as up to 4,000 supporters crammed into Clifton Lane. Rotherham finished bottom and were relegated to National Division 1 after one season.

2001–02 saw Rotherham return to National One having gained experience and develop as a club. Rotherham duly romped to their second National Division One title in three years, losing only two games all season. The success of the league title was quickly dampened by the decision that Rotherham were to be denied promotion to the Premiership as they did not fulfil the ever-changing entry requirements.

Rotherham remained in National Division One for the 2002–03 determined to overcome the previous season's setback, and demonstrated their consistency by once again recording a near perfect season as they once again lost only two games all season, climaxing as Rotherham became champions by beating Worcester away in one of the club's most memorable moments. The Guardian on 13 April 2003 said of the battles with Worcester; For years, it seems, they've been the Celtic and Rangers of their division, few other matches seeming to matter but the pair's annual pitched battles. But the big difference is that the Scottish football giants don't go up, or down. Rotherham have now all but ensured their escape from English rugby's first division with this professional-looking win, built on organisation, strong defence and no important errors This was the club's third National Division One title in four years, and this time welcomed automatic promotion back to the premiership.

In June 2003 after a 5-month enquiry by Anthony Arlidge QC, Rotherham were acquitted of any wrongdoing in the "Rotherham-Gate" saga, an enquiry which the Premiership were generally consider to have treated with disdain, and ultimately cast serious questions over the conduct of several Premiership Chairmen. The Telegraph reported:

Rotherham have been the focus of Arlidge's considerable scrutiny. They were the only entity involved in this whole, drawn-out matter, to give him full cooperation.... "Mr Barwell was not prepared to put his mouth where his convictions lay," Arlidge writes...... Arlidge notes that "cooperation from Premier Rugby has been most disappointing and that has made my task more difficult". '' The 2003–04 season saw a return to the Premiership for Rotherham and a change of name as a sponsorship deal with Titan Environmental lead to the adoption of the 'Titans' nickname. The Titans had been sharing Millmoor stadium with Rotherham United Football Club since the start of the 2002–03 season, but Millmoor proved even less of a happy top-flight hunting ground than Clifton Lane as Rotherham struggled to adapt on their return, the Titans being relegated from the top-flight of professional rugby union in 2003–04 after only one season, disappointingly without winning a single match. At the end of that season, Mike Yarlett, the owner who had bankrolled the club's rise through the leagues, withdrew his backing, and extinction appeared to be a distinct possibility. It became clear Yarlett's withdrawal of his backing had come after significant frustration with the RFU at their failure to meet his request to guarantee the possibility of promotion from National Division 1 to the Premiership.

The club was rescued by a local consortium headed by local businessmen Nick Cragg and Martin Jenkinson who had both previously played for the club. Donations from supporters, assurances from Rotherham Council, who valued the club's community work, and the acceptance of savage wage cuts from players ensured that Rotherham could continue in business albeit after a return to their spiritual home ground at Clifton Lane.

In 2004 there was widespread outcry at the RFU's support of a proposed takeover of Rotherham by a South Africa consortia who wanted to move the club to London.

2004–2006
The 2004–05 season started with five wins in a row for the Titans, but the reality of their financial situation, and vast scale of squad changes this had caused, soon kicked in. The Titans finished in their worst ever position in the National Division One in eighth.

2005–06 saw Andre Bester take control of the club in the double role of chief executive and head coach. With attendances between 920 and 2250, the Titans managed to improve to finish fourth in National Division One below an unstoppable Harlequins, who bounced back to the premiership. The club were known as 'Earth Titans' throughout the term of a sponsorship deal with Hellaby-based finance house Earth Money.

The next season 2006–07, the Titans lost the likes of David Strettle, a future England star and Chris Hala'ufia to Harlequins, but brought in players which Bester felt had the potential to help the Titans win National Division One, such as Ireland U21 International Gareth Steenson and Scotland 7s Andrew Turnbull. This saw a resurgence from Rotherham as they made a good start to the National Division One campaign. The most notable victory was beating Leeds 22–19 in a very close match which the Titans stole at the death with a penalty from Gareth Steenson. Rotherham finished in second place, five points behind Leeds Carnegie.

2007–2010
The Titans signed a record sponsorship deal with Complete Technical Services in June 2007, however 2007–08 was a disappointing season following on from the previous years success as Titans slumped to eleventh. Northampton recorded a perfect season going unbeaten and returning to the Premiership. Rotherham finished the 2008–09 season in tenth as they sought to rebuild the team. 2009–10 saw Rotherham's worst league finish in thirteen years since they were first promoted to National Division One. Despite this poor finish, and finding themselves in the relegation playoffs, they never looked in danger of demotion as they won all but one of their games to top the group.

Rotherham looked to mount a fresh challenge for the 2010–11 season and succeeded in improving on the previous few seasons, finishing seventh and in the promotion playoffs. Ryan Burrows, Juan Pablo Socino & Adam Kettle enjoyed particularly impressive seasons respectively. Andre Bester aimed to secure a squad for the following year prior to the playoffs and the club effectively released several players prior to the end of the season, the ensuing lack of motivation being a contributory factor to the Titans losing every playoff game to finish the season.

2011–2012
The 2011–12 RFU Championship brought excitement back to the club as many new faces were brought in while retaining the core of the previous years squad. Titans assembled one of the largest packs in the league backed up with an impressive back line and quickly became a team to fear. New players such as Semisi Tualava, Palepoi Nonu, Adrian "The Enforcer" Griffiths, Garry Law, Robin Copeland & Jimmy Williams had an immediate positive impact, whilst the likes of Rob O'Donnell, Jamie Kilbane & Cliffie Hodgson extended their stay to further bolster the squad. The club enjoyed a run of seven unbeaten home games in the Championship including impressive victories against Bristol (44–6), Bedford (40–32) and also winning on the road at London Welsh (33–25). Rotherham currently have a winning record and are aiming for a top four finish leading to the promotion playoffs.

As of January 2012 Rotherham were the number one ranked team in Yorkshire, overtaking Leeds Carnegie and the third highest team in the North of England behind only Sale Sharks and the Newcastle Falcons

On 24 January Rotherham signed two scrum halves on trial, Dale Farnham joined from Plymouth Albion; and Danny Matthews who had previously played at Leeds Met University alongside teammates Barney Maddison and Ben Hooper while playing at the university. Subsequently, on 25 January, Rotherham also signed Tom Armes as a dual registered player from Leicester Tigers.

2013–present
Rotherham finished the 2013–14 season in the play-offs, losing narrowly to Bristol in the first leg of the semi-finals (17–14) and more comprehensively (11–22) in the return fixture at Clifton Lane. Another play-off year was to follow in 2014–15, with the Titans again losing to Bristol in the semi-finals.

2015–16 saw a dramatic turnaround in events, with the Titans not only finishing outside of the play-offs, but in 10th place. 2016–17 was even worse for the Titans, culminating in an 11th-place finish. In March 2017, head coach Justin Burnell was sacked after a run of one win in fourteen games. He was swiftly replaced with former Yorkshire boss Andy Key. Without the mid-season liquidation of London Welsh, the Titans would have been relegated to National League 1.

Prior to the 2017–18 season, the Titans announced a multi-year kit deal with Scimitar Sportswear. Rotherham would finish the 2017–18 season bottom of the Championship, with the club relegated to National League 1. This will see Rotherham playing third tier rugby for the first time since the 1995–96 season.

Historic rivalries
Due to Rotherham's rapid rise up the league structure it wasn't until the late 1990s that they developed any regular rivals. The first of these were Wakefield who were the most senior team from Yorkshire in the upper levels of rugby union. At the time Wakefield had a number of the most experienced players outside the top flight including Dave Scully, Terry Garnett and Rod Latham all of whom eventually moved to play for Rotherham as Roth superseded Wakefield as the senior side in Yorkshire.

Unusually the next two rivals weren't local, both Bedford Blues and Worcester Warriors were promotion rivals to Rotherham and had a number of epic games between 1999 and 2002. During this period Rotherham were regular victors over both of these teams including against Bedford in a play off to gain promotion to the Premiership, and in a key game against Worcester Warriors which all but sealed promotion to the Premiership for the second time.

The third period of rivalry pitted Rotherham against local rivals Leeds Carnegie and then Doncaster Knights.

Home ground
Rotherham play their home games at Clifton Lane sports ground (capacity 2,500) which they share with Rotherham Town Cricket Club. As a result, the club has been unable to develop the ground, as the Titans pitch serves as the outfield for the cricket club. In 2001–02 during Rotherham's first season in the premiership the club expanded the capacity to approximately 4,000 by using temporary stands which were situated on the south east side of the ground. The ground consists of a main covered stand referred to as "the shed", and a number of concrete standing areas and small terraces. "The Shed" is generally considered to produce a highly partisan and passionate atmosphere on match days and is often quoted as being part of the team's strong home record.

Rotherham Titans moved to Clifton Lane in the late 1930s and have played every league season at Clifton Lane apart from the 2003–04 Premiership season during Rotherham's second stint as they instead shared Millmoor stadium with Rotherham United Football Club to satisfy promotion criteria. Rotherham returned to Clifton Lane the following year.

The Titans still need to resolve issues surrounding facilities. They have been turned down for promotion before due to this, and require better facilities if they are to be promoted. As aforementioned The Titans have shared Millmoor stadium with Rotherham United Football Club in the past. Rotherham United Football Club’s Chairman, Dennis Coleman, had mentioned the possibility of sharing the newly constructed New York Stadium. However the Titans opted out of the use of this stadium as they pursued alternative facilities.

In 2010–11 season, the ground was sponsored by Stafforce recruitment and is sometimes quoted as being called the "Stafforce Stadium".

In 2011 Rotherham Titans spent several months seeking an agreement with the owners of Millmoor CF Booth Ltd to use the unused stadium as their home ground. After much speculation it was announced in December 2011 that the Titans would remain at Clifton Lane for the foreseeable future due to the deal falling through.

Community Foundation
Clifton Lane is the base for several high-profile community programmes through the club's flagship Community Foundation. The Community Foundation has received considerable praise for working with vulnerable and disadvantaged young people, using the players as role models helping to improve the participants' life skills.

Instrumental in the foundation's set up was Brian Chapple, who later went on to be the Community Foundation at Rotherham United. While the foundation was set up to support the community, the value added by the foundation was one of the main reasons that Rotherham Council helped save the Titans after financial meltdown in 2003.

Club honours

 * North East 1 champions: 1988–89
 * North Division 2 champions: 1989–90
 * North Division 1 champions: 1991–92
 * Courage League Division 5 North champions: 1993–94
 * Courage League Division 4 / National League 2 North champions (2): 1994–95, 2023–24
 * Yorkshire Cup winners: 1995
 * Powergen Shield winners: 2002
 * Allied Dunbar Premiership Two/National Division One champions (3): 1999–00, 2001–02, 2002–03
 * Selkirk Sevens champions (2): 2002, 2003

Club staff

 * 🏴 Nic Rouse – head coach
 * 🏴 Joe Barker – player/coach
 * 🏴 Ed Robinson – backs coach
 * 🏴 Tony Jenkinson – team manager
 * 🏴 Matt Harland – performance analyst
 * 🏴 Muaz Buaben – strength and conditioning coach
 * 🏴 Chris Myers – club doctor
 * 🏴 Neil Swift – physio
 * 🏴 David Swift – assistant physio
 * 🏴 Tony Foster – kit manager

Club records
Statistics Sourced
 * Most consecutive victories: 38 (10 November 2001 to 15 March 2003)
 * Most consecutive defeats: 23 (26 April 2003 to 8 May 2004)
 * Largest home win: 102–3 v Moseley (2002–03)
 * Largest away win: 75–7 v Moseley (2002–03)
 * Most points scored in a season: 1,099 (2001–02)
 * Most tries scored in a match: 14 v Moseley (2002–03)
 * Most tries scored in a season: 159 (2001–02)
 * Largest points total by one player in a match: 41 Simon Binns (3T 2P 10C) v West Hartlepool (1999–00)
 * Most tries by a player in one match: 6 Paul Scott v Westoe (1988–89)
 * Most conversions by a player:	10 Simon Binns v West Hartlepool (1999–00; Mike Umaga v Waterloo (1999–00); Ramiro Pez v Moseley (2002–03)
 * Most penalties by a player: 6 David Francis v Keighley (1988–89); Dean Lax v London Scottish (1996–97)
 * Most drop-goals by a player: 2 Kevin Plant v Coventry (1995–96)
 * Most conversions in a season: 107 (2001–02)
 * Most points by one player in a season: 273 Juan Pablo Socino (2010–11)
 * Most tries by one player: 22 Mike Wood (2002–03)
 * Most conversions by one player in a season: 79 Gareth Steenson (2006–07)
 * Most penalties by one player in a season: 51 Juan Pablo Socino (2010–11)
 * Most drop-goals by one player in a season: 5 Kevin Plant (1995–96)
 * Most penalty tries in a season: 12 (2006–07)
 * Most career points: 927 Kevin Plant (1987–96)
 * Most career tries: 49 John Dudley (1987–00)
 * Most career conversions: 142 Ramiro Pez (2001–05)
 * Most career penalties: 184 Kevin Plant (1987–96)
 * Most career drop-goals: 17 Kevin Plant (1987–96)
 * Largest home gate: 6,195 v Bath Rugby (2003–04) (Zurich Premiership)
 * Largest away defeat: 82–3 v London Irish (2016–17) (Greene King IPA Championship)
 * Largest home defeat: 68–12 v Bath Rugby (2000–01) (Zurich Premiership)
 * Most tries conceded in a match: 12 v London Irish (2016–17) (Greene King IPA Championship)

League history

 * 1987–88 North East Division One finished in 2nd place
 * 1988–89 North East Division One unbeaten champions
 * 1989–90 North Division Two champions
 * 1990–91 North Division One finished in 3rd place
 * 1991–92 North Division One unbeaten champions
 * 1992–93 National Division Four North finished in 2nd place
 * 1993–94 National Division Five North champions
 * 1994–95 National League Four champions
 * 1995–96 National League Three finished in 4th place and promoted
 * 1996–97 National League Two finished in 7th place
 * 1997–98 Prem Div Two finished in 4th place and play-offs
 * 1998–99 Prem Div Two finished in 2nd place and play-offs
 * 1999–00 Prem Div Two champions and won play-offs
 * 2000–01 Prem Div One finished in 12th place and relegated
 * 2001–02 National Div One champions and denied promotion
 * 2002–03 National Div One champions and won promotion
 * 2003–04 Premiership finished 12th and relegated
 * 2004–05 National Division One 8th place
 * 2005–06 National Division One 4th place
 * 2006–07 National Division One 2nd place
 * 2007–08 National Division One 11th place
 * 2008–09 National Division One 10th place
 * 2009–10 National Division One 10th place
 * 2010–11 National Division One 7th place
 * 2011–12 RFU Championship 7th place
 * 2012–13 RFU Championship 7th place
 * 2013–14 RFU Championship 4th place and playoffs
 * 2014–15 RFU Championship 4th place and playoffs
 * 2015–16 RFU Championship 10th place
 * 2016–17 RFU Championship 11th place

Greatest ever team
After some debate during March 2011, the Rotherham Titans fans voted for a greatest ever team of players and coaching staff. The fans decided on:
 * 15 Bernardo Stortoni
 * 14 David Strettle
 * 13 Kevin Maggs
 * 12 Mike Umaga
 * 11 Errie Claassens
 * 10 Ramiro Pez
 * 9 Dave Scully
 * 8 Mike Schmid (captain)
 * 7 Hendre Fourie
 * 6 Craig West
 * 5 John Dudley
 * 4 Glen Kenworthy
 * 3 Colin Noon
 * 2 Chris Johnson
 * 1 Simon Bunting
 * Coach: Jim Kilfoyle
 * Captain: Mike Schmid

Notable former players
Famous or notable players, as defined by attaining international caps, a significant step up to a premiership club or a significant number of league appearances for Rotherham.

 * 🏴 David Strettle
 * 🏴 Hendre Fourie
 * 🏴 Ross Batty
 * 🏴 Rob Thirlby
 * 🏴 Dave Scully
 * 🏴 John Dudley
 * 🏴 John Bentley
 * 🏴 Lee Blackett
 * 🏴 Jon Golding
 * 🏴 Sean Lamont
 * Sam Dickinson
 * 🇦🇷 Bernardo Stortoni
 * Kevin Maggs
 * Gareth Steenson
 * Guy Easterby
 * 🇿🇦 Jannie Bornman
 * 🇿🇦 Errie Claassens
 * 🇳🇦 Tinus du Plessis
 * 🇺🇸 Luke Gross
 * 🇹🇴 Chris Hala'ufia
 * 🇫🇯 Jacob Rauluni
 * 🇪🇸 Oriol Ripol
 * 🇼🇸 Mike Umaga
 * 🇼🇸 Isaac Fe'aunati
 * 🇮🇹 Ramiro Pez
 * 🇨🇦 Adam Kleeberger
 * 🇨🇦 Mike Schmid
 * 🇿🇼 Doug Trivella
 * 🇳🇿 Henry Paul
 * 🇳🇴 Erik Lund
 * 🏴 Colin Noon
 * 🇵🇹 Francisco Vieira

Sponsorship
Rotherham currently have two major shirt sponsors, one for each of the home and away kits, these being: Additional sponsors and partners as of February 2012 include:
 * Jenkinson insurance
 * Stafforce Recruitment
 * Willmott Dixon
 * Cap Gemini
 * Rotherham Enterprise Agency
 * Tata Steel Europe
 * Parkgate Shopping
 * AESSeal Ltd

Previous sponsors include:
 * Titan Environmental: whose sponsorship deal led to Rotherham changing their name to "Rotherham Titans"
 * Earth Mortgages: whose sponsorship deal led to Rotherham Titans briefly change their playing name to "Earth Titans"
 * Yorkshire Windows: who were owned by one time Rotherham Chairman Mike Yarlett, several Rotherham players also worked for Yorkshire Windows.
 * Magnus Group: sponsored Rotherham during their first spell in the premiership
 * Complete Technical Services Ltd

title: Rotherham Titans