View allAll Photos Tagged bestsellers...
Sindy’s hairdryer has got to be one of the most genius toy ideas of all time… Everyone wants to dry their doll’s just-washed and set hair in a snap, right? And it must have been a bestseller for Pedigree as some version of it was available for about a decade. (I also have the later sunny orange version in the bathroom of the Sindy townhouse.) Its design is so simple – essentially just a cool-air fan encased in that bubble dryer, so as not to singe the doll’s hair – yet so effective, and because of its integral chair, no other furniture is required. I was the first kid on my block to have this in the 1970’s and I remember every kid on my street would arrive with her doll (and it was ANY type of fashion doll; - Barbie, Sindy, Tuesday, Tanya or any of the other clones) in curlers waiting for a booking in my ‘salon.’ LOL … I got this 1975 version in bright fuchsia and white many years ago - years before I even started collecting Sindy!!! - from a friend who found it in a yard sale for me for practically nothing, as it didn’t work anymore. Just recently, my BFF Dean said that he and his fiancé could fix it, so they did and now it works again! My just-arrived brunette ‘bunches’ Funtime (Thanks Neil! ;) ) is the first ‘booking’ in the ‘Eduardo salon’, and her hair really was dry in minutes! Now I hope my orange version gets fixed soon, too. (I have lots of the Pedigree Sindy brown hair rollers, and a full set of the white ‘set-in-style’ rollers from 1977, but just used these Tressy rollers this time around!)
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New office complex for Bestseller fashion group, Pier 2, Port of Aarhus.
Architect: C.F. Møller Architects
1978
A well-respected amplifier of the late seventies from Hitachi: Stereo power amp HMA-7500. This Hitachi was one of the first neutral-sounding MOS-FET power transistors successfully used. The amp really sounds refreshingly neutral. 75 watt pc is the power of HMA-7500.
The front controls are minimalist, nothing else is needed. It was offered in silver and black front and became a Hitachi amp bestseller. Here is the version with optional 19" rack mounts in nice shape.
Jill Lepore
Jill Lepore is an American historian and journalist. She is the David Woods Kemper '41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker, where she has contributed since 2005. She writes about American history, law, literature, and politics. Wikipedia:
Born:
August 27, 1966, West Boylston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Institutions:
Harvard University, Boston University, University of California, San Diego
Alma mater:
Tufts University (BA), University of Michigan (MA), Yale University (Ph.D.
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scholar.harvard.edu/jlepore/biocv
Biography
Jill Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History and Affiliate Professor of Law at Harvard University. She is also a staff writer at The New Yorker. Her many books include:
These Truths: A History of the United States (2018), an international bestseller, was named one of Time magazine's top ten non-fiction books of the decade. Her latest book is The Deadline. She is currently working on a long-term research project called Amend, an NEH-funded data collection of attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution.
Lepore is on sabbatical during the 2023-2024 academic year.
Much of Lepore's scholarship explores absences and asymmetries in the historical record, with a particular emphasis on the histories and technologies of evidence. A prize-winning professor, she teaches classes in evidence, historical methods, the humanities, and American political history. (On teaching the writing of history, see How to Write a Paper for This Class.) Her audio storytelling includes The Last Archive, Elon Musk: The Evening Rocket; the Search for Big Brown and the audiobook, Who Killed Truth?
Lepore has been contributing to The New Yorker since 2005, writing about American history, law, literature, and politics. A complete list of Lepore's New Yorker essays is here. Scholarly bibliographies to her New Yorker essays can be found here. Her essays and reviews have also appeared in the New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement, the Journal of American History, Foreign Affairs, the Yale Law Journal, American Scholar, and the American Quarterly; have been translated into German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Latvian, Swedish, French, Chinese, and Japanese; and have been widely anthologized, including in collections of the best legal writing and the best technology writing. Three of her books derive from her New Yorker essays: The Mansion of Happiness: A History of Life and Death (Knopf, 2012), a finalist for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction; The Story of America: Essays on Origins (Princeton, 2012), shortlisted for the PEN Literary Award for the Art of the Essay; and The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party's Revolution and the Battle for American History (Princeton, 2010), a Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. Her 2019 book This America: The Case for the Nation, is based on an essay written for Foreign Affairs.
Her 2020 book, IF THEN: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future, was longlisted for the National Book Award. The Secret History of Wonder Woman (Knopf, 2014) was a national bestseller and winner of the 2015 American History Book Prize. Lepore's earlier work includes a trilogy of books that together constitute a political history of early America: The Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of American Identity (Knopf, 1998), winner of the Bancroft Prize, the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award, and the Berkshire Prize; New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan (Knopf, 2005), winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Award for the best nonfiction book on race and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; and Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin (Knopf, 2013), Time magazine's Best Nonfiction Book of the Year, winner of the Mark Lynton History Prize and a finalist for the 2013 National Book Award for Nonfiction.
Lepore received a B.A. in English from Tufts University in 1987, an M.A. in American Culture from the University of Michigan in 1990, and a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University in 1995. She joined the Harvard History Department in 2003 and was Chair of the History and Literature Program in 2005-10, 2012, and 2014. In 2012, she was named Harvard College Professor, in recognition of distinction in undergraduate teaching.
Lepore is the recipient of many honors, awards, and honorary degrees, including from Yale, NYU, and Tufts. She has been a finalist for the National Book Award; the National Magazine Award; and, twice, for the Pulitzer Prize; and winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Award, for the best non-fiction book on race. She has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and to the American Philosophical Society. Her research has been funded by the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Pew Foundation, the Gilder Lehrman Institute, the Charles Warren Center, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. In 2021, she was awarded the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought.
Lepore is a past president of the Society of American Historians and a former Commissioner of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. She has been a consultant and contributor to a number of documentary and public history projects. Her three-part story, "The Search for Big Brown," was broadcast on The New Yorker Radio Hour in 2015. S Among her interviews, she has appeared on Fresh Air and on the Colbert Report
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Margarett Hoover:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Margaret Hoover
Margaret Hoover (cropped).jpg
Hoover in 2011
BornMargaret Claire Hoover
December 11, 1977 (age 45)
Colorado, U.S.
EducationBryn Mawr College (BA)
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJohn Avlon (m. 2009)
Children2
Family
Allan Hoover (grandfather)
Herbert Hoover (great-grandfather)
Margaret Claire Hoover (born December 11, 1977) is an American conservative political commentator, political strategist, media personality, author, and great-granddaughter of Herbert Hoover, the 31st U.S. president.[1] She is author of the book American Individualism: How A New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party, published by Crown Forum in 2011. Hoover hosts PBS's reboot of the conservative interview show Firing Line.[2]
Early life
Hoover was born in Colorado, the daughter of Jean (Williams), a flight attendant, and Andrew Hoover, a mining engineer.[3][4] She received primary education at Graland Country Day School, an independent co-educational day school in Denver.[5] She earned a B.A. in Spanish literature with a minor in political science from Bryn Mawr College in 2001.[6][7] She also attended Davidson College for two years, but did not earn a degree there.[8] Along the way, Hoover studied Spanish-language literature and Mandarin Chinese. She also studied abroad in Bolivia, Mexico and China.[9]
After graduating from college, Hoover moved to Taipei where she got her first job as a research assistant and editor in a Taiwanese law firm; she arrived on the day of the September 11 attacks. Quickly realizing she wanted to be back in the U.S., she returned home in 2002.[10][11]
Career
Public service
Hoover worked for the George W. Bush administration as associate director of Intergovernmental Affairs.[12] She worked on Bush's 2004 reelection campaign and was Deputy Finance Director for Rudy Giuliani's presidential bid in 2006–07.[13] She also worked as a staffer on Capitol Hill for Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, and as Advisor to the Deputy Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.[14] Hoover is on the board of overseers at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, and on the boards of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association and the Belgian American Educational Foundation.[15][16][17] She served on the advisory council of The American Foundation for Equal Rights and GOProud.[18][19]
Political beliefs
Hoover is a conservative, with libertarian beliefs on issues of personal morality.[20][21] Hoover is an advocate for gay rights, including gay marriage, arguing that individual freedom and marriage are conservative values.[22] She has been profiled in The Advocate as "exactly the brand of straight ally we need right now".[23] In 2013, Hoover was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage in Hollingsworth v. Perry.[24]
Hoover is opposed to Donald Trump.[25] Before the 2020 election, she said, "I can't bring myself to vote for Donald Trump", adding that she would "quite likely" vote for Joe Biden instead, as she found the vote a "binary choice".[26]
Political commentator
From 2008 to 2012, Hoover was a Fox News contributor, appearing on Bill O'Reilly's The O'Reilly Factor.[27] In the branded segment "Culture Warrior", she jousted with O'Reilly on a range of topics from entertainment news to popular culture to Hollywood and politics. Since 2012, she has been a political contributor at CNN.[28] In 2014, she hosted the Toyota Solutions Studio at the Women In The World conference held at Lincoln Center, where she interviewed several participants.[29] In April 2018, it was announced she would host Firing Line.[30]
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover (PBS TV Series)
Hoover hosts Firing Line with Margaret Hoover, a relaunch of National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr.'s public-affairs television show, Firing Line. The original show aired on PBS for 33 years, the longest-running public affairs show in television history with a single host.[31][32] Hoover's show premiered on June 2, 2018, on WNET, which serves the New York metropolitan area, and is the largest PBS market in the country.[33][34][35] The New York Times wrote, "Under Ms. Hoover's direction, the discourse is civil and substantive".[36] According to the National Review, "the reincarnation of Firing Line comes at an interesting time, and a needful one".[37] In the runup to the show's premiere Politico said, "It seems like a great idea, so let's test drive it and see what happens".[38] In May 2019, The Algemeiner named Hoover its Journalist of the Year for her work on Firing Line.[39]
Personal life
Hoover is married to fellow CNN contributor John Avlon, a former Rudy Giuliani speechwriter, senior columnist for Newsweek, and former Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Beast.[40] They have a son, Jack, born in 2013, and a daughter, Toula Lou, born in 2015.[41][42]
Selected works
Hoover, Margaret (July 2011). American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party (Hardbound ed.). New York: Crown Forum. ISBN 978-0307718150.
See also
Journalism portal
New Yorkers in journalism
References
Hoover, Bob (July 24, 2011). "Fox News contributor Margaret Hoover defends her great-grandfather: President Hoover". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
Simon, Scott (June 8, 2018). "William F. Buckley's 'Firing Line' Returns With Margaret Hoover". npr.org. National Public Radio. Retrieved November 15, 2018. Almost 20 years since Firing Line ceased production, Margaret Hoover is stepping in to become the next host of the conservative talk show on PBS.
"Weddings: Margaret Hoover, John Avlon". The New York Times. November 6, 2009. pp. ST13. Retrieved November 15, 2018. She is the daughter of Jean W. Hoover and Andrew Hoover of Littleton, Colo. Her father, a mining engineer, retired from Greenfield Engineering in Denver. He is also on the board of the Hoover library association. Her mother retired as a flight attendant for United Airlines.
Allen, Anne Beiser (1 January 2000). An Independent Woman: The Life of Lou Henry Hoover. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313314667. Retrieved 20 April 2017 – via Google Books.
"Grade 7: Celebrity Alumna Returns to Campus". graland.org. Graland Country Day School. 9 November 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018. When alumna Margaret Hoover '93 was in town last week to receive the Nancy Nye Priest Award from the Alumni Association, she graciously made time to visit campus and speak with seventh graders about her career as a political commentator.
Ginanni, Claudia (September 15, 2011). "In American Individualism, Margaret Hoover '01 Advises Republican Party on Attracting Young Voters". alumnews.blogs.brynmawr.edu. Bryn Mawr College. Retrieved November 15, 2011. As the Republican presidential candidates approach the primary season, considerable media attention has been devoted to Margaret Hoover '01, whose American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party was published this summer.
"Margaret Hoover–Cherished Legacy". womanaroundtown.com. Woman Around Town. July 26, 2009. Retrieved November 15, 2018. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a B.A. in Spanish literature and a minor in political science.
"Famous Davidson College Alumni". ranker.com. Ranker. November 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018. List of famous alumni from Davidson College, with photos when available. Prominent graduates from Davidson College include celebrities, politicians, business people, athletes and more. This list of distinguished Davidson College alumni is loosely ordered by relevance, so the most recognizable celebrities who attended Davidson College are at the top of the list. This directory is not just composed of graduates of this school, as some of the famous people on this list didn't necessarily earn a degree from Davidson College
Hoover, Margaret (July 26, 2011). Margaret Hoover: A New Generation of Conservatives and the Future of the Republican Party. Interviewed by Joe Tuman. Transcript. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
"Margaret Hoover: A New Generation of Conservatives and the Future of the Republican Party".
Green, Penelope (11 July 2018). "Margaret Hoover and John Avlon on their Post-Partisan Marriage". The New York Times.
"How Abortion, Legitimate Rape, and Mom-in-Chief Will Affect the Election". The New Yorker. September 19, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
Smith, Chris (March 30, 2007). "Giuliani Loses a Second Bushie". nymag.com. New York Magazine. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
Norfleet, Gregory (December 23, 2008). "Great-granddaughter of Hoover engaged to Giuliani speechwriter". westbranchtimes.com. West Branch Times. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
"Hoover Institution Board of Overseers". hoover.org. Hover Institution. Retrieved November 16, 2018. Overseers: Margaret Hoover, New York, NY
"Weddings: Margaret Hoover, John Avlon". The New York Times. November 6, 2009. pp. ST13. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
"Members of the Board of Directors 2016: Officers". baef.be. Belgian American Educational Foundation. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
American Foundation for Equal Rights. "Advisory Council Board". American Foundation for Equal Rights.
Avlon, John (February 10, 2011). "Gay group in conservatives' gathering splits GOP". cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved November 16, 2018. Avlon's wife, Margaret Hoover, serves on the board of GOProud
"Conservative commentator Margaret Hoover says she will 'quite likely' vote for Biden". 2 September 2020.
Green, Penelope (11 July 2018). "Margaret Hoover and John Avlon on their Post-Partisan Marriage". The New York Times.
Hoover, Margaret (June 15, 2011). "The conservative case for gay marriage: GOP is not the party of intolerance". nydailynews.com. New York Daily News. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
"A New Conservative Agenda". advocate.com. Advocate. July 5, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
Avlon, John (February 28, 2013). "The Pro-Freedom Republicans Are Coming: 131 Sign Gay Marriage Brief". thedailybeast.com. The Daily Beast.
Retrieved November 25, 2018. Influential party donors such as Cliff Asness, Lew Eisenberg, and Dan Loeb decided to add their names, as did policy leaders such as Doug Holtz-Eakin, Greg Mankiw, and Nancy Pfotenhauer, and strategists and media figures such as Alex Castellanos, Margaret Hoover (full disclosure, my bride), Nicolle Wallace, Steve Schmidt, S.E. Cupp, Ana Navarro, and The Daily Beast's own David Frum and Mark McKinnon. Demographic of one Clint Eastwood even decided to sign on.
Green, Penelope (11 July 2018). "Margaret Hoover and John Avlon on their Post-Partisan Marriage". The New York Times.
"Conservative commentator Margaret Hoover says she will 'quite likely' vote for Biden". 2 September 2020.
Hoover, Margaret (2015-03-12). "CPAC 2012 moves away from gay conservatives and closer to the politics of hate". Fox News. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
Werpin, Alex (May 9, 2012). "Margaret Hoover Joins CNN as Political Contributor". adweek.com. Adweek Network TV Newser. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
Bennett, Jessica (May 16, 2014). "Feminism, One Conference at a Time". The New York Times. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
Pedersen, Erik (April 26, 2018). "'Firing Line': PBS Reloads Public-Affairs Show With Host Margaret Hoover". deadline.com. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
"Register of the Firing Line (Television Program) broadcast records". oac.cdlib.org. Online Archives of California. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
Simon, Scott (June 8, 2018). "William F. Buckley's 'Firing Line' Returns With Margaret Hoover". npr.org. National Public Radio. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
"Firing Line with Margaret Hoover". tvguide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
"WNET Sponsorship". wnet.org. WNET. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
"WGBH Boston and Thirteen/WNET New York, Two of America's Largest Public Broadcasters, Join Forces to Launch World and Create - Two New Digital Channels Serving Viewers Across the Northeast". businesswire.com. Business Wire. February 24, 2004. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
Green, Penelope (July 11, 2018). "Margaret Hoover and John Avlon on their Post-Partisan Marriage". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
Williamson, Kevin (June 3, 2018). "A Hoover Restoration". nationalreview.com. National Review. Retrieved November 25, 2018. The reincarnation of Firing Line comes at an interesting time, and a needful one.
Hendershot, Heather (June 1, 2018). "Is America Ready for Kinder, Gentler Political TV?". politico.com. Politico. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
Staff, Algemeiner (May 16, 2019). "Journalists Margaret Hoover, Jackson Diehl Honored at Algemeiner Summer Benefit". algemeiner.com. The Algemeiner. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
Green, Penelope (July 11, 2018). "Margaret Hoover and John Avlon on their Post-Partisan Marriage". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
Norfleet, Gregory (August 23, 2013). "Jack joins Hoover lineage". westbranchtimes.com. West Branch Times. Retrieved November 25, 2018. John Avlon and Margaret Hoover welcomed a baby boy, Jack, at 7:23 p.m. Aug. 14, 2013
"Hoovers welcome Toula Lou". westbranchtimes.com. West Branch Times. December 10, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2018. John Avlon and Margaret Hoover announced the birth of their daughter Toula Lou Hoover Avlon.
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ABOUT FIRING LINE
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover is a refreshing reprisal of William F. Buckley’s iconic PBS program, a smart, civil and engaging contest of ideas. The series maintains the character of the original, providing a platform that is diligent in its commitment to civility and the rigorous exchange of opinion. Firing Line with Margaret Hoover comes at a time when meaningful discourse is needed more than ever. Interviews and debates will highlight leading lights from the left and right, complemented by archival footage from the original Firing Line to remind viewers of longstanding conservative and liberal arguments, where they’ve been disproved or reinforced over time. It is an opportunity to engage in the debate about the America that we want to create for the 21st century — and summon Americans of every political persuasion to a rigorous examination of the choices we must make together in the challenging years ahead.
Tereska Torres - Women's Barracks
Gold Medal Books 132, 1951
Cover Artist: Baryé Phillips
"The frank autobiography of a French girl soldier."
Originally published in 1950, this account of life among female Free French soldiers in a London barracks during World War II sold four million copies in the United States alone, and many more millions worldwide. Women's Barracks is based on the real-life experiences of the author, Tereska Torres, who escaped from occupied France, arrived as a refugee in London, and joined other exiled Frenchwomen enlisting in Charles DeGaulle’s army, then stationed in Britain awaiting an invasion of their homeland by Allied forces.
But Women’s Barracks is no ordinary war story. The grim setting of an urban military barracks—with its freezing dorms, rationed food, and unbecoming regulation underwear—became the setting for one of the steamiest novels of its time. Leaving “normal” civilian life behind, the women enter an all-female realm, where passionate attachments soon form—between older experienced women and young innocents, between butch officer types and their femme subordinates. And for those with more traditional leanings, there was a city full of soldiers to be had—sometimes two or three at a time.
Despite a tone that is frank rather than lurid, Women’s Barracks was banned for obscenity in several states. It was also denounced by the House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials in 1952 as an example of how the paperback industry was “promoting moral degeneracy”; not one of the committee members could even bring himself to read the offending passages aloud for the Congressional record.
But the novel became a record-breaking bestseller, and inspired a whole new genre: lesbian pulp.
...Long had the s mall state ruled by the Forestmen been plagued by infighting civil war and dispute on which philosopher or saint who had the right teachings and was a successor to the great philosopher Saint Marx...
Some followed Saint Mao others followed a violent mythical figure know as Man of Steele, some followed teaching by some communist called just "the savior"
...anyhow, for decades civil wart after civil war depleted resources and the peasantry who was force conscripted to different armies where all missing eyes and limbs which made production in the fiefdom fall even lower, there were even peasant rebellions on their turf, which they had to repress.
...but still it hurt their image of themselves as the schooled and literate protectors of the childish but noble lower classes they had sworn to protect from the grasping talons of the vulture of capitalism...
...one time the peasant population proposed an alternative to the costly wars or as theirs spoke-person said:
Hey Master, you are all intellectual and all that jazz, but we in the lower classes have a proposal, when you booky fellow with mighty smart heads and knowledge have a disagreement why don´t you make a duel of a non lethal kind... an whoever is the winner of this tiny tiny battle, his saint and or prophet´s worlds will rule for a week...
...Ok, now all the sides and factions started reading their literature and they all found a passage in Saint Marx book where it said:
"instead of waging wars on your near-brother factions, thy shall unite agains the common enemy who has a further different world-view than your two competing factions, as long as this present state is in use the one who wins either a duel 2x3 shall lead the common faction for a week"
so The Great Saint Marx had predicted this, so it was worth a try, all factions stopped their infighting and once a week three duelists from every faction solved their disagreement in front of the holy tree-fortress that Saint Marx wrote his holy book under and later fortified as the first Tree-fortress... well that was how the legend goes, since no one is any longer alive who ever met Saint Marx or his disciples or the disciples of the disciples that spread his words in revolutionary circles...
1975
This dark National Technics amp from 1975 was a bestseller of the higher Hifi amp class. The 19" format with rack mounts stand out from the standard models of Kenwood, Sansui, Marantz or Sony etc.
The circuitry and mechanical design is designed for durability and it works without problems like on the first day. With 73 watts per channel, it produces a powerful true seventies sound.
The plastic caps of the toggle switches of all SU 8600 and tuner ST 8600 are loosened due to material fatigue after many years. So I have replaced precautionary toggle control caps with aluminium versions. Why was National Technics at that time so economical?
A good machine listen to music it is definitely.
Professor John Norman Collie FRSE FRS (10 September 1859 – 1 November 1942), commonly referred to as J. Norman Collie, was an English scientist, mountaineer and explorer.
He was born in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, the second of four sons to John Collie and Selina Mary Winkworth. In 1870 the family moved to Clifton, near Bristol, and John was educated initially at Windlesham in Surrey and then in 1873 at Charterhouse School. The family money had been made in the cotton trade, but in 1875 the American Civil War resulted in their financial ruin when their American stock was burnt. Collie had to leave Charterhouse and transfer to Clifton College, Bristol where he realised he was completely unsuited for the classics. He attended University College in Bristol and developed an interest in chemistry.
He earned a PhD in chemistry under Johannes Wislicenus at Würzburg in 1884. Returning to Britain, he taught three years at Cheltenham Ladies College where, according to his niece, "he was far from being a ladies' man and probably found that schoolgirls in bulk were rather more than he could stomach". He left to join University College London (UCL) as an assistant to William Ramsay. His early work was the study of phosphonium and phosphine derivatives and allied ammonium compounds. Later he made important contributions to the knowledge of dehydroacetic acid (then called dehydracetic acid), describing a number of very remarkable 'condensations,' whereby it is converted into pyridine, orcinol and naphthalene derivatives.
Collie served as Professor of Organic Chemistry at UCL from 1896 to 1913, and headed its chemistry department from 1913 to 1928. He performed important research that led to the taking of the first x-ray for diagnosing medical conditions. According to Bentley, Collie "worked with Ramsay on the inert gases, constructed the first neon lamp, proposed a dynamic structure for benzene, and discovered the first oxonium salt." The work on neon discharge lamps was conducted in 1909. The effect of glowing neon in contact with mercury was later sometimes called the Collier effect.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1888. His proposers included Alexander Crum Brown and Edmund Albert Letts. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1896.
John Morton MacKenzie (1856–1933) was a Gaelic speaking crofter from Sconser on the Island of Skye and Britain’s first professional mountain guide.
As a teenager MacKenzie worked as a pony man for Sligachan Hotel helping tourists to visit Loch Coruisk. It is believed that he first climbed Sgùrr nan Gillean at the age of ten. At 14 he made the first known ascent of Sgùrr a' Ghreadaidh with a Mr Tribe. 1887 was a productive year for MacKenzie. He is credited with the first ascent of Am Basteir with the Irish climber Henry Hart with whom he traversed most of the main ridge in two days and made the first traverse of what is now called Collie’s ledge on Sgùrr MhicChoinnich. Recently there has been a tendency to call this feature Hart's Ledge He was involved in the second ascent of the steep western side of the Inaccessible Pinnacle followed by first ascents of Sgùrr Thearlaich and Sgùrr Mhic Choinnich, a peak which was later named after him; its name being Gaelic for MacKenzie’s Peak.
When he met Norman Collie in 1886, and provided him with information on the route up Sgùrr nan Gillean, he was already an established guide. Thereafter he regularly climbed with Collie, exploring the remote, wild and largely unmapped Skye Cuillin. A strong bond of friendship developed between them. Neither seems to have been unduly interested in making money. They shared an urge to climb and explore and, as they grew older, their mutual love of fishing became increasingly important. Collie seems to have been the partner who could envisage the climbing line, while MacKenzie was normally the lead climber. Friendships across class boundaries were relatively uncommon at this time and it may have helped that both men were possessed of a deep sense of humanity.
The list of their achievements together is impressive. In 1891 they succeeded in crossing the Tearlach- Dubh gap, arguably technically the most difficult problem on the main ridge. In 1896 they made the first ascent of the outlying Sgùrr Coir’ an Lochain, probably the last summit in Britain to be climbed. Collie’s 1899 discovery of the Cioch, a remarkable rock feature on the Coire Lagan flank of Sron na Ciche was followed by his first ascent of it with MacKenzie in 1906. Since then this Skye landmark has featured in movies such as ‘’Highlander’’. In the 1997 BBC TV series on Scottish climbing, The Edge, Collie and MacKenzie's exploits were re-enacted by Alan Kimber (Collie) and John Lyall (MacKenzie)
Ken Crocket quotes Sheriff G.D. Valentine “The stalker’s cap, the loose jacket and the knickerbockers, which he wore suited the man; they seemed to grow out of him. He had the characteristics of the Highlander; the courtesy joined to self respect that are the heritage of the clans. His accent to the end smacked of the Gaelic speaker. His features were strong and embrowned by weather. He wore the old style of short beard, whiskers and moustache. Always alert, always cheerful, he was the perfect companion, but it was when the mist came swirling down on the wet rocks that his true worth was known.” [10] Crocket notes that in his career MacKenzie must have guided thousands of tourists and climbers without one recorded accident, a remarkable achievement for anyone working in such an unforgiving environment, arguably Britain’s most challenging range of hills. His achievements were recognised by the Alpine Club who made him something akin to an honorary member and mailed him their journal. MacKenzie never climbed outside Scotland.
Like Collie, John MacKenzie never married; living with two spinster sisters, a niece and a nephew on his croft where he built a house in 1912 from his income from guiding.
John MacKenzie died in 1933 at the age of 76. He is buried in the grave yard of Bracadale Free Church at Struan by Loch Harport on the west side of the island. Norman Collie wrote his obituary in the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal. Collie himself died in 1942 and, in keeping with his wishes, was buried beside his great friend.
A ten-year project to raise £320,000 of funding to erect a bronze statue and memorial to John MacKenzie and Norman Collie on Skye was expected to be realised in 2017. Designed by sculptor, Stephen Tinney, it was positioned and unveiled on a rocky knoll opposite the Sligachan Hotel, overlooking the Cuillin Hills in Sept 2020.
Sligachan is a small settlement on Skye, Scotland. It is close to the Cuillin mountains and provides a good viewpoint for seeing the Black Cuillin mountains.
Sligachan is situated at the junction of the roads from Portree, Dunvegan, and Broadford. The hotel was built at this road junction around 1830. Many early climbers chose this as a spot to start ascents of the Cuillin. Today there is also a campsite and bunkhouse adjacent to the hotel. There is also a small microbrewery which is operated in the same building as the hotel.
Tradition has it that the Lord of the Isles attacked Skye in 1395, but William MacLeod met the MacDonalds at Sligachan and drove them back to Loch Eynort (Ainort). There they found that their galleys had been moved offshore by the MacAskills and every invader was killed. The spoils were divided at Creag an Fheannaidh ('Rock of the Flaying') or Creggan ni feavigh ('Rock of the Spoil'), sometimes identified with the Bloody Stone in Harta Corrie below the heights of Sgurr nan Gillean.
The Sligachan Old Bridge was built between 1810 and 1818 by engineer Thomas Telford. The bridge is for pedestrians and cyclists only following construction of a new road bridge parallel to it on the A87. It was listed as a Category B and scheduled in 1971 and 1974, respectively. Historic Environment Scotland de-scheduled the bridge in 2016 (the listing remains in place).
The Isle of Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Although Sgitheanach has been suggested to describe a winged shape, no definitive agreement exists as to the name's origins.
The island has been occupied since the Mesolithic period, and over its history has been occupied at various times by Celtic tribes including the Picts and the Gaels, Scandinavian Vikings, and most notably the powerful integrated Norse-Gaels clans of MacLeod and MacDonald. The island was considered to be under Norwegian suzerainty until the 1266 Treaty of Perth, which transferred control over to Scotland. The 18th-century Jacobite risings led to the breaking-up of the clan system and later clearances that replaced entire communities with sheep farms, some of which involved forced emigrations to distant lands. Resident numbers declined from over 20,000 in the early 19th century to just under 9,000 by the closing decade of the 20th century. Skye's population increased by 4% between 1991 and 2001. About a third of the residents were Gaelic speakers in 2001, and although their numbers are in decline, this aspect of island culture remains important.
The main industries are tourism, agriculture, fishing, and forestry. Skye is part of the Highland Council local government area. The island's largest settlement is Portree, which is also its capital, known for its picturesque harbour. Links to various nearby islands by ferry are available, and since 1995, to the mainland by a road bridge. The climate is mild, wet, and windy. The abundant wildlife includes the golden eagle, red deer, and Atlantic salmon. The local flora is dominated by heather moor, and nationally important invertebrate populations live on the surrounding sea bed. Skye has provided the locations for various novels and feature films, and is celebrated in poetry and song.
A Mesolithic hunter-gatherer site dating to the seventh millennium BC at An Corran in Staffin is one of the oldest archaeological sites in Scotland. Its occupation is probably linked to that of the rock shelter at Sand, Applecross, on the mainland coast of Wester Ross, where tools made of a mudstone from An Corran have been found. Surveys of the area between the two shores of the Inner Sound and Sound of Raasay have revealed 33 sites with potentially Mesolithic deposits. Finds of bloodstone microliths on the foreshore at Orbost on the west coast of the island near Dunvegan also suggest Mesolithic occupation. These tools probably originated from the nearby island of Rùm. Similarly, bloodstone from Rum, and baked mudstone, from the Staffin area, were found at the Mesolithic site of Camas Daraich, also from the seventh millennium BC, on the Point of Sleat, which has led archaeologists to believe that Mesolithic people on Skye would travel fairly significant distances, at least 70 km, both by land and sea.
Rubha an Dùnain, an uninhabited peninsula to the south of the Cuillin, has a variety of archaeological sites dating from the Neolithic onwards. A second- or third-millennium BC chambered cairn, an Iron Age promontory fort, and the remains of another prehistoric settlement dating from the Bronze Age are nearby. Loch na h-Airde on the peninsula is linked to the sea by an artificial "Viking" canal that may date from the later period of Norse settlement. Dun Ringill is a ruined Iron Age hill fort on the Strathaird Peninsula, which was further fortified in the Middle Ages and may have become the seat of Clan MacKinnon.
The late Iron Age inhabitants of the northern and western Hebrides were probably Pictish, although the historical record is sparse. Three Pictish symbol stones have been found on Skye and a fourth on Raasay. More is known of the kingdom of Dál Riata to the south; Adomnán's life of Columba, written shortly before 697, portrays the saint visiting Skye (where he baptised a pagan leader using an interpreter) and Adomnán himself is thought to have been familiar with the island. The Irish annals record a number of events on Skye in the later seventh and early eighth centuries – mainly concerning the struggles between rival dynasties that formed the background to the Old Irish language romance Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin.
Legendary hero Cú Chulainn is said to have trained on the Isle of Skye with warrior woman Scáthach.
The Norse held sway throughout the Hebrides from the 9th century until after the Treaty of Perth in 1266. However, apart from placenames, little remains of their presence on Skye in the written or archaeological record. Apart from the name "Skye" itself, all pre-Norse placenames seem to have been obliterated by the Scandinavian settlers. Viking heritage, with Celtic heritage is claimed by Clan MacLeod. Norse tradition is celebrated in the winter fire festival at Dunvegan, during which a replica Viking long boat is set alight.
The most powerful clans on Skye in the post–Norse period were Clan MacLeod, originally based in Trotternish, and Clan Macdonald of Sleat. The isle was held by Donald Macdonald, Lord of the Isles’ half-brother, Godfrey, from 1389 until 1401, at which time Skye was declared part of Ross. When the Donald Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, re-gained Ross after the battle of Harlaw in 1411, they added "Earl of Ross" to their lords' titles. Skye came with Ross.
Following the disintegration of the Lordship of the Isles, Clan Mackinnon also emerged as an independent clan, whose substantial landholdings in Skye were centred on Strathaird. Clan MacNeacail also have a long association with Trotternish, and in the 16th century many of the MacInnes clan moved to Sleat. The MacDonalds of South Uist were bitter rivals of the MacLeods, and an attempt by the former to murder church-goers at Trumpan in retaliation for a previous massacre on Eigg, resulted in the Battle of the Spoiling Dyke of 1578.
After the failure of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, Flora MacDonald became famous for rescuing Prince Charles Edward Stuart from the Hanoverian troops. Although she was born on South Uist, her story is strongly associated with their escape via Skye, and she is buried at Kilmuir in Trotternish. Samuel Johnson and James Boswell's visit to Skye in 1773 and their meeting with Flora MacDonald in Kilmuir is recorded in Boswell's The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides. Boswell wrote, "To see Dr Samuel Johnson, the great champion of the English Tories, salute Miss Flora MacDonald in the isle of Sky, was a striking sight; for though somewhat congenial in their notions, it was very improbable they should meet here". Johnson's words that Flora MacDonald was "A name that will be mentioned in history, and if courage and fidelity be virtues, mentioned with honour" are written on her gravestone. After this rebellion, the clan system was broken up and Skye became a series of landed estates.
Of the island in general, Johnson observed:
I never was in any house of the islands, where I did not find books in more languages than one, if I staid long enough to want them, except one from which the family was removed. Literature is not neglected by the higher rank of the Hebrideans. It need not, I suppose, be mentioned, that in countries so little frequented as the islands, there are no houses where travellers are entertained for money. He that wanders about these wilds, either procures recommendations to those whose habitations lie near his way, or, when night and weariness come upon him, takes the chance of general hospitality. If he finds only a cottage he can expect little more than shelter; for the cottagers have little more for themselves but if his good fortune brings him to the residence of a gentleman, he will be glad of a storm to prolong his stay. There is, however, one inn by the sea-side at Sconsor, in Sky, where the post-office is kept.
— Samuel Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland.
Skye has a rich heritage of ancient monuments from this period. Dunvegan Castle has been the seat of Clan MacLeod since the 13th century. It contains the Fairy Flag and is reputed to have been inhabited by a single family for longer than any other house in Scotland. The 18th-century Armadale Castle, once home of Clan Donald of Sleat, was abandoned as a residence in 1925, but now hosts the Clan Donald Centre. Nearby are the ruins of two more MacDonald strongholds, Knock Castle, and Dunscaith Castle (called "Fortress of Shadows"), the legendary home of warrior woman, martial arts instructor (and, according to some sources, Queen) Scáthach. Caisteal Maol, a fortress built in the late 15th century near Kyleakin and once a seat of Clan MacKinnon, is another ruin.
In the late 18th century the harvesting of kelp became a significant activity, but from 1822 onward cheap imports led to a collapse of this industry throughout the Hebrides. During the 19th century, the inhabitants of Skye were also devastated by famine and Clearances. Thirty thousand people were evicted between 1840 and 1880 alone, many of them forced to emigrate to the New World. The "Battle of the Braes" involved a demonstration against a lack of access to land and the serving of eviction notices. The incident involved numerous crofters and about 50 police officers. This event was instrumental in the creation of the Napier Commission, which reported in 1884 on the situation in the Highlands. Disturbances continued until the passing of the 1886 Crofters' Act and on one occasion 400 marines were deployed on Skye to maintain order. The ruins of cleared villages can still be seen at Lorgill, Boreraig and Suisnish in Strath Swordale, and Tusdale on Minginish.
As with many Scottish islands, Skye's population peaked in the 19th century and then declined under the impact of the Clearances and the military losses in the First World War. From the 19th century until 1975 Skye was part of the county of Inverness-shire, but the crofting economy languished and according to Slesser, "Generations of UK governments have treated the island people contemptuously" --a charge that has been levelled at both Labour and Conservative administrations' policies in the Highlands and Islands. By 1971 the population was less than a third of its peak recorded figure in 1841. However, the number of residents then grew by over 28 percent in the thirty years to 2001. The changing relationship between the residents and the land is evidenced by Robert Carruthers's remark c. 1852, "There is now a village in Portree containing three hundred inhabitants." Even if this estimate is inexact the population of the island's largest settlement has probably increased sixfold or more since then. During the period the total number of island residents has declined by 50 percent or more. The island-wide population increase of 4 percent between 1991 and 2001 occurred against the background of an overall reduction in Scottish island populations of 3 percent for the same period. By 2011 the population had risen a further 8.4% to 10,008 with Scottish island populations as a whole growing by 4% to 103,702.
Historically, Skye was overwhelmingly Gaelic-speaking, but this changed between 1921 and 2001. In both the 1901 and 1921 censuses, all Skye parishes were more than 75 percent Gaelic-speaking. By 1971, only Kilmuir parish had more than three-quarters of Gaelic speakers while the rest of Skye ranged between 50 and 74 percent. At that time, Kilmuir was the only area outside the Western Isles that had such a high proportion of Gaelic speakers. In the 2001 census Kilmuir had just under half Gaelic speakers, and overall, Skye had 31 percent, distributed unevenly. The strongest Gaelic areas were in the north and southwest of the island, including Staffin at 61 percent. The weakest areas were in the west and east (e.g. Luib 23 percent and Kylerhea 19 percent). Other areas on Skye ranged between 48 percent and 25 percent.
In terms of local government, from 1975 to 1996, Skye, along with the neighbouring mainland area of Lochalsh, constituted a local government district within the Highland administrative area. In 1996 the district was included in the unitary Highland Council, (Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd) based in Inverness and formed one of the new council's area committees. Following the 2007 elections, Skye now forms a four-member ward called Eilean a' Cheò; it is currently represented by two independents, one Scottish National Party, and one Liberal Democrat councillor.
Skye is in the Highlands and Islands electoral region and comprises a part of the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency of the Scottish Parliament, which elects one member under the first past the post basis to represent it. Kate Forbes is the current MSP for the SNP. In addition, Skye forms part of the wider Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency, which elects one member to the House of Commons in Westminster. The present MP Member of Parliament is Ian Blackford of the Scottish National Party, who took office after the SNP's sweep in the General Election of 2015. Before this, Charles Kennedy, a Liberal Democrat, had represented the area since the 1983 general election.
The ruins of an old building sit on top of a prominent hillock that overlooks a pier attended by fishing boats.
Caisteal Maol and fishing boats in Kyleakin harbour
The largest employer on the island and its environs is the public sector, which accounts for about a third of the total workforce, principally in administration, education, and health. The second-largest employer in the area is the distribution, hotels, and restaurants sector, highlighting the importance of tourism. Key attractions include Dunvegan Castle, the Clan Donald Visitor Centre, and The Aros Experience arts and exhibition centre in Portree. There are about a dozen large landowners on Skye, the largest being the public sector, with the Scottish Government owning most of the northern part of the island. Glendale is a community-owned estate in Duirinish, and the Sleat Community Trust, the local development trust, is active in various regeneration projects.
Small firms dominate employment in the private sector. The Talisker Distillery, which produces a single malt whisky, is beside Loch Harport on the west coast of the island. Torabhaig distillery located in Teangue opened in 2017 and also produces whisky. Three other whiskies—Mac na Mara ("son of the sea"), Tè Bheag nan Eilean ("wee dram of the isles") and Poit Dhubh ("black pot")—are produced by blender Pràban na Linne ("smugglers den by the Sound of Sleat"), based at Eilean Iarmain. These are marketed using predominantly Gaelic-language labels. The blended whisky branded as "Isle of Skye" is produced not on the island but by the Glengoyne Distillery at Killearn north of Glasgow, though the website of the owners, Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd., boasts a "high proportion of Island malts" and contains advertisements for tourist businesses in the island. There is also an established software presence on Skye, with Portree-based Sitekit having expanded in recent years.
Some of the places important to the economy of Skye
Crofting is still important, but although there are about 2,000 crofts on Skye only 100 or so are large enough to enable a crofter to earn a livelihood entirely from the land. In recent years, families have complained about the increasing prices for land that make it difficult for young people to start their own crofts.
Cod and herring stocks have declined but commercial fishing remains important, especially fish farming of salmon and crustaceans such as scampi. The west coast of Scotland has a considerable renewable energy potential and the Isle of Skye Renewables Co-op has recently bought a stake in the Ben Aketil wind farm near Dunvegan. There is a thriving arts and crafts sector.
The unemployment rate in the area tends to be higher than in the Highlands as a whole, and is seasonal, in part due to the impact of tourism. The population is growing and in common with many other scenic rural areas in Scotland, significant increases are expected in the percentage of the population aged 45 to 64 years.
The restrictions required by the worldwide pandemic increased unemployment in the Highlands and Islands in the summer of 2020 to 5.7%; which was significantly higher than the 2.4 percent in 2019. The rates were said to be highest in "Lochaber, Skye and Wester Ross and Argyll and the Islands". A December 2020 report stated that between March (just before the effects of pandemic were noted) and December, the unemployment rate in the region increased by "more than 97%" and suggested that the outlook was even worse for spring 2021.
A report published in mid-2020 indicated that visitors to Skye added £211 million in 2019 to the island's economy before travel restrictions were imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report added that "Skye and Raasay attracted 650,000 visitors [in 2018] and supported 2,850 jobs". The government estimated that tourism in Scotland would decline by over 50% as a result of the pandemic. "Skye is highly vulnerable to the downturn in international visitors that will continue for much of 2020 and beyond", Professor John Lennon of Glasgow Caledonian University told a reporter in July 2020.
Tourism in the Highlands and Islands was negatively impacted by the pandemic, the effects of which continued into 2021. A September 2020 report stated that the region "has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to date when compared to Scotland and the UK as a whole". The industry required short-term support for "business survival and recovery" and that was expected to continue as the sector was "severely impacted for as long as physical distancing and travel restrictions". A scheme called Island Equivalent was introduced by the Scottish government in early 2021 to financially assist hospitality and retail businesses "affected by Level 3 coronavirus restrictions". Previous schemes in 2020 included the Strategic Framework Business Fund and the Coronavirus Business Support Fund.
Before the pandemic, during the summer of 2017, islanders complained about an excessive number of tourists, which was causing overcrowding in popular locations such as Glen Brittle, the Neist Point lighthouse, the Quiraing, and the Old Man of Storr. "Skye is buckling under the weight of increased tourism this year", said the operator of a self-catering cottage; the problem was most significant at "the key iconic destinations, like the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing", he added. Chris Taylor of VisitScotland sympathised with the concerns and said that the agency was working on a long-term solution. "But the benefits to Skye of bringing in international visitors and increased spending are huge," he added.
An article published in 2020 confirmed that (before the pandemic), the Talisker Distillery and Dunvegan Castle were still overcrowded in peak periods; other areas where parking was a problem due to large crowds included "the Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock, the Quiraing, the Fairy Pools, and Neist Point. This source also stated that Portree was "the busiest place on the island" during peak periods and suggested that some tourists might prefer accommodations in quieter areas such as "Dunvegan, Kyleakin and the Broadford and Breakish area".
Skye is linked to the mainland by the Skye Bridge, while ferries sail from Armadale on the island to Mallaig, and from Kylerhea to Glenelg, crossing the Kyle Rhea strait on the MV Glenachulish, the last turntable ferry in the world. Turntable ferries had been common on the west coast of Scotland because they do not require much infrastructure to operate, a boat ramp will suffice. Ferries also run from Uig to Tarbert on Harris and Lochmaddy on North Uist, and from Sconser to Raasay.
The Skye Bridge opened in 1995 under a private finance initiative and the high tolls charged (£5.70 each way for summer visitors) met with widespread opposition, spearheaded by the pressure group SKAT (Skye and Kyle Against Tolls). On 21 December 2004, it was announced that the Scottish Executive had purchased the bridge from its owners and the tolls were immediately removed.
Bus services run to Inverness and Glasgow, and there are local services on the island, mainly starting from Portree or Broadford. Train services run from Kyle of Lochalsh at the mainland end of the Skye Bridge to Inverness, as well as from Glasgow to Mallaig from where the ferry can be caught to Armadale.
The island's airfield at Ashaig, near Broadford, is used by private aircraft and occasionally by NHS Highland and the Scottish Ambulance Service for transferring patients to hospitals on the mainland.
The A87 trunk road traverses the island from the Skye Bridge to Uig, linking most of the major settlements. Many of the island's roads have been widened in the past forty years although there are still substantial sections of single-track road.
A modern 3 story building with a prominent frontage of numerous windows and constructed from a white material curves gently away from a green lawn in the foreground. In the background there is a tall white tower of a similar construction.
Students of Scottish Gaelic travel from all over the world to attend Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Scottish Gaelic college based near Kilmore in Sleat. In addition to members of the Church of Scotland and a smaller number of Roman Catholics, many residents of Skye belong to the Free Church of Scotland, known for its strict observance of the Sabbath.
Skye has a strong folk music tradition, although in recent years dance and rock music have been growing in popularity on the island. Gaelic folk rock band Runrig started in Skye and former singer Donnie Munro still works on the island. Runrig's second single and a concert staple is entitled Skye, the lyrics being partly in English and partly in Gaelic and they have released other songs such as "Nightfall on Marsco" that were inspired by the island. Ex-Runrig member Blair Douglas, a highly regarded accordionist, and composer in his own right was born on the island and is still based there to this day. Celtic fusion band the Peatbog Faeries are based on Skye. Jethro Tull singer Ian Anderson owned an estate at Strathaird on Skye at one time. Several Tull songs are written about Skye, including Dun Ringil, Broadford Bazaar, and Acres Wild (which contains the lines "Come with me to the Winged Isle, / Northern father's western child..." about the island itself). The Isle of Skye Music Festival featured sets from The Fun Lovin' Criminals and Sparks, but collapsed in 2007. Electronic musician Mylo was born on Skye.
The poet Sorley MacLean, a native of the Isle of Raasay, which lies off the island's east coast, lived much of his life on Skye. The island has been immortalised in the traditional song "The Skye Boat Song" and is the notional setting for the novel To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, although the Skye of the novel bears little relation to the real island. John Buchan's descriptions of Skye, as featured in his Richard Hannay novel Mr Standfast, are more true to life. I Diari di Rubha Hunis is a 2004 Italian language work of non-fiction by Davide Sapienza [it]. The international bestseller, The Ice Twins, by S K Tremayne, published around the world in 2015–2016, is set in southern Skye, especially around the settlement and islands of Isleornsay.
Skye has been used as a location for several feature films. The Ashaig aerodrome was used for the opening scenes of the 1980 film Flash Gordon. Stardust, released in 2007 and starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, featured scenes near Uig, Loch Coruisk and the Quiraing. Another 2007 film, Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle, was shot almost entirely in various locations on the island. The Justin Kurzel adaption of Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender was also filmed on the Island. Some of the opening scenes in Ridley Scott's 2012 feature film Prometheus were shot and set at the Old Man of Storr. In 1973 The Highlands and Islands - a Royal Tour, a documentary about Prince Charles's visit to the Highlands and Islands, directed by Oscar Marzaroli, was shot partly on Skye. Scenes from the Scottish Gaelic-language BBC Alba television series Bannan were filmed on the island.
The West Highland Free Press is published at Broadford. This weekly newspaper takes as its motto An Tìr, an Cànan 's na Daoine ("The Land, the Language, and the People"), which reflects its radical, campaigning priorities. The Free Press was founded in 1972 and circulates in Skye, Wester Ross, and the Outer Hebrides. Shinty is a popular sport played throughout the island and Portree-based Skye Camanachd won the Camanachd Cup in 1990. The local radio station Radio Skye is a community based station that broadcast local news and entertainment to the Isle Of Skye and Loch Alsh on 106.2 FM and 102.7 FM.
Whilst Skye had unofficial flags in the past, including the popular "Bratach nan Daoine" (Flag of the People) design which represented the Cuillins in sky blue against a white sky symbolising the Gaelic language, land struggle, and the fairy flag of Dunvegan, the Island received its first official flag "Bratach an Eilein" (The Skye Flag) approved by the Lord Lyon after a public vote in August 2020. The design by Calum Alasdair Munro reflects the Island's Gaelic heritage, the Viking heritage, and the history of Flora MacDonald. The flag has a birlinn in the canton, and there are five oars representing the five areas of Skye, Trotternish, Waternish, Duirinish, Minginish, and Sleat. Yellow represents the MacLeods, and Blue the MacDonalds or the MacKinnons.
The Hebrides generally lack the biodiversity of mainland Britain, but like most of the larger islands, Skye still has a wide variety of species. Observing the abundance of game birds Martin wrote:
There is plenty of land and water fowl in this isle—as hawks, eagles of two kinds (the one grey and of a larger size, the other much less and black, but more destructive to young cattle), black cock, heath-hen, plovers, pigeons, wild geese, ptarmigan, and cranes. Of this latter sort I have seen sixty on the shore in a flock together. The sea fowls are malls of all kinds—coulterneb, guillemot, sea cormorant, &c. The natives observe that the latter, if perfectly black, makes no good broth, nor is its flesh worth eating; but that a cormorant, which hath any white feathers or down, makes good broth, and the flesh of it is good food; and the broth is usually drunk by nurses to increase their milk.
— Martin Martin, A Description of The Western Islands of Scotland.
Similarly, Samuel Johnson noted that:
At the tables where a stranger is received, neither plenty nor delicacy is wanting. A tract of land so thinly inhabited must have much wild-fowl; and I scarcely remember to have seen a dinner without them. The moor-game is every where to be had. That the sea abounds with fish, needs not be told, for it supplies a great part of Europe. The Isle of Sky has stags and roebucks, but no hares. They sell very numerous droves of oxen yearly to England, and therefore cannot be supposed to want beef at home. Sheep and goats are in great numbers, and they have the common domestic fowls."
— Samuel Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland.
A black sea bird with a black beak, red feet and a prominent white flash on its wing sits on a shaped stone. The stone is partially covered with moss and grass and there is an indistinct outline of a grey stone wall and water body in the background.
In the modern era avian life includes the corncrake, red-throated diver, kittiwake, tystie, Atlantic puffin, goldeneye and golden eagle. The eggs of the last breeding pair of white-tailed sea eagle in the UK were taken by an egg collector on Skye in 1916 but the species has recently been re-introduced. The chough last bred on the island in 1900. Mountain hare (apparently absent in the 18th century) and rabbit are now abundant and preyed upon by wild cat and pine marten. The rich fresh water streams contain brown trout, Atlantic salmon and water shrew. Offshore the edible crab and edible oyster are also found, the latter especially in the Sound of Scalpay. There are nationally important horse mussel and brittlestar beds in the sea lochs and in 2012 a bed of 100 million flame shells was found during a survey of Loch Alsh. Grey Seals can be seen off the Southern coast.
Heather moor containing ling, bell heather, cross-leaved heath, bog myrtle and fescues is everywhere abundant. The high Black Cuillins weather too slowly to produce soil that sustains a rich plant life, but each of the main peninsulas has an individual flora. The basalt underpinnings of Trotternish produce a diversity of Arctic and alpine plants including alpine pearlwort and mossy cyphal. The low-lying fields of Waternish contain corn marigold and corn spurry. The sea cliffs of Duirinish boast mountain avens and fir clubmoss. Minginish produces fairy flax, cats-ear, and black bog rush. There is a fine example of Brachypodium-rich ash woodland at Tokavaig in Sleat incorporating silver birch, hazel, bird cherry, and hawthorn.
The local Biodiversity Action Plan recommends land management measures to control the spread of ragwort and bracken and identifies four non-native, invasive species as threatening native biodiversity: Japanese knotweed, rhododendron, New Zealand flatworm and mink. It also identifies problems of over-grazing resulting in the impoverishment of moorland and upland habitats and a loss of native woodland, caused by the large numbers of red deer and sheep.
In 2020 Clan MacLeod chief Hugh MacLeod announced a plan to reintroduce 370,000 native trees along with beaver and red squirrel populations to the clan estates on Skye, to restore a "wet desert" landscape which had depleted from years of overgrazing.
Tengo libro nuevo y estoy feliz!!!!...me lo obsequiaron... la persona que lo leyo y me lo regalo se fascino con la historia...y es por eso que me lo regalo para compartir conmigo lo que tanto le gusto y asi iniciar un club de lectura...me encanto la idea y el libro que ya empeze a leerlo me esta gustando muchisimo!!! casi puedo decirles que se los recomiendo!!! ;-D
Bestseller A/S is a privately held family-owned clothing company based in Denmark. The company was founded in 1975 and has 11 brands.
Remembering an American conservative icon
Phyllis Schlafly, who recently died at the age of 92, authored the bestseller “A Choice Not an Echo,” which sold 3 million copies. Phyllis was not just a conservative activist but, as the Wall Street Journal reported, she was “the conservative activis...
mbcpathway.com/2016/10/03/letters-to-the-editor-conservat...
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New office complex for Bestseller fashion group, Pier 2, Port of Aarhus.
Architect: C.F. Møller Architects
New office complex for Bestseller fashion group, Pier 2, Port of Aarhus.
Architect: C.F. Møller Architects
New office complex for Bestseller fashion group, Pier 2, Port of Aarhus.
Architect: C.F. Møller Architects
New office complex for Bestseller fashion group, Pier 2, Port of Aarhus.
Architect: C.F. Møller Architects
Belgian postcard by Nieuwe Merksemsche Chocolaterie S.P.R.L., Merksem (Antwerp). Photo: Republic Pictures.
American actress, singer, and songwriter Dale Evans (1912-2001) was nicknamed 'the Queen of the West'. She was the third wife of Roy Rogers. Alongside her husband, she appeared in numerous musical Westerns of the 1940s and in The Roy Rogers Show (1951-1957) on TV.
Dale Evans was born Frances Octavia Smith in 1912 in Uvalde, Texas, to Bettie Sue Wood and T. Hillman Smith. She had a tumultuous early life. She spent a lot of time living with her uncle, Dr. L.D. Massey MD FACP, an internal medicine physician, in Osceola, Arkansas. At age 14, she eloped with and married Thomas F. Fox, with whom she had one son, Thomas F. Fox Jr., when she was 15. A year later, abandoned by her husband, she found herself in Memphis, Tennessee, a single parent pursuing a music career. She landed a job with local radio stations (WMC and WREC), singing and playing the piano. Divorced in 1929, she took the name Dale Evans while working at radio station WHAS in the early 1930s after the station manager suggested it because he believed she could promote her singing career with a short pleasant-sounding name that announcers and disc jockeys could easily pronounce. After beginning her career singing at the radio station where she was employed as a secretary, Evans had a productive career as a jazz, swing, and big band singer that led to a screen test and contract with 20th Century Fox studios in 1942. She gained exposure on radio as the featured singer for a time on the Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy show. Throughout this early period, Evans went through two additional failed marriages, first with August Wayne Johns from 1929 to 1935; then with accompanist and arranger Robert Dale Butts from 1937 to 1946. Neither marriage produced children. During her time at 20th Century Fox, the studio promoted her as the unmarried supporter of her teenage 'brother' Tommy (actually her son Tom Fox, Jr.), a deception that continued through her divorce from Butts in 1946 and her development as a cowgirl co-star to Roy Rogers at Republic Studios.
At 20th Century Fox, Dale Evans did not get good parts. She was barely visible in her film debut Orchestra Wives (Archie Mayo, 1942) She had to settle for leading roles at Republic Studios, a "B" factory. She wasn't keen on westerns, but Westerns were what she got. In 1944, she was cast as leading lady to rising cowboy star Roy Rogers in Cowboy and the Senorita (Joseph Kane, 1944). She and Rogers clicked and she became his steady on-screen companion in such films as The Yellow Rose of Texas (Joseph Kane, 1944), Don't Fence Me In (John English, 1945), and My Pal Trigger (Frank McDonald, 1946). The two would become icons of American pop culture. In 1946, Rogers' wife died and Evans' marriage to Butts ended about the same time. Roy and Dale married on New Year's Eve 1947 at the Flying L Ranch in Davis, Oklahoma, where they had earlier filmed the film Home in Oklahoma (William Witney, 1946). The marriage was Rogers' third and Evans' fourth but was successful; the two were a team on- and off-screen from 1946 until Rogers' death in 1998. Shortly after the wedding, Evans ended the deception regarding her son Tommy. Roy had an adopted daughter, Cheryl, and two biological children, Linda and Roy Jr. (Dusty), from his second marriage. Together they had one child, Robin Elizabeth, who died of complications of Down syndrome shortly before her second birthday. Their marriage was dogged by tragedy, including the loss of three children before adulthood. In 1965, son John David, nicknamed Sandy, died at the age of 18 while in the army and stationed in Germany. Daughter Debbie, originally named In Ai Lee, who was of Korean and Puerto Rican ancestry, died in a bus crash in 1964. Her life inspired Dale Evans to write her bestseller 'Angel Unaware'. Evans was very influential in changing public perceptions of children with developmental disabilities and served as a role model for many parents. After she wrote 'Angel Unaware', a group then known as the “Oklahoma County Council for Mentally Retarded Children” adopted its better-known name Dale Rogers Training Center in her honour. She went on to write a number of religious and inspirational books, and she and Roy appeared many times with Billy Graham in Crusades all over the country, singing gospel songs and giving their testimony. Evans and Rogers adopted four other children: Mimi, Dodie, Sandy, and Debbie.
From 1951-1957, Dale Evans and Roy Rogers starred in the highly-successful television series 'The Roy Rogers Show', in which they continued their cowboy and cowgirl roles, with her riding her trusty buckskin horse, Buttermilk. Alice Van-Springsteen served as a double for both Evans and Gail Davis, the actress who starred in the syndicated series Annie Oakley, often performing such tasks as tipping over wagons and jumping railroad tracks. In addition to her successful TV shows, more than 30 films, and some 200 songs, Evans wrote the well-known song 'Happy Trails'. In later episodes of the program, she was outspoken in her Christianity, telling people that God would assist them with their troubles and imploring adults and children to turn to Him for guidance. In late 1962, the couple co-hosted a comedy-western-variety program, The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show, which aired on ABC. It was canceled after three months, losing in the ratings to the first season of The Jackie Gleason Show. The couple's headquarters became The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum in Victorville, California near their Apple Valley home which chronicled their lives. In the 1970s, Evans recorded several solo albums of religious music. In 1976, Roy and Dale were inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. During the 1980s, the couple introduced their films weekly on the former The Nashville Network. In the 1990s, Evans hosted her own religious television program, A Date with Dale. Dale Evans died of congestive heart failure in 2001, at the age of 88, in Apple Valley, California. She is interred at Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Apple Valley, next to Rogers. Following Dale's death, the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum moved to Branson, Missouri. Dale Evans was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio at 6638 Hollywood Boulevard and for Television at 1737 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.
Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Jim Beaver (IMDb), Donald Greyfield (Find A Grave), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
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The Isle of Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Although Sgitheanach has been suggested to describe a winged shape, no definitive agreement exists as to the name's origins.
The island has been occupied since the Mesolithic period, and over its history has been occupied at various times by Celtic tribes including the Picts and the Gaels, Scandinavian Vikings, and most notably the powerful integrated Norse-Gaels clans of MacLeod and MacDonald. The island was considered to be under Norwegian suzerainty until the 1266 Treaty of Perth, which transferred control over to Scotland. The 18th-century Jacobite risings led to the breaking-up of the clan system and later clearances that replaced entire communities with sheep farms, some of which involved forced emigrations to distant lands. Resident numbers declined from over 20,000 in the early 19th century to just under 9,000 by the closing decade of the 20th century. Skye's population increased by 4% between 1991 and 2001. About a third of the residents were Gaelic speakers in 2001, and although their numbers are in decline, this aspect of island culture remains important.
The main industries are tourism, agriculture, fishing, and forestry. Skye is part of the Highland Council local government area. The island's largest settlement is Portree, which is also its capital, known for its picturesque harbour. Links to various nearby islands by ferry are available, and since 1995, to the mainland by a road bridge. The climate is mild, wet, and windy. The abundant wildlife includes the golden eagle, red deer, and Atlantic salmon. The local flora is dominated by heather moor, and nationally important invertebrate populations live on the surrounding sea bed. Skye has provided the locations for various novels and feature films, and is celebrated in poetry and song.
A Mesolithic hunter-gatherer site dating to the seventh millennium BC at An Corran in Staffin is one of the oldest archaeological sites in Scotland. Its occupation is probably linked to that of the rock shelter at Sand, Applecross, on the mainland coast of Wester Ross, where tools made of a mudstone from An Corran have been found. Surveys of the area between the two shores of the Inner Sound and Sound of Raasay have revealed 33 sites with potentially Mesolithic deposits. Finds of bloodstone microliths on the foreshore at Orbost on the west coast of the island near Dunvegan also suggest Mesolithic occupation. These tools probably originated from the nearby island of Rùm. Similarly, bloodstone from Rum, and baked mudstone, from the Staffin area, were found at the Mesolithic site of Camas Daraich, also from the seventh millennium BC, on the Point of Sleat, which has led archaeologists to believe that Mesolithic people on Skye would travel fairly significant distances, at least 70 km, both by land and sea.
Rubha an Dùnain, an uninhabited peninsula to the south of the Cuillin, has a variety of archaeological sites dating from the Neolithic onwards. A second- or third-millennium BC chambered cairn, an Iron Age promontory fort, and the remains of another prehistoric settlement dating from the Bronze Age are nearby. Loch na h-Airde on the peninsula is linked to the sea by an artificial "Viking" canal that may date from the later period of Norse settlement. Dun Ringill is a ruined Iron Age hill fort on the Strathaird Peninsula, which was further fortified in the Middle Ages and may have become the seat of Clan MacKinnon.
The late Iron Age inhabitants of the northern and western Hebrides were probably Pictish, although the historical record is sparse. Three Pictish symbol stones have been found on Skye and a fourth on Raasay. More is known of the kingdom of Dál Riata to the south; Adomnán's life of Columba, written shortly before 697, portrays the saint visiting Skye (where he baptised a pagan leader using an interpreter) and Adomnán himself is thought to have been familiar with the island. The Irish annals record a number of events on Skye in the later seventh and early eighth centuries – mainly concerning the struggles between rival dynasties that formed the background to the Old Irish language romance Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin.
Legendary hero Cú Chulainn is said to have trained on the Isle of Skye with warrior woman Scáthach.
The Norse held sway throughout the Hebrides from the 9th century until after the Treaty of Perth in 1266. However, apart from placenames, little remains of their presence on Skye in the written or archaeological record. Apart from the name "Skye" itself, all pre-Norse placenames seem to have been obliterated by the Scandinavian settlers. Viking heritage, with Celtic heritage is claimed by Clan MacLeod. Norse tradition is celebrated in the winter fire festival at Dunvegan, during which a replica Viking long boat is set alight.
The most powerful clans on Skye in the post–Norse period were Clan MacLeod, originally based in Trotternish, and Clan Macdonald of Sleat. The isle was held by Donald Macdonald, Lord of the Isles’ half-brother, Godfrey, from 1389 until 1401, at which time Skye was declared part of Ross. When the Donald Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, re-gained Ross after the battle of Harlaw in 1411, they added "Earl of Ross" to their lords' titles. Skye came with Ross.
Following the disintegration of the Lordship of the Isles, Clan Mackinnon also emerged as an independent clan, whose substantial landholdings in Skye were centred on Strathaird. Clan MacNeacail also have a long association with Trotternish, and in the 16th century many of the MacInnes clan moved to Sleat. The MacDonalds of South Uist were bitter rivals of the MacLeods, and an attempt by the former to murder church-goers at Trumpan in retaliation for a previous massacre on Eigg, resulted in the Battle of the Spoiling Dyke of 1578.
After the failure of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, Flora MacDonald became famous for rescuing Prince Charles Edward Stuart from the Hanoverian troops. Although she was born on South Uist, her story is strongly associated with their escape via Skye, and she is buried at Kilmuir in Trotternish. Samuel Johnson and James Boswell's visit to Skye in 1773 and their meeting with Flora MacDonald in Kilmuir is recorded in Boswell's The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides. Boswell wrote, "To see Dr Samuel Johnson, the great champion of the English Tories, salute Miss Flora MacDonald in the isle of Sky, was a striking sight; for though somewhat congenial in their notions, it was very improbable they should meet here". Johnson's words that Flora MacDonald was "A name that will be mentioned in history, and if courage and fidelity be virtues, mentioned with honour" are written on her gravestone. After this rebellion, the clan system was broken up and Skye became a series of landed estates.
Of the island in general, Johnson observed:
I never was in any house of the islands, where I did not find books in more languages than one, if I staid long enough to want them, except one from which the family was removed. Literature is not neglected by the higher rank of the Hebrideans. It need not, I suppose, be mentioned, that in countries so little frequented as the islands, there are no houses where travellers are entertained for money. He that wanders about these wilds, either procures recommendations to those whose habitations lie near his way, or, when night and weariness come upon him, takes the chance of general hospitality. If he finds only a cottage he can expect little more than shelter; for the cottagers have little more for themselves but if his good fortune brings him to the residence of a gentleman, he will be glad of a storm to prolong his stay. There is, however, one inn by the sea-side at Sconsor, in Sky, where the post-office is kept.
— Samuel Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland.
Skye has a rich heritage of ancient monuments from this period. Dunvegan Castle has been the seat of Clan MacLeod since the 13th century. It contains the Fairy Flag and is reputed to have been inhabited by a single family for longer than any other house in Scotland. The 18th-century Armadale Castle, once home of Clan Donald of Sleat, was abandoned as a residence in 1925, but now hosts the Clan Donald Centre. Nearby are the ruins of two more MacDonald strongholds, Knock Castle, and Dunscaith Castle (called "Fortress of Shadows"), the legendary home of warrior woman, martial arts instructor (and, according to some sources, Queen) Scáthach. Caisteal Maol, a fortress built in the late 15th century near Kyleakin and once a seat of Clan MacKinnon, is another ruin.
In the late 18th century the harvesting of kelp became a significant activity, but from 1822 onward cheap imports led to a collapse of this industry throughout the Hebrides. During the 19th century, the inhabitants of Skye were also devastated by famine and Clearances. Thirty thousand people were evicted between 1840 and 1880 alone, many of them forced to emigrate to the New World. The "Battle of the Braes" involved a demonstration against a lack of access to land and the serving of eviction notices. The incident involved numerous crofters and about 50 police officers. This event was instrumental in the creation of the Napier Commission, which reported in 1884 on the situation in the Highlands. Disturbances continued until the passing of the 1886 Crofters' Act and on one occasion 400 marines were deployed on Skye to maintain order. The ruins of cleared villages can still be seen at Lorgill, Boreraig and Suisnish in Strath Swordale, and Tusdale on Minginish.
As with many Scottish islands, Skye's population peaked in the 19th century and then declined under the impact of the Clearances and the military losses in the First World War. From the 19th century until 1975 Skye was part of the county of Inverness-shire, but the crofting economy languished and according to Slesser, "Generations of UK governments have treated the island people contemptuously" --a charge that has been levelled at both Labour and Conservative administrations' policies in the Highlands and Islands. By 1971 the population was less than a third of its peak recorded figure in 1841. However, the number of residents then grew by over 28 percent in the thirty years to 2001. The changing relationship between the residents and the land is evidenced by Robert Carruthers's remark c. 1852, "There is now a village in Portree containing three hundred inhabitants." Even if this estimate is inexact the population of the island's largest settlement has probably increased sixfold or more since then. During the period the total number of island residents has declined by 50 percent or more. The island-wide population increase of 4 percent between 1991 and 2001 occurred against the background of an overall reduction in Scottish island populations of 3 percent for the same period. By 2011 the population had risen a further 8.4% to 10,008 with Scottish island populations as a whole growing by 4% to 103,702.
Historically, Skye was overwhelmingly Gaelic-speaking, but this changed between 1921 and 2001. In both the 1901 and 1921 censuses, all Skye parishes were more than 75 percent Gaelic-speaking. By 1971, only Kilmuir parish had more than three-quarters of Gaelic speakers while the rest of Skye ranged between 50 and 74 percent. At that time, Kilmuir was the only area outside the Western Isles that had such a high proportion of Gaelic speakers. In the 2001 census Kilmuir had just under half Gaelic speakers, and overall, Skye had 31 percent, distributed unevenly. The strongest Gaelic areas were in the north and southwest of the island, including Staffin at 61 percent. The weakest areas were in the west and east (e.g. Luib 23 percent and Kylerhea 19 percent). Other areas on Skye ranged between 48 percent and 25 percent.
In terms of local government, from 1975 to 1996, Skye, along with the neighbouring mainland area of Lochalsh, constituted a local government district within the Highland administrative area. In 1996 the district was included in the unitary Highland Council, (Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd) based in Inverness and formed one of the new council's area committees. Following the 2007 elections, Skye now forms a four-member ward called Eilean a' Cheò; it is currently represented by two independents, one Scottish National Party, and one Liberal Democrat councillor.
Skye is in the Highlands and Islands electoral region and comprises a part of the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency of the Scottish Parliament, which elects one member under the first past the post basis to represent it. Kate Forbes is the current MSP for the SNP. In addition, Skye forms part of the wider Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency, which elects one member to the House of Commons in Westminster. The present MP Member of Parliament is Ian Blackford of the Scottish National Party, who took office after the SNP's sweep in the General Election of 2015. Before this, Charles Kennedy, a Liberal Democrat, had represented the area since the 1983 general election.
The ruins of an old building sit on top of a prominent hillock that overlooks a pier attended by fishing boats.
Caisteal Maol and fishing boats in Kyleakin harbour
The largest employer on the island and its environs is the public sector, which accounts for about a third of the total workforce, principally in administration, education, and health. The second-largest employer in the area is the distribution, hotels, and restaurants sector, highlighting the importance of tourism. Key attractions include Dunvegan Castle, the Clan Donald Visitor Centre, and The Aros Experience arts and exhibition centre in Portree. There are about a dozen large landowners on Skye, the largest being the public sector, with the Scottish Government owning most of the northern part of the island. Glendale is a community-owned estate in Duirinish, and the Sleat Community Trust, the local development trust, is active in various regeneration projects.
Small firms dominate employment in the private sector. The Talisker Distillery, which produces a single malt whisky, is beside Loch Harport on the west coast of the island. Torabhaig distillery located in Teangue opened in 2017 and also produces whisky. Three other whiskies—Mac na Mara ("son of the sea"), Tè Bheag nan Eilean ("wee dram of the isles") and Poit Dhubh ("black pot")—are produced by blender Pràban na Linne ("smugglers den by the Sound of Sleat"), based at Eilean Iarmain. These are marketed using predominantly Gaelic-language labels. The blended whisky branded as "Isle of Skye" is produced not on the island but by the Glengoyne Distillery at Killearn north of Glasgow, though the website of the owners, Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd., boasts a "high proportion of Island malts" and contains advertisements for tourist businesses in the island. There is also an established software presence on Skye, with Portree-based Sitekit having expanded in recent years.
Some of the places important to the economy of Skye
Crofting is still important, but although there are about 2,000 crofts on Skye only 100 or so are large enough to enable a crofter to earn a livelihood entirely from the land. In recent years, families have complained about the increasing prices for land that make it difficult for young people to start their own crofts.
Cod and herring stocks have declined but commercial fishing remains important, especially fish farming of salmon and crustaceans such as scampi. The west coast of Scotland has a considerable renewable energy potential and the Isle of Skye Renewables Co-op has recently bought a stake in the Ben Aketil wind farm near Dunvegan. There is a thriving arts and crafts sector.
The unemployment rate in the area tends to be higher than in the Highlands as a whole, and is seasonal, in part due to the impact of tourism. The population is growing and in common with many other scenic rural areas in Scotland, significant increases are expected in the percentage of the population aged 45 to 64 years.
The restrictions required by the worldwide pandemic increased unemployment in the Highlands and Islands in the summer of 2020 to 5.7%; which was significantly higher than the 2.4 percent in 2019. The rates were said to be highest in "Lochaber, Skye and Wester Ross and Argyll and the Islands". A December 2020 report stated that between March (just before the effects of pandemic were noted) and December, the unemployment rate in the region increased by "more than 97%" and suggested that the outlook was even worse for spring 2021.
A report published in mid-2020 indicated that visitors to Skye added £211 million in 2019 to the island's economy before travel restrictions were imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report added that "Skye and Raasay attracted 650,000 visitors [in 2018] and supported 2,850 jobs". The government estimated that tourism in Scotland would decline by over 50% as a result of the pandemic. "Skye is highly vulnerable to the downturn in international visitors that will continue for much of 2020 and beyond", Professor John Lennon of Glasgow Caledonian University told a reporter in July 2020.
Tourism in the Highlands and Islands was negatively impacted by the pandemic, the effects of which continued into 2021. A September 2020 report stated that the region "has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to date when compared to Scotland and the UK as a whole". The industry required short-term support for "business survival and recovery" and that was expected to continue as the sector was "severely impacted for as long as physical distancing and travel restrictions". A scheme called Island Equivalent was introduced by the Scottish government in early 2021 to financially assist hospitality and retail businesses "affected by Level 3 coronavirus restrictions". Previous schemes in 2020 included the Strategic Framework Business Fund and the Coronavirus Business Support Fund.
Before the pandemic, during the summer of 2017, islanders complained about an excessive number of tourists, which was causing overcrowding in popular locations such as Glen Brittle, the Neist Point lighthouse, the Quiraing, and the Old Man of Storr. "Skye is buckling under the weight of increased tourism this year", said the operator of a self-catering cottage; the problem was most significant at "the key iconic destinations, like the Old Man of Storr and the Quiraing", he added. Chris Taylor of VisitScotland sympathised with the concerns and said that the agency was working on a long-term solution. "But the benefits to Skye of bringing in international visitors and increased spending are huge," he added.
An article published in 2020 confirmed that (before the pandemic), the Talisker Distillery and Dunvegan Castle were still overcrowded in peak periods; other areas where parking was a problem due to large crowds included "the Old Man of Storr, Kilt Rock, the Quiraing, the Fairy Pools, and Neist Point. This source also stated that Portree was "the busiest place on the island" during peak periods and suggested that some tourists might prefer accommodations in quieter areas such as "Dunvegan, Kyleakin and the Broadford and Breakish area".
Skye is linked to the mainland by the Skye Bridge, while ferries sail from Armadale on the island to Mallaig, and from Kylerhea to Glenelg, crossing the Kyle Rhea strait on the MV Glenachulish, the last turntable ferry in the world. Turntable ferries had been common on the west coast of Scotland because they do not require much infrastructure to operate, a boat ramp will suffice. Ferries also run from Uig to Tarbert on Harris and Lochmaddy on North Uist, and from Sconser to Raasay.
The Skye Bridge opened in 1995 under a private finance initiative and the high tolls charged (£5.70 each way for summer visitors) met with widespread opposition, spearheaded by the pressure group SKAT (Skye and Kyle Against Tolls). On 21 December 2004, it was announced that the Scottish Executive had purchased the bridge from its owners and the tolls were immediately removed.
Bus services run to Inverness and Glasgow, and there are local services on the island, mainly starting from Portree or Broadford. Train services run from Kyle of Lochalsh at the mainland end of the Skye Bridge to Inverness, as well as from Glasgow to Mallaig from where the ferry can be caught to Armadale.
The island's airfield at Ashaig, near Broadford, is used by private aircraft and occasionally by NHS Highland and the Scottish Ambulance Service for transferring patients to hospitals on the mainland.
The A87 trunk road traverses the island from the Skye Bridge to Uig, linking most of the major settlements. Many of the island's roads have been widened in the past forty years although there are still substantial sections of single-track road.
A modern 3 story building with a prominent frontage of numerous windows and constructed from a white material curves gently away from a green lawn in the foreground. In the background there is a tall white tower of a similar construction.
Students of Scottish Gaelic travel from all over the world to attend Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Scottish Gaelic college based near Kilmore in Sleat. In addition to members of the Church of Scotland and a smaller number of Roman Catholics, many residents of Skye belong to the Free Church of Scotland, known for its strict observance of the Sabbath.
Skye has a strong folk music tradition, although in recent years dance and rock music have been growing in popularity on the island. Gaelic folk rock band Runrig started in Skye and former singer Donnie Munro still works on the island. Runrig's second single and a concert staple is entitled Skye, the lyrics being partly in English and partly in Gaelic and they have released other songs such as "Nightfall on Marsco" that were inspired by the island. Ex-Runrig member Blair Douglas, a highly regarded accordionist, and composer in his own right was born on the island and is still based there to this day. Celtic fusion band the Peatbog Faeries are based on Skye. Jethro Tull singer Ian Anderson owned an estate at Strathaird on Skye at one time. Several Tull songs are written about Skye, including Dun Ringil, Broadford Bazaar, and Acres Wild (which contains the lines "Come with me to the Winged Isle, / Northern father's western child..." about the island itself). The Isle of Skye Music Festival featured sets from The Fun Lovin' Criminals and Sparks, but collapsed in 2007. Electronic musician Mylo was born on Skye.
The poet Sorley MacLean, a native of the Isle of Raasay, which lies off the island's east coast, lived much of his life on Skye. The island has been immortalised in the traditional song "The Skye Boat Song" and is the notional setting for the novel To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, although the Skye of the novel bears little relation to the real island. John Buchan's descriptions of Skye, as featured in his Richard Hannay novel Mr Standfast, are more true to life. I Diari di Rubha Hunis is a 2004 Italian language work of non-fiction by Davide Sapienza [it]. The international bestseller, The Ice Twins, by S K Tremayne, published around the world in 2015–2016, is set in southern Skye, especially around the settlement and islands of Isleornsay.
Skye has been used as a location for several feature films. The Ashaig aerodrome was used for the opening scenes of the 1980 film Flash Gordon. Stardust, released in 2007 and starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, featured scenes near Uig, Loch Coruisk and the Quiraing. Another 2007 film, Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle, was shot almost entirely in various locations on the island. The Justin Kurzel adaption of Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender was also filmed on the Island. Some of the opening scenes in Ridley Scott's 2012 feature film Prometheus were shot and set at the Old Man of Storr. In 1973 The Highlands and Islands - a Royal Tour, a documentary about Prince Charles's visit to the Highlands and Islands, directed by Oscar Marzaroli, was shot partly on Skye. Scenes from the Scottish Gaelic-language BBC Alba television series Bannan were filmed on the island.
The West Highland Free Press is published at Broadford. This weekly newspaper takes as its motto An Tìr, an Cànan 's na Daoine ("The Land, the Language, and the People"), which reflects its radical, campaigning priorities. The Free Press was founded in 1972 and circulates in Skye, Wester Ross, and the Outer Hebrides. Shinty is a popular sport played throughout the island and Portree-based Skye Camanachd won the Camanachd Cup in 1990. The local radio station Radio Skye is a community based station that broadcast local news and entertainment to the Isle Of Skye and Loch Alsh on 106.2 FM and 102.7 FM.
Whilst Skye had unofficial flags in the past, including the popular "Bratach nan Daoine" (Flag of the People) design which represented the Cuillins in sky blue against a white sky symbolising the Gaelic language, land struggle, and the fairy flag of Dunvegan, the Island received its first official flag "Bratach an Eilein" (The Skye Flag) approved by the Lord Lyon after a public vote in August 2020. The design by Calum Alasdair Munro reflects the Island's Gaelic heritage, the Viking heritage, and the history of Flora MacDonald. The flag has a birlinn in the canton, and there are five oars representing the five areas of Skye, Trotternish, Waternish, Duirinish, Minginish, and Sleat. Yellow represents the MacLeods, and Blue the MacDonalds or the MacKinnons.
The Hebrides generally lack the biodiversity of mainland Britain, but like most of the larger islands, Skye still has a wide variety of species. Observing the abundance of game birds Martin wrote:
There is plenty of land and water fowl in this isle—as hawks, eagles of two kinds (the one grey and of a larger size, the other much less and black, but more destructive to young cattle), black cock, heath-hen, plovers, pigeons, wild geese, ptarmigan, and cranes. Of this latter sort I have seen sixty on the shore in a flock together. The sea fowls are malls of all kinds—coulterneb, guillemot, sea cormorant, &c. The natives observe that the latter, if perfectly black, makes no good broth, nor is its flesh worth eating; but that a cormorant, which hath any white feathers or down, makes good broth, and the flesh of it is good food; and the broth is usually drunk by nurses to increase their milk.
— Martin Martin, A Description of The Western Islands of Scotland.
Similarly, Samuel Johnson noted that:
At the tables where a stranger is received, neither plenty nor delicacy is wanting. A tract of land so thinly inhabited must have much wild-fowl; and I scarcely remember to have seen a dinner without them. The moor-game is every where to be had. That the sea abounds with fish, needs not be told, for it supplies a great part of Europe. The Isle of Sky has stags and roebucks, but no hares. They sell very numerous droves of oxen yearly to England, and therefore cannot be supposed to want beef at home. Sheep and goats are in great numbers, and they have the common domestic fowls."
— Samuel Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland.
A black sea bird with a black beak, red feet and a prominent white flash on its wing sits on a shaped stone. The stone is partially covered with moss and grass and there is an indistinct outline of a grey stone wall and water body in the background.
In the modern era avian life includes the corncrake, red-throated diver, kittiwake, tystie, Atlantic puffin, goldeneye and golden eagle. The eggs of the last breeding pair of white-tailed sea eagle in the UK were taken by an egg collector on Skye in 1916 but the species has recently been re-introduced. The chough last bred on the island in 1900. Mountain hare (apparently absent in the 18th century) and rabbit are now abundant and preyed upon by wild cat and pine marten. The rich fresh water streams contain brown trout, Atlantic salmon and water shrew. Offshore the edible crab and edible oyster are also found, the latter especially in the Sound of Scalpay. There are nationally important horse mussel and brittlestar beds in the sea lochs and in 2012 a bed of 100 million flame shells was found during a survey of Loch Alsh. Grey Seals can be seen off the Southern coast.
Heather moor containing ling, bell heather, cross-leaved heath, bog myrtle and fescues is everywhere abundant. The high Black Cuillins weather too slowly to produce soil that sustains a rich plant life, but each of the main peninsulas has an individual flora. The basalt underpinnings of Trotternish produce a diversity of Arctic and alpine plants including alpine pearlwort and mossy cyphal. The low-lying fields of Waternish contain corn marigold and corn spurry. The sea cliffs of Duirinish boast mountain avens and fir clubmoss. Minginish produces fairy flax, cats-ear, and black bog rush. There is a fine example of Brachypodium-rich ash woodland at Tokavaig in Sleat incorporating silver birch, hazel, bird cherry, and hawthorn.
The local Biodiversity Action Plan recommends land management measures to control the spread of ragwort and bracken and identifies four non-native, invasive species as threatening native biodiversity: Japanese knotweed, rhododendron, New Zealand flatworm and mink. It also identifies problems of over-grazing resulting in the impoverishment of moorland and upland habitats and a loss of native woodland, caused by the large numbers of red deer and sheep.
In 2020 Clan MacLeod chief Hugh MacLeod announced a plan to reintroduce 370,000 native trees along with beaver and red squirrel populations to the clan estates on Skye, to restore a "wet desert" landscape which had depleted from years of overgrazing.
No printing date; Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich. Cover art by George Salter. Published by Bestseller Mystery.
British postcard by Heroes Publishing LTD., London, no. SPC 3328.
Blue-eyed, natural blonde Cameron Diaz (1972) is a former model and film actress. Her big break arrived in 1994 with the Jim Carrey film The Mask. Roles in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), There's Something About Mary (1998), and Shrek (2001) – in which she voiced Princess Fiona – solidified her as one of the most bankable Hollywood stars. Her other film credits include hits like Charlie's Angels (2000), Gangs of New York (2003) and In Her Shoes (2005).
Cameron Diaz was born in 1972 in San Diego, California. She is the daughter of a Cuban-American father and an Anglo-German mother. She graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic (Poly) High School (Class of 1990) in Long Beach, California. As a member of that school's 'Polyettes' dance-drill team, Cameron performed during half-time at football games. Self described as "adventurous, independent and a tough kid," she lived in such varied locales as Japan, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, and Paris. Returning to California at the age of 21, Diaz was discovered by a photographer at a Hollywood party. He helped her land a contract with the Elite Modeling Agency. She was working as a model when she auditioned for a big part in the comedy The Mask (Chuck Russell, 1994), based on a Dark Horse comic book series of the same name. To her amazement and despite having no previous acting experience, she was cast as the female lead in the film opposite Jim Carrey. It proved to be a great acting debut for her. The Mask is both a crazy comedy, which surpasses the imagination, but also works well as a thriller with a dark atmosphere. Over the next 3 years, she honed her acting skills in such low budget independent films as The Last Supper (Stacy Title, 1995), Feeling Minnesota (Steven Baigelman, 1996) with Keanu Reeves, and Head Above Water (Jim Wilson, 1996) with Harvey Keitel. She returned to main stream films in My Best Friend's Wedding (P.H. Hogan, 1997), in which she held her own against leading lady Julia Roberts. In 1998, she earned full fledged star status for her performance in the box office smash There's Something About Mary (Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly, 1998) with Matt Dillon and Ben Stiller. Her following two projects—the sports drama Any Given Sunday (Oliver Stone, 1999) starring Al Pacino, and Spike Jonze's surrealist fantasy Being John Malkovich (1999)—lent Diaz a reputation as a dramatic actress, the latter earning her her second Golden Globe nomination.
Cameron Diaz earned a third Golden Globe nomination for her supporting role in Vanilla Sky (Cameron Crowe, 2001) starring Tom Cruise and Penélope Cruz, and appeared in numerous high-profile films in the early 2000s, including Charlie's Angels (McG, 2000) with Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu, and its sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (McG, 2003), as well as voicing the character of Princess Fiona in the Shrek series (2001–2010). In 2003, she was cast opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day Lewis in the period epic Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese, 2003), for which she earned her fourth Golden Globe nomination. Worldwide, the film grossed a total of US$193 million, while it was embraced by critics. Her subsequent films included the dramatic comedies In Her Shoes (Curtis Hanson, 2005) with Toni Colette, and The Holiday (Nancy Meyers, 2006) with Kate Winslet, and the disappointing psychological thriller The Box (Richard Kelly, 2009). Diaz appeared in supporting parts in The Green Hornet (Michel Gondry, 2011), followed by starring roles in the comedies The Other Woman (Nick Cassavetes, 2014) and Sex Tape (Jake Kasdan, 2014). After appearing in Will Gluck's film adaptation of Annie (Will Gluck, 2014), Diaz confirmed she was formally retiring from acting. Diaz is the author of two health books: The Body Book (2013), a New York Times bestseller, and The Longevity Book (2016). In 2015, Cameron Diaz married her boyfriend of 8 months, Benji Madden. After appearing in There's Something About Mary (1998), Diaz briefly dated her co-star Matt Dillon. The following year, she began a four-year relationship with actor Jared Leto,which ended in 2003. Later, she dated singer and actor Justin Timberlake. They separated in 2007. Her accolades include four Golden Globe Award nominations, three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and a New York Film Critics Award. In 2013, she was named the highest-paid actress over 40 in Hollywood. As of 2018, the U.S. domestic box office grosses of Diaz's films total over $3 billion USD, with worldwide grosses surpassing $7 billion, making her the fifth highest-grossing U.S. domestic box office actress.
Sources: Tom McDonough (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
© Jeff R. Clow
I have been damn lucky to have an attractive wife to serve as my number one model over the years as I moved into stock photography.
Here's a shot of Bev at the beach in Cozumel that is my number one bestseller year after year. This shot alone has been purchased over 600 times - for brochures, websites, travel magazines and many other uses....
You might be wondering if my model got to share in any of the proceeds......well as a matter of fact, every dollar we make on stock photography goes into the vacation fund.
This shot alone has paid for a couple of additional cruises.....and we're cruising again next month.
How did I get into stock photography?
Some kind soul here on Flickr saw this and other travel shots I've taken and suggested I give the stock photography world a try......
That's what it says on the cover anyway. It promises to be a wet weekend so I'll have time to find out if the book is deserving of the title.
A Loggia dei Lanzi localizada na piazza della Signoria em Florença foi construída entre os anos 1376 e 1382 para acomodar as cerimônias oficiais da República florentina. Em 1583 o arquiteto Bernardo Buontalenti criou o terraço superior para que a familia Medici, pudesse assistir às cerimônias e performances que aconteciam na praça abaixo, sem se misturar com o povo.
Hoje o terraço da Loggia dei Lanzi è conhecido como a "Terrazza Panoramica" da Galleria degli Uffizi, onde se encontra o bar e o café do Uffizi.
While many bestsellers often advocate positive thinking and optimistic attitude, I always trust we are, rather, more constituted by sadness than happiness, as subjectively the impact on one's behaviour of the former, tends to be greater and more everlasting. Sadness makes one's shadow under the sunlight, and it is the shadow distinguish us from being a ghost.
Taken with SONY RX-1
Lens: Carl Zeiss Sonnar 35mm F2 T*
Location: Spain
aperture.hk
Shuhada' Sadaqat[8][a] (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; 8 December 1966 – July 2023), known professionally as Sinéad O'Connor,[9][b] was an Irish singer, songwriter and political activist. Her debut studio album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990), became her biggest success, selling over seven million copies worldwide.[11] Its lead single, "Nothing Compares 2 U", was named the number-one world single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards.[12]
O'Connor released ten studio albums. Am I Not Your Girl? (1992) and Universal Mother (1994) were certified gold in the UK,[13] Faith and Courage (2000) was certified gold in Australia,[14] and Throw Down Your Arms (2005) went gold in Ireland.[15] Her work included songs for films, collaborations with many other artists, and appearances at charity fundraising concerts. Her 2021 memoir Rememberings was a bestseller.[16]
In 1999, O'Connor was ordained as a priest by the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church, an Independent Catholic sect that is not recognised by the Roman Catholic Church.[17] She consistently spoke out on issues related to child abuse (including her 1992 Saturday Night Live protest against the continued cover-up of Catholic Church sexual abuse cases), human rights, racism, organised religion, and women's rights. Throughout her music career, she spoke about her spiritual journey, activism, socio-political views, as well as her trauma and mental health struggles. In 2017, O'Connor changed her name to Magda Davitt. After converting to Islam in 2018 she changed it to Shuhada' Sadaqat,[2][8][18] but continued to record and perform under her birth name.[
O'Connor was born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor[20] in the Cascia House Nursing Home at 13 Pembroke Road, Dublin, on 8 December 1966.[2] She was named Sinéad after Sinéad de Valera, the mother of the doctor presiding over the delivery, Éamon de Valera, Jnr., and Bernadette in honour of Saint Bernadette of Lourdes.[21][22] She was the third of five children;[23] her siblings are novelist Joseph,[24] Eimear,[25] John,[26] and Eoin.[27]
Her parents are John Oliver "Seán" O'Connor, a structural engineer later turned barrister[23] and chairperson of the Divorce Action Group,[28] and Johanna Marie O'Grady (1939–1985), who married in the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Drimnagh, Dublin, in 1960. She attended Dominican College Sion Hill school in Blackrock, County Dublin.[29]
In 1979, O'Connor left her mother and went to live with her father, who had married Viola Margaret Suiter (née Cook) in Alexandria, Virginia, United States, in 1976.[30] At the age of 15, her shoplifting and truancy led to her being placed for 18 months in a Magdalene asylum called the Grianán Training Centre in Drumcondra run by the Order of Our Lady of Charity.[31] In some ways, she thrived there, especially in the development of her writing and music, but she also chafed under the imposed conformity. Unruly students there were sometimes sent to sleep in the adjoining nursing home, an experience of which she later commented, "I have never—and probably will never—experience such panic and terror and agony over anything."[32] She later for a period attended the Quaker Newtown School, Waterford for 5th and 6th year but did not sit the Leaving Certificate in 1985.[33][34]
On 10 February 1985, when O'Connor was 18, her mother Marie died in a car accident, aged 45, after losing control of her car on an icy road in Ballybrack and crashing into a bus.[35][36]
In June 1993, O'Connor wrote a public letter in The Irish Times which asked people to "stop hurting" her: "If only I can fight off the voices of my parents / and gather a sense of self-esteem / Then I'll be able to REALLY sing ..." The letter repeated accusations of abuse by her parents as a child which O'Connor had made in interviews. Her brother Joseph defended their father to the newspaper but agreed regarding their mother's "extreme and violent abuse, both emotional and physical". O'Connor said that month, "Our family is very messed up. We can't communicate with each other. We are all in agony. I for one am in agony."[37]
Musical career 1980s
One of the volunteers at Grianán was the sister of Paul Byrne, drummer for the band In Tua Nua, who heard O'Connor singing "Evergreen" by Barbra Streisand. She recorded a song with them called "Take My Hand" but they felt that at 15, she was too young to join the band.[38] Through an ad she placed in Hot Press in mid-1984, she met Colm Farrelly. Together they recruited a few other members and formed a band called Ton Ton Macoute.[22] The band moved to Waterford briefly while O'Connor attended Newtown School, but she soon dropped out of school and followed them to Dublin, where their performances received positive reviews. Their sound was inspired by Farrelly's interest in world music, though most observers thought O'Connor's singing and stage presence were the band's strongest features.[22][39]
O'Connor's time as singer for Ton Ton Macoute brought her to the attention of the music industry, and she was eventually signed by Ensign Records. She also acquired an experienced manager, Fachtna Ó Ceallaigh, former head of U2's Mother Records. Soon after she was signed, she embarked on her first major assignment, providing the vocals for the song "Heroine", which she co-wrote with U2's guitarist the Edge for the soundtrack to the film Captive. Ó Ceallaigh, who had been fired by U2 for complaining about them in an interview, was outspoken with his views on music and politics, and O'Connor adopted the same habits; she defended the actions of the Provisional IRA and said U2's music was "bombastic".[2] She later retracted her IRA comments saying they were based on nonsense, and that she was "too young to understand the tense situation in Northern Ireland properly".[40]
Her first album The Lion and the Cobra was "a sensation" when it was released in 1987 on Chrysalis Records,[41] and it reached gold record status, earning a Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy nomination. The single "Mandinka" was a big college radio hit in the United States, and "I Want Your (Hands on Me)" received both college and urban play in a remixed form that featured rapper MC Lyte. In her first U.S. network television appearance, O'Connor sang "Mandinka" on Late Night with David Letterman in 1988.[42] The song "Troy" was also released as a single in the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands, where it reached number 5 on the Dutch Top 40 chart.[43]
O'Connor named Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Bob Marley, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the Pretenders as the artists who influenced her on her debut album.[44] In 1989 O'Connor joined The The frontman Matt Johnson as a guest vocalist on the band's album Mind Bomb, which spawned the duet "Kingdom of Rain".[45] That same year, she made her first foray into cinema, starring in and writing the music for the Northern Irish film Hush-a-Bye-Baby.[46]
1990s
O'Connor's second album – 1990's I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got – gained considerable attention and mostly positive reviews:[47] it was rated "second best album of the year" by the NME.[48] She was praised for her voice and original songs, while being noted for her appearance: trademark shaved head, often angry expression, and sometimes shapeless or unusual clothing.[47] The album featured Marco Pirroni (of Adam and the Ants fame), Andy Rourke (from The Smiths) and John Reynolds, her first husband;[49] most notably, it contained her international breakthrough hit "Nothing Compares 2 U", a song written by Prince[50][51] and originally recorded and released by a side project of his, the Family.[51] Hank Shocklee, producer for Public Enemy, remixed the album's next single, "The Emperor's New Clothes",[49] for a 12-inch that was coupled with another song from the LP, "I Am Stretched on Your Grave". Pre-dating but included on I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, was "Jump in the River", which originally appeared on the Married to the Mob soundtrack; the 12-inch version of the single had included a remix featuring performance artist Karen Finley.[52][53]
In July 1990, she joined other guests for former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters' performance of The Wall in Berlin.[54] She contributed a cover of "You Do Something to Me" to the Cole Porter tribute/AIDS fundraising album Red Hot + Blue produced by the Red Hot Organization.[55] Red Hot + Blue was followed by the release of Am I Not Your Girl?, an album made of covers of jazz standards and torch songs she had listened to while growing up; the album received mixed-to-poor reviews, and was a commercial disappointment in light of the success of her previous work.[56] Her take on Elton John's "Sacrifice" was acclaimed as one of the best efforts on the tribute album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin.[57]
Also in 1990, she was criticised after she stated that she would not perform if the United States national anthem was played before one of her concerts; Frank Sinatra threatened to "kick her in the ass".[58] After receiving four Grammy Award nominations, she withdrew her name from consideration.[2] Although nominated for the Brit Award for International Female Solo Artist, which she won, she did not attend the awards ceremony, but did accept the Irish IRMA in February 1991.[59]
I don't do anything in order to cause trouble. It just so happens that what I do naturally causes trouble. I'm proud to be a troublemaker.
—O'Connor in NME, March 1991[60]
She spent the following months studying bel canto singing with teacher Frank Merriman at the Parnell School of Music. In an interview with The Guardian, published in May 1993, she reported that singing lessons with Merriman were the only therapy she was receiving, describing Merriman as "the most amazing teacher in the universe."[61]
In 1992, she contributed backing vocals on the track "Come Talk To Me", and shared vocals on the single "Blood of Eden" from the studio album Us by Peter Gabriel. Gabriel invited her to join his ongoing Secret World Tour in May 1993, to sing these songs and more in an elaborate stage setting. O'Connor travelled and performed as a guest artist.[62] She was seen at Gabriel's side at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards in September. While in Los Angeles, she took too many sleeping pills, inciting media conjecture about a suicide attempt. She said she "was in a bad way emotionally at the time, but it wasn't a suicide attempt."[63] She left the tour suddenly, causing Gabriel to scramble for a replacement singer.[62] Decades later, she wrote in her memoir Rememberings that she left Gabriel because he treated her casually, and would not make a commitment.[6]
The 1993 soundtrack to the film In the Name of the Father featured O'Connor's "You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart".[49] Her more conventional Universal Mother album (1994) spawned two music videos for the first and second singles, "Fire on Babylon" and "Famine", that were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video.[64][65] She toured with Lollapalooza in 1995, but dropped out when she became pregnant with her second child.[66] In 1997, she released the Gospel Oak EP.[67]
In 1994, she appeared in A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who,[68] also known as Daltrey Sings Townshend. This was a two-night concert at Carnegie Hall produced by Roger Daltrey of the Who in celebration of his 50th birthday.[69] A CD and a VHS video of the concert were issued in 1994, followed by a DVD in 1998.[70][71]
In 1996, O'Connor guested on Broken China, a solo album by Pink Floyd's Richard Wright.[72]
O'Connor made her final feature film appearance in Neil Jordan's The Butcher Boy in 1997, playing the Virgin Mary.[73]
In 1998, she worked again with the Red Hot Organization to co-produce and perform on Red Hot + Rhapsody.[74]
2000s
O'Connor at the "Music in My Head" festival in The Hague, 13 June 2008
Faith and Courage was released in 2000, including the single "No Man's Woman", and featured contributions from Wyclef Jean of the Fugees and Dave Stewart of Eurythmics.[75]
Her 2002 album, Sean-Nós Nua, marked a departure in that O'Connor interpreted or, in her own words, "sexed up" traditional Irish folk songs, including several in the Irish language.[76] In Sean-Nós Nua, she covered a well-known Canadian folk song, "Peggy Gordon".[77]
In 2003, she contributed a track to the Dolly Parton tribute album Just Because I'm a Woman, a cover of Parton's "Dagger Through the Heart". That same year, she also featured on three songs of Massive Attack's album 100th Window before releasing her double album, She Who Dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the Almighty. This compilation contained one disc of demos and previously unreleased tracks and one disc of a live concert recording. Directly after the album's release, O'Connor announced that she was retiring from music.[78] Collaborations, a compilation album of guest appearances, was released in 2005—featuring tracks recorded with Peter Gabriel, Massive Attack, Jah Wobble, Terry Hall, Moby, Bomb the Bass, the Edge, U2, and The The.[79]
Ultimately, after a brief period of inactivity and a bout with fibromyalgia, her retirement proved to be short-lived. O'Connor stated in an interview with Harp magazine that she had only intended to retire from making mainstream pop/rock music, and after dealing with her fibromyalgia she chose to move into other musical styles.[80] The reggae album Throw Down Your Arms appeared in late 2005.[81]
On 8 November 2006, O'Connor performed seven songs from her upcoming album Theology at The Sugar Club in Dublin. Thirty fans were given the opportunity to win pairs of tickets to attend along with music industry critics.[82] The performance was released in 2008 as Live at the Sugar Club deluxe CD/DVD package sold exclusively on her website.[83]
O'Connor released two songs from her album Theology to download for free from her official website: "If You Had a Vineyard" and "Jeremiah (Something Beautiful)". The album, a collection of covered and original Rastafari spiritual songs, was released in June 2007. The first single from the album, the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber classic "I Don't Know How to Love Him", was released on 30 April 2007.[84] To promote the album, O'Connor toured extensively in Europe and North America. She also appeared on two tracks of the new Ian Brown album The World Is Yours, including the anti-war single "Illegal Attacks".[85]
2010s
In January 2010, O'Connor performed a duet with R&B singer Mary J. Blige produced by former A Tribe Called Quest member Ali Shaheed Muhammad of O'Connor's song "This Is To Mother You" (first recorded by O'Connor on her 1997 Gospel Oak EP). The proceeds of the song's sales were donated to the organisation GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services).[86] In 2012 the song "Lay Your Head Down", written by Brian Byrne and Glenn Close for the soundtrack of the film Albert Nobbs and performed by O'Connor, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.[87]
O'Connor performing in 2013
In 2011, O'Connor worked on recording a new album, titled Home, to be released in the beginning of 2012,[88] titled How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?,[89][90] with the first single being "The Wolf is Getting Married". She planned an extensive tour in support of the album but suffered a serious breakdown between December 2011 and March 2012,[91] resulting in the tour and all other musical activities for the rest of 2012 being cancelled. O'Connor resumed touring in 2013 with The Crazy Baldhead Tour. The second single "4th and Vine" was released on 18 February 2013.[92]
In February 2014, it was revealed that O'Connor had been recording a new album of original material, titled The Vishnu Room, consisting of romantic love songs.[93] In early June 2014, the new album was retitled I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss, with an 11 August release date. The title derives from the Ban Bossy campaign that took place earlier the same year. The album's first single is entitled "Take Me to Church".[94][95]
In November 2014, O'Connor's management was taken over by Simon Napier-Bell and Björn de Water.[96] On 15 November, O'Connor joined the charity supergroup Band Aid 30 along with other British and Irish pop acts, recording a new version of the track "Do They Know It's Christmas?" at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, to raise money for the West African Ebola virus epidemic.[97]
In September 2019, O'Connor performed live for the first time in five years, singing "Nothing Compares 2 U" with the Irish Chamber Orchestra on RTÉ's The Late Late Show.[98][99]
2020s
In October 2020, O'Connor released a cover of Mahalia Jackson's Trouble of the World, with proceeds from the single to benefit Black Lives Matter charities.[100]
On 4 June 2021, O'Connor announced her immediate retirement from the music industry. While her final studio album, No Veteran Dies Alone, was due to be released in 2022, O'Connor stated that she would not be touring or promoting it.[101] Announcing the news on Twitter, she said "This is to announce my retirement from touring and from working in the record business. I've gotten older and I'm tired. So it's time for me to hang up my nipple tassels, having truly given my all. NVDA in 2022 will be my last release. And there'll be no more touring or promo."[101][102] On 7 June she retracted her previous statement, describing the original announcement as "a knee-jerk reaction" to an insensitive interview, and announcing that she would go ahead with her already scheduled 2022 tour.[103]
On 1 June 2021, O'Connor's memoir Rememberings was released to positive critical reception. It was listed among the best books of the year on BBC Culture.[104]
On 7 January 2022, O'Connor's son, Shane, died by suicide at the age of 17.[42] She subsequently decided to cancel her 2022 tour and her album No Veteran Dies Alone was postponed indefinitely.[105]
In February 2023, she shared a new version of "The Skye Boat Song", a 19th century Scottish adaptation of a 1782 Gaelic song, which is also the theme for the fantasy drama series Outlander.[106] The following month, she was awarded the inaugural Choice Music Prize Classic Irish Album by Irish broadcaster RTÉ for her 1990 album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.[107][108]
Name
In 2017, O'Connor changed her legal name to Magda Davitt, saying in an interview that she wished to be "free of the patriarchal slave names. Free of the parental curses."[113][114] On her conversion to Islam in October 2018, she adopted the name 'Shuhada', and before mid-2019 also changed her surname from Davitt to Sadaqat.[115]
Personal and public image
Her shaved head has been seen as a statement against traditional views of femininity.[116]
Marriages and children
O'Connor had four children and was married and divorced four times. She had her first son, Jake, in 1987 with her first husband, music producer John Reynolds,[117] who co-produced several of her albums, including Universal Mother. Reynolds and O'Connor later married in Westminster register office in March 1989.[118][119] The same year, O'Connor had an abortion after things did not work out with the father. She later wrote the song "My Special Child" about the experience.[120] O'Connor and Reynolds announced their plan to divorce in November 1991 after being separated for some time.[121]
Soon after the birth of her daughter Brigidine Roisin Waters on 10 March 1996, O'Connor and the girl's father, Irish journalist John Waters, began a long custody battle that ended with O'Connor agreeing to let Roisin live in Dublin with Waters.[122][119][117] In August 2001, O'Connor married British journalist Nick Sommerlad in Wales; the marriage ended in July 2002 after 11 months.[123][117] She had her third child, son Shane, in 2004 with musician Donal Lunny.[117][119] In 2006, she had her fourth child, Yeshua Francis Neil Bonadio, whose father is Frank Bonadio.[124][125]
O'Connor was married a third time on 22 July 2010, to longtime friend and collaborator Steve Cooney,[4][126] and in late March 2011, made the decision to separate.[127] Her fourth marriage was to Irish therapist Barry Herridge. They wed on 9 December 2011, in Las Vegas, but their marriage ended after having "lived together for 7 days only".[128] The following week, on 3 January 2012, O'Connor issued a further string of internet comments to the effect that the couple had re-united.[5]
On 18 July 2015, her first grandson was born to her son Jake Reynolds and his girlfriend Lia.[129]
On 7 January 2022, two days after her 17-year-old son Shane was reported missing from Newbridge, County Kildare, he was found dead by suicide. His body was found by Gardaí in the Bray/Shankill part of Dublin.[130][131][132] O'Connor stated that her son, custody of whom she lost in 2013, had been on "suicide watch" at Tallaght Hospital, and had "ended his earthly struggle". O'Connor criticised the Health Service Executive (HSE) with regard to their handling of her son's case.[133][134][135] She initially criticised Ireland's family services agency, Tusla, but retracted this a few days later.[136][137] In January 2022, a week after her son's suicide, she was hospitalised on her own volition following a series of tweets in which she indicated she was going to take her own life.[138]
Relationship with Prince
Speaking about her relationship with Prince in an interview with Norwegian station NRK in November 2014 she said, "I did meet him a couple of times. We didn't get on at all. In fact we had a punch-up." She continued: "He summoned me to his house after 'Nothing Compares'. I made it without him. I'd never met him. He summoned me to his house – and it's foolish to do this to an Irish woman – he said he didn't like me saying bad words in interviews. So I told him to f*** off....He got quite violent. I had to escape out of his house at 5 in the morning. He packed a bigger punch than mine."[139] In her 2021 memoir Rememberings, O'Connor described her meeting with Prince in detail, which ranged from having his butler serve soup repeatedly despite no desire for soup, to hitting her with a hard object placed in a pillowcase after wanting a pillow fight, and stalking her with his car after she left the mansion.[140]
Health
In the early 2000s, O'Connor revealed that she suffered from fibromyalgia. The pain and fatigue she experienced caused her to take a break from music from 2003 to 2005.[141]
On an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show broadcast on 4 October 2007, O'Connor disclosed that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder four years earlier, and had attempted suicide on her 33rd birthday, 8 December 1999.[142] Then, on Oprah: Where Are They Now? of 9 February 2014, O'Connor said that she had received three "second opinions" and was told by all three that she was not bipolar.
O'Connor was also diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder.[143]
In August 2015, she announced that she was to undergo a hysterectomy after suffering gynaecological problems for over three years.[144] O'Connor later blamed the hospital's refusal to administer hormonal replacement therapy after the operation as the main reason for her mental health issues in the subsequent years, stating "I was flung into surgical menopause. Hormones were everywhere. I became very suicidal. I was a basket case."[145]
Having smoked cannabis for 30 years, O'Connor went to a rehabilitation centre in 2016, to end her "addiction".[146] O'Connor was agoraphobic.[147]
In August 2017, O'Connor posted a 12-minute video on her Facebook page in which she stated that she had felt alone since losing custody of her 13-year-old son, Shane, and that for the prior two years she had wanted to kill herself, with only her doctor and psychiatrist "keeping her alive".[148] The month after her Facebook post, O'Connor appeared on the American television talk show Dr. Phil on the show's 16th season debut episode.[149] According to Dr. Phil, O'Connor wanted to do the interview because she wanted to "destigmatize mental illness", noting the prevalence of mental health issues among musicians.[150] Shane died in January 2022. A week later, following a series of tweets in which she indicated that she was going to kill herself, O'Connor was hospitalised.[151]
Sexuality
In a 2000 interview in Curve, O'Connor said that she was a lesbian.[152] She later retracted the statement, and in 2005 told Entertainment Weekly "I'm three-quarters heterosexual, a quarter gay".[153]
In 2013, O'Connor published an open letter on her own website to American singer and actress Miley Cyrus in which she warned Cyrus of the treatment of women in the music industry and stated that sexuality is a factor in this, which was in response to Cyrus's music video for her song "Wrecking Ball".[154] Cyrus responded by mocking O'Connor and alluding to her mental health problems.[155]
Politics
O'Connor was a vocal supporter of a united Ireland, and called on the left-wing republican Sinn Féin party to be "braver". In December 2014 it was reported O'Connor had joined Sinn Féin.[156] O'Connor called for the "demolition" of the Republic of Ireland and its replacement with a new, united country. She also called for key Sinn Féin politicians like Gerry Adams to step down because "they remind people of violence", referring to the Troubles.[157]
In a 2015 interview with the BBC, O'Connor said she wished that Ireland had remained under British rule (which ended after the Irish War of Independence, except for Northern Ireland), saying "the church took over and it was disastrous".[158] Following the Brexit referendum in 2016, O'Connor wrote on Facebook "Ireland is officially no longer owned by Britain".[159]
Religion
Sinéad O'Connor on After Dark on 21 January 1995
In January 1995, O'Connor made an unexpected appearance on the British late-night television programme After Dark during an episode about sexual abuse and the Catholic Church in Ireland.[160] The discussion included a Dominican friar and another representative of the Catholic Church, along with former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald. Host Helena Kennedy described the event: "Sinéad came on and argued that abuse in families was coded in by the church because it refused to accept the accounts of women and children."[161]
In the late 1990s, Bishop Michael Cox of the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church (an Independent Catholic group not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church) ordained O'Connor as a priest.[17] The Catholic Church considers the ordination of women to be invalid and asserts that a person attempting the sacrament of ordination upon a woman incurs excommunication.[17] The bishop had contacted her to offer ordination following her appearance on RTÉ's The Late Late Show, during which she told the presenter, Gay Byrne, that had she not been a singer she would have wished to have been a Catholic priest. After her ordination, she indicated that she wished to be called Mother Bernadette Mary.[17]
In a July 2007 interview with Christianity Today, O'Connor stated that she considered herself a Christian and that she believed in core Christian concepts about the Trinity and Jesus Christ. She said, "I think God saves everybody whether they want to be saved or not. So when we die, we're all going home ... I don't think God judges anybody. He loves everybody equally."[162] In an October 2002 interview, she credited her Christian faith in giving her the strength to live through and overcome the effects of her childhood abuse.[112]
On 26 March 2010, O'Connor appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360° to speak out about the Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Ireland.[163] On 28 March 2010, she had an opinion piece published in the Sunday edition of The Washington Post in which she wrote about the scandal and her time in a Magdalene laundry as a teenager.[31] Writing for the Sunday Independent she labelled the Vatican as "a nest of devils" and called for the establishment of an "alternative church", opining that "Christ is being murdered by liars" in the Vatican.[164] Shortly after the election of Pope Francis, she said:[165][166]
Well, you know, I guess I wish everyone the best, and I don't know anything about the man, so I'm not going to rush to judge him on one thing or another, but I would say he has a scientifically impossible task, because all religions, but certainly the Catholic Church, is really a house built on sand, and it's drowning in a sea of conditional love, and therefore it can't survive, and actually the office of Pope itself is an anti-Christian office, the idea that Christ needs a representative is laughable and blasphemous at the same time, therefore it is a house built on sand, and we need to rescue God from religion, all religions, they've become a smokescreen that distracts people from the fact that there is a holy spirit, and when you study the Gospels you see the Christ character came to tell us that we only need to talk directly to God, we never needed Religion ...
Asked whether from her point of view, it is therefore irrelevant who is elected to be pope, O'Connor replied:
Genuinely I don't mean disrespect to Catholic people because I believe in Jesus Christ, I believe in the Holy Spirit, all of those, but I also believe in all of them, I don't think it cares if you call it Fred or Daisy, you know? Religion is a smokescreen, it has everybody talking to the wall. There is a Holy Spirit who can't intervene on our behalf unless we ask it. Religion has us talking to the wall. The Christ character tells us himself: you must only talk directly to the Father; you don't need intermediaries. We all thought we did, and that's ok, we're not bad people, but let's wake up ... God was there before religion; it's there [today] despite religion; it'll be there when religion is gone.[167]
Tatiana Kavelka wrote about O'Connor's later Christian work, describing it as "theologically charged yet unorthodox, oriented toward interfaith dialogue and those on the margins".[168]
In August 2018, via an open letter, she asked Pope Francis to excommunicate her as she had also asked Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II.[113]
In October 2018, O'Connor converted to Islam, calling it "the natural conclusion of any intelligent theologian's journey".[169] The ceremony was conducted in Ireland by Sunni Islamic theologian Shaykh Umar Al-Qadri. She also changed her name to Shuhada' Davitt. In a message on Twitter, she thanked fellow Muslims for their support and uploaded a video of herself reciting the adhan, the Islamic call to prayer. She also posted photos of herself wearing a hijab.[170]
After her conversion to Islam, O'Connor called those who were not Muslims "disgusting" and criticised Christian and Jewish theologians on Twitter in November 2018. She wrote: "What I'm about to say is something so racist I never thought my soul could ever feel it. But truly I never wanna spend time with white people again (if that's what non-muslims are called). Not for one moment, for any reason. They are disgusting."[171][172] Later that month, O'Connor stated that her remarks were made in an attempt to force Twitter to close down her account.[173] In September 2019, she apologised for the remarks, saying "They were not true at the time and they are not true now. I was triggered as a result of Islamophobia dumped on me. I apologize for hurt caused. That was one of many crazy tweets lord knows."[174]
Death
On 26 July 2023, O'Connor was found dead at her flat in Herne Hill, South London, at the age of 56 Her family issued a statement later the same day, without indicating the cause of her death.[108][177][178] The following day, the Metropolitan Police reported that O'Connor's death was not being treated as suspicious] On 28 July, the Coronor in London said that the date of death was still unknown.
Under construction: New office complex for Bestseller, Pier 2, Port of Aarhus.
Architect: C.F. Møller Architects
1961; Horror Stories Anthology stories by Bram Stoker, H.G. Wells, Alexander Woollcott and A.J. Alan.
New office complex for Bestseller fashion group, Pier 2, Port of Aarhus.
Architect: C.F. Møller Architects
New office complex for Bestseller fashion group, Pier 2, Port of Aarhus.
Architect: C.F. Møller Architects
“State Fair” is a 1932 novel by Phil Stong about an Iowa farm family's visit to the Iowa State Fair, where the family's two teenage children each fall in love, but ultimately break up with their respective new loves and return to their familiar life back on the farm. Thomas Leslie, the author of Iowa State Fair: “Country Comes to Town,” wrote that the novel “State Fair” is "a surprisingly dark coming-of-age story that took as its major plot device the effects of the 'worldly temptations' of the Iowa State Fair on a local farming family", capturing tensions between urban Des Moines and rural Iowa.
The novel became a bestseller and established Stong as a popular author. Shortly after its publication, the novel was made into a Hollywood film in 1933 starring Will Rogers (albeit with the addition of a happy "Hollywood ending" not in the book), and was subsequently adapted for the stage and screen several more times, including as a Rodgers and Hammerstein movie musical in 1945. [Source: Wikipedia]
A bestseller translated into over 30 languages. A novel that reads like nonfiction. First published in Dutch in 2014, English translation published in 2016.
The excerpt here is from page 76, part of the entry for Tuesday, February 26. The diary is for 2013, January 1 through December 31, running from page 1 through page 378. (I like books where the text starts on page 1.)
Here is Hendrick Groen’s first entry, a short one, on January 1: “Another year, and I still don’t like old people. Their walker shuffle, their unreasonable impatience, their endless complaints, their tea and cookies, their bellyaching.
Me? I am eighty-three years old.”
[Flickr seems to be unable to indent text lines in descriptions.]
On the back of the book jacket are three snippets from reviews, including this from the Sunday Telegraph: “Amusing [and] wickedly accurate ... I was constantly put in mind of Ken Kesey’s madhouse tale One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, another comi-tragedy concerning the tyranny of institutions of the unwanted. Enjoy Goen’s light touch but do not be fooled by it ... The Secret Diary is a handbook of resistance for our time. Five stars.”
» Amsterdam Feb 2014
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