This beautiful setting sun is about to be replaced with a gorgeous moon........Okay, that's probably stretching it for this challenge but I just had to get this sunset in! lol

   

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Centurion Tank (1952-1979) - Part of the planned Americanization of Canadian weapons and equipment after the Second World War centred on finding a new medium tank to replace the fleet of Shermans that had been left in The Netherlands. Canada was using a mixture of Achilles tank destroyers, M4A2 HVSS 76(W) Shermans, Grizzlies, and Stuart light tanks and Staghound armoured cars for training. Experience in the Korean War showed a need for better tanks than the Americans had on inventory; even the new Patton tank was at that time having a troubled production history. In Korea, however, the fire control system and gun of the Centurion proved its worth, and Canada took delivery of 274 Mark 3 Centurions in 1952 and 1953.

 

The first 21 Centurions reached the Royal Canadian Dragoons in Germany in March 1952 and serving with Canada's NATO forces there. No Canadian Centurions made it to Korea, and the tanks were used in Canada and Europe through the 1960s and into the 1970s. The new tank was well liked, having a .50 calibre ranging gun in the turret to assist in determining the range to main gun targets. The sophisticated optics and ammunition types, however, provided a challenge to new gunners as each of the different ammunition types (sabot, High Explosive Squash Head (HESH), smoke and canister) all had differing muzzle velocities. The .30 and .50 calibre guns fired rounds on about the same trajectory as the HESH round; other rounds had to have the main gun adjusted according to muzzle velocity of the ammunition, as well as range, in order to ensure a hit on the target.

 

The Centurion Mark 3 was quickly upgraded into a variety of configurations.

 

Link to video - Inside the Tanks: The Centurion - World of Tanks - www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkTy8A8V-Ho

I'm back with another repair tutorial. Today we're going to replace the steel band on this uncommon Mercury Grand Marquis cap. It may look good in the photo, but that's just some silver paint that I sprayed over it years ago. The steel is so rusty that I could punch a screwdriver through it. You can see a couple rust holes in the band if you look closely.

 

This is the only cap of this type that I have right now, and the face is in very good condition, so I decided to repair it. I'll be using an identical backing band that I salvaged from a common Crown Vic hubcap that had a nasty face but a good band. Both of these caps fit the same wheel and were made by the same supplier, so the backing will interchange. You do have to be careful, because sometimes backings that look similar are not actually the same.

 

Due to a second problem that I discovered (we'll see that later), I wasn't able to totally finish this repair yet, but you can still see the technique from these photos...

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 01-Jun-20.

 

Repainted all white with just MyTravel titles and logo after winter lease to Skyservice Canada.

 

This aircraft was delivered to Airtours International Airways as G-WJAN in Mar-97. Airtours was renamed MyTravel Airways in May-02.

 

It was leased to Skyservice Airlines Canada as C-FFAN between Nov-03/May-04, returning to MyTravel Airways as G-WJAN. It was leased to Skyservice as C-FFAN again in Nov-04, but this time it didn't return to MyTravel as G-WJAN until Oct-05.

 

The aircraft was leased to Skyservice again, as C-FFAN, in Nov-06. This time it stayed away even longer. MyTravel was merged into Thomas Cook Airlines UK at the end of Mar-08 and the aircraft returned to Thomas Cook as G-WJAN in Apr-09.

 

It was leased to Skyservice again as C-FFAN in Nov-09. Skyservice Airlines ceased operations at the end of Mar-10 and the aircraft was returned to Thomas Cook as G-WJAN at the beginning of Apr-10.

 

In Nov-10 the aircraft was leased to Jazz Air (Canada) as C-GJZS and operated on behalf of Thomas Cook Travel Canada, returning to Thomas Cook UK as G-WJAN in Mar-11. For the next four winters, between Dec-11/Apr-12, Dec-12/Apr-13, Dec-13/Apr-14 and Dec-14/Apr-15 the aircraft was wet-leased to WestJet Airlines (Canada) and operated on behalf of Thomas Cook Travel Canada.

 

After the return from Canada the aircraft continued to operate for Thomas Cook Airlines UK until it was sold to Wells Fargo Bank Northwest (as trustee for SF Airlines, China) as N553CC in May-16.

 

It was stored at Prestwick, Scotland, UK until it was converted to freighter configuration with a main deck cargo door at Xiamen, China in Mar-17. The aircraft was sold to SF Airlines as B-1432 in Apr-17 and continues in service. Current, updated (Jun-20).

 

Note: The aircraft suffered a severe tail strike at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic after a flight from the UK with a fuel stop at Bangor, Maine, USA on 01-Jan-1998. It had made two failed ILS approaches in bad weather when the Captain decided to do a visual circuit. The aircraft touched down heavily to the right of the runway on the third attempt, successfully carried out a go-around and diverted to Santo Domingo where it landed safely. There were no injuries. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.

Replaced the original with this cropped one :)

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 05-Aug-17.

 

KLM UK was renamed from Air UK and operated ATR.72's and Fokker 100's until it was absorbed into KLM Cityhopper in Holland. The ATR's were disposed of and the Fokker 100's were re-registered in Holland

 

First flown in Sep-96 with the ATR test registration F-WWLT, this aircraft was stored at Toulouse, France until it was delivered to ATRiam Capital and leased to Air UK as G-UKTN in Jun-98.

 

It was repainted and renamed KLM uk in Apr-99. The aircraft was withdrawn from service abd stored to Norwich, UK in Nov-99. It ferried to Jersey, Channel Islands, UK in basic KLM livery in Dec-99 and was used as a back-up aircraft by British Regional Airlines operating for British Airways Express.

 

The aircraft was stored at Norwich again in Oct-01 and returned to service with KLM uk in Feb-02 for the summer season and was stored at Norwich again in Sep-02. In Nov-02 KLM uk became KLM cityhopper UK while G-UKTN remained stored.

 

It was returned to ATRiam Capital as F-WQNL in Jun-03 and was stored at Toulouse until it was leased to Cimber Air, Denmark as OY-RTF in Nov-04. Cimber Air was renamed Cimber Sterling in Dec-08 after it bought parts of Sterling Airways after it ceased operations two months earlier.

 

It was wet-leased to AeroSvit Ukrainian Airlines in Oct-11 and returned to Cimber Sterling in May-12 when they ceased operations. The aircraft was stored at Soenderborg, Denmark.

 

It was sold to Danish Air Transport Leasing as OY-LHB in Apr-13 and operated as Danish Air Transport A/S. In Jul-13 the aircraft was wet-leased to Aer Arran and operated flights on behalf of Aer Lingus Regional for one month, it returned to Danish Air Transport in Aug-13.

 

In Jul-18 it was wet leased to an Italian subsidiary, DAT Volidisicilla and operates local flights within southern Italy. On 27-Mar-19 Danish Air Transport became known as DAT A/S, the services for DAT Volidiscilla continued. Current, updated 22-Feb-25.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 27-Jul-19, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 08-Aug-24.

 

Airtours Group (UK) short-lived venture into the German tourist market with Frosch Turistik International.

 

Another lessor owned aircraft with a long history. It was originally ordered by the Orix Aircraft Corporation for lease to Mexicana but the lease was cancelled, the aircraft was first flown with the Airbus test registration F-WWBY in Aug-93, it was delivered to Orix and leased to Leisure Air (USA) as N444RX in Oct-93 (444 was also the c/n).

 

The aircraft was wet-leased to Translift Airways (Ireland) for the European Summer Season between May/Nov-94. It was repossessed from Leisure Air in Jan-95 and they ceased operations the following month.

 

The aircraft was leased to Onur Air (Turkey) as TC-ONF in Apr-95. It was wet-leased to Shorouk Air for the month of Nov-97 and to Victoria Air between Jul/Oct-98. It was returned to Orix as N444RX in Feb-99.

 

The aircraft was leased to Fly FTi (Frosch Touristik International - a German subsidiary of the Airtours International Group) as D-ACAF in Mar-99. It was briefly returned to Orix as N444RX in Nov-01 and the lease was transferred to Airtours International Airways.

 

The registration G-SSAS had been assigned but wasn't taken up and the aircraft became G-FHAJ later in Nov-01. Airtours International was renamed MyTravel Airways in May-02. The aircraft was transferred to MyTravel Lite (a scheduled 'low-cost' subsidiary based at Birmingham, UK). It was reintegrated back into MyTravel Airways in Oct-05.

 

The aircraft was returned to the lessor in Apr-06 and immediately leased to MyAir (My Way Airlines), Italy as EI-DOD. MyAir ceased operations in Jul-09 when the aircraft was returned to the lessor and stored at Ljubliana, Slovenia.

 

It remained stored until it was leased to Adria Airways, Slovenia as S5-AAS in Apr-11. It was returned to the lessor in Dec-14. The aircraft was sold to Danish Air Transport Leasing A/S and leased to DAT Danish Air Transport as OY-JRK a few days later.

 

It was wet-leased to Adria Airways (Slovenia) between Apr/Sep-15 and wet-leased to Norwegian Air Shuttle between Jan/Mar-20. The aircraft was stored at Billund, Denmark in Mar-20 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

 

It was ferried to Sofia, Bulgaria in Dec-20 for maintenance and further storage. It returned to Billund in at the end of Mar-21 and returned to service. The aircraft was wet-leased to Corendon Airlines Europe in Apr-22 for the summer season and returned to Danish Air Transport in Oct-22.

 

It was wet leased to Transavia Airlines France in early 2023 and operated it's last service from Malaga to Paris-Orly on 27-Feb-23. It was ferried to Johannesburg (South Africa) in Mar-23 and sold to Global Aviation as ZS-GAB in Apr-23.

 

It was due to operate for Lift Airlines (South Africa) but that hasn't happened and it was stored. The aircraft has recently had two test flights (in Jun & Jul-24) and maybe it will return to service. It's now 31 years old and Global Aviation operate some of the oldest A320's still flying, c/n 053, 054, 064 and 067. Updated 13-Aug-24.

still quite new at HDR.. replaced the image...

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 13-Apr-17, plus DeNoise AI 08-Feb-23.

 

This aircraft was delivered to ANA All Nippon Airlines as JA8454 in Jul-79. It was transferred to ANK Air Nippon in Sep-92. The aircraft was returned to ANA in Oct-99.

 

It was sold to Itochu Lease Company the following day and immediately leased to WestJet Airlines as C-GVWJ. Westjet Airlines dropped the 'Airlines' and became WestJet in Mar-02. The aircraft continued in service until it was returned to the lessor as N749AP in Dec-05 and was initially stored at Greenwood, MS, USA.

 

It was moved to Bournemouth, UK in Mar-06 for further storage and was sold to European Skybus in May-06. The aircraft was leased to Aerosur, Bolivia as CP-2484 in Oct-06. It was withdrawn from use in Sep-11 and stored at Cochabamba, Bolivia.

 

Aerosur ceased operations in Mar-12 and the aircraft was last noted still at Cochabamba in Dec-14, engineless and derelict.

 

Note: The WestJet registration C-GVWJ was re-used and is currently (Apr-17) on a Boeing 737-7CT/W

INSTRUCTIONS AVAILABLE

 

In 2008, the European Ka was replaced with a model developed and produced for Ford by Fiat in conjunction with Fiat's own 500 vehicle. The car was built in Fiat's Tychy, Poland, factory alongside the Fiat 500, Fiat Panda, and Lancia Ypsilon. Production started on 18 July 2008.

 

The second-generation Ka came with a choice of two engines, a 1.2-litre petrol with 69 PS (51 kW) of power and 102 N⋅m (75 lbf⋅ft) of torque and a 1.3-litre TDCi diesel engine with 75 PS (55 kW; 74 hp) of power and 145 N⋅m (107 lb⋅ft) of torque.

 

The Ka made its debut in the 22nd James Bond film Quantum of Solace and was unveiled in October 2008's Paris Motor Show.

 

Production ended on 20 May 2016.

A transmission lineman disconnects insulators on a 115kV overhead line.

Oxford Street, London. Replacing the Marble Arch Odeon Cinema is the Rafael Viñoly designed Marble Arch Place - consisting of an 18-storey residential tower, with 54 apartments and a 7-storey commercial building providing over 95,000 sq.ft. of office space. The scheme also includes a new public realm, retail space and a dramatic art installation designed by Lee Simmons.

 

City of Westminster, London, UK - Marble Arch Place, Edgware Road / Oxford Street

December 2024

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 05-Jan-25

 

The early version of Ryanair's livery.

 

First flown with the Boeing test registration N1786B, this aircraft was delivered to Ryanair as EI-CSF in May-00. Blended winglets were added and 'eyebrow windows' were removed in Jan-07.

 

The aircraft was sold to CIT Aerospace International in Mar-08 and immediately leased to The IMP Group Ltd, trading as CanJet Airlines as C-FTCX. It was sub-leased to Travel Service Airlines (Czech Republic) as OK-TSJ in May-15 for the European summer season.

 

In Sep-15, The IMP Group made the decision to close down CanJet's own flight operations due to high losses, retaining some of the aircraft for sub-lease to other airlines. OK-TSJ was returned to IMP Group/CanJet in Nov-15, becoming C-FTCX again.

 

It was sub-leased to Air Transat in Dec-15 for the winter season, returning to IMP Group/CanJet in May-16. At the end of May-16 the aircraft was re-registered SP-ENO and sub-leased to Enter Air, Slovak Republic.

 

It was sold to Avolon Aerospace in Apr-17 while the lease to Enter Air continued. The aircraft was withdrawn from service and parked at Warsaw, Poland(?) at the end Oct-23. It was ferried to Knock, Ireland at the end of Nov-23 and stored.

 

It was returned to the lessor as EI-CSF, again, in Jan-24. The aircraft was broken up at Knock in Jul-24.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 27-Aug-22 (DeNoise AI).

 

Left side.

 

This aircraft was delivered to JAS Japan Air System as JA8029 in Oct-97. It was sold to a lessor and leased back to JAS in Mar-98. JAS was merged into Japan Airlines in Apr-04 and integrated into JAL's new Domestic Division.

 

in Oct-06 the aircraft was transferred to Japan Airlines - International Division. The separate divisions were brought together when it all became Japan Airlines again in Apr-11.

 

This aircraft operated JAL's 'final' MD-90 service in Mar-12 and was stored at Tokyo - Haneda. However, after three months in storage the aircraft was returned to service in Jun-12 and was finally retired in Apr-13.

 

In mid May-13, it was sold to Delta Air Lines (USA) as N951DL and ferried to Jacksonville - Cecil Field, FL, USA for heavy maintenance and cabin reconfiguration. It entered service in Sep-13.

 

Delta Air Lines managed to get another six years service out of the aircraft before it was permanently retired at Birmingham, AL, USA in Sep-19. Updated 27-Aug-22.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 06-Nov-22.

 

Leased to Mexican start-up Aladia for winter 2006/07, this reverted to its original UK registration, G-JMCE, on return.

 

First flown with the Boeing test registration N1795B, this aircraft was delivered to GATX and leased to jmc AIR as G-JMCE in Jun-00. It was wet-leased to Ryan International Airlines, operating for Apple Vacations (USA), between Dec-01/Apr-02, Dec-02/Apr-03 (jmc Air had officially been renamed Thomas Cook Airlines on 31-Mar-03) and again between Dec-03/May-04 and Dec-04/May-05.

 

In Nov-06 the aircraft was sub-leased to Aladia,com (Mexico) as XA-JPB, it returned to Thomas Cook in May-07. For two winter seasons, Nov-10/Apr-11 & Dec-11/Apr-12, the aircraft was sub-leased to Jazz Air (Canada) as C-GJZH and operated on behalf of Thomas Cook Canada. In Jan-14 it was wet-leased to Thomas Cook Scandinavia and returned to Thomas Cook UK in Apr-14.

 

The aircraft was returned to the lessor in May-15 and was stored at Southend, UK. It was sold to Wells Fargo Bank Northwest as N169CR in Aug-15, as trustee for Shun Feng Airlines (SF Airlines, China). It was transferred to SF Airlines three weeks later as B-7082 and ferried to Xiamen, China in Sep-15. It was converted to freighter configuration with a main deck cargo door in Dec-15. The aircraft entered service with SF Airlines in early Jan-16. Current, updated 30-Jul-21.

 

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 07-Nov-17, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 02-Jul-23.

 

Fleet No: '3229'.

 

First flown with the Airbus test registration F-WWDG, this aircraft was delivered to Northwest Airlines as N329NW in May-92. It was sold on delivery to A.I. Leasing Inc (Airbus) and leased back to Northwest.

 

Northwest Airlines was merged into Delta Air Lines in Oct-08. The aircraft was sold to Delta in Dec-16. Now 31 years old, it continues in service. Updated 02-Jul-23.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 19-Apr-18.

 

This aircraft was delivered to Air France as F-GBYK in Apr-83. It was sold to a lessor in Jun-99 and leased back to Air France. The aircraft was returned to the lessor in Sep-00 and sold to Triton Aviation Services as N242TR the same day. It was leased to Austral Lineas Aereas (Argentina) as LV-PIS in Nov-00 and was re-registered LV-ZXB the following month. In Nov-03 it was returned to the lessor and leased to Aerolineas Argentinas in Dec-03. The aircraft was permanently retired at Buenos Aries - Ezeiza International in Nov-09. It was auctioned off for scrap in Jul-11 and subsequently broken up.

light field reflective lighting and a strip box camera right to light the plant.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version.

 

With a Hapag-Lloyd B737-400 and a Delta B757-200 in the background.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 21-Oct-18.

 

Note: The registration D-AEWA was later re-used on a Eurowings A320-214/S.

 

First flown in May-90 with the British Aerospace test registration G-6-163, this aircraft was originally ordered for Discovery Airways (USA) as N885DV but the order was cancelled and the aircraft was stored.

 

In Apr-91 it was registered to British Aerospace as G-BTJG and transferred to Trident Aviation Leasing in Jun-91. It was leased to Meridiana Air (Spain) with the temporary Spanish registration EC-876 in Nov-91, becoming EC-FIU in Feb-92.

 

It didn't stay with Meridiana for long and was returned to the lessor in Aug-92, becoming G-BTJG again in Sep-92. It was re-registered again in Jan-94 as G-3-163. The aircraft was leased to Crossair (Switzerland) as HB-IXY in Apr-94. It returned to the lessor in Jan-96.

 

The aircraft sold at Claeno Leasing International, leased to the Asset Management Organisation and sub-leased to Eurowings as D-AEWA Mar-96. It was operated on behalf of Lufthansa Regional and later appeared in LH Regional livery with the 'spotty' tail.

 

It was returned to Trident Aviation Leasing as G-BTJG in Feb-10 and stored at Southend, UK. It was broken up there in Dec-11. Updated 05-Mar-22.

This bus is one of 8 2019 Thomas C2's currently in the fleet. This bus replaced a 2004 IC CE 200 once in the fleet.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 18-Jan-20.

 

With Aerolineas Argentinas tail logo (for a while both Air Plus Comet and Aerolineas Argentinas were owned by Grupo Marsans).

 

First flown with the test registration F-WWCU, this aircraft was delivered to Pan Am, Pan American World Airways as N818PA in Apr-88. It was sold to Wilmington Trust Company and leased back to Pan Am. As part of a rationalisation plan, some routes and the A310's were transferred to Delta Air Lines in Nov-91 (Pan Am ceased operations on 04-Dec-91). It was returned to the lessor in Mar-94. In Jun-94 the aircraft was leased to Globe Azur Airline Inc (Canada), trading as Air Club International, as C-GCIT. It was converted to an A310-324ER at Hamburg, Germany in Dec-94 with an additional fuel tank. The aircraft was returned to Airbus Industrie A300 Leasing in Oct-96 and stored at Marana, Az, USA. It was re-registered N572SW in Feb-97 and remained stored until it was leased to Air Plus Comet as EC-GOT in Jun-97. The 'Plus' was dropped in Jan-07 when it became just 'Air Comet'. The aircraft was wet-leased, short term, to RAM Royal Air Maroc in Nov/Dec-07. It was permanently retired at Lourdes, France in May-09 and was broken up in Oct-09. Updated (Jan-20)

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Montblanc Hommage à N. Copernicus - Limited Edition Patron of Arts 2003 fountain pen.

 

Nicolaus Copernicus’ view of the universe is the model for the Limited Edition created in his honour. Nine rings in 925 sterling silver encircle the anthracite-coloured lacquer barrel. The sun is symbolised by the greenish-glowing faceted meteorite stone that decorates the clip.

 

In Edition 888 this is replaced by a yellow diamond, and the barrel is made of 750 white gold – like the rings, which are set with nine yellow diamonds. On the rhodium-plated 18-karat gold nib of both Limited Editions, there is a delicate engraving of Copernicus’ orbital charts.

 

Astronomy was Nicolaus Copernicus' only love. He followed the orbits of the heavenly bodies with his naked eye, and created the basis for today's view of the universe - the heavenly bodies with his naked eye, and created the basis for today's view of the universe - the heliocentric system. Considering all his achievements based on his teachings that still hold today - including the reform of the Prussian coin system and the calendar - Copernicus is one of the greatest cultural figures in the history of mankind.

 

Nicolaus Copernicus' view of the universe is the model for the Limited Edition created in his honor. Nine rings in 925 sterling silver encircle the anthracite-colored lacquer barrel. The sun is symbolised by the greenish-glowing faceted meteorite stone that decorates the clip. In Edition 888 this is replaced by a yellow diamonds. On the rhodium-plated 18-carat gold nib of both Limited Editions, there is a delicate engraving of Copernicus' orbital charts.

 

Montblanc celebrates the brilliant mind of Copernicus, who developed the theory that the sun is the center of the universe and that Earth is just one of the many planets that revolve around it. The cap and body are made of dark lacquer covered resin divided by nine sterling silver rings, which symbolize the planets orbit around the sun. The clip houses a green meteorite stone.

 

In every sense of the word he engendered a new way of thinking: Nicolaus Copernicus, the discoverer of our world order and cosmology. His doctrine opened up new ways for poets, thinkers and artists - and finally revolutionised the credos of mankind.

 

Nine 925 Sterling Silver rings encircle the barrel like the concentric circles of the earth's orbit around the sun. The clip bears a green shimmering piece of meteorite and the hand-worked, rhodium-plated 18 Karat gold nib is delicately engraved with Copernicus' historic sketch of the orbit of the planets. This edition is limited to 4810 pens.

 

Launch: 2003

Limitation: 4810 Fountain Pens

Characteristics: Anthracite-coloured lacquer

925 sterling silver

Greenish meteorite stone set in the clip

Rhodium-plated 18-karat gold nib.

 

Xiao Xiang-Yu, China:

 

Xiang Yu (Chinese: 項羽; pinyin: Xiàng yǔ, c. 232–202 BC), born Xiang Ji (項籍), was the Ba Wang (霸王) or Hegemon-King of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the Chu state, Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynastyand became a prominent warlord. He was granted the title of "Duke of Lu" (魯公) by King Huai II of the restoring Chu state in 208 BC. The following year, he led the Chu forces to victory at the Battle of Julu against the Qin armies led by Zhang Han. After the fall of Qin, Xiang Yu was enthroned as the "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" (西楚霸王) and ruled a vast area covering modern-day central and eastern China, with Pengcheng as his capital. He engaged Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, in a long struggle for power, known as the Chu–Han Contention, which concluded with his eventual defeat at the Battle of Gaixia. He committed suicide at the bank of the Wu River.

 

Names and titles:

 

Xiang Yu's family name was Xiang (项; 項; Xiàng; Hsiang; Hong6) while his given name was Ji (籍; Jí; Chi; Zik6) and his courtesy name was Yu (羽; Yǔ; Yü; Jyu5). He is best known as Xiang Yu.

 

Xiang Yu is popularly known as "Xi Chu Ba Wang" (西楚霸王; Xī Chǔ Bà Wáng; Hsi Ch'u Pa Wang; Sai1 Co2 Baa3 Wong4), which has been translated as "Overlord of Western Chu", "Hegemon-King of Western Chu", "Conqueror of Western Chu", "King of Kings of Western Chu", and other renditions. This title is sometimes simplified to "Ba Wang" (霸王; Bà Wáng; Pa Wang; Baa3 Wong4), without the link to "Western Chu". Since Xiang Yu's death, the term Ba Wang has come to be used specifically to refer to him. Xiang Yu's subjects sometimes address him as "Xiang Wang" (项王; 項王; Xiàng Wáng; Hsiang Wang; Hong6 Wong4), which literally means "King Xiang".

 

Family background:

 

There are two accounts of Xiang Yu's family background. The first claimed that Xiang Yu was from the house of Mi (羋), the royal family of the Chu state in the Zhou dynasty. His ancestors were granted the land of Xiang (項) by the king of Chu and had since adopted "Xiang" as their family name. The other account claimed that Xiang Yu was a descendant of a noble clan from the Lu state and his family had served in the Chu military for generations. Xiang Yu's grandfather Xiang Yan [zh] was a well known general who led the Chu army in resisting the Qin invaders led by Wang Jian, and was killed in action when Qin conquered Chu in 223 BC.

 

Xiang Yu was born in 232 BC in the late Warring States period when the Qin state started unifying the other six major states. According to the descendants of the Xiang family in Suqian, Xiang Yu's father was Xiang Chao (項超), Xiang Yan's eldest son. Xiang Yu was raised by his elder uncle Xiang Liangbecause his father died early. In 221 BC, when Xiang Yu was about 11 years old, the Qin state unified China and established the Qin dynasty.

 

Xiang Yu had a double pupil in one of his eyes[1] just like the mythical Emperor Shunand Duke Wen of Jin. He was thus seen as an extraordinary person because his unique double pupil was a mark of a king or sage in Chinese tradition. Xiang Yu was slightly taller than eight chi (approximately 1.85 metres, about 6' 1") and possessed unusual physical strength as he could lift a ding (an ancient Chinese vessel resembling a giant cauldron on tripods).[1]

 

Early life:

 

In his younger days, Xiang Yu was instructed in scholarly arts and swordsmanship but he did not manage to master what he was taught, and his uncle Xiang Liang was not very satisfied with him.[1] Xiang Yu said, "Books are only useful in helping me remember my name. Mastering swordsmanship allows me to face only one opponent, so it's not worth learning. I want to learn how to defeat thousands of enemies."[1]Hence, his uncle tried to educate him in military strategy and the art of war instead, but Xiang Yu stopped learning after he had grasped the main ideas; Xiang Liang was disappointed with his nephew, who showed no sign of motivation or apparent talent apart from his great strength, so he gave up and let Xiang Yu decide his own future.[1][2]

 

When Xiang Yu grew older, Xiang Liang killed someone so they fled to Wu to evade the authorities. At the time, Qin Shi Huang was on an inspection tour in that area and Xiang Yu and his uncle watched the emperor's procession pass by. Xiang Yu said, "I can replace him."[1] Xiang Liang was shocked and immediately covered his nephew's mouth with his hand. Afterwards, Xiang Liang began to see his nephew in a different light.

 

Revolution against the Qin dynasty:

 

In 209 BC, during the reign of Qin Er Shi, peasant rebellions erupted throughout China to overthrow the Qin dynasty, plunging China into a state of anarchy. Yin Tong [zh], the Administrator of Kuaiji, wanted to start a rebellion as well, so he invited Xiang Liang to meet him and discuss their plans. However, the Xiangs lured Yin Tong into a trap and killed him instead, with Xiang Yu personally striking down hundreds of Yin's men. Xiang Liang initiated the rebellion himself and rallied about 8,000 men to support him. Xiang Liang proclaimed himself Administrator of Kuaijiwhile appointing Xiang Yu as a general. Xiang Liang's revolution force grew in size until it was between 60,000 and 70,000. In 208 BC, Xiang Liang installed Mi Xin as King Huai II of Chu to rally support from those eager to help him overthrow the Qin Dynasty and restore the former Chu state. Xiang Yu distinguished himself as a competent marshal and mighty warrior on the battlefield while participating in the battles against Qin forces.

 

Later that year, Xiang Liang was killed at the Battle of Dingtao against the Qin army led by Zhang Han and the military power of Chu fell into the hands of the king and some other generals. In the winter of 208 BC, another rebel force claiming to restore the Zhao state, led by Zhao Xie, was besieged in Handan by Zhang Han. Zhao Xie requested for reinforcements from Chu. King Huai II granted Xiang Yu the title of "Duke of Lu" (魯公), and appointed him as a second-in-command to Song Yi, who was ordered to lead an army to reinforce Zhao Xie. At the same time, the king placed Liu Bang in command of another army to attack Guanzhong, the heartland (capital territory) of Qin. The king promised that whoever managed to enter Guanzhong first will be granted the title "King of Guanzhong".

 

Battle of Julu:

 

Main article: Battle of Julu

 

The Chu army led by Song Yi and Xiang Yu reached Anyang, some distance away from Julu (巨鹿; in present-day Xingtai, Hebei), where Zhao Xie's forces had retreated to. Song Yi ordered the troops to lay camp there for 46 days and he refused to accept Xiang Yu's suggestion to proceed further. Xiang Yu took Song Yi by surprise in a meeting and killed him on a charge of treason. Song Yi's other subordinates were afraid of Xiang Yu so they let him become the acting commander-in-chief. Xiang Yu sent a messenger to inform King Huai II and the king approved Xiang's command.

 

In 207 BC, Xiang Yu's army advanced towards Julu and he sent Ying Bu and Zhongli Mo to lead the 20,000 strong vanguard army to cross the river and attack the Qin forces led by Zhang Han, while he followed behind with the remaining majority of the troops. After crossing the river, Xiang Yu ordered his men to sink their boats and destroy all but three days worth of rations, in order to force his men to choose between prevailing against overwhelming odds within three days or die trapped before the walls of the city with no supplies or any hope of escape. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Chu forces scored a great victory after nine engagements, defeating the 300,000 strong Qin army. After the battle, other rebel forces, including those not from Chu, came to join Xiang Yu out of admiration for his martial valour. When Xiang Yu received them at the gate, the rebel chiefs were so fearful of him that they sank to their knees and did not even dare to look up at him.

 

Zhang Han sent his deputy Sima Xin to Xianyang to request for reinforcements and supplies from the Qin imperial court. However, the eunuch Zhao Gao deceived the emperor and the emperor dismissed Zhang Han's request. Zhao Gao even sent assassins to kill Sima Xin when the latter was returning to Zhang Han's camp, but Sima managed to escape alive. In dire straits, Zhang Han and his 200,000 troops eventually surrendered to Xiang Yu in the summer of 207 BC. Xiang Yu perceived the surrendered Qin troops as disloyal and a liability, and had them executed by burying them alive at Xin'an (新安; in present-day Yima, Henan). Zhang Han, along with Sima Xin and Dong Yi, were spared from death. Xiang Yu appointed Zhang Han as "King of Yong", while Sima Xin and Dong Yi were respectively conferred the titles of "King of Sai" and "King of Di".

 

Feast at Hong Gate:

 

Main article: Feast at Hong Gate

 

After his victory at the Battle of Julu, Xiang Yu prepared for an invasion on Guanzhong, the heartland of the Qin dynasty. In the winter of 207 BC, the last Qin ruler Ziying surrendered to Liu Bang in Xianyang (Qin's capital), bringing an end to the Qin Dynasty. When Xiang Yu arrived at Hangu Pass, the eastern gateway to Guanzhong, he saw that the pass was occupied by Liu Bang's troops, a sign that Guanzhong was already under Liu's control. Cao Wushang (曹無傷), a subordinate of Liu Bang, sent a messenger to see Xiang Yu, saying that Liu would become King of Guanzhong in accordance with King Huai II's earlier promise, while Ziying would be appointed as Liu's chancellor. Xiang Yu was furious after hearing that. At that time, he had about 400,000 troops under his command while Liu Bang only had a quarter of that number.

 

As strongly encouraged by his advisor Fan Zeng, Xiang Yu invited Liu Bang to attend a feast at Hong Gate and plotted to kill Liu during the banquet. However, Xiang Yu later listened to his uncle Xiang Bo and decided to spare Liu Bang. Liu Bang escaped during the banquet under the pretext of going to the latrine.

 

Xiang Yu paid no attention to Liu Bang's presumptive title and led his troops into Xianyang in 206 BC. He ordered the execution of Ziying and his family, as well as the destruction of the Epang Palace by fire. It was said that Xiang Yu would leave behind a trail of destruction in the places he passed by, and the people of Guanzhong were greatly disappointed with him.[3]

 

Despite advice from his subjects to remain in Guanzhong and continue with his conquests, Xiang Yu was insistent on returning to his homeland in Chu. He said, "To not return home when one has made his fortune is equivalent to walking on the streets at night in glamourous outfits. Who would notice that?"[1] One of his followers said, "It is indeed true when people say that the men of Chu are apes dressed in human clothing." Xiang Yu had that man boiled alive when he heard that insult.[1]

 

Division of the empire:

 

See also: Eighteen Kingdoms:

 

After the downfall of the Qin dynasty, Xiang Yu offered King Huai II the more honourable title of "Emperor Yi of Chu" and announced his decision to divide the former Qin Empire. Xiang Yu declared himself "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" (西楚霸王) and ruled nine commanderies in the former Liang and Chu territories, with his capital at Pengcheng. In the spring of 206 BC, Xiang Yu divided the former Qin Empire into the Eighteen Kingdoms, to be granted to his subordinates and some leaders of the former rebel forces. He moved some of the rulers of other states to more remote areas and granted the land of Guanzhong to the three surrendered Qin generals, ignoring Emperor Yi's earlier promise to appoint Liu Bang as king of that region. Liu Bang was relocated to the remote Hanzhongarea and given the title of "King of Han" (漢王).

 

Xiang Yu appointed several generals from the rebel coalition as vassal kings, even though these generals were subordinates of other lords, who should rightfully be the kings in place of their followers. Xiang Yu also left out some other important rebel leaders who did not support him earlier, but did contribute to the overthrow of Qin. In winter, Xiang Yu moved Emperor Yi to the remote region of Chen, effectively sending the puppet emperor into exile. At the same time, he issued a secret order to the vassal kings in that area and had the emperor assassinated during his journey in 205 BC. The emperor's death was later used by Liu Bang as political propaganda to justify his war against Xiang Yu.

 

Shortly after the death of Emperor Yi, Xiang Yu had Han Cheng (King of Hán) put to death and seized Han's lands for himself. Several months later, Tian Rong (chancellor of Qi) took control over the Three Qis (Jiaodong, Qi and Jibei) from their respective kings and reinstated Tian Fu as the King of Qi, but he took over the throne himself afterwards. Similarly, Chen Yu, a former vice chancellor of Zhao, led an uprising against the King of Changshan, Zhang Er, and seized Zhang's domain and reinstalled Zhao Xie as the King of Zhao.

 

Chu–Han Contention:

  

Battle of Pengcheng:

 

In 206 BC, Liu Bang led his forces to attack Guanzhong. At that time, Xiang Yu was at war with Qi and did not focus on resisting the Han forces. The following year, Liu Bang formed an alliance with another five kingdoms and attacked Western Chu with a 560,000 strong army, capturing Xiang Yu's capital of Pengcheng. Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu led 30,000 men to attack Liu Bang and defeated the latter at the Battle of Pengcheng, with the Han army suffering heavy casualties.

 

Battle of Xingyang:

 

Liu Bang managed to escape after his defeat with Xiang Yu's troops on pursuit. Han troops retreated to Xingyang and defended the city firmly, preventing Chu forces from advancing west any further, but only managed to hold on until 204 BC. Liu Bang's subordinate Ji Xindisguised himself as his lord and surrendered to Xiang Yu, buying time for Liu Bang to escape. When Xiang Yu learned that he had been fooled, he became furious and had Ji Xin burned to death. After the fall of Xingyang, Chu and Han forces were divided on two fronts along present-day Henan. However, Xiang Yu's forces were not faring well on the battlefront north of the Yellow River, as the Han army led by Han Xin defeated his troops in every single battle. At the same time, Liu Bang's ally Peng Yue led his men to harass Xiang Yu's rear.

 

Treaty of Hong Canal:

 

By 203 BC, the tide had turned in favour of Han. Xiang Yu managed to capture Liu Bang's father after a year-long siege and he threatened to boil Liu's father alive if Liu refused to surrender. Liu Bang remarked that he and Xiang Yu were oath brothers,[4] so if Xiang killed Liu's father, he would be guilty of patricide. Xiang Yu requested for an armistice, known as the Treaty of Hong Canal, and returned the hostages he had captured to Liu Bang as part of their agreement. The treaty divided China into east and west under the Chu and Han domains respectively.

 

Battle of Guling:

 

Shortly after, as Xiang Yu was retreating eastwards, Liu Bang renounced the treaty and led his forces to attack Western Chu. Liu Bang sent messengers to Han Xin and Peng Yue, requesting for their assistance in forming a three-pronged attack on Xiang Yu, but Han Xin and Peng Yue did not mobilise their troops and Liu Bang was defeated by Xiang Yu at the Battle of Guling. Liu Bang retreated and reinforced his defences, while sending emissaries to Han Xin and Peng Yue, promising to grant them fiefs and titles of vassal kings if they would join him in attacking Western Chu.

 

Defeat and downfall:

 

Main article: Battle of Gaixia:

 

In 202 BC, Han armies led by Liu Bang, Han Xin and Peng Yue attacked Western Chu from three sides and trapped Xiang Yu's army, which was low on supplies, at Gaixia. Liu Bang ordered his troops to sing folk songs from the Chu region to create a false impression that Xiang Yu's native land had been conquered by Han forces. The morale of the Chu army plummeted and many of Xiang Yu's troops deserted in despair. Xiang Yu sank into a state of depression and he composed the Song of Gaixia. His wife Consort Yu committed suicide. The next morning, Xiang Yu led about 800 of his remaining elite cavalry on a desperate attempt to break out of the encirclement, with 5,000 enemy troops pursuing them.

 

After crossing the Huai River, Xiang Yu was only left with a few hundred soldiers. They were lost in Yinling (陰陵) and Xiang Yu asked for directions from a farmer, who directed him wrongly to a swamp. When Xiang Yu reached Dongcheng (東城), only 28 men were left, with the Han troops still following him. Xiang Yu made a speech to his men, saying that his downfall was due to Heaven's will and not his personal failure. After that, he led a charge out of the encirclement, killing one Han general in the battle. Xiang Yu then split his men into three groups to confuse the enemy and induce them to split up as well to attack the three groups. Xiang Yu took the Han troops by surprise again and slew another enemy commander, inflicting about 100 casualties on the enemy, while he only lost two men.

 

Death:

 

Xiang Yu retreated to the bank of the Wu River (near present-day He County, Maanshan, Anhui) and the ferryman at the ford prepared a boat for him to cross the river, strongly encouraging him to do so because Xiang Yu still had the support of the people from his homeland in the south. Xiang Yu said that he was too ashamed to return home and face his people because none of the first 8,000 men from Jiangdong who followed him on his conquests survived. He refused to cross and ordered his remaining men to dismount, asking the ferryman to take his warhorse, Zhui (騅), back home.

 

Xiang Yu and his men made a last stand against wave after wave of Han forces until only Xiang himself was left alive. Xiang Yu continued to fight on and slew over 100 enemy soldiers, but he had also sustained several wounds all over his body. Just then, Xiang Yu saw an old friend Lü Matong among the Han soldiers, and he said to Lü, "I heard that the King of Han (Liu Bang) has placed a price of 1,000 gold and the title of "Wanhu Marquis" (萬戶侯; lit. "marquis of 10,000 households") on my head. Take it then, on account of our friendship." Xiang Yu then committed suicide by slitting his throat with his sword, and a brawl broke out among the Han soldiers at the scene due to the reward offered by Liu Bang, and Xiang Yu's body was said to be dismembered and mutilated in the fight. The reward was eventually claimed by Lü Matong and five others.

 

After Xiang Yu's death, Western Chu surrendered and China was united under Liu Bang's rule, marking the victory of the Han dynasty. Liu Bang held a grand state funeral for Xiang Yu in Gucheng (穀城; in Dongping County, Taian, Shandong), with the ceremony befitting Xiang's title "Duke of Lu". Xiang Yu's relatives were spared from death, including Xiang Bo, who saved Liu Bang's life at the Feast at Hong Gate, and they were granted marquis titles.

 

Depiction of character:

 

Xiang Yu is depicted as a ruthless leader, in sharp contrast to his rival, Liu Bang. He was a mass murderer, ordering the massacres of entire cities even after they surrendered peacefully. This often led to cities putting up strong resistance, as they knew they would be killed even if they surrendered. The most notorious example of his cruelty was when he ordered the 200,000 surrendered Qin troops to be buried alive after the Battle of Julu,[5][verification needed][6][verification needed] and the gruesome methods of execution he employed against his enemies and critics. Conversely, Liu Bang is portrayed as a shrewd and cunning ruler who could be brutal at times,[7] but forbade his troops from looting the cities they captured and spared the lives of the citizens, earning their support and trust in return. Xiang Yu's story became an example for Confucianists to advocate the idea that leaders should rule with benevolence and not govern by instilling fear in the people. However, his ambitions ended with the collapse of Western Chu, his defeat by Liu Bang, and his death at the early age of around 30.

 

Song of Gaixia:

 

The Song of Gaixia (垓下歌), translated as The Hegemon's Lament by Burton Watson,[8]was a song composed by Xiang Yu while he was trapped by Liu Bang's forces at Gaixia.[citation needed]

 

The lyrics in English as follows are based on Burton Watson's translation:[9]

 

^ "Dapple" is Watson's translation of the name of Xiang Yu's warhorse Zhui (騅)

^ This "Yu" refers to Xiang Yu's wife Consort Yu

EvaluationEdit

The historian Sima Qian, who wrote Xiang Yu's biography in the Records of the Grand Historian, described Xiang as someone who boasted about his achievements and thought highly of himself. Xiang Yu preferred to depend on his personal abilities as opposed to learning with humility from others before him. Sima Qian thought that Xiang Yu had failed to see his own shortcomings and to make attempts to correct his mistakes, even until his death. Sima Qian thought that it was ridiculous when Xiang Yu claimed that his downfall was due to Heaven's will and not his personal failure.[1]

 

Liu Bang's general Han Xin, who was one of Xiang Yu's opponents on the battlefield, made a statement criticising Xiang, "A man who turns into a fierce warrior when he encounters a rival stronger than he is, but also one who is sympathetic and soft hearted when he sees someone weaker than he is. Neither was he able to make good use of capable generals nor was he able to support Emperor Yi of Chu, as he killed the emperor. Even though he had the name of a Conqueror, he had already lost the favour of the people."[10][verification needed]

 

The Tang dynasty poet Du Mu mentioned Xiang Yu in one of his poems Ti Wujiang Ting (題烏江亭): "Victory or defeat is common in battle. One who can endure humiliation is a true man. There are several talents in Jiangdong, who knows if he (Xiang Yu) can make a comeback?"[11][verification needed] However, the Song dynasty poet Wang Anshi had a different opinion, as he wrote, "The warrior is already tired after so many battles. His defeat in the Central Plains is hard to reverse. Although there are talents in Jiangdong, are they willing to help him?"[12][verification needed] The Song Dynasty female poet Li Qingzhao wrote: "A hero in life, a king of ghosts after death. Until now we still remember Xiang Yu, who refused to return to Jiangdong."[13][verification needed]

 

Mao Zedong also once mentioned Xiang Yu, "We should use our remaining strength to defeat the enemy, instead of thinking about achieving fame like the Conqueror."[14][verification needed] In 1964, Mao also pointed out three reasons for Xiang Yu's downfall: not following Fan Zeng's advice to kill Liu Bang at the Feast at Hong Gate and letting Liu leave; adhering firmly to the terms of the peace treaty (without considering that Liu Bang might betray his trust); building his capital at Pengcheng.

 

Xiang Yu is popularly viewed as a leader who possessed great courage but lacked wisdom, and his character is aptly summarised using the Chinese idiom you yong wu mou(simplified Chinese: 有勇无谋; traditional Chinese: 有勇無謀; pinyin: yǒu yǒng wú móu),[15]meaning "has courage but lacks tactics", "foolhardy". Xiang Yu's battle tactics were studied by later military leaders while his political blunders served as cautionary tales for later rulers.[citation needed] Another Chinese idiom, si mian chu ge (Chinese: 四面楚歌; pinyin: sì miàn chǔ gē; lit.: 'surrounded by Chu songs'), was also derived from the Battle of Gaixia, and used to describe someone in a desperate situation without help. Another saying by Liu Bang, "Having a Fan Zeng but unable to use him" (有一范增而不能用), was also used to describe Xiang Yu's reliance on his advisor Fan Zeng and failure to actually listen to Fan's advice.[citation needed]

  

《垓下歌》

力拔山兮氣蓋世。

 

時不利兮騅不逝。

 

騅不逝兮可奈何！

 

虞兮虞兮奈若何！

 

The Hegemon's Lament

My strength plucked up the hills,

My might shadowed the world;

But the times were against me,

And Dapple[a] runs no more;

When Dapple runs no more,

What then can I do?

Ah, Yu,[b] my Yu,

What will your fate be?

 

Cultural references:

 

Xiang Yu's might and prowess in battle has been glorified in Chinese folk tales, poetry, and novels, and he has been the subject of films, television, plays, Chinese operas, video games and comics. His classic image is that of a heroic and brave, but arrogant and bloodthirsty warrior-king. His romance with his wife Consort Yu and his suicide have also added a touch of a tragic hero to his character.[original research?][citation needed]

 

Poetry, folk tales, novels:

 

Xiang Yu's might and prowess in battle appears in Chinese folk tales and poetry, e.g., in his final battle.[16] The Meng Ch'iu, an 8th-century Chinese primer, contains the four-character rhyming couplet: "Ji Xin impersonates the Emperor". It referred to the episode in the Battle of Xingyang when Ji Xin and 2,000 women disguised themselves as Liu Bang and his army, to distract Xiang Yu in order to buy time for Liu Bang to escape from the city of Xingyang.[17]

 

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, Sun Ce is nicknamed "Little Conqueror" (小霸王) and is often compared favourably to Xiang Yu by his contemporaries.[citation needed] Sun Ce is best known for his conquests in the Jiangdong region that laid the foundation of the state of Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms era. In Water Margin, another of the Four Great Classical Novels, Zhou Tong, one of the 108 outlaws, is nicknamed "Little Conqueror" for his resemblance to Xiang Yu in appearance.

 

In Jin Ping Mei, (Ci Hua edition) Xiang Yu (项籍) is mentioned as an example of a tragic character in the song at the opening of the first chapter.[18]

 

The character Mata Zyndu in Ken Liu's epic fantasy novel The Grace of Kings is based on Xiang Yu.

 

Operas:

 

A famous Beijing opera, The Hegemon-King Bids His Lady Farewell, depicts the events of Xiang Yu's defeat at the Battle of Gaixia. The title of the play was borrowed as the Chinese title for Chen Kaige's award-winning motion picture Farewell My Concubine.[citation needed]

 

Television:

 

Portrayed by Shek Sau in the 1985 Hong Kong television series The Battlefield.

Portrayed by Hu Jun in the 2003 Chinese television series The Story of Han Dynasty.

Portrayed by Kwong Wah in the 2004 Hong Kong television series The Conqueror's Story.

Portrayed by Tan Kai in the 2010 Chinese television series The Myth.

Portrayed by Peter Ho in the 2012 Chinese television series King's War.

Portrayed by Ming Dao in the 2012 Chinese television series Beauties of the Emperor.

Portrayed by Qin Junjie in the 2015 Chinese television series The Legend of Qin.

Portrayed by Tim Yu in the 2018 Chinese television series Hero's Dream.

 

Film:

 

Portrayed by Ray Lui in the 1994 Hong Kong film The Great Conqueror's Concubine.

Portrayed by Feng Shaofeng in the 2011 Chinese film White Vengeance.

Portrayed by Daniel Wu in the 2012 Chinese film The Last Supper.

 

Video games:

 

Xiang Yu is one of the thirty-two historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei.[citation needed] He is also featured as a non-playable character (NPC) in the action role-playing game Prince of Qin.[citation needed] Xiang Yu is one of the main two characters in the 1990s Super Nintendo historical simulation game Rise of the Phoenix by the Koei corporation, the other being Liu Bang. Xiang Yu is a playable character in the online mobile role-playing game Fate/Grand Order.

 

References:

 

Citations:

 

^ a b c d e f g h i Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian, Volume 7, Annals of Xiang Yu.

^ "Xiang Yu - Famous Leader of Uprising in Ancient China". Cultural China. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2014.

^ Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian, Volume 1, Biography of Emperor Gaozu.

^ Liu Bang and Xiang Yu became sworn brothers in a ceremony with King Huai II of Chu as their witness in 208 BC.

^ 王杰. 项羽坑杀了二十万秦朝降兵吗? (in Chinese).

^ “火烧阿房”：蒙的什么冤，平的什么反？ (in Chinese). 陕西新闻网.

^ Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian, Volume 8.

^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2010. Writing Sima Qian's Rhetorical Style into English—On Burton Watson's Translation of Records of the Grand Historian. Xiuying Li, Dalian University of Technology.

^ Minford, John, ed. (2000). An Anthology of Translations Classical Chinese Literature Volume I: From Antiquity To The Tang Dynasty. Columbia University Press. pp. 414–415. ISBN 0-231-09676-3.

^ (遇強則霸的匹夫之勇，和遇弱則憐的婦人之仁。既不能任用賢能將帥，又曾遷逐楚義帝，用兵趕盡殺絕。雖名為霸王，其實民心盡失。)

^ (勝敗兵家事不期，包羞忍恥是男兒。江東弟子多才俊，捲土重來未可知。)

^ (百戰疲勞壯士衰，中原一敗勢難回。江東子弟今雖在，肯與君王捲土來。)

^ (生當作人傑，死亦為鬼雄，至今思項羽，不肯過江東。)

^ (宜將剩勇追窮寇，不可沽名學霸王。)

^ 看《神话》穿越历史 西楚霸王项羽有勇无谋 (in Chinese). 半岛网 (www.bandao.cn). January 27, 2010. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011.[verification needed]

^ Xiang Yu (Chinese rebel leader) Britannica Online Encyclopedia

^ David Johnson, The City-God Cults of T'ang and Sung China, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 45, No. 2 (Dec., 1985), pp. 363-457

^ "Text of Jin Ping Mei". Chinese Text Project. Retrieved 6 December 2014.

 

Sources:

 

Sima Qian. Records of the Grand Historian, Volume 7.

Ban Gu et al. Book of Han, Volume 31.

Sima Guang. Zizhi Tongjian, volumes 8, 9, 10, 11.

 

Hegemon-King of Western Chu

House of Xiang

Born: 232 BC Died: 202 BC

Titles in pretence:

Preceded by: Emperor Yi of Chu— TITULAR —

Hegemon-King of Western Chu. 206–202 BC

Reason for succession failure:

Chu–Han Contention Succeeded by: Han Xin as King of Chu

 

— TITULAR —

 

Emperor of China: 206–202 BC

Reason for succession failure:

Chu–Han Contention Succeeded by: Emperor Gaozu of Han.

 

Gilles Fuchs, France:

 

Enjoy the last segment of the series, introducing Gilles Fuchs--founder of the Marcel Duchamp Award, which is a key point of this exhibition, and currently a representative of the Association for the International Diffusion of French Art (ADIAF)--whose responses exude his abundant love of art.

 

Profile:

 

Establishing the Association for the International Diffusion of French Art (ADIAF) in 1994, serving as a representative of that organization since 1998, and establishing the Marcel Duchamp Award in 2000, Gilles Fuchs serves as a spokesman for the development of French contemporary art.

 

Q: Please describe about your profession?

A: I am now retired (I previously was in the fashion and perfume business) but I have been for nearly fifty years an "addict" art collector.

Upon my retirement I created with some friends an Association to promote French artists abroad. (ADIAF)

We were convinced that the French way of life or "civilisation" should be taken with more consideration than it is presently the case.

The main art stream (under the fallacious reason that it should be better understood by" every one") has aimed at being spectacular, "sensational" and out of measure with some tendency to vulgarity.

French art is by tradition based on reflection, elegance and sense of measure. It is a humanism. Two different aims; one, provocative to the extreme; the other one discreet and trying to convince.

 

Our association is composed exclusively of contemporary art collectors (about 300).

We wish to underline the choices of collectors, with modest means, what play an active part in the present art world distinct from the overwhelming institutions or "institutional collectors".

Their choices are not based on speculation but on their deep taste and reflection. The value or symbolic financial status of a work of art is far from their main preoccupation.

They never forget Leonardo Da Vinci: "art is cosa mentale"

It is a sort of democratic alternative.

 

Q: Frankly why do you collect the art?

A: Collectors are "maniac"; it is part of their character and they cannot live without indulging in this side of themselves.

 

You may collect everything from stamps to "white elephants" but it is theoretically a finished world. There is a day when your collection is completed.

 

This is not the case when you collect contemporary art. There is always something new happening and like mushroom in autumn, new artists spring from anywhere with something new to say or a new way to say it.

 

This is the interest of collecting an art that is always challenging

 

Art is the soul of its time:To be in close contact with it is essential. To learn about it when it has become historical loses some impact.

Art is a choice of society .There is no aesthetics without ethics.

 

Q: Among many high-profile artists, whom are you keeping eyes on?

As I told previously I am more interested in emerging artists than in celebrities. It is then that you may feel the vulnerability of a work as well as its raw boldness. Creation is always stimulating. I am not a prophet, I like to discover.

Celebrities have to consolidate their works, to make them more understandable, more acceptable. But there may be repetitions (with no real meaning) or even complaisance.

 

It is like the story of the 3 little pigs.

One builds his house quickly in straw.

The second one is more cautious and makes it in wood.

 

The third one works for eternity and builds it in stone.

I may often prefer the first one.

 

Relevant information:

 

・The answer from the collector participating in "French Window" exhibition

- File01. Jerome and Emmanuelle de Noirmont

- File02. Alex and Greta Vanden Berghe

- File03. Michel Poitevin

- File04. Gilles Fuchs:

 

・The Answer from the artist participating in "French Window" exhibition.

- File01. Mathieu Mercier

- File02. Pierre Ardouvin

- File03. Thomas Hirschhorn

- File04. Camille Henrot

- File05. Claude Closky

- File06. Valerie Belin

- File07. Philippe Mayaux

 

・"French Window: Looking at Contemporary Art through the Marcel Duchamp Prize"

 

・Mori Art Museum on Flickr:

Images of "French Window: Looking at Contemporary Art through the Marcel Duchamp Prize"-1

Images of "French Window: Looking at Contemporary Art through the Marcel Duchamp Prize"-2

Images of "French Window: Looking at Contemporary Art through the Marcel Duchamp Prize"-3.

 

Günther Jauch, Germany:

 

Günther Johannes Jauch (German pronunciation: [ˈɡʏntɐ joˈhanəs ˈjaʊx]; born 13 July 1956) is a German television presenter, television producer, and journalist.

 

Biography:

 

Jauch was born in Münster. He is known for a unique style of informing and entertaining people that is generally considered witty and funny. He won several awards for his appearances in German television. Jauch also owns the production company "i&u TV", which stands for Information und Unterhaltung("information and entertainment"). He is known to make large donations to charity from money he receives from his appearances in advertisements and other promotional work.

 

Jauch has used his personal wealth to purchase and restore several historic buildings in and around Potsdam, his current town of residence.

 

In the 1980s, Jauch worked for radio programs of Bayerischer Rundfunk. Jauch has produced and hosted the prime time TV programme stern TV [de], a television news magazine programme, on the private German RTL national TV network since 1990. The programme caused some sensation due to the transmission of falsified articles delivered by the journalist Michael Born who was subsequently convicted to a four-year prison sentence in 1996, a few other prominent German TV networks had also been deceived with such material.[1] In January 2011, after celebrating the end of his 21-year reign hosting stern TV [de], Jauch will now host a weekly political talkshow on the national German public TV network Das Erste ("The First").[2]

 

In 2005, Jauch was named by Stern magazine the most famous German in the world. In late 2006, Jauch announced that he would only host the first broadcast of the Four Hills Tournament (from Oberstdorf) and celebrate New Year's Eve with his family. Jauch had hosted all events of the Four Hills Tournament since 2000. The 2007 season tournaments from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen were hosted by Marco Schreylinstead.[3]

 

Jauch, together with Thomas Gottschalk, is also part of the German TV show Die 2 - Gottschalk und Jauch gegen alle.[4]

 

In 2015, shortly after Stefan Raab had announced the end of his TV career, Jauch declared publicly that he intends to gradually reduce his appearance on TV too; stating that he will eventually give up his political talk show Günther Jauch on ARD and to focus on his other TV shows such as Wer wird Millionär? on RTL.[5][6]

 

Personal life:

 

After 18 years of common-law marriage, Jauch married Thea in the Orangerie at Schloss Sanssouci in Potsdam in 2006.[7][8] He is a member of the Hamburg Jauch family.

 

Jauch and Thea have two biological daughters, Svenja (born in 1989) and Kristin (born in 1993). The couple adopted two orphaned daughters in 1997 and 2000, named Katja and Masha.[9][3]

 

Philanthropy:

 

Jauch is characterised by his secluded lifestyle. He stated in interviews that he takes the liberty of leading a life that does not correspond to his supposed economic possibilities. According to his own statement, he has spent considerable amounts of his income, including all the profit from advertising jobs, on charitable causes since the early years of his career.[10] In 2002, he made significant financial contributions to the reconstruction of the Fortunaportal (Gate of the Fortuna) at the Potsdam Stadtschloss city palace. Jauch has also given financial support to other projects in Potsdam, e.g. the Belvedere on the Pfingstberg, (where he got married in 2006), the Potsdam city canal, the Kloebersaal,[11] a hall in the north wing of the Marmorpalais (Marble Palace), which is opposite his villa at Heiligen See lake, as well as the restoration of the Neptungrotte (Neptune Grotto) in the palace gardens of Schloss Sanssouci.[12] Furthermore, he supported the construction of the Marienschule Potsdam, a co-educational Roman-Catholic school for primary and secondary education, which belongs to the archdiocese of Berlin.[13][14] The prime minister of Brandenburg, Matthias Platzeck, called him a citizen every mayor could ever wish for.[15] Jauch was an ambassador for the Berlin Pro-Reli-Kampagne, a petition which aimed to change the Education Act of the state of Berlin in order to introduce religious studies as an elective subject instead of ethics as a sole compulsory subject. The campaign eventually failed in April 2009.

 

Jauch’s ancestress on his grandmother’s side, Anna Weißebach, founded the CaritasKonferenzen, the German branch of the International Association of Charities. Jauch’s own family set up soup kitchens in Hamburg as early as the 19th and 20th century and founded and maintained poorhouses in Hamburg and other places. In line with his family’s tradition of charitable foundations, Jauch endowed the founding of a branch of Die Arche in Drewitz(Potsdam) in 2009, which provides free meals for children in need. He also covers ongoing property and personnel expenses.[16] Die Arche – Christliches Kinder- und Jugendwerk e.V. is a Christian organisation for children and adolescents.

 

Vineyard owner:

 

Günther Jauch is also continuing a 200 year-old family tradition of wine-growing.[17] In 2010, he successfully applied for membership in the German Prädikat Wine Estates VDP (German: “Verband Deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitätsweingüter”), in order to acquire a relative’s vineyard (Othegraven in Kanzem) which was approved by VDP that certifies Germany’s wines that meet the organizations requirements.[18] The entire property, including a mansion and an English Garden, has been subject to preservation orders since 2003.

 

Günther Jauch’s family has been running the winery since 1805, when his ancestor and merchant Emmerich Grach bought the property. Jauch’s grandmother Elsa von Othegraven, his grandfather Hans Jauch and his father Ernst-Alfred Jauch were part of the community of heirs. However, in 1996 the winery was inherited by a distant relative.

 

In order to ensure that the winery was not going to be sold to a party outside the family, Günther Jauch decided to buy it.[19] One of the previous owners had been Jauch's famous great-great-uncle, Franz Weißebach. According to the VDP, the vineyard is a gem of a vineyard, rare in its quality and attractive location.[17] In 2011, Jauch acquired a further vineyard (Wawerner Herrenberg) in Wawern that is 3.5 acres.[20] It had also belonged to his ancestor Emmerich Grach. Günther Jauch also co-produced wines that supermarket chain Aldi has been selling under his name since 2018.[21]

 

Dispute about privacy:

 

Günther Jauch wanted to legally prohibit any type of media coverage in the preparation of his wedding in July 2006. The Landgericht Berlin granted him an interim injunction against the newspaper Bild and other publications of the Springer publishing house.[22] The Kammergericht Berlin, however, decided against a prohibition of general media coverage in June 2006 due to his celebrity status. According to the judges, they were allowed to report about the date and place of the wedding.[23] After the magazine Bunte published photos of the wedding and details about the ceremony, Thea Jauch went to court against the publishing house to demand damages and compensation for pain and suffering totalling 325,000 Euros. The Landgericht Hamburg awarded her only 25,000 Euros compensation in January 2008. The judgment was set aside by the Hanseatisches Oberlandesgericht in October 2008. As a public figure, interest in Jauch’s wedding was legitimate, it said. An anew appeal was refused by the Federal Constitutional Court. The demand for damages by Günther Jauch in a separate lawsuit was in vain as well.

 

The couple then went before the European Court of Human Rights to claim that the German justice system did not protect Jauch's right to privacy sufficiently and breached his right to protection of property, because they did not award him damages for the published photos. The court in Strasbourg affirmed the public’s interest in his wedding and therefore, their claims were without cause. German justice had carefully weighed between the right to privacy and the freedom of the press, it said. The complaint was declared inadmissible.[24]

 

Shows hosted:

 

1985–1987: Live aus dem Alabama

1988–1997: Das aktuelle sportstudio (Up-to-date Sport news)

since 1989: Menschen, Bilder, Emotionen (People, Pictures, Emotions)

1990–2010: Stern TV

since 1999: Wer wird Millionär? (German version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?)

2000–2006: RTL-Skispringen (ski jumping)

2001–2004: Der Große IQ-Test (The Big IQ Test)

2001–2009: 5-Millionen SKL Show

2002–2004: Grips-Show (Brain Show)

since 2009: 5 gegen Jauch (5 against Jauch)

2011–2015: Günther Jauch (Sunday evening political talkshow on Das Erste)

2013–2017: Die 2 – Gottschalk & Jauch gegen alle (with Thomas Gottschalk and Barbara Schöneberger)

2016–2017: 500 – Die Quiz-Arena

since 2018: Denn sie wissen nicht, was passiert – Die Jauch-Gottschalk-Schöneberger-Show (with Thomas Gottschalk and Barbara Schöneberger)

since 2019: Bin ich schlauer als Günther Jauch? (Am I smarter than Günther Jauch?)

 

Awards:

 

1988: Goldene Kamera

1989: Bayerischer Fernsehpreis

1990: Bambi

1998: Bayerischer Fernsehpreis together with Marcel Reif

2001: Goldene Kamera, Bayerischer Fernsehpreis, Bambi for Wer wird Millionär?

2002: Adolf-Grimme-Preis

2003: Unsere Besten, Rank 29, Osgar, Bambi

2006: Deutscher Fernsehpreis

2010: Deutscher Fernsehpreis

2011: Goldene Kamera, red dot design award

2012: Goldene Kamera

 

Products advertised:

 

Krombacher (beer)

Karstadt Quelle (a department store / mail-order company)

Süddeutsche Klassenlotterie [de] (a lottery)

DHL (a postal service owned by Germany's Deutsche Post alongside Thomas Gottschalk)

World Wide Fund for Nature (a nature preserve organization)

 

References in popular culture:

 

Jauch is mentioned in the song Rot by Markus Henrik, in his role as the host of the show Wer wird Millionär? (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?).

Jauch is also mentioned in the Blumentopf song "Warum eigentlich nicht?"

 

References:

 

^ Thomas Pritzl: Der Fake-Faktor. Spurensuche im größten Betrugsfall des deutschen Fernsehens. kopäd, 2006, ISBN 3-938028-69-6

^ "Günther Jauch ab 2011 im Ersten". Das Erste (in German). Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2011.

^ a b "Der Familie zuliebe: Jauch tritt kürzer". Der Spiegel (in German). 27 December 2006. Retrieved 27 December 2006.

^ "RTL: Die 2: Gottschalk und Jauch gegen alle" (in German).

^ "Südddeutsche: Zum Rückzug von Günther Jauch" (in German).

^ "Spiegel: Abschied von Jauchs ARD-Talk: Es wurde Zeit" (in German).

^ "Günther Jauch heiratet seine Thea" (in German). 28 March 2006.

^ "IMDb: Günther Jauch - Biography".

^ "Günther Jauch adoptiert zweites Waisenkind" (in German). 7 May 2000.

^ "Jauch verschenkt "jeden Cent"" (in German). Archived from the original on 2005-02-03.

^ "Ein Fall für Jauch: Kloebersaal wieder geöffnet" (in German). 27 June 2003.

^ "Schlosspark Sanssouci: Günther Jauch spendet eine Million für Grottensanierung"(in German).

^ "Opus Dei erhält Schulverbot". F (in German).

^ "Günther Jauch und Katherina Reiche stehen Pate" (in German).

^ "Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award 2003" (in German).

^ "Geldflut für die "Arche"" (in German).

^ a b "VDP Prädikatsweingüter: Günther Jauch aufgenommen | News | DER DEUTSCHE WEINBAU".

^ "Günther Jauch wird Winzer" (in German).

^ "Spiegel-Gespräch : "Ich bin angstfrei" - Der Spiegel 26/2011" (in German).

^ "Günther Jauch: "Ich dachte, ich werde da mal ebenso rotnasig wie freundlich auf der Veranda sitzen"". Die Zeit (in German). 21 September 2011. ISSN 0044-2070.

^ "Jauch verrät neue Details zu seinem Aldi-Wein" (in German). 3 April 2018.

^ "Bild darf keine Einzelheiten über Jauchs Hochzeit verbreiten" (in German).

^ "Netzeitung Medien: Jauchs Berichterstattungsverbot eingeschränkt" (in German). Archived from the original on 2006-07-01.

^ "Günther Jauch und seine Frau scheitern mit Klage vor Menschenrechtsgerichtshof" (in German).

 

Andy Lou, Hong Kong:

 

Andy Lau Tak-wah BBS MH JP[3] (traditional Chinese: 劉德華; simplified Chinese: 刘德华, born 27 September 1961), is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time.[4] In the 1990s, Lau was branded by the media as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantopop and was named as "Fourth Tiger" among the Five Tiger Generals of TVBduring the 1980s[5]

 

Lau was entered into the Guinness World Records for the "Most Awards Won by a Cantopop Male Artist". By April 2000, he had already won an unprecedented total of 292 awards.[6] Lau also holds numerous film acting awards, having won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actorthree times and the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor twice. In 2005, Lau received the "No.1 Box office Actor 1985–2005" award of Hong Kong,[7] yielding a box office total of HK$1,733,275,816 for shooting 108 films in the past 20 years,[6][8] and in 2007, he received the "Nielsen Box Office Star of Asia" award by the Nielsen Company (ACNielsen).[3] On 25 June 2018, Lau was invited to be a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[9][10]

 

Early life:

 

Andy Lau was born in Tai Po, Hong Kong, a son of a fireman Lau Lai (劉禮). He was the fourth child of the family; he has three elder sisters, one younger sister, and a younger brother named Lau Tak-sing. His family was considered to be wealthy as his grandfather was a landowner, but his father left with him to the slums of Diamond Hill when he was six, where the area was full of wooden houses, and was burnt down when he was eleven. As a young boy, Lau had to fetch water for his family up to eight times a day because their house was not equipped with plumbing.[6] He graduated from a Band One secondary school, Ho Lap College in San Po Kong, Kowloon.[11] He was named as Lau Fook-wing (劉福榮) during his academic years. He also practices Chinese calligraphy.[8] Lau converted to Buddhism in the 1980s.[citation needed] He was raised in a nominally Buddhist household and is now a follower of the Lingyan Mountain Temple in Taiwan.[12]

 

Career: Actor

See also: Andy Lau filmography

 

In 1981, Lau signed up for the artist training program offered by TVB, which is where his acting career began.[1] The lead role which led to his initial popularity was in the 1982 TVB series The Emissary. In 1983, Lau's role as "Yang Guo" in the TVB wuxia series, The Return of the Condor Heroes (神鵰俠侶) further increased his popularity. From then on, he would take on many of the lead roles in many TVB series.

 

In September 1983, TVB was looking to increase their ratings in competition with Korea and Japan for the best variety show. The station then created the show TVB All-star challenge (星光熠熠勁爭輝) featuring almost the entire line-up of the most popular actors and singers at the time.[13] Lau, along with Tony Leung, Michael Miu, Felix Wong, and Kent Tongwere branded as the "Five Tiger Generals of TVB" (無線五虎將) due to their popularity on the show.[13]

 

In the late '80s, Lau left TVB due to contract problems. TVB wanted to bind him to an exclusive five-year contract which Lau refused to sign, so TVB blacklisted him. He then focused on his film career.[6]

 

In 1981, Lau made a guest appearance in one of Susanna Kwan's music videos and caught the eye of the manager Teddy Robin.[14] Teddy Robin then gave Lau a chance to play a small role in the film, Once Upon a Rainbow.[14] This was the first step in Lau's film acting career.[14] He landed a role in Ann Hui's 1982 film, Boat People.[1] Later in 1983 he had his first leading role in the Shaw Brothers-produced action film, On the Wrong Track.[15]

 

One of his early leading roles included the more serious 1988 film, The Truth (法內情).

 

However, Lau is best known in films for his (often) recurring roles as a "Heroic Gangster", such as Wong Kar-wai's 1988 film As Tears Go By, and Benny Chan's 1990 film A Moment of Romance.

 

Though a respectable actor, Lau was initially known more for his handsome features. Some people he has worked with have called him a matinee idol, but he has claimed to be an artist.[4] Lau has proved his acting skills in many of his films. His first major acting prize came with A Fighter's Blues, which was his first Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Actor.[16]He would win the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor award that year for Running Out of Time.[17] In 2004, he won the prestigious Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor for his performance in Infernal Affairs III, the second sequel to the popular Infernal Affairs.[18]He is also known to Western audiences for starring in wuxia films such as House of Flying Daggers, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

 

In 2005, Lau received the "No.1 Box office Actor 1985–2005" award of Hong Kong, yielding a box office total of HKD 1,733,275,816 for shooting 108 films in the past 20 years.[6][8] The aforementioned figure is as compared to the first runner-up Stephen Chow's (HKD 1,317,452,311) and second runner-up Jackie Chan's (HKD 894,090,962). "I've never imagined that it would be as much as 1.7 billion!" he told reporters. For his contributions, a wax figure of Lau was unveiled on 1 June 2005 at the Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.[19] In 2007, Lau also received the "Nielsen Box Office Star of Asia" award by the Nielsen Company (ACNielsen).[3]

 

Film producer:

 

In 1991, Lau set up his own film production company, Teamwork Motion Pictures, which in 2002 was renamed to Focus Group Holdings Limited. His contributions in the film industry as well as his involvement in nurturing new talent in the Asian film industry led him to winning the "Asian Filmmaker of the Year" award in the Pusan International Film Festival in 2006.[3] Some of the films Lau has produced include award-winning films, Made in Hong Kong and A Simple Life, his 100th film, A Fighter's Blues, the Chinese digital film Crazy Stone, and big budget action blockbusters, Firestorm and Shock Wave.

 

Musical career:

 

Lau released his first album "Only Know that I Still Love You" (只知道此刻愛你) under Capital Artists in 1985.[6] This album was not a big hit,[6] but despite having a voice not traditionally associated with popular music, Lau's hard work and perseverance resulted in him becoming one of the most successful singers in Cantopop. His singing career reached stellar status in 1990 with the release of the album

entitled "Would It Be Possible" (可不可以), and his subsequent releases only solidified his status as a marketable singer.[6] For that song, he would win his first 1990 RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards. He would then win at least one RTHK award category every year consecutively until the year 2007.

 

From Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards he has won the "Most Popular Hong Kong Male Artist" award 7 times and the "Asia Pacific Most Popular Hong Kong Male Artist" award 15 times.[6]He was also entered into the Guinness World Records for "Most Awards Won by a Cantopop Male Artist". By April 2000, he had already won an unprecedented total of 292 awards.[6]

 

Many of Lau's songs quickly topped the music charts not only in Hong Kong, but also in Taiwan, Mainland China, and in many different parts of Asia. Some of his most notable hits include "The Days We Spent Together" (一起走過的日子), "If You Are My Legend" (如果你是我的傳說), "The Tide" (潮水), "Forget Love Potion" (忘情水), "True Forever" (真永遠), "Chinese people" (中國人), "Love You Forever" (愛你一萬年), "You Are My Woman" (你是我的女人), and "Secret Admiration" (暗裡著迷). Besides singing in Cantonese and Mandarin, he has also sung in other languages such as English, Japanese, Malay, and Taiwanese Hokkien. One example of a Hokkien song was (世界第一等), and he has also performed a Cantonese cover of Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You" (我恨我痴心).

 

Since the early 1990s, Lau, along with Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok, and Leon Lai have been referred to by the Chinese media as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings.[5]

 

Lau sang alongside Jackie Chan during a part of the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony on 24 August 2008. In addition, Lau, who has been supporting disabled athletes in Hong Kong for more than a decade, was appointed as the Goodwill ambassador for the 2008 Summer Paralympics.[20] He led other performers in singing and performing the song "Everyone is No.1" at the Beijing National Stadium just a few hours before the 2008 Paralympics opening ceremony began.[21] He also sang the theme song "Flying with the Dream" with Han Hong during the Paralympics opening ceremony on 6 September 2008.[20]

 

As a songwriter, most of Lau's creative works are as a lyricist. To date, Lau has composed five songs, which include "Missing You Everyday" (天天想你), co-composed with Eric Moo,[22] "If One Day" (如果有一天),[23] "Happiness Is So Far... So Sweet" (幸福.這麼遠.那麼甜),[24] "Spending the Rest Our Lives Together" (餘生一起過),[25] all of which he also sang and wrote the lyrics, and "Brothers" (兄弟), the theme song of his 2004 film, Jiang Hu, which he wrote the lyrics for but was sung by co-star Chapman To.[26] Most of the songs he has written have been for himself.

 

Books written:

 

To date, Lau has written and published two books. They include his 1995 autobiography, This Is How I Grew Up (我是這樣長大的) written in prose,[27] and his 2012 book, My 30 Work Days (我的30個工作天), which is a collection of his 30 personal diaries he wrote while working on the 2011 film, A Simple Life.[28]

 

Appearance in other media:

 

Lau is alleged to have been featured as a non-player character (NPC) as a random pedestrian in a sandbox-style action video game called Prototype. On 6 July, the Hong Kong local newspapers Headline Daily and Sing Tao Daily reported on Lau's cameo.[29]

 

Community service:

 

In 1994, Lau established the Andy Lau Charity Foundation which helps people in need and promotes a wide range of youth education services.[3] In 1999, he received the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World award, being the third person from Hong Kong at that time to receive this distinguished honour.[3] In 2008, Lau took a main role in putting together the Artistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign for relief toward the victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.[30] It was one of the largest and most ambitious charity events ever assembled in the territory.

 

Lau was noted for his active involvement in charity works throughout his 30 years in showbiz and honoured as a "Justice of Peace" by the Hong Kong SAR government in 2008.[31] In May 2010, he received the "World Outstanding Chinese" award and an "honorary doctorate" from the University of New Brunswick, Canada.[32] On 14 December 2017, Lau was awarded a Doctor of Letters degree from the Hong Kong Shue Yan University, with the citation highlighting his popularity among locals which stated: "His low-key, modest, friendly and approachable personality has endeared him to millions of fans and ordinary folks alike, who also consider him to be a 'heartthrob' and the 'unofficial Chief Executive of Hong Kong".[33]

 

Lau was also named in the Panama Papers leak.[34]

 

Personal life:

 

In 2008, Lau married Malaysian Chinese Carol Chu (朱麗倩) after 24 years of speculation over their relationship, both are vegetarian and devout Buddhists.[35] The couple married in Las Vegas.[35] On 9 May 2012, Chu gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Hanna.[36] In January 2017, Lau was seriously injured after being thrown off and stomped by a horse during a commercial shoot in Khao Lak, an area three hours outside of Thailand's capital city, Bangkok.[37][38] However, Lau was able to make a full return to work in August 2017, stating he has recovered 95 per cent from his injuries and has fully recovered by the end of the year.[39][40].

 

Lau never had a motorcycle-class driving license, so most of the scenes on Full Throttlewere done by a stunt double. When he performs with one, the engine is never on.[41][42]

 

Awards and nominations:

 

Year, Award, Category Nominated work, Result:

 

1983 Hong Kong Film Awards Best New Performer Boat People Nominated

1989 Best Actor As Tears Go By Nominated

1990 Golden Horse Film FestivalBest Supporting ActorKawashima Yoshiko Nominated

1992 Hong Kong Film Awards Best ActorLee Rock Nominated

Best Original Film Song (Singer) Casino Raiders II Nominated

1995 Best Original Film Song (Singer)Tian Di Nominated

1996 Best Actor Full Throttle Nominated

Best Original Film Song (Singer/Lyricist) Nominated

1998 Best Film (Producer) Made in Hong Kong Won

Best Original Film Song (Singer) Island of Greed Nominated

1999 Best Original Film Song (Singer) The Longest Summer Nominated

A True Mob Story Nominated

Best Film (Producer) The Longest Summer Nominated

2000 Best ActorRunning Out of Time Won

Golden Bauhinia Awards Nominated

2001 Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor A Fighter's Blues Nominated

Golden Bauhinia Awards A Fighter's Blues Won

Golden Horse Film Festival Love on a Diet Nominated

2002 Hong Kong Film Awards Nominated

Best Original Film Song (Singer/Lyricist) Shaolin Soccer Nominated

2003 Best Actor Infernal Affairs Nominated

Best Original Film Song (Singer with Tony Leung) Nominated

Golden Horse Film Festival Best Actor Nominated

Golden Bauhinia Awards Nominated

2004 Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor Running on Karma Won

Golden Horse Film Festival Infernal Affairs III Won

Golden Bauhinia Awards Nominated

Running on Karma Nominated

2005 Golden Bauhinia Awards A World Without Thieves Nominated

2006 Hong Kong Film Awards Wait 'Til You're Older Nominated

Best Original Film Song (Singer/Lyricist).Nominated

Golden Bauhinia Awards Best Actor Nominated

2007 Hong Kong Film Awards Best Asian Film (Producer) Crazy Stone Nominated

Golden Bauhinia Awards Best Actor Battle of Wits Nominated

2007 Asian Film Awards Best Actor Battle of Wits Nominated

2008 Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Protégé Won

Best Actor The Warlords Nominated

Best Original Film Song (Singer with Eason Chan/Lyricist) Brothers Nominated

2011 Best Film (

replaced isle coaches 646/647 college service.

Replaced April 7, 2014 with a re-processed version that I think gives it more depth, so I'm placing it at the front of my Photostream. Some leaves were just beginning to change here in Portland, Oregon on this bright October day with the sun low in the sky.

We really want to replace this grass (it's our side yard) with drought tolerant plants, but I do love how green it is even though we have not been watering!

 

Sorry I'm so behind again with posting my photos!

I deleted my video as it wasn’t working properly, and replaced it with this picture instead

Standard, Alternative and Warrior From North editions.

With Jay's textures and vanilla complexion + the good ol' Chargen Extension.

A little composition style I will use again probably :)

 

This is a WIP, I haven't decide yet about her final look, especially the haircut.

The Central Arcade in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, is an Edwardian shopping arcade built in 1906 and designed by Oswald and Son, of Newcastle. It is in the Central Exchange building, which was built by Richard Grainger in 1836–38 to the designs of John Wardle and George Walker. The Central Arcade is Grade II* listed.

 

The Central Exchange is a triangular building which was intended to be a corn exchange but became a subscription newsroom. In 1870 the Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts converted the newsroom into an art gallery, concert hall and theatre.

 

This was replaced by a vaudeville theatre in 1897, but in 1901 the interior was destroyed by fire, after which the current Central Arcade was built within the walls of the original building. According to one source, the faience tiles in the arcade were produced by Rust's Vitreous Mosaics, Battersea, but a book on Burmantofts Pottery states that this arcade was their last major work in external faience in 1906

 

Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the River Tyne's northern bank, opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England.

 

Newcastle developed around a Roman settlement called Pons Aelius, the settlement became known as Monkchester before taking on the name of a castle built in 1080 by William the Conqueror's eldest son, Robert Curthose. It was one of the world's largest ship building and repair centres during the industrial revolution. Newcastle was part of the county of Northumberland until 1400, when it separated and formed a county of itself. In 1974, Newcastle became part of Tyne and Wear. Since 2018, the city council has been part of the North of Tyne Combined Authority.

 

The history of Newcastle upon Tyne dates back almost 2,000 years, during which it has been controlled by the Romans, the Angles and the Norsemen amongst others. Newcastle upon Tyne was originally known by its Roman name Pons Aelius. The name "Newcastle" has been used since the Norman conquest of England. Due to its prime location on the River Tyne, the town developed greatly during the Middle Ages and it was to play a major role in the Industrial Revolution, being granted city status in 1882. Today, the city is a major retail, commercial and cultural centre.

 

Roman settlement

The history of Newcastle dates from AD 122, when the Romans built the first bridge to cross the River Tyne at that point. The bridge was called Pons Aelius or 'Bridge of Aelius', Aelius being the family name of Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was responsible for the Roman wall built across northern England along the Tyne–Solway gap. Hadrian's Wall ran through present-day Newcastle, with stretches of wall and turrets visible along the West Road, and at a temple in Benwell. Traces of a milecastle were found on Westgate Road, midway between Clayton Street and Grainger Street, and it is likely that the course of the wall corresponded to present-day Westgate Road. The course of the wall can be traced eastwards to the Segedunum Roman fort at Wallsend, with the fort of Arbeia down-river at the mouth of the Tyne, on the south bank in what is now South Shields. The Tyne was then a wider, shallower river at this point and it is thought that the bridge was probably about 700 feet (210 m) long, made of wood and supported on stone piers. It is probable that it was sited near the current Swing Bridge, due to the fact that Roman artefacts were found there during the building of the latter bridge. Hadrian himself probably visited the site in 122. A shrine was set up on the completed bridge in 123 by the 6th Legion, with two altars to Neptune and Oceanus respectively. The two altars were subsequently found in the river and are on display in the Great North Museum in Newcastle.

 

The Romans built a stone-walled fort in 150 to protect the river crossing which was at the foot of the Tyne Gorge, and this took the name of the bridge so that the whole settlement was known as Pons Aelius. The fort was situated on a rocky outcrop overlooking the new bridge, on the site of the present Castle Keep. Pons Aelius is last mentioned in 400, in a Roman document listing all of the Roman military outposts. It is likely that nestling in the shadow of the fort would have been a small vicus, or village. Unfortunately, no buildings have been detected; only a few pieces of flagging. It is clear that there was a Roman cemetery near Clavering Place, behind the Central station, as a number of Roman coffins and sarcophagi have been unearthed there.

 

Despite the presence of the bridge, the settlement of Pons Aelius was not particularly important among the northern Roman settlements. The most important stations were those on the highway of Dere Street running from Eboracum (York) through Corstopitum (Corbridge) and to the lands north of the Wall. Corstopitum, being a major arsenal and supply centre, was much larger and more populous than Pons Aelius.

 

Anglo-Saxon development

The Angles arrived in the North-East of England in about 500 and may have landed on the Tyne. There is no evidence of an Anglo-Saxon settlement on or near the site of Pons Aelius during the Anglo-Saxon age. The bridge probably survived and there may well have been a small village at the northern end, but no evidence survives. At that time the region was dominated by two kingdoms, Bernicia, north of the Tees and ruled from Bamburgh, and Deira, south of the Tees and ruled from York. Bernicia and Deira combined to form the kingdom of Northanhymbra (Northumbria) early in the 7th century. There were three local kings who held the title of Bretwalda – 'Lord of Britain', Edwin of Deira (627–632), Oswald of Bernicia (633–641) and Oswy of Northumbria (641–658). The 7th century became known as the 'Golden Age of Northumbria', when the area was a beacon of culture and learning in Europe. The greatness of this period was based on its generally Christian culture and resulted in the Lindisfarne Gospels amongst other treasures. The Tyne valley was dotted with monasteries, with those at Monkwearmouth, Hexham and Jarrow being the most famous. Bede, who was based at Jarrow, wrote of a royal estate, known as Ad Murum, 'at the Wall', 12 miles (19 km) from the sea. It is thought that this estate may have been in what is now Newcastle. At some unknown time, the site of Newcastle came to be known as Monkchester. The reason for this title is unknown, as we are unaware of any specific monasteries at the site, and Bede made no reference to it. In 875 Halfdan Ragnarsson, the Danish Viking conqueror of York, led an army that attacked and pillaged various monasteries in the area, and it is thought that Monkchester was also pillaged at this time. Little more was heard of it until the coming of the Normans.

 

Norman period

After the arrival of William the Conqueror in England in 1066, the whole of England was quickly subjected to Norman rule. However, in Northumbria there was great resistance to the Normans, and in 1069 the newly appointed Norman Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Comines and 700 of his men were killed by the local population at Durham. The Northumbrians then marched on York, but William was able to suppress the uprising. That same year, a second uprising occurred when a Danish fleet landed in the Humber. The Northumbrians again attacked York and destroyed the garrison there. William was again able to suppress the uprising, but this time he took revenge. He laid waste to the whole of the Midlands and the land from York to the Tees. In 1080, William Walcher, the Norman bishop of Durham and his followers were brutally murdered at Gateshead. This time Odo, bishop of Bayeux, William's half brother, devastated the land between the Tees and the Tweed. This was known as the 'Harrying of the North'. This devastation is reflected in the Domesday Book. The destruction had such an effect that the North remained poor and backward at least until Tudor times and perhaps until the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle suffered in this respect with the rest of the North.

 

In 1080 William sent his eldest son, Robert Curthose, north to defend the kingdom against the Scots. After his campaign, he moved to Monkchester and began the building of a 'New Castle'. This was of the "motte-and-bailey" type of construction, a wooden tower on top of an earthen mound (motte), surrounded by a moat and wooden stockade (bailey). It was this castle that gave Newcastle its name. In 1095 the Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Mowbray, rose up against the king, William Rufus, and Rufus sent an army north to recapture the castle. From then on the castle became crown property and was an important base from which the king could control the northern barons. The Northumbrian earldom was abolished and a Sheriff of Northumberland was appointed to administer the region. In 1091 the parish church of St Nicholas was consecrated on the site of the present Anglican cathedral, close by the bailey of the new castle. The church is believed to have been a wooden building on stone footings.

 

Not a trace of the tower or mound of the motte and bailey castle remains now. Henry II replaced it with a rectangular stone keep, which was built between 1172 and 1177 at a cost of £1,444. A stone bailey, in the form of a triangle, replaced the previous wooden one. The great outer gateway to the castle, called 'the Black Gate', was built later, between 1247 and 1250, in the reign of Henry III. There were at that time no town walls and when attacked by the Scots, the townspeople had to crowd into the bailey for safety. It is probable that the new castle acted as a magnet for local merchants because of the safety it provided. This in turn would help to expand trade in the town. At this time wool, skins and lead were being exported, whilst alum, pepper and ginger were being imported from France and Flanders.

 

Middle Ages

Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was England's northern fortress, the centre for assembled armies. The Border war against Scotland lasted intermittently for several centuries – possibly the longest border war ever waged. During the civil war between Stephen and Matilda, David 1st of Scotland and his son were granted Cumbria and Northumberland respectively, so that for a period from 1139 to 1157, Newcastle was effectively in Scottish hands. It is believed that during this period, King David may have built the church of St Andrew and the Benedictine nunnery in Newcastle. However, King Stephen's successor, Henry II was strong enough to take back the Earldom of Northumbria from Malcolm IV.

 

The Scots king William the Lion was imprisoned in Newcastle, in 1174, after being captured at the Battle of Alnwick. Edward I brought the Stone of Scone and William Wallace south through the town and Newcastle was successfully defended against the Scots three times during the 14th century.

 

Around 1200, stone-faced, clay-filled jetties were starting to project into the river, an indication that trade was increasing in Newcastle. As the Roman roads continued to deteriorate, sea travel was gaining in importance. By 1275 Newcastle was the sixth largest wool exporting port in England. The principal exports at this time were wool, timber, coal, millstones, dairy produce, fish, salt and hides. Much of the developing trade was with the Baltic countries and Germany. Most of the Newcastle merchants were situated near the river, below the Castle. The earliest known charter was dated 1175 in the reign of Henry II, giving the townspeople some control over their town. In 1216 King John granted Newcastle a mayor[8] and also allowed the formation of guilds (known as Mysteries). These were cartels formed within different trades, which restricted trade to guild members. There were initially twelve guilds. Coal was being exported from Newcastle by 1250, and by 1350 the burgesses received a royal licence to export coal. This licence to export coal was jealously guarded by the Newcastle burgesses, and they tried to prevent any one else on the Tyne from exporting coal except through Newcastle. The burgesses similarly tried to prevent fish from being sold anywhere else on the Tyne except Newcastle. This led to conflicts with Gateshead and South Shields.

 

In 1265, the town was granted permission to impose a 'Wall Tax' or Murage, to pay for the construction of a fortified wall to enclose the town and protect it from Scottish invaders. The town walls were not completed until early in the 14th century. They were two miles (3 km) long, 9 feet (2.7 m) thick and 25 feet (7.6 m) high. They had six main gates, as well as some smaller gates, and had 17 towers. The land within the walls was divided almost equally by the Lort Burn, which flowed southwards and joined the Tyne to the east of the Castle. The town began to expand north of the Castle and west of the Lort Burn with various markets being set up within the walls.

 

In 1400 Henry IV granted a new charter, creating a County corporate which separated the town, but not the Castle, from the county of Northumberland and recognised it as a "county of itself" with a right to have a sheriff of its own. The burgesses were now allowed to choose six aldermen who, with the mayor would be justices of the peace. The mayor and sheriff were allowed to hold borough courts in the Guildhall.

 

Religious houses

During the Middle Ages a number of religious houses were established within the walls: the first of these was the Benedictine nunnery of St Bartholomew founded in 1086 near the present-day Nun Street. Both David I of Scotland and Henry I of England were benefactors of the religious house. Nothing of the nunnery remains now.

 

The friary of Blackfriars, Newcastle (Dominican) was established in 1239. These were also known as the Preaching Friars or Shod Friars, because they wore sandals, as opposed to other orders. The friary was situated in the present-day Friars Street. In 1280 the order was granted royal permission to make a postern in the town walls to communicate with their gardens outside the walls. On 19 June 1334, Edward Balliol, claimant to be King of Scotland, did homage to King Edward III, on behalf of the kingdom of Scotland, in the church of the friary. Much of the original buildings of the friary still exist, mainly because, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries the friary of Blackfriars was rented out by the corporation to nine of the local trade guilds.

 

The friary of Whitefriars (Carmelite) was established in 1262. The order was originally housed on the Wall Knoll in Pandon, but in 1307 it took over the buildings of another order, which went out of existence, the Friars of the Sac. The land, which had originally been given by Robert the Bruce, was situated in the present-day Hanover Square, behind the Central station. Nothing of the friary remains now.

 

The friary of Austinfriars (Augustinian) was established in 1290. The friary was on the site where the Holy Jesus Hospital was built in 1682. The friary was traditionally the lodging place of English kings whenever they visited or passed through Newcastle. In 1503 Princess Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VII of England, stayed two days at the friary on her way to join her new husband James IV of Scotland.

 

The friary of Greyfriars (Franciscans) was established in 1274. The friary was in the present-day area between Pilgrim Street, Grey Street, Market Street and High Chare. Nothing of the original buildings remains.

 

The friary of the Order of the Holy Trinity, also known as the Trinitarians, was established in 1360. The order devoted a third of its income to buying back captives of the Saracens, during the Crusades. Their house was on the Wall Knoll, in Pandon, to the east of the city, but within the walls. Wall Knoll had previously been occupied by the White Friars until they moved to new premises in 1307.

 

All of the above religious houses were closed in about 1540, when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries.

 

An important street running through Newcastle at the time was Pilgrim Street, running northwards inside the walls and leading to the Pilgrim Gate on the north wall. The street still exists today as arguably Newcastle's main shopping street.

 

Tudor period

The Scottish border wars continued for much of the 16th century, so that during that time, Newcastle was often threatened with invasion by the Scots, but also remained important as a border stronghold against them.

 

During the Reformation begun by Henry VIII in 1536, the five Newcastle friaries and the single nunnery were dissolved and the land was sold to the Corporation and to rich merchants. At this time there were fewer than 60 inmates of the religious houses in Newcastle. The convent of Blackfriars was leased to nine craft guilds to be used as their headquarters. This probably explains why it is the only one of the religious houses whose building survives to the present day. The priories at Tynemouth and Durham were also dissolved, thus ending the long-running rivalry between Newcastle and the church for control of trade on the Tyne. A little later, the property of the nunnery of St Bartholomew and of Grey Friars were bought by Robert Anderson, who had the buildings demolished to build his grand Newe House (also known as Anderson Place).

 

With the gradual decline of the Scottish border wars the town walls were allowed to decline as well as the castle. By 1547, about 10,000 people were living in Newcastle. At the beginning of the 16th century exports of wool from Newcastle were more than twice the value of exports of coal, but during the century coal exports continued to increase.

 

Under Edward VI, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, sponsored an act allowing Newcastle to annexe Gateshead as its suburb. The main reason for this was to allow the Newcastle Hostmen, who controlled the export of Tyne coal, to get their hands on the Gateshead coal mines, previously controlled by the Bishop of Durham. However, when Mary I came to power, Dudley met his downfall and the decision was reversed. The Reformation allowed private access to coal mines previously owned by Tynemouth and Durham priories and as a result coal exports increase dramatically, from 15,000 tons in 1500 to 35,000 tons in 1565, and to 400,000 tons in 1625.

 

The plague visited Newcastle four times during the 16th century, in 1579 when 2,000 people died, in 1589 when 1700 died, in 1595 and finally in 1597.

 

In 1600 Elizabeth I granted Newcastle a charter for an exclusive body of electors, the right to elect the mayor and burgesses. The charter also gave the Hostmen exclusive rights to load coal at any point on the Tyne. The Hostmen developed as an exclusive group within the Merchant Adventurers who had been incorporated by a charter in 1547.

 

Stuart period

In 1636 there was a serious outbreak of bubonic plague in Newcastle. There had been several previous outbreaks of the disease over the years, but this was the most serious. It is thought to have arrived from the Netherlands via ships that were trading between the Tyne and that country. It first appeared in the lower part of the town near the docks but gradually spread to all parts of the town. As the disease gained hold the authorities took measures to control it by boarding up any properties that contained infected persons, meaning that whole families were locked up together with the infected family members. Other infected persons were put in huts outside the town walls and left to die. Plague pits were dug next to the town's four churches and outside the town walls to receive the bodies in mass burials. Over the course of the outbreak 5,631 deaths were recorded out of an estimated population of 12,000, a death rate of 47%.

 

In 1637 Charles I tried to raise money by doubling the 'voluntary' tax on coal in return for allowing the Newcastle Hostmen to regulate production and fix prices. This caused outrage amongst the London importers and the East Anglian shippers. Both groups decided to boycott Tyne coal and as a result forced Charles to reverse his decision in 1638.

 

In 1640 during the Second Bishops' War, the Scots successfully invaded Newcastle. The occupying army demanded £850 per day from the Corporation to billet the Scottish troops. Trade from the Tyne ground to a halt during the occupation. The Scots left in 1641 after receiving a Parliamentary pardon and a £4,000,000 loan from the town.

 

In 1642 the English Civil War began. King Charles realised the value of the Tyne coal trade and therefore garrisoned Newcastle. A Royalist was appointed as governor. At that time, Newcastle and King's Lynn were the only important seaports to support the crown. In 1644 Parliament blockaded the Tyne to prevent the king from receiving revenue from the Tyne coal trade. Coal exports fell from 450,000 to 3,000 tons and London suffered a hard winter without fuel. Parliament encouraged the coal trade from the Wear to try to replace that lost from Newcastle but that was not enough to make up for the lost Tyneside tonnage.

 

In 1644 the Scots crossed the border. Newcastle strengthened its defences in preparation. The Scottish army, with 40,000 troops, besieged Newcastle for three months until the garrison of 1,500 surrendered. During the siege, the Scots bombarded the walls with their artillery, situated in Gateshead and Castle Leazes. The Scottish commander threatened to destroy the steeple of St Nicholas's Church by gunfire if the mayor, Sir John Marley, did not surrender the town. The mayor responded by placing Scottish prisoners that they had captured in the steeple, so saving it from destruction. The town walls were finally breached by a combination of artillery and sapping. In gratitude for this defence, Charles gave Newcastle the motto 'Fortiter Defendit Triumphans' to be added to its coat of arms. The Scottish army occupied Northumberland and Durham for two years. The coal taxes had to pay for the Scottish occupation. In 1645 Charles surrendered to the Scots and was imprisoned in Newcastle for nine months. After the Civil War the coal trade on the Tyne soon picked up and exceeded its pre-war levels.

 

A new Guildhall was completed on the Sandhill next to the river in 1655, replacing an earlier facility damaged by fire in 1639, and became the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council. In 1681 the Hospital of the Holy Jesus was built partly on the site of the Austin Friars. The Guildhall and Holy Jesus Hospital still exist.

 

Charles II tried to impose a charter on Newcastle to give the king the right to appoint the mayor, sheriff, recorder and town clerk. Charles died before the charter came into effect. In 1685, James II tried to replace Corporation members with named Catholics. However, James' mandate was suspended in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution welcoming William of Orange. In 1689, after the fall of James II, the people of Newcastle tore down his bronze equestrian statue in Sandhill and tossed it into the Tyne. The bronze was later used to make bells for All Saints Church.

 

In 1689 the Lort Burn was covered over. At this time it was an open sewer. The channel followed by the Lort Burn became the present day Dean Street. At that time, the centre of Newcastle was still the Sandhill area, with many merchants living along the Close or on the Side. The path of the main road through Newcastle ran from the single Tyne bridge, through Sandhill to the Side, a narrow street which climbed steeply on the north-east side of the castle hill until it reached the higher ground alongside St Nicholas' Church. As Newcastle developed, the Side became lined with buildings with projecting upper stories, so that the main street through Newcastle was a narrow, congested, steep thoroughfare.

 

In 1701 the Keelmen's Hospital was built in the Sandgate area of the city, using funds provided by the keelmen. The building still stands today.

 

Eighteenth century

In the 18th century, Newcastle was the country's largest print centre after London, Oxford and Cambridge, and the Literary and Philosophical Society of 1793, with its erudite debates and large stock of books in several languages predated the London Library by half a century.

 

In 1715, during the Jacobite rising in favour of the Old Pretender, an army of Jacobite supporters marched on Newcastle. Many of the Northumbrian gentry joined the rebels. The citizens prepared for its arrival by arresting Jacobite supporters and accepting 700 extra recruits into the local militia. The gates of the city were closed against the rebels. This proved enough to delay an attack until reinforcements arrived forcing the rebel army to move across to the west coast. The rebels finally surrendered at Preston.

 

In 1745, during a second Jacobite rising in favour of the Young Pretender, a Scottish army crossed the border led by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Once again Newcastle prepared by arresting Jacobite supporters and inducting 800 volunteers into the local militia. The town walls were strengthened, most of the gates were blocked up and some 200 cannon were deployed. 20,000 regulars were billeted on the Town Moor. These preparations were enough to force the rebel army to travel south via the west coast. They were eventually defeated at Culloden in 1746.

 

Newcastle's actions during the 1715 rising in resisting the rebels and declaring for George I, in contrast to the rest of the region, is the most likely source of the nickname 'Geordie', applied to people from Tyneside, or more accurately Newcastle. Another theory, however, is that the name 'Geordie' came from the inventor of the Geordie lamp, George Stephenson. It was a type of safety lamp used in mining, but was not invented until 1815. Apparently the term 'German Geordie' was in common use during the 18th century.

 

The city's first hospital, Newcastle Infirmary opened in 1753; it was funded by public subscription. A lying-in hospital was established in Newcastle in 1760. The city's first public hospital for mentally ill patients, Wardens Close Lunatic Hospital was opened in October 1767.

 

In 1771 a flood swept away much of the bridge at Newcastle. The bridge had been built in 1250 and repaired after a flood in 1339. The bridge supported various houses and three towers and an old chapel. A blue stone was placed in the middle of the bridge to mark the boundary between Newcastle and the Palatinate of Durham. A temporary wooden bridge had to be built, and this remained in use until 1781, when a new stone bridge was completed. The new bridge consisted of nine arches. In 1801, because of the pressure of traffic, the bridge had to be widened.

 

A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion of Fenham Barracks in 1806. The facilities at the Castle for holding assizes, which had been condemned for their inconvenience and unhealthiness, were replaced when the Moot Hall opened in August 1812.

 

Victorian period

Present-day Newcastle owes much of its architecture to the work of the builder Richard Grainger, aided by architects John Dobson, Thomas Oliver, John and Benjamin Green and others. In 1834 Grainger won a competition to produce a new plan for central Newcastle. He put this plan into effect using the above architects as well as architects employed in his own office. Grainger and Oliver had already built Leazes Terrace, Leazes Crescent and Leazes Place between 1829 and 1834. Grainger and Dobson had also built the Royal Arcade at the foot of Pilgrim Street between 1830 and 1832. The most ambitious project covered 12 acres 12 acres (49,000 m2) in central Newcastle, on the site of Newe House (also called Anderson Place). Grainger built three new thoroughfares, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street with many connecting streets, as well as the Central Exchange and the Grainger Market. John Wardle and George Walker, working in Grainger's office, designed Clayton Street, Grainger Street and most of Grey Street. Dobson designed the Grainger Market and much of the east side of Grey Street. John and Benjamin Green designed the Theatre Royal at the top of Grey Street, where Grainger placed the column of Grey's Monument as a focus for the whole scheme. Grey Street is considered to be one of the finest streets in the country, with its elegant curve. Unfortunately most of old Eldon Square was demolished in the 1960s in the name of progress. The Royal Arcade met a similar fate.

 

In 1849 a new bridge was built across the river at Newcastle. This was the High Level Bridge, designed by Robert Stephenson, and slightly up river from the existing bridge. The bridge was designed to carry road and rail traffic across the Tyne Gorge on two decks with rail traffic on the upper deck and road traffic on the lower. The new bridge meant that traffic could pass through Newcastle without having to negotiate the steep, narrow Side, as had been necessary for centuries. The bridge was opened by Queen Victoria, who one year later opened the new Central Station, designed by John Dobson. Trains were now able to cross the river, directly into the centre of Newcastle and carry on up to Scotland. The Army Riding School was also completed in 1849.

 

In 1854 a large fire started on the Gateshead quayside and an explosion caused it to spread across the river to the Newcastle quayside. A huge conflagration amongst the narrow alleys, or 'chares', destroyed the homes of 800 families as well as many business premises. The narrow alleys that had been destroyed were replaced by streets containing blocks of modern offices.

 

In 1863 the Town Hall in St Nicholas Square replaced the Guildhall as the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council.

 

In 1876 the low level bridge was replaced by a new bridge known as the Swing Bridge, so called because the bridge was able to swing horizontally on a central axis and allow ships to pass on either side. This meant that for the first time sizeable ships could pass up-river beyond Newcastle. The bridge was built and paid for by William Armstrong, a local arms manufacturer, who needed to have warships access his Elswick arms factory to fit armaments to them. The Swing Bridge's rotating mechanism is adapted from the cannon mounts developed in Armstrong's arms works. In 1882 the Elswick works began to build ships as well as to arm them. The Barrack Road drill hall was completed in 1890.

 

Industrialisation

In the 19th century, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were central to the city's prosperity; and the city was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle's development as a major city owed most to its central role in the production and export of coal. The phrase "taking coals to Newcastle" was first recorded in 1538; it proverbially denotes bringing a particular commodity to a place that has more than enough of it already.

 

Innovation in Newcastle and surrounding areas included the following:

 

George Stephenson developed a miner's safety lamp at the same time that Humphry Davy developed a rival design. The lamp made possible the opening up of ever deeper mines to provide the coal that powered the industrial revolution.

George and his son Robert Stephenson were hugely influential figures in the development of the early railways. George developed Blücher, a locomotive working at Killingworth colliery in 1814, whilst Robert was instrumental in the design of Rocket, a revolutionary design that was the forerunner of modern locomotives. Both men were involved in planning and building railway lines, all over this country and abroad.

 

Joseph Swan demonstrated a working electric light bulb about a year before Thomas Edison did the same in the USA. This led to a dispute as to who had actually invented the light bulb. Eventually the two rivals agreed to form a mutual company between them, the Edison and Swan Electric Light Company, known as Ediswan.

 

Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine, for marine use and for power generation. He used Turbinia, a small, turbine-powered ship, to demonstrate the speed that a steam turbine could generate. Turbinia literally ran rings around the British Fleet at a review at Spithead in 1897.

 

William Armstrong invented a hydraulic crane that was installed in dockyards up and down the country. He then began to design light, accurate field guns for the British army. These were a vast improvement on the existing guns that were then in use.

 

The following major industries developed in Newcastle or its surrounding area:

 

Glassmaking

A small glass industry existed in Newcastle from the mid-15th century. In 1615 restrictions were put on the use of wood for manufacturing glass. It was found that glass could be manufactured using the local coal, and so a glassmaking industry grew up on Tyneside. Huguenot glassmakers came over from France as refugees from persecution and set up glasshouses in the Skinnerburn area of Newcastle. Eventually, glass production moved to the Ouseburn area of Newcastle. In 1684 the Dagnia family, Sephardic Jewish emigrants from Altare, arrived in Newcastle from Stourbridge and established glasshouses along the Close, to manufacture high quality flint glass. The glass manufacturers used sand ballast from the boats arriving in the river as the main raw material. The glassware was then exported in collier brigs. The period from 1730 to 1785 was the highpoint of Newcastle glass manufacture, when the local glassmakers produced the 'Newcastle Light Baluster'. The glassmaking industry still exists in the west end of the city with local Artist and Glassmaker Jane Charles carrying on over four hundred years of hot glass blowing in Newcastle upon Tyne.

 

Locomotive manufacture

In 1823 George Stephenson and his son Robert established the world's first locomotive factory near Forth Street in Newcastle. Here they built locomotives for the Stockton and Darlington Railway and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, as well as many others. It was here that the famous locomotive Rocket was designed and manufactured in preparation for the Rainhill Trials. Apart from building locomotives for the British market, the Newcastle works also produced locomotives for Europe and America. The Forth Street works continued to build locomotives until 1960.

 

Shipbuilding

In 1296 a wooden, 135 ft (41 m) long galley was constructed at the mouth of the Lort Burn in Newcastle, as part of a twenty-ship order from the king. The ship cost £205, and is the earliest record of shipbuilding in Newcastle. However the rise of the Tyne as a shipbuilding area was due to the need for collier brigs for the coal export trade. These wooden sailing ships were usually built locally, establishing local expertise in building ships. As ships changed from wood to steel, and from sail to steam, the local shipbuilding industry changed to build the new ships. Although shipbuilding was carried out up and down both sides of the river, the two main areas for building ships in Newcastle were Elswick, to the west, and Walker, to the east. By 1800 Tyneside was the third largest producer of ships in Britain. Unfortunately, after the Second World War, lack of modernisation and competition from abroad gradually caused the local industry to decline and die.

 

Armaments

In 1847 William Armstrong established a huge factory in Elswick, west of Newcastle. This was initially used to produce hydraulic cranes but subsequently began also to produce guns for both the army and the navy. After the Swing Bridge was built in 1876 allowing ships to pass up river, warships could have their armaments fitted alongside the Elswick works. Armstrong's company took over its industrial rival, Joseph Whitworth of Manchester in 1897.

 

Steam turbines

Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine and, in 1889, founded his own company C. A. Parsons and Company in Heaton, Newcastle to make steam turbines. Shortly after this, he realised that steam turbines could be used to propel ships and, in 1897, he founded a second company, Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company in Wallsend. It is there that he designed and manufactured Turbinia. Parsons turbines were initially used in warships but soon came to be used in merchant and passenger vessels, including the liner Mauretania which held the blue riband for the Atlantic crossing until 1929. Parsons' company in Heaton began to make turbo-generators for power stations and supplied power stations all over the world. The Heaton works, reduced in size, remains as part of the Siemens AG industrial giant.

 

Pottery

In 1762 the Maling pottery was founded in Sunderland by French Huguenots, but transferred to Newcastle in 1817. A factory was built in the Ouseburn area of the city. The factory was rebuilt twice, finally occupying a 14-acre (57,000 m2) site that was claimed to be the biggest pottery in the world and which had its own railway station. The pottery pioneered use of machines in making potteries as opposed to hand production. In the 1890s the company went up-market and employed in-house designers. The period up to the Second World War was the most profitable with a constant stream of new designs being introduced. However, after the war, production gradually declined and the company closed in 1963.

 

Expansion of the city

Newcastle was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835: the reformed municipal borough included the parishes of Byker, Elswick, Heaton, Jesmond, Newcastle All Saints, Newcastle St Andrew, Newcastle St John, Newcastle St Nicholas, and Westgate. The urban districts of Benwell and Fenham and Walker were added in 1904. In 1935, Newcastle gained Kenton and parts of the parishes of West Brunton, East Denton, Fawdon, Longbenton. The most recent expansion in Newcastle's boundaries took place under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, when Newcastle became a metropolitan borough, also including the urban districts of Gosforth and Newburn, and the parishes of Brunswick, Dinnington, Hazlerigg, North Gosforth and Woolsington from the Castle Ward Rural District, and the village of Westerhope.

 

Meanwhile Northumberland County Council was formed under the Local Government Act 1888 and benefited from a dedicated meeting place when County Hall was completed in the Castle Garth area of Newcastle in 1910. Following the Local Government Act 1972 County Hall relocated to Morpeth in April 1981.

 

Twentieth century

In 1925 work began on a new high-level road bridge to span the Tyne Gorge between Newcastle and Gateshead. The capacity of the existing High-Level Bridge and Swing Bridge were being strained to the limit, and an additional bridge had been discussed for a long time. The contract was awarded to the Dorman Long Company and the bridge was finally opened by King George V in 1928. The road deck was 84 feet (26 m) above the river and was supported by a 531 feet (162 m) steel arch. The new Tyne Bridge quickly became a symbol for Newcastle and Tyneside, and remains so today.

 

During the Second World War, Newcastle was largely spared the horrors inflicted upon other British cities bombed during the Blitz. Although the armaments factories and shipyards along the River Tyne were targeted by the Luftwaffe, they largely escaped unscathed. Manors goods yard and railway terminal, to the east of the city centre, and the suburbs of Jesmond and Heaton suffered bombing during 1941. There were 141 deaths and 587 injuries, a relatively small figure compared to the casualties in other industrial centres of Britain.

 

In 1963 the city gained its own university, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, by act of parliament. A School of Medicine and Surgery had been established in Newcastle in 1834. This eventually developed into a college of medicine attached to Durham University. A college of physical science was also founded and became Armstrong College in 1904. In 1934 the two colleges merged to become King's College, Durham. This remained as part of Durham University until the new university was created in 1963. In 1992 the city gained its second university when Newcastle Polytechnic was granted university status as Northumbria University.

 

Newcastle City Council moved to the new Newcastle Civic Centre in 1968.

 

As heavy industries declined in the second half of the 20th century, large sections of the city centre were demolished along with many areas of slum housing. The leading political figure in the city during the 1960s was T. Dan Smith who oversaw a massive building programme of highrise housing estates and authorised the demolition of a quarter of the Georgian Grainger Town to make way for Eldon Square Shopping Centre. Smith's control in Newcastle collapsed when it was exposed that he had used public contracts to advantage himself and his business associates and for a time Newcastle became a byword for civic corruption as depicted in the films Get Carter and Stormy Monday and in the television series Our Friends in the North. However, much of the historic Grainger Town area survived and was, for the most part, fully restored in the late 1990s. Northumberland Street, initially the A1, was gradually closed to traffic from the 1970s and completely pedestrianised by 1998.

 

In 1978 a new rapid transport system, the Metro, was built, linking the Tyneside area. The system opened in August 1980. A new bridge was built to carry the Metro across the river between Gateshead and Newcastle. This was the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, commonly known as the Metro Bridge. Eventually the Metro system was extended to reach Newcastle Airport in 1991, and in 2002 the Metro system was extended to the nearby city of Sunderland.

 

As the 20th century progressed, trade on the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides gradually declined, until by the 1980s both sides of the river were looking rather derelict. Shipping company offices had closed along with offices of firms related to shipping. There were also derelict warehouses lining the riverbank. Local government produced a master plan to re-develop the Newcastle quayside and this was begun in the 1990s. New offices, restaurants, bars and residential accommodation were built and the area has changed in the space of a few years into a vibrant area, partially returning the focus of Newcastle to the riverside, where it was in medieval times.

 

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge, a foot and cycle bridge, 26 feet (7.9 m) wide and 413 feet (126 m) long, was completed in 2001. The road deck is in the form of a curve and is supported by a steel arch. To allow ships to pass, the whole structure, both arch and road-deck, rotates on huge bearings at either end so that the road deck is lifted. The bridge can be said to open and shut like a human eye. It is an important addition to the re-developed quayside area, providing a vital link between the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides.

 

Recent developments

Today the city is a vibrant centre for office and retail employment, but just a short distance away there are impoverished inner-city housing estates, in areas originally built to provide affordable housing for employees of the shipyards and other heavy industries that lined the River Tyne. In the 2010s Newcastle City Council began implementing plans to regenerate these depressed areas, such as those along the Ouseburn Valley.

An unidentified LNER "Azuma" is seen terminating in platform 5 on 1S13; the 11.00 service from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley.

In 1868, the North British Railway acquired the stations of its rivals and built the present station on the site and Hanna, Donald and Wilson of Paisley constructed a series of glazed roofs. In 1897, an impressive glass dome was added.

Electrification came in 1991 and the station was extensively refurbished in 2006 / 2007, including the provision of two new through platforms and the electrification of platforms 12 to 18 in preparation for electric trains from the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link Project. From 2010 to 2012, the glazing of the roof of Waverley station was entirely replaced with new strengthened clear glass panels.

Replaced the stock brace with the 46mm bracket for the Feiyu-Tech WG and G4 gimbals.

 

For an even better fit, all three sides of the the frame can be machined about 0.5mm to increase the clearance.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version, plus DeNoise AI, 10-Feb-23.

 

First flown with the Airbus test registration D-AVZS, this aircraft was delivered to Kingfisher Airlines (India) as VT-KFY in Nov-07. It was sold to AWAS Ireland Leasing on delivery and leased back to Kingfisher.

 

Kingfisher ceased operations at the end of Sep-12 and the aircraft was stored at Delhi. The closure of Kingfisher was a mess and the lessor was unable to repossess the aircraft until Jul-13 when it was re-registered OE-ICK.

 

In the runup to their closure, Kingfisher had been 'borrowing' parts off grounded aircraft to keep others flying and it was early Jan-14 before the lessor was able to ferry the aircraft via Dubai to Dublin, Ireland.

 

After two months in maintenance and storage at Dublin, the aircraft was leased to Aegean Airlines (Greece) as SX-DGP in Mar-14. It was withdrawn from service and stored at Athens, Greece in Sep-22.

 

The aircraft was ferried to Antayla, Turkey in Jan-23 and returned to the lessor as 2-XDGP. Currently parked at Antalya it's awaiting lease to a new Turkish company, BBN Airlines. Updated 10-Feb-23.

Replaced Mercerville Acme around a mile away

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 05-Jun-25.

 

Named: "Dufourspitze 4634m" later "Zurich" (Apr-07)

 

First flown in Jul-03 with the Airbus test registration F-WWJL, this aircraft was delivered to Swiss International Airlines as HB-JMB in Sep-03. It was withdrawn from service and stored at Amman, Jordan in Mar-21, returning to service in Aug-21. Current.

A pulled rickshaw (or ricksha) is a mode of human-powered transport by which a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two people.

 

In recent times the use of human-powered rickshaws has been discouraged or outlawed in many countries due to concern for the welfare of rickshaw workers.

Pulled rickshaws have been replaced mainly by cycle rickshaw and auto rickshaws.

 

OVERVIEW

Rickshaws are commonly believed to have been invented in Japan in the 1860s, at the beginning of a rapid period of technical advancement.

 

In the 19th century, rickshaw pulling became an inexpensive, popular mode of transportation across Asia.

 

Peasants who migrated to large Asian cities often worked first as a rickshaw runner.

 

It was "the deadliest occupation in the East, [and] the most degrading for human beings to pursue."The rickshaw's popularity in Japan declined by the 1930s with the advent of automated forms of transportation, like automobiles and trains. In China, the rickshaw's popularity began to decline in the 1920s. In Singapore, the rickshaw's popularity increased into the 20th century. There were approximately 50,000 rickshaws in 1920 and that number doubled by 1930.

 

DESCRIPTION

The initial rickshaws rode on iron-shod wooden wheels and the passenger sat on hard, flat seats. In the late 19th century and early 20th century. Rubber or pneumatic rubber tires, spring cushions, and backrests improved the passenger's comfort. Other features, such as lights were also added.

 

In the city of Shanghai, public rickshaws were painted yellow to differentiate from the private vehicles of the wealthy citizens, which were described as:

 

... always shiny, were carefully maintained, and sported 'a spotless white upholstered double seat, a clean plaid for one's lap, and a wide protective tarpaulin to protect the passenger (or passengers, since sometimes up to three people rode together) against the rain.'

 

The rickshaws were a convenient means of travel, able to traverse winding, narrow city streets. During monsoon season, passengers might be carried out of the carriage, above the flooded streets, to the door of their arrival. They offered door-to-door travel, unlike scheduled public bus and tram service.

 

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

AFRICA

EAST AFRIKA

In the 1920s, it was used in Bagamoyo, Tanga, Tanzania and other areas of East Africa for short distances.

 

MADAGASCAR

Rickshaws, known as pousse-pousse, were introduced by British missionaries. The intention was to eliminate the slavery-associated palanquin. Its name pousse-pousse, meaning push-push, is reportedly gained from the need to have a second person to push the back of the rickshaw on Madagascar's hilly roads. They are a common form of transport in a number of Malagasy cities, especially Antsirabe, but are not found in the towns or cities with very hilly roads. They are similar to Chinese rickshaws and are often brightly decorated.

 

NAIROBI

Rickshaws operated in Nairobi in the beginning of the 20th century; pullers went on strike there in 1908.

South Africa

Durban is famous for its iconic Zulu rickshaw pullers navigating throughout the city. These colorful characters are famous for their giant, vibrant hats and costumes. There were about 2,000 registered men who pulled rickshaws in Durban in 1904; Since displaced by motorised transport, there are approximately 25 rickshaws left whom mostly cater to tourists today.

 

ASIA

CHINA

In China, from the ancient times and until the 19th century, rich and important people, when traveling overland, were commonly transported in sedan chairs carried by bearers, rather than in wheeled vehicles. This was at least partly explained by road conditions. It is thought that it was from China (or East Asia in general) that sedan chair (a.k.a. "palanquin") designs were introduced into Western Europe in the 17th century. However, wheeled carts for one or two passengers, pushed (rather than pulled, like a proper rikshaw) by human servant, were attested as well.The proper rickshaw (pronounced renliche in Chinese) was first seen in China in 1886, and was used for public transportation in 1898. It was commonly called dongyangche for Japanese vehicle or "east- foreign-vehicle."

 

Rickshaw transportation was an important element in urban development in 20th century China, as a mode of transportation, source of employment and facilitation of migration for workers. According to author David Strand:

 

Sixty thousand men took as many as a half million fares a day in a city of slightly more than one million. Sociologist Li Jinghan estimated that one out of six males in the city between the ages of sixteen and fifty was a puller. Rickshaw men and their dependents made up almost 20 percent of Beijing's population.

 

Shanghai's rickshaw industry began in 1874 with 1,000 rickshaws imported from Japan. By 1914 there were 9,718 vehicles. The pullers were a large group of the city's working poor: 100,000 men pulled rickshaws by the early 1940s, up from 62,000 in the mid-1920s.Most manual rickshaws, a symbol of oppression of the working class, were eliminated in China after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

 

HOG KONG

Rickshaws were first imported to Hong Kong from Japan in 1880. They were a popular form of transport for many years, peaking at more than 3,000 in the 1920s. However, their popularity waned after World War II. No new licenses for rickshaws have been issued since 1975, and only a few old men—four as of 2009—still bear a license. It is reported that only one of them still offer rickshaw rides on The Peak, mainly for tourists.

 

INDIA

Around 1880, rickshaws appeared in India, first in Simla. At the turn of the century it was introduced in Kolkata (Calcutta), India and in 1914 was a conveyance for hire.

 

SERVICE AVAILIBILITY

Though most cities offer auto rickshaw service, hand-pulled rickshaws do exist in some areas, such as Kolkata, "the last bastion of human powered tana rickshaws". According to Trillin, most Kolkata rickshaws serve people "just a notch above poor" who tend to travel short distances. However, in a recent article by Hyrapiet and Greiner, the authors found that rickshaws also transport middle-class residents who use their services out of convenience and for short distance trips to the local marketplace. Rickshaws are used to transport goods, shoppers, and school children. It is also used as a "24 hour ambulance service."

 

Also according to Hyrapiet and Greiner, rickshaw pullers have acted as peer-educators for the Calcutta Samaritans prodving critical information on HIV/AIDS because of their access to marginalized groups within Kolkata's red light districts.

 

Rickshaws are the most effective means of transportation through the flooded streets of the monsoon season.

When Kolkata floods rickshaw business increases and prices rise.

 

The pullers live a life of poverty and many sleep under rickshaws.Rudrangshu Mukerjee, an academic, stated many people's ambivalent feelings about riding a rickshaw: he does not like about being carried in a rickshaw but does not like the idea of "taking away their livelihood."Motor vehicles are banned in the eco-sensitive zone area of Matheran, India, a tourist hill station near Mumbai so man-pulled rickshaws are still one of the major forms of transport there.

 

LEGISLATION

In August 2005, the Communist government of West Bengal announced plans to completely ban pulled rickshaws, resulting in protests and strikes of the pullers. In 2006, the chief minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, announced that pulled rickshaws would be banned and that rickshaw pullers would be rehabilitated.

 

JAPAN

There are several theories about the invention of the rickshaw. Japan historian Seidensticker wrote of the theories:

 

Though the origins of the rickshaw are not entirely clear, they seem to be Japanese, and of Tokyo specifically. The most widely accepted theory offers the name of three inventors, and gives 1869 as the date of invention.

 

Starting in 1870, the Tokyo government issued a permission for Izumi Yosuke, Takayama Kosuke, and Suzuki Tokujiro to build and sell rickshaws. By 1872, they became the main mode of transportation in Japan, with about 40,000 rickshaws in service. The rickshaw's popularity in Japan declined by the 1930s with the advent of automated forms of transportation, like automobiles and trains. After the World War II, when gasoline and automobiles were scarce, they made a temporary come-back. The rickshaw tradition has stayed alive in Kyoto and Tokyo's geisha districts only for tourists as well as in other tourist places. The tradition completely disappeared once, but a few people revived jinrikisha (human-powered rickshaws) for tourists in the 1970s-1980s and the rickshaws became popular as a tourism resource in the 2000s. The modern rickshaw men are a kind of tourist guide, who take their clients to some tourist spots and explain about them. Many of them are part-time working students and athletes who like running or exchanging cultures.

 

MALAYSIA

Rickshaws were a common mode of transport in urban areas of Malaysia in the 19th and early 20th centuries until gradually replaced by cycle rickshaws.

 

PAKISTAN

Pulled and Cycle rickshaw (qinqi) have been banned in Pakistan since November 1949. Prior to the introduction of auto rickshaws in cities, horse-drawn carriages (tongas) were a main source of public transportation.

 

SINGAPORE

Singapore had received its first rickshaws in 1880 and soon after they were prolific, making a "noticeable change in the traffic on Singapore's streets." Bullock carts and gharries were used prior to the introduction of rickshaws.Many of the poorest individuals in Singapore in the late nineteenth century were poor, unskilled people of Chinese ancestry. Sometimes called coolies, the hardworking men found pulling rickshaws was a new means of employment. Rickshaw pullers experienced "very poor" living conditions, poverty and long hours of hard work. Income remained unchanged from 1876 to 1926, about $.60 per day.Rickshaws popularity increased into the 20th century. There were approximately 50,000 rickshaws in 1920 and that number doubled by 1930. In or after the 1920s a union was formed, called the Rickshaw Association, protect the welfare of rickshaw workers.

 

NORTH AMERIKA

UNITED STATES OF AMERIKA

From A History of the Los Angeles City Market (1930-1950), pulled rickshaws were operated in Los Angeles by high school teenagers during that time period.

 

CANADA

Foot-driven rickshaws have enjoyed several decades of popularity in Halifax, Nova Scotia; in addition to providing tours of the historic Waterfront, rickshaws are also occasionally used for transportation by local residents. The city is home to the oldest rickshaw company in Canada.Rickshaws are a popular mode of transportation in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, providing tours of historical Byward Market, in the summer. Ottawa's rickshaws stay true to the traditional foot-driven rickshaw model, but feature modern sound-systems.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 18-Feb-24.

 

Another long history. This aircraft was delivered to Britannia Airways as G-OBYC in May-96. It was sold to a lessor on delivery and leased back to Britannia Airways.

 

It was sub-leased to Britannia Airways GmbH (Germany) as D-AGYC in Apr-98 and returned to Britannia Airways (UK) as G-OBYC in Apr-99. It was leased to Britannia Airways GmbH as D-AGYC again between Mar / Nov-00.

 

The aircraft was wet-leased to Garuda Indonesia Airlines in Jan-03 for a Haj Pilgrimage operation, returning to Britannia Airways in Mar-03. The wet-lease to Garuda was repeated between Dec-03 / Mar-04 and Dec-04 / Feb-05.

 

Britannia Airways was renamed Thomsonfly .com in May-05 and the Haj Pilgrimage wet-lease to Garuda was repeated between Dec-05 / Feb-06. In Jul-06 the aircraft was returned to the lessor and leased to Air Italy as I-AIGG in Aug-06.

 

Air Italy operated Haj Pilgrimage flights for Saudia - Saudi Arabian Airlines between Dec-09 / Jan-10, Oct / Dec-10, Sep / Nov-11 and Sep / Nov-12. In Apr-13 Air Italy merged with MeridianaFly to form the 'new' Meridiana. The Meridiana name was discontinued when it became Air Italy again in Mar-18.

 

The aircraft was withdrawn from service and stored at Milan - Malpensa in Jan-19. It was ferried to Tel Aviv, Israel in Mar-19 and returned to the lessor.

 

It was sold UPS United Parcel Service a few days later and converted to full freighter configuration with a main deck cargo door in Aug-19 when it was registered N392UP. The aircraft entered service in Sep-19. Current, updated 18-Feb-24.

Ben Nevis and Glen Coe is a national scenic area (NSA) covering part of the Highlands of Scotland surrounding Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, in which certain forms of development are restricted. It is one of 40 such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development. The Ben Nevis and Glen Coe NSA covers 903 km2 (349 sq mi) of land, lying within the Highland, Argyll and Bute and Perth and Kinross council areas. A further 19 km2 (7.3 sq mi) of the NSA are marine, covering the sea loch of Loch Leven.

 

National scenic areas are primarily designated due to the scenic qualities of an area, however NSAs may well have other special qualities, for example related to culture, history, archaeology, geology or wildlife. Areas with such qualities may be protected via other national and international designations that overlap with the NSA designation. Glen Coe is designated as a national nature reserve, and there are several Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas within the NSA. Although the national scenic area designation provides a degree of additional protection via the planning process, there are no bodies equivalent to a national park authority, and whilst local authorities can produce a management strategy for each one, only the three national scenic areas within Dumfries and Galloway have current management strategies .

 

The idea that areas of wild or remote character such as Ben Nevis and Glen Coe should be designated to protect the scenic qualities of their landscapes grew in popularity throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1931 a commission headed by Christopher Addison first proposed the creation of a national park in Scotland. Following the Second World War a committee chaired by Sir Douglas Ramsay to consider the issue proposed that five areas should receive a level of protection: Glen Coe-Ben Nevis-Black Mount was one of the areas listed. The area thus became one of five designated "national park direction areas", in which planning decisions taken by local authorities could be reviewed by central government under certain circumstances.

 

A 1974 report by the Countryside Commission for Scotland (CCS) entitled A Park System for Scotland recommended that the Glen Coe-Ben Nevis-Black Mount area should be designated as one of four proposed "Special Parks", considering the area of national importance due to its natural beauty and amenity value, however this recommendation was not acted on. Following a further review of landscape protection in 1978, it was suggested that additional areas, alongside the existing direction areas should receive protection, and in 1981 the direction areas were thus replaced by the 40 national scenic areas, which were based on the 1978 recommendations, and included the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe area.

 

A further report into protection of the landscape of Scotland was published by the CCS in 1990. Entitled The Mountain Areas of Scotland - Conservation and Management, it recommended that four areas were under such pressure that they ought to be designated as national parks, each with an independent planning board, in order to retain their heritage value. The four areas identified were similar to those proposed by the Ramsay Committee, and included Glen Coe-Ben Nevis-Black Mount. The government did not however choose to establish national parks and so the status of the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe area was not altered. Following the passage of the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000, national parks were established in the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, two of the areas identified by the Ramsay committee, however the status of the other three Ramsay areas, including Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, was again not altered. In 2013 the Scottish Campaign for National Parks proposed seven areas deemed suitable for national park status, one of which was the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe area.

 

Although named after Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, the national scenic area covers a much wider area of land, as detailed below. Much of the northern part of the NSA lies within the Lochaber region.

 

Glen Nevis (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Nibheis) lies in the north of the national scenic area, and runs south from Fort William. It is bordered to the south by the Mamore range, and to the north by the highest mountains in the British Isles: Ben Nevis (Scotland's highest mountain), Càrn Mor Dearg, Aonach Mòr, and Aonach Beag. It is home to the second highest waterfall in Scotland, Steall Falls. Below the waterfall is a steeply walled and impressive gorge.

 

The Mamores form an east–west ridge approximately fifteen kilometres in length lying between Glen Nevis to the north and Loch Leven to the south. Ten of the ranges are classified as Munros. The hills can be accessed from both Glen Nevis and the former aluminium smelting town of Kinlochleven.

 

Glen Coe (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Comhann) is a glen of volcanic origins, in the heart of the national scenic area. A review of the national scenic areas by Scottish Natural Heritage in 2010 made reference to the "soaring, dramatic splendour of Glen Coe", and "the suddenness of the transition between high mountain pass and the lightly wooded strath" in the lower glen. It also described the journey through the glen on the main A82 road as "one of the classic Highland journeys". The main settlement is the village of Glencoe located at the foot of the glen. The glen is regarded as the home of Scottish mountaineering and is popular with hillwalkers and climbers.

 

Glen Etive (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Èite) lies to the south of Glen Coe. The River Etive (Scottish Gaelic: Abhainn Èite) rises on the peaks surrounding Rannoch Moor, with several tributary streams coming together at the Kings House Hotel. From the Kings House, the Etive flows for about 18 km, reaching the sea loch, Loch Etive. The river and its tributaries are popular with whitewater kayakers and at high water levels it is a test piece of the area and a classic run. Glen Etive has been used as the backdrop to many movies, among them Braveheart and Skyfall.

 

The Black Mount is situated between Glen Orchy and Glen Coe, to the east of Glen Etive, forming the southernmost part of the national scenic area. Its four Munros are Stob Ghabhar, Stob a' Choire Odhair, Creise and Meall a' Bhuiridh. The hills of Ben Inverveigh and Meall Tairbh are located between Black Mount and the Bridge of Orchy. The Black Mount Deer Forest includes moorland, the mountain, as well as several rivers, burns, lochs, and tarns.

 

Much of the western part of Rannoch Moor (Scottish Gaelic: Mòinteach Raineach/Raithneach), an expanse of around 50 square miles (130 km2) of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch in Scotland, is included in the national scenic area. The A82 road crosses western Rannoch Moor on its way to Glen Coe and Fort William, as does the West Highland Line, which reaches Fort William via Glen Spean rather than Glen Coe. When the line was built across the moor, its builders had to float the tracks on a mattress of tree roots, brushwood and thousands of tons of earth and ashes. Corrour railway station, the UK's highest, and one of its most remote being 10 miles (16 km) from the nearest public road, is located on this section of the line at 1,339 feet (408 m). The line takes gentle curves totalling 23 miles (37 km) across the moorland.

 

A number of other conservation designation are defined within or overlapping with the NSA: Glen Coe is designated as a both national nature reserve (NNR), and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) due to wide variety of montane habitats found within the glen. Glen Coe, along with most of the southwestern portion of the NSA including Glen Etive and the Black Mount, forms part of the Glen Etive and Glen Fyne Special Protection Area (SPA), which is protected due to its breeding population of golden eagles.

 

Rannoch Moor is also designated as an SAC, and is particularly famous as being the sole British location for the Rannoch-rush, named after the moor. It also has populations of otters and freshwater pearl mussels. The River Tay rises on the moor within the NSA, and is designated as a separate SAC for its entire length. The Ben Nevis massif is also an SAC, as are the woodlands at North Ballachulish in the westernmost part of the NSA. The final SAC within the NSA protects the woods on the western side of Loch Etive, in the southwestern extremity of the area.

 

The Highlands is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.

 

The area is very sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. During the 18th and early 19th centuries the population of the Highlands rose to around 300,000, but from c. 1841 and for the next 160 years, the natural increase in population was exceeded by emigration (mostly to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and migration to the industrial cities of Scotland and England.) and passim  The area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. At 9.1/km2 (24/sq mi) in 2012, the population density in the Highlands and Islands is less than one seventh of Scotland's as a whole.

 

The Highland Council is the administrative body for much of the Highlands, with its administrative centre at Inverness. However, the Highlands also includes parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Moray, North Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire.

 

The Scottish Highlands is the only area in the British Isles to have the taiga biome as it features concentrated populations of Scots pine forest: see Caledonian Forest. It is the most mountainous part of the United Kingdom.

 

Between the 15th century and the mid-20th century, the area differed from most of the Lowlands in terms of language. In Scottish Gaelic, the region is known as the Gàidhealtachd, because it was traditionally the Gaelic-speaking part of Scotland, although the language is now largely confined to The Hebrides. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably but have different meanings in their respective languages. Scottish English (in its Highland form) is the predominant language of the area today, though Highland English has been influenced by Gaelic speech to a significant extent. Historically, the "Highland line" distinguished the two Scottish cultures. While the Highland line broadly followed the geography of the Grampians in the south, it continued in the north, cutting off the north-eastern areas, that is Eastern Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, from the more Gaelic Highlands and Hebrides.

 

Historically, the major social unit of the Highlands was the clan. Scottish kings, particularly James VI, saw clans as a challenge to their authority; the Highlands was seen by many as a lawless region. The Scots of the Lowlands viewed the Highlanders as backward and more "Irish". The Highlands were seen as the overspill of Gaelic Ireland. They made this distinction by separating Germanic "Scots" English and the Gaelic by renaming it "Erse" a play on Eire. Following the Union of the Crowns, James VI had the military strength to back up any attempts to impose some control. The result was, in 1609, the Statutes of Iona which started the process of integrating clan leaders into Scottish society. The gradual changes continued into the 19th century, as clan chiefs thought of themselves less as patriarchal leaders of their people and more as commercial landlords. The first effect on the clansmen who were their tenants was the change to rents being payable in money rather than in kind. Later, rents were increased as Highland landowners sought to increase their income. This was followed, mostly in the period 1760–1850, by agricultural improvement that often (particularly in the Western Highlands) involved clearance of the population to make way for large scale sheep farms. Displaced tenants were set up in crofting communities in the process. The crofts were intended not to provide all the needs of their occupiers; they were expected to work in other industries such as kelping and fishing. Crofters came to rely substantially on seasonal migrant work, particularly in the Lowlands. This gave impetus to the learning of English, which was seen by many rural Gaelic speakers to be the essential "language of work".

 

Older historiography attributes the collapse of the clan system to the aftermath of the Jacobite risings. This is now thought less influential by historians. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 the British government enacted a series of laws to try to suppress the clan system, including bans on the bearing of arms and the wearing of tartan, and limitations on the activities of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Most of this legislation was repealed by the end of the 18th century as the Jacobite threat subsided. There was soon a rehabilitation of Highland culture. Tartan was adopted for Highland regiments in the British Army, which poor Highlanders joined in large numbers in the era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1790–1815). Tartan had largely been abandoned by the ordinary people of the region, but in the 1820s, tartan and the kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland, but across Europe. The international craze for tartan, and for idealising a romanticised Highlands, was set off by the Ossian cycle, and further popularised by the works of Walter Scott. His "staging" of the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 and the king's wearing of tartan resulted in a massive upsurge in demand for kilts and tartans that could not be met by the Scottish woollen industry. Individual clan tartans were largely designated in this period and they became a major symbol of Scottish identity. This "Highlandism", by which all of Scotland was identified with the culture of the Highlands, was cemented by Queen Victoria's interest in the country, her adoption of Balmoral as a major royal retreat, and her interest in "tartenry".

 

Recurrent famine affected the Highlands for much of its history, with significant instances as late as 1817 in the Eastern Highlands and the early 1850s in the West.  Over the 18th century, the region had developed a trade of black cattle into Lowland markets, and this was balanced by imports of meal into the area. There was a critical reliance on this trade to provide sufficient food, and it is seen as an essential prerequisite for the population growth that started in the 18th century. Most of the Highlands, particularly in the North and West was short of the arable land that was essential for the mixed, run rig based, communal farming that existed before agricultural improvement was introduced into the region.[a] Between the 1760s and the 1830s there was a substantial trade in unlicensed whisky that had been distilled in the Highlands. Lowland distillers (who were not able to avoid the heavy taxation of this product) complained that Highland whisky made up more than half the market. The development of the cattle trade is taken as evidence that the pre-improvement Highlands was not an immutable system, but did exploit the economic opportunities that came its way.  The illicit whisky trade demonstrates the entrepreneurial ability of the peasant classes. 

 

Agricultural improvement reached the Highlands mostly over the period 1760 to 1850. Agricultural advisors, factors, land surveyors and others educated in the thinking of Adam Smith were keen to put into practice the new ideas taught in Scottish universities.  Highland landowners, many of whom were burdened with chronic debts, were generally receptive to the advice they offered and keen to increase the income from their land.  In the East and South the resulting change was similar to that in the Lowlands, with the creation of larger farms with single tenants, enclosure of the old run rig fields, introduction of new crops (such as turnips), land drainage and, as a consequence of all this, eviction, as part of the Highland clearances, of many tenants and cottars. Some of those cleared found employment on the new, larger farms, others moved to the accessible towns of the Lowlands.

 

In the West and North, evicted tenants were usually given tenancies in newly created crofting communities, while their former holdings were converted into large sheep farms. Sheep farmers could pay substantially higher rents than the run rig farmers and were much less prone to falling into arrears. Each croft was limited in size so that the tenants would have to find work elsewhere. The major alternatives were fishing and the kelp industry. Landlords took control of the kelp shores, deducting the wages earned by their tenants from the rent due and retaining the large profits that could be earned at the high prices paid for the processed product during the Napoleonic wars.

 

When the Napoleonic wars finished in 1815, the Highland industries were affected by the return to a peacetime economy. The price of black cattle fell, nearly halving between 1810 and the 1830s. Kelp prices had peaked in 1810, but reduced from £9 a ton in 1823 to £3 13s 4d a ton in 1828. Wool prices were also badly affected.  This worsened the financial problems of debt-encumbered landlords. Then, in 1846, potato blight arrived in the Highlands, wiping out the essential subsistence crop for the overcrowded crofting communities. As the famine struck, the government made clear to landlords that it was their responsibility to provide famine relief for their tenants. The result of the economic downturn had been that a large proportion of Highland estates were sold in the first half of the 19th century. T M Devine points out that in the region most affected by the potato famine, by 1846, 70 per cent of the landowners were new purchasers who had not owned Highland property before 1800. More landlords were obliged to sell due to the cost of famine relief. Those who were protected from the worst of the crisis were those with extensive rental income from sheep farms.  Government loans were made available for drainage works, road building and other improvements and many crofters became temporary migrants – taking work in the Lowlands. When the potato famine ceased in 1856, this established a pattern of more extensive working away from the Highlands.

 

The unequal concentration of land ownership remained an emotional and controversial subject, of enormous importance to the Highland economy, and eventually became a cornerstone of liberal radicalism. The poor crofters were politically powerless, and many of them turned to religion. They embraced the popularly oriented, fervently evangelical Presbyterian revival after 1800. Most joined the breakaway "Free Church" after 1843. This evangelical movement was led by lay preachers who themselves came from the lower strata, and whose preaching was implicitly critical of the established order. The religious change energised the crofters and separated them from the landlords; it helped prepare them for their successful and violent challenge to the landlords in the 1880s through the Highland Land League. Violence erupted, starting on the Isle of Skye, when Highland landlords cleared their lands for sheep and deer parks. It was quietened when the government stepped in, passing the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886 to reduce rents, guarantee fixity of tenure, and break up large estates to provide crofts for the homeless. This contrasted with the Irish Land War underway at the same time, where the Irish were intensely politicised through roots in Irish nationalism, while political dimensions were limited. In 1885 three Independent Crofter candidates were elected to Parliament, which listened to their pleas. The results included explicit security for the Scottish smallholders in the "crofting counties"; the legal right to bequeath tenancies to descendants; and the creation of a Crofting Commission. The Crofters as a political movement faded away by 1892, and the Liberal Party gained their votes.

 

Today, the Highlands are the largest of Scotland's whisky producing regions; the relevant area runs from Orkney to the Isle of Arran in the south and includes the northern isles and much of Inner and Outer Hebrides, Argyll, Stirlingshire, Arran, as well as sections of Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. (Other sources treat The Islands, except Islay, as a separate whisky producing region.) This massive area has over 30 distilleries, or 47 when the Islands sub-region is included in the count. According to one source, the top five are The Macallan, Glenfiddich, Aberlour, Glenfarclas and Balvenie. While Speyside is geographically within the Highlands, that region is specified as distinct in terms of whisky productions. Speyside single malt whiskies are produced by about 50 distilleries.

 

According to Visit Scotland, Highlands whisky is "fruity, sweet, spicy, malty". Another review states that Northern Highlands single malt is "sweet and full-bodied", the Eastern Highlands and Southern Highlands whiskies tend to be "lighter in texture" while the distilleries in the Western Highlands produce single malts with a "much peatier influence".

 

The Scottish Reformation achieved partial success in the Highlands. Roman Catholicism remained strong in some areas, owing to remote locations and the efforts of Franciscan missionaries from Ireland, who regularly came to celebrate Mass. There remain significant Catholic strongholds within the Highlands and Islands such as Moidart and Morar on the mainland and South Uist and Barra in the southern Outer Hebrides. The remoteness of the region and the lack of a Gaelic-speaking clergy undermined the missionary efforts of the established church. The later 18th century saw somewhat greater success, owing to the efforts of the SSPCK missionaries and to the disruption of traditional society after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In the 19th century, the evangelical Free Churches, which were more accepting of Gaelic language and culture, grew rapidly, appealing much more strongly than did the established church.

 

For the most part, however, the Highlands are considered predominantly Protestant, belonging to the Church of Scotland. In contrast to the Catholic southern islands, the northern Outer Hebrides islands (Lewis, Harris and North Uist) have an exceptionally high proportion of their population belonging to the Protestant Free Church of Scotland or the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Outer Hebrides have been described as the last bastion of Calvinism in Britain and the Sabbath remains widely observed. Inverness and the surrounding area has a majority Protestant population, with most locals belonging to either The Kirk or the Free Church of Scotland. The church maintains a noticeable presence within the area, with church attendance notably higher than in other parts of Scotland. Religion continues to play an important role in Highland culture, with Sabbath observance still widely practised, particularly in the Hebrides.

 

In traditional Scottish geography, the Highlands refers to that part of Scotland north-west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which crosses mainland Scotland in a near-straight line from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. However the flat coastal lands that occupy parts of the counties of Nairnshire, Morayshire, Banffshire and Aberdeenshire are often excluded as they do not share the distinctive geographical and cultural features of the rest of the Highlands. The north-east of Caithness, as well as Orkney and Shetland, are also often excluded from the Highlands, although the Hebrides are usually included. The Highland area, as so defined, differed from the Lowlands in language and tradition, having preserved Gaelic speech and customs centuries after the anglicisation of the latter; this led to a growing perception of a divide, with the cultural distinction between Highlander and Lowlander first noted towards the end of the 14th century. In Aberdeenshire, the boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands is not well defined. There is a stone beside the A93 road near the village of Dinnet on Royal Deeside which states 'You are now in the Highlands', although there are areas of Highland character to the east of this point.

 

A much wider definition of the Highlands is that used by the Scotch whisky industry. Highland single malts are produced at distilleries north of an imaginary line between Dundee and Greenock, thus including all of Aberdeenshire and Angus.

 

Inverness is regarded as the Capital of the Highlands, although less so in the Highland parts of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perthshire and Stirlingshire which look more to Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, and Stirling as their commercial centres.

 

The Highland Council area, created as one of the local government regions of Scotland, has been a unitary council area since 1996. The council area excludes a large area of the southern and eastern Highlands, and the Western Isles, but includes Caithness. Highlands is sometimes used, however, as a name for the council area, as in the former Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern is also used to refer to the area, as in the former Northern Constabulary. These former bodies both covered the Highland council area and the island council areas of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

 

Much of the Highlands area overlaps the Highlands and Islands area. An electoral region called Highlands and Islands is used in elections to the Scottish Parliament: this area includes Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Highland Council local government area, the Western Isles and most of the Argyll and Bute and Moray local government areas. Highlands and Islands has, however, different meanings in different contexts. It means Highland (the local government area), Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles in Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern, as in Northern Constabulary, refers to the same area as that covered by the fire and rescue service.

 

There have been trackways from the Lowlands to the Highlands since prehistoric times. Many traverse the Mounth, a spur of mountainous land that extends from the higher inland range to the North Sea slightly north of Stonehaven. The most well-known and historically important trackways are the Causey Mounth, Elsick Mounth, Cryne Corse Mounth and Cairnamounth.

 

Although most of the Highlands is geographically on the British mainland, it is somewhat less accessible than the rest of Britain; thus most UK couriers categorise it separately, alongside Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and other offshore islands. They thus charge additional fees for delivery to the Highlands, or exclude the area entirely. While the physical remoteness from the largest population centres inevitably leads to higher transit cost, there is confusion and consternation over the scale of the fees charged and the effectiveness of their communication, and the use of the word Mainland in their justification. Since the charges are often based on postcode areas, many far less remote areas, including some which are traditionally considered part of the lowlands, are also subject to these charges. Royal Mail is the only delivery network bound by a Universal Service Obligation to charge a uniform tariff across the UK. This, however, applies only to mail items and not larger packages which are dealt with by its Parcelforce division.

 

The Highlands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods which were uplifted during the later Caledonian Orogeny. Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss in the northwest are up to 3 billion years old. The overlying rocks of the Torridon Sandstone form mountains in the Torridon Hills such as Liathach and Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross.

 

These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and the Cuillin of Skye. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone found principally along the Moray Firth coast and partially down the Highland Boundary Fault. The Jurassic beds found in isolated locations on Skye and Applecross reflect the complex underlying geology. They are the original source of much North Sea oil. The Great Glen is formed along a transform fault which divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.

 

The entire region was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages, save perhaps for a few nunataks. The complex geomorphology includes incised valleys and lochs carved by the action of mountain streams and ice, and a topography of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have similar heights above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon the amount of denudation to which the plateau has been subjected in various places.

Climate

 

The region is much warmer than other areas at similar latitudes (such as Kamchatka in Russia, or Labrador in Canada) because of the Gulf Stream making it cool, damp and temperate. The Köppen climate classification is "Cfb" at low altitudes, then becoming "Cfc", "Dfc" and "ET" at higher altitudes.

 

Places of interest

An Teallach

Aonach Mòr (Nevis Range ski centre)

Arrochar Alps

Balmoral Castle

Balquhidder

Battlefield of Culloden

Beinn Alligin

Beinn Eighe

Ben Cruachan hydro-electric power station

Ben Lomond

Ben Macdui (second highest mountain in Scotland and UK)

Ben Nevis (highest mountain in Scotland and UK)

Cairngorms National Park

Cairngorm Ski centre near Aviemore

Cairngorm Mountains

Caledonian Canal

Cape Wrath

Carrick Castle

Castle Stalker

Castle Tioram

Chanonry Point

Conic Hill

Culloden Moor

Dunadd

Duart Castle

Durness

Eilean Donan

Fingal's Cave (Staffa)

Fort George

Glen Coe

Glen Etive

Glen Kinglas

Glen Lyon

Glen Orchy

Glenshee Ski Centre

Glen Shiel

Glen Spean

Glenfinnan (and its railway station and viaduct)

Grampian Mountains

Hebrides

Highland Folk Museum – The first open-air museum in the UK.

Highland Wildlife Park

Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Jail

Inverness Castle

Inverewe Garden

Iona Abbey

Isle of Staffa

Kilchurn Castle

Kilmartin Glen

Liathach

Lecht Ski Centre

Loch Alsh

Loch Ard

Loch Awe

Loch Assynt

Loch Earn

Loch Etive

Loch Fyne

Loch Goil

Loch Katrine

Loch Leven

Loch Linnhe

Loch Lochy

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

Loch Lubnaig

Loch Maree

Loch Morar

Loch Morlich

Loch Ness

Loch Nevis

Loch Rannoch

Loch Tay

Lochranza

Luss

Meall a' Bhuiridh (Glencoe Ski Centre)

Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Loch Creran

Rannoch Moor

Red Cuillin

Rest and Be Thankful stretch of A83

River Carron, Wester Ross

River Spey

River Tay

Ross and Cromarty

Smoo Cave

Stob Coire a' Chàirn

Stac Polly

Strathspey Railway

Sutherland

Tor Castle

Torridon Hills

Urquhart Castle

West Highland Line (scenic railway)

West Highland Way (Long-distance footpath)

Wester Ross

(Replaced a 1990s Thomas Built International 3800 that disappeared around 2010)

Replaced the BAe-146 that carried this registration.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 13-Mar-25.

 

This aircraft was delivered to ILFC International Lease Finance Corporation and leased to Air Europa, Spain as EC-HKS in May-00. It was returned to ILFC in Apr-07 and leased to Zoom Airlines UK in May-07.

 

Zoom Airlines UK ceased operations on 28-Aug-08, the aircraft was returned to the lessor and stored at Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA and later at Dothan, AL, USA. It was re-registered N201LF in Oct-08.

 

In Feb-09 the aircraft was leased to RAM Royal Air Maroc as CN-ROV and returned to the lessor in Jan-19 when it was stored at Shannon, Ireland. In Feb-19 it was sold to DHL Holdings as N276DH and ferried to Mexico City for freighter conversion.

 

It was converted to full freighter standard with a main deck cargo door in Nov-19. It was leased to Kalitta Air in Dec-19 and operated on behalf of DHL Airways. In May-22 it was transferred to DHL Air UK as G-DHLN. The operation for DHL Airways continued.

 

In Oct-23 the aircraft was transferred to DHL Air Austria as OE-LYA and operated for DHL Airways. Current, updated 13-Mar-25.

Headland is a civil parish in the Borough of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The parish covers the old part of Hartlepool and nearby villages.

 

History

The Heugh Battery, one of three constructed to protect the port of Hartlepool in 1860, is located in the area along with a museum.

 

The area made national headlines in July 1994 in connection with the murder of Rosie Palmer, a local toddler.

 

On 19 March 2002 the Time Team searched for an Anglo-Saxon monastery.

 

Dominating the skyline is the impressive architectural structure that is St Hilda’s Church. Remnant of Hartlepool’s Saxon heritage and undoubtedly the crowning glory of the Headland, this church is a must-see attraction. After her stay in Hartlepool, the Abbess of the church progressed along the coast to Whitby and this spiritual journey can be explored through ‘The Way of St Hild’ walking trail.

 

A great way to explore the historic Headland is by finding and following the Headland Story Trail. The trail features 18 different information boards, each telling a story of the areas fascinating heritage from tales of shipwreck to the legend of the Hartlepool monkey. A truly interactive and fun walking experience!

 

Other landmarks of note include the impressive Town Wall, dating from the 14th century. This grade I listed, scheduled ancient monument still guards the Headland, and was originally built to keep out the twin threats of raiding Scots and the rigours of the North Sea.

 

The Borough Hall is another striking building and dates back to 1865. This gorgeous entertainment venue hosts an action-packed events programme so be sure to keep an eye out for all upcoming events here.

 

Dive into the town’s military history at The Heugh Battery Museum – this restored coastal defence battery protected the town throughout both World Wars. An enchanting historical sight with the original barrack room, underground magazines, coastal artillery and observation tower, the exhibits tell the story of those who lost their lives and the brave men who defended the area. Refresh with a light bite or sweet treat at the Poppy Café, located within the museum.

 

Visit the Headland War Memorial to see the magnificent ‘Winged Victory’ – a stunning statue that tributes those who lost their lives during the two world wars.

 

At the very north of the Headland you will find Spion Kop Cemetery – this historic cemetery supports a species-rich dune grassland and offers fantastic views of the coastline.

 

Every summer Headland Carnival attracts lively visitors to the area. Packed with thrilling rides, amusing games and live entertainment this week of jam-packed fun is great for all the family.

 

Hartlepool is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area. With an estimated population of 87,995, it is the second-largest settlement (after Darlington) in County Durham.

 

The old town was founded in the 7th century, around the monastery of Hartlepool Abbey on a headland. As the village grew into a town in the Middle Ages, its harbour served as the County Palatine of Durham's official port. The new town of West Hartlepool was created in 1835 after a new port was built and railway links from the South Durham coal fields (to the west) and from Stockton-on-Tees (to the south) were created. A parliamentary constituency covering both the old town and West Hartlepool was created in 1867 called The Hartlepools. The two towns were formally merged into a single borough called Hartlepool in 1967. Following the merger, the name of the constituency was changed from The Hartlepools to just Hartlepool in 1974. The modern town centre and main railway station are both at what was West Hartlepool; the old town is now generally known as the Headland.

 

Industrialisation in northern England and the start of a shipbuilding industry in the later part of the 19th century meant it was a target for the Imperial German Navy at the beginning of the First World War. A bombardment of 1,150 shells on 16 December 1914 resulted in the death of 117 people in the town. A severe decline in heavy industries and shipbuilding following the Second World War caused periods of high unemployment until the 1990s when major investment projects and the redevelopment of the docks area into a marina saw a rise in the town's prospects. The town also has a seaside resort called Seaton Carew.

 

History

The place name derives from Old English heort ("hart"), referring to stags seen, and pōl (pool), a pool of drinking water which they were known to use. Records of the place-name from early sources confirm this:

 

649: Heretu, or Hereteu.

1017: Herterpol, or Hertelpolle.

1182: Hierdepol.

 

Town on the heugh

A Northumbrian settlement developed in the 7th century around an abbey founded in 640 by Saint Aidan (an Irish and Christian priest) upon a headland overlooking a natural harbour and the North Sea. The monastery became powerful under St Hilda, who served as its abbess from 649 to 657. The 8th-century Northumbrian chronicler Bede referred to the spot on which today's town is sited as "the place where deer come to drink", and in this period the Headland was named by the Angles as Heruteu (Stag Island). Archaeological evidence has been found below the current high tide mark that indicates that an ancient post-glacial forest by the sea existed in the area at the time.

 

The Abbey fell into decline in the early 8th century, and it was probably destroyed during a sea raid by Vikings on the settlement in the 9th century. In March 2000, the archaeological investigation television programme Time Team located the foundations of the lost monastery in the grounds of St Hilda's Church. In the early 11th century, the name had evolved into Herterpol.

 

Hartness

Normans and for centuries known as the Jewel of Herterpol.

During the Norman Conquest, the De Brus family gained over-lordship of the land surrounding Hartlepool. William the Conqueror subsequently ordered the construction of Durham Castle, and the villages under their rule were mentioned in records in 1153 when Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale became Lord of Hartness. The town's first charter was received before 1185, for which it gained its first mayor, an annual two-week fair and a weekly market. The Norman Conquest affected the settlement's name to form the Middle English Hart-le-pool ("The Pool of the Stags").

 

By the Middle Ages, Hartlepool was growing into an important (though still small) market town. One of the reasons for its escalating wealth was that its harbour was serving as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. The main industry of the town at this time was fishing, and Hartlepool in this period established itself as one of the primary ports upon England's Eastern coast.

 

In 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland, and became the last Lord of Hartness. Angered, King Edward I confiscated the title to Hartlepool, and began to improve the town's military defences in expectation of war. In 1315, before they were completed, a Scottish army under Sir James Douglas attacked, captured and looted the town.

 

In the late 15th century, a pier was constructed to assist in the harbour's workload.

 

Garrison

Hartlepool was once again militarily occupied by a Scottish incursion, this time in alliance with the Parliamentary Army during the English Civil War, which after 18 months was relieved by an English Parliamentarian garrison.

 

In 1795, Hartlepool artillery emplacements and defences were constructed in the town as a defensive measure against the threat of French attack from seaborne Napoleonic forces. During the Crimean War, two coastal batteries were constructed close together in the town to guard against the threat of seaborne attacks from the Imperial Russian Navy. They were entitled the Lighthouse Battery (1855) and the Heugh Battery (1859).

 

Hartlepool in the 18th century became known as a town with medicinal springs, particularly the Chalybeate Spa near the Westgate. The poet Thomas Gray visited the town in July 1765 to "take the waters", and wrote to his friend William Mason:

 

I have been for two days to taste the water, and do assure you that nothing could be salter and bitterer and nastier and better for you... I am delighted with the place; there are the finest walks and rocks and caverns.

 

A few weeks later, he wrote in greater detail to James Brown:

 

The rocks, the sea and the weather there more than made up to me the want of bread and the want of water, two capital defects, but of which I learned from the inhabitants not to be sensible. They live on the refuse of their own fish-market, with a few potatoes, and a reasonable quantity of Geneva [gin] six days in the week, and I have nowhere seen a taller, more robust or healthy race: every house full of ruddy broad-faced children. Nobody dies but of drowning or old-age: nobody poor but from drunkenness or mere laziness.

 

Town by the strand

By the early nineteenth century, Hartlepool was still a small town of around 900 people, with a declining port. In 1823, the council and Board of Trade decided that the town needed new industry, so the decision was made to propose a new railway to make Hartlepool a coal port, shipping out minerals from the Durham coalfield. It was in this endeavour that Isambard Kingdom Brunel visited the town in December 1831, and wrote: "A curiously isolated old fishing town – a remarkably fine race of men. Went to the top of the church tower for a view."

 

But the plan faced local competition from new docks. 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the north, the Marquis of Londonderry had approved the creation of the new Seaham Harbour (opened 31 July 1831), while to the south the Clarence Railway connected Stockton-on-Tees and Billingham to a new port at Port Clarence (opened 1833). Further south again, in 1831 the Stockton and Darlington Railway had extended into the new port of Middlesbrough.

 

The council agreed the formation of the Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company (HD&RCo) to extend the existing port by developing new docks, and link to both local collieries and the developing railway network in the south. In 1833, it was agreed that Christopher Tennant of Yarm establish the HD&RCo, having previously opened the Clarence Railway (CR). Tennant's plan was that the HD&RCo would fund the creation of a new railway, the Stockton and Hartlepool Railway, which would take over the loss-making CR and extended it north to the new dock, thereby linking to the Durham coalfield.

 

After Tennant died, in 1839, the running of the HD&RCo was taken over by Stockton-on-Tees solicitor, Ralph Ward Jackson. But Jackson became frustrated at the planning restrictions placed on the old Hartlepool dock and surrounding area for access, so bought land which was mainly sand dunes to the south-west, and established West Hartlepool. Because Jackson was so successful at shipping coal from West Hartlepool through his West Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company and, as technology developed, ships grew in size and scale, the new town would eventually dwarf the old town.

 

The 8-acre (3.2-hectare) West Hartlepool Harbour and Dock opened on 1 June 1847. On 1 June 1852, the 14-acre (5.7-hectare) Jackson Dock opened on the same day that a railway opened connecting West Hartlepool to Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool. This allowed the shipping of coal and wool products eastwards, and the shipping of fresh fish and raw fleeces westwards, enabling another growth spurt in the town. This in turn resulted in the opening of the Swainson Dock on 3 June 1856, named after Ward Jackson's father-in-law. In 1878, the William Gray & Co shipyard in West Hartlepool achieved the distinction of launching the largest tonnage of any shipyard in the world, a feat to be repeated on a number of occasions. By 1881, old Hartlepool's population had grown from 993 to 12,361, but West Hartlepool had a population of 28,000.

 

Ward Jackson Park

Ward Jackson helped to plan the layout of West Hartlepool and was responsible for the first public buildings. He was also involved in the education and the welfare of the inhabitants. In the end, he was a victim of his own ambition to promote the town: accusations of shady financial dealings, and years of legal battles, left him in near-poverty. He spent the last few years of his life in London, far away from the town he had created.

 

World Wars

In Hartlepool near Heugh Battery, a plaque in Redheugh Gardens War Memorial "marks the place where the first ...(German shell) struck... (and) the first soldier was killed on British soil by enemy action in the Great War 1914–1918."

The area became heavily industrialised with an ironworks (established in 1838) and shipyards in the docks (established in the 1870s). By 1913, no fewer than 43 ship-owning companies were located in the town, with the responsibility for 236 ships. This made it a key target for Germany in the First World War. One of the first German offensives against Britain was a raid and bombardment by the Imperial German Navy on the morning of 16 December 1914,

 

Hartlepool was hit with a total of 1150 shells, killing 117 people. Two coastal defence batteries at Hartlepool returned fire, launching 143 shells, and damaging three German ships: SMS Seydlitz, SMS Moltke and SMS Blücher. The Hartlepool engagement lasted roughly 50 minutes, and the coastal artillery defence was supported by the Royal Navy in the form of four destroyers, two light cruisers and a submarine, none of which had any significant impact on the German attackers.

 

Private Theophilus Jones of the 18th Battalion Durham Light Infantry, who fell as a result of this bombardment, is sometimes described as the first military casualty on British soil by enemy fire. This event (the death of the first soldiers on British soil) is commemorated by the 1921 Redheugh Gardens War Memorial together with a plaque unveiled on the same day (seven years and one day after the East Coast Raid) at the spot on the Headland (the memorial by Philip Bennison illustrates four soldiers on one of four cartouches and the plaque, donated by a member of the public, refers to the 'first soldier' but gives no name). A living history group, the Hartlepool Military Heritage Memorial Society, portray men of that unit for educational and memorial purposes.

 

Hartlepudlians voluntarily subscribed more money per head to the war effort than any other town in Britain.

 

On 4 January 1922, a fire starting in a timber yard left 80 people homeless and caused over £1,000,000 of damage. Hartlepool suffered badly in the Great Depression of the 1930s and endured high unemployment.

 

Unemployment decreased during the Second World War, with shipbuilding and steel-making industries enjoying a renaissance. Most of its output for the war effort were "Empire Ships". German bombers raided the town 43 times, though, compared to the previous war, civilian losses were lighter with 26 deaths recorded by Hartlepool Municipal Borough[19] and 49 by West Hartlepool Borough. During the Second World War, RAF Greatham (also known as RAF West Hartlepool) was located on the South British Steel Corporation Works.

 

The merge

In 1891, the two towns had a combined population of 64,000. By 1900, the two Hartlepools were, together, one of the three busiest ports in England.

 

The modern town represents a joining of "Old Hartlepool", locally known as the "Headland", and West Hartlepool. As already mentioned, what was West Hartlepool became the larger town and both were formally unified in 1967. Today the term "West Hartlepool" is rarely heard outside the context of sport, but one of the town's Rugby Union teams still retains the name.

 

The name of the town's professional football club reflected both boroughs; when it was formed in 1908, following the success of West Hartlepool in winning the FA Amateur Cup in 1905, it was called "Hartlepools United" in the hope of attracting support from both towns. When the boroughs combined in 1967, the club renamed itself "Hartlepool" before re-renaming itself Hartlepool United in the 1970s. Many fans of the club still refer to the team as "Pools"

 

Fall out

After the war, industry went into a severe decline. Blanchland, the last ship to be constructed in Hartlepool, left the slips in 1961. In 1967, Betty James wrote how "if I had the luck to live anywhere in the North East [of England]...I would live near Hartlepool. If I had the luck". There was a boost to the retail sector in 1970 when Middleton Grange Shopping Centre was opened by Princess Anne, with over 130 new shops including Marks & Spencer and Woolworths.

 

Before the shopping centre was opened, the old town centre was located around Lynn Street, but most of the shops and the market had moved to a new shopping centre by 1974. Most of Lynn Street had by then been demolished to make way for a new housing estate. Only the north end of the street remains, now called Lynn Street North. This is where the Hartlepool Borough Council depot was based (alongside the Focus DIY store) until it moved to the marina in August 2006.

 

In 1977, the British Steel Corporation announced the closure of its Hartlepool steelworks with the loss of 1500 jobs. In the 1980s, the area was afflicted with extremely high levels of unemployment, at its peak consisting of 30 per cent of the town's working-age population, the highest in the United Kingdom. 630 jobs at British Steel were lost in 1983, and a total of 10,000 jobs were lost from the town in the economic de-industrialization of England's former Northern manufacturing heartlands. Between 1983 and 1999, the town lacked a cinema and areas of it became afflicted with the societal hallmarks of endemic economic poverty: urban decay, high crime levels, drug and alcohol dependency being prevalent.

 

Rise and the future

Docks near the centre were redeveloped and reopened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 as a marina with the accompanying National Museum of the Royal Navy opened in 1994, then known as the Hartlepool Historic Quay.

 

A development corporation is under consultation until August 2022 to organise projects, with the town's fund given to the town and other funds. Plans would be (if the corporation is formed) focused on the railway station, waterfront (including the Royal Navy Museum and a new leisure centre) and Church Street. Northern School of Art also has funds for a TV and film studios.

 

Governance

There is one main tier of local government covering Hartlepool, at unitary authority level: Hartlepool Borough Council. There is a civil parish covering Headland, which forms an additional tier of local government for that area; most of the rest of the urban area is an unparished area. The borough council is a constituent member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, led by the directly elected Tees Valley Mayor. The borough council is based at the Civic Centre on Victoria Road.

 

Hartlepool was historically a township in the ancient parish of Hart. Hartlepool was also an ancient borough, having been granted a charter by King John in 1200. The borough was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1850. The council built Hartlepool Borough Hall to serve as its headquarters, being completed in 1866.

 

West Hartlepool was laid out on land outside Hartlepool's historic borough boundaries, in the neighbouring parish of Stranton. A body of improvement commissioners was established to administer the new town in 1854. The commissioners were superseded in 1887, when West Hartlepool was also incorporated as a municipal borough. The new borough council built itself a headquarters at the Municipal Buildings on Church Square, which was completed in 1889. An events venue and public hall on Raby Road called West Hartlepool Town Hall was subsequently completed in 1897. In 1902 West Hartlepool was elevated to become a county borough, making it independent from Durham County Council. The old Hartlepool Borough Council amalgamated with West Hartlepool Borough Council in 1967 to form a county borough called Hartlepool.

 

In 1974 the borough was enlarged to take in eight neighbouring parishes, and was transferred to the new county of Cleveland. Cleveland was abolished in 1996 following the Banham Review, which gave unitary authority status to its four districts, including Hartlepool. The borough was restored to County Durham for ceremonial purposes under the Lieutenancies Act 1997, but as a unitary authority it is independent from Durham County Council.

 

Emergency services

Hartlepool falls within the jurisdiction of Cleveland Fire Brigade and Cleveland Police. Before 1974, it was under the jurisdiction of the Durham Constabulary and Durham Fire Brigade. Hartlepool has two fire stations: a full-time station at Stranton and a retained station on the Headland.

 

Economy

Hartlepool's economy has historically been linked with the maritime industry, something which is still at the heart of local business. Hartlepool Dock is owned and run by PD Ports. Engineering related jobs employ around 1700 people. Tata Steel Europe employ around 350 people in the manufacture of steel tubes, predominantly for the oil industry. South of the town on the banks of the Tees, Able UK operates the Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre (TERRC), a large scale marine recycling facility and dry dock. Adjacent to the east of TERRC is the Hartlepool nuclear power station, an advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) type nuclear power plant opened in the 1980s. It is the single largest employer in the town, employing 1 per cent of the town's working age people.

 

The chemicals industry is important to the local economy. Companies include Huntsman Corporation, who produce titanium dioxide for use in paints, Omya, Baker Hughes and Frutarom.

 

Tourism was worth £48 million to the town in 2009; this figure excludes the impact of the Tall Ships 2010. Hartlepool's historic links to the maritime industry are centred on the Maritime Experience, and the supporting exhibits PS Wingfield Castle and HMS Trincomalee.

 

Camerons Brewery was founded in 1852 and currently employs around 145 people. It is one of the largest breweries in the UK. Following a series of take-overs, it came under the control of the Castle Eden Brewery in 2001 who merged the two breweries, closing down the Castle Eden plant. It brews a range of cask and bottled beers, including Strongarm, a 4% abv bitter. The brewery is heavily engaged in contract brewing such beers as Kronenbourg 1664, John Smith's and Foster's.

 

Orchid Drinks of Hartlepool were formed in 1992 after a management buy out of the soft drinks arm of Camerons. They manufactured Purdey's and Amé. Following a £67 million takeover by Britvic, the site was closed down in 2009.

 

Middleton Grange Shopping Centre is the main shopping location. 2800 people are employed in retail. The ten major retail companies in the town are Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Next, Argos, Marks & Spencer, Aldi, Boots and Matalan. Aside from the local sports clubs, other local entertainment venues include a VUE Cinema and Mecca Bingo.

 

Companies that have moved operations to the town for the offshore wind farm include Siemens and Van Oord.

 

Culture and community

Festivals and Fairs

Since November 2014 the Headland has hosted the annual Wintertide Festival, which is a weekend long event that starts with a community parade on the Friday and culminating in a finale performance and fireworks display on the Sunday.

 

Tall Ships' Races

On 28 June 2006 Hartlepool celebrated after winning its bid to host The Tall Ships' Races. The town welcomed up to 125 tall ships in 2010, after being chosen by race organiser Sail Training International to be the finishing point for the race. Hartlepool greeted the ships, which sailed from Kristiansand in Norway on the second and final leg of the race. Hartlepool also hosted the race in July 2023.

 

Museums, art galleries and libraries

Hartlepool Art Gallery is located in Church Square within Christ Church, a restored Victorian church, built in 1854 and designed by the architect Edward Buckton Lamb (1806–1869). The gallery's temporary exhibitions change frequently and feature works from local artists and the permanent Fine Art Collection, which was established by Sir William Gray. The gallery also houses the Hartlepool tourist information centre.

 

The Heugh Battery Museum is located on the Headland. It was one of three batteries erected to protect Hartlepool's port in 1860. The battery was closed in 1956 and is now in the care of the Heugh Gun Battery Trust and home to an artillery collection.

 

Hartlepool is home to a National Museum of the Royal Navy (more specifically the NMRN Hartlepool). Previously known simply as The Historic Quay and Hartlepool's Maritime Experience, the museum is a re-creation of an 18th-century seaport with the exhibition centre-piece being a sailing frigate, HMS Trincomalee. The complex also includes the Museum of Hartlepool.

 

Willows was the Hartlepool mansion of the influential Sir William Gray of William Gray & Company and he gifted it to the town in 1920, after which it was converted to be the town's first museum and art gallery. Fondly known locally as "The Gray" it was closed as a museum in 1994 and now houses the local authority's culture department.

 

There are six libraries in Hartlepool, the primary one being the Community Hub Central Library. Others are Throston Grange Library, Community Hub North Library, Seaton Carew Library, Owton Manor Library and Headland Branch Library.

 

Sea

Hartlepool has been a major seaport virtually since it was founded, and has a long fishing heritage. During the industrial revolution massive new docks were created on the southern side of the channel running below the Headland, which gave rise to the town of West Hartlepool.

 

Now owned by PD Ports, the docks are still in use today and still capable of handling large vessels. However, a large portion of the former dockland was converted into a marina capable of berthing 500 vessels. Hartlepool Marina is home to a wide variety of pleasure and working craft, with passage to and from the sea through a lock.

 

Hartlepool also has a permanent RNLI lifeboat station.

 

Education

Secondary

Hartlepool has five secondary schools:

 

Dyke House Academy

English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College

High Tunstall College of Science

Manor Community Academy

St Hild's Church of England School

The town had planned to receive funding from central government to improve school buildings and facilities as a part of the Building Schools for the Future programme, but this was cancelled because of government spending cuts.

 

College

Hartlepool College of Further Education is an educational establishment located in the centre of the town, and existed in various forms for over a century. Its former 1960s campus was replaced by a £52million custom-designed building, it was approved in principle in July 2008, opened in September 2011.

 

Hartlepool also has Hartlepool Sixth Form College. It was a former grammar and comprehensive school, the college provides a number of AS and A2 Level student courses. The English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College also offers AS, A2 and other BTEC qualification to 16- to 18-year-olds from Hartlepool and beyond.

 

A campus of The Northern School of Art is a specialist art and design college and higher education, located adjacent to the art gallery on Church Square. The college has a further site in Middlesbrough that facilitates further education.

 

Territorial Army

Situated in the New Armoury Centre, Easington Road are the following units.

 

Royal Marines Reserve

90 (North Riding) Signal Squadron

 

Religion

They are multiple Church of England and Roman Catholic Churches in the town. St Hilda's Church is a notable church of the town, it was built on Hartlepool Abbey and sits upon a high point of the Headland. The churches of the Church of England's St Paul and Roman Catholic's St Joseph are next to each other on St Paul's Road. Nasir Mosque on Brougham Terrace is the sole purpose-built mosque in the town.

 

Sport

Football

Hartlepool United is the town's professional football club and they play at Victoria Park. The club's most notable moment was in 2005 when, with 8 minutes left in the 2005 Football League One play-off final, the team conceded a penalty, allowing Sheffield Wednesday to equalise and eventually beat Hartlepool to a place in the Championship. The club currently play in the National League.

 

Supporters of the club bear the nickname of Monkey Hangers. This is based upon a legend that during the Napoleonic wars a monkey, which had been a ship's mascot, was taken for a French spy and hanged. Hartlepool has also produced football presenter Jeff Stelling, who has a renowned partnership with Chris Kamara who was born in nearby Middlesbrough. Jeff Stelling is a keen supporter of Hartlepool and often refers to them when presenting Sky Sports News. It is also the birthplace and childhood home of Pete Donaldson, one of the co-hosts of the Football Ramble podcast as well as co-host of the Abroad in Japan podcast, and a prominent radio DJ.

 

The town also has a semi-professional football club called FC Hartlepool who play in Northern League Division Two.

 

Rugby union

Hartlepool is something of an anomaly in England having historically maintained a disproportionate number of clubs in a town of only c.90,000 inhabitants. These include(d) West Hartlepool, Hartlepool Rovers, Hartlepool Athletic RFC, Hartlepool Boys Brigade Old Boys RFC (BBOB), Seaton Carew RUFC (formerly Hartlepool Grammar School Old Boys), West Hartlepool Technical Day School Old Boys RUFC (TDSOB or Tech) and Hartlepool Old Boys' RFC (Hartlepool). Starting in 1904 clubs within eight miles (thirteen kilometres) of the headland were eligible to compete for the Pyman Cup which has been contested regularly since and that the Hartlepool & District Union continue to organise.

 

Perhaps the best known club outside the town is West Hartlepool R.F.C. who in 1992 achieved promotion to what is now the Premiership competing in 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons. This success came at a price as soon after West was then hit by bankruptcy and controversially sold their Brierton Lane stadium and pitch to former sponsor Yuills Homes. There then followed a succession of relegations before the club stabilised in the Durham/Northumberland leagues. West and Rovers continue to play one another in a popular Boxing Day fixture which traditionally draws a large crowd.

 

Hartlepool Rovers, formed in 1879, who played at the Old Friarage in the Headland area of Hartlepool before moving to West View Road. In the 1890s Rovers supplied numerous county, divisional and international players. The club itself hosted many high-profile matches including the inaugural Barbarians F.C. match in 1890, the New Zealand Maoris in 1888 and the legendary All Blacks who played against a combined Hartlepool Club team in 1905. In the 1911–12 season, Hartlepool Rovers broke the world record for the number of points scored in a season racking up 860 points including 122 tries, 87 conversions, five penalties and eleven drop goals.

 

Although they ceased competing in the RFU leagues in 2008–09, West Hartlepool TDSOB (Tech) continues to support town and County rugby with several of the town's other clubs having played at Grayfields when their own pitches were unavailable. Grayfields has also hosted a number of Durham County cup finals as well as County Under 16, Under 18 and Under 20 age group games.

 

Olympics

Boxing

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, 21-year-old Savannah Marshall, who attended English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College in the town of Hartlepool, competed in the Women's boxing tournament of the 2012 Olympic Games. She was defeated 12–6 by Marina Volnova of Kazakhstan in her opening, quarter-final bout. Savannah Marshall is now a professional boxer, currently unbeaten as a pro and on 31 October 2020 in her 9th professional fight Marshall became the WBO female middleweight champion with a TKO victory over opponent Hannah Rankin at Wembley Arena.

 

Swimming

In August 2012 Jemma Lowe, a British record holder who attended High Tunstall College of Science in the town of Hartlepool, competed in the 2012 Olympic Games. She finished sixth in the 200-metre butterfly final with a time of 58.06 seconds. She was also a member of the eighth-place British team in the 400m Medley relay.

 

Monkeys

Hartlepool is known for allegedly executing a monkey during the Napoleonic Wars. According to legend, fishermen from Hartlepool watched a French warship founder off the coast, and the only survivor was a monkey, which was dressed in French military uniform, presumably to amuse the officers on the ship. The fishermen assumed that this must be what Frenchmen looked like and, after a brief trial, summarily executed the monkey.

 

Historians have pointed to the prior existence of a Scottish folk song called "And the Boddamers hung the Monkey-O". It describes how a monkey survived a shipwreck off the village of Boddam near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire. Because the villagers could only claim salvage rights if there were no survivors from the wreck, they allegedly hanged the monkey. There is also an English folk song detailing the later event called, appropriately enough, "The Hartlepool Monkey". In the English version the monkey is hanged as a French spy.

 

"Monkey hanger" and Chimp Choker are common terms of (semi-friendly) abuse aimed at "Poolies", often from footballing rivals Darlington. The mascot of Hartlepool United F.C. is H'Angus the monkey. The man in the monkey costume, Stuart Drummond, stood for the post of mayor in 2002 as H'angus the monkey, and campaigned on a platform which included free bananas for schoolchildren. To widespread surprise, he won, becoming the first directly elected mayor of Hartlepool, winning 7,400 votes with a 52% share of the vote and a turnout of 30%. He was re-elected by a landslide in 2005, winning 16,912 on a turnout of 51% – 10,000 votes more than his nearest rival, the Labour Party candidate.

 

The monkey legend is also linked with two of the town's sports clubs, Hartlepool Rovers RFC, which uses the hanging monkey as the club logo. Hartlepool (Old Boys) RFC use a hanging monkey kicking a rugby ball as their tie crest.

 

Notable residents

Michael Brown, former Premier League footballer

Edward Clarke, artist

Brian Clough, football manager who lived in the Fens estate in town while manager of Hartlepools United

John Darwin, convicted fraudster who faked his own death

Pete Donaldson, London radio DJ and podcast host

Janick Gers, guitarist from British heavy metal band Iron Maiden

Courtney Hadwin, singer

Jack Howe, former England international footballer

Liam Howe, music producer and songwriter for several artists and member of the band Sneaker Pimps

Saxon Huxley, WWE NXT UK wrestler

Andy Linighan, former Arsenal footballer who scored the winning goal in the 1993 FA Cup Final

Savannah Marshall, professional boxer

Stephanie Aird, comedian and television personality

Jim Parker, composer

Guy Pearce, film actor who lived in the town when he was younger as his mother was from the town

Narbi Price, artist

Jack Rowell, coached the England international rugby team and led them to the semi-final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup

Wayne Sleep, dancer and actor who spent his childhood in the town.

Reg Smythe, cartoonist who created Andy Capp

Jeremy Spencer, guitarist who was in the original Fleetwood Mac line-up

Jeff Stelling, TV presenter, famous for hosting Gillette Soccer Saturday

David Eagle, Folk singer and stand-up comedian,

Local media

Hartlepool Life - local free newspaper

Hartlepool Mail – local newspaper

BBC Radio Tees – BBC local radio station

Radio Hartlepool – Community radio station serving the town

Hartlepool Post – on-line publication

Local television news programmes are BBC Look North and ITV News Tyne Tees.

 

Town twinning

Hartlepool is twinned with:

France Sète, France

Germany Hückelhoven, Germany (since 1973)

United States Muskegon, Michigan

Malta Sliema, Malta

Replacing the Echo in Toyota’s U.S. product lineup and making its debut at the LA Auto Show, the 2007 Yaris is the second generation of a car that was Toyota’s best-selling model in Europe. With 3-door hatchback and 4-door sedan body styles with modern styling and upscale interiors, Yaris is aimed at youthful buyers. Powering the Yaris will be a 1.5-liter, 106 horsepower 4-cylinder engine mated to either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version.

 

It was only when I was cleaning this photo up after scanning it that I realised how dirty the aircraft was. I guess the awful dark green colour doesn't help.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 17-Jun-21.

 

This aircraft was delivered to ILFC International Lease Finance Corporation and leased to Britannia Airways as G-BYAU in May-94. The marketing name was changed to Thomson,co.uk (the tour operator) in Apr-04 with additional small 'Operated by Britannia' titles. It was changed again in Nov-04 and became Thomsonfly,com, then to Thomson Airways in Nov-08. The aircraft was returned to the lessor in May-12 and immediately sold to FedEx Federal Express as N927FD. It was stored at Victorville, CA, USA until May-13 when it was converted to freighter configuration with a main deck cargo door. It's based in Europe and occasionally visits it's old hometown in Manchester. Current, updated 17-Jun-21.

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On November 12th 2015 GETTY IMAGES unveiled plans for a new stills upload platform called ESP (Enterprise Submission Platform), to replace the current Moment portal, and on November 13th I was invited to Beta test the new system prior to it being rolled out to the general public in December. (ESP went live on Tuesday December 15th 2015)

  

***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on January 6th 2016

  

CREATIVE RF gty.im/ 501952042 MOMENT OPEN COLLECTION**

  

This photograph became my 97th frame to be selected for inclusion and sale in the Getty Images 'ESP' collection,(I have 1,650+ in total for sale through Getty Images), and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Seventy one metres at 09:23am on Tuesday 19th May 2015 off the A87 between Sconser and Luib, overlooking a body of water where Loch Sligachan, Loch Ainort and Loch Na Cairidh come together, on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

  

The Heilan Coo, (Scottish Gaelic: Bò Ghàidhealach), or Highland cattle is one of Britains oldest and most distinctive breeds. Also referred to as kyloe, they are a Scottish breed of cattle with long horns and long wavy coats which are coloured black, brindled, red, yellow or dun.

  

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Nikon D800 32mm 1/1000s f/2.8 iso100 RAW (14-bit) Handheld. AF-S single point focus. Manual exposure. Centre weighted metering. Auto white balance.

  

Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED IF. Jessops 77mm UV filter. Nikon MB-D12 battery grip. Two Nikon EN-EL15 batteries. Digi-Chip Speed Pro 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 SDXC card. Nikon DK-17a magnifying eyepiece. Hoodman HGEC soft eyepiece cup. Optech Tripod Strap. Lowepro Transporter camera strap. Lowepro Vertex 200 AW camera bag. Nikon GP-1 GPS unit.

  

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LATITUDE: N 57d 17m 33.50s

LONGITUDE: W 6d 5m 21.91s

ALTITUDE: 71.0m

  

RAW (Jpeg) FILE: 103.00MB

PROCESSED FILE: 20.35MB

  

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PROCESSING POWER:

 

Nikon D800 Firmware versions A 1.10 B 1.10 L 2.009 (Lens distortion control version 2)

 

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU processor. AMD Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB SATA storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX2 Version 2.10.3 64bit. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit

   

The BMW 3-Series replaced the 02-Series and was introduced in 1975. The 3-Series was designed by Claus Luthe in cooperation with Ercole Spada (It, 1937-2025).

This series is continued still till the present day.

This is the E30 second generation. In 1983 a 4-door sedan was added, in 1985 a cabriolet and in 1987 an estate version, the Touring.

A special feature on this 325 iX was the AWD traction, which is quite necessary in this mountain region.

 

2494 cc 6 cylinder engine.

Production 3-Series E30 2nd Gen.: 1982-1994.

Original first reg. number: May 1988.

New French reg. number: Autumn 2005 (Isère).

Number seen: maybe 2.

 

Allemond, Le Clôt, (Isère, Fr.), Route du Clôt, Aug. 3, 2019.

 

© 2019 Sander Toonen Amsterdam | All Rights Reserved

 

Inexplicably to be replaced by plastic tat characterless rubbish that doesn't even function properly, the superb HST will be consigned to the history books.... Operating 1E13, the 07:55hrs from Inverness to King's Cross, passing through Killingworth. Other than test runs, I stood at the bridge behind me to view the first service HST.... 254010 on the front, 254003 on the rear.... Absolutely superb units indeed. Whether a Paxman Valenta power unit, or an MTU, the presence is still there.