1.
Harrogate
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Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its attractions include its spa waters. Nearby is the Yorkshire Dales national park and the Nidderdale AONB, Harrogate grew out of two smaller settlements, High Harrogate and Low Harrogate, in the 17th century. Since 2013, polls have consistently voted the town as the happiest place to live in Britain, Harrogate spa water contains iron, sulphur and common salt. The town became known as The English Spa in the Georgian era, in the 17th and 18th centuries its chalybeate waters were a popular health treatment, and the influx of wealthy but sickly visitors contributed significantly to the wealth of the town. Harrogate railway station and Harrogate bus station in the town centre provide transport connections, Leeds Bradford International Airport is 10 miles south-west of Harrogate. The main roads through the town are the A61, connecting Harrogate to Leeds and Ripon, Harrogate is also connected to Wetherby and the A1, by the A661. The town motto is Arx celebris fontibus, which means a citadel famous for its springs, the name Harrogate is first attested in the 1330s as Harwegate, Harougat and Harrowgate. The origin of the name is uncertain and it may derive from Old Norse hǫrgr a heap of stones, cairn + gata street, in which case the name presumably meant road to the cairn. Another possibility is that the means the way to Harlow. The form Harlowgate is known from 1518, and apparently in the rolls of Edward II. In medieval times Harrogate was a place on the borders of the township of Bilton with Harrogate in the ancient Parish of Knaresborough, and the parish of Pannal, also known as Beckwith with Rossett. The part within the township of Bilton developed into the community of High Harrogate, both communities were within the Royal Forest of Knaresborough. In 1372 King Edward III granted the Royal Forest to his son John, Duke of Lancaster, Harrogates development is owed to the discovery of its chalybeate and sulphur rich spring water from the 16th century. The medicinal properties of the waters were publicised by Edmund Deane and his book, Spadacrene Anglica, or the English Spa Fountain was published in 1626. In the 17th and 18th centuries further chalybeate springs were discovered in High Harrogate, the two communities attracted many visitors. A number of inns were opened for visitors in High Harrogate in the 17th century In Low Harrogate the Crown was open by the mid 18th century, in accordance with an Enclosure Act of 1770, promoted by the Duchy of Lancaster, the Royal Forest of Knaresborough was enclosed. The Enclosure Award of 1778 clarified ownership of land in the Harrogate area, under the Award 200 acres of land, which included the springs known at that time, were reserved as a public common, the Stray, which has remained public open space
2.
North Yorkshire
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North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan county and larger ceremonial county in England. It is located primarily in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber, created by the Local Government Act 1972, it covers an area of 8,654 square kilometres, making it the largest county in England. The majority of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors lie within North Yorkshires boundaries, the largest settlements are York, Middlesbrough, Harrogate and Scarborough, the county town, Northallerton, has a population of 16,832. The area under the control of the county council, or shire county, is divided into a number of local government districts, Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough, the changes were planned to be implemented no later than 1 April 2009. This was rejected on 25 July 2007 so the County Council, the largest settlement in the administrative county is Harrogate, the second largest is Scarborough, while in the ceremonial county, the largest is York. The largest urban area within the county is the Middlesbrough built-up area sub-division of Teesside. Uniquely for a district in England, Stockton-on-Tees is split between North Yorkshire and County Durham for this purpose, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, and Redcar and Cleveland boroughs form part of the North East England region. The ceremonial county area, including the authorities, borders East Riding of Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria. The geology of North Yorkshire is closely reflected in its landscape, within the county are the North York Moors and most of the Yorkshire Dales, two of eleven areas of countryside within England and Wales to be officially designated as national parks. Between the North York Moors in the east and the Pennine Hills in the west lie the Vales of Mowbray, the Tees Lowlands lie to the north of the North York Moors and the Vale of Pickering lies to the south. Its eastern border is the North sea coast, the highest point is Whernside, on the Cumbrian border, at 736 metres. The two major rivers in the county are the River Swale and the River Ure, the Swale and the Ure form the River Ouse which flows through York and into the Humber estuary. The River Tees forms part of the border between North Yorkshire and County Durham and flows from upper Teesdale to Middlesbrough and Stockton and to the coast, North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan county that operates a cabinet-style council, North Yorkshire County Council. The full council of 72 elects a council leader, who in turn appoints up to 9 more councillors to form the executive cabinet, the cabinet is responsible for making decisions in the County. The county council have their offices in the County Hall in Northallerton, the county is affluent and has above average house prices. Unemployment is below average for the UK and claimants of Job Seekers Allowance is also very low compared to the rest of the UK at 2. 7%, agriculture is an important industry, as are mineral extraction and power generation. The county also has high technology, service and tourism sectors. This is a chart of trend of gross value added for North Yorkshire at current basic prices with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling
3.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
4.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
5.
Downton Abbey
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Downton Abbey is a historical period drama television series created by Julian Fellowes and co-produced by Carnival Films and Masterpiece. It first aired on ITV in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2010, the sixth and final series introduces the rise of the working class during the interwar period and hints towards the eventual decline of the British aristocracy. It was recognised by Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed English-language television series of 2011 and it earned the most nominations of any international television series in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards, with twenty-seven in total. It was the most watched series on both ITV and PBS, and subsequently became the most successful British costume drama series since the 1981 television serial of Brideshead Revisited. By the third series, it had one of the most widely watched television drama shows in the world. On 26 March 2015, Carnival Films and ITV announced that the series would be the last. It aired on ITV between 20 September 2015 and 8 November 2015, the final episode, serving as the annual Christmas special, was broadcast on 25 December 2015. The storyline centres on the fee tail or entail governing the titled elite, as part of the backstory, the main character, Robert, Earl of Grantham, had resolved past financial difficulties by marrying Cora Levinson, an American heiress. Her considerable dowry is contractually incorporated into the comital entail in perpetuity, Robert and Cora have three daughters and no sons. As the eldest daughter, Lady Mary Crawley was to marry her second cousin, the first episode begins as news reaches Downton Abbey that both Grantham heirs perished in the sinking of the Titanic. A distant male cousin, solicitor Matthew Crawley, is from an upper-middle-class family - as his mother reminds him in one of series one. Matthew Crawley becomes the new heir, the plot centres on the relationship between Lady Mary and Matthew, who resists embracing an aristocratic lifestyle. A subplot involves John Bates, Lord Granthams new valet, and Thomas Barrow, Bates and Thomas remain at odds in subsequent series. Barrow works to sabotage Bates after learning he was released from jail for theft. In the story line, Barrow, a gay man in late Edwardian England, aided by Miss OBrien, Lady Granthams personal maid, Barrow is caught stealing, but he joins the British army as a medic. Matthew eventually falls in love with Lady Mary, but she rejects his proposal. Cora becomes pregnant, possibly with an heir, but falls and miscarries after OBrien, mistakenly believing she was to be fired. The series ends just after the Archduke Franz Ferdinands assassination and the outbreak of the First World War in July 1914, the second series comprises eight episodes and runs from the Battle of the Somme in 1916 to the 1918 flu pandemic
6.
Hearts and Bones
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Hearts and Bones is the sixth solo studio album by Paul Simon. The album was intended to be called Think Too Much. Records, persuaded Simon to change it to Hearts and Bones, the album was written and recorded following Simon & Garfunkels The Concert in Central Park in 1981, and the world tour of 1982-1983. Garfunkel left the project and Simon worked the material into a solo album, although in 1983 the album was considered somewhat of a commercial failure and signaled a low point in Simons career, the passage of time has been kind to the album. It has been re-examined and considered to be one of Simons more important records, robert Christgau later referred to the album as being a finely wrought dead end. There were two songs from this album released as singles, the first single with Allergies as the A-side and Think Too Much as the B-side peaked at #44 in the U. S. The second single failed to chart, this being Think Too Much, all songs written by Paul Simon, with one-minute coda on Track 10 written by Philip Glass
7.
Spooks (TV series)
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Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 to 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. It is notable for various stylistic touches, and its use of popular guest actors, in the United States, the show is broadcast under the title MI-5. In Canada, the originally aired as MI5 but now airs on BBC Canada as Spooks. The series continued with a film, Spooks, The Greater Good, starring Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Jenny Agutter, and Peter Firth, the initial series of six one-hour episodes premiered 13 May 2002. The second episode gained notoriety for the violent killing of character Helen Flynn and he refused and she was killed. This provoked a reaction from many viewers who jammed BBC phone switchboards with complaints. With the success of the first series, a second, longer series of ten episodes was commissioned, new regular characters Sam Buxton and Ruth Evershed, were introduced in the first and second episodes respectively, while the series finale ended with a dramatic cliffhanger. The series averaged 7.1 million viewers, a third series of ten episodes was transmitted on BBC One in the spring of 2004 and concluded on 13 December. The first episode features Rupert Penry-Jones as Adam Carter, who was drafted in from MI6 to help investigate Toms disappearance and he later takes over Toms position as Section Chief after the latter jeopardised an important operation. In episode six, Zoe is taken to court for misconduct during an operation and is forced to leave MI5 and she is replaced by Adams wife, Fiona. In the series finale, Danny is killed while he and Fiona are being held hostage, audience figures dropped to a series average of 5.8 million viewers. The fourth series of Spooks began transmission on Monday 12 September 2005 on BBC One at 9 pm with the first of a two-part story, the next day the second episode was shown. The following week Spooks assumed a 9 pm Thursday slot, a break from the Monday 9 pm slot the previous series had traditionally occupied, once again, the series ran for ten episodes and averaged 6.05 million viewers, a notable increase on the previous series. The opening two-part episode introduces two new characters to the series, Zafar Younis, and Juliet Shaw. The storyline involves a terrorist bombing central London, something that, in reality, took place on 7 July, in episode seven, Fiona Carter leaves because the actress portraying her, Olga Sosnovska, was pregnant during filming and chose to leave the programme. In that story arc, Fiona attempts to kill her deranged ex-husband, however, her ex-husband ultimately abducts her and later shoots her dead in Adams presence during her attempted escape. Her character is replaced by Jo Portman, a new arrival at MI5 who was recruited by Adam in a previous episode, the fifth series of Spooks aired its first episode in two parts, the first appearing on 17 September 2006. In it, elements within the British Government, MI6 and the UK press conspire in an attempt to overthrow the Parliament and these elements agree that for Britain to survive the threats posed by modern-day terrorism, democracy had to be replaced with rule by committee
8.
Rome (TV series)
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Rome is a British-American-Italian historical drama television series created by John Milius, William J. MacDonald, and Bruno Heller. The shows two seasons were broadcast on HBO, BBC Two, and RaiDue between 2005 and 2007 and they were later released on DVD and Blu-ray. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Romes transition from Republic to Empire, Rome was a ratings success for HBO and the BBC. The series received media attention from the start, and was honored with numerous awards. The series was filmed in locations, but most notably in the Cinecittà studios in Italy. The fictional Vorenus and Pullo manage to witness and often many of the historical events presented in the series. Against the backdrop of these events, we also see the early years of the young Octavian, who is destined to become Augustus. After their defeat at the Battle of Actium, Kevin McKidd as Lucius Vorenus – A staunch, traditional Roman officer who struggles to balance his personal beliefs, his duty to his superiors, and the needs of his family and friends. The basis for this character is the historical Roman soldier of the same name, Ciarán Hinds as Julius Caesar – Caesar is ambitious but his aims and motives are often kept ambiguous to further complicate the plot and test the personal loyalties of other characters. He advertises himself as a reformer who sides with the Plebeians and he is also merciful to his beaten enemies, genuinely distressed by their deaths and relieved at their willingness to make peace where a more vindictive individual would have simply killed them. Kenneth Cranham as Pompey Magnus – A legendary general, past the days of his prime, the real Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus was a Roman general and politician who was as ambitious as Caesar and just as unorthodox in his youth. He chose to ally himself with the optimates in opposing Caesar, polly Walker as Atia of the Julii – The niece of Julius Caesar and mother of Octavian/Augustus and Octavia. She is depicted as an amoral and opportunistic manipulator. Her family connections and sexual liaisons have brought her into contact with some of the most powerful individuals in Rome, Atia is very loosely based on the historical figure Atia Balba Caesonia about whom little detail is known. Rome Historical Consultant Jonathan Stamp identifies the historical figure Clodia as the basis for the character of Atia. James Purefoy as Mark Antony – A very popular and cunning Roman general and politician, in Season 2, he fights the power hungry and unaccomplished Octavian. Tobias Menzies as Marcus Junius Brutus – Portrayed as a man torn between what he believes is right, and his loyalty and love of a man who has been like a father to him. The real Marcus Junius Brutus was the most famous of Julius Caesars assassins, lindsay Duncan as Servilia of the Junii – The mother of Marcus Junius Brutus, lover of the married Julius Caesar, and enemy of Atia of the Julii
9.
Suburban Shootout
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Suburban Shootout is a British satirical black comedy television series produced for Channel 5 and Paramount Comedy by Feelgood Fiction in association with Oxygen. The first series aired in the UK on Channel 5 from 27 April 2006 and it began airing in the United States on 22 March 2006 on Oxygen and in Germany on Comedy Central in 2007. The second series began on Channel 5 on 6 September 2007, Joyce Hazeldine and her policeman husband Jeremy move to what seems to be an idyllic home counties town of Little Stempington from London. She soon discovers there are two rival gangs of housewives, one headed by Camilla Diamond and one by Barbara Du Prez, barbaras gang continues to take extreme action against perceived threats to Little Stempington life, while also working tirelessly against Camillas gang. Timid Joyce, unfortunately, becomes a pawn in both gangs, enlisted by Barbara to work undercover as a way of getting closer to Camilla, the plot later thickens with Camilla racketeering the local recreational drugs market with 8 times strength HRT patches from their contacts in Marseille. She is of a nervous disposition and frequently attempts to solve disputes by talking them over - not that this method ever gets her anywhere. She works for both Barbara and Camilla during the course of the series, but her true alliance is with the good gang, throughout the series she battles to keep her excursions into the murky underworld of Little Stempington a secret from her loving husband Jeremy. Anna Chancellor - Camilla Diamond, head of the bad gang, originally very good friends with Barbara du Prez, the two formed an all-female mafia system after accidentally killing a burglar. They used it to keep Little Stempington free of crime, but Camilla saw what the crime could do for her own gain, and the two soon parted ways. She constantly masterminds a variety of schemes to make very rich, such as running a male prostitution ring and introducing a female fight club to Little Stempington. Felicity Montagu - Barbara du Prez, head of the good gang, despite being good she employs extreme and often violent methods in order to prevent the bad gang from gaining a stronghold of the town. She is an optimist who takes pride in her status as a vigilante. Rachael Blake - Hilary Davenport, one of Camillas sidekicks, Hilary is an archetypal cougar, preying on a number of younger men throughout the series. When the bad gang initiate a male prostitution ring, Hilary takes it upon herself to give each of the men a thorough suitability check, cathryn Bradshaw - Margaret Littlefair, a sidekick of Barbara du Prez and the good counterpart to Lillian. She is particularly posh and is seen in a clean. She has very little compassion for the people she combats. Emma Kennedy - Lillian Gordon-Moore, one of Camillas sidekicks, Lillian has more than a passing passion for firearms, and can handle virtually any weapon you put in her hands. Usually dressed in trousers, jodhpurs or similar lady of the manor-style attire, although not necessarily a lesbian, she is rather taken by Joyce and even saves her life at one point
