The Wellington boot was a type of leather boot adapted from Hessian boots. They popularised by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington; the "Wellington" boot became a staple of practical foot wear for the British aristocracy and middle class in the early 19th century. The name was subsequently given to waterproof boots made of rubber and they are no longer associated with a particular class, they are now used for a range of agricultural and outdoors pursuits. Wellington boots in contemporary usage are waterproof and are most made from rubber or polyvinyl chloride, a halogenated polymer, they are worn when walking on wet or muddy ground, or to protect the wearer from heavy showers and puddles. They are just below knee-high although shorter boots are available; the "Wellington" is a common and necessary safety or hygiene shoe in diverse industrial settings: for heavy industry with an integrated reinforced toe. Sailing wear includes short and tall sailing wellingtons with non-marking, slip-resistant soles to avoid damage to a boat's deck.

These boots require thermal socks to be worn underneath as the rubber does not provide enough warmth. The Duke of Wellington instructed his shoemaker, Hoby of St. James's Street, London, to modify the 18th-century Hessian boot; the resulting new boot was fabricated in soft calfskin leather, had the trim removed and was cut to fit more around the leg. The heels were low cut, stacked around an inch, the boot stopped at mid-calf, it was smart enough for informal evening wear. The boot was dubbed the Wellington and the name has stuck in English since. In the 1815 portrait by James Lonsdale, the Duke can be seen wearing the more formal Hessian style boots, which are tasselled. Wellington's utilitarian new boots caught on with patriotic British gentlemen eager to emulate their war hero. Considered fashionable and foppish in the best circles and worn by dandies, such as Beau Brummell, they remained the main fashion for men through the 1840s. In the 1850s they were more made in the calf-high version, in the 1860s they were both superseded by the ankle boot, except for riding.

Wellington is one of the two British Prime Ministers to have given his name to an item of clothing, the other being Sir Anthony Eden whilst Sir Winston Churchill gave his name to a cigar, William Gladstone gave his to the Gladstone Bag, the classic doctor's portmanteau. Wellington boots were at first made of leather. However, in 1852 Hiram Hutchinson met Charles Goodyear, who had just invented the sulfur vulcanisation process for natural rubber. While Goodyear decided to manufacture tyres, Hutchinson bought the patent to manufacture footwear and moved to France to establish À l'Aigle in 1853, to honour his home country. Today the company is called Aigle. In a country where 95% of the population were working on fields with wooden clogs as they had been for generations, the introduction of the wholly waterproof, Wellington-type rubber boot became an instant success: farmers would be able to come back home with clean, dry feet. Production of the Wellington boot was boosted with the advent of World War I and a requirement for footwear suitable for the conditions in Europe's flooded and muddy trenches.

The North British Rubber Company was asked by the War Office to construct a boot suitable for such conditions. The mills ran night to produce immense quantities of these trench boots. In total, 1,185,036 pairs were made to meet the British Army's demands. In World War II, Hunter Boot was again requested to supply vast quantities of Wellington and thigh boots. 80% of production was of war materials – from ground sheets to life belts and gas masks. In the Netherlands, the British forces were working in flooded conditions which demanded Wellingtons and thigh boots in vast supplies. By the end of the war in 1945, the Wellington had become popular among men and children for wet weather wear; the boot had developed to become rounded toe. With the rationing of that time, labourers began to use them for daily work; the lower cost and ease of rubber "Wellington" boot manufacture, being waterproof, lent itself to being the preferred protective material to leather in all forms of industry. Increased attention to occupational health and safety requirements led to the steel toe or steel-capped Wellington: a protective toe-capping to protect the foot from crush and puncture injuries.

Although traditionally made of steel, the reinforcement may be a composite or a plastic material such as thermoplastic polyurethane. Such steel-toe Wellingtons are nearly indispensable in an enormous range of industry and are mandatory wear to meet local occupational health and safety legislation or insurance requirements. In July 1956, the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission published its Report on the Supply of Certain Rubber Footwear, which covered rubber boots of all kinds including wellingtons and overboots; this 107-page official publication addressed contemporary concerns about unfair pricing of rubber footwear manufactured in the UK or imported from overseas. The appendices include lists of rubber footwear manufacturers and price-lists of each company's range of wellington boots available in the mid-1950s. G

The Human League Video Single is a music video compilation by the British synthpop group The Human League, released on VHS and Betamax format tape. Marketed as a "video single", it was released in the UK in August 1983, it was the first "video single" to be released in the UK, designed to tap into the market created by the new and increasing popularity of domestic videocassette recorders in the UK. Video albums had been released earlier in the decade by bands such as Blondie, Electric Light Orchestra, Duran Duran, though these had far longer running times and were more expensive to buy; the retail price of the Human League's three-track Video Single was half the cost of a full video album such as Blondie's Eat To The Beat, but still hindered sales. Despite this, the format began to gain popularity and by the end of the same year, other artists such as Tears For Fears, Blancmange and Elton John had released videosingle EPs featuring three or four tracks priced at under £10; the Human League would go on to release a full video album in 1988 for their Greatest Hits compilation.

The Video Single was released after the success of the single "Mirror Man" which had reached number two in the UK single charts in December 1982, "Mirror Man" is the title track, bundled together with the band's two previous biggest selling single videos. "Mirror Man" "Love Action" "Don't You Want Me" http://www.the-black-hit-of-space.dk/mirror_man_video.htm

This article depicts many of the strongest chess tournaments in history. The following list is not intended to be an exhaustive or definitive record of tournament chess, but takes as its foundation the collective opinion of chess experts and journalists over the strongest tournaments in history. Events that merit inclusion have been judged according to the strength of their participants. Other factors have less influence; this introduces a degree of subjectivity, but the vast majority of tournaments in the list range from FIDE Category 10 to FIDE category 21 and beyond. The names of the tournament winners have been included next to the venue. Many of the tournaments have had books written about them and whilst these will be out of print, they are available at online auction sites, second-hand specialist book shops etc. No attempt is made at comparing the relative strengths of tournaments in the list, as this is the subject of inconclusive debate amongst experts. While events are listed in year order, they are not listed chronologically within the same year.

1851 London Anderssen 1851 London Anderssen 1857 Manchester Löwenthal 1857 New York Morphy 1858 Birmingham Löwenthal 1861 Bristol Paulsen 1862 London Anderssen 1865 Dublin Steinitz 1867 Paris Kolisch 1867 Dundee Neumann 1868 Aachen Lange 1869 Hamburg Anderssen 1869 Barmen Anderssen 1870 Baden-Baden Anderssen 1871 Krefeld Paulsen 1872 Altona Anderssen 1872 London Steinitz 1873 Vienna Steinitz 1874 Chicago Mackenzie 1876 New York Mackenzie 1876 Philadelphia Mason 1876 New York Mason 1876 Leipzig Anderssen 1876 London Blackburne 1877 Leipzig Paulsen 1878 Paris Zukertort 1878 Frankfurt Paulsen 1879 London Bird 1879 Leipzig Englisch 1880 Wiesbaden Blackburne, Schwarz 1880 Braunschweig Paulsen 1881 Berlin Blackburne 1882 Vienna Steinitz, Winawer 1883 London Zukertort 1883 Nuremberg Winawer 1885 Hamburg Gunsberg 1885 Hereford Blackburne 1886 London Blackburne 1886 London Blackburne 1886 Belfast Pollock 1886 Nottingham Burn 1887 Frankfurt Mackenzie 1887 London Burn, Gunsberg 1888 Leipzig von Bardeleben, Riemann 1888 Bradford Gunsberg 1889 Amsterdam Burn 1889 New York Weiss, Chigorin 1889 Breslau Tarrasch 1890 Manchester Tarrasch 1890 Vienna Weiss 1890 Graz Makovetz 1890 Berlin Lasker, Lasker B. 1891 Berlin Caro 1892 Dresden Tarrasch 1892 London Lasker 1893 New York Lasker 1894 Leipzig Tarrasch 1894 New York Steinitz 1895 Hastings Pillsbury 1895/96 St Petersburg Lasker 1896 Budapest Chigorin 1896 Nuremberg Lasker 1896 Vienna Janowski 1897 Berlin Charousek 1898 Budapest Charousek 1898 Cologne Burn 1898 Vienna Tarrasch 1899 London Lasker 1899/1900 Vienna Maróczy 1900 Paris Lasker 1900 Munich Pillsbury, Schlechter 1901 Monte Carlo Janowski 1901 Moscow Chigorin 1902 Vienna Janowski, Wolf 1902 Monte Carlo Maroczy 1902 Hannover Janowski 1903 Monte Carlo Tarrasch 1904 Cambridge Springs Marshall 1904 Monte Carlo Maroczy 1904 Coburg von Bardeleben, Swiderski 1905 Ostend Maroczy 1905 Barmen Janowski, Maroczy 1906 Ostend Schlechter 1906 Stockholm Bernstein, Schlechter 1906 Nuremberg Marshall 1906 St Petersburg Salwe 1907 Vienna Mieses 1907 Ostend Tarrasch 1907 Carlsbad Rubinstein 1908 Vienna Maroczy, Duras 1908 Prague Duras, Schlechter 1909 St. Petersburg Lasker, Rubinstein 1910 Hamburg Schlechter 1910/11 Vienna Schlechter 1911 New York Marshall 1911 San Sebastian Capablanca 1911 Carlsbad Teichmann 1912 San Sebastian Rubinstein 1912 Bad Pistyan Rubinstein 1912 Vilnius Rubinstein 1912 Breslau Rubinstein, Duras 1913 New York Capablanca 1913 Havana Marshall 1913 Vienna Schlechter 1913 Vienna Spielmann 1914 St Petersburg Alekhine, Nimzowitsch 1914 St. Petersburg Lasker 1914 Baden bei Wien Spielmann 1914 Mannheim Alekhine 1914 Vienna Schlechter 1915 New York Capablanca 1916/17 Vienna Schlechter 1917/18 Vienna Vidmar 1918 Berlin Lasker 1918 Berlin Vidmar 1918 Kaschau Reti 1918 New York Capablanca 1919 Stockholm Spielmann 1919 Hastings Capablanca 1920 Amsterdam Réti 1920 Göteborg Réti 1920 Berlin Breyer 1921 Kiel Bogoljubov 1921 Triberg Alekhine 1921 Budapest Alekhine 1921 The Hague Alekhine 1921 Triberg Rubinstein 1922 Bad Pistyan Bogoljubov 1922 London Capablanca 1922 Vienna Rubinstein 1922 Teplitz-Schönau Reti, Spielmann 1922 Hastings Alekhine 1923 Margate Grünfeld 1923 Carlsbad Alekhine, Maroczy 1923 Vienna Tartakower 1923 Moravska Ostrava Lasker 1923 Copenhagen Nimzowitsch 1924 New York Lasker 1924 Meran Grünfeld 1924 Moscow Bogoljubov 1924/25 Hastings Maroczy, Tartakower 1925 Debrecen Kmoch 1925 Baden-Baden Alekhine 1925 Paris Alekhine 1925 Breslau Bogoljubov 1925 Marienbad Rubinstein, Nimzowitsch 1925 Moscow Bogoljubov 1925 Leningrad Bogoljubov 1925/26 Hastings Alekhine, Vidmar 1926 Hannover Nimzowitsch 1926 Budapest Grünfeld, Monticelli 1926 Semmering Spielmann 1926 Lake Hopatcong Capablanca 1926 Chicago Marshall 1926 Dresden Nimzowitsch 1926 Berlin Bogoljubov 1927 London Nimzowitsch, Tartakower 1927 Kecskemét Alekhine 1927 Magdeburg Spielmann

Christopher “Chris” Finch is a character in the BBC comedy show The Office. He is played by Ralph Ineson, his counterpart on the US series is Todd Packer. Finch is an outside sales representative for the paper merchant Wernham Hogg, in whose Slough office the show is set, as such is on the road, he is the only character in the series, genuinely nasty and turns up at the office, when he does, the boss David Brent is ecstatic because, in his opinion, "Finchy" is a wonderfully charming wag, coming up with witty remarks and rapid-fire repartee. When Brent's face is pasted on a pornographic image, he is upset with the prank until he learns it was the work of Chris Finch, at which point Brent changes course and claims to find the joke funny refusing to apologise for reprimanding other employees who laughed at the joke. David describes him as his "best friend" but acts more like a lackey, laughing at his jokes and attempting to ride his coat-tails into the limelight. Finch repays him with abuse. To most other people in the office, Chris Finch is just a rather cruel, sexist loudmouth whose jokes are rude and offensive.

He has a natural flair in bullying others with swift, humiliating putdowns with many of his jokes directly aimed at Brent in the cruellest way imaginable. Only Gareth Keenan shares Brent's admiration for Chris Finch. Finchy claims to be a successful ladies' man and manages to have sex with a worker in the middle of the company car park. Finch claims to read a book a week, to have thrown a kettle over the roof of a pub in Chichester and, according to David Brent, has an IQ of 142, he comes from Yorkshire and supports Leeds United F. C. Chris Finch is very competitive and a bad loser, he is filled with indignant fury when he and David Brent come in second place to Tim and Ricky at the annual company Quiz Night since they have been winners for several years running. After the quiz ends and everyone is gathered around the pub, Finch says he can beat Tim and Ricky at'loads of things', he suggests a throwing contest, in which the winning team must pick something for Finch to throw over the Wernham Hogg building.

If Finch does so Finch and Brent will be declared the "real winners" of the quiz. Tim and Ricky do not agree to the challenge however this doesn't seem to matter to Finch as he throws one of Tim's shoes over the building, at which point he and Brent relish their victory obnoxiously and take the bottle of champagne that Tim and Ricky were awarded for winning the quiz. Finch tells Tim and his quiz partner Ricky to "respect elders," and "do not fuck with the big boys."During the end credits of "The Party" Finch is shown to be having sex with Trudy. At the end of part two of The Office Christmas Special, Brent appears to lose his deluded appreciation for Finch's humour and his tolerance for Finch's bullying treatment of him. Visibly shocked, Finch appears to be lost for any sort of comeback once his victim stands up to him. Finch is the basis for the character of Todd Packer in the American version of The Office. BBC's The Office website - profile of Chris Finch

Sicana odorifera is a large, herbaceous perennial vine native to tropical South America, grown as an ornamental plant and for its sweet edible fruit. English names include cassabanana or casbanan, sikana and musk cucumber; the fast-growing, fleshy vine can reach 15 m or more in height, climbing with four-part adhesive tendrils. The large, palmately lobed leaves grow to 30 cm in width; the fruit is large, up to 60 cm long, with skin of variable color. The fruit has a delicious, melon-like taste which needs high temperatures to ripen; the sweet, yellow-to-orange flesh of the mature fruit is eaten raw or made into preserves. The immature fruit can be cooked as a vegetable, it is propagated by seeds. It is grown in the warm parts of Latin America, as well as by the Cajun people of the southern United States, it needs good drainage to grow well, does well on an acidic mix of sand and rich compost. Information from Fruits of Warm Climates