1.
Scottish Gaelic
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Scottish Gaelic or Scots Gaelic, sometimes also referred to as Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish. The 2011 census of Scotland showed that a total of 57,375 people in Scotland could speak Gaelic at that time, the census results indicate a decline of 1,275 Gaelic speakers from 2001. A total of 87,056 people in 2011 reported having some facility with Gaelic compared to 93,282 people in 2001, only about half of speakers were fully literate in the language. Nevertheless, revival efforts exist and the number of speakers of the language under age 20 has increased, Scottish Gaelic is neither an official language of the European Union nor the United Kingdom. Outside Scotland, a group of dialects collectively known as Canadian Gaelic are spoken in parts of Atlantic Canada, mainly Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In the 2011 census, there were 7,195 total speakers of Gaelic languages in Canada, with 1,365 in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island where the responses mainly refer to Scottish Gaelic. About 2,320 Canadians in 2011 also claimed Gaelic languages as their mother tongue, with over 300 in Nova Scotia, aside from Scottish Gaelic, the language may also be referred to simply as Gaelic. In Scotland, the word Gaelic in reference to Scottish Gaelic specifically is pronounced, outside Ireland and Great Britain, Gaelic may refer to the Irish language. Scottish Gaelic should not be confused with Scots, the Middle English-derived language varieties which had come to be spoken in most of the Lowlands of Scotland by the modern era. Prior to the 15th century, these dialects were known as Inglis by its own speakers, from the late 15th century, however, it became increasingly common for such speakers to refer to Scottish Gaelic as Erse and the Lowland vernacular as Scottis. Today, Scottish Gaelic is recognised as a language from Irish. Gaelic in Scotland was mostly confined to Dál Riata until the 8th century, when it began expanding into Pictish areas north of the Firth of Forth, by 900, Pictish appears to have become extinct, completely replaced by Gaelic. An exception might be made for the Northern Isles, however, however, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly, a process of Gaelicisation was clearly underway during the reigns of Caustantín and his successors. By a certain point, probably during the 11th century, all the inhabitants of Alba had become fully Gaelicised Scots, by the 10th century, Gaelic had become the dominant language throughout northern and western Scotland, the Gaelo-Pictic Kingdom of Alba. Its spread to southern Scotland, was even and totalizing. Place name analysis suggests dense usage of Gaelic in Galloway and adjoining areas to the north and west as well as in West Lothian, less dense usage is suggested for north Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, the Clyde Valley and eastern Dumfriesshire. In south-eastern Scotland, there is no evidence that Gaelic was ever widely spoken, the area shifted from Cumbric to Old English during its long incorporation into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria
2.
Sutherland
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Sutherland is a county in the Highlands of Scotland. Sutherland borders Caithness to the east, Ross-shire to the south, in Gaelic the area is referred to according to its traditional areas, Dùthaich MhicAoidh in the northeast, Asainte in the west, and Cataibh in the east. Cataibh is also used to refer to the area as a whole. The name Sutherland dates from the era of Norwegian Viking rule and settlement over much of the Highlands and Islands, although it contains some of the northernmost land in the island of Great Britain, it was called Suðrland from the standpoint of Orkney and Caithness. The northwest corner of Sutherland, traditionally known as the Province of Strathnaver, was not incorporated into Sutherland until 1601 and this was the home of the powerful and warlike Clan Mackay, and as such was named in Gaelic, Dùthaich Ic Aoidh, the Homeland of Mackay. Like its southern neighbour Ross-shire, Sutherland has some of the most dramatic scenery in the whole of Europe and these include high sea cliffs, and very old mountains composed of Precambrian and Cambrian rocks. Much of the population is based in towns, such as Helmsdale and Lochinver. Much of Sutherland is poor relative to the rest of Scotland, with few job opportunities beyond government funded employment, agriculture, further education is provided by North Highland College, part of the University of the Highland and Islands. The Ross House Campus in Dornoch was the first establishment in the UK to provide a degree in Golf Management, the Burghfield House Campus, also in Dornoch, is a hotel school. The inland landscape is rugged and very sparsely populated, despite being Scotlands fifth-largest county in terms of area, it has a smaller population than a medium-size Lowland Scottish town. It stretches from the Atlantic in the west, up to the Pentland Firth, the sea-coasts boast very high cliffs and deep fjords in the east and north, ragged inlets on the west and sandy beaches in the north. The remote far northwest point of Sutherland, Cape Wrath, is the most northwesterly point in Scotland, Sutherland has many rugged mountains such as Ben Hope, the most northerly Munro. The western part comprises Torridonian sandstone underlain by Lewisian gneiss, the spectacular scenery has been created by denudation to form isolated sandstone peaks such as Foinaven, Arkle, Cùl Mór and Suilven. Such mountains are attractive for hill walking and scrambling, despite their remote location, together with similar peaks to the south in Wester Ross, such as Stac Pollaidh, they have a unique structure with great scope for exploration. On the other hand, care is needed when bad weather occurs owing to their isolation, Sutherland has many fine beaches, a remote example being Sandwood Bay, which can only be reached by foot along a rough track. The number of visiting tourists is, naturally, minimal, there are pockets of the native Scots Pine, remnants of the original Caledonian Forest. Owing to its isolation from the rest of the country, Sutherland was reputedly the last haunt of the native wolf, the last survivor being shot in the 18th century. However, other wildlife has survived, including the eagle, sea eagle
3.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
4.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
5.
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
6.
Fire services in the United Kingdom
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The fire services in the United Kingdom operate under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Emergency cover is provided by over fifty fire and rescue services, many FRS were previously known as brigades or county fire services, but almost all now use the standard terminology. They are distinct from and governed by an authority, which is the legislative, public and administrative body. Fire authorities in England and Wales, and therefore fire and rescue services, Scotland and Northern Ireland have centralised fire and rescue services, and so their authorities are effectively committees of the devolved parliaments. The total budget for services in 2014-15 was £2.9 billion. The devolved government in Scotland has an agency, HMFSI Scotland. This Act provided for centralised co-ordination of fire brigades in Great Britain,1947, Fire Services Act 1947 This Act transferred the functions of the National Fire Service to local authorities. Now repealed entirely in England and Wales by Schedule 2 of the Fire,1959, Fire Services Act 1959 This Act amended the 1947 Act, it dealt with pensions, staffing arrangements and provision of services by other authorities. It was repealed in England and Wales along with the 1947 Act,1999, Greater London Authority Act 1999 This act was necessary to allow for the formation of the Greater London Authority and in turn the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. In 2002, there was a series of fire strikes. In December 2002, the Independent Review of the Fire Service was published with the action still ongoing. Bains report ultimately led to a change in the relating to firefighting. 2002, Independent Review of the Fire Service published 2004, Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, generally only applying to England and it came into force on 1 October 2006. The DfCLG has published a set of guides for non-domestic premises,2006, The Government of Wales Act 2006 gave the National Assembly for Wales powers to pass laws on Fire, promotion of fire safety otherwise than by prohibition or regulation. But does not prevent future legislation being passed by the UK government which applies to two or more constituent countries, There are further plans to modernise the fire service according to the Local Government Association. The fire service in England and Wales is scrutinised by a House of Commons select committee, in June 2006, the fire and rescue service select committee, under the auspices of the Communities and Local Government Committee, published its latest report. For example, where FRSs were historically inspected by HMFSI, much of this work is now carried out by the National Audit Office, Fire Control On 8 February 2010 the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee heard evidence on the Fire Control project. Called to give evidence were Cllr Brian Coleman and Cllr James Pearson from the Local Government Association, also giving evidence Matt Wrack from the Fire Brigades Union and John Bonney Chief Fire Officers Association
7.
Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom
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Emergency care including ambulance and emergency department treatment is free to everyone, regardless of immigration or visitor status. The NHS commissions most emergency services through the 14 NHS organisations with ambulance responsibility across the UK. As with other services, the public normally access emergency medical services through one of the valid emergency telephone numbers. This led to the formation of predominantly county based ambulance services, which gradually merged up and changed responsibilities until 2006, when there were 31 NHS ambulance trusts in England. Following further changes as part of the NHS foundation trust pathway, the commissioners in each region are responsible for contracting with a suitable organisation to provide ambulance services within their geographical territory. The primary contract for each area is held by a public NHS body, of which there are 11 in England. The service was operated before reorganisation in 1974 by the St Andrews’ Ambulance Association under contract to the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service was established in 1995 by parliamentary order, and serves the whole of Northern Ireland. The Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust was established on 1 April 1998, there is a large market for private and voluntary ambulance services, with the sector being worth £800m to the UK economy in 2012. This places the voluntary providers in direct competition with private services, expenditure on private ambulances in England increased from £37m in 2011−12 to £67. 5m in 2013/4, rising in London from £796,000 to more than £8. 8m. In 2014−15, these 10 ambulance services spent £57.6 million on 333,329 callouts of private or voluntary services - an increase of 156% since 2010−11, in 2013, the CQC found 97% of private ambulance services to be providing good care. These private, registered services are represented by the Independent Ambulance Association, there are also a number of unregistered services operating, who do not provide ambulance transport, but only provide response on an event site. These firms are not regulated, and are not subject to the checks as the registered providers, although they may operate similar vehicles. There are a number of ambulance providers, sometimes known as Voluntary Aid Services or Voluntary Aid Societies, with the main ones being the British Red Cross. The history of the ambulance services pre-dates any government organised service. As they are in competition for work with the private ambulance providers. Voluntary organisations have also provided cover for the public when unionised NHS ambulance trust staff have taken industrial action, there are a number of smaller voluntary ambulance organisations, fulfilling specific purposes, such as Hatzola who provide emergency medical services to the orthodox Jewish community in some cities. These have however run into difficulties due to use of vehicles not legally recognised as ambulances, all emergency medical services in the UK are subject to a range of legal and regulatory requirements, and in many cases are also monitored for performance. This framework is largely statutory in nature, being mandated by government through a range of primary and secondary legislation and this requires all providers to register, to meet certain standards of quality, and to submit to inspection of those standards
8.
Scottish Parliament
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The Scottish Parliament, is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the city, Edinburgh. The most recent general election to the Parliament was held on 5 May 2016, as a consequence, both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England ceased to exist, and the Parliament of Great Britain, which sat at Westminster in London was formed. The Act delineates the legislative competence of the Parliament – the areas in which it can make laws – by explicitly specifying powers that are reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Scottish Parliament has the power to legislate in all areas that are not explicitly reserved to Westminster, the British Parliament retains the ability to amend the terms of reference of the Scottish Parliament, and can extend or reduce the areas in which it can make laws. The first meeting of the new Parliament took place on 12 May 1999, initial Scottish proposals in the negotiation over the Union suggested a devolved Parliament be retained in Scotland, but this was not accepted by the English negotiators. Suggestions for a devolved Parliament were made before 1914, but were shelved due to the outbreak of the First World War, one of the principal objectives of the commission was to examine ways of enabling more self-government for Scotland, within the unitary state of the United Kingdom. Kilbrandon published his report in 1973 recommending the establishment of a directly elected Scottish Assembly to legislate for the majority of domestic Scottish affairs, the party argued that the revenues from the oil were not benefitting Scotland as much as they should. The combined effect of events led to Prime Minister Wilson committing his government to some form of devolved legislature in 1974. However, it was not until 1978 that final legislative proposals for a Scottish Assembly were passed by the United Kingdom Parliament, publishing its blueprint for devolution in 1995, the Convention provided much of the basis for the structure of the Parliament. Devolution continued to be part of the platform of the Labour Party which, in May 1997, an election was held on 6 May 1999, and on 1 July of that year power was transferred from Westminster to the new Parliament. Since September 2004, the home of the Scottish Parliament has been a new Scottish Parliament Building. The Scottish Parliament building was designed by Spanish architect Enric Miralles in partnership with local Edinburgh Architecture firm RMJM which was led by Design Principal Tony Kettle. Some of the features of the complex include leaf-shaped buildings. Throughout the building there are many repeated motifs, such as based on Raeburns Skating Minister. Crow-stepped gables and the upturned boat skylights of the Garden Lobby, Queen Elizabeth II opened the new building on 9 October 2004. In March 2006, one of the Holyrood buildings roof beams slipped out of its support and was left dangling above the back benches during a debate, the debating chamber was subsequently closed, and MSPs moved to The Hub for one week, whilst inspections were carried out. During repairs, all business was conducted in the Parliaments committee room two
9.
Seaside resort
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A seaside resort is a resort town or resort hotel, located on the coast. Sometimes it is also an officially accredited title, that is awarded to a town when the requirements are met. Where a beach is the focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort. The coast has always been a recreational environment, although until the mid-nineteenth century, even in Roman times, the town of Baiae, by the Tyrrhenian Sea in Italy, was a resort for those who were sufficiently prosperous. Mersea Island, in Essex, England was a holiday destination for wealthy Romans living in Colchester. The development of the beach as a leisure resort from the mid-19th century was the first manifestation of what is now the global tourist industry. The first seaside resorts were opened in the 18th century for the aristocracy, the first rolling bathing machines were introduced by 1735. In 1793, Heiligendamm in Mecklenburg, Germany was founded as the first seaside resort of the European continent and this trend was praised and artistically elevated by the new romantic ideal of the picturesque landscape, Jane Austens unfinished novel Sanditon is an example of that. The extension of this form of leisure to the middle and working class began with the development of the railways in the 1840s, in particular, the completion of a branch line to the small seaside town Blackpool from Poulton led to a sustained economic and demographic boom. The growth was intensified by the practice among the Lancashire cotton mill owners of closing the factories for an every year to service. These became known as wakes weeks, each towns mills would close for a different week, allowing Blackpool to manage a steady and reliable stream of visitors over a prolonged period in the summer. A prominent feature of the resort was the promenade and the pleasure piers, in 1863, the North Pier in Blackpool was completed, rapidly becoming a centre of attraction for elite visitors. Central Pier was completed in 1868, with a theatre and a large dance floor. Many popular beach resorts were equipped with bathing machines because even the all-covering beachwear of the period was considered immodest, by the end of the century the English coastline had over 100 large resort towns, some with populations exceeding 50,000. The development of the seaside resort abroad was stimulated by the well developed English love of the beach, the French Riviera alongside the Mediterranean had already become a popular destination for the British upper class by the end of the 18th century. In 1864, the first railway to Nice was completed, making the Riviera accessible to visitors all over Europe. By 1874, residents of foreign enclaves in Nice, most of whom were British, the coastline became renowned for attracting the royalty of Europe, including Queen Victoria and King Edward VII. Continental European attitudes towards gambling and nudity tended to be more lax than in Britain, the place was renamed Monte Carlo
10.
A9 road (Scotland)
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The A9 is a major road running from the Falkirk council area in central Scotland to Scrabster Harbour, Thurso in the far north, via Stirling, Bridge of Allan, Perth and Inverness. At 273 miles, it is the longest road in Scotland, historically it was the main road between Edinburgh and John o Groats, and has been called the spine of Scotland. The roads origins lie in the military roads building programme of the 18th century, the A9 route was formally designated in 1923, and originally ran from Edinburgh to Inverness. The route was extended north from Inverness up to John OGroats. By the 1970s the route was hampered by severe congestion. Between Falkirk and Bridge of Allan, the A9 survives as a more or less parallel road to the M9, the link between the M9 and the A9, by Bridge of Allan, is the Keir Roundabout. The A9s origins lie in the military roads building programme carried out by General Wade in the 18th century to allow deployment of forces in key locations within the Highlands. At this time there was already a road between Perth and Dunkeld, and between 1727 and 1730 a roadway was constructed between Dunkeld in Perthshire and Inverness. However, Wade had still to bridge the River Tay at Aberfeldy, construction began in 1733 to a design by William Adam. The bridge was completed within the year, but Wade wrote The Bridge of Tay. was a work of great difficulty, at a cost of over £4000, the bridge became the most expensive item on Wades road building programme. For most of its length between Perth and Inverness, the route was identical to the A9 prior to the commencement of the upgrading works in the 1970s. In 1802, Thomas Telford was requested by the Lords of the Treasury to carry out a survey of the interior of the Scottish Highlands, in his report, he highlighted the inadequacy of the old military roads to meet the requirements of the general population. In particular, he noted the difficulties caused by the absence of bridges over some of the principal rivers, as part of the improvements to the road system that were carried out in the following years, a bridge was built at Dunkeld, designed by Telford. The original cost estimate was £15,000 with costs to be split between the Government and the landowner, the 4th Duke of Atholl, however, costs spiralled up to around £40,000. The Government refused to increase their contribution, so the Duke of Atholl had to finance the extra cost. As a result, tolls were placed on the bridge to recoup costs. The realigned road north out of Dunkeld would evolve eventually into the A9, the formal scheme of classification of roads in Great Britain was first published on 1 April 1923. The original route of the designated A9 began in Edinburgh at the Corstorphine junction in the west of the city, the route went through Kirkliston and onwards to Polmont and Falkirk
11.
Golf course
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A golf course is the grounds where the game of golf is played. It comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a ground, a fairway, the rough and other hazards. A standard round of golf consists of 18 holes, most courses contain 18 holes, some share fairways or greens, and a subset has nine holes, played twice per round. Par-3 courses consist of nine or 18 holes all of which have a par of three strokes, many older courses are links, often coastal. Courses are private, public, and municipally owned, and typically feature a pro shop, many private courses are found at country clubs. Although a specialty within landscape design or landscape architecture, golf course architecture is considered a field of study. While golf courses often follow the landscape, some modification is unavoidable. This is increasingly the case as new courses are likely to be sited on less optimal land. Bunkers and sand traps are almost always artificial, although other hazards may be natural, the layout of a fairway follows certain traditional principles, such as the number of holes, their par values, and the number of holes of each par value per course. It is also preferable to arrange greens to be close to the tee box of the next hole, to minimize travel distance while playing a round. Combined with the need to all the fairways within what is frequently a compact square or rectangular plot of land. In complex areas, two holes may share the same tee box, fairway, or even green and it is also common for separate tee-off points to be positioned for men, women, and amateurs, each one respectively lying closer to the green. Eighteen-hole courses are traditionally broken down into a front 9 and a back 9. On older courses, the holes may be out in one long loop, beginning and ending at the clubhouse, and thus the front 9 is referred to on the scorecard as out. More recent courses tend to be designed with the front 9, a successful design is as visually pleasing as it is playable. Most golf courses have only par-3, -4, and -5 holes, typical distances for the various holes from standard tees are as follows. Terrain can also be a factor, so that a long downhill hole might be rated par 4 and this compensates for the generally longer distance pro players can put on tee and fairway shots as compared to the average bogey golfer. The game of golf is played in what is called a round and this consists of playing a set number of holes in an order predetermined by the course
12.
Witchcraft
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Witchcraft broadly means the practice of, and belief in, magical skills and abilities that are able to be exercised by individuals and certain social groups. Witchcraft often occupies a religious, divinatory or medicinal role, and is present within societies. The concept of witchcraft and the belief in its existence have existed throughout recorded history and it posits a theosophical conflict between good and evil, where witchcraft was generally evil and often associated with the Devil and Devil worship. Christian views in the day are diverse and cover the gamut of views from intense belief and opposition to non-belief. From the mid-20th century, witchcraft – sometimes called contemporary witchcraft to clearly distinguish it from older beliefs – became the name of a branch of modern paganism and it is most notably practiced in the Wiccan and modern witchcraft traditions, and no longer practices in secrecy. The Western mainstream Christian view is far from the only societal perspective about witchcraft, Beliefs related to witchcraft and magic in these cultures were at times influenced by the prevailing Western concepts. Suspicion of modern medicine due to beliefs about illness being due to witchcraft also continues in countries to this day. HIV/AIDS and Ebola virus disease are two examples of infectious disease epidemics whose medical care and containment has been severely hampered by regional beliefs in witchcraft. Other severe medical conditions whose treatment is hampered in this way include tuberculosis, leprosy, epilepsy, the word witchcraft derives from the Old English wiccecræft, a compound of wicce and cræft. This definition was pioneered in a study of central African magical beliefs by E. E. Evans-Pritchard, European witchcraft is seen by historians and anthropologists as an ideology for explaining misfortune, however, this ideology has manifested in diverse ways, as described below. Some modern commentators believe the malefic nature of witchcraft is a Christian projection, many examples appear in early texts, such as those from ancient Egypt and Babylonia. Malicious magic users can become a cause for disease, sickness in animals, bad luck, sudden death, impotence. Witchcraft of a benign and socially acceptable sort may then be employed to turn the malevolence aside. The folk magic used to identify or protect against malicious magic users is often indistinguishable from that used by the witches themselves, there has also existed in popular belief the concept of white witches and white witchcraft, which is strictly benevolent. Many neopagan witches strongly identify with this concept, and profess ethical codes that prevent them from performing magic on a person without their request. Probably the most obvious characteristic of a witch was the ability to cast a spell, spell being the word used to signify the means employed to carry out a magical action. A spell could consist of a set of words, a formula or verse, or a ritual action, or any combination of these. Strictly speaking, necromancy is the practice of conjuring the spirits of the dead for divination or prophecy – although the term has also applied to raising the dead for other purposes
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