The Lorelei spelled Loreley in German, is a 132 m high, steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany. The name comes from the old German words lureln, Rhine dialect for'murmuring', the Celtic term ley "rock"; the translation of the name would therefore be:'murmur rock' or'murmuring rock'. The heavy currents, a small waterfall in the area created a murmuring sound, this combined with the special echo the rock produces to act as a sort of amplifier, giving the rock its name; the murmuring is hard to hear today owing to the urbanization of the area. Other theories attribute the name to the many boating accidents on the rock, by combining the German verb lauern with the same "ley" ending, with the translation "lurking rock". After the German spelling reform of 1901, in all German terms, the letter "y" was changed to the letter "i", but some proper nouns have kept their "y", such as Bayern, Spay, Tholey and including Loreley, thus the correct spelling in German.

The rock and the murmur it creates have inspired various tales. An old legend envisioned dwarfs living in caves in the rock. In 1801, German author Clemens Brentano composed his ballad Zu Bacharach am Rheine as part of a fragmentary continuation of his novel Godwi oder Das steinerne Bild der Mutter, it first told the story of an enchanting female associated with the rock. In the poem, the beautiful Lore Lay, betrayed by her sweetheart, is accused of bewitching men and causing their death. Rather than sentence her to death, the bishop consigns her to a nunnery. On the way thereto, accompanied by three knights, she comes to the Lorelei rock, she asks permission to view the Rhine once again. She thinking that she sees her love in the Rhine, falls to her death. Brentano had taken inspiration from the Echo myth. In 1824, Heinrich Heine seized on and adapted Brentano's theme in one of his most famous poems, "Die Lorelei", it describes the eponymous female as a sort of siren who, sitting on the cliff above the Rhine and combing her golden hair, unwittingly distracted shipmen with her beauty and song, causing them to crash on the rocks.

In 1837 Heine's lyrics were set to music by Friedrich Silcher in the art song "Lorelei" that became well known in German-speaking lands. A setting by Franz Liszt was favored and dozens of other musicians have set the poem to music. During the Nazi regime and World War II, Heinrich Heine became discredited as author of the lyrics, in an effort to dismiss and hide Jewish contribution to German art; the Lorelei character, although imagined by Brentano, passed into German popular culture in the form described in the Heine–Silcher song and is but mistakenly believed to have originated in an old folk tale. The French writer Guillaume Apollinaire took up the theme again in his poem "La Loreley", from the collection Alcools, cited in Symphony No. 14 of Dmitri Shostakovich. A barge carrying 2,400 tons of sulphuric acid capsized on 13 January 2011, near the Lorelei rock, blocking traffic on one of Europe's busiest waterways. Heine's poemGerman composer Clara Schumann composed a setting of Heine's poem in 1843.

Dozens of other composers have set this poem. Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich composed a setting of the poem in a 1913 translation by Guillaume Apollinaire as part of his Symphony No. 14. The Heine Memorial in the Bronx, New York City, better known as the "Lorelei Fountain", takes the form of the mythical siren from Heine's poem. OtherIn Eichendorff's 1812 poem "Waldesgespräch", a rider meets a beautiful young woman in the forest who turns out to be "the witch Loreley". Robert Schumann set the poem to music in his 1840 song cycle Liederkreis, Op. 39. Sylvia Plath wrote a poem entitled "Lorelei". “Lorelei”, a 14-line poem made up of seven discreetly-spaced, unrhymed couplets, is the opening “emblem” poem in James Merrill's ‘’The Fire Screen’’, his fifth collection of poetry. Israeli Poet Nathan Alterman wrote two poems in "The Seventh Column" titled "Lorelei" and "Lorelei's Liberation", citing Heine's poem and using the image of Lorelei as a symbol for Germany and its people in WW2; the first written in 1942 at the height of Germany's attack on the Soviet Union near Stalingrad, the second written in 1944 during the Allies' campaign in Germany.

OperaGerman composer Felix Mendelssohn began an opera in 1846 after a libretto by Emmanuel Geibel based on the legend of the Lorelei Rhine maiden for Swedish soprano Jenny Lind. However, he died. Lorelei is the main character in the English opera Lurline by William Vincent Wallace, first performed in 1860. Alfredo Catalani composed the opera Loreley in 1890 with Lorelei as the main character. RockAmerican rock band Styx featured. American rock band Clutch featured a song called "Lorelei" on their 2018 album Book of Bad Decisions. Japanese rock band L'Arc~en~Ciel released the song "Loreley" through the album Heart in 1998. UK rock band Wishbone Ash produced a song about the mystery and dangers of Lorelei on their 1976 album New England; the folk rock duo Blackmore's Night released the song "Loreley" on their 2003 album Ghost of a Rose. OtherGerman composer Friedrich Silcher composed a famous song Die

Hezekiah Russel Holland, more known as H. Russel Holland, is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. Born in Pontiac, Holland received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business in 1958 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Michigan Law School in 1961, he was a law clerk with Justice Buell A. Nesbett of the Supreme Court of Alaska in 1961, he was an Assistant United States Attorney of the Anchorage, Alaska division from 1963 to 1965, was in private practice in Anchorage until 1984. On March 6, 1984, Holland was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Alaska vacated by Judge James von der Heydt. Holland was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 26, 1984, received his commission on July 16, 1984, he served as Chief Judge from 1989 to 1995, assuming senior status on September 18, 2001. Holland presided over the litigation ensuing after the Exxon Valdez disaster.

He is presiding in the case of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Holland is a member of the Petroleum Club, a social organization that has many members associated with the oil industry. Hezekiah Russel Holland at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center

TwickFolk organises acoustic music events in and around Twickenham, south-west London. A registered charity, it is run, not for profit, by a small group of volunteers, it was established in January 1983 and is now one of the best known and most respected folk clubs in London and the South East of England. TwickFolk organises gigs on Sunday evenings at the Patchworks music venue at The Cabbage Patch pub in London Road, featuring British and North American acoustic folk and roots-based music in a programme that includes blues, country music and Americana as well as traditional folk music; the evening consists of a main "guest" preceded by a support act or several floor spots. TwickFolk organises singers' nights; these consist of either several performed floor spots or an unplugged singaround where everyone sits in a circle and those who want to sing or play an instrument can take turns to do so. TwickFolk has organised workshops on building a cigar box guitar and on playing guitar and nyckelharpa.

TwickFolk has held charity fundraising nights benefiting national and local charities. In March 2014 BBC Radio Wales marked the Six Nations rugby tournament by broadcasting live, from Isleworth's Red Lion pub, a concert, Twickenham Heartbeat, in its folk roots and acoustic music programme Celtic Heartbeat. Hosted by Frank Hennessy and Bethan Elfyn, it featured performers from TwickFolk, special guests including Ralph McTell. Noel Murphy's CD A Session was recorded live, with The Mahogany Gaspipes, in a folk session at The Cabbage Patch pub in 1997. Guests who have appeared at TwickFolk include Nels Andrews, Les Barker, Sally Barker, Ben Bedford, Alyssa Bonagura, Maggie Boyle and Paul Downes, Chuck Brodsky, The Carrivick Sisters, Olivia Chaney, Cathryn Craig and Brian Willoughby, Racker Donnelly, Kris Drever, Gareth Dunlop, Ana Egge, Carrie Elkin, Dave Ellis and Boo Howard, Mark Erelli, Stephen Fearing, David Francey, Vin Garbutt, Dick Gaughan, Grand Union, Melissa Greener, Tim Grimm, Jeni Hankins, Harp and a Monkey, Jack Harris, Hatful of Rain, Fabian Holland, Rebecca Hollweg, Jacquelyn Hynes, Luke Jackson, Robb Johnson, Diana Jones, Martin Karran and Sara O'Keeffe, Will Kaufman, Sam Kelly Trio, Billy Kemp, Kelley McRae, Madison Violet, Emily Maguire, Flossie Malavialle, Iain Matthews, Jim Moray, Jess Morgan, Elliott Morris, Pete Morton, Linde Nijland, Maz O'Connor, O'Hooley & Tidow, Earl Okin, Ellis Paul, Rod Picott, Rebecca Pronsky, Kim Richey, Justin Rutledge, Liz Simcock, Stephen Simmons, Southern Tenant Folk Union, Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer, Miranda Sykes and Rex Preston, Kath Tait, Greg Trooper, Dan Walsh, Kevin Welch, Dan Wilde, Winter Wilson and Chris Wood.

Official website The Cabbage Patch pub Highlights from previous TwickFolk events