The North-West Mounted Police was a Canadian police force, established in 1873 by the Prime Minister, Sir John Macdonald, to maintain order in the North-West Territories. The mounted police combined military and judicial functions along similar lines to the Royal Irish Constabulary, deployed the following year to the Alberta border in response to the Cypress Hills Massacre and subsequent fears of a United States military intervention, their ill-planned and arduous journey of nearly 900 miles became known as the March West and was portrayed by the force as an epic journey of endurance. Over the next few years, the police extended Canadian law across the region, establishing good working relationships with the First Nations; the force formed part of the military response to the North-West Rebellion in 1885, but faced criticism for their performance during the conflict. The mounted police assisted in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, including relocating indigenous communities living along the route.

The force established a wide network of posts and patrols, enabling them to protect and assist the ranchers who created huge cattle businesses across the prairies. The living conditions of the police on the prairies were spartan and uncomfortable, only improved over the course of the century. Meanwhile, the railway enabled more settlers to migrate west, creating new towns and industries, while the force restricted the First Nations to the reserves; the mounted police faced challenges in adapting to the changing situation when applying the unpopular prohibition laws to the white community. The force became drawn into the growing number of industrial disputes between organised labour and company owners. By 1896, the government planned to pass policing responsibilities to the provincial authorities and close the force. With the discovery of gold in the Klondike, the force was redeployed to protect Canada's sovereignty over the region and to manage the influx of prospectors; the mounted police sent volunteers to fight in the Second Boer War, in recognition were retitled the Royal North-West Mounted Police in 1904.

The plans for closure were abandoned in the face of opposition from regional politicians. Large numbers of the police volunteered for military service during the First World War, the future of the badly depleted force was once again in doubt. Towards the end of the war, fears grew about a potential Bolshevik conspiracy and the authorities tasked the mounted police to investigate the threat. In the aftermath of the violence of the Winnipeg General Strike, the government decided to amalgamate the force with the Dominion Police, to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1920. Many popular novels were published about the mounted police from 1885 onwards, in the 20th century over 250 films were made, along with radio and television portrayals; the police were depicted as courageous and chivalrous, displaying a sense of fair-play as they brought their suspects to justice. Historians, working from limited public records and chronicles, wrote eulogistic accounts of the mounted police, but as new archives became available in the 1970s, more critical and analytic accounts of the force were produced.

The force influenced public perceptions of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which used the North-West Mounted Police's image and history to help make the modern police a popular Canadian national symbol. The North-West Mounted Police was created due to the expansion of the newly formed Dominion of Canada into the North-West Territories during the 1870s; the Dominion had been formed in 1867 by the confederation of the British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but the extensive lands to the north-west remained governed by the Hudson's Bay Company. The new Dominion government was keen to expand westwards, in part due to fears that the United States might annex the region, it agreed to purchase the company's lands in exchange for £300,000 and various grants of land, adding around 2,500,000 square miles of territory to the Dominion in 1870. The North-West Territories varied geographically from the extreme conditions of the far north, through to the edges of the Great Plains in the south, covered by flat, semi-arid grasslands.

A rocky area known as the Shield, unsuitable for arable farming, had formed a natural barrier to European colonists spreading across from the eastern colonies. As a result, the territories remained thinly populated, with only around 150,000 First Nations and occasional small groups of Europeans, more substantial communities of around 12,000 Métis settled in the Red River valley of Manitoba and a further 8,500 European settlers in the colony of British Columbia. Surveys referred to the territories as the "Wild North Land" and the "Great Lone Land"; the Canadian border along the southern edge of Alberta was occupied by the Blackfoot Confederacy, a First Nation whose economy was based on hunting bison. The Blackfoot had suffered badly from smallpox, were under increasing pressure from rival groups of Sioux and Piegans that had crossed into Canada, fleeing the expansion of the United States military across the southern plains. Whiskey-traders from the United States had come across the border, selling alcohol to the aboriginal peoples, fuelling social problems and outbreaks of violence.

Although the region remained safe, there was no civil government, military explorers highlighted the "lawlessness" and lack of "security for life or property" that resulted from the absence of a formal justice system. In 1869, the Canadian Prime Minister, Sir John Macdonald, made plans to create a 200-strong mounted police force to maintain order along the border.

Harleston Magpies is a field hockey club based near the town of Harleston. It was established in 1935; the club's home ground is at Shotford Heath, just south of the Norfolk market town of Harleston. The club boasts two AstroTurf pitches – one water-based and the other sand-based, with a clubhouse and large car park for members and visitors; the ladies 1st team play in the Women's England Hockey League. The ladies 2nd team play in East Region Hockey Association League. Other ladies sides play in the Empressa Norfolk Women's Hockey League. Men's teams play in the East Region Hockey Association League; the club fields development, veterans and indoor teams. Founded in 1935, Harleston Magpies is one of the oldest clubs in the East Region, it was named after the Harleston Magpie public house in the town of Harleston, now the JD Young Hotel. Harleston Magpies was formed in 1935 and named after the well-known public house which hosted the inaugural meeting. A separate ladies club was formed in 1954 with a successful merger following in 1974.

Two years the present clubhouse was built – and extended – and in 1982 the club bought the freehold of most of its grounds. Over the years the club has continued to improve its facilities and in 1990 put down a sand-based artificial grass pitch, re-carpeted in 2006, in 2002 put down a water-based artificial grass pitch. In the summer of 2007 the club's floodlights were upgraded, the clubhouse balcony replaced and a disabled toilet and stairlift installed; these developments would not have been possible without the invaluable help of Mid Suffolk DC, South Norfolk DC, Sport England, the Foundation for Sport and the Arts and many club members and supporters. The club, renowned for its friendly family atmosphere, has developed a large and active youth section drawn from the local community due in no small part to the decision in 1995 to appoint a Youth Development Officer to promote hockey at the club and in the community; the club aims to instill a lifelong interest in the game in its members, has been one of the most successful in East Anglia over the last twenty years and seeks to serve the local community, placing great emphasis on its youth development programme, by providing hockey for men, women and girls – of all ages and abilities.

In 2007 the club was awarded Clubs 1st status by England Hockey. Clubs 1st is part of Sport England Clubmark – a nationally recognised accreditation for sports clubs; the club aims to ensure that as many people as possible within the community who might wish to join the club are made aware of its activities through the local press and radio, the club's excellent website, the Harleston Grapevine magazine and the notice board near the Harleston Post Office. Notable events in the past 40 years of the club have included – Built its clubhouse in 1976 Bought its own ground in 1982 Put down a sand-based artificial grass pitch in 1990 Put down a water-based pitch in 2002 Re-carpeted the sand-based pitch in 2006 The clubhouse and pitches are based at Shotford Heath, between Harleston and Weybread. Although Magpies are registered as Norfolk hockey club, they play in Suffolk, the River Waveney marking the boundary between the counties. Directions to the clubhouse are here; the table below shows teams entered into leagues in the 2014/2015 season, with their league title and final position.

Captain – Mark Wheelhouse Vice Captain – Leigh SitchCoach – Ben WrightManager – Steve Leate Captain – Dickon TaylorVice Captain – Robbie Kinsella Captain – Lucy BelseyVice Captain – Debbie FrancisManager – Nick McAllenCoach – Clyde CamburnAssistant Coach – Susan Wessells Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Based on data from England Hockey team specs. Positions and numbers to be confirmed. Captain – Samantha Tea

Santa María Magdalena is a church in Zaragoza, built in the 14th century in Mudéjar style. It is mentioned for the first time in 1126 as a Romanesque building, replaced two centuries by the current structure. Although internally renovated in the 17th-18th centuries, it has maintained the original square tower, in brickwork, which has several similarities with the Muéjar towers in Teruel; the church is on the Latin cross plan, featuring a single nave with cross-vaults with a polygonal apse, side chapels between the external buttresses. The lower apse has, arches in mixed styles inspired to style of the Aljafería Palace, above which are twenty decorative ogival arches and crosses forming quadrangular motifs; the bell tower has four orders with green tile decorations. The high altar, executed by José Ramirez de Arellano dates to the 18th century Baroque renovation. Another Baroque feature is the gilt statue of the Immaculate. List of Bienes de Interés Cultural in the Province of Zaragoza Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon — World Heritage Sites Page at Italian Guide to Spain website—