1.
Newport, Wales
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Newport is a cathedral and university city and unitary authority area in south east Wales. It is located on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, at the 2011 census it is the third largest city in Wales, with a city population of 145,700 and an urban population of 306,844. The city forms part of the Cardiff-Newport metropolitan area with a population of 1,097,000, Newport has been a port since medieval times, when the first Newport Castle was built by the Normans. The town outgrew the earlier Roman town of Caerleon, immediately upstream and it grew significantly in the 19th century, when its port became the focus of coal exports from the eastern valleys of South Wales. Until the rise of Cardiff from the 1850s, Newport was Wales largest coal-exporting port and it was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839 led by the Chartists. During the 20th century, when the docks declined in importance and it was granted city status in 2002. Newport hosted the Ryder Cup in 2010, the city was the venue for the 2014 NATO summit. It is the largest urban area within the county boundaries of Monmouthshire. The City of Newport, which includes surrounding rural areas as well as the built up area, is governed by Newport City Council. Bronze Age fishermen settled around the estuary of the River Usk. In AD75, on the edge of their empire. According to legend, in the late 5th century Saint Woolos church was founded by Saint Gwynllyw, the church was certainly in existence by the 9th century and today has become Newport Cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. The Normans arrived from around 1088–1093 to build the first Newport Castle and river crossing downstream from Caerleon, the settlement of Newport is first mentioned as novo burgus established by Robert, Earl of Gloucester in 1126. The name was derived from the original Latin name Novus Burgus, the city can sometimes be found labelled as Newport-on-Usk on old maps. The original Welsh language name for the city, Casnewydd-ar-Wysg means New castle-on-Usk, the original Newport Castle was a small motte-and-bailey castle in the park opposite Newport Cathedral. It was buried in rubble excavated from the Hillfield railway tunnels that were dug under Stow Hill in the 1840s and no part of it is currently visible. Around the settlement, the new town grew to become Newport, obtaining its first charter in 1314 and was granted a second one, by Hugh Stafford, in the 14th century friars came to Newport where they built an isolation hospital for infectious diseases. After its closure the hospital lived on in the place name Spitty Fields, austin Friars also remains a street name in the city
2.
Ordnance Survey National Grid
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The Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude. It is often called British National Grid, the Ordnance Survey devised the national grid reference system, and it is heavily used in their survey data, and in maps based on those surveys. Grid references are commonly quoted in other publications and data sources. The Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system is used to provide references for worldwide locations. European-wide agencies also use UTM when mapping locations, or may use the Military Grid Reference System system, the grid is based on the OSGB36 datum, and was introduced after the retriangulation of 1936–1962. It replaced the previously used Cassini Grid which, up to the end of World War Two, had issued only to the military. The Airy ellipsoid is a regional best fit for Britain, more modern mapping tends to use the GRS80 ellipsoid used by the GPS, the British maps adopt a Transverse Mercator projection with an origin at 49° N, 2° W. Over the Airy ellipsoid a straight grid, the National Grid, is placed with a new false origin. This false origin is located south-west of the Isles of Scilly, the distortion created between the OS grid and the projection is countered by a scale factor in the longitude to create two lines of longitude with zero distortion rather than one. Grid north and true north are aligned on the 400 km easting of the grid which is 2° W. 2° 0′ 5″ W. OSGB36 was also used by Admiralty nautical charts until 2000 after which WGS84 has been used, a geodetic transformation between OSGB36 and other terrestrial reference systems can become quite tedious if attempted manually. The most common transformation is called the Helmert datum transformation, which results in a typical 7 m error from true, the definitive transformation from ETRS89 that is published by the OSGB is called the National Grid Transformation OSTN02. This models the detailed distortions in the 1936–1962 retriangulation, and achieves backwards compatibility in grid coordinates to sub-metre accuracy, the difference between the coordinates on different datums varies from place to place. The longitude and latitude positions on OSGB36 are the same as for WGS84 at a point in the Atlantic Ocean well to the west of Great Britain. In Cornwall, the WGS84 longitude lines are about 70 metres east of their OSGB36 equivalents, the smallest datum shift is on the west coast of Scotland and the greatest in Kent. But Great Britain has not shrunk by 100+ metres, a point near Lands End now computes to be 27.6 metres closer to a point near Duncansby Head than it did under OSGB36. For the first letter, the grid is divided into squares of size 500 km by 500 km, there are four of these which contain significant land area within Great Britain, S, T, N and H. The O square contains an area of North Yorkshire, almost all of which lies below mean high tide
3.
Local government in Wales
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For local government purposes, Wales has since 1 April 1996 been divided into 22 single-tier principal areas. The elected councils of these areas are responsible for the provision of all government services, including education, social work, environmental protection. Below these there are also elected community councils to which responsibility for specific aspects of the application of local policy may be devolved. The Queen appoints a Lord Lieutenant to represent her in each of the eight preserved counties of Wales, subdivisions of Wales created for such purposes as the provision of police and emergency services and the organization of the National Health Service are made up of combinations of principal areas. There are six cities in total in Wales, in addition to the three areas with city status, the communities of Bangor, St Davids and St Asaph also have the status. City status is granted by letters patent, the status was, however, not officially recognised for many years. When city status was restored to St Davids in 1994, St Asaph town council submitted a petition for the same purpose, the petition was refused as, unlike St Davids, there was no evidence of any charter or letters patent in the past conferring the status. Applications for city status in competitions in 2000 and 2002 were unsuccessful, There are 22 principal areas in Wales. They came into being on 1 April 1996 by virtue of the Local Government Act 1994, eleven are named as counties, including the Cities and Counties of Cardiff and Swansea, and eleven are styled as county boroughs. In 2002 Newport was granted city status, and the county borough is now styled as the City of Newport, Welsh language forms are given in parentheses, except where there is no English equivalent. Locations of each council headquarters are indicated by yellow markers, the current names of certain unitary authority areas are different from those specified in the Local Government Act 1994. Elections planned for 2012 were delayed until 2013, the historic counties of Wales are ancient subdivisions of Wales, used for various functions for several hundred years. The oldest date from 1138 By 1066 the whole of England had been divided into counties, the first counties, Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire, were established in the 1240s. In 1284 the Principality of Gwynedd was divided into three counties, Anglesey, Caernarvonshire and Merionethshire and this can be regarded as an arrangement imposed on Wales by the English during the last years of Prince Llywelyn II. Before the end of the century, Flintshire had also become a county, the formation of counties was completed under the Act of Union 1536, which created Pembrokeshire, Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire, Radnorshire, Glamorganshire, Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire. These 13 counties were the main subdivisions of Wales from 1889 until the implementation in 1974 of the Local Government Act 1972. At the lowest level of subdivision in Wales are the communities. They may have elected community councils which perform a number of roles, such as providing local facilities, community councils are the equivalent of English parish councils
4.
Countries of the United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom comprises four countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Within the United Kingdom, a sovereign state, Northern Ireland, Scotland. England, comprising the majority of the population and area of the United Kingdom, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are not themselves listed in the International Organization for Standardization list of countries. However the ISO list of the subdivisions of the UK, compiled by British Standards, Northern Ireland, in contrast, is described as a province in the same lists. Each has separate governing bodies for sports and compete separately in many international sporting competitions. Northern Ireland also forms joint All-Island sporting bodies with the Republic of Ireland for most sports, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are dependencies of the Crown and are not part of the UK. Similarly, the British overseas territories, remnants of the British Empire, are not part of the UK, southern Ireland left the United Kingdom under the Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922. * Figures for GVA do not include oil and gas revenues generated beyond the UKs territorial waters, various terms have been used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Wales was described as the country, principality, and dominion of Wales, outside Wales, England was not given a specific name or term. The Laws in Wales Acts have subsequently been repealed, the Acts of Union 1707 refer to both England and Scotland as a part of a united kingdom of Great Britain The Acts of Union 1800 use part in the same way to refer to England and Scotland. The Northern Ireland Act 1998, which repealed the Government of Ireland Act 1920, the Interpretation Act 1978 provides statutory definitions of the terms England, Wales and the United Kingdom, but neither that Act nor any other current statute defines Scotland or Northern Ireland. Use of the first three terms in other legislation is interpreted following the definitions in the 1978 Act and this definition applies from 1 April 1974. United Kingdom means Great Britain and Northern Ireland and this definition applies from 12 April 1927. In 1996 these 8 new counties were redistributed into the current 22 unitary authorities, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are regions in their own right while England has been divided into nine regions. The official term rest of the UK is used in Scotland, for example in export statistics and this term is also used in the context of potential Scottish independence to mean the UK without Scotland. The alternative term Home Nations is sometimes used in sporting contexts, the second, or civic group, contained the items about feeling British, respecting laws and institutions, speaking English, and having British citizenship. Contrariwise, in Scotland and Wales there was a much stronger identification with each country than with Britain, studies and surveys have reported that the majority of the Scots and Welsh see themselves as both Scottish/Welsh and British though with some differences in emphasis. The propensity for nationalistic feeling varies greatly across the UK, and can rise and it reported that 37% of people identified as British, whilst 29% identified as Irish and 24% identified as Northern Irish
5.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
6.
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
7.
Postcodes in the United Kingdom
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Postal codes used in the United Kingdom are known as postcodes. They are alphanumeric and were adopted nationally between 11 October 1959 and 1974, having been devised by the GPO, a full postcode is known as a postcode unit and designates an area with a number of addresses or a single major delivery point. For example, the postcode of the University of Roehampton in London is SW15 5PU, the postcode of GCHQ is GL51 0EX, where GL signifies the postal town of Gloucester. The postal town refers to an area and does not relate to a specific town. GL51 is one of the postcodes for the town of Cheltenham which is where GCHQ is located, the London post town covers 40% of Greater London. On inception it was divided into ten districts, EC, WC, N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W. The S and NE sectors were later abolished and these divisions changed little, usually only changed for operational efficiency. Some older road signs in Hackney still indicate the North East sector/district, following the successful introduction of postal districts in London, the system was extended to other large towns and cities. Liverpool was divided into Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western districts in 1864/65, in 1917 Dublin – then still part of the United Kingdom – was divided into numbered postal districts. These continue in use in a form by An Post. In 1923 Glasgow was divided in a way to London. In January 1932 the Postmaster General approved the designation of some urban areas into numbered districts. In November 1934 the Post Office announced the introduction of numbered districts in every town in the United Kingdom large enough to justify it. Pamphlets were issued to each householder and business in ten areas notifying them of the number of the district in which their premises lay, the pamphlets included a map of the districts, and copies were made available at local head post offices. The public were invited to include the district number in the address at the head of letters. A publicity campaign in the following year encouraged the use of the district numbers, the slogan for the campaign was For speed and certainty always use a postal district number on your letters and notepaper. A poster was fixed to every box in the affected areas bearing the number of the district. Every post office in the district was also to display this information
8.
Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom
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Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom are administered by the UK governments Office of Communications. For this purpose Ofcom established a telephone numbering plan, known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, since 28 April 2001, almost all geographic numbers and most non-geographic numbers have 9 or 10 national numbers after the 0 trunk code. All mobile telephone numbers have 10 national numbers after the 0 trunk code, regions with shorter area codes, typically large cities, permit the allocation of more telephone numbers as the local number portion has more digits. Local customer numbers are four to eight figures long, the total number of digits is ten, but in a very few areas the total may be nine digits. The area code is referred to as an STD or a dialling code in the UK. The code allocated to the largest population is for London, the code allocated to the largest area is for all of Northern Ireland. The UK Numbering Plan also applies to three British Crown dependencies—Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man—even though they are not part of the UK itself. Possible number formats for UK telephone numbers are as follows, Number ranges starting 01 can have NSN length as 10 or 9 digits, the 0800 range can have NSN length as 10,9 or 7 digits. The 0845 range can have NSN length as 10 or 7 digits, the 0500 range has NSN length as 9 digits only. There are no numbers in the UK with an NSN length of 8 digits. Geographic telephone numbers in the UK always have nine or ten digits, four-digit area codes have either six-digit subscriber numbers or a mix of five- and six-digit subscriber numbers. Xxxxxx This is the used by most areas. It has an area code and a six digit subscriber number. These area codes were changed by adding a 1 directly after the zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. Just short of 581 areas use this format, and the area range from 01200 to 01998. A small number of areas also have a few subscriber numbers that have only five digits. That is, almost all area codes now have only six digit local numbers, six of the four-digit area codes are known as mixed areas as they share those four digits with the twelve five-digit area codes. The numbers therefore have only nine digits after the initial zero trunk code and these area codes were changed by adding a 1 directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995
9.
Gwent Police
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Gwent Police is a territorial police force in Wales, responsible for policing the local authority areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen. It was formed in 1967 by the amalgamation of Monmouthshire Constabulary, in 1974 its area was realigned to cover the new administrative county of Gwent. The Force has its headquarters at Croesyceiliog in Cwmbran, from April 2011 Chief Constable was Carmel Napier. Jeff Farrar was confirmed as Chief Constable in November 2013 after carrying out the role in a capacity from June 2013. In 2009 Gwent Police worked with film maker Peter Watkins-Hughes to create the short film Cow as part of a campaign to stop texting while driving, the film earned honours in the Advertising Ages weekly Creativity Top 5 video. And became a worldwide internet hit after being shown on the USA The Today Show television show. At the start of 2010 the government announced cut-backs to all UK police forces, currently Gwent Police has 1,204 officers and 649 civilian staff and 217 Police community support officers. A number of stations have closed, including those at Newbridge, Gwent Police currently employs 219 Police community support officers. Jeffrey Cuthbert was elected as the new Gwent Police and crime commissioner in the England and Wales police, ian Johnson did not run for re-election
10.
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
11.
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
12.
Welsh Ambulance Service
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The Welsh Ambulance Service, formally the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, is the national ambulance service for Wales and one of the three NHS trusts in the country. It was established on 1 April 1998 and has 2,500 staff providing ambulance, the Welsh Ambulance Services headquarters is located at H. M. Stanley Hospital, St Asaph, Denbighshire. The service is divided into three regions, Central and West Region – based at Ty Maes Y Gruffudd, Cefn Coed Hospital, Cockett. The Welsh Ambulance Service provides, Emergency Medical Services - This service responds to emergency 999 calls, a standard crew combination for this service would normally consist of a Paramedic and an Emergency Medical Technician. However double Paramedic / double Technician crews are not uncommon, as of 2013, the majority of the EMS fleet consists of Wilker Mercedes Benz 519 Sprinter Ambulances, And Honda CRV / Ford Focus Rapid Response Vehicles. Helicopter Emergency Medical Service - Wales is served by three helicopters operated by Wales Air Ambulance, each helicopter crew consists of a pilot and two critical care Paramedics. The service is charity funded and operated by Bond Air Services but carries the Welsh ambulance service trust logo, equipment, as of 2012, all three aircraft operated by the charity are Eurocopter EC135s Patient Care Services - This service deals with the planned care aspect of ambulance work. PCS staff usually provide transport between home and healthcare facilities or some inter-hospital transfers, NHS Direct Wales supports EMS Operations by providing clinically triage for Green 3 calls that are deemed suitable. More than 45% of 999 calls have a disposition of not requiring 999 conveyance, in addition during times of escalation other calls deemed suitable are triaged. Community First Responders - CFRs are volunteers from the community trained in basic first aid, oxygen administration and they are used by the ambulance service mostly in rural areas to provide basic care, such as Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation before an EMS crew arrives. As CFRs are usually sent to local calls in specified communities, they often arrive before an EMS ambulance crew, even without the use of blue lights. Whilst most CFR teams are the responsibility of WAST, a number of teams are made up of regular divisions from St John Ambulance in Wales although this does not give them any exemptions. In 2012 a strategic review of the service was commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government and was conducted by Professor Siobhan McClelland, national Health Service NHS Direct Wales Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Direct Wales
13.
Wales (European Parliament constituency)
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Wales is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 4 MEPs using the method of party-list proportional representation. The constituency corresponds to the boundaries of Wales, one of the four countries of the United Kingdom and it was formed as a result of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999, replacing a number of single-member constituencies. These were Mid and West Wales, North Wales, South Wales Central, South Wales East, elected candidates are shown in bold. Brackets indicate the number of votes per seat won
14.
Newport West (UK Parliament constituency)
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Newport West is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system, the current MP is Paul Flynn of the Labour Party, first elected at the 1987 general election. The western and northern boundaries are formed by the city boundary, the boundary by the River Usk. Newport West was created when the former Newport constituency was split into two seats in 1983, Newport West List of Parliamentary constituencies in Gwent
15.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
16.
Newport Transporter Bridge
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The Newport Transporter Bridge is a transporter bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, South East Wales. The bridge is the lowest crossing on the River Usk and it is a Grade I listed structure. The transporter bridge is rare, with only eight remaining in use out of a total of twenty built worldwide. The bridge was designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin and it was built in 1906 and opened by Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar on 12 September 1906. Newport Museum holds a cigar cutter which was presented to Viscount Tredegar on the day of the opening. Interestingly for the time, a Corporation Of Newport drawing dated December 1902 is calibrated in metres, the height of the towers is 73.6 metres, and the height to the underside of the main girder truss above the road level is 49.97 m. The distance between the centres of the anchorage caissons is 471.06 m and this winch is sufficient to drive the gondola through its 196.56 m total travel at a speed of 3 metres per second. This is the oldest and largest of the three historic transporter bridges which remain in Britain, and also the largest of eight such bridges which remain worldwide), when compared with Middlesbroughs Transporter Bridge, the Newport Transporter is 5 m taller, but 23 m less in overall length. It also utilizes approximately 1,400 long tons of steel compared to 2,600 long tons used to construct Middlesbroughs Transporter. This difference in weight is due to the Newport bridge making use of cables to support. Today, the bridge is regarded as the most recognisable symbol of the city of Newport. As well as a transport link, the bridge is also open as a tourist attraction – visitors can climb the towers. The bridge forms part of the highway network and is also where route 4 of the National Cycle Network crosses the River Usk. It was the point of the local millennium celebrations of 2000, where fireworks were fired from its length. It was the centre-piece of the Crow Point Festival in September 2006 to celebrate its centenary and it is used for charity events such as sponsored abseils. The bridge was shut down in 1985 because of wear and tear, following a £3 million refurbishment, it reopened in 1995. Service was suspended again in December 2008 with the bridge facing a £2 million repair bill, £1.225 million was spent on refurbishment, financed by grants from the Welsh Government, Newport Council and Cadw. It re-opened on 30 July 2010, the bridge was closed on 16 February 2011, because of operational problems, but re-opened again on 4 June
17.
Welsh language
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Welsh is a member of the Brittonic branch of the Celtic languages. It is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, historically it has also been known in English as the British tongue, Cambrian, Cambric and Cymric. The United Kingdom Census 2011 counted 3.1 million residents of Wales, 27% of whom had been born outside Wales, and 73% of whom reported having no Welsh language skills. Of residents of Wales aged three and over, 19% reported being able to speak Welsh, and 77% of these were able to speak, read and this can be compared with the 2001 Census, in which 20. 8% of the population reported being able to speak Welsh. 787,854 of residents in Wales aged three and over had one or more skills in Welsh, in surveys carried out between 2004 and 2006, 57% of Welsh speakers described themselves as fluent in the written language. An estimated 110,000 to 150,000 people speak Welsh in England, Welsh emerged in the 6th century from Common Brittonic, the common ancestor of Welsh, Breton, Cornish and the extinct language known as Cumbric. The Middle Welsh period is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, the name Welsh originated as an exonym given to its speakers by the Anglo-Saxons, meaning foreign speech. The native term for the language is Cymraeg, and for the name of the country of Wales it is Cymru, Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic, the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons. Classified as Insular Celtic, the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and was spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth. During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, evolving into Welsh and it is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Kenneth H. Jackson suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around 550, Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to the Cynfeirdd or Early Poets – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was composed in the Hen Ogledd, raising further questions about the dating of the material. An 8th century inscription in Tywyn shows the language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns, the next main period, somewhat better attested, is Old Welsh, poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of the language. Both the works of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin were in this era, Middle Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts, Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible, albeit with some work, to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The famous cleric Gerald of Wales tells, in his Descriptio Cambriae, during one of the Kings many raids in the 12th century, Henry asked an old man of Pencader, Carmarthenshire whether the Welsh people could resist his army
18.
Parish
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A parish is a church territorial unit constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the care and clerical jurisdiction of a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or more curates. Historically, a parish often covered the same area as a manor. By extension the term refers not only to the territorial unit. In England this church property was technically in ownership of the parish priest ex-officio, the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury Theodore of Tarsus appended the parish structure to the Anglo-Saxon township unit, where it existed, and where minsters catered to the surrounding district. In the wider picture of ecclesiastical polity, a parish comprises a division of a diocese or see, parishes within a diocese may be grouped into a deanery or vicariate forane, overseen by a dean or vicar forane, or in some cases by an archpriest. Some churches of the Anglican Communion have deaneries as units of an archdeaconry, in the Roman Catholic Church, each parish normally has its own parish priest, who has responsibility and canonical authority over the parish. These are called assistant priests, parochial vicars, curates, or, in the United States, associate pastors, each diocese is divided into parishes, each with their own central church called the parish church, where religious services take place. An example is that of personal parishes established in accordance with the 7 July 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum for those attached to the form of the Roman Rite. Most Catholic parishes are part of Latin Rite dioceses, which cover the whole territory of a country. There can also be overlapping parishes of eparchies of Eastern Catholic Churches, the Church of England geographical structure uses the local parish church as its basic unit. The parish system survived the Reformation with the Anglican Churchs secession from Rome remaining largely untouched, Church of England parishes nowadays all lie within one of 44 dioceses divided between the provinces of Canterbury,30 and York,14. A chapelry was a subdivision of a parish in England. It had a status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church. In England civil parishes and their parish councils evolved in the 19th century as ecclesiastical parishes began to be relieved of what became considered to be civic responsibilities. Thus their boundaries began to diverge, the word parish acquired a secular usage. Since 1895, a council elected by public vote or a parish meeting administers a civil parish and is formally recognised as the level of local government below a district council. The parish is also the level of church administration in the Church of Scotland
19.
South Wales
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South Wales is the region of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the southwest of the United Kingdom, the Brecon Beacons national park covers about a third of South Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest mountain south of Snowdonia. Areas to the north of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains are generally considered part of Mid Wales, the expression south Wales is not officially defined, and its meaning has changed over time. Between the Statute of Rhuddlan of 1284 and the Laws in Wales Act 1535 and this was divided into a Principality of South Wales and a Principality of North Wales. The southern principality was made up of the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, the legal responsibility for this area lay in the hands of the Justiciar of South Wales based at Carmarthen. Other parts of southern Wales were in the hands of various Marcher Lords, the Laws in Wales Acts 1542 created the Court of Great Sessions in Wales based on four legal circuits. The Brecon circuit served the counties of Brecknockshire, Radnorshire and Glamorgan while the Carmarthen circuit served Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, Monmouthshire was attached to the Oxford circuit for judicial purposes. These seven southern counties were thus differentiated from the six counties of north Wales, the Court of the Great Sessions came to an end in 1830, but the counties survived until the Local Government Act 1972 which came into operation in 1974. The creation of the county of Powys merged one northern county with two southern ones, there are thus different concepts of south Wales. Glamorgan and Monmouthshire are generally accepted by all as being in south Wales, but the status of Breconshire or Carmarthenshire, for instance, is more debatable. In the western extent, from Swansea westwards, local people might feel that they live in both south Wales and west Wales, areas to the north of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains are generally considered to be in Mid Wales. A further point of uncertainty is whether the first element of the name should be capitalized, as the name is a geographical expression rather than a specific area with well-defined borders, style guides such as those of the BBC and The Guardian use the form south Wales. The most densely populated region in the southwest of the United Kingdom, the Brecon Beacons national park covers about a third of South Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest mountain south of Snowdonia. This natural beauty changed to an extent during the early Industrial Revolution when the Glamorgan and Monmouthshire valley areas were exploited for coal. By the 1830s, hundreds of tons of coal were being transported by barge to ports in Cardiff, lord Bute then charged fees per ton of coal that was transported out using his railways. Whilst some of the left, many settled and established in the South Wales Valleys between Swansea and Abergavenny as English-speaking communities with a unique identity. Industrial workers were housed in cottages and terraced houses close to the mines and foundries in which they worked. The large influx over the years caused overcrowding which led to outbreaks of Cholera, and on the social and cultural side and this number is now very low, following the UK miners strike, and the last traditional deep-shaft mine, Tower Colliery, closed in January 2008
20.
Newport City Council
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Newport City Council is the governing body for the city of Newport, one of the subdivisions of Wales within the United Kingdom. It consists of 50 councillors, representing the citys 20 wards, for decades previously it had been controlled by the Labour Party. In the 2012 elections the Labour Party regained control with an overall majority, elections take place every four years. The last election was 3 May 2012, Newport is an ancient mesne borough, occupying an important position on the Welsh Marches. The town grew up round the castle early in the 12th century. Giraldus Cambrensis, writing in 1187, calls it Novus Burgus, probably to distinguish it from Caerleon, the first lord was Robert Fitzhamon, who died in 1107, and from him the lordship passed to the Earls of Gloucester and Stafford and the Dukes of Buckingham. Hugh le Despenser, who held the lordship for a time, obtained in 1323 a charter of liberties for the burgesses, granting them freedom from toll throughout England, Ireland. Hugh, Earl of Stafford granted a charter in 1385, confirmed by his grandson in 1427. On the attainder of the Duke of Buckingham in 1483 the lordship lapsed to the crown, of whom it was held in the 16th and 17th centuries by the Pembrokes, the town was incorporated by Royal Charter of James I in 1623 and confirmed by Charles II in 1685. This created a Corporation which consisted of a mayor and twelve aldermen who governed the Borough and were responsible for law and they were assisted by a Recorder and two Bailiffs. This system of government lasted in essence until the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and this reconstituted the Corporation as an elected Borough Council, comprising a mayor, aldermen and councillors. The Newport Borough Police were formed a year later, during the 19th century the Borough grew in size from 239 acres to 4,924 acres by taking in parts of the surrounding parishes of St. Woolos, Christchurch and Nash. When modern local government was introduced by the Local Government Act 1888 it was one of the first places to become a county borough, the new Newport Civic Centre, designed by architect Thomas Cecil Howitt, was opened to the public in 1940. In 1996, another wave of local-government reorganisation reverted the council to its previous status of a county borough, in 2002 it was granted formal city status. For the municipal year 2014—2015, the mayor is The Right Worshipful The Mayor of Newport Councillor Matthew Evans, the city is divided into 20 wards. Most of these wards are coterminous with communities of the same name, each community can have an elected council. The following table lists city council wards, communities and associated geographical areas, the 35-year-old mural commemorated Newports Chartist history, specifically the Newport Rising of 1839. The Guardian suggested it was not just budgets, but a cultural history thats under attack
21.
Saint
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A saint, also historically known as a hallow, is a term used for a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness or likeness to God. Depending on the context and denomination, the term also retains its original Christian meaning, as any believer who is in Christ and in whom Christ dwells, whether in Heaven or on Earth. Depending on the religion, saints are recognized either by official ecclesiastical declaration, the English word saint comes from the Latin sanctus. The word translated the Greek ἅγιος, which derives from the verb ἁγιάζω, the word ἅγιος appears 229 times in the Greek New Testament, and its English translation 60 times in the corresponding text of the King James Version of the Bible. In the New Testament, saint did not denote the deceased who had recognized as especially holy or emulable. Many religions also use similar concepts to venerate persons worthy of some honor, the anthropologist Lawrence Babb in an article about Sathya Sai Baba asks the question Who is a saint. These saintly figures, he asserts, are the points of spiritual force-fields. They exert powerful attractive influence on followers but touch the lives of others in transforming ways as well. In the Bible, only one person is called a saint, They envied Moses also in the camp. The apostle Paul declared himself to be less than the least of all saints in Ephesians 3,8, in the Catholic Church, a saint is anyone in Heaven, whether recognized on Earth or not. There are many persons that the Church believes to be in Heaven who have not been formally canonized, sometimes the word saint also denotes living Christians. They remind us that the Church is holy, can never stop being holy and is called to show the holiness of God by living the life of Christ, the Catholic Church teaches that it does not make or create saints, but rather recognizes them. Proofs of heroicity required in the process of beatification will serve to illustrate in detail the general principles exposed above upon proof of their holiness or likeness to God. On 3 January 993, Pope John XV became the first pope to proclaim a person a saint, on the petition of the German ruler, before that time, the popular cults, or venerations, of saints had been local and spontaneous. Pope John XVIII subsequently permitted a cult of five Polish martyrs, walter of Pontoise was the last person in Western Europe to be canonized by an authority other than the Pope, Hugh de Boves, the Archbishop of Rouen, canonized him in 1153. Thenceforth a decree of Pope Alexander III in 1170 reserved the prerogative of canonization to the Pope, one source claims that there are over 10,000 named saints and beatified people from history, the Roman Martyrology and Orthodox sources, but no definitive head count. Alban Butler published Lives of the Saints in 1756, including a total of 1,486 saints, the latest revision of this book, edited by Rev. Herbert Thurston, SJ and British author Donald Attwater, contains the lives of 2,565 saints. Monsignor Robert Sarno, an official of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints of the Holy See, expressed that it is impossible to give an exact number of saints
22.
Gwynllyw
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Saint Gwynllyw Milwr or Gwynllyw Farfog, known in English in a corrupted form as Woolos the Warrior or Woolos the Bearded was a Welsh king and religious figure. He was King of Gwynllwg in South Wales and is the legendary founder, according to medieval tradition he was a feared warlord and raider who knew King Arthur, but later found religion and became a hermit founding St Woolos Cathedral in Newport. He was the father of one of the most revered Welsh saints, the medieval lives of Saint Cadoc by Lifris and of Saint Gwynllyw preserve legendary details of Gwynllyw, though details frequently differ. He is also noted in Welsh king lists, the saints lives note that his deeds were celebrated by Welsh bards, indicating he had a widespread popular following. Although saints lives frequently exaggerate it does seem likely that a monarch of this name existed, Gwynllyw was the son of King Glywys, whose powerful kingdom of Glywysing was centred on Glamorgan, and supposedly extended as far as east as the River Towy. He was a descendant of Macsen Wledig according to accounts, while his mother Guaul was equally distinguished. The kingdom was split on Glywys death amongst his sons, of whom Gwynllyw was the eldest and most powerful, the central area of his rule consisted of the cantref Gwynllwg that was named after him and later known in English as Wentloog hundred. One of Gwynllyws brothers was Saint Petroc, an important Cornish, the saints lives portray King Gwynllyw as an active and merciless warrior who attacked and raided nearby kingdoms. The Life of Saint Cadoc describes him as partial to thieves. These raids included attacking his northern neighbour Brycheiniog, in one such raid described in Life of Saint Cadoc Gwynllyw accompanied by 300 men abducted Gwladys the beautiful daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog, as Brychan had refused to let him marry her. She was one of Brychans famous twenty-four children, a pitched battle occurred which was only stopped by the intervention of King Arthur and Cai and Bedwyr who supported Gwynllyw and his warband in the battle. This tale of abduction seems similar to elements in the tale Culhwch and Olwen and this is the earliest reference to Arthur in a Saints life. According to the Life of Saint Gwynllyw this battle never occurred, gwaldys soon had a son, the famous saint Cadoc. To celebrate his sons birth Gwynllyw went on another raid stealing cattle from Caerwent, when Saint Tatheus came courageously to demand the return of a cow, the King was so impressed he decided in return to send his son to Tathyw at Caerwent to be educated. Gwynllyw supposedly had other children also saints Cynidr, Bugi and Egwine, Bugi was married to Peren verch of King Lot/Llawdden/Greidal ap Arthwys. One, Maches, the sister of Cadoc according to tradition, was killed by robbers who were stealing her finest ram, tathan, to whom the murderers confessed their crime, built a church on the spot. Once grown Cadoc was deeply religious and, according to sources, it was his example and preaching that persuaded Gwynllyw to abandon his life of violence. King Gwynllyw then had a dream in which an angel spoke to him, Gwynllyw went forth and when he saw the same ox as in his dream he founded a hermitage there on what is now Stow Hill in Newport, South Wales which he built out of wood
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River Usk
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The River Usk rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain, Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal follows the Usk for most of the length of the canal. The name of the river derives from a Common Brittonic word meaning abounding in fish, the name is cognate with pysg, the Welsh word for fish. The name of the river appears as Wÿsk on the Cambriae Typus map of 1573, the whole river has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It contains estuary with mudflats and salt marsh, lagoons, bog and marsh, dippers can be seen upriver along with red kites. The Usk has long been a noted salmon and trout fishing river, salmon of over 30 pounds can still be caught. The river has the highest estimated salmon egg deposition of any river south of Cumbria and the Scottish rivers, the river has recently been rated as the best fly fishing water in Wales for salmon and inside the UK Top Ten. The normal tidal limit of the river is just below the bridge at Newbridge-on-Usk, the River Usk has played an important role in the history of Wales and features in some local folk-tales. Evidence of the Usks long-standing use in transport and trade came in the form of the remains of the Newport Ship that were discovered in 2002. This ship, dated to around 1465, was most likely a trading vessel and its presence in the Usk has confirmed what an important trading route the Usk must have been to the many towns and villages along its course. The Usk has also played a role in local legends. Geoffrey of Monmouth writes of Caerleon in the mid 12th century, For it was located in a spot in Glamorgan, on the River Usk. Abounding in wealth more than cities, it was suited for such a ceremony. For the noble river I have named flows along it on one side, upon which the kings, the Newport Transporter Bridge, the lowest crossing point on the river, has the greatest length of any surviving transporter bridge in the world. List of rivers of Wales Usk Valley Walk List of bridges in Wales The Usk Valley Walk - photos A trophy salmon from the Usk in October 1917 Canoe Wales website information on canoe touring the Usk
24.
Ebbw River
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The Ebbw River is a river in South Wales. The main Ebbw River is formed by the confluence of the two minor Ebbw rivers, Ebbw Fach, and Ebbw Fawr. The tributary Sirhowy River joins at Crosskeys, then the river flowing south east, through the town of Risca, then through the western suburbs of Newport. The Ebbw then in turn joins with the River Usk, before flowing into the Severn Estuary, in common with the nearby Sirhowy River and Rhymney River the correct name for the river is Ebbw River, not the more usual River Ebbw. A picture of the Ebbw River www. geograph. co. uk, photos of the Ebbw River and surrounding area & here
25.
Great Western main line
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The Great Western main line is a main line railway in Great Britain, that runs westwards from Londons Paddington station to Bristol Temple Meads. It was the route of the pre-1948 Great Western Railway which was merged into the Western Region of British Railways and is now a part of the national rail system managed by Network Rail. The line is currently being electrified and it was electrified from Paddington to Heathrow Airport in the late 1990s. Work to electrify the remainder of the started in 2011 with an initial aim to complete the work all the way to Bristol by 2016. The programme however has been deferred for six years with no end completion forecast because costs have tripled. The four sections that are delayed are, Oxford to Didcot Parkway, Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads, Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads and the Thames Valley branches to Henley and Windsor. The line was built by the Great Western Railway and engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as a track line using a wider 7 ft broad gauge and was opened in stages between 1838 and 1840. The alignment was so level and straight it was nicknamed ‘Brunel’s Billiard Table’ and it was supplemented with a third rail for dual gauge operation allowing standard gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in trains to also operate on the route in stages between 1854 and 1875. The broad gauge remained in use until 1892, evidence of the original broad gauge can still be seen at many places where bridges are a wider than usual, or where tracks are ten feet apart instead of the usual six. The original dual tracks were widened to four track in places between 1877 and 1899. Further widenings of the line took place between 1903 and 1910, the railways returned to direct government control during World War II before being nationalised to form British Railways in 1948. More widening infrastructure work took place between 1931 and 1932, and the extension to south wales was quadrupled 1941, the line speed was upgraded in the 1970s to support the introduction of the InterCity 125. Under the 1979–90 Conservative governments that succeeded the 1976–79 Labour government the proposal was not implemented, the route of the GWML includes dozens of listed buildings and structures, including tunnel portals, bridges and viaducts, stations, and associated hotels. Grade I listed structures on the line include London Paddington, Wharncliffe Viaduct, the 1839 Tudor gothic River Avon Bridge in Bristol, from London to Didcot, the line follows the Thames Valley, crossing the River Thames three times, including on the famous Maidenhead Railway Bridge. After Swindon, trains pass the Swindon Steam Railway Museum, from Wootton Bassett there are two different routes to Bristol, firstly via Box Tunnel and secondly via Bristol Parkway. It is also possible to run via the Wessex Main Line, beyond Bristol, some trains continue on the Bristol to Taunton Line to Weston-super-Mare or beyond. Main line and local services are provided by Great Western Railway, the stations served by trains between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads are, Slough, Reading, Didcot Parkway, Swindon, Chippenham, and Bath Spa. Local services on this route are operated by GWR and BAA under the Heathrow Connect name
26.
Inner city
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The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. Inner city areas tend to have population densities than outer suburbs, with more of the population living inside multi-floored townhouses. Sociologists sometimes turn this euphemism into a designation, applying the term inner city to such residential areas. However, some city areas of American cities have undergone gentrification. Such connotations are less common in countries, where deprived areas may be located in outlying parts of cities. For instance, in many European and Brazilian cities, the city is the most prosperous part of the metropolis, where housing is expensive. Poverty and crime are more associated with the distant suburbs, the same is true of many American cities, like New York and San Francisco, and is becoming true of other cities as they become revitalized. The Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Swedish words for suburb often have a negative connotation similar to that of the English term inner city, the American sociological usage is rooted in the middle 20th century. The loss of population and affluent taxpayers caused many inner city communities to fall into urban decay, late in the century, many such areas underwent gentrification, especially in the Northeast and West coast, depriving them of the inner city label despite their unchanged location. Notable exceptions are cities built in the 20th century, usually planned with modernist concepts, such as Brasília, Goiânia, Belo Horizonte, Campo Grande and Palmas, under the personal car culture. Nevertheless, since the 1990s, thousands of walled townhouses and condos are being built in, inside the Inner City, Life Under the Cutting Edge. This book takes Hackney in London as a study of inner city urban deprivation
27.
Newport city centre
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Most of the city centre is contained within two conservation areas, the central area and the area around Lower Dock Street. Most of the city centre is located in the Stow Hill district, the main shopping thoroughfare is Commercial Street, which forms part of the north-south axis of High Street, Commercial Street and Commercial Road, linking the heart of the city with Newport Docks. The streets were laid-out in 1807 by Sir Charles Morgans Tredegar Wharf Company to connect the expanding docks with the roads in the centre. The area between Commercial Street and the used to contain a mixture of railway lines and river wharves so the street pattern in this area was never fixed. On the removal of the lines and wharves in the 1960s the large John Frost Square and Kingsway Shopping Centre were built. This area has been redeveloped to provide the Friars Walk shopping, as part of this redevelopment, the Chartist Mural was destroyed. Towards the northern end of Newport city centre is Westgate Square, here, the five roads of Commercial Street, Stow Hill, Bridge Street, High Street and Skinner Street converge. This is generally regarded as the centre although the actual centre, from Bridge Street, the two roads of High Street and Cambrian Road run in parallel towards Newport railway station. Joining the two roads is the covered Victorian Newport Arcade, at the western end of the arcade is the Cambrian Centre which is being redeveloped. To the east of High Street is Newport Market, a Grade II-listed building, the city centre is currently being expanded to include areas on the east bank. The plan shows a strong urban form along the riverfront, emphasised with tall landmark buildings, the citys major sports stadium, at Rodney Parade on the east bank of the River Usk, is a short walk from the city centre via Newport Bridge or Newport City footbridge. Many of the city centre businesses are located on Bridge Street. In 2014 Admiral Insurance opened a newly constructed office opposite Newport railway station. Newports city centre shops are concentrated along the pedestrianised High Street, Commercial Street, Friars Walk shopping and leisure complex and, linked by John Frost Square, the adjoining Kingsway Shopping Centre are the main under-cover shopping areas. The city centre has suffered from competition from Cwmbran Shopping Centre and out-of-town shopping areas at Newport Retail Park to the east and retail parks around Maesglas to the west. The protracted development of Friars Walk was also cited as a reason for high street stores, such as Marks and Spencer, the Cambrian Centre is a small shopping centre in Newport city centre. Among other units, it houses a Somerfield and one of the citys Wetherspoons public houses, the John Wallace Linton, an alternative redevelopment plan was due to start in 2012
28.
Newport Docks
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Newport Docks is the collective name for a series of docks in the city of Newport, south-east Wales. Newport was a fishing port and market town until the coming of the industrial age at the beginning of the 19th century. In the early decades of the 19th century, Newports maritime trade was served by wharves along the River Usk, the expansion of trade caused by the development of the canal system had led to rapid growth of coal and iron exports from Newports hinterland. If the town were to continue to prosper and compete with the port of Cardiff a floating dock protected by lock gates needed to be constructed. In March 1835, a meeting was held at the Kings Head Inn. A committee was appointed to devise a Bill to be put before Parliament, in July the Newport Dock Act was given Royal Assent for construction work to commence. The estimated £35,000 cost was covered by selling 350 shares at £100 each, on 1 December 1835 the Mayor of Newport, John Owen, cut the first sod, celebrated by the ringing of the bells at St Woolos and the firing of guns. As a result of the rise of Chartism and a labour movement there were labour disputes. More money was raised in 1838,1840,1841 and 1842 by which time the estimated cost had exceeded to £140,000, in September 1842 workers walked out demanding higher wages and had to be suppressed by armed police. Eventually and official opening took place on 10 October 1842, marked by festivities attracting tens of thousands of visitors. A mile-long procession made its way along High Street, Commercial Street and Commercial Road headed by the Mayor, following the official opening the programme of events continued throughout the day. Highlights included a dinner for 300 gentlemen of the area at the National School, boat races on the dock reservoir, in the evening a ball was held for the gentry at the Kings Head Hotel. The Clubs and Societies also held their own balls and dinners at Inns throughout Newport, the Monmouthshire Merlin newspaper does not report on how the towns population felt the next day. However, shortly after its opening it was apparent that what had become known as the Town Dock was insufficient to deal with the volumes of trade. In July 1854 a second act was passed giving the Newport Dock Company permission to extend the Town Dock to the north, work commenced in June 1856 and was completed in less than two years. The official opening on 2 March 1858 was declared a public holiday and was greeted with similar celebrations to the 1842 opening. The Town Dock expansion was not initially the success that the Newport Dock company hoped for and it was now obvious that the Town Dock alone was no longer sufficient to meet the volume of trade passing through Newport. In 1865 an act was passed to allow the construction of a dock and in 1868 work began on the Alexandra Dock
29.
City Bridge
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Not to be confused with Newport City footbridge City Bridge is a crossing of the River Usk in the city of Newport, South Wales. It was opened in 2004 as part of the construction/re-generation of the Southern Distributor Road/A48 in Newport, the bridge is the second most-southernly crossing of the River Usk in Newport, lying north of Newport Transporter Bridge. The bridge is an arch design,650 ft long. On completion of the SDR, the A48 road was diverted over the new bridge, between the two top chord pillars the west-bound carriageway of the bridge bears a large emblem of the Arms of Newport City Council. In 2005 the bridge was recognised by The Structural Steel Design Awards, the judges said of the bridge, The Usk crossing symbolises the best in British bridge engineering. It combines an elegant design, high quality fabrication and innovative construction, Newport has gained not only another much-needed river crossing, but has gained an elegant steel structure in the process
30.
George Street Bridge, Newport
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George Street Bridge is a crossing of the River Usk in the community of Victoria in Newport, South Wales. It is a Grade II* listed structure and it was opened on 9 April 1964 and is the first cable-stayed bridge in the United Kingdom. Before its opening in 1964 the only crossings of the river Usk in central Newport were the Newport Bridge carrying the main A48 road and Newport Transporter Bridge. Many grand names were proposed for the bridge but it was named after the relatively small George Street on the western bank of the River Usk. Originally the bridge was planned to be six lanes wide, on completion, the A48 route was diverted over the new bridge, making it the preferred route for through traffic. However, in 2004 the new City Bridge on the Southern Distributor Road further downstream became the preferred route and assumed the route number
31.
W. H. Davies
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William Henry Davies or W. H. Davies was a Welsh poet and writer. Davies spent a significant part of his life as a tramp or hobo, in the United Kingdom and United States, but became one of the most popular poets of his time. The principal themes in his work are observations about lifes hardships, the ways in which the condition is reflected in nature, his own tramping adventures. Davies is usually considered one of the Georgian Poets, although much of his work is not typical of the group, the son of an iron moulder, Davies was born at 6, Portland Street in the Pillgwenlly district of Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, a busy port. He had a brother, Francis Gomer Boase and in 1874 his younger sister Matilda was born. In November 1874, when William was aged three, his father died, the following year his mother Mary Anne Davies remarried and became Mrs Joseph Hill. She agreed that care of the three children should pass to their grandparents, Francis and Lydia Davies, who ran the nearby Church House Inn at 14. His grandfather Francis Boase Davies, originally from Cornwall, had been a sea captain, Davies was related to the famous British actor Sir Henry Irving, he later recalled that his grandmother referred to Irving as the cousin who brought disgrace on us. Davies grandmother was described, by a neighbour who remembered her, pretty little caps, with bebe ribbon, tiny roses and puce trimmings. A maidservant, a dog, a cat, a parrot, a dove, Sitwell also recounts that Davies grandmother, a Baptist by denomination, was of a more austere and religious turn of mind than her husband. In 1879 the family moved to Raglan Street, then later to Upper Lewis Street, in 1883 he moved to Alexandra Road School and the following year was arrested, as one of a gang of five schoolmates, and charged with stealing handbags. He was given twelve strokes of the birch, in 1885 Davies wrote his first poem entitled Death. In his Poets Pilgrimage Davies recounts the time when, at the age of 14 and he missed the final moments of his grandfathers death as he was too engrossed in reading a very interesting book of wild adventure. Having finished school under the cloud of his theft he worked first for an ironmonger, in November 1886, his grandmother signed the papers for Davies to begin a five-year apprenticeship to a local picture-frame maker. Davies never enjoyed the craft, however, and never settled into any regular work and he was a difficult and somewhat delinquent young man, and made repeated requests to his grandmother to lend him the money to sail to America. When these were all refused, he eventually left Newport, took casual work, the Autobiography of a Super-Tramp, published in 1908, covers his life in the USA between 1893 and 1899, including many adventures and characters from his travels as a drifter. During this period he crossed the Atlantic at least seven times and he travelled through many of the states, sometimes begging, sometimes taking seasonal work, but often ending up spending any savings on a drinking spree with a fellow traveller. He took advantage of the system of boodle, in order to pass the winter in Michigan
32.
A Design for Life
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A Design for Life is a single released by Welsh band Manic Street Preachers in 1996 and the first to be taken from the Everything Must Go album of May that same year. It peaked and debuted at number 2 in the UK Singles Chart, the title was inspired by the debut Joy Division EP record An Ideal for Living. The song explores themes of conflict and working class identity and solidarity. Its video included scenes of fox hunting, Royal Ascot, a polo match, the video was directed by Pedro Romhanyi. The music was written in ten minutes and Bradfield felt a sense of euphoria with the result. The song was credited with having rescued the band from the despair felt after the disappearance of Edwards, the single reached number 2 in the UK Singles Charts on 27 April 1996 and was the first in a run of five consecutive releases to be top ten hits. It lasted a total of 14 weeks in the chart, the single spent 7 weeks in the Top 40 in the UK, being the best performing single by the band in the Top 40, along with Your Love Alone Is Not Enough. It has achieved Silver status in the UK, the song peaked on number 48 in New Zealand, and in number 50 in Australia. In both countries it charted for 1 week. In Ireland it charted in the top 20, reaching number 17, the CD single also included the songs Mr Carbohydrate, Dead Passive and Dead Trees and Traffic Islands, while the cassette included a live version of Bright Eyes. As part of Record Store Day 20162000 copies were released on 12 vinyl in a copper sleeve, in May 2007 NME magazine placed A Design for Life at number 30 in its list of 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever. In October 2011 NME placed it at number 75 on its list of 150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years. On 18 June 2009 the band were invited to open the new £15m Cardiff Central Library. At the event, Wire spoke about how his experience with libraries had partly inspired the song, the Cardiff Arms Park Male Voice Choir performed a version of the song, in front of the band, which Nicky Wire described as spine tingling. Wire later said in an interview with The Guardian that the occasion had been an honour for the band, For us. Seeing one of our lyrics – Libraries gave us power, from A Design for Life – inscribed on the plaque was in its own way as affecting as playing the Millennium Stadium. The instrumental of the featured in adverts for the supermarket Sainsburys during the 2012 Summer Paralympics. The creation continues incessantly through the media of man and those who look to the laws of nature for support for their new works collaborate with the creator
33.
Blackwood, Caerphilly
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Blackwood is a town and an electoral ward on the Sirhowy River in the South Wales Valleys administered as part of Caerphilly County Borough. It is located within the county of Monmouthshire. The town houses a number of light industrial and high-tech firms. Deplorable working conditions at the time of the Industrial Revolution, however, the South Wales Chartist leaders John Frost, Zephaniah Williams — a Blackwood man — and William Jones met regularly at the Coach & Horses public house in Blackwood. When the insurrection erupted in November a large contingent of insurgents gathered at Blackwood, however, the South Wales Movement were the only ones to march and the national rising failed and its leaders were sentenced to death. In 1912 the Titanics distress signals were picked up by amateur wireless enthusiast Arthur Moore who resided at the Old Mill, Gelligroes, artie Moore went on to work as a senior scientist for Marconi and was involved with the invention of the transistor for telecommunications. The building is now a public house The town is home to the Maes Manor Hotel, the house was formerly home to the Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire. Evan James was a weaver and wool merchant by profession and owner of the Ancient Druid Inn in Hollybush, in the parish of Bedwellty and he moved to Pontypridd when his son James was a young boy. Evan James and his son James are credited with composing the Welsh national anthem, Evan was a poet and it is believed that he wrote the words while his son James composed the tune. The song was published in the volume Gems of Welsh Melody and it is not certain when the song was first adopted as the Welsh national anthem. A memorial, designed by W. Goscombe John, was erected in honour of Evan and James James in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd, state backed rejuvenation schemes have gone some way to rejuvenate the wider Blackwood area, including the relief road and various light industrial areas. In sport, Blackwood has two rugby union and one rugby league sides, all of whom play at Glan-Yr-Afon Park, the rugby union sides are Blackwood RFC, established in 1889, and Blackwood Stars RFC, originating circa 1920. The rugby league club is called the Blackwood Bulldogs and plays in the Welsh Conference Premier, rugby players Kevin Moseley, Alun Pask and Alun Lewis hail from the town. Blackwood also has a club called Blackwood Town Cricket Club that plays in the Glamorgan. Blackwoods cinema, the Maxime, was originally purpose-built as a cinema in 1938, was used as a bingo hall. Some of the decor has been preserved in the foyer. Blackwood is twinned with Protivín, a town in the Czech Republic. The Arup designed Chartist Bridge linking the East and West sides of the Sirhowy Valley, previously the journey was made by de-tour or over a 1 in 4 road through the bottom of the valley known locally as the Rhiw
34.
Manic Street Preachers
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Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh rock band formed in 1986 in Blackwood, Wales and consisting of James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore. They are often known as The Manics. After the release of their first single, Suicide Alley, Richey Edwards joined the band as co-lyricist, despite the albums failure to meet this level of success, the band carried on with their career. The group later became a trio when Edwards disappeared on 1 February 1995, Bradfield, Moore and Wire went on to gain critical and commercial success. The band have released albums and three compilations, Forever Delayed, Lipstick Traces and National Treasures – The Complete Singles. The bands later albums retained a leftist politicisation and intellectual lyrical style while adopting a broader alternative rock sound, to date, they have sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. Over their career the Manics have headlined several festivals including Glastonbury, T in the Park, V Festival and they have won eleven NME Awards, eight Q Awards and four BRIT Awards. The Manics were also nominated for the Mercury Prize in 1996 and 1999, Manic Street Preachers formed in 1986 at Oakdale Comprehensive School, Blackwood, South Wales. During this time, Bradfield, alongside the classically trained Sean Moore, Original bassist Flicker left the band in early 1988, reportedly because he believed that the band were moving away from their punk roots. The band continued as a three-piece, with Wire switching from guitar to bass, the Manics intended to restore revolution to rock and roll at a time when Britain was dominated by shoegaze and acid house. The NME magazine gave Suicide Alley an enthusiastic review, citing a press release by Richey Edwards, in 1990 the Manic Street Preachers signed a deal with label Damaged Goods Records for one EP. The four-track New Art Riot E. P. attracted as much media interest for its attacks on fellow musicians as for the actual music, with the help of Hall or Nothing management, the Manics signed to indie label Heavenly Records. The band recorded their first single for the label, entitled Motown Junk and their next single, You Love Us, sampled Krzysztof Pendereckis Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima as well as Iggy Pop. The video featured Nicky Wire in drag as Marilyn Monroe and contained references to the film Betty Blue. In a now legendary interview with then-NME journalist Steve Lamacq, Edwards carved the phrase 4REAL into his arm with a blade to prove their sincerity. He was taken to hospital and received seventeen stitches, as a result of their controversial behaviour, the Manics quickly became favourites of the British music press, which helped them build a rabidly dedicated following. Columbia Records of Sony Music UK signed the band shortly afterwards, the bands debut album, Generation Terrorists, was released in 1992 on the Columbia Records imprint. The liner notes contained a quote for each of the albums eighteen songs
35.
Carnegie library
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A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. A total of 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems. At first, Carnegie libraries were almost exclusively in places where he had a connection, namely his home-town in Scotland. Beginning in 1899, Carnegie substantially increased funding to libraries outside of these areas, in later years few towns that requested a grant and agreed to his terms were refused. By the time the last grant was made in 1919, there were 3,500 libraries in the United States, the first of Carnegies public libraries, Dunfermline Carnegie Library was in his birthplace, Dunfermline, Scotland. It was first commissioned or granted by Carnegie in 1880 to James Campbell Walker, the locally quarried sandstone building displays a stylized sun with the carved motto Let there be light at the front entrance. The first library in the United States to be commissioned by Carnegie was in 1886 in his hometown of Allegheny. In 1890, it became the second of his libraries to open in the USA, the building also contained the first Carnegie Music Hall in the World. It was the second Carnegie Library in the United States to be commissioned,1887, an 1893 addition doubled the size of the building and included the third Carnegie Music Hall in the United States. Initially Carnegie limited his support to a few towns in which he had an interest and these would be in Scotland and the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. In America,6 out of the first 7,7 of the first 10, until 1898, only one library was commissioned in America outside of Southwestern Pennsylvania—a library in Fairfield, Iowa, commissioned in 1892. Beginning in 1899, his foundation funded an increase in the number of libraries. They led the establishment of 75–80 percent of the libraries in communities across the country, under segregation black people were generally denied access to public libraries in the Southern United States. Rather than insisting on his libraries being racially integrated, Carnegie funded separate libraries for African Americans, for example, in Houston he funded a separate Colored Carnegie Library. The Carnegie Library in Savannah, Georgia, opened in 1914 to serve black residents, the privately organized Colored Library Association of Savannah had raised money and collected books to establish a small Library for Colored Citizens. Having demonstrated their willingness to support a library, the group petitioned for. Future U. S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his memoirs that he used it as a boy. Most of the buildings were unique, constructed in a number of styles, including Beaux-Arts, Italian Renaissance, Baroque, Classical Revival
36.
Being Human (UK TV series)
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Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse for broadcast on BBC Three, the show blends elements of flatshare comedy and horror drama. Two of the main cast were replaced in the series by Aidan Turner, Russell Tovey is the only original main cast member. In the third series, Sinead Keenan became part of the main cast as Nina Pickering, in the fourth series, the ensemble was joined by Michael Socha as Tom McNair and Damien Molony as Hal Yorke. The fifth series added Kate Bracken as Alex Millar, the first two series were set in Totterdown, Bristol, and the third series onwards relocated to Barry, Wales. On 13 March 2011, series creator Toby Whithouse announced that Turner had left the show, on 11 November 2011, Tovey announced that he was leaving Being Human after the first episode of Series 4 to work full-time on his other television series Him & Her. Furthermore, Keenan announced on 9 January 2012 that she had not filmed any scenes for Series 4, the series is one of the most popular shows on BBCs iPlayer. The second series premiered on BBC Three on 10 January 2010, the third series launched on 23 January 2011. The day following the final broadcast for Series 3, the BBC announced a series would premiere on the BBC in 2012. Series 4 began airing on BBC Three on 5 February 2012, the BBC Media Centre announced a fifth series had been commissioned, which started broadcasting on 3 February 2012. The BBC announced on 7 February 2013 that the series would be the last. The final episode of Being Human was broadcast on 10 March 2013 and they are constantly threatened with exposure or persecution, with pressure from other supernatural creatures, and with problems caused by their attempts to deal with their own natures. Series 1 is set in the English city of Bristol and introduces George Sands, both are attempting to reject their current nature as supernatural predators – George by strictly managing his transformations and their effect on others, Mitchell by abstaining from blood-drinking. Moving into a new house together, they discover that it already has an occupant – Annie Sawyer, Annie had previously lived in the house with her fiancé Owen, but died after falling down the stairs. She has remained to haunt the property while Owen, unaware of her presence, has rented it out to Mitchell. As supernatural beings, both George and Mitchell can see, touch and communicate with Annie, who is delighted to have the company, all three, however, have ongoing problems to deal with. Mitchells central challenge is his struggle with his desire to feed, Georges is to manage his monthly werewolf transformations in such a way that he does not kill anyone, nor pass on the werewolf affliction. He considers his condition to be a curse, over which he is in a state of denial
37.
Rugby union
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Rugby union, known in some parts of the world simply as rugby, is a contact team sport which originated in England in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is between two teams of 15 players using a ball on a rectangular field with H-shaped goalposts on each try line. Historically an amateur sport, in 1995 restrictions on payments to players were removed, World Rugby, originally the International Rugby Football Board and from 1998 to 2014 the International Rugby Board, has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886. Rugby union spread from the Home Nations of Great Britain and Ireland, early exponents of the sport included Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Countries that have adopted rugby union as their de facto national sport include Fiji, Georgia, Madagascar, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Rugby union is played in over 100 countries across six continents, there are 101 full members and 18 associate members of World Rugby. The Rugby World Cup, first held in 1987, takes place four years with the winner of the tournament receiving the Webb Ellis Cup. The Six Nations Championship in Europe and The Rugby Championship in the Southern Hemisphere are major annual competitions. The origin of football is reputed to be an incident during a game of English school football at Rugby School in 1823. Although the evidence for the story is doubtful, it was immortalised at the school with a plaque unveiled in 1895, despite the doubtful evidence, the Rugby World Cup trophy is named after Webb Ellis. Rugby football stems from the form of game played at Rugby School, Old Rugbeian Albert Pell, a student at Cambridge, is credited with having formed the first football team. During this early period different schools used different rules, with pupils from Rugby. Other important events include the Blackheath Clubs decision to leave the Football Association in 1863, despite the sports full name of rugby union, it is known simply as rugby throughout most of the world. The first rugby football international was played on 27 March 1871 between Scotland and England, by 1881 both Ireland and Wales had representative teams, and in 1883 the first international competition, the Home Nations Championship had begun. 1883 is also the year of the first rugby tournament, the Melrose Sevens. During the early history of union, a time before commercial air travel. The first two notable tours both took place in 1888—the British Isles team touring New Zealand and Australia, followed by the New Zealand team touring Europe, All three teams brought new styles of play, fitness levels and tactics, and were far more successful than critics had expected. After Morgan began singing, the crowd joined in, the first time a national anthem was sung at the start of a sporting event, in 1905 France played England in its first international match
38.
Welsh Rugby Union
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The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the sports international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU are responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clubs, the WRU is headed by the President and Chairman. The rugby rules will be the code adopted, in 1880, Richard Mullock, secretary of the Newport Athletic Club, decided to take matters into his own hands and without the backing of the SWFU organised an international match against England. The match took place on 19 February 1881, and was won by England seven goals, one dropped goal and this heavy defeat lay the seeds for further reforms that would lead to the creation of the WRU. There is confusion regarding the date of creation of the Welsh Rugby Union. In March 1880 nine teams supposedly met at the Tenby Hotel and these teams are thought to have been, Cardiff RFC, Chepstow RFC, Haverfordwest RFC, Llandaff RFC, Llanelli RFC, Neath RFC, Newport RFC, Pontypridd RFC and Swansea RFC. The issue with accepting this meeting is that there is no written evidence, on 12 March 1881, eleven clubs met in the Castle Hotel, Neath to form what would be accepted as a Welsh rugby union. After a humiliating defeat in the first Wales international rugby game, strangely the oldest rugby club in Wales, Neath RFC are not recorded as being present, even though the meeting took place in the town of Neath. It is unknown if this was an oversight by the committee to record the presence of the club and it wasnt until 1934 that the name, the Welsh Rugby Union, was adopted. The WRU are responsible for the running of Welsh rugby, including 320 member clubs, the Welsh Rugby Union has a major role in the development of coaches, referees and players throughout all ages for both men and women. They also own the home of Welsh rugby union, the 74,500 capacity Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, after the national team the next highest level of representation in Wales is the four regions based around top club sides, but representing a larger area. The WRU had hoped to reduce the teams to four regions but Cardiff, after one year the Celtic Warriors region was closed down by David Moffett and WRU Chairman David Pickering leaving Wales with only four regions. The four surviving regional clubs are Cardiff Blues, Scarlets, Ospreys and they play in the Pro12, European Professional Club Rugby and Anglo-Welsh Cup competitions. Each region may call up players from a set of teams within their area. These top club sides play in the 14-strong Welsh Premier Division, in August 2008 WRU chief Roger Lewis confirmed that the body was looking at a proposal to reinstate a fifth Welsh region, based in North Wales. Lewis admitted that he regretted the decision in 2004 to close down Celtic Warriors, in the same month Llanelli Scarlets changed their name to simply Scarlets, believing the new name would better represent their region beyond Llanelli. Cyril Chambers Victor Albert George Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey Sir J. T. D, llewellyn Horace Lyne MBE Sir David Rocyn-Jones CBE Ernest Davies W. R. Thomas MBE Major T. H. Vile MBE Glyn Stephens Enoch H. Rees F. G, Davies Wilf Faull MBE D. Ewart Davies Nathan Rocyn-Jones David Jones T. C
39.
Newport RFC
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Newport Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division, Newport RFC are based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk. Due to the regionalisation of Welsh rugby in 2003 Newport RFC is now a club to Newport Gwent Dragons regional team. Newport supplied over 150 players to the Wales national team and international players to England, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Czech Republic, Canada, Newport’s early success was remarkable, winning every single match in their first four seasons between 1875 and 1879. They were also successful in other tournaments winning the first two South Wales Cup competitions, the club’s strength was reflected at international level, providing more players to the Welsh national team than any other club in the nineteenth century, including four captains. In 1881 Newport was one of the clubs present at the forming of the Welsh Rugby Football Union. Their dominance led Newport’s club secretary, Richard Mulloch to arrange a match against the English domestic champions Blackheath Rugby Club, with a record attendance of 5,000 spectators Newport were out-classed by their opponents, losing four goals and eight tries to nil. However, Newport had played two games in the five days and Blackheath brought in outside players to bolster their squad. In October 1879 Newport played Cardiff RFC in a game at Rodney Parade. In 1887, Newport player Charlie Newman was given the captaincy of the Welsh national team, in 1887 Newport player Tom Clapp was given the Wales captaincy and in 1888 he led the first Welsh side to beat Scotland, a team that included Newport players Powell and Gould. During the 1891–92 season, under captain Tom Graham Newport went unbeaten, winning 29 games, Graham brought a new professional attitude to the team, introducing weekly gym training and an avoidance of alcohol. In 1912 Newport hosted the touring South Africa national team, invincible in 1922–23 Welsh Club Champions 1920,1923. Provided 5 Welsh,1 English and 1 Irish captains, golden era of Wetter, Uzzell, Griffiths, Morley, Bunner Travers etc. Golden era of Jones, Burnett, Thomas, Meredith, Price, Watkins, beat Australia 1957, NZ1963, SA1969, Tonga 1974. Welsh Club Champions 1951,1956,1962,1969, won Welsh Merit Table and Anglo-Welsh Merit Table. Provided 7 Welsh,1 Czech Rep,2 Canadian,1 Fijian captains, introduced 7’s to Wales and won Snellings 10 times and R/U9 times. One of pioneers of floodlights in Wales, introduced squad systems / players playing on rota in Wales. Won Welsh Cup twice, R/U3 times, Welsh Premier League winners and R/U – twice
40.
Wales national rugby union team
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The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy, Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 26 times outright. Wales most recent championship win came in 2013, the governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union, was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international against England. Wales performances in the Home Nations Championship continued to improve, experiencing their first golden age between 1900 and 1911 and they first played New Zealand, known as the All Blacks, in 1905, when they defeated them 3–0 in a famous match at Cardiff Arms Park. Welsh rugby struggled between the two World Wars, but experienced a golden age between 1969 and 1980 when they won eight Five Nations Championships. Wales played in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 where they achieved their best ever result of third, following the sport allowing professionalism in 1995, Wales hosted the 1999 World Cup and, in 2005, won their first Six Nations Grand Slam. That was the first Grand Slam won by a team playing most of the matches away from home, Wales won two more Grand Slams in 2008 and in 2012, and in 2011 came fourth in the Rugby World Cup. Their home ground is the Millennium Stadium, currently known for reasons as Principality Stadium. Eight former Welsh players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame, Rugby union took root in Wales in 1850, when Reverend Rowland Williams became Vice-Principal at St Davids College, Lampeter, where he introduced the sport. Wales played their first international on 19 February 1881, organised by Newports Richard Mullock, Wales played against England, losing by seven goals, one drop goal, on 12 March 1881, the Welsh Rugby Union was formed at The Castle Hotel, Neath. Two years later, the Home Nation Championship – now the Six Nations Championship – was first played, however, rugby in Wales developed and, by the 1890s, the Welsh had developed the four three-quarters formation. This formation – with seven backs and eight forwards, instead of six backs and nine forwards – revolutionised the sport and was adopted almost universally at international. With the four three-quarter formation Wales became Home International Champions for the first time in 1893, Wales next won the Championship in 1900, heralding the first golden age of Welsh rugby which was to last until 1911. They won two more Triple Crowns in 1902 and 1905, and were runners up in 1901,1903 and 1904, when Wales faced New Zealands All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in late 1905 they had not lost at home since 1899. The referee ruled a scrum to Wales and the score did not change, the loss was the All Blacks only loss on their 35-match tour. In 1906, Wales again won the Home Championship, and later that played the South African national side. Wales were favourites to win the match, but instead South Africa dominated in the forwards, two years later, on 12 December 1908, Wales played the touring Australians, the Wallabies, who they defeated 9–6. In 1909, Wales won the Home Championship and then, in 1910 – with the inclusion of France – the first Five Nations and it would be nearly forty years before they achieved a Grand Slam again
41.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
42.
Tony Pulis
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Anthony Richard Tony Pulis is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who is the head coach of West Bromwich Albion. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA A licence aged 21 – making him one of the youngest professional players ever to have obtained the qualification and his son, Anthony, was a professional footballer and played at Stoke. Pulis had a 17-year career as a defender where he played for Bristol Rovers, Newport County, AFC Bournemouth and he also had a short spell in Hong Kong with Happy Valley. Pulis took his first steps into management at AFC Bournemouth, where he was a player/coach and he then took control when Redknapp left the club. He then went on to Gillingham before leaving in 1999 after a dispute with chairman Paul Scally, Pulis then had unsuccessful spells at Bristol City and Portsmouth before being appointed manager of Stoke City in 2002. He guided Stoke through a tough 2002–03 season avoiding relegation to the Second Division on the day of the season. He spent two seasons with Stoke before being sacked by Stokes Icelandic board for failing to exploit the foreign market. He spent the 2005–06 season at Plymouth Argyle before returning to Stoke along with Peter Coates, after narrowly missing out on a play-off spot in the 2006–07 season he guided Stoke to the Premier League in the 2007–08 season by finishing runners-up in the Championship. With Stoke amongst the favourites for relegation upon their return to the top flight after a 23-year absence, Stoke went on to comfortably survive, Pulis made history during the 2010–11 season as he guided Stoke to their first FA Cup Final after beating Bolton Wanderers 5–0 in the semi-final. The Potters, however, lost the final 1–0 to Manchester City, in the UEFA Europa League, Stoke were drawn against Croatian side Hajduk Split and after two legs ran out 2–0 winners. After beating Swiss club Thun, Stoke were handed a tough group containing Beşiktaş, Dynamo Kyiv and Maccabi Tel Aviv which Stoke managed to progress through, finishing in second position. Citys reward was a tie against Spanish giants Valencia, but despite putting up a spirited second-leg performance, the 2012–13 season saw Stoke make little progress and Pulis left the club by mutual consent on 21 May 2013. Pulis returned to management on 23 November 2013 joining Crystal Palace on a two-and-a-half-year contract and he guided Palace away from relegation, to their highest Premier League finish of 11th in 2013–14, which earned him the Premier League Manager of the Season award. He left the club, however, shortly before the start of the subsequent season and he joined West Brom in January 2015. Pulis began his career at Bristol Rovers where he joined their school of excellence in Eastville from Newport YMCA. Pulis cites his time at Eastville as an excellent grounding with his Rovers team mate, the basic principles were drilled into us, both on and off the pitch. Nothing was given to us and we had to very, very hard for everything we got. Pulis made 85 league appearances for the Pirates before leaving to join Hong Kong club Happy Valley AA in 1981 and he returned to Rovers the following year and made a further 45 league appearances before moving to his home town club Newport County in 1984
