Figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, duos, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport included in the Olympics, in 1908; the four Olympic disciplines are men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, ice dance. Non-Olympic disciplines include synchronized skating, Theater on Ice, four skating. From juvenile through senior-level competition, skaters perform two programs which, depending on the discipline, may include spins, moves in the field, throw jumps, death spirals, other elements or moves; the blade has a groove on the bottom creating two distinct edges: outside. Judges prefer that skaters glide on one edge of the blade and not on both at the same time, referred to as a flat edge. During a spin, skaters use the "sweet spot" of the blade, formally called a rocker, the roundest portion of the blade, just behind the pick and near the middle of the blade. Skates used in single and pair skating have a set of large, jagged teeth called toe picks on the front of the blade.
Toe picks are used for the take-off on jumps. Ice dance blades have smaller toe picks. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level at local, regional and international competitions; the International Skating Union competitions. These include the Winter Olympics, the World Championships, the World Junior Championships, the European Championships, the Four Continents Championships, the Grand Prix series, the ISU Challenger Series; the sport is associated with show business. Major competitions conclude with exhibition galas, in which the top skaters from each discipline perform non-competitive programs. Many skaters, both during and after their competitive careers skate in ice shows, which run during the competitive season and the off-season; the term "professional" in skating refers not to skill competitive status. Figure skaters competing at the highest levels of international competition are not "professional" skaters, they are sometimes referred to as amateurs.
Professional skaters include those who have lost their ISU eligibility and those who perform only in shows. They may include former Olympic and World champions who have ended their competitive career as well as skaters with little or no international competitive experience. In languages other than English, Korean, Italian and Russian, figure skating is referred to by a name that translates as "artistic skating." The most visible difference in relation to ice hockey skates is that figure skates have a set of large, jagged teeth called toe picks on the front part of the blade. These are used in jumping and should not be used for stroking or spins. If used during a spin, the toe pick will cause the skater to lose momentum, or move away from the center of the spin. Blades are mounted to the heel of the boot with screws. High-level figure skaters are professionally fitted for their boots and blades at a reputable skate shop. Professionals are employed to sharpen blades to individual requirements. Blades are about 3/16 inch thick.
When viewed from the side, the blade of a figure skate is not flat, but curved forming an arc of a circle with a radius of 180–220 cm. This curvature is referred to as the rocker of the blade; the "sweet spot" is the part of the blade on which all spins are rotated. The blade is "hollow ground"; the inside edge of the blade is on the side closest to the skater. In figure skating, it is always desirable to skate on only one edge of the blade. Skating on both at the same time may result in lower skating skills scores; the effortless power and glide across the ice exhibited by elite figure skaters fundamentally derives from efficient use of the edges to generate speed. Ice dancers' blades are about an inch shorter in the rear than those used by skaters in other disciplines, to accommodate the intricate footwork and close partnering in dance. Dancers' blades have a smaller toe pick as they do not require the large toe pick used for jumping in the other disciplines. Hard plastic skate guards are used when the skater must walk in his or her skates when not on the ice, to protect the blade from dirt or material on the ground that may dull the blade.
Soft blade covers called soakers are used to absorb condensation and protect the blades from rust when the skates are not being worn. In competition, skaters are allowed three minutes to make repairs to their skates. Off-ice training is the term for physical conditioning. Besides regular physical exercise, skaters do walk-throughs of jumps off the ice in order to practice sufficient rotation and height of their jumps, to practice consistency in landing on one foot. There is significant variation in the dimensions of ice rinks. Olympic-sized rinks have dimensions of 30 m × 60 m, NHL-sized rinks are 26 m × 61 m, while European rinks are sometimes 30 m × 64 m; the ISU prefers Olympic-sized rinks for figure skating competitions for major events. According to ISU rule 342, a figure skating rink for an ISU event "if possible, shall measure sixty meters in one direction and thirty meters in the other, but not larger, not less than fifty-six meters in one direct
O-Train
The O-Train is a light rapid transit transit system in Ottawa, Canada operated by OC Transpo. It has one line in operation, the diesel-powered Trillium Line, with a second line, the electrically-operated Confederation Line, under construction and set to open in early 2019; the system's name was proposed by Acart Communications, an Ottawa advertising agency working for OC Transpo. The name "O-Train" was based on the classic Duke Ellington signature tune "Take the'A' Train", which refers to the New York City Subway's A train; because Ottawa is a bilingual city, the name had to work in both English and French. In French, it is pronounced to au train, as in to travel "by train", it was adopted soon after. From its inception until 2014, the term "O-Train" referred to the north-south diesel line. With the construction of a second line, the east/west Confederation Line, the O-Train branding was extended to both rail transit services and the original service was renamed as the Trillium Line; the O-Train consists of two grade-separated lines, one operational and one forthcoming: The Trillium Line is a single-track, 8 km diesel light rail line running north to south from Bayview to Greenboro connecting to the Ottawa Transitway at each terminus.
Trains pass each other on the single track via three passing zones, two of which are between stations and the third of, located at Carleton. The Confederation Line is an electric light rail line under construction running east-west from Blair to Tunney's Pasture connecting to the Ottawa Transitway at each terminus and with the Trillium Line at Bayview. With the exception of three underground downtown stations, the line will run on the surface using former Transitway bus rapid transit infrastructure; the Trillium Line, the original O-Train line, was introduced in 2001 as a pilot project to provide an alternative to the busways on which Ottawa had long depended for its high-grade transit service. The system uses low-floor diesel multiple unit trains, it is considered a mainline railway despite its use for local public transport purposes, is more like an urban railway rather than a metro or tramway. It is described as ‘light rail’ because there were plans to extend it into Ottawa’s downtown as a tramway-like service, because the original Bombardier Talent trains are much smaller and lighter than most mainline trains in North America, do not meet the Association of American Railroads' standards for crash strength.
On July 12, 2006, Ottawa City Council voted in favour of awarding the North-South expansion to the Siemens/PCL/Dufferin design team. The proposed extension, not undertaken, would have replaced the Trillium Line with an electric LRT system running on double track. According to the plan, the line was to be extended east from its current northern terminus to run through LeBreton Flats and downtown Ottawa as far as the University of Ottawa, south-west from its Greenboro terminus to the growing Riverside South community and Barrhaven. Much of the route would have run through the undeveloped Riverside South area to allow a large new suburb to be constructed in the area south of the airport; the line would not have connected to the airport. Construction of the extension was scheduled to begin in the autumn of 2006, resulting in the shutdown of operations in May 2007, been completed in autumn 2009 with operations resuming under the new systems and rolling stock; the diesel-powered Talents would have been replaced with electric trams more suitable for on-street operation in the downtown area the Siemens S70 Avanto.
Other bids had proposed a Kinki Sharyo tram. With the use of electric power, greater frequency, street-level running in central Ottawa, the expanded system would have borne much more resemblance to the urban tramways referred to by the phrase ‘light rail’ than does the pilot project; the estimated cost of the North-South expansion would have been just under $780 million, making the project the largest in the city's history since the Rideau Canal project. The federal and provincial governments had each promised $200 million for the expansion, with the city contributing the remainder of the cost using funds from various sources including the provincial gasoline tax, the city's transit reserve fund, the Provincial Transportation Infrastructure Grant. 4.5% of the total project cost was expected to come from the property tax base. The city requested studies on an extension of the railway from the proposed University of Ottawa terminus through to Hurdman Station; the north-south expansion planning process became a source of great controversy.
It was a major issue in the 2006 municipal election. The incumbent mayor Bob Chiarelli had long been the main advocate for light rail in Ottawa. Terry Kilrea, who finished second to Chiarelli in the 2003 municipal election and ran for mayor in 2006, believed the plan was vastly too expensive and would be a safety hazard for Ottawa drivers, he called for the entire light rail project to be scrapped. Mayoral candidate Alex Munter supported light rail, but argued that the plan would do little to meet Ottawa's transit needs and that the true final expense
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It stands on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of southern Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec; as of 2016, Ottawa had a city population of 964,743 and a metropolitan population of 1,323,783 making it the fourth-largest city and the fifth-largest CMA in Canada. Founded in 1826 as Bytown, incorporated as Ottawa in 1855, the city has evolved into the political centre of Canada, its original boundaries were expanded through numerous annexations and were replaced by a new city incorporation and amalgamation in 2001 which increased its land area. The city name "Ottawa" was chosen in reference to the Ottawa River, the name of, derived from the Algonquin Odawa, meaning "to trade". Ottawa has the most educated population among Canadian cities and is home to a number of post-secondary and cultural institutions, including the National Arts Centre, the National Gallery, numerous national museums. Ottawa has the highest standard of living in low unemployment.
With the draining of the Champlain Sea around ten thousand years ago, the Ottawa Valley became habitable. Local populations used the area for wild edible harvesting, fishing, trade and camps for over 6500 years; the Ottawa river valley has archaeological sites with arrow heads and stone tools. Three major rivers meet within Ottawa, making it an important trade and travel area for thousands of years; the Algonquins called the Ottawa River Kichi Sibi or Kichissippi meaning "Great River" or "Grand River". Étienne Brûlé regarded as the first European to travel up the Ottawa River, passed by Ottawa in 1610 on his way to the Great Lakes. Three years Samuel de Champlain wrote about the waterfalls in the area and about his encounters with the Algonquins, using the Ottawa River for centuries. Many missionaries would follow the early traders; the first maps of the area used the word Ottawa, derived from the Algonquin word adawe, to name the river. Philemon Wright, a New Englander, created the first settlement in the area on 7 March 1800 on the north side of the river, across from the present day city of Ottawa in Hull.
He, with five other families and twenty-five labourers, set about to create an agricultural community called Wrightsville. Wright pioneered the Ottawa Valley timber trade by transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to Quebec City. Bytown, Ottawa's original name, was founded as a community in 1826 when hundreds of land speculators were attracted to the south side of the river when news spread that British authorities were constructing the northerly end of the Rideau Canal military project at that location; the following year, the town was named after British military engineer Colonel John By, responsible for the entire Rideau Waterway construction project. The canal's military purpose was to provide a secure route between Montreal and Kingston on Lake Ontario, bypassing a vulnerable stretch of the St. Lawrence River bordering the state of New York that had left re-supply ships bound for southwestern Ontario exposed to enemy fire during the War of 1812. Colonel By set up military barracks on the site of today's Parliament Hill.
He laid out the streets of the town and created two distinct neighbourhoods named "Upper Town" west of the canal and "Lower Town" east of the canal. Similar to its Upper Canada and Lower Canada namesakes "Upper Town" was predominantly English speaking and Protestant whereas "Lower Town" was predominantly French and Catholic. Bytown's population grew to 1,000 as the Rideau Canal was being completed in 1832. Bytown encountered some impassioned and violent times in her early pioneer period that included Irish labour unrest that attributed to the Shiners' War from 1835 to 1845 and political dissension evident from the 1849 Stony Monday Riot. In 1855 Bytown was incorporated as a city. William Pittman Lett was installed as the first city clerk guiding it through 36 years of development. On New Year's Eve 1857, Queen Victoria, as a symbolic and political gesture, was presented with the responsibility of selecting a location for the permanent capital of the Province of Canada. In reality, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald had assigned this selection process to the Executive Branch of the Government, as previous attempts to arrive at a consensus had ended in deadlock.
The "Queen's choice" turned out to be the small frontier town of Ottawa for two main reasons: Firstly, Ottawa's isolated location in a back country surrounded by dense forest far from the Canada–US border and situated on a cliff face would make it more defensible from attack. Secondly, Ottawa was midway between Toronto and Kingston and Montreal and Quebec City. Additionally, despite Ottawa's regional isolation it had seasonal water transportation access to Montreal over the Ottawa River and to Kingston via the Rideau Waterway. By 1854 it had a modern all season Bytown and Prescott Railway that carried passengers and supplies the 82-kilometres to Prescott on the Saint Lawrence River and beyond. Ottawa's small size, it was thought, would make it less prone to rampaging politically motivated mobs, as had happened in the previous Canadian capitals; the government owned the land that would become Parliament Hill which they thought would be an ideal location for the Parliament Buildings. Ottawa was th
Ice hockey in Ottawa
Ottawa ice hockey clubs date back to the first decade of recorded organized ice hockey play. The men's senior-level Ottawa Hockey Club is known to have played in a Canadian championship in 1884. Today, Ottawa hockey clubs are represented in all age brackets, in both men's and women's, in amateur and professional. Precursor games of ice hockey are known to have been played in Ottawa; the 1850s medal pictured was presented to a shinny tournament champion. The illustration on the medal depicts two players; the sticks are field hockey sticks and the game was played with a ball. The medal is in the collection of the City of Ottawa archives. James Creighton, the organizer of the first recorded organized game in 1875 moved to Ottawa and helped develop the game, he worked as a law clerk for the Senate chamber of the Parliament of Canada. Another important figure in the development of the game in Ottawa was P. D. Ross, the publisher of the Ottawa Journal, trustee of the Stanley Cup; the Ottawa Hockey Club, formed in 1883.
The club played its first competitive matches in the Montreal Winter Carnival tournament of 1884, helped form the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1886. The team went into hiatus from 1887 until 1889, when the new Rideau Skating Rink opened, P. D. Ross helped to rebuild the hockey club, they would re-enter play in the Ontario Hockey Association. Ottawa HC were the first winners in the OHA, from 1890 to 1893, they left the OHA after that season in a dispute over the location of playoffs for the Cosby Cup. This schism lead to today's organization of hockey in Ontario where the ODMHA is responsible for eastern Ontario rather than the OHA; when Lord Stanley was named Governor-General to Canada, he and his sons and daughter developed a keen interest in hockey, games were played on a natural rink at Rideau Hall. His sons played on a team called the "Rideau Hall Rebels". On March 8, 1889, the first recorded organized women's ice hockey match took place at Rideau Skating Rink. In 1892, at an end-of-season banquet at the Russell House honouring the OHA champion Ottawa Hockey Club, Lord Stanley announced his donation of the "Challenge Cup" to be known as the Stanley Cup.
In 1894, Ottawa HC played in the first Stanley Cup playoffs against the Montreal Victorias, played in Montreal. In 1897 Ottawa HC rival Ottawa Capitals would play in Stanley Cup challenge against Montreal Victorias. In 1901, the Ottawa Hockey Club won its first Canadian championship in the Canadian Amateur Hockey League, but did not challenge for the Stanley Cup. In 1902, the Ottawa Hockey Club first used the nickname'Senators'. In 1903, the Ottawa Senators won their first Stanley Cup at the Dey's Arena; the individual players each received a silver nugget, the team picked up the nickname of the "Silver Seven". From 1903 to 1906, the Silver Seven would defeat all challengers in Stanley Cup play, losing in March 1906 to rival Montreal Wanderers in the 1906 ECAHA championship. In 1908, the Ottawa Victorias would challenge the Montreal Wanderers for the Stanley Cup. Losing a two-game playoff, they were the last amateur team from Ottawa to challenge for the Cup. In 1909, the Ottawa Cliffsides were the first champions of the Allan Cup, by virtue of winning the Inter-provincial Hockey League.
The Allan Cup was a new trophy given to the senior amateur champions of Canada, after the Stanley Cup was to be only contested by professional teams. The Ottawa City Hockey League was one of the first developmental competitive leagues. Teams played in senior age groups; the league was formed in 1890 with senior teams only in the first season. Ottawa HC continued to operate a team in the OCHL, called the'Seconds' after concentrating its first team effort in the AHAC; the league operated until its teams dispersed between Quebec and Ottawa leagues. The Ottawa HC/Senators helped found or were inaugural season members of several professional leagues in Canada: Eastern Canada Hockey Association Canadian Hockey Association National Hockey Association National Hockey League The Ottawa HC played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League, which became professional in 1908. Ottawa HC played in the league before it became professional, but a second Senators professional team composed of former Silver Seven players, played in the Federal Hockey League along with future NHA founders, the Renfrew Creamery Kings during the 1909 season.
In 1934, the Ottawa Hockey Association, the Senators NHL club owners, would split its hockey operations. The NHL club would relocate to St. Louis and become the Eagles; the Eagles would play one season in St. Louis before the NHL bought out the Association and disperse the players. Separately, the Ottawa Senators were continued as a senior amateur team, the'Senior Senators', taking the NHL club's place in the Ottawa Auditorium, using the same striped sweaters and'O' logo, but play senior amateur clubs in Quebec, including those the original Ottawa HC played before the rise of professionalism in hockey; the club would continue until 1954, dissolving after crowds dwindled, citing the rise of hockey on television. The club would win the Allan Cup in 1949. Teams were formed prior to 1915 at Ottawa Ladies' College and the Young Women's Christian Association, but they did not play outside teams. In 1915, the Ottawa Alerts were organized; the team were champions. In 1916, the club defeated the Pittsburgh Ladies Club three times in one day defeated Toronto the following day.
The team, based at Dey's Arena was not in a league, but played exhibitions in a circuit from Montreal to Renfrew. Their first coach was Hamby Shore. In 1922–23, the Alerts won the Canadian championship; the club passed under the sponsorship of the
Weldy Young
Weldon "Weldy" Champness Young was a Canadian businessman and athlete. Young was an ice hockey player for the Ottawa Hockey Club, playing in its founding years in the 1880s and in the 1890s. Young became a member of the Dawson City Nuggets which played against Ottawa in the 1905 Stanley Cup challenge, his brother George Young was one of the original Ottawa players and the two played together for Ottawa from 1889–1891. Young became an investor and executive in mining in the Cobalt, Ontario area. Young first played for Ottawa HC in 1890 and played for the team until 1899, he moved out west, finding work in Yukon Territory during the Gold Rush. He was recruited by the Dawson City team which challenged Ottawa in the 1905 season, although he was unable to participate due to his duties as a federal civil servant during a federal election at the time, he found work as a referee in the Temiskaming League after retiring as a player. When the National Hockey Association was holding merger talks with the Canadian Hockey Association, Young was the representative of the Haileybury club, although the club was owned by Ambrose O'Brien.
After leaving Ottawa, Young joined the mining business in Dawson City, Canada. By 1911, he was back east in Haileybury, Ontario during the "silver rush" in the area and he became an investor in several mines. Young became the president of Young-Davidson Mines, Weldon Coal Mines and vice-president of Matachewan-Hub Pioneer Mines Limited. Young died at his home in Collingwood, Ontario on October 27, 1944, he was survived by his wife Jessie Williams. Young was buried in the Trinity United Church cemetery in Collingwood. Kitchen, Paul. Win, Tie or Wrangle. Manotick, Ontario: Penumbra Press. ISBN 978-1-897323-46-5
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John Philip Sousa and the martial hymns of the late 19th century. Examples of the varied use of the march can be found in Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, in the Marches Militaires of Franz Schubert, in the Marche funèbre in Chopin's Sonata in B flat minor, in the Dead March in Handel's Saul. Marches can be written in any time signature, but the most common time signatures are 44, 22, or 68. However, some modern marches are being written in 24 time; the modern march tempo is around 120 beats per minute. Many funeral marches conform to the Roman standard of 60 beats per minute; the tempo matches the pace of soldiers walking in step. Both tempos achieve the standard rate of 120 steps per minute; each section of a march consists of 16 or 32 measures, which may repeat.
Most a march consists of a strong and steady percussive beat reminiscent of military field drums. A military music event where various marching bands and units perform is called tattoo. Marches change keys once, modulating to the subdominant key, returning to the original tonic key. If it begins in a minor key, it modulates to the relative major. Marches have counter-melodies introduced during the repeat of a main melody. Marches have a penultimate dogfight strain in which two groups of instruments alternate in a statement/response format. In most traditional American marches, there are three strains; the third strain is referred to as the "trio". The march tempo of 120 beats or steps per minute was adapted by Napoleon Bonaparte so that his army could move faster. Since he planned to occupy the territory he conquered, instead of his soldiers carrying all of their provisions with them, they would live off the land and march faster; the French march tempo is faster than the traditional tempo of British marches.
Traditional American marches use the quick march tempo. There are two reason for this: First, U. S. military bands adopted the march tempos of France and other continental European nations that aided the U. S. during its early wars with Great Britain. Second, the composer of the greatest American marches, John Philip Sousa, was of Portuguese and German descent. Portugal used the French tempo exclusively—the standard Sousa learned during his musical education. A military band playing or marching at the traditional British march tempo would seem unusually slow in the United States. March music originates from the military, marches are played by a marching band; the most important instruments are various drums, fife or woodwind instruments and brass instruments. Marches and marching bands have today a strong connection to military, both to drill and parades. Marches, which are played at paces with multiples of normal heartbeat, can have a hypnotic effect on the marching soldiers, rendering them into a trance, This effect was known in the 16th century, was employed to lead the soldiers in closed ranks against the enemy fire in the 16th and 17th century wars.
March music is important for ceremonial occasions. Processional or coronation marches, such as the popular coronation march from Le prophète by Giacomo Meyerbeer and the many examples of coronation marches written for British monarchs by English composers, such as Edward Elgar, Edward German, William Walton, are all in traditional British tempos. Marches weren't notated until the late 16th century. With the extensive development of brass instruments in the 19th century, marches became popular and were elaborately orchestrated. Composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Gustav Mahler wrote marches incorporating them into their operas, sonatas, or symphonies; the popularity of John Philip Sousa's band marches was unmatched. The style of the traditional symphony march can be traced back to symphonic pieces from renaissance era, such as pieces written for nobility. Many European countries and cultures developed characteristic styles of marches. British marches move at a more stately pace, have intricate countermelodies, have a wide range of dynamics, use full-value stingers at the ends of phrases.
The final strain of a British march has a broad lyrical quality to it. Archetypical British marches include "The British Grenadiers" and those of Kenneth Alford, such as the well-known "Colonel Bogey March" and "The Great Little Army". Scottish bagpipe music makes extensive use of marches played at a pace of 90 beats per minute. Many popular marches are traditional and of unknown origin. Notable examples include Highland Laddie, Bonnie Dundee and Cock of the North. Retreat marches are set in 3/4 time, such as The Green Hills of Tyrol; the bagpipe make use of slow marches such as the Skye Boat Song and the Cradle Song. These are set in 6/8 time and are played at around 60 beats per minute. German marches move at a strict tempo of 110 beats per minute, have a strong oom-pah polka-like/folk-like quality resulting f
The Mikado
The Mikado. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, where it ran at the Savoy Theatre for 672 performances, the second-longest run for any work of musical theatre and one of the longest runs of any theatre piece up to that time. Before the end of 1885, it was estimated that, in Europe and America, at least 150 companies were producing the opera; the Mikado remains the most performed Savoy Opera, it is popular with amateur and school productions. The work has been translated into numerous languages and is one of the most played musical theatre pieces in history. Setting the opera in Japan, an exotic locale far away from Britain, allowed Gilbert to satirise British politics and institutions more by disguising them as Japanese. Gilbert used foreign or fictional locales in several operas, including The Mikado, Princess Ida, The Gondoliers, Utopia and The Grand Duke, to soften the impact of his pointed satire of British institutions. Gilbert and Sullivan's opera preceding The Mikado was Princess Ida, which ran for nine months, a short duration by Savoy opera standards.
When ticket sales for Princess Ida showed early signs of flagging, the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte realised that, for the first time since 1877, no new Gilbert and Sullivan work would be ready when the old one closed. On 22 March 1884, Carte gave Gilbert and Sullivan contractual notice that a new opera would be required within six months. Sullivan's close friend, the conductor Frederic Clay, had suffered a serious stroke in December 1883 that ended his career. Reflecting on this, on his own precarious health, on his desire to devote himself to more serious music, Sullivan replied to Carte that "it is impossible for me to do another piece of the character of those written by Gilbert and myself". Gilbert, who had started work on a new libretto in which people fall in love against their wills after taking a magic lozenge, was surprised to hear of Sullivan's hesitation, he wrote to Sullivan asking him to reconsider, but the composer replied on 2 April 1884 that he had "come to the end of my tether" with the operas:...
I have been continually keeping down the music in order that not one should be lost.... I should like to set a story of human interest & probability where the humorous words would come in a humorous situation, & where, if the situation were a tender or dramatic one the words would be of similar character." Gilbert was much hurt, but Sullivan insisted that he could not set the "lozenge plot." In addition to the "improbability" of it, it was too similar to the plot of their 1877 opera, The Sorcerer. Sullivan returned to London, and, as April wore on, Gilbert tried to rewrite his plot, but he could not satisfy Sullivan; the parties were at a stalemate, Gilbert wrote, "And so ends a musical & literary association of seven years' standing – an association of exceptional reputation – an association unequaled in its monetary results, hitherto undisturbed by a single jarring or discordant element." However, by 8 May 1884, Gilbert was ready to back down, writing: "am I to understand that if I construct another plot in which no supernatural element occurs, you will undertake to set it?... a consistent plot, free from anachronisms, constructed in perfect good faith & to the best of my ability."
The stalemate was broken, on 20 May, Gilbert sent Sullivan a sketch of the plot to The Mikado. It would take another ten months for The Mikado to reach the stage. A revised version of their 1877 work, The Sorcerer, coupled with their one-act piece Trial by Jury, played at the Savoy while Carte and their audiences awaited their next work. Gilbert found a place for his "lozenge plot" in The Mountebanks, written with Alfred Cellier in 1892. In 1914, Cellier and Bridgeman first recorded the familiar story of how Gilbert found his inspiration: Gilbert, having determined to leave his own country alone for a while, sought elsewhere for a subject suitable to his peculiar humour. A trifling accident inspired him with an idea. One day an old Japanese sword that, for years, had been hanging on the wall of his study, fell from its place; this incident directed his attention to Japan. Just at that time a company of Japanese had arrived in England and set up a little village of their own in Knightsbridge; the story is an appealing one, but it is fictional.
Gilbert was interviewed twice about his inspiration for The Mikado. In both interviews the sword was mentioned, in one of them he said it was the inspiration for the opera, although he never said that the sword had fallen. What puts the entire story in doubt, moreover, is Cellier and Bridgeman's error concerning the Japanese exhibition in Knightsbridge: It did not open until 10 January 1885 two months after Gilbert had completed Act I. Gilbert scholar Brian Jones, in his article "The Sword that Never Fell", notes that "the further removed in time the writer is from the incident, the more graphically it is recalled." Leslie Baily, for instance, told it this way in 1952: A day or so Gilbert was striding up and down his library in the new house at Harrington Gardens, fuming at the impasse, when a huge Japanese sword decorating the wall fell with a clatter to the floor. Gilbert picked it up, his perambulations stopped.'It suggested the broad idea,' as he said later. His journalistic mind, always quick to seize on topicalities, turned to a Japanese Exhibition, opened in the neighbourhood.
Gilbert had seen the little Japanese men and women from the Exhibition shuffling in their exotic robes through the streets of Kni
