1.
Glasgow
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Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, and third largest in the United Kingdom. Historically part of Lanarkshire, it is now one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and it is situated on the River Clyde in the countrys West Central Lowlands. Inhabitants of the city are referred to as Glaswegians, Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in Britain. From the 18th century the city grew as one of Great Britains main hubs of transatlantic trade with North America. Glasgow was the Second City of the British Empire for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries Glasgow grew in population, reaching a peak of 1,128,473 in 1939. The entire region surrounding the conurbation covers about 2.3 million people, at the 2011 census, Glasgow had a population density of 8, 790/sq mi, the highest of any Scottish city. Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games and is well known in the sporting world for the football rivalry of the Old Firm between Celtic and Rangers. Glasgow is also known for Glasgow patter, a dialect that is noted for being difficult to understand by those from outside the city. Glasgow is the form of the ancient Cumbric name Glas Cau. Possibly referring to the area of Molendinar Burn where Glasgow Cathedral now stands, the later Gaelic name Baile Glas Chu, town of the grey dog, is purely a folk-etymology. The present site of Glasgow has been settled since prehistoric times, it is for settlement, being the furthest downstream fording point of the River Clyde, the origins of Glasgow as an established city derive ultimately from its medieval position as Scotlands second largest bishopric. Glasgow increased in importance during the 10th and 11th centuries as the site of this bishopric, reorganised by King David I of Scotland and John, there had been an earlier religious site established by Saint Mungo in the 6th century. The bishopric became one of the largest and wealthiest in the Kingdom of Scotland, bringing wealth, sometime between 1189 and 1195 this status was supplemented by an annual fair, which survives as the Glasgow Fair. Glasgow grew over the following centuries, the first bridge over the River Clyde at Glasgow was recorded from around 1285, giving its name to the Briggait area of the city, forming the main North-South route over the river via Glasgow Cross. The founding of the University of Glasgow in 1451 and elevation of the bishopric to become the Archdiocese of Glasgow in 1492 increased the towns religious and educational status and landed wealth. Its early trade was in agriculture, brewing and fishing, with cured salmon and herring being exported to Europe, Glasgow was subsequently raised to the status of Royal Burgh in 1611. The citys Tobacco Lords created a water port at Port Glasgow on the Firth of Clyde. By the late 18th century more than half of the British tobacco trade was concentrated on Glasgows River Clyde, at the time, Glasgow held a commercial importance as the city participated in the trade of sugar, tobacco and later cotton
2.
Richmond, London
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Richmond is a suburban town in southwest London,8.2 miles west-southwest of Charing Cross. The town is on a meander of the River Thames, with a number of parks and open spaces, including Richmond Park, and many protected conservation areas. A specific Act of Parliament protects the scenic view of the River Thames from Richmond, Richmond was founded following Henry VIIs building of Richmond Palace in the 16th century, from which the town derives its name. During this era the town and palace were particularly associated with Elizabeth I, during the 18th century Richmond Bridge was completed and many Georgian terraces were built, particularly around Richmond Green and on Richmond Hill. These remain well preserved and many have listed building architectural or heritage status, the opening of the railway station in 1846 was a significant event in the absorption of the town into a rapidly expanding London. Richmond was formerly part of the ancient parish of Kingston upon Thames in the county of Surrey, in 1890 the town became a municipal borough, which was later extended to include Kew, Ham, Petersham and part of Mortlake. The municipal borough was abolished in 1965 when, as a result of boundary changes, Richmond is now part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and has a population of 21,469. It has a significant commercial and retail centre with a developed day, the area now known as Richmond was formerly part of Shene. Shene was not listed in Domesday Book, although it is depicted on the maps as Sceon. Henry VII had a palace there and in 1501 he named it Richmond Palace in recognition of his earldom. The town that developed nearby took the name as the palace. Henry I lived briefly in the Kings house in Sheanes, Edward II, following his defeat by the Scots at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, founded a monastery for Carmelites at Sheen. When the boy-king Edward III came to the throne in 1327 he gave the manor to his mother Isabella, Edward later spent over two thousand pounds on improvements, but in the middle of the work Edward himself died at the manor, in 1377. Richard II was the first English king to make Sheen his main residence and it was rebuilt between 1414 and 1422, but destroyed by fire 1497. Following that fire Henry VII built a new residence at Sheen, there are unconfirmed beliefs that Shakespeare may have performed some plays there. Once Elizabeth I became queen she spent much of her time at Richmond and she died there on 24 March 1603. The palace was no longer in use after 1649, but in 1688 James II ordered partial reconstruction of the palace. The bulk of the palace had decayed by 1779, but surviving structures include the Wardrobe, Trumpeters House, and this has five bedrooms and was made available on a 65-year lease by the Crown Estate Commissioners in 1986
3.
Surrey
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Surrey is a county in the south east of England. It shares borders with Kent to the east, East Sussex to the south-east, West Sussex to the south, Hampshire to the west and south-west, Surrey County Council sits extraterritorially at Kingston upon Thames, administered as part of Greater London since 1965. With a resident population of 1.1 million, Surrey is the most densely populated and third most populated county in the South East region, after Kent, the London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth, and parts of Lewisham and Bromley were in Surrey until 1889. The boroughs of Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Sutton and Richmond upon Thames south of the River Thames were part of Surrey until 1965, when they too were absorbed into Greater London. In the same year, the county was extended north of the Thames by the addition of Spelthorne, due to this expansion, modern Surrey also borders on the London boroughs of Hounslow and Hillingdon. It has the highest GDP per capita of any English county, Surrey is divided in two by the chalk ridge of the North Downs, running east-west. To the north of the Downs the land is mostly flat, the geology of this area is dominated by London Clay in the east, Bagshot Sands in the west and alluvial deposits along the rivers. Much of Surrey is in the Metropolitan Green Belt and it contains a good deal of mature woodland. Among its many notable beauty spots are Box Hill, Leith Hill, Frensham Ponds, Newlands Corner and Puttenham & Crooksbury Commons. Surrey is the most wooded county in England, with 22. 4% coverage compared to an average of 11. 8%. Box Hill has the oldest untouched area of woodland in the UK. Surrey also contains Englands principal concentration of lowland heath, on soils in the west of the county. Agriculture not being intensive, there are many commons and access lands, together with a network of footpaths and bridleways including the North Downs Way. Accordingly, Surrey provides much in the way of leisure activities. The highest elevation in Surrey is Leith Hill near Dorking and it is either 293,294 or 295 metres above sea level and is the second highest point in southeastern England after Walbury Hill 297 metres in West Berkshire. Surrey has a population of approximately 1.1 million people and its largest town is Guildford, with a population of 66,773, Woking comes a close second with 62,796. They are followed by Ewell with 39,994 people and Camberley with 30,155, towns of between 25,000 and 30,000 inhabitants are Ashford, Epsom, Farnham, Staines and Redhill. Guildford is the county town, although the county administration was moved to Newington in 1791
4.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
5.
The Old Vic
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The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre, in 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal Victoria Palace. It was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 and formally named the Royal Victoria Hall, in 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian Baylis assumed management and began a series of Shakespeare productions in 1914. The building was damaged in 1940 during air raids and it became a Grade II* listed building in 1951 after it reopened. It was also the name of a company that was based at the theatre and formed the core of the National Theatre of Great Britain on its formation in 1963. The National Theatre remained at the Old Vic until new premises were constructed on the South Bank, the Old Vic then became the home of Prospect Theatre Company, at that time a highly successful touring company which staged such acclaimed productions as Derek Jacobis Hamlet. However, with the withdrawal of funding for the company by the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1980 for breaching its touring obligations, the theatre underwent complete refurbishment in 1985. In 2003, Kevin Spacey was appointed as new director of the Old Vic Theatre Company which received considerable media attention. In 2015, Matthew Warchus succeeded Spacey as artistic director, the theatre was a minor theatre and was thus technically forbidden to show serious drama. Nevertheless, when the theatre passed to George Bolwell Davidge in 1824 he succeeded in bringing legendary actor Edmund Kean south of the river to play six Shakespeare plays in six nights. More popular staples in the repertoire were sensational and violent melodramas demonstrating the evils of drink, churned out by the house dramatist, confirmed teetotaller Douglas Jerrold. On 1 July 1833, the theatre was renamed the Royal Victoria Theatre, under the protection and patronage of Victoria, Duchess of Kent, mother to Princess Victoria, the 14-year-old heir presumptive. The duchess and the princess visited only once, on 28 November of that year, the single visit scarcely justified the Old Vic its later billing as Queen Victorias Own Theayter. By 1835, the theatre was advertising itself simply as the Victoria Theatre, in 1841, David Osbaldiston took over as lessee, succeeded on his death in 1850 by his lover and the theatres leading lady, Eliza Vincent, until her death in 1856. Under their management, the theatre remained devoted to melodrama, in 1867, Joseph Arnold Cave took over as lessee. In 1871 he transferred the lease to Romaine Delatorre, who raised funds for the theatre to be rebuilt in the style of the Alhambra Music Hall, jethro Thomas Robinson was engaged as the architect. In September 1871 the old theatre closed, and the new building opened as the Royal Victoria Palace in December of the same year, by 1873, however, Cave had left and Delatorres venture failed. The penny lectures given in the led to the foundation of Morley College, an adult education college
6.
The Wicker Man
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The Wicker Man is a 1973 British mystery horror film written by Anthony Shaffer and directed by Robin Hardy. The film stars Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento, Ingrid Pitt, the story, inspired by David Pinners 1967 novel Ritual, centres on the visit of Police Sergeant Neil Howie to the isolated island of Summerisle, in search of a missing girl. Howie, a devout Christian, is appalled to find that the inhabitants of the island have abandoned Christianity, the Wicker Man is generally well-regarded by critics. Film magazine Cinefantastique described it as The Citizen Kane of horror movies, in 2013, a copy of the original U. S. theatrical version was digitally restored and released. In 1989, Shaffer wrote a treatment for The Loathsome Lambton Worm. Hardy had no interest in the project, and it was never produced, in 2006, an ill-received American remake was released, from which Hardy and others involved with the original have dissociated themselves. In 2011, a sequel entitled The Wicker Tree was released to mixed reviews. This film was directed by Hardy, and featured Lee in a cameo appearance. Hardy was working on his film, The Wrath of the Gods. Sergeant Howie journeys to the remote Hebridean island Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a girl, Rowan Morrison. Howie, a devout Christian, is disturbed to find the islanders paying homage to the pagan Celtic gods of their ancestors, the Islanders, including Rowans mother, appear to be attempting to thwart his investigation by claiming that Rowan never existed. While staying at the Green Man Inn, Howie notices a series of photographs celebrating the annual harvest, the photograph of the most recent celebration is suspiciously missing, the landlord tells him it was broken. The landlords beautiful daughter, Willow, attempts to seduce Howie, after seeing Rowans burial plot, Howie meets the islands leader, Lord Summerisle, grandson of a Victorian agronomist, to obtain permission for an exhumation. Over the next generations, the islands inhabitants fully embraced the pagan religion. Howie finds the missing harvest photograph, showing Rowan standing amidst empty boxes and his research reveals that when there is a poor harvest, the islanders make a human sacrifice to ensure that the next will be bountiful. He comes to the conclusion that Rowan is alive and has chosen for sacrifice. During the May Day celebration, Howie knocks out and ties up the innkeeper so he can steal his costume and mask, when it seems the villagers are about to sacrifice Rowan, he cuts her free and flees with her into a cave. On exiting it, they are intercepted by the islanders, to whom Rowan happily returns, Lord Summerisle tells Howie that Rowan is not the intended sacrifice — Howie himself is
7.
Reach for the Sky
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Reach for the Sky is a 1956 British biographical film about aviator Douglas Bader, based on the 1954 biography of the same name by Paul Brickhill. The film stars Kenneth More and was directed by Lewis Gilbert and it won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film of 1956. The films composer John Addison was Baders brother-in-law, in 1928, Douglas Bader joins the Royal Air Force as a cadet. In 1930, he is chosen to be among the pilots for an aerial exhibition, later, although his flight commander has explicitly banned low level aerobatics, he is goaded into it by a disparaging remark by a civilian pilot. Mr Joyce, surgeon at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, has to both legs to save Baders life. During his convalescence, he receives encouragement from Nurse Brace, upon his discharge from the hospital, he sets out to master prosthetic legs. At a stop for tea, he meets waitress Thelma Edwards. Once he can walk on his own, he starts courting her, despite his undiminished skills, he is refused flying duties simply because there are no regulations covering his situation. Offered a desk job instead, he leaves the RAF and works unhappily in an office, as the Second World War starts, Bader talks himself back into the RAF. He is soon given command of a squadron comprising mostly dispirited Canadians who had fought in France, improving morale and brazenly circumventing normal channels to obtain badly needed equipment, he makes the squadron operational again. They fight effectively in the Battle of Britain, Bader is then put in charge of a new, larger formation of five squadrons. Later, he is posted to RAF Tangmere and promoted to wing commander, in 1941, Bader has to bail out over France. He is caught, escapes, and is recaptured and he then makes such a nuisance of himself to his jailers, he is repeatedly moved from one POW camp to another, finally ending up in Colditz Castle. He is liberated after four years of captivity, the war ends before Bader can have one last fling in the Far East. To depict the various Royal Air Force bases realistically, principal filming took place in Surrey at RAF Kenley, studio work was completed at Pinewood Studios. Available wartime combat aircraft including Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters were arranged to take on the aerial scenes. Richard Burton was the first choice for the lead but he dropped out when he was offered the lead in Alexander the Great at what Gilbert describes as three or four times the salary, Kenneth More was cast instead at a fee of £25,000. Producer Daniel Angel recalled, My wife said to me, Kenneth More is Douglas Bader and he was a good actor, but, looking back, I dont think he was all that versatile and he wasnt physically a very attractive man
8.
University of Glasgow
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The University of Glasgow is the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotlands four ancient universities. Along with the University of Edinburgh, the University was part of the Scottish Enlightenment during the 18th century and it is currently a member of Universitas 21, the international network of research universities, and the Russell Group. Glasgow University served all of students by preparing them for professions, the law, medicine, civil service, teaching. It also trained smaller but growing numbers for careers in science, originally located in the citys High Street, since 1870 the main University campus has been located at Gilmorehill in the West End of the city. Additionally, a number of university buildings are located elsewhere, such as the Veterinary School in Bearsden, and it is the second-oldest university in Scotland after St Andrews and the fourth-oldest in the English-speaking world. The universities of St Andrews, Glasgow and Aberdeen were ecclesiastical foundations, as one of the Ancient Universities of the United Kingdom, Glasgow University is one of only eight institutions to award undergraduate masters degrees in certain disciplines. The University has been without its original Bull since the mid-sixteenth century, in 1560, during the political unrest accompanying the Scottish Reformation, the then chancellor, Archbishop James Beaton, a supporter of the Marian cause, fled to France. He took with him, for safe-keeping, many of the archives and valuables of the Cathedral and the University, including the Mace, although the Mace was sent back in 1590, the archives were not. If they had not been lost by time, they certainly went astray during the French Revolution when the Scots College was under threat. Its records and valuables were moved for safe-keeping out of the city of Paris, the Bull remains the authority by which the University awards degrees. Teaching at the University began in the chapterhouse of Glasgow Cathedral, subsequently moving to nearby Rottenrow, the University was given 13 acres of land belonging to the Black Friars on High Street by Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1563. The Lion and Unicorn Staircase was also transferred from the old site and is now attached to the Main Building. To continue this work in his will he founded Andersons College, in 1973, Delphine Parrott became its first woman professor, as Gardiner Professor of Immunology. In October 2014, the university court voted for the University to become the first academic institution in Europe to divest from the fuel industry. The University is currently spread over a number of different campuses, the main one is the Gilmorehill campus, in Hillhead. The University has also established joint departments with the Glasgow School of Art, the Universitys initial accommodation including Glasgow University Library was part of the complex of religious buildings in the precincts of Glasgow Cathedral. In the mid-seventeenth century, the Hamilton Building was replaced with a very grand two-court building with a decorated west front facing the High Street, called the Nova Erectio, over the following centuries, the Universitys size and scope continued to expand. In 1757 it built the Macfarlane Observatory and later Scotlands first public museum and it was a centre of the Scottish Enlightenment and subsequently of the Industrial Revolution, and its expansion in the High Street was constrained
9.
Hutchesons' Grammar School
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Hutchesons Grammar School is a co-educational independent school in the southside of Glasgow, Scotland. For much of its life the boys school was situated at Crown Street in the Gorbals. In 1876 a girls school was opened in the former Gorbals Youth School in Elgin Street, the Boys and Girls schools amalgamated in 1976 at Beaton Road where the Boys school had moved to in 1957. Kingarth Street became the primary school. In 2001, the school expanded into Glasgows West End when it merged with Laurel Park School and created a nursery and primary school on Lilybank Terrace, the building suffered heavy damage in a fire in November 2008. Today, Hutchie, as the school is informally, has around 1,300 pupils at Kingarth Street. The current rector is Colin Gambles BSc, george and Thomas Hutcheson set aside money for their school in 1641. The brothers originally intended the School to be for orphans, archibald Edmiston, an orphan himself, became the Schools first pupil in 1643 and, seven years later, the School had 12 boys on the roll, to whom the school song refers. The brothers built Hutchesons Hospital Building in the Trongate which survived the fire destroyed much of the city in 1652. The school required several moves to accommodate its growing number of pupils and it twice changed address before the school moved to Ingram Street in 1802. By 1815 the school had 76 pupils, by 1839 it stood at 120 which prompted the Patrons decision to build a new school in Crown Street, Gorbals. The new building was opened in 1841 and remained in use until 1960, in 1876, Hutchesons Girls School was opened on Elgin Street. Hutchesons Girls Grammar School, as it was now known, re-located in 1912 to the present primary school building in Kingarth Street, Beaton Road in Crossmyloof became the new home to the primary school of Hutchesons Boys Grammar School in 1957 with the secondary school moving in 1960. In 1975 Hutchesons Girls Grammar School and Hutchesons Boys Grammar School were amalgamated to form Hutchesons Grammar School, the co-educational institution which remains in this form today. The girls site in Kingarth Street became the primary school and also housed S1. Twenty years later additional building at Beaton Road allowed S1 and S2 to move there, the school has over 30 clubs and societies, many of which are over 50 years old. In 2011, S5 pupils Usman Abdul-Quayum and Mazen Allam formed the schools Medical Union, the society was the schools first independently run society which normally has up to 50 members enrolled at any one time. In 1991, a 3-storey Science Block was erected in the Beaton Road carpark, a new Sports Building was developed on the Playing Fields at Beaton Road in 1998, allowing the old gymnasium in the Senior School to be converted into a library the following year
10.
Ken Loach
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Kenneth Charles Ken Loach is an English director of television and independent film. He is known for his socially critical directing style and for his socialist ideals, Loachs film Kes was voted the seventh greatest British film of the 20th century in a poll by the British Film Institute. Two of his films, The Wind That Shakes the Barley and I, Daniel Blake received the Palme dOr at the Cannes Film Festival, Loach was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, the son of Vivien and John Loach. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School and went on to law at St Peters College. Loachs ten contributions to the BBCs Wednesday Play anthology series include the docudramas Up the Junction, Cathy Come Home and they portray working-class people in conflict with the authorities above them. Three of his plays are believed to be lost films. His 1965 play Three Clear Sundays dealt with capital punishment, and was broadcast at a time when the debate was at a height in the United Kingdom, in Two Minds, written by David Mercer, concerns a young schizophrenic womans experiences of the mental health system. Tony Garnett began to work as his producer in this period, during this period, he also directed the absurdist comedy The End of Arthurs Marriage, about which he later said that he was the wrong man for the job. Coinciding with his work for The Wednesday Play, Loach began to feature films for the cinema, with Poor Cow. The latter recounts the story of a boy and his kestrel. The British Film Institute named it No 7 in its list of best British films of the twentieth century, during the 1970s and 1980s, Loachs films were less successful, often suffering from poor distribution, lack of interest and political censorship. His documentary The Save the Children Fund Film was commissioned by the charity and it was only screened publicly for the first time on 1 September 2011, at the BFI Southbank. At the end of the 1980s, he directed some television advertisements for Tennents Lager to earn money, frank Chapple, leader of the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union, walked out of the interview and made a complaint to the Independent Broadcasting Authority. A separate complaint was made by Terry Duffy of the Amalgamated Engineering, the series was due to be broadcast during the Trade Union Congress conference in 1983, but Channel 4 decided against broadcasting the series following the complaints. The film was transmitted on Channel 4, but only after it won a prize at an Italian film festival. Three weeks after the end of the strike, the film End of the Battle, was broadcast by Channel 4 in its Diverse Strands series. This film argued that the Conservative Party had planned the destruction of the National Union of Mineworkers political power from the late 1970s. The play was due to run at the Royal Court Theatre in 1987 and he directed the Courtroom Drama reconstructions in the docu-film McLibel, concerning the longest libel trial in English history
