1.
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
2.
Kennington Park
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Kennington Park is a public park in Kennington, south London and lies between Kennington Park Road and St. Agnes Place. It was opened in 1854 on the site of what had been Kennington Common, soon after this demonstration the common was enclosed and, sponsored by the royal family, made into a public park. Kennington Common was a site of public executions until 1800 as well as being an area for public speaking, some of the most illustrious orators to speak here were Methodist founders George Whitefield and John Wesley who is reputed to have attracted a crowd of 30,000. The common was one of the earliest London cricket venues and is known to have used for top-class matches in 1724. Kennington Park hosts the first inner London community cricket ground, sponsored by Surrey County Cricket Club whose home, in the 1970s, the old tradition of mass gatherings returned to the park which was host to the start of many significant marches to Parliament. Today, a number of commercial and community events are held in the each year. The Friends of Kennington Park, FoKP, was founded in 2002, c1500 BC Recently discovered post stumps in the south Thames foreshore near Vauxhall Bridge point to a ritual jetty or possibly the first London bridge, by the outlet of the River Effra. The Effra formed the boundary to the common. Three closely related geographic features defined the area of Kennington Common as sacred in ancient times. The sharp bend in the river Effra before it flowed into the Thames, a mound or tumulus. This made it a place of national assembly which may have related to the jetty or bridge. The mound may have also used by the locals of the South London marsh community as a refuge from tidal flash floods. As the flood receded, the river silt left a level playing field – ideal for grazing animals or. 1600 gives the first record of the common, the common was bounded on the South West by Vauxhall Creek It seems that the common extended over marshy land to the South West of the Roman Road Stane Street, now Kennington Park Road. When the common became bounded by the Kennington Park Road is not known, there is a 1660 record of a common keeper being paid for grazing. 1661 The famous Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens are laid out nearby,1678 First recorded execution at Kennington Common was that of Sarah Elston who was burnt for murdering her husband on 24 April. Kennington Common was the South London equivalent of Tyburn,1678 John Masters and Gabriel Dean, highwaymen, executed on 24 April. 1679 Dorothy Lillingstone was executed for murder on 7 April,1685 William Disney was executed for High Treason on 29 June
3.
Kennington
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Kennington is a district in London, England, south of the River Thames. It is located 1.4 miles south of Charing Cross and it was a royal manor in the ancient parish of St Mary, Lambeth in the county of Surrey and was the administrative centre of the parish from 1853. Proximity to central London was key to the development of the area as a residential suburb, Kennington is the location of three significant London landmarks, the Oval cricket ground, the Imperial War Museum, and Kennington Park. Its population at the United Kingdom Census 2011 was 21,287, Kennington appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Chenintune. It is recorded as Kenintone in 1229 and Kenyngton in 1263, mills believes the name to be Old English meaning farmstead or estate associated with a man called Cēna. Another explanation is that it means place of the King, or town of the King, the presence of a tumulus, and other locally significant geographical features, suggest that the area was regarded in ancient times as a sacred place of assembly. According to the Domesday Book it was held by Teodric the Goldsmith and it contained,1 hide and 3 virgates,3 ploughs,4 acres of meadow. The manor of Kennington was divided from the manor of Vauxhall by the River Effra, a smaller river, the River Neckinger, ran along the edge of the northern part of Kennington, approximately where Brook Drive is today still forming the borough boundary. Both rivers have now been diverted into underground culverts, harthacnut, King of Denmark and King of England, died at Kennington in 1041. Harold Godwinson took the Crown the day after the death of Edward the Confessor at Kennington, King Henry III held his court here in 1231, and, according to Matthew Paris, in 1232, Parliament was held at Kennington. In 1376, according to John Stow, John of Gaunt, geoffrey Chaucer was employed at Kennington as Clerk of Works in 1389. Kennington was the residence of Henry IV and Henry VI. Henry VII was at Kennington before his coronation. Catherine of Aragon stayed at Kennington Palace in 1501, in 1531, at the order of King Henry VIII, most of Kennington Palace was dismantled, and the materials were used in the construction of the Palace of Whitehall. The historical manor of Kennington continues to be owned by the current monarchs elder son, the Duchy of Cornwall maintains a substantial property portfolio within the area. The eighteenth century saw development in Kennington. At the start of the century, the area was essentially a village on the roads into London. In 1746, Francis Towneley and eight men who had part in the Jacobite Rising were hanged, drawn. The area was significant enough, however, to be recognised in the Peerage of Great Britain and in 1726, the development of Kennington came about through access to London, which happened when, in 1750, Westminster Bridge was constructed
4.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
5.
Leeds
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Leeds /liːdz/ is a city in West Yorkshire, England. Historically in Yorkshires West Riding, the history of Leeds can be traced to the 5th century when the name referred to an area of the Kingdom of Elmet. The name has applied to many administrative entities over the centuries. It changed from being the appellation of a small borough in the 13th century, through several incarnations. In the 17th and 18th centuries Leeds became a centre for the production. During the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a mill town, wool was the dominant industry but flax, engineering, iron foundries, printing. From being a market town in the valley of the River Aire in the 16th century Leeds expanded and absorbed the surrounding villages to become a populous urban centre by the mid-20th century. The city has the third largest jobs total by local authority area with 480,000 in employment and self-employment at the beginning of 2015. Leeds is also ranked as a world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Leeds is served by four universities, and has the fourth largest student population in the country and has the fourth largest urban economy. After London, Leeds is the largest legal and financial centre in the UK, with over 30 national and international banks located in the city. Leeds is also the UKs third largest manufacturing centre with around 1,800 firms and 39,000 employees, the largest sub-sectors are engineering, printing and publishing, food and drink, chemicals and medical technology. Outside of London, Leeds has the third busiest railway station, Public transport, rail and road communications networks in the region are focused on Leeds and there are a number of twinning arrangements with towns and cities in other countries. The name Leeds derives from the old Brythonic word Ladenses meaning people of the fast-flowing river and this name originally referred to the forested area covering most of the Brythonic kingdom of Elmet, which existed during the 5th century into the early 7th century. An inhabitant of Leeds is locally known as a Loiner, a word of uncertain origin, the term Leodensian is also used, from the citys Latin name. Leeds developed as a town in the Middle Ages as part of the local agricultural economy. Before the Industrial Revolution it became a centre for the manufacture of woollen cloth. Leeds handled one sixth of Englands export trade in 1770, growth, initially in textiles, was accelerated by the building of the Aire and Calder Navigation in 1699 and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1816
6.
Manchester
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Manchester is a major city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 514,414 as of 2013. It lies within the United Kingdoms second-most populous urban area, with a population of 2.55 million, Manchester is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority is Manchester City Council and it was historically a part of Lancashire, although areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated during the 20th century. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a township but began to expand at an astonishing rate around the turn of the 19th century. Manchesters unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, Manchester achieved city status in 1853. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, creating the Port of Manchester and its fortunes declined after the Second World War, owing to deindustrialisation. The city centre was devastated in a bombing in 1996, but it led to extensive investment, in 2014, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked Manchester as a beta world city, the highest-ranked British city apart from London. Manchester is the third-most visited city in the UK and it is notable for its architecture, culture, musical exports, media links, scientific and engineering output, social impact, sports clubs and transport connections. Manchester Liverpool Road railway station was the worlds first inter-city passenger railway station and in the city scientists first split the atom, the name Manchester originates from the Latin name Mamucium or its variant Mancunium and the citizens are still referred to as Mancunians. These are generally thought to represent a Latinisation of an original Brittonic name, both meanings are preserved in languages derived from Common Brittonic, mam meaning breast in Irish and mother in Welsh. The suffix -chester is a survival of Old English ceaster and their territory extended across the fertile lowland of what is now Salford and Stretford. Central Manchester has been settled since this time. A stabilised fragment of foundations of the version of the Roman fort is visible in Castlefield. After the Roman withdrawal and Saxon conquest, the focus of settlement shifted to the confluence of the Irwell, much of the wider area was laid waste in the subsequent Harrying of the North. Thomas de la Warre, lord of the manor, founded and constructed a church for the parish in 1421. The church is now Manchester Cathedral, the premises of the college house Chethams School of Music. The library, which opened in 1653 and is open to the public today, is the oldest free public reference library in the United Kingdom. Manchester is mentioned as having a market in 1282, around the 14th century, Manchester received an influx of Flemish weavers, sometimes credited as the foundation of the regions textile industry
7.
Battersea Park
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Battersea Park is a 200 acre green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies marshland reclaimed from the Thames and land used for market gardens. Prior to 1846 the area now covered by the park was known as Battersea fields, on 21 March 1829, the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchilsea met on Battersea fields to settle a matter of honour. When it came time to fire, the Duke aimed his duelling pistol wide, Winchilsea later wrote the Duke a groveling apology. Running along the riverside from the fields were industrial concerns and wharves, including a pottery, copper works, lime kiln, chemical works, the site of Battersea Power Station was partly occupied by the famously bawdy Red House Tavern, patronised by Charles Dickens. Access was via the rickety wooden Battersea Bridge or by ferry from the Chelsea bank, the Act was passed in 1846 and £200,000 was promised for the purchase of the land. The Commission for Improving the Metropolis acquired 320 acres of Battersea Fields, of which 198 acres became Battersea Park, opened in 1858, and the remainder was let on building leases. The park was laid out by Sir James Pennethorne between 1846 and 1864, although the park which was opened in 1858 varied somewhat from Pennethornes vision, the park’s success depended on the successful completion of the Chelsea Bridge, declared open in 1858 by Queen Victoria. In her honour, the road alongside the edge of the Park was called Victoria Road. Prince of Wales Road was laid out along the southern boundary, the park hosted the first football game played under the rules of the recently formed Football Association on 9 January 1864. The members of the teams were chosen by the President of the FA, from the 1860s, the park was home to the leading amateur football team Wanderers F. C. winners of the first FA Cup, in 1872. One team they are known to have played at the park was Sheffield F. C. the worlds oldest football team, in 1924, a war memorial by Eric Kennington was unveiled by Field Marshal Plumer and the Bishop of Southwark. It commemorates the over 10,000 men killed or listed as missing presumed dead whilst serving with the 24th East Surrey Division and it is now Grade II* listed. During both wars, anti-aircraft guns and barrage balloons were installed to help protect London from enemy air raids, shelters were dug, part of the park was turned over to allotments for much needed vegetables and a pig farm was also set up. Maintenance of the park was reduced as the war took priority. In 1951 the northern parts of the park were transformed into the Pleasure Gardens as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations, popular attractions included the Guinness Clock, designed by Jan Le Witt and George Him, and the Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Branch Railway. Another part of the transformation was the addition of Battersea Fun Fair, with rollercoasters, swings, roundabouts, the fun fairs most spectacular ride was a rollercoaster called The Big Dipper, which opened in 1951
8.
Neil Fox (broadcaster)
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Neil Andrew Howe Fox is an English radio DJ and television presenter, known for many years as Dr Fox before he became Foxy in the 2000s. He is now simply as Neil Fox. He was a judge on Pop Idol between 2001 and 2003 alongside Simon Cowell, Pete Waterman and Nicki Chapman, as a boy he moved to Thames Ditton, Surrey, where he lived for a number of years. After leaving university he worked as a binliner salesman and he is not a qualified doctor although did receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath in respect of his contributions to the media and charity. As a child he enjoyed making the trip to Adams Park to watch Wycombe Wanderers, in 1984 he started his professional radio career on what is now Free Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire in Hereford and Worcester, starting off with a show called Mellow Yellow. This was broadcast on Friday nights from 9.00 pm -11. 00pm & Saturday nights from 8.00 pm -11.00 pm. In 1985, Fox took over the evening show from 6.00 pm -9.00 pm. He also presented a Saturday morning show for the station, which went out from 10.00 am -1.00 pm and he remained there until late 1986, then joined Radio Luxembourg in February 1987 before joining Capital Radio in October the same year. Fox presented the evening show from 7.30 pm -10. However this soon ceased, the MW transmitters were given over to oldies station Capital Gold, and he also presented a Saturday morning show. In the very early 1990s, there was a period in which Fox hosted a show starting at midnight on Saturday. It was for this show that he adopted the moniker Dr Fox and this was at the suggestion of Capitals Programme Director, Richard Park, who some years previously had been a presenter on Radio Clyde and had hosted a similar show under the pseudonym Dr Dick. Many people called the show for requests, Fox was well known for lots of banter with the callers and the Surgery was soon extended to his weekday evening shows. In addition to this, he continued with his evening show, although from 1995. On Sundays, his show went out from 7.00 pm -8.30 pm on Sundays as he presented the Chart show beforehand. In 1997, it was rumoured that Matthew Bannister offered Fox the breakfast show on BBC Radio 1, in late 1998 he took over Capitals 4.00 pm -7.00 pm drivetime show from David Jensen which was later extended to 8.00 pm. Fox also presented a show on Channel 5 based around the Pepsi Chart from 1998 until 2002, on Capital FM he moved from the weekday evening show to the drivetime show in 1998, again succeeding David Jensen. Fox claimed that he wanted to leave Capital when he didnt get the breakfast show, beginning 12 September 2005, he was the presenter of the More Music Breakfast Show on Magic 105.4 FM in London, and on DAB, Freeview and Satellite across the UK
9.
Diarmuid Gavin
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Diarmuid Gavin is an Irish garden designer and television personality. When Gavin was six, his younger brother Conor was killed by a car while they were walking to school, in May 2011 Gavins Irish Sky Garden won the gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show. Already more than €1.7 million had been given to the project by Fáilte Ireland, the decision attracted widespread criticism including that of a number of Cork city councillors. Councillor Ted Tynan pointed out there were over 500 boarded up local council houses in the city. RTÉ is currently screening the television show I Want a Garden, Gavin, presented an episode of Great British Garden Revival which will air on BBC Two in 2014. In Autumn 2004, Gavin participated in BBC Ones Strictly Come Dancing, in Summer 2006, he participated in Only Fools on Horses. In 2010, Gavin took part in the first series of the ITV reality competition 71 Degrees North and was the celebrity to become eliminated on 21 September 2010. On 12 December 2010, Gavin appeared on Channel 4 on a Christmas edition of Come Dine with Me with David Gest, Hannah Waterman, in January 2013, Gavin was a participant in the first series of Splash. Gavin was the celebrity to be eliminated from the show. On 8 October 2013, Gavin appeared as a guest on The Sarah Millican Television Programme on BBC, on 9 October 2013, Gavin appeared on the ITV game show Big Stars Little Star with his daughter Eppie. On 14 December 2013, Gavin appeared on The Chase, Celebrity Special, on 5 March 2014, he appeared in an episode of Sport Reliefs Top Dog with his dog, Roxie. Gavin won an RDS Gold Award in 1991 and 1993, a medal at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1995, a silver-gilt medal in 2004. He finally won a gold at Chelsea for The Irish Sky Garden in 2011, in partnership with Fáilte Ireland, and he is also a patron at Southport Flower Show. In 2007, Gavin received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Art from Nottingham Trent University in recognition of his reputation for contemporary garden designs. Gavin is the author of a number of best-selling gardening books including Diarmuid Gavins Big Ideas, Gavin is married to Justine Keane, daughter of The Hon. Ronan Keane and Terry Keane, and they have a daughter named Eppie born December 2004
10.
Jamie Oliver
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James Trevor Jamie Oliver, MBE is a British celebrity chef and restaurateur. He is most known for his typically English cuisine that has garnered him numerous television shows, born and raised in the village of Clavering, Essex, he was educated in London before taking his first culinary engagement at Antonio Carluccios Neal Street restaurant as a pastry chef. In this capacity he was noticed by the BBC and in 1999 debuted his television show, in June 2003, Oliver was honored as a Member of the Order of the British Empire. Soon after he launched his first high-end restaurant, Jamies Italian, in Oxford in 2008, Jamie Oliver was born and raised in the village of Clavering. His parents, Trevor and Sally Oliver, ran a pub/restaurant, The Cricketers and he has two siblings and was educated at Newport Free Grammar School. He left school at the age of sixteen with two GCSE qualifications in Art and Geology and went on to attend Westminster Technical College now Westminster Kingsway College and he then earned a City & Guilds National Vocational Qualification in home economics. Oliver moved to The River Café, Fulham, as a sous chef and it was there that he was noticed by the BBC in 1997, after making an unscripted appearance in a documentary about the restaurant, Christmas at the River Cafe. In 1999, his BBC show The Naked Chef débuted, and that same year, Oliver was invited to prepare lunch for the Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street. In June 2000, Oliver became the face of the United Kingdom supermarket chain Sainsburys, in July 2011, after eleven years, the partnership between Oliver and Sainsburys ended. The final television advertisement was for Christmas 2011, the restaurant, in Westland Place, London, continues to train young adults who have a disadvantaged background for careers in the restaurant business. In June 2003, Oliver was awarded an MBE for his services to the hospitality industry, as a result, the British government also pledged to address the issue. Delving into politics to push for changes in nutrition resulted in people voting him as the Most Inspiring Political Figure of 2005, Olivers holding company, Jamie Oliver Holdings Ltd. earned enough for Oliver to have been listed on The Sunday Times list of richest Britons under 30. In June 2008, he launched a restaurant called Jamies Italian, his first high-street business venture, in Oxford, Jamies Italian has proved successful and there are now thirty five restaurants in the collection. The brand has been franchised globally and now includes branches in the UAE, Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Ireland, Russia, Turkey, Singapore, dozens more are planned over the next four years. In December 2009, Oliver received the 2010 TED Prize, in 2009 his chain of cooking school/delis called Recipease were opened in several locations in the UK including Brighton, Clapham and Notting Hill in London. By the end of 2015 all stores had been closed, Oliver hosted Jamies 15 Minute Meals on Channel 4, which aired for 40 episodes in 2012. From June 2000, Oliver was the face of the Sainsburys supermarket chain in the UK, appearing on television and radio advertisements. The deal earned him an estimated £1.2 million every year, by 2004, the company had made 65 advertisements with him, but this arrangement has not been without controversy
11.
Jon Snow (journalist)
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Jon Snow is an English journalist and television presenter, currently employed by ITN. He is best known as the longest running presenter of Channel 4 News, Snow has held numerous honorary appointments, including Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008. Snow was born in Ardingly, Sussex, the son of George DOyly Snow, Bishop of Whitby, and his wife Joan and he is a grandson of WW1 General Sir Thomas DOyly Snow and is the cousin of retired BBC television news presenter Peter Snow. Snow won a scholarship by Winchester Cathedral, and spent five years at the Pilgrims School. He grew up at Ardingly College, where his father was headmaster, in 2013, he recounted how the inquiry into Sir Jimmy Savile had allowed him to re-evaluate his own childhood when he was molested by one of the schools domestic staff. Snow subsequently attended St Edwards School, Oxford, when he was 18 he spent a year as a VSO volunteer teaching in Uganda. However, he did not complete his studies, being rusticated for his part in a 1970 anti-apartheid socialist student protest. He served as ITNs Washington correspondent and as editor before becoming the main presenter of Channel 4 News in 1989. In 1992 he was the anchor for ITNs election night programme, broadcast on ITV, he presented the programme alongside Robin Day, Alastair Stewart. Snow is known for sporting his vast collection of colourful ties, while working as a journalist in Uganda, he flew alongside President Idi Amin in the presidential jet. In 1976, Snow reputedly rejected an approach by British intelligence services to spy on his colleagues, at first he was asked to supply information about the Communist Party, but he was then asked to spy on certain left-wing people working in television. In return he would have received secret monthly, tax-free payments into his bank account, in 2002 he returned to radio, presenting Jon Snow Reports on Oneword Radio, a weekly show and podcast. He wrote regular articles for the Channel 4 News website and Snowmail – a daily email newsletter on the big stories coming up on the edition of Channel 4 News. In 2003, at the height of the dodgy dossier affair, Alastair Campbell walked into the studio to rebut statements by the BBC, without notes or preparation, Snow attempted to question Campbell about the affair. In 2004, Snow published an autobiography, Shooting History, the book was published by Harper Perennial and details Snows life from his childhood, up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The infamous US blogger has broken the best kept secret of recent times. Editors have been sworn to secrecy over Prince Harry being sent to fight in Afghanistan three months ago and these remarks provoked criticism from some viewers and media outlets. On 9 February 2009, Snow interviewed Lt-Col Yvonne Bradley, the counsel for Binyam Mohamed
12.
Richard Rogers
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Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH FRIBA FREng RA is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He is a winner of the RIBA Gold Medal, the Thomas Jefferson Medal, the RIBA Stirling Prize and he is a Senior Partner at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership. Richard Rogers was born in Florence in 1933 from Italian parents and his father, William Nino Rogers, was the cousin of Italian architect Ernesto Nathan Rogers. His ancestors moved from Sunderland to Venice in about 1800, then settling in Trieste, Milan, during World War II William Nino Rogers decided to come back to England. Upon moving to England, Richard Rogers went to St Johns School and he was called stupid because he could not read or memorize his school work and was always at the bottom of his class, and as a consequence he became very depressed. He wasnt able to read until the age of 11, while studying at Yale, Rogers met fellow architecture student Norman Foster and planning student Su Brumwell. After leaving Yale he joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in New York, on returning to England in 1963, he, Norman Foster and Brumwell set up architectural practice as Team 4 with Wendy Cheeseman. Rogers and Foster earned a reputation for what was termed by the media high-tech architecture. By 1967, Team 4 had split up, but Rogers continued to collaborate with Su Rogers, along with John Young, in early 1968 he was commissioned to design a house and studio for Humphrey Spender near Maldon, Essex, a glass cube framed with I-beams. He continued to develop his ideas of prefabrication and structural simplicity to design a Wimbledon house for his parents and this was based on ideas from his conceptual Zip-Up House, such as the use of standardized components based on refrigerator panels to make energy-efficient buildings. Rogers subsequently joined forces with Italian architect Renzo Piano, a partnership that was to prove fruitful and this building established Rogerss trademark of exposing most of the buildings services on the exterior, leaving the internal spaces uncluttered and open for visitors to the centres art exhibitions. This style, dubbed Bowellism by some critics, was not universally popular at the time the centre opened in 1977, after working with Piano, Rogers established the Richard Rogers Partnership along with Marco Goldschmied, Mike Davies and John Young in 1977. This became Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in 2007, the firm maintains offices in London, Shanghai and Sydney. Rogers has devoted much of his career to wider issues surrounding architecture, urbanism, sustainability. This exhibition made public a series of proposals for transforming an area of central London. In 1995, he became the first architect to deliver the BBCs annual Reith Lectures and this series of five talks, titled Sustainable City, were later adapted into the book Cities for a Small Planet. The BBC made these available to the public for download in July 2011. This work resulted in a paper, Towards an Urban Renaissance
13.
Charity Commission for England and Wales
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The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales and maintains the Central Register of Charities. The Charity Commission answers directly to the UK Parliament rather than to Government ministers and it is governed by a board, which is assisted by the Chief Executive and an executive team. The current Chair is William Shawcross, geraldine Peacock, CBE, was Chief Charity Commissioner from 2003 to 2006, and Chair-designate from 8 July 2004 to 2006. It has four sites in London, Taunton, Liverpool and Newport, the commissions website lists the latest accounts submitted by charities in England and Wales. Some charities are not subject to regulation by or registration with the Charity Commission, because they are regulated by another body. Most exempt charities are listed in Schedule 3 to the Charities Act 2011, however exempt charities must still comply with charity law and may approach the Charity Commission for advice. Some charities are excepted from charity registration and this just means they dont have to register or submit annual returns, but are in all other respects subject to regulation by the Charity Commission. In addition, if an income is below the normal threshold for registration. Nevertheless, it subject to regulation by the Charity Commission in all other respects. Registration of a charity in England and Wales does not endow that status elsewhere thus further registration has to be made before operating in Scotland or Northern Ireland, Charities in Scotland are regulated by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. The Commission carries out monitoring of charities as part of its regular casework. It also has set out in the Charities Acts to conduct statutory investigations. However, opening a full inquiry into a charity has a detrimental effect on the relationship with the regulator. The Commission therefore began around 2007 to carry out a form of action described as regulatory compliance investigations. In 2010 it opened over 140 of these cases, compared to just three full statutory investigations, however, the legality of these actions was debatable as they lacked a statutory basis. A high-profile example was the Commissions report into The Atlantic Bridge, the Commission announced in October 2011, in the context of cost-cutting and a re-focussing of its activities, that it would no longer carry out regulatory compliance investigations. Some of the activities of the Commission have been questioned by the Public Administration Select Committee, prior to the 1840s, a body of Commissioners had been established by the Statue of Charitable Uses 1601, but these proved ineffective. The Charity Commission was first established by the Charitable Trusts Act 1853, there had been several attempts at reforming charities before that which had been opposed by various interest groups including the church, the courts, the companies, and the universities
