The Augsburg textile and industry museum, known by its acronym tim, is a museum in Augsburg a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Augsburger Kammgarnspinnerei, a former worsted spinning mill.
The museum is an Anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

History
Augsburg had a thriving textile industry in the nineteenth century. The Augsburg Worsted Spinning Mill (Augsburger Kammgarnspinnerei — AKS) was founded in 1836 by Johann Anton Friedrich Merz. It was the first major industrial company in the city: it employed up to 2000 workers. It was the largest worsted spinning mill in the Federal Republic of Germany. It closed in 2004.

Museum

The mill was restored by Klaus Kada from Graz in Austria. It opened as a museum in 2010. Former textile workers had realised that the industry was disappearing and formed an association to rescue redundant equipment the museum displays this collection. It covers the complete production cycle: from raw materials to designer fashions.
A central piece in the museum is the NAK sample book, a collection of 1.3 million fabric designs from the 1780s to the 1990s.

The museum organises its displays under the headings Mensch-Maschine-Muster-Mode. That is
Mensch – The stories of the workers in this industry with living testament.
Maschine – In the machine hall is a working display of machines from across the ages, from hand to powerloom, producing a limited run of contemporary fabrics.
Muster – concentrates on the pattern book
Mode – shows the fashions from 'Biedermeier to Strenesse-Kleid'. Modern fabric are represented, stressing the opportunities for the Bayern economy.
There are also special exhibitions.

See also

Cotton-spinning machinery
European Route of Industrial Heritage
Textile

References

External links

Augsburg
Museums in Bavaria
Industry museums in Germany
European Route of Industrial Heritage Anchor Points
Textile museums in Germany

Augsburg textile and industry museum


Kristen Marie Graczyk (born June 27, 1983) is an American former soccer forward and defender who played for FC Gold Pride of Women's Professional Soccer.  Her brother, Mike Graczyk, is a goalkeeper and played for San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer.

Graczyk played for the Connecticut Huskies from 2001 to 2004 and she played a big part in the Huskies run to the 2003 National Championship game.  Graczyk scored the match winning goal in overtime against Central Connecticut to help the Huskies advance in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.  Gracyzk scored both goals for the Huskies in their 2-0 College Cup victory over Florida State in 2003 to advance to the National Championship game.  Her first goal was a header to the near post off of a cross from nine yards.  Her second goal sealed the game for the Huskies.  She had a ball played to her in front of the box that she drilled into the back of the net.  Graczyk also scored both goals for the Huskies in their win over Notre Dame in the 2004 BIG EAST Tournament Championship Game.  Graczyk found the ball just outside the box and nailed a left footed shot from about 20 yards out to tie the game for the Huskies with about 18 minutes left in the second half.  Graczyk headed in a Karyn Riviere cross at 86:48 to give the Huskies a 2–1 victory to earn their Second BIG EAST Tournament Championship and give the Huskies their automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Gracyzk was the 2003 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and was an All-American in 2003 & 2004.  She is UConn's third leading scorer, finishing her career with 57 Goals and 32 Assists for 146 career points.  Her 26 career points (10 Goals and 6 Assists) in the NCAA Tournament is a school record.

Graczyk got her start with Chicago Cobras of the W-League.  In her first season with the club, she appeared in 10 games, netting 6 goals.  In her second, and final season with the club, she appeared in 13 games, scoring 16 goals before moving on to Hampton Roads Piranhas for the 2005 season.  The next season brought another change in teams, this time signing with SoccerPlus Connecticut of Women's Premier Soccer League.

She was invited to train with FC Gold Pride of Women's Professional Soccer in 2009.  She made the final roster and played an integral role with the club in its first year. She retired from soccer in January 2011 after FC Gold Pride folded.

References

External links

 FC Gold Pride player profile
 SoccerPlus Connecticut player profile
 New Mexico assistant manager profile

1983 births
Living people
UConn Huskies women's soccer players
American women's soccer players
FC Gold Pride players
Women's association football defenders
Women's association football forwards
Hampton Roads Piranhas players
USL W-League (1995–2015) players
Women's Premier Soccer League players
Women's Professional Soccer players
Chicago Cobras players

Kristen Graczyk


Danny Ray Welch is an American cancer biologist and founding director of the University of Kansas Medical Center's Department of Cancer Biology. Welch is also a professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and director of the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) Center for Metastasis Research at KU. His research is in the area of metastasis suppressor genes and the biology of metastasis.

He is known for his discovery of a number of metastasis suppressor genes. By definition, these genes suppress metastasis without suppressing growth of the primary tumor. He is also well known for his work in defining the characters of cancer metastasis, and for his mentoring.

In 1996, Welch's lab in Hershey, Pennsylvania, isolated a cDNA from a cancer cell that was not able to undergo metastasis after the human chromosome 6 was added to the cell. This gene was named KISS1 because of the location of where it was discovered (Hershey, Pennsylvania, home of Hershey's Kisses). Introduction of this chromosome into the once-active cancer cell inhibited it from spreading and the cDNA responsible was taken from that cell. The fact that KISS1 was responsible for this was proved when it was transfected into melanoma cells and yet again, metastasis was suppressed.

He is a member of the editorial board of the Cancer and Metastasis Reviews.

He is the author of the book Cancer Metastasis – Related Genes (Cancer Metastasis—Biology and Treatment, Volume 3) by Kluwer Academic Publications (now Springer). He has authored over 140 original research papers in the area of cancer biology and metastasis. Welch is one of the few researchers whose research has focused on unraveling the biology of cancer metastasis from the very beginning of his research career.

Selected published works
Bodenstine TM, Welch DR. Metastasis suppressors and the tumor microenvironment. Cancer Microenviron. 2008 Dec;1(1):1-11.
Shin R, Welch DR, Mishra VK, Nash KT, Hurst DR, Rama Krishna N. Clin Exp Metastasis. 2009 Mar 24
Stafford LJ, Vaidya KS, Welch DR. Metastasis suppressors genes in cancer. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2008;40(5):874-91
Vaidya KS, Welch DR. Metastasis suppressors and their roles in breast carcinoma. J Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia. 2007 Sep;12(2-3):175-90.
Eccles SA, Welch DR. Metastasis: recent discoveries and novel treatment strategies. Lancet. 2007 May 19;369(9574):1742-57
Rinker-Schaeffer CW, O'Keefe JP, Welch DR, Theodorescu D. Metastasis suppressor proteins: discovery, molecular mechanisms, and clinical application. Clin Cancer Res. 2006 Jul 1;12(13):3882-9.

References

University of Kansas faculty
Cell biologists
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)

Danny Welch


Rev. George Mathan (25 September 1819 – 4 March 1870), a.k.a. Rev. George Matthan, Rev. George Mathen, Geevarghese Kathanar or Mallapallil Achen (Malayalam: ജോർജ്ജ് മാത്തൻ, was a Saint Thomas Anglican priest (Kathanar), Malayalam grammarian and writer of the 19th century Kerala.

Early life and education
Mathan was born on 25 September 1819 in the village of Kidangannoor, Kerala as the son of Chengannur Puthencavu Kizhakkethalackal Mathan Tharakan and Puthencavu Puthenveettil Annamma. His great-grandfather Cherian and his grandfather Chummar had received special privileges (Tharakan title) from the Travancore king, as they were a wealthy family who supported the royalty in times of need.

From childhood, he had shown great aptitude for learning. Since Mathan's father had died at a very early age, his uncle Rev. Kurian Kathanar took charge of his education.
Inspired by Kurian Kathanar, he became a deacon and Kathanar of the undivided Malankara Syrian Church.

Later, he received an offer from the C.M.S Anglican missionaries to pursue university education at the newly opened Madras University at Madras.
He accepted the offer and after graduating from Madras University, he became an Anglican priest.
He was the first ordained native priest of the Anglican church in South India.

Ministry
Mathan first started his ministry in the Mallapally area of Travancore and became known as "Mallapallil Achen," meaning father of Mallapally. He was instrumental in converting the first lower-caste family (headed by a man named Habel) to Christianity in Mallapally. This day is celebrated even today in Kerala as Habel's Day. This family's conversion into Anglican Christianity encouraged the conversion of a large number of lower-caste people into the faith.

Rev. Mathan was also a contemporary of Hermann Gundert, a German priest, who wrote the first dictionary in Malayalam. Hermann Gundert is grandfather of Nobel Prize–winning writer Hermann Hesse, author of novels such as Siddhartha (novel). Historically, he is also a contemporary of great writers like Mark Twain and Charles Dickens. Rev. Mathan has been honoured by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (the central body of Malayalam literature) by being included in the list of prominent Malayalam literary figures on their website. A short history of his literary oeuvres can be found here and his life history can be found here in the Kerala Sahitya Akademi website.

While ministering to the people, a full-time job, Mathan found time to write erudite treatises on grammar and local culture. He wrote the first book of Malayalam grammar called "Malayazhmayude Vyakaranam," which was published in 1863. This grammar book was acknowledged and recommended by the then government as the most authoritative volume on grammar of the Malayalam language. His other books, sort of longish essays, include, "Satyavadakhedam," "Vedasamyukthi," and "Balabhyasam."

Rev. Mathan was also a keen educationist. He helped collect funds to build the Cambridge Nicholson Institute (CNI) and oversaw the construction of its building and facilities. Later on, he became the principal of the CNI, which was instrumental in spreading English-medium education throughout the state of Kerala.

The Malayalam poet and littérateur Mahakavi Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer (who is considered Kerala's (Malayalam's) finest poets along with Kumaran Asan, and Vallathol) stated
"All in all, George Mathan built a permanent framework for Malayalam literature and thus made all Malayalis (people of Kerala) indebted to him, this fact is beyond dispute."

Death
Rev. George Mathan died on 4 March 1870.  He is interred at St. Thomas CSI church Thalavady.

Legacy
 The Rev. George Mathen Mission Hospital at Mallapally is dedicated to his memory and offers medical services to the people in that region.
 A memorial lecture conducted at Bishop Moore College, Mavelikkara is also dedicated to his memory.

References

External links

Indian Anglican priests
Indian male essayists
Indian Christian theologians
1870 deaths
1819 births
19th-century Indian essayists
20th-century Indian essayists
Writers from Kerala
People from Pathanamthitta district
19th-century Indian male writers

George Mathan


The sole Boulton & Paul P.32 was a British three-engined biplane built to an Air Ministry specification for a long range night bomber.  A lack of engine availability slowed construction and by the time it went for tests the thinking on bomber types had moved on.

Design and development
The Air Ministry specification B.22/27 of 1927 called for a three-engined long range night bomber.  Boulton & Paul tendered the P.32 and obtained an order for one prototype. de Havilland also received a prototype order for their DH.72, an aircraft of similar size and layout. Both were twin finned three bay biplanes with two engines on the lower wings and one on the upper centre section. The centre engine position was driven by the specification's requirement for a clear view from a bomb aimer's position in the nose.

The P.32 was a metal framed aircraft, using steel for the main members and duralumin elsewhere. Its unstaggered, foldable wings were straight edged with constant chord and rectangular tips, a Boulton & Paul characteristic seen also in, for example the Sidestrand.  Both wings carried ailerons, but only the lower one had dihedral.  Two of the uncowled three 550 hp (410 kW) Bristol Jupiter XF radial engines were mounted on the top of the lower wing just within the inner bay, their three-bladed propellers close to the fuselage sides.  The third engine was similarly mounted on the upper wing, above the fuselage; the wide interplane gap just gave airscrew clearance.  These engines were replaced with 575 hp (429 kW) Jupiter XFBMs, enclosed in Townend rings and driving four bladed airscrews as soon as these medium supercharged models became available.

The square section, slab sided fuselage held either four or five crew, though more seats  The specification called for a gunner/bomb aimer in the nose.  In the P.32 he could use the bombsight when sitting facing forward and, by rotating his seat, take up his third role as navigator at a chart table. There was a walkway aft, which passed in turn the pilot's and second pilot's open cockpits in tandem on the port side, the wireless/camera operator's internal position near the leading edge, the dorsal gunner's cockpit and the tail gunner's station in the extreme, slightly drooped tail.  The second pilot was optional; he might be an instructor or a relief.  The dorsal gun could be manned either by the wireless operator or the tail gunner.  Each of the three gun positions had a Lewis gun on a Scarff ring.  Bombs were held in a recessed but not enclosed bay below the fuselage; more could be mounted below the inner wing.

The monoplane horizontal stabiliser carried servo assisted elevators and a pair of fins with horn balanced rudders.  These were also servo assisted, with the servo surfaces mounted well behind the rudders' trailing edges on outriggers.  The main undercarriage was unusual in that on either side pairs of wheels were fitted on a long axle so that the inner one was close to the fuselage and the outer one beyond the engine and inner bay.  The P.32 was initially fitted with a pair of tailskids, soon replaced with a tailwheel with a little faired leg.

Like its de Havilland competitor, the P.32's completion was delayed by a series of design changes requested by the Air Ministry but especially by the unavailability of engines from Bristol.  The Bristol Mercury Vs originally specified were never fitted.  It first flew at Mousehold Heath on 23 October 1931, joining the DH.72 for evaluation by the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at RAF Martlesham Heath that November.  It appeared at the Hendon display in 1932, painted in the standard dull green, but it seems the Ministry saw no future for this class of intermediate weight bombers, for none were ordered and no performance figures from Martlesham tests have survived for either the P.32 or the DH.72.

Specifications

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

P.032
1920s British bomber aircraft
Trimotors
Biplanes

Boulton Paul P.32


The Wine Museum (Musée du Vin), located in Ehnen on the Luxembourg side of the Moselle, illustrates the art of wine-making with exhibits of traditional vintner's tools and bottling equipment together with old documents and photographs. The property was acquired by the state in 1974 and opened as a museum in 1978. It occupies the home of a former vintner with winemaking antiques and furnishings.

The museum
Standing close to the banks of the river, the 18th-century house belonged to the prosperous Wellenstein family. The premises also house a cooperage showing how barrels were made, a large wine press, a smithy and the former Ehnen office of weights and measures. The museum exhibits demonstrate the process of wine-making from growing the grapes to bottling the wine. Many of the items in the museum have been donated by local vintners. There is also a small vineyard with all the local grape varieties. As these grapes are grown on government land, the wine made from them is served at official functions such as embassy dinners.

The museum is open from April through October, and is one of the main sites of the annual Riesling Open wine festival.

See also
 List of museums in Luxembourg

References

Museums in Luxembourg
Tourist attractions in Luxembourg
Luxembourg wine
Convention centres in Luxembourg
Wine museums
Museums established in 1978

Wine Museum, Ehnen


A flood bypass is a region of land or a large man-made structure that is designed to convey excess flood waters from a river or stream in order to reduce the risk of flooding on the natural river or stream near a key point of interest, such as a city.  Flood bypasses, sometimes called floodways, often have man-made diversion works, such as diversion weirs and spillways, at their head or point of origin.  The main body of a flood bypass is often a natural flood plain.  Many flood bypasses are designed to carry enough water such that combined flows down the original river or stream and flood bypass will not exceed the expected maximum flood flow of the river or stream.

Flood bypasses are typically used only during major floods and act in a similar nature to a detention basin.  Since the area of a flood bypass is significantly larger than the cross-sectional area of the original river or stream channel from which water is diverted, the velocity of water in a flood bypass will be significantly lower than the velocity of the flood water in the original system.  These low velocities often cause increased sediment deposition in the flood bypass, thus it is important to incorporate a maintenance program for the entire flood bypass system when it is not being actively used during a flood operation.

When not being used to convey water, flood bypasses are sometimes used for agricultural or environmental purposes.  The land is often owned by a public authority and then rented to farmers or ranchers, who in turn plant crops or herd livestock that feed off the flood plain.  Since the flood bypass is subjected to sedimentation during flood events, the land is often very productive and even a loss of crops due to flooding can sometimes be recovered due to the high yield of the land during the non-flood periods.

Examples
 Bonnet Carré Spillway
 Eastside Bypass
 Fargo-Moorhead Area Diversion Project
 Yolo Bypass

Hydraulic engineering
Hydrology
Flood control

Flood bypass


Andrejs Butriks (born 20 December 1982 in Riga) is a former Latvian football forward, currently the sporting director of FK Ventspils in the Latvian Higher League.

Club career
Butriks played for FK Avots at youth level before signing for FK Ventspils in 2001. In 2002, he scored 14 goals in 24 games for the club, becoming a vital first eleven player in the next few years. Butriks played for FK Ventspils, until 2011, scoring more than 50 goals in 212 matches. While playing for Ventspils, in January 2008 Butriks had a trial period with Football League Championship club Blackpool in England, but didn't stay with the club. Seeking for a new club abroad after UEFA Europa League matches he joined FC Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ in Romania on loan from FK Ventspils in February 2010. As this was a very unsuccessful period, Butriks didn't play even a match for the club and returned to Ventspils in June 2010. This being away period in Romania had left Butriks out of the team's starting eleven and he found it difficult to fit into the squad, mostly being a late game substitute. Unhappy with that time situation Andrejs left the club in April 2011, signing a contract with another Virsliga club FK Jūrmala-VV. Due to the club's unstable financial situation and poor results Butriks played only 9 league matches and managed to score twice. In July 2011 he left the team, signing a contract abroad in August 2011. This time a one-year contract in Greece with the newly promoted Anagennisi Epanomi, playing in the Greek Second League. Andrejs got himself injured against PAOK, playing just one league game and being released after the season. Following his release Butriks decided to retire from football.

In June 2012 he accepted an offer to become the sporting director of his former club FK Ventspils.

International career

In October 2007 Butriks was called up to the Latvia squad for their UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group F match against Iceland on 13 October, but he did not play in the match. He made his debut for Latvia on 17 October in their Euro 2008 qualifying match against Denmark, when he came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute. All in all, he collected 4 international appearances for Latvia.

Honours

Team
FK Ventspils
Virsliga Champion (3): 2006, 2007, 2008
Latvian Cup winner (4): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007

Personal life

Butriks is married and has a son. His wife's name is Jūlija, while the son's name is Artjoms.

References

External links

1982 births
Living people
Footballers from Riga
Latvian men's footballers
Latvia men's international footballers
FK Ventspils players
CSM Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț players
Liga I players
Anagennisi Epanomi F.C. players
Latvian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Romania
Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Romania
Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
Latvian expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Men's association football forwards

Andrejs Butriks


A traffic tower is a permanent raised structure providing a clearer view of traffic conditions than can be had from street level and protection for the traffic controller from the hazards of moving vehicles.

Some traffic towers are fitted with manually operated lights and/or signals.  Other traffic towers rely on handsignals to direct traffic.  In some cases, traffic towers offer a central control location for lights at more than one intersection.

Many traffic towers have been replaced by automated traffic lights.  Many remaining traffic towers are significant landmarks and have been retained or moved to other locations as historic structures.

The last remaining traffic tower in the United Kingdom is in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

See also
 Air traffic control tower
 Sea traffic control tower

References

Traffic signals

Traffic tower


In role-playing video games, a paper doll is a way of representing a player character's inventory and currently used equipment. In games that use a paper doll inventory management system, the sprites or 3D models of equipment, such as clothing or armour, can be placed on top of an image of the player character. This is similar to how the paper cut-outs of real-world paper dolls are used.

The innovative and very successful Dungeon Master popularized the paper doll interface. Using a paper doll inventory system is either done by dragging equipment in place, or by selecting them from a list. In games with multiple main characters, the different player characters are usually shown posing the same way. In some cases, there are multiple poses for the characters. For example, there may one unique pose when a one-handed weapon is equipped, and another when a two-handed weapon is equipped.

Typically, the paper dolls are a separate part of the inventory management. Sometimes, however, the in-game character sprite or model itself acts as a paper doll on which equipment can be put; an example of this would be Ultima IX: Ascension.

Use
The paper doll-approach of inventory management is useful when a game makes a distinction between different parts of a character's body in combat. It has also been cited to feel more realistic to place armour manually on one's character. On the other hand, a paper doll inventory requires a large interface, as it has to show the entire character.

See also
Dollz
Kisekae Set System

References

Video game terminology

Paper doll (video games)


Backstairs at the White House is a 1979 NBC television miniseries based on the 1961 book My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House by Lillian Rogers Parks (with Frances Spatz Leighton).  The series, produced by Ed Friendly Productions, is the story of behind-the-scenes workings of the White House and the relationship between the staff and the First Families.

This mini-series was nominated for  11 Emmy Awards in 31st Primetime Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Achievement in Make-up (Mark Bussan, Tommy Cole and Ron Walters) and nominated for Outstanding Limited Series (Ed Friendly, Executive Producer; Ed Friendly, Producer; Michael O'Herlihy, Producer), Best Actress (Olivia Cole), Best Actor (Louis Gossett Jr.), Best Supporting Actress (both Eileen Heckart and Celeste Holm), Best Supporting Actor (both Ed Flanders and Robert Vaughn), Outstanding Teleplay (Part 1) (Gwen Bagni and Paul Dubov), Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration (Part 1) (Richard Y. Haman, Art Director; Anne D. McCulley, Set Decorator), and Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling (Susan Germaine, Lola Kemp and Vivian McAteer).

The series was notable for its all-star cast: Leslie Uggams starred as Lillian Rogers Parks and Olivia Cole played her mother Maggie Rogers. Other White House staffers were played by Louis Gossett Jr., Robert Hooks, Cloris Leachman, Leslie Nielsen, and Hari Rhodes. The first episode featured Paul Winfield as Emmett Rogers Sr.

Production
Producer Ed Friendly acquired the production rights to the book My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House by Lillian Rogers Parks and Frances Spatz Leighton in 1977 after being contacted by a New York literary agent. The book had been on the New York Times best-seller list for 26 weeks and serialized by more than 100 newspapers and publications. The 187-page treatment was written by Gwen Bagni and Paul Dubov based on the book and interviews with Ms. Rogers. Bagni and Dubov won a Writer's Guild Award for the teleplay in 1980 in the category of Television: Long Form-Multi Part. Paul Dubov died from cancer before the award ceremony and was presented the award posthumously. The teleplay was subsequently published as a book entitled Backstairs at the White House: A Novel in 1978.

Michael O'Herlihy co-produced and directed the series, and Morton Stevens was its composer. O'Herlihy and Stevens had worked with Ed Friendly on several previous projects.

Elaborate recreations of the White House, including the First Family's residence and servants' quarters, were built at Samuel Goldwyn Studios. Author Lillian Rogers Parks could find no fault in the sets when she visited them in 1978. Richard Y. Haman (Art Director) and Anne D. McCulley (Set Decorator) received Emmy nominations for their creations for the miniseries. When shooting was concluded, an effort was made to find homes for the White House sets, but Ed Friendly was turned down by the studios and universities he approached. Other than $40,000 worth of doors taken by UCLA, the sets were bulldozed and sent to landfills, much to the disgust of Friendly.

Casting
Casting commenced early 1978 with first casting announcements of Leslie Uggams as Lillian Rogers Parks, Olivia Cole as her mother Maggie Rogers, Louis Gossett Jr. as White House staff member Mercer, Cloris Leachman as the White House head housekeeper, Julie Harris as Mrs. Helen Taft, Robert Vaughn as President Woodrow Wilson, Celeste Holm as Mrs. Florence Harding, and William Conrad as President William Howard Taft.  Victor Buono later replaced William Conrad in that role.  The first episode featured Paul Winfield as Emmett Rogers Sr..  Gregory Itzin appeared in his first (uncredited) television role as a White House tour guide.

Cast

Rogers/Parks Family
Olivia Cole as Maggie Rogers
Leslie Uggams as Lillian Rogers Parks
Paul Winfield as Emmett Rogers Sr.
Kevin Hooks as Emmett Rogers Jr.
Harrison Page as Wheatley Parks
Presidents and First Ladies
Victor Buono as William Howard Taft
Julie Harris as Helen (Nellie) Taft
Robert Vaughn as Woodrow Wilson
Kim Hunter as Ellen Axson Wilson
Claire Bloom as Edith Bolling Galt Wilson
George Kennedy as Warren G. Harding
Celeste Holm as Florence Harding
Ed Flanders as Calvin Coolidge
Lee Grant as Grace Coolidge
Larry Gates as Herbert Hoover
Jan Sterling as Lou Hoover
John Anderson as Franklin D. Roosevelt
Eileen Heckart as Eleanor Roosevelt
Harry Morgan as Harry S. Truman
Estelle Parsons as Bess Truman
Andrew Duggan as Dwight D. Eisenhower
Barbara Barrie as Mamie Eisenhower
White House Staff
Louis Gossett Jr. as Houseman Levi Mercer
Robert Hooks as Doorman John Mays
Leslie Nielsen as Chief Usher Ike Hoover
Hari Rhodes as Butler Coates
Bill Overton as Doorman Jackson
David Downing as Butler Dixon
Helena Carroll as First Maid Annie Gilhooley
Cloris Leachman as Mrs. Elizabeth Jaffray
James A. Watson Jr. as Houseman Fraser
Diane Shalet as Housekeeper Long
Louise Latham as Housekeeper Nesbitt
Richard Roat as Chief Usher Howell Crim
Marged Wakeley as Housekeeper Walker

Plot summary

Part 1: Presidents Taft, Wilson, Harding
Taft: Watching John F. Kennedy's inauguration on television, Lillian Rogers Parks (Leslie Uggams) recalls the times she and her mother, Maggie Rogers (Olivia Cole), spent working as domestic staff in the White House. In 1909, Maggie supports her two children as a maid and hairdresser because her absentee husband Emmett Rogers (Paul Winfield) cannot be depended on to support them. She secures a job at the White House during the administration of William Howard Taft (Victor Buono). Mrs. Elizabeth Jaffray (Cloris Leachman), the Head Housekeeper, informs Maggie that she will be hairdresser for First Lady Helen "Nellie" Taft (Julie Harris) and is the first black woman to serve in the First Family's living quarters. Chief Usher Ike Hoover (Leslie Nielsen) introduces Maggie to the White House staff including Houseman Levi Mercer (Louis Gossett Jr.) and Doorman & Presidential Barber John Mays (Robert Hooks). They all instruct her in the etiquette of keeping the First Family's private lives from the outside world, though not necessarily from gossip among the White House staff. Mrs. Taft is pleased with how Maggie does her hair. Maggie first meets President Taft when she discovers her ten-year-old daughter Lillian Rogers (Tania Johnson) eating ice cream with him. When Nellie has a stroke, President Taft and Maggie help her learn to speak again.  Lillian (Leslie Uggams), older now and crippled in one leg from polio, takes in work as a seamstress.  Maggie keeps her busy and employed with small work orders from the White House.

Wilson: In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson (Robert Vaughn) is elected and his family moves into the White House. First Lady Ellen Wilson (Kim Hunter) declares herself to be a "crusader for Negroes" and even visits Maggie at her small apartment. Mrs. Wilson dies in 1914 and the President is grief-stricken. Eventually, he marries Edith Bolling Galt (Claire Bloom) to the relief of the White House staff who are worried by his depression. Lillian begins working in the White House as a seamstress but is not allowed to work as a domestic servant due to her disability. When the United States enters World War I Maggie's son Emmett Rogers Jr. (Kevin Hooks) enlists and fights on the Western Front in Europe. He returns home permanently injured by a poison gas attack. The family is distraught when news arrives that Emmett Rogers Sr. has died. When President Wilson suffers a debilitating stroke in 1919, Senator Albert B. Fall (John Randolph) tells him the Senate is praying for him. "Which way?" replies Wilson. The First Lady takes over and manages the Executive branch for the remainder of his second term.

Harding: President Warren G. Harding (George Kennedy) and First Lady Florence Harding (Celeste Holm) are briefly introduced at the end of Part 1. President Harding orders spittoons for every room of the White House while Mrs. Harding (an avid mystic) tells Maggie she feels Maggie can be trusted because she has "good vibes."

Part 2: Presidents Harding (continued), Coolidge, Hoover
Harding (continued): Gullible President Harding is manipulated by the scheming Ohio Gang in his cabinet led by Attorney General Harry Daugherty (Barry Sullivan). His administration is plagued by corruption, eventually leading to the Teapot Dome Scandal. The staff keeps to itself the knowledge of his multiple mistresses and the liquor smuggled into the White House during Prohibition. Maggie, as always, refuses to believe any bad rumors about the First Family. Problems mount when Vice President Calvin Coolidge (Ed Flanders) refuses to tell the President how he will vote in an upcoming Senate showdown. Two administration aides commit suicide when implicated in the corruption scandals. The staff is cleaning the White House when they hear that President Harding has died in San Francisco while he and the First Lady are on a western coast goodwill tour.

Coolidge:  Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace Coolidge (Lee Grant) arrive at the White House in 1923.  President Coolidge introduces the staff to his stringent cost-cutting ways as he micro-manages the household expenses, including how and what to prepare in the kitchen. Due to staff retirements, Maggie has now moved up to the position of First Maid. Lillian begins buying things for the apartment on credit (as everyone else in the country is also doing).

President Coolidge may be tight-fisted when running the household, but he is a loving family man to his wife and two sons. When their younger son dies of blood poisoning, Coolidge and Grace are grief-stricken for more than a year. Mrs. Jaffray, who has tormented Maggie over the years, is fired when the President catches her verbally abusing the staff. Coolidge confides to Grace that he fears the economy is over-heated and leading to a depression, but he is unwilling to force his policy of personal frugality on the rest of the nation. Maggie worries about Lillian dating a string of men and frequenting speakeasies. Lillian rejects Maggie's offer to find her a job at the White House. Coolidge chooses not to run for a new term and Herbert Hoover (Larry Gates) is elected president.

Hoover: President Herbert Hoover (Larry Gates) and First Lady Lou Hoover (Jan Sterling) take up residence in the White House. The Great Depression has dealt a death blow to the economy. Emmett Jr. has moved to Arizona for his health.  Lillian loses her jobs at the dress shop and movie theatre, and the household items she bought on credit are repossessed. Swallowing her pride Lillian takes a job as a maid at the White House where First Maid Maggie indoctrinates her on how to behave in the White House. She makes Lillian work harder than the rest of the staff to dispel suspicions of nepotism. The Hoovers communicate as little as possible with the staff, with the First Lady using her fingers to signify "Come," "Quiet," and "Go." Lillian is instructed by the First Lady to perform only "light work" from now on.

Part 3: Presidents Hoover (continued), Franklin Roosevelt
Hoover (continued): Maggie continues to work Lillian especially hard. Lillian resents it, but Maggie tells her times are hard and many people would be glad to have her job. Times get harder when the staff is informed they are all going to have their pay cut. Despite Hoover's efforts, the banks close their doors and Maggie loses her life savings. After an attack on the President, the staff is informed they now must keep out of sight whenever the President or the First Lady walks through the White House. Maggie takes in fellow staff member Houseman Fraser (James A. Watson Jr.) as a boarder for extra income. The Bonus Army of World War I veterans descend on Washington and are referred to by the First Lady as "communists fomenting revolution." Roy Clayton (James Crittenden), an army buddy of Emmett Jr.'s, describes the deplorable conditions in the Bonus Army encampment to Maggie, Lillian, and Fraser. On President Hoover's orders, the Army attacks and drives out the men, women and children in the Bonus Army camp before burning it and all their possessions to the ground. Maggie collapses from the increased work load at the White House. The staff does not regret to see the Hoovers depart without fanfare.

Roosevelt: The loud and boisterous family of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (John Anderson) and his wife Eleanor Roosevelt (Eileen Heckart) are greeted by the staff in 1932. The staff is impressed with the First Lady's energy and openness, a complete reversal from the Hoover administration. When President Roosevelt discovers Lillian is also a victim of polio, he tells her to take the elevator from now on, even if he is riding it. While Maggie recuperates at home Lillian tells her gossip about the First Family. Maggie disapproves and reminds her that the First Family's private lives are strictly confidential and not to be repeated.

Howell Crim (Richard Roat) is now Chief Usher. Housekeeper Nesbitt (Louise Latham) is also new to the staff, replacing Housekeeper Long. She assigns Lillian the task of breaking in the new maids. Lillian meets and secretly marries Wheatley Parks (Harrison Page). They do not tell Maggie until they move into her apartment. The White House becomes so crowded with guests that the First Lady moves into Lillian's upstairs sewing room. Relations between Lillian and Wheatley become strained due to the long hours she is putting in preparing for a visit from King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England. Maggie retires in March 1939 and is given a gold watch in recognition for her thirty years of service in the White House. Mercer offers to walk her out, but she replies, "No, I want to go out the way I came in; by myself." The staff listens to the radio broadcast of President Roosevelt declaring war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lillian is soon making blackout curtains for the White House. Wheatley enlists in the army and tells Lillian he will be leaving her when he gets back from the war. Just like her mother, Lillian is married to the White House. Houseman Fraser also enlists and stops by the apartment to say good-bye to Maggie and give her his ration stamps. The episode concludes with President Roosevelt discussing Japanese victories in the South Pacific.

Part 4: Presidents Roosevelt (continued), Truman, Eisenhower
Roosevelt (continued): Many of the staff are showing the mental and physical signs of old age.  Eleanor Roosevelt summons Maggie out of retirement to help with the visit of Madame Chiang Kai-Chek. Maggie comments to Mercer how rundown the White House is looking but he tells her there is no money for repairs. Lillian pleads with her mother to rest more but Maggie refuses.  When she collapses on the stairs Maggie asks to be taken home. Maggie tells Lillian, "Don't let that White House swallow you." Chief Usher Crim informs the staff that Fraser has been killed in a London air raid and adds his name to the list of staff members who have died for their country.  President Roosevelt's health is declining. He discovers Lillian in his bedroom repairing the curtains and they discuss the deterioration of the White House. Roosevelt says he may come back as a ghost for a visit when his time comes.

Truman: President Roosevelt is dead. Lillian sternly scolds the staff for making fun of newly-sworn in President Harry Truman (Harry Morgan) and First Lady Bess Truman (Estelle Parsons), just as her mother would have done. To cut down expenses, the Trumans reduce staff meals to one a day. The elderly mothers of both the President and First Lady move into the White House and require special treatment.  Housekeeper Nesbitt is fired by the First Lady for refusing to give her a stick of rationed butter. She is replaced by Housekeeper Walker (Marged Wakeley).  Hitler dies in Berlin and two nuclear bombs on Japan bring World War II to an end. Lillian is concerned that Maggie is not taking proper care of herself, spending too much time working on her White House scrapbook. The First Family moves to Blair House when the White House starts to collapse from lack of repairs. While repairs are in progress only Mercer and Mays are kept on while the rest of the staff are let go. Lillian is re-hired by First Lady Bess as a seamstress after the President narrowly wins the election. From the window of her upstairs sewing room she witnesses an assassination attempt on President Truman. The President shows his courage by refusing to cancel his scheduled speech at Arlington despite the assassination attempt. As Truman leaves the White House on the last day of his term, Mercer tells him, "Mr. President, sir, you've got class."

Eisenhower: Dwight D Eisenhower (Andrew Duggan), in total disrespect of tradition, orders the portraits of President Roosevelt and President Truman removed from the main entrance hall.  The President and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower (Barbara Barrie) refuse to speak directly with staff and communicate with them through intermediaries.  The First Lady prefers fashion designers for making her dresses, so Lillian is demoted to repairing linens and curtains.  At times the Eisenhowers can be personable; the President asks Lillian to sample his home-made soup and the First Lady throws a surprise birthday party for her, but most of the time the old guard of Lillian, Mercer, and Mays feel unnoticed and underappreciated.  Before she dies, Maggie tells Mercer, "You see that Lillian writes my book now."  Mercer and Lillian retire before the Kennedy administration takes office.  On Lillian's last day Housekeeper Walker asks what she is going to do now.  Lillian replies, "I'm going to write a book."

Awards
This mini-series was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards (winning in 1 category), 1 Golden Globe Award, and 1 Writers Guild of America Award.

31st Primetime Emmy Awards

Won
Outstanding Achievement in Make-up (Mark Bussan, Tommy Cole and Ron Walters).
Nominations
Outstanding Limited Series (Ed Friendly, Executive Producer; Ed Friendly, Producer; Michael O'Herlihy, Producer),
Best Actress (Olivia Cole),
Best Actor (Louis Gossett Jr.),
Best Supporting Actress (Eileen Heckart),
Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm),
Best Supporting Actor (Ed Flanders),
Best Supporting Actor (Robert Vaughn),
Outstanding Teleplay (Part 1) (Gwen Bagni and Paul Dubov),
Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration (Part 1) (Richard Y. Haman, Art Director; Anne D. McCulley, Set Decorator),
Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling (Susan Germaine, Lola Kemp and Vivian McAteer)

37th Golden Globe Awards

Nominations
Best Television Series, Drama

Writers Guild of America Award

Won
Multi-Part Long Form Series and/or Any Production of More Than Two Parts: Backstairs at the White House (teleplay by Gwen Bagni and Paul Dubov)

Home media
Acorn Media released the mini-series on Region 1 DVD on November 1, 2005.

Filmverlag Fernsehjuwelen released the DVD in Germany (October 30, 2015) and Austria (December 2015) using the title Weißes Haus, Hintereingang.

References

External links

Thomas, Robert McG.  "Lillian Parks, 100, Dies; Had 'Backstairs' White House View." New York Times 12 November 1997   NYTimes.com  retrieved 25 April 2018
 Barnes, Mike. "Olivia Cole, Actress in 'Roots' and 'Backstairs at the White House,' Dies at 75."  The Hollywood Reporter 24 January 2018  HollywoodReporter.com  retrieved 25 April 2018

1979 films
NBC original programming
1970s American television miniseries
American biographical series
Television shows based on books
Cultural depictions of Woodrow Wilson
Cultural depictions of William Howard Taft
Cultural depictions of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Cultural depictions of Eleanor Roosevelt
Cultural depictions of Harry S. Truman
Cultural depictions of Warren G. Harding
Cultural depictions of Calvin Coolidge
Cultural depictions of Dwight D. Eisenhower
Cultural depictions of Herbert Hoover
Films directed by Michael O'Herlihy

Backstairs at the White House


Beata Ann Brookes  (21 January 1930  – 17 August 2015) was a British social worker, company secretary and Conservative Party politician. She served ten years as Member of the European Parliament for North Wales, and made several attempts to obtain election to the House of Commons. She was sometimes nicknamed the "Celtic Iron Lady".

Education
Brookes was educated at Lowther College in Abergele and went on to the University of Wales, Bangor. She obtained a scholarship from the State Department to study politics in the US. She began to work as company secretary and director of a North Wales firm.

Political activity
Her early interest in politics took her into the Conservative Party and she was elected to the executive of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations. She was also elected as a Conservative to Rhyl Urban District Council, and in the 1955 general election she fought Widnes which was a marginal Labour-held seat. She lost by only 1,449 votes.

She later worked for Denbighshire County Council as a social worker, and as a farmer. In 1961 she was Conservative candidate in the Warrington by-election, a safe Labour seat. At the 1964 general election she fought in Manchester Exchange. She was appointed by the Conservative government to the Welsh Hospital Board in 1963, where she remained for eleven years. Although she had married Anthony Arnold, in May 1963 they were divorced and she announced that she wished to remain known as Miss Beata Brookes.

Local posts
From 1973 Brookes was a member of Clwyd Area Health Authority, where she served on the Family Practitioner Committee, and was also co-opted onto Clwyd County Council Social Services Committee. She was a member of the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine and had several voluntary sector posts in North Wales relating to the disabled and mentally handicapped.

European Parliament
At the 1979 European Parliament election, Brookes was elected as Conservative MEP for North Wales. She was a strong supporter of British membership of the European Communities and in 1981 at the Conservative Party conference moved a motion condemning the then Labour policy of leaving it; she argued that such a policy would leave Britain weak, friendless, isolated and bankrupt. She pointed to statistics about the economy and trade with Europe to claim that one job in three depended on Britain staying in.

Selection dispute
Brookes made a determined effort to be selected for the boundary changed constituency of Clwyd North West at the 1983 general election, over the claims of the sitting MPs for West Flintshire (Sir Anthony Meyer) and Denbigh (Geraint Morgan). The selection contest attracted national attention and Conservative Central Office decided to stay out of the dispute. On 6 March, Brookes won the selection vote in the Clwyd North West Conservative Executive, with Meyer describing the meeting as having been fixed and Morgan saying that speaking at the meeting was "like speaking to a nobbled jury".

Conservative Party chairman Cecil Parkinson then intervened, arising out of a newspaper report that Brookes claimed Central Office put her forward for the nomination (Meyer was a leading "wet" who was not popular with the Conservative leadership). When the Executive of Clwyd North West Conservative Association placed only Brookes' name before the general membership for adoption, Meyer won a High Court judgment that his name should also be offered. When the full membership met on 9 May 1983, Meyer was narrowly adopted.

Further political life
Brookes remained in the European Parliament. She protested in December 1983 over a BBC interview with the Welsh republican John Jenkins, who had been jailed for a bombing campaign at the time of the investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales. In the European Parliament she was a member of the Education and Agricultural Committees. She was defeated by the Labour Party candidate at the 1989 European Parliament elections.

She remained involved in Welsh Conservative politics and in 1993 was chair of the Welsh Conservative Party, and proclaimed her support for John Major at a time when he was under fire from within the party. She was appointed Chair of the Welsh Consumer Council, but her re-appointment in 1994 went ahead despite criticism from the National Consumer Council that despite her ability, a non-political choice would be more appropriate. She was awarded the CBE in 1996. On 3 May 2013 she joined UKIP.

Car boot sales
Although retired, she was still considered newsworthy in 2003 when she won permission to hold more "car boot sales" on her land at Rhuddlan on 14 Saturdays in a year. She had in 2000 obtained permission to hold sales on 28 Sundays in a year, and also offered the land for use for fireworks displays and the National Eisteddfod of Wales.

References

Bibliography
"Who's Who 2007", A & C Black
The Times

External links
Beata Brookes papers at the National Library of Wales.
European Parliament

1930 births
2015 deaths
Alumni of Bangor University
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Councillors in Wales
Welsh Conservative MEPs
MEPs for Wales 1979–1984
MEPs for Wales 1984–1989
20th-century women MEPs for Wales
People educated at Lowther College
UK Independence Party people
Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates
Conservative Party (UK) councillors
Women councillors in Wales

Beata Brookes


David Wilks (born September 23, 1959) is a Canadian politician, currently serving as the mayor of Sparwood, British Columbia following a term as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada. He was elected in the Kootenay—Columbia riding as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada in the 2011 election. In the 41st Canadian Parliament, Wilks was appointed to the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and  introduced one piece of legislation, a private members bill called An Act to amend the Criminal Code (kidnapping of young person) (C-299) which sought a minimum sentence of five years in prison for someone convicted of kidnapping a person under the age of 16.

Wilks, originally from Lethbridge, is a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer and entrepreneur. Between 1980 and 2000 he was assigned to several RCMP detachments in British Columbia. He was elected as a councillor for the District of Sparwood in 2002 and then as mayor in 2005. As mayor, he was appointed to the Regional District of East Kootenay and became the chair of the Regional Board. Wilks sought and won the Conservative Party nomination to replace retiring Kootenay—Columbia Member of Parliament Jim Abbott and was elected to Parliament in 2011.

Background
David Wilks was born and raised in Lethbridge but after graduating high school he moved to Saskatoon. He worked briefly in the potash industry while under-going recruitment process. He attended RCMP Academy in Regina. His first assignment as an RCMP officer was to the Terrace detachment in 1980. Over his 20-year RCMP career he was subsequently assigned to the detachments in New Aiyansh, Golden, Penticton and Sparwood. He retired from the RCMP in 2000 while in Sparwood and bought a family entertainment business called Sparwood Bowl and Billiards Inc. with his wife.

In the 2002 BC municipal elections Wilks first stood for election. He was elected to a three-year term as a Sparwood municipal councillor. In the 2005 municipal elections he put his name forward in the mayoral election and successfully defeated the incumbent. No one challenged Wilks during the 2008 municipal elections so he was acclaimed to a new 3-year term as mayor. Along with being mayor, he was appointed by the Sparwood council to the Board of Directors at the Regional District of East Kootenay. Wilks and Sparwood gained national attention in late-December 2008 when an avalanche killed eight men on snowmobiles; Wilks established public trust accounts for the families of the victims and helped organize a memorial service which the Prime Minister attended. At the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, Wilks advocated expanding the Meth Watch program to include a registration system to track people to purchase components used in making methamphetamine. At the Regional District, Wilks advocated for the provincial government to give the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort municipal status, removing the responsibility for public consultation and zoning from the Regional District and placing it with the province or a locally elected or appointed council. His March 2006 resolution was defeated, with Wilks being the only director to vote in favour. Wilks re-introduced the motion in August 2009 and it was approved by the Board, though the province did not take any action. In December 2009, the Regional Board elected Wilks to be the chair of the Regional District.

Federal politics
In February 2010, Jim Abbott, the local member of parliament for the past 17 years, announced he would not seek re-election. Wilks endorsed Bill Bennett to replace Abbott but Bennett declined. The 50-year-old Wilks subsequently announced his intent to seek the Conservative Party nomination for the next election. He stepped down from the Chair position at the Regional District to better focus on his campaign but remained a director. In the March 2011 Conservative Party nomination election, Wilks faced three other candidates: a 29-year-old town councillor from Creston, a lawyer from Cranbrook, and an engineer also from Cranbrook. Wilks campaign unknowingly employed a con artist who stole an undisclosed sum of money before disappearing. Despite the theft, Wilks won the nomination. During the campaign for the federal election, Wilks faced former Invermere mayor Mark Shmigelsky for NDP, and Kimberley residents Betty Aitchison, Bill Green, and Brent Bush. Wilks was seen as the front-runner but his campaign was criticized for avoiding all-candidate forums and debates, skipping the forums in Revelstoke, Kimberley, and Invermere. During the campaign, Wilks noted that he would seek to direct federal funds to improving the Trans-Canada Highway, "proper" punishment for criminals, and "proper" funding for the military, noting that his son was currently serving in the military as a combat engineer in Afghanistan. Wilks won the Kootenay—Columbia riding with 56% of the vote.

As the 41st Parliament began, Wilks was not selected to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet. He was appointed to the 'Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development'
and the 'Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations'. In the House of Commons, Wilks used his time on the floor on June 15, 2011, to describe why he sees the New Democratic Party as a "radical hard left" political party. Following the high-profile kidnapping of a three-year-old boy from his hometown of Sparwood, Wilks introduced a private members bill (C-299) which would create a five-year minimum sentence for people convicted of kidnapping a person under the age of 16.

Wilks' comments about the 2012 Canadian federal budget made national headlines in May 2012. Speaking at a meeting with constituents in Revelstoke, Wilks stated his belief that the omnibus budget bill should be split into a series of smaller bills, but that as a backbench MP, he had little alternative but to vote in favour because "that's how Ottawa works." Answering questions from the audience, he indicated that he and other backbenchers had little influence or input on the budget legislation. Two videos of Wilks' comments were posted online, with his permission. Shortly after the story broke, Wilks released a statement to the effect that he was in full support of the budget bill.

During the 2015 Canadian federal election, Wilks made headlines for saying that it was "not fair" for Canadians to expect the government to take action on missing and murdered Indigenous women and that the matter should be dealt with simply as part of "missing and murdered people" in general, without using the term "Indigenous." Wilks ended up losing his seat to Wayne Stetski of the NDP in one of the closest races of the country by just 282 votes.

In 2018 Wilks let his name stand for Mayor for the District of Sparwood. He was successful for a four-year term that was renewed in 2022.

References

External links
Official Website

Riding Association - Conservative Party

Conservative Party of Canada MPs
Living people
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia
Politicians from Lethbridge
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers
1959 births
21st-century Canadian politicians
Mayors of places in British Columbia

David Wilks


The Essex Pirates were a British Basketball League team from Southend-on-Sea, in the county of Essex. They were founded in 2009 and played their home games at the Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre. Following the loss of a major sponsor, the franchise withdrew from the league just two weeks prior to the start of the 2011-12 season and have remained inactive since, with much of their former fan-base now following Essex Leopards.

History

Basketball in Essex
Prior to the creation of the Pirates franchise in 2009, the county of Essex had previous flirtations with top-level basketball through the Essex Leopards franchise, still a synonymous name with the area. After mounting costs forced the Greater London Leopards to look away from their traditional London Arena home, the franchise moved out of London and settled for a new nest in Brentwood in 1998. The venture lasted for five seasons before the club folded, to be replaced with the supporter-backed Essex & Herts Leopards in 2004. Though many fans consider it to be a direct continuation of the Leopards name, the new club was, in fact, a separate entity, formed from the rubble of the Ware Rebels. The club have risen to prominence in the lower leagues of the English Basketball League, and are currently found alternating between venues in Brentwood and Basildon Sporting Village.

The foundations of the new franchise were already in place through the Essex Basketball Club's Advanced Apprentice-ship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) basketball training programme which was present at the South East Essex College, and the ambitious plans spearheaded by the programmes' operator Great Britain Under 20's coach Tim Lewis.

Pirates set sail
The application to the British Basketball League, the country's top league, was formally accepted on 11 June 2009, as well as plans to operate several initiatives alongside the BBL team and the existing AASE programme, included an England Basketball Division Four development team and a non-profit community coaching company to deliver coaching into primary schools across the county. The following months saw plenty of action and preparation in time for the inaugural season, and the club announced their first signings in August, with the inclusion of Spaniard starlet Pablo Rodrigo, British international Kyle Dodds and BBL veteran Dean Williams, formerly of Guildford, London Towers and Thames Valley Tigers becoming the first names on the roster. The eventual team sheet would be one centred on young, homegrown players, with the roster being predominantly British ranging from the ages of 20 to 26.

The new team took to their home court at Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre for the first time on 3 October, in a home league encounter with London Capital, eventually going on to win a tight affair 61–60, despite being up 49–37 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Pirates 6ft11 forward Alan Metclalfe led the games' scoring with 21 points, while Pablo Rodrigo and Colin Sing both fouled out within the last 2 minutes. Pirates secured their first away win a few weeks later on 15 October, with an 82–88 victory against the Worthing Thunder, Taner Adu of the Pirates posted 29 points for the visitors. On 27 November, the club announced the signing of former Plymouth Raiders guard, Haggai Hundert.

Home arenas

Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre (2009-2011)

Season-by-season records

Notable former players
 Josh Clark
 Myles Hesson
  Haggai Hundert
 Marcus Knight
 Walid Mumuni
 Pablo Rodrigo
 Dean Williams
 David Celestini

References

External links
Essex Pirates photos from Pixel8 Photos
Essex Pirates on Facebook
Essex Pirates on Twitter

Defunct basketball teams in the United Kingdom
Basketball teams established in 2009
Basketball teams in England
Sports clubs and teams in Southend-on-Sea
Basketball teams disestablished in 2011
2009 establishments in England
2011 disestablishments in England
Former British Basketball League teams

Essex Pirates


A kraken is an imaginary sea monster of huge size, said to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway, Greenland, and Iceland. The legend may actually have originated from sightings of real giant squid. They are estimated to grow to 13–15 m (40–50 ft) in length, including the tentacles.

The mysterious sea monster started to be talked about in literary works as far back as 1180, according to paleontologist Rodrigo Brincalepe Salvador.

Cryptozoology

Kraken


The Moose Addition Neighborhood Historic District encompasses the oldest residential area of Morrilton, Arkansas.  This area was farmland until the railroad was built through the region in the 1880s.  Located just south of the railroad and the city's business district, this area was soon built up as a residential area, with most of its development coming between roughly 1925 and 1960.  There is a single Queen Anne Victorian, built in 1881, from the earliest days of its development.

The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013 and enlarged in 2015.  Its initial listing included properties on Division Street and Moose Street between Valley Street in the north and Brown and Green Streets to the south.  It was nearly doubled in size in 2015, expanding north to Church Street and east to St. Joseph Street.

See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Conway County, Arkansas

References

Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
National Register of Historic Places in Conway County, Arkansas
Buildings and structures in Morrilton, Arkansas


Michael Benedetto (born June 2, 1947) is a Member of the New York State Assembly representing the 82nd Assembly District, which covers the Co-op City, Throggs Neck, Westchester Square, City Island, Country Club, and Pelham Bay sections of the East Bronx. After a 35-year teaching career at the elementary and secondary school level, he was first elected to the State Assembly in 2004. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Benedetto was born in the Bronx in 1947. He holds a B.A. in History/Education from Iona College and a M.A. in Social Studies/Education. In 1981, Benedetto co-founded the Bronx Times-Reporter, a weekly newspaper, with John Collazzi.

Benedetto introduced a law prohibiting tackle football for ages 13 and under, in order to protect young children from concussion related developmental problems.

Benedetto first ran for office in 1976, losing to Republican Assemblyman Guy Velella. Two years later, Benedetto ran against Republican State Senator John D. Calandra and lost by 1,121 votes.

In 1980, Benedetto attempted to run again against Calandra. Bronx Democratic leaders, who maintained a non-aggression pact with Calandra, allowed him run in the Democratic primary. Calandra defeated Benedetto to win the Democratic nomination, and in the general election as the candidate of both the Republican and Democratic parties, Calandra easily defeated Benedetto, who ran on the Liberal Party ticket.

See also
 List of members of the New York State Assembly

References

External links
 New York State Assembly official site
 Michael Benedetto's Assembly web page

Living people
Politicians from the Bronx
Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly
Iona University alumni
1947 births
21st-century American politicians

Michael Benedetto


The Episcopal Palace of Astorga (Spanish: Palacio Episcopal de Astorga) is a building by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. It was built between 1889 and 1913.  Designed in the Catalan Modernisme style, it is one of only three buildings by Gaudí outside Catalonia.

History
When the original Episcopal Palace was destroyed by a fire in the 19th century, Bishop Juan Bautista Grau y Vallespinos of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Astorga decided  to assign the design of the new building to his friend Antoni Gaudí. The two had become friends when Grau was Vicar-General in the Archdiocese of Tarragona and had inaugurated a church for which the architect had designed the high altar.

When Gaudí received the commission, he was still working at the Palau Güell in Barcelona, and thus he could not move to Astorga to study the terrain and the area of the new construction. He therefore asked the bishop to send him photographs so Gaudí could plan the new project. Gaudí sent back his design, and it was approved in February 1889. The first stone was placed in June the following year.

The edifice, built in gray granite from El Bierzo, is in a neo-medieval style harmonizing with its location, including the cathedral in particular. It does, however, also feature some of the elements typical of the later Gaudí, such as the arches of the entrance with buttresses, and the chimneys integrated in the side façades. Gaudí had devised a five-meter tall angel to crown the façade, but it was never mounted. The façade has four cylindrical towers and is surrounded by a ditch.

In 1893, after the death of Bishop Grau, Gaudí resigned over disagreements with the council, halting the construction for several years. The palace was completed between 1907 and 1915 by Ricardo Garcia Guereta. During the Spanish Civil War, the building served as the local headquarters of the Falange. In 1956 Julià Castelltort, a Catalan, began restoration works to adapt the building as a bishop's residence. Later, Bishop Marcelo González Martín promoted the conversion to the current role of the palace, a museum of religious art called Museo de los Caminos, dedicated to the Way of Santiago.

See also
Casa Botines, another project by Gaudí in León

Sources

Buildings and structures completed in 1913
Buildings and structures in the Province of León
Episcopal palaces
Museums in Castile and León
Antoni Gaudí buildings
Gothic Revival architecture in Spain
Religious museums in Spain
1913 establishments in Spain
Modernisme architecture
Art Nouveau houses
Astorga, Spain

Episcopal Palace, Astorga


A clockwise movement is one that moves in a circle like the clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down, then to the left, and back to the top.

The opposite of clockwise is counterclockwise or anticlockwise. The movement is from the top to the left, then down, then to the right, and finally back up to the top.

Basic physics ideas
Clocks

Clockwise


Dal is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is an urban lake, the second largest lake in Jammu and Kashmir, and the most visited place in Srinagar by tourists and locals. It is integral to tourism and recreation in the Kashmir valley and is variously known as the "Lake of Flowers", "Jewel in the crown of Kashmir" or "Srinagar's Jewel". The lake is also an important source for commercial operations in fishing and water plant harvesting.

The shore line of the lake, about , is encompassed by a boulevard lined with Mughal era gardens, parks, houseboats and hotels. Scenic views of the lake can be witnessed from the shore line Mughal gardens, such as Shalimar Bagh and Nishat Bagh built during the reign of Mughal Emperor Jahangir, and from houseboats cruising along the lake in the colourful shikaras. During the winter season, the temperature can sometimes reach as low as , freezing the lake.

The lake covers an area of  and is part of a natural wetland which covers , including its floating gardens. The floating gardens, known as "Rad" in Kashmiri, blossom with lotus flowers during July and August. The wetland is divided by causeways into four basins; Gagribal, Lokut Dal, Bod Dal and Nigeen (although Nigeen is also considered as an independent lake). Lokut Dal and Bod Dal each have an island in the centre, known as Rupa Lank (or Char Chinari) and Sona Lank respectively.

At present, the Dal and the Mughal gardens on its periphery are undergoing intensive restoration measures to fully address the serious eutrophication problems experienced by the lake. Massive investments of approximately US$275 million ( 11 billion) are being made by the Government of India to restore the lake to its original splendour.

History

Dal is mentioned as Mahasarit (Sanskrit: महासरित्) in ancient Sanskrit texts. Ancient history records mention that a village named Isabar to the east of Dal was the residence of goddess Durga.
This place was known as Sureshwari on the bank of the lake, which was sourced by a spring called the Satadhara.

During the Mughal period, the Mughal rulers of India designated Kashmir, Srinagar in particular, as their summer resort. They developed the precincts of the Dal in Srinagar with sprawling Mughal-type gardens and pavilions as pleasure resorts to enjoy the salubrious cool climate. After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, which led to the disintegration of the Mughal Empire, Pashtun tribes in the area around the lake and city increased, and the Afghan Durrani Empire ruled the city for several decades. In 1814 a significant part of the Kashmir valley, including Srinagar, was annexed from the Afghans by Maharaja Ranjit Singh to his kingdom, and the Sikhs grew in influence in the region for 27 years.

During the Dogra Raj, Srinagar became the capital of Dogra territory, attracted by the cool climate of the Kashmir valley, amidst the back drop of the majestic snow covered Himalayan ranges. The lake precincts experience temperatures in the range of  during winter and  during the summer season. The lake freezes when temperatures drop to about  during severe winter. Although the Dogra Maharaja of Kashmir restricted the building of houses in the valley, the British circumvented this rule by commissioning lavish houseboats to be built on the Dal.  The houseboats have been referred to as, "each one a little piece of England afloat on Dal."

After the independence of India, the Kashmiri Hanji people have built, owned and maintained these houseboats, cultivating floating gardens and producing commodities for the market, making them the centre of their livelihoods. The houseboats, closely associated with Dal also provide accommodation in Srinagar. Following the Mughal, Afghan, Sikh and Dogra rule, the place has earned the epithet, "Jewel in the crown of Kashmir".

Physical properties

Topography

The lake is located within a catchment area covering  in the Zabarwan mountain valley, in the foothills of the Shankaracharya Hill, which surrounds it on three sides. The lake, which lies to the east and north of Srinagar city covers an area of , although including the floating gardens of lotus flowers, it is  (an estimated figure of  is also mentioned). The main basin draining the lake is a complex of five interconnected basins with causeways; the Nehru Park basin, the Nishat basin, the Hazratbal basin, the Nigeen basin and the Barari Nambal basin. Navigational channels provide the transportation links to all the five basins.

The average elevation of the lake is . The depth of water varies from  at its deepest in Nigeen lake to , the shallowest at Gagribal. The depth ratio between the maximum and minimum depths varies with the season between 0.29 and 0.25, which is interpreted as flat bed slope. The length of the lake is  with a width of . The lake has a basin having shore length of  and roads run all along the periphery. Irreversible changes through urban developments have placed further restrictions on the flow of the lake and as a result, marshy lands have emerged on the peripheral zones, notably in the foothill areas of the Shankaracharya and Zaharbwan hills. These marshy lands have since been reclaimed and converted into large residential complexes.

Geology
Multiple theories explaining the origin of this lake have been formulated. One version is that it is the remnants of a post-glacial lake, which has undergone drastic changes in size over the years and the other theory is that it is of fluvial origin from an old flood spill channel or ox-bows of the Jhelum River. The dendritic drainage pattern of the catchment signifies that its rock strata have low levels of porosity. Lithologically, a variety of rock types have been discerned namely, igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. The Dachigam Telbal Nallah system is conjectured to follow two major lineaments. Discontinuous surfaces seen in the terrain are attributed to the angular and parallel drainage pattern. The water table cuts the hill slopes, which is evidenced by the occurrence of numerous springs in the valley. Seismic activity in the valley is recorded under Zone V of the Seismic Zoning Map of India, the most severe zone where frequent damaging earthquakes of intensity IX could be expected. In the year 2005, Kashmir valley experienced one of the severe earthquakes measured at 7.6 on the Richter's scale, which resulted in deaths and the destruction of many properties, leaving many homeless.

Hydrology

The shallow, open-drainage lake is fed by Dachigam-Telbal Nallah (with perennial flow), Dara Nallah ('Nallah' means "stream") and many other small streams. The lake is classified as 'warm monomictic' under the sub-tropical lake category. Spring sources also contribute to the flow, although no specific data is available to quantify their contribution.
To address this, water balance studies to analyse and assess the characteristics of flow have been conducted in order to approximate the discharge contributed by the springs in the lake bed. The complex land use pattern of the valley is reflected in the urbanised Srinagar in its north, with rice fields, orchards and gardens in the lower slopes, and barren hills beyond steep sloping hills. The flat topography also affects drainage conditions. It receives an average annual rainfall of  in the catchment, but during the summer, snow melt from the higher ranges of the catchment results in large inflows into the lake.
The maximum flood discharge of Telbal Nallah has been assessed as 141.5 metres3/s for a one in hundred return period; the 1973 observed flood in Telbal Nallah has been estimated as 113 metres3/s. The average annual flow, according to discharge measurements, has been estimated as 291.9 million cubic metres, with Telbal Nalah accounting for 80% of the total and 20% contributed by other sources. The silt load has been estimated at 80,000 tonnes per year with 70% contribution from the Telabal Nallah, with 36,000 tonnes recorded as settling in the lake.

There are two outlets from the lake, namely the Dalgate and Amir Khan Nallah that connects the lakes of Nigeen and Anchar Lake. Dalgate is controlled by a weir and lock system. The outflow from these two outlets has been estimated as 275.6 million cubic metres.

Flora and fauna

The ecosystem of Dal is ecologically rich in macrophytes, submerged macrophytes, floating macrophytes and phytoplankton. Macrophyte flora recorded in the lake's aquatic and marshland environment consists of 117 species, belonging to 69 genera and 42 families. The lake is noted in particular for its Nelumbo nucifera (lotus flowers) which bloom in July and August. The prolific growth of Ceratophyllum demersum in the eutrophic zones has been reported, with Myriophyllum spicatum and Potemogetton lucens cited as dominant species. Other macrophytes discerned in different zones of the lake include Typho angustata, Phragmites australis, Myriophyllum, Sparganium evectum and Myriophyllum verticillatum, which contribute to the production of macrophites. The rooted variety of the floating leaf type consists of Nelumbo nucifera, Nymphaea alba, N. tetragonia, N. candida, Nymphoides peltata, Salvinia natans, Hydrocharis dubia, Nymphaea sp. and Potamogeton natans, all of which occupy 29.2% of the lake. Phytoplanktons include Navicula radiosa, Nitzschia accicularis, Fragilaria crotonensis, Diatoma elongatum, Scenedesmus bijuga, Pediastrum duplex, Tetraedron minimum, Microcystis aeruginosa and Merismopedia elegans.

Since 1934, some important changes have been observed in the lake's biota, including a reduction in the number of Chara species, and an increase in the area covered by Salvinia since 1937. Analysis of the lake has also revealed the tendency for it to develop monospecific communities of submerged macrophytes such as Ceratophyllum and Myriophyllum.

Woody vegetation in the catchment of the lake consists of Melia, Ailanthus, Robinia, Daphne, Celtis, Rose, Ephedra, Pinus roxburghii, Pinus halepensis, Pinus gerardiana, Cupressus torulosa and Cupressus arizonica. The valley also has a rich cultivation of crops such as paddy, wheat and fodder.

Floating gardens, labelled the 'Rad' in tye Kashmiri language are a special feature of the lake. They basically constitute of matted vegetation and earth, but are floating. These are detached from the bottom of the lake and drawn to a suitable place (generally to the north west of the houseboats' location) and anchored. Given its rich nutrient properties, tomatoes, cucumbers and melons are grown with noteworthy results.

The faunal distribution consists of Zooplanktons, Benthos and Fish. Zooplankton found in the lake include Keratella cochlearis, K. serrulata, Polyactis vulgaris, Brachionus plicatilis, Monostyla bulla, Alona monocantha, Cyclops ladakanus and Mesocyclops leukarti. Benthos
include Chironomus sp. and Tubifex sp. and fish include Cyprinus carpio specularis (economically important), C. carpio communis, Schizothorax niger, S. esocinus, S. curviformis and Crossochelius latius. It is also reported that Cyprinus, introduced during early sixties, is dominant and that the indigenous species Schizothorax is showing a declining trend.

Fishing resources
The fishing industry on Dal is the second largest industry in the region and is central to many of the people's livelihoods who reside on the lake's periphery. Dal's commercial fisheries are particularly reliant on carp fish species, which were introduced into the lake in 1957. As a result, carp constitutes 70% of all the fish caught in the lake while the schizothorax constitutes 20% and other species account for 10%. Fishermen use a locally manufactured cast net which comprises six parts with a diameter of 6 metres. It is operated from a wooden fishing boat made out of deodar, typically 20ftx4ft in size. The gradual decline in quality of the lake water through pollution has resulted in lower fish stocks and the extinction of endemic varieties of fish. The causes for such deterioration have been identified and remedial actions have been initiated. The various fishing nets being used in Dal are cast net (Zaal/Duph), Long line (Walruz), Gill net (Pachi, Shaitan zaal), Rod and line (Bislai), Scoop net (Attha zaal) (Bhat et al., 2008)

The lake is warm monomictic (mixing type) and the pH value recorded has varied from a minimum of 7.2 to a maximum of 8.8 on the surface over a yearly period. The Dissolved oxygen [mg l−1] value has varied from a minimum of 1.4 to a maximum of 12.3 on the surface within a year. The Recorded maximum nitrogen concentration (NH4-N [micro l−1] has been recorded as 1315 on the surface and 22 at the bottom of the lake. Phosphorus concentration expressed in Total-P [micro l−1] has varied from a high of 577 to a low of 35 during the 12 months of the year. The lake water temperature has varied from a minimum of  in January to  in June at the surface. Transparency, expressed as depth in metres, has varied from a maximum of  in July to a minimum of  in March, over the 12 months period.

Studies of the water quality of the lake in 1983–84 indicate a decline in quality since the 1965–66 analysis. Scientific research over the years also reveal that Telbal, Botkal, and sewage drains are responsible for a substantial influx of nitrogen and phosphorus into the lake. Quantitatively, fifteen drains and several other sources have released a total of 156.62 tonnes (56.36 tonnes by drains alone) of phosphorus, and 241.18 tonnes of inorganic nitrogen into the lake from a discharge of 11.701 million cubic metres /year. Non-point sources, such as seepage and diffused runoff, also add to this pollution and have been recorded as further adding 4.5 tonnes of total phosphates and 18.14 tonnes of nitrogen (NO3–N and NH4–N) to the lake. Based on the values mentioned above, it has been inferred that the water quality of the lake has deteriorated.

The major environmental problem facing the lake is eutrophication, which has required immediate remedial measures to combat it. Alarmingly, the size of the lake has shrunk from its original area of  to the present area of , and there is a concerning rate of sediment deposition due to catchment area degradation.
The water quality has also deteriorated due to intense pollution caused by the untreated sewage and solid waste that is fed into the lake from the peripheral areas and from the settlements and houseboats. Besides, some experts like Dr. A.A. Kazmi (Associate Professor, IIT Roorkee and in charge of the Environmental Engineering Lab) believe that deforestation in the catchment of Dal and Telbal stream may have led to more nitrogen and phosphorus-rich run-off, further aiding eutrophication.  Encroachments of water channels and consequent clogging has diminished the circulation and inflows into the lake, so with the building up of phosphates and nitrogen, this has led to extensive weed growth and consequences on the biodiversity of the lake.

Public interest litigations and restoration works
Identifying the above major issues as causes for the deterioration of the lake, a multidisciplinary team of experts have prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR), which has the objective of achieving environment and sustainability, ecological improvement with minimum interventions and displacement and balancing the conflicts of interest. This plan is now under implementation with the financial assistance of the Government of India.

The serious nature of the environmental problems the lake has been experienced has been widely publicised and has been brought to the attention of the Supreme Court of India. Public Interest Litigations (PILs) have been filed in court demonstrating the environmental dangers posed to the lake by sewage, wastes and effluents. The PILs have sought injunctions of the court for setting up of an integrated ring sewage system encircling the Lake; release of funds by the Government of India to undertake measures to check pollution and to inaugurate a High Powered Committee to monitor proper utilisation of the allotted funds. The committee is under obligation to post feedback of progression developments from time to time, directly to the Supreme Court. The PIL, filed in 2001, has resulted in a number of directives from the court to the funding and implementing agencies and the case is continuing. Consequently, under the National Lake Conservation Plan of the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Government of India, funds to the extent Rs 2987.6 million were sanctioned in September 2005 for the conservation of the lake. The restoration and rehabilitation measures envisaged under the "Conservation and Management of Dal" are under various stages of implementation with the funds allocated by the Government of India for the purpose. Some of the measures undertaken for rehabilitating the lake to bring it to its original eutrophication free status involved measures such as construction of siltation tanks, mechanical weeding, regrouping of houseboats, deepening of outflow channel and removal of bunds and barricades, including some floating gardens. In addition, a moratorium has been imposed on new construction works close to the lakefront, including the building of new house boats. Resettlement plans for migrating the population from the lakefront have also evolved. The long-term development plans also deal with the reafforestation of catchment area to reduce erosion movement and movement of silt and to regulate grazing by livestock. Recent reports indicate that, as of 2010, 40% of the measures have been implemented.

Uses and attractions

The lake is popular as a visitor attraction and a summer resort. Fisheries and the harvesting of food and fodder plants are also important on Dal. Weeds from the lake are extracted and converted into compost for the gardens. It also serves as a flood lung of the Jhelum River. Swimming, boating, snow skiing (particularly when the lake is frozen during the severe winter), and canoeing are amongst some of the water sports activities practised on the lake.

The lake has numerous sites and places of interest, many of which are important to the cultural heritage of Srinagar. Aside from the Shalimar Bagh and Nishat Bagh, some of the other places frequented by tourists are the Shankaracharya temple, the Hari Parbat, the Nigeen Lake, the Chashme Shahi, the Hazratbal Shrine, and the Mazar-e-Shura cemetery containing the graves of famous Mughal-era poets. Visitors and native alike also enjoy relaxing on the water in a houseboat or a shikara boat, often called "the Gondola of Kashmir".

Island of Char Chinar

A famous landmark in Srinagar is an island on Dal where four Chinar (Platanus orientalis) trees stand, named "Char Chinar". Char in Hindi and Urdu means four.

Nigeen Lake

Nigeen Lake, though sometimes referred to as a separate lake, is actually part of Dal, being linked through a causeway which permits only bikers and walkers to enter the lake precincts. The causeway carries the water supply pipeline to the Srinagar city in the east. The lake is bounded by the Shankaracharya hill (Takht-e-Suleiman) on the south and Hari Parbat on the west and is located at the foot of the Zabarwan hills. Willow and poplar trees flank the edges of the lake.

Chashme Shahi

Chashme Shahi, meaning "Royal Spring", is a fresh water spring and garden known for its medicinal properties. Its source located above the Nehru Memorial Park. It is the smallest of all the Mughal gardens in Srinagar, measuring  x  and it has three terraces, an aqueduct, waterfalls and fountains. Ali Mardan Khan built the garden in 1632, and is built in such a way that the spring water is the source of fountains. From the fountains, water flows along the floor of the pavilion and cascades to a lower terrace over a drop of  along a polished black stone chute. A small shrine, known as the Chasma Sahibi, is located in the vicinity of the gardens and has a fresh water spring.

Shankaracharya Temple

The Shankaracharya Temple is also known as the Jyeshteshwara Temple. It is on top of the Shankaracharya Hill on the Zabarwan Range in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is at a height of 1,000 feet (300 m) above the valley floor and overlooks the city of Srinagar.

The temple dates to 220 BCE, although the present structure probably dates to the 9th century CE. It was visited by Adi Shankara and has ever since been associated with him; this is how the temple got the name Shankaracharya. It is also regarded as sacred by Buddhists. Some historians report that the temple was actually a Buddhist temple during the Buddhist era which was then changed into Hindu site of worship by Adi Shankaracharya.

Hari Parbat

Hari Parbat, also known as the Mughal fort, is a hill fort on Sharika hill that provides panoramic views of the Srinagar city and the Dal. It was first established by Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1590. However, he only erected the outer wall of the fort and his plans to build a new capital called Naga Nagor within it did not materialise. The fort in its current state was built much later in 1808 under the reign of Shuja Shah Durrani. Within the fort's precincts are temples, Muslim shrines, and a Sikh Gurudwara. The hill is the subject of many legends in Hindu mythology, and was said to have once been a large sea, inhabited by a demon known as Jalobhava and that the hill grew from a pebble.

Hazratbal Shrine

The Hazratbal Shrine (, literally: Majestic Place), also named Hazratbal, Assar-e-Sharief,  or simply Dargah Sharif, is a Muslim shrine situated on the left bank of the Dal and is considered to be Kashmir's holiest Muslim shrine. It contains a relic believed by many Kashmiri Muslims to be the Moi-e-Muqqadas, a hair from the head of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.  According to legend, the relic was first brought to India by Syed Abdullah, a descendant of Muhammad who left Medina and settled in Bijapur, near Hyderabad in 1635. When Syed Abdullah died, his son, Syed Hamid, inherited the relic. Following the Mughal conquest of the region, Syed Hamid was stripped of his family estates. Finding himself unable to care for the relic, he gave it as the most precious gift to his close Mureed and a wealthy Kashmiri businessman, Khwaja Nur-ud-Din Ishbari.

Mazar-e-Shura Cemetery

Mazar-e-Shura (; transliteration: Mazār-i Shuʿārā, translation: The Cemetery of Poets) is a cemetery on a small hill by the main road in Dalgate, an area of Srinagar. Founded in the reign of the Mughul emperor Akbar the Great, it was built in a scenic location on the banks of the Dal as a cemetery for eminent poets. Historical records show that there were at least five poets and men of letters buried in the cemetery: Shah Abu'l-Fatah, Haji Jan Muhammad Qudsi, Abu Talib Kalim Kashani, Muhammad Quli Salim Tehrani, and Tughra-yi Mashhadi, all natives of Iran who emigrated to India and were associated with the Mughal court. Due to neglect, only three tombstones are currently visible, one of which bears an inscription that is only partially legible.

Houseboats and shikaras

Houseboats and the Dal are widely associated with Srinagar and are nicknamed "floating palaces", built according to British customs. The houseboats are generally made from local cedar-wood and measure  in length and  in width and are graded in a similar fashion to hotels according to level of comfort. Many of them have lavishly furnished rooms, with verandas and a terrace to serve as a sun-deck or to serve evening cocktails. They are mainly moored along the western periphery of the lake, close to the lakeside boulevard in the vicinity of the Dal gate and on small islands in the lake. They are anchored individually, with interconnecting bridges providing access from one boat to the other. The kitchen-boat is annexed to the main houseboat, which also serves as residence of the boatkeeper and their family.

Each houseboat has an exclusive shikara for ferrying guests to the shore. A shikara is a small paddled taxi boat, often about  long) and made of wood with a canopy and a spade shaped bottom. It is a cultural symbol of the Kashmir valley, used not only for ferrying visitors but also for the vending of fruits, vegetables and flowers; for fishing and for harvesting aquatic vegetation. All gardens in the lake periphery and houseboats anchored in the lake are approachable through shikaras. The boats are often navigated by one or two boatmen, can seat about six people and have heavily cushioned seats and backrests to provide comfort. The shikara is also used to provide for other sightseeing options in the valley, notably a cruise along the Jhelum River, passing by the famous seven bridges of the city and the backwaters en route.

Floating Post Office
The floating post office cum Museum at Dal Lake was inaugurated in 2011 by Omar Abdullah, the then Chief Minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located on the western edge of Dal Lake. It was called Nehru Park post office before 2011. The place will also have a philately museum. Postcards can be bought from Ghat no -1, Budiyar Chowk, and the floating Post Office puts a postage stamp on it.

Transport connections
Dal lake is engulfed in three directions by the foreshore and boulevard roads, which stretch along its banks and are dotted with several ghats. Shikaras act as water taxis to navigate within the Dal and can be hired from these ghats. The Dal lies within Srinagar and thus is well connected by road and air links. The nearest airport, which connects with other major cities in the country, is about  away at Badgam. The nearest railway station is Srinagar railway station which is  from Dal Lake. The National Highway NH1A connects the Kashmir valley with rest of the country.

Legacy
Salman Rushdie's Dull lake in his novel Harun and the Sea of Stories is a reference to the Dal lake.

The scene depicting sexual intimacy between Musa and his girlfriend Tilo in Arundhati Roy's The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, takes place on a houseboat on the Dal lake.

"Dupte Nunem," one of the famous songs of Aadil Gurezi, refers to the  breeze of Dal lake.

See also

Nigeen Lake
Gadsar Lake
Gangabal Lake
Manasbal Lake
Wular Lake
Anchar Lake
Khanpursar
Aharbal
Hazratbal Shrine
Khushal Sar
Gilsar

References

Notes

Sources

Lakes of Jammu and Kashmir
Shrunken lakes
Tourist attractions in Srinagar

Dal Lake