Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch is a 1990 novel written as a collaboration between the English authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

The book is a comedy about the birth of the son of Satan and the coming of the End Times. There are attempts by the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley to sabotage the coming of the end times, having grown accustomed to their comfortable surroundings in England. One subplot features a mixup at the small country hospital on the day of birth and the growth of the Antichrist, Adam, who grows up with the wrong family, in the wrong country village. Another subplot concerns the summoning of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, each a big personality in their own right. In 2003, the novel was listed at number 68 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.

Plot summary
Aziraphale, an angel (originally a guardian of the Eastern Gate of Eden), and Crowley, a demon (originally the serpent who tempted Eve) have lived on Earth since its creation. Over the millennia, they have formed an odd relationship and taken a liking to humanity. One night, the forces of Hell deliver the infant Antichrist to Crowley, with instructions to swap him with the son of an American diplomat stationed in Britain. Crowley realizes this means that the Apocalypse is coming and persuades Aziraphale to help him prevent it. Together, they decide to influence the Antichrist's upbringing by posing as a nanny and a gardener so that the child can never really decide between Good and Evil.

However, due to several misunderstandings at the hospital, the real Antichrist is actually another boy, Adam Young, who grows up unnoticed in idyllic Lower Tadfield, Oxfordshire, together with his three close friends – Pepper, Wensleydale and Brian. As the foretold end of the world nears, Adam begins to unknowingly use his reality warping powers, changing the world to fit his vision of how things ought to be, such as raising the lost continent of Atlantis after reading about it in a conspiracy theory magazine, summoning UFOs after talking to his friends about aliens, and having the Amazon rainforest reclaim land lost to urban development. In the meantime, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse assemble: War (a war correspondent), Famine (a dietician and fast-food tycoon), Pollution (Pestilence having retired after the discovery of penicillin) and Death (a biker).

Aziraphale and Crowley realize their mistake and begin a frantic search for the Antichrist. Also looking for the boy is Anathema Device, a witch who is trying to prevent the Apocalypse as predicted by her ancestor, Agnes Nutter. Agnes' prophecies are perfectly accurate, but many are so cryptic and specific as to be nearly useless, save to the time, place and person they're meant for.  Anathema is joined by Newton Pulsifer, sole recruit of the Witchfinder Army (and descendent of Thou-Shall-Not-Commit-Adultery Pulsifer, the Witchfinder who burnt Agnes Nutter at the stake), who has been sent to investigate the strange phenomena around Tadfield by Sergeant Shadwell, the Army's only other member. Everyone, including Shadwell's medium neighbour, Madame Tracy, converges at Tadfield Military Base, where the Four Horsemen are starting a world-ending nuclear war by tampering with the computer systems.

Amid the increasing chaos, Adam is overcome with visions of greatness and attempts to split the world between his gang. When his friends react with horror at what he is becoming, Adam comes to his senses and decides to stop the Apocalypse. He and his friends make their way to the military base and defeat three of the Four Horsemen, with Death accepting defeat and vanishing. A furious Satan starts to ascend to Earth, but Adam, having heard that "his father is coming", twists reality so that his human adoptive father arrives instead, then modifies everyone's memories of recent events.

With Armageddon averted, Crowley and Aziraphale muse that this was God's plan all along and speculate that the real apocalyptic conflict will be between humanity and the combined forces of Heaven and Hell. Madame Tracy marries Sergeant Shadwell, effectively disbanding the Witchfinder Army. Anathema begins a relationship with Newton and receives a second book of Agnes' prophecies, but decides not to open it, and pass it on to their descendants. Finally, Adam uses his powers to evade his father's grounding and visit the circus with his friends.

Characters

Ethereal Beings

 God, the creator of the universe and all things in it. The ineffable Being.
 Aziraphale, joint main character of the novel with Crowley. He is also a rare book dealer.
 Metatron, the Voice of God, but an entity in their own right.

Occult Beings

 Satan, the original Fallen; he led the rebellion against Heaven and was responsible for forming Hell (as an organization, if not a place) when the rebel angels were made to Fall.
 Crowley, joint main character of the novel with Aziraphale. He is an angel who did not so much "Fall" as "Saunter Vaguely Downwards."
 Adam Young, the Antichrist. Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of this World, father of lies, Spawn of Satan, Lord of Darkness. The Leader of The Them.
 Beelzebub, Prince of Hell and leader of its forces.
 Hastur, Duke of Hell and a very traditional demon who spends very little time on Earth.
 Ligur, another Duke of Hell. Ligur is destroyed by a bucket of Holy Water which was placed above Crowley's door in defense against him and Hastur.
 Dagon, Lord of the Files and Master of Torments. Dagon contacts Crowley through his radio.

Humans

 Agnes Nutter, a witch from the 17th century. She wrote The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch.
 Anathema Device, a practical occultist and professional descendant.
 Newton Pulsifer, a wages clerk who becomes a Witchfinder Private.
 Shadwell, the last remaining Sergeant of the Witchfinder Army, who hires Newt.
 Madame Tracy, Painted Jezebel and Medium.
 Pepper (Pippin Galadriel Moonchild), member of The Them.
 Brian, member of The Them.
 Wensleydale, member of The Them.
 Warlock Dowling, a boy that is thought to be the Antichrist by Aziraphale and Crowley, thanks to a mix-up.
 Thou-Shalt-Not-Commit-Adultery Pulsifer, Newt's ancestor and the witchfinder who burned Agnes.
 Sister Mary Loquacious, a satanic nun of the Chattering Order of St Beryl. She managed to fumble the switching of the Antichrist with a human baby.
 Mr Young, "father" of Adam.
 Mr Tyler,  chairman of a Residents' Association.
 The International Express Man, a delivery man of the International Express, who delivered parcels and messages to the Four Horsemen. He dies delivering a message to Death.

Horsemen of the Apocalypse

 Death, leader of the Four Horsemen and the only one who survives the Apocalypse. He is everywhere.
 War, aka Carmine Zuigiber. Her item of power is the flaming sword that God once gave to Aziraphale.
 Famine, aka Dr Raven Sable. His item of power is a pair of scales.
 Pestilence, former Horseman. He retired in 1936, muttering about penicillin.
 Pollution, aka Chalky, Pestilence's replacement. Their item of power is a silver crown, which is tarnished black by their touch.

Development

Origins and authorship

Gaiman and Pratchett had known each other since 1985. Gaiman, inspired by his success in writing a biography of Douglas Adams (Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), and in observing Adams work at close quarters decided to try his hand at novel writing, and sent a piece of work to a number of friends, including Terry Pratchett for feedback. Pratchett responded positively eight months later. According to Gaiman, he originally began the book as a parody of Richmal Crompton's William books, named William the Antichrist, but it gradually outgrew the original idea. It was their own idea, not that of their publisher, to collaborate on a novel.

Neil Gaiman has said:
We were both living in England when we wrote it. At an educated guess, although neither of us ever counted, Terry probably wrote around 60,000 "raw" and I wrote 45,000 "raw" words of Good Omens, with, on the whole, Terry taking more of the plot with Adam and the Them in, and me doing more of the stuff that was slightly more tangential to the story, except that broke down pretty quickly and when we got towards the end we swapped characters so that we'd both written everyone by the time it was done, but then we also rewrote and footnoted each other's bits as we went along, and rolled up our sleeves to take the first draft to the second (quite a lot of words), and, by the end of it, neither of us was entirely certain who had written what. It was indeed plotted in long daily phone calls, and we would post floppy disks (and this was back in 1988 when floppy disks really were pretty darn floppy) back and forth.

Terry Pratchett said:
I think this is an honest account of the process of writing Good Omens. It was fairly easy to keep track of because of the way we sent disks to one another, and because I was Keeper of the Official Master Copy I can say that I wrote a bit over two thirds of Good Omens. However, we were on the phone to each other every day, at least once. If you have an idea during a brainstorming session with another guy, whose idea is it? One guy goes and writes 2,000 words after thirty minutes on the phone, what exactly is the process that's happening? I did most of the physical writing because:
 I had to. Neil had to keep Sandman going – I could take time off from the DW;
 One person has to be overall editor, and do all the stitching and filling and slicing and, as I've said before, it was me by agreement – if it had been a graphic novel, it would have been Neil taking the chair for exactly the same reasons it was me for a novel;
 I'm a selfish bastard and tried to write ahead to get to the good bits before Neil.
Initially, I did most of Adam and the Them and Neil did most of the Four Horsemen, and everything else kind of got done by whoever – by the end, large sections were being done by a composite creature called Terryandneil, whoever was actually hitting the keys. By agreement, I am allowed to say that Agnes Nutter, her life and death, was completely and utterly mine. And Neil proudly claims responsibility for the maggots. Neil's had a major influence on the opening scenes, me on the ending. In the end, it was this book done by two guys, who shared the money equally and did it for fun and wouldn't do it again for a big clock.

International editions
The United States edition of Good Omens had numerous alterations to the text. The most significant alteration to the main text is the addition of an extra 700-word section just before the end, dealing with what happened to the character of Warlock, the American diplomat's son, who was swapped with Adam. The American edition also adds numerous footnotes not found in British editions.

The Dutch translation of Good Omens contains a preface by the translator wherein he asserts that no extra footnotes were added to clarify matters that might be unclear to a modern audience – annotated with footnotes explaining omen and Crowley.

In the French version, some characters were given French-sounding names. Agnes Nutter became Agnès Barge (barge is French for nutter), Anathema Device became Anathème Bidule (Bidule being French for Device). Crowley became Rampa (as 'Crawly' became 'Crowley', 'Rampant' became 'Rampa'), after the infamous author of The Third Eye, T. L. Rampa. The French publisher of Good Omens (J'ai Lu) was also the French publisher of the T. L. Rampa books.

In the Czech version of the book, the names of Agnes, Anathema, the Satanist nuns, Pepper and some minor characters were translated too. The book contains many extra footnotes as an explanation to some of the phrases that were translated more literally than usual and to add new jokes (for example the part where Anathema meets Adam and tells him she is an occultist, noting: "You were thinking 'Nothin' wrong with my eyes, they don't need examining,' weren't you?" was accompanied by a footnote: To those who understood what was the point, congratulations. For those whom it took as long as it took me: The Dictionary's definition: Oculist – rather an old-fashioned word for an ophthalmologist.).

Historical and literary inspirations
The names of Agnes Nutter and her descendant Anathema Device were inspired by two of the victims of the 1612 Pendle witch trials, Alice Nutter and Elizabeth Device. Gaiman confirmed the homage in a 2016 tweet.

Reception
According to Gaiman, not a single person showed up at an early book signing event in Manhattan.

The book has received the following awards:
 World Fantasy Award nominee for Best Novel, 1991
 Locus Award nominee for Best Fantasy Novel, 1991
 Mir Fantastiki Special Award for "The most anticipated book", 2012
 Won FantLab.ru poll for "Best Translated Novel", 2012

Possible sequel
In 1989, a year before the completed novel was published, Gaiman and Pratchett visited the US for the World Fantasy Convention in Seattle, and shared a hotel room to save money. Unable to sleep at night due to jet lag, and not having anything else to talk about, they started plotting out the sequel to Good Omens. 668—The Neighbour of the Beast was slated as the sequel's title, but after Gaiman moved to the United States, Pratchett expressed doubt that a sequel would be written. Gaiman later affirmed this in one of his essays, titled Terry Pratchett: An Appreciation. Pratchett died in 2015. In 2017, Gaiman revealed – as part of the filming of the television series based on the book – that he and Pratchett had done some plotting for the sequel, including that "[t]here would have been a lot of angels in the sequel", one of whom was Gabriel, who was only briefly mentioned in Good Omens but was to figure more prominently in the television series. When asked if Neil had any plans on releasing a sequel to Good Omens or maintaining its status as a standalone work, Gaiman stated that there was a plot for one that Pratchett wanted to be told, but that whether or not it would be made would depend on certain factors.

In other media

Film
A film, to be directed by Terry Gilliam, was planned. As of 2002, Gilliam had still hoped to make the film with its already completed script, but by 2006, it seemed to have come to nothing. Funding was slow to appear, and Gilliam moved on to other projects. There was a rumour that Johnny Depp was originally cast as Crowley and Robin Williams as Aziraphale. However Gaiman has said on his website, "Well, Robin's worked with Terry Gilliam before as well, of course, most famously in The Fisher King. But I have no idea about Good Omens casting (except for Shadwell. Terry told me who he wanted to play Shadwell. I immediately forgot the man's name, although I can assure you that it wasn't Robin Williams)." According to an interview in May 2006 at The Guardian Hay Festival, Gilliam was still hoping to go ahead with the film.

Gaiman confirmed in a 2013 podcast interview with Empire that the majority of the funding for the film was in place in 2002, but the project could not attract the initial funding to begin production.

Even in 2008, Gilliam was still hopeful about the project. Neil Gaiman's Stardust (based on his own novel of the same name) and Beowulf were successful as films in 2007, which had given the adaptation of Good Omens a better chance of being picked up. A Gilliam quote from an Empire interview appeared as follows: "And I thought with Neil, with Stardust and with Beowulf and there's another one – an animated film, a Henry Selick thing he's written Coraline – I was thinking he's really hot now, so maybe there's a chance. I mean it's such a wonderful book. And I think our script is pretty good, too. We did quite a few changes. We weren't as respectful as we ought to have been. But Neil's happy with it!"

The history of this project and similar experiences with Gaiman's various other works (including The Sandman series) have led to his cynical view of the Hollywood process, a view which occasionally surfaces in his weblog and in some of his short fiction. Pratchett shared a similar opinion, and was quoted as saying, "The difference between me and Neil in our attitude to movie projects is that he doesn't believe they're going to happen until he's sitting in his seat eating popcorn, and I don't believe they're going to happen."

Pratchett had had many of the same issues with Hollywood 'suits', but he, too, would have loved to have seen the film made.

In August 2012, Rhianna Pratchett announced an establishment of a new production company, Narrativia, with plans to produce, among other projects, a television film based on her father's book Good Omens.

Television

In February 2011, it was reported that a television adaptation may be produced, with Terry Jones and Gavin Scott "in talks" to write the series. On 19 March 2011, Gaiman announced on his website that a television series adaptation of his novel "is in the works from Terry Jones" with a link to Pratchett's webpage confirming the news.

In April 2016, Gaiman announced that he was writing the scripts for a six-part television series as the result of a request from Pratchett, made shortly before his death. In January 2017, further details emerged. Amazon.com announced that Gaiman would adapt Good Omens into a "comedic apocalyptic" miniseries, set to be released on Prime Video in 2019. The adaptation is a six-part limited comedy series for Amazon and the BBC, and Gaiman served as showrunner. On 14 August 2017, Michael Sheen and David Tennant were announced as having been cast in the respective lead roles of Aziraphale and Crowley. The village of Hambleden in Buckinghamshire is the filming location for 'Tadfield' with Jasmine Cottage being located just north of the village at Colstrope Farm. The adaptation was produced by BBC Studios in collaboration with Narrativia and Gaiman's The Blank Corporation. Distribution was handled by BBC Worldwide. All six episodes of the serial were released on 31 May 2019 on Amazon Prime.
In June 2021 Amazon renewed Good Omens for a second season, with Sheen and Tennant returning alongside most of the original crew.

Radio
On 5 September 2014, it was confirmed that the BBC would produce a radio adaptation of the novel, to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4, starting 22 December of that year. Mark Heap and Peter Serafinowicz led the cast, which also included Louise Brealey, Phil Davis, Mark Benton, Colin Morgan, Paterson Joseph, Josie Lawrence, Jim Norton, Adam Thomas Wright and Hollie Burgess. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett had cameo roles as a pair of traffic cops called "Neil" and "Terry". The series was broadcast in six episodes starting in December 2014.

Theatre
In March 2013, Cult Classic Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, performed Amy Hoff's adaptation of Good Omens with the permission of Pratchett and Gaiman.

In November 2017, Squabbalogic staged a special development reading of Good Omens: The Musical in Sydney, Australia with Nancye Hayes, Barry Quin and Paul Capsis.

Graphic novel
In May 2023, it was announced that Colleen Doran would adapt Good Omens into a graphic novel.

See also

 Lucifer (DC Comics) – another Demon character with a complex personality, created by Neil Gaiman

References

External links

 Good Omens, on L-Space, the Discworld wiki
 The Good Omens Lexicon
 Good Omens on BBC Radio 4
 Good Omens at Worlds Without End

1990 British novels
1990 fantasy novels
British comedy novels
British fantasy novels
Novels by Neil Gaiman
Novels by Terry Pratchett
Collaborative novels
Workman Publishing Company books
Debut fantasy novels
British novels adapted into television shows
Novels about the Antichrist
Angel novels
Demon novels
Fiction about God
Demons in written fiction
Novels about witches and witchcraft
Witch hunting in fiction
Novels about precognition
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in popular culture
Novels set in Oxfordshire
1990 debut novels
Bookstores in fiction
Novels set in London
Novels set in fictional countries

Good Omens


Donnchadh of Lennox was the Mormaer of Lennox from 1385 to 1425. He was a son of Baltar mac Amlaimh and Margaret, daughter of Domhnall, Earl of Lennox.

When Domhnall of Lennox died in 1365, Donnchadh's mother Margaret became ruler of Lennox. It had been Domhnall's intention that the marriage would eventually allow the succession of a son, i.e. Donnchadh, but it is probable that Baltar intended to rule in his turn. It is not known how relations deteriorated, but it seems that Donnchadh got impatient. In the summer of 1384, King Robert II issued two charters formally conferring the Mormaerdom on Baltar. However, a year later he and his wife Margaret resigned the Mormaerdom over to their eldest son Donnchadh, and hence Donnchadh became ruler. However, in 1388, Baltar and Margaret were handed custody of the Mormaerdom for the remainder of their lives, with Donnchadh retaining the title. Donnchadh was confined to a stronghold in Loch Lomond, Inchmurrin castle.

Donnchadh was forced to form strong ties with the great Robert Stewart, who was the second son of King Robert II by his first wife Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan, and who ruled much of Scotland. In 1392, Donnchadh met Robert at Inchmurrin and agreed to marry his daughter Isabella to Robert's son Muiredach if Robert could secure him the Mormaerdom. As Domhnall was heirless, the deal ensured that the Mormaerdom would pass to the Stewarts upon Donnchadh's death. It took much of the 1390s, but nevertheless Robert managed to secure his part of the bargain.

Donnchadh hence became a part of the Albany Stewart nexus when the Duke of Albany acted as regent during King James's imprisonment in England. Albany refused to ransom King James and tried to prevent his return. After the king's return, they challenged the crown's authority. These Stewart ties led to Donnchadh's downfall. In 1425, he raised his men of Lennox in a revolt against King James I in support of Muiredach and his son Walter and was executed at Stirling along with various of his near relations.

He was the last male ruler of his line.

Marriage and issue
During the life of his father Baltar, Donnchadh forged ties with his Argyll neighbours, and married Helen, the daughter of Archibald Campbell of Lochawe. Countess Helen was widow of a John of the Isles, son of John of Islay.

By Helen of the Isles, Lennox had issue:

Isabella, Countess of Lennox; married Murdach Stewart, Earl of Fife
Elizabeth; married (c. 1406) John Stewart of Darnley, Lord of Aubigny, Concressault and Count of Évreux.
Margaret; married (c. 25 July 1392) Robert Menteith

Earl Donnchadh also had four natural sons:

Malcolm
Thomas
Donald Lennox of Balcarroch (apparently legitimated)
William

Notes

Bibliography
Balfour Paul, Sir James, Scots Peerage IX vols. Edinburgh 1904.
 Brown, Michael, "Earldom and Kindred: The Lennox and Its Earls, 1200-1458" in Steve Boardman and Alasdair Ross (eds.) The Exercise of Power in Medieval Scotland, c.1200-1500, (Dublin/Portland, 2003), pp. 201–224

1425 deaths
People from Stirling
Executed Scottish people
People executed by Stuart Scotland
Year of birth unknown
14th-century Scottish earls
15th-century executions
Mormaers of Lennox

Donnchadh, Earl of Lennox


In computing, a human-readable medium or human-readable format is any encoding of data or information that can be naturally read by humans, resulting in human-readable data. It is often encoded as ASCII or Unicode text, rather than as binary data.

In most contexts, the alternative to a human-readable representation is a machine-readable format or medium of data primarily designed for reading by electronic, mechanical or optical devices, or computers. For example, Universal Product Code (UPC) barcodes are very difficult to read for humans, but very effective and reliable with the proper equipment, whereas the strings of numerals that commonly accompany the label are the human-readable form of the barcode information. Since any type of data encoding can be parsed by a suitably programmed computer, the decision to use binary encoding rather than text encoding is usually made to conserve storage space. Encoding data in a binary format typically requires fewer bytes of storage and increases efficiency of access (input and output) by eliminating format parsing or conversion.

With the advent of standardized, highly structured markup languages, such as Extensible Markup Language (XML), the decreasing costs of data storage, and faster and cheaper data communication networks, compromises between human-readability and machine-readability are now more common-place than they were in the past. This has led to humane markup languages and modern configuration file formats that are far easier for humans to read.
In addition, these structured representations can be compressed very effectively for transmission or storage.

Human-readable protocols greatly reduce the cost of debugging.

Various organizations have standardized the definition of human-readable and machine-readable data and how they are applied in their respective fields of application, e.g., the Universal Postal Union.

Often the term human-readable is also used to describe shorter names or strings, that are easier to comprehend or to remember than long, complex syntax notations, such as some Uniform Resource Locator strings.

Occasionally "human-readable" is used to describe ways of encoding an arbitrary integer into a long series of English words.
Compared to decimal or other compact binary-to-text encoding systems,
English words are easier for humans to read, remember, and type in.

See also
 Self-documenting code – source code that is both machine-readable and human-readable
 Human-readable code
 Machine-Readable Documents
 Machine-readable data
 Data (computing)
 Data conversion
 Hellschreiber
 Human–computer interaction
 Human factors
 Plain text
 Quoted printable

References

Optical character recognition

Human-readable medium and data


Bouches-du-Weser  (; "Mouths of the Weser"; , ) was a department of the First French Empire in present-day Germany. It was formed in 1811, when the region was annexed by France. Prior to the Napoleonic occupation, its territory had been divided between the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, the duchy of Oldenburg, and the Hanoverian duchies of Bremen and Verden, the latter of which had intermittently been incorporated into the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807. Its territory is part of the current German states of Lower Saxony and Bremen. Its capital was Bremen ().

The department was subdivided into the following arrondissements and cantons (situation in 1812):

 Bremen, cantons: Achim, Bremen (4 cantons), Lilienthal, Ottersberg, Rotenburg, Syke, Thedinghausen and Verden.
 Bremerlehe, cantons: Beverstedt, Bremerlehe, Dorum, Hagen im Bremischen, Osterholz and Vegesack.
 Nienburg, cantons: Alt-Bruchhausen, Bassum, Hoya, Liebenau, Nienburg, Rethem, Stolzenau, Sulingen and Walsrode.
 Oldenburg, cantons: Berne, Burhave, Delmenhorst, Elsfleth, Hatten, Oldenburg, Ovelgönne, Rastede, Varel and Westerstede.

Its population in 1812 was 327,175.

After Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the department was divided between the Kingdom of Hanover, the Duchy of Oldenburg, and the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.

References

Former departments of France in Germany
1811 establishments in the First French Empire

Bouches-du-Weser


Man on a Ledge is a 2012 American action crime thriller movie. It is set in New York City. It is about an escaped convict who threatens to kill himself by jumping from a ledge on the 21st floor of a Manhattan hotel. It stars Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks and Jamie Bell. This movie did not get good reviews. It only barely got back its actual budget. The rating was PG-13.

Story
Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) enters a hotel room, pretending to be called Joe Walker. After eating a meal and wiping his fingerprints off everything he touched, he climbs out of the window and stands on the ledge outside. He acts as if he is going to jump off to his death. Soon, people below notice and the police are called. When the police ask Nick if he has any requests, he asks to talk to negotiator Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks), who is taking time off work after failing to convince someone not to jump off of the Brooklyn Bridge. When she tricks him into accepting a cigarette, she gets his fingerprint and the police soon find out his true name. Nick was sent to prison for a crime he did not commit, but escaped when he was allowed off prison grounds for his father's funeral. To prove he did not commit the crime, he is distracting the police whilst his brother Joey Cassidy (Jamie Bell), and his girlfriend Angie (Genesis Rodriguez) break into David Englander's (Ed Harris) vault to retrieve the diamond he was arrested for stealing. Nick believes Englander faked the diamond's theft in order to get money from his insurance, after the 2008 financial crisis. During this time Nick's old partner from when he was a policeman is trying to find out why Nick is on the ledge and out of prison. After realising that Englander's vault is near the hotel where Nick is, the police send a team of people to check that the vault has not been robbed. After being informed by Nick through an earpiece, Angie and Joey are able to hide whilst the police search the building.

When Joey and Angie finally break into the final vault, the diamond they are looking for is not there. Instead, they set off the alarms deliberately, meaning Englander, who is aware Nick is in the area, retrieves the diamond from a hidden panel in the wall. Joey and Angie then confront Englander in his office, forcing him at gunpoint to give them the diamond and handcuff himself to a heavy vault. A police team begins to chase Nick, believing he has explosives in the area, forcing him to flee the ledge and enter the hotel. Joey and Angie give the diamond to a hotel employee, who later hands it to Nick, helping him escape the police.

Englander escapes, ordering Marcus, a corrupt policeman who he employs, to kidnap Joey and Angie. When he realises Joey and Angie do not have the diamond, Marcus gives chase to Nick, who has been coaxed onto the roof by the police. David and Marcus then threaten to kill Joey unless Nick returns the diamond. Nick gives David the diamond, but soon jumps from the rooftop of the hotel onto a soft mattress, laid out by the police near the beginning of the film, to catch David, showing the crowd the diamond, finally proving he did not steal it and should not have been arrested. After Nick has been released from prison, he celebrates at a bar with Joey, Angie, Lydia, and his father, who faked his own death to give Nick a chance to escape. Joey asks Angie to marry him, presenting her a diamond from Englander's vault, and she agrees. The film ends as they all celebrate.

Reception
The film was unpopular amongst critics, barely being able to break even with its initial budget of $42 million.

The film's music was thought of as mediocre, not being as good as the author's other work (Henry Jackman).

DVD and Blu-ray release
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray. It also had a steelbook released in Dutch areas. The DVD and Blu-ray had "budget" releases that were cheaper, but were not different.

The DVD and Blu-ray releases have audio-voiceovers on the special features. This means people who cannot see very well are still able to watch the film. This is not in the steelbook release though, as this release lacks any menus and plays the film automatically upon insertion. The steelbook's front cover also displays Sam Worthington in a different costume than he wore in the film.The back of the steelbook has errors on it that don't add up with the story. This means that the story might have been changed when the film was released in different countries.

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray was released on April 9, 2019.

Soundtrack
The music in the film was made by Henry Jackman. This simple table below details all of the songs in the soundtrack and their lengths.

Other websites

2012 action movies
2012 crime thriller movies
2010s American action movies
2010s American crime thriller movies
2010s English-language movies
Heist movies
Movies about siblings
Movies set in Manhattan

Man on a Ledge


United Nations Security Council Resolution 1851 was unanimously adopted on 16 December 2008.

Resolution
The Security Council decided that, for the next year, States and regional organizations cooperating in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off Somalia's coast—for which prior notification had been provided by Somalia's Transitional Federal Government to the Secretary-General – could undertake all necessary measures "appropriate in Somalia", to interdict those using Somali territory to plan, facilitate or undertake such acts.

Acting under Chapter VII through the unanimous adoption of United States-led resolution 1851 (2008), the Council called on those States and organizations able to do so to actively participate in defeating piracy and armed robbery off Somalia's coast by deploying naval vessels and military aircraft, and through seizure and disposition of boats and arms used in the commission of those crimes, following on a 9 December 2008 letter from the Transitional Federal Government for international assistance to counter the surge in piracy and armed robbery there.

The Council invited all such States and regional organizations to conclude special agreements or arrangements with countries willing to take custody of pirates in order to embark law enforcement officials, known as "shipriders", from the latter countries to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of persons detained as a result of operations conducted under this resolution.

The resolution's passage led to the creation of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS).

See also
List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1801 to 1900 (2008–2009)

References

External links

Text of the Resolution at undocs.org

 1851
 1851
December 2008 events
2008 in Somalia


David Abraham Cheulkar (21 June 1909 – 2 January 1982), popularly known as David, was an Indian Hindi film actor. In a career spanning four decades, he played mostly character roles, starting with the 1941 film Naya Sansar, and went on to act in over 110 films, including memorable films such as Gol Maal (1979), Baton Baton Mein (1979) and Boot Polish (1954), for which he was awarded the 1955 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.

Early and personal life
He was a member of Mumbai's Marathi-speaking Bene Israel community. David graduated from the University of Mumbai with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1930. After a six-year unsuccessful struggle to land a job, he decided to try his luck in the Hindi film industry by becoming a professional actor. During these years of struggle, he also managed to obtain a degree in law from the Government Law College.

Finally, on 15 January 1937, with the help of his close friend Nayampalli, a veteran character actor, he landed his first role in a movie. The movie was Zambo, and it was being produced and directed by Mohan Bhavnani, who was the Chief Producer of the Films Division of the Government of India.

He never married.

Career
David was actively associated with IPTA, a theatre organization, and went on to be part of many Khwaja Ahmad Abbas's films, including Palme d'Or nominee Pardesi (1957), and Shehar Aur Sapna (1963), which won the  1964 National Film Award for Best Feature Film, Munaa and Char Dil Char Raahein.

Strongly associated with avuncular roles, David is best known for his portrayal of "John Chacha"  in the 1954 hit and Filmfare Award for Best Film winner and Palme d'Or nominee, Boot Polish, directed by Prakash Arora, for which he won the 1955 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. The song "Nanhe Munne Bachche" from the film, picturized on him became a memorable song of that era.

In his prime, in the period 1959 to 1975, David was one of the best and the most well-known anchor, compere and the host of the prominent award shows and other functions. In one of the speeches of Jawaharlal Nehru, the prime minister, said that any of the events will be surely be incomplete without David's speech.

He was involved in promoting sports, and later became India's Olympic Games representative. He was awarded the Padma Shri award in 1969 by the Government of India.

Often billed as simply David or Uncle David, Cheulkar appeared in more than 110 Bollywood films in a career that exceeded four decades, many of them indeed as a kindly, avuncular character. Among his more notable performances were his roles in Boot Polish (1954), in which he played John Chacha, a kindly bootlegger who, before he is sent off to jail, takes two orphan siblings under his wing and teaches them to work for a living shining shoes, rather than to get by begging. Cheulkar received the Filmfare magazine best supporting actor prize for that role.

He was also featured in Pardesi (Journey Beyond Three Seas), a 1957 Russian-Indian coproduction taking place in the 1400s; The City and the Dream (Shehar Aur Sapna, in Hindi), a naturalistic urban drama from 1963, that was nominated for Indias National Film Award as best feature, and the romantic comedy Chupke Chupke from 1975 (from minute 1 to minute 2 of clip).

In the 1969 film Satyakam, Cheulkar was given the opportunity to play against type, taking the role of Rustom, a debauched drunkard who serves as a foil to the hero of the film, a family drama that takes place during the final days of British rule in India, in 1947.

According to Bentsion Abraham Chewoolkar, who wrote an essay about his relation Uncle David, on the centenary of the latter's birth, Cheulkar, though not religiously devout, prayed briefly each day, and always observed Yom Kippur by fasting and by visiting synagogue for the Neilah service.

Death
He died on 2 January 1982 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada of a heart attack at the age of 72.

Selected filmography

 Zambo (1937)
 Naya Sansar (1941)
 Anjaan (1941)
 Kismet (1943)
 Tasveer (1943)
 Insaan (1944)
 Ghulami (1945)
 Nargis (1946)
 Insaaf (1946)
 Actress (1948)
 Sawan Aya Re (1949)
 Hamara Ghar (1950)
 Rahi (1952)
 Boot Polish (1954)
 Bhai Bhai (1956)
 Pardesi (1957)
 Amar Deep (1958)
 Santan (1959)
 Return of Mr. Superman (Mr. Superman ki Wapsi) (1960)
 Ek Phool Char Kaante (1960)
 Sangeet Samrat Tansen (1962)
 Himalaya Ki God Mein (1965)
 Mamta (1966)
 Anupama (1966)
 Aasra (1966)
 Alibaba Aur 40 Chor (1966)
  Suraj (1966)
 Upkar (1967)
 Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein (1967)
 Mere Huzoor  (1968)
 Sapnon Ka Saudagar (1968)
 Samay Bada Balwan (1969)
 Ek Phool Do Maali (1969)
 Satyakam (1969)
 Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai (1969)
 Jwala (1971)
 Kal Aaj aur kal (1971)
 Anuraag (1972)
 Abhimaan (1973)
 Chupke Chupke (1975)
 Chori Mera Kaam (1975) as John
 Dus Numbri (1976) – Pascal
 Kotwal Saab (1977)
 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
 Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977)
 Khatta Meetha (1978)
 Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) – Bade Babu
 Hamare Tumhare (1979)
 Baton Baton Mein (1979)
 Gol Maal (1979)
 Khubsoorat (1980)
 Sumbandh (1982) – Released after his death.
 Gehri Chot - Urf: Durdesh (1983) – Released after his death. Canada, Bangladesh, India joint production.

Awards and recognition
 1969: Received the Padma Shri award in 1969 by the Government of India.

References

External links

Bene Israel
Indian male film actors
Indian male stage actors
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Jewish male actors
1909 births
1982 deaths
Male actors from Mumbai
Indian People's Theatre Association people
Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
20th-century Indian male actors
Jewish film people
Filmfare Awards winners
Indian Jews

David Abraham Cheulkar


Antoine de Gaudier (7 January 1572 – 14 April 1622) was a French Jesuit writer on ascetic theology.

Life
Gaudier was born at Château-Thierry.  About the age of twenty he entered the Society of Jesus at Tournay. Later on he was rector at Liège, professor of Holy Scripture at Pont-à-Mousson, and of moral theology at La Flèche. In these two last-named posts he was also charged with the spiritual direction of his brethren, and showed such an aptitude for this branch of the ministry that he was named master of novices and tertians.  He died in Paris.

Works
In the discharge of his various functions, he found an opportunity of developing before a domestic audience the principal matter of asceticism, which he elaborated little by little into a complete treatise. The eagerness shown to possess his spiritual writings led him at last to publish them. There then appeared successively in Latin:

"De Sanctissimo Christi Jesu amore opusculum" (Pont-à-Mousson, 1619), translated into English by G. Tickell, S.J. ("The Love of Our Lord Jesus Christ", Derby, 1864);
"De verâ Christi Jesu imitatione";
"De Dei praesentiâ";
"Praxis meditandi a B.P. Ignatio traditae explicatio" (Paris, 1620).

There are French translations of these four works. After the death of Father Gaudier all his spiritual works, both printed and unedited, were collected in one folio volume under the title "De naturâ et statibus perfectionis" (Paris, 1643), a better edition in three octavo volumes being later supplied by Father J. Martinow, S.J. (Paris, 1856–8). It contains a thirty days' retreat according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, which has been separately edited several times since 1643.

References

External links
Catholic Encyclopedia article

1572 births
1622 deaths
17th-century French Jesuits
17th-century French Catholic theologians

Antoine de Gaudier


Frobenius Forster (30 August 1709, at Königsfeld in Upper Bavaria – 11 October 1791, at Ratisbon) was a German Benedictine, Prince-Abbot of St. Emmeram.

Life

After studying the humanities and philosophy at Freising and Ingolstadt, he entered the Benedictine monastery of St. Emmeram at Ratisbon where he took vows on 8 December 1728. He made his theological studies partly at his monastery and partly at Rott, where the Bavarian Benedictines had their common study house. Shortly after his elevation to the priesthood, in 1733, he became professor of philosophy and theology at St. Emmeram and for some time held the office of master of novices.

In 1745 he was sent to the Benedictine university at Salzburg to teach philosophy and physics. Two years later he returned to his monastery where he taught philosophy and Holy Scriptures until he became librarian and prior in 1750. He had gained a reputation as a philosopher and scientist, and was one of the first religious who endeavoured to reconcile Scholastic philosophy with the Cartesian and the Leibniz-Wolffian school. Though leaning towards the Leibniz-Wolffian philosophy, he rejected many of its teachings, such as the cosmological optimism of Leibniz and the mechanism of Wolff, and was rather an eclectic than a slavish follower of any one system.

In 1759 Forster was chosen one of the first members of the newly founded Bavarian Academy of Sciences. A year later he laid down the office of prior and was appointed provost at Hohengebraching, a dependency of St. Emmeram, situated about five miles south of Ratisbon. On 24 July 1762, he was elected as successor to the deceased Prince-Abbot Johann Baptist Kraus of St. Emmeram.

Forster's election was the inauguration of the golden era of St. Emmeram. The learned new prince-abbot endeavoured to impart his own love for learning. During his reign the course given in the natural sciences at St. Emmeram became famous throughout Germany and drew scholars not only from the Benedictine monasteries of Bavaria, but also from the houses of other religious orders. In order to promote the study of Holy Scripture, Forster called the learned Maurist philologist, Charles Lancelot of St-Germain-des-Prés, who instructed the monks of St. Emmeram in Oriental languages from 1 October 1771, to 27 May 1775. To encourage his young monks still more in their respective studies, he founded a physical, a mineralogical, and a numismatic cabinet and procured the best available literature in the various branches.

Works

Forster's chief literary production is his edition of the works of Alcuin which appeared in two folio volumes (4 parts) at Ratisbon in 1777. It is reprinted in the Latin Patrology of Migne (vols. C and CI). He also wrote in Latin five short philosophical treatises and a dissertation on the Vulgate. From a codex preserved in the library of the cathedral chapter at Freising he edited the decrees of the Synod of Aschheim and made a German translation of it for "Abhandlungen der Bayr. Akad. der Wissenschaften" (I,30-60); and from a codex in the library of St. Emmeram he published in Mansi's "Collectio Ampl. Conciliorum" (XIII, 1025–28), the decrees of a Bavarian synod held during the times of the Agilolfings.

References
 The entry cites:
ENDRES, Frobenius Forster in Strassburger theol. Studien (Freiburg im Br., 1900), IV, fasc. 1;
LINDNER, Die Schriftateller des Benediktiner-Ordens in Bayern (Ratisbon, 1880), I, 56-62;
SCHNEIDER in Hist.-Polit. Blotter (Munich, 1901), CXXVII, 902-913.

1709 births
Academic staff of the University of Salzburg
German abbots
1791 deaths
German Benedictines

Frobenius Forster


Wonderwall is a 1968 British psychedelic film directed by Joe Massot  (in his feature directorial debut), starring Jack MacGowran, Jane Birkin, Irene Handl, Richard Wattis and Iain Quarrier, and featuring a cameo by Dutch collective the Fool, who were also set designers for the film.

The film is also remembered for its soundtrack album, Wonderwall Music, composed by George Harrison of the Beatles.

Plot
The reclusive, eccentric scientist Oscar Collins (Jack MacGowran) has two next-door neighbours: a pop photographer (Iain Quarrier) and his girlfriend/model Penny Lane (Jane Birkin). Discovering a beam of light streaming through a hole in the wall between them, Collins follows the light and spots Penny modelling for a photo shoot. He begins to make more holes as days go by and becomes a Peeping Tom as they do more photo sessions. Oscar gradually becomes infatuated with the girl, and feels a part of the couple's lives, even forsaking work to observe them. When they quarrel and the couple splits, Penny takes an overdose of pills and passes out, but Oscar comes to her rescue.

Cast
 Jack MacGowran as Prof. Oscar Collins
 Jane Birkin as Penny Lane
 Irene Handl as Mrs Peurofoy
 Richard Wattis as Perkins
 Iain Quarrier as young man
 Beatrix Lehmann as mother
 Brian Walsh as photographer
 Sean Lynch as Riley
 Bee Duffell as Mrs Charmer
 Noel Trevarthen as policeman

In addition, Suki Potier, Amanda Lear and Anita Pallenberg have small uncredited roles as girls at a party.

Music

The soundtrack was composed by Beatle George Harrison, whom Massot approached specially for the project. Harrison had never done a film soundtrack, and told Massot he did not know how to do it, but when Massot promised to use whatever Harrison created, Harrison took the job.

Deciding to make the soundtrack an anthology of Indian and Indian-inspired music, Harrison recorded a series of short ragas at EMI's recording studio in Bombay in January 1968. He mixed these selections with pieces in the rock and other Western musical styles, which he recorded in London. Timing the segments with a stopwatch as he watched the unfinished film, Harrison built up a varied musical programme. The film soundtrack and accompanying album featured a track called "Skiing"; it is notable for featuring, uncredited, guitarist Eric Clapton. Clapton's appearance here is the first of many recorded collaborations between the two great guitarists. The soundtrack album (Wonderwall Music), the first solo Beatles record, was released in November 1968 by Apple Records as the company's first LP. Wonderwall Music also appeared on compact disc in 1992, during reissues of the Apple catalogue, being reissued again in 2014.

Release
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 1968, with George Harrison, his wife Pattie, Ringo Starr, his wife Maureen, and the cast members of the film in attendance. The premiere in London was on 12 January 1969. The film won an award, but did not gain a proper distribution deal. A print finally appeared on the American midnight movies circuit in the 1970s, and on home video in the 1980s and 1990s, all of rather low technical quality.

In 1998, 30 years after the film's release, and with Massot an established film director, he decided to restore and re-release his first film. Harrison's search for master recordings turned up a lyrical song, "In the First Place" by the Remo Four, which he had not submitted the first time around, believing Massot wanted only instrumental music. "In the First Place" was released as a single in 1999. Harrison is believed to have not only produced it, but also sung and played on it, although he asked to be credited only as producer. Massot was happy to include the song in the restored film, which got a distribution deal.

The restored version of Wonderwall, both in theatrical and director's cut versions, is available on HD blu-ray and low definition DVD through Shout! Factory in the United States, with bonus features.

Critical reception
Critical opinion of the film was mixed. TV Guide panned the film, giving it one star out of four. Other critics were more positive. Budd Wilkins, writing for Slant Magazine, criticized the "slender-to-the-edge-of-nonexistent narrative" and "hopelessly square" underlying point, but enjoyed the film overall, saying it was "best taken for the sensory provocation of its eye-popping set designs and the spaced-out world music ambience of its soundtrack" in his 3.5 (out of 5) star review. Keith Phipps, reviewing the film for The Dissolve, wrote "The film is mostly just an excuse to experiment. And while not all the experiments work out, the film remains a charming relic of a bygone era of light shows, sitar sounds, and over-the-top symbolism."

References

External links

1968 films
1968 directorial debut films
1968 drama films
1960s British films
1960s English-language films
British drama films
Films directed by Joe Massot
Films scored by George Harrison
Psychedelic films

Wonderwall (film)


March is a Fenland market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. It was the county town of the Isle of Ely which was a separate administrative county from 1889 to 1965. The administrative centre of Fenland District Council is located in the town.

The town grew by becoming an important railway centre. Like many Fenland towns, March was once an island surrounded by marshes. It occupied the second largest "island" in the Great Level. As the land was drained, the town grew and prospered as a trading and religious centre. It was also a minor port before, in more recent times, a market town and an administrative and railway centre. March is situated on the banks of the navigable old course of the River Nene, today mainly used by pleasure boats.

History
March was recorded as Merche in the Domesday Book of 1086, perhaps from the Old English mearc meaning 'boundary'. Modern March lies on the course of the Fen Causeway, a Roman road, and there is evidence of Roman settlements in the area.
Before the draining of the fens, March was effectively an island in the marshy fens. The town probably owes its origin to the ford on the old course of the River Nene, where the road between Ely and Wisbech, the two chief towns of the Isle of Ely, crossed the river. At one time shipping on the River Nene provided the basis of the town's trade, but this declined with the coming of the railways in the 19th century.

A single arch bridge was built over the River Nene towards the north end of the town in 1850. High Street, which is the chief thoroughfare, is continued over the bridge to Broad Street on the north side of the Nene, and  The Causeway is lined with a fine avenue of elm and other trees.

A theatre was built for Joseph Smedley in 1826.

A Local Board of Health was formed in 1851, under Act 14 and 15 Vict. c. 10, but by the provisions of the Local Government Act 1894 the town became governed by an Urban District Council of 12 members. Gas lighting was provided by the March Gas and Coke Co. Limited. The Wisbech Water Works Company, under a provisional order obtained in 1884, supplied the town with water, which was brought through mains pipes from Wisbech,  away.

March was divided into four ecclesiastical parishes which, with three others, were formed out of the previous parish of Doddington after 1863, under the Doddington Rectory Division Acts of 1847 and 1856 [10 and 11 Vict. c. 3 (1847) and 19 and 20 Vict. c. 1 (1856)].

HM Prison Whitemoor, opened in 1991, lies slightly to the northwest of the town. Whitemoor is a maximum security prison for nearly 500 men in Category A and B.

Governance
Until 1974 the area was administered by March Urban District Council, based at March Town Hall. Since then it has been administered by Fenland District Council. March also has a town council. There are three wards, East, North and West; each ward returns four town councillors. A town mayor is elected by councillors at the annual meeting in May each year. The council administers allotments, sponsors band concerts and owns the March Museum.
The town also returns councillors to Cambridgeshire County Council. The town is in within the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. March is in the parliamentary constituency of North East Cambridgeshire.

The headquarters of Fenland District Council are at Fenland Hall, County Road, March. The former County Hall of Isle of Ely County Council, also on County Road, is now Hereward Hall, used by Cambridgeshire County Council.

Markets

With a long history of trading, in the reign of Elizabeth I, March was a minor port. In 1566 eight boats, capable of carrying one, one and a half, or two cartloads, were used in the coal and grain trades. A certain amount of traffic in coal and other commodities, carried in barges, was observed by Dugdale in 1657. Local tradesmen's tokens of 1669, and a silver shilling token of 1811, have been noted.

Originally a market appears to have been held near the original town (then village) centre, on land beside The Causeway. A Market Cross (now called The Stone Cross) points towards the existence of an early market and this cross was erected in the early 16th century. This site was very near St Wendreda's Church. In 1669, the town successfully petitioned King Charles II and in 1670 he granted the Lord of the Manor of Doddington a Royal Charter with the right to hold a market with two annual fairs, in spite of the opposition of Wisbech Corporation. This market was held on Fridays. The Lord of the Manor of Doddington, who owned a large part of March, gave special permission to the townspeople to sell their goods on some of his land in the town centre. This site, now called the Market Place, was then known as Bridge Green Common and later named Market Hill.

In 1785, the tolls were assessed at £6 per year. Soon after this the market appears to have lapsed, though the fairs continued to prosper. The development of the market was impeded by the lack of a covered hall and because market day in several neighbouring towns fell on the same day (Friday). In 1807, the Vestry decided that it was not hygienic for goods to be loaded or unloaded in the vicinity of the market and ordered all saw pits, timber and other encroachments around the Market Place to be removed. The market was struggling during this time and an attempt to revive it in 1821 was not very successful. A Buttercross, also known as a market house, was erected in 1831. This building also housed the town fire engine and had an upstairs room that for a time housed the Clock House School and later the Town Surveyor's Office. This office was covered by a turret which housed the Town Clock (purchased by public subscription about 1750) and the Fire Bell. In later refurbishments this clock was re-housed in St Peter's Church Tower. The Town Stocks were also placed in the Market Place and local offenders (and those who refused to go to church) were placed in them. The want of a market house was remedied, in a makeshift fashion, by Sir Henry Peyton (who was the Lord of the Manor of Doddington). His building, however, was only  by , and provided only 14 stalls under cover.

After the opening of the railway in 1847 another attempt was made to increase the market. In 1851 the market had been said to be "making progress"; and £150 was subscribed to give a treat to the poor at its reopening. The clash with other market days was solved in December 1856 by changing market day from Friday to Wednesday "by private arrangement and without any formalities". The tolls were, however, collected in an arbitrary and haphazard way; they were assessed for poor rate purposes at £10.
Statute fairs for the hiring of servants took place each autumn, this was also an opportunity to socialise, and shows and ginger bread stalls were set up, the large numbers could also attract pickpockets.
In 1872, the Board of Health bought a Shand and Mason fire engine that was the town's first steam appliance and was housed in the Market House. In the same year the vestry agreed to erect a urinal at the back of the Buttercross for use by boys attending the Clock House School, but would not erect a water closet (toilet).

The market toll-keeper in 1888, though he had no fixed scale of charges and kept no record of receipts, was said to be taking about £50 a year. The success and prosperity of the market fluctuated over the years and an attempt by the Local Board to purchase the market rights to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee of 1887 was a failure. However, in 1897, Sir Algernon Peyton agreed to sell the market rights, the Market Place and Market House to March Urban District Council for £800. At that time the market was leased to F. B. Phillips, who agreed to surrender his lease in 1898 subject to receiving the market tolls for one year without charge.

The market rights passed to Fenland District Council following the local government reorganisation in 1974. The current (2020) market days are Wednesday and Saturday.

Religion
The inhabitants of the town are served by eleven churches.

St Wendreda's Church
St Wendreda, to whom the oldest church in the town is dedicated, is the town's own saint and March is the only known church dedication to her. She was a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon who may have been a daughter of King Anna of East Anglia (killed 654) one of the first Christian Kings of the kingdom of East Anglia. Two of her possible sisters, Etheldreda and Sexburgha, who were the abbesses of Ely and Minster-in-Sheppey respectively, are better known saints. She is also associated with Exning, Suffolk.

The saint's relics were enshrined in gold in Ely Cathedral, until in 1016 they were carried off to battle in the hope they would bring victory to Edmund Ironside, the son of King Ethelred. But at the Battle of Ashingdon the army of King Canute captured the relics and he presented them to Canterbury Cathedral. In 1343 the relics were returned to March, but their final resting place is unknown.

The church is known for its magnificent double-hammer beam roof with 120 carved angels; it is regarded as one of the best of its kind. John Betjeman described the church as "worth cycling 40 miles in a head wind to see". The church describes itself as an evangelical church "with an emphasis on biblical teaching".

Other churches
In Victorian times, other Church of England churches were built in March, nearer to where most of the inhabitants now lived. Thomas Henry Wyatt was responsible for the design of St John's (consecrated 1872), St Peter's (built 1881) and St Mary's (Westry, built 1874). The four March Anglican churches now share a 'Team Ministry'.

Trinity Church is now a joint Methodist and United Reformed Church. It was built as a Methodist church in the late 19th century to replace the small St Paul's Methodist Chapel in Gas Road. Development work was carried out during the late 1980s to convert St Paul's Methodist Church into Trinity Church by joining St Paul's, the United Reformed Church, and the Primitive Methodist church.

Centenary Baptist Church, founded in 1700, is a member of the Baptist Union. Additionally, there is a Grace Baptist church, Providence Baptist, which was rebuilt in 1873.

An Elim Pentecostal Church meets in March Community Centre. March Evangelical Fellowship meets on Upwell Road. Fenland Community Church is unique in the local area in focussing on the needs of people with learning difficulties.

Roman Catholics are served by weekly masses in the Anglican church in Chatteris, the combined parish of March and Chatteris being dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel and St Peter.

Folklore
An "old legend told how the people of March in the 13th century endeavoured to build a church on the site where the present cross stands, but the devils were utterly opposed to the proposal. They considered the fenland was especially theirs ... As fast as the people of March dug their foundations and built their church the devils came and pulled the work down... This conflict lasted some years, when the March people, not to be beaten, set up the stone crucifix as an object of terror to the devils. It succeeded in its object. The devils left the town, and that is how the cross came to occupy its present position, which no doubt would have been the better site for the church."

March Museum
March has its own museum, located on the High Street. It is in the building that was originally the South District Girls School, constructed in the 1850s, it went from school to school, until 1976 when the building was purchased by the Town Council. The Museum was opened in 1977.

It is open every Saturday and Wednesday from 10:30 – 15:30 and contains a vast amount of local memorabilia, both from March, and its surrounding villages. Such artefacts include the clock face from the Church of St Mary, Benwick and a large collection of cameras.

Transport

Rivers
The town is on either side of the River Nene (Old Course). A narrow boat marina provides berths and boats for hire.

Roads
The town now has a western bypass to take the A141 and some of the traffic away from the town centre. The B1099 and B1101 pass through the town.

Railways

The town was an important railway centre, with a major junction between the Great Eastern Railway and Great Northern Railway at March railway station. The station is  from London by rail,  north of Cambridge,  north west of Ely and  south of Wisbech.

Whitemoor marshalling yards, built in the 1920s and 30s, were once the second largest in Europe, and the largest in Britain. They were gradually phased out during the 1960s and shut down in 1990. HM Prison Whitemoor was built on part of the site. The natural regeneration of the remaining 44 hectares resulted in its classification as a potential country park. In addition, a new housing development was constructed adjacent to the site. However, in 2002, Network Rail identified a need for a supply depot and redeveloped part of the site.

The tracks of the March to Wisbech line remain and currently (2019) a review is taking place to assess reopening the Bramley Line. The line has been identified as a priority for reopening by the Campaign for Better Transport.

March March march
The "March March march" is a 30-mile walk from March to Cambridge, which has been walked in the month of March by students and academics from the University of Cambridge since 1979. The marchers sing the "March March March March". The point of the walk is that it is pointless; it has spawned a shorter version called the May Manea Mania.

March delivery office

March Royal Mail sorting office (previously a full post office) dates from 1936. It is unusual in that it is one of a handful of post offices that display the royal cypher from the brief reign of Edward VIII.

Economy

In the town centre there are independent shops and retailers such as W. H. Smith, Boyes, Boots, Sainsbury's, Lidl and Superdrug. Out-of-town development has taken place. In 2008 Meadowland retail park opened with an Argos Superstore, Mattressman, Carpetright, Halfords and The Original Factory Shop. Tesco also extended their store to a significantly larger store next to B & M.

The town centre has several bars and restaurants. In 2008, the Barracuda Group changed the landmark Ye Olde Griffin Hotel into a "Smith & Jones" branded pub it is now back to being branded as The Ye Olde Griffin Hotel. It is now (2019) part of the Stonegate pubs chain. In March 2011 J D Wetherspoon opened a pub in the former Hippodrome cinema and bingo hall.

The town's major employers are Whitemoor Prison, Tesco and Sainsbury's, and the many food processing factories in the area.

Sport and leisure
March has a Non-League football club March Town United F.C. who play at the GER Sports Ground. Their honours are winning the Eastern Counties League in the 1987-88 Season & the United Counties League division 1 winners in the 1953-54 Season.

Outdoor Leisure
Norwood Nature Reserve is a six and a half acre site north of the railway station.

Notable people

 William Barker (1817-1894), gold prospector
 Benjamin Gimbert GC (1903-1976), George Cross winner
 Louise Hazel (born 1985), heptathlete
 Wentworth M. Johnson (born 1939), writer
 Kevin Painter (born 1967), darts player
 Martin Peerson (ca. 1570 - ca. 1650), composer
 Rex Tucker (1930-1996), TV director
 Eric Sherbrooke Walker (1887-1976), owner of Treetops Hotel
 Jason Wing (born 1965), Olympic bobsleigher
 Terry Woodgate (1919-1985), footballer

See also
 Dunhams Wood
 List of places in Cambridgeshire
 Neale-Wade Academy
 Norwood Road nature reserve

Further reading

References

External links
 2001 Census
 Cambs Times Web site of local newspaper
 Fenland Citizen Web site of local newspaper
 Fenland District Council District councils web site
 St Wendreda's church
 March Museum
 Fenland Community Church Fenland Community Church
 Things to do in and around March

Market towns in Cambridgeshire
Market houses
Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire
Towns in Cambridgeshire
Fenland District

March, Cambridgeshire


Otto Oscar Binder (; August 26, 1911 – October 13, 1974) was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for Captain Marvel Adventures and other stories involving the entire superhero Marvel Family. He was prolific in the comic book field and is credited with writing over 4,400 stories across a variety of publishers under his own name, as well as more than 160 stories under the pen-name Eando Binder.

Biography

Early life and career
Born in Bessemer, Michigan, Otto Binder was the youngest of six children born into a German-Lutheran family that had emigrated from Austria a year earlier. They settled in Chicago in 1922, during a period rich with science fiction, which enthralled Binder and his brother Earl. The two began writing in partnership and sold their first story, "The First Martian" to Amazing Stories in 1930; it saw publication in 1932 under the pen name "Eando Binder" ("E" and "O" Binder).

Not earning enough as a writer, Binder and his brother worked at many jobs. Earl found employment at an iron works. In late December 1935, Otto Binder began working for Otis Adelbert Kline as a literary agent in charge of Kline's New York City office most prominently marketing the stories of Robert E. Howard, although insufficient business during this Great Depression era forced Kline to close his company after a year and a half. At the time of Otto's move to New York City, Earl Binder dissolved the writing partnership, and all new material produced under the name of Eando Binder from January 1936 on, was solely the work of Otto Binder. Concurrent with his agent work, Binder was writing for Mort Weisinger, editor of Thrilling Wonder Stories, and Ray Palmer, editor of Amazing, for the latter of whom he created the Adam Link series.

Fawcett Comics and Captain Marvel
Binder entered comics in 1939 on the heels of his artist brother, Jack, who moved to New York to work at the studio of Harry "A" Chesler, one of that era's "packagers" who provided outsourced content for publishers entering the new medium of comic books. The following year, magazine publisher Fawcett Publications began its Fawcett Comics line, and Binder started writing the exploits of such characters as Captain Venture, Golden Arrow, Bulletman, and El Carim. After a year, editor Ed Herron had Binder tackle Fawcett's most prominent character, the superhero Captain Marvel. He soon wrote for the spin-off features starring Captain Marvel, Jr. and Mary Marvel, the latter of whom he co-created with Marc Swayze.

Binder spent from 1941 to 1953 with Fawcett, writing "986 stories ... out of 1,743, over half the entire Marvel Family saga", per comic-book writer-editor E. Nelson Bridwell. His first Captain Marvel writing was the "Dime Action Book" novel Return of the Scorpion, featuring the villain from the 1941 Republic serial The Adventures of Captain Marvel. His first Captain Marvel comic-book story was "Captain Marvel Saves the King" in Captain Marvel Adventures #9 (April 1942). He wrote for numerous other Fawcett features, as well as many two-page text fillers that were required in comics in order to be eligible for magazine postal rates. His text stories in Captain Marvel Adventures, under the "Eando" pseudonym, starred Lieutenant Jon Jarl of the Space Patrol. During his time at Fawcett, Binder co-created with Swayze and C. C. Beck such characters as Mary Marvel, Uncle Dudley, Mr. Tawky Tawny, Black Adam, and Mr. Mind, as well as two of Doctor Sivana's four children: the evil teens Thaddeus Sivana Jr. and daughter Georgia. Binder and Beck unsuccessfully attempted to launch a newspaper comic strip featuring Mr. Tawky Tawny in 1953.

Other comics work
Binder left Fawcett when the company shut down its comic book division in 1953, but found no shortage of work. For Timely Comics, the 1940s company that would evolve into Marvel Comics, he [co-]created Captain Wonder, the Young Allies, Tommy Tyme and the patriotically themed superheroine Miss America, and wrote for stories starring Captain America, the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, the Destroyer, the Whizzer, and the All-Winners Squad.

For Quality Comics, Binder co-created Kid Eternity, and wrote Blackhawk, Doll Man, Uncle Sam and Black Condor stories. For MLJ Comics (subsequently known as Archie Comics), he wrote stories starring Steel Sterling, the Shield, the Hangman, and the Black Hood. At Gold Key Comics, Binder co-created Mighty Samson and other characters. His science fiction for EC Comics includes "Lost in Space", illustrated by Al Williamson, in Weird Science-Fantasy #28 (March–April 1955).

DC Comics
In 1948, Binder began working for DC Comics, then known as National Periodical Publications, swiftly creating Merry, Girl of 1,000 Gimmicks, in the feature "Star-Spangled Kid", whose place Merry soon took in Star-Spangled Comics.

He then moved on to his best-known DC work, the Superman group of titles, including launching the Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen series in 1954. Binder and artist Al Plastino collaborated on the Superboy story in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958) that introduced the Legion of Super-Heroes, a teen superhero team from the future that eventually became one of DC's most popular features. Binder and Plastino debuted the supervillain Brainiac and the Bottle City of Kandor in Action Comics #242 (July 1958) and co-created Supergirl in Action Comics #252 (May 1959). With various artist collaborators, he co-created Krypto the Super Dog, the Phantom Zone, and the supporting characters Lucy Lane, Beppo the Super Monkey, and Titano the Super Ape. In the first issue of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, he introduced Jimmy Olsen's signal-watch, and in #31, Jimmy's Elastic Lad identity. He wrote the Lois Lane feature in Showcase #9 (Aug. 1957) which served as a tryout for the character's own series.

DC writer-editor E. Nelson Bridwell credits Binder as creating the first "Imaginary Tale, for Lois Lane", and of writing "most of the early" Bizarro stories, including at least the first "Tales of the Bizarro World" feature. The character's first comic book appearance was in Superboy #68 (Oct. 1958) by Binder and artist George Papp and Bizarro World was introduced in Action Comics #263 (April 1960). Binder scripted what Bridwell calls the "classic [storyline] 'Superman's Return to Krypton.'" His last Superman story was "The Cage of Doom" in Action Comics #377 (June 1969).

Binder was featured in a story in the first issue of Shazam, DC Comics' 1970s revival of the original Captain Marvel. The Binder character, drawn by C. C. Beck, meets a young Billy Batson and is astonished that the boy, who has been missing for 20 years, is still a kid.

Books
Binder was a proponent of the ancient astronauts theory, and a believer in extraterrestrial life. Binder's theory is that human beings are "homo hybrid", an "interstellar crossbreed" (half human, half extraterrestrial). He first discussed this hypothesis in his 1968 book Flying Saucers Are Watching Us (later called Unsolved Mysteries of the Past, Tower Publications; reissue edition, 1970). He wrote Mankind Child of the Stars with Max Flindt in 1974, discussing the concept of "astroevolution". Erich von Däniken wrote a foreword for the book, which was revised and reprinted in 1999. He wrote extensively about UFOs in magazines, including articles detailing the experiences of claimed UFO contactee Ted Owens.

New works
Binder's previously unpublished 1953 story, "The Unwanted," has been adapted as a graphic novel by Robert L. Reiner. To be published in early 2023 by Fantagraphics, the manuscript had been given to Reiner in the late sixties when he was a teenage fanzine editor and publisher. The story describes a census to be taken in the distant future. A civilization of "Mastermen" rule a galactic empire and visit this planet to determine if it is worthy to join an imperial congress. Membership means access to technology and protection. In evaluating this particular planet, the Mastermen are shocked by what they find. The book is illustrated by Milton Caniff Award winning EC/Creepy/MAD artist Angelo Torres and the much acclaimed Austrian sculptor and speed painter Stefan Koidl. The introduction and foreword are written by Eisner Award winning graphic novelist Emil Ferris.

Final years and death
Binder became editor of Space World magazine, a move that ended in bankruptcy in the early 1960s. As he recalled in 1974:

Otto Binder's daughter Mary, had been on her way to school one morning when a car jumped the curb, went into the driveway in front of the school, and killed her. As film producer and comics historian Michael Uslan, a family friend, recalled, "Otto never recovered. His wife never recovered. She had a breakdown, and Otto started drinking, and eventually he dropped dead of a heart attack. And the three of them were gone, like in a flash." Binder recalled in a 1972 history of comics, that after his daughter's death

In 1973, Binder worked for Vincent Fago's Pendulum Press, adapting classic science-fiction stories into comic book format, including Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and The Mysterious Island.

He died in Chestertown, New York, on October 13, 1974, leaving behind, counted Bridwell, "almost 50,000 pages of comics" comprising "over 1,300 scripts for Fawcett" and "more than 2,000 for 20 other publishers", including "some 93 heroes in 198 magazines".

Awards and legacy
Binder was posthumously inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 2004. He was the posthumous recipient of the Bill Finger Award in 2010.

Binder is referenced in the first episode of the 2015 television series Supergirl as the title character prevents a crippled jet from crashing into the "Otto Binder bridge".

Bibliography

DC Comics

 Action Comics #127–146, 182, 195, 200, 202, 204–260, 262–265, 267–268, 270–273, 317, 320, 323, 326, 331, 335–337, 341–342, 344, 349–353, 357, 359, 361–364, 367–369, 371–372, 374–377 (1948–1969)
 Adventure Comics #130–147, 201–204, 206, 210–211, 214–215, 217–222, 226–227, 229–231, 233–238, 241–242, 245–247, 249, 251, 255–257, 259–265, 276, 278–279, 282, 287, 289, 355 (1948–1967)
 Detective Comics #138–147, 150, 203–205, 207–224 (1948–1955)
 House of Mystery #32, 37, 181, 257 (1954–1978)
 Metal Men #30–32 (1968)
 Mystery in Space #19–23, 26–52, 54, 57–58. 108, 110 (1954–1966)
 Showcase #9–10 (Lois Lane) (1957)
 Star-Spangled Comics #81, 85–87, 89–90, 94 (1948–1949)
 Strange Adventures #42, 44–54, 57, 59–66, 71–72, 75–78, 80–92, 94–100, 103, 108–110, 188, 193, 200, 202 (1954–1967)
 Superboy #37–38, 40, 42–64, 66–78, 80–81, 85, 92, 99, 114–115, 118, 121–122, 124–127, 130–133, 136, 139–140, 144–145 (1954–1968)
 Superman #97, 109, 111, 114–115, 117, 121–124, 126–127, 129–134, 138–140, 142–143, 146, 173, 176–177, 179, 184, 186, 188–189, 192, 194, 196, 205, 215 (1955–1969)
 Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #1–5, 14, 17–19, 22–23, 27, 55–61, 71 (1958–1967)
 Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #1–37, 39–41, 44–48, 50–51, 84, 87–90, 98, 105, 112, 116–118 (1954–1969)
 World's Finest Comics #33–34, 37–44, 105–106, 108 (1948–1960)

Fawcett Comics

 America's Greatest Comics #2, 6, 8 (1942–1943)
 Bulletman #3, 9–10, 14 (1942–1946)
 Captain Marvel Adventures #8–11, 14, 16–18, 20–58, 61–76, 78–97, 100–150 (1942–1953)
 Captain Marvel Jr. #1–18, 21, 23, 28–29, 35–36, 38–63, 65, 68, 70–74, 76–90, 93, 95–96, 101–102 (1942–1951)
 Destination Moon #1 (1950)
 Ibis the Invincible #1–2 (1942–1943)
 Marvel Family #1–4, 7, 10, 53 (1945–1950)
 Mary Marvel #1–8, 10–24, 26–28 (1945–1948)
 Master Comics #16, 18–19, 21–22, 25, 33, 40 (1941–1943)
 Whiz Comics #21–22, 27–28, 39 (1941–1943)

Gold Key Comics
 Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #7 (1964)

Marvel Comics
 All Winners Comics #21 (1947)
 Captain America Comics #8–9, 12, 15, 18, 23, 32, 35, 37–40, 62 (1941–1947)
 Kid Komics #1, 4–5 (1943–1944)
 Marvel Classics Comics #2, 4, 11, 13 (1976)
 Marvel Mystery Comics #49–66, 70–72 (1943–1946)
 Young Allies #12–13, 18–20 (1944–1946)

Quality Comics
 Doll Man #5 (1943)
 National Comics #27 (Uncle Sam) (1942)

Novels
 Lords of Creation (1949)
 Adam Link—Robot (1965)
 Anton York, Immortal (1965)
 Enslaved Brains (1965)
 The Avengers Battle the Earth-Wrecker (1967)
 What We Really Know about Flying Saucers (1967)

References

Further reading
 Schelly, Bill. Otto Binder: The Life and Work of a Comic Book and Science Fiction Visionary. 2nd edition. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books, 2016.

 "A Real-Life 'Marvel Family': A 1973 Talk with Golden Age Artisans Jack & Otto Binder". Interview conducted by Richard Kyle, transcribed by Brian K. Morris. Alter Ego #55 (December 2005) pp. 58–67.

External links

 Lieutenant Jon Jarl in "The World Stealers", Captain Marvel Adventures #78 (1947)

 Otto Binder at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
 Otto Binder at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

1911 births
1974 deaths
20th-century American historians
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American male writers
American comics writers
American male non-fiction writers
American male novelists
American male short story writers
American people of German descent
American science fiction writers
American short story writers
Ancient astronauts proponents
Bill Finger Award winners
EC Comics
Golden Age comics creators
Historians from Michigan
Historians from New Jersey
People from Bessemer, Michigan
Writers from Englewood, New Jersey
Pseudohistorians
Silver Age comics creators
Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees
Presidents of the International Board on Books for Young People

Otto Binder