Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall is a graphic novel prequel to the comic book series Fables written by series creator Bill Willingham with a variety of artists. It was released on October 18, 2006 by Vertigo.

In the story Snow White has been sent to negotiate with the Arabian fables. The sultan, considering it an insult that a woman was sent to negotiate, holds her hostage. Snow White tells him a story every night to keep him from executing her.

Plot
This tale is set in the 19th century, in the early days of Fabletown, when Snow White was sent as an envoy to the lands of the Arabian Fables. But the Arabian Fables are actually offended that a woman would be sent to negotiate. When she catches the eye of the sultan, Snow finds herself filling the unenviable role of Scheherazade, the teller of the original One Thousand and One Arabian Nights tales.

Snow has to amuse the Sultan with tales of wonder and imagination every night - for a thousand and one nights - to keep her head off the chopping block. The stories as Snow tells them are shown in a framing sequence similar to the original. Running the gamut from horror to dark intrigue to mercurial coming-of-age, it reveals the secret histories of familiar characters through a series of compelling and visually illustrative tales.

Tales
The ten stories, in order:

A Most Troublesome Woman
Penciled by Michael Wm. Kaluta, inked and painted by Charles Vess. It's the framing story, text with illustrations, like a lavishly illustrated old time storybook, with nineteen pages, seven of which are full splash pages. It is of particular historical note in that it contains the first and to date only appearance of the original planned Adversary, Peter Pan.

The Fencing Lessons
Painted by John Bolton. The longest story in the collection, at 32 or 33 pages, it illustrates the first few days of Snow White and Prince Charming's married life. It also reveals the unpleasant circumstances behind Snow White's problem with dwarves, providing a somewhat darker twist on the original fairytale. Much is seen of Charming's skill with a blade. This story also further explains where Snow and Charming's marriage may have gone wrong.

The Christmas Pies
Painted by Mark Buckingham. Fourteen pages in length, this story focuses on Reynard's behavior in a remote wooded valley, reminiscent of the world of Narnia. In the story, Reynard the Fox tricks the armies of the Adversary into baking and delivering pies to a clearing to replicate the "miracle of the Christmas pies". This ruse allows the trapped animals an opportunity, not only to eat, but to escape from the valley and into the mundane world.

A Frog's Eye View
Painted by James Jean. Eight pages. It concerns Flycatcher's life from the moment he became human and fell in love, as well as some details of his and his family's life living "happily ever after" before the Adversary's forces invaded their kingdom. It is revealed that in the past when Flycatcher (then known as Prince Ambrose) was nervous, afraid or overly excited he would transform into a frog and only transform back into his human form when he was kissed by his wife. The story also covers his last days in the Homelands and reveals the tragic reason why he was able to escape the Adversary's invasion while his wife and children did not.

The Runt
Painted by Mark Wheatley. Thirteen pages long. It's described as a 'dire tale' and focuses on Bigby Wolf's mother, Winter, and the North Wind. It also gives a glimpse of some of Bigby's past, prior to his reformation.

A Mother's Love
Painted by Derek Kirk Kim. A three-page tale about hares, in which Colonel Thunderfoot (an original character, based on the rabbit mythology of Watership Down) is cursed from harekind to humankind to live out his days until "the true love of a doe of our people restores you to harekind".

Diaspora
Illustrated by Tara McPherson. Fourteen pages long, it revolves around Snow, her sister Rose, and Frau Totenkinder, and includes the first visual look at Snow and Bigby's first meeting. It is also used as a framing story for "The Witch's Tale".

The Witch's Tale
Painted by Esao Andrews, "The Witch's Tale" tells the background of Frau Totenkinder, as well as revealing her many previously unrevealed connections to other fables, such as Hansel and Prince Ambrose.

What You Wish For
Illustrated by Brian Bolland. At two pages, and written as a cautionary tale, it tells the story of a adventurous girl named Mersey Dotes who has traveled the globe and then wishes to travel the sea and therefore becomes a mermaid. Not too long after Mersey joins the merfolk village under the sea, however, the Adversary launches a capture of sea kingdoms. This causes Mersey to be the "big fish" of the Farm in the mundane world, since she is unable to pass as human in Fabletown. She is seen chatting with Reynard Fox about her discontent with the fact that she is stuck in a little lake and not traveling.

Fair Division
Painted by Jill Thompson. It's about King Cole. It features several of the other Fables that live on the farm, including Mean Little Sunflower Kid, the Badger, the Three Blind Mice, and the Three Bears. The Adversary has attacked Cole's kingdom and he hides with several dedicated subjects. The story shows how Cole makes sure all his people eat first, even if it means he does not eat at all.

Awards
In 2007 1001 Nights of Snowfall won two Eisner Awards, one for "Best Anthology" and one for "Best Short Story" for "A Frog's Eye View".

Reception
Critical reception for 1001 Nights of Snowfall was mostly positive. A reviewer for Blogcritics praised the book for being easy to follow along with for new readers, with another reviewer stating that although some of the tales were "throw away", the longer tales were more satisfactory. Tor called the book a "strange hybrid", citing the book's art as its highlight. SF Crowsnest stated that the book was an "excellent graphic novel and practically a must-have title for anyone interested in the 'Fables' universe or modern re-tellings of traditional fairy tales". OregonLive.com praised the artwork by Vess and Kaluta, but criticized Willingham's writing as "particularly disappointing".

References

2006 graphic novels
Fantasy comics
Fables (comics)
Vertigo Comics graphic novels
Eisner Award winners for Best Anthology
Works based on One Thousand and One Nights
Prequel comics

1001 Nights of Snowfall


The 2014 SEC men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) held from March 12–16, 2014 in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome. The tournament winner, Florida, received the SEC's automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA men's basketball tournament. However, like most major NCAA Division I conference tournaments, the SEC Tournament does not determine the official conference champion, since the SEC has awarded its men's basketball championship to the team or teams with the best regular season record since the 1950–51 season. Florida, the #1 seed, beat #2 seed Kentucky in the championship game 61–60, with Florida stopping Kentucky from making a last second game-winning shot.

Seeds

Schedule

Bracket

* denote overtime period

Game statistics

First round

Second round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Championship game

References

SEC men's basketball tournament
SEC men's basketball tournament
SEC men's basketball tournament
SEC men's basketball tournament
2014 in Atlanta
Basketball competitions in Atlanta
College sports tournaments in Georgia (U.S. state)

2014 SEC men's basketball tournament


Stansty () is an area and electoral ward in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, lying to the immediate north-west of the city of Wrexham. It is a former civil parish and township. Stansty is also an electoral ward to Wrexham County Borough Council.  The ward population as taken at the 2011 Census was 2,114.

Geography, name
Stansty consists of Higher Stansty and Lower Stansty; Higher Stansty lies near to Summerhill  and Moss Valley within the community of Gwersyllt and is north of the A483 road. Lower Stansty, or Plas Coch as it is now more commonly referred to, is partly within the neighbouring community of Rhosddu, south of the A483. The division between Higher and Lower Stansty is an ancient one, as Stansty Issa (i.e. Lower Stansty), also called Stansty Abbatis, was originally a part of the manor of Wrexham Abbott belonging to Valle Crucis Abbey.

Along with those of some other places in this area of north-east Wales, the name of Stansty may have an Old English rather than Welsh root, perhaps from stan ("stone") with another element, possibly -stig or -stigu ("path, or "sty").

History
Stansty was one of the original townships of the Lordship of Bromfield and Yale, and was also a township of the ecclesiastical parish of Wrexham. It comprised two townships, Stansty Ucha (Upper Stansty) and Stansty Issa (Lower Stansty) which were merged into one at the time of the Commonwealth. Stansty Issa was given to the Abbot of Valle Crucis Abbey by Gruffydd ap Madoc, Prince of Powys, in 1254.

Part of the township was transferred to the new parish of Gwersyllt in 1851, and other parts were transferred to the parishes of Southsea and Bersham in 1921 and 1934 respectively.

The civil parish of Stansty was split in 1935 between Gwersyllt and Wrexham Regis.

Stansty Park
Much of the area was farmland until the 20th century and belonged to an estate called Stansty Park, originally a manor in Stansty Uchaf (Higher Stansty) purchased by David ap Meilir in 1317. One of his descendants, John ap David ap Edward (1573-1635) took the surname of Edwards; the family seat, Plas Issa, was built in 1577. His children included John Edwards (b.1612), court physician to Charles I, and Jonathan Edwards (b.1615), Archdeacon of Derry, while his daughter Margaret married John Jones Maesygarnedd the regicide.  John Edwards (1619–73) expanded the Stansty estate, later known as Stansty Park, until it took up most of Stansty township: however his great-great-grandson, Peter Edwards, died without issue in 1783, and the estate, passing to distant relatives, was eventually sold to the ironmaster Richard Thompson.

Thompson built a new house, Stansty Hall, on the site in the 1830s. The late-Georgian hall at Stansty was later threatened by subsidence from coal mining and was largely demolished in the 1920s - a small section being incorporated into a more modern building - while some of the former estate's farmland has since been developed for modern housing. However, the park's highly elaborate wrought-iron gates, attributed to the Davies brothers of Wrexham, had been rescued and moved to Erddig Hall in 1908.

Though much the estate of Stansty Park has now gone, its name is still used for a modern housing estate near Summerhill and for the ground of Cymru Alliance league football team Lex XI F.C. The name is also applied to the original 1577 house, Plas Issa, which still stands.

Plas Coch

Another of the area's main houses was Plas Coch in Lower Stansty, which was built in the late 16th century in mature hand-made red brick, giving the house its name (Plas Coch translates roughly as "Red Hall").  It was a two-storey building: the plan of the dwelling was a typical through passage house with access at either end of the passage.  The house was built for Sir William Meredith, one of the sons of Richard Meredith of Allington or Trevalyn (near Rossett) and treasurer and paymaster of the army in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I.  Edward Meredith, a brother to William, was recorded in 1610 as trading as draper in Cheapside, London and he had held the lease on Plas Coch from his nephew for a time. Edward Meredith held the office of the High Sheriff of Denbighshire in 1629.

In 1709 the Plas Coch estate was sold by Sir William Meredith of Kent to Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet of Gwydir Castle, Llanrwst.

Plas Coch played an important part in the social life of the city, hosting the Denbighshire & Flintshire Agricultural Society Show and the Annual Wrexham Lager Festival. The house and outbuildings were demolished in the late 1980s to make way for a large supermarket and retail development.  The only part of the original property remaining today is a short length of stone wall at the roadside in front of a branch of Homebase. During the construction of the retail development in 1991, a hoard of Roman coins was discovered by workmen: however all of the coins subsequently disappeared. In 1995 further construction work on the site revealed traces of Roman field boundaries, hearths and a corn drying kiln.

Coal mining era
The area, like much of Wrexham, has a tradition of coal mining. Rhosddu Colliery, or the Wrexham & Acton Colliery as it was also known, was once reached along Colliery Road (the building of the A483 road has since divided the old colliery site).  Colliery Road is still in existence today, but is now surrounded by a residential area.

Public houses in Stansty
 The Railway Inn on Railway Road
 The Plas Coch on Plas Coch Road

Schools in Stansty
 Ysgol Plas Coch

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Stansty and surrounding area

Populated places in Wrexham County Borough
The Lordship of Bromfield and Yale
Wards of Wrexham County Borough

Stansty


Michael James Lewis is an American race car driver born on December 24, 1990, in Laguna Beach, California to parents Steve Lewis (Owner of the famed Nine Racing Midget Team & former owner of Performance Racing Industry) and Loretta Lewis. As a young, up-and-coming Race Car Driver, Michael has competed in a diverse number of racing vehicles including Formula 3, Formula BMW, Ford Focus Midgets, Touring Cars, Late Model Stock Cars, Quarter Midgets, & Go-Karts. Michael also officially tested a Formula One car for Scuderia Ferrari F1 in the F60 chassis on November 15, 2011 (as a result from his accomplishments in Formula 3 Italia). Michael's passion for racing is paramount and he enjoys every aspect of his racing career. The Laguna Beach, California native is known for his professionalism, work ethic, and he lives every day for motorsport.

Career Summary
2013: FIA European Formula 3 Championship – 8 Top 10 Finishes **while missing 2 complete championship race weekends, Monza & Brands Hatch** / P12 at Masters of Formula 3 Zandvoort Circuit Park / Supported by Mercedes-Benz HWA AG Junior Program in F3 / Invited to and completed the 2013 Porsche Young Driver Academy – 2 Day Porsche Motorsport GT3 test at Barber Motorsports Park **1 of only 4 drivers invited**

2012: Formula 3 Euro Series – 1 Victory, 7 Total Podiums, 6 Top 5 Qualifying starts, 14 Top Ten Finishes (not including Podiums), 2 Top Five Finishes (not including Podiums) – P8 in overall championship / FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy Participant (2nd American ever to be selected for the academy) / Supported by Mercedes-Benz HWA AG Junior Program in F3

2011: Formula 3 Italia Championship – 1st Rookie & 2nd classified overall (3 Victories, 2 Pole Positions, 2 Fastest Laps, & 6 Total Podiums), Top 3 in Qualifying for nearly all races / Officially tested the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One F60 Chassis on 15.11.11 / Participated in 3 NASCAR Latemodel Stock Car Races in USA

2010: Formula BMW Europe Championship / Formula BMW Asia Championship – 6 Races (4 Podiums, Three 2nd classified & One 3rd classified) / Official FBMW Junior (which included factory BMW support) for the entire 2010 Season / Participated in 4 USAC Ford Focus Midget Races in USA (Numerous Main Event Wins, Heat Race Wins, & Pole Positions) / Participated in 2 NASCAR Latemodel Stock Car Races in USA

2009: Formula BMW Americas Championship – 1st Rookie & 4th classified (3 Podiums, One 2nd classified & Two 3rd classified) / Formula BMW Asia Championship – Two Races (1 Podium, 2nd classified) / Awarded FBMW Junior Status for the following season / Participated in 11 USAC Ford Focus Midget Races in USA (Numerous Main Event Wins, Heat Race Wins, & Pole Positions) / Participated in 12-Hour Endurance Touring Car Race in USA – BMW in GT4 class (Finished 2nd in class, P4 overall)

2005 – 2008: Domestic and International Kart Racing – Numerous Podiums & Top 5 Finishes in International Karting Events (Participated Internationally in Italian Open Masters, French Open, WSK Events, Rotax Events, & ROK Events) / In USA – 2008 IKF TAG Pro $2,000-to-win event at Cal Speed – 1st classified / In USA – 2008 IKF Region 7 TAG Championship – 1st classified in overall Championship (In USA – Many additional Karting Wins, Pole Positions, & Fastest laps throughout '05 – '08 seasons) / In 2008, Participated in 2 USAC Ford Focus Midget Races in USA

2003 – 2005: Pomona Valley 1/4 Midget Association Senior Honda Championship – 1st classified / Pomona Valley 1/4 Midget Association Light 160 Honda Championship – 1st classified (Many additional Quarter Midget Wins, Pole Positions, & Fastest laps throughout '03 – '05 seasons)

External links
 Official Michael Lewis Racing website

1990 births
Living people
Racing drivers from California
Formula BMW Europe drivers
Formula BMW USA drivers
Formula BMW Asia drivers
Italian Formula Three Championship drivers
FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy drivers
Formula 3 Euro Series drivers
British Formula Three Championship drivers
Place of birth missing (living people)
California State University, Fullerton alumni
FIA European Formula 3 Championship drivers
Prema Powerteam drivers
Porsche Motorsports drivers
Bryan Herta Autosport drivers
Mücke Motorsport drivers
EuroInternational drivers
Michelin Pilot Challenge drivers
Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers
Hyundai Motorsport drivers
Trans-Am Series drivers

Michael James Lewis


Raymond Broadley Etherington-Smith (11 April 1877 – 19 April 1913) was an English doctor and rower who competed for Great Britain in the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Biography
Etherington-Smith was born at Putney. He was educated at Repton School, and before going to university rowed for London Rowing Club, being a member of their Thames Cup crew in 1895 and of the eight that finished second in the Grand Challenge Cup in 1896. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Pitt Club. At Cambridge University he won the Colquhoun Sculls, the Lowe Double Sculls, the University Pairs and Fours, and rowed twice Head of the River. In 1898 he rowed for Cambridge University Boat Club in the Boat Race, which Oxford won. In 1899, he became President of the C.U.B.C when Cambridge prevented Oxford from gaining their tenth successive victory in the Boat Race and was in the victorious crew again in 1900. At Henley Royal Regatta, he won the Grand Challenge Cup three times and the Stewards' Challenge Cup twice. He was runner-up in the Silver Goblets partnering William Dudley Ward in 1900 and runner-up in the Diamond Challenge Sculls against F.S. Kelly in 1902. He was captain of Leander Club four times in 1903, 1905, 1906 and 1908.

Etherington-Smith (nicknamed "Ethel") was captain of the Leander eight which won the gold medal for Great Britain rowing at the 1908 Summer Olympics. At age thirty-one he apologized to teammate Guy Nickalls who was ten years older: "I suppose they have asked me because I am about half-way down the line between yourself and Bucknall in age."

Etherington-Smith trained in medicine and became a demonstrator of anatomy at St Bartholomew's Hospital, having held the residential appointments, including that of House Surgeon.

He died just after his thirty-sixth birthday from blood poisoning contracted while operating on a patient who had gangrene of the lung.

See also
 List of Cambridge University Boat Race crews

References

1877 births
1913 deaths
People educated at Repton School
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Cambridge University Boat Club rowers
English male rowers
English Olympic medallists
Olympic rowers for Great Britain
Rowers at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain
Olympic medalists in rowing
Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta
Members of Leander Club
Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Raymond Etherington-Smith


James Drummond, 1st Lord Maderty (1540?–1623) was a Scottish peer.

Life
Drummond was the second son of David Drummond, 2nd Lord Drummond, by his wife, Lilias, eldest daughter of William, second Lord Ruthven. He was educated with James VI, who throughout his life treated him with favour. On his coming of age his father gave him the lands and titles of the Abbey of Inchaffray in Strathearn, in virtue of which possession he was known as "commendator" of Inchaffray. He also had charters of the baronies of Auchterarder, Kincardine, and Drymen in Perthshire and Stirling, 3 September 1582, and 20 October of the lands of Kirkhill.

In 1580 Drummond was appointed a gentleman of the bedchamber by James VI. He was with the king at Perth 5 August 1600, during the so-called Gowrie conspiracy, and afterwards gave depositions about it. In 1609 (31 January) the king converted the abbey of Inchaffray into a temporal lordship, and made Drummond a peer, with the title of Lord Maderty, the name being that of the parish in which Inchaffray was situated. He had further charters of Easter Craigton in Perthshire, 23 May 1611; of the barony of Auchterarder (to him and his second son), 27 July 1615; and of the barony of Innerpeffray, 24 March 1618.

Drummond died in September 1623. He married Jean, daughter of James Chisholm of Cromlix, Perthshire, who through her mother was heiress of Sir John Drummond of Innerpeffray, which property she brought into her husband's family, and by her he had two sons (John, second lord Maderty, and James of Machany) and four daughters, Lilias, Jean, Margaret, and Catherine.

References

1540 births
1623 deaths
16th-century Scottish people
17th-century Scottish people
Scottish feudal barons
Peers of Scotland created by James VI
Younger sons of barons

James Drummond, 1st Lord Maderty


Simoncini SA was a manufacturer of linecaster matrices established by Italian type designer Francesco Simoncini shortly after the Second World War.  Simoncini had worked with the Ludwig & Mayer foundry before becoming the founder and managing director of his own firm in Bologna, Italy.  In 1956, he was invited by Giulio Einaudi to design a new typeface for his publishing house. Einaudi wanted a new face based on Garamond, and the result was Simoncini Garamond, loosely based on the original. It was successfully used by Einaudi, and subsequently adopted by many other publishers. Another of his typefaces, Aster, is still very popular. He designed it in 1958, and originally intended it for use in newspapers and books. Simoncini died in 1967.  Digital versions of his fonts are now available through Linotype.

Typefaces
These linecaster matrices were produced by Simoncini:

References

Letterpress font foundries
Metal companies of Italy
Manufacturing companies based in Bologna

Simoncini SA


Marcel Schäfer (born 7 June 1984) is a retired German professional footballer. He is currently the Sporting Director for VfL Wolfsburg.

Career

1860 Munich
Schäfer made his debut in the Bundesliga on matchday 11, 1 November 2003, as TSV 1860 Munich defeated VfL Bochum 3–1. After descending to the 2. Bundesliga at the end of that season, he established himself in the following years as a regular player. On 4 March 2005, Schäfer scored his first goal for 1860, helping the club to a 3–0 league win over Wacker Burghausen. On the final day of the 2004–05 season, he opened the scoring for 1860 in the 12th minute, but his side fell to a 4–3 defeat to LR Ahlen.

His only goal of the 2005–06 2. Bundesliga season came on the third matchday, heading in 1860's second goal of their 2–2 draw with SpVgg Greuther Fürth on 29 August 2005. In the 2006-07 campaign he appeared in 31 of the 34 scheduled matches.

Wolfsburg
On 1 July 2007 he returned to the Bundesliga, signing for VfL Wolfsburg in a €1.2 million deal. He made his Bundesliga debut for Wolfsburg in Felix Magath's managerial debut on 11 August 2007, playing the full 90 minutes in the 1–3 defeat to Arminia Bielefeld. His first goal for the club came on 4 November, scoring on a pass from Marcelinho in the 49th minute, but Wolfsburg fell in an entertaining 3–5 defeat to Bochum.

He opened the scoring for Wolfsburg and provided two assists in their match against Borussia Dortmund on 15 December, scoring on the volley after 'keeper Roman Weidenfeller parried an initial shot from Ashkan Dejagah to Schäfer's feet, sending Wolfsburg on their way to a 4–0 victory. In his next appearance for the club, a league match against MSV Duisburg on 9 February 2008, Schäfer scored Wolfsburg's equalizer after an assist from Sascha Riether, helping the Wolves to a 2–1 comeback victory. On matchday 32, he picked up a pass from Christian Gentner and scored from the edge of the penalty-box to put Wolfsburg up 2–1 in the 28th minute over Eintracht Frankfurt, and a late Edin Džeko strike secured a 3–2 win for the Wolves, their first in five games. On the final day of the Bundesliga season, 17 May 2008, Schäfer received the ball from Grafite and hammered the ball into the goal from twenty yards out to score the game winner in the Wolves' 4–2 defeat of Dortmund and secure a spot for Wolfsburg in the UEFA Cup.

On 18 September 2008, Schäfer made his first appearance in European football, helping his side keep a clean sheet in the first round first-leg 1–0 victory over Rapid București. On 24 September, he scored his first DFB-Pokal goal for Wolfsburg, netting with his left foot after a cross from  Mahir Sağlık, and also provided an assist to Džeko as the Wolves comfortably defeated FC Oberneuland 7–0. Down 0–2 against Milan at the San Siro on 17 December, he picked out Cristian Zaccardo for Wolfsburg's first goal and a late Sağlık strike completed the comeback, securing a point and top spot in Group E. On 4 March 2009, he provided the assist for Džeko's first goal as Wolfsburg came from 0–2 down to draw level at half-time, but two second-half goals from Claudio Pizarro and a Diego strike secured a 5–2 win for Werder Bremen and a spot in the semi-finals of the German Cup.

On 4 April 2009, Schäfer assisted the go-ahead goal to Džeko in the 63rd minute, as Wolfsburg notched an eighth successive victory and completed an historic 5–1 defeat of Bayern Munich. On 2 May, he provided his eighth Bundesliga assist of the season, picking out Grafite for Wolfsburg's final goal of their 4–0 win over Hoffenheim. On 23 May, Schäfer played the entire match as Wolfsburg defeated Bremen 5–1 at the Volkswagen Arena, securing the club and the player their first Bundesliga title.

In his first Champions League match, Schäfer provided an assist for one of Grafite's three goals as the Wolves dispatched CSKA Moscow 3–1 to top Group B after the first round of fixtures. Schäfer received the first red card of his professional career in the second round of the DFB-Pokal on 23 September 2009, picking up two yellow cards in stoppage time as Wolfsburg fell to a 2–3 defeat to 1. FC Köln.

He made his first appearance of the 2014–15 season in the league on 21 September 2014, coming on as a late substitute for Junior Malanda in the Wolves' 4–1 defeat of Bayer Leverkusen. Schäfer made his first start of the campaign on matchday 3 of the Europa League, playing the entirety of Wolfsburg's 4–2 win over Krasnodar on 23 October. Schäfer continued to deputize in Ricardo Rodríguez's absence, providing an assist for Naldo and helping keep a clean-sheet in a 3–0 win over Mainz on 26 October.

Tampa Bay Rowdies
In March 2017, Schäfer signed a contract with Tampa Bay Rowdies.

International career
He made his international debut for Germany on 19 November 2008 in a friendly against England, replacing Marvin Compper in the 2–1 loss. He made his full debut for Germany on 29 May 2009, playing the entirety of their 1–1 draw with China at the Shanghai Stadium. On 12 August 2009, Schäfer participated in his first competitive game for the national side, a 2–0 win over Azerbaijan in a World Cup qualifying match in Baku. His 8th and last international was a friendly against Denmark in August 2010.

Career statistics

Honours

Club
VfL Wolfsburg
 Bundesliga: 2008–09
 DFB-Pokal: 2014–15
 DFL-Supercup: 2015

Individual
Lower Saxony Footballer of the Year: 2009
United Soccer League Best XI: 2017

References

External links

Bundesliga profile

1984 births
Living people
German men's footballers
Germany men's international footballers
Germany men's B international footballers
TSV 1860 Munich players
TSV 1860 Munich II players
VfL Wolfsburg players
Tampa Bay Rowdies players
Men's association football defenders
Viktoria Aschaffenburg players
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
USL Championship players
Sportspeople from Aschaffenburg
Footballers from Lower Franconia
VfL Wolfsburg non-playing staff

Marcel Schäfer


El Hierro, nicknamed Isla del Meridiano (the "Meridian Island"), is the second-smallest and farthest-south and -west of the Canary Islands (an Autonomous Community of Spain), in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a population of 10,968 (2019). Its capital is Valverde. At , it is the second-smallest of the eight main islands of the Canaries.

Islands of the Canary Islands

El Hierro


The Accademia degli Infiammati ("Academy of the Burning Ones") was a short-lived but influential philosophical and literary academy in Padua, in northern Italy. It was founded in 1540 by Leone Orsini, and was dissolved somewhere between 1545 and 1550.

This academy should not be confused with another Accademia degli Infiammati which was established at Forlimpopoli in 1624 by Dominican friar Giovanni della Robbia.

The Paduan Academy's emblem featured Hercules on fire on Mount Oeta, with the motto Arso il mortale al ciel n'andrà l'eterno ("Burned being the Mortal, to Heaven will Ascend the Eternal"). Notable members and collaborators were Sperone Speroni, Benedetto Varchi, Pietro Aretino, Girolamo Preti, Luigi Alamanni, Ugolino Martelli, Alessandro Piccolomini, and Angelo Beolco (el Ruzante).

Some of the Academy's activities were conducted in Greek and Latin.  However, the vulgar Venetian and Tuscan languages became prevalent after Speroni, a staunch defender of the vernacular, presided over the academy in 1542.

In this period the Academy promoted lectures (Lezioni) on vernacular poetry, such as on Bembo's sonnets Piansi e cantai l'aspra guerra and Verdeggi all'Apennin la fronte, e 'l petto, by Martelli, and on Forteguerri's sonnet Ora ten va superbo, or corre altero, by Piccolomini.

In 1540, Giovanni Mazzuoli da Strada founded at his home in Florence the Accademia degli Umidi ("Academy of the Wet Ones"). Originally meant to be just a parody of the newly created Paduan Academy, devoted to amateur and burlesque activities, it eventually became the respectable and prestigious Accademia Fiorentina.

References

1540 establishments in Italy
Philosophical schools and traditions
Renaissance philosophy
Italian writers' organisations

Accademia degli Infiammati


Starship HLS, or Starship Human Landing System, is a lunar lander variant of the Starship spacecraft  that is slated to transfer astronauts from a lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon and back. It is being designed and built by SpaceX under the Human Landing System contract to NASA as a critical element of NASA's Artemis program to land a crew on the Moon no earlier than 2026.

The mission plan calls for a Super Heavy booster to launch a Starship HLS into an Earth orbit, where it will be refueled by multiple Starship tanker spacecraft before boosting itself into a lunar near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO). There, it will rendezvous with a crewed Orion spacecraft that will be launched from Earth by a NASA Space Launch System (SLS) launcher. A crew of two astronauts will transfer from Orion to HLS, which will then descend to the lunar surface for a stay of approximately 7 days which is to include five or more EVAs. It will then return the crew to Orion in NRHO.

In the third phase of its HLS procurement process NASA awarded SpaceX a contract in April 2021 to develop, produce, and demonstrate Starship HLS. An uncrewed test flight is planned for 2024 to demonstrate a successful landing on the Moon. Following that test, a crewed flight is expected to occur as part of the Artemis 3 mission, no earlier than December 2025. NASA later contracted for an upgraded version of Starship HLS to be used on the Artemis 4 mission.

Design
Starship HLS is a variant of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft optimized to operate on and around the Moon. In contrast to the Starship spacecraft from which it derives, Starship HLS will never re-enter an atmosphere, so it does not have a heat shield or flight control surfaces. This makes it much lighter than a regular Starship, so SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in 2021 that it may only take four (rather than eight for the normal version) tanker Starship launches to refuel a Starship HLS to the point where it has enough fuel for a lunar landing. In contrast to other HLS designs that proposed multiple stages, the entire spacecraft will land on the Moon and will then launch from the Moon. Like other Starship variants, Starship HLS has six Raptor engines mounted at the tail, which are used when the Starship HLS acts as the second stage during the launch from Earth. They are also used as its primary propulsion system in all other flight phases. Within 100 meters of the lunar surface, the variant will utilize high‑thrust RCS thrusters located mid‑body to avoid plume impingement problems with the lunar regolith. The thrusters burn gaseous oxygen and methane instead of the liquid oxygen and methane used by the Raptors. However, these thrusters may not be needed. Starship HLS is supplied with electrical power by a band of solar panels around the circumference of the vehicle.

Starship HLS requires in-orbit propellant transfer in its mission profile. Prior to the launch of the HLS vehicle from Earth, a Starship variant configured as a propellant depot would be launched into an Earth orbit and then partially or fully filled by between four and fourteen Starship tanker flights carrying propellant. The Starship HLS vehicle would then launch and rendezvous with the already-loaded propellant depot and refuel before transiting from Earth orbit to Lunar orbit.

Starship HLS incorporates the following design characteristics:
 approximately 24 midbody oxygen-methane thrusters for use very near the lunar surface
 100-day loiter capability in lunar orbit
 support for a greater number of EVAs on the lunar surface than the minimum required by NASA in the 2020 solicitation
 excess-propellant margin can be applied to expedite an emergency ascent from the Moon

Within the Artemis lunar landing architecture , a NASA Orion spacecraft is planned to be launched by a Space Launch System rocket and rendezvous with a waiting Starship HLS lander in a near-rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon. The crew of Orion would then dock with, and transfer to Starship HLS, which would subsequently depart and descend to the lunar surface. After lunar surface operations, Starship HLS will lift-off from the Moon and return to lunar orbit to rendezvous with Orion. The crew then transfers back to Orion and departs for Earth. Although not confirmed yet, Starship HLS could, in theory, be refueled in orbit to carry more crews and cargo to the surface.

According to NASA, minimizing changes in vehicle configuration and making the design and development of Starship HLS as common as possible will pay great benefits in future Starship HLS builds by eliminating the need for additional testing, evaluation, and verification of different vehicle designs. NASA also noted this will also allow SpaceX to accelerate vehicle builds to help ensure availability and on time delivery for mission integration.

History

Starship HLS builds on the SpaceX Starship system by adding a new spacecraft variant called Starship HLS. This spacecraft will be used in conjunction with the Starship booster (called Super Heavy) and two additional Starship spacecraft variants, "tanker" and "depot", that were already planned prior to the HLS contract.

Starship system history

The SpaceX Starship concept was initially conceived in the early 2010s as a spacecraft that would be principally built for the Mars colonization effort that Musk has advocated since 2011, with the first colonists arriving no earlier than the middle of the 2020s.

By 2016, the scope became somewhat broader, when Musk realized the high-level design SpaceX had been working on for the Starship vehicle allowed for variants that would be suitable for interplanetary travel more generally, and could work both on planets with and without an atmosphere. Lunar destination flights, however, were not generally emphasized by Musk, and he specifically stated that the Moon was not a necessary step on the path to Mars.

By late 2018, SpaceX had specified the primary construction material for Starship to be stainless steel – after approximately a year of building manufacturing pathfinder hardware out of carbon composite materials—and manufacture of the initial test article including pressure vessel construction for the liquid methane and liquid oxygen tanks began in early 2019.

Between July 2019 and July 2021, seven Starship prototype vehicles, each with different vehicle design configurations and varied test objectives, flew a total of eight atmospheric test flights, all launched from the SpaceX South Texas launch site at Boca Chica, Texas.

Starship HLS history

Initial "Option A" Contract
Starship itself has been in privately funded development by SpaceX since the mid-2010s, but the HLS (Human Landing System) variant is being developed under contracts with the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The initial contracted design work started in May 2020, with selection and funding for full-development occurring in April 2021, when Starship HLS was selected by NASA to land "the first woman and the next man" on the Moon during the Artemis 3 mission, potentially as early as 2024.

NASA signed a  contract with SpaceX to develop and manufacture Starship HLS, and to conduct two flights an uncrewed demonstration mission, and a crewed lunar landing. Starship HLS is intended to dock in a lunar NRHO with either the NASA Orion spacecraft or NASA lunar Gateway space station, in order to take on passengers before descending to the lunar surface and return them after ascent.

Starship HLS, with HLS being an initialism for Human Landing System, was first made public when it was initially selected by the NASA in April 2020 for a design study as part of their Artemis program, which aims to land humans on the Moon. SpaceX was one of three teams selected to develop competing lunar lander designs for the Artemis program over a year-long period starting in May 2020. The other landers in consideration were Dynetics HLS, developed by aerospace manufacturer Dynetics, and the Integrated Lander Vehicle, developed by a team led by Blue Origin. NASA intended to later select and fund at most two of these landers to continue to perform initial demonstration flights.

On 16 April 2021, NASA selected only Starship HLS for crewed lunar lander development plus two lunar demonstration flights one uncrewed and one crewed no earlier than 2024. The contract is valued at  over a number of years. Two NASA Artemis astronauts are to land on the first crewed Starship HLS landing. NASA had previously stated that it preferred to fund development of multiple Human Landing System proposals with dissimilar capabilities; however, "only one design was selected for an initial uncrewed demonstration and the first crewed landing, due to significant budget constraints" for the human landing system program imposed by US Congress. NASA stated that the unselected proposals Dynetics HLS and Blue Origin ILV as well as landers from other companies would be eligible for later lunar landing contracts.

On 26 April 2021, Blue Origin and Dynetics separately protested the award to SpaceX at the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). On 30 July 2021, the GAO rejected the protests and found that "NASA did not violate procurement law" in awarding the contract to SpaceX, who bid a much lower cost and more capable human and cargo lunar landing capability for NASA Artemis. Soon after GAO rejected the appeal, NASA made the initial $300 million contract payment to SpaceX. The protest action delayed NASA from authorizing work on the contract, and thus delayed the start of work by SpaceX for 95 days. Blue Origin produced infographic posters that highlight the complexity of Starship HLS, for example the fact that on orbit refuelling with cryogenic fuels like that Starship HLS uses has never been demonstrated, while showing its own lunar lander in a positive light by stating that it uses proven technology.

On 13 August 2021, Blue Origin filed a lawsuit in the US Court of Federal Claims challenging "NASA's unlawful and improper evaluation of proposals". Blue Origin asked the court for an injunction to halt further spending by NASA on the existing contract with SpaceX, and NASA stopped work on the contract on 19 August, after SpaceX had been allowed to work on the NASA-specific parts of Starship HLS for just three weeks since the work had been previously halted in April. Reactions to the lawsuit were negative, with many criticizing Blue Origin for causing unnecessary delays to the Artemis program. On 4 November, the court granted the federal government's motion to dismiss the case, and NASA announced that it would resume work with SpaceX as soon as possible.

"Option B" contract
On 23 March 2022, NASA announced it would be exercising "option B", an option under the initial SpaceX HLS contract that would allow a second-generation Starship HLS design to conduct a demonstration mission after Artemis 3.

On 15 November 2022, NASA announced the Option B award of , and announced that this crewed landing is to occur as part of Artemis 4. The flight will include docking with the Gateway. The Option B HLS will meet NASA's requirements for a "sustainable" HLS. These include the ability to support a crew of four and longer-duration lunar surface stays.

Subsequent contracts
After NASA awarded the Option A contract to SpaceX, congress directed NASA to award a second HLS contract. NASA responded by creating "Appendix P" for a non-SpaceX sustainable HLS. This lander will be used for Artemis 5 as its crewed demonstration flight. In May 2023, Blue Origin was awarded $3.4 billion by NASA to develop their Blue Moon lunar lander, compared to the $2.89 billion of the original bid that had been awarded to SpaceX for Option A. NASA intends to allow Starship HLS option B and the Blue Moon lander to compete for Artemis missions after Artemis 5.

See also

 Billionaire space race, SpaceX vs. Blue Origin
 Blue Moon (spacecraft), a competing lunar lander by Blue Origin
 Chinese crewed lunar lander, Chinese lander under development
 LK (spacecraft), Soviet lunar lander flown in Earth orbit

Notes

References

Artemis program
Cargo spacecraft
Crewed spacecraft
SpaceX Starship
SpaceX spacecraft
VTVL rockets

Starship HLS


Julien Chouinard,  (February 4, 1929 – February 6, 1987) was a Canadian lawyer, civil servant and Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Born in Quebec City, the son of Joseph Julien Chouinard and Berthe Cloutier, he received a BA in 1948 and a LL.L. in 1951 from Université Laval. As a Rhodes Scholar, he received a BA in 1953 from Oxford University. In 1953, he was called to the Quebec Bar and started to practice law. He also taught law at Université Laval.
Auxiliary professor at Laval University from 1959 and, mid-time professor from 1964.
Member of the lawyer cabinet Gagné, Prévost, Flynn.

In 1965, he joined the Quebec civil service as deputy minister of Justice. In 1968, he was appointed Secretary General of the Executive Council of Quebec. He ran unsuccessfully as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the House of Commons of Canada for the Quebec riding of Matane in the 1968 federal election. In recognition of his contribution to public service, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1974. In 1974, he was appointed to the Court of Appeal of Quebec. In 1979, Prime Minister Joe Clark appointed him to the Supreme Court, and he served until his death from brain cancer in 1987. He is buried in the Cimetière Notre-Dame-de-Belmont.

References

External links
Order of Canada Citation

1929 births
1987 deaths
Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
20th-century Canadian civil servants
Canadian Rhodes Scholars
Deaths from brain cancer in Canada
French Quebecers
Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada
Lawyers in Quebec
Officers of the Order of Canada
Politicians from Quebec City
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons
Candidates in the 1968 Canadian federal election
Academic staff of Université Laval
Université Laval alumni
20th-century Canadian lawyers
Université Laval Faculté de droit alumni

Julien Chouinard


Kelp forests are a type of marine ecosystem that is present around colonies of kelp; they contain rich biodiversity. Kelp can stretch 2-30 meters or more (up to 60 m in Macrocystis pyrifera) from their anchors on the sea floor to the surface. It provides a vertical infrastructure that is home to many fish and invertebrate species.  Kelp forests also often attract mammalian visitors, including whales, sea lions, sea otters, and SCUBA-diving humans.

Kelp forests draw their name from an analogy to forests on land.

In some places, sea urchins eat so many kelp plants that the kelp forest becomes an urchin barren.

Ecosystem architecture

Giant kelp uses gas-filled floats to keep the plant suspended, allowing the kelp blades near the ocean surface to capture light for photosynthesis.
The architecture of a kelp forest ecosystem is based on its physical structure, which influences the associated species that define its community structure. Structurally, the ecosystem includes three guilds of kelp and two guilds occupied by other algae:

 Canopy kelps include the largest species and often constitute floating canopies that extend to the ocean surface (e.g., Macrocystisand Alaria).
 Stipitate kelps generally grow a few meters above the sea floor and can grow in dense aggregations (e.g., Eisenia and Ecklonia).
 Prostrate kelps lie near and along the sea floor (e.g., Laminaria).
 The benthos is composed of other algal species (e.g., filamentous and foliose functional groups, articulated corallines) and sessile organisms along the ocean bottom.
 Encrusting coralline algae directly and often extensively cover ocean floor.

Multiple kelp species often co-exist within a forest; the term understory canopy refers to the stipitate and prostrate kelps. For example, a Macrocystis canopy may extend many meters above the seafloor towards the ocean surface, while an understory of the kelps Eisenia and Pterygophora reaches upward only a few meters. Beneath these kelps, a benthic assemblage of foliose red algae may occur. The dense vertical structure with overlying canopy forms a system of microenvironments similar to those observed in a terrestrial forest, with a sunny canopy region, a partially shaded middle, and darkened seafloor. Each guild has associated organisms, which vary in their levels of dependence on the habitat, and the assemblage of these organisms can vary with kelp morphologies. For example, in California, Macrocystis pyrifera forests, the nudibranch, Melibe leonina, and skeleton shrimp, Caprella californica, are closely associated with surface canopies; the kelp perch Brachyistius frenatus, rockfish Sebastes spp., and many other fishes are found within the stipitate understory; brittle stars and turban snails Tegula spp. are closely associated with the kelp holdfast, while various herbivores, such as sea urchins and abalone, live under the prostrate canopy; many seastars, hydroids, and benthic fishes live among the benthos; solitary corals, various gastropods, and echinoderms live over the encrusting coralline algae. In addition, pelagic fishes and marine mammals are loosely associated with kelp forests, usually interacting near the edges as they visit to feed on resident organisms.

References

Biomes

Kelp forest


A haplogroup is a group of single chromosomes, or single DNA strands, which share a common ancestor. They have the same mutation in all versions.

Haplogroups show deep ancestral origins dating back thousands of years.

In human genetics, the haplogroups usually studied are Y-chromosome (Y-DNA) haplogroups and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups. Both can be used to define genetic populations. Y-DNA is passed only from father to son, while mtDNA is passed only from mother to children. Neither recombines, and thus Y-DNA and mtDNA change only by chance mutations with no intermixture between parents' genetic material.

Related pages
J1 (Y-DNA)

References

DNA
Chromosomes

Haplogroup


Arthur Clutton-Brock (23 March 1868 – 8 January 1924) was an English essayist, critic and journalist.

Arthur Clutton-Brock was born at Weybridge, third son of John Alan Clutton-Brock, a banker, and his wife Mary Alice, daughter of Rev. Henry Thomas Hill, rector of Felton, Herefordshire. They were first cousins, both being grandchildren of Rev. Henry William Hill, rector of Rock, Worcestershire. The Clutton-Brock family were landed gentry, of Pensax Court, near Tenbury, Worcestershire, where they had lived since the 1600s. They were coal mine owners. The family name originated in the adoption of the additional surname of 'Brock' by John Alan's father, Thomas Clutton, J.P., D.L., in 1809, as per a stipulation in the will of his maternal great-uncle, Thomas Brock, of Chester, Cheshire, in which county the Clutton family had been resident since the reign of Henry III. He was educated at Summerfields and Eton, then New College, Oxford. Following a short period in a stockbroker's office, he was called to the bar in 1895 by the Inner Temple, working as a barrister for some years.

In 1908 Clutton-Brock was appointed art critic on The Times, having previously occupied the same role on the staff of the Tribune and The Morning Post; he wrote however on a plethora of subjects, from gardening to religion. In 1903, he married Evelyn Alice, the daughter of the civil engineer Leveson Francis Vernon-Harcourt
He lived at The Red House, Godalming, Surrey.

The historian John William Willis-Bund was first cousin to Clutton-Brock's mother Mary Alice.

Selected publications
 Eton (1900)
 Shelley: The Man and the Poet (1909); 2nd edition (1922)
 William Morris: His Work and Influence (1914)
 Studies in Gardening (1916)
 Studies in Christianity (1918); reprint (1922)
 Essays on Art (1919)
 Essays on Books (1920)
 More Essays on Books (1921)

References

External links

20th-century English writers
1868 births
1924 deaths
English journalists
Members of the Fabian Society

Arthur Clutton-Brock


Patrizia Giancotti (born 26 June 1958 in Turin) is an Italian anthropologist, photographer, journalist, author, and radio presenter.

She teaches anthropology at Sigmund Freud University Milano , and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Reggio Calabria. She is the author and presenter of  the Wikiradio, Passioni, Tre Soldi programs on Rai Radio 3.

She carried out her research in visual anthropology in Italy and abroad, particularly in Brazil, where she lived for over ten years, collaborating with the writer Jorge Amado. She studied the priestesses of the Bahia, to worship of the Siren, and  Amazonian shamanism; and in Benin, where she carried out research on African religious traditions.  For her work in cultural broadcasting, she received the "Abèbè of Oxum" Award from the Mayor of Salvador da Bahia, Lidice da Mata, and the  High Honor of the Cruzeiro do Sul, from the government of Brazil.

She carried out surveys of visual anthropology in Southern Italy. For the Brazilian Embassy, with the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brasil Telecom, and Banco do Brasil, she has conceived and edited ''Musica Brasileira na Sala Palestrina'', two volumes containing audio and video recordings of music concerts held in the historic hall of Palazzo Pamphilj. She has worked with Ennio Morricone, and José Carreras. She worked with Luigi Ontani at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto.

She holds courses and seminars in various Italian universities. Since 2003, she worked for national radio, as a host in the programs  "Wikiradio" and "Passioni", on Rai Radio 3.

References

1958 births
Living people
European anthropologists
Italian photographers
Italian journalists
Italian radio personalities
People from Turin

Patrizia Giancotti


A Knox Box  is a small, wall-mounted safe that holds building keys for fire departments, emergency medical services, and sometimes police to retrieve in emergency situations. The term "Knox-Box" is a brand name for such products produced by the American company Knox Associates, which does business as The Knox Company. The Knox Box is part of a line of security-related products marketed as the Knox Rapid Access System.

Local fire departments hold master keys to all Knox Boxes in their response area, enabling them to quickly enter buildings in their area without having to force entry or find individual keys held in deposit at the station. Sometimes the Knox Master Key is stored in a key retention device such as Sentralok or KeySecure. Knox Master Key retention devices provide accountability on access to the key. KeySecure records an audit trail of when the key is accessed while Sentralok requires a dispatcher to release the key with DTMF tones. Both Sentralok and KeySecure are also branded products of the Knox Company.

A Knox Box can also cut fire losses for building owners since firefighters can enter buildings without breaking doors or windows. It can also reduce the potential of a firefighter being injured forcing entry.

The disadvantage of the system is that it provides a single point of failure for the security of many buildings. If the key to a district's Knox Box is stolen or copied, a thief can enter any building in the area that has a Knox Box. All Knox commercial boxes have a standard tamper switch which can be wired to the building's fire alarm control panel to sound a supervisory alert if the box is opened.

The keys for Knox KeySecure are the same throughout a district (the extent of which depends on the district). At the February 2013 RSA Conference, a researcher publicized a possible exploit, claiming that he had successfully ordered a box, disassembled it, and used the information from disassembling the lock cylinder to create his own master key.

See also
 Real-estate lock box a device with a similar purpose used by real estate agents

References

External links
 Knox Company website

Firefighting equipment
Physical security
Security technology

Knox Box


Michael Nicholson  (9 January 1937 – 11 December 2016) was an English journalist, specializing in war reporting, and a newscaster. He was ITN's Senior Foreign Correspondent.

Early life
Nicholson was born in Romford, Essex, on 9 January 1937, the son of a Royal Engineers officer. He spent part of his childhood in West Germany. He received his formal education at Leicester University.

Career
Nicholson joined ITV in 1964 and over the next forty years he reported from 18 war zones: Biafra, Israel, Vietnam, Cambodia, Congo, Cyprus, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Indo-Pakistan, Northern Ireland, Falklands, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, the Gulf Wars, 'Desert Storm' 1991 and 'Shock and Awe,' Baghdad 2003.

During the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974, Nicholson's car broke down just as Turkish paratroopers were landing over his head onto the island. Nicholson walked up to the first of them and greeted them with 'I'm Michael Nicholson. Welcome to Cyprus'. His film was flown back to London on an RAF plane and made the evening news the following day.

In 1975, Nicholson went to South Vietnam, and reported several events followed by the Fall of Saigon, including the battle of Newport Bridge (), a key passway where ARVN soldiers fighting the last stand against PAVN troops and Vietcong heading for the capital, and the US Embassy gathered around by thousands of panic Vietnamese citizens trying to leave the country by American helicopters. Nicholson  got into the embassy compound in the afternoon on April 29, and took one helicopter to  waiting in the South China Sea.

Nicholson was ITN's first bureau chief in South Africa, based in Johannesburg from 1976 to 1981 and the first television correspondent to be allowed to live in apartheid South Africa, a brief covering Africa from Cape Town to the Sahara. During this time Nicholson covered the Soweto riots, spent much time in UDI Rhodesia covering the war of independence and was the first foreign journalist to interview Robert Mugabe on his release from prison.

In 1978 he and his cameraman Tom Phillips and sound recordist Micky Doyle, were in Angola to interview the UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi. Pursued by Cuban mercenaries working for the communist MPLA government, they were trapped and spent four and a half months in the bush, walking a total of 1,500 miles, trying to escape. They were eventually airlifted out in a dramatic escape.

In 1981 he returned to Britain, motoring overland through Africa and Europe with his wife Diana and two small sons, Tom and William, a six-month journey of some twelve thousand miles, recorded in the book Across the Limpopo.

Nicholson was on holiday in the Lake District when the Falklands War broke out. Flown by a chartered aircraft to Southampton he boarded the aircraft carrier  for the six-week journey to the South Atlantic. He commented about the experience: "this was the first war, other than Northern Ireland, where I was among my own people. It made it a very special war and the Falklands a very special place." Nicholson and BBC journalist Brian Hanrahan (on his first major foreign story) were regularly flown over to the Royal Fleet auxiliary ships to broadcast their phoned reports, as broadcasting from Royal Navy ships was forbidden. After the conflict, Nicholson was awarded the South Atlantic Medal.

Nicholson also had a sporadic decade-long stint as a television newscaster, becoming known as a presenter on ITN's early evening News at 545. Initially hosting the bulletin on Fridays from its introduction in September 1976 (due to the inclusion of a World News segment on that day), and as a relief newscaster, he began alternating with Leonard Parkin as the regular host of the 545 from 1980 until 1982, when as aforementioned he was recalled as a war reporter to cover the Falklands War, providing a memorable report from Argentina about the sinking of the ARA General Belgrano during the conflict.

In January 1983, he returned to the News At 545, this time as the sole regular host, also making occasional appearances on ITN's weekend news bulletins over the next three years. He would continue this role until March 1986, when he decided to resign from studio newscasting to go back 'on the road'. He became Channel 4's Washington Correspondent for 'Breakfast News' in 1989 and ITN's Chief Foreign Correspondent 1989–1999.

Resuming his career as a war reporter, Nicholson joined the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Gloucester sending dispatches from the Gulf War in 1991. In 1992 he reported from the Yugoslav Wars, based mainly in Sarajevo.

He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1991, when he was surprised by Michael Aspel at the London offices of ITN.

From 1999-2009 he was a presenter/reporter with ITV's current affair programme 'Tonight', and was employed by BBC Radio 2 and 4. He was also employed by a variety of British national newspapers.

Awards
 International Film & Television Monte Carlo 'Silver Nymph Award' (1976), for war reporting from the Vietnam War.
 South Atlantic Medal (1982).
 Royal Television Society's 'Journalist of the Year' (1991) (later winning the award three times).
 'Richard Dimbleby Award' for Services to Television (1992).
 Order of the British Empire (1992).
 'Specialist Reporter of the Year' (1998), Royal Television Society.

Nicholson was also an EMMY Honours finalist in 1969 for 'Christmas in Biafra' and for 'Shooting the Messenger' in 2009, a Sony Broadcasting Awards finalist (2007), and three times Gold Medalist in New York's Broadcasting Guilds Award.

Publications
Fiction:
 The Partridge Kite
 Red Joker,
 December Ultimatum
 Pilgrim's Rest.
 Dark Rosaleen

Non Fiction:
 A Measure of Danger
 Across the Limpopo
 Natasha's Story
 A State of War Exists – Reporters in the Line of Fire.

Natasha
While reporting from Sarajevo in 1992 Nicholson found 200 orphans living in a mortared and shelled building – four had already been killed. Nicholson pleaded with the authorities to evacuate them, including Natasha, a nine-year-old who had been abandoned by her mother. He smuggled her out of the country, claiming her as his daughter, and handing her to the immigration authorities at London Heathrow airport.

Despite protests from the Bosnian authorities and journalistic critics, Nicholson succeeded in adopting her. Natasha attended local state primary and secondary schools near her home in Surrey and later gained an HND in sports science from the University of Bath.

Nicholson published his experiences in his book, Natasha's Story on which the 1997 film Welcome to Sarajevo is based.

Personal life
Nicholson lived with his wife Diana, two sons Thomas and William, and adopted daughter Natasha in Grayswood, Haslemere, Surrey.  He also had a daughter named Ana, whom he adopted from Brazil.

Death
Nicholson died at the age of 79 whilst on a holiday cruise ship in the Persian Gulf with his wife.

References

External links

 Imperial War Museum Interview from 2003

1937 births
2016 deaths
Alumni of the University of Leicester
ITN newsreaders and journalists
British people of the Falklands War
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
British war correspondents
People of the Vietnam War
War correspondents of the Nigerian Civil War
People from Romford

Michael Nicholson


USS Admiral R. E. Coontz (AP-122) (later the USNS General Alexander M. Patch (T-AP-122)) was an  built for the U.S. Navy during World War II.  She was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 680) on 15 January 1943 at Alameda, California, by the Bethlehem Steel Corp., and launched on 22 April 1944.  She was sponsored by Mrs. Edwin Kokko, daughter of Admiral Coontz, and commissioned on 21 November 1944.

After service in both the Pacific and European Theaters of World War II, the Coontz was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list in April 1946.  Turned over to the U.S. War Department, she underwent repairs and alterations and was renamed General Alexander M. Patch, honoring General Alexander McCarrell Patch, commander of the victorious U.S. Army XIV Corps at Guadalcanal, and of the 7th Army in the invasion of Southern France in 1944 and Germany in 1945.

In the Army Transport Service she carried troops and cargo between Europe and the United States through 1950, rescued refugees during the Suez Crisis of 1956, made nearly 125 round-trips to West Germany in the early 1960s, in part helping to break the Berlin Blockade, then carried troops mid-decade on numerous trips to South Vietnam and from South Korea to South Vietnam in support of U.S. military operations in Southeast Asia.

Placed in reserve in 1967, the Patch was transferred to the U.S. Maritime Administration in 1970 and placed in reserve in the United States National Defense Reserve Fleet in the James River, Virginia.  In June 2001 she was sold to Esco Marine, Inc., of Brownsville, Texas, for scrapping.

History

In World War II
Following shakedown training out of San Pedro, CA, the transport embarked troops at San Francisco and sailed for the western Pacific on 3 January 1945. After pausing briefly at Pearl Harbor she reached Ulithi, in the Western Carolines, on 23 January and served there as station ship until 19 March when she headed homeward. Admiral R. E. Coontz made one additional voyage from San Francisco to Ulithi. On her return she touched at San Francisco and San Diego, transited the Panama Canal, and pushed on across the Atlantic to France. She embarked troops for transfer to the Pacific theater; cleared Marseilles on 21 July; and reached Pearl Harbor on 12 August. Underway soon again, she paused at Eniwetok, Saipan, and Guam en route to Ulithi which she reached on 28 August, almost a fortnight after Japan capitulated.

Leaving the Western Carolines on 12 September, Admiral R. E. Coontz sailed for Okinawa, whence she sailed on 27 September for the west coast of the United States. Making port at Bremerton, Washington, the transport embarked occupation troops before getting underway for Japan on 24 October. After disembarking troops at Nagasaki on 6 November and at Nagoya two days later, Admiral R. E. Coontz then made two round-trip voyages between Yokohama and Seattle. She then proceeded to Okinawa to embark passengers for the return voyage to the United States. Sailing for Hawaii, the transport embarked more troops at Pearl Harbor and reached New York City on 11 March 1946.

As General Alexander M. Patch
The Coontz entered the Todd Shipyard, Brooklyn, NY, on 17 March 1946 and was decommissioned there on the 25th. Stricken from the Navy list in April 1946 and turned over to the War Department, the ship underwent a period of repairs and alterations and was renamed General Alexander M. Patch, honoring General Alexander McCarrell Patch, commander of the victorious U.S. Army XIV Corps at Guadalcanal, and of the 7th Army in the invasion of Southern France in 1944 and Germany in 1945.

In the Army Transport Service, General Alexander M. Patch carried troops and cargo between Europe and the United States from 1946 to 1950. Reacquired by the Navy on 3 March 1950, the ship operated for the next two decades as USNS General Alexander M. Patch (T-AP-122) with the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), later renamed the Military Sealift Command(MSC). From 1950 to 1965 the ship conducted 123 round-trip voyages between Bremerhaven and New York, with an additional 16 voyages to the Mediterranean. Among her passengers was Mrs. Alexander M. Patch, the widow of the general for whom the ship had been named.

Among her operations was the embarkation of over 1,500 refugees in the Suez Crisis in November 1956. The transport took them from Souda Bay, Crete—where they had been brought from Alexandria, Egypt, and Haifa, Israel, by American warships – to Naples. Late in 1961, in the international tensions spawned by the Soviet Union's closure of access to West Berlin, General Alexander M. Patch participated in the massive lift of American troops to Europe.

In August 1965, growing American involvement in the Vietnam War prompted the transfer of MSTS ships from the Atlantic to the Pacific. General Alexander M. Patch commenced her first Vietnam voyage at New York on 15 August. Steaming via Charleston, SC, and Long Beach, CA, the transport reached Qui Nhon, South Vietnam, on 16 September. Returning via Cam Ranh Bay, Vung Tau, and Okinawa—to San Francisco on 2 October, the ship conducted one more voyage to Vietnam in 1965, reaching Vung Tau on 9 November. Clearing Vung Tau later that day, she returned to New York by way of Penang, Malaysia; Rota, Spain; and Bremerhaven.

For the first six months of 1966, General Alexander M. Patch operated between New York and Bremerhaven. The Vietnam War once again compelled MSTS to switch some of its transports to the Pacific. General Alexander M. Patch and her sistership, , embarked of the Army's 196th Light Infantry Brigade at Boston and departed on 15 July. Transiting the Panama Canal, the two transports reached Vung Tau, South Vietnam, on 13 August, ending the longest (12,358 nautical miles) point-to-point troop lift in the 17 years that MSTS had been in operation. Before the year was out, General Alexander M. Patch conducted two troop lifts of Republic of Korea troops from Pusan to South Vietnam.

Placed in reserve in New York's upper bay along with three of her sisterships by the summer of 1967, General Alexander M. Patch was transferred to the custody of the Maritime Administration on 26 May 1970 and placed in reserve in the United States National Defense Reserve Fleet in the James River, Virginia.

Fate
The General Alexander M. Patch was sold for scrapping, 4 June 2001, to Esco Marine Inc., Brownsville, Texas.

References

 NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive USNS General Alexander M. Patch (T-AP-122) ex USAT General Alexander M. Patch ex-USS Admiral R. E. Coontz (AP-122)

1944 ships
Admiral W. S. Benson-class transports
Transport ships of the United States Army
Ships built in Alameda, California

USS Admiral R. E. Coontz


Karen Julia Carney  (born 1 August 1987) is an English sports journalist and former professional footballer who played as a winger and midfielder. Carney has been a regular broadcaster for live football on Sky Sports, ITV and Amazon Prime, including Women's Super League and men's Premier League matches since 2019. She is also a sports columnist for BBC Sport, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Television, and The Guardian.

Carney began her career at Birmingham City and was twice named FA Young Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006. After signing with Arsenal, she experienced great success in 2006–07 winning the UEFA Women's Cup and all three domestic trophies: the FA Women's Premier League, FA Women's Cup, and the FA Women's Premier League Cup. Following two seasons with Chicago Red Stars in the American Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), Carney re-joined Birmingham City from 2011 to 2015. Carney finished her career with Chelsea where she was named Player of the Year in 2016 and captained the club to an FA Women's Cup title in 2017–18. She retired in July 2019.

Carney made her senior international debut for England in 2005. She represented England at four FIFA Women's World Cups (2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019) and at four UEFA Women's Championships (2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017). At the time of her retirement, she was the second most capped England player with 144 appearances, although this has since been surpassed by Jill Scott. She also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

In 2015, Carney was inducted into Birmingham City's Hall of Fame, and 2021, she was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. In 2017, she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to football.

Club career

Birmingham City, 2005–06
Carney joined Birmingham City Ladies at the age of 11 and played at various age levels for the club alongside the likes of Eniola Aluko and Laura Bassett. She made her first-team debut for Birmingham City in the FA Women's Premier League National Division against Fulham Ladies at the age of 14. She earned FA National Young Player of the Year honors in 2005 and 2006.

Move to Arsenal, 2006–09
Carney joined Arsenal Ladies on 13 July 2006, and played a major part in the team that won four major honours in the 2006/07 season: the FA Women's Premier League, FA Women's Cup, FA Women's Premier League Cup, and the UEFA Women's Cup. She made 21 appearances in the Premier League in her first season and scored 10 goals. In all competitions, she made 36 appearances and scored 13 goals. The following season saw Carney take on a greater role at Arsenal. She made 20 Premier League appearances and scored 10 goals. In all competitions, she made 34 appearances and scored 17 goals. 2008–09 marked Carney's final season with Arsenal. She made 13 Premier League appearances and scored eight goals. In all competitions, she made 21 appearances and scored 12 goals.

Chicago Red Stars, 2009–10

After a new professional league was announced in the United States, Carney was selected by Chicago Red Stars in the third round (19th overall) of the 2008 WPS International Draft. The Red Stars made Carney their first signing on 27 January 2009. It was confirmed the following day by Arsenal. She joined Head Coach Emma Hayes, who had served as Arsenal's first team assistant coach.

In the inaugural 2009 Women's Professional Soccer season, Carney appeared in and started 17 games (1471 minutes) and scored two goals while assisting on another. She scored her first goal for the club during a 4–0 win against the Boston Breakers. The Red Stars finished in sixth place with a  record.

During the 2010 season, Carney competed in 21 matches. She scored the game-winning goal against Sky Blue FC on 2 August lifting Chicago to a 2–1 win on her birthday. The Red Stars finished the regular season in sixth place with a  record.

Return to Birmingham City, 2011–15

After Chicago Red Stars folded ahead of the 2011 season, Carney re-signed for Birmingham City. During the 2011 FA WSL, she started in all 13 matches and scored 3 goals helping lift the club to a second-place finish. During a 4–0 win against Bristol City, Carney scored a brace. She scored the game-winning goal in a 2–1 win against Arsenal on 28 April.

During the 2012 season, Carney started in all 14 matches and scored 3 goals. Birmingham City finished in second place with a  record. She scored the winning goal and was Player of the Match in the 2012 FA Women's Cup Final. Due to national team obligations, Carney competed in six matches for Birmingham City during the 2013 season. The club finished in fourth place with a  record.

Carney was a starting player during the 2014 season in all 14 matches. Her 6 goals ranked first on the team and tied
for top in the league. During a match against Manchester City on October 5, her brace led Birmingham City to a 2–1 win. In October 2014 Carney was fined and received a one-match suspension for an incident in July when she told opposition player Natalia Pablos to "fuck off back to Spain". In the last game of the 2014 FA WSL season, she missed a penalty in Birmingham City's 2–2 draw with Notts County that might have led to a league title. Birmingham City finished in third place during the regular season with a  record.

Carney was the first woman inducted into Birmingham City's Hall of Fame in March 2015. She scored two penalties in Birmingham's 3–0 win at relegation-bound Bristol Academy in September 2015, to help secure the club's WSL 1 status. Despite national team duty at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, Carney finished the 2015 season with three goals in 11 matches. Birmingham City finished in sixth place with a  record.

Chelsea, 2016–19
In December 2015, Carney left Birmingham for the second time in her career, transferring to FA WSL champions Chelsea on a two-year contract. She was described as "world-class" by Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, who previously worked with Carney at Arsenal and Chicago Red Stars.

During the 2016 FA WSL, Carney scored 3 goals in 16 matches. Chelsea finished in second place with a  record. She scored the game-opening goal in the club's 4–1 against Doncaster on 24 March off a penalty. After the match, Hayes noted, "Karen Carney was at the heart and the core of everything, especially in the first half, and she looks like she's been playing at Chelsea for years. I thought she was instrumental in everything we did, whether she was on the left side, down the middle, or on the right." She scored Chelsea's second goal in the 4th minute of a 4–0 against her former club, Birmingham City on 28 August, in her hometown of Solihull. She was named the club's Player of the Year and was short-listed for England Women's Player of the Year.

After extending her contract with Chelsea through 2020, Carney's four goals in the seven matches she competed in during the 2017 FA WSL ranked third in the league. Chelsea finished in first place during the regular season with a  record. During the 2017–18 FA WSL season, she scored three goals in eight matches, including a brace against Yeovil on 29 October. Chelsea won the league title as well as the 2017–18 FA Women's Cup.

In October 2018, Carney's ninth-minute penalty goal captained Chelsea's 1–0 Women's Champions League win over Fiorentina. Carney was named to the 2018–19 Women's Champions League Squad of the Season . Following the match, Carney experienced sexist, death and abuse threats by an Instagram user after the match. The user was banned from the social media platform for threatening and abusive behaviour. Although Carney declined to press charges, England's Football Association called for police involvement. During her final season with the club, Carney scored one goal in 14 matches in the 2018–19 FA WSL.

International career

England

Carney made her senior international debut in England's 4–1 victory over Italy in 2005, coming off the bench to score England's fourth goal. She was the youngest player to earn a senior debut during Hope Powell's tenure as England coach. The same year, she was an integral part of the team at the UEFA Women's Euro 2005 and scored a last-minute, game-winning goal in the 3–2 win over Finland, which earned her significant media attention.

In her late teens, Carney won FA Young Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006. In August 2009, she was named to Powell's national team squad for Euro 2009. In the semi-final win over the Netherlands, Powell utilised 20-year-old Jessica Clarke's pace and energy to tire the Dutch full-backs, before introducing substitute Carney to decisive effect.

On 23 November 2014, Carney competed in her 100th senior international match in a 3–0 loss to Germany at Wembley Stadium in front of a record 45,619 fans. Carney was the youngest and the eighth player to earn 100 caps for England. The match marked the first time a women's national team game had been played at Wembley. Carney stated the game was her favourite moment in her career: "Getting my 100th cap for England was a real honour... It's every boy's dream to play at Wembley so for me being a girl and leading the national team out at one of the most iconic stadiums in the world is a moment I will never forget."

In May 2015, England manager Mark Sampson named Carney in his final squad for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, hosted in Canada. Carney scored in England's 2–1 group stage wins over Mexico and Colombia. England eventually finished third.

Carney was named to the 2019 England World Cup squad, and earned her 141st cap in England's first match against Scotland. On 5 July 2019, Carney announced that she would retire after the World Cup third-place final match against Sweden. England lost the match 2–1, and the match saw an Ellen White goal disallowed due to handball.

Carney was allotted 160 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England's inaugural international.

Great Britain
In June 2012, Carney was named in the 18-player Great Britain squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She played in all four games as Great Britain were beaten 2–0 by Canada in the last eight.

Post-playing career

Carney and Liesel Jolly co-created "the Second Half"; a programme supporting women footballers in their careers post-football.

In August 2022, Carney was appointed Chair of the Future of Women's Football Review for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, looking into ways the Government can nurture and expand the game in the UK.The review was published in July 2023 and called for a massive changes across the women's game in England.

Media career
In 2020, Carney joined ITV's coverage of England's women's team, the FA Cup, the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the Euro 2024 finals.
In September 2021, Carney joined Sky Sports as lead Women's Super League pundit.
Carney has commentated on Champions League matches for CBS Sports.

Personal life
Carney is from Birmingham. She was born in Hall Green and attended St. Ambrose Barlow Catholic Primary School and St. Peter's RC Secondary School, Solihull. Asked about her origins and outlook in June 2019, she said, "I'm from Birmingham: my mum works at Sainsbury's, my dad is a fire-fighter. We keep it real. We know who we are. I don't need a Bentley; I don't need a Rolex".

Carney graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree from Loughborough University in Sports and Exercise Science with a specialization in Physiology and Sports Psychology. Her dissertation was on "The impact of caffeine on repeated sprint performance in elite female football". In 2013, she graduated from the University of Gloucestershire with a Master of Science in Sports Psychology with a specialization in Performance Psychology. Her dissertation was on "video analysis and coach reflection of team talks within football". As of 2021 she was studying towards a Master of Business Administration at the James Lind Institute, and graduated in October 2022. Carney was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to football.

Carney is a vegan and credits the diet for improving both her physical and mental health.

Carney was nicknamed the Wizard.

Career statistics

International goals
Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Carney goal.

Honours
Birmingham City
Women's FA Cup: 2012

Arsenal
FA Women's Premier League National Division: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08
FA Women's Cup: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08
FA Women's Premier League Cup: 2006–07
FA Women's Community Shield: 2005–06
UEFA Women's Cup: 2006–07

Chelsea
FA Women's Cup: 2017–18

England

Cyprus Cup: 2009, 2013, 2015
UEFA Women's Championship runner-up: 2009
FIFA Women's World Cup third place: 2015
SheBelieves Cup: 2019

Individual
 FA International Young Player of the Year: 2005, 2006
 FA WSL Top Goalscorer: 2014
 Birmingham City F.C. Hall of Fame: 2015
 English Football Hall of Fame: 2021
 Women's Super League Hall of Fame: 2022

See also
 List of women's footballers with 100 or more international caps
 List of UEFA Women's Championship goalscorers
 List of players who have appeared in multiple UEFA Women's Championships
 List of players who have appeared in multiple FIFA Women's World Cups
 List of England women's international footballers
 List of football personalities with British honours
 List of Chicago Red Stars players

References

Further reading
 Aluko, Eniola (2019), They Don't Teach This, Random House,
 Caudwell, Jayne (2013), Women's Football in the UK: Continuing with Gender Analyses, Taylor & Francis,
 Clarke, Gemma (2019), Soccerwomen: The Icons, Rebels, Stars, and Trailblazers Who Transformed the Beautiful Game,
 Dunn, Carrie (2019), Pride of the Lionesses: The Changing Face of Women's Football in England, Pitch Publishing (Brighton) Limited,
 Dunn, Carrie (2016), The Roar of the Lionesses: Women's Football in England, Pitch Publishing Limited,
 Grainey, Timothy (2012), Beyond Bend It Like Beckham: The Global Phenomenon of Women's Soccer, University of Nebraska Press,

External links

Karen Carney – The Football Association profile
Karen Carney – Chicago Red Stars profile

1987 births
Living people
English women's footballers
Alumni of Loughborough University
Birmingham City W.F.C. players
Arsenal W.F.C. players
Chelsea F.C. Women players
Chicago Red Stars players
England women's international footballers
FA Women's National League players
Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States
Women's Super League players
2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players
Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers for Great Britain
Footballers from Solihull
Women's association football forwards
English people of Irish descent
FIFA Women's Century Club
Members of the Order of the British Empire
English expatriate women's footballers
English expatriate sportspeople in the United States
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players
BT Sport presenters and reporters
Women sports commentators
BBC sports presenters and reporters
Women association football commentators
Association football commentators
English association football commentators
Women's Professional Soccer players
UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players
WSL Hall of Fame inductees

Karen Carney


Tales of Dunk and Egg is a series of fantasy novellas by George R. R. Martin, set in the world of his A Song of Ice and Fire novels. They follow the adventures of "Dunk" (the future Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall) and "Egg" (the future King Aegon V Targaryen), some 90 years before the events of the novels.

Three novellas have been published – The Hedge Knight (1998), The Sworn Sword (2003), and The Mystery Knight (2010) – and Martin has stated his intention to continue the series. A collection of the existing three novellas, with illustrations by Gary Gianni, was published as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on October 6, 2015.

The Hedge Knight
The first novella was originally published August 25, 1998 in the Legends anthology, edited by Robert Silverberg. The story was later adapted into a six-issue comic book limited series by Ben Avery, drawn by Mike S. Miller, produced by Roaring Studios (now Dabel Brothers Productions) and published by Image Comics and Devil's Due between August 2003 and May 2004. Devil's Due published the complete limited series as a graphic novel in June 2004. Following the termination of the partnership between Dabel Brothers and Devil's Due, the graphic novel has been republished in various editions.

Plot
Upon the death of a nomadic 'hedge knight', Ser Arlan of Pennytree, his squire Dunk adopts Ser Arlan's armor as his own, as well as his equipment, three horses, and remaining money, in hope of winning more gold at the town of Ashford, under the name of 'Ser Duncan the Tall'. En route, he gains his own squire in a boy nicknamed 'Egg'. At Ashford, Dunk sells one of his horses for a suit of armor by the smith Pate, and befriends Ser Steffon Fossoway's squire and cousin, Raymun Fossoway. Without proof of his knighthood, he is nearly barred from competition until Prince Baelor Targaryen vouches for him. Forbidden to use Ser Arlan's coat of arms, Dunk commissions an attractive young puppeteer named Tanselle to paint a new one. Dunk watches the first day of competition, with Egg on his shoulders. After several spectacular tilts, Baelor's nephew, Prince Aerion Targaryen, disgraces himself by killing Ser Humfrey Hardyng's horse.

When Dunk retires into the Fossoways' tent to drink with Raymun, Egg reveals that Tanselle is being beaten by Prince Aerion, who is offended at the notion of the puppet knight defeating a dragon. Dunk rushes to defend Tanselle and attacks Aerion; when the royal guard arrests Dunk, Egg reveals that he is actually Prince Aegon Targaryen, Aerion's younger brother. After meeting Prince Baelor again, Dunk chooses trial by combat rather than mutilation for his attack on Aerion, who demands a 'Trial of Seven' (in which two parties of seven knights contend on horseback). Steffon and Raymun, and later Aegon, promise to acquire Duncan's partisans; and Aerion's other brother Prince Daeron, called the Drunken, warns Dunk that his father will have three knights of the Kingsguard fight in the trial.

Dunk is met again by Pate, who presents him with a new shield, originally an old one that was re-rimmed in new steel by Pate and that Tanselle has painted in his chosen sigil – an elm tree silhouetted against the sunset with a shooting star – and left for him before departing. At the morning of the trial, Raymun brings Ser Humfrey Hardyng and Ser Humfrey Beesbury to Duncan's side; and Aegon brings Ser Robyn Rhysling and Ser Lyonel Baratheon (called the "Laughing Storm"). Steffon sides with the accusers for the reward of a lordship; and Raymun begs to be knighted and fight in Steffon's place. Dunk hesitates, because his own knighthood is dubious, and Lyonel grants Raymun his knighthood - however, Dunk is still one knight short. Finally, Prince Baelor announces that he will champion Dunk himself. In the resulting joust, Dunk is unhorsed by Aerion, but beats him into submission, and Aerion recants his accusation. The fighting costs the lives of both Humfreys; and Baelor himself is later revealed to have suffered a blow to the head, stuck by Maekar's mace, after removing his helm, perishing from the injury shortly afterwards to the lament of many present. Prince Maekar, Aegon's father, later offers Dunk a position in his household to train Aegon; but Dunk insists on permission to travel, and takes Aegon as his squire, under his former alias of 'Egg', in the hopes Aegon may learn the humility his elder brothers lack. Thereafter Dunk and Egg set out to Dorne.

The Sworn Sword
The second novella was published in 2003 in the Legends II anthology, also edited by Robert Silverberg. The story has been adapted into a graphic novel by Ben Avery and drawn by Mike S. Miller, in cooperation with publisher and distributor Marvel Comics. The first comic was released on June 20, 2007, and the graphic novel was released on June 18, 2008.

Plot
The story begins in the Reach with Duncan the Tall sworn to Ser Eustace Osgrey of Standfast, and illuminates several aspects of the feudal system of Westeros. A series of flashbacks narrated by Ser Eustace relate the events of the Blackfyre Rebellion and its conclusion at the Battle of the Redgrass Field.

At the fort of Standfast, Dunk and Ser Eustace's other sworn sword, Ser Bennis the Brown, discover that a dam has been built across the local stream, by peasants in service to Lady Rohanne Webber of Coldmoat. Bennis reacts angrily, cutting the cheek of one of the peasants. Upon hearing the news, Ser Eustace realizes that Lady Webber will be angered by Bennis's actions against her servants, and orders Dunk and Bennis to train levies from his three villages. For a peaceful solution, Eustace sends Dunk to Coldmoat, where Dunk learns that Lady Rohanne stands to lose her lands to a male cousin if she does not take a fifth husband by the second anniversary of her father's death. Her castellan, the haughty Ser Lucas Inchfield (known as the "Long Inch" for his 6-foot 7-inch height), is her most insistent suitor, but she has already refused him. Dunk fails to change the Lady's mind on either the dam's construction or seeking justice for her servant, and Rohanne informs him that Ser Eustace is a former traitor, who supported the usurper Daemon Blackfyre, and has therefore been stripped of most of his lands. When Dunk attempts to appeal to Rohanne's fond memories of Eustace's youngest son, Addam, she angrily slaps him and demands he leave; as Dunk departs, he learns that she was once in love with Addam, who died at Redgrass Field.

Shocked by the news of Ser Eustace's past treason, Dunk returns to Standfast to leave the old knight's service. That night, Ser Eustace's forest is burned, and Duncan recalls Lady Rohanne's threat of "fire and sword" to destroy Standfast. He therefore disperses the levies, and promises to oppose Lady Rohanne himself. At the river, Dunk rides into the ford to parley with Lady Rohanne where the noise of the water will prevent anyone on either bank from overhearing them. Before he enters the stream, Ser Eustace suggests that Dunk should kill Lady Rohanne at this meeting. Instead, Dunk offers his own blood to Lady Rohanne by slicing his cheek. This pays the debt for the wounded peasant; and for the claim that Lady Rohanne had the forest burned, she demands an apology or vindication, and all agree upon trial by combat between Dunk and Ser Lucas, to be fought in the stream as the only neutral ground present. In the fight, Dunk is nearly outfought by Ser Lucas, but drowns him and nearly drowns himself, but is resuscitated by Lady Rohanne's maester. When he awakens, Dunk learns that Ser Eustace and Lady Rohanne are now married, to reconcile their debts. Before Dunk leaves, Rohanne implies that she would have sooner married Dunk if he was not of low birth, but instead offers him her finest mare to make amends; and when he refuses, Lady Rohanne insists that he take something to remember her by, and he pulls her into a passionate kiss, and takes a length of her hair as a keepsake. Thereafter he and Egg ride with the intent to reach the Wall.

The Mystery Knight
The third novella was published in 2010 in the anthology Warriors, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois.

Like The Sworn Sword, the book takes place during the reign of Aerys I and the aftermath of the Blackfyre Rebellion is examined in more detail.

Plot
The story begins with Dunk and Egg leaving Stoney Sept for Winterfell, to seek service with Lord Beron Stark against Greyjoy raids on the northern coast.  On the way they encounter a septon beheaded for preaching treason; and later a group of knights and minor lords traveling to a tourney in honor of the wedding of Lord Butterwell of Whitewalls to a Frey of the Crossing, wherein the victor's prize is a dragon egg. Dunk takes a dislike to Gormon Peake, whom he believes the killer of his own mentor's former squire. Egg tells Dunk that Peake's arms of three castles on an orange field is because the Peake family owned three castles, but forfeited two to the Crown when Peake sided with Daemon Blackfyre in his rebellion. During the journey Dunk befriends three other itinerant knights: Ser Maynard Plumm, Ser Kyle the Cat of Misty Moor, and Ser Glendon Ball who claims to be the bastard son of the famous knight Quentyn "Fireball", who fought for Daemon Blackfyre.

The wedding is set at Whitewalls and Lord Frey arrives with his four-year-old heir, Walder Frey, and his fifteen-year-old daughter, who weds Lord Butterwell (and is alleged to have been caught by Walder having lost her virginity to a servant). Egg becomes increasingly suspicious when he sees that most of the competitors belonged to the rebel party. During the wedding Dunk is drafted by John the Fiddler to carry the bride to the bedchamber. Dunk does so and later hears from John that the latter once saw Duncan himself, in a dream, in the armor of the royal guard. Dunk enters the first match of the joust under the name of 'Gallows Knight' (for a new shield acquired after the loss of his own); but is defeated in the first tilt by Ser Uthor Underleaf, known as the Snail Knight for his sigil.  Duncan later gives Underleaf his armor and horse as forfeit, and Underleaf informs Dunk that someone bribed him to kill Dunk in the final tilt. Before the jousting continues, word spreads through the castle that the dragon egg is missing, and the blame is placed on Ser Glendon Ball, who is imprisoned by Peake. In search of the absent Egg, Duncan is attacked by Alyn Cockshaw, who claims to have bribed Uthor Underleaf, and throws him into a well. Maynard Plumm comes to Duncan's aid, and it is discovered that Plumm is one of Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers' many spies (or possibly Bloodraven himself), and that John the Fiddler is the eponymous son of Daemon Blackfyre. Dunk finds Egg in the sept with the cowering Lord Butterwell, who on discovering Egg's true identity is terrified for his life. Lord Butterwell's son-in-law Black Tom Heddle tries to kill Egg to incite a war, and is killed by Duncan, who thereupon tells Egg to flee with Butterwell.  To buy time for Egg's escape, Dunk confronts the younger Daemon Blackfyre, and accuses Gormon Peake of falsely charging Ball with the theft of the dragon egg.

Daemon allows Ball to prove his innocence in trial by combat, in which Ser Glendon soundly defeats Daemon. By this time a large army under Bloodraven, who is also the King's Hand, encircles Whitewalls, and Daemon is captured. Dunk and Egg meet Bloodraven, and Egg demands that Bloodraven reward Glendon, Duncan, and the other hedge knights. Gormon Peake is beheaded for treason. For surrendering to Bloodraven without a fight, Lord Butterwell is spared his life and allowed a tenth of his wealth; but his fortress is forfeit to the Iron Throne and torn down. Dunk asks after Daemon's fate; Bloodraven replies that he will be spared and kept as a hostage to prevent the Blackfyres from making him a martyr and crowning his younger brother Haegon instead. Bloodraven, at Egg's request, gives Dunk the gold to ransom his armor. When Egg asks Bloodraven what became of the dragon egg, Bloodraven implies it was taken by an agent of his (thought to be one of the performing dwarfs at the wedding).

Planned installments

Martin has said that he would like to write a number of these stories (varying from six to twelve from interview to interview) covering the entire lives of these two characters.

In 2011 he talked about working on the fourth novella, which was originally to be included in the anthology Dangerous Women, and a year after that it and the three previously published Dunk and Egg tales were to be collected and published in the U.S. by Bantam Spectra as a stand-alone fix-up novel. The working title of the fourth novella was The She-Wolves of Winterfell. As of late 2013, work on the story has been postponed while Martin completes The Winds of Winter. In April 2014, Martin also announced that he had roughed out another Dunk and Egg story with the working title The Village Hero which would be set in the Riverlands. He noted that he was not sure which of these two would be completed first. In 2015, Martin noted that in addition to She-Wolves and The Village Hero he had notes and fairly specific ideas for a number of further installments, including The Sellsword, The Champion, The Kingsguard, and The Lord Commander, taking the planned series total to as many as nine novellas.

Adaptations
The novellas were adapted as comic books which were reprinted as graphic novels:

Martin wrote in 2014 that film or TV adaptations of the novellas are being discussed. He suggested that because HBO owns the TV rights to the setting of Westeros (if not to the characters of the novellas), it would be preferable to have HBO adapt the novellas as well.

On January 21, 2021, Variety reported that an adaptation of the Tales of Dunk and Egg series, a prequel to the events of Game of Thrones, is in early development on HBO. It was given a straight to series order on April 12, 2023.

Family tree

References

External links

 Review and interview on suvudu.com

Book series introduced in 1998
American novellas
A Song of Ice and Fire books
Novels by George R. R. Martin
Books by George R. R. Martin
1998 novels
2003 novels
2010 novels

Tales of Dunk and Egg