Alicia Michelle "Miki" Howard (born September 30, 1960) is an American singer and actress who had a string of top 10 hit songs in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, including "Baby, Be Mine" (1987), "Come Share My Love" (1986) and "Love Under New Management" (1990). "Ain't Nobody Like You" (1992) and "Ain't Nuthin' in the World" (1989) both peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Top R&B Singles chart.

Early life
Howard was born in Chicago, Illinois. She is the daughter of gospel singers Josephine Howard (1937-1978) of The Caravans and Clay Graham (1936-2018) of The Pilgrim Jubilees. Howard's mother took her to the homes of various stars such as Aretha Franklin and Mavis Staples. At the age of nine, Howard and her family moved to Los Angeles where Howard's mother sang in a choir led by Caravans member and arranger James Cleveland. Among those who visited Howard's Los Angeles residence were Albertina Walker, Shirley Caesar, Billy Preston and Fats Domino. Howard was also influenced by jazz greats, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington and Nancy Wilson. As a teenager, she often visited Maverick's Flat, a popular night club in Los Angeles and a venue for music acts such as Rufus and Chaka Khan and Earth, Wind & Fire, who were influential in her pursuit of a professional singing career.

Music career

1980–1985: Side Effect
At the age of 16, she performed in a teen pageant. After the show, she met singer Augie Johnson, leader and member of R&B group Side Effect, who happened to be in the audience and began working with Howard on music. Johnson charmed Howard and later chose her as the vocalist for the group. After a period of time, Howard became a Side Effect member in 1979—replacing the departure of Sylvia St. James. Howard's tenure with the group lasted a few years.  With Miki as new female vocalist, Side Effect's After the Rain was released in 1980. The album did not do well on the charts as well as the next two Elektra albums Portraits and All Aboard. As a member of Side Effect, the group's best remembered "I Can't Play" and a cover of Toto's "Georgy Porgy" were minor R&B hits in 1983/84. During this time, she also had one child by Johnson. In addition to singing with Side Effect, she did background vocals for Wayne Henderson, Roy Ayers, Stanley Turrentine, and several other artists. By 1985, Howard decided she was ready to begin a solo career, and left the group. She put together a demo that landed her a recording contract with Atlantic Records.

1986–1990: Come Share My Love, Love Confessions and Miki Howard

Howard begin recording songs for her debut album, Come Share My Love released in 1986. The album was produced by LeMel Humes, would peak to number 19 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums. The first single, "Come Share My Love" would become her first U.S. hit single. The song peaked to number five on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. By the fall, the follow-up single was a cover version of Glenn Miller's 1940's tune "Imagination", peaked to number 13 on the R&B Singles and would become Howard's first video. With two hit singles from the album, she embarked on her first concert tour in 1987, opening for funk band Cameo. The final single, "Come Back to Me Lover" was released charting to number 33, on the R&B singles chart.

In November 1987, Howard released her second album, Love Confessions. LeMel Humes produced several tracks and became a close friend, working with Howard on future albums throughout her career. Her success continued with two more Top 10 R&B singles from the album, Nick Martinelli produced, soul ballad "Baby, Be Mine" climbed to number five on the R&B Singles chart. The second single "That's What Love Is", a duet with hit-making R&B crooner Gerald Levert (lead singer of R&B group Levert), peaked to number five on the R&B Singles chart. Levert produced the duet and final single "Crazy", which peaked at number 38 on the R&B singles. Howard and Gerald's group LeVert, embarked on a U.S. tour in support of their album's. The pair was also romantically involved and that romance would spawn one of Howard's biggest hits from her third album. On March 30, 1988, Howard won a Soul Train Music Award for Best New Artist.

In November 1989, Howard released her third album, the self-titled Miki Howard, which would become her final album on Atlantic. Following the release, the album became a hit, charting at number four on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. The album would become Howard's most successful to date. During recording, Howard and Gerald Levert's romantic relationship, spawned the song's "I'll Be Your Shoulder", "Mister" and "Just The Way You Want Me To"; written-produced by Levert. Howard secured her first chart-topper, the first single, "Ain't Nuthin' in the World", peaked at number-one on the R&B Singles. Howard scored two more Top 5 R&B hits from the album. The songs "Love Under New Management, penned during her affair with Gerald Levert, peaked to number two and a cover of "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)", at number three on the R&B singles chart.

1992–1997: Femme Fatale, Miki Sings Billie and Can't Count Me Out

By 1992, Howard was no longer a recording artist with Atlantic, she was now signed as an artist with Giant Records. On September 15, Howard's fourth studio album, Femme Fatale was released. The album peaked at number seven on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. Producer/songwriter LeMel Humes produced the majority of the album, including the first single, "Ain't Nobody Like You". The song peaked at number one on the R&B Singles chart, Howard's second R&B chart-topper and number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100. A second single and music video for "Release Me", was released, the song received modest radio airplay and peaked at number 43 on the R&B singles chart and also peaked at number 35 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts. More singles were released as 'promotional, radio-only', the David Foster produced, "Shining Through" and "But I Love You", produced by LeMel Humes.

In director Spike Lee's 1992 bio-pic film Malcolm X, Howard portrayed jazz singer Billie Holiday, performing Holiday's "I Cover the Waterfront". She had always been strongly influenced by Holiday's vocal technique and music. In the fall of 1992, Miki decided to pay tribute to Billie by recording covers of her favorite classic songs by Holiday. During recording, she also landed a role in John Singleton's 1993 film Poetic Justice starring pop singer Janet Jackson and hip-hop artist/actor Tupac Shakur. In December 1993, Miki's fifth studio album, Miki Sings Billie was released under Giant Records, the album peaked at number 74 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums, her lowest charting album. David Foster and LeMel Humes produced the cover tracks. Official singles were not released, only a radio promo of "Don't Explain" was played on R&B and jazz stations in the U.S.

By 1997, Howard was no longer signed to Giant Records. Her sixth studio album and her first in four years, Can't Count Me Out, was released under a new label, Hush, in May. The album was her first to not chart on the Billboard 200 or the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album includes duets, a cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Love Every Little Thing About You" with singer Terence Trent D'Arby, "Can't Count Me Out" duet with father Clay Graham and a remake of Janis Ian's "At Seventeen". LeMel Humes produced most of the album, including a cover of the jazz standard "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "Sunshine" penned by singer Brenda Russell.

2001–2008: Three Wishes, Pillow Talk and Private Collection

In March 2001, Howard released her seventh album, Three Wishes under Peak Records. Although no official singles were released, Nobody received radio airplay. The album peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number 25 on the Independent Albums chart. All the tracks were produced by new producers, except "Bring Your Loving Home" produced by Howard's close friend LeMel Humes. The album received a nomination for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Album at the 2002 Grammy Awards. After five years had past since Three Wishes, in September 2006 Howard was now signed with Shanachie Records. Her eighth studio album, Pillow Talk was released. The album peaked at number 60 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart. All songs were cover tracks of her favorite R&B classic songs, of Ann Peebles, George Benson, Nancy Wilson to Natalie Cole, The Main Ingredient and Boz Scaggs. Howard contributed as the album's producer, along with Kim Waters, Danny Weiss and Chris Davis.

Howard is currently working on regenerating her career after taking some time out to raise her children.  She undertook a world tour with Roy Ayers and the Jazz Allstars. In June 2008, she released her ninth studio album, Private Collection under her legally owned new independent label, Branicka Records. The album contained ten tracks, with five new smooth jazz and R&B songs co-written and co-produced with Chuckii Booker, and five jazz standards co-produced with Brandon McCune. Besides Booker, composers included on the album included Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer for "Skylark", Sammy Fain and Paul-Francis Webster for "Secret Love", Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer for "Days of Wine and Roses", Elisse Boyd and Murray Grand for "Guess Who I Saw Today", and Irving Berlin for "Counting Your Blessings".

On November 1, 2010, Unsung: Miki Howard was televised on TV One. In February 2011, TV One televised Way Black When which showcased African Americans' impact in entertainment through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Howard was featured during the 1980s segment, hosted by comedian Niecy Nash. Howard performed her number-one R&B hit, "Ain't Nobody Like You". In March she embarked on a U.S. tour, Throwback Unplugged Tour. with Dru Hill, K-Ci & JoJo and Bell Biv DeVoe.

2014-present: I Choose to Be Happy and touring
Howard will soon be releasing her brand new album, I Choose to Be Happy due out this summer. The original title, Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blues was "too long", but is how Miki describes this project. The album includes four new songs, also the new single "Panther" which features rapper Too Short and some of her greatest hits re-recorded live. "I Choose to Be Happy" will also include a new song, the title track, "I Choose to be Happy" and a tribute to Marvin Gaye titled "Soon I'll Be Loving You Again" which features son Brandon Howard and David Ruffin Jr. While recording her new album, Howard has been touring throughout the U.S. and overseas, performing the album's first single, "Panther" as well as her classic hit songs. On September 25, 2015, Howard released her second live album titled Miki Howard: Live in Concert. The release features her performance of hits throughout her music career, and cover versions of "My Man", "Pillow Talk", "This Bitter Earth", and Marvin Gaye's "Soon I'll Be Loving You Again".

Discography

Studio albums
 Come Share My Love (1986)
 Love Confessions (1987)
 Miki Howard (1989)
 Femme Fatale (1992)
 Miki Sings Billie (1993)
 Can't Count Me Out (1997)
 Three Wishes (2001)
 Pillow Talk (2006)
 Private Collection (2008)
 I Choose to Be Happy (2015)

Tours
Cameo Tour (1987)
Levert Tour (1988)
Al Jarreau Tour (1990)
Jazz AllStars Tour (2009)
Throwback Unplugged Tour (2011)

Films
Malcolm X (1992)
Poetic Justice (1993)
Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story (2016)

Awards and nominations

American Music Awards

Chicago Music Awards

Grammy Awards

Soul Train Music Awards

References

External links

1960 births
Living people
20th-century American actresses
20th-century American singer-songwriters
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American singer-songwriters
African-American feminists
American feminists
20th-century African-American women singers
African-American record producers
African-American women writers
American women writers
American women pop singers
American gospel singers
American music arrangers
American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters
American soul singers
American women record producers
Feminist musicians
Singers from Chicago
Singers with a four-octave vocal range
Record producers from Illinois
American contemporary R&B singers
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women singers
Ballad musicians
African-American writers
21st-century African-American women singers
Singer-songwriters from Illinois

Miki Howard


A drawbar is a solid coupling between a hauling vehicle and its hauled load.  Drawbars are in common use with rail transport, road trailers, both large and small, industrial and recreational, and with agricultural equipment.

Agriculture and horse-drawn vehicles
Agricultural equipment is hauled by a tractor-mounted drawbar. Specialist agricultural tools such as ploughs are attached to specialist drawbars which have functions in addition to transmitting tractive force. This was partly made redundant with Ferguson's development of the three-point linkage in his famous TE20.
A wooden drawbar extends from the front of a wagon, cart, chariot or other horse-drawn vehicles to between the horses. A steel drawbar attaches a three-point hitch or other farm implement to a tractor.

Road
A drawbar is a towing or pushing connection between a tractive vehicle and its load.

Light vehicles
On light vehicles, the most common coupling is an A-frame drawbar coupled to a 1 7/8 inch or 50 mm tow ball. These drawbars transmit around 10% of the gross trailer weight through the coupling.

Heavy vehicles
The direction of haulage may be push or pull, though pushing tends to be for a pair of ballast tractors working together, one pulling and the other pushing an exceptional load on a specialist trailer. The most common drawbar configuration for heavy vehicles is an A-frame drawbar at the front of a full trailer that connects to a tow coupling on a hauling vehicle

On heavy vehicles, the drawbar is coupled using a drawbar eye, typically of 40 mm or 50 mm diameter, connected to a bolt and pin coupling. Commonly seen brands include Ringfeder, V. Orlandi and Jost Rockinger. These drawbars transmit little or no downwards force through the coupling.

The drawbar should not be confused with the fifth wheel coupling.  The drawbar requires a trailer which either loads the drawbar lightly (for example a small boat trailer, or caravan, or the load is the weight of the coupling components only (larger trailers, usually but not always with a steerable hauled axle, front or rear). By contrast, the fifth wheel is designed to transmit a proportion of the load's weight to the hauling vehicle. Drawbar configuration is mostly seen on hydraulic modular trailer and ballast tractor combination to haul oversize loads which require special trailer and tractor.

Drawbar eye
A drawbar eye, also called tow eye, is a mechanical part to connect an independent trailer/dolly via a drawbar coupling to a tractor. the eye is connected to the front end of a drawbar with bolt, flange-mounting or welding. Most are made from high tension material to bear heavy loads while being pulled by the tractor. The eye is made in the shape of an "i" with a hole at top which is locked in the drawbar coupling and the lower part is mounted to the drawbar making it an essential connector between the drawbar and drawbar coupling. The drawbar eye is used in many heavy transport operations around the world. It is mostly used for agriculture equipment, construction equipment, road trains, dolly trailers, full trailer and hydraulic modular trailers.

Rail

Two or more passenger or freight cars may be attached by means of a drawbar. At both extremes there is a regular coupler such as the North American Janney coupler or the Russian SA3 coupler. This drawbar eliminates slack action.

Rail applications
 MR-90
 MR-63
 MR-73
 MPM-10
 Drawgear

See also

 Ballast tractor
 Drawbar force gauge
 Drawgear
 Fifth Wheel and Gooseneck
 Fifth wheel coupling
 Jumper cable
 Ringfeder
 Three point hitch
 Tow hitch

References

External links

Agricultural machinery
Couplers
Trucks
Transport operations
Articulated vehicles
Heavy equipment

Drawbar (haulage)


The dachshund is a  breed of dog. It is usually short (small in height), but long from front to back and with short legs. "Dachshund" is a German word that is used in English, and it means "badger dog." (In German, dachshunds are called Dackel or Teckel.)

The breed was developed to use its sense of smell to find, chase, and hunt badgers and other animals that live in holes. A dachshund has a long, narrow body, so it is sometimes called a wiener dog, hot dog, or sausage dog. Some owners believe that using such terms is disrespectful, and may take offense.

Appearance (looks)

Today, dachshunds have crooked legs, loose skin, and a barrel-like chest. Over time, breeders selected dogs so that those features would appear in puppies. That way, dachshunds could do a better job of burrowing into tight spaces. Another feature is a long tail. They're moderately muscular, with a strong breast bone that is easily identifiable. Dachshund's tail should digress harmoniously down their spine and not dragging the floor when at rest.https://dachshundbreedcouncil.wordpress.com/uk-breed-standard/

The coat or fur of a dachshund comes in three kinds – smooth or short-haired, long-haired, and wire-haired. The wire-haired dachshund usually is shorter front to back than the other two.

Size
A fully-grown dachshund weighs between 16 and 28 lb. (7 to 12.7 kg), while the miniature dachshund may weigh less than 11 lb. (5 kg). The writer H. L. Mencken said that "A dachshund is a half-dog high and a dog-and-a-half long."

Coat and color

Dachshund fur comes in many colours. The colors that are most common are red (a brown color that looks a little reddish) and black-and-tan (black body with brown parts). There are solid black and solid chocolate-brown dachshunds. Many people think those dachshunds are handsome, but the colors are not standard or official – that is, you cannot enter those dogs in some dog shows.

Temperament (mood or emotions)
Dachshunds are playful, fun dogs. People know that dachshunds like to chase small animals and birds, and when they chase those animals they do it ferociously (without fear and very intensely). Many dachshunds are strong-headed or stubborn, and that means they can be hard to train. However; if trained in proper way and at an early age, these dogs can be a good family dogs. These dogs should be trained for socialization and obedience. Dachshunds are often very loyal to their owners (devoted to their owners, or very interested in their owners). In fact, they can be much more loyal than other kinds of dogs. But wire-haired dachshunds often do not show that kind of loyalty to their owners.

People know that dachshunds have deep and tender eyes, and that dachshunds have many facial expressions (dachshunds can communicate just with the look on their faces).

Dachshunds are in intelligent and courageous dogs.

Health

Dachshunds often have spinal problems, that is, their backbone can become injured. That is because of the dog's very long spinal column and short rib cage. The problems are usually hereditary (genetic), that is, they are passed down from parent dogs to puppies.

A dachshund that is obese (fat) can have a higher risk of getting injured. That is because the extra weight puts more strain on the backbone (vertebrae).
To prevent injury, dachshunds should not climb stairs or jump unless they really have to. It is also important to hold the dog the right way – by holding up the front and the rear parts of the body at all times.

History
Some people have wondered if dachshunds go back to ancient Egypt. People have found drawings and engravings from ancient Egypt that show hunting dogs with short legs. But the dachshund of today was bred in Europe, and it has parts of German, French, and English hounds and terriers.

Kings and queens all over Europe have had dachshunds. Queen Victoria especially liked dachshunds.

Other websites
 Dachshund Club of America, Inc.
 National Dachshund Council (of Australia)
 South African Dachshund Club
 The Dachshund Club (UK)
 Dachshund Club of Russia
 DataBase "Dachshund of the World"

Dachshund

Dachshund


Elisabeth Cummings (born 1934, Brisbane) is an Australian artist known for her large abstract paintings and printmaking. She has won numerous awards including Fleurieu Art Prize, The Portia Geach Portrait Prize, The Mosman Art Prize, and The Tattersalls Art Prize. Her work is owned in permanent collections across Australia including Artbank, The Queensland Art Gallery, The Gold Coast City Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. She is notable for receiving recognition later in her career, considered by the Australian Art Collector as one of the 50 most collectible Australian Artists.

Early life
Elisabeth Cummings was born on 3 June 1934 in Brisbane, Queensland. During the Second World War Cumming's family evacuated Brisbane and lived in the country before returning to live in Alderley. The family home in Alderley was surrounded by bushlands. The Cummings family owned a holiday home at Currumbin on the Gold Coast where Cummings, as a child, would paint watercolour landscapes. Currumbin and the Australian bush are now regular subjects in her landscape paintings. Cummings and her brother, Malcolm, would draw still lifes constructed by their mother, who was a primary school teacher, until her father said "let the kids draw what they want." Cummings' father, Robert Cummings, was an architect, a Professor of Architecture at the University of Queensland, an art collector and trustee of the Queensland Art Gallery. Cummings would regularly attend paint workshops run by Australian Artist Vida Lahey at the Queensland Art Gallery.

Education
During her youth, the Cummings home was visited frequently by artists including Donald Friend, and Len and Kathleen Shillam. Cummings initially wanted to pursue architectural training but decided to enroll in art school after meeting and painting with Margaret Cilento. She studied at the National Art School, then known as East Sydney Technical College, from 1953 to 1957 where she was educated by artists Douglas Dundas, Wallace Thornton, Dorothy Thornhill, Godfrey Miller and Ralph Balson. At art school, Cummings was exposed to the work of fellow young Australian artists which she found to be formative to her practice. The artists Cummings cites as influential during this period include Grace Cossington Smith, Margaret Preston, Fred Williams, Russell Drysdale, Sydney Nolan, John Olsen and Jimmy Rose.

In 1958, Cummings received the NSW Traveling Art Scholarship and in 1960 the Dyason Bequest, both of which facilitated her travel through Europe for the next decade. In 1961 she studied at Kokoschka's School of Vision run by Oskar Kokoschka in Salzburg, Austria before travelling to Florence, Italy. She spent the next 10 years living and studying between Italy and Paris. In Florence she shared a villa with other artists, where she met her husband, fellow painting student Jamie Barker. Cumming's work was informed by European and Australian predecessors such as Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Édouard Vuillard and Margaret Olley. In 1968, she returned to Australia and settled in Sydney. In 1969 she started teaching at East Sydney Technical College on a part-time basis.

Work
Elisabeth Cummings is a multi-disciplinary artist and celebrated colourist painter, working within painting, printmaking, drawing and ceramics. Inspired by the Australian bush, and a sense of place and memory, which are themes in Cumming's semi-abstract landscapes, interiors and still life paintings. Cumming's starts her paintings by drawing multiple quick sketches of the scene which form the basis for her final full-sized work. John McDonald describes her painting style as "[t]hick, heavily worked, painterly surfaces with complex marks and intense colour". Notable paintings from Cummings body of work include interiors, Journey Through The Studio painted in 2004 and Inside The Yellow Room, 2005. Her landscape paintings include Arkaroola landscape, 2005, which was rejected from the Wynne Prize, Edge of the Simpson Desert, 2011 and Wynne Prize finalist Monaro Shadow and Light, 2015.

Early work
Elisabeth Cummings worked part-time as an art teacher from 1969 to 2001 at multiple art colleges including the City Art Institute, Sydney (1975 to 1987) and the National Art School of Sydney. She continued painting independently during this time, winning awards such as the 1974 Grafton Prize and the 1977 Landscape and Still Life Prizes, RAS. Elisabeth Cummings has lived and worked at her Wedderburn studio residence since 1976.

Later work
Elisabeth Cummings has been called 'The Invisible Woman of Australian Art' as she worked quietly and independently in her studio for 43 years with limited recognition. Cummings was unaffected by the lack of coverage of her work, stating "I like anonymity." She held her first Retrospective Exhibition "Elisabeth Cummings 65-96" at age 62 in Campbelltown Art Gallery, New South Wales. In 2012 Cummings exhibited her second Retrospective 'Luminous: Survey Exhibition Landscapes of Elizabeth Cummings' at the SH Ervin, Observatory Hill, Sydney. Now, Elisabeth Cumming's works are a part of many major and regional Australian public collections including the National Gallery of Australia; the Art Gallery of New South Wales; The Queensland Art Gallery and Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney. In 2011 Elisabeth Cummings, at age 77, was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in recognition for her services to the visual arts in Australia. In 2018 Cummings was the subject of Noel Thurgate's portrait Elisabeth Cummings in her studio at Wedderburn, 1974 and 2018, which was a finalist for the 2018 Archibald Portraiture Prize.

Cummings is a frequent traveler and has participated in international and national artist residencies and exhibitions. In 2014, at age 81, participated in an artist residency and exhibition at The Nock Art Foundation in Hong Kong. In the same year Cummings, in a group of nine Australian artists, held a group exhibition at the Waiheke Arts Centre during their residency in Waiheke, New Zealand. Cummings was involved in the travelling exhibition YOUR FRIEND THE ENEMY along with fifteen Australian and New Zealand Artists. The artists were invited to Gallipoli, Turkey to paint the shores of Anzac Cove.

Printmaking
In 2001 Cummings expanded into printmaking, specifically etching. She became involved in printmaking through a workshop with Michael Kempson at Cicada Press, a studio associated with UNSW Art & Design in Sydney. Cummings participated in a program whereby artists print with the assistance of students. Other notable participants include Reg Mombassa and Euan Macleod. Cummings has since visited Cicada Press weekly to work with Kempson. Her print work explores similar concerns to her painting, primarily landscape and interiors. Cummings also created monoprints through Whaling Road Studios. The Cruthers Collection of Women's Art at the University of Western Australia hold three lithographs, Studio, 1986, Dappled bush, 1995 and Windy bush, 1995, and a silkscreen print Billabong, 1999 by Cummings.  In 2017 Cummings donated a comprehensive archival collection of 85 of her prints and etchings to the New England Regional Art Museum.

Ceramics
Cummings has also explored ceramics and sculpture in the form of small-scale interior sets with figures crafted in clay. These were created together with Lino Alvarez. Cummings has also made small scale figurative sculptures out of bronze. In 2012 she collaborated with Louise Boscacci to make translucent porcelain plates and platters on which Cummings painted. The flat shape of the plates was chosen to reflect the salt encrusted clay pans of northern Queensland. The project "Cicada Waterfall" was named for the cicadas that can be heard in the bush at Cummings Wedderburn home. These pieces were exhibited in 2014 at King Street Gallery in Sydney as part of Cummings exhibition Elisabeth Cummings: A Still Life.

Wedderburn
In 1970, Cummings began camping in a tent on bushland land owned by Barbara and Nick Romalis at Wedderburn outside Sydney. Ten acres of land was gifted to Cummings by the Romalis to be used for the building of an art studio. Cummings was joined by artists John Peart, Roy Jackson, Joan Brassil, Suzanne Archer and David Fairbairn. The group then purchased another 15 acres. The move to Wedderburn coincided with a move towards gestural abstraction in her paintings, with Cummings privileging the painting process over the subject matter. Both Cummings and Peart have been involved in campaigns to protect the environment of Wedderburn from development. In 1994 Cummings a small studio was destroyed by bushfires, along with significant amounts of work. Fellow long time resident John Peart died as the result of smoke inhalation as the result of the fire. Following the fire, Cummings built a larger studio attached to her mud brick house on the land. Her 2001 painting After the Fire, Wedderburn depicts the aftermath of the fires.

Collections

 Artbank, Australia
 Art Gallery of New South Wales, NSW
 The Australia Club, NSW
 Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, NSW
 Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, NSW
 Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW
 Gold Coast City Art Gallery, QLD
 College of Fine Arts, University of NSW, Sydney, NSW
 Cruthers Collection of Women's Art, The University of Western Australia, WA
 The Drill Hall, ANU, ACT
 Grafton Regional Art Gallery, NSW
 The Hawkesbury City Art Collection, NSW
 Jackson Smith Solicitors, NSW
 James Cook University, Townsville, QLD
 Kedumba Drawing Collection
 Kelvin Grove Teachers College, Brisbane, QLD
 Lismore Regional Art Gallery, NSW
 Long Gallery & Art Collection, University of Wollongong, NSW
 Macquarie Bank
 Manly Art Gallery and Museum, NSW
 Maroondah Regional Gallery, Vic.
 Museum of Brisbane, QLD
 Mosman Art Gallery, NSW
 National Gallery of Australia, ACT
 Newcastle Region Art Gallery, NSW
 New England Regional Art Museum, NSW
 Ormond College, Vic.
 Outback Arts Inc, QLD
 Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
 Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD
 The Redcliffe City Art Gallery, QLD
 Rockhampton Art Gallery, QLD
 Shoalhaven City Arts Centre, NSW
 State Gallery of NSW
 Tamworth, NSW
 University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane, QLD
 Waiheke Art Gallery, NZ

Solo exhibitions

 2014 A Still Life, King Street Gallery on William, Sydney
 2013 Elisabeth Cummings [a selection of works 1982-2013], King Street Gallery on William
 2012 Luminous: Survey Exhibition Landscapes of Elisabeth Cummings [curated by Jane Watters], SH Ervin, Observatory Hill, Sydney Monotypes: Interiors, King Street Gallery on William
 2011 Elisabeth Cummings, New Paintings, King Street Gallery on William
 2010 Paper Trail: 30 Years, King Street Gallery on William
 2008 New Paintings, King Street Gallery on William
 2007 Monotypes, King Street Gallery on Burton, Sydney
 2006 new paintings, King Street Gallery on Burton, Sydney
 2005 Chapman Gallery, Canberra
 2004 Painting, King Street Gallery on Burton, Sydney
 2003 Painting, King Street Gallery at Span Galleries, Melbourne paintings, Pandanus Art, Currumbin Beach, Qld
 2002 New Paintings, King Street Gallery on Burton, Sydney Elisabeth Cummings & Clara Hali, Orange Regional Gallery, NSW
 2001 Paintings and Prints, Chapman Gallery, ACT Collaborative Pots, (Barbara Romalis & Elisabeth Cummings), Chapman Gallery
 2000 recent work, King Street Gallery on Burton Works on Paper, Sturt Gallery, Mittagong, NSW
 1998 recent work, King Street gallery on Burton
 1997 Survey Show (1965-1995), Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Qld, Chapman Gallery, Canberra
 1996 Survey Show (1965-1995), Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, NSW recent paintings, King Street Gallery on Burton Sturt Gallery, Mittagong, NSW
 1994 New Work, King Street Gallery on Burton
 1992 Paintings, King Street Gallery on Burton, Schubert Art Gallery, Queensland
 1991 Budds Beach Gallery, Gold Coast, Queensland
 1990 Victor Mace Fine Art Gallery, Brisbane
 1989 Painters Gallery, Sydney

Awards and art residencies

 2014 Waiheke Community Art Gallery, New Zealand
 2014 The Nock Art Foundations, Hong Kong
 2011 Awarded OAM in recognition of services to the visual arts in Australia
 2005–present Artist in residence, COFA printmaking department, UNSW, Sydney
 2000 Fleurier Prize for Landscape, S.A.
 1996 Mosman Art Prize, NSW
 1995 Camden Art Prize, NSW
 1992 Tattersall's Club Art Prize, Qld
 1991 Fishers Ghost Prize, Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery
 1989 Gold Coast Purchase Prize, Qld
 1988 REIQ Bicentennial Art Award, Qld
 1987 Open Section, Camden Art Prize Faber Castell Drawing Prize
 1984 Mervyn Horton Memorial Prize, Berrima, NSW Camden Purchase Prize, NSW Friends of the Campbelltown Art Gallery Purchase
 1983 Lane Cove Purchase Prize, NSW
 1982 Lane Cove Purchase Prize, NSW
 1981 Macquarie Towns Purchase Prize, NSW
 1979 Peter Stuyvesant Prize, Shoalhaven Fishers Ghost Prize, Campbelltown City Hall Gosford Purchase Prize, NSW
 1978 Gold Coast Purchase Prize
 1977 Landscape and Still Life Prizes, RAS, Sydney Lismore Prize, NSW Fishers Ghost Prize, Campbelltown City Hall
 1976 Drummoyne Prize, NSW
 1974 Grafton Prize, NSW
 1972 Human Image Prize, RAS, Sydney Cheltenham Prize, NSW Portia Geach Portrait Prize, Sydney
 1971 Gold Coast Purchase Prize, QLD
 1960 Dyason Bequest
 1958 NSW Travelling Art Scholarship
 1957 Le Gay Brereton Prize for Drawing

Selected exhibition catalogues

 Elisabeth Cummings Journeys, 6 November – 1 December 2018, King Street Gallery, Sydney
 Raw Wedderburn, 24 June – 5 August 2018, Delmar Gallery, Sydney
 Elisabeth Cummings: New Paintings, 2015, King Street Gallery, Sydney
 Country and Western: landscape re-imagined, 24 July – 20 September 2015, perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville
 Your Friend the Enemy, 10 April – 17 May 2015, Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra
 Elisabeth Cummings: A Still Life, 2014, King Street Gallery, Sydney
 Elisabeth Cummings [a selection of works from 1984-2013], King Street Gallery, Sydney
 Monotypes: Interiors, 2012, King Street Gallery, Sydney
 Elisabeth Cummings, 2011, King Street Gallery, Sydney
 Paper Trail: 30 Years, 2010, King Street Gallery, Sydney
 Monotypes, 10 January – 3 February 2007, King Street Gallery, Sydney

References

Further reading

 M. Dingle & J. McDonald, Elisabeth Cummings : Landscapes and Interiors, Shoalhaven City Arts Centre, 2014. .
 J.McDonald & T. Maloon, Elisabeth Cummings, Drill Hall Gallery Publishing, 2017. .

External links
 Elisabeth Cummings work in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
 Elisabeth Cummings at King Street Gallery
 Elisabeth Cummings Monograph at The National Trust
 Elisabeth Cummings at QAGOMA Store
 Elisabeth Cummings in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia
 Elisabeth Cummings Interview with Peter Pinson
 Elisabeth Cummings Interview with Leo Robba

1934 births
Living people
20th-century Australian women artists
21st-century Australian women artists
Australian women painters
Artists from Brisbane
National Art School alumni
Visual artists in late 20th-century Australia

Elisabeth Cummings


The spectacled thrush, bare-eyed thrush, or yellow-eyed thrush (Turdus nudigenis), is a resident breeding bird in the  Lesser Antilles and in South America from Colombia and  Venezuela south and east to northern Brazil. In Trinidad and Tobago, this thrush is also known as big-eye grieve.

The similar but allopatric Ecuadorian thrush was formerly considered a subspecies of the bare-eyed thrush and named T. n. maculirostris; it is now normally considered as a separate species T. maculirostris. It has a narrower eyering and is only found in forest and woodland in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru.

Description
The spectacled thrush is  long and weighs . It is plain olive-brown above and paler brown below. The throat is brown-streaked off-white, and the lower belly is whitish. It has a prominent yellow eye ring which gives rise to its English and scientific names.

There are two poorly defined subspecies, differing mainly in the darkness of the plumage. Sexes are similar, but young birds are flecked above and spotted below, and have a thinner eye ring.

The song is a musical warble, slower and lower pitched than that of the cocoa thrush (T. fumigatus), and it also produces a cat-like  call and, when uncomfortable, emits a .

Ecology
The habitat of this large thrush is open woodland, forest clearings and cultivation. The bare-eyed thrush mainly feeds on or near the ground on fruit, berries and some insects and earthworms. It is a shy species, but on Trinidad and Tobago it is much tamer, and will come to feeders and take food from tables.

The nest is a lined bulky cup of twigs low in a tree. The two to three reddish-blotched deep-blue eggs are incubated by the female alone.

References

 Clement, Peter & Hathaway, Ren (2000): Thrushes. Christopher Helm, London.
 ffrench, Richard; O'Neill, John Patton & Eckelberry, Don R. (1991): A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd edition). Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y.
 Hilty, Steven L. (2003): Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London.

spectacled thrush
Birds of Colombia
Birds of Venezuela
Birds of the Guianas
Birds of the Lesser Antilles
Birds of Grenada
Birds of Martinique
Birds of Saint Lucia
Birds of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
Birds of Brazil
spectacled thrush
Birds of the Amazon rainforest

Spectacled thrush


The Chevrolet LUV and the later Chevrolet LUV D-Max were light pickup trucks designed and manufactured by Isuzu and marketed in the Americas since 1972 by Chevrolet over four generations as rebadged variants of the Isuzu Faster and D-Max.

LUV is an acronym for "light utility vehicle".

History
Production of the first generation of Chevrolet LUVs, first sold in North America from 1972 as a badge-engineered variant of the Japanese-market Isuzu Faster, ended in 1980. The second generation, launched in 1980 as a 1981 model, was produced by Isuzu in Japan for North America and in Chile by General Motors for the South American market. North American sales ended with the release of the 1982 model year Chevrolet S-10 in 1981. The 1982 model year was the only year the 2.2 liter diesel engine was offered in the United States.

Production of the second-generation LUV for South America continued until 1988 when the third iteration was released, once more based on the Japanese-market Faster/Rodeo pickups.

This arrangement lasted until 2005 when the fourth series was introduced, now titled Chevrolet LUV D-Max and representing a rebadged version of the Isuzu D-Max.

References

LUV
Cars introduced in 1972
Pickup trucks

Chevrolet LUV


Kamiesch is a sea inlet and adjoining port, sited on the Chersonese or Khersones peninsula, three miles SW of the city centre of Sevastopol and ten miles WNW of Balaklava in the Crimean peninsula. During the Crimean war, French invading forces used the bay as their main port and supply base. The area is now part of the Gagarinsky district of Sevastopol.

History
In September 1854, prior to landing at Gulf of Kalamita, French and British forces identified Kamiesch and Balaclava as suitable supply ports for the siege of Sevastopol. Lord Raglan, given first choice, opted for Balaclava, leaving Kamiesch to the French. Historians see this as disastrous; The French had the larger sea inlet, with mooring for 300 vessels in the outer harbor, and were closer to their objective. They were also protected on both flanks; the sea on the left, the British on the right; whereas Raglan's right flank was exposed to the enemy. The French occupied Kamiesch on 1 October and proceeded to establish a large town with storehouses, bars, brothels, hotels, restaurants and shops.

See also
 Crimean war

References

Bodies of water of Sevastopol
Bays of Ukraine
Amphibious operations
Military history of Sevastopol

Kamiesch


China Tom Miéville  ( ; born 6 September 1972) is a British urban fantasy fiction author, essayist, comic book writer, socialist political activist and literary critic. He often describes his work as weird fiction.

Miéville has won many awards, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award (thrice), the British Fantasy Award (twice), Locus Awards for Best Fantasy Novel (four times) and Best Science Fiction Novel and Best Novelette and Best Young Adult Book, as well as the Hugo, Kitschies, and World Fantasy Awards.

Early life
Born in Norwich, Miéville was brought up in Willesden and has lived in London since early childhood. He grew up with his sister Jemima and mother Claudia, a translator, writer and teacher. His parents separated soon after his birth. He has said that he "never really knew" his father. They chose his first name, China, from a dictionary, looking for a beautiful name. Because his mother was born in New York City, Miéville is an American and British citizen.

Education
Miéville studied at Oakham School, a co-educational independent school in Oakham, Rutland, for two years. At the age of eighteen, in 1990, he taught English for a year in Egypt, where he developed an interest in Arab culture and in Middle Eastern politics.

Miéville studied for a BA degree in social anthropology at Clare College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1994. He next earned a master's degree and then a PhD in international relations from the London School of Economics in 2001. Miéville has also held a Frank Knox fellowship at Harvard University. After becoming dissatisfied with the ability of post-modern theories to explain history and political events, he became a Marxist at university. A book version of his PhD thesis, Between Equal Rights: A Marxist Theory of International Law, was published in the UK in 2005 by Brill in their "Historical Materialism" series, and in the United States in 2006 by Haymarket Books.

Politics
Miéville has been a member of the International Socialist Organization (US) and, until 13 March 2013, was also a member of the Socialist Workers Party (UK). He stood for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in the 2001 general election as a candidate for the Socialist Alliance. He did not win. He got 459 votes, or 1.2%, in Regent's Park and Kensington North, a Labour constituency.

Bibliography

Fiction

Bas-Lag series
 Perdido Street Station (2000)
 The Scar (2002)
 Iron Council (2004)

Stand-alone novels
 King Rat (1998)
 Un Lun Dun (2007) 978-0230015869
 The City & the City (2009)
 Kraken (2010)
 Embassytown (2011)
 Railsea (2012)

Novellas
 The Tain (2002)
 This Census-Taker (2016)
 The Last Days of New Paris (2016)

Short story collections
 Looking for Jake (2005)
 The Apology Chapbook (2013)
 Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories (2015)

Children's picture books
 The Worst Breakfast (2016), co-written and illustrated by Zak Smith

Comic books
 Hellblazer (1988) – No. 250 "Holiday Special": "Snow Had Fallen"
 Justice League (2011) – #23.3 "Dial E #1: Dial Q for Qued"
 Dial H (2012–2013)

Other
 Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to the River Kingdoms (2010), with Elaine Cunningham, Chris Pramas, and Steve Kenson. Paizo Publishing.

Nonfiction

Books
 Between Equal Rights: A Marxist Theory of International Law (2005).
 Red Planets: Marxism and Science Fiction (2009), with Mark Bould. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press.
 October: The Story of the Russian Revolution (2017). Verso.
 A Spectre Haunting Europe (2020)

Essays
 "London's Overthrow" (2011). Reprinted in a shorter version as "Oh, London, You Drama Queen", The New York Times Magazine 2012-03-01: 42.
 "Preface to a Book not yet Written nor Disavowed" (2015). China Miéville: Critical Essays, eds. Caroline Edwards and Tony Venezia.

Awards

 Perdido Street Station won the 2001 Arthur C. Clarke Award and the 2001 British Fantasy Award, and was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Locus and British Science Fiction awards.
 The Scar won the 2003 British Fantasy Award and the 2003 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, was nominated for the Hugo, Arthur C. Clarke, World Fantasy, Locus, Philip K. Dick, and British Science Fiction awards, and received a Philip K. Dick Award special citation.
 Iron Council won the 2005 Arthur C. Clarke Award and the 2005 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and was nominated for the Hugo and World Fantasy awards.
 Un Lun Dun won the 2008 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book.
 The City & the City won the 2010 Arthur C. Clarke Award, 2010 Hugo Award, 2009 Kitschies and 2010 World Fantasy Award, as well as being a Nebula Award nominee in the Best Novel category.

 He was a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow in Fiction.

References

1972 births
Alumni of the London School of Economics
English children's writers
Living people
Writers from Norwich
English atheists
English science fiction writers
Marxists

China Miéville


Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about  from London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rainham, Strood and Gillingham. Rochester was a city until losing its status as one in 1998 following the forming of Medway and failing to protect its status as a city. There have been ongoing campaigns to reinstate the city status for Rochester.

Rochester was for many years a favourite of Charles Dickens, who owned nearby Gads Hill Place, Higham, basing many of his novels on the area. The Diocese of Rochester, the second oldest in England, is centred on Rochester Cathedral and was responsible for founding a school, now The King's School, in 604 AD, which is recognised as the second oldest continuously running school in the world. Rochester Castle, built by Bishop Gundulf of Rochester, has one of the best-preserved keeps in either England or France. During the First Barons' War (1215–1217) in King John's reign, baronial forces captured the castle from Archbishop Stephen Langton and held it against the king, who then besieged it.

As well as the historic centre, the suburbs of Borstal and The Delce are also part of Rochester, forming part of the Medway Towns urban area with a population of about 250,000.

Toponymy
The Romano-British name for Rochester was Durobrivae, later Durobrivis c. 730 and Dorobrevis in 844. The two commonly cited origins of this name are that it either came from "stronghold by the bridge(s)" or is the latinisation of the British word Dourbruf meaning "swiftstream". Durobrivis was pronounced 'Robrivis. Later, the word cæster (=castle, from Latin castrum) was added to the name, and the city was called Robrivis Cæster. Bede mentions the city in c. 730 and calls it Hrofes cæster, mistaking its meaning as Hrofi's fortified camp. From this came c. 730 Hrofæscæstre, 811 Hrofescester, 1086 Rovescester, 1610 Rochester. The Latinised adjective 'Roffensis' refers to Rochester.

History

Neolithic remains have been found in the vicinity of Rochester; over time, it has been variously occupied by Celts, Romans, Jutes and/or Saxons. During the Celtic period, it was one of the two administrative centres of the Cantiaci tribe. During the Roman conquest of Britain, a decisive battle was fought at the Medway somewhere near Rochester.  The first bridge was subsequently constructed early in the Roman period.  During the later Roman period, the settlement was walled in stone. King Æthelberht of Kent (560–616) established a legal system which has been preserved in the 12th-century Textus Roffensis.  In AD 604, the bishopric and cathedral were founded.  During this period, from the recall of the legions until the Norman conquest, Rochester was sacked at least twice and besieged on another occasion.

The medieval period saw the building of the current cathedral (1080–1130, 1227 and 1343), the building of two castles and the establishment of a significant town. Rochester Castle saw action in the sieges of 1215 and 1264. Rochester's basic street plan was set out, constrained by the river, Watling Street, Rochester Priory and Rochester Castle.

Rochester has produced two martyrs: St John Fisher, executed by Henry VIII for refusing to sanction the divorce of Catherine of Aragon; and Bishop Nicholas Ridley, executed by Queen Mary for being an English Reformation protestant.

Military history

Rochester has for centuries been of great strategic importance through its position near the confluence of the Thames and the Medway. Rochester Castle was built to guard the river crossing. In 1667, the city was raided by the Dutch fleet as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.  The Dutch, commanded by Admiral de Ruijter, broke through the chain at Upnor and sailed to Rochester Bridge capturing part of the English fleet and burning it.

The Royal Navy Dockyard's establishment at Chatham witnessed the beginning of the Royal Navy's long period of supremacy. The town, as part of Medway, is surrounded by two circles of fortresses; the inner line built during the Napoleonic wars consists of Fort Clarence, Fort Pitt, Fort Amherst and Fort Gillingham. The outer line of Palmerston Forts was built during the 1860s in light of the report by the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom and consists of Fort Borstal, Fort Bridgewood, Fort Luton, and the Twydall Redoubts, with two additional forts on islands in the Medway, namely Fort Hoo and Fort Darnet.

During the First World War the Short Brothers' aircraft manufacturing company developed the first plane to launch a torpedo, the Short Admiralty Type 184, at its seaplane factory on the River Medway not far from Rochester Castle. In the intervening period between the 20th century World Wars the company established a world-wide reputation as a constructor of flying boats with aircraft such as the Singapore, Empire 'C'-Class and Sunderland. During the Second World War, Shorts also designed and manufactured the first four-engined bomber, the Stirling.

The UK's decline in naval power and shipbuilding competitiveness led to the government decommissioning the RN Shipyard at Chatham in 1984, which led to the subsequent demise of much local maritime industry. Rochester and its neighbouring communities were hit hard by this and have experienced a painful adjustment to a post-industrial economy, with much social deprivation and unemployment resulting. On the closure of Chatham Dockyard the area experienced an unprecedented surge in unemployment to 24%; this had dropped to 2.4% of the local population by 2014.

Civic history and traditions
Rochester was recognised as a City from 1211 to 1998. The City of Rochester's ancient status was unique, as it had no formal council or Charter Trustees nor a Mayor, instead having the office of Admiral of the River Medway, whose incumbent acted as de facto civic leader.

Since Norman times Rochester had always governed land on the other side of the Medway in Strood, which was known as Strood Intra; before 1835 it was about  wide and stretched to Gun Lane. In the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 the boundaries were extended to include more of Strood and Frindsbury, and part of Chatham known as Chatham Intra.

Like many of the medieval towns of England, Rochester had civic Freemen whose historic duties and rights were abolished by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. However, the Guild of Free Fishers and Dredgers continues to the present day and retains rights, duties and responsibilities on the Medway, between Sheerness and Hawkwood Stone. This ancient corporate body convenes at the Admiralty Court whose Jury of Freemen is responsible for the conservancy of the River as enshrined in current legislation. The City Freedom can be obtained by residents after serving a period of "servitude", i.e. apprenticeship (traditionally seven years), before admission as a Freeman. The annual ceremonial Beating of the Bounds by the River Medway takes place after the Admiralty Court, usually on the first Saturday of July.

Ecclesiastical parishes

There were three medieval parishes: St Nicholas', St Margaret's and St Clement's.  St Clement's was in Horsewash Lane until the last vicar died in 1538 when it was joined with St Nicholas' parish;  the church's last remaining foundations were finally removed when the railway was being constructed in the 1850s. St Nicholas' Church was built in 1421 beside the cathedral to serve as a parish church for the citizens of Rochester.  The ancient cathedral included the Benedictine monastic priory of St Andrew with greater status than the local parishes. Rochester's pre-1537 diocese, under the jurisdiction of the Church of Rome, covered a vast area extending into East Anglia and included all of Essex.

As a result of the restructuring of the Church during the Reformation the cathedral was reconsecrated as the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary without parochial responsibilities, being a diocesan church. In the 19th century the parish of St Peter's was created to serve the burgeoning city with the new church being consecrated in 1859. Following demographic shifts, St Peter's and St Margaret's were recombined as a joint benefice in 1953 with the parish of St Nicholas with St Clement being absorbed in 1971. The combined parish is now the "Parish of St Peter with St Margaret", centred at the new (1973) Parish Centre in The Delce (St Peter's) with St Margaret's remaining as a chapel-of-ease. Old St Peter's was demolished in 1974, while St Nicholas' Church has been converted into the diocesan offices but remains consecrated. Continued expansion south has led to the creation of an additional more recent parish of St Justus (1956) covering The Tideway estate and surrounding area.

A church dedicated to St Mary the Virgin at Eastgate, which was of Anglo-Saxon foundation, is understood to have constituted a parish until the Middle Ages, but few records survive.

Governance
On 1 April 1974, the City Council was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, and the territory was merged with the District of Medway, Borough of Chatham and most of Strood Rural District, including the parishes of Cuxton, Halling and Cliffe, and the Hoo Peninsula, to form a new a local government district called the Borough of Medway, within the county of Kent. Medway Borough Council applied to inherit Rochester's city status, but this was refused; instead letters patent were granted constituting the area of the former Rochester local government district to be the City of Rochester, to "perpetuate the ancient name" and to recall "the long history and proud heritage of the said City". The Home Office said that the city status may be extended to the entire borough if it had "Rochester" in its name, so in 1979, Medway Borough Council renamed the borough to the Borough of Rochester-upon-Medway, and in 1982, Rochester's city status was transferred to the entire borough by letters patent, with the district being called the City of Rochester-upon-Medway. The Admiral of the River Medway was ex-officio Mayor of Rochester and this dignity transferred to the Mayor of Medway when that unitary authority was created, along with the Admiralty Court for the River which constitutes a committee of the Council.

On 1 April 1998, the existing local government districts of Rochester-upon-Medway and Gillingham were abolished and became the new unitary authority of Medway. The Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions informed the city council that since it was the local government district that officially held City status under the 1982 Letters Patent, the council would need to appoint charter trustees to preserve its city status. However, no trustees were appointed and the city status was therefore lost when Rochester-upon-Medway was abolished as a local government district. The incoming Medway Council apparently only became aware of this when, in 2002, it was advised that Rochester was not on the Lord Chancellor's Office's list of cities.

In 2010, Medway Council started to refer to the "City of Medway" in promotional material, but it was rebuked and instructed not to do so in future by the Advertising Standards Authority. Subsequently, Medway Council has applied for City status for Medway as a whole, rather than merely for Rochester. Medway applied unsuccessfully for City status in 2000 and 2002 and again in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Year of 2012. Any future bid to regain formal City status has been recommended to be made under the aegis of Rochester-upon-Medway.

The 2011 definition of Rochester includes Strood to the northwest and is defined as an urban subdivision with a 2011 population of 62,982. Strood makes up the majority of Rochester's population on the west bank of the river, making the town of Rochester itself on the east bank actually smaller and less populated than its neighbouring town; should the two towns ever separate Strood would be the larger of the two.

Kelly Tolhurst MP is the current Conservative parliamentary representative for the constituency.

Geography

Rochester lies within the area, known to geologists, as the London Basin. The low-lying Hoo peninsula to the north of the town consists of London Clay, and the alluvium brought down by the two rivers—the Thames and the Medway—whose confluence is in this area. The land rises from the river, and being on the dip slope of the North Downs, this consists of chalk surmounted by the Blackheath Beds of sand and gravel.

As a human settlement, Rochester became established as the lowest river crossing of the River Medway, well before the arrival of the Romans.

It is a focal point between two routes, being part of the main route connecting London with the Continent and the north-south routes following the course of the Medway connecting Maidstone and the Weald of Kent with the Thames and the North Sea. The Thames Marshes were an important source of salt. Rochester's roads follow north Kent's valleys and ridges of steep-sided chalk bournes. There are four ways out of town to the south: up Star Hill, via The Delce, along the Maidstone Road or through Borstal. The town is inextricably linked with the neighbouring Medway Towns but separated from Maidstone by a protective ridge known as the Downs, a designated area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

At its most limited geographical size, Rochester is defined as the market town within the city walls, now associated with the historic medieval city. However, Rochester historically also included the ancient wards of Strood Intra on the river's west bank, and Chatham Intra as well as the three old parishes on the Medway's east bank.

The diocese of Rochester is another geographical entity which can be referred to as Rochester.

Climate
Rochester has an oceanic climate similar to much of southern England, being accorded Köppen Climate Classification-subtype of "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate).

On 10 August 2003, neighbouring Gravesend recorded one of the highest temperatures since meteorological records began in the United Kingdom, with a reading of 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 degrees Fahrenheit), only beaten by Brogdale, near Faversham,  to the ESE. The weather station at Brogdale is run by a volunteer, only reporting its data once a month, whereas Gravesend, which has an official Met Office site at the PLA pilot station, reports data hourly.

Being near the mouth of the Thames Estuary with the North Sea, Rochester is relatively close to continental Europe and enjoys a somewhat less temperate climate than other parts of Kent and most of East Anglia. It is therefore less cloudy, drier and less prone to Atlantic depressions with their associated wind and rain than western regions of Britain, as well as being hotter in summer and colder in winter. Rochester city centre's micro-climate is more accurately reflected by these officially recorded figures than by readings taken at Rochester Airport.

North and North West Kent continue to record higher temperatures in summer, sometimes being the hottest area of the country, eg. on the warmest day of 2011, when temperatures reached 33.1 degrees. Additionally, it holds at least two records for the year 2010, of 30.9 °C and 31.7 °C. Another record was set during England's Indian summer of 2011 with 29.9 °C, the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK for October.

Buildings

Rochester comprises numerous important historic buildings, the most prominent of which are the Guildhall, the Corn Exchange, Restoration House, Eastgate House, as well as Rochester Castle and Rochester Cathedral. Many of the town centre's old buildings date from as early as the 14th century up to the 18th century.  The chapel of St Bartholomew's Hospital dates from the ancient priory hospital's foundation in 1078.

In the 21st century the Riverside area north of the railway line has been redeveloped to provide new housing and a primary school.

Economy

Thomas Aveling started a small business in 1850 producing and repairing agricultural plant equipment.  In 1861 this became the firm of Aveling and Porter, which was to become the largest manufacturer of agricultural machinery and steam rollers in the country. Aveling was elected Admiral of the River Medway (i.e. Mayor of Rochester) for 1869-70.

Tourism is now a sector.

Culture

Sweeps Festival
Since 1980 the city has seen the revival of the historic Rochester Jack-in-the-Green May Day dancing chimney sweeps tradition, which had died out in the early 1900s. Though not unique to Rochester (similar sweeps' gatherings were held across southern England, including in Bristol, Deptford, Whitstable and Hastings), its revival was directly inspired by Dickens' description of the celebration in Sketches by Boz.

The festival has since grown from a small gathering of local Morris dance sides to one of the largest in the world. The festival begins with the "Awakening of Jack-in-the-Green" ceremony, and continues in Rochester High Street over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

There are numerous other festivals in Rochester apart from the Sweeps Festival. The association with Dickens is the theme for Rochester's two Dickens Festivals held annually in June and December. The Medway Fuse Festival usually arranges performances in Rochester and the latest festival to take shape is the Rochester Literature Festival, the brainchild of three local writers.

Library
A new public library was built alongside the Adult Education Centre, Eastgate. This enabled the registry office to move from Maidstone Road, Chatham into the Corn Exchange on Rochester High Street (where the library was formerly housed). As mentioned in a report presented to Medway Council's Community Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 28 March 2006, the new library opened in late summer (2006).

Huguenot Museum
A new Huguenot Museum, which includes items from the collections of the French Hospital, was opened in Rochester on 13 May 2015, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and individual donations.

Theatre

There is a small amateur theatre, Medway Little Theatre, on St Margaret's Banks, Rochester High Street (the part of the High Street that continues from Star Hill towards Chatham) and just opposite the former railway station. Converted from a building which in its almost 200-year history had been, amongst other things, a wine merchants, warehouse and printing works the theatre's first season was in 1958. Since then hundreds of plays have been presented ranging from Shakespeare to Ayckbourn, modern classics to timeless farces along with many plays presented for the first time in the Medway Towns and, indeed, Kent. Medway Little Theatre also has a thriving youth company and a children's workshop for younger people. Every summer the Duncan Rand One-Act Play Festival (named after one of Medway Little Theatre's founders) attracts groups from far and wide.

Media
Local newspapers for Rochester include the Medway Messenger, published by the KM Group, and free papers.

The local commercial radio station for Rochester is KMFM Medway, owned by the KM Group. Medway is also served by community radio station Radio Sunlight which is now an online service. The area also receives broadcasts from county-wide stations BBC Radio Kent, Heart, Gold and Smooth, as well as from various Essex and Greater London radio stations.
Rochester is part of the ITV Meridian and BBC South East area, receiving television signals from the Bluebell Hill transmitter on the crest of the North Downs to the SE, supplemented by a low power relay transmitter in central Chatham.

Sport
Football is played with many teams competing in Saturday and Sunday leagues. The local football club is Rochester United F.C. Rochester F.C. was its old football club but has been defunct for many decades. Rugby is also played; Medway R.F.C. play their matches at Priestfields and Old Williamsonians is associated with Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School.

Cricket is played in the town, with teams entered in the Kent Cricket League.
Holcombe Hockey Club enter teams in both the Men's and Women's England Hockey Leagues. Speedway was staged on a track adjacent to City Way that opened in 1932. Proposals for a revival in the early 1970s did not materialise and the Rochester Bombers became the Romford Bombers.

Sailing and rowing are also popular on the River Medway with respective clubs being based in Rochester.

Film
The 1959 James Bond novel Goldfinger describes Bond driving along the A2 through the Medway Towns from Strood to Chatham. Of interest is the mention of "inevitable traffic jams" on the Strood side of Rochester Bridge, the novel being written some years prior to the construction of the M2 motorway Medway bypass.

Rochester is the setting of the controversial 1965 Peter Watkins television film The War Game, which depicts the town's destruction by a nuclear missile. The opening sequence was shot in Chatham Town Hall, but the credits particularly thank the people of Dover, Gravesend and Tonbridge.

The 2011 adventure film Ironclad is based upon the 1215 siege of Rochester Castle. There are however areas where the plot differs from accepted historical narrative.

A scene in the 2001 film Last Orders, starring Bob Hoskins and Tom Courtenay, was filmed in Rochester High Street.

Notable people

Charles Dickens
The historic city was for many years the favourite of Charles Dickens, who lived within the diocese at nearby Gads Hill Place, Higham, many of his novels being based on the area. Descriptions of the town appear in Pickwick Papers, Great Expectations and (lightly fictionalised as "Cloisterham") in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Elements of two houses in Rochester, Satis House and Restoration House, are used for Miss Havisham's house in Great Expectations, Satis House.
Edmund of Hadenham
A monk of Rochester, Edmund of Hadenham (fl. 1307) was an English chronicler.
John Stevens Henslow
The priest, botanist and geologist John Stevens Henslow (1796–1861) was born in Rochester.
Dame Sybil Thorndike and Russell Thorndike
The actress Dame Sybil Thorndike and her brother Russell were brought up in Minor Canon Row adjacent to the cathedral; the daughter of a canon of Rochester Cathedral, she was educated at Rochester Grammar School for Girls.  A local doctors' practice, local dental practice and a hall at Rochester Grammar School are all named after her.
Sir Peter Buck
Sir Peter Buck was Admiral of the Medway in the 17th century; knighted in 1603 he and Bishop Barlow hosted King James, the Stuart royal family and the King of Denmark in 1606. A civil servant to The Royal Dockyard and Lord High Admiral, Buck lived at Eastgate House, Rochester.
Denis Redman
Major-General Denis Redman, a World War II veteran, was born and raised in Rochester and later became a founder member of REME, head of his Corps and a Major-General in the British Army.
Kelly Brook
The model and actress Kelly Brook went to Delce Junior School in Rochester and later the Thomas Aveling School (formerly Warren Wood Girls School).

Education

Medway council run a selective system of education, similar to other local authorities in Kent, but call their secondary modern schools secondary schools. Almost all secondary schools in Rochester have opted for academy status.

In 1701, Sir Joseph Williamson left a bequest to establish the Mathematical School, a boys' grammar school, also referred to either as Rochester Math or The Math School.  Unlike earlier educational foundations, such as The King's School, it was not tied to a religious establishment, but was opened for practical instruction of boys in navigation and mathematics.

The University for the Creative Arts, formerly the Kent Institute of Art & Design, is located on the boundary of Rochester with Chatham.

Transport

Road
Rochester is on the A2, which crosses the Medway at Rochester Bridge – the route roughly follows the ancient road known as Watling Street, first paved by the Romans, but used by earlier Britons for centuries before the Roman invasion. Nowadays vehicular traffic is largely diverted onto the nearby M2 motorway.
Watling Street passes through the town, and slightly to the south both the M2 motorway and the High Speed 1 railway line bridge the River Medway.
Bus
Bus services are operated by Arriva Southern Counties, which took over the locally owned Maidstone & District bus company in the 1990s. Other local bus companies including Nu-Venture provide certain services, some contracted from the local council.
Rail

Rochester railway station is on the Chatham Main Line and the North Kent Line. High speed services to St Pancras in London run via the North Kent Line with a junction east of Ebbsfleet International giving a journey time of slightly under 40 minutes. All railway services are provided by Southeastern.
Air
Rochester Airport began in September 1933 when Rochester City Council purchased some land as the site for a municipal airport. One month later the aircraft manufacturers Short Brothers leased the land for test flying. By 1934–5 Short Brothers had taken over the site, and moved in some of their personnel from the existing seaplane works. The inaugural flight into Rochester was from Gravesend, John Parker flying the Short Brothers Short Scion G-ACJI.

In 1979 the lease reverted to the City Council. After giving thorough consideration to closing the airport, GEC (then comprising Marconi and instrument makers Elliot Automation) decided to take over management of the airport. It maintained two grass landing strips while releasing some land for light industrial expansion.

Further reading

See also
Rainham
HM Prison Rochester
Rochester and Strood (UK Parliament constituency)
Earl of Rochester

References

External links

 Medway Council Official Site
 Archive Images
 Rochester Airport and British Aviation
 Photographs of the Rochester Sweeps Festival
 Google video of Morris Dancers at Sweeps Festival Rochester 1997
 Rochester Literature Festival
 www.rochestercathedral.org

Towns in Kent
Market towns in Kent
Towns with cathedrals in the United Kingdom
Unparished areas in Kent
Medway

Rochester, Kent


XXXX (pronounced four-ex) is a brand of Australian beer brewed in Milton, Brisbane, by Queensland brewers Castlemaine Perkins (now a division of the Japanese-owned company Lion). It enjoys wide popularity in the state of Queensland, where it is commonly found on-tap in pubs and bars.

The XXXX brand was introduced by Castlemaine in 1924, and is a throwback to the long-standing tradition of using Xs to indicate the strength of an ale. The brand name also built upon XXX Sparkling Ale introduced in 1878.

Beers
Currently sold brands include:
 XXXX Bitter, a 4.4% ABV Australian lager marketed under the brand XXXX. When ordering in Queensland, it is often referred to as XXXX Heavy.
 XXXX Gold, a mid strength lager  – 3.5% ABV. XXXX Gold is also a lower carb beer.
 XXXX Summer Bright Lager, a full strength 4.0% ABV low carb beer. Summer Bright is also available with lime.
 XXXX Dry, marketed as an easy drinking full strength dry lager with a 4.2% ABV.
 XXXX Zero, an alcohol free lager at 0.0% ABV.

As well as these, previous beers that are no longer in mass production are occasionally available in small, limited releases at the XXXX Alehouse and Restaurant, located on the same site as the brewery. In the past, these have included:
 Thirsty Dog, a wheat beer popular in the 1990s.
 XXXX Draught, a less carbonated version of XXXX Bitter released in the 1970s, intended to replicate the unique taste of a beer from a wooden barrel.
 Carbine Stout, a stout brewed from 1915 to 2008, named after a famous racehorse from the 1890s.
 Castlemaine Best IPA, an India pale ale first brewed in 1918.
 In December 2019, the original XXX Sparkling Ale had a limited release in several bars across Brisbane's CBD, including at the Alehouse.

Other beers that are no longer available include:
 XXXX Light, a lower alcohol beer at 2.3% ABV.
 XXXX DL Lager, a lower carbohydrate beer which was available at 4.4% ABV.
 XXXX Gold Australian Pale Ale, at 3.5% ABV.
 XXXX Summer Bright Mango, at 4.0% ABV.

History
The XXXX brand was launched in 1924 by Castlemaine Brewers, named after the town of Castlemaine, Victoria where the company was founded in 1857. The yellow-and-red label still bears the town's name. XXXX has been brewed in the Castlemaine Perkins Milton Brewery since its introduction, and has featured an artist's sketch (later very stylised) of its brewery on the label of beer bottles and cans. In the 1950s the prominent 'XXXX' illuminated sign was erected on the brewery. "XXXX" itself refers to a traditional grading system for strong beer.

In 1992, Castlemaine Perkins was acquired by Australian beverage and food company Lion Nathan, who in turn were taken over by Japanese beverage conglomerate Kirin in 2009.

In March 2016, XXXX Bitter was reduced from 4.6% to 4.4% alcohol by volume (ABV).

Distribution

XXXX was brewed under licence in the UK by InBev Ltd until 2009. It was commonly available in cans in British off licences and sometimes on tap in British pubs. At 3.7% ABV, the British brewed XXXX was somewhat weaker than most of the Australian variants. Castlemaine XXXX was withdrawn from the UK at the end of June 2009 when InBev's licensing agreement expired.

Iconography, advertising and brand recognition

XXXX's mascot is Mr Fourex - a jovial cartoon man in a suit with a boater hat, who features on the City side of the Fourex Brewery at Milton. Conceived in 1924, he is said to be modelled after Paddy Fitzgerald, a former director of the company who started circa 1933. A second theory is that the cartoon is modelled on a well-known dwarf who sold newspapers in the inner city suburb of Fortitude Valley in the late 1920s. The true identity for the inspiration behind the cartoon remains a mystery.

A common nickname used by the military (Australian, passed along to their Allied guests) was "Barbed Wire," as the XXXX has the appearance of the fence product used in the Outback.

The second major campaign was launched in the early 1980s in the North Queensland area after the general manager of 'XXXX' Pat Holmboe at the time heard of the locally famous Clinton Howe, a council road worker, being able to consume a very high quantity of the beer in a short time (approx. 3L in 1 minute or 3/4 gal.). The company was forced to close the campaign within the first few days of T.V. advertising following government pressure.

An advertisement campaign from the 1980s and 1990s featured the tagline "Australians wouldn't give a XXXX for anything else."

Most beers under the XXXX label are sold in Australia as 375ml cans (tinnies), 375ml bottles (stubbies) and 750ml bottles (tallies or long necks), on tap (in most Queensland pubs but also to a lesser extent throughout the rest of Australia) and all bottles have twist top lids. Underneath the twist top lids there are trivia questions.

XXXX is still being served from wooden barrels at the Breakfast Creek Hotel in Newstead, Queensland. Whilst not cask-conditioned, as in the case of British real ale, the beer is unpasteurised and delivered by gravity.

In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels, an Australian-like continent is named XXXX, pronounced "fourecks".

XXXX's labels generally feature a depiction of the Milton Brewery alongside the Ipswich railway line, presently with a Queensland Rail EMU in the foreground with the existing extensive railway fencing omitted. Prior labels had steam engines and diesels when those locomotives were more regularly seen in Brisbane.

Sports sponsorship campaigns

XXXX is the major sponsor of the Queensland Maroons in the rugby league State of Origin series. XXXX Gold sponsors the Queensland Bulls and the QLD, SA, ACT and NT cricket associations. XXXX Gold also sponsors the Australian V8 Supercars Championship Series as well as the Professional Bull Riders' (PBR) Australian branch.

XXXX sponsored the XXXX Gold Beach Cricket Tri-Nations 2007 series. It involved famous cricketers from Australia such as Allan Border, England including Graham Gooch and West Indies including Courtney Walsh and Sir Viv Richards.

From 2012 to 2015, XXXX GOLD had a three-year lease on the 15-acre Pumpkin Island on the Southern Great Barrier Reef, which they turned into XXXX Island to use in advertising and promotional events.

See also

 Australian pub
 Beer in Australia
 List of breweries in Australia

References

External links

 XXXX Island Website
 XXXX Gold Beach Cricket Official site
 History
  The Aussie Beer Baron
 Australian Beers Page

Kirin Group
Australian beer brands
Culture of Brisbane
Culture of Queensland
Milton, Queensland
Beer brands

XXXX (beer)


Alvin Swauger White (December 9, 1918 – April 29, 2006) was an American test pilot and mechanical engineer. He flew the maiden flights of both XB-70 Valkyrie aircraft, the first  flight, and all subsequent Mach 3 exploration flights.

Biography
Born on December 9, 1918, to Harold H. White Sr. (1888–1974) and Ruth A. Winkleman (1894–1975) in Berkeley, California. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the University of California at Davis in 1936 to study electrical engineering, and transferred to the campus at Berkeley two years later. He began his flying career in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, receiving his license in 1940. During World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet, and graduated from training at Williams Field, Arizona, in 1942. He later flew bomber escorts and strafing missions over Europe in the P-51 Mustang with the 355th Fighter Group from D-Day through V-E Day.

After the war, White completed his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering at the UC Berkeley in 1947, and went on to become an engineering test pilot for the U.S. Air Force and North American Aviation. He participated in a variety of flight test programs over his career, including the F-86 Sabre jet, the F-100 Super Sabre series, the YF-107 and the X-15. In 1958, White was selected for the U.S. Air Force's Man in Space Soonest manned spaceflight program. The program ended early due to financial and technical difficulties. In 1961, he was selected as chief test pilot for the flight test program of the XB-70 Valkyrie, the world's largest supersonic aircraft, piloting the first flights of both XB-70s and taking the aircraft through the buildup programs to flight at Mach 3. On June 8, 1966, he was the sole survivor of the mid-air collision that destroyed the XB-70 #2 prototype and killed his co-pilot, Major Carl Cross, USAF, and noted aviator Joe Walker. White ejected from the XB-70, sustaining serious injuries, including one arm being crushed as it was caught in the clamshell-like escape capsule as it closed around him just before ejection from the aircraft.

Later in 1966, White joined Trans World Airlines (TWA) as manager of flight operations, research and development. In 1969, he became a consultant in the field of aviation and aeronautics, working primarily as an expert witness in accident investigation litigation, requiring simulation of accident flight conditions in a comparable aircraft.

After 8,500 hours of flying time in over 125 different aircraft, he retired from the ranks of active pilots and settled in Tucson, Arizona. He died in Arizona in 2006.

Honors
White's military decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters. A past President and founding member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP), White earned some of the top awards for his profession, including the Iven C. Kincheloe Award, the Octave Chanute Award, and the Harmon Trophy, which was presented by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1994, he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor.

References

External links

1918 births
2006 deaths
University of California, Davis alumni
UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni
Harmon Trophy winners
American test pilots
United States Army Air Forces officers
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Recipients of the Air Medal
Aviators from California
American astronauts
People from Berkeley, California
Military personnel from California

Alvin S. White


Culottes are an item of clothing worn on the lower half of the body. The term can refer to either split skirts, historical men's breeches, or women's underpants; this is an example of fashion-industry words taken from designs across history, languages and cultures, then being used to describe different garments, often creating confusion among historians and readers. The French word culotte is (a pair of) panties, pants, knickers, trousers, shorts, or (historically) breeches; derived from the French word culot, meaning the lower half of a thing, the lower garment in this case.

In English-speaking history culottes were originally the knee-breeches commonly worn by gentlemen of the European upper-classes from the late Middle Ages or Renaissance through the early 19th century. The style of tight trousers ending just below the knee was popularized in France during the reign of Henry III (1574–1589). Culottes were normally closed and fastened about the leg, to the knee, by buttons, a strap and buckle, or a draw-string. During the French Revolution of 1789–1799, working-class revolutionaries were known as the "sans-culottes" – literally, "without culottes" – a name derived from their rejection of aristocratic apparel.

In the United States, only the first five presidents, from George Washington (1732-1799) through James Monroe (1758-1831), wore culottes according to the style of the late 18th century. John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) wore long trousers instead of knee breeches at his inaugural ceremony in 1825, thus becoming the first president to have made the change of dress.

In military uniforms

European military uniforms incorporated culottes as a standard uniform article, the lower leg being covered by either stockings, leggings, or knee-high boots. Culottes were a common part of military uniforms during the European wars of the eighteenth-century (the Great Northern War, the War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, the French and Indian War, and the Revolutionary War).

Historical Japanese field workers and military samurai wore hakama that were sometimes tight at the bottom as French military culottes. Wider bifurcated wrap-skirt hakama were for horse-back riding. Eighteenth and nineteenth-century European women introduced culottes cut with a pattern looking like long hakama, hiding their legs while riding horses. Today Aikido and Kendo masters wear long hakama, to hide their feet from opponents.

Hassidic clothing
Jews in Poland wore culottes with high socks since around the 1800s. Culottes were abandoned among non-Hassidim in the mid-1900s to early 20th century (due to upheavals in traditional Jewish life in those times), but ended up staying customary only among Hassidim, who continue to wear them today. However, culottes are not worn by Russian Hassidic sects, such as Karlin and Chabad.

Different sects of Hassidim have different customs as to when and how they are worn, and whether and how unmarried men wear them on Shabbos and Jewish holidays, or if they wear them at all.

Culottes for women
In modern English, the use of the word culottes can mean a close fitting pair of pants ending at the knees, such as Lady Diana Spencer popularised during the early 1980s. The term is used as such in the United Kingdom and Canada. In this sense, culottes are similar to the American knickerbockers (knickers), except whereas the latter are loose in fit. Culottes can also, in some cases, describe a split or bifurcated skirt or any garment which "hangs like a skirt, but is actually pants." During the Victorian Era (mid- to late-nineteenth century European culture) long split skirts were developed for horseback riding so that women could sit astride a horse with a man's saddle rather than riding side-saddle. Horse-riding culottes for women were controversial because they were used to break a sexual taboo against women riding horses when they were expected to hide their lower limbs at all times. Later, split skirts were developed to provide women more freedom to do other activities as well, such as gardening, cleaning, bike riding, etc. and still look like one is wearing a skirt.

School uniforms
Culottes are used in school uniforms for girls. They can be used along with skirts, or they may be used as a replacement for skirts. Culottes are worn as part of a uniform mainly to primary and middle schools. Culottes were also part of the uniform of UK Brownie Guides up until recently, when the uniform was modernized and the traditional brown culottes (and the navy blue culottes worn by the Girl Guides) were replaced.

Demi-denims

A cut which emerged in the 21st century – a combined silhouette of pants which appear to be made out of two separate garments. They look like slim fit jeans from behind, like a skirt or culottes worn on top of slim fit jeans – from the front.

Contemporary French under-pants
The term "culottes" in French is now used to describe women's panties, an article of clothing that has little or no relation to the historic men's culotte breeches, except that in French, calling something "culottes" is like calling them "bottoms". The historical French term "sans-culottes" which was once the rejection of aristocrats' breeches, is now used colloquially to mean the same as an English colloquialism "going commando" or not wearing under-pants.

See also
 Skort
 Bloomers

References

1960s fashion
1990s fashion
Skirts
Trousers and shorts

Culottes


Shahrizor or Shahrazur () is a region part of Kurdistan Region, Iraq situated in the Silêmanî Governorate and west of Hewraman. Shahrizor is a fertile plain watered by the tributaries of Tandjaro river which flows to Diyala and Tigris rivers.

Etymology
The name Shahrazur is likely derived from two Iranian words: shah (king) and  (forest), hence sharazur meaning kingly forest. Herzfeld based on the fact that in classical sources the name was spelt with an initial /s/ rather /sh/, suggested white forest, which he connected with the Avestan legends. Indeed, to this day the plain of Sharazur has an important status among adherents of native religion of Yarsan as a holy and sacred region where God descends for the Last Judgement. The 12th century geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi, based on folk etymology interpreted origin of name Sharazur, from the name of the son of Zahhak, whom he mentions as founder of the famous city of Sharazor.

History

Extensive archaeological research, especially since 2009, at sites like Bakr Awa, Tell Begum, Gird-î Qalrakh, and Bestansur (which is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List), has shown that the plain has been continuously occupied since prehistoric times.

Billerbeck states that that Sharizor was part of Zamua during the Assyrian era and populated by the Lullubi during the rule of Assurnasirbal II. Arabs associated Shahrizor with biblical legends associated with Saul and David suggesting that the region had a Jewish colony.

Sharazor and its king Yazdan Kard are mentioned in the Karnamag, a book of Persian mythology, of Ardashir I and also in the inscription of Narseh alongside Garmian. During the Sassanid era the region of Sharazor was one of the 5 provinces of the satrapy of Medes, an ancient Iranian people.

In the 4th century, some of inhabitants of Sharazor who had converted to Christianity were persecuted by the Sassanids. Among the prominent examples of this persecution is the killing of Bishop Shahdost Shahrazori and 128 of his followers.

Sharazur was incorporated into Ardalan Principality from 11th century until the 16th and was its first capital. Its relics are the historic site of Yassin tepe. It formed afterwards part of Baban Principality.

In the Medieval era, the area was incorporated into the territories ruled by many dynasties, including Annazid, Aishanid and also Ayyubid, who were also of Kurdish origins. During the Ayyubid period the region, and the city of Erbil, were granted as a fief to the emir Gökböri by Saladin in 1190.

Yaqut al-Hamawi describes the region of Sharazor as areas between Erbil to the west and Hamadan to the east including many cities, towns and villages.  He mentions the inhabitants of the region as having been entirely Kurds, who were defended themselves from the Sultan and ruled their area.

See also
Al-Shahrazuri – 13th-century physician, historian and philosopher
Khâlid-i Shahrazuri
Kirkuk Governorate
Sharazoor District
As Sulaymaniyah Governorate

References

External links
 Kirkuk Journal
 Kirkuk City, part 1
 Kirkuk City, part 2

Regions of Asia
Plains of Iraq
Geography of Iraqi Kurdistan

Shahrizor