Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a 2007 biographical historical drama film directed by Shekhar Kapur and produced by Universal Pictures and Working Title Films. It stars Cate Blanchett in the title role and is a loose but fact-based portrayal of events during the latter part of the reign of Elizabeth I, forming a sequel to Kapur's 1998 film Elizabeth. The film co-stars Geoffrey Rush (reprising his role from the previous film), Clive Owen, Jordi Mollà, Abbie Cornish, and Samantha Morton. The screenplay was written by William Nicholson and Michael Hirst, and the music score was composed by Craig Armstrong and A. R. Rahman. Guy Hendrix Dyas was the film's production designer and co-visual effects supervisor, and the costumes were created by Alexandra Byrne. The film was shot at Shepperton Studios and various locations around the United Kingdom.

The film premiered on 9 September 2007 at the Toronto International Film Festival. It opened in wide release in the United States on 12 October 2007, premiered in London on 23 October 2007, and opened wide on 2 November 2007 throughout the rest of the UK and Republic of Ireland. At the 80th Academy Awards, the film won Best Costume Design and Blanchett received a nomination for Best Actress.

Plot
In 1585, Catholic Spain, ruled by King Philip II, is the most powerful country in Europe. Seeing that the Catholic plots against Elizabeth's life that occurred from the 1570s onwards had all failed, Pope V approached King Philip II, who had amassed the most significant naval force in all of Europe and convinced the king to use this naval force to invade and re-Catholicize England. By doing so, Philip, with the pope's blessing, would overthrow Elizabeth I and take control of England. Philip agrees and plots to take over England and make his daughter, Isabella, the Queen of England in Elizabeth's place. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth I of England is being pressured by her advisor, Francis Walsingham, to marry; if Elizabeth dies childless, the throne will pass to her first cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, who is Catholic.

English explorer Walter Raleigh is presented at court, having returned from the New World. Queen Elizabeth is attracted to Raleigh, enthralled by his tales of exploration, and asks Bess Throckmorton, her most favoured lady-in-waiting, to observe him. Bess also finds Raleigh attractive and they begin a secret affair. With tensions strained between England and Spain, Elizabeth seeks guidance from her astrologer, Dr. John Dee.

Jesuits in London conspire with Philip to assassinate Elizabeth and replace her with Mary of Scots, in what King Philip calls "The English Enterprise", historically known as the Babington Plot. From her imprisonment, Mary sends secret correspondence to the Jesuits, who recruit Anthony Babington to assassinate Elizabeth. Walsingham continues to warn Queen Elizabeth of Spain's rising power and of the Catholic plots against her, but unlike her predecessor and half-sister Mary I of England, Elizabeth refuses to force her people to share her religious beliefs.

Walsingham's Catholic brother, who knows of the plot against Elizabeth, is jailed, leading Walsingham to reveal Spain's plan to Queen Elizabeth, who angrily confronts the Spanish diplomats. The Spanish ambassador feigns ignorance, accuses her of receiving stolen Spanish gold from pirates, and insinuates that she has a sexual relationship with Raleigh. Enraged, Elizabeth throws the Spaniards out of England. Meanwhile, Philip is cutting down the forests of Spain to build the Spanish Armada to invade England. Mary writes letters condoning the plot.

Babington storms into a cathedral where Elizabeth is praying and fires a pistol at her, though Elizabeth is unharmed as there was no bullet in the gun. As Elizabeth learns of Mary's involvement in the plot, Walsingham insists Mary be executed to quell any possible revolt. Elizabeth reluctantly agrees. Mary is tried for high treason and beheaded; Walsingham realises this was part of the Jesuits' plan all along: Philip never intended for Mary to become queen, but with the Pope and other Catholic leaders regarding Mary as the true Queen of England, Philip uses Mary's death to obtain papal approval for war. The "murder" of the last legitimate Catholic claimant to the throne gives Philip the pretext he needs to invade England and remove Elizabeth, leaving the way to the English throne free for his own daughter.

Bess reveals to Raleigh that she is pregnant with his child, and pleads with him to leave. Instead, the couple marry in secret. When Elizabeth confronts Bess, she confesses her pregnancy and that Raleigh is her husband. An infuriated Elizabeth berates Bess, reminding her that she cannot marry without royal consent. She banishes Bess from court and has Raleigh imprisoned for the crime of seducing a ward of the queen.

As the Spanish Armada begins its approach up the English Channel, Elizabeth forgives Bess and sets Raleigh free to join Sir Francis Drake in the battle. The ships of the Armada vastly outnumber England's, but a storm blows the Armada toward the beaches, endangering its formation and becoming vulnerable to English fire ships. Elizabeth, atop her coastal headquarters, walks out to the cliffs and watches the Spanish Armada sink in flames as the English fleet prevails.

She visits Raleigh and Bess and blesses their child. Elizabeth appears to triumph personally through her ordeal, again resigned to her role as the Virgin Queen and mother to the English people.

Cast

 Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I
 Geoffrey Rush as Sir Francis Walsingham
 Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh
 Abbie Cornish as Bess Throckmorton
 Samantha Morton as Mary, Queen of Scots
 Jordi Mollà as King Philip II of Spain
 Susan Lynch as Annette Fleming
 Rhys Ifans as Robert Reston
 Eddie Redmayne as Anthony Babington
 Tom Hollander as Amias Paulet
 Steven Robertson as Sir Francis Throckmorton
 Adam Godley as William Walsingham
 Laurence Fox as Sir Christopher Hatton
 William Houston as Guerau de Espés
 Christian Brassington as Charles II, Archduke of Austria
 John Shrapnel as Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham
 David Threlfall as John Dee
 Kelly Hunter as Ursula Walsingham
 Kirstin Smith as Mary Walsingham
 Benjamin May as Dance Tutor
 Kate Fleetwood as the Mother
 Aimee King as Infanta Isabel of Spain

Production
Principal photography began 28 April 2006 and completed on 1 August 2006.

Historical background

In November 1558, King Philip II of Spain's second wife, Queen Mary I of England, died. They had married in July 1554, a year after Mary's accession to the English throne, but the English Parliament had refused to grant him much real power as co-monarch of England. On Mary's death he tried unsuccessfully to persuade her sister and successor, Elizabeth I, to marry him.

For many years Philip maintained peace with England, and even defended Elizabeth from the Pope's threat of excommunication. This was a measure taken to preserve a European balance of power. Ultimately, Elizabeth allied England with the Protestant rebels in the Netherlands. Further, English ships began a policy of piracy against Spanish trade and threatened to plunder the great Spanish treasure ships coming from the New World. English ships went so far as to attack a Spanish port. The last straw for Philip was the Treaty of Nonsuch signed by Elizabeth in 1585 – promising troops and supplies to the rebels. Although it can be argued this English action was the result of Philip's Treaty of Joinville with the Catholic League of France, Philip considered it an act of war by England. With the Pope's blessing, he launched the Spanish Armada to attack England, Protestantism, and Elizabeth herself. Sir Walter Raleigh, whom the Queen favoured, married Bess Throckmorton, a ward of Elizabeth's court, after learning she was carrying his child. Elizabeth I had both of them arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London, but later released them.

Dramatic licence

This representation of a historical period is heavily fictionalised for the purposes of entertainment. The film's lead Cate Blanchett was reported as saying: "It's terrifying that we are growing up with this very illiterate bunch of children, who are somehow being taught that film is fact, when in fact it's invention". Some of the simpler fictions are:
 Sir Walter Raleigh is falsely portrayed as a major figure in the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and the film does not credit Sir Francis Drake and other key leaders of the English fleet.
 Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, was lieutenant general at the Armada crisis, but in the film, he is not present at the Tilbury camp, his role having been given to Raleigh. The movie also does not make mention of Dudley's military campaign in the Netherlands.
 Charles Howard (then Lord Howard of Effingham, the actual commander of the English fleet), says at one point, "We're losing too many ships." In reality, not a single English ship was lost during the battle.
 The film depicts Elizabeth being advised by Dr John Dee. Historically, Dee was travelling on the European mainland throughout the period depicted and did not return until more than a year after the defeat of the Armada. Elizabeth's actual main advisor and chief minister, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, is omitted from the film altogether.
 The portrayed Jesuit leader of the Babington Plot, Robert Reston, is completely fictional, though based on the real-life Jesuit John Ballard, who encouraged Babington to initiate the assassination attempt on Elizabeth, which would subsequently begin the chain of events leading to the Spanish invasion. However, because Ballard was depicted being executed in the previous film for participating in the Ridolfi plot, the role of Reston was created to replace him.
 In the film, Elizabeth is confronted at the altar of Old St Paul's Cathedral by Anthony Babington, who has a pistol charged with powder but no shot. The real Babington Plot was, like preceding plots against Elizabeth, discovered and thwarted by Francis Walsingham's investigative efforts while still in the planning stages, long before there was any actual attempt to kill Elizabeth.
 The film also depicts Babington (and, implicitly, the other conspirators) as having been hanged by long drop, rather than the actual, and more gruesome method of hanging, drawing and quartering.
 In 1585, Elizabeth was 52 (considered too old to bear children). The film shows various suitors being presented to the queen, with a view to marriage and children; the events presented actually took place much earlier in her reign. For instance, Erik XIV of Sweden abandoned his proposals to marry Elizabeth after his trip to England was interrupted by his father's death in 1560, when Elizabeth was 27. In fact, by 1568, Erik had been deposed from the Swedish throne and died in captivity in 1577. Likewise, marriage negotiations with Charles II, Archduke of Austria were abandoned in 1568 and in 1571, Charles married his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria, with whom he had fifteen children.
 Philip II of Spain is depicted at the time of the Armada as an old, sick man. In fact he was just five years older than Elizabeth, and his death did not occur until eight years later, in 1596.
 In 1588, Infanta Isabel of Spain is portrayed as a child. In reality, she was 21 by this time.
 The lady-in-waiting Bess Throckmorton in fact became pregnant with Walter Raleigh's child in the summer of 1591, three years after the defeat of the Armada, not immediately before. After their secret marriage was inevitably discovered, Elizabeth had them locked up in the Tower of London. While she did eventually release them both, it was not out of any sense of forgiveness as the movie depicts. She released Raleigh because one of his expeditions returned to England with a captured Spanish ship, the Madre de Dios, and his men threatened a mutiny if she did not return Raleigh to them. Bess was released because Elizabeth felt guilty after Bess's baby died of plague while she was incarcerated in the Tower.
 The affair between Raleigh and Bess is depicted as beginning when Raleigh consoles Bess after her cousin Francis is executed for his plot to assassinate Elizabeth, but that happened six years before the affair actually took place.
 Mary, Queen of Scots is depicted as having a Scottish accent, when in actuality, she had been raised at the French court from the age of five and did not return to Scotland until she was a young woman.
 The film shows Spanish envoys and other members of court wearing swords during their audiences with Elizabeth. Owing to threats of assassination, only members of the Royal Guard were permitted to carry weapons near Elizabeth while she was in court.
 The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, is portrayed as having happened very swiftly after her arrest, while she was still a young woman. In fact, Mary was held in custody at various places for 19 years before her execution in 1587, at the age of 44.
 The film depicts the battle between the English navy and the Spanish Armada as consisting of broadsides from the ships of both fleets. In fact, while the English ships were able to fire multiple times during the course of a day, the heavy Spanish guns were so difficult to reload that they were frequently only fired once. Broadsides would accompany later developments in ship design in the first half of the 17th century, the first major actions involving such technology and tactics for the English being the Anglo-Dutch Wars.
 During the film, Elizabeth spoke German to Charles II, Archduke of Austria. Although Elizabeth spoke several languages there is no evidence that she was taught or spoke German; nor is it likely that they ever met.
 There was no Spanish ambassador in Elizabeth's court in 1585, as Elizabeth had him expelled from England following the discovery of the Throckmorton plot, after Francis Throckmorton claimed under torture that his plot had been sanctioned by the Spanish.

Claims of anti-Catholicism
The film depicts an important episode in the violent struggle between the Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation that polarised European politics. Several critics (some cited below) claimed the film was "anti-Catholic" and followed a traditional English view of their own history. A British-based priest, Father Peter Malone, declared the film to be jingoistic in his review.

In the US the National Catholic Register, film critic Steven D. Greydanus compared this film to The Da Vinci Code, and wrote: "The climax, a weakly staged destruction of the Spanish Armada, is a crescendo of church-bashing imagery: rosaries floating amid burning flotsam, inverted crucifixes sinking to the bottom of the ocean, the rows of ominous berobed clerics slinking away in defeat. Pound for pound, minute for minute, Elizabeth: The Golden Age could possibly contain more sustained church-bashing than any other film I can think of." Greydanus asked: "How is it possible that this orgy of anti-Catholicism has been all but ignored by most critics?"

Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger said: "This movie equates Catholicism with some sort of horror-movie cult, with scary close-ups of chanting monks and glinting crucifixes." Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune complained of what he saw as "ugly anti-Catholic imagery", and Bob Bloom of the Lafayette Journal & Courier agreed that anti-Catholicism was one of the film's "sore points".

Monsignor Mark Langham, Administrator of Westminster Cathedral, was criticised by some Roman Catholics for allowing scenes to be shot there; although praising the film as a "must see", he suggested that "it does appear to perpetuate the myth of 'killer priests'".

Historian Franco Cardini, of the University of Florence, alleged "the film formed part of a 'concerted attack on Catholicism, the Holy See and Papism' by an alliance of atheists and 'apocalyptic Christians'". "Why put out this perverse anti-Catholic propaganda today, just at the moment when we are trying desperately to revive our Western identity in the face of the Islamic threat, presumed or real?"

Director Shekhar Kapur rejected this criticism of his film, saying: "It is actually very, very deeply non-anti-Catholic. It is anti extreme forms of religion. At that time the church in Spain, or Philip had said that they were going to turn the whole world into a very pure form of Catholicism. So it's not anti-Catholic. It's anti an interpretation of the word of God that is singular, as against what Elizabeth's was, which was to look upon her faith as concomitant." "The fact is that the Pope ordered her execution; he said that anybody who executes or assassinates Elizabeth would find a beautiful place in the kingdom of heaven. Where else have you heard these words about Salman Khan or Salman Rushdie? That's why I made this film, so this idea of a rift between Catholicism and Protestants does not arise. My interpretation of Elizabeth is an interpretation of greater tolerance [than] Philip, which is absolutely true. It's completely true that she had this kind of feminine energy. It's a conflict between Philip, who had no ability to encompass diversity or contradiction, and Elizabeth who had the feminine ability to do that."

Kapur extended this pluralist defence to his own approach: "I would describe all history as fiction and interpretation ... [A]sk any Catholic and they'll give you a totally different aspect of history ... History has always been an interpretation ... I do believe that civilisations that don't learn from history are civilisations that are doomed to make the same mistakes again and again, which is why this film starts with the idea of fundamentalism against tolerance. It's not Catholic against Protestant; it's a very fundamental form of Catholicism. It was the time of the Spanish Inquisition and against a woman whose half of her population was Protestant, half was Catholic. And there were enough bigots in her Protestant Parliament to say, 'Just kill them all', and she was constantly saying no. She was constantly on the side of tolerance. So you interpret history to tell the story that is relevant to us now."

Filming locations

 Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire, England, UK (Raleigh's house exteriors)
 Brean Down, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England (Queen Elizabeth addresses her troops)
 Burghley House, Stamford, Lincolnshire, England (John Dee's house exteriors/London alley/Paris street scene)
 Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, England
 Dorney Court, Dorney, Buckinghamshire, England (Raleigh's house/Walsingham's house/chapel interiors)
 Doune Castle, Doune, Stirling, Scotland
 Eilean Donan Castle, Kyle of Lochalsh, Highland, Scotland (Fotheringay Castle exteriors)
 Ely Cathedral, Ely, Cambridgeshire, England (Whitehall Palace interior)
 Hatfield House, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England (Chartley Hall, also the interior of Walsingham's house)
 Leeds Castle, Kent, England (Chartley Hall/Windsor Castle exteriors)
 Petworth House, Petworth, West Sussex, England (Windsor Great Park)
 Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England
 St Bartholomew-the-Great, London, England (Fotheringay Castle/Chartley Hall interiors)
 St John's College, Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England (Whitehall Palace exteriors/Thames scenes)
 Wells Cathedral, Wells, Somerset, England (Whitehall Palace interiors)
 Westminster Cathedral, Westminster, London, England (Escorial Palace/Lisbon Cathedral interiors)
 Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, Hampshire, England, (St. Paul's Cathedral/The Chapel Royal interiors/gallows scene)

Soundtrack

The original score was composed by A. R. Rahman and Craig Armstrong. Kapur was thrilled to have both Rahman and Armstrong working together on the music, saying it was fascinating to watch "two people with totally different backgrounds and cultures" interact.

Blanchett had travelled to India in the early 2000s, coming away with several Indian sounds, and badgered Kapur to get Rahman to score Hollywood movies. Antonio Pinto was mentioned as being a collaborator during production, but later Armstrong joined the project. In January 2009, he expressed regret that other compositions from A. R. Rahman were not used in the film, feeling that "the score of Golden Age was not half as good as it could have been." He expressed hope to hear these pieces appear in another project.

"Opening" from the score was used in the BBC's coverage of the Single's Finals at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. "Storm" is heard in a trailer of the 2013 film Man of Steel.

Track listing

Home media
The film was released on Region 1 on DVD and HD DVD 5 February 2008. It was released on Blu-ray in 2009 and bundled with the first film.

Reception

Critical reception
Although Cate Blanchett's performance was highly praised, the film received generally mixed to negative reviews from US critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 35% of critics gave the film a positive rating, based on 167 reviews; the average rating is 5.1/10. The critics consensus reads, "This sequel is full of lavish costumes and elaborate sets, but lacks the heart and creativity of the original Elizabeth." On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 45 out of 100, based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, the same grade as its predecessor.

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, gave the film 1 star out of 5, remarking on the film's historical revisionism and melodrama. He writes: "Where Kapur's first Elizabeth was cool, cerebral, fascinatingly concerned with complex plotting, the new movie is pitched at the level of a Jean Plaidy romantic novel".

Roger Ebert gave the film 2½ stars out of 4, saying 'there are scenes where the costumes are so sumptuous, the sets so vast, the music so insistent, that we lose sight of the humans behind the dazzle of the production'. Ebert did, however, praise many of the actors' performances, particularly that of Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I. He said 'that Blanchett could appear in the same Toronto International Film Festival playing Elizabeth and Bob Dylan, both splendidly, is a wonder of acting'. Blanchett portrayed Bob Dylan in the film I'm Not There and was nominated for an Academy Award for her roles in both movies.

Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune gave the film 3 stars out of 4, writing '... as a pseudo-historical fable, a romantic triangle and a blood-and-thunder melodrama, the film can't be faulted' and 'This isn't historical fabrication, it's mutilation. But for all its lapses, this is probably the liveliest, most vibrant Elizabethan production since Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet.' while Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe said, "Historians might demand a little more history from Elizabeth: The Golden Age. But soap opera loyalists could hardly ask for more soap."

Michael Gove, speaking on BBC Two's Newsnight Review, said: 'It tells the story of England's past in a way which someone who's familiar with the Whig tradition of history would find, as I did, completely sympathetic. It's amazing to see a film made now that is so patriotic ... One of the striking things about this film is that it's almost a historical anomaly. I can't think of a historical period film in which England and the English have been depicted heroically for the last forty or fifty years. You almost have to go back to Laurence Olivier's Shakespeare's Henry V in which you actually have an English king and English armies portrayed heroically'.

Box office
Elizabeth: The Golden Age grossed $6.1 million in 2,001 theatres during its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, ranking #6 at the box office. In the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland the film entered at No. 4 and earned £1.3 million ($2.7 million) on its opening weekend.  the worldwide total was $74.2 million, including $16.4 million in the US and Canada and $57.8 million elsewhere. In contrast, the film's predecessor, Elizabeth, grossed $30 million in the United States and Canada, and a total of $82.1 million worldwide.

Awards and nominations
The film received two Academy Award nominations, winning the Academy Award for Costume Design for Alexandra Byrne. Cate Blanchett was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film, becoming the first female actor to receive another Academy Award nomination for the reprisal of the same role.

At the 11th Pyongyang International Film Festival held in September 2008, one of the awards for special screening were conferred upon the film.

See also
 Black legend
 Cultural depictions of Elizabeth I
 Cultural depictions of Philip II of Spain
 Spanish Armada

References

External links

 Elizabeth: The Golden Age at Working Title Films
 Interview with Cate Blanchett at tribute.ca
 Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Four making-of video features at stv.tv

2007 films
British biographical drama films
British epic films
British historical drama films
2007 biographical drama films
2000s historical drama films
Films about Elizabeth I
Films about Mary, Queen of Scots
Cultural depictions of Walter Raleigh
2000s feminist films
Films directed by Shekhar Kapur
Films set in 16th-century Tudor England
Films with screenplays by William Nicholson
StudioCanal films
Working Title Films films
Films that won the Best Costume Design Academy Award
Films scored by Craig Armstrong (composer)
Films scored by A. R. Rahman
Films produced by Eric Fellner
Films produced by Tim Bevan
Films critical of the Catholic Church
Films set in the 1580s
Films set in the 1590s
2007 drama films
Films shot in Cambridgeshire
2000s English-language films
2000s British films
Cultural depictions of Philip II of Spain

Elizabeth: The Golden Age


"Now Those Days Are Gone" is a single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz. It became a UK top ten hit in July 1982 and featured on the group's album Are You Ready. The song was nominated for an Ivor Novello award the following year.

Overview

Background
Written by Andy Hill and Nichola Martin and produced by Hill, this was the group's only single to feature member Mike Nolan on lead vocals, it was also the last to be co-written by Martin, who founded the group. The song was a stark contrast to the group's singles up to this point, which had all featured very full pop productions, this time, the song was partly an a cappella piece with soft harmonies and a gentle orchestral build towards the end. Years later, Nolan commented on the recording of the song saying that he favoured another ballad from the album called "Love Dies Hard" but it had already been given to other male member Bobby G. The vocal harmonies were very intricate and took many takes to get right in the studio. When the album was finished, Hill invited record company executives to listen to the tracks and at the close of this song there was a round of applause where they instantly decided this would be the next single, much to Nolan's delight. One reviewer remarked that the impressive vocal structure would give Bucks Fizz some much-needed credibility.

The song centres around the narrator who looks back on younger days and recalls how innocent he was then, and reflects on the love he once felt for his partner. The promotional video for the song saw the group in a World War II setting, with Nolan as a radio singer and members Bobby G, Cheryl Baker and Jay Aston being caught in a love triangle. Much of the video was filmed in Hyde Park, London. Nolan's scenes were completely studio bound, meaning that he finished the shoot early  while the other three were filmed on location. Baker recalls that while walking along the Serpentine lake, Bobby G was attacked by a group of swans and had to be rescued.  The single sleeve's cover shot was taken at the group's publicist, Jenny Halsall's manor house in Cambridge.

Release and reception
Released in June 1982, this single followed up two No.1 hits, "My Camera Never Lies" and "The Land Of Make Believe" and reached No.8 in the UK Charts. It remained on the chart for nine weeks and earned a silver disc for sales of over 250,000. It performed even better in Ireland, where it reached No.5. The following year, "Now Those Days Are Gone" received an Ivor Novello nomination for best song of 1982 - an award Andy Hill would go on to win years later with Celine Dion's "Think Twice". In 2015, Guardian journalist Bob Stanley commented favourably on the song saying "Now Those Days Are Gone sounded out of place at the time, a mid-70s ballad transplanted into the summer of 'Come on Eileen', but with its long a cappella sections, aching string part and Mike Nolan's androgynous, weeping lead, it was home counties, potting-shed balladry of the highest order".

In Australia and many European countries, this single went unreleased, with tracks, "Are You Ready" or "Easy Love" being released in its place. The song was featured on the group's second (and most popular) album, Are You Ready. It was also later featured as the B-side to "You and Your Heart so Blue" - a 1985 single by the group. The B-side to "Now Those Days Are Gone", "Takin' Me Higher" was a first, in that it was written and produced by the group themselves. The group continued to write and produce songs for their B-sides over the next few years.

A newly recorded version of "Now Those Days Are Gone" was released in 2006 on the Bucks Fizz album, The Lost Masters, while an early demo by Hill was released in 2008 on The Lost Masters 2 - The Final Cut. This demo featured an expletive, which necessitated the album to include a Parental advisory sticker.

Track listing
 "Now Those Days Are Gone" (Andy Hill / Nichola Martin) (3.33)
 "Takin' Me Higher" (Bucks Fizz) (3.46)

Chart positions

References

1982 singles
Bucks Fizz songs
Songs written by Andy Hill (composer)
1982 songs
RCA Records singles

Now Those Days Are Gone


Gwunnersloch (Troyer's Hollow, Mechanic Twp., also: "Daudi")
 Nei Schweiz ("New Switzerland", area situated in the triangle drawn by lines from Charm to Walnut Creek, and Berlin, back to Charm in SE Holmes County, where the pioneer settlers were immigrants from Switzerland)* Paapaa Graawe (ravine 1/4 mile west of Beck's Mills, where since pioneer days the only paw-paw trees in the area have grown)
 Penschen Hiwwel ("Penion Hill", the high hill imediately east of Beck's Mills. During the decades before and following 1900 John Scherer lived on top of the hill. About 40 rods down the hill on the south side lived Noah Schweitzer. Both men were Civil War veterans, late draftees, and were said never to have seen the front line or battle. They were great talkers regarding their experiences. Coth received a Civil War pension, hence the name.)
 Weinsbeig (Winesburg)

Pennsylvaanisch-Deitsche Blatznaame

Pennsylvaanisch-Deitsche Blatznaame in Holmes Kaundi (Holmes County, OH)


Gary P. Hamel (born 1954) is an American management consultant. He is a founder of Strategos, an international management consulting firm based in Chicago.

Biography
Hamel graduated from Andrews University in 1975, and from Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in 1990.

Hamel has worked as a visiting professor of international business at the University of Michigan and at Harvard Business School; he currently teaches as a visiting professor of strategic management at the London Business School.

Work
Gary Hamel is the originator (with C.K. Prahalad) of the concept of core competencies.  He is also the director of the Woodside Institute, a nonprofit research foundation based in Woodside, California.  He was a founder of the consulting firm Strategos, serving as chairman until 2003.  The UTEK Corporation acquired Strategos in 2008 in an all-stock transaction as reported by the SEC. In 2012 Strategos became an independent strategy and innovation consultancy once again through a management buy-out.

The Wall Street Journal ranked Gary Hamel as one of the world's most influential business thinkers, and Forbes magazine has called him "the world's leading expert on business strategy". In 2013, his name was not present on an updated version of the Wall Street Journal list. He is also a member of the Reliance Innovation Council formed by Reliance Industries Limited, India.

References

External links

 Official site

1954 births
Living people
American business theorists
Andrews University alumni
Ross School of Business alumni
Academics of London Business School
University of Michigan faculty
Harvard Business School faculty

Gary Hamel


The Montreal Screwjob (also called the Montreal Incident) was an infamous unscripted professional wrestling incident that occurred on November 9, 1997, at the Survivor Series pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in Montreal. During the WWF Championship match between Shawn Michaels and champion Bret Hart, WWF owner Vince McMahon and select WWF employees covertly manipulated the predetermined outcome of the match in favor of Michaels; the screwjob occurred without Hart's knowledge, causing him to lose the championship.

Hart had been WWF Champion since August 1997. A week prior to Survivor Series, Hart, who performed for the WWF since 1984, agreed to join rival wrestling promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from December 1997. McMahon sought to prevent Hart from leaving WWF as champion, but Hart was unwilling to lose to Michaels – with whom he had a legitimate feud – at Survivor Series, as it was taking place in his home country of Canada. The match was planned to end in disqualification, causing Hart to retain the title, and then losing or forfeiting it at a later date. Instead, under McMahon's direction, referee Earl Hebner ended the match as Michaels held Hart in the sharpshooter submission hold (Hart's signature move); although Hart did not submit, Michaels was declared the winner by submission and became WWF Champion.

As a result of the screwjob, McMahon and Michaels elicited angry responses from Canadian audiences for many years; McMahon was viewed by many fans to have betrayed Hart, who was one of the WWF's longest-tenured and popular performers at the time. The screwjob caused several changes and impacts to the professional wrestling industry: according to WWE, the incident is considered the beginning of the Attitude Era, leading to McMahon featuring as a villainous on-screen character on WWF television, and has been used as a theme in matches and storylines across the wrestling industry. It was also partly chronicled in the documentary film Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows (1998).

The screwjob has garnered a notorious legacy; accounts differ as to who exactly was involved in the plan and the extent of their involvement, while some wrestling fans, performers, and bookers believe the incident was an elaborate work executed in collaboration with Hart, which he denies. Hart did not return to the WWE until his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in April 2006, and he made his next live appearance on WWE programming in January 2010. Hart later said he legitimately reconciled with McMahon and Michaels, and the screwjob was used in a storyline between McMahon and Hart, leading to a match at WrestleMania XXVI. Longtime industry writer Mike Johnson referred to the screwjob as "arguably the most talked-about [event] in the history of professional wrestling".

Hart's departure from the WWF

At the time of the screwjob, Bret Hart was a 14-year veteran of the WWF, having got his first break in the promotion in the 1980s as one-half of the Hart Foundation tag team with his brother-in-law Jim Neidhart and manager Jimmy Hart. After the team had two reigns as the WWF Tag Team Champions - splitting from Jimmy Hart and becoming heroes between reigns - Hart then achieved tremendous success as a singles performer in the 1990s, twice taking the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, and then winning the WWF Championship five times. Between his third and fourth reigns, Hart took a seven-month leave of absence from the company after WrestleMania XII, during which he considered contract offers from both the WWF and its rival, WCW. In October 1996, Hart declined a three-year, $8.4 million offer from WCW, instead opting to sign an unprecedented 20-year deal offered by McMahon, which promised to make him the highest-paid wrestler in the company and secure him a major role with the company management following his retirement. Both Hart and the WWF saw the contract as an expression of mutual loyalty.

By mid-1997, however, the WWF was facing financial difficulties due to stiff competition from WCW, which had become the largest professional wrestling promotion in the United States. At the same time, McMahon was planning to make the WWF a publicly traded company (even though the WWF would not go public until 1999), a move which required him to minimize any long-term financial commitments.

For several months prior to the 1997 Survivor Series, Hart and Shawn Michaels had several backstage arguments, culminating in a fight before a WWF Raw event in Hartford, Connecticut (after Michaels had publicly accused Hart of having an affair with Sunny) that saw Michaels suspended for two months. After a show in San Jose, California, on October 12, 1997, Hart claimed he spoke to Michaels about being professional and trusting one another in the ring; Hart allegedly said he would have no problem losing to Michaels if McMahon requested. He also claimed that when Michaels replied that he "would not be willing to do the same" to Hart, Hart was shocked and became angry. This led to Hart's outright refusal to lose the WWF Championship to Michaels at the pay-per-view event in Montreal, although in Hart's documentary, Hart states to McMahon that he would happily drop the belt, but not in Canada. However, in his own autobiography, Michaels refuted Hart's claim, saying that he would have cleanly lost to Hart had storylines demanded so (though others, including Jim Cornette in various shoot interviews, have often refuted this, saying that they knew first-hand that Michaels had no intention of losing cleanly to Hart). Michaels also pointed out that he had lost cleanly to Hart several times in the past, most notably in the WWF's first ever ladder match at a Wrestling Challenge taping on July 21, 1992, which would subsequently be made available on multiple Coliseum/WWE Home Video releases, and in the main event of the 1992 Survivor Series. Michaels also lost to Hart in a Steel Cage match in December 1993.

McMahon believed he made the right choice in pressing Hart to return, which kept him from joining WCW in 1996. However, by September 22, 1997, the WWF's monetary problems were at an all-time high. McMahon began to defer payments to Hart, claiming that the WWF was in "financial peril." At this time, McMahon reviewed the WWF's plans for the future, and saw the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and D-Generation X (DX) leading what was to become "The Attitude Era". WWF's plans did not include Hart; McMahon therefore encouraged Hart to reopen negotiations with WCW.

While Hart considered an offer from then-WCW President Eric Bischoff, McMahon informed Hart that the WWF would honor his contract if he chose to stay. But, when Hart talked to McMahon about future plans and storylines, he was disappointed by McMahon's response and what he considered lackluster suggestions. At the time, Hart felt as though his career had been sabotaged by changes to his character, which had been retooled as an anti-America Canadian nationalist; as a result, he drew significant ire from American audiences, but remained a hero in his native Canada, as well as throughout Europe. As a result, he was neither a hero nor a villain, and as such could not be properly placed into feuds with other wrestlers with more concrete personas. Hart had also been unhappy about McMahon's move towards more controversial subject matter, which would become a staple of the company's product during the Attitude Era.

Convinced that McMahon's future plans did not include him, Hart resigned from the WWF and signed an agreement with WCW, which had just offered him a large $3 million per annum contract on November 1, 1997. Hart's signing the WCW deal caused McMahon to worry about the possibility of Hart entering WCW while still WWF Champion. Hart asked McMahon if he would be mocked after leaving for WCW, as had occurred with other wrestlers who had transferred to WCW from the WWF (for example, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage going by the names of "The Huckster" and "The Nacho Man" respectively in the "Billionaire Ted" sketches of early 1996, as well as having Rick Bognar and Glenn Jacobs portray the characters of Razor Ramon and Diesel respectively, characters that were made famous by both Scott Hall and Kevin Nash respectively before they joined WCW later in 1996). McMahon assured him that nothing of the sort would happen. Despite this, on the night after the Montreal Screwjob on Monday Night Raw, D-Generation X performed a segment mockingly re-enacting the match between Michaels and Hart, with a little person dressed as Bret.

Title transition

Hart's imminent move to WCW created a tense situation, as he had won the WWF Championship at SummerSlam 1997 from The Undertaker, which had featured Michaels as a special guest referee. The finish of the match saw Hart spit in Michaels face, followed by Michaels swinging a steel chair towards Hart, who ducked, and the chair striking The Undertaker down. Hart would cover The Undertaker, and Michaels would reluctantly perform the three count.

Hart's WCW contract was scheduled to begin on December 5, one month after the WWF's annual Survivor Series event, which was to be held in Montreal. Shawn Michaels, the leader of the emerging D-Generation X (DX) stable, had been booked into a main event title match with Hart at that show. McMahon, anxious for Hart to give up the title, sought his consent to job to Michaels. Hart, however, refused to give up the title to a member of The Kliq (a group that included Michaels, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and Sean Waltman that had previously held enormous backstage influence), apparently standing up for the rest of the locker room. As part of their rivalry storyline, Michaels had repeatedly performed acts insulting the Canadian flag and Canadian fans, which had also upset Hart.

Wrestling fans also knew of Hart's long-standing personal difficulty with Michaels—Hart had been angered at Michaels's forfeiture of the WWF Championship in February 1997, ruining plans for a Hart–Michaels rematch at WrestleMania 13, where Michaels was expected to lose the title to Hart. Hart also believed that Michaels had faked a knee injury and talked about major surgery just to get out of their planned match. While Michaels denied rumors that he did not want to lose to Hart, and indeed Hart wound up winning the title shortly after Michaels relinquished it, Hart felt certain that Michaels would not have offered a loss in return if he had been staying with the WWF. The two had been involved in a real fight after Michaels implied that Hart was having an affair with WWF valet Sunny. The recent storyline rivalry had also seen Michaels make insulting remarks about Hart's father Stu Hart, which had left Bret and others in the Hart family upset. McMahon's offering of an estimated $3 million contract to Hart in 1996 had reportedly also upset Michaels.

McMahon remained insistent about Hart dropping the title. The WWF owner was anxious over Hart pulling a move like that of former employee Debrah Miceli. Miceli, a veteran women's wrestler who competed under the name Madusa for much of her career, performed as Alundra Blayze in the WWF from 1993 to 1995 and won the Women's Championship during her stay there. McMahon, however, had neglected to renew her contract when it expired, and Miceli signed with WCW whilst still Women's Champion. When she made her first appearance on WCW Monday Nitro, Madusa made fun of her time in the WWF and brought her title belt, which the WWF had neglected to take back, with her to the program, dumping it into a trash can. McMahon feared a repeat, despite claims from Bischoff that legal issues between the WWF and WCW would prevent such a thing, and that he would rather have Hart join WCW with a "clean slate".

Hart continued to refuse to drop the title to Michaels, offering to lose the title anywhere in the United States prior to Survivor Series or to surrender the title to McMahon on the episode of Monday Night Raw the day after Survivor Series, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. After several disagreements, McMahon, Michaels and Hart agreed to a proposal of a disqualification finish, which would be the result of a brawl between Hart's allies Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Davey Boy Smith with Michaels's allies Triple H and Chyna, who would interfere in the match to aid Michaels. Hart would then lose or forfeit the title at a later date, as he was not due to start in WCW until December. Hart also asked for and obtained McMahon's permission for an opportunity to explain his actions, his heel character, praise McMahon and the WWF and thus leave on good terms with the company and the fans.

At some point in the days leading up to Survivor Series, however, McMahon began to reconsider that decision. Word of Hart's impending departure from the company had leaked to fans and wrestling news sources. McMahon was worried that allowing Hart to remain champion after the match at Survivor Series would cause problems and reckoned that Bischoff was still prone to doing anything he could to get under McMahon's skin and McMahon thought he would be likely to mention the signing of Hart to WCW on Nitro the following night (something Bischoff said would not have happened under normal circumstances). Furthermore, Bischoff would have a one-hour head start on McMahon due to Nitro going on the air live at 8:00p.m., which would have been more than enough time to announce Hart's WCW arrival. Therefore, McMahon felt, he needed to find a way to preemptively strip Hart of the title.

Setup and execution

On November 8, 1997, one day before Survivor Series, McMahon met with Pat Patterson and Michaels in a hotel room in Montreal and planned the screwjob. It is unclear how many people knew of the impending betrayal, but McMahon's close aide Gerald Brisco was involved in the planning. Jim Ross has insisted that he did not know the screwjob would take place, although many, including various members of Hart's family, thought he was involved. Ross has stated that Jerry Lawler also did not know about the screwjob beforehand. Hart and Michaels had met with Pat Patterson to discuss the match setup and plan, during which Hart agreed to allow Michaels to put him into the Sharpshooter hold at a time when the referee would be unconscious, as Patterson suggested.

The rest of the match was planned to proceed thus: Hart would grab Michaels's foot and reverse the hold, putting him in the Sharpshooter. Michaels would submit to the hold, but the referee would still be unconscious. Hart would let go of the hold to try to revive the referee, but Michaels would hit Hart with his finisher, Sweet Chin Music, and make the pin. A second referee would then run to the ring with Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Davey Boy Smith following close behind. The second referee would start the count, but Owen and Davey Boy would break the pin. The original referee would then recover and start to make the count, but Hart would kick out, setting up about five more minutes of brawling that would result in a disqualification.

In his 1998 documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows, Hart said that his fears were largely assuaged because he was close friends with referee Earl Hebner and trusted him implicitly. Asked by Hart, Hebner swore by his children that he would never double-cross Hart and that he would rather quit his job than participate in a screwjob. However, according to Michaels's account of the events in his 2005 autobiography, Heartbreak and Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story, Michaels himself informed Hebner of the plan only on Sunday evening, just as Survivor Series was about to commence. This contradicted what Hebner said on a 2003 edition of WWE Confidential, claiming that he first knew of McMahon's plan only ten minutes before the match finished, and out of panic following the bell ringing, he ran out of the ring and through the crowd, after which he locked himself in his hotel room for the night, refusing to speak to anyone.

Tensions and excitement were high as the wrestlers and officials congregated for Survivor Series. Hart was anxious over the match finish and had been warned of the prospect of a screwjob by his brother-in-law and Hart Foundation member Davey Boy Smith as well as Vader, who had experienced similar situations while wrestling in Japan. They advised Hart to be alert, not lie on his back for too long, kick out from pinfall counts immediately so as to avoid a fast count, and not allow himself to be placed in submission holds.

The Molson Centre in Montreal was sold out, with more than 20,000 fans in attendance. Rumors of Hart's imminent departure from WWF had leaked and consequently heightened the fan interest in the match. The mixed signals and a war of words between Hart, McMahon, Michaels and WCW further heightened anticipation. Emotions were also running high due to the Hart–Michaels rivalry and the "U.S. vs. Canada" storyline. While both men had been cordial with each other backstage, WWF officials ordered the deployment of a large number of company agents around the ring as a precaution if Hart decided to attack Michaels or McMahon in reaction to the double-cross. Highly unusual for any wrestling match, the deployment was explained on television as a necessary precaution in wake of the intense animosity between Hart's and Michaels's characters.

There was also some legitimate concern that Michaels could be attacked during the planned in-crowd brawl, by fans angered at his actions of demeaning the Canadian flag. Michaels's entrance was greeted by loud booing and upon entering the ring, he proceeded to rub the Canadian flag against his crotch, picked his nose with it and later humped it—Michaels maintains that this flag desecration was actually suggested by Hart as an effective way to draw heat and emotion. The palpable anger of the fans was converted into raucous cheering as Hart entered the ring carrying the Canadian flag and wearing the championship belt. Hart, however, was visibly disturbed when segments of the crowd that were aware of his move to WCW jeered him with chants of "You sold out!" as the match progressed.

Once the match began, Hart and Michaels brought their performance outside the ring and into the crowd, while being followed by McMahon and WWF officials. As the climax of the match approached, the two wrestlers returned to the ring while WWF officials continued to order more personnel to ringside. Hart's suspicions were first aroused upon noticing that Vince McMahon was not at the announcers' table to perform commentary, and that on-screen commissioner Sgt. Slaughter was also standing at ringside with Vince McMahon. Nevertheless, the match continued. As planned, Michaels pushed Hebner in front of him as Hart jumped from the top turnbuckle, sending all three men to the canvas. Michaels and Hart both got up, but Michaels performed a rake on Hart's eye, sending Hart back to the mat. Michaels then proceeded to grab Hart's legs to execute the Sharpshooter maneuver.

At this point, the match director was heard shouting instructions into his headset for Hebner to get up, but Hart did not notice anything amiss. Mike Chioda, the referee who was supposed to run in after Hebner went down, began yelling back that Hebner was not supposed to be up yet. Pat Patterson reacted in a similar way, and Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith, who were waiting for their cues to run in, remained backstage in a state of confusion. Michaels was then seen by many viewers as having glanced at Hebner as he put Hart in the sharpshooter, which some saw as proof that he was in on the scheme. Contrary to their agreed plan, Michaels tightened the hold and refused to offer his own leg to Hart for the latter to break out of the hold. At that moment, Hebner got to his feet, looked toward timekeeper Mark Yeaton, and shouted, "Ring the bell!" McMahon then elbowed Yeaton hard and yelled, "Ring the fucking bell!" Yeaton rang the bell just as Hart reached forward and grabbed Michaels's leg, which broke the hold and caused Michaels to fall. According to Bret Hart, while he was trying to trip Shawn Michaels's knee, he heard Vince McMahon say, "Ring the bell!" and he described he knew he was screwed right after the referee rang the bell.

Michaels's theme music then began playing as the ring announcer declared him the winner and the new WWF Champion. Hebner had already exited the ring and was on his way out of the arena. Jim Ross can be heard on commentary asking, "What happened?" A moment later, he says, "Bret Hart gave up in the Sharpshooter." After an initial moment of shock, Hart got to his feet, approached the apron where McMahon was standing and spat directly in his face, while Michaels feigned confusion. Michaels was ordered by McMahon to "pick up the damn belt and get the hell out of here!" Michaels left the arena with Brisco and Triple H and the broadcast signal cut off almost immediately after Michaels exited, with the last shot being a tight closeup of the Survivor Series logo above the entranceway. McMahon and most other WWF officials also quickly made their way backstage as an angry Hart smashed cameras, monitors, and ringside equipment. Fans in attendance also began to vent their fury on McMahon and WWF officials; a few even heaped garbage on them and some who were close enough pushed Michaels as he hurried backstage. Owen Hart, Neidhart and Davey Boy came out to the ring and had a conversation with Bret calming him down. Hart proceeded to finger trace "W-C-W" and "I love you" to the cheering fans before returning backstage.

Reactions
While much of the live Montreal audience immediately understood what had just happened and responded angrily, television viewers had been left largely confused as Jim Ross promptly wrapped up the event on commentary and Survivor Series went off the air four minutes ahead of schedule with the parting image of Michaels holding the belt aloft as he disappeared backstage. Rumors and expressions of surprise and shock pervaded the Internet almost immediately after the match ended. Some observers considered it a creative and all-time great match finish. Observers of professional wrestling speculated whether the entire episode would result in WCW becoming the dominant promotion in Canada, where a large majority of fans had remained loyal to WWF, especially as the Hart family was working with the company.  Wrestlers backstage during the aftermath were in an uproar.

As seen on Hart's documentary, Hart proceeded to the dressing rooms and questioned Michaels, who pleaded that he knew nothing about what had taken place and was equally outraged. McMahon locked himself in his office with Pat Patterson and other agents. Mark Calaway, known in professional wrestling as The Undertaker, who was watching the match in Vince's office and watched the incident go down, went to Bret's dressing room and expressed to Bret that he could not believe what went down. Furious with McMahon, Calaway went back to Vince's office and banged on the door. McMahon opened and was told by Calaway he had to apologize to Hart. Recounted in Michaels's autobiography, he was told by McMahon not to say anything about the screwjob to anybody, because McMahon needed to have everyone think that it was only him involved. Michaels offered his assurance that he would not carry the title belt out the next day on Raw and would refuse to say anything derogatory about Hart. Hart states in his autobiography that Undertaker and many wrestlers in the back supported him and it would have become mutiny. Hart proceeded to the dressing room to shower and change after discovering that McMahon, Brisco, and Slaughter had locked themselves in McMahon's office. Bret had Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith, and possibly Jim Cornette in the dressing room with him. Vince came into the dressing room with his son Shane McMahon, Brisco, Patterson, and Bruce Prichard. Everybody sits down, with Vince being on one side and Bret being on the other. Calaway, who came back with Vince, took Shawn to the far end of the dressing room and sat next to him, knowing he was eventually going to chime in and that wasn't going to help. Along with this, throughout the aftermath, Calaway didn't let anyone who wasn't effected or involved in the dressing room. Both Vince and Bret started talking back and forth with Vince trying to explain his position and Bret giving his thoughts on what he thought about Vince and what he did. Hart then angrily rebuffed him and warned him to leave immediately or risk being punched.

Vince, however, didn't leave and said "I'm gonna give you one". An altercation ensued, with Hart throwing a right hand and hitting Vince in the temple, dropping him to the floor. Although Shane, and Brisco struggled briefly with Hart and Davey Boy Smith, Hart told them to take McMahon and leave or risk similar consequences. When Bret angrily asked McMahon if he was going to screw him on the pay he was still owed, to which a groggy McMahon replied in the negative. In the hallway outside the dressing rooms, Hart's then-wife Julie angrily confronted Triple H and others about the finish, but was escorted away by Owen Hart. McMahon had a black eye and a sprained ankle, which according to Bret Hart, was a result of his punch lifting Vince off the floor and Vince rolling his ankle once he landed. However, McMahon and Brisco have since stated on WWE Confidential that Brisco accidentally stepped on Vince's foot, which as he tried to get back to his feet, immediately sprained his ankle and sent him back to the floor, from which he suffered a concussion, and referred to Brisco's action as a 'comedy.' Michaels and Triple H were later confronted and assailed by angry fans outside the Molson Centre and in the lobby of their hotel.

While Jim Neidhart, Davey Boy Smith, and Owen Hart had flown out of Montreal with Bret, McMahon faced a major revolt in the WWF locker room. Most wrestlers were outraged at him and threatened to boycott Raw or leave the company altogether. McMahon addressed a meeting in an effort to mollify the wrestlers who had been outraged that a WWF veteran had been double-crossed by McMahon—many feared for their own future and were suspicious of McMahon. McMahon sought to explain that Hart had been disregarding the company's interests. By refusing to drop the title in Montreal, McMahon claimed Hart was jeopardizing the company's future by creating a potentially embarrassing situation that could affect its fortunes. The potential revolt was also quelled by Hart's counsel to wrestlers who asked him about boycotting Raw or leaving the company altogether. Hart advised them to fulfill their contractual obligations and not risk their own future over the episode. In protest, Mick Foley did not attend the next night's Raw show, but returned to work after that due to a phone call from Jim Cornette, as well as his contract stipulations.

Hart later commented in his autobiography that if Foley returned to WCW, he would be committing career suicide. Rick Rude, who was working there briefly as a story line manager for Michaels and was a real life friend of Hart's, called WCW and informed Eric Bischoff of what had transpired, and also returned to WCW two days after the events in Montreal mostly due to his disgust over Hart's treatment. Rude appeared on both WWF Raw is War and WCW Monday Nitro on November 17, 1997. A mustached Rude appeared on Nitro, which was live, and proceeded to criticize Michaels, DX, and the WWF, calling the company the "Titanic" (a reference to Titan Enterprises, as WWF's parent company was then known, as the "sinking ship"). An hour later on Raw (which had been taped six days earlier), Rude then appeared with the full beard he had been sporting during his last few weeks in the WWF. Of the Hart family, only Owen continued to work with the company, being unable to terminate his contract.

At the next night's Raw in Ottawa, Michaels appeared carrying the WWF title belt and performing a segment where he boasted before the audience of how he beat Hart with his own trademark move in his own country. McMahon gave a televised interview to commentator Jim Ross, explaining his version of events and making the now-infamous statement "Vince McMahon didn't screw Bret Hart. I truly believe that Bret Hart... screwed Bret Hart." Michaels continued his mocking of Hart in the coming weeks, performed a skit badgering a little person dressed up as Hart.

As McMahon expected, WCW did address Hart and the aftermath of the screwjob on Nitro from the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis that same night. Mike Tenay and Tony Schiavone strongly criticized McMahon and Michaels for their actions. The show started with Bischoff making reference to Hart's impending arrival in WCW and his punching McMahon in the face, and he then used his on-air persona as the mouthpiece for the New World Order to claim (kayfabe) that Hart was to join the nWo as soon as he could be signed to WCW. Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and the rest of the nWo members stood with Canadian flags and sang the Canadian national anthem.

WCW invoked the Screwjob again at Starrcade 1997, as Hart prevented Hogan from leaving with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. He claimed that the referee Nick Patrick gave a fast count and that he would not allow Sting to be screwed. The result was what critics called an anti-climax as most had expected Sting to win cleanly on skill alone. At Starrcade 1999, the finish of the match between Goldberg and Hart was for guest referee Roddy Piper to "ring the bell" once Hart placed Goldberg in the Sharpshooter despite Goldberg not submitting.

Legacy
The "Montreal Screwjob" remains one of the most high-profile double-crosses in the history of professional wrestling and the first heavily publicized professional wrestling double-cross since Wendi Richter lost the WWF Women's Championship to a masked Fabulous Moolah following a money dispute on November 25, 1985. It is perhaps the most controversial match in the history of the WWF, with the effects of its outcome being felt for over a decade later due to its notoriety and the infamous legacy it left in the company. Hart was ostracized by McMahon and later refused offers of induction to the WWF Hall of Fame. The Hart family expressed outrage with McMahon and WWF for their neglect and the lack of safety precautions that could have prevented Owen Hart's later accident and death. The documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows included footage of McMahon's conversations with Hart in which he affirmed the planned disqualification finish and expressed determination for Hart to exit "the right way" and as amicably as possible—McMahon did not know that the conversation was being recorded. In the recordings, Hart refused to drop the title to Michaels.

The Montreal Screwjob's impact defined later storylines and rivalries. The WWF successfully tapped fan outrage at McMahon over the incident by creating the persona of "Mr. McMahon" — an authoritarian and arrogant heel boss who imposed his own will and authority on rebellious characters such as Stone Cold Steve Austin. Within the storylines, McMahon "screwed" such wrestlers in order to hand the title to the performer of his choice. The "Bret screwed Bret" line inspired promos that McMahon made during his feud with Austin. At Unforgiven: In Your House, McMahon sat at ringside, placed strategically near the timekeeper, during Austin's title defense against Dude Love, which caused Austin to allude to the Montreal Screwjob during a promotional interview. At Survivor Series 1998—the first anniversary of the screwjob—McMahon's son Shane, a match referee, abandoned his on-screen rebellion against his father and allowed his father to screw Austin, by refusing to count Austin's pinfall against Mankind. The McMahons then double-crossed Mankind in his main event WWF Championship match against The Rock later that night. Just as The Rock put the Sharpshooter hold on Mankind, McMahon called for the bell to be rung, even though Mankind did not submit. The Rock was declared the winner by submission and the new WWF Champion, fully re-enacting the Hart double-cross, this time with a switch between the respective face and heel characters.

Since then, professional wrestling storylines, including some storylines written by WWE, continue to refer to the screwjob whenever a title match ends under controversial circumstances.

Resolution
WWF eventually surpassed its arch-rival WCW. With its business steadily declining and a corporate takeover of its parent company (Time Warner) by America Online, WCW was put up for sale and purchased by Vince McMahon in 2001, once again making WWF the single-largest wrestling company in North America. Bret Hart's entry into WCW had been hailed at the time as a major coup for the company, but it subsequently failed to utilize his popular appeal. Hart's active wrestling career ended in 2000 after he suffered a serious concussion during a match with Goldberg. After dropping the WWF title to Austin at WrestleMania XIV in 1998, Michaels was forced into retirement for four years due to a serious back injury. After a long period of rehabilitation, Michaels returned to the ring in 2002 at SummerSlam, and eventually retired in 2010 at WrestleMania XXVI, losing a Streak vs. Career match to The Undertaker in the main event, but came out of retirement for one match eight years later at Crown Jewel in 2018.

After weeks of speculation, WWE.com announced in late August 2005 that Hart and WWE had agreed to collaborate on a DVD project chronicling Hart's wrestling career. In subsequent interviews, Hart attributed his decision to his desire to be remembered for his storied career that spanned two decades. The project, which had been given the working title of Screwed: The Bret Hart Story, was renamed Bret "Hit Man" Hart: The Best There Is, the Best There Was, the Best There Ever Will Be. In the 2005 DVD chronicling his career, both Hart and Bischoff denied that his holding the WWF title was a factor in WCW's desire to sign him. While McMahon claimed that there was mutual regret, Hart defended his actions and asserted that he stood by what he did. Hart was interviewed about the DVD and his career by Todd Grisham on the November 16, 2005, edition of Byte This!, marking Hart's first appearance on WWE programming since the Montreal Screwjob.

Hart's refusal to lose to Michaels in Montreal has been criticized by others such as Ric Flair, who asserted that it was Hart's responsibility to drop the title belt of a company he was leaving (Flair himself was WCW World Heavyweight Champion when he left the company and signed with the WWF in 1991, even appearing on television with the NWA/WCW belt, but also dropped the WWF Championship to Hart on October 12, 1992, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at a house show). Hart, however, maintains that he was prepared to lose the title anywhere and to anyone, except to Michaels in Canada given that, during 1997, his "Hitman" character had been built up as a great Canadian hero. As his contract with WWF did not expire for four more weeks, Hart asserts that there was plenty of time and several other opportunities for him to drop the title. Several accounts claim that McMahon had originally proposed that Hart drop the title at December's In Your House pay-per-view in Springfield, Massachusetts, or at January's Royal Rumble in San Jose, California.

Although Michaels expressed happiness at Hart's 2006 induction into the Hall of Fame, the Hart–Michaels relationship remained laced with antagonism. Michaels criticized Hart's behavior and conduct during his days in WWF in his 2005 autobiography, comparing the Screwjob to a "mafia hit," and Hart has stated in his 2007 autobiography that he would "never forgive" Michaels. In interviews prior to the induction ceremony, Hart asserted that he would walk out from the ceremony if he saw Michaels anywhere on the WrestleMania 22 weekend. Michaels decided to step out of view to avoid a possible scene. Hart did not appear at the WrestleMania show in a mini-ceremony with the other inductees, explaining in an interview that he had never intended to attend or appear at the show. Hart would later return to WWE television on the June 11, 2007, edition of Raw, where he appeared in a taped promo spot mocking Mr. McMahon's "appreciation night." While he was able to reconcile to a degree with McMahon, Hart had never reconciled with Michaels. In a November 17, 2008, radio interview, Hart mocked Michaels's version of the incident, saying, "Shawn's this Christian today; and in his book, he wrote that Vince took a dive and that I never even hit him and I thought, 'This guy is such a liar'. I wonder what kind of Christian he is." Asked if he had seen or spoken to Michaels since 1997, Hart said, "No. And I hope I never do... for his sake."

However, in 2009 Bret Hart stated in an interview with Sky Sports that he will forgive Michaels, if Shawn apologizes first, saying "For me I don't really have much issue with it anymore. If you asked me that up until probably about a year ago I'd have probably said something different. But I've cooled off a bit now. I don't want to carry it around anymore. If he wanted to apologize I would accept it. I'd move on but I wouldn't forget it." He also put over the Michaels-Undertaker match at WrestleMania 25, saying he was proud of both men's efforts and that despite his personal feelings towards Michaels, he always had the utmost respect for his abilities. Similarly, Michaels has commended Hart's abilities, calling him a "sheer joy" to work with in the ring.

Bret Hart's WWE return

On the December 14, 2009, episode of Raw, Vince McMahon came out to announce the nominees for Guest Host of the Year during the Slammy Awards. After announcing Bob Barker as the recipient of the award, McMahon asked guest host Dennis Miller who he would like to see as a Raw guest host. Miller said he would like to see his long-time favorite, Bret Hart. McMahon dismissed Miller's suggestion, reminding him that the last time Hart was in the WWE was when "Bret screwed Bret," and that he likely would have no interest in hosting the show. Miller then asked the audience if they would like to see Hart as a guest host, to applause, but McMahon simply walked away. On December 16, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Hart had signed a four-month contract with WWE, and would debut as the guest host of Raw on January 4, 2010. On December 28, WWE.com confirmed that McMahon would be at Raw that night to address the rumors about Hart hosting the show. That night, McMahon confirmed that Hart will indeed be guest host on the January 4 episode of Raw. A WWE.com article published shortly after the December 28 edition of Raw alluded to an "almost guaranteed encounter between the WWE Chairman and the Hit Man."

Bret returned on the January 4, 2010, episode of Raw, and promptly called out Michaels in order to bury the hatchet. Hart and Michaels then aired their grievances with one another while recognizing that their Ironman match at WrestleMania XII ought to be the highlight of their relationship rather than the Montreal Screwjob. The pair shook hands and Michaels turned as if to deliver Sweet Chin Music, but instead chose to embrace Hart. While many cast doubts on the sincerity of their reconciliation, Hart has confirmed that it was indeed genuine, as did Michaels, and acknowledged that he felt that Michaels changed as a person, for the better. Later in the night, a storyline between Hart and McMahon began with the two appearing to have their own reconciliation only to have McMahon subsequently kick Hart in the gut: in real life, Hart and McMahon have been on slight speaking terms since 2002, when McMahon called Hart during his recovery from a stroke. The feud culminated in an encounter at WrestleMania XXVI, which saw Hart defeat McMahon in a match that involved the Hart family. After the match, Hart would continue to periodically work televised events for WWE. Hart briefly held the WWE United States Championship in May 2010, a title he had held four times previously, all during his tenure in WCW. It was Hart's first championship reign in WWE since the Montreal Screwjob.

Hart appeared on the September 10, 2012, episode of Raw at the Bell Centre in Montreal, marking his return for the first time to the same building where the Screwjob occurred, where he took part in an interview segment featuring John Cena and WWE Champion CM Punk. However, the episode was overshadowed by Jerry Lawler's real on-air heart attack earlier in the evening, from which he eventually made a full recovery. He also briefly appeared during the 2013 Royal Rumble, giving a pep talk to Alberto Del Rio before his Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship with Big Show. On the May 27, 2013, episode of Raw, it was named 'Bret Hart Appreciation Night'. Bret was pictured in the evening speaking to the likes of Kane, Daniel Bryan and Cena among others. At the end of the show, Michaels and Lawler handed him a plaque commemorating his career. The following week, Bret took part in 'WWE Inbox', a webshow held by WWE on its YouTube channel where Bret answered fans' Twitter questions.

Discrepancies

Different accounts of proclaimed proponents of the event
In his 2005 autobiography Heartbreak and Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story, Michaels stated that it was his idea: "It was my turn to chime in. 'I'll do whatever you want. We'll just take it off him. I'll just swerve him or whatever I have to. You tell me what needs to get done. You and this company have put up with so much from me. My loyalty is here with you. I'll do whatever you want.' 'What are we talking about, Shawn?' 'Whatever it takes. If we have to do a fast count or get him in a hold and tell someone to ring the bell, I'll do whatever you want me to do.'" The sharpshooter spot had been suggested by Hart. "We were talking things through, and Bret came up with this spot where I get him in the Sharpshooter and then he reverses it by pulling on my leg". Indirectly corroborating this assertion is Hart's own testimony in his autobiography Hitman, that "Pat Patterson told me that he thought it would be a heckuva spot to let Shawn put me in the Sharpshooter and then reverse it on him," which would indicate that Patterson had initially proposed the "Sharpshooter" spot to Bret. However, in the same work, Hart also states, "I found myself jostling with Jerry Brisco, who I would find out later was the one who had designed the whole Screwjob for Vince."

Adding to this confusion, Vince Russo states in his book Forgiven that it was he who proposed the match's ending to McMahon: "'Vince – we're making this way too difficult,' I said. 'Why don't we just do this? During the course of the match, let's have a spot where Shawn puts Bret in his own hold - the Sharpshooter. As soon as Shawn clamps it on, have the referee call for the bell as if Bret quit...'". In a 2010 YouShoot interview, Jim Cornette told how he suggested to have Ken Shamrock "double-cross" Hart for the title – as Hart was reportedly willing to drop the belt to anyone except Michaels – therefore unwittingly introducing the concept of a screwjob to McMahon. During a meeting prior to the show, Triple H was the first person to suggest screwing Hart in the match, however in Viceland's Dark Side of the Ring episode on the Montreal Screwjob, Cornette revealed that he was the first person to specifically suggest the Sharpshooter spot to Vince McMahon.

Involvement of referee Earl Hebner
In his book Heartbreak & Triumph, Michaels states "It was about seven o'clock when I walked into the locker room. There were only a few people in there and none were close to Earl. He was putting on his referee gear and I started to put my boots on. 'Earl, I need you to listen to me very carefully.' I was speaking very softly. 'We are doing a big swerve tonight. I am going to get Bret in the Sharpshooter and I need you to ring the bell.'" However, Hebner states that Brisco was the person to tell him of the plan. And in an interview on Bruce Prichard's Something to Wrestle podcast, Brisco confirms he told Hebner of the secret plan and pressured him into betraying Hart. Hebner was warned by Brisco that he was being microphoned, and at any point should Hebner alert Hart of the double-cross, he would be fired immediately.

Pat Patterson's involvement
Michaels states in Heartbreak & Triumph that during planning he was told "'This cannot be discussed with anyone. Pat can't know, nobody can know about this but the three of us right now'", "We had the meeting, and as everyone was leaving, Vince asked me, Hunter, and Jerry Brisco, a longtime agent and close confidant of Vince's, to stay. We sat down and talked", and "Pat was in the room with us, and he had no idea what was going to happen. He had a strong relationship with Bret. He wouldn't have done it, and Vince knew that. That's why he didn't tell Pat...". However, in Dave Meltzer's online account of events before, during, and after the Screwjob, he states "Vince McMahon held a meeting at the hotel with Jim Ross, Jim Cornette, Pat Patterson and Michaels. Reports are that at least two of the aforementioned names looked extremely uncomfortable leaving the meeting" which suggests that Patterson may, in fact, have been in on the Screwjob. This is corroborated by a Pro Wrestling Torch article from November 15, 1997, by Wade Keller which states, "However, a two-hour meeting was held on the second floor of the Montreal Marriott on Saturday night with McMahon, Jim Ross, Pat Patterson, Jim Cornette, and Michaels. Bret was wrestling that night in Detroit. There is some belief that at this meeting McMahon proposed the idea of the finish to whoever of that group wasn't already in on it. Ross and Patterson entered the meeting in a good mood and when they were seen in the hotel lobby afterwards, were said to be irritable, forlorn, and shaken."

In addition, Hart states in Hitman, that while conversing with Michaels: "I added, 'I also want you to know that I have no problem dropping the belt to you if that's what Vince wants.' He glared back at me. 'I appreciate that, but I want you to know that I'm not willing to do the same for you.' And then he left. Jim [Neidhart] snorted, 'I can't believe that he just said that.' There was no way I could ever drop the belt to him now: he'd just shown complete disrespect not only to me, but to the position of champion..." This exchange is confirmed in Dave Meltzer's account: "During the meeting, Hart told Michaels that he'd be happy to put him over at the end of the run, but Michaels told Hart flat-out that he wouldn't return the favor. Michaels and Hart spoke again on the subject on 10/12 in San Jose, when once again Michaels told Hart that he wasn't going to do a job for him." Additionally, in Forgiven Vince Russo stated, "Well - no surprise here - Bret refused to do the job (get pinned) for Shawn in Canada. Not because he was being unprofessional - but because according to Bret, Michaels had said that he wouldn't do business with him (the right thing for the company in the ring), due to the way he felt about him."

Legitimacy
A fringe belief, espoused by several within the business, believes the Montreal Screwjob was a work, in which Hart acted in collaboration with McMahon. Longtime pro wrestling journalist Bill Apter, along with industry veterans Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Bam Bam Bigelow, Road Dogg, George Steele, Chris Kanyon, Steve Corino, Tony Mamaluke, Justin Credible, Paul Bearer, and Sunny, have gone on record saying they believe this to have been the case (Sunny reported that her former boyfriend, Chris Candido, also subscribed to this notion). Shawn Michaels recalled people backstage saying that the screwjob "had to be a work", and claimed that McMahon "took a dive" and "sold like he sells on TV" when struck by Hart following the incident. Earl Hebner, who refereed the contest, was asked in 2019 if he thought Hart was "in on the work", to which he replied, "I really do... I'm not going to lie about it anymore."

Jerry Lawler, who served as ringside commentator for the match, found it plausible that Hart was working with McMahon. This position was shared by Hart's nephew Teddy Hart, as well as by his former colleagues Demolition (Ax and Smash), Road Warrior Animal, Steve Blackman, Gregory Helms and Sean Waltman. Waltman, who claimed to know Hart well, was bewildered as to how Hart could not have seen the screwjob coming from "a million miles away", and felt there was a "high possibility" of the incident being a work. Waltman added that Hart would not have told anyone, including his wife, about his involvement, and deduced: "I think [the screwjob] was so compartmentalized that the guys that were in on it don't even know who else was." The Pro Wrestling Torch reported that, outside of the business, "many wrestling fans" believe the screwjob to have been a work.

In an interview in 2022, Bret Hart maintained that he was screwed.

See also

Professional wrestling in Canada
"The Montreal Screwjob" (Dark Side of the Ring)

References

External links
WWE.com article, The Hit Man: Ten years later
Timeline of the Montreal Screwjob

1997 in professional wrestling
1997 in Quebec
Bret Hart
History of WWE
Professional wrestling controversies
Professional wrestling in Montreal
Professional wrestling matches
Survivor Series
Television controversies in Canada
WWE in Canada

Montreal Screwjob


The Nant Llech is a minor river in Powys, Wales and which lies wholly within the Brecon Beacons National Park.  The name means 'slab stream', presumably in reference to the sandstones across which it runs. Its headwater streams, the Nant Llech Pellaf and the Nant Llech Isaf join forces at Blaen Llech and then continue westwards as the Nant Llech for 3 km / 2 mi to a confluence with the River Tawe just east of the village of Abercraf.

Waterfall
The most famous feature of the river is Henrhyd Falls (Sgwd Henrhyd or Rhaeadr Henrhyd in Welsh), a 27m/90 ft high fall where the river plunges over the edge of a band of hard sandstone known as the 'Farewell Rock' into a deep plunge pool. The river continues below in a steep wooded gorge cut into mudstones and sandstones of the Carboniferous age Coal Measures. The falls are owned and managed by the National Trust which provides a free car park off the minor road between Coelbren and Pen-y-cae for visitors wanting to explore the area.

A public footpath runs the length of the valley though part runs across a landslip area which has been active in recent years.  The river gorge is a site of special scientific interest. Sir William Edmond Logan, first director of the Geological Survey of Canada discovered some fossil trees near the base of the falls. These are now on display outside Swansea Museum.

References

Llech
Rivers of the Brecon Beacons National Park
Rivers of Powys

Nant Llech


Westfield Albany is a shopping centre in the Auckland suburb of Albany, New Zealand, opposite the Albany Lakes Civic Park. It is majority owned (51%) by Scentre Group with the remainder owned by the Singapore Government's GIC. Until 2014 it was wholly owned by Scentre Group, which was formerly part of Westfield Group.

Once the last sections opened in April 2008, at 7 ha (70,000 m2) of indoor space (4.9 ha retail [49,000 m2] and 2.1 ha [21,000 m2] offices), and costing around NZ$210 million to construct.

Westfield Albany provides over 2,000 carparks for around 150 specialty stores, as well as a large-format 2 floor 10,000 m2 Farmers, a Kmart and a New World. It also contains an Event Cinemas multiplex cinema and a 560-seat food court which includes major fastfood franchises.

History and development
The centre was Westfield's first totally new mall since entering the New Zealand market in the mid-90s. When first mooted in 2003, it was conceived as a much smaller centre, with 20,000 m2 planned initially, and with an expansion of 15,000 m2 proposed for a decade later if population increase in the vicinity justified it. By 2007 when the mall opened, planning of an extension was already under way.

At that time, some experts saw demand for about twice the size of the centre in retail and associated office space in the wider Albany area. However, Westfield itself had in the past put in submissions against a District Plan change in the area, contending that it allowed for "excessive retail provision in the Albany area" (in a northern 'mainstreet' area separate from the core where Westfield and a number of other retailers have their sites). The challenge was rejected by the Environment Court.

The concept of the Albany mall was considered a (somewhat reluctant) new approach by Westfield, which had previously been accused of disregarding the outside effects of its malls, and of maximising commercial opportunities at the cost of the surrounding communities. Spurred by criticism and council plans to develop a 'town centre' instead of simply providing retail areas, Westfield changed its standard greenfields-type plans for the new site, and developed a more open centre with 'main street' elements and some public areas. The change was considered a significant step away from the inward-looking shopping centres built in New Zealand in the 1990s, and North Shore City Council hoped that the centre would integrate with future growth in Albany rather than be a shopping destination alone.

Opening
Westfield Albany Stage One opened on 30 August 2007, with 65 shops trading. The rest of the shops opened on 1 November 2007 after a main opening ceremony attended by Prime Minister Helen Clark and Westfield Group Managing Director Steven Lowy, while the 10-screen cinemas' opening was delayed to April 2008.

In July 2008, the cinemas of the centre were closed preventively by Skycity cinemas due to weathertightness reasons. Problems with the roof had already caused a single cinema to be shut a month earlier. The cinemas were reopened about a week later.

In May 2011, the mall was closed for inspection after sustaining damage when a tornado caused widespread damage and one fatality on Auckland's North Shore.

Annual sales for the full year 2018 were $422.8 million.

Awards
In 2008, the centre received the highest award of the New Zealand Property Council, with the judges calling the centre being one of "a new generation of its type" and having a good mix of leisure and entertainment with an emphasis on public spaces, which had been "designed to provide a focal point for the whole Albany community and beyond".

References

External links

Shopping centres in the Auckland Region
Shopping malls established in 2007
North Shore, New Zealand
Albany
2007 establishments in New Zealand

Westfield Albany


"Candidatus Accumulibacter" is an unclassified group of Betaproteobacteria that currently contains only a single member, "Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis".  "Ca. A. phosphatis" is a common bacterial community member of wastewater treatment plants performing enhanced biological phosphorus removal and is a polyphosphate-accumulating organism.  There are currently no cultured representatives, however due to the importance of "Ca. A. phosphatis" in the biotechnology industry there has been much research into the physiology of these bacteria.

References

Betaproteobacteria
Candidatus taxa

Candidatus Accumulibacter


A photo flash capacitor is a capacitor used in the flashes of cameras.

A camera flash works by applying short bursts of high voltage to a type of gas in a glass tube. The electrical energy required is small, but it has to be given very fast because since the flash doesn't last long. An ordinary battery cannot give such a high voltage or give it so fast, so a photo flash capacitor is used. An electronic circuit increases the battery voltage, and charges a capacitor. When the button is pressed, the capacitor releases the stored energy in about a thousandth of a second and makes a bright flash.

Photography
Electricity

Photoflash capacitor


Brigadier General William Grant,  (30 September 1870 – 25 May 1939) was an Australian Army colonel and temporary brigadier general in the First World War.

Early life and career
William Grant was born on 30 September 1870 in Stawell, Victoria, the son of a miner. He was educated at Brighton Grammar School and Ormond College at the University of Melbourne, graduating with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE) in 1893. He worked in railway construction in New South Wales but after his father's death in 1894 he became a pastoralist, purchasing Bowenville Station on the Darling Downs in Queensland in 1896.

Grant was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Queensland Mounted Infantry on 1 January 1901. He advanced rapidly and became commander of the 14th Light Horse in 1910, and was promoted from major to lieutenant colonel on 18 December 1911. He was still in command when the First World War broke out.

First World War
Grant joined the Australian Imperial Force on 16 March 1915, taking command of the 11th Light Horse Regiment. Part of the 4th Light Horse Brigade, it was sent to Egypt dismounted and there broken up on 26 August 1915. The 11th Light Horse Regiment was sent to Gallipoli, and there itself broken up, with a squadron being attached to each of the 2nd, 5th and 9th Light Horse Regiments. When the commander of the 9th Light Horse, Lieutenant Colonel Reynell was killed in the fighting for Hill 60 on 29 August 1915, Grant took over command of his regiment. He remained with the 9th Light Horse until he was sent for duty at the rest camp on 2 December 1915.

When the 11th Light Horse was reformed in Egypt on 22 February 1916, Grant was given command again. At Romani, the 11th Light Horse formed part of a mobile column of light horse and took part in the defence of the Suez Canal.

At Maghara in October, the 11th Light Horse led a column on a night march across the desert, navigating by the stars. On the second night of the march, dense fog closed in and hid the stars, but somehow Grant, who apparently had a phenomenal sense of position and direction, managed to lead the column through the desert to emerge at daybreak directly in front of the Turkish position.

For his part in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, Grant was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).

On 14 February 1917, Grant led the 11th Light Horse out from Serapeum on a mission to sweep the remaining Turkish troops from the Sinai Peninsula. Grant learned from a British pilot that the Turks were evacuating, Nekhl, a significant town in the central Sinai, situated roughly in the centre of the Sinai, atop the desert ranges. His men entered Nekhl riding with fixed bayonets on 17 February. The light horse had travelled some 150 miles in seven days across steep and rocky mountain tracks. Only a few Turks and Arabs were captured, but the action marked the end of the campaign in the Sinai.

In February 1917, the 4th Light Horse Brigade reformed and the 11th Light Horse Regiment rejoined it. On 13 August 1917, Grant became commander of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade and was promoted to temporary brigadier general. Then on 13 September 1917, he took over command of the 4th Light Horse Brigade, becoming a colonel and temporary brigadier general.

The Desert Mounted Corps began its most famous campaign on the night of 30 October. The tactics were similar to those at Rafa and Magdhaba, with the mounted troops making a surprise night march, enveloping the left and rear of the enemy's position at Beersheba and attacking it from the east while the infantry attacked frontally from the south. The ANZAC Mounted Division was held up at Tel el Saba, the hill overlooking Beersheba, where the defenders held on until captured by the New Zealanders late in the day.

Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel ordered Grant to attempt a mounted attack on Beersheba, his goal being to take the town wells before they could be destroyed. The light horse did not carry swords but had sharpened their bayonet points some days before in anticipation of such a tactic. The 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments formed up with their squadrons in three lines, each about 300 to 500 metres apart. Wielding their bayonets like swords, they moved forward at a trot while the 13-pounders of the British Notts Battery suppressed Turkish machine guns. Grant initially rode in the lead, but dropped back to the reserve line once the column was headed in the correct direction so as to control their subsequent movements. Three Turkish batteries opposed the light horsemen but they moved forward so swiftly that the Turks could not range on them. The light horsemen swarmed over the Turkish positions and swept into the town, capturing all but two of the seventeen wells before they could be destroyed. For his part, Grant was personally decorated with a Bar to his DSO by the commander-in-chief, General Sir Edmund Allenby, the next day.

Grant served as acting commander of the Australian Mounted Division from 15 December 1917 to 2 January 1918.

During the raid on Es Salt in May 1918, Grant's 4th Light Horse Brigade was given the task of guarding the flank. When the plan failed, it was on his brigade that the main Turkish blow fell. The light horsemen fought hard but the Turks subjected them to fierce artillery and machine gun fire, and were able to drive them from their positions. Grant managed to avoid being overrun, and was able to withdraw by night without issue. Nine of the twelve British guns supporting the brigade were lost. Grant was blamed for the loss of the guns and for faulty defensive positions.

In his final campaign, Grant was ordered to capture the town of Semakh, on the southern shores of Lake Tiberias. With only half his brigade available, Grant surprised the defenders with a quick night approach and a moonlight assault with drawn swords. Grant used his machine guns to reduce the enemy's fire. The garrison, half of whom were Germans, fought hard and the light horsemen had to fight from building to building, but the town was eventually captured.

Grant commanded the Australian Mounted Division from 8 November 1918 to 24 December 1918. For his services, he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1919 New Year Honours.

Post war
Grant embarked for Australia on 29 April 1919, where he commanded the 1st Cavalry Brigade from 1920 to 1925. He retired from the Army in 1928.

After the war Grant returned to his property at Bowenville but he sold it in 1931 and moved to Brisbane. Then in 1934 he purchased another property near Dirranbandi in southern Queensland.

William Grant died suddenly from a heart attack on 25 May 1939 and was cremated with full military honours in Brisbane.

See also
 List of Australian generals

References

External links
 Light Horse History

1870 births
1939 deaths
Military personnel from Victoria (state)
19th-century Australian engineers
Australian civil engineers
20th-century Australian farmers
Australian generals
Australian military personnel of World War I
Australian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
People educated at Brighton Grammar School
People from Stawell, Victoria
University of Melbourne alumni

William Grant (general)


Willie Aames (born Albert William Upton 15 July 1960 in Los Angeles, California) is an actor famous for the roles of Buddy Lembeck on Charles in Charge, Tommy Bradford on Eight is Enough and the voice of Hank on Dungeons & Dragons, the cartoon. He also hosted a game show The Krypton Factor from 1990-91.

References

Other websites

1960 births
Living people
American television actors
American voice actors
Actors from Los Angeles County, California
American child actors
American game show hosts
American movie actors
American movie producers
American television directors
American television producers
Movie directors from California
Participants in American reality television series
Screenwriters from California

Willie Aames


Yeşilköy Feneri is a historical lighthouse still in use located on the northern coast of Sea of Marmara at Yeşilyurt neighborhood (once part of Yeşilköy) in Istanbul's Bakırköy district, Turkey.

History
Built in 1856, it was initially called Ayostefanos Feneri (Hagios Stefanos Lighthouse) after the suburb's former name.

The lighthouse was commissioned by the Ottoman sultan Abdülmecid I (reigned 1839–1861) in order to provide safe navigation  around the shallow waters before the Yeşilköy Point for ships plying the northwestern coast of the Sea of Marmara towards Istanbul. It is situated roughly  to the southwest of the southern entrance to the Bosporus.

It was built by French engineers in 1856 in the form of a masonry octagonal prism with two stages. Since the ground at the location is not elevated enough from the sea level, the  tower was constructed on a platform, enabling a focal height of . The structure is painted entirely white. A two-story outbuilding is annexed, that was used as the keeper's living quarters and for administrative purposes. A gallery encircles the tower's lantern room. Atop the tower's cupola, a flag post is erected.

Yeşilköy Lighthouse went in service on January 5, 1857. Initially, it was lit by kerosene, but was later replaced by a Dalén light using carbide (acetylene gas). Nowadays, the light runs on electricity. The lighthouse's lantern has a 500mm catadioptric cylindrical lens and a 500 W light source that flashes every 10 seconds in group. Its white light is visible at a range of . In foggy conditions, a foghorn sounds every 30 seconds to warn of the hazardous area.

The lighthouse is listed in Turkey under the code "TUR 055" and its radio call sign is TC1YLH.
It is maintained by the Coastal Safety Authority () of the Ministry of Transport and Communication. The lighthouse underwent restoration in the years 1945, 1971 and 1988.

The outbuilding of the lighthouse was converted into a fish and seafood restaurant, which can host 100 guests in the main hall and 40 people in the conservatory. Furthermore, 150 customers can dine on an open-air terrace in the summer months.

See also

 List of lighthouses in Turkey
 Anadolu Feneri
 Rumeli Feneri
 Maiden's Tower

References

External links
 Directorate General of Coastal Safety

Lighthouses completed in 1856
Restaurants in Istanbul
Redevelopment projects in Istanbul
Sea of Marmara
Lighthouses in Istanbul
Bakırköy

Yeşilköy Feneri