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Al Murray
Alastair James Hay Murray (born 10 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor, musician and writer from Hammersmith. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, and in 2007 he was voted the 16th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's ''100 Greatest Stand-Ups.'' Murray was born in Buckinghamshire, where his father worked for British Rail. His paternal grandfather was the diplomat Ralph Murray, while his maternal grandfather was killed at the Battle of Dunkirk. After graduating from Oxford University, his comedy career began by working with Harry Hill for BBC Radio 4. He regularly performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, before launching his "Pub Landlord" persona (which he describes as a "know-all know-nothing blowhard who knows the answer to every question even though he hasn't been asked any of them"). This led to the Sky One sitcom ''Time Gentlemen Please'' and the chat show ''Al Murray's Happy Hour'' for ITV. He continues ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stewkley
Stewkley is a village and civil parish in the Buckinghamshire district of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. The village is about east of Winslow and about west of Leighton Buzzard. The civil parish includes the hamlets of North End and Stewkley Dean. The toponym Stewkley is derived from the Old English for ''woodland clearing with tree stumps.'' The Domesday Book of 1086 records it as ''Stiuclai''. History The principal manor in Stewkley was once held by the son of Geoffrey Chaucer, who was an occasional visitor to the village. The Church of England parish church of St Michael and All Angels is one of the least-altered of England's 6,000 Norman churches. There is a Methodist chapel in High Street South. St Michael's Church of England Combined School teaches children aged 4–11. Stewkley has one of, if not, the longest village high streets in Britain at 2 miles long, a title also claimed by Combe Martin in Devon, whose 1.5 mile (previously thought to be 2 m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Edmund Hall, Oxford
St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the last surviving medieval academic hall at the university. The college is on Queen's Lane and the High Street, in central Oxford. After more than seven centuries as a men-only college, it became coeducational in 1979. As of 2019, the college had a financial endowment of more than £65 million. Alumni of St Edmund Hall include diplomats Robert Macaire and Mark Sedwill, and politicians Richard Onslow, 1st Baron Onslow, Keir Starmer and Mel Stride. The elected Honorary Fellows: Faith Wainright, MBE FREng (1980, Engineering) and the Hon Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth(1984, BCL). History Similar to the University of Oxford itself, the precise date of establishment of St Edmund Hall is not certain; it is usually estimated at 12 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers
131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers is an Army Reserve unit and part of 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers. It provides engineering support to 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines (3 Cdo Bde RM) and is the largest Army Reserve Commando unit. The squadron has deployed worldwide to provide combat engineer support to 3 Cdo Bde RM, often deploying in small sub-units. 131 was first raised in 1947 as an airborne engineer regiment, and reached a strength of over 1,000 trained parachute engineers by the early 1960s. Between 1 April 1978 and 1 October 2015, the unit was an independent Commando squadron under operational command of HQ 3 Cdo Bde RM. On 2 October 2015, it formally became the third squadron of 24 Commando Engineer Regiment. History 1940s: Airborne Forces Role With the reformation of the Territorial Army (TA) in 1947, the unit was raised as 131 Airborne Engineer Regiment in support of 16th Airborne Division. The division, taking its number from the wartime 1st and 6th Airbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence. Sometimes, the term 'half-colonel' is used in casual conversation in the British Army. In the United States Air Force, the term 'light bird' or 'light bird colonel' (as opposed to a 'full bird colonel') is an acceptable casual reference to the rank but is never used directly towards the rank holder. A lieutenant colonel is typically in charge of a battalion or regiment in the army. The following articles deal with the rank of lieutenant colonel: * Lieutenant-colonel (Canada) * Lieutenant colonel (Eastern Europe) * Lieutenant colonel (Turkey) * Lieutenant colonel (Sri Lanka) * Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom) * L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ITV (TV Channel)
ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for the central and northern areas of Scotland where STV (TV channel), STV provides the service. ITV1 as a consistent national channel (with dedicated slots for regional news and other regional programmes) evolved out of the old ITV (TV network), ITV network – a federation of separately owned regional companies which had significantly different local schedules and branding. During the 1990s, the differences between the schedules in each region gradually reduced – partly through the consolidation of ownership and partly through the standardisation in the volume and scheduling of regional programmes. In 2002, a major change of appearance occurred when all ITV regions in Engl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sky One
Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, it became Sky One and broadcast exclusively in the United Kingdom and Ireland as British Sky Broadcasting's flagship channel, being the most watched television service in history. It existed until 1 September 2021, when it closed down as part of a restructuring with its EPG position taken by Sky Showcase and much of its content library moved to Sky Max. Sky One included some very popular broadcasts both the original programmes such as '' An Idiot Abroad'', '' Brainiac: Science Abuse'', ''The Russell Howard Hour'', ''Battlestar Galactica'', and many imported from North America – including: '' 24'' (seasons 3–9, and its spinoff '' Live Another Day''), '' X-files'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 different shows in 322 venues. Established in 1947 as an alternative to (and on the fringe of) the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Edinburgh every August. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has become a world-leading celebration of arts and culture, surpassed only by the Olympics and the World Cup in terms of global ticketed events. As an event it "has done more to place Edinburgh in the forefront of world cities than anything else" according to historian and former chairman of the board, Michael Dale. It is an open access (or "unjuried") performing arts festival, meaning there is no selection committee, and anyone may participate, with any type of performance. The official Fringe Programme categorises shows into sections for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Hill
Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an off-beat, energetic performance style that fused elements of surrealism, observational comedy, slapstick, satire and music. When performing, he usually wears browline glasses and a dress shirt with a distinctive oversized collar and cuffs. He won the Perrier Award for Best Newcomer at the 1992 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and began his career in radio and television comedy with the radio series ''Harry Hill's Fruit Corner'' (1993–1997). He has hosted his own television comedy show ''Harry Hill's TV Burp'' (2001–2012), and has narrated ''You've Been Framed!'' since 2004. His other projects include ''The Harry Hill Movie'', released in 2013. Early life, education and medical career Hill was born as Matthew Keith Hall in Woking, Surrey, on 1 October 1964 and grew up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world; it has buildings in every style of English architecture since late Anglo-Saxon. Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, information technology and science. History The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in the Saxon period. Originally of strategic significance due to its controlling location on the upper reaches of the River Thames at its junction with the River Cherwell, the town grew in national importance during the early Norman period, and in the late 12th century became home to the fledgling University of Oxford. The city was besieged during The Anarchy in 1142. The university rose to domina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and other Allied forces to Britain from 26 May to 4 June 1940. After the Phoney War, the Battle of France began in earnest on 10 May 1940. To the east, the German Army Group B invaded the Netherlands and advanced westward. In response, the Supreme Allied Commander, French General Maurice Gamelin, initiated "Plan D" and British and French troops entered Belgium to engage the Germans in the Netherlands. French planning for war relied on the Maginot Line fortifications along the German–French border protecting the region of Lorraine but the line did not cover the Belgian border. German forces had already crossed most of the Netherlands before the French f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Murray
Sir Francis Ralph Hay Murray (3 March 1908 – 11 September 1983) was a British journalist, radio broadcaster and diplomat. He was also once the head of the Information Research Department (IRD), a secret branch of the UK Foreign Office dedicated to pro-colonial and anti-communist propaganda during the Cold War. Background and education A great-great-great grandson of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl, he was the son of the Revd Charles Murray, Rector of Kirby Knowle, Yorkshire, by his wife Mabel (née Umfreville). His great-grandfather was the Rt Revd Dr George Murray, Bishop of Rochester (who married Lady Sarah Hay-Drummond), while the actor Stephen Murray was his younger brother and both were proud members of Clan Murray. He was educated at Brentwood School and St Edmund Hall, Oxford. His father died in 1919 from the Spanish flu pandemic. Career Murray was a talented linguist, he spoke many languages fluently including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Hungarian a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies, and was privatised in stages between 1994 and 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board. The period of nationalisation saw sweeping changes in the railway. A process of dieselisation and electrification took place, and by 1968 steam locomotives had been entirely replaced by diesel and electric traction, except for the Vale of Rheidol Railway (a narrow-gauge tourist line). Passengers replaced freight as the main source of business, and one-third of the network was closed by the Beeching cuts of the 1960s in an effort to reduce rail subsidies. On privatis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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