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David Mitton
David Nelson Godfrey Mitton (27 February 1939 – 16 May 2008) was a British director, producer, writer, model maker and special effects technician. He was best known for producing and directing the children's television programmes ''Thomas & Friends'' and '' TUGS''. During the 1960s, he worked with Gerry and Sylvia Anderson as a special effects technician on series such as '' Thunderbirds'', ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', ''Joe 90'', ''The Secret Service'' and ''UFO''. Early life Mitton was born on 27 February 1939 in Preston, Prestonpans, East Lothian and educated at The Strathallan School in Perthshire. On leaving school, he briefly attended art school before joining the Royal Air Force. He served with the RAF at Christmas Island, and at Honolulu before returning to serve at Southern Region Air Traffic Control, RAF Uxbridge, later he served at RAF Riyan up-country from Aden in what is now Yemen. He also served in Cyprus with the air-sea rescue service, and then le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Preston, Prestonpans
Preston was a village on the East Lothian coast of Scotland, and is now a small part of the centre of Prestonpans. It is to the east of Prestongrange, and the southwest of Cockenzie and Port Seton. The name Preston means "priest town", and the monks of Holyrood Abbey and Newbattle Abbey owned land there. The village was noted for St Jerome's Fair, held on the second Thursday of October. The chapmen of the area had formed themselves into a guild and elected their office bearers at the fair. Two of Preston's most important structures were Preston Tower and Preston mercat cross. The mercat cross which dates from 1617, is unique both in its integrity and in that it is the only such structure in Scotland still in its original location and form. It has eight compartments, two doorways, six alcoves with semi-circular mouldings of scallop shells. The latter are said to be an allusion to the pilgrim traffic between North Berwick and St Andrews. Preston Tower belonged to the Hamilton f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perthshire
Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south; it borders the counties of Inverness-shire and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus to the east, Fife, Kinross-shire, Clackmannanshire, Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire to the south and Argyllshire to the west. It was a local government county from 1890 to 1930. Perthshire is known as the "big county", or "the Shire", due to its roundness and status as the fourth largest historic county in Scotland. It has a wide variety of landscapes, from the rich agricultural straths in the east, to the high mountains of the southern Highlands. Administrative history Perthshire was an administrative county between 1890 and 1975, governed by a county council. Initially, Perthshire Count ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Britt Allcroft
Britt Allcroft (born Hilary Mary Allcroft, 14 December 1943) is a British writer, producer, director and voice actress. She is the creator of the children's television series ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' (later re-titled ''Thomas & Friends''), ''Shining Time Station'' (with Rick Siggelkow), ''Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales'' and ''Magic Adventures of Mumfie''. She also wrote, co-produced and directed the film ''Thomas and the Magic Railroad'' (2000). Early life She was born Hilary Mary Allcroft on 14 December 1943 in Worthing, West Sussex, England. At the age of 16, she changed her first name to Britt as her career in British radio and television gained momentum. She went on to create a succession of programmes for the BBC and ITV during the 1970s and 1980s, including ''Moon Clue Game'', ''Dance Crazy'' and ''Keepsakes''. ''Mothers By Daughters'', produced for Channel Four, was broadcast by PBS in the United States. She also worked in theatre, staging shows at the London Pal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PG Tips
PG Tips is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom manufactured by Ekaterra. Brand name In the 1930s, Brooke Bond launched PG Tips in the tea market in the United Kingdom under the name ''Pre-Gestee'' - a variant of the original name "Digestive Tea." The name implied that it could be drunk as a digestive aid prior to eating food. Grocers and salesmen abbreviated it to "PG." After the Second World War, labelling regulations ruled out describing tea as aiding digestion—a property that had been attributed to tea—and by 1950/1 the PG name was adopted. The company added "Tips" referring to the fact that only the tips (the top two leaves and bud) of the tea plants are used in the blend. Products The Brooke Bond name has now been dropped from all packaging and the product is now known as PG Tips. PG Tips is available as loose tea, tea bags, and in vending formats. A "Special Blend" tea, which is the same as the tea blended for the brand's 75th anniversary, is available in tea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert D
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honour, praise, renown" and ''berht'' "bright, light, shining"). It is the second most frequently used given name of ancient Germanic origin. It is also in use as a surname. Another commonly used form of the name is Rupert. After becoming widely used in Continental Europe it entered England in its Old French form ''Robert'', where an Old English cognate form (''Hrēodbēorht'', ''Hrodberht'', ''Hrēodbēorð'', ''Hrœdbœrð'', ''Hrœdberð'', ''Hrōðberχtŕ'') had existed before the Norman Conquest. The feminine version is Roberta. The Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish form is Roberto. Robert is also a common name in many Germanic languages, including English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Scots, Danish, and Icelandic. It can be use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Turner (director)
Ken Turner ( fl. 1966) is a British television and film director and screenwriter who has worked extensively on series created by Gerry Anderson. As well as directing various episodes of ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'' (1967–68), ''Joe 90'' (1968–69) and ''UFO'' (1970–71), he also served as assistant director on the film '' Thunderbirds Are Go'' (1966). He also collaborated with David Mitton, director on ''Thomas and Friends'', to establish their own company, Clearwater Films, from which they started to make TV advertisements using stop-motion animation. After Turner left the company, Mitton teamed up with director Robert D. Cardona Robert Daniel Cardona (born March 7, 1930) is an American television writer, producer, director and animator. He co-founded Clearwater Features, along with David Mitton, in 1980. Career Cardona has been based in the United Kingdom for much of ... to change the name to Clearwater Features, the production company behind the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clearwater Features
Clearwater Features Ltd. was a British film production company (based first in Battersea and then at Shepperton Studios) that produced the first two series of the children's television series ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' from 1984 to 1986. Clearwater is also known for creating the short lived children's TV series '' TUGS''. History The company was founded in the early 1970s by Gerry Anderson alumni Ken Turner and David Mitton, and produced television commercials as well as miniature effects for films and TV shows. Turner left the company in 1979, to be replaced by American-born director and producer Robert D. Cardona. The production logo of Clearwater Features was a pink Buick Y-Job parked at a film studio with palm trees, based on Clearwater, Florida, and it appeared on every ending of every episode of ''Thomas the Tank Engine'' from series 1 and 2, and also appeared on a flag of a barge in the ''TUGS'' episode 4th of July. The company closed down on New Year's Eve 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hovis
Hovis Ltd is a British company that produces flour and bread. The brand originated in Stoke-on-Trent and was first mass-produced in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in 1886. It became part of Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM) in 1962 after a succession of mergers. RHM, with its brands including Hovis and Mother's Pride, was acquired by Premier Foods in 2007. Hovis became a limited company in April 2014, after Premier Foods sold a 51% stake in the business to The Gores Group to form a joint venture between the two companies. In November 2020, it was announced that both the Gores Group and Premier Foods had sold their stakes in the business to British-based private equity firm Endless LLP. Hovis specialises in high wheatgerm wholemeal flour, the bread being baked independently. It also produces the Nimble brand reduced-calorie bread. History The brand began in 1886; the Hovis process was patented on 6 October 1887 by Richard "Stoney" Smith (1836–1900), and S. Fitton & Sons Ltd developed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades throughout his career, including the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2018. In 2003, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the British film industry. He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2007, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011. An alumnus of the Royal College of Art in London, Scott began his career in television as a designer and director before moving into advertising, where he honed his filmmaking skills by making mini-films for television commercials. He made his debut as a film director with ''The Duellists'' (1977) and gained wider recognition with his next film, ''Alien'' (1979). Three years later he would dir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derek Meddings
Derek Meddings (15 January 1931 – 10 September 1995) was a British film and television special effects designer. He was initially noted for his work on the " Supermarionation" TV puppet series produced by Gerry Anderson, and later for the 1970s and 1980s ''James Bond'' and '' Superman'' film series. Biography Early years Derek Meddings was born in St Pancras, London, England. Both Meddings' parents had worked in the British film industry: his father as a carpenter at Denham Studios and his mother as producer Alex Korda's secretary and actress Merle Oberon's stand-in. Meddings went to art school and, in the late 1940s, also found work at Denham Studios, lettering credit titles. It was there that he met effects designer Les Bowie and joined his matte painting department. During the 1950s, Meddings' work with Bowie included the creation of Transylvanian landscapes for Hammer Films and a "string and cardboard" invention that proved useful when Meddings was hired for Gerry An ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supermarionation
Supermarionation (a portmanteau of the words "super", "marionette" and " animation")La Rivière 2009, p. 67. is a style of television and film production employed by British company AP Films (later Century 21 Productions) in its puppet TV series and feature films of the 1960s. These productions were created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed at APF's studios on the Slough Trading Estate. The characters were played by electronic marionettes with a moveable lower lip, which opened and closed in time with pre-recorded dialogue by means of a solenoid in the puppet's head or chest. The productions were mostly science fiction with the puppetry supervised by Christine Glanville, art direction by either Bob Bell or Keith Wilson, and music composed by Barry Gray. They also made extensive use of scale model special effects, directed by Derek Meddings. The term "Supermarionation" was first used during the production of ''Supercar'', whose final 13 episodes were the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national " newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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