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John Wyndham (writer)
John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his names, such as John Beynon and Lucas Parkes. Some of his works were set in post-apocalyptic landscapes. His best known works include ''The Day of the Triffids'' (1951), filmed in 1962, and ''The Midwich Cuckoos'' (1957), which was filmed in 1960 as '' Village of the Damned'', in 1995 under the same title, and again in 2022 in Sky Max under its original title. Wyndham was born in Warwickshire and spent most of his childhood in private education in Devon and Hampshire. He tried several careers before publishing a novel and several short stories. He saw action during World War II and went back to writing afterwards, publishing several very successful novels, and influencing a number of other writers who followed him. On the plausibility of his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorridge
Dorridge is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands (county), England. Historically part of the historic county of Warwickshire, the village is encompassed within the electoral ward of Dorridge and Hockley Heath, which had a population of 11,140 in the 2011 census. Location Dorridge is to the east of the M40 and the south of the M42 which, along with a small but important green belt area, separates Dorridge and its neighbours of Knowle and Bentley Heath from the greater urban area of Birmingham, with the town of Solihull encompassing the green-belt area. It is situated at the southwestern extreme of the Meriden Gap and until 1974 was part of Warwickshire. Indeed, there are no major towns between Dorridge and Warwick. It is 125 metres (400 ft) above sea-level, located in the Midlands Plateau. Both Knowle and the sub-village of Bentley Heath are contiguous with Dorridge to the north and share its B93 postcode. History Earliest exist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. Since 2018, the paper's main news ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiverton, Devon
Tiverton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Devon, England, and the commercial and administrative centre of the Mid Devon district. The population in 2019 was 20,587. History Early history The town's name is conjectured to derive from "Twy-ford-ton" or "Twyverton", meaning "the town on two fords", and was historically referred to as "Twyford". The town stands at the confluence of the rivers Exe and Lowman. Human occupation in the area dates back to the Stone Age, with many flint tools found in the area. An Iron Age hill fort, Cranmore Castle, stands at the top of Exeter Hill above the town, and a Roman fort or marching camp was discovered on the hillside below Knightshayes Court near Bolham, just to the north of the town. Tiverton formed part of the inheritance of Aethelweard, youngest son of King Alfred. Countess Gytha of Wessex controlled the town in 1066 and the Domesday Book indicates that William the Conqueror was its tenant-in-chief in 1086. Tiverton was also the se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and moved to its present site on the outskirts of the town in 1882. While the full boarding fees are £38,985 per year, the school offers several scholarships and bursaries, and provides flexi-boarding. The school has 360 boys and 225 girls, including 117 boys and 85 girls in the Sixth Form, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The ''Good Schools Guide'' calls Blundell's a "distinguished rural school of ancient lineage". History Peter Blundell, one of the wealthiest merchants of Elizabethan England, died in 1601, having made his fortune principally in the cloth industry. His will set aside considerable money and land to establish a school in his home town "to maintain sound learning and true religion". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public School (United Kingdom)
In England and Wales (but not Scotland), a public school is a fee-charging financial endowment, endowed school originally for older boys. They are "public" in the sense of being open to pupils irrespective of locality, Christian denomination, denomination or paternal trade guild, trade or profession. In Scotland, a public school is synonymous with a state school in England and Wales, and fee-charging schools are referred to as private schools. Although the term "public school" has been in use since at least the 18th century, its usage was formalised by the Public Schools Act 1868, which put into law most recommendations of the 1864 Clarendon Report. Nine prestigious schools were investigated by Clarendon (including Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, Merchant Taylors' School and St Paul's School, London) and seven subsequently reformed by the Act: Eton College, Eton, Shrewsbury School, Shrewsbury, Harrow School, Harrow, Winchester College, Winchester, Rugby School, Rugby, Wes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Preparatory School (UK)
A preparatory school (or, shortened: prep school) in the United Kingdom is a fee-charging independent primary school that caters for children up to approximately the age of 13. The term "preparatory school" is used as it ''prepares'' the children for the Common Entrance Examination in order to secure a place at an independent secondary school, typically one of the English public schools. They are also preferred by some parents in the hope of getting their child into a state selective grammar school. Most prep schools are inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, which is overseen by Ofsted on behalf of the Department for Education. Overview Boys' prep schools are generally for 8-13 year-olds, who are prepared for the Common Entrance Examination, the key to entry into many secondary independent schools. Before the age of 7 or 8, the term "pre-prep school" is used. Girls' independent schools in England tend to follow the age ranges of state schools more closely than th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vivian Beynon Harris
Vivian (Parkes Lucas) Beynon Harris (1906–1987) was an English writer. He was the younger brother of the well-known science fiction writer John Wyndham. Early life His mother was Gertrude Parkes, the daughter of successful Birmingham ironmaster John Israel Parkes. His father was George Beynon Harris, a schoolteacher from Port Eynon in South Wales, who, after passing the Incorporated Law Society final examination in 1889, practised as a solicitor in Cardiff, becoming a member of the Town Council in 1897. After marrying Gertrude, he became a barrister, a career more suited to their social position. However, Gertrude and George separated in 1911, and Vivian and his brother lived with their mother in a small house in Birmingham until 1915, and then in a number of hotels as he and his brother attended boarding schools. He wrote of his upbringing, '''We loved our mother and each other and we were as close as it is possible for a family to be.''' Later, the two boys both att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Midlands metropolitan county, and approximately 4.3 million in the wider metropolitan area. It is the largest UK metropolitan area outside of London. Birmingham is known as the second city of the United Kingdom. Located in the West Midlands region of England, approximately from London, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn, approximately west of the city centre. Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during the Midla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgbaston
Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family and the Gillott family who refused to allow factories or warehouses to be built in Edgbaston, thus making it attractive for the wealthier residents of the city. It then came to be known as "where the trees begin". One of these private houses is grade one listed and open to the public. The majority of Edgbaston that falls under the B15 postcode finds itself being part of the Calthorpe Estate. The estate is an active conservation area, and it is here that the areas most prized properties are situated. The exclusivity of Edgbaston is down to its array of multi-million listed Georgian and Victorian villas, making it one of the most expensive postcodes outside of London. Edgbaston boasts facilities such as Edgbaston Cricket Ground, a Test mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ironmaster
An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a large scale entrepreneur and thus an important member of a community. He would have a large country house or mansion as his residence. The organization of operations surrounding the smelting, refining and casting of iron was labour-intensive, and so there would be numerous workers reliant on the furnace works. There were ironmasters (possibly not called such) from the 17th century onwards, but they became more prominent with the great expansion in the British iron industry during the Industrial Revolution. 17th century ironmasters (examples) An early ironmaster was John Winter (Royalist), John Winter (about 1600–1676) who owned substantial holdings in the Forest of Dean. During the English Civil War he cast cannons for Charles I of England ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and giving expert legal opinions. Barristers are distinguished from both solicitors and chartered legal executives, who have more direct access to clients, and may do transactional legal work. It is mainly barristers who are appointed as judges, and they are rarely hired by clients directly. In some legal systems, including those of Scotland, South Africa, Scandinavia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, the word ''barrister'' is also regarded as an honorific title. In a few jurisdictions, barristers are usually forbidden from "conducting" litigation, and can only act on the instructions of a solicitor, and increasingly - chartered legal executives, who perform tasks such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Midlands (county)
West Midlands is a metropolitan county in the West Midlands Region, England, with a 2021 population of 2,919,600, making it the second most populous county in England after Greater London. It was created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The county is a NUTS 2 region within the wider NUTS 1 region of the same name. It embraces seven metropolitan boroughs: the cities of Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton, and the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall. The county is overseen by the West Midlands Combined Authority, which covers all seven boroughs and other non-constituent councils, on economy, transport and housing. Status The metropolitan county exists in law, as a geographical frame of reference, and as a ceremonial county. As such it has a Lord Lieutenant. and a High Sheriff. Between 1974 and 1986, the West Midlands County Council was the administrative body covering the county; t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
