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Yosser Hughes
Jimmy "Yosser" Hughes is a fictional character from Alan Bleasdale's 1982 (written in 1978) television series ''Boys from the Blackstuff'', set in Liverpool, portrayed by Bernard Hill. Appearance and family Yosser is a tall man, in his mid-thirties, who wears predominantly black clothes and has a distinctive bushy moustache. He always appears unkempt and unshaven. He had a wife called Maureen, an aggressive, unloving harridan who frequently berated him and who had an affair with another man, the likely father of their three children (played in the drama by Alan Bleasdale's own children). Pilot episode The pilot of Blackstuff implies that Hughes worked in the Middle East at some time during the 1970s and later bought a house that was beyond the family's means. In the original pilot episode, he appears comparatively sane, but displays macho insecurities that make his redundancy especially hard to take. When the boys are swindled out of their savings in Middlesbrough, Yosser reacts p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Bleasdale
Alan George Bleasdale (born 23 March 1946) is an English screenwriter, best known for social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people. A former teacher, he has written for radio, stage and screen, and has also written novels. Bleasdale's plays typically represented a more realistic, contemporary depiction of life in Liverpool than was usually seen in the media. Early life Born in Liverpool, Bleasdale is an only child; his father worked in a food factory and his mother in a grocery shop. From 1951–57, he went to the St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Infant and Junior Schools in Huyton-with-Roby outside Liverpool. From 1957–64, he attended the Wade Deacon Grammar School in Widnes. In 1967, he obtained a teaching certificate from the Padgate College of Education in Warrington (which became Warrington Collegiate Institute, now part of the University of Chester). For four years he worked as a teacher at St Columba's Secondary Modern School in Huyton from 1967–71, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Humour
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discuss. Writers and comedians often use it as a tool for exploring vulgar issues by provoking discomfort, serious thought, and amusement for their audience. Thus, in fiction, for example, the term ''black comedy'' can also refer to a genre in which dark humor is a core component. Popular themes of the genre include death, crime, poverty, suicide, war, violence, terrorism, discrimination, disease, racism, sexism, and human sexuality. Black comedy differs from both blue comedy—which focuses more on crude topics such as nudity, sex, and Body fluids—and from straightforward obscenity. Whereas the term ''black comedy'' is a relatively broad term covering humor relating to many serious subjects, ''gallows humor'' tends to be used more specificall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fictional Construction Workers
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games. Definition Typically, the fictionality of a work is publicly marketed and so the audience expects the work to deviate in some ways from the real world rather than presenting, for instance, only factually accurate portrayals or characters who are actual people. Because fiction is generally understood to not fully adhere to the real world, the themes and context of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drama Television Characters
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the epic and the lyrical modes ever since Aristotle's ''Poetics'' (c. 335 BC)—the earliest work of dramatic theory. The term "drama" comes from a Greek word meaning "deed" or " act" (Classical Greek: , ''drâma''), which is derived from "I do" (Classical Greek: , ''dráō''). The two masks associated with drama represent the traditional generic division between comedy and tragedy. In English (as was the analogous case in many other European languages), the word ''play'' or ''game'' (translating the Anglo-Saxon ''pleġan'' or Latin ''ludus'') was the standard term for dramas until William Shakespeare's time—just as its creator was a ''play-maker'' rather than a ''dramatist'' and the building was a ''play-house'' rather ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thatcherite
Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and general style of management while in office. Proponents of Thatcherism are referred to as Thatcherites. The term has been used to describe the principles of the British government under Thatcher from the 1979 general election to her resignation in 1990, but it also receives use in describing administrative efforts continuing into the Conservative governments under statesmen John Major and David Cameron throughout the 1990s and 2010s. In international terms, Thatcherites have been described as a part of the general socio-economic movement known as neoliberalism, with different countries besides the United Kingdom (such as the United States) sharing similar policies around expansionary capitalism. Thatcherism represents a systematic, decisive rejection and rev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unemployment
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), work during the reference period. Unemployment is measured by the unemployment rate, which is the number of people who are unemployed as a percentage of the labour force (the total number of people employed added to those unemployed). Unemployment can have many sources, such as the following: * new technology, technologies and inventions * the status of the economy, which can be influenced by a recession * competition caused by globalization and international trade * Policy, policies of the government * regulation and market (economics), market Unemployment and the status of the economy can be influenced by a country through, for example, fiscal policy. Furthermore, the monetary authority of a country, such as the central bank, can influ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle PLC is a British-headquartered, global supplier of food and beverage ingredients to industrial markets. It was originally a sugar refining business, but from the 1970s it began to diversify, eventually divesting its sugar business in 2010. It specialises in turning raw materials such as corn and tapioca into ingredients that add taste, texture, and nutrients to food and beverages. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Sugar refining The company was formed in 1921 from a merger of two rival sugar refiners: ''Henry Tate & Sons'' and ''Abram Lyle & Sons''. Henry Tate established his business in 1859 in Liverpool, later expanding to Silvertown in East London. He used his industrial fortune to found the Tate Institute in Silvertown in 1887 and the Tate Gallery in Pimlico, Central London in 1897. He endowed the gallery with his own collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings. Abram Lyle, a cooper and shipow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Reunion (radio Series)
''The Reunion'' is a radio discussion series presented by Kirsty Wark which reunites a group of people involved in a moment of modern history. It has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 since July 2003, with 163 episodes presented by the first presenter, Sue MacGregor. The series brings together four or five participants, sometimes from opposing sides. The first episode reunited the team behind the world's first IVF baby, Louise Brown. Other examples include Robben Island prisoners in Cape Town, representatives from Labour and BBC to discuss the Hutton Inquiry, perpetrators and victims of the Brighton hotel bombing, and Maids of Honour from the 1953 Coronation. The panel discussion is interspersed with archive audio and narration of the event by the presenter. MacGregor announced that the series of 2019 would be her last. Kirsty Wark was appointed as the new presenter in May 2020, and her first episode, bringing together participants in the Black Wednesday exchange rate crash of 199 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desperate Dan
Desperate Dan is a wild west character in the now-defunct Scottish comic magazine ''The Dandy'', and became its mascot. He made his appearance in the first issue which was dated 4 December 1937. He is apparently the world's strongest man, able to lift a cow with one hand. The pillow of his (reinforced) bed is filled with building rubble and his beard is so tough he shaves with a blowtorch. The character was created by Dudley D. Watkins, originally as an outlaw or ‘desperado’ (hence his name), but evolved into a more sympathetic type, using his strength to help the underdog. After Watkins’ death in 1969, the cartoons were drawn by many other artists, principally Ken H. Harrison, though the Watkins canon was often recycled. When the Dandy became digital-only in 2012, the Desperate Dan strips were drawn by David Parkins. There is a statue of Dan in Dundee, Scotland, where his publishers, D. C. Thomson & Co. are based. History The strip was drawn by Dudley D. Watkins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s and captain of the Scotland national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur, Middlesbrough and Sampdoria. Souness' managerial career began when he joined Rangers, leading them to three Scottish titles and four league cups, before joining Liverpool as manager. He went on to become manager of Galatasaray, Southampton, Torino, Benfica, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. Playing career Early career Souness was brought up in the Saughton Mains area of Edinburgh, and supported local side Hearts and Rangers. As a teenager, Souness played for local boys' club North Merchiston. Souness' career began as an apprentice at Tottenham Hotspur under Bill Nicholson. He signed professional forms as a 15-year-old in 1968. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boys From The Blackstuff
''Boys from the Blackstuff'' is a British drama television series of five episodes, originally transmitted from 10 October to 7 November 1982 on BBC2. The serial was written by Liverpudlian playwright Alan Bleasdale, as a sequel to a television play titled ''The Black Stuff''. The British Film Institute described it as a "seminal drama series... a warm, humorous but ultimately tragic look at the way economics affect ordinary people… TV's most complete dramatic response to the Thatcher era and as a lament to the end of a male, working class British culture." ''The Black Stuff'' The television play ''The Black Stuff'' was originally written by Bleasdale and directed by Jim Goddard for BBC1's ''Play for Today'' anthology series in 1978. After filming however, the play was not transmitted until 2 January 1980. It concerned a group of Liverpudlian tarmac layers (hence the slang for tarmac: 'the black stuff') on a job near Middlesbrough. The acclaim that ''The Black Stuff'' recei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DHSS
The Department of Health and Social Security (commonly known as the DHSS) was a ministry of the British government in existence for twenty years from 1968 until 1988, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Services. History Until 1968 the social security responsibilities had been split between the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance, and the health responsibilities by the Ministry of Health. In 1988 the department was split again into a separate Department of Health and the Department of Social Security. In 2001 the Department for Work and Pensions was formed from the Department of Social Security, absorbing the employment functions which had previously been the responsibility of the Department for Education and Employment since the dissolution of the Department of Employment in 1995. Ministers * Minister of State for Health and Social Security Impact Even two and a half decades after its abolition, the initials "DHSS" continue to be used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
