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Acker Bilk
Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk, (28 January 1929 – 2 November 2014) was an English clarinetist and vocalist known for his breathy, vibrato-rich, lower-register style, and distinctive appearance – of goatee, bowler hat and striped waistcoat. Bilk's 1961 instrumental tune " Stranger on the Shore" became the UK's biggest selling single of 1962, spending 55 weeks on the charts and reaching Number 1. It was the first single to top the UK and US charts simultaneously, and the second No. 1 single in the United States by a British artist. In Canada it was number 4 for 4 weeks before peaking at number 3. Early life Bilk was born in Pensford, Somerset, in 1929. He earned the nickname "Acker" from the Somerset slang for "friend" or "mate". His parents tried to teach him the piano but, as a boy, Bilk found it restricted his love of outdoor activities, including football. He lost two front teeth in a school fight and half a finger in a sledging accident, both of which he said affect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pensford
Pensford is the largest village in the civil parish of Publow in Somerset, England. It lies in the Chew Valley, approximately south of Bristol, west of Bath, and north of Wells. It is on the A37 road from Bristol to Shepton Mallet. Pensford was identified as being of special architectural and historic interest and was designated as a Conservation Area in May 1988. History The name Pensford is in all likelihood derived from Brythonic ''Penffordd'', meaning roughly 'top of the road' or 'the highest or furthest point of the road'. Alternatively, it may mean 'The animal pens by the ford' from the Old English ''pens'' and ''ford''. The parish of Pensford was part of the Keynsham Hundred, During the 14th to 16th centuries Pensford was a cloth centre based on local wool. On 24 June 1685 rebel forces camped at Pensford during the Monmouth Rebellion. Coal mining During the 19th and 20th centuries, the main industry was coal mining, with Pensford and the surrounding area f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sled
A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners similar in principle to skis. This reduces the amount of friction, which helps to carry heavy loads. Some designs are used to transport passengers or cargo across relatively level ground. Others are designed to go downhill for recreation, particularly by children, or competition (compare cross-country skiing with its downhill cousin). Shades of meaning differentiating the three terms often reflect regional variations depending on historical uses and prevailing climate. In British English, ''sledge'' is the general term, and more common than ''sled''. '' Toboggan'' is sometimes used synonymously with ''sledge'' but more often to refer to a particular type of sledge without runners. ''Sleigh'' refers to a moderate to large-sized, usuall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trad Jazz
Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain that flourished from the 1930s to 1960s, based on the earlier New Orleans Dixieland jazz style. Prominent English trad jazz musicians such as Chris Barber, Freddy Randall, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine performed a populist repertoire that also included jazz versions of pop songs and nursery rhymes. Beginnings of revival A Dixieland revival began in the United States on the West Coast in the late 1930s as a backlash to the Chicago style, which was close to swing. Lu Watters and the Yerba Buena Jazz Band, and trombonist Turk Murphy, adopted the repertoire of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong and W. C. Handy: bands included banjo and tuba in the rhythm sections. A New Orleans–based traditional revival began with the later recordings of Jelly-Roll Morton and the rediscovery of Bunk Johnson in 1942. This revival ultimately led to the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plaistow, Newham
Plaistow ( or ) is a suburban area of West Ham, East London, England, within the London Borough of Newham. It adjoins Upton Park, London, Upton Park to the north, East Ham to the east, Beckton to the south, Canning Town to the south-west and West Ham to the west. It was originally a ward in the parish of West Ham, Becontree Hundred, hundred of Becontree, and part of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Essex. London Government Act 1963, Since 1965, Plaistow has been part of the London Borough of Newham, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London. The area forms the majority of the E postcode area, London E13 postcode district. Plaistow North and Plaistow South are two of the ten Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral wards making up the UK parliamentary constituency of West Ham (UK Parliament constituency), West Ham. The main roads are the A112 road, A112; Prince Regent Lane, Greengate Street, The Broadway, Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city in Germany, with a 2022 population of 629,047. The Düssel, from which the city and the borough of Düsseltal take their name, divides into four separate branches within the city, each with its own mouth into the Rhine (Lower Rhine). Most of Düsseldorf lies on the right bank of the Rhine, and the city has grown together with Neuss, Ratingen, Meerbusch, Erkrath and Monheim am Rhein. Düsseldorf is the central city of the metropolitan region Rhine-Ruhr, the List of EU metropolitan regions by GDP#2021 ranking of top four German metropolitan regions, second biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union, that stretches from Bonn via Cologne and Düsseldorf to the Ruhr (from Duisburg via Essen to Dortmund). The ''-dorf'' suffix mea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chew Valley
The Chew Valley is an affluent area in North Somerset, England, named after the River Chew, which rises at Chewton Mendip, and joins the River Avon at Keynsham. Technically, the area of the valley is bounded by the water catchment area of the Chew and its tributaries; however, the name Chew Valley is often used less formally to cover other nearby areas, for example, Blagdon Lake and its environs, which by a stricter definition are part of the Yeo Valley. The valley is an area of rich arable and dairy farmland, interspersed with a number of villages. The landscape consists of the valley of the River Chew and is generally low-lying and undulating. It is bounded by higher ground ranging from Dundry Down and the south western boundary of Keynsham town to the north, the Lulsgate Plateau to the west, the Mendip Hills to the south and the Hinton Blewett, Temple Cloud, Clutton and Marksbury plateau areas to the east. The valley's boundary generally follows the top of sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Colyer
Kenneth Colyer (18 April 1928 – 8 March 1988) was an English jazz trumpeter and cornetist, devoted to New Orleans jazz. His band was also known for skiffle interludes. Biography He was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, but grew up in Soho, London, and served as a member of his church choir. When his elder brother Bill (1922–2009) went off to serve in World War II he left his jazz records behind, which influenced Ken Colyer. He joined the Merchant Navy at 17, travelled around the world and heard famous jazz musicians in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the UK, Colyer played with various bands and joined, in 1949, the Crane River Jazz Band (CRJB), with Ben Marshall, Sonny Morris, Pat Hawes, John R. T. Davies, Julian Davies, Ron Bowden and Monty Sunshine. The band played at the Royal Festival Hall on 14 July 1951 in the presence of Princess Elizabeth. Parts of that group merged with other musicians including Keith Christie and Ian Christie to form the Christie Brother ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, grilles, railings, light fixtures, furniture, sculpture, tools, agricultural implements, decorative and religious items, cooking utensils, and weapons. There was a historical distinction between the heavy work of the blacksmith and the more delicate operations of a whitesmith, who usually worked in Goldsmith, gold, Silversmith, silver, pewter, or the finishing steps of fine steel. The place where a blacksmith works is variously called a smithy, a forge, or a blacksmith's shop. While there are many professions who work with metal, such as farriers, wheelwrights, and Armourer, armorers, in former times the blacksmith had a general knowledge of how to make and repair many things, from the most complex of weapons and armor to simple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve personnel and 4,697 "other personnel", for a total of 108,413. The British Army traces back to 1707 and the Acts of Union 1707, formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain which joined the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland into a Political union, single state and, with that, united the English Army and the Scots Army as the British Army. The Parliament of England, English Bill of Rights 1689 and Convention of the Estates, Scottish Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for the Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army. Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the Charles III, monarch as their commander-in-chief. The army is administered by the Ministry of Defence (United Kingd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sapper
A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses, and road and airfield construction and repair. Sappers are also trained and equipped to serve secondarily as provisional infantry. Sappers facilitate and support the movement, defense, and survival of superordinate and allied forces, and impede those of enemies. The term "sapper" is used in the British Army and Commonwealth nations, the U.S. military, and the militaries of other countries. Historical origin Sapper A sapper, in the sense first used by the French military, was one who dug trenches to allow besieging forces to advance towards the enemy defensive works and forts over ground that is under the defenders' musket or artillery fire. It comes from the French word ''sapeur'', itself being derived from the verb ''saper'' (t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest of Egypt). The canal is a key trade route between Europe and Asia. In 1858, French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps formed the Suez Canal Company, Compagnie de Suez for the express purpose of building the canal. Construction of the canal lasted from 1859 to 1869. The canal officially opened on 17 November 1869. It offers vessels a direct route between the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlantic, North Atlantic and northern Indian Ocean, Indian oceans via the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and reducing the journey distance from the Arabian Sea to London by approximately , to 10 days at or 8 days at . The canal extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
