Early life.

Dunne, the second of six children, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Dorothy Frances (née Burns) and Richard Edwin Dunne, a hospital chief of staff and prominent heart surgeon. His Irish Catholic family was wealthy; his maternal grandfather, Dominick Francis Burns, founded the Park Street Trust Company. However, from his earliest days, Dunne recalled feeling like an outsider in the predominantly "WASPish" West Hartford.  He was the older brother of writer John Gregory Dunne; they had two sisters, Harriet and Virginia, and two brothers, Richard Jr. and Stephen. John Dunne became a screenwriter and critic, marrying journalist Joan Didion, who also wrote novels. They collaborated on a column for "The Saturday Evening Post" and on several screenplays, including "The Panic in Needle Park." Dominick Dunne produced this film, starring Al Pacino in his first leading role.  As a boy, he was known as Nicky. After attending the Kingswood School and Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut, he attended Williams College. He served in World War II where he received the Bronze Star for heroism during the Battle of Metz.

Career.

After serving in the military, he attended and graduated from Williams College. Dunne then moved to New York City, where he became a stage manager for television. He was later brought to Hollywood by Humphrey Bogart, who wanted Dunne to work on the television version of "The Petrified Forest". Dunne worked on "Playhouse 90" and became vice-president of Four Star Television. He hobnobbed with the rich and famous of those days, including Elizabeth Taylor. In 1979, beset with addictions, Dunne left Hollywood and moved to rural Oregon. Here he says he overcame his personal demons and wrote his first book, "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles." When interviewed he said that this book saved his life and was the pathway to other books on the tribulations of the upper echelons of society.  In November 1982, his daughter, Dominique Dunne, best known for her part in the film "Poltergeist", was murdered. Dominick Dunne attended the trial of John Thomas Sweeney, who was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. According to Dunne's account in "Justice", Sweeney was sentenced to six-and-a-half years, but served only two-and-a-half after his conviction. Dunne wrote the article "Justice: A Father's Account of the Trial of his Daughter's Killer" for the March 1984 issue of "Vanity Fair".  Dunne started writing regularly for "Vanity Fair". He based several bestselling novels on real-life events, such as the murders of Alfred Bloomingdale's mistress Vicki Morgan ("An Inconvenient Woman") and banking heir William Woodward, Jr., who was shot by his wife, Ann Woodward ("The Two Mrs. Grenvilles"). He eventually hosted the TV series "Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice" on Court TV (later truTV), in which he discussed justice and injustice and their intersection with celebrities. Famous trials he covered included those of O.J. Simpson, Claus von Bulow, Michael Skakel, William Kennedy Smith, and the Menendez brothers. He was portrayed in six episodes of "" by Robert Morse, where his opening appearance portrays him being given a seat at the trial by Judge Lance Ito, next to the parents of Ron Goldman, during which meeting reference is made to the murder of Dunne's daughter Dominique, and the "slap on the wrist" Dunne felt that her killer received. Dunne's account of the Menendez trial, "Nightmare on Elm Drive," was selected by The Library of America for inclusion in its two-century retrospective of American true crime writing, published in 2008.  In 2005, former California Congressman Gary Condit won an undisclosed financial settlement and an apology from Dunne, who had earlier implicated him in the disappearance of intern Chandra Levy in Washington, D.C. Levy was from Condit's Congressional district; and Condit had previously admitted to an extramarital affair with her. As part of the settlement, Dunne issued a brief statement that he did "not... intend to imply that Mr. Condit was complicit in [Levy's] disappearance." In November 2006, Dunne was sued again by Condit for comments made about the former politician on "Larry King Live" on CNN. This suit was eventually dismissed.  Dunne frequently socialized with, wrote about, and was photographed with celebrities. A Salon.com review of his memoir, "The Way We Lived Then", recounted how Dunne appeared at a wedding reception for Dennis Hopper. Sean Elder, the author of the review, wrote: "But in the midst of it all there was one man who was getting what ceramic artist Ron Nagle would call 'the full cheese,' one guy everyone gravitated toward and paid obeisance to." That individual was Dunne, who mixed easily with artists, actors and writers present at the function. Dunne was quoted as saying that Dennis Hopper wished he "had a picture of myself with Allen Ginsberg and Norman Mailer."  In 2008, at age 82, Dunne traveled from New York to Las Vegas to cover O.J. Simpson's trial on charges of kidnapping and armed robbery for "Vanity Fair" magazine; he said this would be his last such event.  Dunne's adventures in Hollywood were described in the documentary film "" (2008), directed by Kirsty de Garis and Timothy Jolley. This film documents his successes and tribulations in the entertainment industry. In the film, Dunne reflects on his past as a World War II veteran, falling in love and raising a family, his climb and fall as a Hollywood producer, and his comeback as a writer. In 2002, director Barry Avrich released an unauthorized documentary on Dunne called "Guilty Pleasure". The film was a more candid look at Dunne's life including those who had issues with his journalistic style. Avrich's film was released globally and featured Johnnie Cochran, Griffin Dunne and producer David Brown.

Final years and tribute.

In September 2008, Dunne disclosed that he was being treated for bladder cancer. He was working on "Too Much Money", his final book, at the time of his death. On September 22, 2008, Dunne complained of intense pain, and was taken by ambulance to Valley Hospital. Dunne died on August 26, 2009, at his home in Manhattan and was buried at Cove Cemetery in the shadow of Gillette Castle in Hadlyme, Connecticut.  On October 29, 2009 (what would have been Dunne's 84th birthday), Hollywood friends and some reporter friends, along with new Hollywood figures, gathered at the Chateau Marmont to celebrate Dominick Dunne's life. "Vanity Fair" magazine paid tribute to Dunne's life and extensive contributions to the magazine in its November 2009 issue.  After his death, Dominick's son, Griffin Dunne, confirmed his father's bisexuality and 20-year celibacy, marveling that his father had kept this central part of his personality to himself almost until he died.

Family.

Dominick Dunne was the brother of author John Gregory Dunne; writer Joan Didion was his sister-in-law. He was married to Ellen Beatriz Griffin from 1954 to 1965. He was the father of Alexander Dunne and the actors Griffin Dunne and Dominique Dunne, as well as two daughters who died in infancy.  Dominique Dunne, most known for her role in the film "Poltergeist", was strangled by her ex-boyfriend John Sweeney, resulting in her death on November 4, 1982. Dominick Dunne covered the trial of his daughter's murder for "Vanity Fair", and was outraged alongside the rest of his family when Sweeney received acquittal of the second-degree murder charge in favor of voluntary manslaughter.

Dominick John Dunne (October 29, 1925 – August 26, 2009) was an American writer, investigative journalist, and producer. He began his career as a producer in film and television, noted for involvement with the pioneering gay film "The Boys in the Band" (1970) and the award winning drug film "Panic in Needle Park" (1971). He turned to writing in the early 1970s. After the 1982 murder of his daughter Dominique, he came to focus on the ways in which wealth and high society interacts with the judicial system. A frequent contributor to "Vanity Fair", Dunne also appeared regularly on television discussing crime from the 1980s to the end of his life.

Dominick Dunne, né le à Hartford, au Connecticut, et décédé le à New York, est un producteur de cinéma et de télévision américain, également journaliste, scénariste, animateur de télévision, acteur et romancier.


Background.

In February 1940, the German tanker was returning to Germany with 299 British merchant sailors on board These were prisoners of war who had been picked up from ships sunk by the pocket battleship.  On its way from the southern Atlantic to Germany, "Altmark" passed through Norwegian waters. International law did not ban the transfer of prisoners of war through neutral waters. On the insistence of British contacts who had been pursuing the vessel, it was investigated three times on 15 February by the Royal Norwegian Navy. First, the tanker was boarded by officers from the torpedo boat, HNoMS "Trygg", off Linesøya, then by officers from the torpedo boat, HNoMS "Snøgg", in the Sognefjord, and finally personally by Admiral Carsten Tank-Nielsen and naval personnel from the destroyer, HNoMS "Garm", in the Hjeltefjord. In each instance, the men who boarded the ship carried out cursory searches and took the Germans' word that the vessel was conducting purely commercial business. The British prisoners held in the ship's hold reportedly made strenuous efforts to signal their presence, but the Norwegian search parties did not inspect the hold, and allowed the ship to continue on its way.  Following the third boarding, "Altmark" was escorted southwards by the torpedo boats HNoMS "Skarv" and HNoMS "Kjell" and the guard boat, HNoMS "Firern".

Interception and boarding.

"Altmark" was then spotted off Egersund later that same day by British aircraft, which raised the alarm in the Royal Navy. The aircraft were stationed at RAF Thornaby, in the North East of England. After being intercepted by the destroyer, captained by Philip Vian, "Altmark" sought refuge in the Jøssingfjord, but "Cossack" followed her in the next day. The "Altmark"'s Norwegian naval escorts blocked initial attempts to board the ship, and aimed their torpedo tubes at the "Cossack". Captain Vian then asked the admiralty for instructions, and received the following orders directly from the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill:  The British government made no particular objection to the fact of a prison ship traversing neutral waters. In fact, in official papers regarding the incident, they noted the fact that the Royal Navy had done the same, for example in December 1939, when the cruiser passed through the Panama Canal, which was neutral waters, with German prisoners aboard from the freighter "Düsseldorf". But the crew of the "Altmark" had gone hundreds of miles out of their way to make the long run through Norwegian waters to Germany. Besides, the Norwegian government had not permitted the Germans to transport prisoners through Norwegian waters (the "Altmark" having falsely claimed to be carrying none), nor had the crew been truthful regarding the nature of their cargo and voyage. However, international law was only broken by the British military action within the waters of a neutral country, as the transfer of prisoners of war through neutral waters was not banned.  The Norwegian forces refused to take part in a joint escort, reiterating that their earlier searches of "Altmark" had found nothing. Vian then stated that he intended to board "Altmark" and invited the Norwegians to take part, but this was also refused. In the ensuing action, "Altmark" ran aground. The British then boarded her at 22:20 on 16 February, and – after some hand-to-hand fighting with bayonets – overwhelmed the ship's crew and went down to the hold. One of the released prisoners stated that the first they knew of the operation was when they heard the shout "any Englishmen here?" from the boarding party. When the prisoners shouted back "yes! We are all British!", the response was "well, the Navy's here!" which brought cheers.  This incident is frequently cited as the last Royal Navy action with cutlasses. However, the HMS "Cossack" Association do not believe this to be true. Barton and McGrath, the authors of "British Naval Swords and Swordsmanship", also think this is dubious, and point out that Frischauer and Jackson, authors of "The Altmark Affair", interviewed a large number of the crew, none of whom verified the use of cutlasses. Barton and McGrath suggest that idea may have originated from German accusations that the British were "sea-pirates". However, Jim Rhodes, a former crew member of "Cossack", wrote in the April 2002 newsletter of the Association that he had witnessed a cutlass being carried by one of the boarding party. Rhodes did not take part in the action, he watched from B Gun deck, and was not close enough to identify the cutlass holder. Rhodes stated that four cutlasses were kept on board for ceremonial purposes.  Seven German sailors were killed and eleven wounded; six seriously. The German dead were buried in Sogndal Cemetery above Jøssingfjord. This was used unsuccessfully as a defence by the Germans in the Nuremberg trials, as the British commander, rather than being tried himself, was awarded the D.S.O. for this successful action. HMS "Cossack" left the Jøssingfjord just after midnight on 17 February. The Norwegian escorts protested, but did not intervene. The official explanation later given by the Norwegian government was that, according to international treaty, a neutral country was not obliged to resist a vastly superior force.

Impact.

The Norwegians were angered that their neutrality had been infringed, but they did not want to be dragged into a European war. Nonetheless, the "Altmark" incident sowed doubts about Norwegian neutrality among the Allies and in Germany. Both sides had contingency plans for military action against Norway, primarily to control the traffic of Swedish iron ore upon which the German armaments industry depended in the early stages of the war. The "Altmark" incident convinced Adolf Hitler that the Allies would not respect Norwegian neutrality. Hitler, who had decided on 14 December 1939 on the invasion of Norway, ordered intensified planning on 19 February 1940 for attacks on Norway and Denmark, which eventually took place on 9 April 1940 under the code name Operation "Weserübung".  The "Altmark" incident gave the British a short-lived but sorely needed morale boost during the Phoney War. The incident also had a lasting propaganda effect in German-occupied Norway during the war, when the Norwegian collaborationist government tried to neutralise their nickname "quislings" by using the location of the skirmish, Jøssingfjord, to coin the derogatory term ""jøssing"", referring to pro-Allies and anti-Nazis. Their efforts backfired, as ""jøssing"" was immediately adopted as a positive term by the general public, and the word was banned from official use by 1943.  The phrase "the Navy's here" became well-known, being used as the title of a book about the incident; the publisher referred to "the simple statement which stirred the imagination of the world". A popular song was written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles which saluted the incident by comparing it with those of Drake, Nelson, Beatty, and Fisher.

The "Altmark" incident (Norwegian: "Altmark"-affæren; German: "Altmark-Zwischenfall") was a naval incident of World War II between British destroyers and the German tanker "Altmark", which happened on 16–17 February 1940. It took place in what were, at that time, neutral Norwegian waters. On board the "Altmark" were some 300 allied prisoners (officially internees), whose ships had been sunk by the pocket battleship "Graf Spee" in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. British naval forces cornered the tanker and later the destroyer "Cossack" attacked the German ship near the Jøssingfjord and freed all the prisoners, killing eight German seamen with firearms and wounding ten others, five of them seriously. A British and a Norwegian sailor were also seriously wounded in the action. Germany claimed that the attack was a grave violation of international law and of Norwegian neutrality.

L’incident de l"Altmark" est une escarmouche navale de la Seconde Guerre mondiale entre le Royaume-Uni et l'Allemagne nazie. Elle se déroule le dans les eaux alors neutres de la Norvège.


Plot.

In contrast to the live-action Inspector Clouseau, who is often portrayed as completely inept, the cartoon Inspector, while prone to bad judgement and bad luck, was generally competent. Much of the humor came from the often surreal villains and situations to whom the Inspector was exposed, with a healthy dose of stylized cartoon slapstick. Through these difficult circumstances, criminals often get the better of him and he must face the wrath of his blustery, ill-tempered Commissioner (based on Herbert Lom's Commissioner Dreyfus) who holds him in well-deserved contempt.  In the majority of the cartoons, the Inspector usually tells his young assistant, Sergeant Deux-Deux, whenever Deux-Deux says "Sí",: "Don't say 'Sí', say 'Oui'", to which Deux-Deux would reply "Sí, I mean 'Oui'". In "Reaux, Reaux, Reaux Your Boat", Deux-Deux was advised not to say "Oui-sick", but "Seasick" (actually "Sí-sick"). In "Cock-A-Doodle Deux Deux", the Inspector ordered Deux-Deux not to say "señor", say "monsieur". At a time of panic, Deux-Deux exclaims, "¡Holy frijoles!", meaning "Holy beans!". Sometimes, Deux-Deux ends up as the winner, when he arrests the culprit, usually without much of a struggle, as in "The Pique Poquette of Paris" and "Ape Suzette".  While both characters bore the brunt of the slapstick, a sense of dedication to the police force and repeated attempts would achieve mixed success, as the Inspector and Deux-Deux would generally either apprehend the wanted criminal or recover the item assigned to them.

Production.

Pat Harrington Jr. provided voices for both the Inspector as well as his young assistant, the Barcelona-born Spanish gendarme Deux-Deux (pronounced "Du-Du"), a common French nickname for Eduard/Eduardo. The frustrated Commissioner was voiced primarily by Paul Frees. Larry Storch, Marvin Miller and Mark Skor also alternated providing the Commissioner's voice. Miller also assumed the role of both the Inspector and Sgt. Deux-Deux in the wraparound bumpers produced for the inaugural season of "The Pink Panther Show".  The first entry in the series, "The Great De Gaulle Stone Operation," preceded screenings of the 1965 James Bond film "Thunderball".  While the Inspector character design remained basically the same throughout the DePatie–Freleng shorts, and was used in the opening credit sequence of the 1968 live-action film "Inspector Clouseau" (with Alan Arkin as Clouseau), the Inspector featured in the opening titles of later "Pink Panther" features beginning in the 1970s, changed dramatically to resemble Sellers, and then Steve Martin in the 2006 reboot of the series.  The theme music heard during the titles of the cartoon was the instrumental "A Shot in the Dark" by Henry Mancini, from the 1964 feature film of the same name (the second entry in the "Pink Panther" film series). Additional music in the cartoons was composed initially by William Lava, then by Walter Greene. Two shorts had their own unique version of the theme music, "Napoleon Blown-Aparte" and "Cock-A-Doodle Deux Deux".  17 entries made their television debut during the inaugural season (1969–1970) of "The Pink Panther Show", featuring shorter opening titles (minus credits). The remaining 17 entries appeared during the show's second season with complete theatrical opening titles.

Home video.

A DVD containing the first 17 shorts was released on March 4, 2008 from MGM Home Entertainment/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.  A DVD set titled "Pink Panther and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection" released on January 27, 2009 by MGM Home Entertainment contains the previously-released set of the first 17 shorts and a second set of the last 17 shorts.  The first season of "The Pink Panther" is available for viewing on Amazon Video in the United States.  On April 26, 2016, Kino Lorber released "The Inspector: The DePatie-Freleng Collection" on DVD and Blu-ray. This 2-disc set collects the 34 "Inspector" shorts (the first 17 on disc 1 and the last 17 on disc 2), along with retrospective featurettes focusing on DePatie-Freling Enterprises.

Revival.

"The Inspector" was revived in 1993 for the syndicated series, "The Pink Panther", voiced by Brian George. The Inspector often works alongside the Pink Panther when he is depicted in law enforcement.

The Inspector is a series of theatrical cartoons produced between 1965 and 1969 by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and released through United Artists. The title character is based on Inspector Jacques Clouseau, a comical French police officer who is the protagonist in "The Pink Panther" series of films.

L'Inspecteur ("") est une série de 34 courts métrages d'animation américain faisant partie de la saga "La Panthère rose". Cette série est basée sur le personnage principal des films, l'inspecteur Clouseau. Bien que le nom de Clouseau ne soit pas prononcé dans la série, les traits et caractéristiques du personnage animé démontrent qu'il s'agit bien d'une caricature de Peter Sellers qui incarnait autrefois l'inspecteur dans les films, rôle repris plus tard par Steve Martin.


History.

Inauguration.

In a ceremony on 8 August 2012, the National Transitional Council formally transferred power to the General National Congress. Mustafa Abdul Jalil stepped down as head of state, passing the position to the GNC's oldest member, Mohammed Ali Salim. The NTC was then dissolved, while the GNC members took their oaths of office, led by Salim.  Hundreds of people gathered in Tripoli's Martyrs' Square with candles symbolizing reconciliation. The date of the transfer – 20 Ramadan on the Islamic calendar – had also been selected for symbolic reasons; as 20 Ramadan the previous year had fallen on 20 August, the date that the National Liberation Army attacked Tripoli, leading to Gaddafi's flight. As Jalil addressed the crowd, attendees periodically chanted "Allāhu Akbar" or "The blood of the martyrs will not be wasted!"  According to BBC News, the transfer was "the first peaceful transition of power in Libya's modern history".

Post-2014 elections.

In 2014 elections to a new House of Representatives were held. However, politicians from the blocs that lost the elections continued to convene as the General National Congress, claiming that the GNC is the legitimate parliament of Libya. However, its members do not represent a majority of the membership of the body, as the majority of the GNC members belonged to groups now participating in the internationally recognized (until the establishment of an internationally-backed Government of National Accord in 2016) Libyan parliament, the House of Representatives. The GNC is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood's Libyan party, the Justice and Construction Party.  Re-elected members from the Islamist bloc had chosen to continue to sit in the GNC, instead of the House of Representatives where they would be in a reduced minority.  After their landslide defeat in the 2014 elections, Islamist parties acting under the leadership of Nouri Abusahmain used two armed groups, the LROR and Central Shield, to take control of the capital Tripoli. In late August, Islamist militias abducted rivals (whose whereabouts is unknown) and attacked 280 homes. Having suppressed dissent, the Islamist groups declared that they were the General National Congress and that it was once again the national parliament.  The GNC continued to be led by Nouri Abusahmain and appointed Omar al-Hasi then Khalifa al-Ghawi as prime ministers of the National Salvation Government.

Dissolution.

Members of the House of Representatives and the General National Congress signed a United Nations supported political agreement on 17 December 2015. Under the terms of the agreement, a nine-member Presidency Council and a seventeen-member interim Government of National Accord would be formed, with a view to holding new elections within two years. The House of Representatives would continue to exist as a legislature and an advisory body, to be known as the State Council, will be formed with members nominated by the New General National Congress.  The Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj, arrived in Tripoli on 30 March 2016. The following day, it was reported that the GNA has taken control of the prime ministerial offices and that the GNC appointed Prime Minister Khalifa al-Ghawi had fled to Misrata. On 1 April 2016, the head of the media bureau of the National Salvation Government announced that the NSG has resigned and handed its authority back to the General National Congress. Media reports have also claimed that the General National Congress had "virtually disintegrated".  On April 5, the National Salvation Government of the General National Congress announced that it was resigning, "ceasing operations" and ceding power to the Presidential Council. Following the dissolution of the GNC, former members of that body declared the establishment of the State Council, as envisaged by the LPA.

Composition.

The General National Congress was composed of 200 members of which 80 were elected through a party list system of proportional representation, and 120 were elected as independents in multiple-member districts.  It is estimated that 25 independents were associated with the NFA, 17 with Justice and Construction, and 23 were Salafis.  Following the 2012 elections, an Integrity Commission was set up to exclude and remove Gaddafi-era officials from politics. The commission removed 15 members of the GNC. Independent members from Bayda, Baten al-Jabal, Abu Salim, Hay al-Andalus, Sabha, Tarhuna and Ubari were expelled, along with all the independents from Ghat and Bani Walid, two representatives of local lists from Ubari and Wadi al-Shate’, and two NFA deputies from Zliten and Abu Salim. By March 2013 one expelled member from Bayda had been replaced; all other seats remained vacant.  The Congress was tasked with electing a new Prime Minister and governing cabinet. Among the rules approved by the GNC on the election of the Prime Minister was a prohibition on Prime Ministers and cabinet ministers being GNC members simultaneously.  The Congress selected Mustafa Abushagur as Prime Minister on 12 September 2012, he subsequently resigned after failing to get a cabinet approved. On 14 October 2012, the General National Congress elected former GNC member and human rights lawyer Ali Zeidan as prime minister-designate. Zeidan was sworn in after his cabinet was approved by the GNC.

Leadership.

On 9 August 2012, Congress members voted in a televised meeting for a president for the GNC. Mohamed Yousef el-Magariaf, leader of the National Front Party, won with 113 votes versus independent Ali Zeidan who secured 85 votes. From 1981 until 2011, el-Magariaf was exiled from Libya, and led the NFP's predecessor organisation—called the National Front for the Salvation of Libya—for almost 20 years.

Location.

The permanent location of Libya's legislature has not yet been decided, but it has been proposed that a new parliament building could be built within the former Bab al-Azizia compound. As an interim measure, the General National Congress convened in the Al Nasr Convention Centre close to the Rixos Al Nasr hotel in Tripoli. Libya's former legislature, the General People's Congress, met at the People's Hall which had been destroyed by fire during the Libyan Civil War.

The General National Congress or General National Council (GNC;, Berber: Agraw Amuran Amatay) was the legislative authority of Libya for two years following the end of the First Libyan Civil War. It was elected by popular vote on 7 July 2012, and took power from the National Transitional Council on 8 August.

Le Congrès général national (en, en berbère : Agraw Amuran Amatay) est une assemblée de 200 membres élue le par les électeurs libyens, à l'occasion de la première élection libre libyenne depuis plusieurs décennies, organisée après la chute et la mort de Mouammar Kadhafi.


Politics and history.

The district council headquarters are in Leamington Spa. It employs more than 500 people in a four-storey building close to the River Leam. The district council deals with issues such as waste management, the collection of council tax, planning/building regulations, council housing and council house repairs. In April 2016 the council announced its plans to move their headquarters nearer the town centre, however in February 2019 plans were put on hold, and as of February 2020 no decision has been made.  The political makeup of Warwick District Council following the 2019 local elections is as follows: The district was created on 1 April 1974, by a merger of the former Leamington Spa and Warwick municipal boroughs, the Kenilworth urban district and the Warwick Rural District.

Parking.

On 6 August 2007 on-street parking charges were introduced in certain parts of central Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth for the first time. At this time parking also became decriminalised which meant that the district council and not the police were responsible for enforcing parking regulations.  On 1 November 2014 responsibility for on-street parking in the district, as well as that of the other districts and boroughs in Warwickshire was taken over by Warwickshire County Council.

The Environment.

On 27th June 2019 the elected members at the Full Council meeting declared a "climate emergency" in response to ongoing global climate change. The council aims to become carbon neutral by 2025, whilst trying to make the whole district carbon neutral by 2030. On 20 January 2020 it was announced that electric cars would be given free parking in council car parks. On 4 February of that year it was proposed by the Council group leaders to increase council tax by around £1 a week on Band D properties to create £3 million per year. This would be ring-fenced for environmental purposes. If this proposal is accepted by the other councillors then a district wide referendum will be held on 7 May to decide if the public accept it. On 26 February the full council unanimously accepted the proposal, triggering the 7 May election.

Tourism and leisure.

Two of the most well known tourist attractions in the district are Warwick Castle and Kenilworth Castle, the first being well-preserved and the second now a ruin as a result of the English Civil War. Also of interest are the National Trust properties Baddesley Clinton and Packwood House. The Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington is a cultural and tourist attraction with services including Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum and there are several museums in Warwick.  All three of the district's main towns, Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth, have many hotels, two of the better known ones being The Regent Hotel and a Hilton Hotel at Warwick. Warwick Racecourse hosts televised meetings several times a year and the English men and women's lawn bowls championships takes place in Victoria Park, Leamington each year.  There are three public swimming pools and three leisure centres in the district as well as many public open spaces, the most well known being Leamington's Jephson Gardens and Newbold Comyn. There is a public pay-per-play golf course within Warwick Racecourse. The biggest football teams in the area are Leamington F.C. and Racing Club Warwick.  All three towns have their own amateur theatres including the Talisman and Priory (Kenilworth), the Loft Theatre Company (Leamington), and The Bridge House Theatre (Warwick School). In addition, Playbox Theatre Company based in Warwick, works specifically with young people and Heartbreak Productions runs a programme of outdoor events, mainly in the summer months.  The Royal Spa Centre is the district's large scale professional theatre and runs a programme of theatre, drama, comedy, film and community events in its 794-seat main house and 160-seat studio theatre.

Travel.

The district has six railway stations – Warwick, Warwick Parkway, Leamington Spa, Kenilworth, Hatton and Lapworth. Regular bus services run between Warwick, Leamington and Kenilworth and onwards to Coventry, Stratford upon Avon and the University of Warwick. The Grand Union Canal flows through the district and the M40 motorway also passes through. Right on the edge of the district is found Coventry Airport at Baginton.

Freedom of district.

On 26 November 2013 the freedom of the district was bestowed on the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers following a parade through Royal Leamington Spa.

Parishes and settlements.

The Warwick district includes the settlements and Parishes of:

Electoral wards.

This is a guide to the size of the wards in Warwick District based on the data from the 2001 UK Census. The entire population of the district was 125,929.  N.B. Ward populations will differ from the village population which they are named after and which they are linked to as ward boundaries very rarely match village boundaries exactly.

Warwick is a local government district of central Warwickshire in England. The current leader of the district council is Conservative Party member Andrew Day. The council is currently in no overall control, but the Conservatives run the administration through an agreement with the Whitnash Residents Association. Conservatives have 19 councillors, the Liberal Democrats have 9 councillors, the Green Party 8 councillors, Labour 5 Councillors with the remaining 3 councillors are part of the Whitnash Residents Association.

Warwick est un district non-métropolitain du Warwickshire, en Angleterre. Il comprend les villes de Warwick, Leamington Spa, où siège le conseil de district, Kenilworth et Whitnash, et les zones rurales environnantes. Il jouxte le district de Stratford-on-Avon au sud et à l'ouest, le district de Rugby au nord-est et le district de Coventry au nord.


Development.

The design and life of the Tempo began in the late 1970s as Ford was gearing to build towards a more ergonomic, more efficient, and more aerodynamic design philosophy. The new design philosophy rested in part due to the aging Ford Pinto and Ford Maverick, and two oil embargoes which led to a rise in more fuel-efficient import vehicle sales. Taking note of this, Ford set out to revolutionize the automotive industry, and would later lay the groundwork for three revolutionary vehicles: The 1983 Thunderbird (and its Mercury counterpart, the Cougar), the 1984 Tempo (and its Mercury counterpart, the Topaz), and the yet-to be released Taurus (and its Mercury counterpart, the Sable). The Tempo and Topaz would be based on a stretched version of the front-wheel-drive platform used on the Ford Escort, but with a radical new body. Being based on the Escort meant the Tempo and Topaz, unlike its Fairmont and Zephyr predecessors, were front-wheel drive. By making them front-wheel drive, interior space was much larger than if they had been rear-wheel-drive. The transaxle designs also borrowed heavily from the Ford Escort. However, there were few common components due to the Tempo and Topaz's larger size.  In December 1978, wind tunnel testing began on the Tempo, with more than 450 hours of testing resulting in more than 950 different design changes. As part of these changes, the Tempo and Topaz both featured a 60° windshield, matching that of the new Thunderbird and Cougar. Also new were the aircraft-inspired door frames, which originally appeared on the Thunderbird/Cougar. These door frames wrapped up over the edge of the roof which improved sealing, allowed for hidden drip rails, and cleaned up the A-pillar area of the car significantly. The rear track was also widened, creating more aerodynamic efficiency. The front grille was laid back more and the leading edge of the hood was tuned for aerodynamic cleanliness. Wheels were pushed out to the edges of the body, decreasing areas where air turbulence would be created. The rear of the cars were treated to just as many changes. The rear window was laid down at 60 degrees as well, and the trunk lid was raised higher than the side windows. This allowed the air to flow off the car more smoothly, and allowed for greater fuel efficiency. From the side view, this raised trunk created a wedge look to the car which was especially prominent on the two-door coupe versions.  All of these changes created a coefficient of drag (Cd) of 0.36 for the 2-door car (0.37 for the 4-door), which was equal to the Cd of the new "Aero" Ford Thunderbird. Ford endeavored to make every trim level look attractive, not just the top-of-the-line versions as has been customary in Detroit. When the Tempo was released in 1983 as a 1984 model, it became an instant hit, with more than 107,000 two-door models and more than 295,000 four-door models being sold in the first year alone. Initial advertising featured a Tempo sedan performing a loop on a stunt track. The commercials touted the Tempo as being "America's all new aerodynamic sedan" and listed features such as "the world's most advanced automotive computer", called EEC-IV, that claimed to have the ability to monitor up to seven vital engine functions, and noted the interior to be roomier in the rear seat than a Mercedes-Benz 300D. Other ads featured the slogan "Pick up the Tempo of your life!"

First generation (1984–1987).

The first generation Tempo and Topaz were released on May 26, 1983 as 1984 models, and equaled the length of a Chevrolet Citation at the time, to which it was a response. The Ford Fairmont, which was last produced in 1983, was more directly replaced by the Ford LTD, which was introduced for the 1983 model year.  Despite the Fairmont (at 105.5-inch wheelbase and 193.8-inch length) being sized relatively larger than General Motors' front-wheel drive Chevrolet Celebrity mid-size car (at 104.8-inch wheelbase and 188.3-inch length) and having a similar length to the Fairmont's predecessor, the Maverick (at 109.9-inch wheelbase and 193.9-inch length), the Tempo had been intended as the sedan and coupe versions of the Ford Escort, and both vehicles were in similar classes, similar to how Volkswagen's sedan and coupe answer to the Golf hatchbacks would be the Jetta.  The Tempo was Ford's first compact car downsizing, just four years after GM downsized its compact cars in 1979 for the 1980 model years; two and a half years after Chrysler's compact K-cars were introduced. The front windshield and rear window were both set at 60° angles, with the trunk of the car being placed higher than the side windows to allow for greater fuel efficiency and air flow. The four-door Tempo used rear quarter windows in the C-pillars while the four-door Topaz received a more formal C-pillar arrangement without rear quarter windows. The front of the car featured a set of two sealed-beam halogen headlamps recessed in chrome "buckets" and the grille in between the headlights featured four horizontally thin rails each swept back to allow for greater air flow into the engine compartment and over the hood. The Tempo shared much of its design language with the European Ford Sierra, launched a year earlier.  The first generation Tempo came standard with a new 2.3 L HSC inline four-cylinder gasoline engine with a one-barrel carburetor, with an optional Mazda-built four-cylinder diesel engine. Mated to either of these engines were the choice of a standard four-speed IB4 or optional five-speed MTX-III manual transmission (which was the standard, and only option for the diesel engine variant), or the optional three-speed FLC automatic with a floor-mounted shift lever. In late 1985, the five-speed manual became standard and the four-speed was discontinued. In addition, a slight modification was made to the five-speed transmission, moving the "reverse" position on the gear shift knob from right beside first gear to the opposite bottom corner. This was done to decrease the possibility of mistakenly shifting into reverse rather than first gear during takeoff. The instrument panel featured a new, easier to read gauge layout, with all switches and controls placed within easy reach of the driver. In early 1985, the Tempo became the first production American automobile to feature a driver's side airbag as a supplemental restraint system. In 1984, Ford entered a contract with the General Services Administration and the Department of Transportation to supply 5,000 airbag-equipped Tempos. Half also received a special windshield designed to minimize lacerations to passengers, and all were early recipients of the high-mounted brake lights that became required by law in 1986.  In October 1985, the Tempo and the Topaz saw numerous moderate design changes for 1986 which coincided with the release of the then-new and revolutionary 1986 Taurus. While generally considered the same car, the front and rear end styling was where the changes were most evident. The standard rectangular sealed-beam halogen headlamps were replaced with new, plastic composite designs which only required replacing the bulb itself. These new headlights were flush-mounted to match the redesigned front corner lights and a freshly restyled grille, which also closely matched that of the Taurus (the Topaz received a pseudo-lightbar grille styled after the Sable). For the rear end, the trunk and taillights were slightly restyled, giving the car a sharper look. Replacing the carburetor on the 2.3 L four-cylinder engine was a new Central Fuel Injection (CFI) system (the carbureted version was still available in Canada until 1987). New was an optional "LX" luxury trim, replacing the GLX. Other changes and improvements included the addition of automatically retracting front seat belt shoulder straps, and the addition of a new all-wheel-drive model. The Tempo AWD included special badging, interior badges. Other available features included power lumbar support, four-way power driver's seat and a cassette player.  From 1985 to 1987, there was also the Sport GL, which included unique interior and exterior styling cues, an HSO (High Specific Output) version of the 2.3 L HSC engine (slightly more power), alloy wheels, tachometer, and a quicker gear ratio for the 5-speed manual transaxle (3.73 final drive). It was badged simply as "GL", however the Sport GL was more easily recognizable because it lacked the GL's chrome front and rear bumpers. For 1987, the Topaz received a standard all-wheel drive system for the GS-AWD and LS-AWD trim levels. This all-wheel drive system (developed exclusively for the Tempo and Topaz) was available for model years 1987 to 1991.  Trim levels for the first generation Tempo are as follows:  Trim levels for the first generation Topaz are as follows:

Second generation (1988–1994).

The Tempo and Topaz sedans received a major redesign for 1988, whereas the coupes were instead facelifted, all arriving in November 1987. The changes gave the Tempo and Topaz an even more similar look to the Taurus and Sable, respectively. On the front end of the Tempo, a completely restyled grille featured three thin horizontal chrome bars with a Ford oval in the center, with two composite flush-mounted rectangular headlamps with restyled front turn signal housings on either side. On the Tempo GLS, this chrome grille was blacked out, and they received a blacked-out "D" pillar. For the rear, the taillights received a major rework and were now completely flush-mounted. A restyled rear quarter window was designed to match and blend evenly with the completely restyled rear door trim. The Topaz was differentiated from the Tempo by a more formal rear window, a waterfall grille, more upscale wheels, and solid red tail-lights.  The interior of both the sedan and coupe models saw a brand new instrument panel design, with a central gauge cluster (now with a standard engine temp gauge), and more ergonomic driver controls. Fan and windshield wiper controls were now mounted on rotary-style switches on either side of the instrument panel, and the HVAC controls received a new push-button control layout. Other changes included reworked interior door panels. A driver's side airbag continued as an option, a rarity then for an economy level car. On Tempo LX and AWD, the interior received chrome and wood trim on the dashboard and doors. Topaz models featured the tachometer-equipped gauge cluster and a front center armrest standard.  The 1991 model year (the last year of the 1988 restyled look) saw the discontinuation of the all-wheel drive Tempo and Topaz, as well as the now Canadian market exclusive entry-level Tempo L. For 1992, the Tempo and Topaz saw a minor restyle; the Tempo gained body-colored side trim (replacing the black and chrome trim) as well as full body-colored bumpers. The three bar chrome grille on the Tempo was also replaced with a new, body-colored monochromatic grille, while the Topaz's chrome grille was replaced with a new non-functional light-bar.  Also for 1992, the 3.0 L "Vulcan" V6 engine, borrowed from the Taurus and Sable, was introduced as an option for the GL and LX models, and was the standard engine on the GLS. The 1992 model year would be the last year of the GLS, as it was discontinued (along with its Topaz counterpart) in 1993. This left the Tempo with only two trim level options, GL and LX. 1992 also brought about a slightly redesigned gauge cluster, with tachometers now reading up to 7,000 RPM instead of the previous 6,000 RPM. Also, a fuel door indicator was added to the fuel gauge (an arrow pointing to the side of the car where the fuel door was located). 1992 was the only year for American models to have an available 120 MPH speedometer (GLS, XR5 and LTS models only); all other model years read to 85 MPH. 1994 was the last model year for the Ford Tempo (and Mercury Topaz), with production halting in the first quarter of 1994.  Trim levels for the second generation Ford Tempo are as follows:  Trim levels for the second generation Mercury Topaz are as follows:

End of production.

In 1994, Ford introduced the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique as replacements for the Tempo and Topaz, sharing corporate resources of Ford of Europe. While highly innovative in its early years, and even though it was a strong seller for nearly its entire lifetime, by the early 1990s the Tempo and the Topaz were seen as an aging platform. They also lacked an automatic transmission with overdrive when compared to newer 4-speed automatics. It was also to be the last year for the 2.3 L "HSC" engine, which was built by Ford specifically for the Tempo and Topaz. Also, it was to be the last year for the 3-speed FLC automatic transmission; although it was slightly redesigned, given overdrive, and was used on the Ford Escort and Mercury Tracer. With all of these factors, Ford stopped production of the Tempo on March 25, 1994, when the last one rolled off the Claycomo, Missouri assembly line. It was succeeded by the Ford Contour, a derivative of the European Ford Mondeo. It came with a jump in price: the most expensive 1994 Tempo (a loaded LX sedan with a V6) was about US$12,900 ($20,784 in 2016 dollars), while a base model 1995 Contour (GL with four-cylinder engine and manual transmission) was $13,990 ($22,540 in 2016 dollars). The last Ford Tempo and Topaz rolled off the Oakville, Ontario, Canada assembly line on May 20, 1994.  The new-for-1995 Ford Windstar was then built at the Ontario plant that formerly built the Tempo and Topaz, while Kansas City turned over to Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique production (shared with a plant in Hermosillo, Mexico). Today, the Ford Fusion occupies the same market niche that the Tempo and Topaz once did.

Production figures.

The Ford Tempo was a massive sales success for Ford. It was one of the top ten best selling cars in the US, usually in the top five, during its entire production. Through 1984, Ford sold a total of 531,468 examples of the Tempo and Topaz, nearly 100,000 more units than the best-selling Toyota Camry of today. Below is a list of annual model year production figures for the Tempo.

The Ford Tempo and its twin, the Mercury Topaz, are compact cars that were produced by the Ford Motor Company for model years 1984 to 1994. They were downsized successors to the boxy Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr twins. The Tempo and Topaz were part of a rejuvenation plan by Ford to offer more environmentally friendly, fuel efficient, and more modern styled models to compete with the European and Japanese imports. While the car sold well, its innovation and aerodynamic design paved the way for the even more groundbreaking Ford Taurus. The Tempo and Topaz were replaced for 1995 by the "world car" platform sold in North America as the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

La Ford Tempo est une automobile produite par Ford entre 1984 et 1994. elle a aussi été vendue sous le nom de Mercury Topaz.


Early years.

Hixon was born to an African American father and a German mother. He attended Whitehall-Yearling High School in Whitehall, Ohio and was a letterman in football, basketball, track, and baseball. In basketball, he was named Honorable Mention All-State as a point guard. In track, he cleared 6-5 in the high jump event.  Hixon was a high school teammate of NFL defensive back Keiwan Ratliff.

College career.

Hixon was one of Charlie Frye's passing weapons during his first 3 years at Akron. In the 2005 MAC Championship game, Luke Getsy found Hixon for what would be the game winning 36 yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, earning Akron its first MAC Championship in school history.

Professional career.

Denver Broncos.

Hixon played 4 games for the Denver Broncos to start the 2007 season then was released in early October. He functioned as the team's starting kick returner. At the start of the second quarter in the first game of the season against the Buffalo Bills, tight end Kevin Everett suffered a serious spinal cord injury while tackling Hixon. Everett had a near-full recovery after a grim prognosis but never played another NFL game.

New York Giants.

The New York Giants quickly signed Hixon and soon he took over the main kickoff returning duties. Domenik had one reception for 5 yards against the Minnesota Vikings on November 25. He made his mark by returning a kickoff 74 yards for a touchdown in the Giants' 2007 regular season finale against the undefeated New England Patriots. Hixon's touchdown put the Giants ahead 14–10 in the 2nd quarter, but the Giants lost 38–35.  As the main kickoff returner, Hixon returned 10 kickoffs for an average of 25.3 yards during the Giants' run to Super Bowl XLII. His returns provided the Giants with good field position and helped propel their offense into the end zone on several occasions. He recovered a critical fumble late in the 4th quarter of the NFC Championship game on January 20 at frigid Lambeau Field, a game the Giants eventually won in overtime. Hixon also recorded 2 special teams tackles in the 2007 playoffs.  Hixon later broke out in the Giants second preseason game against the Cleveland Browns, catching two touchdown passes and then returned an 82-yard kickoff for a touchdown, all in the first quarter.  In week 5 of the 2008 season, Hixon was forced to start after Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress was suspended for breaking team rules.  Hixon would have 4 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. He left the game late in the first half after suffering a concussion.  In Week 14, Hixon would again be placed in the starting role for the rest of the season, due to the suspension of Burress for conduct detrimental to the team after suffering an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound to his leg.  On June 16, 2010, Hixon suffered a torn ACL at a practice at the Giants' new home in the New Meadowlands, and was pronounced out for the season. He was waived/injured and subsequently placed on the injured reserve list on July 17.  On August 13, 2011, Hixon returned to the team in the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers preseason game.  On week 2 of the 2011 Season, Hixon tore his ACL while making a spectacular bobbling catch in the endzone. He was declared out for the season.  In his career, he's made 31 special teams tackles, caught 63 passes for 838 yards (13.3 avg) and 4 touchdowns, ran 3 times on reverse plays for 18 yards, returned 51 punts for 561 yards and a touchdown and 80 kickoffs for 1,966 yards and a touchdown.  On March 3, 2012 Hixon re-signed with the New York Giants.

Carolina Panthers.

At the start of free agency, Hixon reportedly turned down an offer from the Detroit Lions. After receiving interest from the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers, Hixon ultimately agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Panthers on April 3, 2013. In a week 16 game against the New Orleans Saints, Hixon caught a game winning 14 yard TD pass from Cam Newton to give the Panthers a 17–13 win and give them first place in the NFC South.

Chicago Bears.

On March 13, 2014, Hixon signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears. On May 27, 2014, during the Organized Team Activities (OTA), he suffered a torn ACL for the third time in his career.

Retirement.

On the same day that his injury during the Bears' OTAs was announced, Hixon announced through his Facebook page that he would be retiring from the NFL. On June 3, 2014, the Bears terminated Hixon's contract with an injury settlement.

Charity work.

Hixon hosts the Next Level Football Camp, with co-founder Anthony Jordan, which provides underprivileged children in the Columbus, Ohio area with a summer football training program. In the past, the camp has been staffed by current and former NFL players such as Lance Moore, Chase Blackburn, and Gary Joshua.

Domenik Hixon (born October 8, 1984) is a former American football wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Akron. He was also a member of New York Giants, with whom he became a two-time Super Bowl winner against the New England Patriots twice, as well as, a member of the Carolina Panthers and the Chicago Bears.

Domenik Hixon (né le à Neunkirchen am Potzberg) est un joueur allemand de football américain. Il joue actuellement aux postes de wide receiver et return specialist.


Service.

Ordered on 29 August 1746, she was laid down at Woolwich Dockyard in 1746 as "Royal Anne," and built to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment. She was renamed "Royal George" during building and launched on 18 February 1756. At the time of her launch in 1756, she was the largest warship in the world at more than 2,000 tons, and is considered the "eighteenth-century equivalent of a weapon of mass destruction". She served in the Seven Years' War, commissioning under her first commander, Captain Richard Dorrill in October 1755, and after being completed, joined the Western Squadron or Channel Fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hawke in May 1756. Dorrill was succeeded by Captain John Campbell in July 1756, who was in turn succeeded by Captain Matthew Buckle in early 1757. "Royal George" was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Edward Boscawen at this time, and flew his flag in the Raid on Rochefort in September that year. Captain Piercy Brett took command in 1758, during which time "Royal George" became the flagship of Admiral Lord George Anson. Brett was succeeded by Captain Alexander Hood in November 1758, though "Royal George"s former captain, Richard Dorrill, was back in command the following year, until being invalided out of the ship in June. Dorrill's replacement was another former captain, John Campbell, who commanded her in the blockade of the French fleet at Brest. She became Sir Edward Hawke's flagship in early November of that year, when his previous flagship,, went into dock for repairs. Hawke commanded the fleet from "Royal George" at the Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759, where she sank the French ship "Superbe".  "Royal George" was commanded by Captain William Bennett from March 1760, and she was present at the fleet review at Spithead in July that year. John Campbell returned to command his old ship in August 1760, though Bennett was captain again by December. "Royal George" joined Admiral Charles Hardy’s fleet in the Autumn of 1762, and was then paid off on 18 December that year. She was laid up at the conclusion of the Seven Years' War, undergoing a large repair at Plymouth between 1765 and 1768. The outbreak of the American War of Independence generated a need for more ships and "Royal George" was fitted at Portsmouth for service in the Channel between May 1778 and April 1779.  She recommissioned under her first new commander, Captain Thomas Hallum, in July 1778, with command passing to Captain John Colpoys in November that year. "Royal George" was at this time the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Harland, with the Western Squadron. Harland struck his flag, and in his place Vice-Admiral George Darby briefly raised his in June 1779, though from August 1779 until December 1781 she was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir John Lockhart Ross. Meanwhile, Captain Colpoys was replaced by Captain John Bourmaster in December 1779, and she joined Admiral Sir George Rodney's fleet in their mission to relieve Gibraltar. Under Bourmaster, and flying Ross's flag, "Royal George" took part in the attack on the Caracas convoy on 8 January 1780, and the Battle of Cape St. Vincent on 16 January 1780, before going on to successfully relieve Gibraltar three days later.  "Royal George" returned to Britain with the rest of the fleet, and had her hull coppered in April 1780. She returned to service that summer, serving with the Channel Fleet under Admiral Francis Geary, and then George Darby from the Autumn. Both captain and admiral changed in late 1781, Bourmaster being replaced by Captain Henry Cromwell, and Ross striking his flag for "Royal George" to become the flagship of Rear-Admiral Richard Kempenfelt. She served as part of Samuel Barrington's squadron from April 1782, with Cromwell replaced by Captain Martin Waghorn in May. "Royal George" then joined the fleet under Richard Howe.

Loss.

On 28 August 1782 "Royal George" was preparing to sail with Admiral Howe's fleet to relieve Gibraltar. The ships were anchored at Spithead to take on supplies. Most of her complement were aboard ship, as were a large number of workmen to speed the repairs. There were also an estimated 200–300 relatives visiting the officers and men, 100–200 "ladies from the Point [at Portsmouth], who, though seeking neither husbands or fathers, yet visit our newly arrived ships of war", and a number of merchants and traders come to sell their wares to the seamen. The reason most of her complement were aboard was because of fear of desertion: all shore leave had been canceled. Accordingly, every crew member then assigned to the vessel was aboard it when it sank, except for a detachment of sixty marines sent ashore that morning. The exact number of the total crew on board is unknown, but is estimated to be around 1,200.  At seven o'clock on the morning of 29 August work on the hull was carried out and "Royal George" was heeled over by rolling the ship's starboard guns into the centreline of the ship. This caused the ship to tilt over in the water to port. Further, the loading of a large number of casks of rum on the now-low port side created additional and, it turned out, unstable weight. The ship was heeled over too far, passing her centre of gravity. Realising that the ship was settling in the water, the ship's carpenter informed the lieutenant of the watch, Monin Hollingbery, and asked him to beat the drum to signal to the men to right the ship. The officer refused. As the situation worsened, the carpenter implored the officer a second time. A second time he was refused. The carpenter then took his concern directly to the ship's captain, who agreed with him and gave the order to move the guns back into position. By this time, however, the ship had already taken on too much water through its port-side gun ports, and the drum was never sounded. The ship tilted heavily to port, causing a sudden inrush of water and a burst of air out the starboard side. The barge along the port side which had been unloading the rum was caught in the masts as the ship turned, briefly delaying the sinking, but losing most of her crew. "Royal George" quickly filled up with water and sank, taking with her around 900 people, including up to 300 women and 60 children who were visiting the ship in harbour. 255 people were saved, including eleven women and one child. Some escaped by running up the rigging, while others were picked up by boats from other vessels. Kempenfelt was writing in his cabin when the ship sank; the cabin doors had jammed because of the ship's heeling and he perished. Waghorn was injured and thrown into the water, but he was rescued. The carpenter survived the sinking, but died less than a day later, never having regained consciousness. Hollingbery also survived.  Many of the victims were washed ashore at Ryde, Isle of Wight where they were buried in a mass grave that stretched along the beach. This land was reclaimed in the development of a Victorian esplanade and is now occupied by the streets and properties of Ryde Esplanade and The Strand. In April 2009, Isle of Wight Council placed a new memorial plaque in the newly restored Ashley Gardens on Ryde Esplanade in memory of "Royal George". It is a copy of the original plaque unveiled in 1965 by Earl Mountbatten of Burma, which was moved in 2006 to the Royal George Memorial Garden, also on the Esplanade.  A court-martial failed to correctly attribute blame for the tragedy and acquitted the officers and crew (many of whom had perished), blaming the accident on the "general state of decay of her timbers" and suggesting that the most likely cause of the sinking was that part of the frame of the ship gave way under the stress of the heel. The officer of the watch at the time of the sinking was, in fact, most responsible. Naval historian Nicholas Tracy stated that this officer had allowed water to accumulate on the gundeck. The resulting free surface effect eventually compromised the ship's stability. Tracy concluded that an "alert officer of the watch would have prevented the tragedy..."  A fund was established by Lloyd's Coffee House to help the widows and children of the sailors lost in the sinking, which was the start of what eventually became the Lloyd's Patriotic Fund. The accident was commemorated in verse by the poet William Cowper:

Salvage attempts.

Initial attempts.

Several attempts were made to raise the vessel, both for salvage and because she was a major hazard to navigation, lying in a busy harbour at a depth of only. In 1782, Charles Spalding recovered six iron 12-pounder guns and nine brass 12-pounders using a diving bell of his design.

Deane brothers (1834).

No further work was carried out on the wreck until 1834, when Charles Anthony Deane and his brother John, using the first air-pumped diving helmet which they had invented, began work. From 1834–1836 they recovered 7 iron 42-pounders, 18 brass 24-pounders and 3 brass 12-pounders for which he received salvage from the Board of Ordnance. The remaining guns were buried under mud and the timbers of the wreck and were unable to be recovered.  It was during this operation that local fishermen asked the divers to investigate something on the seabed that their nets kept snagging. A dive by John Deane north east of "Royal George" revealed timbers and guns from "Mary Rose", the first time that its resting place had been located for several centuries.

Pasley (1839).

In 1839 Major-General Charles Pasley, at the time a colonel of the Royal Engineers, commenced operations. Pasley had previously destroyed some old wrecks in the Thames to clear a channel using gunpowder charges; his plan was to break up the wreck of "Royal George" in a similar way and then salvage as much as possible using divers. The charges used were made from oak barrels filled with gunpowder and covered with lead. They were initially detonated using chemical fuses, but this was later changed to an electrical system using a resistance-heated platinum wire to detonate the gunpowder.  Pasley's operation set many diving milestones, including the first recorded use of the buddy system in diving, when he ordered that his divers operate in pairs. In addition, a Corporal Jones made the first emergency swimming ascent after his air line became tangled and he had to cut it free. A less fortunate milestone was the first medical account of a diver squeeze suffered by a Private Williams: the early diving helmets used had no non-return valves; this meant that if a hose became severed, the high-pressure air around the diver's head rapidly evacuated the helmet causing tremendous negative pressure that caused extreme and sometimes life-threatening effects. At the British Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in 1842, Sir John Richardson described the diving apparatus and treatment of diver Roderick Cameron following an injury that occurred on 14 October 1841 during the salvage operations.  In 1840, the use of controlled explosions to destroy the wreck continued through to September. on an occasion that year the Royal Engineers set off a huge controlled explosion which shattered windows as far away as Portsmouth and Gosport.  Meanwhile Pasley had recovered 12 more guns in 1839, 11 more in 1840, and 6 in 1841. In 1842 he recovered only one iron 12-pounder, because he ordered the divers to concentrate on removing the hull timbers rather than search for guns. Other items recovered, in 1840, included the surgeon's brass instruments, silk garments of satin weave "of which the silk was perfect", and pieces of leather; but no woollen clothing. By 1843 the whole of the keel and the bottom timbers had been raised and the site was declared clear.

Surviving timbers and guns.

A 24-pounder from the ship is part of the Royal Armouries collection and is on display at Southsea Castle.  Several of the salvaged bronze cannon were melted down to form part of Nelson's Column in London's Trafalgar Square. The Corinthian capital is made of bronze elements, cast at the Woolwich Arsenal foundry. The bronze pieces, some weighing as much as are fixed to the column by the means of three large belts of metal lying in grooves in the stone.  Recovered materials were used to make a variety of souvenirs. In the 1850s, timber from the ship was used to make the billiard table by J. Thurston & Co. for the North Wing of Burghley House. Wood salvaged from the "Royal George" was also used to make the coffin for the famous menagerie owner George Wombwell who died in 1850.

Notes.

a. "Royal George"s usual complement was 867.

HMS "Royal George" was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard and launched on 18 February 1756. The largest warship in the world at the time of launching, she saw service during the Seven Years' War including being Admiral Sir Edward Hawke's flagship at the Battle of Quiberon Bay and later taking part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent. She sank undergoing routine maintenance work whilst anchored off Portsmouth on 29 August 1782 with the loss of more than 800 lives, one of the most serious maritime losses to occur in British waters. The disaster is examined in detail in the book "Catastrophe at Spithead: The Sinking of the Royal George" written by Hilary L. Rubinstein and published in 2020.

Le HMS "Royal George" est un vaisseau de ligne de premier rang de 100 canons de la "Royal Navy" britannique. Construit aux chantiers navals de Woolwich Dockyard et lancé le, il est le plus grand vaisseau de guerre du monde au moment de son lancement. Il sert pendant la guerre de Sept Ans, et est le vaisseau amiral de l'amiral Hawke pendant la bataille des Cardinaux, sous le commandement du capitaine John Campbell. Il sert à nouveau pendant la guerre d'indépendance des États-Unis, notamment à la bataille du cap Saint-Vincent en 1780.


History.

The Los Angeles Temple was announced on March 23, 1937, by church president Heber J. Grant, when the church purchased 24.23 acres (98,000 m) from the Harold Lloyd Motion Picture Company. Construction was to begin soon thereafter, but financial difficulties relating to the Great Depression and World War II delayed the groundbreaking until 1951. The temple plans were revised at this time to include a priesthood assembly room, an unusual feature in temples built after the Salt Lake Temple. It was also expanded to accommodate an unprecedented 300 patrons per session.  This was the first temple with an angel Moroni statue since the Salt Lake Temple. When the statue was installed it faced southeast, as the temple does. It was later turned to face due east at the request of church president David O. McKay. This was the last temple designed to use live actors instead of a film to present the endowment. The motion-picture presentation soon replaced the live actor presentation, and the progressive presentation (in which patrons moved from one room to another) was replaced with stationary ordinance rooms (i.e., patrons remained in a single room for the entire ceremony). In 2003, the temple reverted to a progressive-style presentation of the endowment (but still using a film) and completely renovated the Terrestrial room.  The Los Angeles California Temple was closed for renovations in late November 2005, with reopening originally scheduled for May 2006, but eventually delayed until July 11, 2006. The renovation also included a seismic overhaul and a complete redesign and reconstruction of the baptistry, which had long been plagued by mold due to poor ventilation. In 2012 a fire damaged an adjacent building under-construction that was to house the mission president.  In 2020, the Los Angeles California Temple was closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Setting.

Located at 10777 W. Santa Monica Boulevard in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, the temple sits atop a small hill above the intersection of Overland Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. The well manicured grounds are open to the public and are filled with various plants, including Canary Island Pine trees, several varieties of palm trees, Bird of Paradise trees, olive trees, and rare Chinese Ginkgo trees. At the left and right of the temple are two fountains, and at the front is a large reflection pool. Several family-themed statues further beautify the grounds. In December, the temple grounds are decorated with thousands of multi-colored lights in celebration of Christmas.  While not as regionally prominent as the temples in Oakland, San Diego, and Washington, D.C., the temple is still a distinctive feature of the westside of Los Angeles. Numerous church facilities are on its grounds including a meetinghouse, a baseball field, the headquarters of the church's California Los Angeles Mission, and apartments (used by missionaries, temple workers, temple patrons, and visiting church officials).  The remaining land of the million-square-foot lot, along Manning Avenue, was subdivided for residential lots, the sale of which considerably offset the expense of constructing the temple. Along with the Bern Switzerland Temple, dedicated a few months before, these were the church's first temples built outside of an LDS Church-dominated area. The Los Angeles Temple was the first temple explicitly designed for automobile accessibility: with its parking facilities being larger than those of any temple built previously and with no direct pedestrian connection between the front doors and Santa Monica Boulevard.

Architecture.

The temple's architecture is generally Modernist, an aesthetic that extends to the choice of exterior cladding: 146,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of Mo-Sai pre-cast concrete facing, a mixture of crushed quartz and white Portland cement quarried in Utah and Nevada. The very light brown pigmentation of the Mo-Sai blend has the advantage of concealing the thin layer of soot that accumulates on most buildings in Los Angeles. The temple is 369 feet (112 m) long, 269 feet (82 m) wide and has an overall height of 257 feet (78 m). Atop the temple stands a 16-foot (5 m) tall statue of the angel Moroni. The building's architect, Edward O. Anderson, patterned it after Mayan architecture.  The rooms include a baptistry, celestial room, four ordinance rooms, ten sealing rooms, and an assembly room that stretches the entire length of the temple. The Los Angeles Temple features murals on the walls of its progressive-style ordinance rooms, including the celestial room. The only other temples with celestial room murals are the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple and the first New Zealand Temple.

External links.

The Los Angeles California Temple (formerly the Los Angeles Temple), the tenth operating and the second-largest temple operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), is on Santa Monica Boulevard in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, California, United States.

Le temple de l’Église de Jésus-Christ des Saints des Derniers Jours de Los Angeles (en anglais, "Los Angeles California Temple") est un temple de l'Église de Jésus-Christ des saints des derniers jours situé à Los Angeles, en Californie.


Early life and education.

Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Rankin was raised in a musical family. Along with her parents and siblings, Rankin grew up playing various musical instruments. She began performing at the age of four on the radio by singing for commercials. As a teenager she studied voice with Madame Jeanne Lorraine (a ten-year student of vocal pedagogue, Manuel Garcia), at the Birmingham Conservatory. In order to pay for her lessons with Lorraine, Rankin rented the Huntingdon College pool and spent her summers teaching the children of Montgomery to swim. Helen Traubel visited the conservatory to perform a recital in 1943. Determined to succeed in an opera career, Rankin went backstage and persuaded Traubel's accompanist, Coenraad V. Bos, to hear her sing. On Bos's advice, she moved to New York City to continue her studies with Karin Branzell. Her sister, Ruth Rankin, a soprano with similar ambitions, moved with her. An illuminating story of the Rankins is found in the biography of Jussi Bjoerling written by his wife, wherein she tells of Nell singing "O don fatale" for Maestro Bjoerling in their Montgomery home. Ten years later she knocked on his dressing room door at the Chicago Lyric to reintroduce herself as his Eboli for the evening.

Career.

Rankin made her professional recital debut at Town Hall, in a joint recital with her sister in March 1947. This was followed by her operatic debut as Amneris in a production of "Aida" at the Salmaggi Opera Company in Brooklyn, with her sister in the title role.  Rankin joined the Opernhaus Zürich in 1948, where she made her debut as Ortrud in Wagner's "Lohengrin". She stayed with the company for two years and sang 126 performances with the company during her first year alone. In 1950 she joined Theater Basel, where she performed Amneris in "Aida" and Dalila in Saint-Saëns's "Samson et Dalila". That same year she became the first American singer to win the first prize at the International Music Competition in Geneva, which raised Rankin's profile in the opera world; she soon received invitations to perform at many of the world's best opera houses.  In 1951 she debuted at the Teatro alla Scala, the Vienna State Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera, all in the role of Amneris in "Aida". That same year she recorded the role of Suzuki in Puccini's "Madama Butterfly", opposite Renata Tebaldi, for Decca Records and was a soloist in La Scala's production of Verdi's "Requiem" under Victor de Sabata, with Renata Tebaldi, Giacinto Prandelli and Nicola Rossi-Lemeni. In 1953, she made her debuts at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the San Francisco Opera, both in the title role of Bizet's "Carmen". She also gave a solo recital for Queen Elizabeth II in honor of her Coronation. Also in 1953, she gave her first solo recital in New York City at Town Hall. The "New York Times" said of her performance, "Not only is Miss Rankin's a voice of power and range, but it is as warm as the red color of the dress she wore. Her voice is beautifully trained so that it flows purely and evenly no matter how long sustained or how quickly stated."  Rankin was one of the singers honored in the Metropolitan Opera's Centennial Concert in 1983. Many veteran singers of the company were asked to sit on the stage for the second half of the performance. In a 2002 "Opera News" interview, Rankin said that the single most memorable musical event in her career took place in 1952. Her husband was in the Air Force in North Africa, and she was engaged to give a solo concert on the Mediterranean coast, in an open-air theater forty miles outside Tripoli. "Imagine", says Rankin, "Libya was still a kingdom then, and King Idris had a piano flown in from Egypt, while an American cruiser was stationed near the shore to illuminate the stage. The whole thing was unreal and unforgettable."  Although Rankin made appearances with several major companies throughout her career, she spent most of her time in New York City performing at the Metropolitan Opera between 1951 and 1976; there she sang the role of Carmen, the Princess di Bouillon in Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur", Madelon in Giordano's "Andrea Chénier", Santuzza in Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana", Marina in Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" (in English), Giulietta in Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann", Herodias in Richard Strauss's "Salome", Maddalena in Verdi's "Rigoletto", Azucena in Verdi's "Il trovatore", Princess Eboli in Verdi's "Don Carlo", Ulrica in Verdi's "Un ballo in maschera", Brangäne in Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde", Gutrune in Wagner's "Götterdämmerung", Fricka in Wagner's "Die Walküre" and Ortrud in Wagner's "Lohengrin" among others. Her last performance with the company was as Laura in Ponchielli's "La Gioconda" on April 16, 1976.  Other notable performances in Rankin's career include the starring role in CBS's television production of "Carmen" in 1954 and several productions at La Scala, including the role of Cassandra in Berlioz's "Les Troyens" in 1960. She made her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in 1959 as Princess Eboli in Verdi's "Don Carlo". She also appeared at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples as Adalgisa in Bellini's "Norma" in 1963. In 1971 she appeared as Carmen in the very first production made by the Lyric Opera Company of Long Island. She appeared at the Teatro Colón, Bellas Artes Opera in Mexico City, the Liceu in Barcelona and a score of other companies in Europe and North America. She was an admired recitalist and concert singer throughout her career. She was asked often asked by Sir Rudolf Bing to look soprano roles such as Elsa in "Lohengrin". "Mr. Bing, I AM as soprano, but I am a MEZZO soprano." This is advice she would also give her students.  After she retired from the Metropolitan Opera, Rankin devoted herself to teaching, first at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, from 1977 to 1984. Among her students were Tenor Richard Burke, Bass-Baritone Lucas Ernst, and Mezzo-Soprano Wanda Brister. She taught privately in New York City until she retired in 1991.

Recordings.

Rankin made few commercial recordings during her career. Although she was under contract with the Decca label, many of her recording projects fell through for various reasons, and her only Decca recording is Suzuki in Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" with Renata Tebaldi in the title role. She sang in Beethoven's 9th Symphony recorded with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bruno Walter (CBS). She made a magnificent recording of Brahms songs - including the Four Serious Songs - with Coenraad V. Bos for Capitol Records (Capitol P8289.) This is doubly significant as V. Bos was the accompanist for the Serious Songs’ first performance in 1896 with the composer in attendance. Also on Capitol she appears in Vaughan Williams’ “Five Tudor Portraits” (P8218.) A number of notable live recordings have become available on CD. Among them is a 1951 recording of Rankin's Amneris in "Aida" that was conducted by Herbert von Karajan for radio broadcast in Vienna, a recording of Verdi's "Requiem" at La Scala from that same year, and the 1960 La Scala production of Berlioz's "Les Troyens".  A famous "pirated" recording of hers is a 1958 performance of "Aïda" in Mexico City, with Rankin as Amneris and fellow singers Anita Cerquetti, Flaviano Labò, Cornell MacNeil, Fernando Corena and Norman Treigle. Rankin was among the singers honored at the Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala in 1983.

Personal life.

In 1952 Rankin married Dr. Hugh Clark Davidson, a physician. They were married for fifty-three years until her death of polycythemia vera, a bone marrow disease in 2005, aged 81. She died at Cabrini Medical Center in New York City. The Davidsons had no children; this was a source of sorrow to them, and they became ̈aunt ̈ and ̈uncle ̈ to some of the children of Miss Rankin ́s friends. Miss Rankin loved exotic animals and at one time owned a myna bird named Pharaoh and a jaguar named King Tut with which she was photographed as Amneris. Her myna birds loved music too, and sometimes learned her arias as she practiced them at the piano. She would then accompany them, singing a third lower for harmony.

Nell Rankin (January 3, 1924 – January 13, 2005) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano. Though a successful opera singer internationally, she spent most of her career at the Metropolitan Opera, where she worked from 1951 to 1976. She was particularly admired for her portrayals of Amneris in Verdi's "Aida" and the title role in Bizet's "Carmen". "Opera News" said, "Her full, generous tone and bold phrasing, especially in the Italian repertory, were unique among American mezzos of her generation.

Nell Rankin est une mezzo-soprano américaine née à Montgomery, Alabama le et décédée à New York le. Bien qu'ayant eu une carrière internationale, elle a surtout chanté au Metropolitan Opera où elle a travaillé de 1951 à 1976. Rankin a été particulièrement admirée pour ses rôles d'Amneris dans l"'Aida" de Verdi et de "Carmen" dans l'opéra de Bizet. La revue "Opera News" écrit, "Sa voix pleine, généreuse et son phrasé précis, spécialement dans le répertoire Italien, étaient uniques parmi les mezzos américaines de sa génération.