Marlborough Town, Wiltshire

Marlborough Town

Marlborough is a market town in the English county of Wiltshire on the Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath. It is well known for having the widest high-street in Britain.

The first sign of human habitation is the pre-historic mound (tumulus), in the grounds of Marlborough College. It is possibly of similar age to the larger Silbury Hill five miles to the west. Legend has it that the Mound is the burial site of Merlin[1] and that the name of the town, Marlborough comes from Merlin’s Barrow. The town’s motto is Ubi nunc sapientis ossa Merlini – Where now are the bones of wise Merlin[2].

Further evidence of human occupation comes from the discovery of the Marlborough Bucket an Iron Age burial bucket, with decorations of human heads and animals on sheet bronze.

Roman remains and coins have been found two miles to the East of Marlborough, at Mildenhall (Cunetio).

A later Saxon settlement grew up around The Green and two early river crossings were made at Isbury Lane and Stonebridge Lane.

The first written record of Marlborough dates from 1087 when the Domesday Book was finished. The borough received its charter to hold a market in 1204.[3]

    * In 1067, William the Conqueror assumed control of the Marlborough area and set about building a wooden motte and bailey castle, sited on the pre-historic mound. This was completed in around 1100 and stone was used to strengthen the castle, in around 1175.

    * William also established a mint in Marlborough, which coined the William I and the early William II silver pennies. The coins display the name of the town as Maerlebi or Maerleber.

    * William I established the neighbouring Savernake Forest as a favourite Royal hunting ground [4] and Marlborough Castle became a Royal residence. Henry I observed Easter here, in 1110. Richard I (Coeur de Lion) gave the castle to his brother John, in 1186. Henry II stayed at Marlborough Castle, in talks with the King of Scotland. King John was married here and spent time in Marlborough. He even established a Treasury. Later, Henry III was also married here.[5]

    * Henry III held Parliament here, in 1267, when the Statute of Marlborough was passed (this gave rights and privileges to small land owners and limited the right of the King to take possession of land). This seven-hundred-year-old law states that no one shall seize his neighbour’s goods for alleged wrong, without permission of the Court. It is the oldest piece of English law which has not yet been repealed.

    * The castle fell into disrepair by the end of the 14th century but remained Crown property. Edward VI then passed it to the Seymour family, his mother’s relatives.

    * The 1204 Charter granted the Borough an annual eight-day fair, commencing on 14 August, the vigil of the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady (15 August), in which “all might enjoy the liberties and quittances customary in the fair at Winchester”. He also established that weekly markets may be held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. These continue to this day.[6]

    * In 1498 Thomas Wolsey was ordained priest in (the now redundant) St Peter’s church. He later rose to become a cardinal and Lord Chancellor.

    * In 1642, Marlborough’s peace was shattered by the English Civil War. The Seymours held the Castle for the King but the Town was for Parliament. With his headquarters in nearby Oxford, King Charles had to deal with Marlborough. “A Town the most notoriously disaffected of all that Country, otherwise, saving the obstinacy and malice of the inhabitants, in the situation of it very unfit for a garrison… this place the King saw would prove quickly an ill neighbour to him, not only as it was in the heart of a rich County, and so would straighten him, and even infest his quarters.” The King sent Lord Digby to take the town of Marlborough. He left Oxford at the head of four hundred horses, on the 24th November. When he arrived, he chose to parley first, thus giving the inhabitants a chance to prepare defences and to recruit troops. They mustered about seven hundred poorly-armed men. At this point, the Town issued a reply to Digby. “The King’s Majesty” he declared, “providing he were attended in Royal and not in war like wise, should be as welcome to that Town as ever was Prince to People; but as to delivering up the good Town of Marlborough to such a traitor as Lord Digby … they would sooner die”. After some early skirmishes, Royalist troops infiltrated the Town down its small alleyways. The Town was captured and looted and many buildings were set ablaze. One hundred and twenty prisoners were marched in chains to Oxford. The Town was later abandoned by the King and took no further part in the war.

    * On 28 April 1653, the Great Fire of Marlborough burnt two hundred and fifty houses to the ground.[citation needed] Fire swept through the Town again in 1679 and again in 1690. This time, an Act of Parliament was passed “to prohibit the covering of houses and other buildings with thatch in the Town of Marlborough”.[7]

    * In 1689, William III created Sir John Churchill, the distinguished Army general, Earl of Marlborough. In 1702, William’s successor, Queen Anne created Churchill Duke of Marlborough.

    * Nobel Prize winning author William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, grew up in the town. Golding lived on a house in the Green. Golding was educated at the former Marlborough Grammar School, where his father was a science master.

In 2004, Marlborough Live celebrated 800 years of its Town Charter, among the celebrations was a street play by the Marlborough Players entitled “Wheels of Time” and a visit from HRH Prince Charles. During the rebuilding of the town after the Great Fire of Marlborough in 1653 which destroyed almost the entire town, the high street became what is claimed to be the widest in England. This allows ample space for a local market which is held twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Every summer the town holds a jazz festival with local pubs, clubs, hotels and various other venues playing host to live jazz music over the course of a weekend. Every October the high street is closed for the two Saturdays either side of 11 October for the Marlborough Mop Fair. This was originally a hiring fair for agricultural workers seeking employment but now has become a funfair. The right of the town to close the road to hold the fair is set down in the Charter.

On the north side of the high street is the Merchant’s House, which is currently under restoration but part of which is open to the public on Fridays and Saturdays in summer. The house was built following the Great Fire of 1653. It was the property of a silk merchant and, rarely for a house of this type in a town centre, still retains its original room pattern. Of great interest are the wall paintings recently uncovered, which are undergoing careful conservation. One room painted in a striped pattern, copying silk hangings, is perhaps unique in Great Britain.

The Harry Potter stories and movies have a big group of followers all over the world

I am deeply amazed by the heavy worldwide success of the Harry Potter stories. The Harry Potter novels were written by the UK author J.K. Rowling. She saw the light of day on 31 July 1965. Her complete name is Joanne Rowling. But she writes under the pseudonym J.K. Rowling because primarily her publishing company considered it was a beneficial idea to hide the matter that she is a woman. The publishing house feared it could have a negative effect on the sales figures if everybody immediately sees that the writer was female. Thus, instead of showing her first name she used two initials. As she has no middle name she picked Kathleen as basis for the K. in her pseudonym. Kathleen is the name of her paternal grandmother.

The very first Harry Potter novel – Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone – was released mid 1997 in the UK. Very mentionable is the point that only one thousand units of the first book were printed at the beginning. The original title of the book was not Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, but Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. But when the story was published to the United States market in the year 1998, it was published as Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone.

After that J.K. invented some more Harry Potter novels. Now the Harry Potter series is made of a total of seven novels. These are:

• Story 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
• Story 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Story 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Story 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Story 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Story 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Story 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The Harry Potter novels have been translated into over sixty-five languages and have been published all over the world. Besides the big success in the United States and the United Kingdom, Harry Potter is also noticeably renowned in Germany. The Harry Potter novels have been published to German readers under those titles:

• Book 1: Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen
• Book 2: Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens
• Book 3: Harry Potter und der Gefangene von Askaban
• Book 4: Harry Potter und der Feuerkelch
• Book 5: Harry Potter und der Orden des Phoenix
• Book 6: Harry Potter und der Halbblutprinz
• Book 7: Harry Potter und die Heiligtuemer des Todes

I must admit that I did not have the opportunity to read all those stories. But there are readers who know them all, which is quite fascinating and contributes to the tremendous success.

Ottawa, Quebec City & Prince Rupert Climate & Average Weather Mean Values

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

At Ottawa, Ontario, Canada the average temperature is 5.71C (42.275F). -16.00C (3.20F) is the lowest average monthly low temperature (occurring in January) while 27.00C (80.60F) is the highest average monthly high temperature which occurs in July. This gives us an average range of temperatures of 32.00C (89.60F). Wet weather in Ottawa, Ontario accumulates to give us an average total of 865.00mm (34.06in) per annum. Therefore the average monthly rainfall is 72.08mm (2.84in). August is the wettest month when an average of 83mm (3.27in) of rain falls over a period of 10 days while in February only 58mm (2.28in) of rain falls over 13 days. Ottawa, Ontario’s climate enjoys an average of 141 days per year with greater than 0.1mm (0.004in) of rainfall. Relative humidity at Ottawa, Ontario averages 62.83333333% over the year. 53% is the lowest average monthly relative humidity which occurs in May & July and 75% is the highest average monthly relative humidity which occurs in January & December. Ottawa, Ontario’s climate enjoys an average of 1989 hours of sunshine per year which is an average of 5.45 hours per day. The range of sunlight hours is from an average of 2.5 per day in December to 9.1 per day in July. Find more details about the climate in Ottawa, Ontario on the world climate, temperature and weather website. Excellent climate graphs are provided that publishers can include on their websites.

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

At Quebec City, Quebec, Canada the average temperature is 4.63C (40.325F). -16.00C (3.20F) is the lowest average monthly low temperature (occurring in January) while 25.00C (77.00F) is the highest average monthly high temperature which occurs in July. This gives us an average range of temperatures of 31.00C (87.80F). Wet weather in Quebec City, Quebec accumulates to give us an average total of 1053.00mm (41.46in) per annum. Therefore the average monthly rainfall is 87.75mm (3.45in). July is the wettest month when an average of 107mm (4.21in) of rain falls over a period of 13 days while in March only 70mm (2.76in) of rain falls over 13 days. Quebec City, Quebec’s climate enjoys an average of 159 days per year with greater than 0.1mm (0.004in) of rainfall. Relative humidity at Quebec City, Quebec averages 66.33333333% over the year. 54% is the lowest average monthly relative humidity which occurs in May and 80% is the highest average monthly relative humidity which occurs in January. Quebec City, Quebec’s climate enjoys an average of 1638 hours of sunshine per year which is an average of 4.49 hours per day. The range of sunlight hours is from an average of 2.0 per day in December to 7.2 per day in July & August. Get further information regarding the Quebec City average temperature on the world climate, temperature and weather website. They offer a detailed Quebec City, Quebec climate graph that webmasters can add to their webpages.

Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada

At Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada the average temperature is 7.67C (45.8F). -1.00C (30.20F) is the lowest average monthly low temperature (occurring in January) while 17.00C (62.60F) is the highest average monthly high temperature which occurs in July & August. This gives us an average range of temperatures of 12.00C (53.60F). Wet weather in Prince Rupert, British Columbia accumulates to give us an average total of 2397.00mm (94.37in) per annum. Therefore the average monthly rainfall is 199.75mm (7.86in). October is the wettest month when an average of 337mm (13.27in) of rain falls over a period of 24 days while in June only 108mm (4.25in) of rain falls over 16 days. Prince Rupert, British Columbia’s climate enjoys an average of 232 days per year with greater than 0.1mm (0.004in) of rainfall. Relative humidity at Prince Rupert, British Columbia averages 80.08333333% over the year. 74% is the lowest average monthly relative humidity which occurs in AprilMay and 87% is the highest average monthly relative humidity which occurs in December. Prince Rupert, British Columbia’s climate enjoys an average of 955 hours of sunshine per year which is an average of 2.62 hours per day. The range of sunlight hours is from an average of 0.8 per day in December to 4.7 per day in May. You can find out more about the weather in Prince Rupert, British Columbia on the world climate, temperature and weather website. Details of the average high and low temperature for each month are available there.

Hardwood Furniture in Regency England

An important document in the history of 19th century English furniture was a book of designs by George Smith, who held the appointment of “Upholder extraordinary to HRH the Prince of Wales” (the future King George IV). Smith had a business premise at Princess Street, Cavendish Square, London, and his book of 158 designs was published in 1808 by William Taylor of Holborn. The hardwood furniture designs include cornices, tables, bedsteads, chairs, tall bookcases, commodes, window drapery, and other items, the names of which, adapted from the French, possibly appear in the English language for the first time – escritoire, jardiniere, dejune tables, chiffoniers. The designs show the taste of the Regency fashion prevalent in England at that time. Smith, in his “Preliminary Remarks”, gives an interesting insight into the prevailing taste of the period:

“The following practical observations on the various woods employed in cabinet work may be useful. Mahogany, when used in houses of consequence, should be confined to the parlour and the bedchamber floors. In furniture for these apartments the less inlay of other woods, the more chaste will be the style of work. If the wood be of a fine, compact, and bright quality, the ornaments may be carved clean in the mahogany. Where it may be requisite to make out panelling by an inlay of lines, let those lines be of brass or ebony. In drawing-rooms, boudoirs, ante-rooms, East and West India satin woods, rosewood, tulip wood, and the other varieties of woods brought from the East, may be used; with satin and light coloured woods the decorations may be of ebony or rosewood; with rosewood let the decorations be ormolu, and the inlay of brass. Bronze metal, though sometimes used with satin wood, has a cold and poor effect: it suits better on gilt work, and will answer well enough on mahogany.”

Amongst the designs, some display a subdued Gothic character – these are usually carved in light oak, or painted in a light stone color, some of them having heraldic shields, with coats of arms and crests highlighted in color. There are also some window seats painted to look like marble, with Roman or Greco-Roman ornaments painted in green to look like bronze. Some of the finest are mahogany with bronze green ornamentation.

Nowadays, of course, Regency style hard wood furniture may not be affordable or appropriate. For contemporary decor, many people choose tall bookcases or mabye oak book case furniture for their homes.

Balloons

Introduction

When you think of the word ‘Balloons’ what images appear in your mind? Is it simple balloons you blow up for children’s parties, or balloons that fly off on their own, or the special balloons for key events like the ones produced for the wedding of Charles and Diana? There are now so many different types of balloons on the market that you can get almost anything for everything any event you like.

So what exactly is a balloon? One definition defines a balloon as a flexible bag which you fill with air or some other type of gas, such as helium or hydrogen. The early balloons would have been made with non stretch material but modern balloons are made with latex so they have great elasticity and can be pumped up to much larger sizes.

History of Balloons

The most primitive known balloons were made in Central and Southern America by the Aztec Indians. They were made out of the bowels of cats which were carefully cleaned then turned inside out. They were sewn with special vegetable thread that had the property of sticking to itself when dried in the sun and creating an almost airtight seal. The balloons were then made into air filled model animals and burned at the top of the Aztec pyramid as an offering to the sun god. (The first example of balloon modelling). A Portuguese priest, Bartolomeu de Gusmao, held the first public exhibition of a balloon in the Portuguese Court in Lisbon in 1709 which was probably made from an animal bladder that stretched when filled with air. The rubber balloon was invented in 1824 by a Michael Faraday and was filled with hydrogen to be used in his experiments with hydrogen. But the familiar latex balloon did not appear until 1847.

The early rubber balloons were sold in America in Parks and Circuses for a penny each. Although the latex balloon was manufactured in London in the mid 1800′s the mass production of them did not occur until much later in 1931.

As technology has become more advanced so has the world of balloons. Now balloons can be made from rubber, latex, polychloroprene or nylon. They can be filled with air, helium, hydrogen or water. Filling the balloon with air can be done with the mouth, a manual pump(such as a hand pump), or electric inflator or with compressed gas. The balloons are used for many differing purposes, and decorated in numerous ways to fit the circumstance.

Some balloons are purely for decoration, others are ideal for specific uses because of their low density and relatively low cost. The balloon’s properties have led to them being used in a wide range of other applications in the areas of meteorology, military defense, medical treatment, and transportation.

Types of Balloons

Party Balloons

The most common and familiar types of balloons are the party balloons. These are often bought in small packets and blown up by mouth to create a festive scene for children’s parties and other kinds of celebratory events where balloons make all the difference. These days I often see a cluster of balloons at the entrance to a house or hall to indicate where the party is being held. The balloons come in many different sizes and colours and can have printing on the face which expands as the balloon is inflated. Party Balloons are mostly made of natural latex tapped from rubber trees. The rubber’s elasticity makes the volume variable. Balloons filled with air usually hold their size and shape much longer.

Helium Balloons

Balloons which float upwards are filled with the gas helium which is lighter than air. So for an event where balloons are let off into the atmosphere, they will need to be helium balloons. Helium filled rubber balloons normally only retain their buoyancy for a few days. The enclosed helium atoms are smaller than the pores in the latex through which they escape. To increase the float time of a helium balloon for a week or more, the inside of the balloons can be coated with a special polymer solution to reduce the leakage of the helium.

Water Balloons

The water balloons are often smaller than regular balloons and made from thin rubber so that they can be easily broken. They are filled with water and are intended for children to throw at each other as a game or practical joke with the aim of getting each other soaked. They may also be used in competitions or games.

Foil Balloons

In the late 1970s along came the foil balloon. These are made of thin non-stretch metalized plastic film or mylar. They are much more expensive and made an appearance at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana causing quite a stir. These balloons have attractive shiny reflective surfaces and can be printed with color pictures, logos and patterns to customize them. The most important property of metalized nylon for balloons is its ability to keep the helium gas from escaping for several weeks because it is less permeable. Foil balloons then have the advantage of being light weight, longer-lasting, with increased buoyancy. They are perfect for parties, in-store decorations, special celebrations and for gifts.

Animal-Shaped Balloons

Metalized nylon balloons can be cut into the three dimensional shapes of animals and then printed to represent the chosen animal. Once inflated the balloons make very bright, decorative items for gifts or may be used as a theme for a special event. Screen printing is used to create the designs for these spectacular pieces.

Balloon Modelling and Balloons in Art

Balloon modelling is a popular entertainment for children and adults alike. A Balloon artist twists and ties inflated tubular balloons into shapes resembling animals or even people. Sometimes they are called balloon sculptures, not to be confused with those cited below. When I have watched these artists at work I have often wondered why the balloons don’t burst when they are working. The reason is that the type of latex used for balloon sculpture is made of extra-stretchy rubber so that they can be twisted and tied without bursting. These tiny tubular balloons are extremely tricky to inflate initially so often a pump is needed to get them started.

Balloon Sculptures

Professional party decorators may use hundreds of helium balloons to create balloon sculptures. These sculptures are often limited because of the round shape of the balloons to simple arches or walls but on occasion more ambitious “sculptures” have been attempted. Sometimes balloons are used as table decorations for special events which will have 3 or 5 balloons to each bouquet. The decoration will usually include curled ribbon with an added weight to stop the balloons from floating away.

Professional balloon party decorators use electronic equipment to enable the exact amount of helium to fill the balloon. For non-floating balloons air inflators are used. Professional quality balloons differ from most retail packet balloons as they are bigger in size and made from 100% biodegradable latex.

Balloon Drops

I am sure you will have been to a party or dance where at the end of the evening hundreds of balloons fall from the ceiling to mingle amongst the participants. This is known as a balloon drop and is often performed at New Year’s Eve celebrations or at political rallies and conventions. It is a relatively low cost way of creating a festive atmosphere at the party climax, so everyone goes away feeling they have had a really good time.

If you want to create a balloon drop for your own event you will need to set up a large plastic bag or net overhead, which is suspended at a certain height. This is then filled with air-inflated balloons so that they will fall onto the target area below when the balloons are released. You will also need to devise a mechanism for releasing the balloons. Balloon drops may also be performed at many celebrations, including graduations and weddings.

Balloon Rockets

As a child I am sure you played the game of blowing up a balloon then letting it go while watching it speed around the room making a rude noise with everyone falling about laughing. These are called balloon rockets and I remember being enthralled and wondering how they worked. When the mouth of the balloon is released, the greater pressure of air inside forces its way out and the elasticity of the balloon contracts causing the balloon to be propelled forward. This is fundamentally how a rocket works. The balloon can also be filled with gases other than air, with similar results. Besides being simple toys, balloon rockets are a widely used teaching device to demonstrate physical principles and the functioning of a rocket. The balloon rocket is often used to demonstrate Newton’s third law in physics.

Balloon Publicity

Balloons releases or races are often used for Publicity at major events as well as for fund raising or raising awareness, where a company logo or message is printed onto the balloons.

Balloon Releases

In Australia they had a fund raising event on 18th April for Make-A-Wish Day. The 5,000 released balloons make a stunning sight as they rise across the bay marking the number of wishes granted since 1985.

If you are planning a balloon release or race of more than 5,000 balloons, it is a requirement that you apply in writing for permission to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) at least 28 days in advance. The CAA also like to be informed of balloon releases up to 5,000. A form can be obtained by calling either the NABAS office on 01989 762 204 or the Airspace Utilisation Section of the CAA on 020 7453 6599

Because of concerns about the effect on the environment of large numbers of balloons being released, the NABAS – The Balloon Association have produced a code of conduct which can be found on their website at www.nabas.co.uk

Safety and Environmental Concerns

Balloons are made of natural rubber latex (NRL) which is a natural product coming from rubber trees that are grown in certain areas of the tropics. These are not trees that are cut down to produce the NRL. The NRL is obtained by tapping from mature trees and is a sustainable crop providing employment for many agricultural workers in some of the poorest areas of the world.

As a consequence of NRL cultivation and the consumption of latex products, the planting and maintenance of rubber tree plantations helps towards the prevention of tropical rainforest deforestation. This contributes significantly to the removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, produced by industrialised nations and a major source of global warming.

Research shows that latex balloons which are completely natural coming from the Hevea tree degrade faster than oak leaves. Oxidation occurs first in the breakdown of latex and it begins within 60 minutes of a balloon being inflated. As the decaying process is by natural exposure nutrients are released into the ground. Most balloons used in releases today are made of bio-degradable latex.

An estimated 90/95% of balloons released rise to an altitude of 5 miles, at which height the cold will cause the balloon to become brittle and shatter into miniscule pieces. The small fragments then floating back to earth to degrade in the ground. Balloon fragments are unlikely to cause harm if accidentally ingested. This is because latex and the dyes used in latex colouring are non-toxic.

Printed latex balloons are a fantastic, low-cost and environmentally friendly way of advertising at promotions and events. All latex balloons supplied by B-Loony, the UK’s largest printed balloon manufacturer, are completely biodegradable. The code of conduct produced by NABAS for balloon releases gives advice to ensure the protection of our environment.

Manufacture of Balloons

Balloons are manufactured by their millions every day in many countries. The rubber is collected as liquid from a rubber tree and then sent to the factories where the liquid goes through a series of treatment processes. These processes include shaping and colouring operations and testing for quality. The results are thousands balloons which provide a splash of colour and party atmosphere at celebrations and conferences or any event where a large number of people gather.

Conclusion

Toy balloons have been a source of pleasure and excitement throughout the world for many years. They have provided hours of entertainment and interest for children as well as being an educational resource. Non toy Balloons are being used for science, medicine and travel and are invaluable in helping us to learn about our world. Balloons I am sure will remain very alive and active on the world’s scene for many years to come.