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Edward Rayne
Sir Edward Rayne (19 August 1922 – 7 February 1992) was head of H. & M. Rayne (often simply known as Rayne), one of the foremost British manufacturers of high-end and couture shoes. With a Royal Warrant to both the Queen and Queen Mother, Rayne shoes were worn by high society and film stars. Under his stewardship H. & M. Rayne took a stake in Genesco – then the largest shoe company in the world – secured licensing deals with Bergdorf Goodman and Bonwit Teller and encouraged British designers to embark on franchising. Having served a long apprenticeship in making shoes at the family firm, he was also a skilled designer – Jean Muir described him as the best British shoemaker of his age. Rayne served on the boards of Debenhams and Harvey Nichols (director and chairman respectively) and was a high-profile ambassador for British fashion; he was chair of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers (IncSoc) and its successor the British Fashion Council (BFC), as w ...
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Bexhill-on-Sea
Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of archaeological sites, a Manor House in the Old Town, an abundance of Edwardian and Victorian architecture, and the famous De La Warr Pavilion: today a centre for contemporary art – which has featured the work of Andy Warhol, Cerith Wyn Evans and Richard Wilson among others – and an auditorium, where Bob Marley had his first UK appearance and has since seen performances by Elvis Costello, Goldfrapp, Marti Caine, Ray Davies, Years & Years, Patti Smith and Laurie Anderson. History The first reference to Bexhill, or Bexelei as it was originally called, was in a charter granted by King Offa of Mercia in 772 AD. It is recorded that King Offa had "defeated the men of Hastings" in 771 AD. At this time, the term Hastings would ...
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British Fashion Council
The British Fashion Council (BFC) is a non-profit organization that aims to enable sustainable growth of British fashion in the global fashion economy. Founded in 1983, the BFC organizes biannual womenswear and menswear showcases, London Fashion Week (LFW) and London Fashion Week Men's (LFWM) to promote "the best of British design" to an international audience. Leadership and activities Based in London, the British Fashion Council (BFC) is currently chaired by Stephanie Phair, and, since 2009, Caroline Rush CBE has been the organization's chief executive officer. Previous Chairs of the BFC have included Natalie Massenet, Edward Rayne, Nicholas Coleridge CBE, Harold Tillman, and Sir Stuart Rose. The BFC organizes the biannual London Fashion Week (LFW) and London Fashion Week Men's (LFWM), showcasing the best of British fashion designs to an international audience of press and buyers. Alongside this, each season London Show Rooms takes emerging designers to Paris providing the ...
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million Military personnel, personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Air warfare of World War II, Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in hu ...
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Sergeant Bilko
''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half-an-hour long except for a 1959 one-hour live special. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko of the United States Army. The series was created by Nat Hiken and won three consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Series. The show is sometimes titled ''Sergeant Bilko'' or simply ''Bilko'' in reruns, and it is very often referred to by these names, both on-screen and by viewers. The show's success transformed Silvers from a journeyman comedian into a star and writer-producer Hiken from a highly regarded behind-the-scenes comedy writer into a publicly recognized creator. Production By 1955, the American television business was already moving westward to Los Angeles, but Nat Hiken insisted on filming the series ...
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Robert Smith Surtees
Robert Smith Surtees (17 May 180516 March 1864) was an English editor, novelist and sporting writer, widely known as R. S. Surtees. He was the second son of Anthony Surtees of Hamsterley Hall, a member of an old County Durham family. He is remembered for his invented character of Jorrocks, a vulgar but good-natured sporting cockney grocer. Early life Surtees attended a school at Ovingham and then Durham School, before being articled in 1822 to Robert Purvis, a solicitor in Newcastle upon Tyne. Career Surtees left for London in 1825, intending to practise law in the capital, but had difficulty making his way and began contributing to the ''Sporting Magazine''. He launched out on his own with the ''New Sporting Magazine'' in 1831, contributing the comic papers which appeared as ''Jorrocks' Jaunts and Jollities'' in 1838. Jorrocks, the sporting cockney grocer, with his vulgarity and good-natured artfulness, was a great success with the public, and Surtees produced more Jorrocks ...
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Colin McDowell
Colin Roxburgh McDowell (born 1936) is a British fashion writer, designer and curator. McDowell is best known for his stint as a highly opinionated Fashion Editor for '' The Sunday Times'', where he became a familiar sight in the front row of fashion shows, and in which capacity he claims to have been banned from more shows than any other writer. Early life Born in Northumberland, McDowell moved from Alnwick to Gloucester at three years old. He cultivated a strong interest in modern art and architecture as a teenager. He was educated at Durham University (Hatfield College), where he followed the arts stream of the General Studies degree and took courses in English Literature and European History, having turned down a place at Oxford because he wanted to return to the North East. As a student in Durham he wrote for the university newspaper, ''Palatinate'', alongside future Beatles biographer Hunter Davies, and produced the 'Film Notes' column – a review of recent cinema r ...
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Mr Magoo
Mr. Magoo (known by his full name: J. Quincy Magoo) is a fictional cartoon character created at the UPA animation studio in 1949. Voiced by Jim Backus, Mr. Magoo is an elderly, wealthy, short-statured retiree who gets into a series of comical situations as a result of his extreme near-sightedness, compounded by his stubborn refusal to admit the problem. However, through uncanny streaks of luck, the situation always seems to work itself out for him, leaving him no worse than before. Bystanders consequently tend to think that he is a lunatic, rather than just being near-sighted. In later cartoons, he is also an actor, and generally a competent one, except for his visual impairment. ''Magoo'' episodes were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film three times, and received the award twice, for '' When Magoo Flew'' (1954) and ''Magoo's Puddle Jumper'' (1956). In 2002, ''TV Guide'' ranked Mr. Magoo number 29 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" lis ...
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Cataract
A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble with bright lights, and trouble seeing at night. This may result in trouble driving, reading, or recognizing faces. Poor vision caused by cataracts may also result in an increased risk of falling and depression. Cataracts cause 51% of all cases of blindness and 33% of visual impairment worldwide. Cataracts are most commonly due to aging but may also occur due to trauma or radiation exposure, be present from birth, or occur following eye surgery for other problems. Risk factors include diabetes, longstanding use of corticosteroid medication, smoking tobacco, prolonged exposure to sunlight, and alcohol. The underlying mechanism involves accumulation of clumps of protein or yellow-brown pigment in the lens that reduces transmission of ...
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Harrow School
Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner and farmer, under a Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I. The school has an enrolment of about 820 boys, all of whom boarding school, board full-time, in twelve boarding houses. It is one of the Public Schools Act 1868, original nine public schools listed in the 1868 parliament act. Harrow's uniform includes morning dress, morning suits, Boater, straw boater hats, top hats and walking stick, canes. Its list of distinguished alumni includes seven former Prime minister, British Prime Ministers: George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Spencer Perceval, Perceval, F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, Goderich, Robert Peel, Peel, Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Palmerston ...
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Public Limited Company
A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It is a limited liability company whose shares may be freely sold and traded to the public (although a PLC may also be privately held, often by another PLC), with a minimum share capital of £50,000 and usually with the letters PLC after its name. Similar companies in the United States are called ''publicly traded companies''. Public limited companies will also have a separate legal identity. A PLC can be either an unlisted or listed company on the stock exchanges. In the United Kingdom, a public limited company usually must include the words "public limited company" or the abbreviation "PLC" or "plc" at the end and as part of the legal company name. Welsh companies may instead choose to end their names with , an abbreviation for '. However, some public limited companies (mostly nationalised ...
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Bond Street
Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the longer northern section New Bond Street—a distinction not generally made in everyday usage. The street was built on fields surrounding Clarendon House on Piccadilly, which were developed by Sir Thomas Bond, 1st Baronet, Sir Thomas Bond. It was built up in the 1720s, and by the end of the 18th century was a popular place for the upper-class residents of Mayfair to socialise. Prestigious or expensive shops were established along the street, but it declined as a centre of social activity in the 19th century, although it held its reputation as a fashionable place for retail, and is home to the auction houses Sotheby's and Bonhams (formerly Phillips (auctioneers), Phillips) and the department store Fenwick (department store), Fenwick and jewel ...
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The Old Vic
The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal Victoria Palace. It was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 and formally named the Royal Victoria Hall, although by that time it was already known as the "Old Vic". In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian Baylis, assumed management and began a series of Shakespeare productions in 1914. The building was damaged in 1940 during air raids and it became a Grade II* listed building in 1951 after it reopened. The Old Vic is the crucible of many of the performing arts companies and theatres in London today. It was the name of a repertory company that was based at the theatre and formed (along with the Chichester Festival Theatre) the core of the National Theatre of Great Britain on its formation in 1963, under Laurence Olivier. The National Theatre remained a ...
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