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Club Regulations - Range Rules
New Range Policy
The board of directors has unanimously approve the following new policy:
The use of fully automatic firearms or firearms equipped with bump fire stocks or binary triggers at the range requires prior board approval. Failure to obtain written board approval proor to use will result in permanent loss of membership.
- No alcohol on the range, and no one under the influence of alcohol or drugs may be on the range.
- SAFETY is the overriding consideration in the operation and use of the firing ranges. Treat every firearm as if it is loaded; keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction (downrange, or at the ground); all guns MUST be unloaded before anyone goes down range for any reason; do not handle any firearm while anyone is down range; keep your finger off of the trigger until your sights are on target.
- Anyone on the range has the authority to call for a "CEASE FIRE" if they observe any unsafe act or condition.
- Only Authorized Members and their guests may use the range. The Member MUST accompany and be in direct control of their guests. All members must wear Membership Identification Card above the waist.
- Groups activities, shooting outside of normal range hours, or use of machine guns, must have Board approval.
- Raise the main red shooting flag once you are on the premises. Once you are on a specific range, raise that range's red flag. Lower the range flag when no one else is present at that range and lower the main flag if no one else is on the premises.
- No glass is to be used as targets, no pyrotechnic targets are allowed, all targets must be below the top of the berm. PICK up your trash! No tracer, incendiary or armor piercing ammo may be used on the range. Do not discard live or misfired ammunition on the range or in the range trash.
- Shoot only on designated ranges,
- No bikes, ATV'S, hiking, hunting, etc on the range.
On the rifle/general purpose range: All rifles/pistols allowed. Shotguns only allowed to shoot slugs. No birdshot or buckshot!
In the pistol bays: All handguns allowed that shoot pistol caliber (.22 cal. through .500 S&W). No handguns that shoot rifle calibers (Thompson Contenders, etc.) are allowed. Pistol caliber carbines are allowed. Remember, no rifle caliber firearms of any type are allowed, unless under match or class conditions with prior Board approval. Shotguns are allowed with birdshot only. No slugs or buckshot unless under match or class conditions.


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Wed, 28 December 2016
For the final show of 2016, we look back on the year and give our favorite movies, Geoff breaks a Christmas tradition and some voicemails on speed.
Direct download: MSPH_291-RIP_2016.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 7:29pm PDT
Wed, 21 December 2016
Dungeon Master Alex Wilson is back with another epic campaign for warriors Kevin Kraft, Geoff Clark, Shuddy Boy and Siike Donnelly. Grab your sack of die and adventure up!
Direct download: MSPH_290-Blumpkins_and_Dragons_Part_2.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 9:29am PDT
Wed, 14 December 2016
This week the guys delve into the mystery of hot farts, The Greasy Strangler and Geoff's return to the show.
Direct download: MSPH_289-The_Science_of_Hot_Farts.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 5:56pm PDT
Wed, 7 December 2016
Geoff is back! And we welcome Ralph Sutton to the show who shows us just how far he'll go for the craft and how he got a visit from the FBI at 15.
Direct download: MSPH_288-Ralph_Sutton.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 7:23pm PDT
Wed, 30 November 2016
Dustin Ybarra returns to talk with the guys about Shuddy using suppositories, talking Jamaican pot turds and Kevin's marijuana fear and loathing.
Direct download: MSPH_287-Shuddy_The_Butt_Mule.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 6:09pm PDT
Wed, 23 November 2016
Our good friends Dr Steve and Dr Scott of Weird Medicine return to the show to give medical advice to people with leaky butts and shed light on why Donald Trump is orange. Also, a nerd out where we rank our favorite Marvel movies!
Direct download: MSPH_286-Doctor_Steve_Returns.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 5:30pm PDT
Sat, 12 November 2016
The show is back with Siike and Alex and this week we discuss all the interesting worlds we could explore in virtual reality, video games and an in depth review of Doctor Strange.
Direct download: MSPH_285-The_Do_Over.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 7:26pm PDT
Mon, 7 November 2016
The lost episode where Kevin details getting his ass kicked at Ellismania 13, getting grey pubes and Siike's love/hate relationship with Godzilla.
Direct download: MSPH_284-Fartzilla.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 11:43am PDT
Tue, 11 October 2016
This week Kevin discusses more butt problems, Dustin Ybarra gives his dongs origin story, Shuddy Boy recaps his date and Kevin and Dustin look forward to Vegas.
Direct download: MSPH_283-Clear_Butt_Goo_2_Electric_Poopaloo.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 6:22pm PDT
Wed, 5 October 2016
Dustin Ybarra and Alex Wilson are back as Dustin talked being raised Jehovah's Witness and his new TV deal with ABC, Kevin has a jacking off mishap with his phone, everyone shares their first drunk story and season 1 of Luke Cage is reviewed.
Direct download: MSPH_282-Puke_Cage.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 6:45pm PDT
Mon, 26 September 2016
Writer/model/b-baller Melissa Stetten swings by the party hour to talk being a writer in an overly touchy age, Corey Feldman's troubled times, gambling on the presidential debate and some hard hitting fart licking news from Shuddy Boy.
Direct download: MSPH_281-Melissa_Stetten.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 7:07pm PDT
Wed, 21 September 2016
Stephen Sajdak from the We Hate Movies podcast and Shawn Marek of Worst Collection Ever join the guys for a balls deep conversation about shitty movies, superhero movies and even a little bit of comic book talk. Also, a special appearance from Drunk Alex.
Direct download: MSPH_280-We_Hate_Movies.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 6:08pm PDT
Mon, 12 September 2016
Comedian Sam Tripoli returns to talk about his new Las Vegas show, the ever changing PC world and Kevin's post-surgery rotten zombie poop mouth.
Direct download: MSPH_279-Sam_Tripoli_Returns.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 6:48pm PDT
Thu, 1 September 2016
Rob Sprance, Alex Wilson and a tipsy Dustin Ybarra stop by the show to talk about Shuddy and butt eating, Kevin going to The Price is Right and some drunken nonsense.
Direct download: MSPH_278-Shuddy_Trombone.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 7:38pm PDT
Thu, 25 August 2016
In a special bonus episode, Kevin, Shuddy Boy and Siike play through a Dungeons & Dragons campaign written and hosted by Alex Wilson. Using their powers of immaturity, can these brave warriors survive their deadly quest?
Direct download: MSPH_277-Blumpkins_and_Dragons.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:15pm PDT
Wed, 24 August 2016
Kevin almost loses his girlfriend off the back of a jet ski and finally gets around to seeing Suicide Squad and to say he doesn't have anything nice to say about it is an understatement. Also, Alex Wilson sits in and a stoned Shuddy Boy does his news.
Direct download: MSPH_276-Stupified_Squad.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 7:23pm PDT
Mon, 15 August 2016
Dustin Ybarra is back once again to talk with Kevin and Shuddy Boy about the med card process, potential Olympic events that involve poop and jacking off and the seedy underworld of poop sales.
Direct download: MSPH_275-Poop_Salesmen.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 6:30pm PDT
Mon, 8 August 2016
This week Dustin Ybarra sits in as we address Geoff officially leaving the show, Kevin is a potential serial killer with the things he collected when he was younger and we dig deeper into Shuddy Boy's hemorrhoid adventure.
Direct download: MSPH_274-The_Collector.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 6:21pm PDT
Mon, 1 August 2016
Geoff returns this week to talk how he managed to 'barter' his way home to California with the assistance of Tinder, Shuddy Boy is finally feeling the ailments of age and Kevin loves Star Trek Beyond.
Direct download: MSPH_273-Return_of_the_Dragon.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 9:06pm PDT
Wed, 27 July 2016
Siike and Alex are back this week to talk their experience with Kevin at San Diego Comic-Con 2016, the gang discusses Stranger Things and a caller has an unfortunate tattoo.
Direct download: MSPH_272-Comic-Con_Round_Up.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:44pm PDT
Wed, 20 July 2016
Kevin, Alex and Siike prepare for another visit to San Diego Comic Con, Kevin talks his trip to Salt Lake City, Siike has a poopy accident and a raging fire erupts right near Kevin's apartment.
Direct download: MSPH_271-Comic_Con-Artists.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 12:07am PDT
Tue, 12 July 2016
Alex Wilson sits in for Geoff as the guys discuss a man who can't stop cumming, Pokemon GO and Kevin reviews Swiss Army Man, a movie about a farting corpse with a boner.
Direct download: MSPH_270-Captain_Cummypants.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:22pm PDT
Tue, 5 July 2016
The gang is back after a week off where Kevin and Shuddy Boy smashed their genitals together, Kevin used his newfound detective skills to spot the dangers of flying on the 4th of July and talks about signing up for DDP Yoga.
Direct download: MSPH_269-The_Cluemaster.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 9:28pm PDT
Wed, 22 June 2016
Geoff faces his toughest dick obstacle course yet, explore Shuddy Boy and Kevin's bad highs, and Geoff has annoying neighbors.
Direct download: MSPH_268-Boner_Gauntlet.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 10:06pm PDT
Wed, 15 June 2016
Shuddy Boy parties with his son, Kevin gets blasted on YouTube and the guys discuss fucking themselves up their own butts.
Direct download: MSPH_267-What_What_In_The_Butt.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 9:09pm PDT
Tue, 7 June 2016
Alex and Siike are back this week to talk some comic movies stuff, dick injuries and Shuddy Boy delivers the news as only Shuddy Boy can.
Direct download: MSPH_266-Shuddy_Cronkite.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 10:20pm PDT
Thu, 2 June 2016
This week the guys talk the best and worst of the 90's, review X-Men: Apocalypse and envision a world where Shuddy Boy and Kevin face off in one on one basketball.
Direct download: MSPH_265-Waffles_and_Pogs.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 9:26pm PDT
Wed, 25 May 2016
The guys talk butthole waxing, The Nice Guys, video games and Shuddy Boy has a black Mormon aunt.
Direct download: MSPH_264-Game_of_Schlongs.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 9:13pm PDT
Thu, 19 May 2016
Comedian Esther Ku sits with the guys to talk about growing up in a cult, the rules of farting, pooping and dating and how edibles fucked up her pinkie.
Direct download: MSPH_263-Esther_Ku.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:26pm PDT
Wed, 11 May 2016
Kevin talks about his adventures while in Vancouver this past weekend, a porn parody of Misery and an Easter egg review of Captain America: Civil War.
Direct download: MSPH_262-Captain_Canada_Sativa_War.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 9:46pm PDT
Wed, 4 May 2016
Kevin and Geoff go off on an anti technology rant after a discussion on Star Wars day and if it's annoying or not. Also, stories about gambling, police and much more.
Direct download: MSPH_261-The_Amish_Awakens.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:49pm PDT
Wed, 27 April 2016
Hard hitting topics are discussed this week: pooping, farting, queefing and harassment in comics. Also, facing of again infant clones, Geoff gets stoned off cereal and are banana peels litter.
Direct download: MSPH_260-Poop_Tales.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 9:42pm PDT
Wed, 20 April 2016
At long last the real ass dude himself Luis J. Gomez stops by the party hour to talk the functionality of weed, the troubles of getting into Canada and shares a bit of his nerdier side... and of course some MMA talk.
Direct download: MSPH_259-Luis_J_Gomez.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:51am PDT
Wed, 13 April 2016
Garren James and Nick Hawk from the show Gigolos join the show to talk business and answer a bunch of immature questions from us, then Kevin, Geoff and Shuddy Boy talk movies & Netflix.
Direct download: MSPH_258-Gigolos.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:43pm PDT
Wed, 6 April 2016
This week we get nerdy talking more superhero movie moments, Kevin offends with his BO and a new mascot for the show is born.
Direct download: MSPH_257-Poopstachio.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 9:58pm PDT
Tue, 29 March 2016
An XL episode to make up for last weeks absence has an old fan favorite bit revived, lots of poop and bidet talk, an in depth spoiler review of Batman v Superman and Shuddy the poet makes his debut. Plus 42 minutes of last weeks periscope. Bonus!
Direct download: MSPH_256-The_Podcast_That_Never_Was.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 9:55pm PDT
Wed, 16 March 2016
Rob Sprance and Siike Donnelly are back as Kevin gives all the details from his recent trip to Japan, Rob talks about what it's like when the Huffington Post sniffs around one of your podcast bits and we discuss other random geeky nonsense.
Direct download: MSPH_255-Turning_Japanese.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 10:25pm PDT
Wed, 2 March 2016
The guys go over the Oscars to find out who loses the bet, Kevin gets acupuncture and Geoff reveals the productive nature of his butt.
Direct download: MSPH_254-Geoffs_Magic_Butt.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 6:33am PDT
Wed, 24 February 2016
Kevin, Geoff and Shuddy Boy discuss the ethics of farting in front of girlfriends, urinal etiquette and the dangers of holding in your poop... The usual high brow humor you've come to expect.
Direct download: MSPH_253-Bubble_Guts.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:39pm PDT
Tue, 16 February 2016
This week we find the line of which Shuddy Boy is willing to cross to get his porn fix, upcoming superhero movies and a half-assed Periscope Q and A. Also, a bit of a messed up easter egg.
Direct download: MSPH_252-The_Porn_Line.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 9:08pm PDT
Wed, 10 February 2016
This week a discussion about curling turns ugly, we explore the depths of sports betting and how far down the rabbit hole of online forums you can go. Also starring Alex Wilson.
Direct download: MSPH_251-The_Stupid_Bowl.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:44pm PDT
Wed, 3 February 2016
After 250 episodes we prove nothing can take the farts out of our sails! Geoff's random brain question leads to an exploration of the rrhea's, Kevin has yet ANOTHER awful medical ailment and we learn that party drugs can help with depression.
Direct download: MSPH_250-Podcastorrhea.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:59pm PDT
Thu, 28 January 2016
Kevin gives details in his latest self-inflicted moronic injury, Geoff's bitchy gets the attention of a major comedian and we discuss which TV shows we'd like to see return.
Direct download: MSPH_249-Scrotal_Terminator.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:43pm PDT
Wed, 20 January 2016
Dustin Ybarra returns as we make our annual Oscars picks to see who much face their punishment. Dustin talks doing NYE stand up, Kevin reinforces his hatred of Cate Blanchett and stories of getting kicked out of Walmart.
Direct download: MSPH_248-PodcastsSoWhite.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:46pm PDT
Wed, 13 January 2016
Siike is back this week as we discuss weed paraphernalia, the 2016 Razzie nominations and the guys all grasp their Powerball tickets with dreams of greatness.
Direct download: MSPH_247-Powerballs_of_Fire.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 9:23pm PDT
Wed, 6 January 2016
Geoff tells a tale of Tinder gone right, Kevin pays tribute to his friend Riley Martin, Shuddy breaks is porn dry spell and the guys give some Netflix recommendations.
Direct download: MSPH_246-Look_Whos_Farting.mp3
Category:Episodes -- posted at: 8:52pm PDT

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Mount Vernon Info and Attractions
The Areas we serve
We proudly serve the Mount Vernon New York area as well as its surrounding communities and counties: Bradley, Chester Heights, Chester Hill, Columbus, Fleetwood, Fulton, Great Falls, Hunts Woods, Kingsbridge, Memorial Field, Oakwood Heights, Sidney, Wilson Woods, and more.


text: Guest frankathl Posted January 5, 2005 Some items on the normal checklists have an AS REQUIRED response. While this is understandable in the written version of the checklist(in order to cover different possible configurations), shouldn't the verbal response be to describe the ACTUAL position of the switches, etc? The AS REQUIRED response is vague and, I think, open to misinterpretation?BR,Frank Share this post Link to post


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A Place to Live The Life
Eco Soul Guesthouse in Ericeira is an adult only bed and breakfast, situated in front of the Sao Juliao Beach. It's one of the most beautiful surf beaches in the Ericeira World Surfing Reserve. The centre of Ericeira is 5 km away, Sintra is on 15 km, a 10 km drive takes you to the historical Mafra and 25 km further lies Cascais, a charming seaside town. The guesthouse is close to everything and at the same time away from all the noise.
A peaceful place with good energy where the owners themselves make sure you have all you need. They are surfing enthusiasts and searched a few years to find the perfect place for their dream project. Sao Juliao is their favourite surfing beach. They created this charming small guesthouse for people who appreciate nature, relaxation and tranquillity. They can assist you with organising activities, tours and even booking restaurants.
This guesthouse has an ecological soul and uses bioclimatic standards and natural, renewable energies for sustainability. Rainwater is used for watering their small organic vegetable and herb garden. And for the decoration, they restored furniture and reused wood. There are not that many electronic devices in the B&B.
The Eco Soul Guesthouse offers you 'Blue Feelings Rooms' with ocean views and sounds of the waves. These rooms are decorated in sandy and blue colours to give you a feeling of the ocean and beach. Some rooms have a balcony and the Deluxe room has the best ocean views with front row seats to watch the spectacular sunsets.
Or choose a 'Green Feelings Room' that opens up to a decked terrace overlooking the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. They are decorated with wood and recycled elements in green and earthy tones. The double rooms get the first rays of sunlight in the morning and the suite is the most spacious, 25 m2, room, fully south facing, giving you sun from sunrise to sunset.
All 6 rooms have a black-out system, central heating, a private bathroom with hairdryer, tea making facilities, a beach bag and free wifi. Daily breakfast is included with fresh seasonal fruit and local foods, prepared according to your preference. There is a wine cellar for the use of all guests. At the circle of fire in the garden, you can wait for the stars to come out while enjoying a cup of tea or glass of wine.
The garden has a rainwater shower and place to store your surfboard. The perfect place to stay for surfers and nature lovers.


text:
Summary: Learn how to convert FZ1000 4K video to AIC MOV for iMovie editing with the fastest 4K video converter, most importantly, without quality loss.
Hot search: upload iMovie videos to YouTube | MKV to iMovie | XAVC to iMovie
Panasonic FZ1000 is one of the hottest 4K cameras in this Summer. The headline feature of the Panasonic GH4 is that it's a Micro Four Thirds camera that can shoot 4K video (in MP4, MOV format) for under $2000, capturing either Quad HD (3840*2160) at up to 29.97p or "Cinema 4K" (4096*2160) at up to 24p. If you recorded some videos by Panasonic FZ1000, you may like editing the 4K videos in iMovie.
"Hi, all, does anyone have any experience of Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 and iMovie workflow? I have just received my Panasonic FZ1000 camera the day before yesterday and everything is performing as expected, except there is no go when I importing FZ1000 4K video to iMovie for basic editing. And yes I have other more robust video editing programs but I like the simplicity of iMovie so would like to use it. Does anyone know how to get around this and make iMovie read FZ1000 footage flawlessly? I don't even mind paying for third party software."
iMovie won't open and import Panasonic FZ1000 4K footage correctly. Question is, what's causing the issues? According to my experience, it may due to the high video resolution and the video codec incompatibility. Since Apple InterMediate Codec is the best editing video codec for iMovie, so we can convert Panasonic FZ1000 4K video to AIC .mov (1080p would be the best settings.) with a top 4K Video Converter, which will save you both time and trouble, and all you need is to drag the result videos for prompt editing.
Here Pavtube Video Converter for Mac is highly recommended. It does a good job in converting Panasonic FZ1000 4K video to iMovie most compatible format with least quality loss. Plus, it supports encoding camera shootings in different formats (MTS/M2TS, MP4, MXF, XAVC, etc.) to video editing software compatible file types, i.e. MPEG-2 for Premiere Pro, DNxHD for Avid Media Composer, Apple ProRes for Final Cut Pro to meet your different needs.
Other Download:
- Pavtube old official address: http://www.pavtube.com/video-converter-mac/
- Amazon Store Download: http://www.amazon.com/Pavtube-Video-Converter-Mac-Download/dp/B00QIBK0TQ
- Cnet Download: http://download.cnet.com/Pavtube-Video-Converter/3000-2194_4-76179460.html
How to import Panasonic FZ1000 4K video to iMovie for editing?
Step 1: Download and have a quick installation. The trial version will have a watermark on your converted files. Except for that, there are no time limitation, no virus, and no unnecessary bundle apps while downloading. After that, click "Add Video" button to load your source files. You can load several files at once thanks to "Add from folder" button.
Step 2: Click the "Format" bar to get the drop-down menu and you can get "iMovie and Final Cut Express". Choose "Apple InterMediate Codec (AIC) (*.mov)" as best output format.
Step 3: Click "Settings" button to customize the output video and audio settings by yourself. But if you are not good at it, you'd better use the default parameters, they will ensure you a good balance between file size and image quality basically. You can change the resolution, bit rate, frame rate as you need.
Step 4: When everything is done, you can take a preview by hitting "Play" button. If you are satisfied with the final result, you can click "Convert" button to finish the conversion work.
Conclusion: When the conversion is done, you can click "Open" to get your generated files. Now, you can edit Panasonic FZ1000 4K video in iMovie without any hassles.
Source: http://file-editing-tips.over-blog.com/import-fz1000-4k-video-to-imovie
Further Reading:
Easily import Sony XDCAM EX Footage to Avid, Premiere, Sony Vegas, Pinnacle, CyberLink, Windows Movie Maker
Two Ways to Import Canon XF100 MXF to Premiere Pro CS6 for editing on Mac
How to Get MTS/M2TS into FCP X for Editing?
Importing Canon T4i/650D h.264 footage in iMovie Mac
Upload Canon XC10 XF-AVC 4K MXF to YouTube/Vimeo/Facebook
Convert MXF for Watching on Zeiss VR One with iPhone 6
Convert AVI to 3D MP4 for Playing on Zeiss VR One with Galaxy S4/S5/S6


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Raspberry Pi Model B+ gets an official price drop down to $25
Trevor Daugherty - May. 14th 2015 12:19 pm ET
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced that its wildly popular Model B+ is receiving a price drop down to $25. When it released the Pi 2 back in February, the micro-computing leader pledged continued support for the previous generation B+. Despite a newer iteration with 25% faster processing speeds and twice the amount of RAM, the Raspberry Pi Model B+ is still a very capable machine.
Today's news comes on the heels of the $9 CHIP microcomputer Kickstarter campaign that has gained a significant amount of notoriety and support. Regardless of the product, new competition and lowered prices is only good news for consumers. We are continuing to see new developers come up with ways to introduce these little computers to different age brackets and demographics.
Of course, the Model A+ is still available for $21, as well as the new Pi 2 which ships for $35. Make sure you check out the cool cases and accessories that are available for Pi.


text: Affiliate your secular group Group Information Group name:* Has your group affiliated with us before?* YesNo Was your group previously registered under a different name?* YesNo What was your group called previously? Great! Keep filling out the form to update your group information. Is your group incorporated?* YesNo Is your group a non-profit organization?* YesNo Is your group a non-profit organization?* YesNo Note: official nonprofit status (under section 501[c][3] of the Internal Revenue Service code) is granted only to corporations. If your group is nonprofit in an informal way but not formally recognized as such by the IRS, you should choose No. Does your group participate in the American Humanist Association's (AHA) tax exemption?* YesNo Postal address:* Display address on listing? YesNo Alternate address for map listing: Phone number: Display phone on listing? YesNo Alternate phone number for map listing (optional): Contact Information Contact name:* Display contact on listing? YesNo Contact title: Email address:* Group website: Group Activities Which of the following activities does your group currently engage in? Lecture meetingsField tripsTabling at street fairsAdvertisingSocial eventsArts eventsPublic protestsLetter writing/email campaignsOther Does your group publish a newsletter? YesNo What is the newsletter name? Check all the ways your newsletter can be read: HardcopyElectronic How often is your newsletter published? MonthlyBimonthlyQuarterlyOther Does your group charge membership dues? YesNo How much are group dues and how frequent? (ex. $20/year) Other Any other information or suggestions?


text:
Step Out of the Boat – By Sandy Wickberg
Step out of the boat!
One of the easiest ways we can "step out of the boat" and be the disciples that Jesus has called us to be is to reach outside the walls of our church building. This is called OUTREACH.
All of us are called to share our stories with others:
"Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. However, do this with gentleness and respect, keeping your conscience clear, so that when you are accused, those who denounce your Christian life will be put to shame." 1 Peter 3:15-16
Do you have to be a great communicator to participate in outreach? Do you have to be able to quote the Bible backwards and forwards?
The good news is that outreach has nothing to do with what we say or do. The Holy Spirit prepares the hearts of the ones we are meant to touch. That takes the pressure off, doesn't it? All we have to do is be available.
We can love friends, family and community with-out being pushy and obnoxious. We can disarm our neighbors by sharing the kindness and generosity of God with them.


text:
The Clone Wars Joins the Circus
This week's episode of The Clone Wars, "Bound for Rescue," ran the gamut: a space battle and a lightsaber duel, a gruesome killing by Grievous and a sneaky trick by Obi-Wan, Jedi showing off their serenity and their creativity, and Hondo Ohnaka's pirates displaying their drunken bawdiness and chilling ruthlessness. But the highlight was the most unexpected part: the traveling circus journeying to the pirate base to entertain. The Jedi younglings join them to launch their rescue operation to spring Ahsoka from Hondo's clutches – and mayhem and hilarity ensues. Not to mention the unforgettable visual of a Gamorrean keyboardist face-painted as a sad clown.
The circus made an impression on The Clone Wars reviewer Megan Crouse.
There were some great images in this episode, mostly around the circus: Hondo hugging the nose of the big reptilian creature the circus uses in the place of an elephant, or Aleena performers juggling balls against a drum to make a beat.A very drunken Hondo provides some comic relief and also some black humor, as one of his minions holds up the skull of a performer who displeased him.
Click onward to read Megan's review.
B.J. has served as editor of FANgirl Blog from its inception, as well as contributing reviews and posts on a range of topics. He edited Tricia's novel Wynde, and is collaborating with her on several future projects set in that original universe.
Currently a tenured law professor in Florida, B.J. has been a practicing lawyer in Washington, D.C., a law clerk to a federal appeals court judge, and a law journal editor-in-chief. He is also a proud geek dad whose son who is a big fan of Star Wars and The Clone Wars.
Latest posts by Lex (see all)
- Star Wars: The High Republic Revealed - February 26, 2020
- The Failures of The Rise of Skywalker, Part 6 - January 17, 2020
- The End of the Skywalker Saga: The Failures of The Rise of Skywalker, Part 5 - January 15, 2020


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My favourite thing about the Brighton Fishing Museum had to be the sign located on a hut opposite it, reading "Brighton Fishing Museum, Admission Free, 'Just Opposite this Sign.'" I love that "Just Opposite this Sign" is in quotation marks, and enjoyed trying to figure out why. Is that the museum's slogan? Did there used to be someone who actually stood inside the hut, directing traffic across to the museum, and it is quoting them? Do they just not know how to use quotation marks? Whatever the explanation, the sign is delightful.
East Sussex
Ditchling, East Sussex: Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft
I was apprehensive about visiting the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft after learning about Eric Gill, who was an incestuous paedophile, at the Sussex Modernism exhibition at Two Temple Place last year. Gill was part of the Ditchling group of artists, so I knew there was a good chance this museum would have some of his work, but I was hoping that because the Ditchling Museum hosts a number of temporary exhibitions, Gill's work wouldn't make up a significant part of what was on display. I eventually just reckoned that because National Art Pass holders get free admission (normally £6.50), at least I wouldn't be contributing any money to it if it was Gill-centric (other than what they get from the National Art Fund I guess), so on a recent trip to Brighton, we stopped off there on the way.
Hove, East Sussex: Hove Museum and Art Gallery
I've been to Brighton quite a few times over the years, and except for the Old Police Cells Museum, which I'm never around at the right time of day to visit (it's by pre-booked guided tour only, and the only tour time is 10:30 in the morning), I feel I've pretty well exhausted its limited museum options at this point. So on this trip to the coast (which turned out to be much colder than London, so not a good seaside day after all), I turned to its smaller neighbouring town of Hove, and the Hove Museum and Art Gallery, which was rumoured to have a nice collection of magic lantern slides.
The Hove Museum falls under the authority of Brighton Museums, which makes sense, because it is very similar in feel to the larger Brighton Museum. Fortunately, admission to the Hove Museum is free to all, and not just residents of Brighton and Hove, like the Brighton Museum is. At the time of my visit, there was a special exhibit about puppets on the ground floor, so that's where I began.
I'd be the first to admit that a lot of puppets are kind of menacing, but most of these ones were actually quite charming. I particularly liked the ones of Miss Fox and Miss Cat (above previous paragraph), and of Bluebeard, Bluebeard's wife, and the ghost of one of his previous wives (not pictured, because I don't have a photo for some reason). There was a woman in there at the same time as me who was apparently one of the creators of a Rikki-Tikki-Tavi puppet theatre, and she was explaining how she made it to some other woman, but I was too distracted by her pronunciation of "Tavi" to pay attention. I've always said "taa-vee," but this woman kept saying "tah-vee." I guess it's one of those British/American English divides…I just asked Marcus how to phonetically spell the "aaa" noise I make in "Tavi" and "apple" and he couldn't do it because it's not even a noise English people make. Just picture a sort of annoying nasally "a" noise.
The bulk of the museum was located on the first floor, and as I was keen to see the magic lantern stuff (Professor Heard from that Brompton Cemetery event last year fired up my enthusiasm for the medium), I headed to the film gallery first. This turned out to be two small rooms, plus a neat little cinema (I loved the wall decor) where you could watch short films starring puppets (dunno if this was connected to the puppet exhibit, or if they show them all the time).
The slides turned out to be all mounted together in a large panel that you could press a switch to illuminate. I think my favourites are the dog and cat in the fourth row from the bottom (they're a little hard to see, but they're dressed in people clothes, and the cat is reading a book), but there were enough entertaining slides that I stood there studying them for a good long while (longer than the light stayed on for anyway, I had to press it again). There were also a few thaumatrope and flipbook type things to play with, and some early silent films of the Brighton area to enjoy.
Next was a small room devoted to the history of Hove, which segued into an equally pint-sized art gallery. I didn't spend too much time in the local history section, which was a bit wordy, even for me (plus I'm just not that interested in the history of Hove), but it seems like Hove was built up during the Regency period, same as Brighton. Also, Edward VII apparently liked to hang out in Hove when he was still the Prince of Wales. The art gallery had a few paintings in it that I quite liked (which is impressive, given that there were only about ten paintings in there), including a whole wall with a giant monkey painting.
The "Wizard's Attic," which was presumably aimed at children (though they'd have to be fairly brave children, as you'll see once you get a look at some of the toys there), was without question my favourite gallery in the museum. The premise was that a wizard (pictured above) lived there (you had to be quiet so as not to wake him up), and he liked to collect and repair old toys. So the room was chock-full of Pollock's Toy Museum style cases of antique toys of varying degrees of disturbing. I have to admit that I quite liked those George V, Queen Mary, and young Edward VIII (in his pre-Nazi sympathiser days) dolls, even if they were a bit creepy.
But their creepiness was nothing compared to those clown dolls pictured above. I'm positive if you let them into your house, they would kill everyone you cared about in the night, and wait until you woke up and saw what they had done before they killed you too. It's a good thing the sensible Wizard has them contained behind glass. Tricycle boy there is a bit unsettling too…to be honest, there were a lot of shit-scary toys here. I'm not sure how much children would actually like this terrifying collection, but I loved it. It was like being in an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? or something (god, I used to love that show, but I had no idea it ran until 2000! I must have stopped watching at some point in the mid-'90s).
The final gallery was devoted to different crafts and how they were produced – I'm not terribly interested in crafts, but a few objects did catch my eye, like the figure of Lucretia stabbing herself, above, a pumpkin teapot (which you may be able to spot in the photo on the above left), and some cute little monster dolls (below left).
I ended up spending less than an hour at this museum, which is fine because it was free, but it definitely felt like Brighton Museum's less impressive little sister (which is kind of funny, because apparently Hove likes to think of itself as being posher than Brighton). It matched Brighton Museum's eclecticism, just on a reduced scale (there was even a pavilion-y structure outside the museum that I think was some sort of war memorial). I really enjoyed the magic lantern slides, and the toy gallery, but the rest was a little hit-and-miss. I think it's worth a visit if, like me, you've been to the area a lot and want something new to see, but if you're only in this part of Sussex for a day or two, I'd just stay in Brighton and see the Royal Pavilion and Brighton Museum instead (and eat some ice cream! Scoop and Crumb or Boho Gelato are both good options), or maybe go for a walk at Devil's Dyke (and then get ice cream!). I'd even recommend the Booth Museum over this one (if you're into taxidermy), just because it's so gloriously old fashioned. 2.5/5 for the Hove Museum.
Brighton, East Sussex: Brighton Museum
The Royal Pavilion shares the Pavilion Gardens with the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, so it made sense to pop over there directly after visiting the Royal Pavilion, especially as it is another National Art Fund friendly property, so we got free entry (£5.20 otherwise, but it is free for Brighton and Hove residents with proof of address). Although it may appear that the Brighton Museum was originally part of the Royal Pavilion (because of the similarity in architectural styles), it was actually purpose-built in the 1870s, presumably to match the Eastern-influenced appearance of the Pavilion. I've been to the museum a few times over the years, so this was a slightly speedy visit where I basically just passed through to snap some photos (or point to things so my boyfriend takes a photo of them, as is usually the way) and make sure things were more or less as I remembered them.
Like many local museums, the Brighton Museum is an eclectic mix of galleries, but it's larger than your typical local museum, and pulls off the strange mix more skillfully than others, perhaps because it's in keeping with the character of Brighton itself. The museum opens with a hall of interior design, which features, among other things, a baseball mitt couch inspired by Joe DiMaggio, one of the famous (THE famous? Is there more than one?) Mae West Lips sofas, by Salvador Dali, and one of Grayson Perry's vases.
Carrying on from the design gallery, you'll come upon the Ancient Egyptian nook (this is the kind of eclecticism I was talking about). It's got your usual Egyptian stuff: some canopic jars, a few sarcophagi, etc, and also a mildly entertaining computer game (aimed at children) where you get to choose the tools needed to embalm a body, and then stuff the organs in their appropriate jars (harder than it should have been).
Because it is the Brighton Museum, there are of course a couple galleries devoted to local history, detailing how Brighton became a fashionable seaside resort town, info about life in Brighton during the war years, and also how Brighton came to be one of the most LGBT friendly places in the UK. There were some nice seasidey touches in here, like one of those boards you stick your head through so it looks like you have the body of an Edwardian bather, and a couple penny arcade machines, though it was unclear whether you could actually use them or not (my guess is no, since they probably took old school pennies, but they were just kind of sitting out, practically begging you to try them).
I am kind of a nerd about old ceramics, so the "Willett's Popular Pottery" gallery is definitely my favourite. There are so many wonderful things in here, but the best had to be the "Red Barn Murder" figurines (I've tried to get my hands on a set before, but these are super rare and mega expensive. This is the first set I've seen in person), featuring Maria Marten and her murderer William Corder, both as a smiling, newlywed couple, and then in front of the infamous barn, with William luring the innocent Maria inside to her horrible demise. With a cow complacently chewing cud off to one side, which really makes it perfect. This was just one small part of the crime-related pottery section (told you it's an excellent gallery!), which also had figurines of Dick Turpin and one of his less-famous highwayman friends, among others.
I want to show you all the things, but I realise that others probably don't share my level of interest in historical ceramic figurines. But there was lots of great stuff here; not only slightly misshapen animals, but those Georgian mugs with cartoons printed right on them, and some of those old-school royalty mugs (before official photographs or portraits were used, and somebody just crappily hand-painted a generic looking bewigged man on them).
Although this was not my first visit to the museum, I think I'd somehow missed going upstairs in the past, because I did not remember these galleries at all (and I definitely would have if I've seen them). The first was the Performance Gallery, which contained puppets and costumes from all over the world. My two favourites are pictured above. Poor George IV. The guy just can't catch a break.
Then there was the Ocean Blues Gallery, which I have to mention just so I can show you pictures of that sad shark and albatross chick (the chick was bigger than the adults they had on display, not sure how that works, especially when you look at the size of the egg it came out of. Maybe there's just a lot of downy fluff involved?). I want to take that shark home and give him a hug, the poor thing. This gallery mainly discussed pollution and its impact on the oceans, so it's probably appropriate that the shark looked so lonely and upset.
The fashion gallery contained one of Fatboy Slim's shirts, which my boyfriend was kind of excited about for some reason (I could never get into Fatboy Slim, maybe it's one of those inexplicable British things? I'm not even that sure who he actually is, since his videos seemed to only have other people in them (I'm thinking of that "Praise You" song that was big in the late '90s, which come to think of it, is the only Fatboy Slim song I know of)). It also had a cool naval coat, and some adorable albeit probably uncomfortable bathing costumes, but the strangest part was the collection of clothing associated with '80s movements, like punk, skinhead, and goth outfits (fair enough), but also a queer-fetish-techno-punk outfit from 1998, which I didn't even realise was a subgenre. Where I come from, we just called them ravers.
Unfortunately, that amazing doorway no longer leads into a zoology gallery, but rather, the art galleries. Since it's mainly modern art in here, I would have preferred zoology (especially because that probably means taxidermy), but what can you do. One of the canvases in here was literally just beige, and some guy was admiring it like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I will never understand that kind of modern art.
Back downstairs, I found another gallery I'd missed previously hiding in the corner, which was about different cultures from around the world, containing some cool objects from each of them (I liked all the Inuit stuff, though I don't have a picture; I guess I didn't point to it vigorously enough), and for some inexplicable reason, a foosball table (some family was already using it, but I didn't mind so much because I am extremely terrible at foosball. Give me an air hockey table or Skeeball over it any day).
I think the Brighton Museum is one of those rare places that I actually wouldn't have minded paying for (though I'm not complaining that I got in free!). I remember really liking it the first time I went (many years ago, before I even moved to the UK; it was the summer when I was backpacking through Europe and I spent a day in Brighton because I decided I hated London and I needed to get away. It's funny how life turns out sometimes), and I still like it. It's not enormous or anything, but it's big enough to kill a couple hours in, and varied enough that there's something for everyone, especially if you like ceramic cats (don't miss the giant one in the cafe!). 3.5/5.
Brighton, East Sussex: The Royal Pavilion
The Royal Pavilion is an amazing, confused conglomeration of excess, built for the notoriously dissipated Prince Regent (who became George IV) in the 1810s. It's probably the most recognisable building in Brighton, with its distinctive Indian-inspired exterior, and its even crazier Chinese-influenced interior. And despite having visited Brighton a fair number of times over the years, the first time I ventured inside this behemoth was just a few short weeks ago.
For you see, admission to the Royal Pavilion is normally a princely £12.30, but it is a National Art Fund partner, so members get free access (even though they don't advertise it anywhere in the building or online, which gave me a bit of a scare, but they honour it in person with no trouble), so this is the first time myself and my wallet were inclined to venture within. Also, I was a bit worried it would be excessively touristy, but even on a Sunday, it wasn't too terribly crowded. I mean, we walked right in, and had no trouble strolling around the place relatively unimpeded (though it was unseasonably cold on the day of our visit, meaning most people wouldn't choose to visit a seaside town, so your mileage may vary in nicer weather).
Now, although the Royal Pavilion has one of the most incredible interiors I've ever seen, and I'm anxious to share it with you all, they do not allow photography inside. I get that they've done a lot of restoration work over the years, but I still feel like they could let you snap a few shots in the most impressive downstairs rooms without doing any damage, but eurgh, I don't know. Maybe it's to encourage you to tell your friends to come see it for themselves, since you'll have no pictures to show off (actually, after poking about on their website, apparently it's the Queen's fault. I knew I was opposed to the monarchy for a reason). An amble around the internet didn't reveal any good photographs available for free use (just some drawings and copies of old postcards), so please click this link to the Royal Pavilion's website where you can click room by room to check them all out, making sure to focus on the Music Room and Banqueting Room, which I will talk about below, because they are the best.
They offered us an audio guide when we entered, but I'm so used to declining things that I just said no, without even asking if it cost extra. Judging by the number of people who had audio guides (i.e. everyone except us), it might not, but you still all know what my position on audio guides usually is. Unfortunately, there wasn't a tonne to read on the ground floor of the house, generally just a small sign per room, so I probably missed out on learning about the interior. Fortunately, this was remedied to some extent with the help of the video room, wherein I learned that the Pavilion was built by Henry Holland on something of a budget, as George was still just a prince at the time, and his daddy had his finger on the purse strings. However, once George III descended into madness for the final time, and Georgie Jr was made Prince Regent, he decided to expand and embellish with the help of John Nash, and went for this totally crazy British-Empire-meets-the-Orient design, inspired by his love of the Far East. Later (skipping over William IV, who wasn't around for long anyway), the staid Victoria rejected the palace as too louche for family living, and had everything stripped out of it and mostly transferred to Buckingham Palace, while she was busy lording it up at Osborne House. When Brighton later decided to open the palace to the public, Victoria (to her credit) returned most of the furnishings, and sort-of-shoddy reconstructions were done to make up the rest of the interiors (they had some examples in there, they were pretty craptastic). During WWI, the Pavilion went on to serve as a hospital for Indian soldiers and later, soldiers missing limbs, and then was finally properly restored after the war years, save for some minor setbacks in the 1970s and '80s when there was an arson attack, and then one of the minarets collapsed, which destroyed the Music Room, but it is now back in all its glory.
And the Music Room was probably the best damn room in the whole place, save for maybe the Banqueting Room (actually, I did prefer the Music Room, because snakes). Oh man, it was incredible. Snakes and dragons all over the damn place (not real ones, obviously), crawling up the wallpaper, serving as curtain rods, and just generally awesomely slithering around. The Banqueting Room was pretty baller too though, especially the chandelier, which weighs a tonne (literally), and is suspended from a large winged dragon. Also of note was the Great Kitchen, which had fake palm tree columns, and a menu from one of the Careme catered banquets George hosted (also available on their website, but it's too small to read on there), featuring an epic 68 dishes, plus 8 edible confectionery centrepieces (all the meaty stuff sounded pretty foul (sometimes fowl), but I would definitely tuck into a "great nougat, in the French style." Bring one to me now).
Even the Long Gallery, which we got to pass through several times on the way upstairs and downstairs, and back through George's personal apartments (the whole thing was quite maze-like, and we only went the right way with the help of the ropes stretched all over the place), was neat. It was full of creepily lifelike Chinese figurines and (guess what?) more dragons.
I realise it's probably not possible with the way the place is set up, but they should probably make you see the downstairs rooms last, because I felt a little bit like Homer when he was given a tour of Mr. Burns's house that ended in the basement (Homer: "Gee, it's not as nice as the other rooms." Mr. Burns: "Yes, I really should stop ending the tour with it."). The upstairs rooms fairly paled in comparison to the splendours downstairs, but I did enjoy the museum-y rooms where I learned more about the restoration of the palace, and its time as a war hospital, and there was also a room full of caricatures of George IV, which were brilliant. Victoria's boringly restrained apartments were up here too, and according to their website, there was also a special bed with a tipping mechanism made for George when he was at his morbidly obese/gouty stage so he could get up more easily, but I somehow missed that detail when we were there (actually, that bed was downstairs, because if George could barely get out of bed, he certainly couldn't climb stairs, but I still don't remember seeing it). Guess I paid the price for not taking the audio guide.
The palace also featured an enormous gift shop (not really anything in it I wanted to buy, but it was for sure big), and not one, but TWO cafes (probably technically a cafe and a tea room), but I didn't see any millionaire's shortbread (Brighton's got too many good bakeries for me to want to eat in a museum cafe anyway), plus my stomach was already all set for some ice cream from Scoop and Crumb (it was a bit icier than usual, probably because it was still the off-season, but it didn't stop me from eating three large scoops and promptly getting a stomachache). I don't know if I'd still be as keen if I'd paid £12.30 for the Royal Pavilion (maybe if I'd had the audio guide. If I'd paid, I'd definitely have taken the audio guide), since we walked through in under an hour, but for free, this was a fabulous outing. I think this probably had my favourite interior out of any palace I've visited (which probably means I'm as gaudy and tasteless as George IV, but so be it), at least where the main downstairs rooms were concerned, and it was definitely worth seeing, at long last. Still salty about my inability to photograph it (I should say Marcus's inability to photograph it, because I never voluntarily take pictures) though. 4/5.
The Rest o' Rye: Lamb House and the Rye Heritage Centre
What kind of a quaint English town would Rye be without a National Trust property on one of its famed cobbled streets? (I still can't quite get over the idea of cobblestones being a tourist attraction, I guess because I really hate walking on them.) Fortunately, Henry James, author of The Portrait of a Lady, The Innocents, etc. was once in residence here, in a fine red-brick Georgian house. Despite owning a copy of The Turn of the Screw that I got free in The Times some years ago, I have still never gotten around to reading any of James's books (shame on me, I should be more interested in fellow American expats I guess). In fact, I probably know more about his brother William, a psychologist, due to Deborah Blum's fascinating book Ghost Hunters, but that National Trust card has made me more adventurous, as all I have to waste is my time, so I figured why the hell not see Lamb House?!
Although if you're not a National Trust member, I can think of six very good reasons not to see Lamb House. As in, that's how many pounds you'll be wasting to look inside this ridiculously tiny property. Well, the property itself actually seems fairly substantial, the problem is more that you're not allowed in three quarters of the building, including the entire upstairs. Only three rooms on the ground level of the house are open, plus a garden/cafe, which seems like a lovely place to have a tea, but if you're not partaking, then it just means all the tea-drinkers stare at you as you try to look 'round the place.
To be fair, they did hand over three long fact sheets when we walked in, which is more than many larger National Trust properties have, so I left knowing more about Henry James than I did when I walked in, which can't be a bad thing. And about E.F. Benson, who was another writer who lived in the house after James. Benson I knew virtually nothing about, other than his name sounding vaguely familiar. Apparently he wrote Mapp and Lucia novels, though I'm still in the dark as to what those involve. One of the rooms had about a million binders on the table (many of them duplicates) with more information about the property, so I suppose that was a plus too.
We discovered what appeared to be a pet graveyard outside; perhaps it was mentioned in one of those binders, and I missed it. However, that pretty much concludes the list of interesting features of Lamb House. It was way, way too small for the price, and unmemorable. I'd definitely skip this one unless you're a big Henry James fan AND a National Trust member (I don't think James fans alone would be too pleased with the admission charge either). It also seems like they have very limited opening hours, so odds are good it might be shut anyway. 1.5/5.
Rye is one of those historic towns that's meant to be super haunted and all that jazz, with some inn called the Mermaid being a major stop for German tour groups (as far as I could tell); I saw the Mermaid featured on Great British Ghosts a while back, and much as I like Michaela et al on Springwatch, even she couldn't sell me on what was sure to be a tourist trap. But I am not immune to tourist traps, as proved by my visit to the Rye Heritage Centre. At first glance, the Heritage Centre was nothing more than a glorified souvenir shop, with some kind of (undoubtedly overpriced) "Sound and Light Show" about the history of Rye housed inside, but their website drew me in with the promise of an old-fashioned penny arcade. I LOVE penny arcades, as you may remember from my visit to Tim Hunkin's superb Under the Pier Show a couple years back.
Though this was nothing like the glorious whimsy of the Under the Pier Show, being a pretty standard collection of old penny machines, it was free, and you got seven plays for a pound (which you have to exchange for giant pre-1971 pennies in a machine in order to play the games). It was the usual mix of fortune telling devices, not-very-exciting games involving variations on dropping marbles through slots, and old mechanical models, but they did have a few machines that were listed as one-offs, including a machine from 1905!
What can I say? It was cheesy, and a bit lame, but I enjoyed myself, and the place was absolutely deserted, which was a bonus (the weird thing about Rye is that it has the feel of a seaside town, without actually being on the sea (though it once was, as I learned at Ypres Tower), which does help to cut down on the crowds a bit. Just wish they'd get some decent ice cream somewhere. Movenpick doesn't cut it, sorry). Rye was a bit of a mixed bag, but it was fine overall. Not somewhere I'd rush to return to, but if I ended up back here at some point in the future, I wouldn't mind too much. Anywhere that has a penny arcade can't be all bad.
Rye, East Sussex: Rye Castle Museum and Ypres Tower
Why Rye? Well, it's near the seaside, and is within day trip distance from SW London (and takes you right through what I like to call the cherry belt: that glorious part of Kent and East Sussex littered with roadside stands selling bags of Kentish cherries far superior to anything you'll find in the supermarket). And, I miss American-style rye bread with caraway seeds; I especially like it toasted, with cinnamon and sugar, because it's got kind of a sweet-savoury thing going on, so the name may have made me a bit hungry. But it's not as though the town of Rye is particularly known for its bread (in fact, I didn't see a single artisan bakery, just "traditional" British ones producing some awful looking mushy white crap, basically a hot dog bun in loaf form). What they do have is a castle, known as Ypres Tower.
First, I should clarify a couple potentially confusing things about the castle. Coming off the back of so many posts about Belgium, you might be thinking that with a name like Ypres, the castle has some connection to WWI or Belgium. It turns out it was once owned by a man called John de Ypres, and has nothing to do with Belgium at all. Also, the actual castle is not the castle museum (as we thought at first); the castle is Ypres Tower; the castle museum is down the road in a nondescript building. Also, though they're all part of the same museum, the Rye Castle Museum (the nondescript thing) is free, but Ypres Tower is £3. Now that I've cleared all that up, let's crack on!
I could tell almost immediately upon entering Ypres Tower and having a peek around the ground floor, that it was going to be the kind of museum I like. Old-fashioned, almost exhaustively educational in places (while still playing fast and loose with history, to include legend as "fact"), and above all, charming. The castle had a number of uses over the years, from private residence, to defence, and finally as a prison, which were all reflected in the museum. I was greeted by the alleged skeleton of John Breads (great name, especially coming from Rye), who famously murdered a local man in a case of mistaken identity (he was trying to kill someone he had a grudge against, but it was dark and he got the wrong man, which just seems careless), and was executed, then had his corpse hung from a gibbet. There was also a delightful tapestry thing, made by local women, showing the history of the castle – my favourite bit was the distraught looking prisoner pictured above. In addition, there was an herb room hidden in the corner, with some explanation given of various medicinal herbs.
The steps leading to the first floor of the tower (and slightly beyond, to a garderobe, as I discovered to my delight) were uneven and a real tripping hazard, as we were warned by the man at the admissions desk (I did stumble on the edges of two of them, so he wasn't lying), but led up to a room with cases of uniforms, pottery tiles, and some knitting done by those craftsy local women, as well as a large display about the history of smuggling in Rye.
Yeah, you can see what I mean from that picture about some of the history being exhausting to read. Anyway, although Rye is now a couple of miles inland, for many centuries it was almost an island, surrounded by the English Channel, as I learned from the old-school lighted relief map in the centre of the room. So it was a major port throughout the Middle Ages: even after silting occurred and one of the rivers Rye sat on changed course, meaning it was no longer on the sea, it continued to function curiously like a port town, and its economy depended heavily on smuggling, because it no longer had an influx of ships to depend on. (Rye still has a definite seaside feel to it, as I'll discuss further in my next post.)
There were some nice views out the side of the tower, even though we weren't actually all that high up (as far as towers go, since there were levels above us), because Rye is built on a hill, and Ypres Tower is at the top of it. After having a good look out the side, it was time to brave those uneven steps again (not as bad on the way down), and head down to see the basement gallery.
The basement was clearly the child-friendly area; as always, I was overjoyed that none were there, so I could try on ALL the armour. And play with medieval weapons.
I clearly rock at firing a longbow (actually, I couldn't have been an archer, going by the test at the museum. I think you probably had to start practicing while your bones were still malleable, so your shoulders deformed in a useful way). Anyway, I enjoyed this overview of medieval history; any time there is stuff to try on, I get way too excited about it.
Heading back outside, we turned right to walk through the garden, and reached the former women's prison. All prisoners were initially held within the tower itself in appalling conditions, but Elizabeth Fry, famed Quaker prison reform campaigner, visited the prison and convinced Rye to open a separate women's prison, where the women had actual beds, fireplaces, and chamberpots. It was still pretty grim, and involved eating a gruel-based diet, as the short projection inside the prison shows (keep your eyes peeled for the animated rat), but better than having to sleep in a pool of your own excrement!
Once we figured out that we hadn't yet seen the Rye Castle Museum, which to be honest, didn't happen until after we left Ypres Tower and consulted the free map we grabbed off the admissions desk, we headed down the hill to East Street, to see t'other museum. This was pretty small, all one room, but hey, it was free. There was a bit about WWI, and then just loads of glass cases with objects relating to Rye's history. I liked the pottery pigs, which are apparently a local thing (though no one seemed to have any for sale, not even a pottery shop we passed that had an array of other animals in the window; although there may have been some inside, they weren't prominently displayed), because people from Sussex are apparently stubborn and "Wun't be Druv," which is to say they won't be driven where they don't want to go.
This was a fairly standard local history museum, and apart from finding some of the objects amusing, nothing particularly stood out to me, but if you're looking to kill some time, you may as well stop in as it's free. I liked Ypres Tower a lot better, and though it was indeed very old-school, that's kind of what I liked about it, and I don't think 3 quid was a bad price (especially relative to what the National Trust are charging for their Rye property, more on that coming soon). 3/5 for Ypres Tower. I wouldn't make a special trip to Rye for it, but if you're already here on account of the cobblestones (seriously, why are cobblestones a tourist attraction?!) or all the supposedly haunted stuff (or just because you hadn't ever been to Rye and are running out of things to blog about, like me), it's one of the better attractions the town has to offer (though that's not really saying much), so is worth a look.
Battle, East Sussex: 1066 Battle of Hastings, Abbey and Battlefield
I'm feeling quite proud of myself this week (well, a month ago by the time I got around to publishing this), because I managed to get a record six (!) posts written (hopefully with no effect on the quality). I know you can't tell as much, because I stagger them out to make up for the lean weeks, but just picture me furiously typing away all week, trying to get my entire Somerset trip written up, followed by this day trip to Sussex (actually, maybe don't picture me writing, since I'm usually wearing pajamas and my ratty old bathrobe, and my hair is a wreck). It's a Friday as I write this, so I am taking some satisfaction in finishing up my backlog with this post on Battle.
The Battle of Hastings is something of a misnomer, as the fighting actually took place a good few miles inland, in what is now the town of Battle (which was obviously named post-battle; it sure would have been weirdly coincidental otherwise). Lest you think they just found a random field and labelled it as the battle site in a money-making endeavour (as the cynic in me would be inclined to believe), there is a sort of proof (despite the fact that no relics of the battle have ever been found here) in the fact that William the Conqueror (or William the Bastard, to give him his other, funnier title) founded an abbey here only 5 years after the battle took place, and ordered the altar of the church to be placed right over the spot where Harold died. Nowadays, the Abbey is in ruins, and the entire area has been turned into a fenced-in, bona-fide (said in Phil Hartman's voice, as Lyle Lanley trying to sell Springfield on a monorail) tourist attraction courtesy of English Heritage (hey, at least it makes a change from the National Trust).
Obviously, an attraction of this magnitude is going to cost you (around 9 quid, depending on whether you Gift Aid or not), unless you just squeaked in before your English Heritage membership expired, like I did. I was offered a free audio guide, so I took it, but I have to confess that I didn't listen to it at all, so for once I probably can't bitch about the lack of signage, as it was my own fault for not taking advantage of the audio tour (but I still will, because I much prefer reading to listening).
My boyfriend and I first ventured over to the visitor centre, which despite being recently redone, was still quite meh. A few posters, and a film I didn't watch because I didn't want to commit to sitting there for fifteen minutes. There were a few weapons you could pick up, and a bit of information about the Normans and Anglo-Saxons (I'm intrigued by Charles the Simple), but that was about it. The building also holds the underwhelming tearoom (with no products made using Battle honey in sight, despite the website's promises) and the only toilets on the property, as far as I can tell, so if you have to go even a little, best to take advantage before you find yourself at the far end of the battlefield (I feel like somebody's mother saying that, but it's a lesson I learned the hard way).
And onward to the battlefield, which offered the options of a short walk overlooking it, or a longer walk all the way around it, which maybe took twenty minutes, including stopping to read the signs and take pictures. The few signs scattered around had corresponding numbers you could enter into the dreaded audio guide, but the biggest attraction here was the sheep. Lots of sheep, and most importantly, lots of lambs; adorable lambs, which was nice, because the battlefield wasn't so much to look at otherwise.
The ruins of the abbey, on the other hand, were quite impressive. There wasn't anything left inside the abbey (save for the arches), and the first floor was missing, but the interior structures were still more or less intact, and you could climb your way through them. Because the abbey was built on a hill, there were steps between the successive levels, but the upper floor was still on a flat surface because they staggered the heights of the ceilings below. Pretty clever on the part of those medieval monks (there was also a drainage chute outside the abbey that I'd like to believe was a poo chute, but it probably wasn't since they had a purpose-built "reredorter" and all).
The monastery was dissolved in the 16th century, of course, due to Henry VIII and his jerkish whims, so if you take that into consideration, it's incredible how much of it is still intact. The altar was one of the casualties, although there is still a spot marking where it was (and by extension, where Harold was meant to have died), so you can simply stand on it, or if you want to be more morbid, you could probably lie down and pretend you'd been shot in the head with an arrow, a la Harold. (The building behind me in the picture is connected with the site, but it is now a school, and you are not allowed inside.)
The abbey site was turned into part of a country estate after the so-called "Suppression," so there are some later additions installed by the wealthy owners (despite some jerk-heir akin to Horace Walpole's ass-hat descendant selling a bunch of crap to pay off his gambling debts). That hobbit hole looking thing is actually an ice house, and looks cooler from the outside than in (does that count as a pun? Literally speaking, temperature-wise, of course it's cooler on the inside, but it is just a dank hole that you have to duck your head to get near), and the other building is the dairy; sadly, sans cow leg table.
There was also a Victorian walled garden built by the Duchess of Cleveland, which looked pretty dead inside when I visited (in April, so something should have been in bloom), and some kind of monument, I guess to commemorate Harold's death or maybe the battle? It was hard to tell as it was written in French (so maybe not marking Harold's death after all). Speaking of walls, there is also a wall walk you can take back up to the main building – once used for defensive purposes, it now sadly only offers views of Battle without the opportunity to pour boiling oil on the townspeople's heads.
Heading back up towards the entrance, which is based inside the gatehouse, we mounted the steep and uneven staircase up to one of the towers that houses the Gatehouse Museum, which had clearly not been renovated when the visitor's centre had. This was probably a good thing, as the signs was pleasingly old-fashioned still, and I was slightly amused by the fact that most of it included a French translation (given what happened here and all, but then again, to the victor go the spoils, right?).
There were some neat hidey-holes you could poke your head into here, if you were so inclined (and were willing to squeeze through the narrow doorways). We discovered this garderobe hiding in one of them, with the toilet carefully roped off (probably because you might be tempted to use it rather than trek down to the visitor's centre).
If you can get past the fact that you are essentially paying to look at a field exactly like ones that can be seen all over the English countryside for free, than I guess Battle isn't too terrible. Honestly, I was glad we managed to get in on the membership card, as I don't think it was worth 9 pounds. I really did like the ruins of the abbey, but the visitor's centre was straight-up lame, and everything else was just ok (and the battlefield was just a field, although not having been to many battlefields in my day, aside from WWI sites in Belgium, I don't have much to compare it to). I don't know, I suppose it is a site of historic importance (since it did change the entire course of British history), which is really the main reason it might be worth seeing – not because of what it offers today. 2.5/5.
Burwash, East Sussex: Bateman's (Rudyard Kipling's Home)
I know I've mentioned this on here before, but "How the Camel Got His Hump" from Just So Stories was my absolute favourite story when I was little, and I forced my grandpa to read it to me every time I saw him (which was at least 3 times a week, since my grandparents babysat me whilst my mom was at work) because he did such an excellent grumpy camel voice. So I've always harboured a fondness for Mr. Kipling (Rudyard, not the cake manufacturer, although you won't catch me turning down a French Fancy. Especially those orange ones they put out for Halloween), and when I spotted Bateman's in the (sigh) National Trust handbook, I marked it down for a future visit. However, it had to wait for a day when it was warm enough to also walk around nearby Battle, because I kind of doubted it would merit a special trip of its own.
Bateman's was built in 1634, but the Kiplings obviously came to own the property a few centuries on, from 1902 until the deaths of Rudyard and his wife Carrie in the 1930s. There's quite a lot of land surrounding the house, including a variety of gardens and a watermill (of which more later), but I'm not sure it's enough to merit the tenner non-members have to pay to enter (I'm convinced by now that the National Trust expects everyone to become members, so they just slap any old admission price on their properties because they assume almost no one is going to pay it).
As for the house, well, we didn't really get any pictures inside because we weren't 100% sure whether we were allowed to take them, and it was crowded in there so it felt awkward whipping out a camera, but the typical National Trust rather scanty single-sheet guide did have its moments. For instance, there was an ugly painting hanging in the dining room that was a gift to the family, so they felt like they had to display it, but they got around this by sitting with their backs to it, except Rudyard, who was too short sighted to be able to see it from his side of the table anyway. There were also some carvings (I think made by Kipling's father) depicting scenes from The Jungle Book. As is usual though, Bateman's appeared to assume that everyone visiting was already a huge Rudyard Kipling fan and was familiar with all his works, and focused instead on family life, especially his son John, who was killed in the First World War. I understand that they have limited space, so they have to choose an aspect of Kipling's life to focus on, but I do think there must be some way to provide more background information at these places whilst still telling the story they want to tell.
The one thing we did get a picture of in the house was the alphabet necklace featured in Just So Stories. I strongly suspect the copy I had was an abridged version (considering it was one of my grandpa's garage sale finds, it's not completely surprising), because I do not remember any stories about the alphabet, only animal ones, so I didn't feel the proper sense of awe at seeing it. I think I would have been more impressed with a stuffed camel. This was in the "exhibition room," which was really the only place in the house that gave a significant amount of space to Kipling's writing, with copies of some of his books, and his Nobel Prize for Literature. Even here, half the space was devoted to John Kipling, and his war experiences; I'm not sure if this is a special feature for the centenary, or an all-the-time thing (I'm not knocking it, as John's death was obviously a huge life-defining blow to Kipling, but it seemed a little odd to have so much emphasis on John relative to Rudyard).
Back outside, we stole a quick peek at Kipling's gorgeous blue 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I (I'm not a car person, but if I was going to have a car, damn, now THAT'S a car!) and headed down the river, past the gardens to the watermill. Despite the handbook claiming that we could purchase flour ground in the mill, the mill is currently non-operational, so that was off the table. You're still allowed to look around inside, but a mill is a mill (yes, I know about all the different styles, but it's hard to get excited about the differences if you're not a mill enthusiast), and once you've seen a fair few, as I have, they get a bit dull.
However, I am not so world-weary and dead inside that I can't appreciate some chickens. They had a crapload of chickens! There were even some roosting in a tree! (I bought a chocolate chicken from Lidl for Easter this year, because I've wanted a chocolate chicken since I saw them advertised on a German Lindt commercial last year, and this was the first time I've been able to find one. I made the mistake of naming her Mrs. Cluckley, and now I can't bring myself to eat her, even though Easter has long since come and gone.)
On the subject of chocolate, I should mention that the tearoom had an unusually wide selection of cakes, which I did not partake of because Battle was supposed to have baked goods made with their own honey, but after seeing the disappointing offerings at Battle (spoiler alert?), I sorely wished I had grabbed some chocolate fudge cake at Bateman's (don't be like me, is what I'm saying). In the end, I think the gardens (and chickens) may have been better than the actual house, which needed to have more signage. I sound like a broken record with these National Trust properties, and I'm not sure why I go in expecting things to be different, but there you have it. 3/5.
Lewes, Sussex: Anne of Cleves House and Lewes Priory
Anne of Cleves was the fourth wife of the famously oft-married Henry VIII, and, in many ways, she was probably his luckiest wife. For one reason or another, although Henry was enchanted with this German princess's portrait, when presented with the real article he found himself unable to perform (I'd be inclined to blame his extreme obesity, and revolting weeping leg ulcer, rather than poor old Anne – I also imagine Henry would have happily had me beheaded for my sass). He quickly had the marriage annulled (because the main point of marriage for him was to sire another legitimate male heir), and since Anne was smart enough to go along with this without putting up a fight, she was given a favoured position in court as Henry's "sister," and a number of properties, which brings us to Anne of Cleves House, in Lewes. For, although the house bears her name, she never actually lived here; she merely owned it and collected the rents.
It is quite a nice house nonetheless, all timber framed and Tudory, having been built primarily in the late 1400s. Admission to the house is £4.90, assuming you haven't bought that combined ticket with Lewes Castle I was talking about in the last post, or don't have English Heritage membership, as this is another property that gives you half-off (if you bring it up). We were advised to start our visit in the bedroom, which was very large indeed; probably bigger than my whole flat – this was some luxe Tudor living.
I was delighted to find an entire clothes-rail full of Tudor costumes, and since no one else was there, I grabbed the best dress for myself and pretended to be a hopefully sweeter-smelling version of Anne of Cleves, sans headdress, as I didn't see any there. I actually went as Anne Boleyn for Halloween about 7 years ago (proof shown on right above), at least, Anne Boleyn if she had her head sewn back on after decapitation, and was wearing a not very historically accurate dress, so it was nice to pretend to be another of Henry's wives (though in reality I wouldn't have wanted to be any of them, though if I had to pick I'd go with either Anne of Cleves or Catherine of Aragon because then at least Henry would be young and semi-attractive, I just wouldn't have put up a fight when he wanted to get with Anne Boleyn (and would have told my stupid nephew to keep his huge Hapsburg jaw out of it), and would probably have been treated reasonably well).
The rest of the bedroom was just random pieces of Tudor furniture, but a sign helpfully suggested that I might enjoy putting on the costumes and posing with various items of furniture (well yes, obviously I did enjoy that!). We then headed downstairs, which proved to be unexpectedly large, starting with the obligatory Tudor kitchen (wow, spits, and mortars and pestles, and a buncha iron pots, woot), but I actually shouldn't badmouth the kitchen, because it held a "magic" table.
This table was mentioned at Lewes Castle, so I was very much looking forward to seeing it, and insisted on referring to it as a "magic table," even though I think it was supposed to be more like a religious thing, so maybe "miraculous table" is more what they're going for. At any rate, if you haven't already read the caption above, the deal with the table is that after the knights killed Thomas a Becket in Canterbury, they rode back to a house near Lewes, and threw their swords on the table, but the table threw them back. I guess it's impressive just that a table from the 12th century is still around, regardless of whether or not it possesses magical properties, but clearly I'm thrilled by the whole story.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had a small ironmongers' museum in a back room, which was absolutely rife with authentic smells (for real authentic ones). In addition to some tools of the trade, it was mostly a collection of firebacks, basically, the things that go at the back of fireplaces (I might have my terminology wrong here because I was still too thrilled by the magic table to read things properly). I thought it was delightfully ironic that they had one with the image of the Lewes Martyrs burning at the stake on it, as I believe the job of the fireback was actually to keep the fire from spreading and burning down the house (and by extension, whoever was inside at the time).
There were also some cannons and things, and a lengthy description of the moulding process in the long-winded style of a very old-fashioned museum, which is obviously the sort of thing I love, even if I wasn't quite in the mood to give it my full attention.
This was because I'd spotted a local history room upstairs, and my god do I love a bunch of dusty cases full of local history (I'm not sure if most visitors even come back there, as we didn't see anyone else the entire time, and it kind of had an air of being undisturbed). One case in particular stood out, as it contained "relics" meant to be from Gundrada, the wife of William de Warenne, who died in childbirth (William de Warenne being the guy who built Lewes Castle, and many other fortresses), in the form of a couple nasty yellowed teeth, roots and all; a mummified rat and silver spoon that was apparently responsible for having a servant girl thrown out on the street (where she presumably starved to death; actually, I'm surprised she wasn't just hanged, as I'd imagine a silver spoon is worth more than a couple shillings or whatever the cutoff was for a capital offence (6 shillings? 2 shillings? I can't quite remember, even though I was just reading about it the other day)), when it was the rat that really took the spoon; and a bunch of toys carved by French prisoners during the Napoleonic Wars, like the ones that were recently featured on Antiques Roadshow. All of this appealed very much to my inner nerd.
They had loads of other awesome things, like a "liberty cap," which is really just a iron thing shaped like a hat on a stick, which I guess ties back to Thomas Paine and all that (who lived in Lewes, in case you missed my last post. Yep, still excited about Thomas Paine), and some stuff from Harvey's Brewery back in the early days, when they had competition from other local breweries. I was kind of disturbed by the painting on the wall of an early Victorian Bonfire Night in Lewes, which validated my decision to not attend it, because it looked just as creepy as I'd imagined. There was also a painting of another disturbing event in Lewes, where a giant wall of snow collapsed and killed a handful of people because they refused to move even after they were warned that a huge snowbank was about to squish their homes (this happened in the Victorian era; I highly doubt Lewes gets that much snow in this day and age); there's now a pub called the Snowdrop to commemorate it, which is perhaps a bit glib, but I can dig it (another pun?).
Also in regard to Bonfire Night (because they're REALLY into it), there were a couple interesting advertisements about it; one from a year when it was going on in full force, with the schedule of events (which seemed to include much loud singing of "God Save the Queen," the Queen at the time being Victoria), and then another year (1874) when it had to be cancelled due to disease in the town (typhoid, apparently, i.e. the same thing that allegedly killed Prince Albert 13 years earlier, assuming he didn't actually die of stomach cancer as some medical historians have claimed).
There was one more room of the Tudor house, a parlour, which contained similar furniture to the bedroom, and was nowhere near as enthralling as the local history room, but was still quite nice. Our visit ended up taking much longer than we'd thought it would, since we didn't know there would be so many extra history rooms, and we almost had to run out and buy another parking ticket. For the money, I think this was much more enjoyable than Lewes Castle (though Lewes Castle is still probably worth seeing, because it's a castle, I just prefer the time periods covered in Anne of Cleves House, in case you couldn't tell from all the historical tidbits I've been throwing in). 4/5.
In Anne of Cleves house, they had a few posters up about Lewes Priory (also built by William de Warenne, the guy got around); it's now in ruins that have been turned into a park. It was just down the road from Anne of Cleves House, down the hilariously named Cockshut Road, so we decided to go quickly check it out. This too was much larger than I was expecting, and had lots of helpful informational signs up everywhere.
The best part for me, because I have the same sense of humour as a 12 year old boy, apparently, was the fact that most of the surviving bits were the monks' toilets – not just one set of toilets, but toilets through the centuries, with three time periods represented. The priory had 59 toilets at one time, so that none of the monks had to queue in between the lengthy masses and prayer sessions, though there were of course, no doors or anything else for privacy.
They also had a sculpture thing that commemorated the Battle of Lewes (yet again) with scenes from the battle engraved in bronze along the sides of a big rock. I preferred the ruins themselves though. This was a lovely park, and I think it's well worth popping over to see it on your visit to Anne of Cleves House – you can probably even have a picnic by the old toilets, as I would have done if I wasn't so vehemently opposed to al fresco dining (I was attacked by an aggressive ladybug when wandering the ruins, and I don't even mind ladybugs, so I'd hate to get on the bad side of bugs that freak me out, like butterflies and spiders). So I guess my conclusion is that Lewes makes for a varied and entertaining day out, I'd recommend it. Especially the raspberry friands from that bakery, they really were super delicious and I can't stop thinking about them.


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The prestigious French publishing house Karthala has just published the latest book by Moha Ennaji The Olive Tree of Wisdom (l'olivier de la sagesse) sheds light on the situation of ancient Morocco through the life of the author's father, a hero of the resistance, a Sufi and an adept of a tolerant Islam
Ennaji argues that the Maghreb countries, especially the elites, would do better to know and appreciate the social and popular history as well as the ancestral traditions of their countryThe book describes the life of an Amazigh (Berber) family in Timoulilt, a Middle Atlas village. The author speaks nostalgically of a rural world that no longer exists. The book is a narrative of the past that leads directly to the future with a spirit of tolerance and openness, in short, a great lesson in life that should interest all those who remain curious about Morocco, its history and culture
Ennaji portrays Morocco as a country that has always been characterised by dialogue between cultures, by its diversity, tolerance and openness to the modern world.
Its 165 pages, the sixteen chapters are organised around six major themes: the history of the struggle for independence in the Middle Atlas in particular and in Morocco in general, the harsh living conditions of Imazighen (Berbers) under the protectorate, their tolerant Islam and Sufism, the linguistic question and the impact of the education system, the situation of rural Moroccan women and the challenges of the multiple identities, as well as their impact on the integration of Imazighen in modernity as well as the participation of the rural population in the struggle for independence and the Imazighen's contribution to the economic, political, social and cultural development after independence.
Highlighting topics previously little studied and analyzed, the book highlights the importance of respecting cultural specificities in any debate on diversity and social justice in Morocco.
The book describes the Moroccan Imazighen as serious workers whose main objective is to improve their standard of living. It shows that rural people in general and Amazigh people in particular are actors of socio-economic development in view of their various immense contributions and their achievements at several levels. They fight every day for a better future for themselves and their children and deserve recognition and respect. Their Islam, which is both modern and moderate, is considered a basis for stability and social peace for Morocco.
Ennaji argues that the Maghreb countries, especially the elites, would do better to know and appreciate the social and popular history as well as the ancestral traditions of their countries, and to protect their tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Similarly, young men and women must recognise the generous culture of their country and be more tolerant and respectful of political and religious pluralism.
Moha Ennaji is a prominent Moroccan academic with research interests in culture and society, migration, gender issues, and linguistics. He is co-founder and president of the International Institute for Languages and Cultures at Fez. He is the author of several books, among which are: "Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in Morocco" (Springer New York, 2005), " Multiculturalism and Democracy in North Africa" (Routledge, London 2014) and "Muslim Moroccan Migrants in Europe and North American" (Palgrave, 2015). He has published many articles in Moroccan, American and European journals and newspapers.


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Check out the premiere of Nelly Furtado's latest video for "Parking Lot"! The track serves as the third official single off her new album The Spirit Indestructible, available in stores today. Directed by Ray Kay, the clip sees the flawless Canadian diva round up a group of her stylish gal pals for a party in a parking lot full of customized Mini Coopers. "Parking Lot" is easily my favorite video to come out of The Spirit Indestructible era and the sleek video editing really worked out in its favor. What do you guys think? Be sure to pick up her new album!
BUY Nelly Furtado's new album The Spirit Indestructible on iTunes NOW!
BUY Nelly Furtado's new album The Spirit Indestructible (Deluxe) on iTunes NOW!


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Fiona Stewart
- FSL Learning Specialist, Education and Early Childhood Development, New Brunswick
- (506) 444-4916
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Miscellaneous Information
Fiona Stewart is currently employed as a Second Language Learning Specialist for the New Brunswick Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (2008- 2015) where she is responsible for FSL education from grades 4 through 12 (Pre-Intensive, Intensive and Post-Intensive French). She has been involved in L2 education in a variety of capacities since 1988: classroom teacher (Core and immersion – most recently in 2007-2008), district consultant (NB districts 17 and 10), Faculty Associate at the Second Language Research Institute of Canada (L2RIC) at the University of New Brunswick (2005-2007) and FSL Consultant (NB Dept. of Education) responsible for Immersion, Core and the Intensive French pilot (2002-2004).


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17 Lessons I Learned In 2017
You guys liked my last post about 2017 a lot so here's another one. This time I want to give you as much value as possible by summing up the 17 most important lessons I've learned in 2017. We learn so many things every day if we are open-minded and experience things without judgment. Here's my top 17…View Post


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Marco Asensio discusses Liverpool links
Marco Asensio has revealed he will hold crunch talks with new Real Madrid head coach Julen Lopetegui after the World Cup.
The Spain international, who has appeared as a substitute in two of his nation's three matches in the tournament so far, has been linked with a summer move to Liverpool.
Asensio signed a six-year contract last September which included a buyout clause which was set at £442million, but despite a stunning start to the season he failed to a cement a regular place in Zinedine Zidane's starting line-up and was named on the bench for last month's Champions League final.
Responding to Liverpool's reported interest, Asensio said: "Liverpool? When the World Cup is over, we'll talk about that sort of thing, now I'm focused on [the national team]."
Lopetegui was dismissed by Spain on the eve of the World Cup having already agreed terms with Real Madrid and Asensio added he would discuss his future with Zidane's successor in due course.
"I'm glad Julen has signed up for Real Madrid, after the World Cup we'll talk things over with him."
Liverpool have already signed former Monaco defensive midfielder Fabinho this summer, while Naby Keita, who agreed his move from RB Leipzig last summer, is due to link-up with his new teammates next week.
Source: Metro
This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club


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Complete guide to taking AMEB practical and written music examinations in 2018 including the new Oboe syllabus and newly revised Tuba syllabus. This collection of music syllabuses outlines the requirements for taking exams at all grade and diploma levels including the syllabus objectives, repertoire options, technical work and additional requirements. This publication includes written exam dates, general requirements, test requirements, regulations, successful candidates, and complete syllabuses for all music subjects except Accordion, Rockschool, CPM, Ensemble and Speech & Drama which are available as digital downloads only.