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In this post, we shall introduce you to Puritanism, a religious reform movement that arose in the late 16th and early 17th centuries and has had a varying degree of influence on manifestations in culture in general and literature in particular.
The terms "puritan" and "puritanism" originated in the 1560s. Puritanism, in its simplest form, was a religious reform movement in the late 16th and 17th centuries that sought to "purify" the Church of England from the remnants of the Roman Catholic "properly" (disparagingly used to refer to the over-arching role of the Pope in Catholic Christianity) that the Puritans claimed had been retained after the religious settlement reached early in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. In the 17th century, Puritans became known for a spirit of moral and religious earnestness that informed their whole way of life, and through church reform, they sought to make their lifestyle a model for the whole nation. Its efforts to reform the country led both to the civil war in England and to the creation of colonies in America as working examples of the Puritan way of life.
Needless to say, they were a group of people who were dissatisfied in the religious and social realms of contemporary England, but who had, by then, adopted Protestantism and the Anglican Church (Church of England). In this sense, puritanism may be seen as a more extreme movement that was thought appropriate after the Reformation. Puritanism in this sense was founded by John Calvin of the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558 as an activist movement within the Church of England. The Puritans, as stated earlier, were a group that had begun a movement within English Protestantism in both the British Isles and colonial America. Some even date it back to the activities of William Tyndale (1495- 1536).
The movement 's major impact was felt between 1558-1658, that is, from Queen Elizabeth's reign to the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. The Puritans insisted on the purity of doctrine and ritual. In practice, this meant purity from the corruption of both Canterbury and Rome. Their basic efforts were aimed at purging the Catholic elements (in spirit) of the Anglican Church, rather than creating a rival church. The only object of the Reformation, even more, intense and astute, was that they had no independent identity. They felt that they were alien to their non-puritan friends. The Puritan theology comprised of righteousness and sovereignty of God. They thought that they were the chosen people to create the New Jerusalem and bring around the millennium.
Puritanism may primarily be defined by the intensity of the religious experience it fostered. Puritans claimed that in order to redeem one from one's sinful state it was important to be in a covenant (a formal and severe arrangement or promise) connection with God. They further held that by preaching God had chosen to reveal salvation and that the Holy Spirit was the energetic instrument of salvation. Theology and polity of Calvinism proved to be major influences in the formation of Puritan teachings. This, of course, led to the rejection of much that at the time was characteristic of the Anglican ritual, considered as "popish idolatry."
The Puritans, In its place, stressed preaching that pulled representations from scripture and daily life. Still, the Puritans put a premium on a qualified ministry because of the importance of preaching. Puritans' signature moral and theological earnestness was fused with Calvinism 's inherited doctrine of predestination to create a "covenant theology," a sense of themselves as God's chosen elect spirits to lead godly lives both as individuals and as a community.
You will definitely get a hint from this that such radical views about religion were bound to have implications on politics. We take you a little back in time to the Elizabethan period to understand the root of this.
King Henry VIII, as you know, segregated the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534, and under Edward VI (reigned 1547–53) the cause of Protestantism advanced rapidly. However, England returned to the Roman Catholicism during Queen Mary 's reign (1553–58), and many Protestants were forced into exile. Many of the exiles found their way to Geneva, where the church of John Calvin provided a functioning model of a disciplined church.
From this experience came also the two most popular books of Elizabethan England — the Geneva Bible and John Foxe 's Book of Martyrs — which gave English Protestants justification for viewing England as an elected nation chosen by God to complete the work of the Reformation. Thus, these Protestants enthusiastically welcomed Elizabeth's accession in 1558; but her early actions while reestablishing Protestantism disappointed those who sought extensive reform, and this faction was unable to achieve its goals in the Convocation, the church 's primary governing body.
Many of these Puritans — as they came to be known during a dispute over vestments (the Vesterian Dispute dealt with the issue of whether clerical vestments — declared to be "popish" by some — was theologically important) in the 1560s and 70s — were seeking parliamentary help in an attempt to enact a Presbyterian (Calvinist theory of church governance whereby Christ is the only head and all members are equal under him). Naturally, this caused resentment among the clergy ranks.
Other Puritans, concerned with the long delay in reform, decided on a "reformation without delay for any. "These" separatists "repudiated the state church and formed voluntary congregations based on an alliance with God and between themselves. The establishment repressed both groups but especially the separatists. Denied the opportunity to reform the established church, English Puritanism turned to preaching, pamphlets, and a variety of religious expression and social behaviour and organization experiments. Its successful growth also owed much to the nobility and parliamentary patrons and their control of the Oxford and Cambridge universities and professorships.
Puritan expectations were raised once more when Scotland's Calvinist James VI succeeded Elizabeth as England's James I in 1603, thus inaugurating what is known as the Jacobean era. Yet he dismissed the complaints of the Puritans at the Hampton Court Conference in 1604 with the expression "no bishop, no king ". To James I Puritans were not a religion but a sect. They were the people, as Trevelyan writes, who either wished to purify the use of the property or to worship separately by means of forms to be "purified." As a result, the Puritans remained under pressure. Some were deprived of their positions; others with minimal conformity; and yet others, unable to compromise, fled England.
Under Charles I (1625–49) and his archbishop William Laud the pressure for conformity increased. However, the Puritan spirit continued to spread, and when civil war broke out between Parliament and Charles I in the 1640s, Puritans took the opportunity to urge the Parliament and nation to renew their covenant with God. Parliament has called together a clergy body to advise on church administration. But this body — the Westminster Assembly — was so badly divided that church government and discipline reform was not achieved.
In the meantime, the New Model Army, which had defeated the royalist forces, feared that the Assembly and Parliament would reach a compromise with King Charles that would destroy their Puritanism gains so that it would seize power and hand it over to its hero, Oliver Cromwell. The religious settlement under the Cromwell Commonwealth allowed limited pluralism to favour the Puritans. Several radical Puritan groups appeared, including the Levelers, the Diggers, the Fifth Monarchy Men, and the Quakers (the only one of lasting significance).
After Cromwell 's death in 1658, the conservative Puritans supported the restoration of King Charles II and the modified episcopal (relating to a bishop or to bishops as a group) policy. However, those who re-established Laud 's strict episcopal pattern were outdone. Thus, English Puritanism had entered a period known as the Great Persecution. The English Puritans made a final unsuccessful attempt to secure their ideal of a comprehensive church during the Glorious Revolution. England 's religious solution was defined in 1689 by the Toleration Act, which continued the established church as episcopal but also tolerated dissident groups.
Thomas Dale carried the Puritan ideal of realizing the Holy Commonwealth through the establishment of a covenanted community to the American colony of Virginia, but New England had the greatest opportunity. The original pattern of church organization in the Massachusetts Bay Colony was the "Middle Way" between Presbyterianism and Separatism, yet in 1648 four New England Puritan Colonies jointly adopted the Cambridge Platform to establish a congregational form of church government.
The hounded-out Puritans from England who migrated there came to have a firm control on socio-cultural ethos. They rejected all that was associated with the Church of Rome. They discarded all that were adjuncts to the Catholic and the Anglican faiths, like music, incense, rich vestments, etc. Faith, Reason and Logic replaced the sensuous appeals of worship. All that was detrimental to concentration was rejected. Hence sensuous imageries in literary compositions were an anathema. The Bible to them was the highest form of literature. Naturally, by accepting the Bible as the guide and guardian, the writers were least concerned with the literary tradition which had so far made alchemy of religious and secular aspects of culture and civilization. It was thus an insularity of approach to literature and life. Individual freedom of thought and expression was affected to the worst. Religion/Puritanism controlled law also, as shown by Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter, which, in fact, is a satire on Puritanism. While this was the situation in America, mainland England however, could never again become the preserve of Puritanism. Yet, the Puritan influence during the Commonwealth became a factor to reckon with, both in politics and culture, as we shall now see.
As with our understanding of the Puritan movement that began in England and gradually petered out to America, any attempt at understanding the cultural milieu they brought in should factor a historical perspective. We need to remember that these Bible-believing Christians and their Evangelical spiritual movement dates back to the time when the English Bible was being smuggled into England, thereby giving rise to Biblical Christianity and the English Reformation! With time however and with the coming of new mores, their position did decline, so much so that in his An Essay of Dramatic Poesy, John Dryden calls the Puritans a "barbarous race of men".
The question before us is, how and in what ways did the Puritan view of culture affect the course of English literature?
For one, the Puritans were people who caused others to sit up and listen. They were bound and determined to make an impact on their generation. Their dreams and their goals were both individual and national. They were quite vociferous in the way they engaged with the challenges of their time.
The Puritans were inclined to express their opinion quite forcefully, even to the point of straining the social constraints of a rigid monarchical English society. This would cause them, and the mother country, some significant pains of travail. In their time, the Puritans were considered a formidable force in the socio-cultural sphere. They condemned not the drink, but the drunkard, they condemned not the sex but extramarital sex. They told about a unique lifestyle. Hence there was strong opposition to all the Italianate influences that were pervasive in England; just as their condemnation of the theatre as a place that fostered vice was very strong. It must be understood that more than the plays themselves, they were against the ways in which play-houses had turned into places of depravity and licentiousness. We shall learn more about this in the next sub-section. In all, the humanist spirit that pervaded the Elizabethan Age was randomly curbed under the Puritan influence. The scenario however changed dramatically once the Puritans went out of favour with the Restoration in 1660.
Was Puritanism pervasive in contemporary English Culture?
Even as you read the history of Puritan England, here is some food for thought that you may like to discuss as students of Literature:
The two great poets of Puritanism in England – Milton and Marvell could neither totally adhere to, nor ignore the existing literary tradition. In Paradise Lost Milton mingles religious and secular aspects through his motto of 'justify(ing) the ways of God to men'. His adventure lies in treating a
Biblical theme in a pagan genre, and subtly incorporating contemporary politics. Thus Satan becomes Cromwell whose Latin Secretary Milton himself was. And his style too smacks of both religious and secular aspects. The base is the Bible but the superstructure is Pagan/Classical. Milton's Renaissance humanism thus gets the better of his Puritan upbringing, failing which Paradise Lost would suffer the fate of a book of the liturgy.
Andrew Marvell, another Puritan poet, also, Like Milton, could not disregard the national tradition of poetry and classical/Latin poetry as well. Marvell's The Garden in a Puritan's appeal to all to love nature which is the manifestation of God and also a most congenial place for meditation. But many lines show a Spenserian sensuousness and symbolic connotation which a Puritan would not ratify. He re-interprets The Bible as to how Eve destroyed Adam's perfect freedom and heavenly bliss. The purification of the soul thus happens not through The Bible, nor Puritanism, but by association with the garden. Here he deviates from Puritanism.
Even Bunyan was castigated by many for using an allegorical fictional style in The Pilgrim's Progress.
With help from your counsellor, try to analyse these contra-indicatory trends in contemporary literature and how these reflected upon the culture of the period.
The English Puritans of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were the worst enemies of English drama. The logic of the Puritans was both religious and social. The causes of the Puritan enmity the drama/stage can be enumerated thus:
First of all, in The Book of Deuteronomy, Moses spoke to the Israelites, "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are an abomination unto the Lord thy God." (The Old Testament).
And the Puritans saw how the English stage was courageous and cheering the male actors dressed up as women, and women as dressed up as men. It was a sharp violation of the Biblical injunction, and they looked upon this cross-dressing as inimical both to religion and the moral code.
Secondly, the dramas were full of bawdy and blasphemy. Both premarital and post-marital love were given dramatic representation and the audience relished both, without any qualms. Here again, the Bible is the guide of the Puritans, and they did not take such violation kindly:
"If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman and the woman…"
Thirdly, the theatres attracted lewd women and apprentices. They increased the danger of plague and lessened the scope of profit and salvation.
In his History of England, Macaulay gives a picture of the Puritans of early 17th Century, which corroborates with the cause of general apathy and angst of the Puritans in relation to the stage:
"It was sin…to drink a friend's health, to hawk, to hunt a stag, to play at chess…to read the Fairy Queen…the fine arts were all proscribed."
Fourth, Henri Fluchere wrote in Shakespeare and the Elizabethans, "…Puritans had a horror of beauty, sensuousness and sensuality. The stage appeared to them a school of corruption and lies, a vast industry of debauchery, an ever-increasingly degenerate activity…"
Fifth, many plays were staged on Sundays. And the playhouses drew away people from Sermons. It was a grave threat to the existence of religion, and the stage was doing all that was beyond religion.
Last, of all, the players were hated by the Puritans for another reason. The actors were regarded as superfluous sort of men. In their view, an actor might be a vagabond or a rogue, but evading legal hassles he was growing rich at the cost of the simple poor. He flaunted to be a gentleman with dresses costly and extravagant. Neither public nor the puritan eye could take these pleasure-seeking sections patronisingly.
For a long time, the pulpit and the stage were looked upon as rivals. The Puritan preacher would brook no much rivalry. A play cannot be a match for a sermon, nor could it be allowed to create any trouble in matters sermonic – that was the viewpoint. It was rather taught by the preachers that the players on the stage would incur God's wrath. It was even argued that the annual plague in London was the effect of sin, and the causes of the sin were players. It, therefore, stood to reason that the cause of the plagues were players. The Puritans continued this belief and expected the people to follow them. They, however, had about a hundred and seventy sects. It must be noted that not all of them were equally averse to pleasure and amusement.
The ordinance of September 2, 1642, is generally held to be the culmination of a protracted effort of the Puritans to ban drama. Or, rather reversely, dramatists/players after a prolonged struggle for survival finally gave in to the Puritans. The history of the efforts to stop performances of the dramas had started much earlier to 1642.
Roger Ascham was no Puritan. But he made his vehement outbursts against the popular Romances of the day. The tone of his invectives is akin to that of the Crusaders against plays which were dramatised versions of these romances. Then there was Witham Alley, Bishop of
Exeter, who condemned the "Wanton Books" in The Poore Man's Librarie (1565). He was the first man in England to write against the stage. He cited the case of the City of Marseilles that did not allow any player to live within its territory for the sake of gravity. The contention was that plays are killers of soberness and sanctity of a place and a people. The writers of London harped on this example to bring home their point of condemnation of the stage. The third writer was Lewis Wager. In his Prologue to Life and Repentance of Marie Magdalene (1566), he defended his case as a dramatist. Efforts were there to suppress plays by bishop, preacher and mayor. London thus became an arena of the struggle between Puritan and player.
But the likes of Lodge and Heywood tried their best to defend plays. Lodge's A Defence of Stage Plays (1579-80) was against Gosson's School of Abuse (1579). Heywood must have studied Lodge's tract before writing An Apology for Actors (1612). Heywood argues that The New Testament has no such passage to show that drama is a profane art. Moreover, he was of the opinion that drama can well serve as a moral tonic and work decisively on a guilty conscience. He attempts to challenge the Puritans by referring to the Bible. In 1615 John Greene upheld the Puritan stand through A Refutation of the Apology for Actors and answers all the defensive points of Heywood. Overbury's Characters (1614) contains this Puritan- player controversy of the time. In 1616 the writer of The Rich Cabinet furnished with a variety of exquisite Descriptions shows the excellent qualities an actor has to possess – dancing, song, elocution, wit etc. Nathaniel Field, actor and playwright, defended stage acting against the Puritan attacks. By a careful study of the Bible, he learnt that no trade of life except "conjurers, sorcerers, and witches, ipso facts, are damned". He wrote the quoted words to a certain Mr Sutton, preacher at St Mary Overs. In 1625 an anonymous Puritan wrote a petition to the Parliament, entitling it A Short Treatise Against Stage Players. It was an attempt to show how drama was the monster of vice and all sensuality.
William Prynne (1600-69) the pamphleteer and the writer of Histriomastix (1632) deserves a special mention in connection with the Puritan attack on the stage. It is a book of eleven hundred pages, summing up, as it were, the Puritan stand against drama as a whole. He went to the extreme by calling some French actresses "notorious whores", who were all Queen's persons. The result was that he was condemned to stand in the pillory, pay penalty, lose both ears, and get perpetually imprisoned. He was also to lose his Oxford degree and was expelled from Lincoln's Inn. His life sentence was afterwards cancelled by parliament. Prynne's objective was to suppress stage acting, though the royalty of his time was favouring drama. The fact is that drama before suppression in 1642 was in a prosperous condition, and it is evident from a tract named The Stage- Players Complaint (1641), which is an anonymous work.
The 1642 Ordinance was for full suppression of Stage plays. It brought to a close the glorious tradition and triumph of drama in the reign of Elizabeth and her two successors. Despite a long struggle for existence against the Puritans for three-quarters of a century, the players and writers made themselves a laughing- stock as it was to the puritans that victory finally fell. By this ordinance, the demolition of all playhouses was decreed. All actors were seized and whipped. Every audience attending a drama was liable to a fine of five shillings. The two straight ordinances of the parliament in 1647 and 1648 created a fear psychosis among the writers, actors and audience. These ordinances, however, saw some protests in the form of two tracts: The Actors Remonstrance (1643), and The Players Petition to the Parliament ( a piece of satirical verse). There was another book Mr William Prynne, his Defence of stage- players (1649). The Puritan attack on the stage was not for reforming the theatre, but for abolishing it. To the puritans, the stage served no ethical or moral function. It was rather posing a threat to all that was salubrious to mental, moral and spiritual health. Dramatists like Thomas Lodge, Thomas Nashe and John Heywood- on the other hand- regarded drama as an engine for moral instruction. They advocated for a synthesis of art and ethics. But their advocacy frittered away before the power of the Commonwealth and the tensions of the Civil War.
Did drama then die in full during Oliver Cromwell's rule?
So far as Foucault's theory of power is concerned, every power has its resistant power, otherwise, autocracy or fascism would never change. During Cromwell's rule, drama pulsated in noblemen's houses, "Drolls" or farces or humorous scenes adapted from plays and stages were enacted, e.g. Merry conceits of Bottom the Weaver' from A Midsummer Night's Dream; 'The Grave Diggers' Colloquy' from Hamlet; 'Falstaff, the Bouncing Knight' from Henry IV and so on.
Rules banning the stage were, however, beginning to be relaxed towards the close of Cromwell's rule. William Davenant was allowed to stage his Siege of Rhodes. Part 1 of The Siege of Rhodes was first performed in a small private theatre constructed at Davenant's home Rutland House in 1656. Special permission had to be obtained from the Puritan government of Oliver Cromwell by calling the production "recitative music", music being still permissible within the law. When it was published in 1656, it was under the equivocating title The siege of Rhodes made a representation by the art of perspective in scenes, and the story sung in recitative musick, at the back part of Rutland-House in the upper end of Aldersgate-Street, London. The 1659 reprinting gives the location at the Cockpit in Drury Lane, a well-known theatre frequented by Samuel Pepys after the Restoration (1660). The Rutland House production also included England's first professional actress, Mrs Coleman. Davenant went on to open the Cockpit theatre in Drury Lane and produced two similar operas The Cruelty of a Spaniard in Peru and The History of Francis Drake.
You have by now formed a fair idea of the cross-currents that pervaded the cultural scene in general and the theatre in particular under the Puritan influence. It would be interesting to cast a look at the events that surrounded the closure of playhouses in 1642, what followed, and how the resurgence of drama came about with the Restoration of the monarchy.
In 1622 there were but four principal companies–the King's, which acted at the Blackfriars and the Globe; the Prince's, at the Curtain; the Palgrave's, at the Fortune; the Queen of Bohemia's, at the Cockpit. The year 1629 was significant in dramatic history; it being the first year in which a female performer was seen in the English theatre. The innovation was introduced by a French company, but the women were hissed and booed off the stage. This was at the new theatre just opened in Salisbury Court. Three weeks afterwards they made a second attempt, but the audience would not tolerate them. King Charles and his Queen had a great love for dramatic entertainments; the latter frequently took part in the Court Masques, which brought down upon her the brutal language of that canting fellow Prynne. Yet in 1635 Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, under whose jurisdiction all theatrical affairs were then placed, mentions only the King's company under Lowin and Taylor at Blackfriars, the Queens under Beeston at the Cockpit, the Prince's under Moore and Kane at the Fortune; in the next year, he adds a fourth, doubtless Salisbury Court, to the list, which house was probably closed on the previous date. On the 6th of September, 1642, the theatres were closed by ordinance, it being considered not seemly to indulge in any kind of diversions or amusements in such troubled times as the political turbulence indicated. In 1647 another and more imperative order was issued, in consequence of certain infractions of the previous one, threatening to imprison and punish as rogues all who broke its enactments. Close upon the heels of this second came a third, which declared all players to be rogues and vagabonds, and authorized the justices of the peace to demolish all stage galleries and seats; any actor discovered in the exercise of his vocation should for the first offence be whipped, for the second be treated as an incorrigible rogue, and every person found witnessing the performance of a stage play should be fined five shillings, as has been mentioned earlier. Verily, the reign of Praise-God Barebones had commenced. But not even these stringent regulations were found sufficient, and in the next year, a Provost-Marshal was appointed, whose duty it was to seize all ballad singers and suppress all stage-plays. It is mentioned in Whitelocke's Memorials, that on the 20th of December, 1649, some stage players were seized by troopers at the Red Bull, their clothes taken away, and they were carried off to prison.
As you have read earlier, towards the end of Cromwell's period in 1658, this paranoia began to wane wand with Davenant, theatrical acting began to resurface. Two years later came the Restoration, and a new order of things dramatic. Theatres began to revive, and plays were openly performed at the Red Bull, the Cockpit in Drury Lane, and the theatre in Salisbury Court. The flamboyant Charles II was a huge patron of theatre and helped breathe new life into British drama. A patent was even issued for two new theatre companies, and these were allowed to organise ‗serious' drama. Led by William Davenant, The Duke's Men was for younger performers, while older, more experienced actors were in The King's Company, led by Thomas Killigrew. While the two companies created new opportunities theatrically, their monopoly on performances hampered the growth of British theatre. Soon further letters patent were granted to theatres in other English towns and cities, including the Theatre Royal, Bath in 1768, the Theatre Royal, Liverpool in 1772, and the Theatre Royal, Bristol in 1778. The theatres that were not patented had to be satisfied with showing only comedy, pantomime and melodrama. These monopolies on the performance of "serious" plays were eventually revoked by the Theatres Act 1843, but censorship of the content of plays by the Lord Chamberlain under Robert Walpole's Theatrical Licensing Act of 1737 continued until 1968.
Many scenic innovations developed during the Restoration. One of the most innovative and influential designers of the 18th century was Philip Jacques de Loutherbourg. He was the first designer to break up floor space with pieces of scenery, giving more depth and dimension to the stage. Other designers experimented with lighting by using candles and large chandeliers which hung over the floor of the stage. Actors began to get paid on how popular they were, and they usually played the same type of roles; for instance, tragic actors always played tragic roles. The female was known as the ingenue and the male came to be known as the juvenile. Playwrights got the proceeds from the third night's performance and also the sixth night's performance, but only for the original run of the show. Pantomimes would also be performed before and after a play.
On the thematic front Restoration, the theatre became a way to celebrate the end of Puritan rule, with its strict moral codes. To celebrate the opening of the theatres' Restoration plays were lavish, often immoral by Puritan standards, and poked fun at both royalists and round heads.
The lightness of the plays reflected a society recovering from years of division and unrest. Although the audience enjoyed the tragedy, the comedies were the hallmark of the Restoration plays. Classics such as Romeo and Juliet have been rewritten with a happy ending! However, the theatre that resurfaced was no longer national in character; there was a widespread presence of French playwrights such as Corneille, Racine and Moliere, as well as Spanish stories and plays that were already popular on the continent. The age was not one of heroism, and this was naturally reflected in the parody of the heroic drama that had taken place. As a corollary to this, comedy that inculcated the manner of restoration of England Became the widespread mode.
In this post, you have learnt of
Puritanism as a religious movement that came to assume widespread socio-cultural dimensions, though it has always enjoyed varying fortunes in England.
The impact of Puritan strictures on culture in general and on the drama in particular, leading finally to the closure of playhouses.
Drama as a subversive activity during the period of the ban from 1642b to 1660.
The revival of dramaturgy in a changed form in Restoration England.


text: Nonsense-mediated decay is an integral RNA surveillance mechanism in charge of the fast degradation of mRNAs comprising early termination codons and therefore prevents the formation of truncated protein. cells considerably alleviates the inhibitory results noticed. These observations keep accurate for inhibition of nonsense-mediated decay both through RNA disturbance and through pharmacological inhibition by aminoglycoside antibiotics gentamycin and G418. These research have essential implications for ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity due to gentamycin as well as for the suggested usage of NMD inhibition in dealing with hereditary disease. This record further shows the critical part performed by GAS5 in the development arrest of mammalian cells. 1. Intro GAS5 (development arrest-specific transcript 5) was determined using a practical display through its capability to suppress apoptosis inside a mouse thymoma cell range [1]. This gene is definitely encoded at 1q25, a chromosomal locus which includes been connected both with leukaemia and lymphoma [2C4] and with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) [5C8]. GAS5 Phellodendrine chloride supplier was isolated from a subtraction cDNA collection within a strategy designed to determine genes enriched on development arrest [9]. GAS5 encodes little nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) in its introns, and its own exons include a little open up reading body (ORF) which will not encode an operating proteins [10]. The snoRNAs portrayed in the intronic parts of GAS5 get excited about the biosynthesis and digesting of ribosomal RNA, which includes been assumed to become an essentially housekeeping function. However, several lines of proof have emerged lately which indicate the participation of snoRNAs in regulating cell development and proliferation [11]. Gene appearance studies show a substantial upregulation of GAS5 by oncogenic kinases connected with myeloproliferative disorders [12]. GAS5 can be involved with a chromosomal rearrangement with Notch 1 in radiation-induced thymic lymphoma [13]. Most of all, GAS5 has been proven to play vital roles in regular development arrest in both principal and transformed individual cells [14, 15] and in the inhibition of individual T-cell proliferation made by mTOR antagonists such as for example rapamycin and its own analogues [16]. GAS5 is normally transcribed being a 5-terminal oligopyrimidine (5TOP) RNA and therefore belongs to a course of transcripts characterised by an oligopyrimidine system series at its 5 end. Various other 5TOP RNAs encode ribosomal protein, and also other protein involved in proteins synthesis (analyzed by Meyuhas and Dreazen [17]). 5TOP transcripts talk about some distinctive features in common, like the inhibition of their translation with the immunosuppressant rapamycin [18]. Yet another feature of 5TOP mRNAs is normally they are at the mercy of growth-dependent translational control, which points out the previously reported posttranscriptional deposition of GAS5 mRNA in growth-arrested cells Phellodendrine chloride supplier [19]. The complicated digesting of GAS5 transcripts leads to the production Tnfsf10 of several different splice variations which are usually connected with ribosomes [19]. The open up reading body of individual spliced GAS5 is normally little, and its own termination codon is situated in an early on exon, suggesting these transcripts are at the mercy of nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) when translated [19, 20]. In developing cells, the energetic translation of most 5TOP RNAs qualified prospects to fast degradation from the GAS5 transcripts by NMD, whereas, in development caught cells, inhibition of translation will be likely to result in the build up of GAS5 transcripts, since NMD just affects mRNAs that are becoming translated [19]. The NMD pathway can be an important procedure in cell development and advancement. It works as an RNA monitoring mechanism by advertising degradation of mRNAs including premature prevent codons [21] and in Phellodendrine chloride supplier addition regulates the manifestation of a little but significant small fraction of the cell's transcriptome Phellodendrine chloride supplier [22]. Lack of NMD leads to the build up of transcripts including premature prevent codons resulting in the translation and stabilisation of truncated proteins, that have deleterious results for the cell (evaluated by Brogna and Wen [23], and by Nicholson and Mhlemann [24]). The DNA and RNA helicase UPF1 (up-frameshift suppressor 1) takes on a key part in NMD [25, 26], and therefore the depletion of UPF1 Phellodendrine chloride supplier by RNAi inhibits NMD [27]. UPF1 in addition has been found to become essential for human being cells to full DNA replication as well as for genomic.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Rays see large spike in TV ratings following playoff season
TAMPA, Fla. - In a season that saw the team clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2013, the Tampa Bay Rays also saw a huge spike in TV viewership.
Fox Sports released TV ratings for the entire league based off data from Nielsen from March 28 to Sept. 29, the length of the MLB regular season.
This season, the Rays saw a 23 percent increase in TV viewership over last year — the sixth best this season. The Minnesota Twins saw the highest ratings boost with a 65 percent increase in TV viewership this season. Overall, the league saw a 2 percent ratings increase this season.
Those numbers are slightly up from July when the Rays had the 18th best ratings in the league and were seeing a 15 percent year over year ratings increase. Even with the large boost in ratings, the Rays still only had the 16th best ratings in the league. Even the team's wildcard game against the Oakland Athletics was the least-watched wild card game on ESPN.


text:
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Sold as one pair of earrings.


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Fax: 216-274-6380
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
They provide individuals and groups going overseas on medical mission trips with medical supplies from what may be currently in stock. For small shipments, there are fees associated with pounds of supplies to help cover MedWish's costs. The larger shipments have a flat fee. Recipients are asked to apply via the MedWish website at least 14 business days in advance if possible. A list of the basic medical supplies, equipment, and medical furniture they accept and distribute is on their website. Since their founding in 1993, they have helped in 114 countries with over 1,500 shipments. In 2020, 334 shipments were sent.


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Table of Contents
When using interactive GUI applications via SSH with X11 forwarding, input delays resulting from network latency are often an issue. For the initial connection from your machine to the HPC frontends, X2Go - everywhere@home is a possible alternative to remedy this situation, since it uses the NoMachine NX technology.
We first describe how to set up X2Go on your system and afterwards how to prepare your login session for using the batch system.
X2Go client
The first step is to visit Installing the Qt-based X2Go Client and download the appropriate client for your platform (Win/Mac/Linux)
When setting up a session to one of the frontends gwdu101
, gwdu102
or gwdu103
, be sure to to put the complete domain name into the field Host
and your user name into Login
. Just like for raw SSH connections, key-based authentication is required. This can be done by specifying the location of your private key. An alternative is to just activate the checkbox "Try auto login" in order to acquire a key from the SSH agent or to use the default one.
Because the default use case for X2Go is to start a desktop environment, which is not installed on the HPC frontends, change the Session type
to Single application and type xterm
as the run command.
xterm environment
In order to ensure the correct shell environment for the batch system, enter the following in the xterm session
source /etc/profile.d/slurm.sh
To make the setting permanent, just add this line it to the file ~/.bashrc
You can now continue by submitting an interactive job with X-Forwarding from the frontend to the compute nodes as usual.
The X2Go server is installed on the HPC frontends but not on the login server login.gwdg.de
. If you're not connecting from within GöNET, please establish a VPN connection first.
— ckoehle2 2022/06/17 19:20


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I intend to be doing a little more blogging on the Ohio State baseball program this year, and I will mark these posts with the "OSU BB" prefix before the title. I will be blogging on OSU baseball whenever I feel like it, as well as general baseball news when I feel like it. I also intend to post at least one sabermetric-related piece around Monday each week. That will continue next week with the conclusion of the WAT series.
Anyway, today I decided to look at the park factor for Bill Davis Stadium. I have never actually sat down and figured it out, so I looked at 2002-2006 data. I only looked at OSU home v. road games in the Big Ten.
In 79 B10 home games, OSU scored 421 runs and allowed 362, for 9.91 RPG. In 69 road games, OSU scored 454 runs and allowed 334, for 11.42 RPG. Interestingly, OSU scored more on the road and allowed more at home, giving the Buckeyes a .573 Pythpat record at home v. .651 on the road, which is very strange. In fact, OSU was 50-29 (.633) at home and 41-28 (.594) on the road. I don't know what to make of that.
Anyway, if we convert the RPG ratio into a PF, we get .879. However, this is just a factor for application to home stats, not to composite stats. In a major league situation, I'd just take the average of .879 and 1 to account for this. However, thanks to the fact that you can't play baseball in Ohio in February and March, the Buckeyes over the same five year period have played 123 games at home and 179 on the road (40.7% home).
So assuming that the road park is average, the park factor is now .407*.879 + .593 = .951. I also regress this at 40% toward the mean, since the number of games in the sample is about the same as one major league season, and 40% is the factor I would use for that. So we end up with a PF of 97.
So it appears that Bill Davis Stadium is a fairly strong pitching park that has its influence on the Buckeyes' statistics made fairly moderate by the extremely unbalanced schedule.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
OSU BB: Bill Davis Stadium PF
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5 Tips to Make Moving Easier
Buying a new house is a commendable feat. A downside to this special occasion is moving. Below you will find five tips to make moving easier.
- Hire Movers
Very few people hire professional packers, but most people that have moved in the past would recommend hiring affordable movers Smyrna to do the heavy lifting and transporting on the day of your move. This way your attention is focused on packing.
- Collect a Variety of Boxes and Packing Materials
You will want to purchase different types and sizes of boxes to make packing your home more efficient. For example, it is much easier to hang your clothes in wardrobe boxes than folding everything in standard boxes. Also, you will want packing paper, bubble wrap, and other packing materials to help protect and cushion your valuable and breakable items.
- Pack Non-Essential Items and Rooms First
Before you begin the long process of packing, you should think about going room to room in your home and creating a priority list. A non-essential room, such as a guest room, should be packed first, as opposed to the kitchen. This same philosophy can also be used for non-essential household items, like fine tableware and formal clothes.
- Consider a Babysitter for Young Children
Moving day can be stressful. Your attention should be on organizing and assisting your moving team, so you may want to consider asking for or hiring a babysitter for young children.
- Transfer Your Cable and Internet on Moving Day
To help make a new house your new home, you could transfer your cable and internet service on moving day. Not only will you be able to enjoy a favorite television show or the local news right away, but you will take one thing off your list of things to do.
With a little planning and strategy, moving day can be organized and anxiety-free.


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I've been blogging about reuniting with my junior high friend Myk Mishoe a lot lately. First I read on his MySpace page that he'd gotten married last summer in Los Angeles. Then, after not seeing each other for nearly 25 years, we finally got together when I was in L.A. last month. We had so much fun catching up (his husband is adorable!). And, as you can see from this set of photos he surprised me with yesterday -- which I'd never seen before -- we had a lot of fun back in 1980 too. (Myk's poor mother. He'd be chasing me around the house with a butcher knife for hours as we practiced our scenes!!! I can't believe the neighbors never called the cops!) Admittedly, the plot of "The Babysitter" was a tad derivative of "Halloween" and "When a Stranger Calls" (God knows we saw EVERY horror movie that came out during that time). But I was a BOY babysitter. And before I finished going through puberty, I swear I could outscream that hermaphrodite Jamie Lee Curtis any day of the week.
Between the "radio shows" I used to do with my neighbor Dawn Bartnick, the plays I used to put on with my friends in the garage, and the films we constantly had in "production" ("My Bloody Santa" was our other big one), I'm still not entirely sure how I didn't end up becoming a total drama queer -- and I mean that in the professional sense, of course. (To the journalism community I say this: you're welcome.)
I'm pretty sure if Myk and I had had the technology available today we'd be watching one of hell of a horror movie right now -- in between depositions with John Carpenter's lawyers. But instead, just sit back and just enjoy the show ...
On the way to a babysitting job: I may not have had Laurie Strode's knee-highs, but my Kinney GASS earth shoes kick ass; right, trouble is lying in wait


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Students & Alumni
Useful Links
Useful links for students and alumni in the TESLA program.
USF Academic Calendars
The INTO USF is an intensive English-for-Academic-Purposes program, located in the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of World Languages. The SPEAK test is administered by the English Language Institute to international students who have been appointed as teaching assistants in an academic department at USF, or who will be appointed by a department in the future. Students must have authorization from their department to take the SPEAK test.
Department of World Languages
World Languages Education is a department located in the USF College of Arts and Sciences. This program offers Master's Degrees in Applied Linguistics.
Foreign Language Education
Provides an overview of the Foreign Language Education Bachelor of Arts Degree, Master's Degrees (MA, MEd, MAT), PhD degree, as well as information on distance learning, ESOL Endorsement etc.
Office of Graduate Studies at USF
Information regarding the application process for domestic students. The Graduate Studies website includes information regarding Thesis and Dissertation procedures, various forms, as well as workshops for graduate students.
International Admissions
Information for international graduate applicants, including an overview of the application process, required material, and downloadable forms.
Parking & Transportation Services
Parking permits are required to park at The University of South Florida 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Permit types are used to designate different parking locations on campus.
VITAL is the Virtual Instructional Team for the Advancement of Learning. They offer technology workshops for faculty and graduate students.


text: Quick fix for Grammie. Someone had sent her some .pages files and she couldn't open them on Windows 7. Turns out that they are a Winzip compatible file archive with a PDF preview in them. Since she doesn't even have Winzip installed, I simply exported, edit, and imported the .zip registry entry so the Windows… Continue reading Open Apple Pages .pages files in Windows


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Fireclay pipes – ceramic pipes for the chimney
No modern chimney system can do without a fireclay pipe. Our isostatically pressed ceramic pipes are high-performance, high-tech state-of-the-art products.
Fireclay pipes form the inner layer of high-quality chimney systems and are in direct contact with the flues. Therefore, the ceramic raw materials and the production process must meet very high standards: a fireclay pipe must be able to resist low as well as high temperatures and be resistant to acid and moisture.
Isostatically pressed fireclay sleeve pipes
The highly-specialised fireclay pipe production process used for the OSMOTEC chimney systems is markedly different from traditional production methods. Isostatic pressing allows the production of extremely thin-walled ceramic pipes which are completely sealed and resistant to acids and condensates created during the combustion process.
A wall thickness of only 8 mm and a length of 66 cm make our fireclay pipes lighter, longer, and safer than traditional ceramic pipes. The 3 cm sleeve forms a perfect connection between the pipes and, together with our acid-resistant mastic, guarantees a homogenous and sealed pipe column.
W3G quality
Condensing solid biomass fuels such as pellets, wood chips, or grains and all fireplaces using them require chimney systems with a W3G certificate. The name "W3G" refers to the fact that the flue system has been tested and that it guarantees a sealed pipe column even in the case of a soot fire or condensate accumulation.
The isostatically pressed fireclay pipes used in our OSMOTEC chimney systems can withstand even the most extreme conditions. They are moisture-resistant (even after a soot fire) as well as resistant to temperature fluctuations and corrosion and therefore suitable for all fuel types. All these features mean that they meet the W3G certificate stipulations.
Unsere W3G-klassifizierten Schornsteinsysteme:
Our fireclay pipes: an overview
- moisture-resistantresistant to soot fires
- acid-resistant
- resistant to temperature fluctuations
- resistant to corrosion


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Aloclair Plus Mouth Ulcer Spray
- Fast acting
- Fast pain relief
- Long-lasting protection
Includes nozzle for precise application.
Alcohol free
Aloclair Plus has a unique and effective formualtion that works on mouth ulcers and other minor oral lesions fast. It forms a long- lasting protective barrier over the exposed nerve endings to help reduce pain fast and promote healing.
The hyaluronic acide and Aloe vera support the natural healting of the damaged tussues. Aloclair Plus is suitable for the whole family even babies from 2 montsh or pregnant women.
It can be used for a one off to multiple lesions.


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At HomeQuestionsAnswered, we're committed to delivering accurate, trustworthy information. Our expert-authored content is rigorously fact-checked and sourced from credible authorities. Discover how we uphold the highest standards in providing you with reliable knowledge.
What is Bonded Leather?
In some ways explaining what bonded leather is can be the same as describing the difference between ground beef and steak. The material is leather that is "left over" or otherwise not in its original form, pressed together and adhered to other leather via a bonding agent. This type of leather, sometimes referred to as reconstituted leather, is an alternative to what is known as genuine leather, which are whole pieces of animal hide.
Some may confuse bonded leather with artificial leather or synthetic leather, which should not be done. In some cases, a bonded leather product is 100 percent leather. In other cases, such as bonded leather upholstery, there could be as little as 17 percent leather in the product. Those looking at bonded leather should understand this is an option that does include real leather. Some may appreciate that fact, while others may not.
The difference between bonded leather and genuine leather, in terms of quality and looks, can be hard to see. If it is done properly, the grains and textures of bonded leather should look very close to that of genuine leather. In some cases, the only different may be that the texture of the bonded leather may not be quite as pronounced as that of natural-grained genuine leather. The function, smell, and overall appearance remains much the same, however.
The other major difference with bonded leather is in the cost. It is often available at a substantial discount over genuine leather. This is because the leather scraps, or leather fibers, would have no other value, or very little value, if not made into a bonded form. Therefore, it is still considered a good deal for the manufacturer to sell it at a reduced cost.
One of the most common applications for bonded leather is in the covers for books, especially Bibles. The leather for Bibles can be bonded and still very easily create the desired look and feel. While full disclosure often means the words "bonded leather" appear somewhere on the cover, it would otherwise be hard to tell the difference. It has become such a product of choice for Bibles that finding them in genuine leather is becoming more difficult.
As with all types of leather, the material remains very durable, able to withstand a number of conditions, including heat and moisture. This is a hallmark of leather and why it is used in applications such as Bibles, shoes, belts, and even sports balls. In the end, the choice will usually come down to a personal preference.
Discussion Comments
I repair and recolor leather professionally. I see all these materials and have researched the differences. Leather is intact animal skin, preserved, colored and thinned for a particular use, such as upholstery.The "top grain" or "full grain" is the outside layer that had the hair on it and is the only part of the hide strong enough for shoes, clothes and upholstery.
Bonded, bicast and vinyl use plastic on the outside to imitate the look and feel of leather. All are much weaker and much less durable. Bonded is plastic glued to plastic that was mixed with ground up leather fibers. Bicast is plastic glued to an inside layer of the hide, which is much weaker than the top grain. Vinyl is a more supple plastic glued to fabric. Bonded and bicast will begin to bubble, peel, flake and/or split within a few months to a couple of years of normal use, and continue to disintegrate at a rapid rate. They are very weak, compared to top grain leather, even when new. How fast they disintegrate varies, but all have poor durability.
Vinyl is about as durable as fabric, since it has strong fabric on the back and is made from a plastic that stays supple much longer than the polyurethane plastics of bonded and bicast materials.
It appears that bonded and bicast exist only to confuse the consumer into believing they are buying a durable product because they contain some leather.
However, leather is strong because it grows that way. Once ground up, it's not leather anymore; it's just collagen fibers that came from skin, but could have come from tendons or intestines and perform the same.
Ever wondered why a pound of ground beef is way cheaper than a pound of the cheapest cut of beef?
"Explaining the difference between bonded leather and genuine leather, is the same as describing the difference between ground beef and steak."
Bonded leather, a.k.a. reconstituted leather, may contain 17 percent leather scraps, but it's still a man-made material. Technically it's slightly more leathery than pure V-Tex or MB-Tex, a space age plastic that can be made to look, feel and smell like leather.
Why is it replacing cloth in cars and furniture upholstery? Simply because the process is cheaper! Way cheaper! Seams do not have to sewn but can be welded.
It can be produced in China for a fraction of the cost of good quality fabric. Furthermore, the Chinese manufacturers are not bound by the 17 percent solution, so anything goes.
Comfort-wise, cloth is cool in summer and warm in winter, which is the direct opposite of both vinyl and leather. Unlike plastic (and even most leather), cloth breathes well year-round.
Furthermore, a nice grippy fabric keeps one seated properly and one does not slide around like an olive on a plate.
What would you recommend using to clean bonded leather?
Bonded leather is only about 17 percent leather made from ground up discarded bits of real leather.
Bonded leather is made by gluing scrap pieces of leather together, which otherwise would be thrown away. Genuine leather sofas, for example, are made with whole leather pieces.
According to Furniture Today, bonded leather upholstery is nothing more than vinyl/polyurethane sheeting backed by leather fibers. The surface is embossed to resemble leather. So you are not buying leather in the traditional sense. There may be small pieces glued together, like a butcher block, but the amount of leather you are getting is really small.
OK, now, I have ran across a totally different phrase on Ebay: "bonded bicast" leather (in reference to furniture.) So which is it? Can it be both? Is there a new process? Or is it someone's else lack of info? Or an outright attempt to misled the consumer? Anybody for sure on this?
I found this dialogue helpful. I am going to reupholster two chairs for my son and was wondering about bonded leather versus vinyl (hides were too costly). After reading this, I think I will select a good quality vinyl. Thanks.
Bicast leather is sold under a huge array of trade names, and the products made of it may be (and usually are) labeled "Leather" or "Genuine Leather" in the US. As the other comments point out, this stuff doesn't wear like leather. pretty much like particle board (stuff made of wood chips/saw dust and resin binder, think Ikea furniture) and what most people think of as "wood."
Bonded leather, in my opinion, is garbage. I bought a belt made of "bonded leather," not knowing anything about it. In fact, I didn't know what it was made of at the time I purchased it.
After wearing that belt only six times, it broke completely in half when I got up out of a chair. It actually looks like cardboard. I would never again buy anything made from this junk.
After reading about how it's made, I would give it the same comparison as particle board to plywood. My suggestion to anyone thinking of buying anything made from this junk to spend the extra money and buy "genuine leather." Stay away from this stuff. Believe me, you'll be glad you did.
Someone below asked about "bonded leather" and "pets" and also about 'cigarette burns melting' bonded leather. This is my experience.
Cigarette burns: I bought a fairly high end, but bonded leather sectional that had a couple of cigarette burns in it when I bought it. Yes, it looked like "melted holes". I was also cautioned by the first owner, the landlord, to not use candles around it as bonded leather is highly flammable. I don't know this for fact -- only that she told me she had been told this when she purchased the sectional.
Pets: My elderly cat was still living when I had that sectional. He was starting to occasionally have bladder control issues, leaking, and sometimes would sleep deeply and not waken to use his litter box. I came a couple times to find small puddles on the couch. (It won't sink in - the "good news" and it didn't leave a stain or urine odor.)
However, my problem was that I used a cleaner that was supposed to be mild and safe for bonded leather and would still sterilize the couch, and it cracked the couch cushion! I learned from asking around then, that these bonded leather furniture pieces crack fairly quickly and usually early on if attempted to be cleaned. The couch at this point was I believe about two - 2-1/2 years old. (She'd had it a year or little over, then I was about 14 months into the lease).
Pets and nails: When I bought the sectional, it has a few small tears from where the owner's kitten had "attacked it" as a scratching post. My cat, being older, was fine with it, but sometimes would accidentally make some damage if his nails were a little long, close to the trimming point - more like "scratches" into a cushion. The kitten holes looked worse over time, the scratches didn't seem to affect the wear-ability of the sectional pieces.
Would I buy bonded leather again? Not sure:
a) It is cold to sit on in damp weather and doesn't seem to 'warm up'.
b) In hot weather, anyone who sits on it, finds they start "sweating" and stick to it. It also can get "hot" to sit on if near a sunny window.
Suggestion: If you are buying cheap furniture to get you through a year or two, or buying used, it could be a good purchase if you can get around the above points.
Otherwise, I would suggest a good micro-suede or micro-fiber. I've had a lot better luck, consistently, with it for pet stains, grease, oil, make-up (if you fall asleep on the couch), comfort (cozy) -- all around the product is easy to clean and holds up really well.
Lower end types, like found on low-end futons, the material may stretch a lot, but higher end micro-fibers or micro-suede tend to keep their shapes and remain pretty good looking and take a lot of 'abuse'.
Vinyl is a carcinogen. Don't take my word for it.
@anon41349: Bonded leather is ground up leather pressed together like fiberboard or paper and bonded with a glue.
Bicast leather (a.k.a. bycast leather) is a shaved piece of leather (again otherwise useless) that is layered with a plastic to strengthen it and give it a nice appearance.
Practically they are both the same, something that will look nice for a few years, then crack and look like a cheap worn out vinyl. Genuine, genuine leather will look nice for a few years, become soft and age (generally most would say this improves the leather) for another 50 years before eventually wearing out.
The above article seems to take a biased approach to describing the differences of bonded leather and genuine leather, and while it is written in a rather journalistic manner (neutral sounding yet oh so biased to the writer's viewpoint) the underlying fact is that bonded leather is essentially vinyl weakened with organic matter interlaced in the synthetic matrix.
To say "essentially the only difference is the price" is like saying the only difference between sausage and a filet is the price. The statement neglects to inform the reader that the long term durability and age enhancing qualities of leather far surpass that of bonded leather.
In my own view, I cannot see how bonded leather is an improvement over vinyl (or some other synthetic leather). If anything, it seems to me like they are filling the expensive synthetic material with a cheap filler (collagen fibers from dead animals) to save money.
Couple this with the confusing, if not fraudulent, statement by a manufacturer claiming that, by grinding up animal parts and blending it with a synthetic fabric, they are creating "leather." They might as well use the connective tissue of the animal, as chemically there is not much difference between the animal's innards and its hide.
Can some people prefer bonded leather to genuine leather? Sure, bonded leather looks nice for a few years, and is cheap and will make a wonderful fill in the garbage dump when the couch wears out.
As a bookbinder with 40+ years experience: If you want a Bible to be passed down through many generations, use only genuine leather. Genuine leather can last indefinitely, depending on the care given it.
Bonded leather will last 5-20 years, depending on care and on the original thickness and quality of the bonded leather.
yes, that's how it's done.
I want to know the exact same thing as 51498. I, too, have been looking for durability. I get mixed reviews. Does it at least hold up as well as a good fabric upholstery?
In my experience the bonded-leather Bibles I have used and seen do not hold up over the years like the genuine leather Bibles I've owned. We're talking 5-10 years though.
I have some beautiful pieces of very thin leather backed with coarse muslin that I purchased years ago when a tannery went out of business.
I would like to use it to make a Bible cover but am afraid it is too thin. The thicker pieces I had bought made a wonderful Bible cover but it is now worn out.
Does anyone know whether cutting and stitching this (glove?) leather with the muslin backing would give an acceptable result? Or would it be better to stick with baby shoes, clutch purse, etc. with this piece? Thanks.
Bonded Leather is made from leather fibers that come from the stage in the tanning process where the hide is shaved to the desired thickness. It is generally not made from scraps of finished leather.
The leather fibers are bonded together usually with natural latex. This bonding is done on equipment that is similar in principle to paper making equipment.
Since bonded leather is made with polyurethanes, does it 'melt' when a cigarette hits it? Will there be burn holes? How does it hold up? Nothing in any of the articles I read about it states anything about durability.
If a dog climbs on it, will the scratch from its claws show-anadine dying is not mentioned either. How deep does the color go into the fabric? Is it only surface dyed or is the entire body soaked in the dye?
Are bonded leather and bicast leather the same thing? does it have polymer in it?
Clyn - yes, that's exactly how it's made.
How is bonded leather made? Is it like manufactured wood, where they grind all the pieces together and mix with glue?


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Cats in the Garden!
An artistic painted design featuring a black and white cat lying happily in a garden. This is cushion cover is one of a series depicting cats relaxing in garden settings.
Natural coloured fabric.
Design on front only
Cover Only
45cm x 45 cm
Hard wearing, durable, linen cotton
Zip up cover
note: Colours and dye lots may vary slightly from what is pictured.


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The world is full of recruiters. There's never been so many because the jobs market is so active right now! The majority of them will tell you, "We're different from the rest" or,"We're passionate about exceeding customer expectation."
It's just words. Even as recruiters, we recognise there are good and bad recruiters, but it's quite a challenge knowing who to believe.
So here's our top ways to sort out the good from the bad recruiters. This applies whatever side of the fence you stand, candidate or employer:
Go for an independent agency - they're more about people than process. Big brands are the other way round.
Check out their job ads. If they're well written and not a cut-and-paste, that's a sign they can be bothered to get the basics right.
Check out their social media feeds. You can tell a lot about people when they're off guard. Read their blogs. That's where they often tell you what they really think.
When you meet them for the first time, do they want to talk about you or them? If it's more about them, just say "Cheerio" without a blink of an eye.
When they pitch their fee, check it's not just hopeful. Challenge them. If they drop their fee by 5% or more immediately, walk away. If they stick to their guns, they're likely to be doing it considering the resources they'll need to commit to get the job done properly.
Ask them about their Privacy Policy. Under the new GDPR legislation, they should be all over it. If they're not, it's another sign you need to look elsewhere.
We could tell you how nice we are at the RSE group (we are, well most of us…), or that we're all about animals (we have seven, yes 7, office dogs), or that we've won awards (most recently we won the Best Recruitment Agency, Best Boss and Team of the Year) and people do say nice things about us. For example
David Ruddle, Owner of the Bestof Eastbourne said "In the time that I have worked with the RSE Group, I have been impressed with the positive impact they have had on many of TheBestOf Eastbourne business members helping them secure more staff"
We don't just do recruitment either. We're here to support you on all your people needs:
- Permanent and Temporary Recruitment
- Executive Search
- Psychometric Assessments
- Outplacement
- Leadership and Management Mentoring and Coaching
- Wellbeing and Confidence Coaching
But none of that counts if we don't meet your particular needs as a client or candidate.
Do some research before you commit to any recruitment agency. The time you take to check them out before will pay you back in spades later on.
If you want a local and reliable recruitment business, then please feel free to research us. Don't just take our word for it #practicewhatyoupreach


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Derinkuyu – Inadvertently I clicked on 'Stumble!' in my browser menu bar. You never know what may turn up, one of the good things about 'Stumble Upon'. It can provide [ … ]
Tag: Turkey
Remarkable Derinkuyu Underground City in Turkey
Derinkuyu is an ancient Underground City of many levels, built into to soft volcanic rock. It's in the Derinkuyu district in Nevşehir Province, Turkey and thought to have been built [ … ]
Gobekli Tepe in Turkey
Ancient structures uncovered in Turkey and thought to be the world's oldest temples may not have been strictly religious buildings after all, according to an article in the October issue [ … ]


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LIVERPOOL'S shambolic sacrifice of a silverware opportunity to a side still threatened by relegation was always going to spark a fresh debate about the future of Brendan Rodgers as manager, particularly with a potential top-class replacement in the shape of Jurgen Klopp now seemingly preparing his CV for a punt at the Premier League.
But what has been fascinating about the so-called 'debate' is how little debating actually goes on, particularly between Liverpool fans.
The Wembley wobble allowed the tabloids to do what the tabloids do. They sniff blood, circle and stir. They prod for reaction and count up the clicks. But when it's fan v fan, don't we all ultimately want the same thing? Aren't we all striving and straining for a successful Liverpool Football Club?
Sometimes it doesn't feel that way — and that applies to extremists on both sides of the Rodgers fence.
Parallels can be drawn with the current scramble from party leaders to persuade voters ahead of the General Election on May 7. Whatever your political persuasion, ultimately, what are you striving for? A fair society? The best opportunities for you and your family? It's easy to forget the point when so much focus is placed on personalities, conflict, sniping and backbiting. Even the way someone eats a bacon butty is apparently of national concern while manifestos, policies and recent history of decisions? They too often take a back seat for debate that ultimately serves no purpose.
Too many times Liverpool fans have found themselves in similar situations regarding Rodgers. Whether it's the treatment of Rafa Benitez, the pain of Roy Hodgson, or the unceremonious uncrowning of the King, it's seemed for some that Rodgers was never worthy of the benefit of the doubt. The manager – perceptively, to be fair – referenced it himself on his arrival at Anfield to step into the shoes of Kenny Dalglish.
Back in June 2012, he said: "There are three types of supporters at every club. Number one is those who, no matter who the manager is, they love their club and will love their manager whoever it is. The second group is those supporters who will accept you but to earn their real respect you will have to be successful — and that's fine by me.
"The third group are the critics, and you never change them. Ever. If you win 4-0 it should have been five, if you win the league you should have won three."
A quick trawl of Liverpool forums or Twitter will show this applies as much now as it did then.
There are Liverpool supporters who will defend Rodgers' every move. We're not just talking context, or fairness, we're talking placing the manager on a pedestal alongside greats past and present. "Built a team like Shankly did…" That song has rhythm — and Rodgers is a bright young manager who came close to winning the league — but that line crosses the line.
To the fans in this group anything and everything that has gone right in the past three years is down to Rodgers and Rodgers alone. When it's the opposite – the players, the owners, the transfer committee are quickly mentioned in dispatches. Even luck gets the finger of blame before the manager does. It's not necessarily a criticism. Blind faith, looking on the bright side, backing a boss through thick and thin — it's what many perceive as the job description for a supporter. But what are we supporting here, the manager or the football club?
At the other end of the spectrum are 'the critics', as Rodgers christened them. The critics love to reference the manager's teeth and tan; they revel in talking about a TV documentary that Brendan Rodgers had little or no say in screened three years ago like it was aired last night: "Where are your envelopes now, Brendan? Where are they now?"
The manager's private life and living arrangements are fair game to the critics, too, even how he celebrates a goal gets a mention while "fraud", "fake" and "salesman" are routinely thrown around to describe the manager of the team they support. Imagine disliking a political leader for how he eats a butty. Imagine disliking a football manager for who he rents his house to.
Ultimately, what's the point in holding extreme views either way though? To put it bluntly, Brendan Rodgers doesn't matter. Liverpool matters. What's best for Liverpool matters. What makes Liverpool consistently competitive matters.
That basic fact is too often lost in the arguments, hidden in the smoke from online bullets across the Twitter battlefield. Stats here, quotes there. Brendan as David Brent this way and Rodgers in the sky with Shankly that way.
Perhaps the place to aspire to be is Brendan's group two. Accept Rodgers as the manager. Give him a chance. He needs to win something, he knows that and he's said so. Is three years long enough?
How he fares in doing just that should inform his perceived suitability and debates and opinions informed accordingly. They are allowed to change if things progress and they are allowed to change if things go wrong. Both things have happened during Rodgers' reign at Anfield. Right now, fans are smarting from an unacceptable performance at Wembley. There's an inquest taking place and so there should be. When there isn't then we really have problems.
I had my doubts about Rodgers when it first became clear he would win the race for the Anfield hotseat. Back in May 2012 I was banging the drum for a name that made a statement – an experienced, world renowned manager — not a boss barely out of nappies in terms of top-level experience.
I thought he handled his first press conference as manager impressively. Journalists spoke highly of him, too, and relayed positive vibes from the dressing room. From then on in, I've watched a side grow into an attacking force that last season became the envy of the league as it came a whisker away from winning the thing with positive, front foot football.
I've also watched a manager repeatedly make the same mistakes when it all went wrong earlier this season and then quickly sell himself to the watching public — too quick — when things started to go right again (see pre-Manchester United press pieces, clearly on the back of briefings from Rodgers himself, that uniformly praised the manager for turning Liverpool's season around).
Rodgers has struggled with the size of the job at times – the weight of expectation, the ghosts on the wall and the extra – and continuous – scrutiny that comes with the job at Liverpool. It's why he was wandering around his kitchen in the middle of night and why he lost sight for a while of what he has brought to the club: attacking football.
Rodgers is clearly all too aware of what is said and written about him and likes to redress the balance from time to time. He doesn't always choose the right moments, or the right words. Do fans really want to here that the occasion of a semi-final is too much for this team? Other times he has said exactly the right thing and represented the club with decency and dignity.
Good and bad. Light and dark. Shades of grey. And an assessment that no doubt applies to managers the world over.
I've watched a Liverpool side play some of the most exciting football I've witnessed in 25 years of going the match. But I've also watched a manager concede defeat for a Champions League spot far too early and consistently fail to win in big games when it matters. I've watched a manager tinker with tactics too much but I've also witnessed the same boss mastermind barely believable runs of form against all the odds.
I've witnessed players consistently bounce back and experience a second coming when it looked like the only way was out (see Henderson, Sakho, now Mignolet for example) but I've also watched a manager seemingly marginalise players he hasn't bought and over-promote those he has in the ongoing political wrangling between dug out and boardroom.
Experience v youth is a reoccurring theme in Rodgers' recent press conferences and we all know which FSG favours. The frustrations are clear to see. But it's worth remembering that it's a set up, approach and policy of FSG's making, and one that has conflict at its heart whoever operates within it. Director of football via committee, which is what it is in essence, equals manager v boardroom spats. And they're nothing new in football – Liverpool's history is littered with them: "They are only there to sign the cheques."
The Soccernomics book, known to a be a favourite of John W Henry, advocates "the power of minds". More than one mind making decisions means conflict.
We've had a record £120m transfer spend in the summer only to watch Liverpool crash out of Europe twice and fail in every competition they have entered. And yet Rodgers still has a win rate of 53.3 per cent as Liverpool manager, comparing favourably to Rafa Benitez's 56 per cent, Houllier's 52, Kenny Dalglish's (second spell) 49 and Hodgson's 42.
Those figures bring with them questions of who the wins were against, in what competition, at what stage of the season and with what at stake but it suggests Rodgers has done pretty well overall in his three years despite the clamour to point out that the spell lacks a trophy. Regardless, it's certainly not a disastrous reign, however you look at it.
So has Rodgers heeded the often harsh lessons he has been on the end of? How quick will his development be as a coach, a manager, a leader and a scouter of players?
Forget Rodgers and think Liverpool. That's what the owners ultimately should do. Do Liverpool need to wait for Rodgers to develop or do they simply plump for more experience (something that could equally apply to the players favoured by the transfer committee)? It's a perfectly legitimate question.
The mere suggestion of Jurgen Klopp's name this week has sparked fury for some. I struggle to understand why. In an ideal world, Liverpool should be absolutely ruthless in its chase for on-field perfection. Other clubs aren't waiting around for the supposedly 'smart' approach to transfers and contracts to pay off even if Liverpool are. Will any of the four clubs the Reds are routinely struggling to compete with go backwards next season? It doesn't look likely right now. So what's Liverpool's plan? Same again?
Everything at Liverpool should inform being competitive at the top end of the Premier League and in European competition. Tomorrow. Not in five years or 10 years. Tomorrow. Now. There is FFP to consider. There is the budget to consider. There is also the status and standing of the club to consider.
That said then, and bearing in mind the two sides to the Rodgers story, both of which have merit, if a top-class manager, who has won titles in a European League and has come close in the Champions League, is (theoretically at least) available and interested in the Liverpool job should the club seriously consider him as an alternative?
Could Klopp prove a greater draw for players than Rodgers? Could he lift the club, unite the fans and would his appointment be a much-needed signal of ambition?
I'd be very surprised – concerned even – if at the very least a conversation referencing all that didn't take place somewhere between here and Boston. That's not to either stab Rodgers in the back or blow Klopp's trumpet. It's merely to deal in reality and consider what is best for Liverpool. There shouldn't be opposition to thinking big.
I'm sure Brendan Rodgers, for all the mitigating circumstances that have made this season a disappointing (not yet disastrous) one, would be the first to acknowledge that this is how football works. After all, it was the very same ruthlessness that cost him his job at Reading, that put paid to Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool in his second spell as manager and offered Rodgers his tilt at a top club in the summer of 2012.
Referencing the dark days of earlier this season, and in particular the defeat away to Crystal Palace, Rodgers told of fearing the sack in an interview last month and said: "What I learned from that [his sacking at Reading] is it does not matter how much support you have in the boardroom — from the directors, the executives — you have to get results and you have to win."
However realistic or not the target — and that's a whole different piece — FSG expected a top four finish from Liverpool this season while Tom Werner said in February he would be "disappointed" if Liverpool didn't win the FA Cup.
The former remains possible if improbable, about 6-1 according to the bookies, while the latter is a dream burned down by Liverpool's collective choke on Sunday.
Whether Rodgers now gets the vote to continue into a fourth year is debatable and that shouldn't be a dirty word. Football is harsh. Sport is unforgiving. Instead just have the debate. Journalists closest to the club today say he is safe. But the Reds could still finish anywhere from seventh to top four depending on how the last six games go for Liverpool and the teams around them. Rodgers needs to win games to make sure and he is relying on deflated players to do that for him.
Unlike those who have picked sides and aren't for budging, maybe kingmakers Werner, Henry and Ian Ayre haven't quite decided where to put their cross just yet. And maybe that's just what is right and healthy.
What one manager or another *might* have done in Rodgers' shoes is irrelevant. But what another *could* do certainly isn't. What matters is Liverpool FC.
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The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in Melbourne in 1987. They are known for their studio albums Since I Love You(2000), Wildflower (2016), and We Will Always Love You (2020), as well as their live recorded DJ sets. The group currently consists of Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi.
As it celebrates its 20th anniversary, Since I Left You enjoys the reissue treatment. The special release spans 33 tracks (39 tracks for the CD) and includes new versions by the likes of Carl Craig, Stereolab, Canyons and a previously unreleased remix of "Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life" by the late British rapper MF Doom.
"The Avalanches' new-arriving third record We Will Always Love You is a personal odyssey, though one informed by a deepening knowledge of self. Orbiting about the trio of "light, sound and spirit" and inspired by the journey of the Voyager Golden Records, the record reaches for vast universal truths whilst staying fixed in The Avalanches enduring identity. It feels like a natural extension of Wildflower, folding a mean list of collaborators into the process, but also like a spiritual successor to Since I Left You, channelling that same infatuation with vocal samples and a similar love of '90s dancefloor eccentricity.


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The Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III / S3 is powered by a Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU processor with 1 GB RAM. The device also has 16/32/64 GB internal storage + microSD (up to 64 GB) and a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen (720 x 1280 , 306 ppi) display. It has a 8MP rear camera and supports Wifi, NFC, GPS and 3G. It packs in a Li-Ion 2100 mAh battery at 8.6mm device thickness and weight 133g, running on Android OS, v4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich), upgradeable to 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean).
The latest Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III / S3 price in Malaysia market starts from RM940. It is available in Pebble blue, Marble white, Amber brown, Garnet red, Sapphire black, Titanium grey, La Fleur colours.
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Samsung have a lot of different products in the market, and not all of them are new nor are they all targeted at the high-end market. There are now just as many Samsung smartphones out there for the mid-range to lower-end market as there are those for the high-end. Recent deals by telcos and other organizations have caused the price to drop even further, especially for Samsung smartphones which used to be the flagship models of their time. Therefore it can be rather confusing finding the best Samsung smartphone bang for your buck, which is what this review is for. This comparison review compares the Samsung Galaxy Grand, Samsung Galaxy SIII and the Samsung Galaxy SII Plus. You can also checkout the specs comparison here.
Samsung Galaxy S3 Pros:
Super AMOLED 4.8 inch display - The display of 720 x 1280 pixels Super AMOLED 4.8 inch diagonal makes a great tool for browsing and multimedia use. Colors are vivid, contrast is good. Responds instantly to commands. Finally it is a pleasure to use.Battery life - It turned out that the choice of a battery of 2100 mAh was an excellent choice for Galaxy S III, measured battery life reaching 10 hours of video playback or browsing. In fact, with judicious use Galaxy S III can be used easily an entire work day with active an data connection.


text: AFTC commander introduces 'new normal' with virtual town halls Published Aug. 17, 2020 By 2nd Lt. Christine Saunders Air Force Test Center EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Air Force Test Center Commander, Maj. Gen. Christopher Azzano, hosted two virtual town halls with AFTC senior officer, civilian, and enlisted leadership Aug. 4 and Aug. 6. The virtual town halls served as a bridge to reach leaders across the 34 geographical locations of the Test Center amidst travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. Azzano discussed resilience, the importance of national security and leadership challenges during COVID-19 in addition to the social unrest in the wake of the death of George Floyd. He stressed the effectiveness of COVID-19 best practices. "We know face masks work to help prevent the spread," said Azzano. "We know good hygiene, cleaning commonly touched surfaces and staying home if you feel sick help flatten the curve." The future of the AFTC test mission was discussed to include advancing state of the art hypersonic technology and weapons, branching out into the space domain by helping the U.S. Space Force build up their test and evaluation capability, and leveraging autonomy and artificial intelligence as enablers for future decision speed on the battle field. Azzano also discussed the status of diversity and inclusion throughout the test enterprise workforce. "We haven't made as much progress in our nation and our Service as some of us might have thought," shared Azzano. "Too many Americans, including our own Airmen, operate in an environment of fear that many did not realize existed.As a Service, we still have much room for improvement." Azzano charged the leaders to help to carry out change. "The Air Force has always been a leader in recognizing the need for and institutionalizing social change, and we have to continue with renewed focus and energy," said Azzano. "I need your help to lead the charge, to make sure we're all having those difficult conversations that lead to mutual understanding and respect.I need your help to make sure our focus and improvement are lasting." Questions were asked about his thoughts surrounding the recent events of racial injustice and controversial names of military installations. "While we are striving for dignity and respect for all, I think we need to focus on the issue of discrimination of African Americans in the United States.Black lives matter and I would not offer any caveat to that," said Azzano. In regards to controversial flags, statues, and names of military installations Azzano answered, "we need to look long and hard at whether these emblems are representative of our values—where we're trying to take our Service today, as a beacon for the rest of society." Azzano also introduced the new AFTC Command Chief, Chief Master Sgt. Brian Stafford. "This is a new experience being in the test environment," said Stafford, who left Joint Base Elmendorf, Alaska. "I look forward to learning as much as I can, as fast as I can and meeting all the great Airmen that take care of the mission every single day." Azzano ended the town hall by thanking the leaders for their service. "These are challenging times, unlike anything I've seen in my 30 years in the Air Force," said Azzano. "To know you are here to lead, that you care about your Airmen and nation, and you'll make sure our mission happens regardless of the difficulties we face…helps me sleep at night." The commander plans to host more virtual town halls on a quarterly basis.


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Washington -Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kay Hagan (D-NC), and Chris Coons (D-DE) announced today that they will be joining Third Way, an innovative and influential think-tank that creates and advances moderate policy and political ideas, as Honorary Senate Co-Chairs.
Third Way President Jonathan Cowan said: "Third Way is honored to have such dynamic and respected Senate leaders joining us as honorary co-chairs. Senators Shaheen, Hagan, and Coons share in our belief that economic growth, fiscal discipline and a bipartisan spirit of national unity are matters of great importance to this country. We are excited about the impact that our work together will have."
Senator Shaheen said: "Competitiveness is key to our long-term economic growth and to our national prosperity. Third Way has been a leader in charting thoughtful and innovative approaches to these issues, and I look forward to continuing and expanding my work with them."
Senator Hagan, a recent appointment to the Banking Committee, has worked to advocate moderate, bipartisan policies since coming to the Senate. "I am honored to work with Third Way and other moderate members of Congress to advance sensible, bipartisan solutions that will strengthen the economy and move North Carolina and our country forward," said Hagan. "North Carolinians are sick of Washington partisanship. Working together, we can move away from the polarization that has caused so much gridlock on Capitol Hill to create a business climate in this country that allows for job creation and economic growth."
After five years leading Delaware's largest county as County Executive and balancing six straight budgets, Senator Coons brings a commitment to fiscal responsibility to the Senate. Senator Coons said: "Having spent eight years as in-house counsel to one of America's most innovative hi-tech manufacturing companies, I am excited to join an organization that understands the importance of a strong national commitment to innovation. Third Way continues to offer fresh thinking on how to grow jobs in this country-strengthening the middle class and promoting economic growth."
Senators Shaheen, Hagan, and Coons join Senators Tom Carper (D-DE), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Mark Udall (D-CO) as Third Way's Honorary Senate Co-Chairs.


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FAMOUS photos and other memorabilia from every year of the 1960s go on show at the National Portrait Gallery from tomorrow in the Beatles to Bowie exhibition.
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Apart from classic pics of the two headline acts, other big names from the time of Swinging London get plenty of attention, too.
You get a rock rebel Cliff Richard, a leather-jacketed Tom Jones staring at his Welsh valley green, green grass of home, pouting Mick Jaggers, Cilla, The Kinks, Marianne Faithful and The Who, who look like they are ready to take on the world.
Great portraits and poignant nostalgia, but there's a bit of a we-did-get-fooled-again feel to it all. Partly, that's because out in the real world, the youthful promise of the period collapsed later, but part of it is down to the exhibition itself.
Without much context, apart from the year-by-year arrangement, which at least hints at the wider world through changes in fashion – mods! hippies! – Beatles to Bowie can't help but stick with the well-worn idea that the 60s was all about the look, albeit one helluva look.
Beatles to Bowie is on at the National Portrait Gallery from 15 October until 24 January, 2010. tickets are £12.50.


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Vitamin A is needed for normal vision, cell growth, immune system function, and reproduction. Women need about 700 micrograms a day and men need about 900 micrograms, according to the Institute of Medicine.
You are better off if you get this essential vitamin from foods you eat instead of taking vitamin A supplement.
Here Are Some Of The Common Foods That Are Rich In Vitamin A
Cooked Spinach
Spinach is high in vitamin A and K and in minerals which includes magnesium and calcium. It is low in calories, thereby making it a very healthy side dish. A cup of cooked spinach contains 943 micrograms of vitamin A.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are high in so many nutrients and so delicious. One medium sweet potato has about 900 micrograms of vitamin A, as well as lots of vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and iron.
Red Bell Peppers
Red bell peppers, also known as sweet bell peppers, are flavorful and nutritious. One pepper has 187 micrograms of vitamin A, only 37 calories and more than a day's worth of vitamin C. They lend a beautiful red color to salads and side dishes.
Butternut Squash
Butternut squash is high in vitamin A, C, calcium, and potassium. It doesn't have too many calories as one cup of it only has 82 calories.
A mango has 181 micrograms of vitamin A, a healthy dose of vitamin K, and more than a day's worth of vitamin C. Mangos can also be used as a smoothie ingredient.
A single medium-sized carrot has 509 micrograms of vitamin A. It is rich in vitamin K, potassium, and calcium.
Cantaloupe is perfect in summer fruit salads or all by itself. It is high in vitamin A and C as well a good source of magnesium and potassium. A cup of cantaloupe cubes has 270 micrograms of vitamin A.
Cooked Broccoli
Broccoli is another one of those foods that are loaded with so many fiber, vitamins, and minerals. A cup of cooked and chopped broccoli has about 54 calories and 120 micrograms vitamin A.
Black Eyed Peas
A cup of black-eyed peas has about 60 micrograms. Aside from this, it also has 160 calories, lots of protein, fiber, and a fair amount of vitamin K. Even if you're not a vegetarian, legumes are a healthy alternative to red meat.
Apricots are low in calories but are high in vitamin A and potassium. One cup of apricot slices has over 3 grams of fiber, 158 micrograms vitamin A, and 79 calories. An apricot can be consumed with a handful of nuts or makes a good snack all by itself.


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There is an incredible sense of comfort that I feel upon entering the Dining Room at Gilded Balloon to see Jay Lafferty's Blether. It's still a strange situation at Teviot. This particular venue, usually holding a maximum of 120 seats, is now a 48 seater, with social distancing very much in place. My first in-person comedy gig since I can remember, Jay is, unusually, on the stage welcoming people to their seats, breaking the wall between performer and audience and immediately putting us at ease. This was something I didn't even know I needed as an audience member – just somebody telling me things were okay.
'Blether' is a masterclass in stand-up comedy
At the beginning of Blether, Jay's first full show since 2019, she wonders to the audience if the pandemic has made her forget how to be a comic. I can definitively say it hasn't. Live comedy is most certainly back and it is fantastic to see.
Jay's shows have always had a distinct charm about them. Even the titles of her previous shows such as Wheesht! and Jammy (now a radio series) bring a smirk to any Scot's face. From the outset, it's clear that Blether is no different. The opening routine was something that everyone could connect with and, personally, had me a little triggered – the early lockdown purchases of designer loungewear. The great thing about her material on pandemic life (something I'm expecting from almost every comedian this fringe) is that it was relatable without being too general. The jokes were individual enough that many of them could be part of a stand-alone routine in themselves. That's something that takes talent.
Jay's also taken on a new role this lockdown: becoming a new mum. The challenges this brings, whether it's a newfound hatred of Peppa Pig, the struggles of baby massage or the frequency of Zoom calls with family are all on full display here. It's an expertly crafted routine which runs throughout the set. Jay doesn't rely on making her child the butt of the joke to secure an easy laugh, rather it is the situations that arise due to having a child that the laughs come from (including some of the official terminology used due to being a mum over a certain age, a term one audience member behind me was more than happy to shout out). It's a routine with a lot of sharp observations and well-earned laughs.
Her brilliant crowd work in previous shows, as well as Jay's reputation as one of the best comperes on the circuit today, meant that there was a certain expectation for her to live up to. Naturally, she did not disappoint. Jay's audience work is some of the best I've ever seen. Her banter with the audience is worth the price of admission alone. She has the ability to make people feel as if they were always part of the show and not just an audience member – she remembers people's names and their stories and she'll link them back to her routines with absolute ease. These seem like such simple things, but it increases an audience member's engagement with the performer by making them feel more included and not simply singled out in front of everyone. Jay makes it look effortless but she's a master at successful crowd work and that deserves a lot of credit.
As we came to the end of the set, I left with a huge grin on my face and a real hope for the Fringe ahead. Blether is a masterclass in stand-up comedy and Jay Lafferty has set the bar incredibly high for other comics of the Fringe.