Bloomin' Marvellous was a British BBC situation comedytelevision show written by John Godber and starring Clive Mantle and Sarah Lancashire, about a married couple in their thirties who decide to start a family. Bloomin' Marvellous was shown during 1997. Research Bloomin' Marvellous
Bog is the name given to a piece of wet, soft, and spongy ground, where the soil is composed mainly of decaying and decayed vegetable matter. Such ground is valueless for agriculture until reclaimed, but often yields abundance of peat for fuel.
A bog seems usually to be formed as follows: A shallow pool induces the formation of aquatic plants, which gradually creep in from the borders to the deeper centre. Mud accumulates round their roots and stalks, and a semi-fluid mass is formed, well suited for the growth of moss, particularly Sphagnum, which now begins to luxuriate, continually absorbing water, and shooting out new plants above as the old decay beneath; these are consequently rotted, and compressed into a solid substance, gradually replacing the water by a mass of vegetable matter. A layer of clay, frequently found over gravel, assists the formation of bog by its power of retaining moisture. When the subsoil is very retentive, and the quantity of water becomes excessive, the superincumbent peat sometimes bursts forth and floats over adjacent lands.
Bogs are generally divided into two classes: red bogs, or peat-mosses, and black bogs, or mountain mosses. The former class are found in extensive plains frequently running through several counties, such as the Chatmoss in Lancashire, and the Bog of Alien in Ireland, the depth varying from 3.6 to 13 metres. Their texture is light and full of filaments, and is formed by the slow decay of mosses and plants of different kinds. The lower parts, being more entirely decayed, approach nearer to the nature of the humus than the upper portion, and, as being more carbonaceous, are more valuable for fuel. Black bog is formed by a more rapid decomposition of plants. It is heavier and more homogeneous in quality, but is usually found in limited and detached portions, and at high elevations where its reclamation is difficult.
In Ireland bogs frequently rest on a calcareous subsoil, which is of great value in reclaiming them. In the reclamation of bog land a permanent system of drainage must be established; the loose and spongy soil must be mixed with a sufficient quantity of mineral matter to give firmness to its texture and fertilize its superabundant humus; proper manures must be provided to facilitate the extraction of nutriment from the new soil, and a rotation of crops adopted suitable for bringing it into permanent condition. The materials best adapted for reclaiming peat are calcareousearths, limestonegravel, shell-marl, and shell-sand. Thoroughly reclaimed bogs are not liable to revert to their former condition. Trunks of trees are often found in bogs as are also bones of extinct animals. Research Bog
Cotton-spinning is a term employed to describe in the aggregate all the operations involved in transforming raw cotton into yarn. The word 'spinning' has also a more limited signification, being used to denote the concluding process of the series. The following affords a general notion of the nature and order of the successive operations carried on in the manufacture of cottonyarn:
(1) Mixing, the blending of different varieties of raw cotton, in order to secure economical production, uniform quality and colour, and an even thread in any desired degree.
(2) Cleaning, an operation partly effected in mixing, partly by scutching, the cotton being prepared in the form of a continuous lap or rolled sheet for the next process.
(3) Carding, an operation in which the material is treated in its individual fibres, which are taken from the lap, further cleansed, and laid in a position approximately parallel to each other, forming a thin film, which is afterwards condensed into a sliver - a round, untwisted strand of cotton.
(4) Drawing, the drawing out of several slivers to the dimensions of one, so as to render the new sliver more uniform in thickness, and to place the fibres more perfectly in parallel order.
(5) Stubbing, the further drawing or attenuation of the sliver, and slightly twisting it in order to preserve its cohesion and rounded form.
(6) Intermediate or second stubbing, a repetition of the former operation and further attenuation, not necessary in the production of coarse yarns.
(7) Having, a continuation of the preceding, its principal object being to still further attenuate the sliver, and give it a slight additional twist.
(8) Spinning, which completes the extension and twisting of the yarn. This is accomplished either with the throstle or the mule. By means of the former machine the yarn receives a hard twist, which renders it tough and strong. By means of the latter yarns of less strength are produced, such as warps of light fabrics and wefts of all kind.
Up to the middle of the 18th century the only method of spinning known was that by the hand-wheel, or the still more primitive distaff and spindle. In 1767 a poor weaver of the name of Hargreaves, residing at Stanhill, near Blackburn, in Lancashire, invented a machine for spinningcotton, which he named a spinning-jenny. It consisted at first of eight spindles, turned by a horizontal wheel, but was afterwards greatly extended and improved, so as to have the vertical substituted for the horizontal wheel, and give motion to from fifty to eighty spindles. In 1769 Arkwright, originally a barber's apprentice, took out a patent for spinning by rollers. From the circumstances of the mill erected by Arkwright at Cromford, in Derbyshire, being driven by water-power, his machine received the name of the water-frame, and the thread spun on it that of water-twist. The next important invention in cotton-spinning was that of the mule, introduced by Samuel Crompton, of Bolton, in 1775, and so called from its combining the principle of the spinning-jenny of Hargreaves with the roller-spinning of Arkwright.
Numerous improvements in cotton-spinning have been subsequently introduced up to the present day, but they are all, more or less, modifications of Arkwright's spinning-frame and Crompton's mule-jenny. Among the principal of these may be mentioned the throstle, an extension and simplification of the original spinning-frame, introduced about the year 1810. Research Cotton-Spinning
The Cotton Famine was a destitution in the English cotton manufacturing districts, especially in Lancashire, and caused by the outbreak of the American Civil War. The cotton supply failed on account of the blockade of the southern ports of the United States, and the mill-owners finally had to close their mills - nearly two million people becoming unemployed and destitute. A Relief Fund was started, and a Relief Act passed by parliament, by which loans were granted to the guardians of the poor for instituting relief works. By June, 1865, the distress was at an end, greatly increased supplies of cotton having been obtained from Brazil, Egypt, India, and elsewhere. Research Cotton Famine
The Peterloo Massacre was an incident in 1819 when a large assembly of Lancashire workpeople gathered to express their views on the matter of parliamentary reform. They were, on the orders of the magistrates, dispersed by cavalry troops, with eleven civilians killed and between five and six hundred civilians injured. Research Peterloo Massacre
The Towneley Plays or Towneley Mysteries are a collection of thirty-two early dramatic pieces, probably written around the end of the 14th century. They were preserved in the library of Towneley Hall in Lancashire. The plays depict the bible stories from the creation through to the Doomsday ina familiar and sometimes light-hearted or even humourous fashion. They were sold at Sotheby's in 1922 to an American for 3500 pounds. Research Towneley Plays
Allan Gibson Steel was an English cricketer. He was born in 1858 and died in 1914. Educated at Marlborough and Trinity Hall, Cambridge he played cricket for his school and university, being captain of Cambridge in 1880, and then of the Lancashire eleven. On nine occasions he represented England against Australia, and also toured in Australia. Both a batsman and a bowler, he scored 135 and 148 not out against Australia, and in 1879 bowled unchanged throughout both innings for the Gentleman against the Players. In 1883 he became a barrister, in 1901 a KC and in 1904 recorder at Oldham. Research Allan Steel
Edmund Spenser was an English poet. He was born in 1552 in London and died in 1599. Born of humble parentage he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, graduating in 1576 before spending some months living in Lancashire learning the local dialect before returning to London where he was introduced to the earl of Leicester and his nephew Philip Sidney, with whom Edmund Spenser became firm friends. Spenser became famous as a poet following the publication of 'The Shepheardes Calender' in 1579.
In 1580 Spenser went to Ireland as secretary to Lord Grey de Wilton, the new lord deputy, whose remorseless methods of imposing order Spenser admired. After filing various posts, Spenser was awarded with an estate of 3000 acres of County Cork, including Kilcolman Castle, and after flattering Elizabeth in the first of three books entitled 'The Faerie Queen', was further awarded a pension of fifty pounds by the queen. In 1597 Edmund Spenser's home, Kilcolman Castle, was burned down during an insurrection against the English occupation and persecution of the Irish, and one of his children was killed in the fire. As a result Spenser returned to London where he died a broken man. Research Edmund Spenser
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Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Bloomin' Marvellous
