#allegory of scotland

[artschoolglasses]

Allegory of Scotland, Stewart Carmichael, 1925

[mhevarujta]

I'm still stuck with the way Poor Things was adapted:

Book:

Has 3 main parts: 1)Bella's story from the perspective of her husband: A grotesque gothic sci-fi of a baby in a woman's body that also works as a sociopolitical allegory for Scotland. 2) Victoria/Bella 's own objections nad attempt to tell her story, to reclaim it from her bitter, lying husband and the part that really ties the story to reality. 3)A (male) editor's notes.

Movie:

Uses only the part of the story delivered from the husband, which is criticized and Bella herself denounces in the book, as a tale of self-discovery and liberation.

Now, I'm NOT saying that the movie (despite its flaws and the end being completely acontextual from the version of the world they have presented) is not quite good as its own thing. I just think that it's weird how anyone adapting a book focused on a woman, with an entire section about her reclaiming her narrative, only keeps the part in which she has no voice.

[haveyoureadthispoll]

One of Alasdair Gray's most brilliant creations, Poor Things is a postmodern revision of Frankenstein that replaces the traditional monster with Bella Baxter - a beautiful young erotomaniac brought back to life with the brain of an infant. Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of Bella, but his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for Baxter's creation. The hilarious tale of love and scandal that ensues would be "the whole story" in the hands of a lesser author (which in fact it is, for this account is actually written by Dr. McCandless). For Gray, though, this is only half the story, after which Bella (a.k.a. Victoria McCandless) has her own say in the matter. Satirizing the classic Victorian novel, Poor Things is a hilarious political allegory and a thought-provoking duel between the desires of men and the independence of women, from one of Scotland's most accomplished authors.

[sometimesraven]

If you like child experiments, superpowers, eugenics allegories, unconventional character dynamics and stories with real heart, you might enjoy RECKLESS TRUTH, a new adult contemporary science-fantasy story full of queer rep and written by a queer disabled author!

RECKLESS TRUTH IS CURRENTLY 50% OFF FOR THE SMASHWORDS READ AN EBOOK WEEK FROM MAY 3RD - 9TH!

About The Truth Saga

Children go missing all the time. That's what they're told. They run away, they're kidnapped, they die. Scattered throughout Scotland, a handful of families remember the truth of what happened to their families. The violent, paranormal attacks that destroyed their lives and took their children from them. Twenty years after the first incidents, the disappearences are happening again. The missing children are adults now, and reconnecting with the people they lost, but everything has changed. There is something sinister casting its shadow over their heads, and now they must fight to return the light to their lives. To learn to love and laugh and carry on living -- while the truth of their history threatens to destroy them. Combining science fantasy with interpersonal drama, The Truth Saga is an ongoing series following themes of love, family and grief wrapped in a bundle of supernatural mystery and violence. Step into the Controller's world and you may never turn back...

[nortism]

doctor who liveblog pt 26

s5 ep2 the beast below

- i miss the old opening credits i won’t lie

- i do not believe the uk will still be together by the 29th century

- since when did the doctor not get involved in the places he’s visiting? you are a liar!!

- i knew it

- scotland getting their own ship sounds about right

- uh oh they’re going to hell

- she’s the queen?!

- yayay star whale

- fucking winston churchill

- uh oh there’s a crack

s5 ep3 victory of the daleks

- quite excited for another wwii episode though it will be impossible to beat the masterpiece that is the empty child/ the doctor dances

- oh they are trying to team up with the daleks uh oh

- this is going to be interesting considered the ways in which the daleks have previously been used as nazi allegories

- not the dalek with the union jack

- they gotta stop cutting the dalek pov, it really takes away the seriousness from a scene

- that’s a big ass spanner

- this has gotta be the lamest fight scene i’ve ever seen

- wow who could have seen that coming

- i could go for a jammy dodger

- wow daleks in new exciting colours

- “master race” they’re really leaning into the nazi allegory

- uh oh dalek civil war

- cracks again

- that was alright but it mostly made me wanna rewatch the empty child

[reiverreturns]

watched the new trailer for poor things and i am so so so disappointed.

so listen, poor things is my favourite book. i love its weird metatextual-ness. i love the gothic horror of it all. i love that every single narrator in the book is unreliable and there is no truth. but most of all i love it because it is a portrait of scotland.

bella baxter is an allegory for scotland herself. the bella caledonia. she’s a character born of a national literary tradition and societal influence, a woman who spends the whole book growing and finding and fighting for her voice, fighting against restraint from men who would rather mould her into something in their likeness. she’s bella and victoria, baxter and mccandless. she’s wild and stern and carries multiple identities at war with one another. she has the scars to prove it. bella is a reflection of who we are as scots - contradictory and complex, patchworking our identities throughout our life. the one we have in our family homes and the one we adopt to survive the schooling that seeks to batter the scots out of us. the one we grow into that represses who we are and looks on it with disdain. speak proper. move to london. we disassociate from ourselves because to admit it happens would be a stinging humiliation that we have, in part, done this to ourselves. we are moulded but are equally self-made in our fragmented, revisionist, past-less identity. 

do you know how rare that is? to see works reflecting on this sorry little country, and how we got here, with charm and care? where we are not the joke, or the classless, or the stupid. 

i wanted that out of this silly movie. i wanted so badly to see that representation of scottish voices - of me - through poor things. but all it is is a brightly coloured american frankenstein rework that knocks the fucking life out the story.

alas. scottish stories will continue to be told, and scottish voices will continue to be wiped out or relegated to cheap entertainment. poor things indeed. 

[lupuslikethewolf]

One thing i have noticed in regards to J*R's bigotry and how it is presented in popular media (i.e. news stations, articles and by celebrites) is that the main focus seems to be on the transphobia, and - as a british trans person - i think it is safe to say that a major reason for that is the rampant transphobia already present in this country, but the blatant anti-semitism, racism, misogyny, and right-wing politics tend to just get swept under the rug.

I am brown (desi), trans-masc and gay, but i'm not jewish, so if i am incorrect about anything i say regarding anti-semitism, then please correct me! this is based of research and what i have heard from jewish people, not personal experience.

In order: Misogyny and TERFism, Transphobia and UK Politics, Racism and Xenophobia in Writing, and Anti-Semetism and Caricatures.

Misogyny and TERF-ism

I think the first thing to say is that J*R glamorises the term TERF, or 'Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist' and considers herself the height of Women's Rights Activism.

I think this is truly evident in the fact that she seems unable to include a female protagonist in HP that isn't motherly or a love interest. Hermione Granger, while the most well-rounded and complex of the female characters, is the caretaker of Ron and Harry during their time at Hogwarts as students, and is treated as the 'back-up' girlfriend by Ron and Harry during the Fourth Year Yule Ball. Lavender Brown exists to create a 'Not Like Other Girls' trait in Hermione by distancing her from all the boy obsessed, hyper-feminine 'bad' girly-girls of Gryffindor. She is also, again, nothing more than a love interest. Molly Weasley is a mother figure for Harry, and everything about her eventually links back to that fact. She cooks, cleans, looks after people, knits and sews, etc etc. Nymphadora Tonks was actually an interesting and badass character, but then J*R got mad at her fandom for doing fandom things and turned her into a one-dimensional tragic love interest for her queer-coded character who she has admitted to writing as a fucking AIDs allegory.

I believe this view is rooted in her transphobia, TERF-ism and internalised misogyny, as J*R cannot create a 'good' woman who isn't motherly and feminine, but only in the acceptable way. This is seen in Rita Skeeter, who is also hyper-feminine and yet described in a very masculine way, with 'thick fingers' and a 'heavy-jawed face'.

Transphobia and UK Politics

The transphobia tends to rear its head most often because it is incredibly common and in the public eye, especially with the UK government repeatedly shooting down efforts to make progress, like how they blocked Scotland's law to make self-recognition easier for trans people. It is also evident in her TERF-ism and the fact that she no longer hides her support for anti-trans movements, and instead uses her platform and wealth to fund and promote them.

There is also the fact that she has also been using that same platform and wealth to publicly campaign against Scottish Independence for far longer.

The UK Tory (aka Conservative) Party has routinely held up J*R as a bastion of good-will, 'progress', and the ultimate citizen, even quoting her directly when sprouting anti-trans bullshit. While J*R will claim to be a Feminist and support Labour (the only real left-leaning opposition to the Tories), her views often align more with those she claims not to support.

Politics also show themselves in characters such as Seamus Finnegan, the only Irish character, with the most stereotypically Irish name there is, who is always blowing things up when trying to cast spells, and loves to drink. In the 90s, when HP was set, Northern Ireland was suffering from something known as 'The Troubles', wherein two sides known as 'Protestants' and 'Catholics', whether there was a religious affiliation or not, were bombing, street fighting, sniper attacks and committing other acts of civil warfare all throughout the country. And J*R put those actions onto a child.

That's some Tory shit right there.

Racism and Xenophobia in Writing

If you have seen any criticisms of J*R's writing of diverse characters, you will know that she has a massive, massive problem with using stereotypes, especially in names, to portray her Characters of Colour.

I think the most obvious tends to be Kingsley Shacklebolt, the only major black protagonist in the series. She named her only black character Shacklebolt.

SHACKLE bolt.

Just let that sink in for a minute.

Then there is Cho Chang, who's only personality traits include being sad about her boyfriend, kissing Harry Potter, and being smart. She is also the only main asian protagonist, and her name is just two east asian-sounding surnames put together.

'Cho' is Korean or Burmese, and 'Chang' is a romanised Chinese surname.

Padma and Parvati Patil rely on the same stereotypes. Their culture - especially the clothing - is completely butchered and used as nothing more than fan-service to prove how not-racist she is (yeah right) and are only around to be love interests who get tossed aside and treated horribly by Ron and Harry.

'Padma' is a Persian name while 'Parvati' is a Hindu/Sanskrit name.

If a writer needs to rely on stereotypes and racist views to write her characters of colour, than she is not a good writer and either needs to be held accountable and made to unlearn her biases, or simply not allowed to write anymore.

Anti-Semitism and Caricatures

Reminder to listen to Jewish People and the Jewish Community when it comes to Anti-Semitism in HP, not just some non-jewish 16-year-old with too much time on their hands and unlimited internet access trying to procrastinate revising for their exams!!

(Tumblr crashed when i was writing this part of the post,,,, feels targeted /lh) Also, this is not a definitive list of anti-semetic items in HP, go look at a Jewish person's perspective to fully understand! This is a good post from @/whilommm regarding the new HP game and this post by @/genderkoolaid which talks about a youtuber posting videos on antisemitism and other issues head-on.

Goblins are the most prolific anti-semetic stereotype seen throughout HP, and most other mythology.

The first and most obvious thing, in my opinion, is the description of their noses. Hooked noses are a very distinct trait found most often in Jewish people, and are described very often in the Goblins, and not only that, but Snape and other villains in HP have 'bad' or 'ugly' noses.

Goblins are also greedy money-hoarders who run the banks, which feeds into anti-semetic conspiracy theories about Jewish people running the world's economy, and the N@zi propaganda of Jewish people hoarding wealth and collapsing the German economy.

There are little-to-no female goblins. Which, while also feeding into the misogynistic side of J*R's writing, also presents jewish-coded characters as being inherently misogynistic when that is not the case of any ethnic and/or religious group.

The goblins are rude to wizards and any other outsider, which is a belief that likely stems from the fact that it is an incredibly hard and long process to convert fully to Judaism, as the beginning involves being turned away from converting three times by the same Rabbi. This does not make Judaism or Jewish People xenophobic or even otherwise cautious of outsiders, it is simply part of their religious conversion process made to deter people who do not genuinely want to be apart of the religion and to make sure those converting are doing so with good and honest intentions.

If the Death Eaters are meant to be Fascist N@zi Allegories, why not make the only jewish-coded characters you have actually well-fucking-written and main fucking characters. Or, better yet, Don't Call It A Fucking A Nazi Allagory!!! Oppression doesn't have to involve Fasicsm/Nazis!!

The New Harry Potter Game Not To Be Named And Only Ever Pirated If Even That is a whole other can of worms of blood libel, romanticising oppression and even more anti-semetic caricatures that deserves its own post.

Final Notes

This is not a definitive list, but simply what I personally am most angry about and can remember the clearest from my last re-read of Harry Potter. Other things to be considered: bad world building that makes no sense, werewolves as an AIDS allegory that then proceed to prey on kids, homophobia regarding dumbledore and wolfstar, and her use of slavery and 'slaves who enjoy being enslaved' because what the fuck was that thought process.

Here is a post @/chaos-in-one with some other links and more brilliant points about why people should hate J*R

[dasakuryo]

can't believe they had the AUDACITY of including an allegory to Brit imperialism in Scotland while simultaneously gringosplaining resistance to a dictatorship and revolution to a brown mestizo Latin American man

[katjaschmitt]

In addition to the usual bucket list of destinations, I also have two art bucket lists.... One is about Michelangelo and the other is about Johannes Vermeer.

My Vermeer Bucket List

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary - National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

Diana and Her Companions - Mauritshuis, The Hague

The Procuress - Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden

Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window - Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden

A Girl Asleep - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Little Street - Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Officer with a Laughing Girl - Frick Collection, New York

The Milkmaid - Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The Wine Glass - Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

The Girl with the Wineglass - Herzog Anton-Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig

View of Delft - Mauritshuis, The Hague

Girl Interrupted at Her Music - Frick Collection, New York

Woman Reading a Letter - Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The Music Lesson - Royal Collection, Buckingham Palace, England

Woman with a Lute - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Woman with a Pearl Necklace - Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

Woman with a Water Jug - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Woman Holding a Balance - National Gallery of Art, Washington

A Lady Writing a Letter - National Gallery of Art, Washington

Girl with a Pearl Earring - Mauritshuis, The Hague

The Concert - Missing since its theft from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston in 1990

Portrait of a Young Woman - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Art of Painting - Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Mistress and Maid - Frick Collection, New York

Girl with a Red Hat (attribution to Vermeer has been questioned) - National Gallery of Art, Washington

The Astronomer - Louvre, Paris

The Geographer - Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main

The Lacemaker - Louvre, Paris

The Love Letter - Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid - National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

The Allegory of Faith - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

The Guitar Player - Kenwood House, London, England

Lady Standing at a Virginal - National Gallery, London

Lady Seated at a Virginal - National Gallery, London

Disputed paintings:

Saint Praxedis - Private Collection, Tokyo, On loan to the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo

Girl with a Flute - National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals - Leiden Collection, United States

[a-luran]

I would love to know how you chose your name! Please do share

ksksksk hello rainbow! With this I will finally beat the hetalia accusations and will be able to resume my honourable life, writing smut.

I accidentally named myself after a leather tag on a pair of fuzzy pink novelty socks that I bought after a hike through Picos during which my worn in black converse were so wet with snow that I lost sensation in all my toes. This was incidentally less than 24 hours after I pulled a 32 hour no-sleep stint and travelled from Scotland to Spain (where i climbed up the aforementioned Picos de Europa National Park in my converse although admittedly i also rode the cable car up most of the way). During this 32 hour no sleep stint I had a half-hallucinatory but also deeply reflective experience standing in front of a triptych in the Guggenheim titled something like a Christ allegory. in the span of those 32 hours I also crossed from one autonomous region to another, learned about an eviscerating family secret and also stepped foot near my grandmother's home town unawares of the fact that she would die three months later, followed by another three family tragedies.

Some years later, I thought about naming myself something with the same general vibes as 'Armand'; shortly thereafter i chose Antonio. It was the most correct choice. One night i was wearing my fuzzy pink socks in the middle of the pandemic and realised that they have small leather tags with 'Antonio' printed on them. i laughed in my dark empty flat and told some of my very dear friends on Telegram. I choose to keep the male form of my deadname as a second given name because men in my family have compound names and I like the way it sounds. i go mostly by my first name.

One day, a friend asks if I named myself after Antonio from Hetalia.

Some months after that, I'm watching WWDITS with a friend and we crack up when Guillermo explains how much he loved Armand from VC; they show him in his wee costume and my friend asks teasingly if i named myself after Antonio Banderas because Armand sounds out of place in the modern world. I open my mouth to defend myself but it is too late, she is already laughing.

The truth is that I simply chose Antonio because i liked it. San Antonio is the patron saint of lost things and impossible love.

[balladofthewhitehorse]

yeah the whole world does not forget scotlands crimes in the empire enough now he needs to be given him even more white washing with some semirelated biblical allegory and play the ultimate victim, Jesus.

Love. I'm literally researching the Darien Scheme and Scotland's role in the Empire as well as the conflict between the Highland Scots and Lowland Scots (one of which led to an act banning Gaelic, passed by Scottish king James 5th). If you think I intend to forget about Scot's role in the Empire, you're mistaken; However, as an Englishman, I'm *also* conscious of my own biases. The Cain and Abel allegory is an idea of a metaphor to describe their sibling relationship - it is not a literal reading, but rather an 'These two were close brothers, and one felt ostracised more than the other and their relationship detiorated and now they awkwardly want to reconcile'. England was hurt by Scotland. Scotland was hurt by England. Yet, I am focusing on the Wars of Scottish independence - in which Eng would be the aggressor of the two (though there were Scots who were on the English side, but this doesn't really diminish my point). The reality of history is that it's complex, nuanced and heavy. The reality of my story-writing is that I think Cain and Abel is sick as fuck and I write my pretentious stories how I want. England is Cain: Dejected and dismayed, deeply frustrated and turning his teeth onto the only *other* potential enemy of his, fearing invasion from France who has *hurt* him. Scotland is Abel: Righteous and full of rage, who thinks he's vindicated - maybe a bit of a superiority complex, but I'm just rambling at this point. Why, dear Lord, are you so annoyed that I am using a *metaphor?* I do not know if there are any other stories of two brothers - one of which kills the other - that grew up alongside each other. Feel free to leave a suggestion, but until then, I write what I want. Have a snippet: And Abel said to Cain.

‘’Was it worth it?’’Scotland had asked him in a letter that had arrived only days ago, the familiar loops of his writing visibly tremulous as if the hand that grasped the quill had been shaking with fury. Scuffing the heel of his boot in the grass, England lifted his chin and frowned. Banners unfurled and fluttered in the cool north wind, red juxtaposed against the grey sky.

[poemsliz]

This is a very unhappy doggie. What are those kids up to?

from

Lucas Cranach

(1472 - 1553)

German

An Allegory of Melancholy 1528

Oil on panel

National Galleries of Scotland

[scarletunit6]

The British rose

For this page I wanted to explore the different symbolic blooms of Britain, wales Scotland and Ireland have adopted their own specific flower to symbolise their country. For this page I wanted to create a more engaging layout by using as magazines and creating a weaving pattern using the British rose. I have created an illustration of the rose using watercolour to give off a soft touch.

From Cleopatra's rose-petal-adorned boudoir to the famous Tudor Rose, this symbolic flower has for countless centuries dominated poetry, art, literature and religion. Here, Oxford academic Nicola Harrison explores its history and significance

From Greek and Roman times to the present day, the rose has been a timeless symbol of beauty, transience and love. The rose’s romantic connections are thought to originate from Egypt, where Cleopatra famously carpeted the floor of her boudoir with mounds of rose petals to seduce Mark Antony.

In courtly love, for example, the rose was the iconic symbol of the beloved lady – or of the prize of her love itself – a personification that found its most exquisite representation in the 13th-century French epic poem Le Roman de La Rose, a medieval illustrated allegory that documents the art of chivalric love and its many facets. Written by Guillaume de Lorris, it was completed 40 years later by Jean de Meun.

In medieval devotional verse (religious verse devoted to subjects such as Jesus Christ), the Virgin Mary is often referred to as a “rose without thorns”, since she was free of original sin. In fact, the five petals of the wild rose are often equated with the five joys of Mary (the five key moments that gave Mary joy, which were the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Resurrection, the Ascension and the Assumption) and the five letters in her full name, Maria.

HistoryExtra. (n.d.). A brief history of the English rose. [online] Available at: https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/history-english-rose-represent-colour-tudor-virgin-mary-wars-roses-cleopatra-elizabeth-i/. ‌

[elricksenadipathymga2023mi5015]

Research about Aaron Angell

Aaron Angell is a contemporary British artist known for his whimsical and surreal ceramic sculptures. Born in 1987, Angell studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, where he developed a fascination with ceramics and traditional craft techniques. He is associated with the recent resurgence of interest in craft practices within contemporary art.

Angell's artworks typically draw upon a diverse range of influences, including folk art, mythology, and art history. His pieces often feature intricate details and playful narratives, inviting viewers into fantastical worlds populated by strange creatures and symbols.

One of the reasons Angell chooses to work with ceramics and sculptures is likely due to the rich history and cultural significance of these mediums. Ceramics, in particular, have been used for millennia to create functional objects as well as works of art, spanning various cultures and traditions. By working with ceramics, Angell taps into this history while also embracing traditional expectations of the medium through his inventive and humorous approach.

Sculpture offers Angell a three-dimensional form of expression, allowing him to explore space, texture, and form in unique ways. His sculptures often blur the boundaries between fine art and craft, challenging conventional distinctions between the two.

Additionally, Angell's choice of materials reflects a broader interest in the relationship between art and craft, as well as the intersection of high and low culture. By embracing techniques traditionally associated with craft, such as pottery and ceramics, Angell contributes to a reevaluation of these practices within the context of contemporary art.

Overall, Angell's decision to work with ceramics and sculptures allows him to engage with themes of tradition, materiality, and narrative in his art, while also pushing the boundaries of what these mediums can achieve in a contemporary context.

‘Grotwork’ is a colloquial term referring to the 18th Century horticultural trend of accumulating Stucco and imported Italian Tufa to produce artificial grottoes. Grotwork also acts as an allegory of Angell’s practice, as one of systematic accretion and editing, and as a physical allegory to his reverse-painted glasses, which are painted via hundreds of flecked layers of paint.

Angell was awarded the Hospital field Autumn Residency 2014, funded by Creative Scotland under their Creative Futures strand. Angell used this residency and production bursary to prepare for his Studio Voltaire commission. 

For his Studio Voltaire commission, Angell presented his most ambitious body of work to date, demonstrating the variety of his practice by experimenting with a range of previously unexplored materials and processes. In the artist’s own words, the exhibition is ‘mostly about the chalk horse at Cherhill and its connections with my ancestor Farmer Angell, the only four magnolia seed fossils ever found in England, D.M. Black’s poem Without Equipment and Bram Stoker’s awful final novel The Lair of the White Worm’. Angell is interested in manipulating imagery from a ‘psychic compost’ in which elements are rejected, fermented and rotted down to form a dense stream of co-dependent motifs.

[afactaday]

#aFactADay2022

#721

1) what is the busiest airport in the world?

2) who are all the british monarchs to have reigned for over 50 years?

3) a christian allegory, what is often cited as the first novel written in english?

4) how many times has the mona lisa been stolen from the Louvre?

5) what is the worlds most translated document, and with how many translations?

6) which book holds the record for the most sales within 24 hours of release?

7) who invented the christmas cracker?

_ _

_ _

1) the Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta, Georgia (code ATL) has been the busiest airport for decades, only briefly overtaken by Guangshou Baiyun Airport in china in 2020, with a margin of 1.9% passenger numbers.

2) victoria, edward III, henry III, george III, elizabeth II. you get half a point for james I, who ruled scotland as james VI for 57 years, 8 months and 3 days, but only had the metonymic crown of england and ireland for 22 years and 3 days.

3) the Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan.

4) once, in 1911, as an act of italian patriotism. it was returned in 1914, and this is thought to have been the source of much of its popularity. it has been vandalised many times but only damaged twice. contrary to popular belief, the model has been identified as Lisa Gherardini. it has the highest insurance valuation of any painting, at around $870m.

5) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, at 530 translations.

6) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, with 8.3m in the US and 2.7m in the UK. thats about 96 per second in the US. within a year, worldwide sales were around 45m.

7) Tom Smith in 1847, famed for introducing the uk to the french bon bon sweet. once he wrapped them in "bangs of expectation" for the christmas period, and wrote love notes in them

[gatheredinamber]

After Alasdair was added to the bill at the Moseley Folk Festival at the beginning of September, his old booking at Birmingham’s Kitchen Garden Cafe fell by the wayside. It’s now rescheduled for next spring.