title: Architecture of India

text: The first examples of stone architecture were also found in the palace compound of Pataliputra, with the distinctly Hellenistic Pataliputra capital and a pillared hall using polished-stone columns. The other remarkable example of monumental stone architecture is that of the Pillars of Ashoka, themselves displaying Hellenistic influence. There is also very early stone architecture in the palace at Kosambi, including true arches used in the underground chambers, from the last phase of the palace in the 1st or 2nd century CE.


title: Architecture of India

text: The Pataliputra capital is a monumental rectangular capital with volutes and Classical designs, that was discovered in the palace ruins of the ancient Mauryan Empire capital city of Pataliputra (modern Patna, northeastern India). It is dated to the 3rd century BCE. It is, together with the Pillars of Ashoka one of the first known examples of Indian stone architecture, as no Indian stone monuments or sculptures are known from before that period. It is also one of the first archaeological clues suggesting Hellenistic influence on the arts of India, in this case sculptural palatial art.


title: Architecture of India

text: The Pillars of Ashoka were built during the reign of the Maurya Empire Ashoka c. 250 BCE. They were new attempts at mastering stone architecture, as no Indian stone monuments or sculptures are known from before that period.


title: Architecture of India

text: There are altogether seven remaining capitals, five with lions, one with an elephant and one with a zebu bull. One of them, the four lions of Sarnath, has become the State Emblem of India.


title: Architecture of India

text: The animal capitals are composed of a lotiform base, with an abacus decorated with floral, symbolic or animal designs, topped by the realistic depiction of an animal, thought to each represent a traditional direction in India. Greek columns of the 6th century BCE such as the Sphinx of Naxos, a 12.5m Ionic column crowned by a sitting animal in the religious center of Delphi, may have been an inspiration for the pillars of Ashoka.


title: Architecture of India

text: The flame palmette, central decorative element of the Pataliputra pillar is considered as a purely Greek motif. The first appearance of "flame palmettes" goes back to the stand-alone floral akroteria of the Parthenon (447–432 BCE), and slightly later at the Temple of Athena Nike.


title: Architecture of India

text: Flame palmettes were then introduced into friezes of floral motifs in replacement of the regular palmette. Flame palmettes are used extensively in India floral friezes, starting with the floral friezes on the capitals of the pillar of Ashoka, and they are likely to have originated with Greek or Near Eastern art. A monumental flame palmette can be seen on the top of the Sunga gateway at Bharhut.


title: Architecture of India

text: Lion Capital of Ashoka from Sarnath.The Achaemenid conquered and governed the territories of the North-western regions of the Indian subcontinent, from the 6th to 4th centuries BCE. The conquest occurred in two phases. The first invasion was conducted around 535 BCE by Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire. Cyrus annexed the regions west of the Indus River, which formed the eastern border of his empire. Following the death of Cyrus, Darius the Great established his dynasty and began to reconquer former provinces and further expand the extent of the empire. Around 518 BCE Darius crossed the Himalayas into India to initiate a second period of conquest by annexing regions up to the Jhelum River in Punjab. Each invasion brought in new style and soon started to influence the art and architectural styles in India.


title: Architecture of India

text: Various Indian artefacts tend to suggest some Perso-Hellenistic artistic influence in India, mainly felt during the time of the Mauryan Empire.


title: Architecture of India

text: The Pataliputra palace with its pillared hall shows decorative influences of the Achaemenid palaces and Persepolis and may have used the help of foreign craftsmen. Mauryan rulers may have even imported craftsmen from abroad to build royal monuments. This may be the result of the formative influence of craftsmen employed from Persia following the disintegration of the Achaemenid Empire after the conquests of Alexander the Great.


title: Architecture of India

text: The renowned Mauryan polish, especially used in the Pillars of Ashoka, may also have been a technique imported from the Achaemenid Empire.


title: Architecture of India

text: The similarity of the 4th century BCE Lycian barrel-vaulted tombs, such as the tomb of Payava, in the western part of the Achaemenid Empire, with the Indian architectural design of the Chaitya (starting at least a century later from circa 250 BCE, with the Lomas Rishi caves in the Barabar caves group), suggests that the designs of the Lycian rock-cut tombs travelled to India along the trade routes across the Achaemenid Empire.


title: Architecture of India

text: Early on, James Fergusson, in his "" Illustrated Handbook of Architecture"", while describing the very progressive evolution from wooden architecture to stone architecture in various ancient civilizations, has commented that "In India, the form and construction of the older Buddhist temples resemble so singularly these examples in Lycia". The structural similarities, down to many architectural details, with the Chaitya-type Indian Buddhist temple designs, such as the "same pointed form of roof, with a ridge", are further developed in "The cave temples of India". The Lycian tombs, dated to the 4th century BCE, are either free-standing or rock-cut barrel-vaulted sarcophagi, placed on a high base, with architectural features carved in stone to imitate wooden structures. There are to the free-standing structures and decorated with reliefs. Fergusson went on to suggest an "Indian connection", and some form of cultural transfer across the Achaemenid Empire. The ancient transfer of Lycian designs for rock-cut monuments to India is considered as "quite probable".


title: Architecture of India

text: The sculpture of the Masarh lion, found near the Maurya capital of Pataliputra, raises the question of the Achaemenid and Greek influence on the art of the Maurya Empire, and on the western origins of stone carving in India. The lion is carved in Chunar sandstone, like the Pillars of Ashoka, and its finish is polished, a feature of the Maurya sculpture. According to S.P. Gupta, the sculptural style is unquestionably Achaemenid. This is particularly the case for the well-ordered tubular representation of whiskers (vibrissas) and the geometrical representation of inflated veins flush with the entire face. The mane, on the other hand, with tufts of hair represented in wavelets, is rather naturalistic. Very similar examples are however known in Greece and Persepolis. It is possible that this sculpture was made by an Achaemenid or Greek sculptor in India and either remained without effect, or was the Indian imitation of a Greek or Achaemenid model, somewhere between the fifth century BCE and the first century BCE, although it is generally dated from the time of the Maurya Empire, around the 3rd century BCE.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milton Keynes.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury was awarded Garden Town status in 2017. The housing target for the town is set to grow with 16,000 homes set to be built by 2033.


title: Aylesbury

text: The town name is of Old English origin. Its first recorded name "Æglesburgh" is thought to mean "Fort of Ægel", though who Ægel was is not recorded. It is also possible that "Ægeles-burh", the settlement's Saxon name, means "church-burgh", from the Welsh word "eglwys" meaning "a church" (<Latin "ecclesia").


title: Aylesbury

text: Excavations in the town centre in 1985 found an Iron Age hill fort dating from the early 4th century BC. Aylesbury was one of the strongholds of the ancient Britons, from whom it was taken in the year 571 by Cutwulph, brother of Ceawlin, King of the West Saxons; and had a fortress or castle "of some importance, from which circumstance probably it derives its Saxon appellation".


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury was a major market town in Anglo-Saxon times, the burial place of Saint Osgyth, whose shrine attracted pilgrims. The Early English parish church of St. Mary (which has many later additions) has a crypt beneath. Once thought to be Anglo-Saxon, it is now recognised as being of the same period as the medieval chapel above. At the Norman conquest, the king took the manor of Aylesbury for himself, and it is listed as a royal manor in the Domesday Book, 1086. Some lands here were granted by William the Conqueror to citizens upon the tenure that the owners should provide straw for the monarch's bed, sweet herbs for his chamber and two green geese and three eels for his table, whenever he should visit Aylesbury.


title: Aylesbury

text: In 1450, a religious institution called the Guild of St Mary was founded in Aylesbury by John Kemp, Archbishop of York. Known popularly as the Guild of Our Lady it became a meeting place for local dignitaries and a hotbed of political intrigue. The guild was influential in the outcome of the Wars of the Roses. Its premises at the Chantry in Church Street, Aylesbury, are still there, though today the site is used mainly for retail.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury was declared the new county town of Buckinghamshire in 1529 by King Henry VIII: Aylesbury Manor was among the many properties belonging to Thomas Boleyn, the father of Anne Boleyn, and it is rumoured that the change was made by the King to curry favour with the family. The plague decimated the population in 1603/4.


title: Aylesbury

text: The town played a large part in the English Civil War when it became a stronghold for the Parliamentarian forces, like many market towns a nursing-ground of Puritan sentiment and in 1642 the Battle of Aylesbury was fought and won by the Parliamentarians. Its proximity to Great Hampden, home of John Hampden has made of Hampden a local hero: his silhouette was used on the emblem of Aylesbury Vale District Council and his statue stands prominently in the town centre. Aylesbury-born composer, Rutland Boughton (1878–1960), possibly inspired by the statue of John Hampden, created a symphony based on Oliver Cromwell.


title: Aylesbury

text: On 18 March 1664, Robert Bruce, 2nd Earl of Elgin in the Peerage of Scotland was created 1st Earl of Ailesbury.


title: Aylesbury

text: The grade II* listed Jacobean mansion of Hartwell adjoining the southwest of the town was the residence of Louis XVIII during his exile (1810–1814). Bourbon Street in Aylesbury is named after the king. Louis's wife, Marie Josephine of Savoy died at Hartwell in 1810 and is the only French queen to have died on English soil. After her death, her body was carried first to Westminster Abbey, and one year later to Sardinia, where the Savoy King of Sardinia had withdrawn during Napoleonic occupation of Turin and Piedmont; she is buried in the Cathedral of Cagliari.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylebury's heraldic crest displays the Aylesbury duck, which has been bred here since the birth of the Industrial Revolution, although only one breeder of true Aylesbury ducks, Richard Waller, remains today.


title: Aylesbury

text: The town also received international publicity in 1963 when the culprits responsible for the Great Train Robbery (1963) were tried at Aylesbury Rural District Council Offices in Walton Street and sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court. The robbery took place at Bridego Bridge, a railway bridge at Ledburn, about six miles (10 km) from the town.


title: Aylesbury

text: A notable institution is Aylesbury Grammar School which was founded in 1598. The original building is now part of the County Museum buildings in Church Street and has grade II* architecture; other grammar schools now include Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School and Aylesbury High School. Other notable buildings are the King's Head Inn, (which, with the Fleece Inn at Bretforton, is one of the few public houses in the country owned by the National Trust and still run as a public house) and the Queens Park Centre.


title: Aylesbury

text: James Henry Govier, the British painter and etcher, lived at Aylesbury and produced a number of works relating to the town including the church, canal, Walton, Aylesbury Gaol, the King's Head Inn and views of the town during the 1940s and 1950s, examples of which can be seen in the Buckinghamshire County Museum in Aylesbury.


title: Aylesbury

text: The town is the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. During the 1948 Olympics in London, German-British neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttmann, set up a small sporting event for World War II veterans known as the World Wheelchair and Amputee Games (WWAG) at Stoke Mandeville Hospital Rehabilitation Facility in Aylesbury. This eventually led to the growth of the phenomenon of the modern Paralympic Games that has been held immediately after every Summer Olympic Games since 1988, and the WWAG was held most years at Stoke Mandeville until 1997, when it has been held in other countries and cities ever since. During the 2012 Paralympics, the official mascot was called 'Mandeville' after Stoke Mandeville Hospital.


title: Aylesbury

text: The Rothschild Family acquired many large country estates and stately homes around and near the town, including Waddesdon Manor in nearby Waddesdon Village, Halton House near Wendover and Tring Park in Tring across the border in Hertfordshire, although today most of these properties belong to the National Trust. They have brought in increased tourism to the town and the surrounding areas.


title: Aylesbury

text: The town's population has grown from 28,000 in the 1960s to almost 72,000 in 2011 due in the main to new housing developments, including many London overspill housing estates, built to ease pressure on the capital. Indeed, Aylesbury, to a greater extent than many English market towns, saw substantial areas of its own heart demolished in the 1950s/1960s as 16th–18th century houses (many in good repair) were demolished to make way for new, particularly retail, development.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury's population in the ten-year period since 2001 has grown by two thousand primarily related to the development of new housing estates which will eventually cater for eight thousand people on the north side, between the A41 (Akeman Street) and the A413 and the expansion of Fairford Leys estate.


title: Aylesbury

text: According to the 2011 Census, the religious groupings in Aylesbury were: Christianity (55.7%), no religion (26.9%), Islam (8.3%), Hinduism (1.4%), other (0.4%). 6.7% of respondents did not state their religion.


title: Aylesbury

text: Distinct whole areas that have a notably high property price in the town are Bedgrove, the conservation area around St. Mary's Church and Queens Park, particularly facing onto the canal. Anticipated developments are expected to raise the urban population of Aylesbury from its current approximation of 75,000 to over 100,000 between 2018 and 2023. London is centred southeast, over the Chilterns.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury is immediately southeast of the upper River Thame that flows past Thame to Dorchester on Thames and is partly sited on the two northernmost outcrops of Portland (lime)stone in England bisected by a small stream, Bear Brook which gives a relatively prominent position in relation to the terrain of all near, lower, fields and suburbs, which have largely slowly permeable Oxford Clay and Kimmeridge Clay soils. Elevations range from 72.5m above mean sea level to 95m AOD in contiguous parts of the town, however nearest villages range from 85m-90m to the north or from 85m to 115m on a narrow ridge to the southwest at Stone and towards the Chilterns to the southeast (Weston Turville, Stoke Mandeville and North Lee).


title: Aylesbury

text: The town centre's higher terrain is accurately described by Samuel Lewis in 1848 as a "gentle eminence".


title: Aylesbury

text: The county's oldest rocks of Jurassic age cover the whole of the northern half of Buckinghamshire, succeeded continuously by younger rocks to the south of the Chilterns.


title: Aylesbury

text: The town centre is home to many pubs and bars. The Queens Park Centre, which is the UK's largest independent arts centre is also based in the town centre.


title: Aylesbury

text: The local newspaper is the "Bucks Herald", which started publishing in January 1832. The local radio station is Mix 96, which first broadcast in April 1994.


title: Aylesbury

text: One of the more prominent buildings in Aylesbury is the "Blue Leanie" office block, home to Lloyds Bank. When first built it was thought to be a potential hazard to passing motorists, due to the sun reflecting off its large mirrored surface. As a result, a line of mature trees was planted alongside the main road to prevent dazzling.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, a new £42 million theatre, with 1,200-seat auditorium, opened in October 2010. In addition to this, the surrounding area has been redeveloped a £100 million project known as the 'Waterside project'. When this is completed, there will be of new retail floor space and 1,100 new jobs created, although when this will be completed now is unclear. A Waitrose supermarket opened opposite the theatre in August 2013, along with a Travelodge Hotel. Branches of Wagamama and Nando's restaurants opened on 'The Exchange' in February 2014, next to the Odeon cinema on Exchange Street. This included luxury and high-end studio apartments, new restaurants including Zizzi, The Grill Steakhouse and Rococo Lounge, as well as a new public square including metal statues that represent Aylesbury as the home of the Paralympics, as well as poetry covering the ground. Prior to this a Wagamama Japanese restaurant & Nando's have also opened on the site of the new square at the Exchange, known officially as 'Festival Square'. Also, a new campus of the [Bucks New University] opened on the Waterside site next to the Waterside Theatre.


title: Aylesbury

text: The Bourg Walk Bridge (also called the Southcourt Bridge or the Roberts Bridge after a local councillor) opened in March 2009 connecting Southcourt to Aylesbury town centre. The focus of the footbridge is a central concrete pillar with four suspension cables supporting the structure. This bridge forms a central part of the Aylesbury Hub project. Bourg Walk was nominated and won the Engineering Excellence Award 2009 awarded by the Institution of Civil Engineers – South East England branch .


title: Aylesbury

text: There are two tiers of local government covering the town, at parish and unitary authority level: Aylesbury Town Council, based at Aylesbury Town Hall at 5 Church Street, and Buckinghamshire Council, which is also based in Aylesbury, having its headquarters at The Gateway on Gatehouse Road.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury Town Council is the parish council for the town. As at May 2021 it comprises 25 councillors, 20 of whom are Liberal Democrats and 5 Conservative. The council represents only the constituents of Aylesbury town itself. Surrounding villages and some recent developments on the outskirts of Aylesbury like Fairford Leys & Watermead have their own parish council. In 2010 the district council decided that the new developments of Berryfields and Weedon Hill, both to the north of Aylesbury, should also join to form a new parish as of May 2011.


title: Aylesbury

text: The town council also elects the town mayor from the serving town councillors every year. The process culminates in a formal "Mayor Making" ceremony where the new mayor takes over from the preceding mayor. The role of mayor is mainly a ceremonial role representing the town at various events and acting as an ambassador for the town.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury was made a borough by a charter from Mary I in 1554, which gave the town the right to elect two members of parliament and to establish a council to govern itself. The right to establish a council was opposed by the prominent local landowner Thomas Pakington, and it seems likely that this element of the charter was not put into effect at that time. In 1650, following the English Civil War, the town did establish a degree of self-government under the auspices of the 1554 charter. However, in 1664, in the aftermath of the Restoration, the town's short-lived council was abolished and the rights it had held reverted to the Pakington family which had exercised them prior to the civil war. Thereafter the town was governed by its vestry in the same way as most rural areas, although it remained a parliamentary constituency.


title: Aylesbury

text: In 1849 a local board of health was established to govern the town. This board was replaced by Aylesbury Urban District Council in 1894, which was subsequently given municipal borough status on 1 January 1917, becoming Aylesbury Borough Council. The borough council was awarded a coat of arms in 1964.


title: Aylesbury

text: In 1974 Aylesbury Borough Council merged with several neighbouring districts to become Aylesbury Vale. No successor parish was initially created for Aylesbury, and it became an unparished area, directly administered by Aylesbury Vale District Council. The civil parish of Aylesbury was re-established in 2001, with its parish council taking the name Aylesbury Town Council. From 2001 to 2020 there were therefore three tiers of local government covering the town, at parish, district, and county level.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury Vale District Council was abolished in 2020, merging with Buckinghamshire County Council and other district councils to become a unitary authority called Buckinghamshire Council. Since 1 April 2020, when Buckinghamshire Council came into being, it has been responsible for almost all statutory local government functions across the county.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury is home to one college of general further education (Aylesbury College on Oxford Road), three grammar schools, two community upper schools, an academy, a university technical college and a host of primary schools.


title: Aylesbury

text: The Aylesbury Vale Secondary Support Centre is a Pupil referral unit (PRU), which caters for permanently excluded pupils.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury Music Centre is a large educational establishment, which has its own premises adjoining Aylesbury High School and rivals the Royal College of Music, having produced members of national orchestras.


title: Aylesbury

text: Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service hospital to the south of the town centre. Its National Spinal Injuries Centre is one of the largest specialist spinal units in the world, and the pioneering rehabilitation work carried out there by Sir Ludwig Guttmann led to the development of the Paralympic Games. Stoke Mandeville Stadium was developed alongside the hospital and is the National Centre for Disability Sport in the United Kingdom.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury has for mental health therapy and treatments the Tindal Centre on Bierton Road. The Tindal Centre closed in early 2014 and Mental Health therapy and treatments along with Adult and Older Adult Mental Health Team's moved across the road to the new purpose-built hospital the Whiteleaf Centre. The former site of Tindal Centre has been transformed into a new housing development Bierton Place which has maintained the architecture of the original building and enhanced its beauty


title: Aylesbury

text: Traditionally the town was a commercial centre with a market dating back to the Saxon period. This is because it was established on the main Akeman Street which became an established trade route linking London to the southwest. In 1180 a gaol was established in the town .


title: Aylesbury

text: By 1477 flour was being ground in the town for surrounding parishes. By the modern period this had grown into a huge established industry: the last mill in Aylesbury was closed in the 1990s (Hills & Partridge on the canal behind Tesco). By 1560 the manufacture of needles had become a large industry in Long Crendon a village close by which was an important production centre.


title: Aylesbury

text: In 1672 poor children in Buckinghamshire were taught to make lace as a way to make a living. "Bucks lace" as it became known quickly became very sought after and production boomed as the lace was mainly made by poor women and children. The lace-making industry had died out by Victorian times, however, as new machine-made lace became cheaper.


title: Aylesbury

text: In 1764 Euclid Neale opened his clockmaking workshop in Aylesbury. In the 18th century, he was one of the best clock makers in the country.


title: Aylesbury

text: In 1814, the Aylesbury arm of the Grand Union Canal from Marsworth was opened bringing major industry to the town for the first time. At the same time the Wendover arm was built leading to nearby Wendover.


title: Aylesbury

text: From 1919 until 1925 the Cubit Engineering Works on Bicester Road was a volume manufacturer of motor vehicles. Approximately 3,000 cars were built, but a somewhat slow and heavy design could not survive the onslaught from cheap American competition. Their robust design and high ground clearance made them popular in less developed parts of the British Empire which lacked paved roads like Australia and South Africa. The works have been demolished for a domestic housing development. The marque is commemorated by Cubitt Street (and Edge Street) which traverses the old works.


title: Aylesbury

text: By the late 20th century, the printers and bookbinders, Hazell, Watson and Viney and the Nestlé dairy were the two main employers in the town, employing more than half the total population. These factories have long since been demolished and replaced by a Tesco supermarket which opened in 1994, and a housing development, respectively.


title: Aylesbury

text: Today, the town is still a major commercial centre and the market still meets on the cobbles of the old Market Square four days a week. Nestle and Hazell, Watson and Viney and US automotive parts producer TRW have gone – the last left the town in 2006. However three major industrial and commercial centres make sure the town has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.


title: Aylesbury

text: A £150 million Arla Foods 'megadairy' opened just off the A41 in nearby Aston Clinton in November 2013, roughly from the town centre and is a major employer in the area. Traffic improvement measures were paid for by Arla in order to reduce the impact of congestion and pollution.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury has two local semi-professional football teams, Aylesbury Vale Dynamos F.C. which plays at Haywood Way and Aylesbury United F.C. which currently shares a ground with Chesham United. There is a strong cricket club in the town, that was formed in 1837 with success in the 1950s and 1980s and is again emerging as one of the strong clubs in mid- to north Buckinghamshire. Since 2013, Aylesbury has been host to a free 5 km run called the Aylesbury Parkrun.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury is represented in Rugby Union by Aylesbury Rugby Football Club, situated at Ostler's Field in the nearby village of Weston Turville; 'The Ducks' play in the 7th tier of English Rugby.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury's recent sporting success comes in Gymnastics with the Aylesbury Gymnastics Academy, training out of the lynx gym centre, producing two Olympians and both coming away with bronze medals in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games for Great Britain.


title: Aylesbury

text: The town is served by Aylesbury railway station and Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station; the latter is terminus of passenger services of the London to Aylesbury Line from London Marylebone. Stoke Mandeville also lies in the town's urban area.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury is served by the A41 from London to Birkenhead, which becomes the M40 however at Bicester west (by north) of Aylesbury. The A413 and A418 roads also run through the town. The M40 motorway at junction 9 is away and the M25 motorway is just over 's drive.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury is served by Aylesbury bus station. In 2006, work commenced on the public transport hub, a scheme comprising a one-way loop of bus lanes around the town's inner ring road, which includes improvements to the connectivity between bus and rail services. The first two phases of this scheme were completed in 2007, providing new bus lanes on Exchange Street, New Street, Friarage Road and White Hill, and also opened up High Street to buses. The final two phases, including the Bourg Walk Bridge and Station Boulevard were officially opened in April 2009.


title: Aylesbury

text: In 2005, the town won £1million funding to be one of six Cycling Demonstration towns in England, which was match-funded by Buckinghamshire County Council. This allows Buckinghamshire County Council to promote the use of cycling amongst the general public, as well as provide facilities for cyclists, such as bike lockers, bike stands, and Tiger and Toucan road crossings.


title: Aylesbury

text: Cycle Aylesbury, the team created to undertake the Cycling Demonstration town work, recently opened the first of their Gemstone Cycleways, which are a network of routes running from Aylesbury town centre to various locations around the town, including Stone, Bierton, Wendover and Watermead. A second brochure/magazine was published to accompany the routes, along with a redesigned website, CycleAylesbury.co.uk.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury is or has been home to a whole range of notable people. In the latter part of the 20th century, the main maternity unit in the district was located in Aylesbury at the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital; hence a large number of people were born in Aylesbury who may not have had any other association with the town. For a full list see . In alphabetic order of surname those who live or have lived in Aylesbury include:


title: Aylesbury

text: A live music nightclub in Aylesbury was prominent in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and renamed the Friars' Club in 1969. The venue hosted many of the top artists of the time, including Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Cream, Otis Redding, the Clash, Hawkwind, Queen, Genesis, U2, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Marillion & the Ramones. Friars' Club celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009 by holding three special concerts that reflected the various phases of the club's musical history. The first concert in June featured the Edgar Broughton Band, the Groundhogs and the Pretty Things.


title: Aylesbury

text: The rock band Marillion have a close association with Aylesbury. They originally formed there, with the band's first single, 1982's "Market Square Heroes", taking its title inspiration from Aylesbury's Market Square. The band continue to be based in the area, with their Racket Records studio still close to Aylesbury, and in 2007 the band performed together with their original lead singer, Fish, for the first time in 19 years at Aylesbury.


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury Methodist Church holds an annual organ recital, which attracts prominent national organists. The Roald Dahl Children's Gallery in Church Street, Aylesbury, is a children's museum in honour of novelist Roald Dahl that opened on 23 November 1996. Aylesbury hosts the Roald Dahl Festival, a procession of giant puppets based on his characters, on 2 July.


title: Aylesbury

text: Comedian and actor Ronnie Barker (1929–2005) began his acting career in the town in the late 1940s and in September 2010, almost five years after his death, a bronze statue of him was unveiled by actor David Jason and Barker's one time co-star Ronnie Corbett (the other half of the Two Ronnies) on a new public place in Exchange Street.


title: Aylesbury

text: Scenes from the film "A Clockwork Orange" were filmed in Friars Square in Aylesbury but did not make it to the final cut. This is the 'Librarian Scene' where outtakes from the shoot and rehearsal can be seen in Alison Castle's "The Stanley Kubrick Archives" published by Taschen. The opening scene, in which the droogs beat up an elderly Irishman, is mistakenly cited as being filmed in the underpass linking Friars Square Shopping Centre with the railway station. However, Christiane Kubrick's book "Stanley Kubrick – A Life in Pictures" states that the underpass in the film has a different shape to the one in Aylesbury and these sequences were actually filmed in Wandsworth.


title: Aylesbury

text: The County Court building and Aylesbury Market Square regularly feature in the BBC Television series "Judge John Deed".


title: Aylesbury

text: Aylesbury is twinned with the French town of Bourg-en-Bresse, which is in the east of the country, from Paris.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: José Eduardo dos Santos (; 28 August 1942 – 8 July 2022) was the president of Angola from 1979 to 2017. As president, dos Santos was also the commander-in-chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and president of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the party that has ruled Angola since it won independence in 1975. He was the second-longest-serving president in Africa, surpassed only by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Dos Santos joined the MPLA, then an anti-colonial movement, while still in school, and earned degrees in petroleum engineering and radar communications while studying in the Soviet Union. Following the Angolan War of Independence, Angola was constituted in 1975 as a Marxist–Leninist one-party state led by the MPLA. Dos Santos held several positions including Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of independent Angola's first president, Agostinho Neto.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Following Neto's death in 1979, dos Santos was elected the country's new president, supported by the Soviet Union and inheriting a civil war against Western-backed anti-communist rebels, most notably UNITA. By 1991, his government agreed with rebels to introduce a multi-party system, while changing the MPLA's ideology from communism to social democracy. He was elected president in the 1992 Angolan general election over UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi, and presided over free-market economic liberalization and the development of Angola's oil sector. In 1997, he contributed to a rebel invasion of neighboring Zaire during the First Congo War, leading to the overthrow of UNITA ally Mobutu Sese Seko and the installation of Laurent-Désiré Kabila as President later that year. During the Second Congo War from 1998 to 2003 he supported Kabila's government and later that of his son Joseph against several rebel groups loosely allied with UNITA. The MPLA achieved victory in the civil war by 2002 following Savimbi's death. After winning a second presidential term in the 2012 election, he retired from the presidency in 2017, when he was succeeded by party-mate João Lourenço as president.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: A controversial figure, dos Santos received many international awards for his commitment to anti-colonialism and promotion of peace negotiation with rebels to end wars, and was also praised for improving Angola's economy and attracting significant foreign investment. He was criticized as having been a dictator and was accused of creating one of the most corrupt regimes in Africa, with a deeply-entrenched patronage network.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: José Eduardo dos Santos was born on 28 August 1942 in what is today the district of Sambizanga in Luanda, His parents, Avelino Eduardo dos Santos and Jacinta José Paulino, had moved to Portuguese Angola from the then-colony of São Tomé and Príncipe. His mother was a maid, while his father was a builder and construction worker.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: He attended primary school in Luanda, and received his secondary education at the Liceu Salvador Correia, today called Mutu ya Kevela.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: While in school, dos Santos joined the MPLA, which marked the beginning of his political career. Due to repression by the colonial government, dos Santos went into exile in neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville in 1961. From there he collaborated with the MPLA and soon became an official member of the party. To continue with his education he moved to Azerbaijan, which was Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union, where, by 1969, he received degrees in petroleum engineering and radar communications from the Azerbaijan Oil and Chemistry Institute in Baku.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: In 1970, dos Santos returned to Angola, which was still a Portuguese territory known as the Overseas Province of Angola. He served for three years in the MPLA's EPLA guerrilla force ("Exército Para a Libertação de Angola"), later known as the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA), the military wing of the MPLA, becoming a radio transmitter in the second political-military region of the MPLA in Cabinda Province. In 1974, he was promoted to sub-commander of the telecoms service of the second region. He was the MPLA representative to Yugoslavia, Zaire, and the People's Republic of China before he was elected to the Central Committee and Politburo of the MPLA in Moxico in September 1974.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: In June 1975, dos Santos became coordinator of the MPLA's Department of Foreign Affairs; he also coordinated the MPLA's Department of Health at this time. Upon Angolan independence in November 1975, the MPLA held power in Luanda, but the new MPLA government faced a civil war with the other political formations, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA). The same year, dos Santos was appointed as Angola's first Minister of Foreign Affairs upon independence, and in this capacity he played a key role in obtaining diplomatic recognition for the MPLA government in 1975–76. At the MPLA's First Congress in December 1977, dos Santos was re-elected to the Central Committee and Politburo. In December 1978, he was moved from the post of First Deputy Prime Minister in the government to that of Minister of Planning.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: After the death of Angola's first president, Agostinho Neto, on 10 September 1979, dos Santos was elected president of the MPLA on 20 September 1979, and he took office as President of Angola and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on 21 September. On 9 November 1980 he was also elected President of the People's Assembly.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: The biggest issue Dos Santos had to cope with was the ongoing conflict with the main rival liberation movement, the National Union for the Total Integration of Angola (UNITA). UNITA, led by Jonas Savimbi and supported by South Africa and the United States, never fully recognized the legitimacy of MPLA as the ruling government of Angola and triggered several armed conflicts over the years to express its opposition. The war was also marked by intense foreign intervention, since the Soviet Union and Cuba backed the MPLA government and the U.S. and South Africa supported UNITA as a way to limit the expansion of Soviet influence in Africa.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: On 29 and 30 September 1992, after 16 years of fighting that killed up to 300,000 people, elections were held in Angola, under United Nations supervision. Dos Santos led the field in the first round with 49.57%; his main rival, Jonas Savimbi, won 40.07%. Under a constitution adopted earlier that year, since dos Santos finished just short of an outright majority, he would need to win a runoff against Savimbi to become Angola's first constitutional president. This second round never took place, as UNITA declared it did not recognize the election.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: A three-day war then started, during which the Halloween Massacre occurred, when tens of thousands of UNITA protestors were killed nationwide by MPLA forces. Savimbi then decided to give up on the elections, alleging voting fraud, and immediately resumed the civil war. Meanwhile, Dos Santos remained in office.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: In 1993, while Savimbi and UNITA refused to give up territory won through battle, the United States, involved in settling peace talks between the two rival parties and leaders in order to work out a power-sharing arrangement, decided to withdraw its support from UNITA and officially recognize Dos Santos and the MPLA government as the official ruling body in Angola.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: The death of UNITA's leader Jonas Savimbi in February 2002 enabled the resumption of the peace process. On 4 April, the Angolan Army and the rebels agreed to a ceasefire and peace was officially declared on 2 August. While recognized as an official political party by the Angolan government, UNITA agreed to demobilize its armed forces, made up of 50,000 fighters, and agreed for them to be integrated into the national security forces. Following that decision, the UN Security Council reopened United Nations offices in Angola and established the United Nations Mission in Angola (UNMA), aimed at consolidating peace in the country.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: In 2001, Dos Santos announced that he would step down at the next presidential election. In December 2003 he was reelected as head of the MPLA and no further presidential election took place, despite their announcements for 2006, then 2007, and finally 2009. After a legislative election in 2008 in which the ruling MPLA won a landslide victory, the party started working on a new constitution that was introduced early in 2010. Under the terms of the new constitution, the president is elected by first-past-the-post double simultaneous vote for the same term as the assembly, and may serve a maximum of two terms. Each participating party nominates a presidential candidate as top of its list, who must be clearly identified on the ballot paper. The top candidate of the party receiving the most votes is elected president.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Dos Santos reportedly escaped an assassination attempt on 24 October 2010, when a vehicle tried to intercept his car as he was returning from the beach with his family. His escort opened fire, killing two passengers in the vehicle, and weapons were found on board. This incident has not been confirmed by any other source. In February–March 2011, and then again in September 2011, demonstrations against Dos Santos were organized in Luanda by young Angolans, mostly via the Internet.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: In the 2012 legislative election, his party, the MPLA, won more than two-thirds of the vote. As Dos Santos had been the top candidate of the party, he automatically became president, in line with the constitution adopted in 2010.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: In September 2014, dos Santos announced the end of the coupling of the position of provincial governor with provincial first secretary of the MPLA. This measure aimed to improve the operation of the provincial administration and the municipal administrations, as a way to adjust the governance model to a new context and bigger demand for public services.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Once a Marxist-Leninist, Dos Santos allowed a partial market economy to emerge as the collapse of the Soviet Union was in progress. Dos Santos subsequently abandoned Marxism-Leninism completely and allowed Western firms to invest in Angola's major oil fields. Angola became Africa's second-largest oil producer and third-largest diamond producer during Dos Santos' tenure in office. In November 2006, Dos Santos co-founded the African Countries Diamond Producers Association, an organization of approximately 20 African nations founded to promote market cooperation and foreign investment in the African diamond industry.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Despite the country's natural resources, most Angolans remained in poverty. At the time of Dos Santos' death in 2022, a few years after he left office, more than half of the more than 30 million Angolans subsisted on less than US$1.90 a day. Dos Santos oversaw a kleptocracy with vast amounts of wealth diverted to the Dos Santos family; Dos Santos's successor, João Lourenço, estimated in 2020 that more than $24 billion was stolen or misappropriated under Dos Santos, allegedly through diversion of oil revenue, patronage, and government contracts.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Dos Santos announced on 11 March 2016 that he planned to retire in 2018. This timetable would mean that he would leave office after the next election, scheduled for 2017. In December 2016, the MPLA chose João Lourenço, the Minister of Defense and Vice-President of the MPLA, as the party's top candidate and therefore its presidential candidate for the 2017 legislative election, indicating that Dos Santos would step aside prior to 2018. Dos Santos stated on 3 February 2017 that he would leave office following the election later in 2017, with Lourenço slated to succeed him. He remained President of the MPLA and was therefore expected to continue playing a key role at the top of Angolan politics through the leadership of the ruling party. His children Isabel dos Santos and José Filomeno dos Santos held key economic posts at Sonangol and the Fundo Soberano de Angola, respectively, suggesting their father retained considerable influence.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Dos Santos has been accused of having led one of the most corrupt regimes in Africa by ignoring the economic and social needs of Angola and focusing his efforts on amassing wealth for his family and silencing his opposition, while nearly 70% of the population lives on less than $2 a day.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Dos Santos became wealthy when he first took power, and began amassing larger assets during and after the Angolan civil wars. When the ceasefire occurred and large portions of the economy were partially privatized, he took several emerging companies and industries. He helped arrange similar takeovers of several other natural resource industries.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Eventually the Angolan Parliament made it illegal for the president to have financial holdings in companies and organizations. In response to this, Dos Santos supposedly began arranging for his daughter to receive the financial kickbacks and assets from these companies. Dos Santos then began using the government to take direct control of stakes in companies offered as kickbacks which he indirectly controlled and reaped the benefits of and managed to retain large corporate assets through proxies.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: In what has become known as the "Luanda Leaks", a vast network of more than 400 banks, companies, and consultants was revealed to have engaged in money-laundering for the Dos Santos family. Among others, these include firms such as Banco BIC, founded by dos Santos family billionaire associate Américo Amorim, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company,PwC, Eurobic, and a shell company called Athol Limited. According to Angolan media reports, Brave Ventures, a firm run by Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier, was also implicated in money-laundering activities in its role as a subcontractor for a French consulting firm tasked by Dos Santos to oversee the development of the public health system.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Along with this, the government budget had grown over a decade to 69 billion dollars in 2012 through oil revenues. The International Monetary Fund reported that 32 billion in oil revenue went missing from the government's ledger before it was found spent on "quasi-fiscal activities".


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Dos Santos was praised for the major role he played in favour of the country's independence and his commitment to the promotion of peace and democracy in the country, through negotiations with opposition movements designed to put a definite end to the civil war. He received the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo in 2010. He also received an honorary diploma of the National Commission on Racial Justice of the Unified Church of Christ (USA).


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Dos Santos was named "Man of the Year 2014" by "Africa World". According to the newspaper, the choice of the Angolan leader was due to his contribution to the great process of economic and democratic recovery of Angola since the end of the war.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: A University of Namibia Engineering and Information Technology campus in Ongwediva is named after Dos Santos, who was himself an engineer by profession, for assisting Namibia with attaining her freedom from oppression.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Portugal awarded Dos Santos the Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry in 1988 and the Grand Collar of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword in 1996.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: José Eduardo dos Santos was married at least twice, and possibly as many as four marriages, depending on the source. He had at least six children from his wives, and one born out of wedlock.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: His first wife was the Russian-born geologist Tatiana Kukanova, whom he met while studying in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (present-day Azerbaijan). Dos Santos and Kukanova had one daughter, Isabel dos Santos (b. 1973), who was at one time the richest woman in Africa. Their marriage ended in divorce.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: His next two marriages (or long-term relationships, depending on the source) also ended in divorce or separation as well. With his second wife, Filomena Sousa, had one child, José Filomeno dos Santos, known as "Zenú" (b. 1978), who served as chairman of Fundo Soberano de Angola. His third wife was Maria Luísa Abrantes Perdigão. Abrantes' and Dos Santos' two children were daughter, Welwitschia "Tchize" dos Santos (b. 1978), and a son, the Angolan artist Coréon Dú (b. 1984).


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: In 1991, Dos Santos married his fourth and final wife, Ana Paula de Lemos, a former flight attendant and model. José Eduardo and Ana Paula dos Santos had three children: Eduane (b. 1991), Joseana (b. 1995), and Eduardo (b. 1998). The couple remained married until his death in 2022.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: In mid-2017, dos Santos twice traveled to Barcelona, Spain, on weeks-long visits that were rumored to be related to a medical problem. The government acknowledged that the first visit was related to his health. No official explanation was given for his second visit, from 3 to 19 July.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: Dos Santos died on 8 July 2022, at Teknon Medical Centre in Barcelona, at the age of 79. He was in a critical condition after suffering cardiorespiratory arrest on 23 June 2022 and also testing positive for COVID-19. He also had cancer for several years prior.


title: José Eduardo dos Santos

text: He was held a state funeral in the Angolan capital Luanda. Several African leaders and Portugal's president were at the funeral in August 2022.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henry IV to Napoleon III, until it was burned by the Paris Commune in 1871.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: Built in 1564, it was gradually extended until it closed off the western end of the Louvre courtyard and displayed an immense façade of 266 metres. Since the destruction of the Tuileries, the Louvre courtyard has remained open and the site is now the location of the eastern end of the Tuileries Garden, forming an elevated terrace between the Place du Carrousel and the gardens proper.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: The site of the Tuileries palace was originally just outside the walls of the city, in an area frequently flooded by the Seine as far as the present Rue Saint-Honore. The land was occupied by the workshops and kilns craftsmen who made "tuiles", or roof tiles. Because of its proximity to the Louvre Palace, members of the royal family began buying plots of land there.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: After the accidental death of Henry II of France in 1559, his widow Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589) moved into the Louvre Palace with her son, the new king, Francois II, but planned a new residence for herself, close to the Louvre and having space for a large garden. She sold the medieval Hôtel des Tournelles, near the Bastille, where her husband had died, and between 1563 and 1568 acquired several pieces of land which she put together for her new residence. She began building in 1564, with a plan of Philibert de l'Orme, known for his work at the Palace of Fontainebleau, the Château d'Anet and Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The work began in 1564, but de l'Orme died in 1570, when the work was still in its early stages. His place was taken by Jean Bullant, whose works included the gallery of the Château de Chenonceau in the Loire Valley. The outbreak of the civil between Protestants and Catholics in Paris in 1588 abruptly halted the work. The site, outside the city walls was abandoned and pillaged.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: Work did not resume until 1594, when Henry IV of France made a triumphal return to Paris, and recommenced construction of the Louvre and the Tuileries Palace. He constructed the Grande Galerie, parallel to the Seine, which connected the two palaces. At the same time, Henry commissioned the landscape gardener Claude Mollet to modify the plan of the gardens. The architects and decorators Etienne Duperac, Louis Metezeau and Jacques II Androuet du Cerceau contributed to the new palace.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: The Grand Gallery and the Gros Pavilion des Tuileries, now called the Pavillon de Flore),the tower by Androuet du Cerceau which linked the Louvre and the Tuileries palaces, was completed, but between 1864 and 1868, under Napoleon III, the original pavilion was redesigned and rebuilt by Hector Lefuel, to match the other modifications to the palaces.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: After the death of Henry IV of France in 1610, work on the palace halted and his son Louis XIII of France had no intention of expanding it or continuing construction. It did not resume until after the Fronde (1648–53), a broad rebellion by the nobility, the Parliament and the Parisians against Louis XIV's royal authority. Between 1659 and 1661, the king and Cardinal Mazarin had First Royal Architect Louis Le Vau enlarge the palace, extending it to the north by the addition of the Théâtre des Tuileries.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: In 1662 Louis celebrated the birth of the Dauphin, his son and heir, with a spectacular "Carrousel", which took place in the courtyard on the east side of the palace. A pageant on horseback, with dressage and other equestrian exercises with over seven hundred horsemen participating, it offered a variety tournaments and competitions, including a contest to spear the cardboard heads of "Saracens" and "Moors", and mounted processions to music around the courtyard. The King took part, wearing the costume of a Roman emperor. The courtyard thereafter was known and still is known as the "Carrousel".


title: Tuileries Palace

text: From 1664 to 1666 Le Vau and his assistant François d'Orbay made other significant changes. They transformed Philibert de l'Orme's facades and central pavilion, replacing its grand central staircase with a colonnaded vestibule on the ground floor and the Salle des Cents Suisses (Hall of the Hundred Swiss Guards) on the floor above and adding a rectangular dome. A new grand staircase was installed in the entrance of the north wing of the palace, and lavishly decorated royal apartments were constructed in the south wing. The king's rooms were on the ground floor, facing toward the Louvre, and the queen's on the floor above, overlooking the garden. At the same time, Louis' gardener, André Le Nôtre, redesigned the Tuileries Garden.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: Louis XIV fully used his redecorated and enlarged palace only for a short time. The Court moved into the Tuileries Palace in November 1667, but left in 1672, and soon thereafter settled in the Palace of Versailles. The Tuileries Palace was virtually abandoned and used only as a theatre, but its gardens became a fashionable resort of Parisians.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: Following the death of Louis XIV in December, 1715, his great-grandson, Louis XV, just five years old, was moved from Versailles to the Tuileries Palace on 1 January 1716. He moved back to Versailles on 15 June 1722, three months before his coronation. Both moves were made at the behest of the Regent, the duc d'Orléans. The king also resided at the Tuileries for short periods during the 1740s. The palace had been rarely used in forty years; it was refurnished and redecorated for the new King, but he remained only until 1722, when he also moved to Versailles. The large palace theater continued to be used as a venue for operas, concerts and performances of the Comédie-Française.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: On December 1, 1783, the palace garden was the starting point of an event in aviation history, the first manned flight in a hydrogen balloon, by Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers. It was just two months after the first manned balloon flight by the Montgolfier brothers in a hot air balloon from the Palace of Versailles. King Louis XVI watched from the tower. Among the crowd of spectators was Benjamin Franklin, seventy-seven years old, the United States ambassador to France. The balloon and passengers landed safely at Nesles-la-Vallée, thirty-one miles from Paris.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: Not long afterwards, on 6 October 1789, the gardens were the site of a revolutionary event of a different kind. Louis XVI and his family were forced to leave Versailles, to return to Paris and to move into the Tuileries. Nothing had been prepared for their arrival; the various occupants who had moved into the Palace were abruptly expelled, and furniture had to be brought from Versailles. The royal family lived in relative calm for a time; the gardens were reserved for them until noon, when they were opened to the public.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: On 9 November 1789, the National Constituent Assembly, formerly the Estates-General of 1789, moved its meetings from the tennis court at Versailles to the Salle du Manège. This was the Tuileries' covered equestrian academy, on the north side of the palace, which was the largest meeting hall in the city. It was also used by the Assembly's successor, the National Convention and, in 1795, the Council of Five Hundred ("Conseil des Cinq-Cents") of the Directoire until the body moved to the Palais-Bourbon in 1798. In 1799, the Jacobin Club du Manège had its headquarters there. The Committee of Public Safety, led by Robespierre, met in the Pavillon de Flore, which connected the Palace to the Louvre.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: On June 21, 1791, as the Revolution intensified, the King and his family attempted to escape. That night they attended a final Vespers mass in the palace chapel, and then, disguised and with their attendants, attempted by coach to reach the Austrian border. They were recognised and arrested at Varennes, brought back to Paris, and placed under house arrest.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: On August 10, 1792, a large mob stormed the palace gates, entered the gardens, and overwhelmed and massacred the Swiss Guards who defended the Palace. They set fires in several of the outlying buildings of the Palace. Vestiges of buildings destroyed by the fires were discovered during archaeological excavations in 1989. After the massacre of the Swiss Guards, the palace itself was taken over by the Sans-Culottes. In November 1792, the invaders discovered the Armoire de fer, a hiding place at the royal apartments, believed to contain the secret correspondence of Louis XVI with other European monarchs, appealing for help. This increased anger against the imprisoned King and Queen. The National Convention, meeting in the Manege of the Palace, launched the Reign of Terror in 1793–94, leading to the execution of the King and Queen and thousands of others accused of opposing the Revolution.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: On February 19, 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte, the new First Consul and soon to become Emperor of the French, moved his official residence to the Tuileries Palace, a more suitable setting for his imperial ambitions. He began redecorating the interior in the Neoclassical Empire style by Percier and Fontaine. He also began a series of reconstructions around the Palace, tearing down the ruins of buildings burned during the Revolution, in 1806, In the center of the courtyard of the Carousel, he had constructed a triumphal arch, modelled after the ancient Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome, to serve as the ceremonial gateway of the palace. In 1808, after he became Emperor, He moved forward with the grand project of Henry IV, to build a new wing of the Palace on the north side of the gardens, matching the wing on the south side along the river, to connect the Tuileries it with the Louvre. This involved tearing down the Manage and other buildings to clear the courtyard, and the construction a new street, the Rue de Rivoli, named for his victory at the Battle of Rivoli in 1797.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: After Napoléon's divorce, Pierre Paul Prud'hon was commissioned to design the apartments of his new wife, Marie-Louise. For the bridal suite of the new Empress he designed all the furniture and interior decorations in a Greek Revival style. The son of Napoleon and Marie-Louise, King of Rome, born in 1811, was given his residence in the Waterside Gallery of the Louvre, connected to the Tuileries by a short underground passageway, and his own small pavilion in the courtyard, decorated by Fontaine.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: Following the defeat and exile of Napoleon, the gardens became a large camp for Russian and Prussian soldiers, while the Kings of France returned to the palace during the Bourbon Restoration. During the July Revolution of 1830, which installed Louis Philippe as the new monarch, the Tuileries was again stormed and occupied by an armed mob. This time the Swiss Guards of the King, rather than remaining to be massacred, quietly departed their posts. King Louis Philippe I occupied the palace until 1848, when it was again briefly invaded, and the King chased out.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte the nephew of Napoleon, was elected the first President of France in 1848, and occupied the Elysée Palace. In 1852, when he could not run again, he seized power, and moved his residence to the Tuileries. The Tuileries was extensively refurbished and redecorated after the looting and damage that had occurred during the Revolution of 1848. Imposing state rooms were designed and richly decorated in what became known as the Second Empire style. The prominent roof-lines of the palace, and especially its squared central dome, became influential prototypes, adopted for hotels and commercial buildings as well as government buildings and residences in France and abroad. The new state rooms were theatrical settings for the ceremonies and pageantry of the Second Empire, such as the visit of Queen Victoria in 1855. The old buildings that had filled the courtyard were cleared away; and Napoleon III completed the northern wing of the Louvre along the "rue de Rivoli", linking the Tuileries Palace with the Louvre, following the grand plan of Henry IV three centuries earlier.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: The private apartment used by Napoleon III, on the ground floor of the southern wing of the palace, consisted of "overheated gilt boxes furnished in the style of the First Empire", being kept at "an excessively high temperature" by the emperor. Empress Eugénie had her apartment above, connected to the emperor's by a winding staircase, with a mezzanine occupied by the treasurer of the privy purse in between, and comprising eight of the eleven rooms on the bel etage of the southern wing's garden side. This arrangement at the Tuileries was unlike at Versailles, where the apartments of monarch and consort were both on the same floor and the king's was the grander of the two.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: The state rooms – on the Carrousel, or east, side – of the south wing were used variously depending on the occasion. If it were an informal dinner, the household would gather in the Private Drawing Room, or Salon d'Apollon, which was separated from the Salle de Maréchaux, in the central pavilion, by the First Consul's Room, or Salon Blanc. The party would proceed through the throne room to dinner in the Salon Louis XIV. However, gala dinners were held in the larger Galerie de Diane, the southernmost of the state apartments. If it were a state ball, then refreshments would be set up in the Galerie; and the procession of the imperial party would be from there to the Salle de Maréchaux, which occupied the space of two entire floors of the central Pavillon de L'Horloge and served as the ballroom.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: The little-used northern wing of the palace, which contained the chapel, Galerie de la Paix, and the Salle de Spectacle would be called into service only for performances, such as the Auber cantata performed the evening of Napoleon and Eugénie's civil wedding ceremony, 29 July 1853, or for the most important fêtes, such as the party given for sovereigns attending the International Exposition, on 10 June 1867. The Salle de Spectacle was also used as a hospital during the Franco-Prussian War.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: The southernmost pavilion, the Pavillon de Flore, served as the backstairs to the palace. Service corridors led to it. One could get from there to the sprawling basement, lit with innumerable gas lamps, where a railway had been set up to bring food from the kitchens under the Rue de Rivoli.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: On 23 May 1871, during the suppression of the Paris Commune, twelve men under the orders of Jules Bergeret, the former chief military commander of the Commune, set the Tuileries on fire at 7 p.m., using petroleum, liquid tar and turpentine. The fire lasted 48 hours and thoroughly gutted the palace, except for the southernmost part, the Pavillon de Flore (the gate of honor, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, also remains, as well as the foundation). The dome itself was blown up by explosives placed in the central pavilion and detonated by the converging fires. Observing this, Bergeret sent a note to the Committee of Public Safety: 'The last vestiges of Royalty have just disappeared. I wish that the same may befall all the public buildings of Paris' It was only on 25 May that the Paris fire brigades and the 26th battalion of the Chasseurs d'Afrique managed to put out the fire. The library and other portions of the Louvre were also set on fire by Communards and entirely destroyed. The museum itself was saved by the efforts of the firemen.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: The ruins of the Tuileries stood on the site for 11 years. Although the roofs and the inside of the palace had been utterly destroyed by the fire, the stone walls of the palace remained intact and restoration was possible. Other monuments of Paris also set on fire by Communards, such as the City Hall, were rebuilt in the 1870s. After much hesitation, the Third Republic, more sympathetic to the Commune, pardoned the Commune members exiled abroad and in 1882, despite opposition from Baron Haussmann and historians, had the walls torn down.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: The demolition was started in February 1883 and completed on 30 September 1883. Bits of stone and marble from the palace were sold by a private entrepreneur, Achille Picart, as souvenirs, and even to build a castle in Corsica, near Ajaccio, the , which is essentially a reconstruction of the Pavillon de Bullant. The courtyard pediment of the central pavilion can be seen in Paris' , Other pieces are found in the garden of the Palais du Trocadéro, the Louvre and the Museum of Decorative Arts.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: The Tuileries Garden () covers ; is surrounded by the Louvre (to the east), the Seine (to the south), the Place de la Concorde (to the west) and the Rue de Rivoli (to the north); and still closely follows the design laid out by the royal landscape architect André Le Nôtre in 1664. The Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume is a museum of contemporary art located in the northwest corner of the garden.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: Originally designed in 1564 as an Italian Renaissance garden by Bernard de Carnesse, the Tuileries Garden was redesigned in 1664 by Le Nôtre as a "jardin à la française", which emphasized symmetry, order, and long perspectives. His formal garden plan drew out the perspective from the reflecting pools one to the other in an unbroken vista along a central axis from the west palace façade, which has been extended as the "Axe historique".


title: Tuileries Palace

text: This straight line which runs through the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe to La Défense was originally centred on the façade of the Tuileries, a similar line leading across the entrance court of the Louvre. As the two façades were placed at slightly differing angles, this has resulted in a slight 'kink' on the site of the palace, a feature ultimately dictated by the curved course of the River Seine.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: After the palace was demolished in 1883, the large empty space between the northern and southern wings of the Louvre, now familiar to modern visitors, was revealed, and for the first time the Louvre courtyard opened onto the unbroken "Axe historique".


title: Tuileries Palace

text: In 2003, a group called the Committee for the Reconstruction of the Tuileries () proposed the reconstruction of the Tuileries on its original site.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: Proponents of the plan noted that much of the original furniture and paintings still existed, put into storage when the Franco-Prussian War began in 1870.


title: Tuileries Palace

text: In 2006 a rebuilding of the Palace of the Tuileries was estimated to cost 300 million euros (£200 million pounds sterling or US$380 million). The plan was to finance the project by public subscription with the work being undertaken by a private foundation, with the French government spending no money on the project. The French president at that time, Jacques Chirac, called for a debate on the subject. Former president Charles de Gaulle had also supported reconstruction, saying that it would "make a jewel of the centre of Paris."


title: Tuileries Palace

text: However, in 2008, Michel Clément, Director of Architecture and Heritage, stated "From our point of view, the reconstruction of the Tuileries Palace is not a priority. In addition, it is not part of French heritage culture to resurrect monuments out of the ground "ex nihilo". Rather, we are concerned with the vestiges that have survived."


title: Eevee

text: Known as the Evolution Pokémon in the games and the anime, Eevee has an unstable genetic code, which allows it to evolve into one of eight different Pokémon, known as Eeveelutions, depending on the situation. The first three of these evolutions, Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon, were introduced alongside Eevee in "Pokémon Red" and "Blue". Five more evolutions have since been introduced in "Pokémon" games: Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon, and Sylveon.


title: Eevee

text: The design for Eevee and its initial evolutions, Jolteon and Flareon, were provided by Japanese graphic designer Motofumi Fujiwara, while fellow graphic designer Atsuko Nishida designed Vaporeon. Ken Sugimori, an illustrator and friend of the "Pokémon" franchise's creator, Satoshi Tajiri, provided illustrations of Eevee and its evolutions after seeing Fujiwara and Nishida's sprites. According to Fujiwara, he "wanted to create a blank slate Pokémon." Drawing upon his vague childhood memories, including an instance where he became lost in a forest and "encountered an undefinable creature," Fujiwara would go on to create the early design for Eevee, which he likened to "a fluffy cat or dog-like creature one would see in the country."


title: Eevee

text: In the original Japanese games, the Pokémon was called "Eievui", a name which has similar prefixes to its current English name. However, before the English versions of the games were released, Eevee was originally going to be named "Eon" rather than "Eevee". It was renamed to "Eevee" shortly before the English releases of "Pokémon Red" and "Blue".


title: Eevee

text: According to the "Pokémon" video games, Eevee is a mammalian creature with brown fur, a bushy tail that has a cream-colored tip, and a furry collar that is also cream-colored. Eevee has brown eyes, big ears, and pink paw pads. Eevee is said to have an irregularly shaped genetic structure, enabling it to evolve into multiple Pokémon. Eevee are quite rare in the games, but are canonically able to live almost anywhere, as they may evolve to suit their surroundings.


title: Eevee

text: Eevee is best known for being the Pokémon with the most potential evolutions (dubbed "eeveelutions" by fans, though it later came to be used in official capacities), with eight possible evolutionary forms (followed by Tyrogue, with three). In the first generation of Pokemon games where Eevee was introduced, it was also the only to have branched evolutions. All the Eeveelutions were designed by Atsuko Nishida, except for Jolteon and Flareon, which were designed by Motofumi Fujiwara.


title: Eevee

text: In the "Red", "Blue", "Yellow" versions, the player receives one Eevee at the Pokémon Mansion in Celadon City, and they must trade to receive the Pokédex info on the other evolutions ("Red", "Blue", and "Yellow" only). In "Pokémon Yellow", the player was to receive an Eevee from Professor Oak at the beginning of the game as the player's starter. However, the player's rival decides to take the Eevee before the player can obtain it. Due to this, the player is forced to choose the wild Pikachu that Professor Oak had caught earlier as a starter. The player's rival meanwhile evolves his Eevee into any of the three evolutions available, depending on the outcomes of the player's encounters with him in the early parts of the game. Eevee also appeared on other games such as "Pokémon Stadium", "Pokémon Gold and Silver", "Pokémon Crystal", "Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire", "Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen", "Pokémon Emerald", "Pokémon Platinum", "Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver", "Pokémon Black and White", "Pokémon Black 2 and White 2", "Pokémon X and Y", "Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire", "Pokémon Sun and Moon", "Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon", "Pokémon Sword and Shield" as well as the remakes "Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl," where Eevee can be found in the same areas that it was obtained from the original games.


title: Eevee

text: In "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon", Eevee gained access to upgrade the move Last Resort to its exclusive Z-Move, Extreme Evoboost, while holding its unique Z-Crystal Eevium Z. In "Pokémon Sword" and "Shield", Eevee received a unique Gigantamax form with access to the unique G-Max Move G-Max Cuddle, which deals damage and infatuates opponents of the opposite gender.


title: Eevee

text: In 2018, remakes of "Pokémon Yellow," were released. Unlike in the original "Pokémon Yellow" game in which Pikachu was the only Pokémon able to walk around with the player outside its Pokéball, in "Let's Go, Eevee!" the player's partner and starter Pokémon Eevee refuses a Pokéball and stays with the player in the overworld. The partner eevee is able to wear accessories and clothes and "hairstyles" which are visible in the overworld. Like Pikachu, in Let's Go: Eevee, the partner Eevee refuses to evolve, but is able to learn special moves not available in other games, with eight possible moves each based on one of Eevee's evolutions. Game developer Junichi Masuda said that Eevee was chosen for the remake because of its popularity in fan art, although Psyduck was also considered before it was decided its colouring was too similar to Pikachu.


title: Eevee

text: Outside of the main series, Eevee is a photographable Pokémon in "Pokémon Snap". In "Pokémon Stadium 2", Eevee stars in its own minigame called "Eager Eevee". Players have to run around in circles while Aipom raises and lowers a cover on berries. The object is to be among the first to grab some of the berries. It also appeared in "Pokémon Pinball", "Pokémon Channel", "Pokémon Trozei!", "", "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky", "", "My Pokémon Ranch", "Pokémon Rumble", "", "", "", "Pokémon Rumble Blast", "Pokémon Conquest", "", "Pokémon Rumble U", "Pokémon Battle Trozei", "Pokémon Rumble World", "Pokémon Picross", "Pokémon Rumble Rush", "", "Pokémon Shuffle" ,"Pokémon Masters EX", "Pokkén Tournament", "Pokémon Go", "Pokémon Unite" and "New Pokémon Snap".


title: Eevee

text: In the anime, Eevee first appeared in "The Battling Eevee Brothers". A little boy named Mikey was hiding the Evolution Pokémon from his three older brothers because they wanted him to evolve it. However, when Mikey's Eevee single-handedly defeated Team Rocket, they were able to accept the fact that Mikey wanted to keep his Eevee just the way it is. Ash's longtime rival Gary Oak uses an Eevee of great quality that eventually evolves into Umbreon. The Kimono Girls who first appeared in the "Pokémon Gold" and "Silver" games, make an appearance with their Pokémon (all of which are evolutions of Eevee) in "Trouble's Brewing". The youngest of the Kimono girls had an unevolved Eevee (the only of the sisters to have one) in this episode, though it later evolved into an Espeon later on in the episode "Espeon, Not Included". May has an Eevee that hatched from an egg, which she used in Pokémon Contests all across the Kanto region. When May traveled to Sinnoh, she took it to Route 217 to evolve into a Glaceon. In the XY series, Serena also acquired an Eevee of her own which evolved into a Sylveon. In Sun and Moon, Lana herself got a shaggy haired Eevee nicknamed Sandy. Sandy was heavily criticized by fans for false advertising (Sandy first appeared next to Ash on a Japanese poster, implying Ash was going to get it until the reveal) as well as the fact it went out of focus and barely contributed to the series once Lana gave Sandy a haircut and nickname.


title: Eevee

text: A special Eevee, one which is incapable of evolving, is owned by Chloe Cerise, the childhood friend of Goh, who is Ash Ketchum's companion in the 23rd, 24th, and 25th seasons of the anime. The main reason why it cannot evolve is unknown, but the head of the Eevee Evolution Lab in the episode "To Train or Not to Train!" theorises that it cannot evolve because of its hesitancy of making the important decision.


title: Eevee

text: Eevee has appeared for a short time in "Detective Pikachu", under the ownership of Howard Clifford. It then was forced to evolve into Flareon.


title: Eevee

text: In "Pokémon Adventures", Red is in possession of an Eevee which had been experimented on by Team Rocket. As a result, it could transform back and forth from the three evolutions Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon along with its base form, allowing it greater tactical ability in fighting other Pokémon. Eventually, it evolved into an Espeon, losing its special ability to interchange abilities. In the "Electric Tale of Pikachu" manga, the character Mikey (who appeared in the anime episode: "The Battling Eevee Brothers") makes an appearance with his own Eevee and within the chapter that he appears in, Mikey attempts to prove to his brothers that he doesn't need to evolve his Eevee to win battles.


title: Eevee

text: In the crowdsourced social experiment, "Twitch Plays Pokémon", an Eevee was the source of much frustration when, while trying to evolve it into a Vaporeon to learn the move Surf, the players accidentally used a Fire Stone on it, evolving it into a Flareon. This setback led to Flareon being called the "false prophet" and became one of the most famous moments of the event.


title: Eevee

text: Since its debut appearance, Eevee and its evolutions have received generally positive reception. "GamesRadar" described Eevee as "one of the cutest and most varied of all Pokémon", and in a later article described it as one of the most "enduringly popular". "IGN" called it "the most mystifying, peculiar, eccentric, and adaptable creature in the game." "IGN" editor “Pokémon of the Day Chick" also stated that Eevee was a creature "a thousand times cuter than a puppy" and she also stated that its evolutions were also "powerful for a cute Pokémon". "IGN"'s Jack DeVries cited Eevee as "one of the cutest Pokémon". Eevee was noted as one of the most popular Pokémon at the offices of The Pokémon Company. Author Loredana Lipperini noted Eevee as being one of the "most mysterious Pokémon in the series". "Technology Tell" writer Jenni Lada noted that Eevee is a character "whom should feature" in "Super Smash Bros.", citing its customization "potential". Liz Finnegan of "The Escapist" listed Eevee as their eleventh favorite Pokémon, stating that Eevee is like the evolutionary equivalent of the turducken. Gita Jackson of "Kotaku" claimed that Eevee is what Pokémon is all about, stating that "Eevee is adorable, but that’s not the only reason why I love them. Somewhere between a cat and a dog, Eevee seems more domesticated than longtime series mascot Pikachu, but still as mischievous as any other wild animal."


title: Eevee

text: In 2015, Eevee was the most traded Pokémon in the games' "Wonder Trade" feature. A special "Pokémon Omega Ruby" and "Alpha Sapphire" Online Competition known as the "Eevee Friendly Match" limits participants' Pokémon to Eevee and its evolutions only. In a list of the "Top 10 Cutest Video Game Characters", Eevee was ranked fourth, with Screw Attack's Prowler64 writing: "There are many cute Pokémon, but in my opinion, Eevee is the cutest and makes it onto this list."


title: Eevee

text: Due to its popularity, Eevee (and its evolutions) have frequently been used in much of the Pokémon merchandising, such as toys. Eevee is a part of a set of Pokémon figures released for "Pokémon Rumble U", with IGN labelling it as a "fan favourite". While Eevee and its evolutions have appeared in the "Pokémon Trading Card Game" as common cards, they were featured in the releases of the "Majestic Dawn" and "Evolving Skies" sets. A special Eevee-themed Nintendo 3DS XL was released in Japan in celebration of the 15th anniversary of Pokémon Centre retail establishments. Eevee has also been a part of various Nintendo events, which allow the players to obtain special Pokémon that are being distributed (one example in Eevee's case was a shiny Eevee distribution). Eevee was also one of the several first generation Pokémon to get a special DVD (Volume 6) with episodes starring itself during the 10th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise. A series of cocktails by Eevee user meowpurrnom based on evolutions of Eevee was featured in a "Polygon" article.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: If I Stay is a 2014 American teen romantic drama film directed by R. J. Cutler and based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Gayle Forman.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: The film stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Mireille Enos, Joshua Leonard, and Stacy Keach. It was released on August 22, 2014, grossing $78.9million worldwide.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: Mia Hall and her family are getting ready to go on with their normal day activities when it is announced on the radio that school has been canceled. Mia's father, Denny, is a teacher and as a result of the snow day does not have to go to work. Mia's mother, Kat, a travel agent, decides to call in sick and along with her family and Mia's brother Teddy so they can get on the road to visit Mia's grandparents, who live on a farm.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: The story flashes back to Mia's early life with a rockstar father and an inexperienced mother, when one day they take Mia to a music class where Mia decides that she wants to start playing the cello. After her parents see that Mia is passionate about the cello, they hire a teacher to help her play. Kat is shown pregnant with Teddy, whom Mia thinks is the reason for her father's departure from his band.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: Years later, an adolescent Mia is still passionate about the cello and is playing at school in the band room where Adam Wilde, a popular student and up-and-coming rockstar, peeks in on her playing. This leads him to ask Kim, Mia's best friend, about her. Adam then asks Mia out on a date to a cello recital, where they kiss.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: The story flashes back to the present day, where the family is driving to the grandparents' farm, before their car suddenly collides with an oncoming truck. Mia appears to have an out-of-body experience where she finds herself barefoot and sees her body lying on the road while paramedics are trying to help her and her family. Mia tries to ask a paramedic what is happening, but realizes that no one can see or hear her. Mia, now in the hospital, panics as she does not know the current status of any of her family members when they take her in for surgery. A sympathetic nurse, Nurse Ramirez, tells Mia—her physical body, not Mia's spirit, which apparently she cannot see either—that it is up to her whether or not she wants to stay.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: The story flashes back once again to Mia attending one of Adam's concerts with his band Willamette Stone, where she does not seem to fit in. Adam's band is steadily gaining more recognition and gets signed to a label, which puts a strain on their relationship due to the travel schedule. While at dinner, Mia's grandpa suggests that she should apply to Juilliard, an idea which she initially rebuffs, but later further researches. She eventually lands an audition in San Francisco. It takes a while for Mia to tell Adam about her audition and when she does he becomes upset and leaves for a week-long gig.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: In the present day, Mia undergoes surgery. She sees a doctor speaking with her grandparents who are standing outside of a pediatric room where Teddy lies in a coma-like state. Adam comes to the hospital to see Mia, but is not allowed in as he is not an immediate family member. It is then revealed that Kat was pronounced dead on arrival and Denny died on the operating table. She later finds out that Teddy has died from an epidural hematoma. Mia's grandfather George talks to Mia, revealing that when her father heard her playing cello one time, he decided to sacrifice his career knowing that she was talented, so quit his band, sold his drums, and bought her first cello. He also tearfully gives Mia permission to move on from this life if she wants, which influences Mia to decide that she wants to die so that she can join her family on the other side.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: The story flashes back to Mia at her audition for Juilliard, where she plays the best she has ever played, leading her to think that if accepted, she would go. After a reconciliation with Adam, they talk about the huge possibility of her going to Juilliard, which ultimately leads to them breaking up and going their separate ways.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: After some time, Mia seems stable enough to receive more visitors. Mia is shown symbolically about to let go when she hears the music performed at the cello recital that she attended with Adam. It is revealed that Adam has come to see Mia and that he is playing his iPod for her. He brings with him a letter Mia has received from Juilliard saying that she has been accepted and lets her know that he would do whatever she wants if she stays. He begins to play the song he has finally written about her. Mia, after flashing back through all the happy moments in her life, squeezes Adam's hand and opens her eyes. She sees Adam looking at her saying, "Mia!"


title: If I Stay (film)

text: In December 2010, it was announced that a film based on the novel "If I Stay" was in the works at Summit Entertainment and that Dakota Fanning, Chloë Grace Moretz and Emily Browning were in talks to play Mia. Catherine Hardwicke was attached to direct, but was replaced by Brazilian filmmaker Heitor Dhalia, who also left the film later. On January 24, 2013, Moretz was officially cast to play the lead and R. J. Cutler was announced as the new director of the film. Trevor Smith was brought on as associate producer. The shooting of the film began on October 30 in Vancouver.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: In January 2014, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Bros. were announced to be distributing the film and the release was set for August 22.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: The music was composed by Heitor Pereira. The soundtrack was released on August 19, 2014 by WaterTower Music. It peaked at number 54 on the "Billboard" 200 in the United States, and number 77 in Australia.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: Vancouver-based alternative rock band Hawking appeared in the film numerous times as Willamette Stone.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: All the songs for Adam Wilde's band Willamette Stone, including the cover of The Smashing Pumpkins' song "Today", were produced by indie rock producer Adam Lasus.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: As of November 20, 2014, "If I Stay" has grossed a worldwide total of $78,396,071 against a budget of $11million.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: "If I Stay" opened at #3 to 2,907 locations in North America behind "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", which were in their fourth and third weeks respectively. On its opening day the film earned $6,827,007 earning it the top spot for the day.


title: If I Stay (film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 35%, based on 142 reviews with an average score of 4.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Although Chloë Grace Moretz gives it her all and the story adds an intriguing supernatural twist to its melodramatic YA framework, "If I Stay" is ultimately more manipulative than moving". On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 46 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: If I Stay (film)

text: In his review for "The New York Times", A.O. Scott praised Moretz's acting. He added that the "music is both the best and the corniest part of "If I Stay", which makes excellent use of the classical cello repertoire." Writing for "Variety", Justin Chang criticized Moretz's acting, explaining that "she comes off as a bit too self-assured to play the nerdy misfit." Anthony Lane of "The New Yorker" wrote a critical review of the movie, saying, "The saddest thing about 'If I Stay' is that it affords Moretz so little opportunity to be non-sad." In the "Los Angeles Times", Olivier Gettell summed up that critics saw the film was "clunky and uninspired."


title: If I Stay (film)

text: "If I Stay" was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2014 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (under license from MGM).


title: The Chain

text: "The Chain" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on their 1977 album "Rumours". It is the only song from the album with writing credits for all five members (Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood).


title: The Chain

text: "The Chain" was created from combinations of several previously rejected materials, including solo work by Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie. The song was assembled, often manually by splicing tapes with a razor blade, at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California, with engineers Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut.


title: The Chain

text: Following the critical and commercial success of "Rumours", "The Chain" has become a staple of the band's live shows, typically the opening song. It was featured as the opening track on "The Dance", a 1997 live concert CD/DVD release, as well as several of the band's greatest hits compilations. The song has attained particular fame in the United Kingdom, where the instrumental section has been used as the theme tune for the BBC and Channel 4's television coverage of Formula One.


title: The Chain

text: According to interviews on the writing of "Rumours", the final section of "The Chain"—beginning with a bass progression—was created by John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. Stevie Nicks had written the lyrics separately and thought they would be a good match; she and Christine McVie did some reworking to create the first section of the tune. Other elements were worked in from an early project of Christine's called "Keep Me There", which removed the blues-style motif, but retained the chord progression. To complete the song, Buckingham recycled the intro from an earlier song from a duet with Nicks, "Lola (My Love)", originally released on their self-titled 1973 album.


title: The Chain

text: Due to the spliced nature of the record (the drums and guitar were the only instruments recorded in each other's company) and its sporadic composition and assembly from different rejected songs, "The Chain" is one of only a few Fleetwood Mac songs whose authorship is credited to all members of the band at the time. The finished song has a basic rock structure, although it has two distinct portions: the main verse and chorus, and the outro. Influences of hard rock, folk, and country are also present. The Dobro, a type of resonator guitar, supplies the verse riff. The song is in E minor, which is the relative minor key of G major. The vocal range is G3 to C5.


title: The Chain

text: "Rumours" garnered widespread critical acclaim upon its release. Subsequent analysis of "The Chain" has also led many to cite it as one of the most evocative expressions of the internal fracture among various band members at the time. Buckingham and Nicks were ending their years-long relationship at the same time that John and Christine McVie's marriage broke down, as did that of Fleetwood and his wife, Jenny Boyd.


title: The Chain

text: In 1997, Fleetwood Mac released a live concert CD/DVD package called "The Dance", which featured the reunion of the "Rumours"-era Fleetwood Mac members. The rendition of "The Chain" reached number 30 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Additionally, the studio version began appearing on the charts in 2009, where it debuted at number 94 in the UK. Two years later, the song peaked at number 81. In March 2022, the song was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams of over 1,800,000 units.


title: The Chain

text: The BBC's Formula One coverage used the ending bass line as a theme tune from 1978 until 1996 and again from 2009 to 2015, thus making the song highly recognisable in the United Kingdom. On 29 March 2009, the song re-entered the UK Chart at number 94 through downloads, following confirmation from the BBC that it would be reintroduced, the BBC having regained broadcasting rights from ITV. On 20 March 2011, "The Chain" peaked higher at number 81 in the UK chart following a campaign on Facebook to try to get the song to number 1 for the start of the 2011 Formula One season.


title: The Chain

text: "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" director James Gunn has said that "The Chain" was "most deeply embedded into the fibers of the film". "The Chain" was also used as the closing song to the first season episode "We Gull Way Back" of the HBO Max series "Our Flag Means Death".


title: The Chain

text: The song was recorded by the American rock band Tantric, released as the second single from their 2004 second album, "After We Go". However, even though the song was released as a single, it lacked much promotion, and debuted at number 36 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.


title: The Chain

text: Tantric's cover of the song was used as the theme song for the 2004 HBO Documentary series "Family Bonds".


title: The Chain

text: The song was recorded by the Canadian rock band Three Days Grace, released from their EP, "Lost in You". It was released on March 15, 2011. The song peaked at number 45 on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart.


title: The Chain

text: American rock band Evanescence released a cover version of the song. The song was released as a digital download on 22 November 2019 by BMG.


title: The Chain

text: Amy Lee, the lead vocalist of Evanescence said, "This cover was so fun to make. We love Fleetwood Mac and wanted to paint a dark and epic picture with our take on 'The Chain'. The lyrics make me feel the power of standing together against great forces trying to pull us apart, perhaps even from the inside. I really wanted to drive that home in our version, and even made everyone in the band sing by the end of it! We're beyond excited to share this with our fans and I'm really looking forward to playing it live."


title: The Chain

text: An official music video to accompany the release of "The Chain" was first released onto YouTube on 9 January 2020.


title: Red Guards

text: Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted. According to a Red Guard leader, the movement's aims were as follows: