title: Yugoslav government-in-exile

text: However, over the course of the war, effective power changed to the hands of Josip Broz Tito's Communist Partisans. In 1943, Tito proclaimed the creation of the Democratic Federative Yugoslavia ("Demokratska federativna Jugoslavija"). The Allies gradually recognized Tito's forces as the stronger opposition to the German occupation. They began to send most of their aid to Tito's Partisans, rather than to the Royalist Četniks. On 16 June 1944, the Tito–Šubašić agreement was signed, merging the "de facto" and the "de jure" governments of Yugoslavia.


title: Yugoslav government-in-exile

text: During his exile, King Peter II was educated at Cambridge University, served in the Royal Air Force and married Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, who was the only child of the late King Alexander I of Greece and Princess Aspasia of Greece and Denmark.


title: Yugoslav government-in-exile

text: Jovanović took office as prime minister on 11 January 1942 with the dismissal of Simović. His original appointment as vice-premier in the Simović government had been in recognition of the respect he engendered, and because he was seen as a Serb counterpart to Maček as an overall leader of the Serbs across the country. He was a positivist, non-romantic liberal who was opposed to both fascism and communism, but was not directly connected to any political party. Simović was of course dropped from the cabinet, as was Ilić, who had been Minister of the Army. The latter was replaced by Mihailović, but because he was in Yugoslavia, the government in London was now firmly in the hands of civilians.


title: Yugoslav government-in-exile

text: Ivan Šubašić took office on 1 June 1944. He was appointed to negotiate with Tito because of his special position in the Croatian Peasant Party, his loyalty to the Karađorđević dynasty, his moderation in comparison with other Croatian politicians, and his experience in difficult situations. Nevertheless, his nomination after months of British pressure on the king depended on the elimination of Mihailovich from the cabinet.


title: Yugoslav government-in-exile

text: Ten days after his nomination, Šubašić fled to the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea in order to meet with Tito and try to form a coalition government. Tito agreed to postpone a decision on the form of government until the end of the war, and Šubašić, for his part, recognised that only the partisan administration of the Yugoslav territory would receive support. He also promised that the government would include only people who had not previously opposed Tito and his organisation, and that it would concentrate on securing international support. The agreement was signed on 16 June with no consultation by Šubašić, even with the king.


title: Yugoslav government-in-exile

text: After his return, Šubašić formed a government of five ministers, with two of them proposed by Tito. Mihailovich lost his position as war minister. He refused to recognise the new government and continued to proclaim his loyalty to the king.


title: Yugoslav government-in-exile

text: Šubašić met with Tito in Belgrade on 1 November. Under their agreement, the King was not authorised to return to the country until a plebiscite was held about the monarchy. After Šubašić returned to London, the king rejected the agreement and replaced Šubašić on 23 January 1945. But under British pressure, the king was compelled to call him back six days later and to accept the principle of a regency.


title: Yugoslav government-in-exile

text: Two weeks later, Šubašić and his ministers went to Belgrade. A new coalition government was formed on 7 March, in which Tito controlled 20 ministers of 28. This ended the government in exile.


title: Yugoslav government-in-exile

text: In exile, the Royal Yugoslav Forces were initially under the command of General Bogoljub Ilić as minister of the Army, Navy and Air Force and chief of the General Staff, and General Borivoje Mirković as commander of the Air Force. There were initially about 1,000 men in these forces in Cairo. On 12 January 1942, the king dismissed the prime minister, Ilić and Mirković, provoking a mutiny by officers supportive of the Air Force general. The king then appointed Colonel Dragoljub Mihailović, leader of the Četniks in Yugoslavia, as minister and chief of staff to replace Ilić "in absentia"; he then appointed General Petar Živković to act as Mihailović's deputy in London and Cairo. Mihailović was dismissed in August 1944 as Allied support shifted away from the Četniks. On 7 March 1945, the king dissolved the government and disbanded the armed forces, proclaiming Tito's Partisans on the ground to be the sole legitimate government and military.


title: Yugoslav government-in-exile

text: The first unit of the Royal Yugoslav Army to be formed in exile was the 1st Battalion, Royal Yugoslav Guards, under Major Živan Knežević. It comprised a headquarters and four rifle companies (A, B, C and D). Of its original complement of 505 men, 411 were Slovenes who had been conscripted into the Royal Italian Army and subsequently captured by the British. In January 1942, command of this unit passed to Lieutenant Colonel Miloje Dinić, and on 19 February to Lt. Col. Milan Prosen, after Dinić was implicated in the pro-Mirković mutiny. (He and 57 other Guards were interned by the British at the Torah camp in March, along with all 346 of the Yugoslav Air Force's ground personnel.) In late February, the unit was ordered to relieve the Czechoslovak contingent at the siege of Tobruk, but was diverted to join the 11th Brigade, 4th (Indian) Division in Libya. In April, it retreated to Halfaya Pass and then to Mersa Matruh. In July, it was reassigned to the 9th (British) Army in Mandatory Palestine to guard the oil refinery at Haifa. In January 1943, when Lt. Col. Franc Stropnik assumed command, the battalion was 850 strong and well-trained. It was attached to the 25th Brigade, 10th (Indian) Division. Before the end of the year, monarchist and communist (pro-Tito) factions had appeared in the ranks; numbers dwindled. Barely the size of a company, a rump unit was sent to the Italian theatre with its brigade in March 1944. It was disbanded soon after, despite the recruitment of 2,000 captured Slovene conscripts assembled in Algiers by Prosen. The British refused to ferry these men to Cairo, so they were assigned labour duties.


title: Yugoslav government-in-exile

text: After the fall of Yugoslavia, 105 personnel of the Royal Yugoslav Navy, under Commander Z. V. Adamić, joined the Mediterranean Fleet at Alexandria in Egypt. Two motor torpedo boats (MTBs), "Durmitor" and "Kajmakčalan", and a submarine, "Nebojša", ran the gauntlet of the Adriatic, evading the Italian Navy, and arrived in Suda Bay on 22–23 April before proceeding to Alexandria. The MTBs participated in the Syria and Lebanon campaign, while "Nebojša" undertook training exercises. Ten floatplanes of the Naval Air Force also escaped. On 3 June 1941, eight Dornier Do 22kj and two Rogožarski SIM-XIV-H formed the 2 (Yugoslav) Squadron of the No. 230 Squadron RAF, based in Aboukir. They participated in the Battle of Crete and patrolled the African coast until the unit was disbanded on 23 April 1942. In late 1943, Commander J. Saksida was given command of a torpedo boat flotilla based at Malta, which included some former Yugoslav MTBs that had been captured by Italy in 1941 and then surrendered to the Allies after Italy's armistice, as well as three minelayers: "Melinje", "Miljet" and "Villa". The Yugoslav Navy was also operating eight former American PT boats and, after 11 January 1944, the ex-HMS "Mallow" (renamed "Nada"), out of Livorno in Italy. In March 1945, all Royal Yugoslav vessels assembled at Ancona in preparation for the handover to Tito's forces, which occurred in August. The negotiations for the transfer of the vessels under British command took place on Vis. The royal representative was Captain Ivan Kern, whom Tito later promoted to rear admiral.


title: Yugoslav government-in-exile

text: The eleven aircraft of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force to make it to Alexandria were requisitioned by the British. Several Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s piloted by Yugoslavs joined No. 117 Squadron RAF and flew transport missions along the Takoradi air route. On 2 July 1942, the interned Yugoslav Air Force personnel and Guards in Alexandria were formed into the 244 Temporary Battalion of the King's Own Royal Regiment, but after a pro-Tito mutiny in November 1943, the unit was disbanded. Its personnel were transferred to the diminished Royal Guards, while 224 of the Air Force men joined the Balkan Air Force in Libya. Joined by Partisan volunteers, these men formed No. 352 Squadron RAF on 22 April 1944 and No. 352 Squadron on 1 July. They mainly flew Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires in operations over Yugoslavia in support of the Partisans. Both squadrons were disbanded on 15 June 1945.


title: Kip King

text: Kip King (born Jerome Charles Kattan; August 11, 1937 – July 15, 2010) was an American film, television and voice actor. He was the father of American television sketch comedian Chris Kattan.


title: Kip King

text: King was born Jerome Charles Kattan in Chicago, Illinois, the son of an Iraqi-Jewish father and a Polish-Jewish mother. His father, who was from Baghdad, was a letter carrier for T.E. Lawrence.


title: Kip King

text: King was probably best known for voicing Tailor Smurf in the 1980s television cartoon series The Smurfs. Long associated with Hanna-Barbera, King provided the voice of Shecky in "The Biskitts" (1983). He was also in the voice casts of "The Little Rascals" (1982), "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo" (1979-1980), "Tom & Jerry Kids" (1990), "Droopy, Master Detective" and the Flintstones TV special "I Yabba-Dabba Do!" (both 1993).


title: Kip King

text: He also made many guest appearances in films and on television shows such as "Diff'rent Strokes", "Corky Romano", "Bachelor Father", "The Munsters Today", "One Day at a Time", "Dragnet" (both 1954 and 1989 versions), "Burke's Law", "The Bronx Zoo", "Mister Roberts", "", "Barney Miller", "Mister Ed", "The Bill Cosby Show", "My Living Doll", "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Ben Casey", "Mannix", "The Rifleman", "America 2-Night", "Reno 911!", "12 O'Clock High", "More Than Friends", "Small Wonder", "Breast Men", "The Fall Guy", "Burke's Law", "Cagney and Lacey", "The Partridge Family" and "The Jeffersons". He also wrote the teleplay for an episode of "The Betty Hutton Show".


title: Linda L. Fagan

text: Linda Lee Fagan (born July 1, 1963) is a United States Coast Guard admiral who serves as the 27th Commandant of the Coast Guard. Previously, in 2021 she became the 32nd Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard’s first female four-star admiral. Before that, she was the commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area with prior terms as Coast Guard Deputy for Operations, Policy, and Capabilities, commander, First Coast Guard District, and commander, Coast Guard Sector New York. Fagan is also the Coast Guard's first Gold Ancient Trident, the officer with the longest service record in the Marine Safety Field. In April 2021, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced her nomination as the next Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, succeeding Charles W. Ray. She was confirmed on June 17, 2021, and assumed office on June 18.


title: Linda L. Fagan

text: In April 2022, it was announced that Fagan would be nominated to succeed Karl L. Schultz as Commandant of the Coast Guard, making her the first woman in American history to lead a military service. Her nomination was sent to the United States Senate on April 7, 2022, receiving confirmation by unanimous consent on May 11. She assumed office on June 1.


title: Linda L. Fagan

text: Born in Columbus, Ohio, Fagan graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1985 with a B.S. degree in marine science. She later earned a Master of Marine Affairs degree from the University of Washington in 2000 and an M.S. degree in national security strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at the National Defense University in 2008.


title: Linda L. Fagan

text: Fagan is the daughter of Jon Harley Keene and Loann Carol (Morris) Keene. Her daughter Aileen is also a United States Coast Guard Academy graduate.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: The Tesla Megapack is large-scale rechargeable lithium-ion battery stationary energy storage product, intended for use at battery storage power stations, manufactured by Tesla Energy, the clean energy subsidiary of Tesla, Inc.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Launched in 2019, each Megapack can store up to 3.9 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity. Each Megapack is a container that is sized slightly under the size of the ISO intermodal container. Designed to be deployed by utility companies, Megapacks can be used to store energy generated by intermittent renewable power sources, such as solar and wind. The energy stored can be used by the grid as required, for example during periods of peak electricity demand.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Tesla Energy also offers smaller battery energy storage devices: the Powerwall, intended for home use, and the Powerpack, intended for use by businesses or on smaller power utility projects.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: On April 30, 2015, Tesla announced that it would begin to sell standalone battery storage products to consumers and utility companies. Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that the company's battery storage products could be used to improve the reliability of intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Prior to the launch of the Megapack, Tesla used its 200 kilowatt-hour (kWh) Powerpack energy storage product to meet the needs of utility companies with large-scale storage requirements. During 2015 and 2016, Tesla deployed a combined 300 MWh of Powerwall and Powerpack technology, including an 80 MWh deployment of Powerpacks at the Mira Loma substation in Southern California. In 2017, Tesla used Powerpacks to deploy 129 MWh of battery storage at the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia. At the time, this was the biggest deployment of lithium-ion grid battery storage in the world.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Work began on the Megapack project at least as early as the first half of 2018. The Megapack was designed at Giga Nevada.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: The Megapack was described by Tesla as a utility-scale energy storage product, suitable for power stations and utility companies. Tesla claimed that Megapacks would be compatible with Tesla power station monitoring and energy control software, Powerhub and Autobidder. The company also stated that the Megapack was designed to meet the needs of large-scale battery storage projects, similar to the Hornsdale Power Reserve.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Tesla acquired a former JC Penney's distribution center in Lathrop, California, in 2021 for a new battery plant called the Megafactory, with a target capacity of 40 GWh/year when finished. The next-generation Megapacks is planned to use prismatic lithium iron phosphate batteries.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Megapacks are currently manufactured at Giga Nevada. Tesla has stated that it is investing in expanding the factory in order to increase Megapack, Model 3, and Model Y output efficiency.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Megapacks are sold by Tesla's worldwide network of internal sales representatives and external partners.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Each Megapack comes with a 15-year "no defect" and "energy retention" warranty, according to Tesla. A 10 or 20 year "performance guarantee" is also available for an additional cost. Once a Megapack has reached the end of its useful life, Tesla says they can be returned to be recycled.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Tesla states that it supplies Megapacks ready-assembled, including "battery modules, bi-directional inverters, a thermal management system, an AC main breaker and controls."


title: Tesla Megapack

text: The Megapack thermal management system is located at the top of each unit. It uses coolant fluid, made of an equal-parts mixture of ethylene glycol and water, to keep the battery at operating temperature.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Maintenance must be performed on each Megapack once annually and once every ten years. The annual maintenance includes torque and calibration checks, inspections, cleaning, paint touchup, ventilation and coolant checks, and battery communications checks. The ten-year maintenance is required to perform activities such as replacing the pump that powers the thermal management system, replacing the door gasket, and refilling the coolant fluid. Maintenance is expected to take about an hour per Megapack.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Each Megapack weighs approximately and the enclosure is built to the same size as a shipping container and includes twistlock fittings to allow for easier handling.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Megapacks are designed to be used for large-scale energy storage. Tesla has stated that Megapacks could be used by utility companies to replace peaker power plants, which generate extra energy during periods of peak demand. Megapacks are designed to store energy that can be later used during periods of surplus demand, rather than a peaker power plant having to generate the energy in real-time using coal or natural gas. It has been shown that grid battery storage can help to reduce power plant carbon dioxide emissions and unit costs of energy production.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Tesla Powerpacks continue to be used by utility companies to meet smaller-scale grid energy storage requirements. For example, a 25 MW / 52 MWh deployment of Powerpacks began testing in November 2019 at the Lake Bonney Wind Farm in South Australia.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Large-scale battery storage solutions such as the Megapack are becoming more economically viable for utility companies to implement due to the declining price of lithium-ion battery technology. Demand for energy storage is also increasing in some jurisdictions due to transitions towards renewable energy sources. Because solar and wind energy sources are more intermittent than coal or natural gas or nuclear power, the electrical energy can be stored in order to fulfill peak-period demand.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Other energy storage solutions, such as pumped hydroelectric storage, continue to dominate the market. As of 2019, pumped hydroelectric storage accounted for 96% of global energy storage capacity. Pumped hydroelectric storage systems have relatively long lifetimes when compared to battery storage.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Battery storage solutions such as the Megapack can be used in situations where a fast deployment is required, because pumped hydro projects normally take longer to complete when compared to batteries. Tesla has previously used fast deployment as a selling point of its utility-scale battery storage products.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: In November 2019, Tesla used a Megapack to power a mobile Supercharger - a recharging station for Tesla electric vehicles - in California. The mobile Supercharger was reported to deliver 125 kW, and was transported on a flat trailer attached to a truck in between deployment locations.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: In December 2019, Tesla delivered a 1.25 MW / 2.5 MWh Megapack to the Millidgeville Substation in Saint John, Canada. Saint John Energy, the owner of the Megapack, stated that it will be used for peak shaving. The battery is estimated to save Saint John Energy CA$200,000 per year. Saint John Energy planned to integrate the battery to work with its grid management software. It became operational on April 3, 2020, and is being used for peak-shaving.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: In July 2021, at the 300 MW Victorian Big Battery (377 to 450 MWh energy, depending on power draw) near Geelong and constituting the largest battery in the southern hemisphere, one of the 212 modules of Tesla Megapack caught fire due to a coolant leak while the battery was unmonitored, and set fire to the adjacent Megapack. Three days later, the fire had burnt itself out, and the commissioning process resumed in late September, while lessons were applied to other batteries. The battery was commissioned on time in December 2021, a year after contract, with an estimated ROI of 2.4.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: In May 2020, Strata Solar, an American commercial solar services provider, announced that they would engage Tesla as the battery provider for a 100 MW / 400 MWh energy storage facility in Ventura County, California. The Megapack deployment will replace a natural-gas powered peaker power plant, and will take up three acres of space near the Ventura County Juvenile Justice Center. The project was scheduled to begin in July 2020, with completion expected by January 2021.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: Utilities in California are required by a 2013 law to provide significant battery storage by 2024. In June 2018, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) requested approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to engage Tesla to deploy a battery storage system at the Moss Landing Power Plant, in Monterey County. The system is capable of producing 182.5 MW for four hours, for a total of 730 MWh of capacity. It became one of the world's largest utility-owned battery storage installations.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: The project is designed to improve energy reliability and to allow for more renewable energy sources to be used at the Moss Landing site. The project also aims to save costs by reducing PG&E's reliance on peaker power plants that come online during periods of increased demand. Tesla later confirmed that it would use Megapacks to complete the project.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: On July 3, 2019, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act, the County of Monterey Resource Management Agency published a Mitigated Negative Declaration, detailing actions that must be taken to mitigate potential environmental impacts of the project. The report concluded that the project would have a "Less than Significant Impact" on the environment, assuming the correct mitigating actions were taken. Specifically, it was found that mitigating actions were required to minimize the environmental impact of the project on "biological resources" such as wildlife habitat, and on "cultural resources", especially culturally-significant archaeological sites at the proposed location of the Megapack deployment.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: The project was subsequently opened to public submissions on its environmental impact. On February 26, 2020, the Monterey County Planning Commission unanimously approved the project, giving PG&E and Tesla permission to proceed with the Megapack deployment.


title: Tesla Megapack

text: In April 2022, Tesla and PG&E completed and commissioned the Elkhorn Battery. Following the completion of final tests, the BESS was fully energised and certified by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) on April 7. The final build features 256 Megapacks manufactured in Lathrop, and set on 33 concrete slabs, as well as transformers and switchgears to connect the batteries to the 115kv electric transmission system. On September 20, a module caught fire, which was under control by evening.


title: Grand Paris

text: The Métropole du Grand Paris (; "Metropolis of Greater Paris"), or Greater Paris, is a "métropole" covering the City of Paris and its nearest surrounding suburbs. The "métropole" came into existence on 1 January 2016; it comprises 131 communes, including Paris and all 123 communes in the surrounding inner-suburban departments of the "Petite Couronne" (Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne), plus seven communes in two of the outer-suburban departments, including the communes of Argenteuil in Val-d'Oise, Savigny-sur-Orge, Juvisy-sur-Orge, Viry-Châtillon and Paray-Vieille-Poste in Essonne, the last of which covers part of Orly Airport. Part of the "métropole" comprises the Seine department, which existed from 1929 to 1968. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometers (314 square miles) and has a population of over 7 million.


title: Grand Paris

text: The "métropole" is administered by a metropolitan council of 210 members, not directly elected, but chosen by the councils of the member communes. Its responsibilities include urban planning, housing, as well as environment protection. The Métropole du Grand Paris should not be confused with the Grand Paris Express, a new transportation system being developed independently to connect the departments in the Paris suburbs.


title: Grand Paris

text: The idea of Greater Paris was originally proposed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy as "a new global plan for the Paris metropolitan region" It first led to a new transportation master plan for the Paris region and to plans to develop several areas around Paris. The "Métropole du Grand Paris" was defined by the law of 27 January 2014 on the modernization of public territorial action and affirmation of cities as part of Act III of decentralization. The plans were considerably modified in December 2015, and the passage into action in two competences, economic development and protection of the environment was delayed from 2016 to 2017.


title: Grand Paris

text: The plan was first announced on 17 September 2007 during the inauguration of "La Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine", when Sarkozy declared his intent to create a "new comprehensive development project for Greater Paris". The project was organized by the French state, with the Minister of Culture and Communication charged with coordinating the consultation process.


title: Grand Paris

text: In 2008 an international urban and architectural competition for the future development of metropolitan Paris was launched. Ten teams gathering architects, urban planners, geographers, landscape architects will offer their vision for building a Paris metropolis of the 21st century in the post-Kyoto era and make a prospective diagnosis for Paris and its suburbs that will define future developments in Greater Paris for the next 40 years.


title: Grand Paris

text: The architects leading the ten multi-disciplinary teams were: Jean Nouvel, Christian de Portzamparc, Antoine Grumbach, Roland Castro, Yves Lion, Djamel Klouche, Richard Rogers, Bernardo Secchi, Paola Viganò, Finn Geipel, Giulia Andi, and Winy Maas.


title: Grand Paris

text: Early versions of the plan proposed reforms to the local government structure of the Paris region by creating an integrated urban community encompassing the City of Paris and the surrounding Petite Couronne, However, these were largely abandoned due to strong opposition from the socialist Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, and the socialist head of the Île de France region, Jean-Paul Huchon.


title: Grand Paris

text: The original plan for the Métropole declared these objectives: "The Métropole of Grand Paris is established in order to define and implement metropolitan action to improve the quality of life of its residents, reduce inequalities between regions within it, to develop an urban, social and economic sustainability model, tools to improve attractiveness and competitiveness for the benefit of the entire national territory. The Métropole of Grand Paris is developing a metropolitan project. The residents are associated with its development according to the guidelines determined by the metropolitan council as laid down by the development council.


title: Grand Paris

text: This metropolitan project defines the general guidelines of the policy pursued by the Métropole of Grand Paris. It forms part of the implementation of the overall scheme of the Ile-de-France region. It includes a general, social, economic and environmental analysis of the metropolitan area, the strategic guidelines for the development of the metropolis as well as priority areas for intervention. The Metro project can be developed with the support of the Land and Technical Agency of the Paris Region, the International Workshop on Greater Paris, the Urban Planning Agencies and any other useful body."


title: Grand Paris

text: Independently to the process described above, a position of Minister for Le Grand Paris was created and Christian Blanc was appointed to occupy it. Blanc and his team prepared a transportation plan, announced on April 29, 2009. The Île-de-France region had already published its own transportation plan. Later, the architects of the consultation joined together to present a third transportation plan. After much negotiation, a compromise between the national government the Île-de-France regional government was announced in January 2011 and the final plan subsequently approved.


title: Grand Paris

text: The transport plan will be carried out in ten years, at a cost of 35 billion euros funded by the state, local governments and new debt. An important part of the project is a driverless subway linking important business and residential poles such as Versailles and the Charles de Gaulle airport but also banlieues like Montfermeil and Clichy-sous-Bois through a figure-eight track 140 km long and operating 24-hour, which will alone cost 21 billion euros. Another 14 billion euros will be spent in the extension and re-equipment of existing metro, regional and suburban lines.


title: Grand Paris

text: The way Le Grand Paris has been handled was criticized by the architects themselves, especially by Jean Nouvel who wrote several virulent editorials against the Minister in charge of Le Grand Paris until June 2010, Christian Blanc.


title: Grand Paris

text: Politically, the President of the Île-de-France region, Jean-Paul Huchon, and the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, both members of the French Socialist Party, opposed the initiatives taken by the national government, which they said were against the devolution of urban planning matters to local governments. In October 2011, Delanoë stated that the President "is trying to claim for himself an urban dynamic begun long ago by the local governments". Although Huchon had reached an agreement with the national government earlier in the year on the transportation network, he also declared that Grand Paris "is not a generic term to cover everything that is going on on the territory of the Île-de-France region (...) and even less a national certificate created to relabel local policies that were already in existence." Political opposition was also strong from the Green Party, led in the Île-de-France region by Cécile Duflot.


title: Grand Paris

text: The 131 communes of the Métropole du Grand Paris are grouped in 12 'établissements publics territoriaux" (EPT) or territoires, which replaced the existing inter-communal public institutions and inherited their competences such as sport and socio-cultural amenities, water supply, sanitation, waste management and some urban and social policies.


title: September 2019 Israeli legislative election

text: Snap legislative elections were held in Israel on 17 September 2019 to elect the 120 members of the 22nd Knesset. Following the previous elections in April, incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition for a second consecutive time. On 30 May, the Knesset voted to dissolve itself and trigger new elections, in order to prevent Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz from being appointed Prime Minister-designate. This election marked the first time the Knesset voted to dissolve itself before a government had been formed.


text: Following the April 2019 elections, Likud leader and incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had until the end of 29 May to form a governing coalition, including a two-week extension granted by President Reuven Rivlin. Though the deadline passed without a coalition being formed and Rivlin would have been tasked with appointing a new Prime Minister-designate, presumed to be Blue and White party head Benny Gantz, Netanyahu successfully pushed to dissolve the Knesset to avoid this.


text: Negotiations between Netanyahu and a number of potential coalition partners stalled. One sticking point between Netanyahu and Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman was the passage of a draft law which is opposed by the Haredi parties in the coalition. The law would remove the current exemption of yeshiva students from conscription. Netanyahu needed both Yisrael Beitenu and the Haredi parties in his coalition in order to have enough seats to form a majority.


text: As an alternative, Netanyahu approached Labor about the possibility of their support, but they rejected the offer. Meanwhile, Netanyahu's legal troubles overshadowed further possible coalition negotiations, with Blue and White refusing to work with him in the circumstances. The new elections also mean Netanyahu's proposed immunity law cannot proceed for the time being.


text: On 28 May, the Knesset passed on first reading a bill which would dissolve the Knesset and force a snap election. This move was intended to place additional pressure on coalition partners to reach an agreement in time, as well as to prevent Gantz from being given the opportunity to put together a coalition should the deadline pass. Later that day, the committee approved the bill for second and third reading.


text: Late in the evening on 29 May, it was announced that talks had failed. That night, and into the morning of 30 May, the Knesset passed second and third readings of the bill to dissolve itself and force a snap election with a vote of 74 in favour to 45 against. The 45 votes against the resolution came from the entire membership of three parties: the Blue and White alliance (35 votes), Labor (6 votes), and Meretz (4 votes). All other Knesset members voted for the resolution, with the exception of Roy Folkman, who was absent.


text: The 120 seats in the Knesset are elected by closed list proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency. The electoral threshold for the election is 3.25%. In most cases, this implies a minimum party size of four seats, but it is mathematically possible for a party to pass the electoral threshold and have only three seats (since 3.25% of 120 members = 3.9 members).


text: Two parties can sign an agreement that allows them to compete for leftover seats as though they are running together on the same list. The Bader–Ofer method disproportionately favors larger lists, meaning that such an alliance is more likely to receive leftover seats than both of its comprising lists would be individually. If the alliance receives leftover seats, the Bader–Ofer calculation is then applied privately, to determine how the seats are divided among the two allied lists. The following agreements were signed by parties prior to the election:


text: The Likud (election symbol: ) was tied with Blue and White for the largest political party in the 21st Knesset, with 35 of the 120 seats. It is the party of Israel's current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking to gain more power to build a government after failing to do so following the April election. Prior to the September election, the Likud and Kulanu parties announced on 29 May their intention to run together in the new election. Kulanu officially dissolved itself and its remaining members joined the Likud on 31 July, bringing Likud's Knesset representation up to 38 seats.


text: The Blue and White (election symbol: ) alliance was created ahead of the April 2019 election and ended up being tied with Likud for the largest political party in the 21st Knesset, with 35 seats. Despite suggestions that the alliance should make changes due to their failure to achieve a majority in the April election, the alliance confirmed on 2June 2019 that it will keep the same rotating premiership of Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid as in the previous election. The party decided to run with the almost exact same list as they did in the April elections. Blue and White has ruled out sitting with Benjamin Netanyahu, due to the corruption investigations against him; however, it has not ruled out creating a National unity government with Likud if it replaced Netanyahu.


text: The Joint List (election symbol: ) alliance (which was dissolved ahead of the April 2019 elections) was reformed ahead of the September 2019 elections. It is made up of four ideologically diverse Arab Israeli parties, who together had 10 seats in the 21st Knesset. The Ra'am, Hadash, and Ta'al factions announced on 27 July that the alliance would be re-established, Balad decided to join the next day. The list is led by Hadash Chairman Ayman Odeh, who also led the alliance in the 2015 election. Odeh said he is open to cooperation with Blue and White, but he would not join their coalition.


text: Shas (election symbol: ) was the third largest political party in the 21st Knesset, with eight seats. Shas is led by Minister of Interior Aryeh Deri. Shas is a Mizrahi and Sephardi Haredi party, primarily concerned with rights and funding for those demographics. Shas declared early on that it was going to support Benjamin Netanyahu for prime minister, and ruled out sitting with Blue and White, due to disagreements with Blue and White leader Yair Lapid.


text: United Torah Judaism (UTJ) (election symbol: ) was the fourth largest political alliance in the 21st Knesset, with eight seats. UTJ is an alliance of two Ashkenazi Haredi parties (Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah), and is mainly concerned with preserving funding and rights for their sector of the population. UTJ is led by Deputy Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman. Much like its Mizrahi counterpart Shas, UTJ declared early on that it was going to support Benjamin Netanyahu for prime minister, and ruled out sitting with Blue and White, due to disagreements with Blue and White leader Yair Lapid.


text: The Labor-Gesher (election symbol: ) alliance includes the Labor party, which was the sixth largest party in the 21st Knesset with six seats, and Gesher, a party led by Orly Levy-Abekasis which did not pass the electoral threshold in the April election. Due to its collapse in the April election, Labor held its leadership primary on 2July, which was won by Amir Peretz. Following his victory, Peretz rejected merging into a greater leftist bloc and declared that he wanted to bring in new crowds to the party, and it was announced on 18 July 2019 that Labor and Gesher will run on a joint list, with seven seats on the list reserved for Labor and three for Gesher.


text: Yisrael Beiteinu (election symbol: ) was the seventh largest party in the 21st Knesset, with five seats. The party has been led since its founding by Avigdor Lieberman, and it is running with the same list it presented in the April election. Lieberman sparked the repeat election by refusing to join Netanyahu's coalition, citing differences with the Haredi parties over drafting Haredi into the military. Due to his opposition to Netanyahu's Haredi coalition partners, Lieberman has declared that he will support only a unity government between Likud and Blue & White.


text: Yamina (election symbol: ) is an alliance of several Religious Zionist parties headed by Ayelet Shaked. It is made up of the Union of Right-Wing Parties, which was the eighth largest party in the Knesset with five seats, and the New Right, which did not pass the electoral threshold. After long-winded negotiations between the two factions, URWP leader Rafi Peretz agreed on 28 July to give Ayelet Shaked the number one spot on the United Right list. The next day, an agreement between the Union of Right-Wing Parties and the New Right was announced. The two parties of the URWP, Tkuma and The Jewish Home, both voted on and approved the run with the New Right on 31 July. Part of the deal stipulated that the list would support Benjamin Netanyahu for the position of prime minister, despite resistance to this from the New Right.


text: The Democratic Union (election symbol: ) alliance includes several left-wing parties, who decided to run together in the September elections. The alliance was announced on 25 July 2019 and is led by Nitzan Horowitz. It will be made up of Meretz, the ninth largest party in the 21st Knesset with four seats, the new Israel Democratic Party formed by former prime minister Ehud Barak, Israeli Labor Party defector Stav Shaffir, and the extra-parliamentary Green Movement. The alliance declared that it would not sit with Netanyahu under any circumstances.


text: Otzma Yehudit (election symbol: ) was part of the Union of Right-Wing Parties in the April elections, but left after URWP members would not resign to allow Itamar Ben-Gvir to become a Knesset member; in addition, Otzma was unwilling to leave Baruch Marzel and Ben-Zion Gopstein off the electoral slate, as demanded by Rafi Peretz. Otzma is led by Ben-Gvir. The United Right (which later renamed itself Yamina) attempted to convince Otzma Yehudit to re-enter their alliance, but Otzma declined their offer, calling it "insulting". Otzma Yehudit initially signed a deal with Noam, but ran independently following a split between itself and Noam.


text: Zehut (election symbol: ) was the 13th largest party in the April election, receiving 2.74% of the vote and not passing the electoral threshold. Zehut is led by Moshe Feiglin. The party was initially interested in running in a joint list with the New Right, but was rejected when the New Right decided to run with the URWP instead. Following this, Zehut decided it would run alone. On 29 August 2019, Zehut leader Moshe Feiglin announced an agreement with Prime Minister Netanyahu had been reached and that Zehut would withdraw from the election in return for Feiglin serving as a minister in the next government, and the promise that Likud will implement some of Zehut's economic and cannabis reforms. Tamar Zandberg of the Democratic Union said her party plans to appeal the deal to the Central Elections Committee, on the grounds that the deal might constitute election bribery under Israeli law. The deal was approved in a referendum by 77% of Zehut party members on 1September.


text: Noam (election symbol: ) is a new religious Zionist party which was announced on 12 July 2019, which will be backed by Rabbi Zvi Thau of the Har Hamor yeshiva and led by Rabbi Dror Aryeh. The party announced on 28 July that it had agreed to a joint run with Otzma Yehudit, which Otzma approved the next day, though they split on 1August because Noam did not agree with Otzma including a secular Jewish candidate on the combined list. Following the failed deal with Otzma, Noam decided to run alone. The party launched a signature campaign on 27 August to gauge support, and dropped out of the race on 15 September.


text: During election day, a number of parties complained to the Election Committee. Blue and White, Yamina, and the Israeli Labor Party complained that a number of polling stations had fake slips for their parties. Due to multiple claims of voting slip vandalism, the Central Elections Committee instructed election officials to count the slip as long as the letters were right and, if the slip was vandalized, with the sole purpose of invalidating it.


text: The official election committee published a notice regarding people who were impersonating committee officials in Kafr Qasim.


text: Facebook suspended a chatbot on Netanyahu's Facebook account for 24 hours on 12 September for "hate speech", after it said that "a dangerous left-wing government" would rely on Arabs "who want to destroy us all—women, children, and men—and enable a nuclear Iran that would wipe us out"; Netanyahu remarked that he didn't write the statement, blamed a campaign staffer for the wording, and that the problem with the bot was immediately fixed.


text: On 25 September, the Central Election Commission revised its official vote count, giving Likud one extra seat at the cost of United Torah Judaism. The committee further announced that there was "real evidence of apparent vote tampering" in at least six polling stations.


text: The do-over election did not provide a clear view of the next government, as none could be formed without at least one party or leader reneging on their campaign promises on who should be prime minister, or on the religious-secular issue. Some mentioned the possibility of a third election. The day before the election, Benny Gantz called President Reuven Rivlin to try to avoid a third election at all costs, after Benjamin Netanyahu had refused to rule them out.


text: On election night, Avigdor Lieberman of Yisrael Beiteinu called for a "broad liberal government" that includes both Blue and White and Likud, and reiterated that he did not want to form any majority with the Arab parties. Benny Gantz claimed Prime ministership and Blue and White repeated that they would not form a government with Netanyahu, although they were open to one with Likud. Benyamin Netanyahu called for a "strong Zionist government". On the left, Labor-Gesher stated it wanted to bring Arab parties "to the table", some of which are open to recommending Gantz.


text: On 18 September, Netanyahu met with the emissaries of Yamina, Shas, and UTJ, to build a right-wing bloc to negotiate together.


text: On 19 September, Rivlin, Netanyahu and Gantz met during a memorial ceremony for Shimon Peres. Netanyahu urged Gantz to speak with him about forming a unity government, for the sake of avoiding a third round of elections. Speaking for Blue and White, Gantz and Lapid both rejected Netanyahu's offer, saying Blue and White had won, and that Gantz had the right to lead a unity government committed to liberal policies on social issues, and thus refusing to discuss forming such a government with Netanyahu as long as right-wing religious parties were included. Lapid remarked that "if Netanyahu steps aside, we'll have a unity government". Lieberman likewise accused Netanyahu of "deception" by offering a unity government, but conditioning it on the inclusion of religious parties.


text: The same day, Gantz met with Horowitz. His aides said they expect a meeting with other party leaders, Odeh and Peretz. Labor-Gesher's six MKs could allow Netanyahu's bloc of 55 to find a majority. Likud thus reportedly offered Peretz the Finance portfolio, and a raise of the minimum wage, but the same sources say Peretz turned down the offer, which goes against a campaign vow. Netanyahu met with Degel HaTorah MKs, who, along with other Haredi parties (Shas, Agudat Yisrael), are starting to backtrack on their refusal not to govern with Lapid, in the case Lapid himself U-turns on Netanyahu. Lieberman was equivocal as to whether he would support Gantz, fearing to be sidelined from a unity government, or one that includes Haredim. According to Channel 13, Gantz reportedly promised to include Yisrael Beiteinu in any coalition.


text: On 21 September, the 13 MKs from the Joint List met together. 10 of them—with three Balad MKs dissenting—expressed their readiness to nominate Gantz if he meets "basic demands" on the peace process, the Arab community's interests, and the Jewish nation-state law. President Rivlin met with party leaders on 22 September for the first day of talks. On 22 September 2019, the Joint List leader Ayman Odeh declared that the Joint List had agreed, by internal majority voting, to endorse Benny Gantz for prime minister, marking the first time an Arab-Israeli party had endorsed a Zionist for prime minister. Though initial reports suggested that the Joint List's recommendation gave Gantz a 57 to 55 edge, Rivlin revealed on 23 September that three Balad MKs—elected as part of the Joint List—demanded that their names be removed from a list of nominees of Gantz. After a day of confusion, Tibi and Odeh—leaders of the two pro-Gantz parties within Joint List—wrote a letter to Rivlin clarifying that the Joint List did not, in fact, have a unity agreement that legally binds individual parties to follow the party's nomination for the prime minister. As such, Balad's three MKs were legally allowed to ignore the Joint List's recommendation. As a result, Netanyahu leads Gantz in tallied recommendations by a 55 to 54 margin, with eight delegates from Yisrael Beiteinu and three delegates from Balad yet to recommend either. On 25 September, Rivlin selected Netanyahu to attempt to form the thirty-fifth government of Israel, but with the stipulation that if the attempt fails, Rivlin retains the mandate to nominate another candidate.


text: New members of Knesset were sworn in on 3October 2019. The same day, talks between Netanyahu and Lieberman ended with no breakthrough. Moments after it was announced that Netanyahu was aiming to demonstrate Likud party unity with a leadership contest, the Israeli Prime Minister received a challenge from Gideon Sa'ar, who tersely tweeted, "I'm ready", should the Prime Minister agree to hold a leadership election. On 4October, Netanyahu decided against holding a leadership election.


text: On 22 October, Netanyahu informed President Rivlin that he was unable to form a government. On 23 October, President Rivlin gave the mandate of forming a government to Gantz.


text: Gantz was then given 28 days to form a coalition to lead the government, but was unable and returned the mandate on 21 November. Following this, a period of 21 days began in which any Knesset member can lead the government if they submit 61 signatures to the president. Since no MK was able to form a government by 11 December, the Knesset again voted to dissolve itself, with new elections held on 2March 2020.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: The Treaty of Lahore of 9 March 1846 was a peace-treaty marking the end of the First Anglo-Sikh War. The treaty was concluded, for the British, by the Governor-General Sir Henry Hardinge and two officers of the East India Company and, for the Sikhs, by the seven-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh Bahadur and seven members of Hazara, the territory to the south of the river Sutlej and the forts and territory in the Jalandhar Doab between the rivers Sutlej and Beas. In addition, controls were placed on the size of the Lahore army and thirty-six field guns were confiscated. The control of the rivers Sutlej and Beas and part of the Indus passed to the British, with the proviso that this was not to interfere with the passage of passenger boats owned by the Lahore Government. Also, provision was made for the separate sale of all the hilly regions between River Beas and Indus, including Kashmir, by the East India Company at a later date to Gulab Singh, the Raja of Jammu.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: Maharaja Ranjit Singh Sukerchakia had made Lahore the capital of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab, which he built up between 1799 and his death in 1839. After his death, factions and assassinations destroyed the unity of the State, causing alarm to the British because it weakened the buffer against the perceived threat of invasion from the north. Provocative acts by both the British and the Sikhs escalated tension and, on 13 December 1845, Hardinge issued a proclamation declaring war on the Sikhs.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: During the First Anglo-Sikh War, the British came close to defeat at the Battle of Ferozeshah, but were eventually victorious. After the defeat of the Sikhs at the Battle of Sobraon, the British marched unopposed into Lahore on 20February 1846.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: During the First Anglo-Sikh War, Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal (Dogra) helped the British Empire against the Sikhs. After the defeat of the Sikh Empire The Treaty of Lahore (9 March 1846) and the Treaty of Amritsar (1846) (16 March 1846) were signed. As part of The Treaty of Lahore, signed between the 7 year old Maharaja Duleep Singh (Sikh) (4 September 1838 – 22 October 1893) and the British Empire on (9 March 1846), Jammu was taken over by the British Empire on paper.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: "In consideration of the services rendered by Rajah Golab Sing of Jummoo, to the Lahore State, towards procuring the restoration of the relations of amity between the Lahore and British Governments, the Maharajah hereby agrees to recognize the Independent sovereignty of Rajah Golab Sing in such territories and districts in the hills as may be made over to the said Rajah Golab Sing, by separate Agreement between himself and the British Government, with the dependencies thereof, which may have been in the Rajah's possession since the time of the late Maharajah Khurruck Sing, and the British Government, in consideration of the good conduct of Rajah Golab Sing, also agrees to recognize his independence in such territories, and to admit him to the privileges of a separate Treaty with the British Government."


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: Then as part of the Treaty of Amritsar (1846) Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal agreed to serve the British Empire under Article 6: "Maharajah Gulab Singh engages for himself and heirs to join, with the whole of his Military Forces, the British troops when employed within the hills or in the territories adjoining his possessions." and in exchange under Article 9 "The British Government will give its aid to Maharajah Gulab Singh in protecting his territories from external enemies." After which the Dogras served the British Empire in the Indian Rebellion and in the various wars. Hence a large percentage of the Kashmiris fought in the First World War and in the Second World Wars, as part of the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces and directly with the Royal Navy, The British Army, the merchant navy and Gilgit Scouts as mentioned by Major William A. Brown in his book "The Gilgit Rebellion" 1947.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: Hence 1.1 million Kashmiris now live in the UK. The high taxes to support these wars were resented by all the Kashmiris including the Hindus, Muslims and the Sikhs. And combined with the tens of thousands of trained men, coming back from the Second World War generated a highly volatile situation in 1947.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: Lacking the resources to occupy such a large region immediately after annexing portions of Punjab, the British got Gulab Singh pay 75 thousand Nanakshahee Rupees for the war-indemnity. The angry courtiers of Lahore (particularly the baptized Sikh, Lal Singh) then incited the governor of Kashmir to rebel against Gulab Singh, but this rebellion was defeated, thanks in great part to the action of Herbert Edwardes, Assistant Resident at Lahore. The Kashmiris also rebelled throughout Jammu and Kashmir.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: To pay for this, from the very start the Kashmiris were heavily taxed and complained of being sold into slavery and extensive literature was written by the British writers regarding these treaties The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c. 73) abolished slavery throughout the British Empire. The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c. 73) came into force before the Treaty of Amritsar (1846) was signed (16 March 1846). As far back as 1868 in the book Cashmere Misgovernment, Robert Thorp stated that the people of Kashmir were sold into slavery to Gulab Singh. Arthur Brinkman in his paper "The Wrongs of Cashmere" written in December 1867, also states he: "informs the reader of the wretched condition of a people we sold against their inclination, and their united cry to us." Arthur Brinkman was an Anglican Missionry and the Anglican Missionary Groups had worked with the Anti Slavery Society to push for The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 a few years earlier


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: The peace treaty was negotiated and drafted by Frederick Currie, assisted on military matters by Brevet-Major Henry Lawrence, acting under powers vested in them by Hardinge. Currie's diplomatic skills so impressed Hardinge that the British authorities rewarded him with a baronetcy in January 1847.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: On 11March 1846, two days after signature of the Treaty, a supplement, comprising eight Articles of Agreement, was signed by the same parties. It provided that a British force would remain in Lahore until no longer than the end of the year "for the purpose of protecting the person of the Maharajah and the inhabitants of the City of Lahore, during the reorganization of the Sikh Army". This supplementary agreement was at the request of the Lahore Durbar. The Lahore army would vacate the City, convenient quarters would be provided for the British troops and the Lahore Government would pay the extra expenses.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: The Agreement also provided that the British would respect the "bona fide" rights of jagirdars in the Lahore territories and would assist the Lahore Government in recovering the arrears of revenue justly due to the Lahore Government from the kardars and managers in the territories ceded by the provisions of Articles 3 and 4 of the Treaty.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: The British demanded payment of 15 million rupees (one and a half crore) as reparations for the cost of the war. As the Lahore Government was unable to pay the whole of this sum immediately, it ceded some of the territories mentioned above, including Hazara and Kashmir, as equivalent to 10 million rupees (one crore). The Maharaja was also required to pay 6 million rupees (60 lakhs) immediately.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: The British then sold Kashmir to the Raja of Jammu, Gulab Singh, for 7.5 million rupees (75 lakhs). The treaty of sale was concluded on 16March 1846, in the Treaty of Amritsar and signed by Gulab Singh, Hardinge, Currie and Lawrence. Gulab Singh thus became the founder and first Maharaja of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: The supplementary Articles of Agreement had specified that the British troops would remain in Lahore until no later than the end of 1846. When the time approached for the British to leave, the Durbar requested that the troops should remain until the Maharaja attained the age of 16. The British consented to this and new articles of agreement were drawn up, forming the Treaty of Bhyroval. This was signed on 26 December 1846, by Currie, Lawrence and 13 members of the Durbar and later ratified by Hardinge and the young Maharaja..


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: A key condition of the British agreement was that a Resident British officer, with an efficient establishment of assistants, was to be appointed by the Governor-General to remain at Lahore, with "full authority to direct and control all matters in every Department of the State". The Regent, Maharani Jindan Kaur, mother of the Maharaja, was awarded an annual pension of 150,000 rupees and replaced by a Council of Regency composed of leading Chiefs and Sirdars acting under the control and guidance of the British Resident. This effectively gave the British control of the Government.


title: Treaty of Lahore

text: Signed between Duleep Singh and the East India Company following the British conquest of the Punjab, 1849.


title: The Old Vic

text: The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal Victoria Palace. It was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 and formally named the Royal Victoria Hall, although by that time it was already known as the "Old Vic". In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian Baylis, assumed management and began a series of Shakespeare productions in 1914. The building was damaged in 1940 during air raids and it became a Grade II* listed building in 1951 after it reopened.


title: The Old Vic

text: The Old Vic is the crucible of many of the performing arts companies and theatres in London today. It was the name of a repertory company that was based at the theatre and formed (along with the Chichester Festival Theatre) the core of the National Theatre of Great Britain on its formation in 1963, under Laurence Olivier. The National Theatre remained at the Old Vic until new premises were constructed on the South Bank, opening in 1976. The Old Vic then became the home of Prospect Theatre Company, at that time a highly successful touring company which staged such acclaimed productions as Derek Jacobi's "Hamlet". However, with the withdrawal of funding for the company by the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1980 for breaching its touring obligations, Prospect disbanded in 1981. The theatre underwent complete refurbishment in 1985. In 2003, Kevin Spacey was appointed artistic director, which received considerable media attention. Spacey served as artistic director until 2015; two years after he stepped down, he was accused of sexually harassing and assaulting several people. In 2015, Matthew Warchus succeeded Spacey as artistic director.


title: The Old Vic

text: The theatre was founded in 1818 by James King and Daniel Dunn (formerly managers of the Surrey Theatre in Bermondsey), and John Thomas Serres, then the marine painter to the King. Serres managed to secure the formal patronage of Princess Charlotte and her husband Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, and named the theatre the Royal Coburg Theatre. The theatre was a "minor" theatre (as opposed to one of the two patent theatres) and was thus technically forbidden to show serious drama. Nevertheless, when the theatre passed to George Bolwell Davidge in 1824 he succeeded in bringing legendary actor Edmund Kean south of the river to play six Shakespeare plays in six nights. The theatre's role in bringing high art to the masses was confirmed when Kean addressed the audience during his curtain call saying "I have never acted to such a set of ignorant, unmitigated brutes as I see before me." More popular staples in the repertoire were "sensational and violent" melodramas demonstrating the evils of drink, "churned out by the house dramatist", confirmed teetotaller Douglas Jerrold.


title: The Old Vic

text: When Davidge left to take over the Surrey Theatre in 1833, the theatre was bought by Daniel Egerton and William Abbot, who tried to capitalise on the abolition of the legal distinction between patent and minor theatres, enacted in Parliament earlier that year. On 1 July 1833, the theatre was renamed the Royal Victoria Theatre, under the "protection and patronage" of Victoria, Duchess of Kent, mother to Princess Victoria, the 14-year-old heir presumptive to the British throne. The duchess and the princess visited only once, on 28 November of that year, but enjoyed the performance, of light opera and dance, in the "pretty...clean and comfortable" theatre. The single visit scarcely justified the "Old Vic" its later billing as "Queen Victoria's Own Theayter".


title: The Old Vic

text: In 1841, David Osbaldiston took over as lessee, and was succeeded on his death in 1850 by his lover and the theatre's leading lady, Eliza Vincent, until her death in 1856. Under their management, the theatre remained devoted to melodrama. In 1858, sixteen people were crushed to death inside the theatre after mass panic caused while an actor's clothing caught fire.


title: The Old Vic

text: In 1880, under the ownership of Emma Cons (for whose memory there are plaques outside and inside the theatre) it became the Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern and was run on "strict temperance lines"; by this time it was already known as the "Old Vic". The "penny lectures" given in the hall led to the foundation of Morley College. An endowment from the estate of Samuel Morley led to the creation of the "Morley Memorial College for Working Men and Women" on the premises, which were shared; lectures were given back stage, and in the theatre dressing rooms. The adult education college moved to its own premises nearby in the 1920s.


title: The Old Vic

text: On 24 November 1923, the theatre participated in a pioneering radio event, when the first set of the opera "La Traviata" was broadcast live by the BBC, using transmitters in London, Manchester and Glasgow, via a specially installed relay transmitter on the roof of the adjacent Royal Victoria Tavern.


title: The Old Vic

text: With Emma Cons's death in 1912 the theatre passed to her niece Lilian Baylis, who emphasised the Shakespearean repertoire. The first radio broadcasts from the theatre were made as early as October 1923, by the British Broadcasting Company. The Old Vic Company was established in 1929, led by Sir John Gielgud. Between 1925 and 1931, Lilian Baylis championed the re-building of the then-derelict Sadler's Wells Theatre, and established a ballet company under the direction of Dame Ninette de Valois. For a few years the drama and ballet companies rotated between the two theatres, with the ballet becoming permanently based at Sadler's Wells in 1935. Baylis died in November 1937.


title: The Old Vic

text: The Old Vic was damaged badly during the Blitz, and the war-depleted company spent all its time touring, based in Burnley, Lancashire at the Victoria Theatre during the years 1940 to 1943. In 1944, the company was re-established in London with Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier as its stars, performing mainly at the New Theatre (now the Noël Coward Theatre) until the Old Vic was ready to reopen in 1950. In 1946, an offshoot of the company was established in Bristol as the Bristol Old Vic.


title: The Old Vic

text: In 1963, the Old Vic company was dissolved and the new National Theatre Company, under the artistic direction of Sir Laurence Olivier, was based at the Old Vic until its own building was opened on the South Bank near Waterloo Bridge in 1976.


title: The Old Vic

text: In July 1974 the Old Vic presented a rock concert for the first time. National Theatre director Peter Hall arranged for the progressive folk-rock band Gryphon to première "Midnight Mushrumps", the fantasia inspired by Hall's own 1974 Old Vic production of "The Tempest" starring John Gielgud for which Gryphon had supplied the music.


title: The Old Vic

text: For two years prior to the departure of the National Theatre Company, Toby Robertson, director of the Prospect Theatre Company, sustained a campaign that the Old Vic should make Prospect its resident company. For the Old Vic, Robertson's overtures proved increasingly hard to resist in the face of poor box office returns achieved by productions staged by other visiting companies; against this, Prospect staged a highly successful season which opened in May 1977, including "Hamlet" with Derek Jacobi, "Antony and Cleopatra" with Alec McCowen and Dorothy Tutin; and "Saint Joan" with Eileen Atkins. In July the Governors of the Old Vic announced "a marriage that was all but a merger" between the Vic and Prospect. In September Toby Robertson, director of Prospect, was asked to take artistic control of the Old Vic, and Christopher Richards, general manager of the Old Vic, became general manager of Prospect.


title: The Old Vic

text: One major problem, though, was the terms of Prospect's funding by the Arts Council of Great Britain: this was on the basis of it being a touring company, and the council – already funding the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company in London – could not accept a case for another theatre company in the capital and repeatedly refused requests to fund any London seasons staged by Prospect. Therefore, any London-based productions would have to succeed financially without Arts Council support. Prospect's first season at the Old Vic recouped its costs but left no surplus to fund future productions. Further stagings by visiting companies were box office failures and stretched the theatre's finances to breaking point. Yet Prospect continued to draw audiences to the Old Vic where other companies failed. In December 1978, the governors of the Old Vic agreed to a five-year contract with Prospect, announcing to the press on 23 April that henceforth they would be styled "Prospect Productions Ltd., trading as the Old Vic Company". Unfortunately Prospect's touring commitments kept the company out of the theatre for the first half of 1979, leaving the theatre to sink further into debt. The company returned in July with Jacobi's "Hamlet" (toured afterwards to Denmark, Australia and China, the first English theatre company to tour that country), followed by "Romeo and Juliet", and "The Government Inspector" with Ian Richardson. The following season, however, proved controversial: the proposed programming, including the double bill of "The Padlock" and "Miss in Her Teens", to mark the bicentenary of David Garrick's death, and a revival of "What the Butler Saw", were deemed by the Arts Council unsuitable for touring repertory. An internal report by Prospect now questioned "whether Prospect can any longer satisfy the triple task of filling the Vic, of satisfying the Arts Council Director of Touring's requirements for product of a certain familiar sort, and of realising the vision of Toby Robertson".


title: The Old Vic

text: Robertson was in effect fired as artistic director in 1980 while he was abroad with the company in China, Timothy West replacing him. The following season, West's first as Robertson's successor, saw "Macbeth" with Peter O'Toole, "The Merchant of Venice" with West as Shylock, and a gala performance presented to the Queen Mother to celebrate her eightieth birthday. On 22 December 1980, four days after the gala performance, the Arts Council withdrew its funding from the company, sealing its inevitable demise. The company gave a final season at the Old Vic in 1981, staging "The Merchant of Venice", then gave a final tour of Europe, giving its last performance in Rome on 14 June before disbanding.


title: The Old Vic

text: The 'Old Vic Youth Theatre’ was an acting company for young people between the ages of 12 and 20 mainly from the London Borough of Southwark. The group was founded by Tom Vaughan of the Old Vic Theatre, Raymond Rivers of Morley College and Barry Anderson of the Southbank Education Institute. The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was the enterprise's main funding body.


title: The Old Vic

text: During the early spring term of 1977 auditions consisting of improvisational scenes run by the Youth Theatre's first professional directors Lucy Parker and Frederick Proud took place and around 40 applicants were chosen to form the company.


title: The Old Vic

text: By the middle of the summer in 1977 the 'Old Vic Youth Theatre’ had performed two plays for the paying public. First was ‘The Kitchen’ by Arnold Wesker which also incorporated improvised scenes alongside the actual script and was staged in the Emma Cons Hall at Morley College. The Youth Theatre's second production, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by William Shakespeare was first performed at the George Inn Courtyard as part of the Southwark Shakespeare Festival the same year and was the company's debut production at the Old Vic Theatre itself.


title: The Old Vic

text: In the autumn of 1977 a new round of auditions took place and the existing group expanded into two. One group concentrated on a famous scripted play whilst the other would devise a play through improvisation from which the material was scripted into a play by a professional playwright.


title: The Old Vic

text: The Youth groups continued to produce plays with new members auditioning each September until the mid 1980s.


title: The Old Vic

text: The Old Vic was significantly restored under the ownership of Toronto department-store entrepreneur 'Honest Ed' Mirvish in 1985. In 1987, his son David Mirvish installed Jonathan Miller as artistic director of the Old Vic and the theatre enjoyed several critical successes – including an Olivier Award for a production of the musical "Candide", but suffered three straight years of financial loss. In 1990, Mirvish terminated Miller's contract over budgetary issues, earning much negative criticism in the British press.


title: The Old Vic

text: In 1997, Mirvish appointed Sir Peter Hall as artistic director and, again, enjoyed critical acclaim with such productions as "The Master Builder" with Alan Bates and "Waiting for Godot" with Ben Kingsley, but continuing financial loss. Within a year of the appointment, Mirvish terminated Hall's contract – again to much negative comment in the press – and put the Old Vic up for sale. In 1998, the building was bought by a new charitable trust, the "Old Vic Theatre Trust 2000". In 2000, the production company Criterion Productions was renamed "Old Vic Productions plc", though relatively few of its productions are at the Old Vic theatre.


title: The Old Vic

text: Since 2015 Matthew Warchus has been Artistic Director of The Old Vic. His debut season opened in September 2015 with Warchus's production of a new play about education, "Future Conditional" by Tamsin Oglesby.


title: The Old Vic

text: In 2003, actor Kevin Spacey was appointed as new artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre Company. Spacey said he wanted to inject new life into the British theatre industry, and bring British and American theatrical talent to the stage. Spacey served as artistic director until 2015.


title: The Old Vic

text: In November 2017, amid a series of rape and sexual misconduct allegations against Spacey, 20 people contacted the Old Vic with claims that he had sexually harassed and/or assaulted them at the theatre during his tenure as artistic director. In the wake of the scandal, The Old Vic released a statement apologising for "not creating an environment or culture where people felt able to speak freely", and announced a "commitment to a new way forward". In 2018, the Old Vic announced that it had established the Guardians Programme, a group of trained staff who offer a confidential outlet for colleagues to share concerns about behaviour or the culture at work. Additionally, a Guardians Network has been formed to bring together the group of organisations from all sectors (not just the arts) who have implemented the principles of a Guardian Programme.


title: The Old Vic

text: On 24 October 2017 The Old Vic announced its bicentenary season. The theatre celebrated its 200th birthday on 11 May 2018 with a free performance of Joe Penhall's "Mood Music", featuring Ben Chaplin.


title: The Obstacle Is the Way

text: The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph is the third book by author Ryan Holiday. It was published in 2014. It is a book which offers individuals a framework to flip obstacles into opportunities, an approach crafted by Holiday. It was inspired by the philosophy of stoicism.


title: The Obstacle Is the Way

text: The title of the book is drawn from a quote from "Meditations", a series of personal writings by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius: “"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way".” Holiday draws from "Meditations", Aurelius, and the philosophy of stoicism to expand the central theme of the book, which is that how we respond to obstacles is what defines us. Holiday argues that if an individual learns the framework to flip obstacles into success (as many individuals with different types of successes have done so), he or she create can actually be better for it.


title: The Obstacle Is the Way

text: In "The Obstacle Is The Way," the framework that Holiday offers is composed of three disciplines: perception, action and will. As he explains this framework, Holiday supplements each section with historical anecdotes and figures from politics, commerce, sports, and history including Theodore Roosevelt, Demosthenes, John D Rockefeller, Amelia Earhart, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Ulysses S. Grant, Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, among others.


title: The Obstacle Is the Way

text: Author Holiday explains the purpose by which he wrote the book, writing "If all this book does is make facing and dismantling such stumbling blocks a little easier, it will be enough. But my aim is higher. I want to show you the way to turn every obstacle into an advantage. So this will be a book about ruthless pragmatism and stories from history that illustrate the arts of relentless persistence and indefatigable ingenuity. It teaches you how to get unstuck, unfucked and unleashed. How to turn the many negative situations we encounter in our lives into positive ones – or at least to snatch whatever benefit we can from them. …"


title: The Obstacle Is the Way

text: In the preface of "The Obstacle is the Way," Holiday begins by setting up the scene in the year of 170 in Germania, as the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote down the formula for getting through rough situations. As he sets up the scene, Holiday emphasizes that Aurelius' formula was not a "formula for thriving not just in spite of whatever happens but "because" of it." In the preface, Holiday sets the tone of the book. He discusses how this book studies how countless individuals took their struggles, flipped them around – using it as a chance to enhance a virtue or skillset. He leaves the preface with a call to action to the reader, asking the reader to join the band of individuals that have challenged themselves to better themselves through the obstacles they've faced and instructing that readers can find the mechanism by which to do this within the book.


title: The Obstacle Is the Way

text: In this section, Holiday explains how when individuals set out to make a difference or set goals for themselves, the risk of being met by unexpected challenges is always there. Holiday emphasizes two major skills to have during these challenging times: grace and poise. Holiday explains that when stress comes, it triggers the human, primal, senseless reactions. Grace and poise allow individuals to keep a cool head and then encourage the individual to ""deploy other skills"" which can help solve the problem. He offers the reader a tip, encouraging the reader to "steady their nerves."


title: The Obstacle Is the Way

text: The book has sold over 100,000 copies since its release and been translated into 17 languages. After the book's release, the book slowly made its way through the community of professional sports, and are being read by a number of prominent athletes and head coaches including Joe Maddon of the Chicago Cubs, Marquette basketball coach Shaka Smart, tennis pro James McGee, NFL lineman Garrett Gilkey, Olympic gold medalist Chandra Crawford, and others. On the way to their 2014 Super Bowl victory, Michael Lombardi and Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots distributed copies of "The Obstacle Is the Way" to their staff and players. In the 2015 season, Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider and Pete Carroll passed the book around the team's locker room.


title: Gris-gris (talisman)

text: Gris-gris (, also spelled grigri, and sometimes also "gregory" or "gerregery"), is a Voodoo amulet originating in Africa which is believed to protect the wearer from evil or bring luck, and in some West African countries is used as a method of birth control. It consists of a small cloth bag, usually inscribed with verses from an African ancestor containing a ritual number of small objects, worn on the person.


title: Gris-gris (talisman)

text: Although the exact origins of the word are unknown, some historians trace the word back to the Yoruba word "juju" meaning fetish. An alternative theory is that the word originates with the French "joujou" meaning doll or play-thing. It has otherwise been attributed in scholarly sources to the Mandingo word meaning "magic".


title: Gris-gris (talisman)

text: The gris-gris originated in Dagomba in Ghana and was associated with Islamic traditions. Originally the gris-gris was adorned with Islamic scripture and was used to ward off evil spirits (evil djinn) or bad luck. Historians of the time noted that they were frequently worn by non-believers and believers alike, and were also found attached to buildings.


title: Gris-gris (talisman)

text: The practice of using gris-gris, though originating in Africa, came to the United States with enslaved Africans and was quickly adopted by practitioners of Voodoo.


title: Gris-gris (talisman)

text: However, the practice soon changed, and the gris-gris were thought to bring black magic upon their "victim." Slaves would often use the gris-gris against their owners and some can still be seen adorning their tombs. During this period, there were also reports of slaves cutting, drowning or otherwise manipulating the gris-gris of others in order to cause harm. Although in Haiti, gris-gris are thought to be a good amulet and are used as part of a widely practised religion; in the Cajun communities of Louisiana, gris-gris are thought to be a symbol of black magic and ill-fortune.


title: Gris-gris (talisman)

text: In spite of the negative connotations of gris-gris, so called "Gris-Gris doctors" have operated in the Creole communities of Louisiana for some centuries and are looked upon favourably by the community. In the 1800s, gris-gris was used interchangeably in Louisiana to mean both "bewitch" and in reference to the traditional amulet.


title: Gris-gris (talisman)

text: Gris-gris are also used in Neo-Hoodoo which has its origins in Voodoo. In this context, a gris-gris is meant to represent the self.


title: Gris-gris (talisman)

text: According to a 1982 survey, gris-gris were one of the top three methods of contraception known to women in Senegal. All three were traditional methods ("abstinence, roots and herbs, and charms ['gris-gris']"). Over 60% of women reported having knowledge of such traditional methods; modern means of contraception were not well known, with the pill the best-known of those, a little over 40% of women reporting knowledge of it. Gris-gris are worn by a wide strata of society by everyone "from wrestlers to soldiers to housewives, and can feature anything from monkey to snake to mouse."


title: L16 81mm mortar

text: The L16 81mm mortar is a British standard mortar used by the Canadian Army, British Army, and many other armed forces. It originated as a joint design by the UK and Canada. The version produced and used by Australia is named the F2 81mm Mortar, whilst the version used by the U.S. armed forces is known as the M252.


title: L16 81mm mortar

text: It was introduced in 1965–66, replacing the Ordnance ML 3 inch Mortar in UK service, where it is used by the British Army, the Royal Marines and the RAF Regiment.


title: L16 81mm mortar

text: In UK armoured/mechanised infantry battalions, the L16 mortar is mounted in an FV 432 AFV (six per battalion mortar platoon). British army light role infantry battalions and the Royal Marines may transport their mortars in BvS 10 vehicles (the replacement for the Bv 206). Otherwise, it is carried disassembled in three loads, (barrel, baseplate and bipod with sights, each approximately 11 kg), normally carried by a vehicle or helicopter and assembled for firing from the ground.


title: L16 81mm mortar

text: The weapon can be man-packed by the mortar detachment, in which case the ammunition would be carried by other soldiers of the battalion. In addition to their normal equipment, each soldier would carry four bombs in a pair of two-bomb plastic containers (known as "greenies" in the British Army).


title: Sharpe's Rifles (TV programme)

text: Sharpe's Rifles is the first of the "Sharpe" television dramas, based on Bernard Cornwell's 1988 novel of the same name. Shown on ITV in 1993, the adaptation stars Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley and Assumpta Serna. It began a long series of successful and critically acclaimed television adaptations of the novels.


title: Sharpe's Rifles (TV programme)

text: The drama tells the story of Richard Sharpe, an ambitious and hardened soldier from Yorkshire. The story follows the exploits of Sharpe and his band of "chosen men" through Spain after they survive an ambush by French cavalry.


title: Sharpe's Rifles (TV programme)

text: Filming took place in the Crimea, Portugal and England, during which Paul McGann who was the original actor cast for the role of Richard Sharpe, broke his leg and was quickly replaced with Sean Bean.


title: Sharpe's Rifles (TV programme)

text: In 1809, Sergeant Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) of the 95th Rifles saves Sir Arthur Wellesley, the commander of the British army fighting the French in Portugal, from three French cavalrymen. Wellesley rewards Sharpe with a field commission to lieutenant.


title: Sharpe's Rifles (TV programme)

text: Wellesley has no money to pay his men, so he has arranged for a loan from the Rothschild family. James Rothschild has set out from Vienna with a badly needed bank draft, but has gone missing in the Spanish mountains. A company of the 95th, under Major Dunnett, is being sent to search for him, and Sharpe's first assignment is to command the Chosen Men, a handful of sharpshooters attached to the company. Sharpe, still uncomfortable in his new rank, does not make a good impression on his men, particularly their unofficial leader, Irishman Patrick Harper.


title: Sharpe's Rifles (TV programme)

text: While Sharpe and his men are out scouting the terrain, the company is surprised and wiped out by enemy cavalry led by Colonel de L'Eclin and a man in dark civilian clothes, with only the young Rifleman Perkins and a gravely wounded Captain Murray, the company's executive officer, surviving. Sharpe's men and the survivors hide in a barn, where Murray dies after gifting Sharpe his sword.


title: Sharpe's Rifles (TV programme)

text: Harper tells Sharpe that he and the men have decided to return to the army, against orders. To assert his authority, Sharpe engages Harper in a brutal fistfight, but they are interrupted by a band of Spanish guerrillas led by Commandante Teresa Moreno and Major Blas Vivar. Sharpe declares Harper a mutineer and joins forces with the Spanish guerrillas for mutual protection, since they are headed in the same general direction. Sharpe begins to bond with his men and also with Teresa. The guerrillas are protecting a chest; when Harper kills two French cavalrymen to save it, Sharpe drops the mutiny charge. Along the way, they encounter the Parkers, a Methodist missionary couple and their niece, whom they take under their protection.


title: Sharpe's Rifles (TV programme)

text: Vivar claims the chest contains important government documents, but Sharpe opens it and finds the Gonfalon of Santiago or "Banner of Blood". Legend has it that Santiago (Saint James) himself will appear to defend Spain when the flag is raised over the chapel in the town of Torrecastro. Major Hogan, Wellesley's chief of military intelligence, shows up and orders Sharpe to assist Vivar with his mission, saying their belief in a flag is no different from his fighting in the army, for Britain. On the eve of the attack, Sharpe promotes Harper to sergeant.


title: Sharpe's Rifles (TV programme)

text: Sharpe, Teresa, Vivar and their men attack and defeat the French garrison. Vivar crosses swords with the man in black, who turns out to be his own brother, and kills him. He then raises the flag. At the end of the battle, Colonel de L'Eclin is about to shoot an unarmed Sharpe, but is shot and killed by Perkins. Sharpe rewards him by making him a Chosen Man, though Hogan advises Perkins to decline the favour.


title: Sharpe's Rifles (TV programme)

text: Sharpe reports back to Wellesley. When the general expresses his disappointment that Sharpe did not find Rothschild, Sharpe reveals that "Mrs. Parker" is the banker in disguise, to Wellesley's delight. Afterwards, Sharpe and Teresa make love, before she leaves to continue fighting the French.


title: Little Chef

text: Little Chef was a chain of restaurants in the United Kingdom, founded in 1958 by entrepreneur Sam Alper, who was inspired by American diners. The chain was famous for their "Olympic Breakfast" – its version of a full English – as well as its "Early Starter" and "Jubilee Pancakes". The restaurants were mostly located on the roadside near A roads, often paired with a Travelodge motel, a Burger King and a petrol station. The chain was also located along motorways in Moto Services, for a time.


title: Little Chef

text: The chain expanded rapidly throughout the 1970s, and its parent company would acquire the Happy Eater chain in the 1980s, its only major roadside competitor. When its owners converted all Happy Eater restaurants to Little Chef in the late 1990s, this allowed it to peak in scale with 439 restaurants. Little Chef began to face decline in the early 2000s, this mainly due to the chain expanding too fast, meaning it could not properly invest in all of its locations. Compared to its peak in the late 1990s, by 2005 the chain had lost almost half of its locations.


title: Little Chef

text: In 2007, the chain entered administration, marking 41 out of 239 restaurants to close. This was followed by another closure programme in 2012 to reduce the chain to 94 restaurants. In early 2017, license owners Kout Food Group sold the remaining 70 locations to Euro Garages, who would convert the restaurants into their partner franchises such as Starbucks, Subway and Greggs. After Euro Garages license expired, the remaining 36 restaurants were renamed EG Diner in January 2018, and were either converted or closed by the end of October 2018. The defunct Little Chef brand still remains owned by Kout Food Group; however, the trademark is now registered in Kuwait as the group are no longer operating in the United Kingdom.


title: Little Chef

text: Caravan manufacturer Sam Alper built and designed the first Little Chef, modelled on diners he had seen in the United States, particularly one in Leedey, Oklahoma which was called Little Chef. Opened in 1958 on Oxford Road, Reading, it had just 11 seats. The earliest Little Chefs were basic, prefabricated constructions, with room for up to 20 customers, a staff of three to four and provision for car parking. There was also a short-lived experiment in 1964 with a branch in London's Regent's Park.


title: Little Chef

text: From 1965, the outlets began to be built in brick, with room for about 40 customers, by which time there were 12 outlets. Standard décor and uniforms were brought in, together with staff training. Later on, they were built with room for some 60 customers, car parking space was improved, and sign boards and other identifying marks emphasised. In 1968, Gardner Merchant became a subsidiary of Trust Houses, by which time there were 25 Little Chef restaurants.


title: Little Chef

text: In 1970 Trust Houses merged with Charles Forte's hotel and catering empire to become Trust House Forte; Europe's largest hotel, catering and leisure group. By that time, Trust House Forte had 44 Little Chef restaurants. The takeover by Forte gave Little Chef the capital and resources to expand rapidly. Frustrated by planning laws, Forte sent teams out to well-located transport cafes and offered the owners large cash incentives to sell and move out within the week so that Forte could turn their restaurants into Little Chefs. Thus, by 1972 the chain had expanded to 100 outlets. In the 1970s there were two in France, both of which closed by 1976. Sites were a mixture of self-service and waitress service, though predominantly the former. By 1976 there were 174 outlets, and the first "Little Chef Lodge" motel was opened. In 1977, "Jubilee Pancakes" were added to the menu.


title: Little Chef

text: Little Chef outlets were opened at larger Trust House Forte service areas on motorways and trunk roads. In 1987 these service areas became known as Welcome Break after the acquisition of the smaller Welcome Break group of motorway service areas and the Happy Eater roadside restaurants, Little Chef's main rival at the time, in 1986 as part of the break-up of Imperial Group. In 1990 the Little Chef Lodges were rebranded as Travelodge. In 1992–3, two sites were opened in the Republic of Ireland.


title: Little Chef

text: In 1995 Forte announced the end of the Happy Eater brand, with all existing sites converted into Little Chef by 1997.


title: Little Chef

text: Little Chef had a spin-off brand called "Little Chef Express" which Forte developed in 1995 as a rival to fast food outlets. The first Express outlet was at the Markham Moor service station (A1 North), though only as an addition to the existing Little Chef menu there. However, only five restaurants were ever built on the roadside, and the idea was re-developed when Little Chef was taken over by Compass, with the Express take outs being set up in food courts, including one in the Eurostar terminal.


title: Little Chef

text: In 1996 the catering and broadcasting conglomerate Granada successfully mounted a hostile takeover for the Forte group. The Welcome Break chain was sold by Granada, the Little Chefs at those motorway service areas becoming a similar table service restaurant, Red Hen. High prices earned the chain the nickname "Little Thief".


title: Little Chef

text: In 1998, Granada bought AJ's Family Restaurants, another Little Chef rival, from the "Celebrated Group" and converted all of its fifteen sites to Little Chefs. AJ's had originally been set up in 1986 by two Happy Eater directors, following Happy Eater's sale to Forte.


title: Little Chef

text: In 2000, Granada merged with the Compass Group to form Granada Compass, but the two demerged in 2001 leaving Little Chef as part of Compass. At about this time some Little Chefs began serving Harry Ramsden's meals, a cross-branding exercise by Compass who also owned Harry Ramsden's, though this ended in June 2004.


title: Little Chef

text: The private equity business Permira bought Travelodge and Little Chef from Compass Group in December 2002 for £712 million, forming a special purpose vehicle called TLLC Group Holdings. Those Little Chefs at Moto motorway service areas – formerly the Granada motorway service areas, and owned by Compass until 2006 – were owned by Moto and operated as franchised outlets.


title: Little Chef

text: In August 2004, Little Chef announced it planned to change its logo, to a slimmer version of 'Fat Charlie', the chain's current mascot. Little Chef's chief executive Tim Scoble said that this was " the start of a re-image programme for Little Chef" and that the chain "has become a little bit dated", but now wishes to "take it forward into the 21st century". He also stated that: "We get accusations that he's overweight and a lot of people have also written in to say it was a small child carrying hot food, which they said was dangerous". However, the idea was dropped after 15,000 customers complained.


title: Little Chef

text: In December 2004, a Little Chef features in series finale of Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere, where the hungry characters threaten the waitress with a gun in order to be served after closing time.


title: Little Chef

text: In 2005 it was announced by Permira that 130 underperforming restaurants were to be closed, reducing the chain to 234 restaurants. Prior to that however, Compass had been gradually reducing the number of restaurants, from well over 400 at one time. During 2005 Travelodge Hotels Ltd (the new name for TLLC) made various announcements about the sale of some or all of the restaurants, until in October the chain was sold to The People's Restaurant Group Ltd, who planned to modernise the restaurants and introduce self-service.


title: Little Chef

text: In 2005, the five Little Chef restaurants in Ireland were sold off to new operators, and the Little Chefs were rebranded. The two Dublin ones became "Metzo" restaurants and the three others became Eddie Rockets Diners.


title: Little Chef

text: In 2005 the company was sold to catering entrepreneurs Lawrence Wosskow and Simon Heath for £58 million. TLLC kept hold of Travelodge, and The People's Restaurant Group Ltd was founded by the new owners of Little Chef, however they continued trading under the same name. In March 2006, the People's Restaurant Group sold 65 of its sites under a leaseback deal for £59 million to Israeli property group Arazim.


title: Little Chef

text: Changes introduced during 2006 included the opening of coffee shops under the name Coffee Tempo! within several larger branches. These 'grab and go' units were developed by Nick Smith, who joined Little Chef as development director after leading the design and implementation of the Wild Bean Café format at BP petrol stations. Little Chef also introduced a takeaway menu. Both initiatives were aimed to increase the appeal of the brand to customers unwilling to spend a long period waiting for table service.


title: Little Chef

text: The People's Restaurant group slashed menu prices in an attempt to attract customers. The only outcome of this was less money going through the tills.


title: Little Chef

text: In December 2006, it was reported that Little Chef was undergoing serious financial problems; the business was said to be losing around £3m a year, struggling to keep up with rent payments and had lost nearly half of its branches in five years. Furthermore, Lawrence Wosskow suffered a heart attack and subsequent ill health earlier in the year, and was unable to help turn the company around. On 21 December, Little Chef announced it was in urgent rescue talks with a group of American investors, in the attempt to secure rescue funding. It had been suggested at the time that PricewaterhouseCoopers was on standby to act as administrators for the company; however a source close to the company was quoted as saying "We are still very hopeful that this situation can be resolved." At the time, the People's Restaurant Group was being advised by KPMG's corporate recovery arm.


title: Little Chef

text: In December 2006, Little Chef was taken into administration, and the company was then rescued on 3 January 2007 by RCapital, a UK private equity group, which paid less than £10 million. 38 of the 235 branches were not included in the sale and were closed immediately; the remaining restaurants continued to operate normally.


title: Little Chef

text: By December 2007 a number of sites not leased from Travelodge or Arazim (Little Chef's two main landlords) closed, as Little Chef had not been able to reach agreements with the individual landlords. As all the franchised outlets at Moto sites closed down between 2008 and 2010, many of which were replaced by Costa Coffee, the chain was further reduced.


title: Little Chef

text: In 2009, celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal appeared in a Channel 4 documentary programme to revamp the Little Chef chain; the programme was broadcast from 19 to 21 January, and involved Blumenthal introducing a new menu and organising a refit at the Little Chef in the village of Popham, near Basingstoke. The trial was successful, with a promise from the owner that none of the dishes would change without Blumenthal's consent. Heston Blumenthal returned to Popham in February 2009 to review progress, and the owner promised that if there was a profit within three months the redesigned format would be spread to all branches. Furthermore, two more former Little Chef branches would reopen, in Ings and Malton. It was later announced that a further two Little Chefs, at York and Kettering, would be refurbished in the style of the trial in Popham.