title: Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia

text: The Ministry of Education of Herzeg-Bosnia adopted Croatian as the official language and followed the education programme of Croatian schools. As the war escalated, teaching in schools and the University of Mostar was suspended in May 1993 for the remainder of the academic year. The Faculty of Pedagogy of the University of Mostar, located in western Mostar, temporarily moved its facilities to the towns of Široki Brijeg and Neum where there were no major armed conflicts. It returned to Mostar in 1994.


title: Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia

text: Organized football competitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina were canceled in 1992 due to the war. The First League of Herzeg-Bosnia as the top football league started on 20 April 1994 and was divided into two groups. The League was organized by the Football Federation of Herzeg Bosnia. The winner of the first season, that was played only in Spring, was NK Mladost-Dubint Široki Brijeg. The league was played for seven years, with NK Široki Brijeg winning five and NK Posušje two trophies.


title: Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia

text: Since 2005, there have been attempts by irredentists to restore Herzeg-Bosnia by creating a new third entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was started under the leadership of Ivo Miro Jović, as he said "I don't mean to reproach Bosnian Serbs, but if they have a Serb republic, then we should also create a Croat republic and Bosniak (Muslim) republic". The Croat representative on the federal Bosnian Presidency, Željko Komšić, opposed this, but some Bosnian Croat politicians advocated for the establishment of a third (Croatian) entity.


title: Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia

text: Dragan Čović, president of one of the main Croatian parties in Bosnia, Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH), said that "all Croatian parties will propose that Bosnia and Herzegovina be divided into three ethnic entities, with Sarajevo as a separate district. Croatian politicians must be the initiators of a new constitution which would guarantee Croats the same rights as to other constituent peoples. Every federal unit would have its legislative, executive and judiciary organs". He claimed the two-entity system is untenable and that Croats have been subject to assimilation and deprived of basic rights in the federation with Bosniaks.


title: Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia

text: Petar Matanović, president of the Croatian National Council, opposed creating a third entity, claiming that the division of Bosnia into four federal units (three proposed ethnically-based entities plus Sarajevo as a neutral capital entity) would lead to a new war. He added that "we have to establish the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina in accordance with European standards and then regulate entities. It seems to me that this agreement entails an intention to strengthen entities and weaken the country." Stjepan Mesić, former president of Croatia, opposed the creation of a third entity, stating that: "if the current division of Bosnia Herzegovina into two entities does not function, it will not function with divisions into three entities".


title: Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia

text: In 2009, Miroslav Tuđman, son of the late Franjo Tuđman, called for the establishment of a Croatian entity. Čović stated, "We want to live in Bosnia-Herzegovina where Croats will be equal to the other two peoples according to the Constitution."


title: Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia

text: In 2013, six political and military leaders of Herzeg-Bosnia, Jadranko Prlić, Bruno Stojić, Slobodan Praljak, Milivoj Petković, Valentin Ćorić, and Berislav Pušić, were convicted in a first instance verdict by the ICTY for being part of a joint criminal enterprise (JCE) against the non-Croat population of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ICTY also ruled, by a majority, that Tuđman, Šušak and Boban were part of a JCE, whose goal was to annex or control territory that was part of the Banovina of Croatia in 1939. Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti, the presiding judge in the trial, issued a separate opinion in which he contested the notion of a joint criminal enterprise.


title: Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia

text: Slobodan Praljak and others (Prlić, Stojić, Petković, Ćorić and Pušić) was found guilty of committing violations of the laws of war, crimes against humanity and breaches of the Geneva Conventions during the Croat–Bosniak War by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in November 2017.


title: Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia

text: In February 2017, Croatian Peasant Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina's president Mario Karamatić said his party will demand a reestablishment of Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia in its 1995 shape if the Republika Srpska secedes. Karamatić declared Croats have been "fooled" by the 1994 Washington Agreement that abolished Herzeg-Bosnia and established the Croat-Bosniak Federation, which was also "broken" numerous times and that Croats have the right to recede to the "status quo ante", i.e., Herzeg-Bosnia. As far as the Herzeg-Bosnia's tentative territory, Karamatić proposed the area served by the electricity utility "Elektroprivreda HZ HB", which covers most areas of Croat habitation.


title: Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia

text: 18 November is celebrated as the holiday in West Herzegovina Canton as the "day of Herzeg-Bosnia's foundation". One of the cantons of the Federation used the name "Herzeg-Bosnian Canton", but this name was deemed unconstitutional by the Federation Constitutional Court, and it is officially referred as Canton 10. A memorial plaque in honor of Herzeg-Bosnia and Mate Boban was placed in downtown Grude.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: The game takes place in a fantasy world of Aselia and follows Cress Albane, a highly-trained swordsman who is driven by vengeance after his hometown is destroyed. But after discovering his identity as being the descendant of one of the four warriors, he quickly becomes entangled in a conflict concerning the war-mongering Dhaos, the game's main antagonist, after his release from imprisonment. As a result, Cress must make use of time travel to gather allies who can help him put an end to Dhaos's rampage once and for all.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: The game was written and programmed by Yoshiharu Gotanda, designed by Masaki Norimoto, and scored by Motoi Sakuraba, Shinji Tamura and Ryota Furuya. The character designs were created by manga artist Kōsuke Fujishima. A short anime series based on the game, called "Tales of Phantasia: The Animation", was released in 2004.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: In the Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS), the fight is played out on a two-dimensional terrain that usually stretches wider than a single screen width, so the screen can scroll to the left and to the right, depending on where the characters and opponents are relatively located. LMBS contains a pause menu during battle that lets the player select a spell or item. As in some fighting games, it is possible to assign items or combination moves to specific buttons as shortcuts for quick actions.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: As opposed to most other turn-based systems where the player controls the individual actions of every party member, in LMBS, the player only directly controls the main character in real-time. The other characters in the party can be set to passive mode (defend only), active mode and attack (computer-controlled), or the player can often force the characters to move or use a spell from the pause menu. For the titles that allow multiplayer, the other party characters can be controlled by other human players.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: The game begins as four heroes are locked in battle with a powerful sorcerer king named Dhaos. Before he can be defeated, Dhaos uses his magic to travel several years into the future, where he is immediately met by one of the four warriors' descendants and three companions, who seal him away with two magic pendants. Twelve years later, two young men named Cress and Chester return to their village to find it razed to the ground by a dark knight named Mars, whose army kills many of its inhabitants including Cress's parents and Chester's sister. While Chester stays behind to bury them, Cress leaves to meet his uncle Olson for help, who reveals that he is being forced to work for Mars before stealing his father's pendant and locking him in jail. Quickly escaping with the help of a dying woman in a nearby cell, he meets another prisoner, a young priestess named Mint, who reveals that the woman was her mother before the two leave through the dungeon's aqueducts.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: After rendezvousing with Chester, the party meets Trinicus D. Morrison, one of the four heroes who sealed Dhaos away years ago, who reveals that their parents were once his comrades and is shocked to discover that Cress and Mint's pendants were stolen. Following him to a nearby mausoleum, the group encounters Mars just as he uses the pendants to break the seal on Dhaos's tomb, setting him free. As Mars is killed by the dark sorcerer after asking for his power, Trinicus laments that no force in this time can possibly stop Dhaos, and uses his magic to send Cress and Mint back through time to seek out a means to do so while Chester stays behind to cover their escape. The two arrive one hundred years in the past to a time before Dhaos was initially sealed, where the villain is currently waging a war with his demon armies against the human kingdoms. Learning that only magic can harm him, they seek the aid of a young mage named Arche Klein, and summoner named Claus F. Lester, who accompany them to Dhaos's castle. After a fierce showdown, Dhaos escapes once again, and the party makes their way to an ancient city called Thor that houses a functional time machine to return to the future.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: Arriving just moments after they first left, Cress and his companions join Chester in his fight against Dhaos and seemingly defeat him for good. They are approached by a traveler named Harrisson from 50 years in the future, however, who tells them that Dhaos is now ravaging the world in his time. Using the Thor machine once again, the team arrives in the new period where they meet a ninja named Suzu who accompanies them (except in the original release). After meeting with a group of elves, Cress obtains the legendary Eternal Sword, the only thing that can stop Dhaos from moving through time, and travel to his invisible fortress for the final confrontation. After finally defeating him, the party learns from a tree spirit named Martel that he is a visitor from a dying planet called Derris-Kharlan, whose world was slowly withering due to the death of its world tree, the source of all mana and lifeblood of everything in it. Attempting to obtain a seed from this planet's world tree, Yggdrasil, Dhaos instead found that its power was fading as well due to the humans' constant misuse of mana-based technology, and decided to wipe them out to save it. As the party members realize that by saving their world they have doomed his, Martel takes pity on their plight and sends a mana seed into space in an attempt to rejuvenate Derris-Kharlan's tree as Cress and his team return to their proper times.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: "Tales of Phantasia" was developed by members of "Wolf Team", a studio originally created by Telenet Japan. The story was based on an unpublished Japanese novel called , written by the game's total programmer Yoshiharu Gotanda. The world was primarily based around Norse mythology, science fiction elements were incorporated, and some names were taken from the works of Michael Moorcock and H. P. Lovecraft to accommodate fans of western fantasy fiction. Many changes were made to Gotanda's original story, including the title, character names, and the omission of several proposed scenarios. Due to poor experiences with their parent company, the team sought a different publisher for their title. After unsuccessfully pitching the project to Enix, they secured a publishing contract with Namco. The game includes voice clips during battles and certain story points as well as the opening theme song sequence, which necessitated the use of a high-capacity 48-megabit game cartridge. To help fit the voice acting into the game, the team used a sound system dubbed the Flexible Voice Drive, which enabled full recording of both the dialogue and theme song. The use of voice acting was a noted talking point leading up to the game's release. The redone character designs and artwork was handled by manga artist Kōsuke Fujishima. The Linear Motion Battle System, which would become a mainstay of the series, was inspired by fighting games, which had become popular at the time. During the later stages of development, there were internal conflicts, leading to a large number of development staff leaving Wolf Team and establishing independent development company tri-Ace.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: In August 1998, one month before the American release of the series' second main title, "Tales of Destiny", Namco announced that it would also release a PlayStation version of "Tales of Phantasia", which was made available in Japan the following December. The remake contains new features including an animated opening sequence produced by Japanese studio Production I.G., re-drawn character sprites and backgrounds, a 3D-rendered world map, and re-recorded character audio to better accommodate the compact disc format. Elements used in "Destiny", such as the inclusion of animated Skits and a modified version of the battle system resembling that used in "Destiny", were added. For the battle system, the team wanted to increase the overall battle speed and combo potential. Suzu Fubayashi, a non-playable supporting character in the original release, was also made playable as an optional party member. Namco Hometek translation producer Aki Kozu explained that the company eventually passed on an English release due to "Timing and market demand", as well as the development team being too busy with "Tales of Eternia" to properly support a localization effort. The team also felt that "["Eternia"] was going to be a much better game than ["Phantasia"] and had a better chance of succeeding in the US market".


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: In May 2002, Namco and Nintendo entered into a partnership that both allowed the two companies to cooperate on a new installment of the "Star Fox" franchise, "", and for Namco to develop several exclusive titles for Nintendo's GameCube and Game Boy Advance hardware. One such title, a Game Boy Advance version of "Tales of Phantasia", was announced shortly after the deal signing for an originally expected release of December 2002. Namco first showcased the game in March 2003 with a revised release date set for the following June, and eventually received granted it a finalized release for August 2003, one month before "Tales of Symphonia" on the GameCube. The Game Boy Advance version was based on both preceding versions of the game, and included the Super Famicom release's original opening and two-dimensional world map, and the PlayStation remake's character voices, reduced enemy encounter rate and gameplay tweaks. An English-language version of "Tales of Phantasia" was announced for the first time in November 2005 by Nintendo Vice President of Sales and Marketing Reggie Fils-Aime for release in North America and Europe in March 2006, with the theme song being replaced with an original track.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: In June 2006, Namco announced during a press conference that the game was being remade for the PlayStation Portable handheld as , and would be released the following September. The remake features all the previous features of the PlayStation and Game Boy Advance versions as well as voice-overs for all story text, the ability to walk in eight directions instead of four on map screens, and a new "Grade Shop" function seen in later games in the series. It made an appearance at 2006 Tokyo Game Show alongside other Namco Bandai titles shortly after release. In March 2010, Namco Bandai announced that its upcoming PlayStation Portable role-playing game "" would include another remake of "Tales of Phantasia" called as a bonus title. The new version features a faster, more streamlined battle system where casting magic spells no longer temporarily pauses the action on screen, allowing more attacks to occur simultaneously.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: A cellphone port of Game Boy Advance version was released in Japan in 2010. The iOS version was released in 2013. The version is free-to-play, but is different from other versions in removing some save points and relying heavily on an in-app purchase system, with the English version using an orchestrated piece, much like the GBA version. On May 29, 2014 the Japanese iOS version was discontinued after which the game cannot be started or played. The English version of the game was discontinued on August 28, 2014.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: The music of "Tales of Phantasia" was composed by Motoi Sakuraba, Shinji Tamura, and Ryota Furuya, with the PlayStation release also featuring songs from other Namco titles such as "Rally-X", written by Nobuyuki Ohnogi, and "Ridge Racer" by Shinji Hosoe. It features the opening theme song , performed by Yukari Yoshida in the Super Famicom and Japanese Game Boy Advance versions and YO-MI in the PlayStation version. Yoshida would also perform the PlayStation version's ending theme, . Namco would replace the opening theme in the English Game Boy Advance release with an original instrumental piece.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: Although the original Super Famicom version did not receive a commercial soundtrack at the time of its release, an official album for the PlayStation remake was made available in May 1999 by Victor Entertainment, and features 77 songs across two discs. A number of radio drama albums were also produced, beginning with a three-volume set called by Movic released between May and July 1999. A two-volume set called was released the following year between January and March 2000, as well as a stand-alone album called released in December 2001.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: Famitsu Bunko published a series of related novels written by Sara Yajima in 1999 and 2000. The series contains seven books: the two-volume , , , , and . Other books contains: the novel , written by Ryouji Matsuri and published by Dengeki Bunko in 1999; and written by Ryūnosuke Kingetsu, which published by Movic in 2000.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: A manga adaptation of the game, simply titled "Tales of Phantasia", was serialized in the Kadokawa Shoten's magazine "Tales of Magazine", starting in its first issue on 7 August 2008, marking the first manga adaptation of the game in the twelve years following the game's release. It was released as compiled Tankōbon in 2009.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: Each version of the game was accompanied by the release of an official game guide, along with several illustration books.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: The "Tales of Phantasia: The Animation" is an adapted OVA of the game. The anime contained four 30-minute episodes. It was released in Japan from November 2004 to February 2006 and distributed by Geneon in America in January 2007. CVs were shared with the same of the games. It was animated by Actas, and directed by Takuo Tominaga (episodes 1-3) and Shinjiro Mogi (episode 4).


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: The plot of the OVA is generally based on the game's plot, but there are details in the anime that are not in the game, namely, additional scenes and dialogue. The episodes themselves focus on the party's encounters with Dhaos and the scenes involving the Tree of Life and the Elves, omitting a great portion of the story told in the original game.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: The opening theme and ending theme "Priere" both were composed by Mika Watanabe & Ikuko Noguchi, lyrics by tomo and performed by Masami Suzuki.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: Some related products of the OVA were released in Japan. In 2005, Frontier Works released an original "Tales of Phantasia: The Animation Original Soundtrack", it contains 49 tracks and span 73min 15s. The company then released a series of drama CDs in 2006; it contain six CDs each featuring one of the playable characters of the game. Ichijinsha also released the book "Tales of Phantasia: The Animation The Animation Art Graphy" in 2006, which features illustrations of the anime character designer, special talking between voice actors of Cress and Mint, along with an interview of the game character designer Kōsuke Fujishima.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: A sequel, "", was released for the Game Boy Color on November 10, 2000. It was the first game in the "Narikiri Dungeon" series. A remake of the sequel, "", was released on August 5, 2010 for the PlayStation Portable.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: The original Super Famicom release of "Tales of Phantasia" received a 30 out of 40 total score from Japanese "Weekly Famitsu" magazine based on individual review scores of 8, 7, 6, and 9. Readers of the magazine would later declare the game to be their favorite Namco title of all time in an August 2003 poll. "GameFan"s panel of three reviewers scored it 90, 86 and 82 out of 100, with one of the reviewers concluding that it "is the best RPG I've ever played in Japanese on the Super Famicom".


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: Sales of the title were slow during its debut month, which series producer Makoto Yoshidzumi attributed to being released at nearly the same time as Enix's popular "", and would sell a total of 212,000 copies in the region. While the PlayStation remake scored slightly lower in "Famitsu" in 1998, it ended up being far more commercially successful by selling around 769,000 copies in Japan. The 2006 PlayStation Portable "Full Voice" version sold around 136,000 copies. The iOS free-to-play version was downloaded at least 150,000 times in its first 5 days.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: The Game Boy Advance release marked the first official English-language appearance of "Tales of Phantasia", which was met with mostly positive reception in the West, earning a 73% average from GameRankings and 76 out of 100 rating from Metacritic. While websites such as "GameSpot" felt that the game distinguished itself from other role-playing titles with its action-based combat system, it also overly relied on too many random battles to "drag down the pacing and pad out the playing time". "IGN" commented that the battle system was unrefined when compared to later games in the series such as "Tales of Symphonia" on the GameCube, but that the graphic and audio quality held up "relatively well" eleven years after its original release. The site would also call the story and characters "amazing", but that its dated design would only appeal to players familiar with older games in the genre, calling it a "love/hate" experience. Editors of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" similarly remarked that "fans of traditional RPGs will appreciate its long, varied dungeons and action-packed, real-time battles," and that it "still has an awful lot of charm for such an old game". "Eurogamer" expressed that the title's late release near the end of the handheld's life hurt it when compared to similar ports on Sony's PlayStation Portable, and that the game's "messy" interface and "rough around the edges" localization paled in comparison to the Super Famicom's unofficial fan translation.


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: The game would go on to sell approximately 314,000 copies worldwide by December 2007. In December 2012, "Game Informer" named Chester one of the best characters in the "Tales" series due to his struggle throughout the story to come to terms with the death of his sister, stating that "The whole process builds slowly, but it's done in such a natural way that it makes Chester's transformation believable."


title: Tales of Phantasia

text: The iOS version, however, was panned by critics, garnering a 35 out of 100 rating from Metacritic. "Pocket Gamer" gave the game a 4/10, calling it "A port with potential ruined by obtrusively implemented IAPs". "TouchArcade" gave the game 1 star out of 5, criticizing the heavy use of In-App Purchases as well as how some of the save points (mainly the ones near bosses) have been disabled. "Digital Spy" gave the game a rating of 2 out of 5, criticizing the overly sensitive and unresponsive controls and how the game auto-saves in the middle of a fight.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr (; ; , "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population of 46,982 Ayr is the 16th largest settlement in Scotland and second largest town in Ayrshire by population. The town is contiguous with the smaller town of Prestwick to the north.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr was established as a Royal Burgh in 1205 and is the county town of Ayrshire. It served as Ayrshire's central marketplace and harbour throughout the Medieval Period and was a well-known port during the Early Modern Period.


title: Ayr

text: On the southern bank of the River Ayr sits the ramparts of a citadel constructed by Oliver Cromwell's men during the mid-17th century. Towards the south of the town is the birthplace of Scottish poet Robert Burns in the suburb of Alloway. Ayr has been a popular tourist resort since the expansion of the railway in 1840 owing to the town's fine beach and its links to golfing and Robert Burns.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr is one of the largest retail centres in the south of Scotland and was recognised as the second healthiest town centre in the United Kingdom by the Royal Society for Public Health in 2014. Ayr has hosted the Scottish Grand National horseracing steeplechase annually since 1965 and the Scottish International Airshow annually since 2014. The town also accommodates the headquarters of the "Ayr Advertiser" and "Ayrshire Post" newspapers.


title: Ayr

text: The name "Ayr" can be traced back to a pre-Celtic word meaning "watercourse" or "strong river". This name was used before the establishment of the Julian calendar in reference to the River Ayr. The town was formerly known as 'Inverair' or 'Inverayr', meaning "mouth of the river Ayr", yet this was later abbreviated to 'Air', and then to 'Ayr'. Elements of the old name remain present within the Scottish Gaelic name for Ayr – "Inbhir Air".


title: Ayr

text: The areas surrounding modern day Ayr were known to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gathers more than 5,000 years ago. There is also a Neolithic standing stone at the end of Stonefield Park in Doonfoot, which is believed to have been upended as a place of sun worship by Stone Age people.


title: Ayr

text: In 1197, King William the Lion ordered that a new castle be built between the River Ayr and the River Doon. It is believed that the castle was a wooden structure built around Montgomerie Terrace. Ayr was later established as a royal burgh and market town on 21 May 1205 by King William the Lion. At its establishment, the burgh encompassed a single street (The Sandgate) and the Church of St John. By 1225 the town reached as far as Carrick Street and Mill Street along the south side of the River Ayr. The town grew quickly to become the main seaport, marketplace and administrative centre for Ayrshire.


title: Ayr

text: The King gifted fishing rights to the burgh for the River Ayr and the River Doon in 1236. In the following year, a timber bridge was built across the River Ayr, linking the town to the north side of the River. Since 1261, annual fairs were held in the town. At this time the town had a recorded population of 1,500 and served as a major port on the west coast. The town was unsuccessfully attacked by Norwegian forces in 1263 and invaded and occupied by English forces from 1296 until 1312 as part of the Scottish Wars of Independence. In 1298 the original castle at Ayr was destroyed by Robert The Bruce's forces. On 26 April 1315, a Parliament of Scotland was held in Ayr by Robert The Bruce at St. John's Tower by the sea.


title: Ayr

text: As a Royal Burgh, Ayr was afforded various privileges relating to trade, tolls and fishing rights, which allowed the town to out-compete the neighbouring free burgh of Newton-on-Ayr which was established in the 14th century and situated on the north side of the River Ayr.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr was continuously hit by a number of plagues from 1545 to 1647, resulting in the town's port being quarantined and plague victims being removed from the town on pain of death. Mary, Queen of Scots visited the town in 1552 and 1563. Ayr remained a significant port throughout the 16th century, exporting goods such as fish, hide and wool and importing salt and wine.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr played a pivotal role in the Plantation of Ulster throughout the 17th century, in which a significant number of British people settled in present-day Northern Ireland. The town provided the largest share of colonists from Great Britain, with many colonists from Ayr joining the Earl of Eglinton, Hugh Montgomery's, plant in the Ards Peninsula (particularly around Newtownards), and others going on to settle around Belfast. In 1652, the town was used as a base and fortress for some of Oliver Cromwell's men. They established a large fortress along the mouth of the River Ayr and erected walls around the area just south of the River's mouth – most of these walls remain present to this day. St John's Tower, which sat around the centre of the fortress, was originally part of a large church yet this was knocked down during the construction of the fort with the tower being used for military practice; it is now protected by "Friends Of Saint Johns Tower" (FROST) residents in the "Ayr Fort Area" which sits atop the former site of the citadel.


title: Ayr

text: The lands occupied by the fort were granted to the Earl of Eglinton, Alexander Montgomerie, in 1663, who established the separate Burgh of Regality named Montgomerieston around the fort, which was eventually absorbed into the Burgh of Ayr. The separate village of Alloway to the south-east of Ayr was also annexed by the town in 1691, despite numerous petitions against this to Edinburgh from residents of the village. Although the importation of French wine continued to be Ayr's most important trade during the 17th century, the port was one of the first in Scotland to establish regular trade links with the English colonies in the Americas. This commenced during the 1640s when the English Civil War disrupted established colonial trading arrangements, and during the Cromwellian occupation there was free trade between Scotland and the English colonies. Following the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy, the Navigation Acts excluded Scottish ships from this trade apart from a few exceptional cases. Several English merchants had settled in Ayr during the Cromwellian occupation, and they collaborated with local merchants in circumventing the Navigation Acts by disguising Ayr ships as English vessels. Tobacco, sugar and indigo were imported, and salted fish, meat, clothing and indentured servants were exported.


title: Ayr

text: Deposits of coal were found and mined in Newton during the 17th century, resulting in the town becoming a base for the industry, with coal being exported abroad from its harbour. At this time, Ayr's population is estimated to have been at around 2,000.


title: Ayr

text: By the late 17th century and early 18th century, Ayr was widely regarded as a town in decline, with Daniel Defoe remarking in "A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain" "The capital of this country is Air, a sea-port, and as they tell us, was formerly a large city, had a good harbour, and a great trade: I must acknowledge to you, that tho' I believe it never was a city, yet it has certainly been a good town, and much bigger than it is now: At present like an old beauty, it shews the ruins of a good face; but is also apparently not only decay'd and declin'd, but decaying and declining every day, and from being the fifth town in Scotland, as the townsmen say, is now like a place so saken; the reason of its decay, is, the decay of its trade, so true is it, that commerce is the life of nations, of cities towns, harbours, and of the whole prosperity of a country: What the reason of the decay of trade here was, or when it first began to decay, is hard to determine; nor are the people free to tell, and, perhaps, do not know themselves. There is a good river here, and a handsome stone bridge of four arches."


title: Ayr

text: The formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain through the Acts of Union 1707 was initially harmful to Ayr, due to the importance to its economy of the wine trade with France. The terms of the English Methuen Treaty of 1703, which favoured the importation of Portuguese and Spanish wines and was accompanied by punitive duties on French wines, were extended to Scotland. However, the Union provided Ayr with significant trading opportunities with Britain's colonies around the world and resulted in improvements to the town's infrastructure, with Ayr's textile, wool, linen and shoemaking industries thriving as a result. A small lighthouse was constructed on the River Ayr in 1712, followed by a quay in 1713. Repairs to the town's Harbour and High Tolbooth took place between 1724 and 1726, with funding provided by the Convention of Royal Burghs. Street lighting was installed around the town centre in 1747. A sugar refinery at the harbour was in operation during the 1770s.


title: Ayr

text: The grounds of Alloway were sold in 1754 to help pay off Ayr burgh's public debts, resulting in the establishment of the Belleisle and Rozelle estates to the south of the town, which are now public parks. Rozelle was acquired by Robert Hamilton, who named his estate after one of his plantations in Jamaica. In 1760, Wallacetown was formed to the east of Newton by the Wallaces of Craigie House. Ayr Racecourse was established in 1777. The "New Brig" of Ayr was constructed in 1785–88 and rebuilt in 1877 after severe flooding. In 1792 and 1817, Parliament passed acts to deepen and maintain Ayr's Harbour. During this period Ayr's population was estimated to be around 4,000.


title: Ayr

text: A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of Ayr Barracks (later known as Churchill Barracks) on the citadel site in 1795. Ayr Town Hall was designed by Thomas Hamilton and completed in 1832.


title: Ayr

text: In 1801, the parish of Ayr had a recorded population of just under 5,500, with the adjoining burgh of Newton to the north having a population of just under 1,700 people. By 1826 Ayr's streets were lit by gas and by 1842 Ayr had a water supply, with sewers being dug soon after. Ayr was connected to Glasgow, and thus the rest of Great Britain, by rail in 1839, with the first service operating in August 1840 to a terminus on North Harbour Street. This led to a significant expansion in Ayr's tourist industry due to its attractive, sandy beach and links to Robert Burns. In 1857 a line was built from Dalmellington to export iron from Waterside and a new station was built to replace the old station called "Ayr Townhead Station". In 1877 a line was built between Newton and Mauchline for the export of coal. By 1851 Ayr's population was 21,000 and by 1855 between 60,000 and 70,000 tonnes of coal were being exported to Ireland from Ayr's Harbour each year, with imports of hide and tallow coming into the harbour from South America and beef, butter, barley, yarn and linen being imported into the harbour from Ireland. In 1854, 84,330 tonnes of goods were exported from the town and 36,760 tonnes were imported into the town. Other prominent industries in Ayr at this time included fishing, tanning and shoemaking, with several sawmills, woollen mills and carpet weavers located in the town as well. Timber and tobacco were also traded between Ayr's Harbour and North America.


title: Ayr

text: The Burgh of Ayr Act 1873 resulted in Newton and Wallacetown being absorbed into the Burgh of Ayr. Newton's more industrial character has left the town today divided into two distinct areas, with areas south of the River Ayr incorporating a mixture of affluent Victorian residential suburbs and modern suburban developments, in contrast to more deprived and industrial areas to the north of the river. The Carnegie Library was opened in Ayr on 2 September 1893. By the turn of the century, Ayr's population was around 31,000 people. The Burns Statue Square drill hall was completed in 1901 and the Wellington Square drill hall was probably completed shortly after that.


title: Ayr

text: On 26 September 1901, a tram service was opened between Prestwick Cross in Prestwick and St Leonards in Ayr. This was expanded south the following year to Alloway, and east in 1913 to the Racecourse at Whitletts. The tram service was eventually shut due to expensive repair costs, with the last tram running on New Year's Eve in 1931.


title: Ayr

text: 817 men from Ayr died during the First World War. A memorial was unveiled at Wellington Square in 1924 dedicated to those who died, with other memorials being put up at Alloway Village Hall and Whitletts Cross.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr's growing population following the war resulted in significant slum clearance and redevelopment around the town centre, with the development of new housing estates on the periphery of the town. The lands surrounding Woodfield House were acquired by the council in 1919 to build council housing on, with the first residents moving in 1921. In 1929 Ayr was designated as a large burgh and its boundaries were expanded to include Alloway, Castlehill, Doonfoot and Whitletts. In the 1930s, council estates were also developed at Lochside and Heathfield. The mining villages of Dalmilling and Whitletts were also cleared and developed into sizeable council estates.


title: Ayr

text: Following the Second World War, more council housing was developed in Ayr at Kincaidston, with the Wallacetown and Whitletts estates being expanded. Suburban housing was also developed at Alloway, Doonfoot and Holmston, and many disused industrial buildings throughout the town were redeveloped into flats.


title: Ayr

text: In 2019, GUARD Archaeology team led by Iraia Arabaolaza uncovered a marching camp dating to the 1st century AD, used by Roman legions during the invasion of Roman General Agricola. According to Arabaolaza, the fire pits were split 30 meters apart into two parallel lines. The findings also included clay-domed ovens and 26 fire pits dated to between 77- 86 AD and 90 AD loaded with burn and charcoal contents. Archaeologists suggested that this site had been chosen as a strategic location for the Roman conquest of Ayrshire.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr was represented by a Conservative MP continuously for a period of 91 years – from 1906 (as part of the Ayr Burghs constituency) until 1997, followed by Labour from 1997 to 2015, and the Scottish National Party from 2015 to 2017. The town forms part of the Ayr constituency in the Scottish Parliament, which was the first Conservative constituency seat in the Parliament, but has been represented by Scottish National Party (SNP) MSP Siobhian Brown since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. In the UK Parliament, Ayr is situated within the Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock constituency which was represented by Conservative MP Bill Grant from the 2017 general election, until he was unseated in the 2019 general election by Allan Dorans of the Scottish National Party.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr forms part of the UK Parliamentary constituency of Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock. This constituency includes Carrick and Coylton in South Ayrshire in addition to Doon Valley, Cumnock and New Cumnock in southern East Ayrshire. The seat was held by Conservative Bill Grant from 2017 until 2019 when Allan Dorans gained the seat for the Scottish National Party.


title: Ayr

text: The Central Ayrshire constituency runs north of the Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock constituency. It takes in the towns of Irvine, Kilwinning, Prestwick, Troon and rural Kyle, running into Annbank. It also incorporates the Woodfield area of Newton-on-Ayr and is represented by SNP MP Philippa Whitford.


title: Ayr

text: In previous elections Ayr was represented in Westminster as part of the Ayr Parliamentary constituency, the boundaries of which included elements of Prestwick, Troon and rural South Ayrshire. The seat was abolished in 2005 to be replaced by the Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock and Central Ayrshire constituencies which were subsequently represented by MP's belonging to Labour, and later, the SNP. From the seat's creation in 1950 until the 1997 general election Ayr was continually represented by MP's from the Conservative Party. George Younger served as Member of Parliament for the constituency for most of this period – serving as MP for Ayr from 1964 to 1992. In 1997 the boundaries of the constituency were altered in a move which saw the Conservative areas of Alloway, Doonfoot and Masonhill alongside parts of Kincaidston and Forehill being transferred to the neighbouring Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency, benefiting the Labour Party.


title: Ayr

text: Prior to this Ayr formed part of the Ayr Burghs constituency which combined various towns along the Ayrshire coast such as Irvine, Troon, Prestwick, Ardrossan and Saltcoats: this seat was held by the Conservatives from 1906 until the constituency's abolishment in 1950, making Ayr the longest seat to be held by the Conservatives in Scotland at over 100 years.


title: Ayr

text: In the Scottish Parliament, the Ayr constituency was represented from 2000 to 2021 by Conservative MSP John Scott until he was defeated at the 2021 election by the SNP's Siobhian Brown. It was the first constituency in the Scottish Parliament to elect a Conservative MSP. The constituency also includes the towns of Prestwick and Troon.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr is represented by 11 elected councillors on South Ayrshire Council, of which five belong to the Scottish Conservatives, four belong to the Scottish National Party and two belong to Scottish Labour. Below are a list of councillors elected to serve Ayr, sorted by ward:


title: Ayr

text: As a former Royal Burgh, Ayr had a Provost as chief magistrate of the burgh council and the earliest recorded Provost is Nicholas de Fynvyk. The title of provost was retained by Kyle and Carrick District Council and South Ayrshire Council for their civic heads. The role of provost is now apolitical and carries a number of duties including chairing meetings of the council, acting as civic head representing South Ayrshire Council, promotion of South Ayrshire Council and networking with various organisations such as local businesses.


title: Ayr

text: A chain and robes are worn by the provost while undertaking their ceremonial duties. The Provost's chain was donated in June 1897 by James McLennan who was a Glasgow wine and spirit merchant who was born in Coylton and lived in Ayr. The official provost's robes have been provided by the council since 11 June 1923. In addition, South Ayrshire Council erects lamp posts with the Royal Burgh Coat of Arms emblazoned on the diffusers outside the official resident of the provost – this has been undertaken since 1854.


title: Ayr

text: Each newly elected provost enters their name into a Bible at the "Kirkin 'O The Council" service at Ayr Auld Kirk after each council election. The Bible in which the names are entered was acquired by the Kirk during the Provostship of Hugh Miller (1841–1855). The names of the provosts entered into the Bible are as follows:


title: Ayr

text: List of Provosts of Ayr from 1560 to 1692, See Annals of Ayr in the olden time, 1560–1692, By John Pagan. Ayr: Alex Fergusson, 18 High Street, 1897.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr is a coastal town which lies on the mouth of the River Ayr. The river then flows out into the larger Firth of Clyde estuary. From the coast, the Isle of Arran can be seen, and on a very clear day, the northern tip of Northern Ireland. It is within the region of Strathclyde. Much of the land in and around this area is very flat and low lying, used for rearing dairy cattle. Towards the south of Ayr, however, the land is higher than most areas in the county of Ayrshire, an example of this being the Brown Carrick Hill which is situated due south of Doonfoot. Ayr lies approximately southwest of Glasgow.


title: Ayr

text: The urban area which encompasses Ayr is defined by the General Register Office for Scotland as the adjoining localities of Ayr and Prestwick − this is the 12th largest urban area in Scotland.


title: Ayr

text: The nearest official Met Office weather station to Ayr is Auchincruive, about to the north-east of Ayr town centre.


title: Ayr

text: The area experiences very cool summers and somewhat mild winters. The air is cooler during the summer due to its proximity to the sea as water has a major cooling effect on summer temperatures. During the winter months the reverse happens and the sea air has a major warming effect on the climate. The area rarely sees extremes, owing to the effects of sea air. Rainfall is generally plentiful throughout the year due to Atlantic weather systems sweeping in from the west. Compared with the rest of Scotland, the area rarely sees much mist and fog. This is because the land is relatively flat and low lying and with the wind blowing across the flatter land, this generally hinders fog from developing widely. This has made Glasgow Prestwick International Airport particularly well known as one of the less fog-prone airports in Scotland. Snowfall is rare in this part of Scotland because of the mild sea air.


title: Ayr

text: The north side of Ayr Harbour still operates as a commercial port, mainly exporting coal, and extensive railway sidings still lead down from the main railway line near Newton-on-Ayr station.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr developed as the central retail hub in the south-west of Scotland after the opening of the town's first department store, Hourstons, in 1896. In the 1970s the opening of stores such as Marks and Spencers and Ayr's first shopping centre, the Kyle Centre (1988), encouraged an expansion in the local economy. Heathfield Retail park, an out-of-town retail park, opened in 1993 with shops such as Halfords and Homebase. Ayr Central Shopping Centre opened in March 2006, housing shops such as Debenhams and H&M and under-parking for 500 cars. In December 2014 Threesixty Architecture received planning permission to refurbish the Kyle Centre by reinventing it as a centre of leisure through the creation of a new cinema complex among other new features. As of 2014 Royal Society for Public Health found Ayr's High Street to be the second healthiest in the United Kingdom behind Shrewsbury. In 2016 research conducted by the Local Data Company suggested that Ayr had among the highest number of shops per head in the United Kingdom at one shop for every 270 people.


title: Ayr

text: During the 19th and 20th centuries, Ayr became a popular holiday resort. This was due to its fine sandy beach and the construction of the rail link to Glasgow which was completed in 1840.


title: Ayr

text: To the north of Ayr is the adjoining town of Prestwick, which is known for its golf and aviation industries thanks to the presence of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Only north of Ayr is Troon, a golf and seaside resort which regularly hosts the British Open Championship. Ayr has three golf courses in Bellisle, Seafield and Dalmilling, as well as a private course called St Cuthberts. The area is synonymous as a seaside resort, with the south of the town housing the Craig Tara and Haven (formerly Butlins) holiday parks. The suburban village of Alloway to the south of the town is also well established for its associations with the poet Robert Burns. Further south, the fishing village of Dunure takes in a ruined castle which was formerly owned by the Kennedy family.


title: Ayr

text: In 1973, Ayr hosted the Royal National Mòd. Ayr has hosted the Scottish Grand National horse-racing steeplechase annually since 1966 and the Scottish International Airshow since 2014.


title: Ayr

text: Eight local bus services operated by Stagecoach West Scotland serve Ayr and Prestwick. Express coaches to Glasgow Buchanan Street operate every 30–60 minutes. Ulsterbus operate bus services to Belfast via Stranraer Ferry service on Stena Line.


title: Ayr

text: The Ayr railway station has regular services to Glasgow Central station, Edinburgh Waverley, Stranraer, Girvan and Kilmarnock. All services are operated by ScotRail.


title: Ayr

text: The railway station provides rail and sea connections via Stranraer for the connecting bus to Cairnryan for either the Stena Line ferry service to the Port of Belfast or the P&O Ferries service to Larne Harbour connecting with Northern Ireland Railways via Carrickfergus and Jordanstown to Belfast Central and Belfast Great Victoria Street. There is also the connection via Troon on P&O Ferries on a seasonal basis to Larne Harbour.


title: Ayr

text: The town is served by the Glasgow Prestwick International Airport just north from Ayr, which offers regional and domestic air services across Europe and the British Isles. Further destinations are available from Glasgow Airport, which is accessible by train to Paisley Gilmour Street for the connecting bus to the airport. In relation to Ayr, Glasgow Airport is away.


title: Ayr

text: Although the town does not have any ferry services from its harbour, it is in close proximity to ferry services to Northern Ireland. Cairnryan, south of Ayr, has up to eight daily departures to Belfast and up to seven daily departures to Larne.


title: Ayr

text: The Church of Scotland is the main denomination in Ayr with nine churches spread throughout the town. The Roman Catholic Church has two churches, St Paul's, Belmont and the Cathedral Church of St Margaret the successor to The Good Shepherd Cathedral which has been demolished.


title: Ayr

text: There is also a Free Church of Scotland, a Baptist Church and Evangelical church in John Street, a Latter-Day Saints Church at Orchard Avenue and the Southside Christian Fellowship in Ayr Town Hall.


title: Ayr

text: At the United Kingdom Census 2001, Ayr had a population of 46,431, a fall of −3.2% on 1991. Mid-2008 population estimates placed the total resident population at 46,070 making Ayr the 12th largest urban area in Scotland. The 2011 census found that Ayr's population had grown by around 0.9% since the 2001 census – surpassing the total population growth of Ayr and Prestwick, which only grew by 0.63%, falling short of the national population growth of Scotland of +4.61%.


title: Ayr

text: In 2001, nearly 0.36% (167) people in the town could speak Scottish Gaelic – this fell to 0.34% (161) in 2011. South Ayrshire Council provides no educational support for the language.


title: Ayr

text: There are also several partnership centres and nursery classes held within primary schools within Ayr.


title: Ayr

text: Prestwick Academy is located within the neighbouring town of Prestwick and provides education to pupils who are resident within Ayr but fall within its catchment area.


title: Ayr

text: Mainholm Academy was a former secondary school located within Ayr and was closed due to safety concerns.


title: Ayr

text: The NHS Ayrshire and Arran Health Board serves South, East and North Ayrshire – a part of Ayrshire and Arran's departmental headquarters is located in Ayr. Ayr is also the regional headquarters of the Scottish Ambulance Service for south-west Scotland that is located in Heathfield, next to the site of the old Heathfield Hospital.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr previously had four hospitals: Heathfield Hospital (originally a fever hospital, but latterly medical and ophthalmic), Seafield Children's Hospital (a pediatric hospital), Ayr County Hospital (originally a voluntary hospital, and latterly confined to surgery) and Ailsa Hospital (a psychiatric hospital). University Hospital Ayr, completed in 1991, replaced all but Ailsa Hospital which is still open.


title: Ayr

text: Currently, three hospitals active hospitals lie adjacent to Ayr running along the A713 towards Hollybush in East Ayrshire, these are:


title: Ayr

text: Hollybush House on the outskirts of Ayr is used by a charity for the mental health welfare of ex-members of the UK Armed Forces.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr is home to the Gaiety Theatre. Built in 1902, reconstructed after a fire in 1904, its façade remodelled in 1935, and further reinstated after a fire in 1955. In 1995, an annexe was constructed, including a new café, box office, dressing rooms and studio space. After a faltering start, which saw several years as a cinema after WWI, the theatre was bought by Ben Popplewell, from Bradford, who already had a track record of success running the Pavilion theatre on Ayr seafront. For fifty years the Popplewell family ran the theatre – latterly as part of the Glasgow Pavilion business.


title: Ayr

text: During this time the Gaiety developed a reputation as a variety theatre with a 'summer' variety show – the Gaiety Whirl – which ran for 26 weeks at its height. Many British stars appeared regularly on its stage, and several started their careers there. The programme offered more than a summer show, however, with several weeks of Shakespeare and regular transfers from Glasgow Citizens theatre, being part of a varied offer.


title: Ayr

text: After seventy years of private ownership, the local council acquired the Gaiety Theatre freehold in 1974. It then operated as a municipal theatre under direct local authority management. After many years of successful operation, the theatre began to lose audiences and the council felt the revenue subsidy it provided and the requirement for capital investment required a new approach. In January 2009 the theatre closed, leaving Ayr without a theatre. The closure was met with considerable opposition and dismay among many Ayr residents, particularly since it appeared that the required capital and revenue investment to reopen the theatre would not be available. A public meeting attracted over 400 attendees, the future of the theatre was a key issue in the local press, many Scottish performers expressed their dismay and there was extensive discussion on social media.


title: Ayr

text: In early 2009 South Ayrshire Council invited tenders to take on the theatre management. The Ayr Gaiety Partnership (AGP), a charity formed for the purpose in Summer 2009, secured preferred bidder status. Just over three years later, having secured financial backing from the council and Scottish Government, as well as from local fundraising, AGP took on a 99-year lease of the theatre.


title: Ayr

text: The radio station West FM was based in Ayr until mid-2017 and broadcasts on 96.7FM. West FM is the main broadcaster in the Ayrshire area. The "Ayrshire Post", serving all parts of Ayrshire, and "Ayr Advertiser", serving the towns of Ayr and Prestwick, newspapers are also based in Ayr. The Ayr Advertiser is Scotland's oldest weekly newspaper. West FM's move from Ayr marks the first time in 35 years that local radio has not been broadcast from Ayrshire.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr Racecourse is a well-known racecourse in Scotland and hosts both National Hunt and flat racing. It has the largest capacity in Scotland for horse racing. Notable events include the Scottish Grand National (April) and Ayr Gold Cup (September) as well as several night meetings. It was recently put up for sale by the owners and included the Western House Hotel as part of the potential sale.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr has two senior football clubs. Ayr United play at Somerset Park in the Scottish Championship. They reached the final of the 2001–02 Scottish League Cup competition. The club was formed in 1910 with the merger of Ayr F.C. (who were formed in 1879 by the merger of Ayr Thistle and Ayr Academical football clubs) and Ayr Parkhouse F.C. Whitletts Victoria are based in the Whitletts area of Ayr and compete in the West of Scotland Football League.


title: Ayr

text: The town has a strong history of ice hockey, but no longer hosts a professional ice hockey team. The most recent professional team were the Ayr Scottish Eagles who played in the British Superleague between 1996 and 2002 based at the Centrum arena. During this time they have success most famously their grand slam season in 1997–98 winning all four titles available and becoming British Champions. The following season saw them compete in the European Hockey league with famous victories home and away to Russian champions AK Bars Kazan. Eagles finished 3rd in a group also containing clubs from Germany and Czech Republic. The Centrum closed in 2003 and was demolished in 2009 to make way for a Sainsbury supermarket.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr's rugby union team, Ayr RFC, play at Millbrae and are reigning Scottish Cup Champions and Scottish Premiership Champions 2012/2013, and won the 2008/09 Scottish Hydro Premiership. Ayr RFC has twice competed in the British and Irish cup involving clubs from Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. A rugby league team, Ayr Knights ARLFC, play at Auchincruive.


title: Ayr

text: Ayr Curling Club play at the curling rink in Limekiln Road and Ayr's cricket team plays in Cambusdoon, Burns Wicket. Ayr only has one leisure centre, the Citadel, which opened in 1997, at the mouth of the River Ayr and at the seafront at the South Harbour area. Its facilities include a main hall measuring . This hall can accommodate various sports including 5-a-side football, basketball, volleyball, netball, indoor hockey, indoor cricket practice, badminton and short tennis. As well as individual sports, sporting events and competitions, the hall has hosted exhibitions, concerts, trade fairs, election counts and awards ceremonies. The Citadel is an expansion of the Ayr swimming pool, which opened in 1972. The Citadel features a Dance Studio approx . It is predominantly used for dance or exercise classes but also accommodates martial arts groups and drama workshops and two glass backed squash courts. The Citadel Leisure Centre in Ayr is home to South Ayrshire Volleyball Club as well as being the town's only public swimming pool and diving pool.


title: Ayr

text: The leisure centre has squash courts, a gymnasium, dance studio, cafeteria and adjacent salons and youth club. An Ayrshire basketball team, the Troon Tornadoes, play their national league matches at the Citadel, despite not being an Ayr team. Additionally, Ayr has a Strathclyde league basketball team, Ayr Storm. Ayr is also home to Scottish Bowling. The greens at Northfield host the Bowls Scotland and SYBA finals each year as well as the Hamilton Trophy final. Both the Ladies and Gents World Championships have been held at the Northfield complex as have international series and the Atlantic Rim Championships. Ayr Indoor Bowling Green is the oldest existing indoor bowling stadium in the world. Ayr Cricket Club play at Cambusdoon, and occasionally act as host for Scotland matches.


title: Ayr

text: Speedway was staged at Dam Park in 1937, when two meetings, organised by Maurice and Roland Stobbart from Cumbria took place, featuring riders who raced in the north of England, at venues such as Workington and Hyde Road in Manchester. Ayr has a sandy beach with an esplanade. This is very popular with joggers and day-trippers.


title: Ayr

text: Whitletts Activity Centre also serves the town of Ayr. It has an 11-a side outdoor soccer pitch and an indoor 5-a-side football pitch. Near Whitletts Activity Centre there is also a 5-a-side football complex called "Pro Soccer".


title: American Prometheus

text: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer is a biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Twenty-five years in the making, the book was published in 2005 and was awarded the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. It also won the 2008 Duff Cooper Prize, "Chicago Tribune" Best Book of the Year, and "Discover Magazine" Best Science Book of the Year.


title: American Prometheus

text: The book was compiled and researched for two decades by Martin J. Sherwin before Kai Bird was brought on to put it together in a cohesive and readable format regarding the life and impact of J. Robert Oppenheimer.


title: American Prometheus

text: The book's title refers to the legend of Prometheus, as mentioned in "Scientific Monthly" in September 1945:


title: American Prometheus

text: J. Robert Oppenheimer, often credited as the "father of the atomic bomb", was a physicist that had a significant role in the Manhattan Project as the project head and coordinator. The project eventually led to the creation of the nuclear atom bomb, a weapon of mass destruction. This bomb is regarded as a crucial turning point and a significant meeting between science and wartime weapons. This pivots Oppenheimer as not only an important historical figure but also as a symbol for atomic bomb ethics and political discourse about nuclear power. This book dives into various components of his life inside and outside the Manhattan Project. His early life, ambitions, ideas, relationships with other physicists, and impact are all discussed in this book.


title: American Prometheus

text: Oppenheimer had voiced that he did not regret the overall making of the bomb, as Germany's nuclear ambitions during World War II had many countries concerned about the future actions of this threatening power. There had been a much more pressing concern of Nazi Germany completing the German Nuclear Weapons Program before any of the other powers during the Second World War that the United States could not and would not risk.


title: American Prometheus

text: Oppenheimer had certain known qualms about the Atom Bomb and the potential future usages of the bomb that could lead millions of people to their deaths. He and other scientists had voiced their concern and disagreement of the usage of the bomb in Nagasaki, Japan, finding that it had been a needless choice. Prometheus, the Greek mythology titan god of fire, is famously known as a figure symbolizing eternal repentance for stealing fire from Zeus to give to mankind. The titan had done so in order to save this wave of mankind that had already collapsed twice before due to war and famine. This book uses this comparison to elicit the weight of the nuclear weapon that Oppenheimer carried for the rest of his life.


title: American Prometheus

text: The May 2006 paperback edition consists of 721 pages, along with 32 pages of photographs. The first edition also has 721 pages.


title: American Prometheus

text: The book is set to be adapted into the 2023 biographical film "Oppenheimer", by filmmaker Christopher Nolan.


title: Emma Forrest

text: Forrest was born in London, England, to a Jewish family. Her American mother, Judy Raines, was also a writer, mainly for British television, whereas her father is British.


title: Emma Forrest

text: At age fifteen, Emma Forrest wrote a story on Madonna for the "London Evening Standard". She left school to write her "Generation X" column for the "Sunday Times", writing about various britpop/indie bands "on the road". The vanished Manic Street Preacher member Richey Edwards was the first person interviewed.


title: Emma Forrest

text: Forrest has worked for "Vogue", "Vanity Fair", "Harper’s Bazaar", "Time Out", "The Guardian", "NME", "Interview and Blackbook", where she interviewed Snoop Dogg and Brad Pitt. In the autumn of 2011, she contributed an essay to the album "Ceremonials" by Florence and the Machine that was included in the CD booklet.


title: Emma Forrest

text: Forrest has written four novels: "Namedropper" (1998), "Thin Skin" (2002), "Cherries in the Snow" (2005), and "Royals", which was released in the UK on 31 October 2019.


title: Emma Forrest

text: In 2001 Forrest contributed to an anthology on the writer J.D. Salinger titled "Love & Squalor", with an essay describing Salinger's influence on some current young writers. In 2007 she co-wrote and edited her first non-fiction book, "Damage Control – Women on the Therapists, Beauticians, and Trainers Who Navigate Their Bodies", which was an anthology of essays of the emotional pain women suffer for their own physical wellbeing. The book features contributions from many well-known women, including Helen Oyeyemi, Marian Keyes and Sarah Jones.


title: Emma Forrest

text: Forrest wrote a memoir, "Your Voice in My Head" (2011), concerning the death of her psychiatrist and her subsequent break-up with her partner. The memoir was announced as a feature film adaptation to be written by Forrest and directed by Francesca Gregorini, with Emma Watson in the lead role.


title: Emma Forrest

text: A screenplay by Forrest about the late musician Jeff Buckley, "Becoming Music", was bought by Brad Pitt's production company Plan B Entertainment in September 2000. In 2009 her screenplay "LIARS (AE)" was bought by Scott Rudin at Miramax, with Richard Linklater attached to direct. In 2009 she was listed on "Variety"'s "Top Ten Screenwriters to Watch". Other screenplays in development:"Know Your Rights" (Film4) and "How Could You Do This To Me" (Paramount Pictures).


title: Emma Forrest

text: Forrest was in a relationship with actor Colin Farrell, whom she met in 2008. She refers to him in her memoir as "GH," short for "Gypsy Husband."


title: Emma Forrest

text: In June 2012, Forrest married Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn, who won notice in "Animal Kingdom". They had one child together in 2014, and divorced in 2016.


title: Judomaster

text: Judomaster is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.


title: Judomaster

text: An unidentified incarnation of Judomaster appears in the DC Extended Universe television series "Peacemaker", played by Nhut Le.


title: Judomaster

text: Judomaster's secret identity was Hadley "Rip" Jagger, a sergeant in World War II in the United States Army. He rescued the daughter of a Pacific island chief and in return was taught the martial art of judo. He had a kid sidekick named Tiger. In the Nightshade backup series in "Captain Atom", an adult Tiger was Nightshade's martial arts instructor.


title: Judomaster

text: Judomaster's title lasted from #89 to #98, from June, 1966 to December 1967. It was a retitling of "Gunmaster", which was itself a retitling of "Six-Gun Heroes".


title: Judomaster

text: Along with most Charlton Comics superhero characters, the rights to Judomaster were sold to DC Comics. In post-Crisis continuity, Judomaster was said to be a member of the All-Star Squadron, DC's team of superheroes during World War II, although he has never appeared in an actual published story as a member of the team. His kid sidekick, Tiger, would later become the villain Avatar in the "L.A.W." miniseries published by DC Comics, which re-teamed the Charlton characters that had been acquired by DC. In the same series it is shown Judomaster has lived for some time in the fictional city of Nanda Parbat. As time passes in a different manner there, Judomaster has retained a younger form. Since the miniseries, Judomaster has only appeared a few times.


title: Judomaster

text: Judomaster was killed when he took part in the giant battle of Metropolis during the "Infinite Crisis" storyline during which the supervillain Bane broke his back.


title: Judomaster

text: Andreas Havoc, an enemy of Thunderbolt, challenged Thunderbolt to battle, feeling that his rightful position as "Vajra" had been stolen by him. The Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and Nightshade assisted Thunderbolt in battling Havoc in a psychic battle while the new Judomaster helped rescue the heroes in the physical world.


title: Judomaster

text: Thomas "Tommy" Jagger is the son of Hadley Jagger, from whom he inherited the name Judomaster. Jagger is also one of Checkmate's top field agents, within which he is known as the White Knight, and is an openly gay man.


title: Judomaster

text: Jagger is conflicted when Checkmate becomes involved in the elections of Santa Prisca at the request of the United Nations. Bane, his father's killer, is suspected of ballot stuffing, intimidation, and falsifying election results. Jagger volunteers for the mission and is turned down by White King/Mr. Terrific. Josephine Tautin, the Black Queen's Knight, is picked, but a medical emergency prevents her from going. Reluctantly, Mr. Terrific agrees to Jagger's deployment, along with Fire. The mission is complicated by Fire when she acts on orders secretly given to her by Amanda Waller that results in Bane's direct intervention with Jagger. He resists the desire to avenge his father for honor, but does manage to beat Bane in a fight. The two agents make it to their exfiltration point and return to Checkmate headquarters where Jagger informs the Royals of Fire's sabotage.


title: Judomaster

text: A female Judomaster, Sonia Sato, was recruited by Oracle to break into a Mexican prison. In keeping with the theme of the Birds of Prey group, this Judomaster, unlike the others, is female.


title: Judomaster

text: Sonia's metahuman talent allows her to project an "aversion field" which prevents her from being hit by attacks specifically aimed at her. This does not include attacks that have no aim, such as random projectiles and explosions. With the help of the Justice Society of America, she stops Yakuza assassins led by Tiger. In her earlier "Birds of Prey" appearance, Sonia Sato is shown having an above-average mastery of English, allowing her to communicate effortlessly. During her Justice Society of America tenure, she's shown as unable to speak English, learning only with great difficulties to master a stilted, somewhat impaired command on the language. She is shown in a relationship with Damage, kissing him even after his temporarily healed face was reverted to his heavily scarred one.


title: Judomaster

text: Sonia's romance with Damage is ended when he is killed by the reanimated Jean Loring during "Blackest Night". Now part of Magog's All-Star Justice Society of America squadron, Sonia assists her teammates in repelling the Black Lantern invasion of Manhattan. Sonia and Atom Smasher search the city for survivors, only to stumble upon Damage, now a member of the Black Lantern Corps, tearing the heart out of a police officer.


title: Judomaster

text: After the end of the "Blackest Night" a greatly distraught and grieving Judomaster plans to revert to her earlier plan of vengeance against Tiger, her father's killer, feeling that without Damage's love she has nothing else to anchor to a happier life. She's stopped by King Chimera, who relays her the missing half of Damage's last message to her, recorded before the Blackest Night, in which Grant shares with Sonia his wish to have corrective surgery on his face and build a simpler, happier life with her, wishing Sonia, in the event of his death, a better life. Thus King Chimera is able to convince Sonia to enact Grant's last wishes by leaving Tiger alive (albeit with a severe beating). Furthermore, Sonia decides to improve her English (reasoning that only Damage was kind enough to bear her stilted, slow grasp of language), and after giving her lover a tearful eulogy, she begins to finance several relief funds for the people Damage has unwillingly hurt in the years, attempting to give him closure, using money she "requisitioned" from Tiger before having him incarcerated.


title: Judomaster

text: In the "Watchmen" sequel "Doomsday Clock", Judomaster appears as a member of Japan's superhero team called Big Monster Action.


title: Holey Moley

text: Holey Moley is an American sports reality competition television series created for ABC by Chris Culvenor. The series is produced by Eureka Productions and Unanimous Media, with Culvenor, Paul Franklin, Wesley Dening, Stephen Curry, Jeron Smith, Erick Peyton, Charles Wachter, and Michael O'Sullivan serving as executive producers.


title: Holey Moley

text: The series features contestants competing against each other in a series of head-to-head, sudden-death matchups on a supersized miniature golf obstacle course. Curry stars as the resident golf pro, with play-by-play commentator Joe Tessitore, color commentator Rob Riggle, and sideline correspondent Jeannie Mai. In October 2018, ABC announced they were developing a miniature golf game show. The series was officially announced in April 2019, along with Curry's involvement. Filming of the series takes place at Sable Ranch in Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, California.


title: Holey Moley

text: "Holey Moley" premiered on June 20, 2019, and its first season consisted of 10 episodes. In October 2019, ABC renewed the series for a second season, titled "Holey Moley II: The Sequel", and premiered on May 21, 2020. In February 2021, it was announced that the series was renewed for a third and fourth season. The third season, titled "Holey Moley 3D in 2D", premiered on June 17, 2021. The fourth season, titled "Holey Moley Fore-Ever", and featuring the Muppets, premiered on May 3, 2022.


title: Holey Moley

text: In October 2018, ABC released a casting call for a new game show called "Mega Miniature Golf" looking for miniature golfers to compete against each other for a grand prize. ABC officially announced the series in April 2019, with the title "Holey Moley". Professional basketball player Stephen Curry serves as executive producer and resident golf pro on the series, with ABC Sports and ESPN sportscaster Joe Tessitore calling all the play-by-play commentary, comedian and actor Rob Riggle providing color commentary, and television personality Jeannie Mai as a sideline reporter (with Tessitore and Riggle wearing the same jackets that were worn by ABC Sports commentators in the 1970s). The series is produced by Eureka Productions and Unanimous Media, and created by Chris Culvenor, who is executive producing alongside Curry, Paul Franklin, Wesley Dening, Charles Wachter, Michael O'Sullivan, Jeron Smith, and Erick Peyton. Culvenor explained that producers saw that other television competition series were dominated by fitness enthusiasts and wanted to create a show that most people could partake in. He called the series "a serious competition put in a really silly world."


title: Holey Moley

text: Filming for the series takes place at Sable Ranch in Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, California, which was previously used for the obstacle course game show "Wipeout". Filming lasts several weeks and occurs late at night. The production films as many competitions as possible at each course on a given night, rather than simply filming the contents of a single episode each night. The golf course and obstacles were built on the ranch by The ATS Team, which creates obstacle courses and large-scale fanciful environments for shows such as "American Ninja Warrior", "The Titan Games", and "Big Brother", in association with Eureka Productions. Tessitore indicated that some holes, such as Double Dutch Courage, remain standing because it is "a signature hole", but others are "shut down after three or four days". Filming for the first season took place on April 3–5 and 8–11, 2019.


title: Holey Moley

text: The second season was filmed in February and March 2020. The third and fourth seasons filmed back-to-back in March 2021, with a small number of recurring spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic; additional footage of unmasked spectators filmed during previous seasons has been edited into these seasons.


title: Holey Moley

text: In the first season, each episode consisted of 12 mini-golfers that compete in a series of head-to-head, sudden-death matchups on a supersized miniature golf obstacle course. Winners move on to round two and from there, only three will make it to the third and final round, where they compete on the "Mt. Holey Moley" hole in a three-way contest. The winner earns "The Golden Putter" trophy, a "Holey Moley" plaid jacket and a $25,000 grand prize.


title: Holey Moley

text: In the second season onwards, it was changed to 8 mini-golfers each episode with a new miniature golf obstacle course. Round one and two remains the same head-to-head, sudden-death matchups with winners of each matchups moving on. Round three was changed to a head-to-head matchup. The winner still earns "The Golden Putter" trophy and a "Holey Moley" plaid jacket, but instead of the $25,000 cash prize, the winner earns a spot in the finale where they may have a chance to putt to win the $250,000 prize.


title: Holey Moley

text: The course for the second season features 17 supersized themed holes (although it was originally reported to feature 18, like a traditional golf course. This fact was made fun of in the season finale, with Rob Riggle asking "Did we run out of money?"):


title: Holey Moley

text: The first season premiered on June 20, 2019, and consisted of 10 episodes. Global acquired the broadcast rights for Canada, and began simulcasting the series alongside the US broadcast on June 27, 2019. The series moved to CTV in Canada starting with season three.


title: Holey Moley

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 92% approval rating for the first season, based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's consensus reads, "A fun, family-friendly show that benefits greatly from its hyperbolic hosts, "Holey Moley" is a delightful summer diversion." The second season has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 5 reviews.


title: Holey Moley

text: In October 2019, Australia's Seven Network announced it would be adapting the series for Australian audiences, produced by Eureka Productions. Initially slated for an August 2020 broadcast, the show started filming using an expanded version of the US course in California, but abandoned production in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The show later restarted filming on a set built in Australia in October 2020, with a new broadcast date set for early 2021. Greg Norman stars as the resident golf pro, alongside commentators Rob Riggle (reprising his role from the US version) and Matt Shirvington, along with host and sideline correspondent Sonia Kruger. The show premiered on February 1, 2021.


title: Holey Moley

text: The Australian "Holey Moley" set is intended to be reused for potential international adaptations from Germany, the UK and France.


title: John Dingell

text: John David Dingell Jr. (July 8, 1926 – February 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he holds the record for longest-serving member of Congress in American history, representing Michigan for more than 59 years. He most recently served as the representative for Michigan's 12th congressional district. A longtime member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Dingell was the chairman of the committee from 1981 to 1995 and 2007 to 2009.


title: John Dingell

text: Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he attended Georgetown University as an undergraduate and law student. Dingell began his congressional career by succeeding his father, John Dingell Sr., as representative for on December 13, 1955; his father had held the seat for 22 years. He left office on January 3, 2015. Having served for over 59 years, he has the longest congressional tenure in U.S. history. Together with Jamie Whitten and Joseph Gurney Cannon, he served in the House under more presidents than anyone else: 11. He was also the longest-serving Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives, who remained in the capacity from 1995 to 2015, and Dean of the Michigan congressional delegation. Dingell was one of the final two World War II veterans to have served in Congress; the other was Texas Representative Ralph Hall, who also left Congress in 2015. During his time in Congress in addition to protecting the automobile industry important to his district, Dingell was instrumental in passage of the Medicare Act, the Water Quality Act of 1965, Clean Water Act of 1972, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the Clean Air Act of 1990, and the Affordable Care Act, among others. He was most proud of his work on the Civil Rights Act of 1964.


title: John Dingell

text: Dingell announced on February 24, 2014, that he would not seek reelection to a 31st term in Congress. His wife, Debbie Dingell, ran to succeed him and defeated Republican Terry Bowman in the general election on November 4, 2014. President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.


title: John Dingell

text: Dingell was born on July 8, 1926, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the son of Grace (née Bigler) and John Dingell Sr. (1894–1955). His father was the son of Polish immigrants, and his mother had Swiss and Scots-Irish ancestry. The Dingells were in Colorado in search of a cure for Dingell Sr.'s tuberculosis. The Dingell surname had been Dzięglewicz, and was "Americanized" by John Dingell Sr.'s father.


title: John Dingell

text: The family moved back to Michigan, and in 1932, Dingell Sr. was elected the first representative of Michigan's newly created 15th District. In Washington, D.C., John Jr. attended Georgetown Preparatory School and then the House Page School when he served as a page for the U.S. House of Representatives from 1938 to 1943. He was on the floor of the House when President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his famous speech after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In 1944, at the age of 18, Dingell joined the United States Army. He rose to the rank of second lieutenant and received orders to take part in the first wave of a planned invasion of Japan in November 1945; the Congressman said that President Harry S. Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb to end the war saved his life.


title: John Dingell

text: Dingell attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1949 and a Juris Doctor in 1952. He was a lawyer in private practice, a research assistant to U.S. District Court judge Theodore Levin, a congressional employee, a forest ranger, and assistant prosecuting attorney for Wayne County until 1955.


title: John Dingell

text: In 1955, John Sr. died and John Jr. won a special election to succeed him. He won a full term in 1956 and was reelected 29 times, including runs in 1988 and 2006 with no Republican opponent. Dingell received less than 62% of the vote on only two occasions. In 1994 when the Republican Revolution swept the Republicans into the majority in the House of Representatives for the first time since 1954, Dingell received 59% of the vote. In 2010 when the Republicans re-took control of the House of Representatives, Dingell received 57% of the vote. Between them, he and his father represented the southeastern Michigan area for 80 years. His district was numbered as the 15th District from 1955 to 1965, when redistricting merged it into the Dearborn-based 16th District; in the primary that year, he defeated 16th District incumbent John Lesinski Jr.


title: John Dingell

text: In 2002, redistricting merged Dingell's 16th District with the Washtenaw County and western Wayne County-based 13th District, represented by fellow Democratic Representative Lynn Rivers, whom Dingell also bested in the Democratic primary. The 15th District for the 109th Congress included Wayne County suburbs generally southwest of Detroit, the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti areas in Washtenaw County, and all of Monroe County. For many years, Dingell represented much of western Detroit itself, though Detroit's declining population and the growth of its suburbs has pushed all of Detroit into the districts of fellow Democratic representatives, including John Conyers. Dingell always won re-election by double-digit margins, although the increasing conservatism of the mostly white suburbs of Detroit since the 1970s led to several serious Republican challenges in the 1990s. With the retirement of Jamie L. Whitten, the death of William Natcher, and the defeat of Texas Representative Jack Brooks at the start of a new Congress in January 1995, he became the Dean of the United States House of Representatives. (Fellow Representative Sidney Yates had entered the House earlier and, at that time, had served almost five years longer than Dingell, but Yates's service had been interrupted when he ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 1962.) He was one of four people to serve in the House for 50 years, the others being Whitten, Carl Vinson, and Conyers, the last of whom had worked in Dingell's congressional office.


title: John Dingell

text: Dingell was generally classified as a moderately liberal member of the Democratic Party and throughout his career he was a leading congressional supporter of organized labor, social welfare measures and traditional progressive policies. At the beginning of every Congress, Dingell introduced a bill providing for a national health insurance system, the same bill that his father proposed while he was in Congress. Dingell also strongly supported Bill Clinton's managed-care proposal early in his administration. In October 1998, President Clinton began a Roosevelt Room appearance "by thanking Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Congressman Dingell for their steadfast support of Medicare and their participation in our Medicare Commission."


title: John Dingell

text: On some issues, though, he reflected the values of his largely Catholic and working-class district. He supported the Vietnam War until 1971. While he supported all of the civil rights bills, he opposed expanding school desegregation to Detroit suburbs via mandatory busing. He took a fairly moderate position on abortion. He worked to balance clean air legislation with the need to protect manufacturing jobs.


title: John Dingell

text: An avid sportsman and hunter, he strongly opposed gun control, and was a former board member of the National Rifle Association. For many years, Dingell received an A+ rating from the NRA. Dingell helped make firearms exempt from the 1972 Consumer Product Safety Act so that the Consumer Product Safety Commission had no authority to recall defective guns. Dingell's wife, Representative Debbie Dingell, introduced legislation in 2018 to remove this exemption from the law.


title: John Dingell

text: On December 15, 2005, on the floor of the House, Dingell read a poem sharply critical of, among other things, Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, and the so-called "War on Christmas". Along with John Conyers, in April 2006, Dingell brought an action against George W. Bush and others alleging violations of the Constitution in the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The case ("Conyers v. Bush") was ultimately dismissed for lack of standing.


title: John Dingell

text: After winning re-election in 2008 for his 28th consecutive term, Dingell surpassed Whitten's record for having the longest tenure in the House on February 11, 2009. In honor of the record, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm declared February 11, 2009, to be John Dingell Day.


title: John Dingell

text: On June 7, 2013, Dingell became the longest serving member of Congress, surpassing the late Senator Robert Byrd's combined House and Senate service of 20,995 days. By the time Dingell retired on January 3, 2015, he had served 21,571 days in Congress, all of it in the House of Representatives.


title: John Dingell

text: Dingell was well known for his approach to congressional oversight of the executive branch. He subpoenaed numerous government officials to testify before the committee and grilled them for hours. He insisted that all who testified before his committee do so under oath, thus exposing them to perjury charges if they did not tell the truth. He and his committee uncovered numerous instances of corruption and waste, such as the use of $600 toilet seats at the Pentagon. He also claimed that the committee's work led to resignations of many Environmental Protection Agency officials, and uncovered information that led to legal proceedings that sent many Food and Drug Administration officials to jail.


title: John Dingell

text: After serving as the committee's ranking Democratic member for 12 years, Dingell regained the chairmanship in 2007. According to "Newsweek", he had wanted to investigate the George W. Bush Administration's handling of port security, the Medicare prescription drug program and Dick Cheney's energy task force. "Time" magazine has stated that he had intended to oversee legislation that addresses global warming and climate change caused by carbon emissions from automobiles, energy companies and industry.


title: John Dingell

text: Dingell lost the chairmanship for the 111th Congress to Congressman Henry Waxman of California in a Democratic caucus meeting on November 20, 2008. Waxman mounted a challenge against Dingell on grounds that Dingell was stalling certain environmental legislation, which would have tightened vehicle emissions standards—something that could be detrimental to the Big Three automobile manufacturers that constitute a major source of employment in Dingell's district. Dingell was given the title of Chairman Emeritus in a token of appreciation of his years of service on the committee, and a portrait of him is in the House collection.


title: John Dingell

text: In the 1980s, Dingell led a series of congressional hearings to pursue alleged scientific fraud by Thereza Imanishi-Kari and Nobel Prize-winner David Baltimore. The National Institutes of Health's fraud unit, then called the Office of Scientific Integrity, charged Imanishi-Kari in 1991 of falsifying data and recommended that she be barred from receiving research grants for 10 years. She appealed the decision and the Department of Health and Human Services appeals panel dismissed the charges against Imanishi-Kari and cleared her to receive grants. The findings and negative publicity surrounding them made David Baltimore decide to resign as president of Rockefeller University (after Imanishi-Kari was cleared he became president of the California Institute of Technology). The story of the case is described in Daniel Kevles' 1998 book "The Baltimore Case", in a chapter of Horace Freeland Judson's 2004 book "", and in a 1993 study by Serge Lang, updated and reprinted in his book "Challenges".


title: John Dingell

text: From 1991 to 1995 Dingell's staff investigated claims that Robert Gallo had used samples supplied to him by Luc Montagnier to fraudulently claim to have discovered the AIDS virus. The report concluded that Gallo had engaged in fraud and that the NIH covered up his misappropriation of work by the French team at the Institut Pasteur. The report contended that:


title: John Dingell

text: The report was never formally published as a subcommittee report because of the 1995 change in control of the House from Democratic to Republican. Other accusations against Gallo were dropped, and while Montagnier's group is considered to be the first to isolate the virus, Gallo's has been recognized as first to prove that this virus was the cause of AIDS.


title: John Dingell

text: For his conduct regarding environmental issues during the 109th Congress, the lobby group League of Conservation Voters (LCV) awarded Dingell its highest rating, 100%. According to the LCV, Dingell voted "pro-environment" on twelve out of twelve issues the group deemed critical; they also praised him for introducing, along with representatives James Oberstar and Jim Leach, an amendment compelling the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to rescind a directive issued in 2003 by the Bush Administration "requiring EPA staff to get permission from headquarters before protecting 'isolated' water bodies like vernal pools, prairie potholes, playa lakes and bogs," which provide "critical wildlife habitat, store flood water, and protect drinking water supplies." Dingell was also a member of the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus.


title: John Dingell

text: Dingell opposed raising mandatory automobile fuel efficiency standards, which he helped to write in the 1970s. Instead, he indicated that he intended to pursue a regulatory structure that takes greenhouse gas emissions and oil consumption into account. In a July 2007 interview with thehill.com, he said "I have made it very plain that I intend to see to it that CAFE is increased" and pointed out that his plan would have Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards increased tantamount to those in the Senate bill recently passed. In November 2007, working with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Dingell helped draft an energy bill that would mandate 40% increase in fuel efficiency standards.


title: John Dingell

text: In June 1999, Dingell released a report in which the General Accounting Office cited concurrent design and construction was the reason for production of high levels of explosive benzene gas. In a statement, Dingell asserted that "mismanagement by the United States Department of Energy and Westinghouse led to an extraordinary, and pathetic, waste of taxpayer money. All we have to show for $500 million is a 20-year delay and the opportunity to risk another $1 billion to make a problematic process work."


title: John Dingell

text: In July 2007, Dingell indicated he planned to introduce a new tax on carbon usage in order to curtail greenhouse gas emissions. The policy has been criticized by some, as polling numbers show voters may be unwilling to pay for the changes. A "Wall Street Journal" editorial claimed that vehicle emissions standards that he supported will not yield any substantial greenhouse gas emissions savings.


title: John Dingell

text: Dingell was closely tied to the automotive industry, as he represented Metro Detroit, where the Big Three automakers of General Motors, Chrysler, and the Ford Motor Company, are headquartered. Dingell encouraged the companies to improve fuel efficiency. During the automotive industry crisis of 2008–10, Dingell advocated for the bailout the companies received.


title: John Dingell

text: During the electoral span of 1989 through 2006, intermediaries for the aforementioned corporations contributed more than $600,000 to Dingell's campaigns. Dingell also held an unknown quantity, more than $1 million in 2005, in assets through General Motors stock options and savings-stock purchase programs; his wife, Debbie Dingell, is a descendant of one of the Fisher brothers, founders of Fisher Body, a constituent part of General Motors. She worked as a lobbyist for the corporation until they married. She then moved to an administrative position there. As of June 2007, Debbie Dingell was executive director of Global Community Relations and Government Relation at GM and vice chair of the General Motors Foundation.


title: John Dingell

text: Dingell had four children from his first marriage to Helen Henebry, an airline stewardess. They married in 1952 and divorced in 1972. Dingell's son Christopher D. Dingell served in the Michigan State Senate and is a judge on the Michigan Third Circuit Court.


title: John Dingell

text: In November 2014, Debbie Dingell won the election to succeed her husband as U.S. Representative for Michigan's 12th congressional district. She took office in January 2015. She is the first non-widowed woman to immediately succeed her husband in Congress.


title: John Dingell

text: Dingell had surgery in 2014 to correct an abnormal heart rhythm, and the next year had surgery to install a pacemaker. He was hospitalized after a fall in 2017. On September 17, 2018, Dingell suffered an apparent heart attack and was hospitalized at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.


title: John Dingell

text: In his later years, Dingell became an active Twitter user, and earned over 250,000 followers for his witty and sarcastic posts attacking Republicans, particularly Donald Trump. He earned the nickname "the Dean of Twitter".


title: John Dingell

text: In 2018, Dingell was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which had metastasized. He chose to forgo treatment, and entered hospice care. Dingell died on February 7, 2019, at his home in Dearborn, Michigan. On the day of his death, Dingell authored a column discussing his "last words" for the country, which was published in "The Washington Post".


title: John Dingell

text: The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, named in his honor and signed into law on March 12, 2019, permanently reauthorized the Land and Water Conservation Fund and established multiple areas of land protection. He received the Walter P. Reuther Humanitarian Award from Wayne State University in 2006. A road traversing Detroit Airport is named after Dingell.


title: John Dingell

text: On December 18, 2019, a day after Dingell's wife Rep. Debbie Dingell, who succeeded her husband as the member of the House of Representatives for Michigan's 12th district, voted yes to both articles of Donald Trump's first impeachment, Trump attacked John Dingell at a rally. Recounting a phone call with Dingell's widow in which she thanked the President for his support for a military flyover of her husband's funeral, Trump claimed Rep. Debbie Dingell told him "'John would be so thrilled. He's looking down. He would be so thrilled. Thank you so much sir'" Trump continued to the rally attendees "I said that's okay don't worry about it. Maybe he's looking up, I don't know. I don't know, maybe. Maybe. But let's assume he's looking down.", the implication being that the president believed John Dingell was in Hell. This drew a strong criticism from several Democratic and some Republican politicians, several of whom offered praise for John Dingell's legacy. Politicians from both sides offered support to his widow and some Republican lawmakers apologized for the president's comments.


title: Bad Choice Road

text: "Bad Choice Road" is the ninth and penultimate episode of the fifth season of the AMC crime drama television series "Better Call Saul", a spin-off series of "Breaking Bad". The episode aired on April 13, 2020, on AMC in the United States. Outside of the United States, the episode premiered on streaming service Netflix in several countries.


title: Bad Choice Road

text: Jimmy McGill and Mike Ehrmantraut arrive at a truck stop where Tyrus Kitt and Victor pick them up. Jimmy posts Lalo Salamanca's bail and Lalo is released. As Mike and Jimmy agreed, Jimmy tells Lalo his car broke down and he walked alone cross-country so he would not risk losing the money. Lalo tells Jimmy he plans to avoid police and prosecutors by returning to Mexico.


title: Bad Choice Road

text: Kim tends to Jimmy's sunburn and bruises and he tells her the same story he told Lalo. Kim realizes he is lying when she sees that Jimmy saved his bullet-pierced coffee mug.