title: Through a Glass Darkly (film)

text: Much of the criticism focused on the ending, where the characters appear overly calm despite losing Karin, and God is simply equated with love. In 2008, Roger Ebert added the film to his Great Movies list, impressed by Nykvist's lighting and concluding "we're struck by Bergman's deep concern that humans see the world as through a glass, darkly, and are unable to perceive its meaning". In his "2014 Movie Guide", Leonard Maltin gave the film three and a half stars, describing it as a "Moody, evocative story of insanity". The film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 27 reviews, with a weighted average of 8.70/10.


title: Through a Glass Darkly (film)

text: The film won the 1962 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, marking the second year in a row Bergman had won the award, after "The Virgin Spring" in 1961. Harriet Andersson attended the ceremony to accept the Academy Award on Bergman's behalf. The film was also in competition for the Golden Bear at the 12th Berlin International Film Festival.


title: Through a Glass Darkly (film)

text: "Through a Glass Darkly" is sometimes considered the first film in a trilogy that includes "Winter Light" and "The Silence", and focuses on spiritual issues. Bergman writes, "These three films deal with reduction. "Through a Glass Darkly" – conquered certainty. "Winter Light" – penetrated certainty. "The Silence" – God's silence – the negative imprint. Therefore, they constitute a trilogy". He later retracted his claim the films form a trilogy.


title: Through a Glass Darkly (film)

text: Bergman would return to Fårö to shoot several more films, including "Persona" (1966), "Hour of the Wolf" (1968), "Shame" (1968), "The Passion of Anna" (1969), "Fårö Document" (1969) and "The Touch" (1971). "Fårö Document" is a documentary, while the others use the island for symbolism and have been termed the "island films".


title: Through a Glass Darkly (film)

text: In 2004, producer Andrew Higgie persuaded Bergman to allow a stage version of the work, initially intended for a production by Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett during their time as Co-Artistic Directors at Sydney Theatre Company. Upton relinquished the project to Jenny Worton, dramaturg of the Almeida Theatre, London, where it was presented in July 2010, starring Ruth Wilson in the lead role of Karin.


title: Castle Combe

text: Castle Combe is a village and civil parish within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wiltshire, England. The village is around north-west of Chippenham. A castle once stood in the area, but was demolished centuries ago.


title: Castle Combe

text: The village is in two parts: one is in the narrow valley of By Brook, while Upper Castle Combe is on higher land to the east, on the B4039 road connecting Chippenham and Chipping Sodbury. No new houses have been built in the historic area since about 1600. South of the upper village is the Castle Combe motor racing circuit.


title: Castle Combe

text: A Roman villa once stood about three miles from the village, indicating Roman occupation of the area. The site has been excavated on at least three occasions, the first by Scrope in 1852 and the most recent in 2010. Some reports refer to the site as the North Wraxall or the Truckle Hill villa. Evidence of a bath house and corn drying ovens were found, the latter from the 4th century. The villa itself apparently contained 16 rooms, and there were additional buildings and a cemetery. Neolithic flint tools and Iron Age brooches were also discovered not far from the villa, in 1985.


title: Castle Combe

text: The settlement was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, with 33 households; the Lord was Humphrey de l'Isle.


title: Castle Combe

text: The village takes its name from the 12th-century castle which stood about to the north. The site where the castle once stood now only contains the old earthworks and masonry, which are estimated to date from the 12th century. It is believed that the castle was constructed as the seat of the Barony of Combe under Reginald de Dunstanville either during the reign of Henry I or his son. Reginald was thought to support Empress Matilda during the Anarchy, and the castle was constructed during the wave of castle buildings of the Anarchy period.


title: Castle Combe

text: The 14th-century market cross, erected when the privilege to hold a weekly market in Castle Combe was granted, stands where the three principal streets of the lower village converge. The Market Cross, a Scheduled Monument, reflects "the significance of the cloth industry in this area". Next to the cross is one of Castle Combe's two village pumps. Small stone steps near the cross were for horse riders to mount and dismount, and close by are the remains of the buttercross, built in the late 19th century from old masonry. This structure, "also known as Weavers’ Steps and ‘the stone’", is another Scheduled Monument.


title: Castle Combe

text: During the 14th century, the seat of the Barony was transferred to the Manor House within Castle Combe village and a deer park was created next to the castle. The market town prospered during the 15th century when it belonged to Millicent, the wife of Sir Stephen Le Scrope and then of Sir John Fastolf (1380–1459), a Norfolk knight who was the effective lord of the manor for fifty years. By 1340, the village had a fulling mill, confirming the importance of wool by that time. Scrope promoted the woollen industry, supplying his own troops and others for Henry V's war in France. The parish was in the ancient hundred of Chippenham.


title: Castle Combe

text: By the 17th century, John Aubrey stated that a market was held on the site of the old castle. At some time in the late 1700s, the level of the Bybrook River fell, so it could no longer be used to power mills. The cloth industry began leaving the area during that century; "industrial prosperity was over and the population decreased". Notable houses include the Dower House, from the late 17th century is now Grade II listed.


title: Castle Combe

text: The village was owned by the Scrope family for over five centuries, until 1866 when it was sold to the Gorst family and Edward Chaddock Lowndes (who was previously also known as Gorst). The latter spent a great deal of money on improving the manor house and the estate.


title: Castle Combe

text: A National School was built in 1826, on a site between the upper and lower villages. The school was taken over by the county council in 1909, and educated children of all ages until 1956 when older pupils were transferred to secondary schools in Chippenham. It closed in 1998 on the opening of a new primary school at Yatton Keynell.


title: Castle Combe

text: During the Second World War, the RAF Castle Combe airfield was built east of the village, with runways, hangars and a control tower. Between 1946 and 1948 the airfield buildings were used as temporary housing for former military from Poland. The property was sold in 1948, and was later modified for motor racing; the tower is still used during races at Castle Combe Circuit. Also during the war, the Manor was used as a hospital; some time after the war, the manor was converted to a hotel and continues in this use.


title: Castle Combe

text: For decades the village had a number of gristmills and sawmills but all went out of business; Nettleton Mill closed before 1916 and Gatcombe Mill closed circa 1925; both are Grade II listed. The Long Dean Mill shut down in 1956; the Lower mill is now Grade II listed; Colham Mill was demolished in 1962. The last remaining stone tower of the castle stood for centuries, but it too was demolished, in 1950.


title: Castle Combe

text: The Church of England parish church of St Andrew is a Grade I listed building. Part of the chancel is 13th-century; in 1850–51 nearly all of the building, except the 15th-century tower, was taken down and reconstructed to the same plan.


title: Castle Combe

text: The first chapel was built in 1757 and extended with a schoolroom in 1846. The current church, opened in 1914, is in the upper part of the village on what is now the B4039 road. The building is a former malt house and is attached to an 18th-century house which became the manse. The church continues in use.


title: Castle Combe

text: The motor racing venue, Castle Combe Circuit, is located on the site of the former RAF Castle Combe airfield near the village.


title: Castle Combe

text: The village has twice held the Combe Sunday event, a music festival which attracted 4,000 visitors to the village in 2006.


title: Castle Combe

text: Castle Combe is represented in Parliament by James Gray, and in Wiltshire Council by Jane Scott, both Conservatives.


title: Castle Combe

text: The village was a location for the 1967 film musical "Doctor Dolittle". Its frequently rainy summer climate frustrated production, as did attempted sabotage – including by British Army officer (and future explorer) Sir Ranulph Fiennes - because of residents' irritation at the producers' modifications of the area for shooting. Other productions include "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd", an episode of "Agatha Christie's Poirot", and the films "Stardust" and "The Wolfman". Throughout September 2010, the village was a filming location for Steven Spielberg's production of "War Horse".


title: Castle Combe

text: Raymond Austin set the action of his book "Find me a Spy, Catch me a Traitor" in the village and at the Manor. The house of Alice Cartalet in the manga and anime series "Kiniro Mosaic" was based on Fosse Farmhouse, a guesthouse near Castle Combe.


title: Castle Combe

text: The village was a filming location for the fantasy adventure movie "Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box" in 2012, and later for a series of "Downton Abbey".


title: Castle Combe

text: Castle Combe has a car park at the top of the hill, and toilet facilities over the bridge at the bottom of the village. There was a small museum but it closed in 2012.


title: Castle Combe

text: The Manor House was built in the 17th century and rebuilt in the 19th. It has 48 rooms and of gardens. During World War II, the New Zealand Forestry Officers had the Manor House as their headquarters. In 1947, the owner of the Castle Combe estate sold the houses of the estate and the Manor House became a country club. After 18 months the club left the premises, and the house was shortly thereafter sold to Bobbie Allen, an amateur hotelier, and her husband. Mrs Allen wrote a book of her experiences, "From Claridge's to Castle Combe". The manor house and estate were sold in 1947. The property was owned by the Allen family for some time and they sold the Manor House to Mr and Mrs Oliver Clegg who (some time after 1976) sold it to the corporation which now owns the property. By the time it was listed as a Grade II property in 1960, it was already operating as a hotel.


title: Castle Combe

text: The 5-star Manor House Hotel is in the west end of the village and features 21 rooms including a suite and 29 cottages. In addition to the golf course (which opened in 1992), the grounds include "a glorious Italianate garden" and [the] River Bybrook.


title: Patala

text: In Indian religions, Patala (Sanskrit: पाताल, IAST: pātāla, lit. "that which is below the feet"), denotes the subterranean realms of the universe – which are located under the earthly dimension. Patala is often translated as underworld or netherworld. Patala is described as more beautiful than Svarga (subtle dimensions, loosely translated as heaven). Patala is described as filled with splendid jewels, beautiful groves and lakes.


title: Patala

text: In Vajrayana Buddhism, caves inhabited by asuras are entrances to Patala; these asuras, particularly female asuras, are often "tamed" (converted to Buddhism) as dharmapala or dakinis by famous Buddhist figures such as Padmasambhava.


title: Patala

text: In Hindu cosmology, the universe is divided into the three worlds: Svarga, Prithvi or Martya (earth/mortal plane) and Patala (gross dimensions, the underworld). Patala is composed of seven realms/dimensions or lokas, the seventh and lowest of them is also called Patala or Naga-loka, the region of the Nagas. The Danavas (demon sons of Danu), Daityas (demon sons of Diti), Yakshas and the snake-people Nagas (Serpent-human formed sons of Kadru), live in the realms of Patala.


title: Patala

text: The "Vishnu Purana" tells of a visit by the divine wandering sage Narada to Patala. Narada describes Patala as more beautiful than Svarga. Patala is described as filled with splendid jewels, beautiful groves and lakes and lovely demon maidens. Sweet fragrance is in the air and is fused with sweet music. The soil here is white, black, purple, sandy, yellow, stony and also of gold.


title: Patala

text: The "Bhagavata Purana" calls the seven lower regions "bila-svarga"s ("subterranean heavens") and they are regarded as planets or planetary systems below the earth. These regions are described as being more opulent than the upper heavenly regions of the universe. The life here is of pleasure, wealth and luxury, with no distress. The demon architect Maya has constructed palaces, temples, houses, yards and hotels for foreigners, with jewels. The natural beauty of Patala is said to surpass that of Swarga. There is no sunlight in the lower realms, but the darkness is dissipated by the shining of the jewels that the residents of Patala wear. There is no old age, no sweat, no disease in Patala.


title: Patala

text: The "Vishnu Purana", states the seven realms of Patala, which are located one above the other, are seventy-thousand yojanas (a unit of measurement) below the Earth's surface. Each of them extends ten thousand "Yojana"s. In "Vishnu Purana", they are named as from the highest to the lowest as: Atala, Vitala, Nitala, Garbhastimat, Mahatala, Sutala and Patala. In the "Bhagavata Purana" and the "Padma Purana", they are called Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala and Patala. The "Shiva Purana", replaces Mahatala with Tala. The "Vayu Purana" calls them Rasatala, Sutala, Vitala, Gabhastala, Mahatala, Sritala and Patala. The seven Patalas as well as the earth above them is supported on the head of the tamasic (dark) form of Vishnu, the thousand-headed nāga Shesha. Sometimes, Shesha is described to reside in the lowest region of Patala instead of below it. Below the regions of Patala lies Naraka, the Hindu Hell – the realm of death where sinners are punished.


title: Patala

text: Different realms of Patala are ruled by different demons and Nagas; usually with the Nagas headed by Vasuki assigned to the lowest realm. "Vayu Purana" records each realm of Patala has cities in it. The first region has the cities of the daitya Namuchi and Naga Kaliya; in the second Hayagriva and Naga Takshaka; in the third, those of Prahlada and Hemaka; in the fourth of Kalanemi and Vainateya; in the fifth of Hiranyaksha and Kirmira and in the sixth, of Puloman and Vasuki. Bali rules as the sovereign king of Patala.


title: Patala

text: The "Bhagavata Purana" presents a detailed description of the seven lower realms. A similar description of the seven Patalas also appears in the "Devi-Bhagavata Purana".


title: Patala

text: Atala is ruled by Bala – a son of Maya – who possesses mystical powers. By one yawn, Bala created three types of women – "svairiṇī"s ("self-willed"), who like to marry men from their own group; "kāmiṇī"s ("lustful"), who marry men from any group, and the "punshchalī"s ("those who wholly give themselves up"), who keep changing their partners. When a man enters Atala, these women enchant him and serve him an intoxicating cannabis drink that induces sexual energy in the man. Then, these women enjoy sexual play with the traveller, who feels to be stronger than ten thousand elephants and forgets impending death.


title: Patala

text: Vitala is ruled by the god Hara-Bhava (possibly a form of Shiva), who dwells with attendant ganas including ghosts and goblins as the master of gold mines along with his consort Bhavani, as the progenitor of living beings and their sexual fluids flow as river Hataki here. When fire – fanned by wind – drinks from this river, it spits the water out as a type of gold called Hataka. The residents of this realm are adorned with gold from this region.


title: Patala

text: Sutala constructed by Vishwakarma, is the kingdom of the pious demon king Bali. The dwarf Avatar of Vishnu, Vamana tricked Bali – who had conquered the three worlds – by begging for three paces of land and acquired the three worlds in his three paces. Vamana pushed Bali to Sutala, but when Bali surrendered to Vishnu and gave away all his belongings to him, Vishnu in return made Bali, richer than Indra, the god-king of heaven. Bali still prays to Vishnu in this realm. Highly impressed by the devotion of Bali, Vishnu gave him a boon that He Himself would perpetually stand as the watchman to Bali's palace.


title: Patala

text: Talātala is the realm of the demon-architect Maya, who is well-versed in sorcery. Shiva, as Tripurantaka, destroyed the three cities of Maya, but was later pleased with Maya and gave him this realm and promised to protect him.


title: Patala

text: Mahātala is the abode of many-hooded Nagas (serpents) – the sons of Kadru, headed by the "Krodhavasha" (Irascible) band of Kuhaka, Takshaka, Kaliya and Sushena. They live here with their families in peace but always fear garuda.


title: Patala

text: Rasātala at the sole of the feet of the universe form of Vishnu is the home of the Asuras – Danavas and Daityas, who are mighty but cruel. They are the eternal foes of Devas (the gods). They live in holes like serpents.


title: Patala

text: Patala or Nagaloka, is the lowest realm and the region of the Nagas, ruled by Vasuki (the snake that hangs around Shiva’s neck). Her lives several Nagas with many hoods. Each of their hood is decorated by a jewel, a source of light of which illuminates this realm.


title: Patala

text: In early Vajrayana, Patala ( "the Underground") is understood as underground paradises inhabited by nāgas and asuras above the Naraka realm. While the story of the establishment of Patala as an asura realm is attributed to the defeat of the asuras on Mount Meru, in Buddhist scriptures this is due to their defeat by Śakra using a mantra of Mañjuśrī instead of by their defeat by Vishnu; this is the explanation given for the appearance of Śakra wielding the banner of Mañjuśrī in iconic imagery.


title: Patala

text: Patala is associated with the Kriyātantras, which are associated with the kīla, the phenomenon of the tertön and terma and water magic and with the attainment of vidyādhara () status. These practices have been largely ignored after the early period of Tibetan Buddhism and Tangmi but originally were popular.


title: Patala

text: The importance of Patala to esoteric Buddhism lay in its role as the source of alchemy and magical science or vidyā, immortality and enjoyment, particularly the opportunity for the (male) vidyādhara to have intercourse with female non-humans. It was also viewed as a source of flowing waters.


title: Combat knife

text: A combat knife is a fighting knife designed solely for military use and primarily intended for hand-to-hand or close combat fighting.


title: Combat knife

text: Since the end of trench warfare, most military combat knives have been secondarily designed for utility use (clearing foliage, chopping branches for cover, opening ammunition crates, etc.) in addition to their original role as close-quarter combat weapons, and may be referred to as "fighting-utility knives." On the other hand, military knives that are intended primarily for use in a role other than combat are typically referred to by their primary role, such as "utility knife" or "survival knife".


title: Combat knife

text: Daggers designed for military usage in close combat engagements have been carried by soldiers for thousands of years. The adoption of combat daggers made of iron was a significant milestone in combat knife development, and such weapons were highly prized in the ancient armies of the Middle East. French and Italian military daggers of the 14th century were the first to introduce the acutely tapered, sharply pointed and double-edged blade as a response to improvements made in armor design and the need to exploit weaknesses in armor protection. The English and Scandinavians introduced a combat knife known as the "bollock dagger" into military service around 1350, while the French poignard and the Scottish dirk were daggers designed from the outset as military weapons.


title: Combat knife

text: The rise in use of firearms led to a decline in the use of combat daggers and knives as military-issue weapons. However, privately purchased knives were often carried by foot soldiers for use both as auxiliary weapons and as utility tools. Some military forces issued knives for individual campaigns or for specialist troops such as pioneer or field engineer detachments, but these cutting tools were not primarily designed for use as combat knives.


title: Combat knife

text: Formerly known as a trench knife, the "combat knife" was used by both sides on the Western front during World War I. Since then, combat knives have been issued by the armies of many nations. Though they differ in detail, they all share the common characteristic of being purposely designed for military use, with their primary role as a close-quarters combat weapon.


title: Combat knife

text: During World War II, the British Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife was designed by William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes, two former members of the Shanghai Municipal Police who trained many soldiers in close-quarters fighting. The Fairbairn–Sykes knife inspired several similar knives of the era such as the V-42 stiletto designed by Lt. Colonel Robert T. Frederick who commanded the joint US and Canadian First Special Service Force and the United States Marine Raider stiletto designed by Lieutenant Colonel Clifford H. Shuey. In the USSR, the Red Army issued combat knives based on a single pattern known as the "NR Series".


title: Combat knife

text: In late 1942, the U.S. Marine Corps adopted the 1219C2, later designated the "USMC Mark 2 Combat Knife," but better known in popular terminology as the KA-BAR. The KA-BAR differed from World War I-era U.S. combat knives in that it was designed as a dual-purpose item, adapted for both combat and as a utility knife. It differed from earlier USMC knives such as the Marine Raider stiletto in that the new knife used a stout, wide blade with clip point that facilitated slashing attacks as well as blade thrusts. Reports on the effectiveness of the new knife in jungle combat justified the Marine Corps' decision to designate the KA-BAR as the USMC's fighting knife for individual Marines.


title: Combat knife

text: The U.S. Army adopted the M3 Trench Knife in 1943 as its standard combat knife. The M3 replaced the earlier World War I-vintage Mark I trench knife in combat service. The M3 was a true combat knife, as it was designed solely for military use and was primarily intended as a fighting knife, though some compromises were made in the design to conserve strategic materials. When adapted to utility tasks such as opening ration tins or ammunition boxes, the limitations of the M3 quickly became apparent.


title: Combat knife

text: In the United States, Bo Randall began production of the "All Purpose Fighting Knife" giving it the designation of "Number 1" in his catalog. Between 1942 and 1945, Randall Made Knives produced 4,000 of these knives for battlefield use by US troops, with approximately 1,058 knives additionally subcontracted to Northampton Cutlery Company in Springfield, Massachusetts to meet wartime demand. In the 1950s Randall adopted the general pattern of the Bowie knife for several of his fighting knife designs.


title: Combat knife

text: The majority of military forces today have largely standardized the types of combat knife issued to soldiers. The Chilean Commando forces, for instance, are trained in the use of the Corvo, a traditional Chilean military weapon. The Gurkha regiments favor the kukri, a broad-bladed, curved general-purpose cutting tool and weapon that more closely resembles a machete or Filipino Bolo than a knife. In the United States Marine Corps, the standard issue combat knife since World War II has been the USMC Fighting Utility knife.


title: Combat knife

text: Designed for military use, with input for Capt. George Ingraham, a combat surgeon in the U.S. Army's 94th Medical Detachment, the No. 14 Randall "Attack" Model was a popular combat knife designed for military use, and the knife was widely purchased by individual soldiers and Marines. During the conflict, Randall received feedback from Captain Ingraham, who requested serrations on the spine to cut through the fuselage of downed aircraft to rescue trapped personnel and a hollow handle to allow storage of survival gear. Randall made the changes and the result was the first of the modern survival knives.


title: Combat knife

text: Another combat knife appearing during the Vietnam War was the Gerber Mark II, designed for military use by US Army Captain Bud Holzman and Al Mar which in turn was based on the pattern of a Roman "Gladius" or short sword. In the 1970s and 1980s a student and protégé of Fairbairn, Colonel Rex Applegate worked with knife designer Bill Harsey, Jr. to design the Applegate-Fairbairn Combat Knife, so named because it was designed as an improvement on the Fairbairn–Sykes based upon discussions Applegate and Fairbairn had during World War II to eliminate the weaknesses of the F-S knife (e.g., weak blade point, inability to determine orientation of blade merely by grip). The first of these knives were made by Al Mar Knives, based on Harsey's designs.


title: Combat knife

text: Knifemaker Bill Harsey later teamed up with Chris Reeve to design the Yarborough Knife, a combat knife presented to each graduate of the United States Army Special Forces Qualification Course. In the latest step of this evolution, Bill Harsey and Chris Reeve have collaborated with the father of the Modern Army Combatives Program, Matt Larsen, to design the LHR Combat knife.


title: Combat knife

text: The German military uses the Eickhorn KM2000 as their standard issue knife. The design is a westernized Tantō, issued to the Bundeswehr. The blade is made of either 440A or N695 depending on different models. Some of them use 55Si7 spring steel. The knifemaker Eickhorn in Solingen, Germany has issued KCB-77 bayonets to the Canadian Military and the USMC. Apart from the KM2000 there are many other knives from Eickhorn, the KM3000, KM4000, KM5000, ParaCommando, and Aviator Series knives. The knives from Eickhorn are extremely sturdy and for professional use. Those knives are also preferred by military forces worldwide.


title: Combat knife

text: The Austrian Forces use the Glock knife. This is also used as a bayonet for the Steyr AUG bullpup rifle used by Austrian Forces. The blade is made of phosphated carbon steel. The handle is a special strong polymer manufactured by Glock. The Glock knife is also used by special forces around the world.


title: The Nan Movie

text: The Nan Movie (originally conceived as "This Nan's Life") is a 2022 British comedy film written by Catherine Tate and Brett Goldstein and directed by Josie Rourke (uncredited). The film stars Tate and Mathew Horne. It is based on the television series, "Catherine Tate's Nan", which is a set of four specials that were broadcast between 2009 and 2015, and itself is a spin-off of the television sketch series, "The Catherine Tate Show" (2004–2007). The film centres on the eponymous "Nan" character who travels cross-country to visit her dying sister, and includes several flashbacks to their upbringing and early adulthood.


title: The Nan Movie

text: Foul-mouthed and cantankerous London woman Joanie "Nan" Taylor's (Catherine Tate) grandson, Jamie (Mathew Horne), takes her to see the dying sister with whom she had a falling out when they were young women. Nan would rather just have a good time, however, and the road trip features many comedic detours alternated with flashbacks to the sisters in their youth.


title: The Nan Movie

text: In early 2019, it was first announced that Catherine Tate would be reprising her role of Joanie Taylor, who first appeared in the sketch series, and subsequently, the spin-off series, for a feature film. The project, directed by Josie Rourke of the 2018 biographical drama, "Mary Queen of Scots", announced via Instagram that the film would be titled "This Nan's Life". Matthew Horne reprises his role as "Nan"'s long-suffering grandson, Jamie, as well as Niky Wardley, another well-known performer within the original series, and Katherine Parkinson. The film is written by Tate and former collaborator Brett Goldstein. Warner Bros. holds the distribution rights in the United Kingdom.


title: The Nan Movie

text: After initial filming, the film was retooled substantially. The film largely took place in 1940s London. Those scenes were scaled back and new footage, greatly expanding the modern-day road trip sections, was filmed without Rourke at a low-cost, with animation sequences also used to fill any gaps.


title: The Nan Movie

text: The film was scheduled to be released on 19 June 2020, but was indefinitely postponed due to cinemas being closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The trailer and poster for the film were released on 18 February 2022 with Josie Rourke receiving an executive producer credit and no director credited. The film was released on 18 March 2022. As a result of "technical reasons", Pete Bennett's role was reduced to a brief appearance.


title: The Nan Movie

text: "The Nan Movie" was released on 18 March 2022 in 514 cinemas across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The film's theatrical gross on 4 May 2022 was $2,165,386.


title: The Nan Movie

text: The film received a resoundingly negative reception from critics. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, "The Nan Movie" has an approval rating of 0%, based on 13 reviews. "The Guardian" described it as "brutally unfunny", giving it one star out of five, "The Telegraph" as being "as interminable as it is revolting", also awarding 1/5, while the monthly film magazine "Empire" was slightly more positive, calling it "a mostly unfunny attempt to wring long-form laughs from a character who works better in short doses", awarding 2/5.


title: The Nan Movie

text: "Bleeding Cool" commented on the film's disjointed narrative, with the flashback scenes described as "a thoughtful, beautifully shot period piece set in London during the war", while the much more dominant present-day plot is a "dull-looking road trip from London to Ireland filled with boring, tedious irrelevant distractions that hurt the brain." The site's original review of "The Nan Movie" was entitled "Finding A Much Better Film Within", and commented on how no director is credited despite collaboration from Josie Rourke, who has previously directed historical dramas and stage plays. "The Guardian"'s critic also commented on the relative quality of the flashbacks as compared to the other material.


title: The Nan Movie

text: The later article states that, according to its sources, when the original cut of the film was presented to its backers in 2019, the backers were uncomfortable with the wartime storyline. They requested that it be heavily cut to accommodate much more of the present-day plot with the elderly Joan Taylor, whom fans of "The Catherine Tate Show" will recognise. A good deal more of this material was then cheaply and hastily shot to replace the cut footage.


title: Horse hoof

text: A horse hoof is the lower extremity of each leg of a horse, the part that makes contact with the ground and carries the weight of the animal. It is both hard and flexible. It is a complex structure surrounding the distal phalanx of the 3rd digit (digit III of the basic pentadactyl limb of vertebrates, evolved into a single weight-bearing digit in horses) of each of the four limbs, which is covered by soft tissue and keratinised (cornified) matter.


title: Horse hoof

text: The hoof is made up of two parts. The outer part, called the hoof capsule, is composed of various cornified specialized structures. The inner, living part of the hoof, is made up of soft tissues and bone. The cornified material of the hoof capsule differ in structure and properties. Dorsally, it covers, protects, and supports P3 (also known as the coffin bone, pedal bone, or PIII). Palmarly/plantarly, it covers and protects specialised soft tissues, such as tendons, ligaments, fibro-fatty and/or fibrocartilaginous tissues, and cartilage. The upper, almost circular limit of the hoof capsule is the coronet (also called coronary band), is at an angle to the ground of roughly similar magnitude in each pair of feet (i.e., fronts and backs). These angles may differ slightly from one horse to another, but not markedly. The walls of the hoof originate from the coronet band. Walls are longer in the dorsal portion of the hoof (toe), intermediate in length in the lateral portion (quarter), and short in the palmar/plantar portion (heel). Heels are separated by an elastic, resilient structure named the 'frog'. In the palmar/plantar part of the foot, above the heels and the frog, there are two oval bulges named the 'bulbs'.


title: Horse hoof

text: When viewed from the lower surface, the hoof wall's free margin encircles most of the hoof. The triangular frog occupies the center area. Lateral to the frog are two grooves, deeper in their posterior portion, named 'collateral grooves'. At the heels, the palmar/plantar portions of the walls bend inward sharply, following the external surface of the collateral grooves to form the bars. The lower surface of the hoof, from the outer walls and the inner frog and bars, is covered by an exfoliating keratinised material, called the 'sole'.


title: Horse hoof

text: Just below the coronet, the walls are covered for about an inch by a cornified, opaque 'periople' material. In the palmar/plantar part of the hoof, the periople is thicker and more rubbery over the heels, and it merges with frog material. Not all horses have the same amount of periople. Dry feet tend to lack this substance, which can be substituted with a hoof dressing.


title: Horse hoof

text: The walls are considered as a protective shield covering the sensitive internal hoof tissues (like the exoskeleton of arthropods), as a structure devoted to dissipating the energy of concussion, and as a surface to provide grip on different terrains. They are elastic and very tough, and vary in thickness from 6 to 12 mm. The walls are composed of three distinct layers: the pigmented layer, the water line, and the white line.


title: Horse hoof

text: The "pigmented layer" is generated by the coronet, and its color is just like that of the coronet skin from which it is derived. If the coronet skin has any dark patches, the walls show a corresponding pigmented line, from the coronet to the ground, showing the wall's growth direction. This layer has a predominately protective role and is not as resistant to ground contact, where it can break and flake away.


title: Horse hoof

text: The "water line" is built up by the coronet and by the wall's corium (the living tissue immediately beneath the walls). Its thickness increases proportionally to the distance from the coronet and, in the lower third of the walls, is thicker than the pigmented layer. It is very resistant to contact with the ground, and it serves mainly a support function.


title: Horse hoof

text: The "white line" is the inner layer of the wall. It is softer and fibrous in structure and light in color; white in a freshly trimmed hoof, yellowish or gray after exposure to air and dirt. From the underside of the healthy hoof, it is seen as a thin line joining the sole and the walls. The white line grows out from the laminar connections. Any visible derangement of the white line indicates some important derangement of laminar connections that fix the walls to the underlying P3 bone. Since the white line is softer than both the walls and the sole, it wears fast where it appears on the surface; it appears as a subtle groove between the sole and the walls, often with some debris or sand inside.


title: Horse hoof

text: The three layers of the wall merge into a single mass, and they grow downwards together. If the wall does not wear naturally from sufficient movement on abrasive terrain, then it will protrude from the solar surface. It then becomes prone to breakage, and the healthy hoof will self-trim by breaking or chipping off.


title: Horse hoof

text: When a horseshoe is applied, it is fixed to the wall. Nails are driven in, oblique to the walls. They enter the wall at the outside edge of the white line and they emerge at the wall's surface, about 15 to 20 mm from the base of the wall.


title: Horse hoof

text: The frog is a V-shaped structure that extends forward across about two-thirds of the sole. Its thickness grows from the front to the back and, at the back, it merges with the heel periople. In its midline, it has a central groove (sulcus) that extends up between the bulbs.


title: Horse hoof

text: It is dark gray-blackish in color and of a rubbery consistency, suggesting its role as a shock absorber and grip tool on hard, smooth ground. The frog also acts like a pump to move the blood back to the heart, a great distance from the relatively thin leg to the main organ of the circulatory system.


title: Horse hoof

text: In the stabled horse, the frog does not wear but degrades, due to bacterial and fungal activity, to an irregular, soft, slashed surface. In the free-roaming horse, it hardens into a callous consistency with a near-smooth surface. For good health, the horse requires dry areas to stand. If exposed to constant wet or damp environments, the frog will develop a bacterial infection called thrush.


title: Horse hoof

text: The sole has a whitish-yellowish, sometimes grayish color. It covers the whole space from the perimeter of the wall to the bars and the frog, on the underside of the hoof. Its deep layer has a compact, waxy character and it is called 'live sole'. Its surface is variable in character as a result of ground contact. If there is no contact, as in shod hooves or when the walls are too long or the movement poor, the lower surface of the sole has a crumbly consistency, and it is easily abraded by scratching it with a hoofpick. Conversely, it has a very hard consistency, with a smooth, bright surface, when there is a consistent, active contact with the ground. The front portion beneath the front of the pedal bone is called the 'sole callus'.


title: Horse hoof

text: A stone bruise affects the sole of the horse's foot. It is often caused by a horse treading on a stone or sharp type of object, landings from high jumps and excessive exposure to snow. These can also occur when horses, particularly baby horses, perform various acrobatic feats (known as horse gymnastics). A major symptom is lameness.


title: Horse hoof

text: Bars are the inward folds of the wall, originating from the heels at an abrupt angle. The strong structure built up by the extremities of the heel and of the bar is called the 'heel buttress'. The sole between the heel walls and the bars is named the 'seat of corn', and it is a very important landmark used by natural hoof trimmers to evaluate the correct heel height. The bars have a three-layer structure just like the walls (see above). When overgrown, they bend outwards and cover the lower surface of the sole.


title: Horse hoof

text: The third phalanx (coffin bone; pedal bone; P3;) is completely (or almost completely) covered by the hoof capsule. It has a crescent shape and a lower cup-like concavity. Its external surface mirrors the wall's shape. The corium, a dermo-epidermal, highly vascularized and innervated layer between the wall and the coffin bone, has a parallel, laminar shape, and is named the laminae. The laminar connection has a key role in the strength and health of the hoof. Beneath the rear part of the sole, there is the digital cushion, which separates the frog and the bulb from underlying tendons, joints, and bones, providing cushioning protection. In foals and yearlings, the digital cushion is composed of fibro-fatty, soft tissue. In the adult horse, it hardens into a fibrocartilaginous tissue when sufficient, consistent concussion stimulates the back of the hoof. Normal transformation of the digital cushion into fibrocartilagineous tissue is now considered a key goal, both for prevention of, and for rehabilitation of recovering cases of navicular syndrome. The flexor tendon lies deeper, just along the posterior surface of the small pastern bone (PII) and navicular bone, and it connects with the posterior surface of P3; the navicular functions as a pulley.


title: Horse hoof

text: The horse hoof is not a rigid structure, but fairly elastic and flexible. When loaded, the hoof physiologically changes its shape. In part, this is a result of solar concavity, which has a variable depth in the region of 1–1.5 cm. In part, it is a result of the arched shape of the lateral lower profile of the walls and sole, so that when an unloaded hoof touches a firm ground surface, there is only contact at the toe and heels (active contact). A loaded hoof has a much greater area of ground contact (passive contact), covering the lower wall edge, most of the sole, bars, and frog. Active contact areas can be seen as slightly protruding spots in the walls and in the callused sole.


title: Horse hoof

text: The shape changes in a loaded hoof are complex. The plantar arch flattens, the solar concavity decreases in depth, and the heels spread. The hoof diameter increases to a 'dilated' configuration and P3 drops marginally into the hoof capsule. There is some recent evidence that a depression takes place in this phase, with blood pooling ('diastolic phase') mainly into the wall corium. When unloaded, the hoof restores its 'contracted' configuration, the pressure rises and the blood is squeezed out ('systolic phase'). There is a secondary pumping action with the flexion of the foot as it is raised.


title: Horse hoof

text: The hoof mechanism ensures effective blood circulation into the hoof, and it aids general circulation.


title: Horse hoof

text: Hooves are a plastic structure and their time-related, very complex changes can be considered in the short term (days/weeks) and over the horse's lifespan.


title: Horse hoof

text: Just like the cornified layer of epidermis and of any mammalian nail, the hoof capsule is created only from the epidermis, the outer living layer of the skin. From a microscopic point of view, the epidermis is a multi-layered, specialised cornifying epithelium. It overlays the dermis, and it is separated from it by a basal lamina. It has no blood vessels, and living cells acquire their oxygen and nutrients by fluid exchanges and molecular diffusion from the underlying dermis, flowing into microscopical spaces among individual cells. Products of metabolism are cleared by the reverse of this process. Epidermis growth takes place by mitotic activity in its deepest layer, into the basal layer, with slow outward migration and maturation of cells. As these cells approach the surface, special proteins accumulate into their cytoplasm, then the cells die and 'dry', into microscopic, tightly-connected individual layers, composed mainly of keratin. The resulting 'dead' superficial layer serves a protective function, saving underlying living tissues from injury, from dehydration, and from fungal and bacterial attack. The constant thickness of the cornified layer results most commonly from regular superficial exfoliation. When a specialised cornified structure has a particular toughness, as in nails and hair, little or no exfoliation occurs, and the cornified structures must slowly migrate away from their original position.


title: Horse hoof

text: Thus, the specialised cornified structures of the hoof are the wall, the sole, the frog and the periople. The wall does not exfoliate at all; it is constantly growing downward (about 1 cm per month), and self-trims by wearing or chipping by ground contact. In wild and feral horses, solar, frog and periople materials grow outwards and exfoliate at the surface by ground contact and wearing. In the domesticated horse, movement and typical ground hardness are insufficient to allow self-trimming, so humans have to care for them by trimming the walls and the frog, and scraping off the dead sole.


title: Horse hoof

text: The front and hind hooves are identical in the foal but differ visibly in the adult horse. This is good evidence of the medium-term plasticity of the whole hoof shape, as a result of variation in its use. Slow changes in hoof shape occur under any consistent change in the horse's movement pattern and under a wide variety of pathological conditions. They can be seen now as a clear example of a complex adaptive system, a frequent feature of living beings and structures.


title: Horse hoof

text: Self-adapting capabilities of the hooves show their maximal effectiveness in wild equids (but domesticated horses show this too, to a lesser extent), as shown by the perfect soundness of feral horses, such as Mustangs, in a wide variety of environments.


title: Horse hoof

text: Equid hooves are the result of the 55-million-year evolution of the horse. The ancestral horse, "Eohippus", is characterized by four toes on the hindfeet and three toes on the forefeet. Wild and domesticated "Equus" species share a very similar hoof shape and function. The present-day conformation of the hoof is a result of a progressive evolutionary loss of digits I, II, IV and V of the basal pentadactyl limb, with changes in bones, joints, and the hoof capsule. The resulting conformation allows a heavy, strong body to move with high speed on any ground, and most efficiently on open, hard, flat areas like prairies and deserts (an example of cursorial specialisation).


title: Horse hoof

text: There are several disorders and injuries that can affect the equine hoof. Laminitis and navicular disease are two of the most serious. Thrush and white line disease, common bacterial infections, can become serious if left untreated. Quittor, an infection of the lower leg that can travel under the hoof, is also sometimes seen, although most commonly in draft horses. Hoof wall separation disease is a genetic hoof disease.


title: Horse hoof

text: Quarter cracks are vertical splits in a hoof wall, most commonly seen on the inside of the front hooves or the outside of the hind hooves. They can result from poor shoeing and management practices, natural hoof conformation, or injuries to the leg and hoof.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: First discussions surrounding "Lost Odyssey" began in 2003, with development beginning the following year as an internal Microsoft project. After running into difficulties, Feelplus was established as a dedicated studio to work on the game. The story was written by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Japanese author Kiyoshi Shigematsu: Sakaguchi wanted to create a story focusing on evoking human emotions, and kept the gameplay within genre traditions so he could experiment with the story. The game went through a difficult development, with problems stemming from the chosen engine technology and the arrangement of development teams. The music was composed by Nobuo Uematsu, a veteran composer for the "Final Fantasy" series.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: First hinted at in 2005, the game was officially revealed shortly before that year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. At the time it was released, it was Microsoft's largest console game, spanning four dual-layer DVDs. Upon its debut in Japan, it sold favourably, eventually selling nearly 110,000 units by April 2010. It also received strong sales overseas. Its critical reception has been generally positive: while praise has focused on its story, many journalists were critical of its traditional design and loading times.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: "Lost Odyssey" uses a traditional turn-based battle system seen in most Japanese role-playing games, similar to early "Final Fantasy" iterations. A world map allows the player to move the party between adjacent towns or fields on the map, while later in the game the player is given more freedom to explore the world through the use of ocean-going ships. Towns and cities provide inns for the player to recover the party's health, stores for buying and selling of equipment, and save points for the game. While exploring certain areas, the player will randomly encounter monsters to fight.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: The combat system incorporates aspects of battle initiative and length of actions to determine how events resolve each turn. Item usage is instantaneous, regular melee attacks are executed on the same turn, while casting spells or using special abilities may delay the player's action for one or more turns, depending on their speed. Actions can be delayed if the user is hit by an attack. The player has the option to cancel an action on a subsequent turn if necessary.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: Melee attacks include an "Aim Ring System" using equippable rings with added effects. As the character launches the attack, two concentric targeting rings appear on screen. The player must time their button release in order to make the rings intersect. An accuracy rank ("Perfect", "Good" or "Bad") indicates the potency of the effect. These include additional damage specific to certain types of monsters or their magic element, hit point or mana absorption, status ailments, or being able to steal items. Even if awarded a "Perfect", the character can still miss the attack altogether. These rings are created by synthesizing "components", and can be upgraded into more accurate, or more potent versions; advanced rings can be made by combining two or more rings at a special vendor.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: In combat, both the player's party and enemies are arranged in two lines, front or back. Up to five party members can participate in battle at once. At the start of battle, the back line is protected by a special defensive "wall" which is based on the combined hit points of the front line. This wall reduces damage that the characters in the back experience. However, as the front line takes damage, the wall weakens, and can only be recovered through the use of certain spells or skills.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: There are two types of characters that the player controls. "Mortals" gain skills by leveling up, but can benefit from additional skills by equipping accessories. "Immortals" do not know any skills initially, but instead gain skills by "linking" with a mortal character that is currently part of the battle formation, earning skill points in battle towards complete learning of the skill. Immortals can also learn skills from accessories by equipping them in the same manner, much like the ability point system of "Final Fantasy IX". Once a skill is learned, the player can then assign these skills to a limited number of skill slots, initially starting at three but able to be expanded via "Slot Seed" items or certain skills. Immortals also have the ability to automatically revive in battle should they lose all their hit points; if the entire party is downed, including the immortals, the game will be over.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: The game's magic system is based on four classes of magic: Black, consisting primarily of elemental attacks and negative status effects; White, mainly for healing and protection; Spirit, for stat changes, status ailments and non-elemental magic; and Composite, which can combine two spells, once learned, into multi-target or multi-function spells. To cast spells, the player must first find spells to fill the spell book, and then must have characters that have learned the appropriate magic skill of the right level to cast that spell.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: "Lost Odyssey" is set in a world in which a "Magic-Industrial Revolution" is taking place. While magic energy existed in all living creatures beforehand, it suddenly became far more powerful thirty years before the beginning of the game. Because of this, it has affected society greatly, with devices called "Magic Engines" harnessing this power for lighting, automobiles, communication, and robots, among other uses. While previously only a select few could wield magic, many magicians gained the ability. However, such progress has also caused two nations to develop new and more powerful weapons of mass destruction: the kingdom of Gohtza and the Republic of Uhra (which recently converted from a monarchy). Uhra is building Grand Staff, a gigantic magic engine, while the heavily industrialized Gohtza actively pursues magic research of their own. A third nation, the Free Ocean State of Numara, remains isolated and neutral, though it is falling into disarray due to a general attempting to stage a coup d'etat. Uhra, at war with Khent, a nation of beastmen, sends its forces to the Highlands of Wohl for a decisive battle at the start of the game.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: After a meteor wipes out the majority of forces from the nations of Uhra and Khent, Kaim joins Seth and Jansen to investigate the Grand Staff at the behest of the council of Uhra. At the Staff, the three are captured by hostile scouts who take them to Numara, where they meet with Queen Ming, another immortal who has lost her memory. The queen allows the group to go free in Numara, where Kaim meets Cooke and Mack, his grandchildren, who join the group after the death of their mother.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: News eventually arrives in Numara that Gongora has encouraged Tolten to reestablish the monarchy in Uhra and prepare for war. The general of Numara, Kakanas, uses the opportunity to usurp control of the country from Ming, forcing her to flee with Kaim and others as enemies of the state. The group travels towards the nation of Gohtza, hoping to seek help from its King. On the way, Sarah Sisulart, Kaim's wife, joins the party after she is recovered from the Old Sorceress Mansion.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: Arriving in Gohtza, Kaim and Sarah arrange for a peace negotiation between the Gohtzan King, Queen Ming, and Tolten to take place on a train. However, Kaim and Sarah are forced to go after Cooke and Mack, who steal a train to again try to find the spirit of their departed mother, leaving Jansen and Seth to participate in the negotiation alone. During the meeting, Gongora activates Grand Staff and flash freezes the entire country. Kaim and Sarah locate Cooke and Mack but are forced to separate due to a vicious magic attack by Gongora. Kaim and Sarah's train crashes, while Cooke and Mack are stranded on the train tracks in the freezing cold. The children are later saved by Ming and Jansen. The four unite and rescue Kaim and Sarah. In Uhra, Tolten learns that Gongora has announced Tolten's death and has usurped the throne, thus he joins with Seth to help free her son Sed, who joins the party, and his pirate hydrofoil submarine, the Nautilus. The entire party reconvenes in Gohtza.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: The immortals talk and begin to recover their memories, realizing that they are actually observers from a parallel universe. In Gongora's diary, he explains the difference in space-time, where 1000 years is equivalent to 1 year in the parallel universe. The diary also explains that the immortals' world has been affected by the emotions of people in the mortal realm.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: After regaining their memories, the party heads for Grand Staff. They recognize that Gongora is attempting to use the Grand Staff to destroy the portal between the two worlds, killing the other immortals and making himself effectively invincible. The group confronts Gongora in the Hall of Mirrors, the only place where they are vulnerable to death. The mortals help to block the mirror's power while the immortals fight Gongora, but their powers are equally matched. When the mortals become trapped in their own barrier after absorbing too much power, Seth drags Gongora through the mirror, allowing Kaim to break it and prevent him from ever returning.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: In the epilogue, the nations led by Ming and Tolten come together to rebuild society, and the monarchy is restored in Uhra. Ming and Jansen get married, while Kaim and Sarah settle down to help raise Cooke and Mack, all aware that Seth is able to observe their happy endings.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: The development of "Lost Odyssey" was first proposed to Microsoft Game Studios by "Final Fantasy" creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. The first discussions began in 2003. It was a collaboration between Mistwalker, an independent game studio set up by Sakaguchi in 2004, and Microsoft. It was initially an internal project by Microsoft with Sakaguchi, but development ran into difficulties. Faced with critical problems, Microsoft decided to found a dedicated studio to help with development: this became Feelplus, which formed one part of AQ Interactive. The staff of feelplus included a large number of developers from the defunct "Shadow Hearts" developer Nautilus, and staff members from "The Legend of Dragoon" and "Phantom Dust". Among the shared staff were art director Takamasa Ohsawa. They also included developers from Microsoft and Sega. Further freelance staff were also brought in. Development started in 2004 and lasted three and a half years. Mistwalker handled the story and character design, Feelplus developed the actual product, while Microsoft provided funding, project management and testing. While development started with ten people, at development's peak it was at 150. The game's respective director and technical director, Daisuke Fukugawa and Katsuhisa Higuchi, had previously worked at Square Enix. Sakaguchi was fairly closely involved during the initial development, but during later phases he took a more hands-off supervisory approach.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: The game's story was written by Sakaguchi, whose main aim was to create a highly emotional experience that explored the human psyche. According to him, the game's setting revolved around conflict and its effects. In addition to Sakaguchi's work, Japanese novelist Kiyoshi Shigematsu created over thirty stories detailing Kaim's life as an immortal, titled "A Thousand Years of Dreams". According to Shigematsu, it was the first time he had ever worked on a video game, and was unsure about whether he could evoke emotion as he did in his books. In the end, he found that the interactive medium gave his work a new impact that moved him to tears upon seeing it in place. These story segments were presented in the game in a similar style to a visual novel, as the stories were intended to evoke emotion. The gameplay, such as the battle system, was kept deliberately traditional so that Sakaguchi had freedom to experiment with the story. Despite this, he wanted to introduce new real-time elements into the system. One of the elements Sakaguchi checked was how story and gameplay were balanced: sometimes, he would ask for a cutscene to be removed or for a boss battle to be lengthened if the balance seemed off.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: The music was composed and produced by Nobuo Uematsu at his studio Smile Please, a composer famous for his work on the "Final Fantasy" series. Arrangements were done by Satoshi Henmi and Hiroyuki Nakayama. Uematsu was contracted to Mistwalker to work on three of their games, with the first being "Blue Dragon". He was highly excited for the title as it was Sakaguchi's first "serious" game since leaving Square Enix in 2003. As he was involved with "Lost Odyssey" from the early stages, receiving information on the characters and setting, he was able to create his first musical pieces while the game was in early stages. Most of the two hours worth of music was recorded with a live orchestra, as Uematsu felt that the emotion evoked by the game could only be communicated through live instruments. As with his previous work, Uematsu's music covered a lot of ground: the musical style varied from grand orchestral pieces, to hardcore rock, to ambient electronic music. In addition, he used unusual ethnic instruments to introduce unconventional sounds, including a sitar and a shakuhachi. The main theme was written in a minor key to express the burden of living for over a millennium: it was incorporated into the score in various forms. Two of the songs in the game, "What You Are" and "Eclipse of Time", were sung by award-winning vocalist Sheena Easton. The vocal track "Kaette Kuru, Kitto..." was sung by Japanese band Flip Flap. The lyrics for all the songs were written by Sakaguchi.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: For the development, the staff split up into multiple teams that handled different segments of game development: one group was responsible for the game's build, another was responsible for the database system and AI, while another was in charge of level design. The game design went smoothly as the game's staff were used to the genre, but other aspects did not: development began without access to the Xbox 360 hardware, and starting development with a large staff caused aspects to be changed upon the console's release. The three separate teams that created battle, adventure, and cutscene components ran into "various issues" while combining their work, causing company president Ray Nakazato to consider "seamless" development for any later projects. Little-used parts of the environment were given an extensive level of detail, resulting in a waste of money and time, and concept art was given the same extensive level of attention. Microsoft's milestone-based development schedule was seen as a boon to the development, as every three months the team needed to produce acceptable results for Microsoft. Conversely, the high number of staff led to a prolonged feeling of disconnection between developers. According to Sakaguchi, the team was on the point of collapse by the middle of development, but they pulled through.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: The game used Unreal Engine 3 as middleware due to it being at the forefront of engine technology at the time. It also allowed development to start before the console's release. Conversely, the design philosophy behind Unreal Engine clashed with the philosophies most often used in JRPG engines, resulting in difficulties with integration that repeated themselves four times during development. In addition, the team had trouble keeping up with the engine's regular updates and reading the requisite manuals. This in turn caused technical setbacks such as long loading times. Four different types of cutscenes were created, from lower-quality real-time cutscenes to pre-rendered cinematics. In hindsight, it was felt that the pre-rendered cinematics were not needed as they used the same models as the high-quality real-time cutscenes, although during development pre-rendered cutscenes were chosen due to their improved lighting and visual effects. The different grades of cutscenes were created differently: higher-quality real-time cutscenes were first shot and then tailored motion capture animations were included with hand-manipulated facial expressions, while the lower-quality cutscenes used "off-the-shelf" motion capture. Due to a lack of a clear transition point, players later felt that cutscene quality was inconsistent. The amount of higher-quality cutscenes was much higher in earlier builds of the game, and the team needed to reduce their number and replace them with standard real-time cutscenes. The final length of cutscenes was estimated at around seven hours: one hour used pre-rendered graphics despite real-time high-quality character models being used, while six hours were purely real-time. The game's visual director was Roy Sato, who had a previous background in film and television and had worked with Sakaguchi on "". Working on the game was initially difficult, as he needed to adjust to a new format and get used to a company that was still fairly new.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: The main characters were designed by Takehiko Inoue, a noted manga artist who had developed a reputation for designing "people". Inoue made the initial character designs based on the material provided by Sakaguchi, then submitted them and adjusted them based on Sakaguchi's feedback. Characters sometimes needed to be completely redesigned, such as Tolten. The main characters' clothing was designed by "Final Fantasy" artist Hideo Minaba: the clothing was designed not to reflect any nationality or historical era. While they tried not to limit the designers' creative abilities within the game's hardware, Minaba was asked to limit fluffy or swinging clothing. The character models were hard to create, especially considering the surrounding environments. In contrast, the use of Unreal Engine 3 lessened the technical restrictions on the team. Inoue ran frequent checks on the character models as they went through multiple revisions, even down to their eyebrows. It was estimated that three hundred unique characters were created for the game. The game's concept artwork was worked on by Christian Lorenz Scheurer, who had previously worked on "Final Fantasy IX", along with film projects such as "The Fifth Element".


title: Lost Odyssey

text: Mistwalker confirmed in February 2005 that it was working on two RPGs for the then-untitled Xbox 360. "Lost Odyssey" was officially revealed during a pre-Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) conference. The game's content was large enough that it was shipped on four dual-layer DVD discs: this was one more than Mistwalker's other Xbox 360 RPG "Blue Dragon", and at the time made it Microsoft's largest console game. A demo for Japan was released in 2006, featuring a basic build of its battle system. In hindsight, a demo release this early was seen as a mistake as it gave players a negative impression of the battle system. Microsoft initially had high hopes for the title and so had high sales forecasts, but after the Xbox 360 met with poor sales in Japan, they significantly reduced their forecast.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: "Lost Odyssey" was added to the Xbox One backwards compatibility list in September 2016. The game was made available digitally on December 14 and was a free download to all Xbox Live members until December 31.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: The game was localized into multiple languages, but all the lip syncing was for the English dialogue: this was done partly to show western audiences appreciation for their support of the title, and also because Japanese audiences had grown used to out-of-sync dialogue with dubbed Western films. English voice recording was done in Los Angeles. Localization was handled by Microsoft: initially, different departments in each region handled localization for their region. The need to translate and then include the material at long distance proved problematic, so the main development team brought the localization team into the main production, introducing them to easy-to-use development tools so changes could be made easily without direct consultation with Feelplus. The story segments written by Shigematsu were translated by Jay Rubin, a noted American academic and translator from Harvard University noted for translating the works of Haruki Murakami. Microsoft chose Rubin as they wanted Shigematsu's material treated and translated with the utmost respect possible. When first approached, Rubin was skeptical, as he did not want to work in a medium that generally seemed to glorify violence. However, he eventually agreed to have a look at the material, and was shocked by the anti-violence message present throughout all the stories while remaining family-friendly. He referred to the messages within Shigematsu's stories as "essentially Buddhistic", and was surprised that Microsoft had contacted him in the first place given the stories' visual novel medium within the context of "Lost Odyssey".


title: Lost Odyssey

text: Downloadable content (DLC) for the game began release in Japan in January 2010: the content consisted of multiple additional chapters in "A Thousand Years of Dreams", powerful accessories, and an option to view cutscenes. The final DLC package included a late-game underwater dungeon. The DLC content received overseas releases between April and May 2008, but the first one was limited to a pre-order exclusive in North America.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: On November 21, 2007 a book of short stories based on the main character of Kaim was released in Japan called . It is penned by Kiyoshi Shigematsu and features 31 out of the 33 stories found in the "A Thousand Years of Dreams" sequences throughout the game itself.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: "Lost Odyssey" reportedly sold 40,000 copies in Japan on its first day at retail, around 50% of the shipment. As of February 17, 2008, the game has sold 104,417 copies in Japan according to "Famitsu" numbers. Its sales figures impressed Microsoft enough that they were considering turning "Lost Odyssey" into a series. As of April 2010, the game has sold 109,517 units in Japan, becoming the ninth best-selling game for the platform. The game has done much better in the West; according to NPD numbers "Lost Odyssey" debuted at #7, selling 203,000 in its debut month of February in North America. At its UK debut, it debuted at #6 in the gaming charts.


title: Lost Odyssey

text: The issue many took with "Lost Odyssey" was its deliberately old-school gameplay mechanics, particularly the traditional combat system, which several critics found to be dull and dated, as well as the game's use of random battles, which were further deemed an issue by their purportedly lengthy load times. Xbox Focus gave the game a 4/5 rating, declaring its story as profound, but taking an issue with the camera control and the odd character design. Unlike other critics, however, Xbox Focus's Alex Yusupov deemed the combat and random battles as exhilarating, and that "it's better to take a tried and true technique and make it better than introduce a completely new idea that could possibly screw up an entire game". IGN found that the ring-building system, immortals, and skill system added a fresh feel to the game's otherwise traditional combat, and 1UP.com praised the "timed button press" aspect of the battles, saying it makes them "more engaging than you'd think".


title: Lost Odyssey

text: While the visual novel flashback sequences, penned by Kiyoshi Shigematsu, were widely acclaimed, critics were divided on the main story itself. RPGFan stated that the story and gameplay were both "overused, uninspired, and stilted", but that the memory sequences penned by Shigematsu were "some of the richest, most emotionally charged storytelling seen in any RPG to date". GameSpot praised "Lost Odyssey"s "fascinating cast", character development, and "great plot", and also called the combat system "solid". The reviewer also described the flashbacks as "well written and emotionally gripping". GameSpy called the main plot and characters as "shamelessly derivative". "GamePro" magazine agreed, declaring that the main story was not particularly compelling, although it noted that many subplots carried plenty of emotional weight. On the other hand, "Game Informer" magazine deemed the story line as being "one of the most compelling tales ever told on the Xbox 360", and praised the "cool combat system". GameTrailers said, "what sets "Lost Odyssey" apart is a deeply moving story that places an emotional focal point on its characters".


title: Lost Odyssey

text: Despite critics' differing opinions in other areas, the game's graphics and high production values have received acclaim, although load times and framerate issues were also pointed out. However, it transpired that the copy that some reviewers received apparently had longer loading times than those of the retail version. GameSpot amended their review on February 19, 2008 to reflect this, but did not change their original score.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: Luke Douglas Kennard (born June 24, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils and was drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the 12th pick in the 2017 NBA draft.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: Kennard attended Franklin High School in Franklin, Ohio near Dayton. As a senior, he was named the "Parade" National Player of the Year. He was named the Ohio Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year as junior and senior. He was also a star quarterback in football, and though he shot with his left hand in basketball, he threw with his right hand in football.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: Finishing high school, Kennard was one of the most sought after recruits in the nation. He was ranked as the No. 24 prospect in his recruiting class by ESPN. Kennard committed to Duke University to play college basketball during his junior year of high school. He finished his career with the second most points in Ohio history, three spots ahead of LeBron James. He was a McDonald's All-American selection.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: On January 6, 2016, Luke scored 23 points in a 91–75 win over Wake Forest. On February 6, 2016, Kennard tallied 26 points in an 88–80 win over NC State. As a freshman at Duke, Kennard averaged 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: On November 29, 2016, he scored 20 points in a 78–69 win against Michigan State in ACC–Big Ten Challenge. On December 3, 2016, Kennard scored 35 points in a 94–55 win over Maine. On January 28, 2017, Kennard scored 34 points in an 85–83 win over Wake Forest. On February 11, 2017, Kennard tailed 25 points in a 64–62 victory over Clemson. On March 3, 2017, Luke scored 20 points in a 79–72 victory over Clemson in the second round and scored 24 points in an 81–77 win against Louisville in the quarterfinals of the 2017 ACC tournament. On March 10, 2017, Kennard scored 20 points in a 93–83 win over rival North Carolina in the semifinals. On March 11, 2017, Kennard tallied 16 points in a 75–69 win against Notre Dame in the ACC Championship game.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: During his sophomore year, Luke averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. He led the team both from the three-point range with 43.8% and free throw line at 85.6%. As a sophomore, he was named first team All-ACC and second-team All-American.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: He finished 1-6 from the field and fouled out in Duke's second round loss to South Carolina in the NCAA tournament. His reaction to the final foul call against him quickly turned into a meme.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: At the conclusion of his sophomore season, Kennard announced that he would forgo his final two years of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2017 NBA draft. He joined Duke teammates Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles and Frank Jackson in declaring early for the draft.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: He made his NBA debut on October 20, 2017, against the Washington Wizards, scoring 11 points and recording 2 steals in 18 minutes. Kennard started his first NBA game on December 15, 2017, after Avery Bradley suffered a groin injury, scoring 9 points with 5 rebounds and 4 assists in a win against the Indiana Pacers. Kennard recorded his first career double-double on January 24, 2018, with 10 points and 10 rebounds. On April 11, 2018, Kennard recorded a former career-high 23 points in a 119–87 victory over the Chicago Bulls.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: In July 2018, the Pistons announced that Kennard suffered a left knee strain and would miss the 2018 NBA Summer League. On October 26, 2018, Kennard suffered a sprain of the AC joint in his right shoulder and would be out for at least two weeks. On December 10, 2018, he recorded a career-high 28 points in a 116–102 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. On April 10, 2019, Kennard recorded 27 points in the last game of the regular season, in a 115–89 win over the New York Knicks.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: On October 23, 2019, Kennard scored 30 points and 3 rebounds in a 119–110 win over the Indiana Pacers. The season was Kennard's first as a full-time starter for the Pistons, but it was cut short after 28 games due to bilateral knee tendinitis and, subsequently, the suspension of the season due to COVID-19.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: On November 19, 2020, Kennard was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team trade that involved the Brooklyn Nets, sending Rodney McGruder, Džanan Musa, and the draft rights of Saddiq Bey and Jaylen Hands to Detroit. On March 22, 2021, Kennard posted 20 points on 8-for-8 from the field, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range coming off the bench, along with seven rebounds, four assists and a block in 18 minutes of action in a 119–110 win over the Atlanta Hawks, becoming the first player in franchise history to log at least 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists with less than 20 minutes of playing time in a game. Kennard ultimately missed the Clippers’ final two games of the year with a hamstring injury, both of which were play-in game losses.


title: Luke Kennard (basketball)

text: Kennard briefly dated reality TV star Savannah Chrisley. Kennard confirmed his relationship with Anna Castro. Kennard proposed to Anna Castro for marriage on October 17, 2021. They were married on August 5, 2022.


The 2022 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 85th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Teams were participating in several levels of competition. The competition also served as qualifications for division placements in the 2023 competition.


title: 2022 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships

text: After all events, outside of the top division, were cancelled in 2021, the teams were set to stay put in their respective divisions. However, adjustments were made following the IIHF's suspension of Russia and Belarus during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Interwar Britain

text: In the United Kingdom, the interwar period (1918–1939) was a period of relative stability after the division of Ireland, though of economic stagnation. In politics, the Liberal Party collapsed and the Labour Party became the main challenger to the dominant Conservative Party throughout the period. The Great Depression affected Britain less severely economically and politically than other major nations, although some areas still suffered from severe long-term unemployment and hardship, especially mining districts and in Scotland and North West England.


title: Interwar Britain

text: Historian Arthur Marwick sees a radical transformation of British society resulting from the Great War, a deluge that swept away many old attitudes and brought in a more egalitarian society. He sees the famous literary pessimism of the 1920s as misplaced, arguing there were major positive long-term consequences of the war for British society. He points to an energised self-consciousness among workers that quickly built up the Labour Party, the coming of partial women's suffrage, and an acceleration of social reform and state control of the economy. He sees a decline of deference toward the aristocracy and established authority in general, and the weakening among youth of traditional restraints on individual moral behaviour. The chaperone faded away; village chemists sold contraceptives. Marwick says that class distinctions softened, national cohesion increased, and British society became more equal during the period.


title: Interwar Britain

text: The 1918 general election produced a landslide victory for the coalition government headed by David Lloyd George, who promised "a fit country for heroes to live in". The majority of coalition MPs were Conservative and the election also saw the decline of H. H. Asquith's Liberals and the rise of the Labour Party.


title: Interwar Britain

text: Wartime regulations such as state direction of industry, price controls, the control of raw materials and foreign trade were abolished, and trade unions resurrected restrictive practices. However, food rationing remained until 1921. Prices increased twice as fast during 1919 than they had during the war and this was followed by wage increases. High taxation was regarded as the cause of wasteful government expenditure and in 1921 an Anti-Waste movement was launched, which attracted considerable support for its attacks on "wasteful" public spending. The government appointed Sir Eric Geddes head of the committee on government expenditure and in February 1922 its report was published, which recommended spending cuts on the armed forces and social services. The "Geddes Axe" on government spending and the end of the postwar economic boom in 1922 had made it impossible to fulfil the promises of reconstruction and "homes for heroes".


title: Interwar Britain

text: The Representation of the People Act 1918 finally gave Britain universal manhood suffrage at age 21, with no property qualifications. Even more dramatically it opened up woman suffrage for most women over the age of 30. In 1928, all women were covered on the same terms as men. With the emergence of revolutionary forces, most notably in Bolshevik Russia and Socialist Germany, but also in Hungary, Italy and elsewhere, revolution to overthrow established elites and aristocracies was in the air. The Labour Party largely controlled working-class politics, and it strongly supported the government in London and opposed violent revolution. Conservatives were especially worried about "Red Clydeside" in industrial Scotland. Their fears were misplaced, for there was no organised attempt at any revolution.


title: Interwar Britain

text: Nevertheless, there were concerns about republicanism. The king and his top advisers were deeply concerned about the republican threat to the British monarchy, so much so that it was a factor in the king's decision not to rescue his cousin, the overthrown Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Nervous conservatives associated republicanism with the rise of socialism and the growing labour movement. Their concerns, although exaggerated, resulted in a redesign of the monarchy's social role to be more inclusive of the working class and its representatives, a dramatic change for George, who was most comfortable with naval officers and landed gentry. In fact the socialists by 1911 no longer believed in their anti-monarchy slogans and took a wait-and-see attitude toward George V. They were ready to come to terms with the monarchy if it took the first step. During the war George took that step; he made nearly 300 visits to shipyards and munitions factories, chatting with and congratulating ordinary workers on their hard work for the war effort. He adopted a more democratic stance that crossed class lines and brought the monarchy closer to the public. The king also cultivated friendly relations with leading Labour party politicians and trade union officials. George V's abandonment of social aloofness conditioned the royal family's behaviour and enhanced its popularity during the economic crises of the 1920s and for over two generations thereafter. For example, in 1924 the king proved willing, in the absence of a clear majority for any one of the three parties, to replace Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin with Ramsay MacDonald, the first Labour Party prime minister. King George's tactful and understanding reception of the MacDonald government allayed the suspicions of the party's supporters throughout the nation.


title: Interwar Britain

text: An armed insurrection by Irish republicans known as the Easter Rising took place in Dublin during Easter Week, 1916. It was badly organised, and quickly suppressed by the Army. The government responded with harsh repression, 2000 arrests, and quick execution of 15 leaders. The Catholic Irish then underwent a dramatic change of mood, and shifted to demand vengeance and independence. In 1917 David Lloyd George called the 1917–18 Irish Convention in an attempt to settle the outstanding Home Rule for Ireland issue. It had little support. The upsurge in republican sympathies in Ireland following the Easter Rising coupled with Lloyd George's disastrous attempt to extend conscription to Ireland in April 1918 led to the wipeout of the old Irish Home Rule Party at the December 1918 election. They had supported the British war effort and were then displaced by Sinn Féin, which had mobilised grass-roots opposition to helping the British rule. Sinn Féin MPs did not take up their seats in the British Parliament, instead setting up their own new parliament in Dublin, and immediately declared an Irish Republic.


title: Interwar Britain

text: British policy was confused and contradictory, as the cabinet could not decide on war or peace, sending in enough force to commit atrocities that angered Catholics in Ireland and America, and Liberals in Britain, but not enough to suppress the rebels outside the cities. Lloyd George waxed hot and cold, denouncing murderers one day, but eventually negotiating with them. He sent in 40,000 soldiers as well as newly formed para-military units—the "Black and Tans" and the Auxiliaries—to reinforce the professional police (the Royal Irish Constabulary). British firepower prevailed in the cities forcing the Irish Republican Army (IRA) (the paramilitary force of Sinn Féin) into hiding. However the IRA controlled much of the countryside and set up an alternative local government. The British units were poorly coordinated while Michael Collins designed a highly effective organisation for the IRA that used informers to destroy the British intelligence system by assassinating its leadership. Although it was called "Irish War of Independence" historians generally agree that it was quite unlike the later Irish Civil War that was fought in 1922–23 between the forces of Collins and Éamon de Valera. The 1919–21 clash "was no war in any conventional sense of the term, but a highly contingent, very small-scale and low-intensity conflict in which assassination was as important as ambush or fixed battle."


title: Interwar Britain

text: Lloyd George finally solved the crisis with the Government of Ireland Act 1920 which partitioned Ireland into Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland in May 1921. Sinn Féin won control of the south and agreed to the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1921 with Irish leaders. Collins took power when de Valera refused to sign and led a breakaway faction. Under the treaty southern Ireland seceded in 1922 to form the Irish Free State. Meanwhile, the Unionists under Edward Carson controlled Ulster and Northern Ireland remained loyal to London. By 1922 the Irish situation had stabilised, and no longer played a major role in British politics. Nevertheless, disputes sputtered for decades regarding the exact relationship to the monarchy, a trade war in the 1930s, and British use of naval ports. The Irish Free State cut many of its ties to Britain in 1937. As the Republic of Ireland it was one of a handful of neutrals in Europe in the Second World War.


title: Interwar Britain

text: The Lloyd George ministry fell apart in 1922 after Conservative MPs voted to end their membership of the Coalition at the Carlton Club meeting of 19 October. Bonar Law became prime minister of a Conservative government and won the general election with a manifesto that promised spending cuts and a non-interventionist foreign policy. However, he resigned in May 1923 because of ill health and was replaced by Stanley Baldwin. Baldwin, as leader of the Conservative Party (1923–37) and as Prime Minister (in 1923–24, 1924–29 and 1935–37), dominated British politics. His mixture of strong social reforms and steady government proved a powerful election combination, with the result that the Conservatives governed Britain either by themselves or as the leading component of the National Government. In the general election of 1935 Baldwin's was the last government to win over 50% of the vote. Baldwin's political strategy was to polarise the electorate so that voters would choose between the Conservatives on the right and the Labour Party on the left, squeezing out the Liberals in the middle. The polarisation did take place and while the Liberals remained active under Lloyd George, they won few seats. Baldwin's reputation soared in the 1920s and 1930s, but crashed after 1940 as he was blamed for the appeasement policies toward Germany, and as Churchill was made the Conservative icon by his admirers. Since the 1970s Baldwin's reputation has recovered somewhat. Ross McKibbin finds that the political culture of the interwar period was built around an anti-socialist middle class, supported by the Conservative leaders, especially Baldwin.


title: Interwar Britain

text: Having won an election just the year before, Baldwin's Conservative party had a comfortable majority in the Commons and could have waited another four years, but the government was concerned about unemployment. As Bonar Law had pledged that there would no change in the country's fiscal system without a second general election, Baldwin felt the need to receive a new mandate from the people to introduce tariffs, which he hoped would secure the home market for domestic manufacturers and reduce unemployment. Oxford historian (and Conservative MP) J. A. R. Marriott depicts the gloomy national mood:


title: Interwar Britain

text: The times were still out of joint. Mr. Baldwin had indeed succeeded in negotiating (January 1923) a settlement of the British debt to the United States, but on terms which involved an annual payment of £34 million, at the existing rate of exchange. The French remained in the Ruhr. Peace had not yet been made with Turkey; unemployment was a standing menace to national recovery; there was continued unrest among the wage-earners, and a significant strike among farm labourers in Norfolk. Confronted by these difficulties, convinced that economic conditions in England called for a drastic change in fiscal policy, and urged thereto by the Imperial Conference of 1923, Mr. Baldwin decided to ask the country for a mandate for Preference and Protection.


title: Interwar Britain

text: The result of the election however backfired on Baldwin, who lost a host of seats to the pro-free trade Labour and the Liberal parties. The Conservatives remained the largest party with 258 seats, compared to Labour's 191 seats and 158 for the Liberals. Baldwin remained prime minister until the government lost a vote of confidence in the House of Commons on 21 January 1924, when Labour and the Liberals combined to vote against the government. The next day Baldwin resigned the premiership and Ramsay MacDonald formed the first Labour government.


title: Interwar Britain

text: Although the Labour government lacked a majority, it passed the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act 1924, which increased government subsidies to local authorities to build municipal housing for rent for low paid workers. The Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Snowden balanced the budget through cuts in expenditure and taxation.


title: Interwar Britain

text: The Labour government officially recognised the Soviet Union on 1 February 1924 and engaged in negotiations with the Soviets to settle outstanding issues, such as the payment of Russia's pre-revolutionary debts to Britain. However, the Soviets would only agree if they received a loan guaranteed by the British government. The government signed two treaties with the Soviets on 8 August; the first was a commercial treaty which granted most favoured nation status and the second was a general treaty, which left the settlement of pre-revolutionary debts and the government loan to be negotiated at a later date. The Conservatives and Liberals denounced the treaties, especially the government loan, which David Lloyd George called "a fake...a thoroughly grotesque agreement".


title: Interwar Britain

text: On 5 August the police raided the offices of "Workers' Weekly", the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Great Britain, for publishing a seditious article by J. R. Campbell, who was arrested under the Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797. The Labour government dropped the prosecution of the Campbell Case on 13 August, which was criticised by Conservatives and Liberals as political interference. On 8 October the Conservatives voted for the Liberal motion that called for a committee of enquiry on the government's decision, which was carried by 364 votes to 198. Parliament was dissolved the next day and a general election was called. On 25 October, four days before polling day, the "Daily Mail" published the "Zinoviev letter", which purported to be from Grigory Zinoviev, the Soviet politician and head of the Communist International. The letter, now believed to be a forgery, called for the British Communist Party to support the Russian treaties and encouraged them to commit seditious activities.


title: Interwar Britain

text: Baldwin had renounced protectionism in June 1924 and as a consequence there was no longer any major barrier for those Liberals who wanted to vote Conservative to oust the Labour government. In the election the Liberals lost over 100 seats, mainly to the Conservatives, whilst Labour suffered a net loss of 42 seats. The Conservatives won a large parliamentary majority and Baldwin again became prime minister.


title: Interwar Britain

text: The government's aim was tranquillity at home and abroad, and to remedy the dislocation caused by the war through a return to the prewar world. The 1925 Locarno Treaties, an attempt at reconciliation between France and Germany, were hailed as the harbinger of a new era of peace and it was hoped that the return to the gold standard (at the prewar parity) in 1925 would lead to the restoration of prewar conditions and prosperity. The government aimed to reduce class conflict and ameliorate social conditions; when in March 1925 a Conservative backbencher introduced a bill to abolish the trade unions' political levy, Baldwin killed the bill with a speech in which he pleaded: "Give peace in our time, O Lord". The government also expanded social services such as unemployment benefit and old age pensions. However, the government failed to avert the 1926 general strike, which lasted for nine days in May. The general strike marked the end a period of industrial strife: after the strike the number of days lost to strikes fell and trade union membership declined.


title: Interwar Britain

text: Baldwin pleaded for "Safety First" during the 1929 general election but the result was a hung parliament with Labour as the largest party. Baldwin resigned the premiership on 4 June and the next day Ramsay MacDonald became prime minister of the second Labour government.


title: Interwar Britain

text: The government passed the Coal Mines Act 1930, which reduced the miners' working day to 7½ hours and empowered the mine-owners to fix minimum prices and quotas of production. The Housing Act 1930, which finally came into operation in 1934, led to more slum clearances in the five years before 1939 than in the preceding fifty.


title: Interwar Britain

text: The Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in the Great Depression, which led to over two million unemployed by December 1930 and halved the volume of exports between 1929 and 1931. In May 1930 the government rejected Oswald Mosley's memorandum which recommended state direction of industry and the use of credit to expand the economy. In 1931 the government appointed Sir George May as head of a committee on national expenditure. The May Report was published on 31 July and recommended that the government's deficit should be remedied by increased taxation and cuts in public spending. In August there was a run on the pound and the bankers advised that a 10 per cent cut in unemployment benefit as part of a balanced budget would restore confidence in sterling. The Cabinet failed to reach agreement on the cuts and MacDonald formed the coalition National government with the Conservatives and some Liberals on 24 August.


title: Interwar Britain

text: The Labour Party opposed the coalition and elected Arthur Henderson as their leader in the place of MacDonald, who was expelled from the party on 31 August. In Labour opinion the fall of the Labour government was explained as a "bankers' ramp" and MacDonald was accused of "betrayal" and viewed as a "traitor". Supporters of the National government accused the Labour government of "running away" from the crisis because they had refused to accept the spending cuts.


title: Interwar Britain

text: On 28 August the National government received £80 million in credits from the bankers of Paris and New York and on 10 September Philip Snowden, who continued as Chancellor, presented his budget, which eliminated the deficit by spending cuts and increased taxation. However, the run on the pound continued and was made worse when news was received of the naval mutiny in Invergordon on 15 September, which caused alarm. The foreign holders of sterling withdrew their holdings and the pound was forced off the gold standard on 21 September. On 7 October Parliament was dissolved and a general election was called, with polling day on 27 October. MacDonald appealed to the country to give the National government a "doctor's mandate" so that it would have a free hand to remedy the national crisis. The National government won a landslide victory with 67% of the vote and the Labour Party was reduced to 52 MPs.


title: Interwar Britain

text: The Conservatives, who made up a majority of National MPs, favoured protectionist tariffs as a solution to the depression. The government combated the dumping of foreign goods imported into Britain with the Abnormal Importations (Customs Duties) Act 1931 and empowered the Minister of Agriculture to impose tariffs on fresh fruits, flowers and vegetables with the Horticultural Products (Emergency Customs Duties) Act 1931. In February 1932 Neville Chamberlain, who replaced Snowden as Chancellor in November 1931, introduced the Import Duties Bill, which legislated for a general tariff of 10% on most goods except for food and raw materials. The 1932 British Empire Economic Conference led to a limited form of Imperial Preference with the Dominions of the British Empire. This breach with free trade led to the resignation from the government of Snowden and some of the Liberals in September 1932.


title: Interwar Britain

text: The government also passed the Special Areas Act 1934, which gave £2 million in aid to the "distressed" or "special areas", which were the hardest hit by the depression. These were designated as South Wales, Tyneside, Cumberland and Scotland.