Leicester is about 2,000 years old and was called "Ratae Corieltauvorum" when it was founded by the Romans. After the Romans had gone and the Anglo-Saxons settled there the town of Leicester was founded and named after the River Soar (then called Leire) and "cester" meaning the Roman ruins. Much later, after the invasion by the Danes, Leicester was within the area under Danish rule and one of the fortified "Five Burghs". In early modern times it became a centre of the manufacture of boots, shoes and knitted clothes such as socks.
Since 1926 there has been a Church of England diocese of Leicester and in 1927 the Church of St Martin became Leicester Cathedral. As well as different forms of Christianity many other religions have followers in the city including Islam and Hinduism. The UK census in 2001 showed that 17.4% of people in Leicester said that they had no religion.
Leicester has a wide variety of people from other countries, including many from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. Leicester also has communities of people from the Caribbean, Somalia, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Iran, Poland and many other countries. Many of these communities have their own community organisations. As well as English about 70 other languages are spoken in the city.
Leicester is well known for having residents from many different cultural backgrounds. People who believe that they are having problems because of racism can get help from The Race Equality Centre.
Leicester has three MPs: Jon Ashworth (Leicester South), Liz Kendall (Leicester West) and Claudia Webbe (Leicester East). All three are members of the Labour Party.
On 5 May 2011, Sir Peter Soulsby became the first directly elected Mayor of Leicester. He is called the City Mayor. Leicester also has a Lord Mayor for ceremonies.
Leicester City Council has 54 councillors. At the moment there are 52 from the Labour party and one Independent and one Liberal Democrat. Leicester is divided into 22 wards for local government which include the city centre and many suburban areas.
Leicester has a very large covered outdoor market. The market has been in the same place for 700 years. The city also has two shopping centres: Haymarket and the much larger Highcross.
Leicester has several museums. The biggest and best known is the New Walk Museum.
The city has many parks, including Abbey Park and Victoria Park. There is also a botanical garden in Oadby, which is a town south of Leicester.
Leicester has a race course, which is also in Oadby.
There are two hospitals in the city (Leicester General Hospital and Leicester Royal Infirmary) and one just outside the city (Glenfield Hospital).
The city is the home of Leicester City F.C. the Leicester Football Club who are also known as the Foxes. Leicester is also home to a rugby club called the Leicester Tigers. It also has a cricket team for adults and juniors called Leicestershire CCC (county cricket club).
Leicester has two universities: the University of Leicester and De Montfort University. It also has several further education colleges, the largest one is Leicester College.
There are two bus stations: Haymarket and St. Margaret's (which is also a coach station). The train station is on London Road. Leicester is about 75 minutes from London by train.
Many trade union branches in the city and county are members of Leicester and District Trades Union Council.
The local newspaper is called "The Leicester Mercury".
Hollywood
Hollywood is a district in Los Angeles, California. It is very famous around the world as a place where movies and television series are made. It has many different attractions such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Universal Studios and the famous Hollywood Sign. Many tourists come to Hollywood to see all of these things. Because of the importance of Hollywood in the movie industry of the United States, the whole industry is often called "Hollywood", even though not all movies are made in Hollywood. This use of the word "Hollywood" is called metonymy.
Many historic Hollywood theatres are used as venues and concert stages to premiere major theatrical releases (Hauptkinostarts) and host the Academy Awards. It is a popular destination for nightlife and tourism and home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Hollywood Walk of Fame was created in 1958 and the first star was placed in 1960. It is a sidewalk along the Hollywood Boulevard and the USA. There are more than 2000 five-points stars on the walk featuring the names of artists working in the entertainment industry.
The first movie to be made entirely in Hollywood was the 17-minute short "In Old California". It was directed by D. W. Griffith. It was released in 1910.
On the mountain overlooking Hollywood, there is a sign that is made of very big letters, spelling out its name. It´s called the "Hollywood sign". The huge Hollywood sign was built in 1923.
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a popular American television program. It has been broadcast on Saturday nights since October 11, 1975. It is one of the longest-running television programs in American television. It is broadcast from NBC studios in New York City. The name comes from the fact that the program is aired live on Saturday nights at 11:30 PM EST. This is a rarity in the age of filming and videotape. "SNL" is shown in re-runs in the summer and on cable TV. The program usually consists of the following:
"Saturday Night Live" was created and executive-produced by Lorne Michaels and started in 1975 as "NBC's Saturday Night". Many famous comic actors got their starts being cast members on the program. The show has led to several movies, books, DVDs, and has been the inspiration for a couple of other TV shows. It has been nominated for 183 Emmy Awards and won 42.
""Live from New York, it's Saturday night!"" is said near the beginning of every episode.
Many cast members have come and gone in the history of Saturday Night Live. Here is a list of some of those cast members and how long they lasted on the show during that time.
Many cast members have impressions of celebrities on Saturday Night Live. Here is a list of some of those actors having impressions of celebrities on that show in many episodes.
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. Is extremely considerate as the most influential and most famous musician of the 20th century, and is widely regarded as a cultural icon. He was one of the first and most famous in rock and roll music. He also starred in many movies. His fame has lasted for a long time after his death and is currently still one of the most popular men in history. He is one of the most well-known people from the 20th century in the world. He is so popular that some people know him as only "Elvis". He is also referred to as "The King of Rock and Roll", or just "The King".
Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. He and his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954. He first started to work with Sam Phillips who was the owner of Sun Records. RCA Records acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker. Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel" was released in January 1956. It was a number-one hit in the US. He became the leading figure of rock and roll after many of television appearances and chart-topping records. His energetic attitude towards his music and his performance style, made him very popular—and controversial.