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[Creeperopolis]

The Loveday of 1458 (also known as the Annunciation Loveday)[1] was a ritualistic reconciliation between warring factions of the English nobility that took place at St Paul's Cathedral on 25 March 1458. Following the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses in 1455, it was the culmination of lengthy negotiations initiated by King Henry VI to resolve the lords' rivalries. English politics had become increasingly factional during his reign, and was exacerbated in 1453 when he became catatonic. This effectively left the government leaderless, and eventually the king's cousin, and at the time heir to the throne, Richard, Duke of York, was appointed protector during the king's illness. Alongside York were his allies from the politically and militarily powerful Neville family, led by Richard, Earl of Salisbury, and his eldest son, Richard, Earl of Warwick. When the king returned to health a year later, the protectorship ended but partisanship within the government did not.

Supporters of King Henry and his wife, Queen Margaret, have been loosely called "Lancastrians", the king being head of the House of Lancaster, while the duke and his party are considered "Yorkists", after his title of Duke of York.[note 1] By the 1450s, York felt increasingly excluded from government, and in May 1455—possibly fearing an ambush by his enemies—led an army against the King at the First Battle of St Albans. There, in what has been called more of a series of assassinations than a battle, the personal enemies of York and the Nevilles—the Duke of Somerset, the Earl of Northumberland, and Lord Clifford—perished.

In 1458 the king attempted to unite his feuding nobles with a public display of friendship under the auspices of the Church at St Paul's Cathedral. Following much discussion and negotiation, and amid the presence of large, armed, noble retinues which almost led to another outbreak of war, a compromise was announced. To celebrate, a procession was held by all the major participants, who walked hand-in-hand from Westminster Palace to the cathedral. Queen Margaret was partnered with York, and other adversaries were paired off accordingly, and the sons of the dead Lancastrian lords took their fathers' places. Certain reparations were ordained, all by the Yorkist lords, who for their part accepted full responsibility for the Battle of St Albans. They were ordered to make payments to the dead lords' widows and sons, and masses were paid for the souls of all who had died. Contemporaries varied in their views of the accord. Some wrote verses expressing hope that it would lead to a new-found peace and prosperity; others were more pessimistic as to its value.

In the long run, the king's Loveday and its agreements had no long-lasting benefit. Within a few months, petty violence between the lords had broken out again and, within the year, York and Lancaster faced each other at the Battle of Blore Heath. Historians debate who—if anyone—gained from the 1458 Loveday. On the one hand, the crown publicised its role as the ultimate court of appeal but, conversely, although the Yorkists were bound to pay large sums in compensation, this was done with money already owed by the government. Fundamentally, factional discord was highlighted on the public stage, and the war it was intended to prevent was only deferred.

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Massospondylus (/ˌmæsoʊˈspɒndɪləs/ MASS-oh-spon-di-lus[1]) is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of southern Africa. It was described by Richard Owen in 1854 from remains discovered in South Africa, and is thus one of the first dinosaurs to have been named. The name Massospondylus means 'longer vertebra', alluding to what Owen identified as tail vertebrae; these vertebrae are now known to be from the neck. Although the original fossils were destroyed in London during a bombing raid in World War II, a plethora of specimens have since been assigned to the genus, making it one of the best-known sauropodomorphs from the Early Jurassic. The genus lived during the Hettangian, Sinemurian, and Pliensbachian ages, which lasted from ca. 201 to 184 million years ago. Most fossils come from the upper Elliot and Clarens formations of South Africa and Lesotho, but the genus is also found in the Forest Sandstone and the Mpandi Formation of Zimbabwe. Material from the US, India, and Argentina was previously assigned to the genus, but the US and Argentinian specimens are now assigned to their own genera (Sarahsaurus and Adeopapposaurus). Because of their great abundance, Massospondylus fossils have been used to date rocks, and a biozone, the Massospondylus Range Zone, is named after the genus.

Two species are considered valid: the type species M. carinatus, as well as M. kaalae, which was named in 2009 and is known from a single skull. Six other species have been named during the past 150 years but are no longer recognised. Originally, Massospondylus and similar dinosaurs have been regarded as theropods, but are now classified as basal ("early diverging") members of Sauropodomorpha. This group also includes sauropods. Within sauropodomorphs, Massospondylus is often classified in the family Massospondylidae. The genus was 4–6 metres (13–20 ft) long, with a long neck and tail, a small head, and a slender body. It is distinguished from related genera by the very elongated vertebrae of the front portion of the neck, amongst other features. Although Massospondylus was long depicted as quadrupedal (four-legged), it is now considered to have been bipedal (two-legged).

It was probably a herbivore (plant-eater), although some have speculated that basal sauropodomorphs may have been omnivorous. On each of its hands, it bore a sharp thumb claw that was probably used in feeding, possibly to uproot vegetation or to pull down branches while rearing up. Clutches of eggs have been found, some of which contained embryos; these are among the oldest eggs and embryos of an amniote in the fossil record. The eggshell was extremely thin, less than 0.1 mm (0.0039 in), unlike the much thicker eggshells in later dinosaurs. The embryos had proportionally longer arms than adults and a very large head, leading researchers to suggest that they were quadrupedal and shifted to a bipedal posture later during growth. Newer research instead suggested that Massospondylus was bipedal at all ages. Individuals accelerated or slowed down their growth depending on environmental factors such as food availability. The oldest known specimen was around 20 years of age.

[Giathio]

The gagger is somewhere in the general area called "earth"

[Creeperopolis]

The 2016 Boat Races (also known as The Cancer Research UK Boat Races for the purposes of sponsorship) took place on 27 March 2016. Held annually, The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge along a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) tidal stretch of the River Thames in south-west London. For the first time in the history of the event, the men's, women's and both reserves' races were all held on the Tideway on the same day.

Trials for the race took place on the Championship Course in December 2015, and the selected crews took part in several practice races in the build-up to the main event. The weigh-in for the men's and women's races took place on 1 March 2016 with both Cambridge's men and women the heavier crews. Pre-race betting on the men's and women's event had Cambridge's men and Oxford's women as favourites to win.

In the men's reserve race, Cambridge's Goldie were beaten by Oxford's Isis by two lengths, their sixth consecutive defeat. In the women's reserve race, Cambridge's Blondie defeated Oxford's Osiris by three lengths, their first victory since the 2011 race. In the women's race, Oxford won easily as Cambridge nearly sank in rough conditions. It was Oxford's fourth consecutive win, and their eighth in nine races. The men's race was won by Cambridge by two and a half lengths, their first victory since the 2012 race, taking the overall record in the event to 82–79 in their favour.

[Creeperopolis]

Octopussy and The Living Daylights (sometimes published as Octopussy) is the fourteenth and final James Bond book written by Ian Fleming. The book is a collection of short stories published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape on 23 June 1966, after Fleming's death in August 1964.

The book originally contained two stories, "Octopussy" and "The Living Daylights"; subsequent editions also included "The Property of a Lady" and then "007 in New York". The stories first appeared in different publications: "Octopussy" was serialised in the Daily Express in October 1965; "The Living Daylights" appeared in The Sunday Times colour supplement on 4 February 1962; "The Property of a Lady" was commissioned by Sotheby's for the 1963 edition of their journal, The Ivory Hammer; and "007 in New York" appeared in the New York Herald Tribune in October 1963.

Many of the elements of the stories are from Fleming's own interests and experiences, including climbing in Kitzbühel, Austria, wartime commando deeds and the sea-life of Jamaica. He used the names of friends and acquaintances for characters within the stories and also used a recipe for scrambled eggs given to him by a friend.

The two original stories, "Octopussy" and "The Living Daylights", were adapted for publication in comic strip format in the Daily Express in 1966–1967. Elements from the stories have also been used in the Eon Productions Bond films. Octopussy, starring Roger Moore as James Bond, was released in 1983 as the thirteenth film in the series and Fleming's story provided the background for the character Octopussy; "The Property of a Lady" was closely adapted for an auction sequence in the film. The Living Daylights, released in 1987, is the fifteenth Bond film produced by Eon and stars Timothy Dalton in his first appearance as Bond. "007 in New York" provided character and plot elements for the first two films starring Daniel Craig as Bond, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

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he Goldfinch (Dutch: Het puttertje) is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Carel Fabritius of a life-sized chained European goldfinch. Signed and dated 1654, it is in the collection of the Mauritshuis in The Hague, Netherlands. The work is a trompe-l'œil oil on panel measuring 33.5 by 22.8 centimetres (13.2 in × 9.0 in) that was once part of a larger structure, perhaps a window jamb or a protective cover. It is possible that the painting was in its creator's workshop in Delft at the time of the gunpowder explosion that killed him and destroyed much of the city.

A common and colourful bird with a pleasant song, the goldfinch was a popular pet, and could be taught simple tricks including lifting a thimble-sized bucket of water. It was reputedly a bringer of good health, and was used in Italian Renaissance painting as a symbol of Christian redemption and the Passion of Jesus.

The Goldfinch is unusual for the Dutch Golden Age painting period in the simplicity of its composition and use of illusionary techniques. Following the death of its creator, it was lost for more than two centuries before its rediscovery in Brussels.

An eponymous novel by American author Donna Tartt won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and led to a 2019 film. The painting was featured in a Dutch Golden Age world tour in 2012–2014, and was the centrepiece of a 2026 bird art exhibition at the Mauritshuis.

[Creeperopolis]

The 2025 World Figure Skating Championships were held from March 26 to 30 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), the World Championships are considered the most prestigious event in figure skating. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The competition determined the entry quotas for each skating federation to the 2026 Winter Olympics. Ilia Malinin and Alysa Liu, both of the United States, won the men's and women's events, respectively. Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan won the pairs event, and Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States won the ice dance event.

[Creeperopolis]

Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, and Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, visited Nazi Germany in October 1937. Edward had abdicated the British throne in December 1936, and his brother George VI had become king. Edward had been given the title Duke of Windsor on abdication, and he married Wallis Simpson in June 1937. He appeared to have been sympathetic to Germany in this period and, that September, announced his intention to travel privately to Germany to tour factories. His interests, officially researching the social and economic conditions of the working classes, were against the backdrop of looming war in Europe. The Duke's supporters saw him as a potential peacemaker between Britain and Germany, but the British government refused to sanction such a role, opposed the tour and suspected that the Nazis would use the Duke's presence for propaganda. Prince Edward was keen for his wife, who had been rejected by the British establishment, to experience a state visit as his consort. He promised the government to keep a low profile, and the tour went ahead between 12 and 23 October 1937.

The Duke and the Duchess, who were officially invited to the country by the German Labour Front, were chaperoned for much of their visit by its leader, Robert Ley. The couple visited factories, many of which were producing materiel for the rearmament effort, and the Duke inspected German troops. The Windsors were greeted by the British national anthem and Nazi salutes. They dined with high-ranking Nazis such as Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Göring, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Albert Speer, and had tea with Adolf Hitler in Berchtesgaden. The Duke had a long private conversation with Hitler, but it is uncertain what they discussed, as the minutes of their meeting were lost during the war. The Duchess took afternoon tea with Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess. Hitler was sympathetic to the Windsors and treated the Duchess like royalty.

The British government was unable to affect the course of events and forbade its diplomatic staff in Germany from having any high-level interaction with the Windsors. British popular opinion of the tour was muted, and most people viewed it as in poor taste and disrupting the first year of George's reign. The tour of Germany was intended to have been followed by one of the United States, but Nazi repression of working-class activists in Germany led to a wave of disapproval for the Windsors in the American labour movement, which led to the U.S. visit being cancelled. Modern historians tend to consider the 1937 tour as a reflection of both the Duke's lack of judgement and his disregard for the advice that he received.