abstract: St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall are a heritage-listed church and public hall at Junner Street, Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. The church was built in 1907 and the hall c. 1913 as part of the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum. The Dunwich Public Hall is also known as Benevolent Asylum Mess Hall. They were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 July 2000.

text:
# St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall

**St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall** are a heritage-listed church and public hall at Junner Street, Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. The church was built in 1907 and the hall c.1913 as part of the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum. The Dunwich Public Hall is also known as Benevolent Asylum Mess Hall. They were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 July 2000.

## History

The Benevolent Asylum St Mark's Anglican Church (1907) and the Dunwich Public Hall (1913) were once integral structures of the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum located at Dunwich from 1864 to 1947. The institution was declared a home for the old and infirm, disabled, inebriates and for a short time lepers. Previously the site had been used as an out-station during the penal settlement of Brisbane (1827-1831), a Catholic mission to local Aborigines (1843-1847) and a Quarantine Station (1850-1864).

The Benevolent Asylum may be likened to the English poorhouses which were established to house and feed those members of the community who were unable to provide for themselves. Under 19th century legislation these poorhouses developed into the stricter regime of the workhouse. Conditions within these workhouses was generally appalling with inmates often being reduced to starvation levels, families separated and inmates forced to perform boring and demeaning work tasks.

The Australian version of the workhouse was the Benevolent Asylum; however it was not a place of committal and was generally considered by the authorities and advocates to be of better social standing. Generally, governments of the period, including the Queensland Government, were loath to recognise the existence of a vagrant class. In the 19th century class structure, poverty was seen as the fault of the individual and governments avoided providing relief to these groups for fear they would establish a level of government reliance. Instead, aid was provided to various charity groups, such as benevolent societies. The government subscribed to a view that this aid should be in the form of kind rather than cash which undermined self-reliance and initiative.

The desperate decline of some community groups saw the government eventually forced to subsidise some charity organisations. Unwillingly, they also assumed responsibility for the aged and infirmed who were unable to care for themselves and had no relatives or friends who could support them.

In 1844 the Moreton Bay Benevolent Society formed as a charity administered by citizens. The society was given responsibility for the Brisbane hospital in 1858 as part of the New South Wales government hand over of hospitals to local committees. In 1861 the Queensland Government passed the Benevolent Asylum Act awarding funds to Queensland Hospitals to set wards aside as Benevolent Asylums.

Whilst the integration of the asylum into the hospital structure may have alleviated some of the pressure for the Queensland government, over expenditure and crowding stretched hospital facilities to their limit, resulting in requests from the Hospital Committee for the asylum to be removed. In 1863 the hospital committee resolved that the hospital and asylum should be separate institutions. It was suggested this new facility could be a combined benevolent asylum and orphanage. The new building would initially house men until funds became available for further extensions when women and children could also be relocated from the hospital.

In 1864 the government proposed relocating the hospital to Bowen Bridge Road. The hospital committee considered this move a prime opportunity to officially separate the institutions. Following a visit to the asylum, Colonial Secretary Robert Herbert agreed with the suggestion, but on reflection, considered a separate building constructed on the hospital site could be used to house the asylum. The hospital committee disagreed and objected to the proposal resulting in Herbert arranging for the benevolent asylum to be housed by the immigration department.

In 1865, under the control of the Immigration Department, the benevolent asylum was transferred to the old quarantine station at Dunwich, North Stradbroke. The government considered this a temporary relocation; however, the asylum remained at Dunwich until its closure in 1947. Following years of debate between the hospital and Queensland Government concerning the responsibility of the asylum, the Colonial Secretary assumed complete control of the facility in 1867 and established an administration which lasted until 1947. However, the government considered asylum inmates responsible for their own condition and as such the asylum was low on the government priority list and funds were administered begrudgingly.

Dunwich became a repository for the male and female pauper population of Queensland including the old and infirm, the sick and disabled and the orphaned. The incredible mix of people meant the facility was overcrowded and difficult to manage. Coupled with poor funding and unqualified staff, asylum conditions were often appalling. During the depression years the asylum was in heavy demand for the unemployed and elderly who could no longer be cared for by their families. The asylum was now populated with able bodied people, and the administration developed a plan to create in-house work which would help support the facility. This prompted the Brisbane Courier at the time to pose the question "asylum or workhouse?".

A site plan from 1913 illustrates the development of the expanding benevolent asylum at the time of its peak. The development quite obviously expanded the original quarantine station layout and was established on the high ground in a "u" shape around a lower lying open community space (now the public reserve) which fronted the beach. The asylum at this point included a police station and lock up, visitor centre, public hall, ancillary service buildings, ward buildings, tent accommodation and recreational facilities. Early structures were constructed of timber however later buildings such as the bakery, kitchen, laundry and men's mess hall were constructed of brick.

In 1947 the institution was officially closed as a result of overcrowding and deteriorating health conditions. Over its eighty years the asylum admitted and readmitted 21,000 people. The institution was then transferred to the old RAAF Station Sandgate at Sandgate, and renamed "Eventide". Dunwich was then opened up to government land sales and mining of mineral sand resources. Ward buildings were sold and either relocated on site or to the mainland. More substantial brick structures were demolished. The parcel of land which once formed the community space was gazetted by the government in 1949 as a public reserve and since that time has stood as the community green space of the Dunwich Township.

The development of North Stradbroke island as a popular holiday retreat and rich mineral sand mining resource has meant the barge landing facilities and surrounding area at Dunwich have undergone continual change since 1947. Despite the substantial development of Dunwich, the remnant structure of the benevolent asylum is still echoed in the current town layout.

### St Mark's Church

Initially church services at the asylum were held in Victoria Hall, the main assembly facility within the complex. This was rectified in 1907 when St Mark's church was constructed at the asylum. While the church was built for the Benevolent Asylum residents, it was not commissioned by the Queensland Government. The money to fund the church construction is reported to have been privately donated. The annual report to the Queensland Parliament for the Dunwich Benevolent Asylum for the year ending 1907 noted that, owing to the munificence of an anonymous donor, who takes a great personal interest in the poor, a small church is to be erected. The Church of England authorised the construction and part of the asylum site was leased from the government by the church.

Lady Chelmsford, the wife of the Governor of Queensland at the time is reported to have donated the money for the construction of the church. In an address to the Queensland Women's Historical Association, Bonty Dickson, a long time resident of the island claimed that when Lady Chelmsford visited the Benevolent Asylum she was shocked and amazed to find that the inmates had no place of worship and so gave the money to build a church at Dunwich.

The church was designed by the Diocesan Architect for the Church of England, Robin Dods. His tender books for October 1907 record the tender for the construction of the church being awarded to the builders Hall and Meyer for the sum of 273 pounds. Dods was an exceptionally talented and original architect, introducing to Queensland the "formal and philosophical ideas of both the British Arts and Crafts movement and Edwardian classicism." At the same time, he refined and re-worked common elements of traditional Queensland houses and methods of construction and his houses exhibited a common- sense and often innovative approach to designing for the sub-tropical climate. Dods produced an impressive and high quality body of work in Queensland including hospital, commercial and ecclesiastical buildings as well as many residences.

The first chaplain of the church was Reverend W Richner who was appointed in an honorary capacity, representing the City and Dunwich and St Helena Mission. After the Benevolent asylum closed the church continued to be used by local residents. In 1973 the building was condemned by the Redland Shire Council as it was considered structurally unsound. However the Stradbroke residents united to raise funds to carry out emergency repair works and save the church from demolition. In 1977 the Archbishop of Brisbane the Reverend Dr F. R. Arnott held a service of thanks at St Mark's to celebrate the event. Since that time a series of conservation works have been carried out on the church .

In 2015, the church is within the Anglican parish of Stradbroke Island and services are held at the church on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month.

### Dunwich Public Hall

Dunwich Public Hall, located at the corner of Junner Street and Ballow Road, Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island, was constructed in 1913. Formerly the men's mess hall at the Benevolent Asylum, the building was ordered and funded by the Queensland government. Department of Public Works Tender records confirm that tenders for the proposed works were received at the Department of Public works on Friday 7 March 1913. The contractor selected to carry out the works is noted as Graham and Speering.

The mess hall was located centrally within the asylum along with the kitchen, laundry and stores. Goods received from the mainland were transported to the mess hall and other buildings by a horse-drawn tram system. This tram system was also used to transport food in huge pannikins from the kitchen, located approximately 200 yards away, to the mess hall. Consequently, food was often served cold which was a point of much debate amongst the inmates.

The hall seated 400 single men and had provision for a servery and scullery at one end. The walls were partially lined with tiles for hygiene purposes and the clerestorey windows and large side windows ventilated the large room and flooded the space with natural light. Head attendants were said to supervise the meals which were served by inmate labour. After 1913 the building was extended to include a boiler room which provided hot water to the kitchen wash up troughs. It is reported that during WWII the floor of the hall was removed and an air raid shelter dug into the floor.

Most of the buildings associated with the asylum were relocated or demolished with the closure of the facility in 1947. The mess hall however survived this period and has since been used as the Dunwich Public Hall. During that period the building has remained remarkably intact with the only significant building additions being the enclosure of part of the verandah to accommodate toilets and the construction of an interior stage. Most recently the earlier verandah enclosure was removed and new toilet facilities established in a separate building connected to the hall by way of a timber battened breezeway.

As of 2015, the Dunwich Public Hall is managed by the Redland City Council.

## Description

### St Mark's Church

St Mark's Church is located at the corner Rous Street and Ballow Road, Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island on a parcel of land that falls toward Ballow Road. The building is set back from the street frontages and a line of pine trees follows the street edge. A significant view across Moreton Bay and on to Brisbane is obtained from the front of the church looking toward Ballow Road.

The church is elevated above ground level and is constructed of timber with a steeply pitched corrugated metal roof. The roof pitch flattens slightly at the eaves creating a semi bell cast profile. Externally the building is clad with timber weatherboards which extend below the floor level to create a solid skirt to the building. At the corner junctions, the boards are mitred and at the gable ends the weatherboards are slightly separated to create a vent to the roof space. Both the roof and weather board details are typical of Dod's work.

A recent addition to the church are the steel tie rods to the south eastern side of the building. These rods are integrated into the existing timber tie beams of the building and were installed to stabilise the structural failings of the structure. The tie rods are anchored back to substantial concrete footings which are raised above ground level. A timber cross brace has also been installed on the rear north east wall to further stabilise the structure.

Entry to the church is from the Ballow Road frontage by a more recent timber stair with steel handrails. The paired entry doors to the church have an arched head and are timber framed and clad with tongue and groove boards. Windows to the church are three panel timber framed casements with coloured glass infills.

Internally the church is a single volume space with a small vestry formed in the southern corner by low height partitions. The ceiling follows the line of the rafters giving greater height to the internal space which is punctuated by two large tie beams. Both the walls and ceilings are lined with timber tongue and groove boarding. A series of generous steps lead to the altar. The timber floors are carpeted in the nave and polished at the steps with a central carpet runner leading to the altar. The interior space is embellished with decorative timber mouldings to the cornice and tie beams.

Furniture to the interior space includes the altar of varnished timber with inset quatrefoil panels, a timber framed fabric curtain screen to the altar, the altar rail and varnished pews. A painting by the late aboriginal poet and local Stradbroke resident Oodgeroo Noonuccal ( or Kath Walker) hangs on the southern wall near the altar.

Located at the rear of the site is a more recent building currently used as the thrift shop. This building is rectilinear in plan and is clad with cement sheeting with a simple metal butterfly roof.

### Dunwich Public Hall

Dunwich Public Hall located at the corner of Junner Street and Ballow Road, Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island. The site is generally an open grassed area with a small number of gum trees to the north east side of the building. Consequently, the building is a prominent feature on arrival at Dunwich.

The hall is a substantial low set stretcher bond brick structure which is rectilinear in plan with a simple corrugated iron hip roof. Set centrally on the hip roof is a gabled clerestorey roof comprising five windows on either side of the structure. A verandah extends the full length of the north east side of the building. Located on the south eastern end of the building is the boiler room extension which is constructed of brick to match the existing structure and has a simple skillion roof.

New toilet facilities have recently been constructed in a separate building to the south west side of the hall. This structure is joined to the hall by an enclosed timber battened breezeway. While the structure's form and material echo the details of the original hall, it is clearly distinguished as a new addition to the site.

Access to the hall is via timber framed French doors to the north western end of the building or from the southern end of the verandah. Six timber casement window suites with high level pivot fan lights punctuate the north eastern and south western elevations of the building. Doors and windows include simple paint finished rendered concrete heads and sills. Ventilation to the sub floor area and roof space is via metal and clay wall grilles and timber battened eaves soffits.

Internally the building is one large volume with the original servery and scullery at the south eastern end of the building and the new stage at the opposing end. Low height partitions separate the servery and scullery from the rest of the hall. The ceiling is clad with hardboard and timber cover battens and follows the line of the rafters exposing the primary timber trusses which are connected by way of steel plates. The focus of the hall is the central clerestorey which floods the space with natural light.

The floor is polished timber and the walls are a combination of tiles to the lower section and painted brickwork above. A collection of memorial plaques are located on the walls.

## Heritage listing

St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 28 July 2000 having satisfied the following criteria.

**The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.**

St Mark's Anglican Church and the Dunwich Public Hall are important in demonstrating the evolution of Queenslands history, being surviving buildings of the former Benevolent Asylum.

**The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage.**

The places demonstrate rare aspects Queensland's cultural heritage being surviving intact examples of the type of buildings that were once part of the only nineteenth century Benevolent Asylum in Queensland.

**The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland's history.**

The places demonstrate rare aspects Queensland's cultural heritage being surviving intact examples of the type of buildings that were once part of the only nineteenth century Benevolent Asylum in Queensland.

**The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.**

The establishment and administration of the Benevolent Asylum illustrates the social policies adopted by the Queensland Government of the late Nineteenth and first early part of the Twentieth century to deal with those elderly, sick or disabled members of society who were unable to care for themselves.

**The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.**

The buildings are important for their aesthetic significance. St Mark's Anglican Church exhibits outstanding architectural quality and has significance as a surviving intact example of the ecclesiastical work of important Queensland architect Robert S.(Robin) Dods. Whilst modestly detailed, the Dunwich Public Hall is an evocative structure which is prominent on entry to Dunwich.

**The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.**

As surviving remnants of the Benevolent Asylum both buildings hold have a strong social association with past inmates of the asylum and their families. Since the closure of the asylum in 1947, St Mark's Anglican Church has remained a place of worship and the former Men's Mess Hall has been used as the Dunwich Public Hall. Accordingly, both buildings have important social associations with the Anglican congregation of Dunwich and the broader Dunwich and North Stradbroke community.

### Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based on *"The Queensland heritage register"* published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 7 July 2014, archived on 8 October 2014). The geo-coordinates were originally computed from the *"Queensland heritage register boundaries"* published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 5 September 2014, archived on 15 October 2014).

## InfoBox

| St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall | |
| --- | --- |
| St Mark's Anglican Church | |
| Location | Junner Street, Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island, City of Redland, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 27°30′02″S 153°24′13″E / 27.5005°S 153.4037°E / -27.5005; 153.4037 |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | 1907 - c.1913 |
|  | |
| Queensland Heritage Register | |
| Official name | St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall, Benevolent Asylum Mess Hall |
| Type | state heritage (built, landscape) |
| Designated | 28 July 2000 |
| Reference no. | 601163 |
| Significant period | 1900s-1940s (historical)<br>1900s (fabric church)<br>1910s (fabric hall)<br>ongoing (social) |
| Significant components | views to, hall, furniture/fittings, views from, church, memorial - plaque |
|  | |
|  | |
| Location of St Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall in QueenslandSt Mark's Anglican Church and Dunwich Public Hall (Australia) | |


title: Cleverly estate

abstract: The Cleverly estate is a Peabody Trust housing estate in Shepherd's Bush, London, completed in 1928, and designed by Victor Wilkins. It was the first Peabody estate built with a bathroom in every flat, and has "the most elaborate exterior features" of any of their pre-war estates. On 14 February 1945, 30 residents were killed when the estate was struck by a V1 rocket.

text:
# Cleverly estate

The **Cleverly estate** is a Peabody Trust housing estate in Shepherd's Bush, London, completed in 1928, and designed by Victor Wilkins. It was the first Peabody estate built with a bathroom in every flat, and has "the most elaborate exterior features" of any of their pre-war estates.

On 14 February 1945, 30 residents were killed when the estate was struck by a V1 rocket.

51°30′32″N 0°14′31″W / 51.509°N 0.242°W / 51.509; -0.242


title: Claude-Aimé Chenavard

abstract: Claude-Aimé Chenavard was a French decorative painter and draughtsman and was born at Lyons in 1798. He published Nouveau Recueil de Decorations intérieures, 1833–1835, and Album de L'Ornemaniste, 1835. He died in Paris in 1838 and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.

text:
# Claude-Aimé Chenavard

**Claude-Aimé Chenavard** (1798  16 June 1838) was a French decorative painter and draughtsman and was born at Lyons in 1798. He published *Nouveau Recueil de Decorations intérieures,* 1833–1835, and *Album de L'Ornemaniste,* 1835. He died in Paris in 1838 and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.

* This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Bryan, Michael (1886). "Chenavard, Aimé". In Graves, Robert Edmund (ed.). *Bryan's Dictionary of Painters and Engravers (A–K)*. Vol. I (3rd ed.). London: George Bell & Sons.


title: Stacey Porter

abstract: Stacey Porter is an Australian professional indigenous softball first/third baseman. She represents New South Wales in Australian national competitions, where she has won several national championships on the junior and senior team. She played university softball for the University of Hawaii from 2001 to 2003 where she set several records and was named to the All-American team. She plays professional softball in Japan. She represented Australia at the junior level and continues to represent Australia at the senior level and is current Australian Captain. Stacey competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics where she won a silver medal and the 2008 Summer Olympics where she won a bronze medal and has competed in multiple world softball championships.

text:
# Stacey Porter

**Stacey Porter** (born 29 March 1982) is an Australian professional indigenous softball first/third baseman. She represents New South Wales in Australian national competitions, where she has won several national championships on the junior and senior team. She played university softball for the University of Hawaii from 2001 to 2003 where she set several records and was named to the All-American team. She plays professional softball in Japan. She represented Australia at the junior level and continues to represent Australia at the senior level and is current Australian Captain. Stacey competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics where she won a silver medal and the 2008 Summer Olympics where she won a bronze medal and has competed in multiple world softball championships.

## Personal

Porter, an Indigenous Australian, was born on 29 March 1982 in Tamworth, New South Wales. She is 183 centimetres (6 ft 0 in) tall. She attended Peel High School, while playing club field hockey. She later attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa and was a freshman in 2001, and a junior in 2003. Growing up, she wanted to be a travel agent.

Porter has moved around. From 2001 to 2003, she was in Hawaii, U.S., where she attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In 2006, she was living in Stanhope Gardens, New South Wales and in 2008, she was living in Glenwood, New South Wales. She moved to the Sydney area from Tamworth to gain access to better training facilities.

## Softball

Porter plays first and third base. The *Eastern Reporter* and *Stirling Times* describe her as the "woman regarded as the worlds best batter". In 2008, she played for had a scholarship with and played for the Australian Institute of Sport team. In 2012, she coached the Western Desert softball team in an exhibition match in Perth, Western Australia. The Desert team was created by Indigenous Sports Program, part of the Western Australian Department of Sport and Recreation (DSR) run with Softball Western Australia and Newcrest Mining. The team she coached drew players from Parnngurr, Warralong, Jigalong, Kiwirrkurra, Nullagine and Punmu. She plays Australian club softball for the Brisbane Panthers Softball Club. In 2008, she was playing professionally in the Japanese Softball League.

Porter was the first indigenous Australian to represent the country at softball in the Olympics, when she competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics. In March 2012, it was announced that she and Vanessa Stokes would be part of a programme funded by Softball Australia and the federal government to increase aboriginal involvement in the sport.

### University team

Porter, playing third base, joined the University of Hawaii team in 2001, where she started in 49 games and played in 53 total games. While there, she had six home runs, scoring the sixth in a game against Texas Tech and in the process broke the university's freshman home run record. That season, she finished second on the team the number of runs batted and total home runs. She was honoured with being the WAC Player of the Week in the fifth on 7 May 2001. She was twice named to all-tournaments teams, once for the Malihini Tourney and the second time for the Hawai\`i Invitational.

Porter played with the university again for their 2002 season, where she started all 60 games. This season, she played first base and hit in the clean-up position. At the end of the season, her statistics included a hitting 47 RBIs with 24 coming against conference opponents, 15 home runs overall and seven against conference opponents, and having a batting average of .347 against conference opponents. In a 30 March game against San Jose State University, she set a personal career-high four hits in a single game. That season, she had a streak of having hits nine games in a row.

Porter returned for the university's 2003 season. She started every game that season. She was named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America first team. At the end of the season, she broke her own school and conference record for the number of home runs in a single season having batted 17 of them and had a batting average of .479. She was also named to the Western Athletic Conference first team, named the conferences player of the year and was named to a NFCA/Louisville Slugger first-team All-American, only the eighth player from her university to earn that recognition. She sat out her senior year to spend more time with the Australian national team.

### State team

Porter represents New South Wales in national competitions. In 1997, she represented the state at the U16 national championships where her team finished first. She was with the U16 team again in 1998 and 1999 at the national competition. In all three years, she was named the Batter of the Series. She then moved up to the U19 team, where at one tournament she was named the "Most Valuable Player" after having tournament stats of batting average of .607, with five doubles, five homers, and 17 runs scored.

### Junior national team

Porter has represented Australia at the junior national level. In 1998, she was a member of the Australian Junior Superball Team and accompanied the team on a tour of the United States. In 1999, she represented Australia as a member of the U19 team at the Junior World Championships in Taipei.

### Senior national team

Porter made her debut on the senior national team in 2002, as a twenty-year-old. She was a possible for the 2004 Summer Olympics team. In January 2004, she was named to the Australian Institute of Sport squad and given a scholarship. The team had 25 players and was the one that Olympic selectors would choose from to compete at the Games. She represented Australia at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal at the 2004 Games. In the gold medal match, she hit a double that allowed Sandra Allen to score. This was the only time at the 2004 Games where an opposition hitter scored a run off an American pitcher. She played in the 2008 Olympic Games march against Canada. She played in the 3–1 victory over Taiwan. In the game, she got to base after having been walked and then made it to base to score one of Australia's runs. She won a Bronze at the 2008 Games.

Porter has also won a gold medal at the World Championships. In 2008, she earned a silver medal at the Canada Cup. She represented Australia at the 2009 World Cup of Softball. In the second game against the Americans at the World Cup, she had a home run. Australia took home a silver in the competition. She competed at the 2010 World Championships in Venezuela, where she captained the Australian side. In 2011, she was a member of the Australian side that competed at the World Cup of Softball. She played in game at the Cup against the United States in which Australia lost 5–2. It was her second loss on the day, also having played in a game in which Australia lost to Japan. She is a member of the 2012 Australia women's national softball team and is trying to secure a spot on the roster so she will be able to compete at the 2012 ISF XIII Women's World Championships . She competed in a March 2012 test series against the Japan women's national softball team in Canberra.

Porter was selected for the Australian women's national softball team at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The team came away with one win out of five, beating Italy 1-0 in their second match of the Round Robin and finished fifth overall. Full details are in Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

## Recognition

Porter has been recognised for her softball play. She has been named the Australian Softballer of the Year in 2005. That year, she was also recognised by being named Blacktown City's 2005 Sportsperson of the Year, and the 2005 Deadly Awards in the category of female sportswoman of the year. In 2008, she was the NAIDOC Sportsperson of the Year.

16th December 2023 Stacey was recognised as a life member for her home association - Tamworth Softball Association.

## InfoBox

Stacey Porter
| Porter in March 2012 during a photoshoot | |
| --- | --- |
| Personal information | |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | (1982-03-29) 29 March 1982<br>Tamworth, New South Wales |
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) (2004) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Australia |
| Sport | Softball |
| Event | Women's team |
| College team | University of Hawaii at Manoa |
| Club | Hills Softball Club |
| Team |  |
| Medal record      Softball  Representing  Australia  Olympics  2004 Athens National team  2008 Beijing National team  Canada Cup  2008 Cup National team | |


title: Cleator

abstract: Cleator is a village in the English county of Cumbria and within the boundaries of the historic county of Cumberland. Cleator is located on the edge of the Lake District, with Dent Fell on the skyline to the south east. It is included in many nature initiatives such as Alfred Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk. Cleator is near the port town of Whitehaven and lies 1½ miles south of the town of Cleator Moor on the A5086 road. Cleator was the original village, Cleator Moor being the moor above the village. It is the site of the former Kangol hat factory. The factory buildings and shop are now closed. Cleator is located on the River Ehen, which is joined by the River Keekle at Longlands Lake. On Thursday 19 November 2009, rainfall of over 300 mm was recorded in Cumbria. The surge of water off the fells of the Lake District flowed back to the Irish Sea down the rivers of West Cumbria, including the River Derwent which caused flooding and damage at Keswick, Cockermouth and Workington. The River Ehen burst its banks at Cleator, near to the Kangol factory, flooding fields and a number of residential properties. Cleator Cricket Club, whose home is the picturesque J.D. Campbell Memorial Ground, field three teams, the 1st XI playing in the North Lancashire League. On 8 September 2013 the club achieved fame by winning the National Village Cup at Lord's Cricket Ground in London. They defeated the Gloucestershire team of Rockhampton by 1 wicket with 8 balls to spare in a tense and closely fought final. Though they had in common a history in mining, Cleator village has no connection with the township of the same name, now reportedly little more than a ghost town, formerly called Turkey Creek, at the base of the Bradshaw Mountains in central Arizona, in the Southwestern United States. That township was founded in 1864 during a gold rush, and in 1925 it was purchased by the Manx-born James P. Cleator, who named it after himself.

text:
# Cleator

**Cleator** /ˈkltər/ is a village in the English county of Cumbria and within the boundaries of the historic county of Cumberland.

Cleator is located on the edge of the Lake District, with Dent Fell on the skyline to the south east. It is included in many nature initiatives such as Alfred Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk.

Cleator is near the port town of Whitehaven and lies 1½ miles south of the town of Cleator Moor on the A5086 road. Cleator was the original village, Cleator Moor being the moor above the village. It is the site of the former Kangol hat factory. The factory buildings and shop are now closed. Cleator is located on the River Ehen, which is joined by the River Keekle at Longlands Lake.

On Thursday 19 November 2009, rainfall of over 300 mm was recorded in Cumbria. The surge of water off the fells of the Lake District flowed back to the Irish Sea down the rivers of West Cumbria, including the River Derwent which caused flooding and damage at Keswick, Cockermouth and Workington. The River Ehen burst its banks at Cleator, near to the Kangol factory, flooding fields and a number of residential properties.

Cleator Cricket Club, whose home is the picturesque J.D. Campbell Memorial Ground, field three teams, the 1st XI playing in the North Lancashire League. On 8 September 2013 the club achieved fame by winning the National Village Cup at Lord's Cricket Ground in London. They defeated the Gloucestershire team of Rockhampton by 1 wicket with 8 balls to spare in a tense and closely fought final.

Though they had in common a history in mining, Cleator village has no connection with the township of the same name, now reportedly little more than a ghost town, formerly called Turkey Creek, at the base of the Bradshaw Mountains in central Arizona, in the Southwestern United States. That township was founded in 1864 during a gold rush, and in 1925 it was purchased by the Manx-born James P. Cleator (died 1959), who named it after himself.

## Churches

Though it has required construction repairs in later centuries, an ancient church has survived in the village, St Leonard's, whose site may have housed an earlier building even as early as the 5th century. While the current building underwent major interventions in 1841 and in 1900–1903, the chancel dates at least in part to the 12th century. Since the Reformation (16th century) the present building has been the Anglican parish church. The grounds are entered through a lychgate and there is a churchyard. The saint to whom the church is dedicated is presumably to be identified with Saint Leonard of Noblac or of Limoges, a 6th-century monk and hermit whose popularity spread rapidly throughout Europe in the 12th century. Numerous Christian churches with the same dedication currently exists throughout the world.

The sizeable Catholic St Mary's Church (officially titled Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) was designed by the architect E. W. Pugin (the son of the better-known A.W.N. Pugin, whose works include the Houses of Parliament). The church was constructed in the years 1869–1872 and opened in 1872. Here, too, there is a churchyard and the grounds include a grotto, constructed to give work to the unemployed men of the parish during the depression of 1926. Modelled on that of Lourdes, it is the venue for an annual procession.

Other churches in the area, located in nearby Cleator Moor, include the Methodist Church, first built in 1862 and rebuilt in 1934 after a fire; also the grade 2 listed Anglican Church of St John Evangelist, designed in an Anglo-Norman style by the Carlisle-born architect Charles John Ferguson (1840–1904) and consecrated in 1872. Other nonconformist chapels, now closed, included the Presbyterian church, the Primitive Methodist chapel, a Congregational chapel, and a United Methodist Free church.

## Administration

The village formed part of the Borough of Copeland, until the latter was abolished on 1 April 2023. The borough's functions were transferred to the new unitary authority Cumberland. The new authority covers 77% of the area of the historic and former administrative county of Cumberland (excluding the Penrith area) and 90% of its population.

Cleator was the site of a number of textile mills (originally linen), and the Kangol firm established itself there in 1938. Following the development of iron ore mining in nearby areas, Cleator was the site of associated works (hence the street name "Kiln Brow" and the location "The Forge"). Longlands Lake nature reserve is on the site of the former Longlands iron ore mine, which first produced ore in 1879 from four pits. By 1924 the Cleator mines had been abandoned. In 1939 they started to subside and flood the area, creating Longlands Lake, which was acquired by Cumbria County Council in 1980.

The population of the village has varied considerably over the years, reflecting the fortunes of local industrial development. An estimate for 1688 (the year of the Glorious Revolution) put the number at 330, and it had increased but little, to 362, by 1801. It then more than doubled, to 763, by 1841. This was the beginning of an expansion which continued for the greater part of the rest of the century, with the arrival of immigrants from Ireland, and, thanks to mining prospects, even from Cornwall. Developments included the creation on the former common to the north of what by the 1880s became the town of Cleator Moor. By 1861 the population had reached 3,995, and increased to well over double the figure only twenty years later, in 1881, when it stood at 10,420. That was the peak. Numbers fell to 8,120 by 1901 and a half-century later in 1951 were registering 6,411. Changed conditions once more brought the figure to 7,686 by 1971; and it had reduced again to 6,939 in 2001.

## InfoBox

| Cleator | |
| --- | --- |
| Village | |
| Coast-to-Coast Path, near Cleator | |
| CleatorLocation in the former Copeland BoroughCleatorLocation within Cumbria | |
| OS grid reference | NY015135 |
| Civil parish |  |
| Unitary authority |  |
| Ceremonial county |  |
| Region |  |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CLEATOR |
| Postcode district | CA23 |
| Dialling code | 01946 |
|  | |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
|  | |
| UK Parliament |  |
|


title: Cleatlam

abstract: Cleatlam is a small village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It lies south of the larger village of Staindrop. It lies approximately 11 miles (18 km) west of Darlington, which is its post town.

text:
# Cleatlam

**Cleatlam** is a small village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It lies south of the larger village of Staindrop. It lies approximately 11 miles (18 km) west of Darlington, which is its post town.

## History

Cleatlam was historically a township which straddled the three ancient parishes of Gainford, Staindrop and Winston. Such townships were converted into civil parishes in 1866.

## Governance

There is one main tier of local government covering Cleatlam, at unitary authority level: Durham County Council. The parish is too small to have a parish council, so it has a parish meeting instead.

## Demography

The population of the parish fell below the threshold to allow it to be separately reported at the 2011 and 2021 censuses, with its population being grouped with Staindrop's for statistical reporting purposes. At the 1971 census the population of the parish of Cleatlam had been 81.

## InfoBox

| Cleatlam | |
| --- | --- |
| CleatlamLocation within County Durham | |
| OS grid reference | NZ118186 |
| Shire county |  |
| Region |  |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DARLINGTON |
| Postcode district | DL2 |
|  | |
| Police | Durham |
| Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
| Ambulance | North East |
|  | |
|


title: Katzianer's Campaign

abstract: Katzianer's Campaign or Katzianer's War was a failed 1537 Habsburg attempt of driving the Ottomans away from the region of Slavonia in modern-day Croatia. Despite being well-resourced, Katzianer's army failed to achieve any objectives, and it was ultimately completely annihilated in the Battle of Gorjani.

text:
# Katzianer's Campaign

**Katzianer's Campaign** or **Katzianer's War** (Croatian: Katzianerova vojna) was a failed 1537 Habsburg attempt of driving the Ottomans away from the region of Slavonia in modern-day Croatia. Despite being well-resourced, Katzianer's army failed to achieve any objectives, and it was ultimately completely annihilated in the Battle of Gorjani.

## Background

After Hungarian defeat in the Battle of Mohacs, Croatian nobility elected Ferdinand I Habsburg as their new king in the Diet of Cetingrad, while Hungarian and Slavonian nobility elected John Zapolya, which plummeted the kingdom into a civil war between two rival kings. By 1528 Ferdinand managed to gain the upper hand over Zapolya in Hungary, however, Zapolya in turn swore an oath to the Ottoman sultan and became his vassal. By spring of 1537, Ferdinand decided to take more decisive effort against the Ottomans so he sent his seasoned commander Johann Katzianer to Križevci to assemble an army and make preparations for the conquest of Osijek, which was supposed to cut the way for the Ottoman forces between Belgrade and Hungary and prevent their further advance to western Slavonia.

## The Campaign

In August 1537 Katzianer's army was encamped near Koprivnica and in September they started marching eastwards towards Virovitica. Disagreements soon inflamed between Katzianer and Schlick over the command of the troops as well as between Czech and Styrian soldiers in the army. By September 10 Katzianer's forces reached Virovitica where they ran out of food and became further eroded by maladies due to the autumn rains.

By mid-September, the army reached Valpovo where they started making preparations for a strike on Osijek, however, Ottomans sent a 5,000 strong reinforcement to the town which mitigated Katzianer's chances for a regular siege. After achieving nothing near Osijek, the army attempted to withdraw back to Valpovo, however Ottomans had cut off their way so instead they decided to maneuver southwest into swampy areas around Vuka river, while also being constantly harassed by the Ottoman attacks. By October 7, the hungry and exhausted army reached Gorjani, hoping to march north towards Valpovo in search for food, however remaining troops found out that Katzianer and some other leading commanders had already deserted them. The remnants of this army were crushed by the Ottomans in the ensuing Battle of Gorjani.

## Aftermath

Disaster of this campaign enraged Emperor Ferdinand so Katzianer was tried for cowardice and thrown in prison. He subsequently escaped prison and killed a peasant along the way, only to be captured and executed in 1539 on orders of Nikola IV Zrinski.

## Sources

* Kacijaner, Ivan, *Croatian Encyclopedia*
* Klaić, Vjekoslav, *History of the Croats* (*Povijest Hrvata*), Matica hrvatska, 1988.
* Tracy, James D. (2016). *Balkan Wars: Habsburg Croatia, Ottoman Bosnia, and Venetian Dalmatia, 1499–1617*. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4422-1360-9.

## InfoBox

| Katzianer's Campaign | |
| --- | --- |
| Part of the Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War | |
|
A map of 1537 Katzianer's Campaign. | |
| Date August–October 1537  Location Slavonia  Result  Ottoman victory | |
| Belligerents | |
| Habsburg Monarchy | Ottoman Empire |
| Commanders and leaders | |
| Johann Katzianer
Albrecht Schlick
Petar Keglević
Pavle Bakić | Mehmed-beg Jahjapašić |
| Strength | |
| * 24,000  16,000 infantry
8,000 cavalry
7–8 large cannons
40 field cannons | * 8,000 |
| Casualties and losses | |
| 20,000 at Gorjani.
Several hundred during siege. | Negligible |


title: Bilasipara West Assembly constituency

abstract: Bilasipara West Assembly constituency is one of the 126 constituencies of the Assam Legislative Assembly in India. Bilasipara West forms a part of the Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency.

text:
# Bilasipara West Assembly constituency

**Bilasipara West Assembly constituency** is one of the 126 constituencies of the Assam Legislative Assembly in India. Bilasipara West forms a part of the Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency.

## Members of Legislative Assembly

### Bilasipara constituency

### Bilasipara West constituency

Following is the list of past members representing Bilasipara West constituency Assembly constituency in Assam Legislature.

| Election | Name | Party | |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2021 | Hafiz Bashir Ahmed |  | All India United Democratic Front |
|

## Election results

### 2016

2016 Assam Legislative Assembly election: Bilasipara West
| Party | | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | **AIUDF** | **Hafiz Bashir Ahmed** | **44,407** | **32.29** | **−3.90** |
|  | Independent | Ali Akbar Miah | 33,205 | 24.14 | *N/A* |
|  | INC | Sabana Aktar | 25,515 | 18.55 | −14.26 |
|  | AGP | Ali Azom Sheikh | 14,688 | 10.68 | +9.22 |
|  | CPI | Giasuddin Ahmed | 6,792 | 4.93 | +0.88 |
|  | Independent | Biplab Mukherjee | 5,812 | 4.22 | *N/A* |
|  | Independent | Atowar Hussain | 1,997 | 1.45 | *N/A* |
|  | Independent | Saiful Islam | 1,412 | 1.02 | *N/A* |
|  | Independent | Sheikh Monshur Rahman | 616 | 0.44 | *N/A* |
|  | SP | Moharuddin Mondal | 577 | 0.41 | *N/A* |
|  | RPI(A) | Afzalur Rahman | 498 | 0.36 | *N/A* |
|  | JCP | Ajmira Aktar | 492 | 0.35 | *N/A* |
|  | Independent | Prakrita Kumar Nath | 486 | 0.35 | *N/A* |
|  | IUML | Yousub Ali Ahmed | 250 | 0.18 | *N/A* |
|  | NOTA | None of the above | 766 | 0.55 | *N/A* |
| Majority | | | 11,202 | 8.15 | +4.77 |
| Turnout | | | 1,37,513 | 93.45 | +5.73 |
| Registered electors | | | 1,47,151 |  |  |
|  | AIUDF **hold** | | Swing |  |  |

### 2011

2011 Assam Legislative Assembly election: Bilasipara West
| Party | | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | AIUDF | Hafiz Bashir Ahmed | 40,501 | 36.19 |  |
|  | INC | Ali Akbar Miah | 36,717 | 32.81 |  |
|  | BPF | Batendra Brahma | 23,070 | 20.62 |  |
|  | CPI | Giasuddin Ahmed | 4,532 | 4.05 |  |
|  | AITC | Hatem Ali Choudhury | 2,261 | 2.02 |  |
|  | AGP | Sheikh Monshur Rahman | 1,635 | 1.46 |  |
|  | Independent | Entaz Ali | 1,250 | 1.12 |  |
|  | BJP | Minati Sarkar Roy | 1,007 | 0.90 |  |
|  | Lok Bharti | Mokles Rahman | 573 | 0.51 |  |
|  | Independent | Akbar Ali | 362 | 0.32 |  |
| Majority | | | 3,784 | 3.38 |  |
| Turnout | | | 1,11,908 | 87.72 |  |
| Registered electors | | | 1,27,581 |  |  |
|  | AIUDF **hold** | | Swing |  |  |

26°14′N 90°13′E / 26.24°N 90.21°E / 26.24; 90.21

## InfoBox

| Bilasipara West | |
| --- | --- |
| Constituency No. 26 for the Assam Legislative Assembly | |
|  | |
| Constituency details | |
| Country | India |
| Region | Northeast India |
| State | Assam |
| Division | Lower Assam |
| District | Dhubri |
| LS constituency | Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency |
| Established | 1951 |
| Reservation | None |
| Member of Legislative Assembly | |
| 15th Assam Legislative Assembly | |
| **Incumbent**  **Hafiz Bashir Ahmed** | |
| Party | AIUDF |
| Elected year | 2021 |


title: Rob Reitzen

abstract: Rob Reitzen is an American mathematician and professional gambler.

text:
# Rob Reitzen

**Rob Reitzen** is an American mathematician and professional gambler.

## Biography

Reitzen attended University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied mathematics and probabilities. He was initially interested in poker. However, his focus shifted to blackjack after discovering and studying Lawrence Revere's book, *Playing Blackjack as a Business*.

In the early 1980s, coinciding with the rise of home computing, Reitzen collaborated with a colleague who later became influential in horse betting technology in Hong Kong. Together, they utilized emerging computer technology to develop new blackjack techniques. These techniques included sophisticated card counting systems, shuffle tracking, and improved methods for memorizing card sequences.

In the early 1990s, Reitzen co-founded CORE, a company that specialized in providing financial and operational support to Native American casinos, including supplying both the bankroll and dealers for blackjack games.

Retizen also specialized in hold'em poker, developing a mathematical strategy that resulted in forming a successful team under his guidance, which achieved notable success on the Full Tilt Poker platform. Later, Reitzen developed another mathematical technique with John Wayne and Darrell Miers that was provided as a service to casinos as well as stock and futures markets.

In 1997, Reitzen's methods and achievements were notably featured in a *Esquire* magazine article titled "Fleecing Las Vegas." The article described his use of a technique known as "The Hammer" at the blackjack tables of Caesars Palace, where he reportedly won $500,000. "The Hammer" involved a combination of card counting, shuffle tracking, ace location, and card sequence memorization.

In 2019, Reitzen was inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame.

Reitzen is the founder of Random Order Inc. He is also the co-founder of StyleScan, a B2B software specializing in AI.

## Recognition


title: El Protector (2015)

abstract: El Protector (2015) was an annual professional wrestling major event produced by Mexican professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG), which took place on February 15, 2015 in Arena Naucalpan, Naucalpan, State of Mexico, Mexico. The 2015 El Protector was the fourth annual event produced under that name and the second to be held in February. The focal point of the show was the El Protector tag team tournament where seven teams competed for the trophy.

text:
# El Protector (2015)

**El Protector (2015)** was an annual professional wrestling major event produced by Mexican professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG), which took place on February 15, 2015 in Arena Naucalpan, Naucalpan, State of Mexico, Mexico. The 2015 *El Protector* was the fourth annual event produced under that name and the second to be held in February. The focal point of the show was the *El Protector* tag team tournament where seven teams competed for the trophy.

## Production

### Background

*Lucha Libre* has a tradition for a tournament where a rookie, or *novato*, would be teamed up with an experienced veteran wrestler for a tag team tournament in the hopes of giving the *Novato* a chance to show case their talent and move up the ranks. Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre has held a *Torneo Gran Alternativa* ("Great Alternative Tournament") almost every year since 1994, but the concept predates the creation of the *Gran Alternativa*. The Mexican professional wrestling company International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG; at times referred to as *Grupo Internacional Revolución* in Mexico) started their own annual rookie/veteran tournament in 2010. The first two tournaments were called *Torneo Relampago de Proyeccion a Nuevas Promesas de la Lucha Libre* (Spanish for "Projecting a new promise lightning tournament") but would be renamed the *El Protector* tournament in 2012. The *El Protector* shows, as well as the majority of the IWRG shows in general, are held in "Arena Naucalpan", owned by the promoters of IWRG and their main arena. The 2015 *El Protector* show was the sixth time that IWRG promoted a show around the rookie/veteran tournament, with the name changing to *El Protector* in 2012 and onwards.

### Storylines

The event featured nine professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either heels (referred to as *rudos* in Mexico, those that portray the "bad guys") or faces (*técnicos* in Mexico, the "good guy" characters) as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

### Tournament participants

## Results

| No. | Results | Stipulations |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Douki and Power Bull defeated Galaxy and Omega | Best two-out-of-three falls tag team match |
| 2 | Dark Lady, Kamilion and La Sadica defeated Black Fury, Hahastary and Sadic Maiden | Best two-out-of-three falls six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match |
| 3 | Anubis Black and Pirata Morgan defeated Emperador Azteca and El Hijo de Dos Caras | *El Protector*, quarter final match |
| 4 | Metaleon and Negro Navarro defeated Dragón Celestial and Veneno | *El Protector*, quarter final match |
| 5 | Electro Boy and X-Fly defeated Atomic Star and Eterno | *El Protector*, quarter final match |
| 6 | Alfa and Máscara Sagrada defeated Hip Hop Man and El Hijo del Diablo | *El Protector*, quarter final match |
| 7 | Metaleon and Negro Navarro defeated Electro Boy and X-Fly | *El Protector*, semi-final match |
| 8 | Anubis Black and Pirata Morgan defeated Alfa and Máscara Sagrada by countout | *El Protector*, semi-final match |
| 9 | Metaleon and Negro Navarro defeated Anubis Black and Pirata Morgan | *El Protector*, final match |
| 10 | Chicano and Danny Casas (c) defeated *Los Primos Dinamitas* (Hijo del Máscara Año 2000 and Universo 2000 Jr.) | tag team match for the IWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Championship |
| (c)  – the champion(s) heading into the match | | |

## InfoBox

| El Protector (2015) | |
| --- | --- |
| Official poster for the show depicting all the competitors in the *El Protector* tournament. | |
| Promotion | International Wrestling Revolution Group |
| Date | February 15, 2015 |
| City | Naucalpan, State of Mexico |
| Venue | Arena Naucalpan |
| Event chronology | |
| **Previous**
IWRG 19th Anniversary Show **Next**
Rebelión de los Juniors | |
| El Protector chronology | |
| **Previous**
2014 **Next**
2016 | |


title: Thermal blanket

abstract: A thermal blanket is a device used in thermal desorption to clean soil contamination. The primary function of a thermal blanket is to heat the soil to the boiling point of the contaminants so that they break down. A vacuum pulls the resulting gas into a separate air cleaner that may use various methods, such as carbon filters and high-heat ovens, to completely destroy the contaminants. Aside from evaporation and volatilization, the contaminants may also be removed from the soil through other mechanisms such as steam distillation, pyrolysis, oxidation, and other chemical reactions. Due to their placement, the thermal blanket can only be used in shallow areas, which is around 1 meter. The process can take more than 24 hours to treat 6 inches of soil and up to 4 days for contaminated areas with depths of 12 to 18 inches. Deep contamination is handled using a similar method but with a deep penetrating heat source. This is commonly referred to as an in situ thermal desorption (ISTD) thermal well and it uses heater elements that consist of nichrome wires in a ceramic insulator. Like the thermal blankets, the heating temperature could reach as high as 900 °C, heating adjacent regions through heat conduction. Vacuum is also applied to withdraw broken contaminants.

text:
# Thermal blanket

A **thermal blanket** is a device used in thermal desorption to clean soil contamination. The primary function of a thermal blanket is to heat the soil to the boiling point of the contaminants (usually 100 to 325 °C and as high as 900 °C) so that they break down. A vacuum pulls the resulting gas (along with volatilized contaminants) into a separate air cleaner that may use various methods, such as carbon filters and high-heat ovens, to completely destroy the contaminants. Aside from evaporation and volatilization, the contaminants may also be removed from the soil through other mechanisms such as steam distillation, pyrolysis, oxidation, and other chemical reactions.

Due to their placement, the thermal blanket can only be used in shallow areas, which is around 1 meter. The process can take more than 24 hours to treat 6 inches of soil and up to 4 days for contaminated areas with depths of 12 to 18 inches.

Deep contamination (contamination at depths greater than 1 meter) is handled using a similar method but with a deep penetrating heat source. This is commonly referred to as an in situ thermal desorption (ISTD) thermal well and it uses heater elements that consist of nichrome wires in a ceramic insulator. Like the thermal blankets, the heating temperature could reach as high as 900 °C, heating adjacent regions through heat conduction. Vacuum is also applied to withdraw broken contaminants.

## Concerns

It is reported that the application of the thermal blanket is limited and this could be attributed to a number of concerns. For example, as a contaminant becomes heated, it may leak outside of the area of the thermal blanket. Therefore, the blanket must completely cover the contaminated area and have a strong enough vacuum to prohibit the spread of contamination. Incomplete destruction of contaminants may also lead to the introduction of dioxins and furans into the air.

The thermal blanket method has not been effectively tested on organic contaminants. The technology is presently commercially available. Shell Technology Ventures, Inc., for instance, has developed its own ISTD thermal blanket solution that can treat or remove contaminants on near-surface soil or pavements without excavation.

1. National Research council (2004). *Contaminants in the Subsurface: Source Zone Assessment and Remediation*. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. p. 237. ISBN 0309546648.
2. Lehr, Jay (2004). *Wiley's Remediation Technologies Handbook: Major Contaminant Chemicals and Chemical Groups*. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. p. 1042. doi:10.1002/0471655473. ISBN 978-0471455998.
3. United States Environmental Protection Agency (1997). *Analysis of selected enhancements for soil vapor extraction*. Washington, D.C.: DIANE Publishing. pp. 7–12. ISBN 9781428903609.

## Other sources

* I. E. T. Iben; W. A. Edelstein; R. B. Sheldon; A. P. Shapiro; E. E. Uzgiris; C. R. Scatena; S. R. Blaha; W. B. Silverstein; G. R. Brown; G. L. Stegemeier & H. J. Vinegar (1985). "Thermal Blanket for In-Situ Remediation of Surficial Contamination: A Pilot Test". *Environ. Sci. Technol*. **30** (11): 3144–3154. doi:10.1021/es9506622.


title: Bentley Infrastructure 500

abstract: Bentley Infrastructure 500 is a ranking of infrastructure owners compiled by the CAD software company Bentley Systems. It was first published in 2010. The index ranks the combined infrastructure assets in the hands of the biggest public and private organisations. In contrast to the Forbes Global 2000 ranking, the Bentley Infrastructure 500 ranks companies according to their reported tangible fixed assets - and is a direct measure of the infrastructure owned and operated by an organization. The aim of the ranking is to help global constituents appreciate and explore the magnitude of investment in infrastructure and the potential to continually increase the return on that investment. The Infrastructure 500 index also takes into consideration governments and states.

text:
# Bentley Infrastructure 500

**Bentley Infrastructure 500** is a ranking of infrastructure owners compiled by the CAD software company Bentley Systems. It was first published in 2010. The index ranks the combined infrastructure assets in the hands of the biggest public and private organisations.

In contrast to the Forbes Global 2000 ranking, the Bentley Infrastructure 500 ranks companies according to their reported tangible fixed assets (or other comparable noncurrent physical assets such as buildings or fixed structures, land, and machinery) - and is a direct measure of the infrastructure owned and operated by an organization. The aim of the ranking is to help global constituents appreciate and explore the magnitude of investment in infrastructure and the potential to continually increase the return on that investment. The Infrastructure 500 index also takes into consideration governments and states.

## 2014 list

| Rank | Organization | Headquarters Country | Infrastructure Value (millions USD) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Federal government of the United States | United States | 360,900 |
| 2 | GAZPROM | Russia | 248,401 |
| 3 | ExxonMobil | United States | 243,650 |
| 4 | Petrobras | Brazil | 227,433 |
| 5 | Royal Dutch Shell | United Kingdom | 191,897 |
| 6 | China National Petroleum Corporation | China | 190,424 |
| 7 | Highways Agency | United Kingdom | 185,875 |
| 8 | Électricité de France \- EDF | France | 172,839 |
| 9 | Chevron | United States | 164,829 |
| 10 | Rosneft | Russia | 162,852 |
| 11 | Korea Electric Power Corporation | South Korea | 154,133 |
| 12 | BP | United Kingdom | 133,690 |
| 13 | Pemex \- Petróleos Mexicanos | Mexico | 130,837 |
| 14 | PDVSA \- Petróleos De Venezuela | Venezuela | 128,535 |
| 15 | Commonwealth of Australia | Australia | 119,327 |
| 16 | State of California | United States | 118,627 |
| 17 | Walmart | United States | 117,907 |
| 18 | Kingdom of the Netherlands | Netherlands | 114,597 |
| 19 | Enel | Italy | 111,776 |
| 20 | AT&T | United States | 110,968 |

*As measured by reported net tangible fixed assets.

## 2013 list

| Rank | Organization | Headquarters Country | Infrastructure Value (millions USD)\* |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Federal government of the United States | United States | 342,900 |
| 2 | State Grid Corporation of China | China | 236,012 |
| 3 | GAZPROM | Russia | 228,366 |
| 4 | ExxonMobil | United States | 226,949 |
| 5 | Petrobras | Brazil | 204,962 |
| 6 | Royal Dutch Shell | Netherlands | 172,293 |
| 7 | Highways Agency | United Kingdom | 166,985 |
| 8 | Électricité de France \- EDF | France | 161,286 |
| 9 | Chevron Corporation | United States | 141,348 |
| 10 | Petroleos Mexicanos | Mexico | 127,449 |
| 11 | Kingdom of the Netherlands | Netherlands | 118,205 |
| 12 | Walmart | United States | 116,681 |
| 13 | BP | United Kingdom | 115,421 |
| 14 | Korea Electric Power Corporation | Korea | 113,498 |
| 15 | GDF Suez | France | 113,416 |
| 16 | Commonwealth of Australia | Australia | 113,386 |
| 17 | State of California | United States | 112,470 |
| 18 | AT&T | United States | 109,767 |
| 19 | Enel | Italy | 109,662 |
| 20 | Tokyo Electric Power Company | Japan | 106,365 |

*As measured by reported net tangible fixed assets.

## 2011 list

| Rank | Organization | Headquarters Country | Infrastructure Value (millions USD) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Federal government of the United States | United States | 308,800 |
| 2 | State Grid Corporation of China | China | 209,727 |
| 3 | ExxonMobil | United States | 199,548 |
| 4 | GAZPROM | Russia | 180,019 |
| 5 | Petrobras | Brazil | 167,777 |
| 6 | Électricité de France \- EDF | France | 143,241 |
| 7 | Nippon Telegraph and Telephone | Japan | 119,098 |
| 8 | Kingdom of the Netherlands | Netherlands | 117,060 |
| 9 | Royal Dutch Shell | Netherlands | 117,060 |
| 10 | Walmart | United States | 107,878 |
| 11 | Tokyo Electric Power Company | Japan | 106,455 |
| 12 | BP | United Kingdom | 105,887 |
| 13 | Chevron Corporation | United States | 104,504 |
| 14 | Enel | Italy | 104,349 |
| 15 | GDF Suez | France | 104,317 |
| 16 | State of California | United States | 104,107 |
| 17 | Ferrovie dello Stato | Italy | 103,903 |
| 18 | AT&T | United States | 103,196 |
| 19 | State of Texas | United States | 92,214 |
| 20 | ENI | Italy | 90,065 |

## 2010 list

| Rank | Organization | Headquarters Country | Infrastructure Value (millions USD) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Federal government of the United States | United States | 282,700 |
| 2 | Électricité de France \- EDF | France | 186,466 |
| 3 | GAZPROM | Russia | 161,813 |
| 4 | Petrochina Company Limited | China | 155,973 |
| 5 | ExxonMobil | United States | 139,116 |
| 6 | Petrobras | Brazil | 132,286 |
| 7 | Royal Dutch Shell | Netherlands | 129,149 |
| 8 | United States Department of the Army | United States | 122,145 |
| 9 | Enel | Italy | 113,951 |
| 10 | Nippon Telegraph and Telephone | Japan | 107,856 |
| 11 | Tokyo Electric Power Company | Japan | 106,455 |
| 12 | BP | United Kingdom | 103,686 |
| 13 | Walmart | United States | 102,307 |
| 14 | State of California | United States | 102,201 |
| 15 | Ferrovie dello Stato | Italy | 101,660 |
| 16 | AT&T | United States | 100,093 |
| 17 | GDF Suez | France | 99,457 |
| 18 | Chevron Corporation | United States | 96,468 |
| 19 | China Petrochemical Corporation | China | 96,105 |
| 20 | Verizon Communications | United States | 91,466 |

Infrastructure Value above as measured by reported net tangible fixed assets.

## Key findings

The Bentley Infrastructure 500 index shows little correlation with the Forbes 2000 - showing that the biggest companies in the world are not necessarily the biggest owners of fixed assets.

The 2010 study showed that the combined assets of all the 500 companies add up to US$ 13 trillion, which is equivalent to annual GDP of the United States. Other interesting relations compiled by CAD Analyst

* the largest commercial facilities owner is No. 13, Wal-Mart Stores, at $102.3 billion (Forbes 2000 No. 14);
* the largest state government infrastructure owner is No. 14, Government of California, at $102.2 billion (Public Entity - not in Forbes);
* the largest rail owner is No. 15, Ferrovie dello Stato, at $101.6 billion (Public Entity - not in Forbes);
* the largest manufacturing owner is No. 31, Toyota, at $71.9 billion (Forbes 2000 No. 360);
* the largest mineral resources owner is No. 36, Brazilian Vale do Rio Doce, at $66.1 billion (Forbes 2000 No. 80);
* the largest infrastructure owner in India is No. 81, Reliance Industries, at $38.1 billion (Forbes 2000 No. 126);
* the largest private infrastructure investor is No. 89, Ferrovial, at $35.9 billion (Forbes 2000 No. 748);
* the largest bank owner is No. 128, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, at $25.3 billion (Forbes 2000 No. 385);
* the largest private water infrastructure owner is No. 322, Kemble Water Holdings, at $14.3 billion (did not make the Forbes 2000).


title: Solicitor General (1794 ship)

abstract: Solicitor General was launched in Bermuda in 1785. She came to England circa 1794 and first sailed as a West Indiaman but then new owners in 1795 employed her as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was wrecked on the coast of North Africa on her first voyage on her way to acquire captives. Her crew were themselves enslaved, not being freed until mid-1797.

text:
# Solicitor General (1794 ship)

***Solicitor General*** was launched in Bermuda in 1785. She came to England circa 1794 and first sailed as a West Indiaman but then new owners in 1795 employed her as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was wrecked on the coast of North Africa on her first voyage on her way to acquire captives. Her crew were themselves enslaved, not being freed until mid-1797.

## Career

*Solicitor General* first appeared in *Lloyd's Register* (*LR*) in 1794.

In August 1794 *Lloyd's List* reported that *Solicitor General* was sailing from Antigua to Liverpool when she had put into St Kitts in a leaky condition.

| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1794 | \___ (Yeates?)
J.G.John | Lightfoot | Bristol−Antigua | *LR*; raised 1790 |
| 1795 | J.G.John
T.Smith | Lightfoot | Liverpool−Antigua
Liverpool–Africa | *LR*; raised 1790 |
| 1796 | T.Smith | Forbes & Co. | Liverpool–Africa | *LR*; raised 1790 |
|

Captain Thomas Smith sailed from Liverpool on 17 July 1795. In 1795, 79 vessels sailed from English ports, bound for Africa to acquire and transport enslaved people; 59 of these vessels sailed from Liverpool.

*Solicitor General* was lost on the Barbary Coast on 11 August 1795. She was on a voyage from Liverpool to Africa. Her 19 crew members survived, only to have the locals enslave them. Smith and his crew were finally freed circa July 1797. While they were awaiting ransom, their captors held the crew in Passereet, a town reportedly five days travel from Santa Cruz (possibly Agadir, once the Portuguese port and fort of Santa Cruz do Cabo de Gué). There they worked “all day in the sun”.

After being ransomed, Thomas Smith died on 19 June 1801, while he was master of *Trelawney*, and on his eighth voyage as a master of vessels transporting enslaved people.

Seventeen ninety-five was the worst year in the period 1793–1807 for losses among British slave ships. Fifty vessels were lost that year, 40 of them on the coast of Africa, and three Africa-bound from British ports. Because she had not yet arrived on the slave coast of Africa, *Solicitor General* might have been classified as one of the three.

## Citations

* Behrendt, Stephen D. (1990). "The Captains in the British slave trade from 1785 to 1807" (PDF). *Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire*. **140**.
* Sears, C. (2012). *American Slaves and African Masters: Algiers and the Western Sahara, 1776-1820*. Springer. ISBN 9781137268662.
* Inikori, Joseph (1996). "Measuring the unmeasured hazards of the Atlantic slave trade: Documents relating to the British trade". *Revue française d'histoire d'outre-mer*. **83** (312): 53–92.
* Schwarz, Suzanne (2008). *Slave Captain: The Career of James Irving in the Liverpool Slave Trade*. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 9781846310676.
* Williams, Gomer (1897). *History of the Liverpool Privateers and Letters of Marque: With an Account of the Liverpool Slave Trade*. W. Heinemann.

## InfoBox

|  | |
| --- | --- |
| History | |
| Great Britain | |
| Name | *Solicitor General* |
| Launched | 1785, Bermuda |
| Acquired | 1794 |
| Fate | Wrecked 11 August 1795 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 141 (bm) |
| Complement | 19 |
| Armament | 8 × 6-pounder guns |
| Notes | Bermuda cedar |


title: Roger le Strange, Baron Strange

abstract: Roger le Strange, Baron Strange, also known as Roger Lestrange or Roger Strange, Lord of Ellesmere, was an English knight, commander and royal advisor.

text:
# Roger le Strange, Baron Strange

**Roger le Strange, Baron Strange**, also known as **Roger Lestrange** or **Roger Strange** (died 31 July 1311), Lord of Ellesmere, was an English knight, commander and royal advisor.

## Life

### Role in Wales

The second son of John Lestrange and his wife Lucy, daughter of Robert of Tregoz, he was given land taken by Henry III of England from rebels in the Second Barons' War. From May 1270 to October 1274 he was Sheriff of Yorkshire, but the focus of his activities was in Cheshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire. Due to his local knowledge of the Welsh Marches he was an important advisor to Edward I of England during his conquest of Wales. During Edward's first campaign in 1277 he was put in charge of Oswestry Castle, Dinas Bran, Builth and Montgomery Castle \- the Welsh inhabitants living near these castles regarded him as a tyrant.

Roger played a major part in the 1282-83 campaign and on 30 October 1282 succeeded Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer as the English commander in mid-Wales. On 11 December, he fought at the battle of Orewin Bridge, in which Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was killed - Lestrange wrote the letter informing Edward of his death. From 1283, he took part in the siege and capture of Castell y Bere.

In 1284, he took part in Edward's castle-building campaign in north Wales. In 1287, he took part in the suppression of Rhys ap Maredudd's revolt and the siege of Dryslwyn Castle, as well as the suppression of the 1294 Welsh uprising under Madog ap Llywelyn and the 1295 Gascon and 1297 Flanders campaigns of the Gascon War.

On 21 October 1283, he was transferred to the role of justiciar of the "Forest south of the Trent", which he held until 12 February 1297.

### Marriages

Roger's first marriage was to Maud, widow of Roger II de Mowbray, 6th Baron Mowbray (died 1266), younger brother of William de Mowbray, signatory of Magna Carta. After her death, he was allowed to hold her lands and property until her children came of age in 1278. On the death of his brother, Hamo le Strange, without issue in 1272 or 1273 Roger inherited Ellesmere, Shropshire and other lands. His second wife Eleanor died in 1280 and in 1307 he married his third wife, another Maud.

### Later life

In 1291 he was sent as an envoy to pope Nicolas IV, only returning in 1292. He was summoned to several meetings of parliament and the royal counsel and in 1295 he was given the title Baron Strange. Despite his contribution to the conquest of Wales, he did not have a fiefdom or lordship there, although he had hoped to rule Maelor Saesneg in north Wales.

He served in the royal household as a knight for many years but he was already recorded as being sick in 1298 - Edward decreed in 1306 that he was so indebted to him for his service that he would attend his funeral. He undertook several further smaller missions for the king and was one of the signatories of the barons' letter to the pope in 1301. He died without surviving issue in 1311 after a long illness.

1. Rees R. Davies: *The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063–1415*. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford 1991; ISBN 0-19-820198-2, S. 348.
2. R. F. Walker: *William de Valence and the Army of West Wales, 1282–1283*. In: *Welsh History Review* 18 (1997), S. 421.
3. Rees R. Davies: *The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063–1415*. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford 1991; ISBN 0-19-820198-2, S. 358.
4. Rees R. Davies: *The Age of Conquest. Wales 1063–1415*. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford 1991; ISBN 0-19-820198-2, S. 363.


title: Romance in the Rain

abstract: Romance in the Rain is a 2001 Chinese-Taiwanese television period drama jointly produced by Yi Ren Communications Company (怡人傳播有限公司) in Taiwan and China International Television Corporation (中国国际电视总公司) in mainland China. The series was adapted by Chiung Yao from her 1964 novel Fire and Rain, with the setting moved from 1960s Taipei to 1930s Shanghai. Romance in the Rain was filmed in Shanghai in 2000, and first broadcast in Taiwan on China Television in April 2001. The series stars Zhao Wei, Ruby Lin, Leo Ku, and Alec Su, reuniting Zhao, Lin and Su after the 1998–1999 smash hit My Fair Princess. Romance in the Rain was also an international success in East Asia and Southeast Asia.

text:
# Romance in the Rain

***Romance in the Rain*** is a 2001 Chinese-Taiwanese television period drama jointly produced by Yi Ren Communications Company (怡人傳播有限公司) in Taiwan and China International Television Corporation (中国国际电视总公司) in mainland China. The series was adapted by Chiung Yao from her 1964 novel *Fire and Rain* (as well as a 1986 adaptation *Lovers Under the Rain*), with the setting moved from 1960s Taipei to 1930s Shanghai. *Romance in the Rain* was filmed in Shanghai in 2000, and first broadcast in Taiwan on China Television in April 2001.

The series stars Zhao Wei, Ruby Lin, Leo Ku, and Alec Su, reuniting Zhao, Lin and Su after the 1998–1999 smash hit *My Fair Princess*. *Romance in the Rain* was also an international success in East Asia and Southeast Asia.

## Characters

### Main cast

* **Lu Yiping** (陸依萍/陆依萍) or Bai Mei Gui (Stage Name), played by Zhao Wei

The protagonist of *Romance in the Rain*, Yiping is one of the many children of Lu Zhenhua, a retired general with nine wives. Her mother, Fu Wenpei, is the general's eighth wife. Both she and her mother are banished from the Lu household through the actions of her father's ninth wife, Wang Xueqin. She has ten half-sisters, including Ruping and Mengping, many half-brothers, including Erhao, and one stepbrother named Erjie. The mercilessness with which her father and stepmother treat her has made her resentful of the Lu family, which she refers to as the "other side." At first, she is at odds with her half-brother Erhao and half-sister Ruping for this reason, but she eventually learns to love and accept them as her siblings. She has one elder full sister called Xinping (陸心萍/陆心萍) who died 7 years before the plot of the story at 15 years of age. After an earlier encounter, she meets a reporter named He Shuhuan at a Shanghai nightclub. Shuhuan is soon captivated by Yiping's singing talent, emotion, and mystery. After discovering her half-sister Ruping's love for Shuhuan, she seeks Shuhuan's love, partly as revenge (as he discovers by reading her diary), but in her heart, she really loves him and so for He Shuhuan, her revenge become meaningless and she learns to be loving and forgiving of her father. When Yiping fell in love with Shuhuan and she softens as a result. After the death of her father, Yiping became the sole financial support of the Lu family as Erhao also enlists in the army. Yiping's character is loud and blunt, with a strong sense of righteousness and justice due to the misfortunes that she and her mother have suffered. She often describes herself as a porcupine who has grown spines as a mechanism of self-defense. In order to love Shuhuan, she pulls out her quills one by one, leaving her defenseless and a bloody mess.

* **Lu Ruping** (陸如萍/陆如萍), played by Ruby Lin

Ruping is the daughter of Lu Zhenhua and Wang Xueqin, as well as Yiping's half-sister. She is the full sister of Erhao and Mengping and half-sister of Erjie from her mother's side. Her mother, Xueqin, is her father's ninth and final wife. Pretty and sympathetic, Ruping comes from a wealthy environment but is not prejudiced against Yiping like the rest of her family. She gets angry, jealous, and upset at times, but in times of need, she always prioritizes other people's well-being before her own emotions. Ruping's first love interest is Shuhuan, whom she met after Shuhuan asks her to guard some negatives. At the same time, she also meets Du Fei, Shuhuan's colleague, who develops strong feelings for Ruping. During the series, Ruping is confronted with a series of misfortunes that make her believe that she is unloved. Shuhuan runs away from their engagement ceremony, her mother has been found guilty of committing adultery and stealing from their family's treasury, and after helping her mother escape imprisonment by contacting Wei Guangxiong, Ruping is the direct cause of the loss of all of the Lu family's savings, which earns her much anger and harsh words from her father. She runs away from home with her father's gun, intending to commit suicide. However, with the onset of war against the Japanese, she decides to join the Red Cross instead and becomes a nurse in the battlefield. During this time, she thinks about Du Fei every day and comes to realize that he is her one true love and has been for a long time. By coincidence, she and Du Fei meet again, and she is able to reveal her feelings. They end up holding a "battlefield wedding" and working together until the end of the war.

* **He Shuhuan** (何書桓/何书桓), played by Leo Ku

A reporter from Nanjing, Shuhuan is the friend and colleague of Lu Erhao and Du Fei as well as the love interest of sisters Lu Yiping and Lu Ruping. However, whereas his feelings towards Yiping are romantic, he only treats Ruping as a special friend. At the beginning of the series, he and Ruping are assumed to be potential partners by all their friends and family members. Xueqin is particularly adamant about this, often insisting that Ruping make a move to secure their relationship. Despite several arguments, and going back and forth between Yiping and Ruping, he remains passionate towards Yiping. After reading Yiping's diary and discovering that Yiping was only dating to get revenge on 'that side' of the family he was led to anger and broke up with her. He later is engaged to Ruping but leaves her during the engagement party for Yiping. He starts to love Lu Yiping after he knows that she loves him with sincere and innocent love. He regrets breaking her heart and so promised her to always believe her and to never break up with her again. Towards the end of the story, Shuhuan goes off to fight in the war between Japan and China, leaving Yiping to wait for him. In the final episode, after arriving in China, Lu Yiping finds him, and Shuhuan runs to her and told her "I love you" many times and then kissed her.

* **Du Fei** (杜飛/杜飞), played by Alec Su

Like Shuhuan, Du Fei is a reporter. He is extremely passionate about his love for Ruping, but Ruping attempts to reject his love. A caring man, Du Fei always helps others in need but is also careless and clumsy. During the war between Japan and China, Du Fei, upset by Ruping's disappearance, goes to the battlefield as a reporter in hopes of finding Ruping, and after several years discovers Ruping and her love for him and so marries her.

* **Lu Erhao** (陸爾豪/陆尔豪), played by Gao Xin

Erhao is the son of Lu Zhenhua and Xue Qin, brother to Ruping and Mengping, and half-brother to Yiping from his father and Erjie from his mother. He is the love interest of Yiping's best friend Fang Yu. However, his relationship with Fang Yu becomes complex after Erhao discovers that his past childhood love, Keyun, once had his child and is now mentally disabled. At the beginning of the series Erhao hated Yiping but for the sake of Fang Yu he tried hard to make peace with Yiping. He was able to put aside his hatred towards Yiping and grew to love and accept her as his sister and part of the family. Erhao later enlists in the army as well, leaving Fang Yu waiting for him.

* **Fang Yu** (方瑜), played by Li Yu

The best friend of Yiping who falls in love with Yiping's half-brother, Erhao. Yiping is at first against Fang Yu's relationship with Erhao, especially after finding out about Keyun, but Fang Yu continued to love Erhao despite complications in their relationship.

### Supporting cast

* **Li Keyun** (李可雲/李可云), played by Xu Lu

The daughter of Li Zhengde and Li Yuzhen, Keyun had a childhood romance with Erhao which resulted in a pregnancy. She did not inform Erhao about this. After their baby's death, Keyun developed a mental illness. Throughout Romance in the Rain, Yiping, Shuhuan, Erhao, Ruping, Du Fei, and Fang Yu attempt to help Keyun recover her memory. In the end, Keyun gets better when she saw a motherless baby during the war. She decides to raise him as her own.

* **Lu Zhenhua** (陸振華/陆振华), played by Kou Zhenhai (Episode 01–45) Deceased

The father of Yiping, Lu Zhenhua is a retired, respected general. He was married to nine women, all of whom he eventually lost interest in. As a result of his tragic romance with Pingping, Lu Zhenhua is inclined to marry any woman who bears a resemblance to Pingping. It is revealed later after he died that the person who bore the closest resemblance towards his long-lost love Pingping was not his wives but his daughter ,the deceased Xinping, the sister of Yiping and daughter of Wenpei who became his favorite daughter. Although his relationship with Yiping is tumultuous at the beginning, especially after he whipped her, the two eventually build a strong bond through their similarities and as the series goes on Yiping grew to love him. He died after getting shot while fighting off Japanese soldiers trying to protect Yiping and Shuhuan.

* **Fu Wenpei** (傅文佩), played by Xu Xing

The eighth wife of Lu Zhenhua, Fu Wenpei is gentle and moral compared to Zhenhua's ninth wife, Xueqin. After Zhenhua married Xueqin, he lost interest in Wenpei and eventually was expelled from the Lu household. She and Zhenhua had two daughters: the deceased Xinping and Yiping. The death of Xinping brought great disturbance and grieve to her. She cannot forget about Xinping and always thinks of her much to Yiping's dismay who thought that she could never replace Xinping in Wenpei's heart. Wenpei was of noble character especially when she spoke for Wang Xueqin to Zhenhua even after she was always treated unfairly and badly by Wang Xueqin. She later became the mother figure to the children of Lu Zhenhua with Wang Xueqin, especially towards Mengping. At the beginning, Wenpei lives a modest life with Yiping.

* **Wang Xueqin** (王雪琴), played by Wang Lin (Episode 01–47) Arrested (Main Antagonist)

The ninth wife of Lu Zhenhua, Xueqin is devious and power-hungry. She also had an affair outside her marriage for more than ten years with a man named Wei Guangxiong which started in Harbin and continued when she moved to Shanghai unbeknownst to Zhenhua. Although Zhenhua has a strong interest in her at the beginning, eventually her negative actions cause him to change his feelings. After Zhenhua found out of her affairs, she was locked up together with her youngest son Erjie. He also tried to shoot her, but was stopped by, surprisingly, Yiping and Shuhuan, who hated her the most. Xueqin told Ruping to call Wei Guangxiong and rescue her. She was rescued, but was neglected later as Wei Guangxiong lost interest in her. She and Zhenhua had three children: Lu Erhao, Lu Ruping, and Lu Mengping. Her youngest son, Erjie, was the result of her affair with Wei Guangxiong.

* **Lu Mengping** (陸夢萍/陆梦萍), played by Yue Tingting

The youngest daughter of Zhenhua and Xueqin. Mengping is the sister of Erhao and Ruping and half-sister of Yiping from her father and Erjie from her mother. Mengping is at first prejudiced towards Yiping like her mother, but later learned to love Yiping. She enjoys partying and having fun, but she is raped after a night of partying, and this causes her personality to change drastically. She turns more forgiving and eventually learns to accept Yiping as part of her family later after the death of her father she lived with Yiping, Wenpei, Li Fuguan, Li sao, Keyun in the Lu mansion. She helped take care of the orphaned children whose parents were killed or separated during the war. Mengping later takes Wenpei as a mother figure.

* **Li Zhengde / Lieutenant Li**  (李正德 / 李副官), played by Cao Qiugen

One of Zhenhua's officers and most trusted person, Li Zhengde is also a retired soldier and living a quiet life in Shanghai. Originally he was an assistant to the Lu family, Li Zhengde and his family left after discovering Keyun's pregnancy. For several years, Li Zhengde and his family were financially assisted by Yiping's mother, Wenpei, despite her own financial difficulty. Later Yiping takes a job as a songstress in "Grand Shanghai" nightclub to support the family of Li Zhengde as well as herself and her mother.

* **Qin Wuye** (秦五爺/秦五爷), played by Huang Daliang

A wealthy businessman in Shanghai, Qin Wuye is the owner of a nightclub called "Grand Shanghai". When Yiping comes in search for work, Qin Wuye offers her a job to sing at his nightclub after being stunned by Yiping's attitude. Eventually, Yiping's relationship with Qin Wuye grows stronger and Yiping relies on him several times for assistance. Qin Wuye gave the job as a songstress in the "Big Shanghai" during the war and during the financial crisis of the Lu family.

* **Pingping** (萍萍), played by Wang Yan (Episode 01 and 45) Deceased

Pingping was the daughter of a statesman whom the young Lu Zhenhua fell in love with. She returned his love and they promised to marry each other someday. However, furious about this, her father tried to kill Zhenhua but was stopped by his daughter. Lu Zhenhua later pursued his hopes to become a victorious general in order to marry Pingping. However, before he achieved this, Pingping committed suicide in order to avoid an arranged marriage, which had a powerful effect on Zhenhua. Witnessing the corruption of Qing Dynasty and the death of Pingping, Zhenhua decided to call up an uprising against the Qing Dynasty, which eventually made him become the general of North-eastern China. Because of his love for Pingping, Lu Zhenhua gives all of his twelve daughters a name that includes the character Ping (萍): Xinping (心萍), Yiping (依萍), Ruping (如萍), and Mengping (夢萍/梦萍).

* **Wei Guangxiong** (魏光雄) (Episode 01–47) Arrested (Primary Antagonist)

The adulterer of Wang Xueqin and biological father of Erjie, a small leader in a gang. He was arrested with Xueqin due to arms dealing in the end of this show.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Event | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2001 | The 1st Top 10 China Television Artists Awards | Top Actress | Zhao Wei | Won |
| 2002 | The 2nd Top Chinese Music Chart Awards | Best Theme Song for a Movie or Television | Zhao Wei | Won |
|

## International broadcast

## Soundtrack

Most of the lyrics for songs were written by the writer, Chiung Yao, sung by Zhao Wei.

| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1. | "情深深雨濛濛" (Romance in the Rain) | Chiung Yao | Xu Jialiang (徐嘉良) | Zhao Wei |  |
| 2. | "好想好想" (Miss You) | Chiung Yao | You Jingang (尤景仰) | Zhao Wei (or Leo Ku) |  |
| 3. | "烟雨濛濛" (Misty Rain) | Chiung Yao | You Jingang (尤景仰) | Zhao Wei |  |
| 4. | "小冤家" (Jambalaya) | Chiung Yao | unknown | Zhao Wei |  |
| 5. | "偶然" (Occasionally) | Xu Zhimo (徐志摩) | Chen Qiuxia (陈秋霞) | Zhao Wei |  |
| 6. | "往事难忘" (Long Long Ago) | Chiung Yao | unknown | Zhao Wei |  |
| 7. | "新兰花草" (Orchid) | Hu Shih (胡适) | C.Tso (左宏元) | Zhao Wei |  |
| 8. | "雨天的故事" (The Story of Raining Day) | Chiung Yao | C.Tso (左宏元) | Zhao Wei |  |
| 9. | "离别的车站" (The Separation Station) | Chiung Yao | Xu Jialiang (徐嘉良) | Zhao Wei |  |
| 10. | "满场飞圆舞曲" (Waltz Waltz) | Bao Yi (包乙) | unknown | Zhao Wei |  |
| 11. | "不由自主" (Can't Help Myself) | Chiung Yao | Tu Huiyuan (涂惠元) | Zhao Wei |  |
| 12. | "自从离别后" (Since I Leave You) | Chiung Yao | Guo Liang (郭亮) | Zhao Wei |  |

## InfoBox

| *Romance in the Rain* | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Also known as | *Profound Love in Heavy Rain* |
|  | |
| Simplified Chinese |  |
| Literal meaning | Love Deep, Rain Misty |
|
| Hanyu Pinyin | Qíng Shēnshēn Yǔ Méngméng |
|  | |
|  | |
| Genre | Romance |
| Based on | *Fire and Rain*
by Chiung Yao |
| Written by | Chiung Yao |
| Directed by | Li Ping |
| Starring |  |
| Opening theme | "Qing Shenshen Yu Mengmeng" (情深深雨濛濛) performed by Zhao Wei |
| Ending theme | "Hao Xiang Hao Xiang" (好想好想) performed by Leo Ku (or Zhao Wei) "Zi Cong Li Bie Hou" (自从离别后) performed by Zhao Wei,
"Li Bie De Che Zhan" (离别的车站) performed by Zhao Wei,
"Yan Yu Meng Meng" (烟雨濛濛) performed by Leo Ku |
| Country of origin | * China * Taiwan |
| Original language | Mandarin |
| No. of episodes | 49 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Ge Weidong |
| Producer | Zhuang Liqi |
| Production locations | Shanghai, China |
| Cinematography | * Chen Jun * Lin Jialiang |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production companies | * Yi Ren Communications * China International Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | China Television |
| Release | April 3 (2001-04-03)
May 25, 2001 (2001-05-25) |
| Related | |
| *Lovers Under the Rain* (1986) | |


title: Bo'ai Road area

abstract: The Bo'ai Road area is a historical neighbourhood in Haikou City, Hainan, China. It is located on the south side of the Haidian River, at the northern part of mainland Haikou. The main hub of the neighbourhood is the north-south Bo'ai Road itself, a commercial road with shops selling such items as fabrics, wholesale toys, and pets, in particular freshwater fish. Much of the area comprises tong lau-style, buildings with European fusion-type architectural facades with Indian and Arabic influences. The buildings are almost all painted white, and are usually no more than a few storeys tall. Many were dilapidated. However, much of the area has now been restored. The streets are mostly narrow with many winding alleyways. The area is populated almost entirely by indigenous Hainan people. Several roads running east and west from Bo'ai Road, and adjacent parallel streets specialize in certain goods. The eastern part of the neighbourhood is mostly residential.

text:
# Bo'ai Road area

The **Bo'ai Road area** (Chinese: 博爱路小区; pinyin: *Bó'ài Lù xiǎoqū*) is a historical neighbourhood in Haikou City, Hainan, China. It is located on the south side of the Haidian River, at the northern part of mainland Haikou. The main hub of the neighbourhood is the north-south Bo'ai Road itself, a commercial road with shops selling such items as fabrics, wholesale toys, and pets, in particular freshwater fish.

Much of the area comprises tong lau-style, buildings with European fusion-type architectural facades with Indian and Arabic influences. The buildings are almost all painted white, and are usually no more than a few storeys tall. Many were dilapidated. However, much of the area has now been restored. The streets are mostly narrow with many winding alleyways. The area is populated almost entirely by indigenous Hainan people.

Several roads running east and west from Bo'ai Road, and adjacent parallel streets specialize in certain goods. The eastern part of the neighbourhood is mostly residential.

## Hubs

Since around 2010, a small number of the buildings have been demolished, either for development, or because they were unsafe. Beginning around 2012, parts of the area have been restored, with the building facades overhauled and road surfaces in severe disrepair being replaced with cobblestones. As of June 2015, the entire west side of the areas has had new cobblestone roads installed. A number of the buildings on the northern boundary on Binhai Road have been demolished and replaced with buildings in the original style.

A narrow, covered road running east from Bo'ai Road is well known for specialty foods including spices, dried seafoods, and exotic meats. The same street, running east from Bo'ai Road specializes in replica antiques with dozens of roadside vendors.

Haikou's main fabric wholesale and retail area is centered on Bo'ai Road.

Most of the northernmost part has hundreds of shops selling hardware, lighting, drapes, and shoes. Most of the southern area sells shoes, with the southern end of Bo'ai Road having a number of wholesale toy shops.

### Zhongshan Road

Also known as the Qilou Arcade Streets and Qilou Old Street, and formerly known as Huanhaifang Road, a government project to restore parts of this street began around 2012. Restoration of all 39 buildings on Zhongshan Road was completed in early 2013. The road was entirely repaved with cobblestones, large potted plants and bronze sculptures are now located at the roadside. The entire strip has become a pedestrian zone, with physical barriers at each end to prevent all motorized traffic from entering, including two-wheeled electric vehicles.

As of June 2015, most of the old shops, many of which were hardware stores, have been replaced with businesses to attract tourists. These include juice bars and coffee shops. Several of these businesses have set up chairs, tables and patio umbrellas on the street. These are all higher quality, made of wood and canvass and of similar style, unlike others typically found in the rest of Haikou, which are plastic and low quality. The establishment of this street is part of an effort to attract visitors to Haikou.

Similar buildings are found in Puqian's old street (unrestored), and Wennan Old Street (fully restored) in Wencheng Town.

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