Blaydon-on-Tyne

Coordinates: 54°57′47″N 1°43′07″W / 54.963°N 1.7187°W / 54.963; -1.7187

Blaydon-on-Tyne (usually shortened to Blaydon) is a town in the North East of England in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead - historically in County Durham. Together with Winlaton, which is now contiguous with and forms part of the postal town of Blaydon, the resident population in 2011 was 13,896. The former urban district, however, extends much further, its fourteen and a half square miles constituting the largest administrative district, after Newcastle, on Tyneside. Included within this area, which extends inland from the Tyne along the River Derwent for ten miles (16 km), are the mining communities of Chopwell and High Spen as well as the villages of Rowlands Gill, Blackhall Mill, Barlow and Stella and the larger and more urban towns of Blaydon and Winlaton.

History

The town of Blaydon is essentially an industrial area and is not more than two centuries old. Indeed, in the 1760s there was little here but a few farms and cottages. In the latter part of the same century a smelting works was set up from which sprang the industrial growth of the area.

Blaydon (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 54°57′N 1°43′W / 54.950°N 1.717°W / 54.950; -1.717

Blaydon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by David Anderson of the Labour Party.

Constituency profile

The seat has been a safe seat for the Labour Party since 1945.

Historically the area's economy relied on coal mining from the Victorian period until the decline of mining in the latter half of the 20th century.

Today the economy is supported by engineering and service industries on Tyneside, and agriculture.

The constituency is on the western upland outskirts of Gateshead and its communities are separated by green buffers.

Boundaries

The Blaydon seat comprises the towns of Blaydon, Whickham, Ryton, Birtley and surrounding villages in the south and west of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in Tyne and Wear, the Boundary Commission for England created a modified Blaydon constituency to be fought at the 2010 general election, from the following electoral wards;

Richard

The Germanic first or given name Richard derives from German, French, and English "ric" (ruler, leader, king) and "hard" (strong, brave), and it therefore means "powerful leader". Nicknames include "Dick", "Dickie", "Rich", "Richie", "Rick", "Ricky", "Rickey", and others.

"Richard" is a common name in many Germanic languages, including English, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Dutch. It can also be used as a French, Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian name.

People named Richard

Rulers and aristocrats

Richard (first abbot of Fountains)

Richard (died 1139) was an English Benedictine and Cistercian, the first abbot of Fountains.

Life

He was prior of St Mary's Abbey, York. In 1132 he found that the sacristan Richard (died 1143) and six other brothers of the house had entered into a bond that they would strive after a stricter life and, if possible, join the Cistercian order, established in England about three years earlier. Richard, who had the good opinion of Thurstan, the Archbishop of York, joined the new movement.

Difficulties arose with the abbot of St Mary's, Geoffrey. He called in monks from Marmoutier then in York, and others, and denounced Richard and his friends. The Archbishop visited the abbey with several of his chapter and other attendants on 9 October, and the abbot refusing to admit his attendants, who were secular clerks, there was a quarrel. In the end Thurstan left with Richard and the other twelve monks of his party, empty-handed. On 26 December he established the new community at what would become Fountains, at Skeldale near Ripon, and gave them the site and some land at in the neighbourhood. Richard was chosen abbot, and he and his monks built themselves huts round a great elm. When the winter was over they sent a messenger to Bernard of Clairvaux, asking to be received into the Cistercian order. He sent them a monk from Clairvaux to instruct them in the rule, and wrote a letter to Richard.

List of recurring The Simpsons characters

The Simpsons includes a large array of supporting characters: co-workers, teachers, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, fictional characters within the show, and even animals. The writers originally intended many of these characters as one-time jokes or for fulfilling needed functions in the town. A number of them have gained expanded roles and have subsequently starred in their own episodes. According to the creator of The Simpsons, Matt Groening, the show adopted the concept of a large supporting cast from the Canadian sketch comedy show Second City Television.

Agnes Skinner

Agnes Skinner (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is the mother of Principal Skinner and first appeared in the first season episode "The Crepes of Wrath" as an old woman who embarrassingly calls her son "Spanky". However, as episodes progressed, the character turned bitter. She is very controlling of her son and often treats him as if he is a child. She hates Edna Krabappel due to her son's feelings for the other woman. Agnes has married four times. Several Springfield residents (including the Simpsons) are afraid of her. When "the real Seymour Skinner" arrives in Springfield, Agnes ends up rejecting him in part because he stands up to her, but also because unlike Skinner/Tamzarian, her biological son is independent and doesn't need her anymore, while Skinner immediately reverts to a good-for-nothing without her.