Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Wizards of the Coast has been forced to deliver yet more bad news for Magic: The Gathering players today.

The CCGs latest expansion, Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, is due to launch digitally on time next week for MTG Arena and Magic Online, with a paper release due to follow next month, May 15th. The staggered rollout is due to manufacturing delays caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which, the company confirms, wont just affect the core Standard set. Five new pre-made decks for the popular Commander format are still on course to release on the same date, though Wizards has warned in a subsequent update that fans may have trouble locating one.

Addressing concerns in the latest episode of Weekly MTG Podcast, Steve Sunu relayed that at the global launch for Commander 2020 there will be less of it than originally planned, adding the effects of COVID-19 have affected our printers and its affected the quantity we originally wanted to print for c20. There is going to be less of it at launch then we intended.

With that said, Sunu assures viewers that it will get the product out there, but customers should prepare to wait a little longer depending on location. Pre-orders will be the most reliable method of ensuring you get hold of each as soon as theyre available. A total of 322 cards are included in C20 with each of the five pre-constructed decks containing an even 100 and they are as follows:

As for Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, you can check out all the latest developments, including yesterdays reveal of a new Planeswalker and how to get your hands on some neat Godzilla-inspired Card Styles in Magic: The Gathering Arenaby hitting the respective links.

See the article here:
Magic: The Gathering Ikoria Commander Decks Delayed Again Due To Coronavirus - We Got This Covered

While the planet experiences massive amounts of cabin fever, many Below Deck yachties view isolation as another day at the office.

A few yachties have discussed on social media that being locked down is pretty similar to a charter season. Essentially, you are out to sea on a yacht with a small group of people. Yacht chefs need to order provisions for what could be up to a month at sea. Plus the crew is required to maintain the yacht and keep it germ-free throughout the charter. Sound familiar?

A few Below Deck crew members have shared their thoughts on quarantine and reflect on how they compare lock-down to being on charter.

Below Deck chief stew Adrienne Gang tweeted, Most of you have never been stuck on a boat for 28 days and longer and it shows. Chef Adam Glick from Below Deck Sailing Yacht shared a photo cooking on the beach. Fluent in isolation tactics, he wrote. Someone replied, Ive been doing this social distancing thing for years. Glick responded, Thats what I was going to caption it with . He also revealed that his photos are taken by either a tripod or a drone too.

Yacht crew members know how to do this. Paget Berry and Ciara Duggan from Below Deck Sailing Yacht were working on a yacht in Italy when the pandemic struck. The couple seemed relatively unphased by lockdown and continued to work. Now that we are in the thick of the quarantine how is everyone coping? I know that people who work on yachts are in a pretty fortunate situation, working on a boat is a little like quarantine anyways! You get used to it! Berrycommented on Instagram.

Duggan shared her own thoughts on Instagram too. Day 18: Were still in Italy, self-isolating as best as we can. No more supermarket runs now that we found a provisioning company to deliver once a week to us. Military presence is strong, no more leaving the zone youre in or going outside unless its for an emergency really. But honestly it feels like time is flying because were still working and able to socialise within our crew. Thankfully we work with some awesome people and we have plenty of gin so that helps. . She is also taking an online class.

Three Below Deck yacht chefs dished with Food and Wine about how cooking on a yacht is pretty similar to being on lockdown. I keep telling people Ive been doing this for years, chefAdam Glick fromBelow Deck Sailing Yachtsaid. This is just like another day in the galley, like Im quarantined on a boat with a lack of new food and supplies.

Some insider tips include purchasing robust produce like root vegetables and use proper storage techniques to make produce last longer. Also, eat fresh food before you dig into your frozen supply. And if having to disinfect groceries is annoying, keep in mind yacht chefs do this on a regular basis. Boxes have to stay on the dock because cockroaches can lay eggs in cardboard and the last thing you need is a bug epidemic aboard your yacht,chef Ben Robinson from Below Deck Mediterranean said.

Glick added you should use the smell test instead of tossing food according to best used by date. The biggest thing I can impart on someone, you need to smell it, he said. 99% of germs stink. When it comes time and its gone bad, it will smell bad.

Chef Matt Burns from Below Deck says being on lockdown it pretty similar to being on charter. I am paying attention to everything, he said. Its been two-and-a-half weeks since we did any type of shopping. This is definitely like a charter.

Continued here:
'Below Deck' Yachties Take Isolation in Stride - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Madison Stalker and Jenna MacGillivray started the season of Below Deck Sailing Yacht on good terms. Madisons professional ability was evident, and Jenna trusted her second stews performance. At some point, maybe due to exhaustion and her unrequited crush on Parker McCown, Madison started to express frustration and negativity towards her work and her boss.

Of course, Jenna didnt help things by constantly complaining about Madison to her moody counterpart, Adam Glick. Maybe it was footage slicing, but Jenna seemed to make a beeline for the galley to complain the moment anything happened with Madison or Parker. The mid-season trailer indicates that the tensions will continue to escalate, maybe even to the point where someone is fired. Will Jenna and Madison be able to work things out?

Jenna spoke to Heavyabout her relationship with Madison. Madisons constant negativity frustrated Jenna. She explained, I really do feel like I tried with Madison and maybe it doesnt seem that way, but I was really frustrated with the fact that you can see in all of our interactions that anything I was telling her to do about the job she rolled her eyes, she mocks the relationship with Adam and me. Shes really the only crew member that acts that way.

I know that Madison is a good worker and she could be good at her job, but there was so much negativity about her being there that it wasnt pleasant to work with her, Jenna continued, Im not the only one who felt that way.

Adam, by proxy of Jenna, also did not want to deal with Madison. Georgia Groblerwas not digging the vibes either during the crew day off. Maybe there will be other crew members irked by Madison as the season progresses.

Jenna also questioned the editing and says viewers didnt get the full picture of her interactions with Madison. She explained, watching scenes with Madison is very hard for me to watch because theyre not necessarily showing the full amount of what happened. She cried almost every day about various things. It was very dramatic and I found it very tiring.

It was Jennas relationship with Adam that seemed to drive a wedge between her and Madison. Madison felt uncomfortable in the galley with the constant sexual innuendos. However, maybe she was just frustrated about Parkerslack of interest in her.

Either way, Jenna picked up on Madisons disdain. She said, as you can see from the episodes, shes constantly ripping on the relationship between me and Adam. Shes telling me I got rejected and really nasty things. That wasnt lost on me. Would you want to work with someone who had these nasty feelings about you? She was going to everyone in the crew who would listen.

Jenna claimed that the other crew members were not bothered about her relationship with Adam. Though it was mentioned that if they split up, it could affect the work onboard. She said, but no one was ripping on me like she does. I never say to her, isnt it clear youve been rejected by Parker? I never said those things because its rude.

Jennasaid that some of her efforts to encourage Madison went unnoticed and were not included in the final footage.

What you see on the show, imagine that times 50 and thats what I dealt with every day with her and her attitude. She really didnt seem to want to be there, Jenna explained.

Jenna added, one thing they didnt show is when we had a conversation where she said she felt like I didnt value her, I wrote her a long letter of appreciation.

Its interesting that Georgia is getting along with Jenna and progressing in her abilities. Maybe a positive attitude can make all the difference.

TELL US- DO YOU THINK MADISON IS NEGATIVE? WAS THE REST OF THE CREW OK WITH JENNA AND ADAMS RELATIONSHIP? DID JENNA DO ENOUGH TO ENCOURAGE MADISON?

[Photo Credit: Bravo]

Read more:
Below Deck Sailing Yacht Star Jenna MacGillivray Says Madison Stalker Cried Almost Everyday About Various Things; Claims Crew Was Bothered By Madisons...

An electrician who was called to a Deep Creek Lake area home this winter crawled under the structures deck to check the lines.

He came right back out and told the homeowners he would be back in the summer. When he got under there, he came face to face with a sow bear, said Harry Spiker, black bear project leader for the Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service.

Each March, Spiker and his crews go to dens where they tranquilize radio-collared sows that have holed up to hibernate and give birth to cubs.

Thats what made this particular bear so different.

She wasnt collared, Spiker said.

Once the homeowners realized they had sub-deck company, WHS was contacted and Spiker put the bear on the den-check list. Still, there were a couple more surprises to come.

This bear had given birth to five cubs, four males and one female, Spiker said. That is only the second sow with five cubs we have encountered in all these years.

The final surprise, according to Spiker, was that he actually knew this bear. The sow was scanned and, sure enough, a microchip had been placed beneath her skin on the back of her neck.

Spikers gang had trapped and chipped this bear in 2015 because she had become a nuisance hanging around the Lakeside Creamery. Since then, she hadnt written, she hadnt called and now, here she was, 9 years old and the mother of five cubs. And, now she is collared so her telemetry signal can be detected.

When denned bears and cubs are discovered in proximity to humans, WHS moves them to a more appropriate wild location and places them in a den-like setting.

In this case, though, what Spiker described as a dog-house sort of structure was used.

It simulates a den with doors on two sides so the bears can go back and forth. Its about four feet square and three feet high. We put it in an appropriate place and take the bears to it. We always go back and check on them later and this group did fine.

Somewhat hampered by restrictions put in place because of the existence of the COVID 19 virus, WHS still managed to check all six bear dens on the list, one each in Frederick and Washington counties and four in Garrett County.

We cut our usual crews of six down to three so we could observe personal distancing, Spiker said. Also, I have always traveled to every bear den visit, but I stayed in Garrett County this year and the staffs stationed in Frederick and Washington took care of those trips.

The fact that only six dens were on the list this year instead of the usual 10 happened at the right time, considering the unusual circumstances, Spiker noted.

Before den season arrived, three radio-collared bears had been killed. One was taken by a Maryland hunter and another killed by a hunter in Pennsylvania where it had wandered. The third was an Allegany County bear on the Green Ridge State Forest that died from mange.

More than one sow preferred denning beneath a Garrett County deck this winter.

In the area of Wisp Resort, a sow slept and bore cubs beneath the porch of a home owned by someone from Pittsburgh.

They had been there a few times during the winter, but had no idea they had a collared bear until we told them, Spiker said. We always ask permission to remove a bear in that setting and nobody has ever said no.

That sow gave birth to three female cubs.

The other Garrett County sows were one in an excavated den west of Wisp Resort and one on the Potomac State Forest near Bethlehem Road under a rock covering.

The Washington County bear was on South Mountain and the Frederick County sow was not far off the boundary of the Frederick City Watershed.

In all, 20 cubs were born, split evenly between the two genders.

NATIVE QUEEN - A CELEBRATION OF THE HUNTING AND FISHING LIFE by Mike Sawyers

The average was 3.3 cubs per sow. Thats on the high end of the range we usually see, Spiker said.

Mike Sawyers retired as Cumberland Times-News outdoor editor in 2018. His column now appears every other Sunday. To order his book, Native Queen, a celebration of the hunting and fishing life, send him a check for $15 to 16415 Lakewood Drive, Rawlings, MD 21557.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

Read the original post:
THE SAWYERSPECTIVE: Five bear cubs born beneath Garrett home's deck - Cumberland Times-News

The market report envelopes an all-in information of the global Deck Equipment market and the nature of the market growth over the foreseeable period. The report provides a comprehensive elaboration of the positives and negatives of the global Deck Equipment market with DROT and Porters Five Forces analysis. With SWOT analysis, the report offers detailed insights about different players operating within the Deck Equipment market. In addition, the analysts of the report have served the qualitative and quantitative scrutinizing of different micro- and macro-economic factors influencing the global Deck Equipment market.

The Deck Equipment market report examines the consumption patter of each segment and the factors affecting the pattern. In addition, the report focuses on the production footprint of each segment in various industries and regions across the globe.

Request Sample Report @ https://www.researchmoz.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2575937&source=atm

The Deck Equipment market report helps the readers grasp the changing trend in the industry supply chain, manufacturing techniques and expenses, and current scenario of the end uses in the global Deck Equipment market.

All the players running in the global Deck Equipment market are elaborated thoroughly in the Deck Equipment market report on the basis of proprietary technologies, distribution channels, industrial penetration, manufacturing processes, and revenue. In addition, the report examines R&D developments, legal policies, and strategies defining the competitiveness of the Deck Equipment market players.

The major players profiled in this report include:DMT Marine EquipmentKatradisPentair Commercial AquaticsMetsoACECertexVETUSMBHydraulikkACEBI

The end users/applications and product categories analysis:On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume, revenue (Million USD), product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into-CranesWinches

On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Deck Equipment for each application, including-Cruise ShipCargo Ship

Reports at discounted rates exclusively for new entrants!!! Offer end by midnight!!!

Make An EnquiryAbout This Report @ https://www.researchmoz.com/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=2575937&source=atm

The Deck Equipment market report answers the following queries:

What the report encloses for the readers:

You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.researchmoz.com/checkout?rep_id=2575937&licType=S&source=atm

Why choose Deck Equipment Market Report?

View post:
Deck Equipment Market: Incredible Possibilities, Growth With Industry Study, Detailed Analysis And Forecast To 2025 - Curious Desk

California's venture capital firm Fifty Years is offering $25,000 loans with fewer payback demands to firms making hand sanitizers for hospital workers and at-home test kits. Also, Twitter and Square CEO Jake Dorsey says he's committing a third of his wealth to fight the pandemic. News from the technology world is on telemedicine, as well.

Stat:The Rare Investment Tool Behind Some Health Tech Coronavirus ProjectsExtraordinary times call for extraordinary financing instruments, according to one California venture capital firm. A San Francisco-based early-stage investor, Fifty Years, has offered $25,000 to 14 of the health tech companies its already invested in, all of which are now working on coronavirus-related projects and that money is coming with far fewer strings than usual. Its hoping the extra money will allow its portfolio companies to produce tests, treatments, or basic needed supplies like masks or hand sanitizers. (Sheridan, 4/8)

The New York Times:Jack Dorsey Vows To Donate $1 Billion To Fight The CoronavirusJack Dorsey, the chief executive of Twitter and Square, said on Tuesday that he planned to donate $1 billion, or just under a third of his total wealth, to relief programs related to the coronavirus, in one of the more significant efforts by a tech billionaire to fight the pandemic. Mr. Dorsey said he would put 28 percent of his wealth, in the form of shares in his mobile payments company Square, into a limited liability company that he had created, called Start Small. Start Small would make grants to beneficiaries, he said, with the expenditures to be recorded in a publicly accessible Google document. (Isaac, 4/7)

Modern Healthcare:Medicare Advantage Telehealth Expansion Needs Critical Changes, Experts SayWhile the healthcare industry is generally supportive of the CMS' efforts to expand telehealth services under Medicare Advantage, it has some problems with the policy details. It's also split on network adequacy standards for dialysis patients and united against the agency's proposal to change how it weighs patient experience in its Star Ratings system. (Brady, 4/7)

Boston Globe:In A Huge Shift Because Of Coronavirus, Most Doctors Now Seeing Patients By Phone Or VideoWhere does it hurt? When doctors at Bostons renowned teaching hospitals ask patients that question these days, its usually in a video conference or telephone call, even when physicians are treating people for life-threatening illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. Three weeks after Governor Charlie Baker ordered health insurers to cover telehealth in an effort to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, most outpatients at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Womens Hospital, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are seeing their physicians remotely. (Saltzman, 4/7)

Indianapolis Star:Telehealth Therapy During The Coronavirus Pandemic: What To KnowAs Indiana sees staggering increases in the number of people seeking help for mental health and addiction during the coronavirus pandemic, state officials are encouraging Hoosiers to utilize telehealth.Experts say the uncertainty of the pandemic is causingmany people extra stress and anxiety. For those with existing mental health conditions, the impact is exacerbated.(DePompei, 4/8)

Modern Healthcare:HCA Healthcare Opens Up COVID-19 Data Portal On Google's CloudFor-profit hospital chain HCA Healthcare is encouraging other hospitals to share COVID-19 data through a new project it unveiled Monday, dubbed the COVID-19 National Response Portal. HCA's vision is for hospitals across the U.S. to share data on COVID-19 testing results, critical-care beds, ventilator utilization and patient discharges, which the platform can aggregate to aid in response to the novel coronavirus. Illustrating the spread of the pandemic could help hospitals plan for challenges such as patient surges. (Cohen, 4/7)

See the original post here:
'All-Hands-On-Deck Moment': Investors In Tech World Provide 'Exotic' Methods To Provide Attractive Funding - Kaiser Health News

By Wayne T. McCabe

President, Sussex County Historical Society

Sam Hills grocery store, located at the corner of Spring Streetand Moran Street in Newton, was the last store on Spring Street to have a structural canopy over the sidewalk. In the mid-19th century, virtually all of the stores along Spring Street had such structures that provided protection to pedestrians from both the sun and rain. Retractable canvas awnings eventually replaced these fixed structures.

Commonly known as the Old Foundry Building, this building was constructed for George Nelden and Samuel Bodine, stove founders, in 1859. When originally constructed, this brick building was two stories in height, with a one-story and a two-story section attached to the rear of the main building. The building was constructed of locally manufactured brick, with the Spring Street front being four window bays wide. The street level front of the business was a simple door in the middle and flanked by two double hung windows.

Edward C. Moore dramatically altered the building with the addition of a third floor on the front section of the complex in 1882. The rear of the expanded building became four stories in the rear on the Moran Street side as the road goes downhill toward Trinity Street. This newer storefront was designed to reflect the style used in the late 1870s to early 1880s, which used large plate glass windows flanking a recessed entryway to the store. Wood panels with ornate moldings were normally installed beneath the large plates of glass for support, about two feet above the level of the sidewalk. In the case of this building, there is a doorway on the right hand side of the storefront that leads to a set of stairs providing access to the second and third floors.

By 1890, the foundry was no longer doing business on the site and a hardware store occupied the first floor of the front building, with the rear sections being used for storage of stock. The second and third floors of the front section were occupied by a printing company.

In 1897, S. Hill Jr. operated a grocery on the first floor of the corner building. A barber and a doctor, along with a residence, were located on the second floor. The barber pole striping was painted on the right side supporting column of the structural awning.

The sign on the second floor wall denotes the offices of Dr. N. Jacobus, who treated chronic diseases. The third floor provided the meeting rooms of the local chapter of the Improved Order of Red Men (I.O.R.M.). Their emblem can be seen between the middle windows on the top floor with the letters T.O.T.E. set on top of an old-fashioned battle axe. The I.O.R.M. is reputedly the oldest patriotic fraternal organization of American origin. Chartered by Congress, the fraternity traces its origins back to 1765 and claims to have been descended from the Revolutionary War era Sons of Liberty. The structure of the organization was patterned after the great Iroquois Confederation and its governing body. The I.O.R.M. still exists today and, in part, focuses its efforts on raising funds to assist Alzheimers research.

By 1912, a two-story and one-story section had been added to the east side of the existing rear portion of the building. These wood-framed additions were scheduled to be abandoned upon the completion of a new garage that was being constructed behind 130-144 Spring Street.

Sometime during the 1920s, the F.W. Woolworth Company took up occupancy of this building and became a very successful business on the street. By 1936, Woolworths had outgrown this space and acquired a one-story building at 141-143 Spring Street from John and Charles Hendershot, and relocated their business. That same year, Sears, Roebuck & Company moved into the corner building.

The store on the right side of the Old Foundry Building was originally constructed in 1863 as a blacksmith and harness makers shop by John and James English. As with several local businesses in town, the English brothers moved further east on Spring Street, thus allowing for the expansion of their growing company.

Here, in 1888, Fred Walker opened an ice cream parlor and confectionery. In 1909, Walker sold the business to his son-in-law Sutton Paddock, who continued the same trade. Three years later, in 1912, Paddock sold the business to William Klingener, who ran the commercial venture for many years.

The accompanying photograph shows the building when it was the home of S.J. Paddocks restaurant and ice cream parlor. A teen-aged girl, in her Sunday finery, is seen standing in the front doorway of the restaurant. The sign on the far right, partially hidden by a tree, advertises the sale of root beer, ginger ale, sarsaparilla, and birch beer bottled by A.B. Brickner in Newton. The a-frame advertising sign, placed in the street, notes that the restaurants address was 129 Spring Street. Apartments were located on the upper two floors.

Today, the Beehive Thrift Shop, operated by the Auxiliary of Newton Medical Center, occupies the first floor of the Old Foundry Building, while Sensible Addictions is the first floor tenant in the old Paddock building.

The ornate picket fence seen in the bottom right corner of the photograph was in front of a three-story wood-framed dwelling next to Paddocks establishment.

The three-story brick building on the left side of the image is located on the west side of the intersection and was known as the McCarter Building, constructed in 1864. Howells hardware and paint store was located on the first floor there for many years. In 1903, there was a harness shop on the second floor, and the Young Womans Christian Association was located on the top floor. In the middle of the last century, the Town of Newton had its municipal offices and the police department on the second floor. Today, the entire building is the home of McGovern and Roseman, P.A., a law firm specializing in general civil practice, litigation, land use, and criminal law cases. The firm acquired the structure in 1970 and, following renovation work, occupied the building in 1972.

Sussex County Historical Society President Wayne T. McCabe may be contacted at sussexhistorian@juno.com

More:
Hills Grocery and Paddocks Ice Cream Parlor in Newton - New Jersey Herald

The magnificent Fredley Manor, in Dorking, has entertained some of the world's most famous people in the past two hundred years, proving that some of the best parties happen outside London.

Set in 20 acres of gardens, paddocks and woodland in a quiet corner of the Surrey Hills AONB, secluded, Grade II-listed Fredley Manor at Mickleham, near Dorking, is one of Surreys best-kept secrets.

Approached over a long, rising carriage drive and surrounded by National Trust land, it has a rural feel that belies its proximity to central London, which is just 27 miles away.

For sale through Knight Franks Cobham office at a guide price of 3.95 million, this elegant, 18th-century house was built around a 16th-century core with later additions.

Its present custodians, James and Cherry Fuller, bought Fredley Manor tactfully described as being in need of TLC in 1995. The Fullers have substantially renovated and extended the house, which now offers some 6,000sq ft of warm and welcoming living space, with all the rooms enjoying panoramic views of the impeccably landscaped gardens.

The ground floor comprises twin entrance halls, a sitting room, a panelled drawing room, a library, a dining room and a kitchen/breakfast room, plus a family room, a study and a cellar; the upper two floors house six bedrooms and six bathrooms, including a charming master suite.

The beautifully maintained grounds comprise eight acres of woodland, an eight-acre field, and roughly four acres of landscaped gardens that have been Mrs Fullers area of expertise.

They include manicured lawns, terraces, herbaceous borders, a swimming pool and pavilion, hard and grass tennis courts and a garage barn with space for three cars and an office above.

Also available, by separate negotiation, is a two-bedroom cottage with a garden and planning consent to extend to four bedrooms.

Fredley Manor also has a long history during which it has played host to some of the worlds great and good.

Originally a cottage on the ancient Fredley Manor estate, as the date-stone of 1597 over the front porch reveals, it was bought in 1803 by Richard Sharp, a successful West Indies trader, whose ready wit and social acumen earned him the nickname of Conversation Sharp.

Sharp divided his time between his house in Londons Park Lane and his gentrified cottage home at Fredley, where, between 1797 and 1835 the year he died he entertained an eclectic mix of writers, poets, thinkers and politicians, among them Sir Walter Scott, William Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge, Michael Faraday, Lord Macaulay and the unforgiving Justice Jeffries, to name but a few.

Although Sharp himself never married, his adopted daughter, Maria Drummond, who was orphaned following a volcanic eruption on her native Caribbean island of St Vincent, inherited his fortune and went on to maintain his tradition of lavish entertaining, both in London and at Fredley, between 1843 and 1891.

The good times rolled again between 1970 and 1990, when Fredley Manor was owned by the Australian-born novelist, film director and producer James Clavell. Film and TV legends such as Roger Moore and Larry Hagman, together with high-powered executives from major Hollywood studios, were regular visitors to the Surrey manor.

The pace of life at Fredley is considerably more sedate now, although the opportunity is always there for lavish entertaining.

Fredley Manor is for sale with Knight Frank at a guide price of 3.95 million see more information and pictures.

Catch up on the best country houses for sale this week that have come to the market via Country Life.

We take a look at three of the finest overseas properties to appear in Country Life in the last few

Read more from the original source:
A period manor house in Surrey thats hosted Sir Walter Scott, William Wordsworth and Roger Moore - Country Life

BMWs latest motorcycle wonder, the R 18, is the freshest Bavarian creation, and the world keeps talking about it even days after it was launched by the Germans. But there are other BMW motorcycles worth talking about, both factory-made and custome, like the R nineT we have here.

The bike pictured here is the result of work conducted in Moscow by a builder called Zillers Garage, allegedly with the support of BMW Motorrad Russia. It is, in essence, a tuned-up, futuristic version of a stock R nineT.

Officially scheduled to have been shown at the now canceled Moscow motorcycle show, the bike made its online premiere this week. It presents itself as a stock two-wheeled Bimmer that sheds its skin and wrapps itself in a shell of aluminum, one that ends at the front with a large HID lamp that brings back memories of Lost in Spaces Robot.

According to the information available, the modifications made to the standard motorcycle include altering the suspension to bring the body closer to the ground, some changes to the brake and clutch levers, and the additions of buttons required to control the air suspension.

The engine of the R nineT remains the original one, and no modifications have been made to it. That translates into a 1,170cc powerplant, developing 110 hp and controlled by means of a six-speed transmission.

There is no word yet from Russia whether this concept is just a show motorcycle, or some production run is planned for those able and willing to pay.

See the original post here:
Custom BMW R nineT Is a Two-Wheeled Lost in Space Robot - autoevolution

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has bought her picturesque childhood home in Gloucestershire and is doing it up.

The writer said to be worth around 750 million secretly bought Church Cottage through a property company in her married name of Murray.

But now she is planning upgrade the Grade II-listed, stone cottage where as a 17-year-old she once wrote Joanne Rowling slept here circa 1982."

Planning agents have won permission to install two rear dormer windows and knock down and rebuild the garage at the Forest of Dean property which is said to have provided inspiration for Harry Potter books.

Scaffolding has gone up around the cottage in Tutshill where Rowling lived with her beloved mother Anne, father Peter, who worked for Rolls Royce, and sister Diane from the age of nine to 18.

During her teens she was head girl at the nearby Wyedean School in Sedbury and characters such as Snape and Ron Weasley are said to be based on teachers and friends she had at the time.

After A-levels she moved out to study French and Classics at Exeter University before studying in Paris and moving to London to work for Amnesty International and then Scotland.

The rest is history and there have been indications that JK , 54, doesnt have many happy memories of the cottage where her mother Anne, a lab technician at the school, developed MS and died ten years later.

Apart from naming a Quidditch team Tutshill Tornadoes she was believed to have severed all ties with the area which many believe is the basis for an unflattering portrait of village life in her first adult novel, The Casual Vacancy.

After her mother died in 1990 her father rented out the detached three-bedroomed property and then sold it to to BBC producer Julian Mercer in 1995 who kept the writer's signature.

When he put it on the market for 399,950 in 2011 many noticed the similarities between the cottage and the Harry Potter books.

For instance it has a dingy cupboard under the stairs similar to the one auntie Petunia and uncle Vernon Dursley forced Harry Potter to live in before he left for Hogwarts.

It also has a cellar reminiscent of the one where Harry searches for the Philosopher's Stone in the first novel.

The cottage was sold for the asking price to a mystery buyer and Land Registry searches show this was a dormant company, Edinburgh-based Caernarfon Lettings Ltd.

The author's Scottish husband Dr Neil Murray is a director of Caernarfon Lettings Ltd. but Companies House lists Mrs Joanne Kathleen Murray as the person with significant control.

In January 2019 agents obtained planning permission to change the windows and garage at the historic building after a detailed report was submitted listing all the work that was needed doing to restore it to its former glory.

The report said the roof needs stripping back and repaired with the same tiles, the secondary glazing should be repaired, the plastic gutters replaced with metal ones, the chimneys swept and the bathroom replaced.

The report made clear the owners intended to keep original features like cast iron fireplaces, lime plaster, wooden floorboards and cottage style doors and take out modern additions such as plasterboard, vinyl floors and bathroom tiles.

The quarry tiled floor around the trap door is to be repaired and retained and the house redecorated says he report.

But the report does not mention what will happen to Rowlings autograph scratched into the paintwork by her bedroom window.

And there is widespread local speculation about why she bought the cottage, she has only been spotted there a handful of times since leaving.

Some have said the writer known for championing one parent families originally planned to turn it into a holiday home for deprived families and others said that it is simply part of a wider plan to buy up her past to protect the Harry Potter brand from being exploited.

Or she could just be bored and looking for a second home. Last month it was reported that she was renovating her 2 million Edinburgh home and getting a new kitchen, scullery, pantry and boot room put in as part of her efforts to restore it to its Victorian glory.

According to the Daily Mail she was also putting up security gates at her 162-acre Perthshire estate at the same time.

After the Casual Vacancy caused disquiet in the local area one writer mused that Church Cottage was unlikely to ever see a window ledge etched with the words: 'Joanne Rowling slept here circa 2012.

But who knows. Harry Potter may have worked his magic on the writer and brought her back to her roots.

Could we see 'Joanne Murray slept here circa 2020?

GloucesteshireLive has attempted to contact Mrs Murray through Turcan Connell Solicitors and Asset Managers which act as company secretaries.

Read this article:
Harry Potter author JK Rowling renovating the childhood home in Gloucestershire she secretly bought years ago - Gloucestershire Live