Carp Fly Fishing Gear

Line Gold

CORTLAND 555 WF4F FLY LINE-ROCKET TAPER FLOATING GOLD $25.99

Rio Gold Fly Line, Melon/Gray Dun WF5F NEW, FREE SHIP! $69.95

Buying and Selling Gold is Becoming a Popular Investment Strategy

The global economy took a wild ride in the past year, and in response many investors began to look at buying and selling gold as a good investment strategy. In fact, there are more individual investors getting into the gold market every year. In the recent past, gold wasn’t something most people considered for their portfolio because it wasn’t something individual investors were familiar with and it seemed like you needed to purchase a lot of gold to get a reasonable return on your investment.

In fact, buying and selling gold has been popular for thousands of years as a way to increase your wealth. From ancient Egypt through today, gold has always been coveted as a sign of wealth, privilege and power. In the past, many people invested in gold jewelry because it made their wealth both obvious and portable. Today, you can invest in gold by buying and selling gold jewelry, gold coins or gold bullion. You can even purchase gold EFT’s, or exchange traded funds, without ever having physical possession of the gold itself.

With the economic crisis hanging over us, however, more and more people have begun to realize that investing in gold is a safe long-term strategy. If you do decide to dabble in buying and selling gold, you’ll see the best return on your investment if you hold onto your gold for several years. The price of gold overall has been steadily climbing, but the climb is slow and you want to give your gold time to appreciate noticeably in value.

Fortunately, there are several reasons gold is a good investment that also virtually guarantees that it will be worth more five years down the line:

• Gold appreciates in value over time because it is one of the few commodities that is recognized, traded and in high demand in virtually every country.

• Gold demand far outstrips current gold supplies. Every year, the world’s gold mines are producing less of this precious metal, yet the demand is increasing every year. With more people wanting to buy gold and less of it being produced every year, the price will naturally continue to rise.

• Gold is seen as a guaranteed, stable investment during uncertain economic times. Because the world economy is in turmoil, gold prices are bound to go up as more and more people decide to purchase gold as a hedge against weak currency.

Fortunately, buying and selling gold as an investment is now easier than it has been in the past. You no longer have to buy gold bullion or stacks of gold coins to hold gold as a long-term investment. If you want, it’s certainly fine to purchase the actual gold, but many people now buy and sell gold EFT’s. It’s an easy way to trade gold without having to store and protect it yourself.

The one drawback to investing in gold EFT’s or bullions is that you do need to purchase a fair amount of it to make the investment worthwhile. If you want to hold just a small amount of gold as protection against inflation or a devalued dollar, consider gold coins or even gold jewelry. This way you can actually enjoy the beauty of your gold until you need it. Then if the day comes when you need some extra cash, you can sell your gold. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much your gold jewelry and coins are worth after you’ve had them a few years. In fact, selling gold jewelry is one of the easiest ways to make some quick cash.

About the Author

The process to sell gold jewelry is fast, easy and convenient with us the premium scrap gold buyers in the country. The only buyers with a good turnaround time of giving cash to their customers for selling gold.

Cruise Line Loyalty

To keep their customers coming back, the majority of cruise lines now offer some kind of customer loyalty scheme. These vary from each cruise operator and can include future booking discounts, invites to VIP parties, and onboard privileges such as priority embarkation. But is this enough to keep your loyalty? Or are you really looking for cabin upgrades and onboard credit?

Here is a summary of each cruise lines membership club and benefits to tempt you to come back time and time again…

Royal Caribbean International – Crown and Anchor Society

Membership to the Crown and Anchor Society is automatically granted after your first sailing. The club offers discounts and benefits according to the number of “cruise credits” obtained. These are calculated by the number of days at sea and the cabin grade you sail in. As their sister company, you will also receive equivalent recognition in Celebrities membership club. There are 4 tiers within the club escalating from gold to platinum, diamond and diamond plus. As a gold member, you can expect onboard bonuses such as complimentary wine tasting and a small commemorative gift, as well as online booking discounts. As your membership level increases you can look forward to priorities over other customers with check in, and waitlisted services such as spa treatments or shore excursions.

Celebrity Cruises – Captains Club

Celebrity’s 3 tier Captains Club offers a slightly more generous loyalty scheme which involves a one category upgrade at the most basic membership level, which is also applicable when booking your cruise through a travel agent.

The tiers range from Classic, Select and Elite, and loyal customers can expect invitations to onboard parties, behind the scenes tours and at the highest level, guests can take advantage complimentary use of the Thalassotherapy Pool, where available, and also a private departure lounge.

Norwegian Cruise Lines – Latitudes Program

As a past guest, NCL do offer some pretty good reductions when rebooking with them, aside from this, many of the benefits of their club, which ranges from bronze, silver, gold and platinum levels, are nothing to get too excited about! Whilst they offer the standard past guest party, plus priorities over other guests with check in, disembarkation, and reservation only restaurants, having completed 14 cruises, and earned your platinum status, all you really get is complimentary dining inthe “Le Bistro” restaurant, which would usually incur an additional charge. Oh and you get a latitudes ship pin…

Princess Cruises – Captains Circle

The Captains Circle club features gold, platinum and elite levels of membership with all levels receiving preferential pricing offers on selected itineraries throughout the year. Further standard membership benefits include, “exclusive events”, no doubt that will be another captain’s party then, and also a Princess Passport, a scheme whereby guests receive stamps, depicting the cruise destination which are then signed by the captain and displayed in a Princess Passport.

As membership increases to platinum status, guests are entitled to priority boarding, free internet minutes and upgraded travel insurance. (If the basic level is purchased) Guests that reach their 16th cruise, or their 150th cruise day with Princess will be members of the elite club, where extras such as a complimentary mini bar, upgraded bathroom amenities and a 10% discount in certain onboard shops will be applicable.

Costa Cruises – Costa Club

Loyal customers will be pleased to hear that Costa offer one of the most rewarding loyalty schemes at sea. Whether you are a basic aquamarine member, coral member or their highest pearl member, you can receive a 5% discount on any of their cruises. In addition, guests at aquamarine level will receive a generous 20% discount on wine packages, mini bar drinks and laundry service, 10% off Costa merchandise, and a cocktail with the captain complete with a souvenir photo.

Membership to the club is achieved through earning points; these are accumulated through cruise days with Costa as well as onboard spending. At higher levels of membership, guests will qualify for priority boarding and disembarkation, a complimentary meal in the a la carte restaurant, a bottle of wine and welcome gift.

P&O Cruises – Portunus Club

Membership to the Portunus club is automatic after completing your very first sailing with P&O Cruises. Throughout the year, there will be selected Portunus sailings, which give members reductions on standard cruise prices.

At a basic level, ruby members are entitled to a 5% discount on onboard spend, this increases to 7.5% when you reach sapphire level of membership, and gold members can take off an extra 10%. At the highest level, gold members will also get a dedicated check in service and priority disembarkation.

Members of the Portunus club can also gain points from sailing on Ocean Village, Princess Cruises or Swan Hellenic.

Cunard – World Club

World Club has 4 levels of membership; silver, gold, platinum and diamond. Automatic membership is granted after your first sailing with Cunard. After this, members are entitled to a 5% discount of further sailings.

Further benefits for guests who have completed 20 days onboard include; a souvenir gold membership Cunarder pin, complimentary internet minutes, and cocktail party invitation. As guests reach platinum level, they can expect, in addition to lower level benefits, a 20% discount on dry cleaning and laundry service, 10% off White Star Luggage Delivery service, additional internet minutes and a platinum member Cunarder pin. Diamond members will also receive priority luggage delivery.

MSC Cruises – MSC Club

MSC’s loyalty club consists of 3 tiers; classic, silver and gold. Membership is awarded by a points system which accumulates with the number of cruise days taken with MSC.

At each level, members will receive a welcome cocktail, a 5% discount on excursions and 5% discount in onboard boutiques. As a classic member, you are entitled to a 5% discount on most cruises, silver members will receive 8% and gold can take off an additional 10% off their cruise cost.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines – Oceans

Each night spent onboard a Fred Olsen cruise will earn you 1 point. Once you reach 30 points, you will qualify for their first level of membership. At this “blue” level, guests will receive 5% off both onboard spending and shore excursions booked prior to departure. As you reach 31 points you enter the silver level where members will receive a 2% cruise discount, Oceans cocktail party and usually priority embarkation. Once you have exceeded 100 days onboard a Fred Olsen cruise, you will be rewarded with a 4% cruise cost discount, personalized luggage labels, a welcome aboard gift plus a complimentary shuttle bus pass.

Carnival – Concierge Club

After your 10th cruise with Carnival, you will enter their membership club at the platinum level, then, those members who complete their 25th, 50th and 75th sailings will receive a shipboard credit representing 25, 50 or 75% of their cruise fare. Those who reach an impressive 100th sailing will earn a complimentary cruise of up to 8 days.

In addition, all platinum members are eligible for priority check in, disembarkation and dining waitlists.

So are the cruise lines really doing enough to keep you coming back? Priority check in, early disembarkation and a captain’s party invite is certainly better than nothing, but, as a loyal customer, would this sway you to rebook with them? Or do you feel that the cruise experience they offer is enough to keep you loyal?

If you have any views on customer loyalty schemes or any ideas on how the cruise lines could improve on them, get in touch. I’d be interested to hear your opinions.

About the Author

Genna Roberts is web editor at Inside Cruise – an online cruise community packed with all the latest cruise news, reviews and features.

Come join us – Inside Cruise Community

Get paid for your cruise reviews here

CORTLAND 555 WF4F FLY LINE-ROCKET TAPER FLOATING GOLD $25.99

Rio Gold Fly Line, Melon/Gray Dun WF5F NEW, FREE SHIP! $69.95

Smart Mini Pen Fishing Rod Gold Reel & Line Gift Set $1.39

Rio Gold Fly Line WF5F NIB Moss / Gold FREE SHIPPING $69.95

RIO GOLD NEW 2010 WF-4-F FLOATING FLY LINE MELON & GRAY $69.95

RIO GOLD NEW 2010 WF-4-F FLOATING FLY LINE MOSS & GOLD $69.95

RIO GOLD NEW 2010 WF-5-F FLOATING FLY LINE MELON & GRAY $69.95

Rio Gold Weight Forward 3 Floating Fly Line – NEW $62.43

Rio Gold Fly Line 8 Weight $69.95

Rio Gold Fly Line 6 Weight $69.95

Mainstream Fly

RIO Mainstream WF4F/S3 Sink Tip Performance Fly Line $0.99

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-8-F Lemon Green $38.00

The grinding mills used in processing fly ash

Fly ash is one of largest emissions of the industrial waste residues in current China. Nowadays, the yearly industrial slags have reached 30 million tons, and with the development of power industry, the emissions of fly ash from coal-fired power factories will increase year by year. A large number of unprocessed fly ash will generate dust and pollute the atmosphere; if discharged into the water system, the fly ash can cause the rivers blockage and the toxic chemicals contained in it will be harmful to the human body and life-forms. Therefore, based on based on conserving resources and reducing pollution, handling and utilizing the fly ash has become a newly and closely concerned area. Currently the most promising ways of utilizing fly ash is to grind them by grinding mill, then applied them to cement mixing, mortar, fillers, bricks making and others.

Based on the current mill technology development, large-scale ultra-fine milling machine has been able to achieve a one-time ultrafine materials processing. The fine fly ash materials being processed through the mills are with uniform particle size and with improved surface activity. If added to the concretes directly they will save a lot of cement raw materials and also, they will improve the workability of concrete mixing materials and improve the plasticity and stability of reinforced concretes. Even in some cement production enterprises, people blend fly ash, in accordance with the ratio of 8%, into different cement clinkers to make cement products.

At present the main mill equipment to process fly ash include the following ones:

The first one is vertical mill machines short for vertical mill.Vertical mill uses large-scale roll system to grind high-volume materials. Compared with ordinary mill, its strength lies in large-scale equipment and operating automation. The output capacity of the usual vertical mills can be up to 100-500 tons per hour or more. The rollers of the Vertical mills are controlled by a special hydraulic system so the operation is flexible and convenient and the repair and maintenace is very easy. At present in the domestic market, vertical mill has been far ahead of many other grinding mills and Raymond mill equipment in a vary grinding processes because of its comprehensive performance of high-yield and energy-effient.

The second one is Trapezium Grinding Mill. Trapezium Grinding Mill includes Super Pressure Trapezium Mill and the newly MTW Series European Technology Trapezium Mill. The traditional grinding roller and grinding ring are designed multi-level ladder shape in the Trapezium grinding mill, which slows down the dropping speed of the materials between the grinding rollers and grinding rings and extends the grinding time to the materials; the pressure is more strong because the high pressure springs placed horizontally, which increases the fineness of the final products and the output. It usually performances better to produce 100-800 mesh powder with a capacity of 20-50 tons per hour.

The development and untilization of fly ash is wider and wider, the technical request to grinding mill’s technology is higher and higher. The traditional Raymond mill and ball mill on market can not meet the demand for the processing capacity and fineness in the industrial production any more. The new type of vertical mill and trapezium grinding mill will surely be the mainstream equipment in milling macchines because of their latest technological achievements and facilitate efficient performance.

About the Author

Raymond mill Kefid Machinery

The West End – for High Flying Shoppers

 

London’s West End has long been considered the epitome of cool and chic fashion in what is arguably Europe’s busiest city. West End is actually an area in Central London and contains many of the city’s tourist attractions, businesses, shopping centers and of course the famed West End theatres. The term West End came into use during the 19th century to describe the posh fashionable areas that lie to the west of Charing Cross London.

 

West End has long been favoured by the London rich and famous as an excellent residential area, during the early days of the neighborhood it was preferred because it lied upwind of the smoke emanating from the city. Today West End means many things to many people; it refers to the popular entertainment district around Leicester Square and Convent Garden as well the shopping districts of Oxford Street, Bond Street and Regent Street.

 

Mayfair is a shopping district in the West End that is renowned for its high fashion salons, jewelry shops, prestigious art and antiques galleries and auction houses. Mayfair is considered to be high end even by lofty West End standards, if you are planning on shopping here don’t expect any bargains or shopping malls. Its all about chic boutique fashion. Areas worth checking out here are Saville Row, Brook Street, South Multon Street and Conduit Street.

 

Oxford Street is a much more mainstream shopping district and is described as being one of the busiest streets in Europe, mainly due to the thousands of shoppers that throng here daily. This area has a number of large department stores such as Selfridges and other big name brands such as Marks and Spencer. A number of designer brands also operate outlets here; Gap, Next, Body Shop and Russell and Bromely to name a few.

 

If Oxford Street and Mayfair reflect the modern face of the West End then Rgent Street represents its history, it has been regarded as an up market shopping area ever since it was established in the 1820’s. A couple of top of the line tailoring establishments can be found here. While Liberty’s Department Store which has a history spanning 130 years and specializes in exquisite dress and furnishing fabrics has its flagship store here.

 

The West End has no shortage of London luxury hotels to provide accommodation for high flying guests. Among the London hotels in this area is the historic Langham Hotel London which promises great hospitality on par with any establishment in the city.

About the Author

Naveen Marasinghe is an Online Marketing Executive at eMarketingEye which is a search engine marketing company that offers integrated Internet marketing services and specializes in serving the online travel and hospitality industry.

RIO Mainstream WF4F/S3 Sink Tip Performance Fly Line $0.99

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-8-F Lemon Green $38.00

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-7-F Lemon Green $38.00

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-6-F Lemon Green $38.00

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-5-F Lemon Green $38.00

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-4-F Lemon Green $38.00

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-3-F Lemon Green $38.00

RIO Mainstream WF4S3 Performance Taper Fly Line NEW!!! $0.99

ROSS CLA 1.5 FLY REEL W/ RIO MAINSTREAM WF4F LINE NEW $76.00

RIO MAINSTREAM NEW WF-6-S3 TYPE 3 12′ SINK TIP FLY LINE $39.95

Fly Assortment

TURK’S TARANTULA FLY FISHING FLIES 2 DZ ASSORTMENT $9.95

12 – Yellow Humpy Parachute Trout Dry Fly Assortment $5.99

Claesens : Faultless Assortment of Claesens Clothing

If you are reckoning for a marque to take care of all your needs, when it comes to inexpensive posted wear for all your kids, you need not look any cold. Here at Pure and Honest Kids, Claesens is one of the most favourite wearable brands, and it is a better seller in Europe as well. A understanding for that is, Claesens wares are top quality, trendy, very forge pointed yet, low-priced at the same time. You know what they say, “if it speech sounds too good to be sure, it credibly is”, that is the same signified you get when you look at the wide grade available from the Claesens clothing appeal.

Think the Claesens Girl wear collecting, for a big miscellany of togs for your little girl. There are many choices to go for, by taking a look at the flawless selection you will be able to know incisively what you need. Like the Claesens classic Brown Flowers Shirt, the contrive is so Claesens, with is assorted styling, this is a in style top that will go dead with most of her wardrobe. It has a pure cotton finish with a alternative look, and is well unstained as well; making this Claesens shirt a victor hands down.

There is also a great variety of boy’s garments to pick out from, here at Pure and Honest Kids, but the Claesens Boy wearable compendium, truly does standout. Like this Gray Guitar top and pant set, that is just only in style and city-bred and with your male children love for music and air guitar, there is no way he is not going to thumb for this. Again, made out of pure cotton, this is a super easy getup to get into, and with a smaller position to go with it, he is going to fly high with this Claesens top and pant set.

The Claesens Baby Girl wearable assembling has many particulars you just have to have. Like the but sweet Aqua Dots Top by Claesens. Talk about preparing a trend, this is a popular small top, that is stylish and homelike, and you do not come across too many of those. Your small baby is going to be the center of attending everywhere she goes in this simply wonderful top, and you can be sure she will be loving every minute of it. Coming in the classic Claesens Aqua dotted figure, this baby girl top is a must buy.

Incase you want something sufficient and simple for your baby boy, the Grass Green Stripes Pajama Romper, from the Claesens Baby Boy wear collection, is all you need. With its soft cotton feel, your baby will be very glad in it, and it is direct for everyday wear, viewing the fact that it is machine washable and made to last with the Claesens marque name on it. liberated in grass green with olive colored stripes, you will just passion it, and so will he.

These are just some of the many Claesens wear products you can get, here at Pure and Honest Kids; you will find the faultless assortment of Claesens clothing.

About the Author

There is also a great variety of boy’s garments to pick out from, here at Pure and Honest Kids, but the
Claesens
Boy wearable compendium, truly does standout available at http://www.pureandhonestkids.com

Fire Fly: Fun, Flashing Toothbrush Inspires Kids to Brush Longer

Los Angeles, CA

Getting kids to brush for the dentist-recommended two minutes has always been a challenge. Now, the FIRE FLY TOOTHBRUSH by DR. FRESH , which lights up and blinks for one minute, has made teeth brushing fun, so kids will do it longer!

Dental professionals will tell every parent that the biggest challenge when it comes to kids’ oral care habits is the rush to brush. Two minutes – one minute on the uppers and one minute on the lowers – is the recommended time it takes to properly brush. However, kids will most often give their teeth a few ineffective scrubs, spit and that’s it. Consequently, the FIRE FLY by DR. FRESH , a bright and sparkly children’s toothbrush that lights up and flashes for one minute, is inspiring kids everywhere to brush longer.

Some facts about FIRE FLY TOOTHBRUSH by DR. FRESH

• Attracts kids because it is bright, sparkly and innovatively shaped
• LCD light in handle incorporates “blinking technology” to flash brightly for one minute when base is pressed
• Separate 60-second cycles promote habit of one solid minute brushing upper teeth, one minute lower teeth
• Developed for ages 3-12
• Soft nylon strands are individually end-rounded to prevent microscopic cuts to gums
• Soft, yet strong enough to bend immediately back into shape
• Number One-selling brand toothbrush sold at Target
• Handle ergonomically designed for child’s hand
• End cap is securely attached to handle and can’t be pulled off
• Designed for 200 uses – reminds kids and parents to replace toothbrush every 3 months as recommended by dentists
• Available in assortment of translucent colors
• SRP $.98 at mass merchandise stores including Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, and Big-Lots

 

Backed by extensive research and development, this soft bristle toothbrush contains an LCD light that incorporates “blinking technology,” flashing for 60-seconds when pressed at the base. The Fire Fly allots for one-minute upper and one-minute lower teeth brushing, separating the cycles to ensure that kids get into the pattern of one solid minute on each arch.

“The Fire Fly is one of the best devices we have found to increase child compliance with brushing,” states Dr. Steven J. Brattesani of San Francisco. “It turns brushing into a game with obvious benefits for children and parents alike.”

This irresistible toothbrush is a steal at $.98. Taking the oral care category by storm, the Fire Fly is the Number One-selling brand toothbrush sold at Target. Reflecting a professional “stamp of approval,” over 1,500 dentists nationwide offer the Fire Fly in their practices.

Gentle for kids ages 3-12, the Fire Fly’s nylon strands are individually end-rounded to prevent microscopic cuts to the gums. They are soft enough to be safe, yet they bend immediately back into shape after use.

With a handle that is ergonomically designed for a child’s hand, the Fire Fly is durable. The end cap containing the light is securely attached onto the handle and cannot be pulled-off.

The toothbrush is specifically designed for 200 usages. This encourages kids and parents to replace the toothbrushes every 3 months, as recommended by dentists.

The Fire Fly is available in an assortment of great sparkly translucent colors (clear, blue, green, pink and red) for an SRP $.98 at mass merchandise stores including Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, and Big-Lots. The Fire Fly is a product of Dr. Fresh Inc., located in Buena Park, CA. Dr. Fresh manufactures a host of popular and affordable oral care and personal health products.

About the Author

Dr. Fresh offers quality personal care products from its top-selling Firefly flashing toothbrush for kids to disposable floss piks . Dr. Fresh is located in Buena Park, CA. For more information, please contact Megan Brown at (323)650-2201 or at lightyearsahead@sbcglobal.net

TURK’S TARANTULA FLY FISHING FLIES 2 DZ ASSORTMENT $9.95

12 – Yellow Humpy Parachute Trout Dry Fly Assortment $5.99

12 – Parachute Humpy – Dry Fly – Assortment $5.99

12 – Black Parachute Ant – Dry Fly Assortment $5.99

12 – Royal Humpy – Dry Fly – Assortment $5.99

12 – Winged Black Ant – Dry Fly Assortment $5.99

12 – Brown Humpy Parachute – Trout Dry Fly Assortment $5.99

1 Dzn Dave’s Prachute Black Cricket Dry Fly Assortment $5.99

12 – Royal Humpy Parachute – Dry Fly – Assortment $5.99

200 Western Trout Fly Assortment & Fly Box U Pick Flies $99.99

Rio Mainstream

RIO Mainstream WF4F/S3 Sink Tip Performance Fly Line $0.99

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-8-F Lemon Green $38.00

City Guide to Bradford

Bradford is a large northern city, with a long and documented history, and a population of almost 300,000 people.

Numerous important historical buildings and monuments, including mills and factories and one of only two World Heritage Sites in Yorkshire, make the city a first choice of many history-seekers and the city never fails to reward the effort! Bradford is also home to the most visited museum outside of London.

The vibrant cultural life in Bradford, and award-winning restaurants, make the city an ideal destination for a relaxing evening out or weekend away; but the city also boasts a lively nightlife and music scene for those seeking entertainment a little more adventurous!

Like many other areas in the region, millions of pounds are pouring in for regeneration and the city offers an exciting up-and-coming feel.

History

Bradford was granted city status at the end of the nineteenth century, but its history is documented back to the thirteenth century. Bradford formed an important manufacturing area during the Industrial Revolution, but suffered the collapse of the manufacturing industry during the twentieth century. There have been signs of improvement over the last twenty years, but the rate of unemployment remains below the national average.

The National Media Museum is the most visited museum outside of London, exploring developments in photography, film and television, and housing the largest cinema screen in the world.

The Industrial Museum is based in an eighteenth century mill, and houses artefacts exploring the area’s manufacturing past.

The nineteenth century village of Saltaire was built to house the local mill workforce, and is one of only two World Heritage Sites in Yorkshire.

Art Galleries

Bradford has numerous galleries including Cartwright Hall with comprises four separate galleries, displaying British works of art from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and a selection of South Asian arts and crafts.

Salts Mill is a shopping and arts complex, located in a converted Victorian mill in the village of Saltaire. There are four galleries in the complex, including David Hockney Gallery, a gallery exploring the area’s heritage and a third displaying operatic costumes and masks.

The Manor House, in Ilkley, and the Arts Centre, in Bingley, host a range of temporary exhibitions.

Theatres

The Alhambra Theatre is Bradford’s sole large-scale theatre, and housed in an impressive Victorian building. The theatre regularly hosts large-scale touring productions, including West End plays and performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Alhambra Studio is located next door, and stages small-scale performances.

The Bradford Theatre-in-the-Mill is adjacent to the university campus, and offers small-scale productions, and drama and technical workshops.

Theatres specialising in musicals and concerts include St George’s Hall, The Tamsin Little Music Centre and The Little Priestley.

Restaurants

Amongst Bradford’s award-winning restaurants is Weaver’s. The restaurant comes highly recommended by Good Food Guide, AA, Michelin and Hardens, and serves traditional and contemporary British cuisine.

Bradford’s ‘Curry Mile’ is home to more than twenty Indian and Asian-influenced restaurants, of which, The Kashmir is widely regarded as the best by customers, and Mumtaz Paan House is recommended by Good Food Guide. Kipling’s Indian restaurant was awarded the ‘Best in Britain Award’ by a customer vote.

Chino Thai serves Chinese and Thai dishes in an up-market environment, and offers seating for 100 people.

Pubs/Bars

CAMRA recommends numerous Bradford pubs in the city, and named The Junction ‘Pub of the Year’ in 2006. Other contenders were Haigy’s and Fighting Cock.

Brewery Tap is a rock pub that presents live acts two or three times each week, offers a free jukebox and various drinks offers. Bradford’s longest serving music venue also comprises a poolroom and beer garden.

Fubar is a cocktail bar and tapas restaurant, boasting a vast selection of cocktails, wines, liqueurs and beers, with a chic and stylish interior that belie its low prices.

The Sun Hotel is one of Bradford’s most popular gay bars, and features regular DJs, drag acts and pub quizzes. There is a lounge area, pool and games room, secluded beer garden and rooms to rent upstairs.

Nightclubs

Rio is a rock club and live music venue, one of many Bradford nightclubs, open three nights a week and presenting a selection from 80s and punk to indie and goth. Admission is free before 9:30pm and drinks are cheap.

Run by the owners of The Sun Hotel, Club Life is a very popular gay club, offering the best of sing-along classics and ‘cheesy pop’. Admission is free on Thursdays, and a variety of DJs perform on Fridays.

Lingards is a house, speed garage and techno complex, comprising a pre-club bar, Ascension nightclub and Subterranea nightclub. There are club nights at the complex twice a week.

The Love Apple is another complex; this one comprising a cafe, bar, nightclub and art exhibition space. The club specialises in non-mainstream music, and hosts live music performances.

Shopping

The Kirkgate Shopping Centre is home to 65 shops and a large market on its top floor. There are 550 parking spaces, and the centre is easily accessible in the city centre. It is open every day.

The Oastler Shopping Centre is a market in the city centre, comprising 80 stalls and shops and trading in fresh fish, meat, fruit and vegetables. There are also cafes and markets. St James Wholesale Market is located out of the city centre, and is the place to find exotic food produce.

Salts Mill is a converted Victorian mill, now a shopping and arts development. The development is home to numerous shops trading in unusual goods, a cafe, a diner and four art galleries.

Sports

The Richard Dunn Sports Centre is the largest of forty leisure centres in the city, and comprises a 25-metre pool and leisure pool activities for children, a gym, and a sauna, a solarium and squash courts. The centre is open every day.

The city university offers an impressive range of sporting facilities over three venues. The Sports Centre houses most of the facilities, the Laisteridge Lane site is home to squash, football and hockey courts/pitches, and the Woodhall Sports Ground provides sites for football, rugby and cricket.

There are forty golf courses in Bradford; including Queensbury Golf Club, an 18-hole course with a lounge and bar on-site.

There is also a branch of Hollywood Bowl in the city, comprising 24 ten-pin bowling lanes.
About the Author

Author: Leisha Greenfield

Leisha Greenfield has been a tourist guide for over 10 years. She has vast knowledge of UK tourism, with a speciality in Bradford tourist information and the history of Bradford.

Alexander Von Humboldt – the Last Renaissance Man

 

Alexander von Humboldt was one of the first persons to move geographical studies from the ancient into the current era. The Prussian natural scientist and geologist traveled around a great deal of South America, studying the environment, mountaineering and monitoring astronomical events. His contributions to science spanned biology, geography, climatology, geology, hydrology, among others. Charles Darwin called him “the greatest scientific traveler who ever lived” and he is widely considered to be the last renaissance man, who could gather within himself a substantial portion of human knowledge.

Humboldt was born into a noble family in Berlin on September 14, 1769, of German and French Huguenot parentage. While he was still a boy his father, an army officer, died. The young Humboldt studied at the universities of Frankfurt an der Oder and Gottingen from 1787 and later went to the School of Mines at Freiburg in Saxony. While there he studied under the famous geologist A.G. Werner. He became wealthy enough to plan a 5-year period of exploration after his mother’s death in 1796.

The household was marred by his mother’s “cold and aloof” nature. A private tutor educated Humboldt and his brother, Wilhelm, who turned out to be a distinguished economist with worldwide fame as well that lives to this day. Humboldt never married but derived great joy from friendships with colleagues and others and also from his brother’s friendly household. In 1792 he joined the mining department of the Prussian Government and promotion came quickly given his brilliance and dedication.

Humboldt sailed from A Coruna, Spain on June 5, 1799, armed with powerful recommendations from the Spanish king, and headed for Caracas. At that time Spain was preoccupied with the pursuit of wealth and conquest in its American colonies. In February 1800 he left the Venezuelan coast for the purpose of exploring the course of the Orinoco River. Four months and 1725 miles of uncultivated and unoccupied country later, while traveling by foot and canoe, Humboldt established the existence of a communication between the water systems of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers.

This bifurcation, known as the Casiquiare Canal, is the only place in the world where two river systems that flow in different directions (the Orinoco goes north and the Negro/Amazon flows southeast) have any kind of fluvial communication.  The existence of this canal was a rumor dismissed as impossible by European geographers at the time.  Catholic priests had originally reported it, but provided no scientific evidence to it in the early XVIII century.

It was a tremendously dangerous environment with alligators, jaguars and swarms of biting insects, aside from numerous uncontacted tribes that are today recognized as the Yanomami. At times he and his traveling companion, botanist Aime Bonpland, had no food, and conditions were almost unbearable. Still isolated, still unwelcoming, still undeveloped, this wild region is little changed today.

Humboldt and Bonpland collected over 60,000 plant, animal and mineral specimens and still found the time to study electricity. They were the first Europeans to discover an animal that produces electricity: Electrophorus electricus, the electric eel.

To obtain electric eels for carrying out tests, he and his helpers drove about 30 horses into an eel-infested lake, trapping the horses there to be shocked repeatedly until the frantic eels exhausted themselves and posed little danger to the humans. Two tormented horses drowned in the first five minutes. They were vindicated somewhat when a not-quite-exhausted eel later shocked Humboldt. In fact, Humboldt freely subjected his own body to agonizing electrical experiments, including gripping an eel in one hand and a piece of metal in the other to expand the electric charge.

Humboldt´s explorations in the Casiquiare Canal and upper Rio Negro made him the second scientific explorer in the Amazon, following La Condamine.  Unfortunately, the Portuguese rulers were so afraid of the new ideas and “hidden intentions” of Humboldt´s mission that there was an order in the Marabitans fort for his arrest if he entered Portuguese territory (in Brazil today).  As he was unable to proceed down the Rio Negro to meet the Amazon river, he turned back and journeyed to Cuba, the Magdalena River Basin of Colombia, and the Andes Mountains of Ecuador.  There, where he climbed the volcano Chimborazo to an elevation of more than 5800m (19,000 feet) above sea level to study the relation of temperature and altitude.  He was recognized at the time as the record holder of altitude in the world, when Europeans had only climbed Mont Blanc, a much smaller mountain.

Humboldt established the use of isotherms in map-making, studied the origin and course of tropical storms, and made pioneer investigations in the relationship between geographic environment and plant distribution. He measured and discovered the Peruvian Current, which, over the objections of Von Humboldt himself, is also known as the Humboldt Current. He made observations leading to the discovery of meteor shower periodicity, and examined the fertilizing properties of guano. His review of the political and historical characteristics of South America, Mexico and the Caribbean are also noteworthy.

South America was a virtually unknown land, and much of what Humboldt observed was new knowledge. He tirelessly recorded his observations, no matter where he went or what he did. This proved to be his greatest legacy. He published more than 30 volumes of facts between 1805 and 1827, proving his brilliance as a writer and artist.

Humboldt once said, “devoted from my earliest youth to the study of nature, feeling with enthusiasm the wild beauties of a country guarded by mountains and shaded by ancient forests, I have experienced in my travels, enjoyments which have amply compensated for the privations inseparable from a laborious and often agitated life.”

Another notable quote from Humboldt is, “One of the noblest characteristics which distinguish modern civilization from that of remoter times is, that it has enlarged the mass of our conceptions, rendered us more capable of perceiving the connection between the physical and intellectual world, and thrown a more general interest over objects which heretofore occupied only a few scientific men, because those objects were contemplated separately, and from a narrower point of view.”

In his time, von Humboldt was an explorer and scientist of incomparable renown, and his work largely inspired Charles Darwin and influenced the course of a number of scientific disciplines. Humboldt’s Cosmos, a biography written by Gerard Helferich, retraces the 1799-1804 odyssey of von Humboldt through Central and South America while merging the various stories written about the explorer into a succinct appreciation of his character and scientific significance.

Humboldt became an international celebrity after he self-published a sequence of publications about his travels in the Americas. These publications were extremely popular and were translated into many languages. They contained radical beliefs for the time, such as Humboldt’s judgment that the indigenous peoples of Africa and the Americas were in every respect equal to those of any other part of the world.

As the first biologist to draw attention to the unifying aspects of the physical world, von Humboldt can be considered the first conservationist to support ecological balance, a concept that was at variance with mainstream science’s view of a “chaotic world” and preoccupation with specialization. Besides being Darwin’s mentor, von Humboldt’s inflence also extended to Simon Bolivar, the Latin American hero.

During the final years of his long life Humboldt wrote a five-volume work, Kosmos (The Cosmos, 1845-1862) in which he described not only his infinite scientific knowledge but also most of the accumulated scientific knowledge of geography and geology at the time. Kosmos has been called the first textbook of geophysics. Humboldt died in Berlin on May 6, 1859.

 

About the Author

Secretário Estadual de Planejamento e Desenvolvimento Econômico, Amazonas, Brasil / Secretary for Planning and Economic Development, State of Amazonas, Brazil
www.dminev.com

RIO Mainstream WF4F/S3 Sink Tip Performance Fly Line $0.99

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-8-F Lemon Green $38.00

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-7-F Lemon Green $38.00

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-6-F Lemon Green $38.00

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-5-F Lemon Green $38.00

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-4-F Lemon Green $38.00

Rio MainStream Trout Fly Line WF-3-F Lemon Green $38.00

RIO Mainstream WF4S3 Performance Taper Fly Line NEW!!! $0.99

ROSS CLA 1.5 FLY REEL W/ RIO MAINSTREAM WF4F LINE NEW $76.00

RIO MAINSTREAM NEW WF-6-S3 TYPE 3 12′ SINK TIP FLY LINE $39.95