Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the east, Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, and Oxfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Milton Keynes, and the county town is Aylesbury.
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pets. Toys can provide utilitarian benefits, including physical exercise, cultural awareness, or academic education. Additionally, utilitarian objects, especially those which are no longer needed for their original purpose, can be used as toys. Examples include children building a fort with empty cereal boxes and tissue paper spools, or a toddler playing with a broken TV remote control. The term "toy" can also be used to refer to utilitarian objects purchased for enjoyment rather than need, or for expensive necessities for which a large fraction of the cost represents its ability to provide enjoyment to the owner, such as luxury cars, high-end motorcycles, gaming computers, and flagship smartphones.
Farnham Common is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, 3 miles north of Slough and 3 miles south of Beaconsfield, on the A355 road. It adjoins the ancient woodland of Burnham Beeches, has an area of 2.5 miles and a population of around 6,000. It is in the civil parish of Farnham Royal.
West Wycombe Park is a country house built between 1740 and 1800 near the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It was conceived as a pleasure palace for the 18th-century libertine and dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Baronet. The house is a long rectangle with four façades that are columned and pedimented, three theatrically so. The house encapsulates the entire progression of British 18th-century architecture from early idiosyncratic Palladian to the Neoclassical, although anomalies in its design make it architecturally unique. The mansion is set within an 18th-century landscaped park containing many small temples and follies, which act as satellites to the greater temple, the house.
Min'yō (民謡), Nihon min'yō, Japanese min'yō or Japanese folk music is a genre of traditional Japanese music.
Sides is the fourth studio album by English musician and composer Anthony Phillips. It was released in April 1979 by Arista Records in the United Kingdom and in June 1979 on Passport Records in the United States. After completing Private Parts & Pieces (1978), an album of home recordings that Phillips had recorded years before but remained unreleased, Phillips returned to making a commercial record. The UK release saw the first 5,000 copies of Sides packaged with a Collectors Album edition of Private Parts & Pieces.
Iona Margaret Balfour Opie, and Peter Mason Opie were an English married team of folklorists who applied modern techniques to understanding children's literature and play, in studies such as The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (1951) and The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959). They were also noted anthologists, assembled large collections of children's literature, toys, and games and were regarded as world-famous authorities on children's lore and customs.
"The Merv Griffin Show" is the 162nd episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the sixth episode of the ninth and final season. It aired on November 6, 1997, and appeared on DVD ten years later. In this episode, Kramer finds the original set for The Merv Griffin Show and uses it to revive the show in his apartment, Elaine contends with a new co-worker who stealthily sidles behind her, and Jerry drugs his girlfriend so that he can play with her collection of toys.
The Abbey Series of British novels by Elsie J. Oxenham comprises 38 titles which were published between 1914 and 1959. The first title, Girls of the Hamlet Club set the scene for the school aspects of the series, but it is the second title, The Abbey Girls, that introduces The Abbey – almost a character within the series in its own right – a romantic ruin that inspires love for it as a quiet, peaceful place, and creates the wish to behave in the public-spirited tradition of the early Cistercian monks. These qualities go some way towards explaining the popularity of the series.
Marjorie Abbatt, née Norah Marjorie Cobb was an English toy-maker and businesswoman.
Chiltern Open Air Museum (COAM) is an independent open-air museum of vernacular buildings and a tourist attraction located near Chalfont St Peter and Chalfont St. Giles in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. Its collection consists mainly of historic buildings at risk of demolition that have been dismantled and reconstructed in the museum grounds in a process of structure relocation.
Marla Landi, Lady Dashwood is an Italian-born British film actress and television presenter.
Mexican handcrafts and folk art is a complex collection of items made with various materials and intended for utilitarian, decorative or other purposes. Some of the items produced by hand in this country include ceramics, wall hangings, vases, furniture, textiles and much more. In Mexico, both crafts created for utilitarian purposes and folk art are collectively known as “artesanía” as both have a similar history and both are a valued part of Mexico's national identity. Mexico's artesanía tradition is a blend of indigenous and European techniques and designs. This blending, called “mestizo” was particularly emphasized by Mexico's political, intellectual and artistic elite in the early 20th century after the Mexican Revolution toppled Porfirio Díaz’s French-style and modernization-focused presidency. Today, Mexican artesanía is exported and is one of the reasons why tourists are attracted to the country. However, competition from manufactured products and imitations from countries like China have caused problems for Mexico’s artisans.
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean is a discontinued Lego theme that is based on the film series of the same name. It is licensed from Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films. There are nine known sets. The first wave was released in May 2011 with the second wave coming out in November 2011. In November 2010, it was officially announced by Lego that the video game Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game was in production. It was released on May 10, 2011, in North America. The series acts as a thematic replacement for the popular Lego Pirates theme, featuring many of the same elements. Most of the sets are similar to the Lego Pirates theme. The theme was first introduced in 2011 and discontinued in 2017.
Traditional Mexican handcrafted toys are those made by artisans rather than manufactured in factories. The history of Mexican toys extends as far back as the Mesoamerican era, but many of the toys date to the colonial period. Many of these were introduced as teaching tools by evangelists, and were associated with certain festivals and holidays. These toys vary widely, including cup and ball, lotería, dolls, miniature people, animals and objects, tops and more—made of many materials, including wood, metal, cloth, corn husks, ceramic, and glass. These toys remained popular throughout Mexico until the mid-20th century, when commercially made, mostly plastic toys became widely available. Because of the advertising commercial toys receive and because they are cheaper, most traditional toys that are sold as handcrafts, principally to tourists and collectors.
"Total Recall" is the nineteenth episode of the eleventh season and the 206th overall episode of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It aired on Fox in the United States on April 28, 2013, and is written by Kristin Long and directed by Joseph Lee. In the episode, after Rupert is recalled, Stewie and Brian head on an adventure to reclaim Stewie's best friend. Meanwhile, due to illness, Peter is replaced by Lois in his bowling tournament. However, he begins to get annoyed by the brewing friendship between his wife and his buddies.
Edith Louise Rosenbaum Russell was an American fashion buyer, stylist and correspondent for Women's Wear Daily, best remembered for surviving the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic with a music box in the shape of a pig. The papier-mâché toy, covered in pigskin and playing a tune known as "The Maxixe" when its tail was twisted, was used by Edith Russell to calm frightened children in the lifeboat in which she escaped. Her story became widely known in the press at the time and was later included in the best-selling account of the disaster A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. Russell was also portrayed in the award-winning British film produced by William MacQuitty that was based on Lord's book.
Grace Beside Me is an Australian fantasy drama television series for children which premiered on NITV on 16 February 2018 and later aired on ABC Me. The series is based on the novel Grace Beside Me, by Sue McPherson, and was filmed in the Scenic Rim Region in South East Queensland. The television adaptation was produced by a team composed entirely of women, including Aboriginal screenwriters.
Dante is the eighth collection launched by the British fashion designer Alexander McQueen. The concept for this collection was mainly inspired by the 14th century Florentine poet, writer and philosopher Dante Alighieri and his famous work Divine Comedy. The show was set in the Christ Church in Spitalfields on 1 March 1996. Some of the garments featured prints of Don McCullin’s photographs taken during the Vietnam War (1955-1975) and crucifix masks inspired in the photographer and a continuous referent in McQueen’s work, Joel-Peter Witkin’s self-portraits; the looks for this show also included Philip Treacy headpieces. The show was dedicated to McQueen’s long-time friend and muse, Isabella Blow; it constituted a commentary on religion and war.
J. Lillian Vandevere was an American author, composer, and music educator. She is best remembered today for her compositions for rhythm band and toy orchestra, and her work on the California State Series textbooks for music education.
