Royal Mail Group plc is a British multinational postal service and courier company, originally established in 1516 as a government department. The company's subsidiary Royal Mail Group Limited operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels). GLS Group, an international logistics company, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Mail Group. The group used the name Consignia for a brief period in the early 2000s.
Metro is the United Kingdom's highest-circulation print newspaper. It is published in tabloid format by DMG Media. The free newspaper is distributed from Monday to Friday mornings on trains and buses, and at railway/Underground stations, airports and hospitals across selected urban areas of England, Wales and Scotland. Copies are also handed out to pedestrians.
A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier, sometimes colloquially known as a postie, is an employee of a post office or postal service, who delivers mail and parcel post to residences and businesses. The term "mail carrier" came to be used as a gender-neutral substitute for "mailman" soon after women began performing the job. In the Royal Mail, the official name changed from "letter carrier" to "postman" in 1883, and "postwoman" has also been used for many years.
Matthew Richard Lucas is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series Rock Profile, Little Britain and Come Fly With Me (2010–2011). Lucas played the role of Nardole in the BBC series Doctor Who (2015–2017). He has also appeared in films, including Shaun of the Dead (2004), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Small Apartments (2012), Paddington (2014), and A Futile and Stupid Gesture (2018). In 2020, Lucas became the co-presenter of The Great British Bake Off, alongside Noel Fielding.
Carols by Candlelight is an annual Australian Christmas tradition that was popularised in Melbourne in 1938. The tradition has since spread around the world. It involves people gathering, usually outdoors in a park, to sing carols by candlelight, featuring live performances by both national and international celebrities accompanied by a symphony orchestra.
John Lewis & Partners is a brand of high-end department stores operating throughout Great Britain, with concessions also located in the Republic of Ireland and Australia. The brand sells general merchandise as part of the employee-owned mutual organisation known as the John Lewis Partnership, the largest co-operative in the United Kingdom. It was created by Spedan Lewis, son of the founder, John Lewis, in 1929. The chain has promised since 1925 that it is "never knowingly undersold" – it will always at least match a lower price offered by a national high street competitor.
Clive Andrew Mantle is an English actor. He played general surgeon Mike Barratt in the BBC hospital drama series Casualty and Holby City in the 1990s, and Little John in the 1980s fantasy series Robin of Sherwood. He returned to Casualty in 2016 as Mike Barratt for the show's 30th anniversary.
David Ogden, is a conductor and composer, directing choirs, choral and church music workshops, courses and festivals in the UK and abroad.
Nigel Parkinson is a British cartoonist who works for D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd and mainly draws for The Beano and The Dandy.
Faryl Smith is a British soprano whose performance repertoire includes opera, classical and classical crossover. Her diverse concerts draw a wide range of audiences, and she particularly enjoys introducing new audiences to classical music. Faryl has released two albums with Decca Records both in the UK and the US and works frequently with many different charities.
The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. Similar General Post Offices were established across the British Empire. In 1969 the GPO was abolished and the assets transferred to The Post Office, changing it from a Department of State to a statutory corporation. In 1980, the telecommunications and postal sides were split prior to British Telecommunications' conversion into a totally separate publicly owned corporation the following year as a result of the British Telecommunications Act 1981. For the more recent history of the postal system in the United Kingdom, see the articles Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd.
The Choir is a BAFTA award-winning TV series following Gareth Malone as he tackles the task of teaching choral singing to people who have never had the chance, or experience to sing before.
Joseph "Joe" McElderry is an English singer and songwriter. He won the sixth series of the ITV show The X Factor in 2009. His first single "The Climb" reached number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singles Charts. He was also the winner of the second series of Popstar to Operastar in 2011 and the first series of The Jump in 2014. In 2015, McElderry played the lead role of Joseph in the touring production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.
Isabel Suckling is a British singer who, upon signing a record deal with Decca Records, became the youngest classical recording artist signed by Decca, and the first choirgirl to sign a record contract with a major music label. Suckling sang in the choir at York Minster at the time, and was discovered by Decca following a nationwide search. She was mentored by the singer, TV/radio presenter and former boy soprano Aled Jones.
Classic Christmas is the third studio album and first Christmas album by the British singer Joe McElderry. It was released on 25 November 2011. It is his second album released under Decca Records.
The Military Wives Choirs is a registered charity and network of 75 choirs in British military bases across the UK and overseas, bringing women in the military community closer together through singing. With over 2,200 members, the MWC network is tri-service and any woman with a military connection can join including those currently serving, veterans, mothers, sisters and daughters, empowering women from across the military community. The organisation is also a subsidiary charity of SSAFA.
Bristol Choral Society is a large mixed-voiced choir based in Bristol, England, founded in 1889. Currently conducted by Hilary Campbell, it has around 180 auditioned members. The choir stages at least three concerts annually at the Colston Hall in Bristol with professional orchestras and soloists, and another annually at Bristol Cathedral in addition to other performances and broadcasts in Bristol and further afield.
Leeds Male Voice Choir is a choir of men founded in 1916 in Leeds, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. Originally formed from mining workers in Middleton, Leeds, the choir now has a diverse of membership of around sixty active members who perform regularly throughout Leeds, Yorkshire and Europe.
The Choir: Sing While You Work is a British television show broadcast on BBC2, a spinoff of the 2006 series The Choir. In Sing While You Work choirmaster Gareth Malone creates and trains amateur workplace-based choirs, ultimately to compete against one another. The series first aired in 2012 and began a second series in November 2013.
"A Bridge over You" is a charity single recorded and released independently by the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir, the choir of the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust located in south-east London. It is a mashup of "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel and Coldplay's 2005 single "Fix You", with additional arrangement by the choir's conductor, Peter Mitchell. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart at Christmas 2015.
