Bataireacht is a term used to describe the various stickfighting martial arts of Ireland. The term is found in most large format Irish language dictionaries - such as those published by An Gum and by Dineen. Researcher and author John W. Hurley attributes the reintroduction of the term into modern usage among English speaking practitioners of Irish stick-fighting to his works, as these are where the term first appeared in modern popular culture before being popularized.
"Bata" is a general term which can mean any kind of stick. The actual bata or stick used for bataireacht is often referred to as a Sail-Éille or phonetically in English as "shillelagh". The word "cudgel" is also used in period texts as a word for shillelagh. Traditionally, blackthorn, oak, ash and hazel were the most common types of woods used to make shillelagh fighting sticks. In the 19th century bataireacht became associated with Irish gang or "faction" fighting. Some evidence exists which indicates that, prior to the 19th Century, the term had been used to refer to a form of stick-fencing used to train Irish soldiers in broadsword and sabre techniques.Monday, 26 April 2010
Bataireacht
shillelagh
Shillelaghs are traditionally made from blackthorn wood or oak. The wood would be smeared with butter and placed up a chimney to cure, giving the Shillelagh its typical black shiny appearance. Shillelaghs may be hollowed at the heavy "hitting" end and filled with molten lead to increase the weight beyond the typical two pounds; this sort of Shillelagh is known as a loaded stick. They are commonly the length of a walking stick (distance from the floor to one's wrist with elbow slightly bent). Most also have a heavy knob for a handle which can be used for striking as well as parrying and disarming an opponent. Many shillelaghs also have a strap attached (hence the Irish name), similar to commercially made walking sticks, to place around the holder's wrist.
Sunday, 25 April 2010
Saturday, 24 April 2010
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Knowsley Safari Park, North West England in April 2010.
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Monday, 19 April 2010
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Sunday, 18 April 2010
Knowsley
Knowsley Safari Park is a tourist attraction in the borough of Knowsley on the outskirts of Liverpool, England. The park was also home to a former RAF airfield which closed at the end of World War II.
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African lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with a critically endangered remnant population in Gir Forest National Park in India, having disappeared from North Africa and Southwest Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. They were found in most of Africa, much of Eurasia from western Europe to India, and in the Americas from the Yukon to Peru.
Lions live for ten to fourteen years in the wild, while in captivity they can live longer than twenty years. In the wild, males seldom live longer than ten years, as injuries sustained from continual fighting with rival males greatly reduce their longevity. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. Lions are apex and keystone predators, although they scavenge as opportunity allows. While lions do not typically hunt humans selectively, some have been known to seek human prey.
Friday, 16 April 2010
lion
The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of thirty to fifty percent over the past two decades in its African range. Lion populations are untenable outside of designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern. Lions have been kept in menageries since Roman times and have been a key species sought for exhibition in zoos the world over since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered Asiatic subspecies.
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Ethiopian Suri Stick Fighting - Last Man Standing Part 6
Friday, 9 April 2010
River Tame
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Icknield Street
Icknield Street or Ryknild Street is a Roman road in Britain that runs from the Fosse Way at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire to Templeborough in South Yorkshire. It passes through Alcester, Studley, Redditch, Metchley Fort, Birmingham, Lichfield and Derby.
It acquired the name Icknield Way during the 12th century, but it is now called Icknield Street (or Ryknild Street) to distinguish it from the older Icknield Way, an Iron Age trackway running from Norfolk to Dorset.
A preserved section of the Roman road can be seen at Sutton Park in Birmingham. The Perry Bridge of 1711 stands at its crossing of the River Tame in Perry Barr.
Sutton Park
Sutton Park, in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England, is one of the largest urban parks in Europe and the largest outside a capital city; it is larger than Richmond Park in London.
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Hill Hook
Hill Hook is an area of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. The area includes Hill Hook Local Nature Reserve on the site of a watermill, which originated in the 17th century. An earlier dam showed the extent of the original mill pool, which was enlarged in 1767. The nature reserve, known locally as 'The Meddies' was substantially built upon from the early 1980s onwards, although small parts remain untouched.
It is close to Four Oaks and Little Aston and is approximately one mile from Sutton Park. The area is served by Blake Street railway station, and is served by bus routes 112 (Arriva Midlands) and 902 (National Express West Midlands).
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Little Aston
Little Aston is an affluent area of the district of Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England. The area is locally known as an enclave of footballers and successful businessmen.
birmingham bachelor padsWest Midlands conurbation
The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen and Sutton Coldfield in the English West Midlands.
Not to be confused with the region or metropolitan county of the same name, the conurbation does not include parts of the county such as Coventry, but does include parts of the surrounding counties of Staffordshire (e.g. Little Aston, Perton), Warwickshire (specifically Coleshill and Water Orton) and Worcestershire (Hagley, Hollywood).
Solihull
Historically part of Warwickshire, Solihull is one of the most prosperous towns in the English Midlands. Residents of Solihull and those born in the town are referred to as Silhillians. The motto of Solihull is Urbs in Rure (Town in the Country).
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Friday, 2 April 2010
Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield railway station is the main railway station for the town of Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands. It is situated on the Redditch-Birmingham New Street-Lichfield Cross-City Line 12 km (7½ miles) north east of Birmingham New Street.
The station is of Victorian architecture with red brick and elaborate ceilings and pillars. One platform is sheltered while the other is open air. The main building itself is built on a hill with a tunnel running underneath it. It is accessed via Station Street.
Sutton Coldfield
Castle Bromwich
Second City of Empire
The identity of the second city of the United Kingdom is a subject of some disagreement. A country's second city is the city that is thought to be the second most important, usually after the capital or first city (London, in this case), according to criteria such as population size, economic and commercial importance, political importance or some cultural criteria. There is no official mechanism by which second city status is conferred on a city, and citizens and civic leaders of rival cities often argue over their conflicting claims.
Birmingham has generally been regarded as the second city of the United Kingdom since around the time of World War I, though some polls and media references have quoted Manchester as the second city (and also as the third city). Other cities in both England and Scotland have at times been considered the second city. For example, Glasgow, in Scotland, was in the past called The Second City of the Empire. During the 19th and early 20th century, the whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. During some of this time Dublin was considered to be the second city.
Wolverhampton
West Midlands conurbation
The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen and Sutton Coldfield in the English West Midlands.
Not to be confused with the region or metropolitan county of the same name, the conurbation does not include parts of the county such as Coventry, but does include parts of the surrounding counties of Staffordshire (e.g. Little Aston, Perton), Warwickshire (specifically Coleshill and Water Orton) and Worcestershire (Hagley, Hollywood).
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles (14.5 km) southeast of Birmingham city centre. It is the largest town in, and administrative centre of, the larger Metropolitan Borough of Solihull.
Historically part of Warwickshire, Solihull is one of the most prosperous towns in the English Midlands. Residents of Solihull and those born in the town are referred to as Silhillians. The motto of Solihull is Urbs in Rure (Town in the Country).
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