text:
Grand Magazine, December 1923
CHAPTER XIV (Continued).
“GOOD evening,” said Psmith.
It was not for a philosopher like himself to display astonishment. He was, however, undeniably feeling it. When, a few minutes before, he had encountered Freddie in this same room, he had received a distinct shock; but a rough theory which would account for Freddie’s presence in his home-from-home he had been able to work out. He groped in vain for one which would explain Eve.
Mere surprise, however, was never enough to prevent Psmith talking. He began at once.
“It was nice of you,” he said, rising courteously, “to look in. Won’t you sit down? On the sofa, perhaps? Or would you prefer a brick?”
Eve was not yet equal to speech. She had been so firmly convinced that he was ten miles away at Shifley that his presence here in the sitting-room of the cottage had something of the breath-taking quality of a miracle. The explanation, if she could have known it, was simple. Two excellent reasons had kept Psmith from gracing the County Ball with his dignified support.
In the first place, as Shifley was only four miles from the village where he had spent most of his life, he had regarded it as probable, if not certain, that he would have encountered there old friends to whom it would have been both tedious and embarrassing to explain why he had changed his name to McTodd.
And secondly, though he had not actually anticipated a nocturnal raid on his little nook, he had thought it well to be on the premises that evening in case Mr. Edward Cootes should have been getting ideas into his head. As soon, therefore, as the castle had emptied itself and the wheels of the last car had passed away down the drive, he had pocketed Mr. Cootes’s revolver and proceeded to the cottage.
Eve recovered her self-possession. She was not a girl given to collapse in moments of crisis. The first shock of amazement had passed; a humiliating feeling of extreme foolishness, which came directly after, had also passed; she was now grimly ready for battle.
“Where is Mr. Threepwood?” she asked.
“Upstairs. I have put him in storage for awhile. Do not worry about Comrade Threepwood. He has lots to think about. He is under the impression that if he stirs out he will be instantly shot.”
“Oh? Well, I want to put this lamp down. Will you please pick up that table?”
“By all means. But—I am a novice in these matters—ought I not first to say ‘Hands up!’ or something?”
“Will you please pick up that table?”
“A friend of mine—one Cootes—you must meet him some time—generally remarks ‘Hey!’ in a sharp, arresting voice on these occasions. Personally, I consider the expression too abrupt. Still, he has had great experience . . .”
“Will you please pick up that table?”
“Most certainly. I take it, then, that you would prefer to dispense with the usual formalities. In that case, I will park this revolver on the mantelpiece while we chat. I have taken a curious dislike to the thing. It makes me feel like Dangerous Dan.”
Eve put down the lamp, and there was silence for a moment. Psmith looked about him thoughtfully. He picked up one of the dead bats and covered it with his handkerchief.
“Somebody’s mother,” he murmured, reverently.
Eve sat down on the sofa.
“Mr. . . .” She stopped. “I can’t call you Mr. McTodd. Will you please tell your name?”
“Ronald,” said Psmith. “Ronald Eustace.”
“I suppose you have a surname?” snapped Eve. “Or an alias?”
Psmith eyed her with a pained expression.
“I may be hyper-sensitive,” he said, “but that last remark sounded to me like a dirty dig. You seem to imply that I am some sort of a criminal.”
Eve laughed shortly.
“I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. There’s not much sense in pretending now, is there? What is your name?”
“Psmith. The p is silent.”
“Well, Mr. Smith, I imagine you understand why I am here?”
“I took it for granted that you had come to fulfil your kindly promise of doing the place up a bit. Will you be wounded if I say frankly that I preferred it the way it was before? All this may be the last word in ultra-modern interior decoration, but I suppose I am old-fashioned. The whisper flies round Shropshire and adjoining counties, ‘Psmith is hide-bound. He is not attuned to up-to-date methods.’ Honestly, don’t you think you have rather unduly stressed the bizarre note? This soot . . . these dead bats . . .”
“I have come to get that necklace.”
“Ah! The necklace?”
“I’m going to get it, too.”
Psmith shook his head gently.
“There,” he said, “if you will pardon me, I take issue with you. There is nobody to whom I would rather give that necklace than you, but there are special circumstances connected with it which render such an action impossible. I fancy, Miss Halliday, that you have been misled by our young friend upstairs.
“No, let me speak,” he said, raising a hand. “You know what a treat it is to me. The way I envisage the matter is thus. I still cannot understand as completely as I could wish how you come to be mixed up in the affair, but it is plain that in some way or other Comrade Threepwood has enlisted your services, and I regret to be obliged to inform you that the motives animating him in this quest are not pure. To put it crisply, he is engaged in what Comrade Cootes, to whom I alluded just now, would call ‘funny business.’ ”
“I . . .”
“Pardon me,” said Psmith. “If you will be patient for a few minutes more I shall have finished and shall then be delighted to lend an attentive ear to any remarks you may wish to make. As it occurs to me—indeed, you hinted as much yourself just now—that my own position in this little matter has an appearance which to the uninitiated might seem tolerably rummy, I had better explain how I come to be guarding a diamond necklace which does not belong to me. I rely on your womanly discretion to let the thing go no further.”
“Will you please . . . ?”
“In one moment. The facts are as follows. Our mutual friend Mr. Keeble, Miss Halliday, has a step-daughter who is married to one Comrade Jackson, who, if he had no other claim to fame, would go ringing down through history for this reason, that he and I were at school together and that he is my best friend. We two have sported on the green—oh, a lot of times. Well, owing to one thing and another, the Jackson family is rather badly up against it at the present . . .”
Eve jumped up angrily.
“I don’t believe a word of it,” she cried. “What is the use of trying to fool me like this? You had never heard of Phyllis before Freddie spoke about her in the train . . .”
“Believe me . . .”
“I won’t. Freddie got you down here to help him steal that necklace and give it to Mr. Keeble so that he could help Phyllis, and now you’ve got it and are trying to keep it for yourself.”
Psmith started slightly. His monocle fell from its place.
“Is everybody in this little plot! Are you also one of Comrade Keeble’s corps of assistants?”
“Mr. Keeble asked me to try to get the necklace for him.”
Psmith replaced his monocle thoughtfully.
“This,” he said, “opens up a new line of thought. Can it be that I have been wronging Comrade Threepwood all this time? I must confess that, when I found him here just now standing like Marius among the ruins of Carthage (the allusion is a classical one, and the fruit of an expensive education), I jumped—I may say sprang—to the conclusion that he was endeavouring to double-cross both myself and the boss by getting hold of the necklace with a view to retaining it for his own benefit. It never occurred to me that he might be crediting me with the same sinful guile.”
Eve ran to him and clutched his arm.
“Mr. Smith, is this really true? Are you really a friend of Phyllis?”
“She looks on me as a grandfather. Are you a friend of hers?”
“We were at school together.”
“This,” said Psmith, cordially, “is one of the most gratifying moments of my life. It makes us all seem like one great big family.”
“But I never heard Phyllis speak about you.”
“Strange!” said Psmith. “Strange. Surely she was not ashamed of her humble friend?”
“I must explain,” said Psmith, “that until recently I was rather among the submerged tenth. At least, I was earning a difficult livelihood by slinging fish about in Billingsgate Market. It is possible that some snobbish strain in Comrade Jackson’s bride, which I confess I had not suspected, kept her from admitting that she was accustomed to hob-nob with one in the fish business.”
“Good gracious!” cried Eve.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Smith . . . Fish business . . . Why, it was you who called at Phyllis’s house while I was there. Just before I came down here. I remember Phyllis saying how sorry she was that we had not met. She said you were just my sort of . . . I mean, she said she wanted me to meet you.”
“This,” said Psmith, “is becoming more and more gratifying every moment. It seems to me that you and I were made for each other. I am your best friend’s best friend, and we both have a taste for stealing other people’s jewellery. I cannot see how you can very well resist the conclusion that we are twin-souls.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“We shall get into that series of ‘Husbands and Wives Who Work Together.’ ”
“Where is the necklace?”
“The business note. Always the business note. Can’t we keep all that till later?”
“No. We can’t!”
Psmith crossed the room and took down from the wall the case of stuffed birds.
“The one place,” said Eve, with mortification, “where we didn’t think of looking!”
Psmith opened the case and removed the centre bird, a depressed-looking fowl with glass eyes which stared with a haunting pathos. He felt in its interior and pulled out something that glittered and sparkled in the lamplight.
Eve ran her fingers almost lovingly through the jewels as they lay before her on the little table.
“Aren’t they beautiful!”
“Distinctly. I think I may say that of all the jewels I have ever stolen . . .”
Eve let the necklace fall with a cry. Psmith spun round. In the doorway stood Mr. Edward Cootes, pointing a pistol.
“HANDS up!” said Mr. Cootes, with the uncouth curtness of one who has not had the advantages of a refined home and a nice upbringing. He advanced warily, preceded by the revolver. It was a dainty, miniature weapon, such as might have been the property of some gentle lady. Mr. Cootes had, in fact, borrowed it from Miss Peavey, who at this juncture entered the room in a black and silver dinner-dress surmounted by a Rose du Barri wrap, her spiritual face glowing softly in the subdued light.
“Attaboy, Ed.,” observed Miss Peavey, crisply.
She swooped on the table and gathered up the necklace. Mr. Cootes continued to direct an austere gaze at Eve and Psmith.
“No funny business,” he advised.
“This,” said Psmith to Eve, “is Comrade Cootes, of whom you have heard so much.”
Eve was staring, bewildered, at the poetess who, having annexed the jewels, had begun to look about her with idle curiosity.
“Miss Peavey!” cried Eve. Of all the events of that eventful night, the appearance of Lady Constance’s emotional friend in the rôle of criminal was the most disconcerting. “Miss Peavey!”
“Hello?” responded that lady, agreeably.
“I . . . I . . .”
“We are finding it,” said Psmith, “a little difficult to adjust our minds to the present development. Speaking for myself, I knew, of course, that Comrade Cootes had—shall I say an acquisitive streak in him, but I had always supposed that you were a poetess.”
“So I am a poetess,” retorted Miss Peavey, hotly. “Just you start in joshing my poems and see how quick I’ll brain you with a brick. Well, Ed., no sense in sticking around here. Let’s go.”
“We’ll have to tie these birds up,” said Mr. Cootes, far-seeingly. “Otherwise we’ll have them squealing before I can make a getaway.”
“Ed.,” said Miss Peavey, with scorn, “you’ve got a head like a dollar—one bone. How are they going to squeal? They can’t say a thing without telling everyone they snitched the stuff first.”
“That’s right,” admitted Mr. Cootes.
“Well, then, don’t come butting in.”
In the silence into which this rebuke plunged Mr. Cootes, Psmith spoke.
“If, before you go, you can spare us a moment of your valuable time,” he said, “I should be glad of a few words. But may I say that I cordially agree with your condemnation of Comrade Cootes’s recent suggestion. The man is an ass.”
“Say!” observed Mr. Cootes, coming to life again and eager to work off his discomfiture on one whom he had always disliked, “that’ll be about all from you. If there wasn’t ladies present I’d bust you one.”
“Ed.,” said Miss Peavey, with quiet authority. “Shut your mouth!”
Mr. Cootes subsided once more. Psmith gazed at him through his monocle, interested.
“Pardon me,” he said, “but—if it is not a rude question—are you two married?”
“You seemed to me to talk to him like a wife. Am I addressing Mrs. Cootes?”
“You will be if you stick around awhile.”
“A thousand congratulations to Comrade Cootes. Not quite so many to you, possibly, but fully that number of good wishes.” He moved towards the poetess with extended hand. “I am thinking of getting married myself shortly.”
“Keep those hands up!” said Mr. Cootes, sourly.
“Surely,” said Psmith, reproachfully, “these conventions need not be observed among friends? You will find the only weapon I have ever possessed over there on the mantelpiece. It is the one I borrowed from you some days back. I restore it gladly, for I would be the last to wish to introduce a jarring note into this scene of goodwill. All I wanted to say,” he went on, addressing Miss Peavey again, “was that, if you can spare the time, I should like to have a short business chat before you leave us.”
Miss Peavey shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Rollo,” she replied, amiably, “but you can cut that right out. Ed. and I have got the stuff, and we don’t divide up with anyone. I know it’s bad form to do the dirty on folks in the same line of business, but you shouldn’t have butted in. I was here first. Make your mind easy, Bill, you don’t get a penny out of us. Not but what I’d do it for you if I did it for anyone, because you’re a good sort of scout and I’ve always liked you.”
“You overwhelm me,” said Psmith. “May I say that the liking is mutual? Though, before I was aware of this other, deeper side to your nature, I confess that there were times when . . . However, that is not to the point. I would prefer, if you will allow me, to keep now entirely to business. Before I begin, I must say that you flatter me when you suggest that I am a fellow-professional. Miss Halliday and I were merely amateurs in this enterprise. We were employed to get the necklace by Mr. Keeble.”
A sharp barking sound broke in on his remarks. It was Mr. Cootes laughing satirically.
“The fellow it belonged to! That’s good!”
“Ed.!” said Miss Peavey, quietly.
Mr. Cootes went into the silence again.
“The necklace did not belong to Comrade Keeble; it belonged to his wife. Comrade K. wanted to get possession of it because he and Lady Constance own a joint banking-account and he was in need of a certain sum of money—which he desired to obtain without her knowledge.”
“Well, the smooth old guy!” exclaimed Miss Peavey.
“Just one of those simple, affectionate tricks which husbands do play on wives,” said Psmith. “I expect Comrade Cootes will be trying something of the sort on you towards the end of the honeymoon.”
“Say!” cried that maligned gentleman, explosively.
“Ed.!” said Miss Peavey.
“Yes, but . . .”
“Oh, all right.”
“His motives,” continued Psmith, “were, however, far, far different from those which will lead Comrade Cootes to . . .”
“Never you mind about Comrade Cootes,” said Miss Peavey, with quiet determination. “I’ll look after him.”
“I am sure you will, I am sure you will. Well, Mr. Keeble has a step-daughter . . .”
“I know her,” said Miss Peavey. “And I know all about her. And let me tell you it’s a darned shame the way those two have acted to that poor girl. Just because she goes and marries the bird she loves . . .”
Miss Peavey choked. Her acquaintance with Lady Constance had begun just previous to the culmination of the Phyllis-Jackson romance, and her warm heart had been deeply stirred by the raw deal which had been handed to True Love.
Eve sprang forward with a suddenness which nearly caused Mr. Cootes to pull the trigger.
“Oh, Miss Peavey, were you a friend of Phyllis’s, too?”
“One great big family,” murmured Psmith. “Just one great big family.”
“He wanted the money for her, Miss Peavey. Three thousand pounds of it, that is. She and her husband can buy a wonderful farm if they get it, and it will let them live in the country again and be happy. Oh, don’t take away that necklace, Miss Peavey. Give it back to us, and . . .”
Crushed though he had been so frequently by his bride-to-be since the beginning of these exchanges, this frightful request revived Mr. Cootes like water on a fading flower.
“I don’t think!” stammered Mr. Cootes, violently moved. He waved protesting arms. “I don’t think!”
“You don’t,” observed Miss Peavey, severely. “That’s the trouble with you. You ought to try to remember sometimes that that thing balanced on your collar is a head. And be careful what you’re doing with that gun! Waving it about like it was a bouquet or something.” She turned to Eve. “This is beginning to listen good to me. If old Keeble wants that necklace so bad, he’ll be willing to buy it off Ed. and me . . .”
“Precisely,” said Psmith, “what I was about to suggest. Your ready intelligence is inspiring. I am a child in these matters, but from the stories I have read I understand that there is a gentleman called a fence who deals in stolen goods.”
“And he is in the habit of giving the toiler about a quarter of what the goods are worth.”
“That’s right, too.”
“Then if Comrade Keeble gives you sixteen thousand pounds for the necklace, it seems to me that life will be more or less one grand sweet song for all concerned.”
“Sixteen? Where do you get that sixteen stuff? I make it seventeen. You said the kid Phyllis only wanted three thousand.”
“I omitted to mention that Comrade Threepwood, an exceptionally promising and deserving young man, was to have had a reward for pinching the thing. Yes, he, too, was in it! And while he did not actually achieve his object, he has been put to a good deal of trouble and inconvenience . . .”
Mr. Cootes made one last despairing inrush into the conversation.
“Say, if you think we’re going to cough up a thousand pounds just to please a young fool with slicked-back hair and a face like . . .”
It is strange how important events hang so often upon mere accidents. The accident in this case was the fact that Mr. Cootes happened to speak first. The protest which he had made was one which had already formed itself in Miss Peavey’s mind, and the point seemed to her well taken. If Mr. Cootes had kept quiet, as a good man should in the presence of his betrothed, she would have expressed with generous strength the very view to which he had just given utterance. But Miss Peavey, as her general attitude has already hinted, had strong opinions on the rashness of letting the male get above himself.
To endorse and show approval of her fiancé’s outburst would, she felt, infallibly encourage in that gentleman the process of getting above himself. She meant to start her married life right, and the way to do that, she held, was to veto any resolution which her Eddie put forward. So, though in her heart she strongly disapproved of wasting good money in the way Psmith had suggested, she quelled Mr. Cootes with a look and spoke cordially.
“Pooh!” she observed. “What’s a thousand pounds among friends? I’m no hog. Let him have his thousand. For Heaven’s sake, Ed., isn’t around eighty thousand dollars enough for you? . . . All right, Cuthbert, it’s a bet. We’ve got a car waiting down the road and Ed.’s going to sneak off up to London to-night. He’ll get in touch with old Keeble and fix the deal up . . . Well, that seems to be about all. Guess we’ll be going. Come along, Ed.” She turned to Psmith. “It’s nice to think everything’s ended happily.”
“Extremely. You will let me know where to send the plated fish-slice, won’t you?”
“I was hoping, if you do not think it a liberty on the part of one who has known you but a short time, to be allowed to send you a small wedding present in due season.”
“And darned nice of you, too. Thank him, Ed.”
Mr. Cootes gulped, but he had the right stuff in him for one about to link his lot with this masterly woman.
“Thanks,” he said, huskily.
“Not at all,” said Psmith.
“Did you say you were going to be married, too?” asked Miss Peavey.
“I feel convinced of it. Perhaps on some future occasion you and Comrade Cootes will come and visit us in our little home. You will receive a hearty, unaffected welcome. You must not be offended if we count the spoons just before you say good-bye. Good night, Miss Peavey. Good night, Comrade Cootes.”
He slapped the latter violently on the back.
“Here, say!” cried Mr. Cootes, with a last flicker of spirit.
“Ed.!” said Miss Peavey.
“Oh, all right,” said Mr. Cootes.
They passed together into the night.
EVE sat down on the battered sofa and rested her chin in her hands. She looked at Psmith, who was delicately piling with the toe of his shoe a funeral mound over the second of the dead bats.
“So that’s that!” she said.
Psmith looked up.
“You have a very happy gift of phrase,” he said. “That, as you sensibly say, is that. We must take Comrade Keeble aside on our return and inform him of the happy solution of his troubles.”
“But can we trust them?”
“I am sure we can. A sounder business woman than the future Mrs. Cootes I have never met.”
There was a silence.
“So you’re going to be married?” said Eve.
Psmith polished his monocle thoughtfully.
“I think so,” he said. “I think so. What do you think?”
Eve regarded him steadfastly. Then she gave a little laugh.
“Yes, I think so, too. Shall I tell you something?”
“You could tell me nothing more wonderful than that.”
“When I met Cynthia in Market Blandings, she told me what the trouble was which made her husband leave her. They had some people to dinner, and there was chicken, and Cynthia gave all the giblets to the guests, and her husband bounded out of his seat with a wild cry and shouted: ‘You know I love those things better than anything in the world!’ And he rushed out of the house never to return. Cynthia told me that he has rushed out of the house, never to return, six times since they were married.”
“In passing,” said Psmith, “I don’t like chicken giblets.”
“Cynthia advised me, if I ever married, to marry someone eccentric. She said it was such fun . . . Well, I don’t think I am ever likely to meet anyone more eccentric than you, am I?” She paused reflectively. “ ‘Mrs. Psmith’ . . . It doesn’t sound much, does it?”
Psmith patted her hand encouragingly.
“We must look into the future,” he said. “We must remember that I am only at the beginning of what I am convinced is to be a singularly illustrious career. ‘Lady Psmith’ is better . . . ‘Baroness Psmith’ better still . . . And—who knows?—‘The Duchess of Psmith’ . . .”
A dull, muffled sound, like distant thunder, began to make itself heard from upstairs.
“Good gracious!” cried Eve. “Freddie! I’d forgotten all about him!”
“The right spirit,” said Psmith. “Quite the right spirit.”
“We must go and let him out.”
“Must we? In a very few minutes his own unaided efforts will enable him to kick down that door.”
“Oh, no, we must let him out.”
“Just as you say. And then he can come with us on the stroll I was about to propose that we should take through the woods. It is a lovely night, and it will be jolly to have Comrade Threepwood prattling at our side. I will go and let him out at once.”
“No, don’t bother,” said Eve.
the glad news
THE golden stillness of a perfect summer morning brooded over Blandings Castle and its adjacent pleasure-grounds. From a sky of unbroken blue the sun poured down its heartening rays on all those roses, pinks, pansies, carnations, hollyhocks, columbines, larkspurs, London pride, and Canterbury bells which made the gardens so rarely beautiful.
Flannelled youths and maidens in white serge sported in the shade; gay cries arose from the tennis-courts behind the shrubbery; and birds, bees, and butterflies went about their business with a new energy and zip. In short, the casual observer, assuming that he was addicted to trite phrases, would have said that happiness reigned supreme.
But happiness, even on the finest mornings, is seldom universal. The strolling youths and maidens were happy; the tennis-players were happy; the birds, bees, and butterflies were happy. Eve, walking in pleasant meditation on the terrace, was happy. Freddie Threepwood was happy as he lounged in the smoking-room and gloated over the information, received from Psmith in the small hours, that his thousand pounds was safe.
Mr. Keeble, writing to Phyllis to inform her that she might clinch the purchase of the Lincolnshire farm, was happy. Even Head Gardener Angus McAllister was as happy as a Scotsman can ever be. But Lord Emsworth, drooping out of the library window, felt only a nervous irritation more in keeping with the blizzards of winter than with the only fine July that England had known in the last ten years.
We have seen his lordship in a similar attitude and a like frame of mind on a previous occasion; but then his melancholy had been due to the loss of his glasses. This morning these were perched firmly on his nose and he saw all things clearly. What was causing his gloom now was the fact that some ten minutes earlier his sister Constance had trapped him in the library, full of jarring rebuke on the subject of the dismissal of Rupert Baxter, the world’s most efficient secretary.
It was to avoid her compelling eye that Lord Emsworth had turned to the window. And what he saw from that window thrust him even deeper into the abyss of gloom. The sun, the birds, the bees, the butterflies, and the flowers called to him to come out and have the time of his life, but he just lacked the nerve to make a dash for it.
“I think you must be mad,” said Lady Constance, bitterly, resuming her remarks and starting at the point where she had begun before.
“Baxter’s mad,” retorted his lordship, also re-treading old ground.
“You are too absurd!”
“He threw flower-pots at me.”
“Do please stop talking about those flower-pots. Mr. Baxter has explained the whole thing to me, and surely even you can see that his behaviour was perfectly excusable.”
“I don’t like the fellow,” cried Lord Emsworth, once more retreating to his last line of trenches—the one line from which all Lady Constance’s eloquence had been unable to dislodge him.
There was a silence, as there had been a short while before when the discussion had reached this same point.
“You will be helpless without him,” said Lady Constance.
“Nothing of the kind,” said his lordship.
“You know you will. Where will you ever get another secretary capable of looking after everything like Mr. Baxter? You know you are a perfect child, and unless you have someone whom you can trust to manage your affairs I cannot see what will happen.”
Lord Emsworth made no reply. He merely gazed wanly from the window.
“Chaos,” moaned Lady Constance.
His lordship remained mute, but now there was a gleam of something approaching pleasure in his pale eyes, for at this moment a car rounded the corner of the house from the direction of the stables and stood purring at the door. There was a trunk on the car and a suit-case. And almost simultaneously the Efficient Baxter entered the library, clothed and spatted for travel.
“I have come to say good-bye, Lady Constance,” said Baxter, coldly and precisely, flashing at his late employer through his spectacles a look of stern reproach. “The car which is taking me to the station is at the door.”
“Oh, Mr. Baxter!” Lady Constance, strong woman though she was, fluttered with distress. “Oh, Mr. Baxter!”
“Good-bye.” He gripped her hand in brief farewell and directed his spectacles for another tense instant upon the sagging figure at the window. “Good-bye, Lord Emsworth.”
“Eh? What? Oh! Ah, yes. Good-bye, my dear fel—— I mean, good-bye. I—er—hope you will have a pleasant journey.”
“Thank you,” said Baxter.
“But, Mr. Baxter,” said Lady Constance.
“Lord Emsworth,” said the ex-secretary, icily, “I am no longer in your employment . . .”
“But, Mr. Baxter,” moaned Lady Constance, “surely . . . even now . . . misunderstanding . . . talk it all over quietly . . .”
Lord Emsworth started violently.
“Here!” he protested.
“I fear it is too late,” said Baxter, to his infinite relief, “to talk things over. My arrangements are already made and cannot be altered. Ever since I came here to work for Lord Emsworth my former employer—an American millionaire named Jevons—has been making me flattering offers to return to him. Until now a mistaken sense of loyalty has kept me from accepting these offers, but this morning I telegraphed to Mr. Jevons to say that I was at liberty and could join him at once. It is too late now to cancel this promise.”
“Quite, quite, oh certainly, quite, mustn’t dream of it, my dear fellow. No, no, no, indeed no,” said Lord Emsworth, with an effervescent cordiality which struck both his hearers as in the most dubious taste.
Baxter merely stiffened haughtily, but Lady Constance was so poignantly affected by the words and the joyous tone in which they were uttered that she could endure her brother’s loathly society no longer. Shaking Baxter’s hand once more and gazing stonily for a moment at the worm by the window, she left the room.
For some seconds after she had gone there was silence—a silence which Lord Emsworth found embarrassing. He turned to the window again and took in with one wistful glance the roses, the pinks, the pansies, the carnations, the hollyhocks, the columbines, the larkspurs, the London pride, and the Canterbury bells.
And then suddenly there came to him the realization that with Lady Constance gone there no longer existed any reason why he should stay cooped up in this stuffy library on the finest morning that had ever been sent to gladden the heart of man. He shivered ecstatically from the top of his bald head to the soles of his roomy shoes, and, bounding gleefully from the window, started to amble across the room.
His lordship halted. His was a one-track mind, capable of accommodating only one thought at a time—if that, and he had almost forgotten that Baxter was still there. He eyed his late secretary peevishly.
“Yes, yes? Is there anything . . . ?”
“I should like to speak to you for a moment.”
“I have a most important conference with McAllister . . .”
“I will not detain you long. Lord Emsworth, I am no longer in your employment, but I think it my duty to say before I go . . .”
“No, no, my dear fellow, I quite understand. Quite, quite, quite. Constance has been going over all that. I know what you are trying to say. That matter of the flower-pots. Please do not apologize. It is quite all right. I was startled at the time, I own, but no doubt you had excellent motives. Let us forget the whole affair.”
Baxter ground an impatient heel into the carpet.
“I had no intention of referring to the matter to which you allude,” he said, frostily. “I merely wished . . .”
“Yes, yes, of course.” A vagrant breeze floated in at the window, languid with summer scents, and Lord Emsworth, sniffing, shuffled restlessly. “Of course, of course, of course. Some other time, eh? Yes, yes that will be capital. Capital, capital, cap——”
The Efficient Baxter uttered a sound that was partly a cry, partly a snort. Its quality was so arresting that Lord Emsworth paused, his fingers on the door-handle, and peered back at him, startled.
“Very well,” said Baxter, shortly. “Pray do not let me keep you. If you are not interested in the fact that Blandings Castle is sheltering a criminal . . .”
It was not easy to divert Lord Emsworth when in quest of Angus McAllister, but this remark succeeded in doing so. He let go of the door-handle and came back a step or two into the room.
“Sheltering a criminal?”
“Yes.” Baxter glanced at his watch. “I must go now or I shall miss my train,” he said, curtly. “I was merely going to tell you that this fellow who calls himself Ralston McTodd is not Ralston McTodd at all.”
“Not Ralston McTodd?” repeated his lordship, blankly. “But——” He suddenly perceived a flaw in the argument. “But he said he was,” he pointed out cleverly. “Yes, I remember distinctly. He said he was McTodd.”
“He is an impostor. And I imagine that if you investigate you will find that it is he and his accomplices who stole Lady Constance’s necklace.”
“But, my dear fellow . . .”
Baxter walked briskly to the door.
“You need not take my word for it,” he said. “What I say can easily be proved. Get this so-called McTodd to write his name on a piece of paper and then compare it with the signature to the letter which the real McTodd wrote when accepting Lady Constance’s invitation to the castle. You will find it filed away in the drawer of that desk there.”
Lord Emsworth adjusted his glasses and stared at the desk as if he expected it to do a conjuring trick.
“I will leave you to take what steps you please,” said Baxter. “Now that I am no longer in your employment, the thing does not concern me one way or another. But I thought you might be glad to hear the facts.”
“Oh, I am!” responded his lordship, still peering vaguely. “Oh, I am! Oh, yes, yes, yes. Oh, yes, yes . . .”
“But, Baxter . . .”
Lord Emsworth trotted out on to the landing, but Baxter had got off to a good start and was almost out of sight round the bend of the stairs.
Lord Emsworth returned to the library to wrestle with his problem unaided. He went to the window again and looked out. There was the sunshine, there were the birds, there were the hollyhocks, carnations, and Canterbury bells, all present and correct; but now they failed to cheer him. He was wondering dismally what on earth he was going to do. What did one do with criminals and impostors? Had ’em arrested, he supposed. But he shrank from the thought of arresting Psmith. It seemed so deuced unfriendly.
He was still meditating gloomily when a voice spoke behind him.
“Good morning. I am looking for Miss Halliday. You have not seen her by any chance? Ah, there she is down there on the terrace.”
Lord Emsworth was aware of Psmith beside him at the window, waving cordially to Eve, who waved back.
“I thought possibly,” continued Psmith, “that Miss Halliday would be in her little room yonder”—he indicated the dummy bookshelves through which he had entered. “But I am glad to see that the morning is so fine that she has given toil the miss-in-baulk. It is the right spirit,” said Psmith. “I like to see it.”
Lord Emsworth peered at him nervously through his glasses. His embarrassment and his distaste for the task that lay before him increased as he scanned his companion in vain for those signs of villainy which all well-regulated criminals and impostors ought to exhibit to the eye of discernment.
“I am surprised to find you indoors,” said Psmith, “on so glorious a morning. I should have supposed that you would have been down there among the shrubs, taking a good sniff at a hollyhock or something.”
Lord Emsworth braced himself for the ordeal.
“Er, my dear fellow . . . that is to say . . .” He paused. Psmith was regarding him almost lovingly through his monocle, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to warm up to the work of denouncing him.
“Yes?” said Psmith.
Lord Emsworth uttered curious buzzing noises.
“I have just parted from Baxter,” he said at length, deciding to approach the subject in more roundabout fashion.
“Indeed?” said Psmith, courteously.
“Yes. Baxter has gone.”
“Splendid! said Psmith. “Splendid, splendid.”
Lord Emsworth removed his glasses, twiddled them on their cord, and replaced them on his nose.
“He made . . . he—er—the fact is, he made . . . Before he went Baxter made a most remarkable statement . . . a charge . . . Well, in short, he made a very strange statement about you.”
Psmith nodded gravely.
“I had been expecting something of the kind,” he said. “He said, no doubt, that I was not really Ralston McTodd?”
His lordship’s mouth opened feebly.
“Er—yes,” he said.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you about that,” said Psmith, amiably. “It is quite true. I am not Ralston McTodd.”
“You—you admit it!”
“I am proud of it.”
Lord Emsworth drew himself up. He endeavoured to assume the attitude of stern censure which came so naturally to him in interviews with his son Frederick. But he met Psmith’s eye and sagged again. Beneath the solemn friendliness of Psmith’s gaze hauteur was impossible.
“Then what the deuce are you doing here under his name?” he asked, placing his finger in statesmanlike fashion on the very heart of the problem. “I mean to say,” he went on, making his meaning clearer, “if you aren’t McTodd, why did you come here saying you were McTodd?”
Psmith nodded, slowly.
“The point is well taken,” he said. “I was expecting you to ask that question. Primarily—I want no thanks, but primarily I did it to save you embarrassment.”
“Save me embarrassment?”
“Precisely. When I came into the smoking-room of our mutual club that afternoon when you had been entertaining Comrade McTodd at lunch, I found him on the point of passing out of your life for ever. It seems that he had taken umbrage to some slight extent because you had buzzed off to chat with the florist across the way instead of remaining with him. And, after we had exchanged a pleasant word or two, he legged it, leaving you short one modern poet.
“On your return I stepped into the breach to save you from the inconvenience of having to return here without a McTodd of any description. No one, of course, could have been more alive than myself to the fact that I was merely a poor substitute, a sort of synthetic McTodd, but still I considered that I was better than nothing, so I came along.”
His lordship digested this explanation in silence. Then he seized on a significant point.
“Are you a member of the Senior Conservative Club?”
“Why, then, dash it,” cried his lordship, paying to that august stronghold of respectability as striking a tribute as it had ever received, “if you’re a member of the Senior Conservative, you can’t be a criminal. Baxter’s an ass.”
“Baxter would have it that you had stolen my sister’s necklace.”
“I can assure you that I have not got Lady Constance’s necklace.”
“Of course not, of course not, my dear fellow. I’m only telling you what that idiot Baxter said. Thank goodness I’ve got rid of the fellow.” A cloud passed over his now sunny face. “Though, confound it, Connie was right about one thing.” He relapsed into a somewhat moody silence.
“Yes?” said Psmith.
“Eh?” said his lordship.
“You were saying that Lady Constance had been right about one thing.”
“Oh, yes. She was saying that I should have a hard time finding another secretary as capable as Baxter.”
Psmith permitted himself to bestow an encouraging pat on his host’s shoulder.
“You have touched on a matter,” he said, “which I had intended to broach to you at some convenient moment when you were at leisure. If you would care to accept my services, they are at your disposal.”
“The fact is,” said Psmith, “I am shortly about to be married, and it is more or less imperative that I connect with some job which will ensure a moderate competence.”
“You want to be my secretary?”
“You have unravelled my meaning exactly.”
“But I’ve never had a married secretary.”
“I think that you would find a steady married man an improvement on these wild, flower-pot-throwing bachelors. If it would help to influence your decision, I may say that my bride-to-be is Miss Halliday, probably the finest library-cataloguist in the United Kingdom.”
“Eh? Miss Halliday? That girl down there?”
“No other,” said Psmith, waving fondly at Eve as she passed underneath the window.
“But I like her,” said Lord Emsworth, as if stating an insuperable objection.
“She’s a nice girl.”
“I quite agree with you.”
“Do you think you could really look after things here like Baxter?”
“I am convinced of it.”
“Then, my dear fellow, well, really, I must say . . . I must say . . . Well, I mean, why shouldn’t you?”
“Precisely,” said Psmith. “You have put in a nutshell the very thing I have been trying to express.”
“But have you had any experience as a secretary?”
“I must admit that I have not. You see, until recently I was more or less one of the idle rich. I toiled not, neither did I—except once, after a bump-supper at Cambridge—spin. My name, perhaps, I ought to reveal to you, is Psmith—the p is silent—and until very recently I lived in affluence not far from the village of Much Middlefold in this county. My name is probably unfamiliar to you, but you may have heard of the house which was for many years the Psmith headquarters—Corfby Hall.”
Lord Emsworth jerked his glasses off his nose.
“Corfby Hall! Are you the son of the Smith who used to own Corfby Hall? Why, bless my soul, I knew your father well.”
“Yes. That is to say, I never met him.”
“But I won the first prize for roses at the Shrewsbury Flower Show the year he won the prize for tulips.”
“It seems to draw us very close together,” said Psmith.
“Why, my dear boy,” cried Lord Emsworth, jubilantly, “if you are really looking for a position of some kind and would care to be my secretary, nothing could suit me better. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Why, bless my soul . . .”
“I am extremely obliged,” said Psmith. “And I shall endeavour to give satisfaction. And surely, if a mere Baxter could hold down the job, it should be well within the scope of a Shropshire Psmith. I think so, I think so. . . . And now, if you will excuse me, I think I will go down and tell the glad news to the Little Woman, if I may so describe her.”
PSMITH made his way down the broad staircase at an even better pace than that recently achieved by the departing Baxter, for he justly considered each moment of this excellent day wasted that was not spent in the company of Eve. He crooned blithely to himself as he passed through the hall, only pausing when, as he passed the door of the smoking-room, the Hon. Freddie Threepwood suddenly emerged.
“Oh, I say,” said Freddie. “Just the fellow I wanted to see. I was going off to look for you.”
As far as Freddie Threepwood was concerned, all that had passed between them in the cottage in the west wood last night was forgiven and forgotten.
“Say on, Comrade Threepwood,” replied Psmith, “and, if I may offer the suggestion, make it snappy, for I would be elsewhere. I have man’s work before me.”
“Come over here.” Freddie drew him into a far corner of the hall and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I say, it’s all right, you know.”
“Excellent!” said Psmith. “Splendid! This is great news. What is all right?”
“I’ve just seen Uncle Joe. He’s going to cough up the money he promised me.”
“I congratulate you.”
“So now I shall be able to get into that bookie’s business and make a pile. And, I say, you remember my telling you about Miss Halliday.”
“What was that?”
“Why, that I loved her, I mean, and all that.”
“Well, look here, between ourselves,” said Freddie, earnestly, “the whole trouble all along has been that she thought I hadn’t any money to get married on. She didn’t actually say so in so many words, but you know how it is with women, you can read between the lines, if you know what I mean. So now everything’s going to be all right. I shall simply go to her and say, ‘Well, what about it?’ and—well, and so on, don’t you know.”
Psmith considered the point gravely.
“I see your reasoning, Comrade Threepwood,” he said. “I can detect but one flaw in it.”
“Flaw? What flaw?”
“The fact that Miss Halliday is going to marry me.”
The Hon. Freddie’s jaw dropped. His prominent eyes became more prawn-like.
Psmith patted his shoulder commiseratingly.
“Be a man, Comrade Threepwood, and bite the bullet. These things will happen to the best of us. Some day you will be thankful that this has occurred. Purged in the holocaust of a mighty love, you will wander out into the sunset, a finer, broader man . . . And now I must reluctantly tear myself away. I have an important appointment.” He patted his shoulder once more. “If you would care to be a page at the wedding, Comrade Threepwood, I can honestly say that there is no one whom I would rather have in that capacity.”
And with a stately gesture of farewell, Psmith passed out on to the terrace to join Eve.
See Part 1 for general notes about this edition.
The serialization of this novel in the Saturday Evening Post in the US had concluded in the issue of March 24, 1923, in substantially the same form as this version. American readers had protested, though, that the ending disappointed them by allowing the professional criminals to profit, and so Wodehouse substantially revised the confrontation in the gamekeeper’s cottage for the book version of the novel, as well as making other modifications throughout the story. The UK book was published by Herbert Jenkins on November 30, 1930, just about the time that the December issue of Grand magazine, containing the concluding episode of the earlier version of the story as transcribed above, was on newsstands in the UK. Even the newspaper serialization in the Birmingham Daily Gazette used the magazine version, though its concluding scenes did not appear until January 1924, more than a month after the revised version was published in book form.
Annotations which apply only to the magazine version of the ending can be found at the end of the closing episode of the Saturday Evening Post serial.
Where this version has Psmith compare himself to Dangerous Dan, all other versions reference Dangerous Dan McGrew, as in the poem by Robert W. Service. Ian Michaud wonders if the Canadian poet’s 1907 book Songs of a Sourdough, which contained “The Shooting of Dan McGrew,” have been at the back of Wodehouse’s mind when he decided to make his Canadian poet the author of Songs of Squalor? Except in their writing style, it’s not that big a leap from The Bard of the Yukon to The Singer of Saskatoon.
Beginning at “Shut your mouth!” we have another series of Americanisms watered down for British readers; compare this scene in the closing episode of the Saturday Evening Post serial, which begins “Shut your trap!”
Printer’s errors and/or editorial interventions corrected above:
Magazine had “Shropshire and adjoining countries”; corrected to “counties.”
Magazine had a period after “the bizarre note” instead of the question mark found in other editions.
Magazine had “Eh? What? Oh! Ah yes.”; comma inserted in “Ah, yes” to match other usages in this and previous episode, as well as here in other editions.
Magazine omitted to hyphenate “smoking-room” in “When I came into the smoking room of our mutual club”; it is hyphenated here in other editions and everywhere else in this edition.
Magazine had “these wild, flower-pot throwing bachelors”; second hyphen inserted after “pot” as in other editions.

domain: literature


text:
Ever felt breathless, sick, heart pounding and racing, dizzy just before an exam or a presentation? That’s adrenalin (I’m not the right sort of doctor to pronounce on medical issues so I’m assuming that you will visit your GP if you are ill – please 🙂 ).
Adrenalin kicks in when we are under stress, be it physical or mental. It prepares the body for fight or flight and can be pretty powerful, particularly when students supplement it with caffeine and sugar! Here’s the thing: adrenalin is designed to power your body to do something. If it is given no outlet, adrenalin can make you feel ill. If this goes on for long enough it can actually contribute to making you ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome / ME or exacerbate other illnesses.
Humans function well under certain kinds of stress – ask any athlete how well they peform when they’re sitting in their comfort zone 🙂 . Stress is not bad per se but if you are getting stressed and adrenalin is coursing through your body it needs an outlet: exercise, effective breathing and dealing with the cause of the stress ie studying as effectively as you can.
Stress in its chronic form will fatigue students and make it harder for them to learn – it can create ‘brain fog’ so everything is more difficult to process. In its acute form it can lead to panic when you feel that your brain is shutting down and refusing to function at all.
So what can you do?
BREATHE. Simply breathing deeply and taking the time to exhale as far as you can really does help. 5 minutes will make an enormous difference but in fact even taking 3 deep breaths (and exhaling!) will help more than you expect it to. Simple exercise: breathe in for a count of 3, hold your breath for 3, exhale for 3. Repeat but for a count of 4, then 5. The brain needs oxygen 🙂 .
SLEEP! Eat as well as you can, drink lots of water, make time to get out in the fresh air and take some exercise – 10 minute walks to break up study sessions can have a really helpful effect. Walking breaks are a great time to enjoy listening to your favourite energising music – said music while you’re trying to read really isn’t likely to be a good idea 🙂 .
There will be a time when you will need to hide under the duvet but there will also be a time when you will have to force yourself out of the door.
Fresh air and exercise are powerful helpers in the battle against anxiety and depression.
There will be days when just going outside will be a major achievement but it’s worth it. Forcing yourself to be part of the world even as an onlooker is a good reminder that we’re all part of the same human race. You may feel desperately alone but 1 in 4 suffers from anxiety or depression. The wounds don’t show but they are there.

domain: psychology


Beachgoers in red, white and blue bathing suits dragging coolers and umbrellas packed beaches along State Road A1A in Broward and Palm Beach counties Thursday to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday.
But as many families enjoyed a day in the sun, what may have been a tragedy was unfolding on Fort Lauderdale beach.
An elderly couple were caught in turbulent seas off the 4200 block of Galt Ocean Drive about 1:30 p.m., according to city spokesman Matt Little.
Two good Samaritans, who may live in the same beachfront condo building as the couple, helped pull the husband and wife from the water, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Division Chief Robert Bacic said.
Both were taken to Holy Cross Hospital; the 80-year-old woman was responsive, but the 83-year-old man was not, officials said.
Police and fire-rescue officials could not confirm their identities or conditions late Thursday.
Miguel Fernandez, who was on vacation from Mexico, was on that stretch of beach when he heard screaming and saw two men pulling the couple out of the rough ocean. He didn't have a cellphone, so he ran toward the Plaza East condo building to get help, he said.
"Someone from these apartments called 911," he said, "Very sad."
Fernandez said the woman appeared to be alert and sat up on the sand before paramedics took her away with the man, who appeared to be in far worse condition.
The National Weather Service had issued a high rip current risk for Broward and Palm Beach counties Thursday. Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue said the water was extremely rough and that the 10- to 15-mph winds led to perfect rip current conditions.
In Palm Beach County, a man nearly drowned at Ocean Reef Park in Riviera Beach and was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center late Thursday with injuries that were considered life-threatening, city spokeswoman Rose Anne Brown said.
To mark America's birthday, Fort Lauderdale hosted a free all-day celebration near Las Olas Boulevard that attracted thousands of people to the beach for music, bounce houses, face painting and contests. The party started at 12:30 p.m.
Similar festivities were held on the sand throughout South Florida. Delray Beach's celebration began at 8 a.m. with a sand sculpting contest and continued throughout the day with a 60-foot flag raise, live bands and fireworks.
Revelers celebrated under blue skies and sun but were warned by lifeguards to be cautious of the rough seas and rip currents.
Alexis Sullivan, who came to Fort Lauderdale beach with her husband and three young daughters, said she wouldn't let her children out of her eyesight because of the rough surf and crowds of people.
"[The girls] kept bothering me to bring them down here," she said. They got to the beach at 9 a.m. to beat the traffic — a smart move since cars were backed up on East Las Olas Boulevard all afternoon.
Fort Lauderdale Police said the parking garages were full just before 1 p.m. Police were urging residents to ride bicycles or use the water taxi shuttle service to access the beach.
"Parking was terrible," said Gabrielle Pierre, who came to the beach with a friend. "It took us an hour and a half to get here from Pembroke Pines."
But parking headaches didn't prevent Fort Lauderdale resident Giselyann Marcano from honoring the holiday.
Marcano, who served in the Army and returned from Iraq in 2006, said the Fourth is a special day for her and all veterans.
"It makes me think of my friends who are still out there and of those that didn't make it back," she said. "I try to stay positive about it."
email@example.com or 954-356-4188


text:
Hannah’s been doing the camp program at her school, but it’s only Monday to Thursday mornings. So Fridays have been our field trip days. My mom was watching my niece Grace one Friday last month, and the four of us took a drive out to Grounds for Sculpture.
Last week was an absolute BEAR. I came home Monday from work and got sick, and I stayed sick through Friday night. In between bouts of thinking I was better before getting sick again, we had a blizzard. And Hannah and I played in the snow. AND, for the umpteenth time this winter, we snow painted. Which was so incredibly good for my soul.
My fabulous and amazing mentor Dee sent this out today, and I love it. Zazzle is now selling prints, tees, bumper stickers with this Burning Through Pages graphic (in addition to some other equally outstanding book nerd goodies). I support everything about this.
My mom, Hannah, and I went back to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday. I was off for Rosh Hashanah, and the museum was closed. So Meredith took us around for another couple of hours to see some more things and get some fun photos of Hannah.
They were tending to a lot of things when we there, so we still didn’t make it to William the hippo. And the Arms and Armor room, always one of my favorites, was also tricky to get to. But we saw lots of sculpture, European paintings, and I made lots of docents and guards nervous when I spread Hannah out on the floor to take some photos. I mean, how many kids get pictures of themselves in the empty Met? I’m pretty sure I was horribly embarrassing, and my mother told me my mission for the day was clear–Hannah photos. I swear we looked at art, and that’s why we went, but I’m also all about preserving cool memories. So here are my favorite photos from the whole day. The Hannah photos are towards the bottom, I really did appreciate the art.
Hannah, my mom, and I packed into the car and headed into Manhattan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art today. It’s the first Meredith Monday of summer 2012, and I plan on taking complete advantage of Mere’s access this year, mwah ha ha. There are rumors that the Met will start opening 7 days a week later this year, and if that’s the case this will be the last summer that we can take over the museum together when it’s closed. So Hannah and I will definitely be going again (and I think my mom is on board for another round, too).
This is second only to watching the Thanksgiving parade balloons blown up as my favorite New York City thing to do. I even took my fancy camera and borrowed Adam’s favorite lens. I’ve been to the Met when it’s closed a few times now, once or twice in grad school when I took a class there and then a couple of times with Meredith. And she is by far my favorite buddy for this kind of stuff. An empty museum, time with a great friend, and lots of art. It’s like being in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler but without the hiding and pesky brother.
We took it easy today since it was Hannah’s first visit, and I think we got it down to a science. At the museum by 12 & out of the museum by 2, we avoided traffic on each end and basically avoided an overtired baby. And we didn’t keep Meredith away from her office TOO much. We went through the Costume Institute’s Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations. Baz Luhrmann directed several vignettes starring Miuccia Prada (as herself) and Judy Davis as Elsa Schiaparelli, just talking to each other about fashion. I loved the juxtaposition of their philosophies and Schiaparelli’s clear influence on Prada’s clothes. Very cool, and of course my mom commented several times, “I bet I could make a knockoff of that!” No photos allowed there, but Hannah loved the clothes. Or she loved getting out of the stroller while Meredith carried her, not sure which. Either way, this exhibit was incredible.
It’s February 1st, a month and a day from the start of my maternity leave. And things at school have kicked into high gear since New Year’s while I wind down my school year and try to fit everything in with the kids before I go. I’ll be back for 2 weeks in June, but really this is my end-of-year in a lot of ways.
Last month my mom and I went to the opening of Brian Selznick’s “Wonderstruck in the Panorama” at the Queens Museum of Art. It was an incredible exhibit with a great talk from Mr. Selznick about the time spent studying and capturing the Panorama, a huge presence in Wonderstruck. And I was thrilled to go, I’ve sponsored buildings on that Panorama through the museum.
On Monday Meredith and I went to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met. They’re opening on Mondays just for this exhibit, and you can pay more for a ticket but avoid the now infamously long lines. So worth it, the exhibit is incredible. They don’t allow photos at the exhibit, but check out the link to the exhibit’s blog: there are some excellent photos and videos of the exhibit highlights. Two of my favorite pieces are shown in the “Romantic Gothic and Cabinet of Curiosities” post, the wooden boots (with the leather top) and the spray painted white frock. I loved the stories behind those, the audio guide is a must.
Yesterday my mom and I went to this show at the Park Avenue Armory, and it was one of the coolest installations I’ve ever seen. Joanna S. Rose has loaned her 651 red and white quilts for a free week-long exhibition in conjunction with the American Folk Art Museum. Thinc Design did the installation, and they’ve managed to make an exquisitely modern experience out of a traditional American craft. Modern quilting at its coolest and most accessible. Incredible.

domain: artistic


text:
A new kind of company, the software-driven enterprise, is redefining business strategy and performance. Across industries and around the world, these companies are “Digital Disruptors” in the accelerating application economy, where code is king and competitive differentiation depends on customer-pleasing apps and advanced development methods. What practices have they adopted that make them leaders enjoying higher revenue growth, more profitability and a more valuable brand? CA CTO Otto Berkes and Tony Lock, Distinguished Analyst of industry analyst company Freeform Dynamics discuss five key steps to be followed such as reassessing the current basis of competitive differentiation, and an evolution of the software delivery model.
For more information, please visit http://cainc.to/Nv2VOe

domain: news


text:
Is Prostate Cancer Curable
Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer among men, second only to skin cancer. Learning that one has any type of cancer isnt easy, but the first question on most patients minds after diagnosis is, is prostate cancer curable?
The short answer is yes, prostate cancer can be cured, when detected and treated early. The vast majority of prostate cancer cases are discovered in the early stages, making the tumors more likely to respond to treatment. Treatment doesnt always have to mean surgery or chemotherapy, either. Non-invasive radiation therapy can effectively treat prostate cancer in the case of Pasadena CyberKnife, radiosurgery treatment generally takes less than a week, and you can typically resume your normal activities the same day you receive treatment.
Read Also: Rf Therapy For Enlarged Prostate
Hormone Therapy For Prostate Cancer
Over the last few years, several new approaches to hormone therapy for advanced or metastatic prostate cancer have been approved for clinical use.
Many prostate cancers that originally respond to treatment with standard hormone therapy become resistant over time, resulting in castrate-resistant prostate cancer . Three new drugs have been shown to extend survival in men with CRPC. All three block the action of hormones that drive CRPC:
The survival benefit for these drugs has been seen regardless of whether men have previously received chemotherapy.
In addition, both enzalutamide and the drug apalutamide have all been shown to in men with CRPC that has not yet spread to other parts of the body. Darolutamide has been shown to increase the amount of time men live without their cancer metastasizing.
Abiraterone, apalutamide, and enzalutamide have been shown to improve the survival of men with metastatic castrate-sensitive prostate cancer when added to standard hormone therapy.
Scientists are continuing to study novel treatments and drugs, along with new combinations of existing treatments, in men with metastatic CRPC.
Watchful Waiting And Active Surveillance
Watchful waiting is an adequate approach in patients who are at low risk of death from prostate cancer because of their limited life expectancy due to severe comorbidities.26,27 Watchful waiting resulted in similar overall survival when compared with radical prostatectomy, but disease-specific survival was better in patients who had undergone surgery.26 For some patients it turns out to be hard to persist on a watchful waiting policy, and many men drop out and seek active treatment within several years, mostly when PSA elevation is noted.
Active surveillance is a novel and fascinating approach to distinguish between patients who are at higher risk and need active therapy and patients who are at low risk for disease progression.27,28 This approach avoids the risks of therapy while allowing early detection of those patients who are prone to progress. In these high-risk individuals, delayed active treatment is offered. Periodic monitoring of the PSA serum level, digital rectal exam, and repeated prostate biopsies are performed in patients who are on active surveillance, and active therapy is started when predefined threshold values are reached. This concept makes it possible to offer curative treatment to individuals who are at high risk for disease progression as indicated by active surveillance parameters.
Also Check: Brca Gene Prostate Cancer Treatment
My Tips For Men Family And Friends
- Ask how long someone has left to live if you want to know. The doctor may not always be able to give you an answer. And if they can give you an answer, it wont be exact. And it might not be the answer you want. But if youre ok with that, then you should ask.
- Try to explain why you want to know to the doctor or nurse. It might be that you want to be able to plan care at home, plan a trip, get time off work, or organise some quality time with your family. They might be able to help you work out those things, even if they cant give you exact timings.
Also Check: Laser Ablation For Prostate Cancer
Supporting Someone With Advanced Prostate Cancer
If someone close to you has advanced prostate cancer you might be able to offer them a great deal of support. But looking after someone with advanced prostate cancer can be difficult. Its important to look after yourself and get support if you need it.
- Talk to someone. Sharing your worries and fears can make you feel less alone. You could talk to a family member or a close friend, or someone trained to listen, like your GP or a counsellor.
- Connect with other carers. You might find it helpful to talk to other people in similar situations. You can search for local carers groups on the Carers UK website.
- Take time for yourself. Take time to relax and rest so that you dont get too tired and can cope in the long run.
- Accept help from friends and family. Dont feel that you have to cope with everything on your own. Try to accept help from other people.
- Look after your health. If you feel unwell, tired or low, talk to your GP.
- Ask for help. Practical, financial and emotional support is available from social services and charities. Talk to your GP about what support is available in your area, or speak to our Specialist Nurses.
Macmillan Cancer Support have more information about caring for someone with advanced cancer. You can also read our booklet, When youre close to someone with prostate cancer: A guide for partners and family.
Also Check: Mri Of The Prostate A Practical Approach
Adverse Effects Of Pca Therapies
For those undergoing minimally invasive procedures port site hernia has been reported in 0.66% after inserting 12 mm bladeless trocar and can occur more rarely with 8 mm and 5 mm trocars . A key consideration is whether long-term consequences of surgery are reduced by using newer techniques such as RALP. Systematic reviews have documented complication rates after RALP , and can be compared with contemporaneous reports after RRP . From these reports, the mean continence rates at 12 months were 89100% for patients treated with RALP and 8097% for patients treated with RRP. A prospective controlled non-randomised trial of patients undergoing RP in 14 centres using RALP or RRP demonstrated that at 12 months after RALP, 21.3% were incontinent, as were 20.2% after RRP. The unadjusted OR was 1.08 . Erectile dysfunction was observed in 70.4% after RALP and 74.7% after RRP. The unadjusted OR was 0.81 . Further follow-up demonstrates similar functional outcomes with both techniques at 24 months . A single-centre randomised phase III study comparing RALP and RRP also demonstrates similar functional outcomes with both techniques at24 months . Prostatectomy was found to increase the risk of complaints from an inguinal hernia, in particular after an open procedure when compared to minimal invasive approaches .
220.127.116.11. Side-effects of external beam radiotherapy
18.104.22.168. Side effects from brachytherapy
8.2.4. Hormonal therapy
Most Patients Did Not Progress
With active surveillance, the patients had physical exams and PSA tests every six months, with biopsies recommended every one to two years.
Over an average of two and a half years of follow-up, 43 of the study participants showed evidence of cancer progression and received treatment.
In two patients, cancer spread beyond their prostate.
The study is published in the April issue of the Journal of Urology.
The findings support the idea that some men with prostate cancer may not need treatment, American Cancer Society Deputy Chief Medical Officer Len Lichtenfeld, MD, tells WebMD.
He says the addition of a second biopsy should help refine the search for men who are appropriate candidates for active surveillance, but he also agrees that the strategy of watchful waiting is not without its risks.
ÃÂ¢The real advance will be when we have tests that will tell us with a high degree of accuracy when treatment is needed and when it is not,ÃÂ¢ he says.
A great deal of research is being done to identify genetic tests or tumor markers that can do this, but Lichtenfeld says it will be years before these tests are validated.
Donât Miss: Can Prostate Cancer Spread To The Liver
You May Like: Prostate Biopsy After Age 70
How Prostate Cancer Is Treated
In cancer care, different types of doctorsincluding medical oncologists, surgeons, and radiation oncologistsoften work together to create an overall treatment plan that may combine different types of treatments to treat the cancer. This is called a multidisciplinary team. Cancer care teams include a variety of other health care professionals, such as palliative care experts, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, oncology nurses, social workers, pharmacists, counselors, dietitians, physical therapists, and others.
The common types of treatments used for prostate cancer are described below. Your care plan may also include treatment for symptoms and side effects, an important part of cancer care.
Treatment options and recommendations depend on several factors, including the type and stage of cancer, possible side effects, and the patients preferences and overall health.
Cancer treatment can affect older adults in different ways. More information on the specific effects of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy on older patients can be found another section of this website.
Because most prostate cancers are found in the early stages when they are growing slowly, you usually do not have to rush to make treatment decisions. During this time, it is important to talk with your doctor about the risks and benefits of all your treatment options and when treatment should begin. This discussion should also address the current state of the cancer:
Impact On Everyday Activities
If you have no symptoms, prostate cancer should have little or no effect on your everyday activities. You should be able to work, care for your family, carry on your usual social and leisure activities, and look after yourself.
If your prostate cancer progresses, you may not feel well enough to do all the things you used to. After an operation or other treatment, such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy, you’ll probably feel tired and need time to recover.
If you have advanced prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of your body, you may have symptoms that slow you down and make it difficult to do things. You may have to reduce your working hours or stop working altogether.
Whatever stage your prostate cancer has reached, try to give yourself time to do the things you enjoy and spend time with those who care about you.
Don’t Miss: At What Age Should A Man Get Prostate Exams
Look For Additional Resources And Support
Social support is essential to beat cancer, but sometimes your family and friends do not understand what youre going through.
Webpages such as Cancer Care or Cancer Survivors Unite offer programs, online education, and many resources for cancer patients like you.
You can also find support groups online to talk about your experience with cancer and share opinions and feelings with like-minded people.
Anatomy And Metastasis Of Prostate Cancer
The pudendal nerve innervates the few striated muscles within the prostatic capsule. The parasympathetic nerves emanate from S2 to S4 and form the pelvic nerve. The sympathetic preganglionic nerves, which reside in the thoracolumbar region between T6 and L2, provide the major neural input to the prostate and reach the pelvis through the hypogastric nerve .
Prostate cancer has been shown to metastasize by following the venous drainage system through the lower paravertebral plexus, or Batsons plexus.4,9 Although hematogenous spread of other malignancies is most commonly to the lungs and liver, 90 percent of prostatic metastases involve the spine, with the lumbar spine affected three times more often than the cervical spine. Prostate cancer also spreads to the lungs in about 50 percent of patients with metastatic disease, and to the liver in about 25 percent of those with metastases.4
Epidural metastases are the result of contiguous spread from lesions of the calvaria to the meninges. Because of the protective layer of the dura mater, subdural and intra-parenchymal metastases from prostate cancer are rare .
You May Like: Rock Stars With Prostate Cancer
Read Also: How Do They Remove The Prostate
Should I Make Any Lifestyle Changes Including In My Diet Or Physical Activity
Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight by eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and staying physically active, can help your overall health. These lifestyle changes can also have a positive effect for men with bone metastases, Tagawa says. Both diet and exercise, he says, are things that are under a mans direct control.
A healthy lifestyle can help you better manage side effects from treatment as well. Try setting small but realistic goals for yourself when it comes to eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise.
While no single food is likely to have a benefit for prostate cancer, smart food choices may help you feel better day to day. Start by cutting out foods high in sugar, saturated fat, and added flavorings and preservatives.
If youre not sure which healthy foods to choose, ask your doctor for a referral to a dietitian. This specialist can help you develop a meal plan that includes foods that offer the best chance of slowing the cancers growth and keeping you as healthy as possible.
As an oncologist, Tagawa says he concentrates on treating the cancer itself, but hes aware that many of the men he sees with advanced prostate cancer are older and more likely than younger men to have health problems that can benefit from diet and exercise.
And if youre on hormone therapy, talk to your doctor about investing in some weights or elastic resistance bands to support your bone strength too.
Stages Of Prostate Cancer
In order to determine the stage of a patients prostate cancer, most doctors start by using the TNM staging system, which helps describe different aspects of the cancers growth.
- T the T category measures the size and extent of the Tumor
- N the N category measures whether and how far the cancer has spread to the Lymph Nodes
- M the M category whether the cancer has spread to other organs in the body (a process called Metastasis
The score for each of these categories is determined based on a pre-determined set of criteria. Your doctor cannot feel or see the tumor with a score of T1. A score of T3 means that the tumor has begun to grow outside of the prostate.
After calculating the TNM categories, doctors will combine the TNM score with the patients Gleason score and PSA levels assigning of a specific stage to the patients cancer.
Prostate cancer prognosis and survival rates can help give patients an idea of their chances of surviving the disease based on the stage and time of diagnosis. While some patients may find this information helpful, others may not want to know.
Death From Other Causes
The mean age at metastatic prostate cancer diagnosis in the study was roughly 71 years. Most of the cohort was White and had a diagnosis of stage M1b metastatic prostate cancer , which means the cancer had spread to the bones.
Among men in the cohort, the rates of death from septicemia, suicide, accidents, COPD, and cerebrovascular diseases were significantly increased compared with the general US male population, the team observes.
Thus, the study authors were concerned with not only with death from metastatic prostate cancer, but death from other causes.
That concern is rooted in the established fact that there is now improved survival among patients with prostate cancer in the US, including among men with advanced disease. âPatients tend to live long enough after a prostate cancer diagnosis for noncancer-related comorbidities to be associated with their overall survival,â they write.
The editorialists agree: prostate cancer âhas a high long-term survival rate compared with almost all other cancer types and signals the need for greater holistic care for patients.â
As noted above, cardiovascular diseases were the most common cause of non-prostate cancer-related deaths in the new study.
As in the management of other cancers, there is concern among clinicians and researchers about the cardiotoxic effects of prostate cancer treatments.
The study had no specific funding. The study authors and editorialists have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Understanding Prostate Cancers Progression
To determine the appropriate treatment, doctors need to know how far the cancer has progressed, or its stage. A pathologist, the doctor trained in analyzing cells taken during a prostate biopsy, will provide two starting pointsthe cancers grade and Gleason score.
- Cancer grade: When the pathologist looks at prostate cancer cells, the most common type of cells will get a grade of 3 to 5. The area of cancer cells in the prostate will also be graded. The higher the grade, the more abnormal the cells.
- Gleason score: The two grades will be added together to get a Gleason score. This score tells doctors how likely the cancer is to grow and spread.
After a biopsy confirms prostate cancer, the patient may undergo additional tests to see whether it has spread through the blood or lymph nodes to other parts of the body. These tests are usually imaging studies and may include a bone scan, positron emission tomography scan or computed tomography scan.
Recommended Reading: Is Cinnamon Good For Prostate Cancer
How Prostate Cancer Spreads
Cancer cells sometimes break away from the original tumor and go to a blood or lymph vessel. Once there, they move through your body. The cells stop in capillaries tiny blood vessels at some distant location.
The cells then break through the wall of the blood vessel and attach to whatever tissue they find. They multiply and grow new blood vessels to bring nutrients to the new tumor. Prostate cancer prefers to grow in specific areas, such as lymph nodes or in the ribs, pelvic bones, and spine.
Most break-away cancer cells form new tumors. Many others dont survive in the bloodstream. Some die at the site of the new tissue. Others may lie inactive for years or never become active.

domain: biology


text:
Pretending to Be Erica by Michelle Painchaud
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
ARC received for honest review.
This is one of those that is so hard for me to review. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as gripping as one might hope. Con artistry seems to be a hot little niche topic in YA lately, and this book cashes in on that. To its credit, it kept me reading to the end. I could never predict the ending well enough that I wanted to stop reading, even when I had a guess as to how it would all play out. That guess also kept changing. It is a mystery that you want to solve.
That said, despite the suspense, it wasn't what I'd call fast paced or exciting. It took me several months to finish. The characters were all a bit blah. I wasn't terribly invested in Erika/Violet, but more curious to see if I was right in my predictions. I would have liked more depth, more sympathetic characters who I love and remember and root for.
I think this author has great potential. In a few years, with a few more books under her belt and some more experience, maybe those issues will disappear. As it was, some of the writing (the overly dramatic chapter endings, awkward phrasing, etc) seemed a bit amateur, and the pacing was slow for the genre.
Overall, an interesting read from a promising debut author. Mild content, recommend for ages 14+.
View all my reviews

domain: library


Hundreds are expected to descend on Reading town centre on Saturday for Thames Valley's annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender celebration.
Reading Pride will start at 11.30am outside Reading Civic Centre where a parade will then proceed through the town.
The celebrations will then continue at King's Meadow Park where entertainment will include live music, a funfair and market stalls.
Visit readingpride.co.uk for details.
Top Ten Articles
An extra £20,000 looks set to be allocated by the Royal Borough to fund a legal fight if Heathrow Airport is given permission to expand.


text: There’s something very grown up about the taste of slightly burnt sugar. I’ve recently grown to love making caramel – not loving it, but enjoying it a lot. Loving food is a malapropism, although loving WITH food is a definite possibility. Could this be the “passion” that is so often the keyword in articles written about food? I’ve never been a fan of custard per se, but set egg custards seem to transcend the nursery food association of pouring custard. I have one good memory of pouring custard which involved a pale, yet intensely vanilla flavoured, creme anglaise and a bitter orange jelly, but that’s it. But caramel, or blowtorch burnt sugar, in conjunction with set egg custard is failsafe. The smell coming from the kitchen when the sugar and water have magically turned into a golden brown mirror is as good as a dinner gong. The proof of the pudding is that those such as creme caramel and creme brulee need no adornment, and that is a very good benchmark.

domain: food


text:
Spacex founder Elon Musk celebrates after the profitable launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft on the Kennedy Space Center on May 30, 2020 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Check out the businesses making headlines in noon buying and selling.
Tesla — Shares of the electrical carmaker jumped more than 9% after the electric carmaker announced late Tuesday a five-for-one stock split in a transfer to make its shares more accessible. However, nothing concerning the safety essentially modifications. The further shares shall be granted on August 28 to all those that maintain the inventory as of August 21.
American Eagle Outfitters – Shares of the retailer jumped more than 3% after JPMorgan upgraded the company to an chubby ranking. “We see the AEO story at a positive multi-year inflection point with Aerie’s double digit top/bottom-line profile,” the agency mentioned, noting “multi-year casual/athletic tailwinds for Aerie.”
Roku – Shares of the streaming service supplier rose more than 2% after Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on the inventory with a purchase ranking. “Roku is the market leader in the connected TV (CTV) market … and is seeing strong growth opportunities as more consumers and advertisers spend time and money on streaming content,” the agency mentioned. Deutsche Bank’s $185 goal is about 23% above the place the inventory at the moment trades.
Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival — Cruise line operators dipped on Wednesday as traders moved out of reopening performs. Norwegian Cruise Line fell 3.9%. Royal Caribbean and Carnival dropped 4.8% and 4.5%, respectively.
Brinker International – Shares of Brinker International soared more than 8% after the mum or dad of the Chili’s reported better-than-expected quarterly outcomes. Brinker reported an adjusted quarterly lack of 88 cents per share, smaller than the lack of $1.37 that Wall Street analysts had predicted, in accordance with Refinitiv. The firm additionally projected a smaller loss for the present quarter.
Moderna – Shares of Moderna gained about 1% after President Donald Trump introduced the U.S. government will purchase 100 million doses of the biotech’s experimental coronavirus vaccine, which is at the moment in late-stage human trials. The deal will give the federal authorities the choice to buy as much as 400 million further doses.
Liberty Global – Shares of Liberty Global gained practically 2% after the telecommunications firm introduced it’s taking up Sunrise Communications in a deal valuing the Swiss telecoms group at $7.40 billion.
Target — The retail inventory rose 1.4% after JPMorgan added it to its analyst focus list. The agency mentioned in a word that Target’s rising market share has earned it a premium in valuation. The firm stories its newest quarterly outcomes subsequent week.
— CNBC’s Maggie Fitzgerald, Pippa Stevens and Jesse Pound contributed reporting.
Subscribe to CNBC PRO for unique insights and evaluation, and stay enterprise day programming from all over the world.


text:
Ian Payne 4am - 7am
Jeremy Corbyn Promises To Take Centre Ground In New Year Message
31 December 2017, 10:20 | Updated: 31 December 2017, 12:38
Jeremy Corbyn is promising to help British people "fufil their hopes" in 2018.
In his New Year message, the Labour leader says the prospect of a "new Britain" is "closer than ever before."
However, he doesn't once mention the biggest challenge facing the country next year - Brexit.
It echoes Ed Miliband's Labour Party Conference speech in 2014, where he forgot to mention the economy or the deficit, the key issue of the time.
Jeremy Corbyn's New Year Message In Full
"I'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year.
"Ours is a fantastic country full of wonderful, caring and talented people with the hope of a great future ahead of us, where we all share in the wealth we create.
"But we are being held back by a self-serving elite, who look after themselves and their friends and a failed system which delivers staggering wealth at the top, while more and more people struggle to simply make ends meet.
"In 2017 we said: no more. There is an alternative and millions joined our cause in the general election.
"And now the establishment's secret is out: they're not as strong as they appear. Let's face it, they have no idea how to fix their broken system or upgrade our stagnant economy.
"In 2018, Labour's mission is to give our people support and security and use their talents, unleash their creativity and fulfil their hopes.
"The old political consensus is finished. We are staking out the new centre ground in British politics, backing the things which most people want but are blocked by vested interests.
"We are a government in waiting, while the Conservatives are weak and divided and stuck in an outdated rut with no new ideas.
"The hope of a new Britain, run in the interests of the many, not the few, is closer than ever before.
"Together we can, and we will, deliver it."


text:
7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Search for journal articles in PubMed@USC
MeSH | Already have an article citation?
Search the USC Health Sciences Libraries catalog for print & electronic books, journals & databases
USC Libraries Catalog | Other Catalogs
Search for recommended resources on different topics.
Search for information on the Norris Library website
May Hyman Lesser 1927-2001 Over the past three decades, May Lesser immersed herself in the field of medicine and created an incredible body of artwork chronicling the study and practice.
No scheduled events.
As of October 3rd, 2018 the Norris Medical Library will move to a new Group Study Room Booking System.


Provides a matrix of assessment tools, purpose, subjects, type of student tested, timelines, etc.
Controls for bias, culture, etc.
Specifies the roles and responsibilities of the board, central office staff, and school-based staff.
Directs the relationship between district and state assessments.
Specifies overall assessment procedures to determine curriculum effectiveness and specifications for analysis.
Directs the feedback process; assures proper use of data.
Specifies how assessment tools will be placed in curriculum guides.
Specifies equity issues and data sources.
Identifies the parameters of a program assessment.
Provides ongoing training plan for various audiences on assessment.
Presents procedures for monitoring assessment design and use.
Establishes a communication plan for the process of student and program assessment.
Provides ongoing evaluation of the assessment plan.
Specifies facility and housing requirements.
Describes budget ramifications, connections to resource allocations.
X X X X X X X
X X X X
Policies provided only vague allusions to a philosophical framework for student and program assessment. AR 4001-R4 refers to the purpose for standardized testing as being evaluation of
student achievement” and assessment of “strengths and weaknesses of school and district However, these statements are insufficient in scope to provide a philosophical
underpinning to guide student and program assessment district-wide. auditors find policy or regulation guidelines to control for bias, cultural in assessment (characteristics numbered 1, 2, 7, and 13).
Policies or regulations reviewed give inadequate direction for the student and program assessment
Additionally, they do not provide appropriate and clear directives for ongoing
assessment to establish the goals levels of the system (organization,
of student and program assessment, which must take program, and student) (characteristics numbered 2 and
needs at all
None of these policies provided for sufficient feedback to determine effectiveness of all district functions (see Finding 1.1). No policy was found that specified overall assessment procedures with regard to determining curriculum effectiveness (characteristics numbered 4 and 10).
AR 4001-R4 refers to “standardized norm-referenced achievement tests and “criterion-referenced tests” and their purposes. AR 4001-R3 refers to the use of “formal tests” to evaluate mastery of mathematics, reading, and language arts standards in grades K-9 and use of “appropriate assessment tasks compatible with normal instructional activities” for grades 10-12 (characteristic number 14).
AR 4001-R4 specifies that standardized and criterion-referenced assessments will be used to evaluate district programs. AR 4008-R references the need for assessment in evaluating pilot programs for adoption or termination. BP 5256 provides vague reference to the use of assessment in determining “programs and services which shall be reduced, modified or eliminated” (characteristics numbered 4, 5, and 11).
BP 4001 states that students will be “assessed on a regular basis,” and AR 4001-R3 gives vague direction about the manner in which various curricular areas to be assessed. These references do not reflect the current grade level configurations of the district (K-5 elementary, 6-8 middle school, 9-12 high school); nor do they reflect the current scope of the curriculum (see Finding 2.1). No comprehensive matrix of assessment tools, purpose, subjects, type of student tested, timelines, etc. was provided. Additionally, nowhere were the roles and responsibilities of the Board, central office, and school-based staff thoroughly defined (characteristics numbered 6 and 8).
Clover Park School District Audit Report Page 93


text:
A collection of news and information related to Burton Leland published by this site and its partners.
Displaying items 1-12 of 19 » View OrlandoSentinel.com items only1 2 Next >
San Jose Mercury NewsQ The Texas study that recently concluded that texting hands-free is as dangerous as texting on a handheld cellphone is no surprise to me. Texting is texting and dangerous as hell. What were state officials thinking when they approved this loophole last...
PolitiCalSenator wants to limit university executive raises...
FOX40 NewsThe debate over gun control is intensifying over gun control in the wake of Friday's shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. What may be different this time is whether or not lawmakers at all levels decide to act to curtail what's possible. "It&...
KTLA NewsSACRAMENTO (KTLA) -- A state senator is looking to amend legislation that could close a loophole in the nation's toughest assault weapons law. The law, passed earlier this year, banned gun manufacturers from selling weapons with detachable magazines....
Fox 5 San Diego StaffSAN DIEGO - A proposed California bill expanding a 10-year ban on semi-automatic firearms with interchangeable magazines is gaining momentum following mass shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin. The State Attorney General Kamala D. Harrisand State Senate...
Opinion L.A.First question: how do you feel about lobbyists? [You can think expletives but not write them.] Now, second question. How about doubling the fees California lobbyists have to pay to register as lobbyists? [Okay, okay, not so loud.] So, all......
KTLA NewsSACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The state legislature has approved a bill making it mandatory for anyone under the age of 18 to wear a helmet on the ski slopes. Under SB 105 sponsored by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco,) minors would be required to wear...
Tags: KTLA, Elections, Government, Local Government, Jerry Brown
The faxes appeared after Senator Leland Yee called out talk show host Rush Limbaugh for making fun of Chinese language and culture on live radio. Yee spokesman Adam Keigwin says instead, Limbaugh compared himself to a 1960's comedian. "People used to...
FOX40 NewsThe California State University Foundation has released its contract with former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin that shows the speaker's request as well as compensation for a fundraiser dinner conducted in June. According to the contract released...
FOX40 NewsThere’s a Senate Bill making its way through the State Capitol that, basically, gives a second chance, to any 16 to 18-year-old who is thrown in prison for life without the possibility of parole. It is Senate Bill 9, authored by Senator Leland...
Tags: San Francisco, Judges, Justice System, Crimes, Prisons
FOX40 NewsCSU Stanislaus is turning 50 and it's foundation wants to throw a party. The guest of honor? Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. Once again, the former governor is courting controversy. State Senator Leland Yee wants to know how much she is getting paid...
FOX40 NewsStudents at CSU-Stanislaus found documents related to Sarah Palin's trip to the university shredded in a dumpster. State Senator Leeland Yee had been asking for officials to release the documents, but leaders with the CSU Stanislaus foundation have...
Apr 30, 2013 |Story| McClatchy-Tribune
Dec 5, 2012 | Los Angeles Times
Jul 23, 2012 |Story| KTXL-LTV
Aug 5, 2012 |Story| KTLA-LTV
Aug 8, 2012 |Story| KSWB-LTV
Dec 28, 2011 | Los Angeles Times
Aug 15, 2011 |Story| KTLA-LTV
Jan 26, 2011 |Story| KTXL-LTV
Aug 26, 2010 |Story| KTXL-LTV
May 23, 2011 |Story| KTXL-LTV
Mar 30, 2010 |Story| KTXL-LTV
Apr 13, 2010 |Story| KTXL-LTV
Original site for Burton Leland topic gallery.

domain: law


HYDERABAD: Former MLA Eravatri Anil Kumar on Friday filed a petition in the Telangana High Court challenging the legality and validity of Section 90 (1) of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955, which allows ex-officio members in the civic body’s jurisdiction to participate in the elections to the office of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
In his petition, Anil Kumar submitted that there are 150 divisions in the GHMC and 55 ex-officio members (MPs, MLAs and MLCs), who can participate in the Mayoral elections to be held in February. In respect of Parliament, Assembly and local bodies, the representatives (MPs, MLAs and corporators) elected by the people, in turn, pick their leader to be Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Mayor of a corporation and Chairman of a municipality.
But in the GHMC, the MPs, MLAs and MLCs, who fall within the jurisdiction of the civic body, have been included as voters. This defeats the will of the people, he stated. Even nominated MLAs and MLCs can opt for and participate in the Mayoral elections. Importing 55 ex-officio members as voters is an exercise to defeat the will of the people. In fact, it defeats the very objective of people’s representation through the GHMC.
The 55 voters will substantially alter the result of the Mayoral elections. In no other elected bodies such voting is allowed, he noted.Chief Secretary, MAUD Principal Secretary, Secretary to law, Secretary to the TSEC and the GHMC Commissioner have been named as respondents in the case. The matter is likely to come up for hearing next week.


The Barton Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP) is a proposed 20MW biomass-fired Combined Heat and Power plant on land owned by Peel Group adjacent to the Manchester Ship Canal.
On 11th February 2016 Trafford Council resolved to grant planning permission for a variation to the original consent which has reduced the footprint of the proposed infrastructure and incorporates a heat network.
The plant will be designed to have an operational life of at least 25 years and will provide equivalent renewable energy for more than one-third of the homes in Trafford. It is planned that the plant will also provide low carbon heat via a district heating network to the local vicinity further improving the efficiency of the plant and delivering a competitive alternative or complement to conventional fossil fuel sources of heating.
The plant will deploy the latest technology and will be fuelled primarily by recycled wood. It is proposed that a small element of solid recovered fuel is also utilised to maintain fuel flexibility. The biomass element of the fuel would exceed 90%. About 200,000 tonnes of biomass would be consumed annually.
The project received planning consent in April 2014.
The proposed combined heat and power plant site occupies an area of vacant land on the south side of the Manchester Ship Canal. The United Utilities Davyhulme Wastewater Treatment Works is located west and south of the site and Barton High Level Bridge is located to the east. Land on the opposite side of the canal has been developed with the Salford Community Stadium hosting the Salford Red Devils rugby league matches. Port Salford has also been granted consent on land to the north of the proposed site.
Access to the site is taken from the end of Trafford Way to the rear of the Trafford Soccer Dome.
Energy for homes and businesses
The plant will be designed to have an operational life of at least 25 years and would provide the equivalent renewable electricity to meet the average needs of up to 37,000 homes. As well as generating electricity, it is planned that the plant will supply renewable heat via a district heating network to industry and business. As has been demonstrated elsewhere in the UK, this technology provides energy security and sustainability that can often lead to attracting inward investment and development in the area, which can ultimately lead to job security and creation and improve the local economy. This will reduce the amount of energy otherwise required to heat premises in nearby locations that would ordinarily burn fossil fuels for heat generation.
Community and local benefits
The investment also offers potential contract opportunities for local businesses during construction and operational phases. It is expected that over 100 construction jobs would be created during the two-year construction period and 15 permanent operational posts would be available. Ongoing supply and maintenance work would also be required at the plant.
The 20MW development would make a significant contribution towards helping the UK meet its national renewable energy targets.
The Barton CHP Plant will be fitted with state-of-the-art biomass power generation technology and conform to stringent European emission regulations. Planning permission has been given and an environmental permit granted by the Environment Agency.
Contact: Muir Miller
Email: firstname.lastname@example.org Call: 0161 629 8200
Search our site: