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Yellowhammer

Eurasian Nuthatch has just been promoted, so I'm now in the process of polishing this attractive country bird for its own run at FAC. I'd like to take you up on your offer above to have a look at the relevant bits. Thanks for your help and for any comments or edits you see fit to make. Jimfbleak - talk to me? 06:28, 1 May 2014 (UTC)

I've left a few comments on the article's talkpage. I've also temporarily raised the article's class from Start to to C, and its importance to mid. Brianboulton (talk) 11:09, 1 May 2014 (UTC)
Thanks for kind words and useful comments, I've been out all day and tomorrow is my wife's birthday, so it may be a couple of days before I get round to making appropriate edits. Thanks again Jimfbleak - talk to me? 16:19, 1 May 2014 (UTC)
I've replied on the Yellowhammer talk page and made appropriate edits to the article. I'll probably go to FAC soon after the bank holiday. Thanks Jimfbleak - talk to me? 05:24, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

The Signpost: 30 April 2014

Delius TFA

I have posted this on my own talk page, and respectfully (and slightly nervously) draw it to your co-nominal attention here:

With the Frederick Delius article heading for TFA, I'd be glad of comments on the article talk page about a suggested addition to do with a pop song. I think it of peripheral interest but perfectly harmless, and the editor proposing the addition makes the very good point that if we don't add it judiciously now, there will assuredly be hordes of Kate Bush fans trying to insert it when the article appears on the front page (in the lead, I shouldn't wonder). I am inclined to vote for action now, putting pragmatism before purism, and would welcome comments from anyone who keeps an eye on this user talk page.

I hope you will add your thoughts on this. Tim riley (talk) 22:09, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

George Robey

Hello Brian, I should be along to "Le Mez" in a day or so, something I am very much looking forward to. In the meantime and should you need a break, could I interest you in the above who I have just listed at FAC. Any input would be gratefully received. Cassiantotalk 09:46, 5 May 2014 (UTC)

Don't worry about Le Mez II. It's getting plenty of attention at PR, and I suggest you keep your powder dry for the FAC (when/if). As to Robey, I did glance at the PR, but there were so many comments that I decided you scarcely needed me at that stage. I will certainly look at the FAC, however; expect me there in a couple of days. Brianboulton (talk) 15:43, 5 May 2014 (UTC)
Yes, it generated a lot of comments at the PR which means that it was either very interesting or because it had more holes in it than Swiss cheese. I suspect the latter, of course, but will continue to convince myself otherwise. I will wait for the FAC in that case rather than hold the pr up any longer. Much thanks! Cassiantotalk 19:00, 5 May 2014 (UTC)

Lead

Hello Brian, could you please take a look at Grigori Rasputin and tell if and where the lead needs more attention, perhaps style or references?Taksen (talk) 19:11, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

I am heavily inundated with review work and other tasks at the moment, and can't give any time to this in the immediate future. Try me again in, say, a week. Brianboulton (talk) 21:13, 8 May 2014 (UTC)

WINC (AM) on FAC

Hello, I just wanted to let you know that the WINC (AM) article, which you did a peer review on, is currently up on FAC. - Neutralhomer • Talk • 20:03, 8 May 2014 (UTC)

I think all I did was to alter the subsection headings in the review from level 2 to level 4 – I did not review the article itself. Brianboulton (talk) 21:11, 8 May 2014 (UTC)
It was an informal peer review, but a review none-the-less. :) I'm just letting the users who worked on the article with me know that it is up for FAC. It's not a call to !vote on the FAC, just a polite heads up. - Neutralhomer • Talk • 21:33, 8 May 2014 (UTC)
Hey Brian, would you mind doing the source check on the FAC? Thanks...Neutralhomer • Talk • 01:18, 13 May 2014 (UTC)
Taken care of by another user. - Neutralhomer • Talk • 03:34, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

The Signpost: 07 May 2014

Main Page appearance: Jane Joseph

This is a note to let the main editors of Jane Joseph know that the article will be appearing as today's featured article on May 31, 2014. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. If you prefer that the article appear as TFA on a different date, or not at present, please ask Bencherlite (talk · contribs). You can view the TFA blurb at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 31, 2014. If it needs tweaking, or if it needs rewording to match improvements to the article between now and its main page appearance, please edit it, following the instructions at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/instructions. The blurb as it stands now is below:

Jane Joseph (1894–1929) was an English composer, arranger and teacher of music. Her potential was spotted by the composer Gustav Holst when he taught her composition at St Paul's Girls' School. She began to act as his amanuensis in 1914, when he was composing The Planets. Thereafter she assisted Holst with transcriptions, arrangements and translations, and with managing the music festivals with which Holst was involved. Many of her works were composed for performance at these festivals, but most were never published and have been lost. Two early short orchestral pieces were published and praised, and two of her choral works were admired in her day but have been little performed since. Her carol "A Little Childe There is Ibore" was thought by Holst to be among the best of its kind. She also became an active member of the Society of Women Musicians and taught music; one of her pupils was Holst's daughter Imogen. Joseph's early death was considered by her contemporaries as a considerable loss to English music. In the eight decades after her death there were no commercial recordings of her music, but there have been occasional broadcast performances. (Full article...)

You (and your talk-page stalkers) may also be interested to hear that there have been some changes at the TFA requests page recently. Nominators no longer need to calculate how many "points" an article has, the instructions have been simplified, and there's a new nomination system using templates based on those used for DYK suggestions. Please consider nominating another article, or commenting on an existing nomination, and leaving some feedback on your experience. Thank you. UcuchaBot (talk) 23:01, 13 May 2014 (UTC)

Sorry!

Apologies for this, I suspect I mis-hit a link when scrolling through my watchlist on my mobile. Too clumsy to be let loose sometimes! All the best - SchroCat (talk) 09:22, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

I imagined it was something like that. No harm done. Brianboulton (talk) 10:15, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

Sorry!

Apologies for this, I suspect I mis-hit a link when scrolling through my watchlist on my mobile. Too clumsy to be let loose sometimes! All the best - SchroCat (talk) 09:22, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

Whatever, the lady is scheduled for 31 May, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:27, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

Thorpe affair

Sorry to have been too late to join in the peer review. Here are a few belated comments anyway:

  • Lead
    • "Thorpe's public reputation was damaged irrevocably" – can one revoke damage? Perhaps "irreparably"?
  • Thorpe
    • "MI5, which routinely keeps records" – probably needs a blue link to MI5
  • Josiffe, later Scott
    • "had aggrandized his name" – "aggrandized" strikes a slightly wrong note to my ear: would "glamorised" perhaps be nearer the mark?
  • Incitement
    • "They hoped that if they stalled, Thorpe would see the absurdity of his murder scheme" – I think you need to say once again that this is Bessell's assertion. As it stands it reads as though you are stating as a fact that there was a murder scheme.
    • "Discussions of the plan ended" – same here, too.
  • Further threats
    • "but the vagaries of the first-past-the-post voting system" – I share the sentiments, but "vagaries" is a loaded term. The OED defines"vagary" in this context as " A capricious, fantastic, or eccentric action or piece of conduct". It's entirely correct, IMO, but I think perhaps you'd better use a less tendentious term. Possibly "but the nature of the first-past-the-post voting system" or even just " but the first-past-the-post voting system"?
  • Verdict and aftermath
    • "his first press interview in 25 years, to The Guardian" – you capitalise and italicise the definite article here (which is my own preferred practice) but elsewhere (as in the News of the World in the next para, the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mirror at the head of the article) you don't.
      • The NOTW and the Daily Mirror don't include the definitive article in their mastheads; The Sunday Telegraph (not DT, my error) and The Guardian do, so I have regularised on that basis. Brianboulton (talk) 09:14, 15 May 2014 (UTC)
    • "Holmes confirmed that Thorpe had asked him to kill Scott" – again, I think "confirmed" is too strong. He repeated his allegation, I'd say.
  • Notes
    • Note 4 – I don't quite follow Oborne's train of thought. You have told us earlier that Wilson believed that Thorpe was the victim of a plot by South African intelligence and went out of his way to investigate that suspicion. That seems wholly incompatible with any desire to "smear or very possibly blackmail the leader of a rival political party".

Hope some of these are of use. Tim riley talk 14:21, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for these useful comments, which I have incorporated – using "inflated" rather than "glamorised" in place of "aggrandized". As to Oborne, until he partly redeemed himself with his account of the D'Oliveira affair, he was a nasty right-wing hack writing for the despicable Boris Johnson's Spectator. He was trying to spread dirt on Jack Straw, in 2002 Labour's foreign secretary though in 1974 the merest of minions – but in any event, as you observe, Wilson was very much on Thorpe's side, and it is highly likely that he was seeking NI information to help Thorpe, not to "blackmail" him. I put the footnote in because, until I removed it, this story figured prominently in Thorpe's article, and it is possible that someone might attempt to insert it into this article. Brianboulton (talk) 15:50, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

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FAC notice

Monteux TFA

External links all checked and amended as necessary. Mostly dead links to the old Gramophone site, but as we have the issue dates and page numbers that doesn't matter. Tim riley talk 19:43, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

Fine – good work. In due course I will do the blurb and nominate well in time for the required date. Brianboulton (talk) 20:08, 15 May 2014 (UTC)
I will watch your every move and learn how to do the task myself in future. (At least Monteux is less likely to attract the green-ink brigade come TFA than Britten and others.) Tim riley (talk) 21:40, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

License tagging for File:SS Arctic collision map1854.jpeg

Thanks for uploading File:SS Arctic collision map1854.jpeg. You don't seem to have indicated the license status of the image. Wikipedia uses a set of image copyright tags to indicate this information.

To add a tag to the image, select the appropriate tag from this list, click on this link, then click "Edit this page" and add the tag to the image's description. If there doesn't seem to be a suitable tag, the image is probably not appropriate for use on Wikipedia. For help in choosing the correct tag, or for any other questions, leave a message on Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. Thank you for your cooperation. --ImageTaggingBot (talk) 20:05, 16 May 2014 (UTC)

Help request

To any admin or technically accomplished editor looking at this page: the "Insert" drop-down box that appears immediately below the edit window seems to have disappeared! I need this urgently, for symbols, accented letters, etc. Can anyone suggest how I can get it back? On my subsidiary laptop all is fine and dandy - did I inadvertently press a wrong key? Brianboulton (talk) 21:51, 16 May 2014 (UTC)

  1. Go to Preferences->Gadgets->Editing, make sure you have CharInsert box ticked. If not, tick and save
  2. Try Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)‎

I hope the first works, Jimfbleak - talk to me? 05:05, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

Worked a treat. Many thanks, Jim! Brianboulton (talk) 08:49, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

Exeter Crown Court...

... could be linked directly or additionally, if you wanted, to Rougemont Castle (its home until its replacement a few years by a modern fit-for-purpose building!) BencherliteTalk 09:12, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

I think, probably, that the link to the article that describes what a Crown Court is, is more use to readers than a link to the historic building that housed the Court, so I'd prefer to leave it. Brianboulton (talk) 12:10, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

The Signpost: 14 May 2014

I overlooked ...

Mentioning that Babe Ruth is at FAC, where it enjoys the company of your excellent Thorpe article and perhaps some of the culture will rub off on Mr. Ruth. Your thoughts would be welcome indeed.--Wehwalt (talk) 04:00, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

I had seen it, was just waiting for earlier comments to clear. The idea of a meeting between Mr Thorpe and Mr Ruth beggars belief. Brianboulton (talk) 07:00, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

A favour

Hello Brian, do you have any time spare to comment here: Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/No. 1 Flying Training School RAAF/archive1? Graham Graham Colm (talk) 09:37, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

By all means – later today if possible. Brianboulton (talk) 11:55, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

Thank You!

With your help, the WINC (AM) was just promoted to Featured Article status. Together, we took a C-Class article, edited, added and made it a Good Article. We didn't stop there, we made it better and now it is a Featured Article. Whether you made one edit or twenty, you still helped and I thank you. :) - Neutralhomer • Talk • 10:05, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

I am very pleased that the article has been promoted although, as I've said, my own contribution to its success has been vestigial. Congratulations to all who did the work. Brianboulton (talk) 11:57, 18 May 2014 (UTC)
Help is help, no matter how small. :) Thanks again...Neutralhomer • Talk • 17:21, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

PR request

Brian, After a hefty re-write, the royal baccarat scandal—or Tranby Croft affair, if you prefer—is up for peer review. If you have the time, or inclination, I'd be very grateful to hear any thoughts or comments you may have. Much obliged if you can, but entirely understandable if your hands are full elsewhere! – SchroCat (talk) 13:06, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

Well, I've been anticipating this with some eagerness – I love a good scandal (Thorpe, Profumo, Tichborne etc). So it will be no trouble at all to look over this, in the next day or two. Brianboulton (talk) 16:25, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

Gubby...

...is now at FAC here. Any further comments gratefully received. Sarastro1 (talk) 19:24, 19 May 2014 (UTC)

And actually, could I also pester you for a source review as well? Thanks!!! Sarastro1 (talk) 20:15, 20 May 2014 (UTC)
Sure. I wish someone would do one for me! Brianboulton (talk) 20:34, 20 May 2014 (UTC)
I was just on my way over to do one when I saw that Nikkimaria had beaten me to it! Sarastro1 (talk) 18:08, 21 May 2014 (UTC)

Main Page appearance: Frederick Delius

This is a note to let the main editors of Frederick Delius know that the article will be appearing as today's featured article on June 10, 2014. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. If you prefer that the article appear as TFA on a different date, or not at present, please ask Bencherlite (talk · contribs). You can view the TFA blurb at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/June 10, 2014. If it needs tweaking, or if it needs rewording to match improvements to the article between now and its main page appearance, please edit it, following the instructions at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/instructions. The blurb as it stands now is below:

Frederick Delius

Frederick Delius (1862–1934) was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he was sent to Florida in 1884 to manage an orange plantation. Influenced by African-American music, he began composing. After a brief period of formal musical study in Germany from 1886, he embarked on a full-time career as a composer in France, living in Grez-sur-Loing with his wife Jelka. His first successes came in Germany in the late 1890s; it was not until 1907 that his music regularly appeared in British concerts. Thomas Beecham conducted the full premiere of A Mass of Life in London in 1909, staged the opera A Village Romeo and Juliet at Covent Garden in 1910, mounted a six-day Delius festival in London in 1929, and made gramophone recordings of many works. After 1918 Delius began to suffer the effects of syphilis, became paralysed and blind, but completed some late compositions with the aid of Eric Fenby. His early compositions reflect the music he had heard in America and Europe; later he developed a style uniquely his own. The Delius Society, formed in 1962, promotes knowledge of his life and works, and sponsors an annual competition for young musicians. (Full article...)

You (and your talk-page stalkers) may also be interested to hear that there have been some changes at the TFA requests page recently. Nominators no longer need to calculate how many "points" an article has, the instructions have been simplified, and there's a new nomination system using templates based on those used for DYK suggestions. Please consider nominating another article, or commenting on an existing nomination, and leaving some feedback on your experience. Thank you. UcuchaBot (talk) 23:02, 20 May 2014 (UTC)

As with Monteux, I'll do the necessary check on all the external links. Tim riley talk 19:55, 21 May 2014 (UTC)

"Sir Gubby"

Point taken (at the FAC page) but what if, e.g. Paddy Ashdown had been knighted rather than peered? Some nicknames outweigh the baptismal record, meseems. I have, by the way, decided to start a campaign to get you a knighthood for services to Wikipedia, so that you can then edit thus:

I am Sir Brian! (Ting-ling!)
I am Sir Brian! (Rat-tat!)
I am Sir Brian,
As bold as a lion!
Take that, and that, and that!

Tim riley talk 19:42, 21 May 2014 (UTC)

The cricket nickname thing is something of a knightly campaign of Brian's to be honest. I think he was finally pushed over the edge by this. He's never been quite the same since, and twitches slightly when cricket articles use nicknames; if I ever feel the need to work on Ken Mackay, I think I'll move the page to Slasher Mackay just to watch him implode. Sarastro1 (talk) 19:58, 21 May 2014 (UTC)
Well where do you get off, quoting Swanton without calling him "Granny" (see Tales from a Long Room passim)? And may I count on your support for the knighting Sir Brian campaign? Tim riley talk 20:55, 21 May 2014 (UTC)
Absolutely! (Although I think he might have called me a horse in the Allen FAC, but maybe I misread it...) Sarastro1 (talk) 21:03, 21 May 2014 (UTC)

Now, now, boys, you really must behave! Ashdown was indeed knighted before he was peered; was he known as "Sir Paddy" – I can't remember. In my defence, may I whiningly emphasise that it is stupid nicknames that wind me up (Gubby, Pongo, Kipper, Gubby etc). Ironic names, e.g. Slasher for the moribund Mackay, are fine, but maybe not in article titles? As far as cricket is concerned I accept that I am probably fighting a losing battle, boo hoo hoo.... Brianboulton (talk) 22:57, 21 May 2014 (UTC)

Yet another ...

I have laid Judah P. Benjamin at peer review here. Benjamin is one of the more interesting characters of the American Civil War, if only because he is such a cipher. He also played a part in your Tichborne case, although that is not an angle you delve into in your excellent article. He is also a co-religionist of mine, the first one I have seriously worked on since Murray Chotiner five years ago. There is no great hurry, I have four or five coin articles in reserve, but ideally I'd like this to follow Ruth at FAC. Many thanks as always.--Wehwalt (talk) 05:04, 23 May 2014 (UTC)

Gosh, I'd forgotten about Chotiner (how young and innocent we were then). The main issue, I see, was the use of a copyright image, but somewhere in the review you say "Yes, Agnew is on my list of possible article improvement projects." That's something I'd like to see happen. As to Benjamin, I'll certainly do it. I've checked my main Tichborne sources and can't see him mentioned, so I'll be interested to pick up that connection. Expect something in a couple of days. Brianboulton (talk) 09:11, 23 May 2014 (UTC)
Indeed we were. And Chotiner was very camera shy. The Nixon Library had no photographs on him, we eventually used one from the 1950 Nixon Senate campaign that had Chotiner second in line behind a campaigning Nixon. Agnew might be good to do while I have this GMU access and I live about an hour and a half from Annapolis, and I'm sure there's Agnew stuff there. Many thanks. Apparently he led the arguments for Castro on appeal of the perjury conviction in the House of Lords.--Wehwalt (talk) 18:57, 23 May 2014 (UTC)
It's odd that none of the main Tichborne books mention this House of Lords appeal. It happened when Orton (or Castro) had already served 7 years, when he had receded from the public mind and when his backers had long since departed, so it would be interesting to know who instigated the appeal, who financed it, and what grounds for appeal were argued. Length of sentence, maybe? The appeal is mentioned very briefly in Benjamin's ODNB article but no details are given. If your sources have anything else, I'll add a sentence to the Tichborne article. Brianboulton (talk) 20:42, 23 May 2014 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

The Teamwork Barnstar
Thanks for lending your talent to the Sgt. Pepper peer review and FAC. Because of some wonderful teamwork during the last month, the article is among the best on Wikipedia today. I couldn't have done it alone, and I hope that someday I can return the kindness and generosity that I've enjoyed during this process. Cheers! GabeMc (talk|contribs) 16:24, 23 May 2014 (UTC)

The Signpost: 21 May 2014

Weigh in?

Hello Brian, I've seen that you made some edits on topics concerning antarctic exploration including the article "Robert Falcon Scott". I would like to invite you to weigh in on the recent discussion and I'd be interested in your opinion on the mentioned aspects! Kind regards --37.230.11.43 (talk) 20:59, 24 May 2014 (UTC)

German Lessons

Heard you speak a bit of German, so I thought this video (including visual vocals and social criticism ;-) might be useful to polish that knowledge up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8-SooHjFfA--37.230.11.43 (talk) 23:42, 24 May 2014 (UTC)

Heroic Sounds

If I were to write a piece of music about Shackleton or Scott, it would sound a bit like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvXhhgTftGc

What would your choice look like?

P.s.: What a coincidence the song contains the word hawk...

P.s.s.: Alternative Version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFfw5mSuEbk

while yet another coincidence is that you like classic music and this is probably one of the electronic pieces of music that resembles classic music. (in my opinion)

--37.230.11.43 (talk) 00:09, 25 May 2014 (UTC)

Monteux image

I ran across this on eBay: File:Monteux-Brook-1953.jpg and it is free use according to WP's rules about images published in the the US between 1923 and 1977 without a copyright notice. The wizards at the Graphics Workshop have cleaned it up, and I'd like to add it to our article. What think you? Tim riley talk 16:27, 26 May 2014 (UTC)

It's a lovely image, and bearing in mind a possibly upcoming TFA, I think it should definitely be included. I'll leave you to decide where it should go, and whether it should be an addition or a replacement (the article is quite well furnished with images). Brianboulton (talk) 16:59, 26 May 2014 (UTC)

Frage

Du bist doch bestimmt so'n Alt-Hippie und nich' so'n kleingeistiger Konservativer?

http://www.tape.tv/electric-light-orches…bring-me-down-1--37.230.6.93 (talk) 21:18, 28 May 2014 (UTC)

ok, edit: falscher Link ergibt antarktisches Känguruh (auch Pinguin genannt) das über das Eis "schlittert"....

http://www.tape.tv/electric-light-orchestra/videos/dont-bring-me-down-1


Jane Joseph

Well done on today's featured article. This is exactly what wp should do: take a subject I had never heard of and make it interesting and important. Tigerboy1966  09:50, 31 May 2014 (UTC)

Thank you for this kind message. Brianboulton (talk) 12:27, 31 May 2014 (UTC)
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