Look up yield in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Yielding is a new term that is used in Formula 1, it was added by Ricky Lawson on 30/05/2012

Yielding in Formula 1 is when you must give up your position/place on the track to the driver behind if he is right up your arse and steam rolling down the inside. If you refuse to "Yield" your position then the driver is allowed to do and I quote "Whatever he wants", this may include things like "Shunting" or "Bashing" or "Squeezing" a player off the track with no consequences.

Now although this may not seem fair to anyone with a brain, Ricky Lawson can assure you that it is 100% allowed only if he is the driver doing the "Shunting/Bashing/Squeezing". Any other driver seen doing this will be deemed "Cheating" for gaining an unfair advantage or "Illegal overtaking" and therefore receive abuse from Ricky Lawson.

Here is an example - If you are ahead of Ricky Lawson and you drive wide off the track then you must slow down, stop and wait for him to pass (Yield). If not Ricky Lawson is also allowed to go wide off the track and "Squeeze" you out, even though you are not on the track. Once again this may not make sense to people with brains but Ricky Lawson again can assure you this is 100% correct.

Ricky Lawson is a master in the art of "Yielding" so he knows when to "Yield" and when not to "Yield" his position so, if you disagree at any time or argue against Ricky Lawson's "Squeezing" then your argument will automatically be void as Ricky Lawson is always right.

Measures of output/function[link]

Physics/chemistry[link]

• Yield (chemistry), the amount of product obtained in a chemical reaction
  • The arrow symbol in a chemical equation
• Fission product yield
• Nuclear weapon yield

Earth science[link]

• Crop yield
  • Yield (wine)
• Specific yield, a measure of aquifer capacity

Production/manufacturing[link]

• Yield (casting)
• Throughput yield, a manufacturing evaluation method
• A measure of functioning devices in semiconductor testing
• The number of servings provided by a recipe

Finance[link]

• Yield (finance), a rate of return for a security
• Dividend yield, a measure of dividends paid on stock

Other uses[link]

• Yield (college admissions), a statistic describing what percent of applicants choose to enroll
• Yield (engineering), the plastic deformation of a material
  • Yield surface
• Yield (album), by Pearl Jam
• Yield sign, a traffic sign
• Terminal yield, a sequence of leaves in a tree data structure
• Yield, a feature of a coroutine in computer programming
• Yield, an element of the TV series The Amazing Race
• Yield, an album created by Pearl Jam in the late 1990's

Fred Hammond (born December 29, 1961]].^[2] in Detroit, Michigan)^[3] is a gospel singer, bass guitar player, and record producer.

Musical career[link]

Hammond has been active both as a member of the gospel performing group Commissioned, and as a solo artist (currently for Verity Records). He is a multiple Grammy-, Dove-, Stellar- award winner and nominee as a performer, producer and writer.

Hammond first gained recognition while playing bass guitar for the gospel group The Winans.^[2] By 1985 he was one of the six original members of the group Commissioned, participating in 10 of the group's 12 albums.

After his stint with Commissioned ended, he regained fame in the gospel community after selling millions of albums with his musical group Radical For Christ.

In 2002 Hammond returned to the group Commissioned (now with members Keith Staten, Marvin Sapp, Mitchell Jones, Karl Reid, Michael Williams, and Marcus Cole) to produce the Commissioned Reunion Live album.

Hammond produced Make Me Like The Moon, a stirring gospel ballad co-written by Chante Moore and Kenny Lattimore for their 2006 double-CD of gospel and R&B love songs entitled Uncovered/Covered (released October 10, 2006 by LaFace/Verity/Zomba Music Group). He also performs with Sean Combs on the album Thank You.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Notable singles[link]

Billboard chart history[link]

Albums[link]

Awards[link]

Award wins[link]

Award nominations[link]

Personal life[link]

Fred Hammond has two children that have appeared on his 2009 album, Love Unstoppable. Hammond was divorced from his wife of 17 years in 2004, and he currently resides in Cedar Hill, Texas.

Hammond revealed on the Donnie McClurkin Show that his mother confessed to him three months before she died that she had attempted to have him aborted. The procedure--done in 1961 before abortions were legal-- failed. Hammond's mother returned for a second attempt but decided against the procedure ; Hammond was later born in December 1961^[5].

References[link]

External links[link]

• www.fhammondfamilyent.com - The Official Fred Hammond Website
• Fred Hammond at Allmusic

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2011)

Jon Snow
At the Channel 4 awards on 23 January 2008
Born	Jon Snow (1947-09-28) 28 September 1947 (age 64) Ardingly, Sussex, England
Ethnicity	English
Occupation	Journalist, television presenter
Notable credit(s)	Channel 4 News
Relatives	Peter Snow, Dan Snow

Jon Snow (born 28 September 1947) is an English journalist and presenter, currently employed by ITN. He is best known for presenting Channel 4 News.

He was Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008.

Early life[link]

Snow was born in Ardingly, Sussex. He is the son of schoolmaster and Bishop of Whitby, George D'Oyly Snow, grandson of First World War general Thomas D'Oyly Snow (about whom he writes in his Foreword to Ronald Skirth's war memoir The Reluctant Tommy^[1]), and cousin of retired BBC television news presenter Peter Snow.^[2]

Education[link]

Snow was educated at independent school, Ardingly College, where his father was headmaster. He later attended the independent St Edward's School in Oxford. At age 18 he was for a year a VSO volunteer teaching in northern Uganda.^[3][4]

After mixed success in his first attempt to pass his A level qualifications he moved to the Yorkshire Coast College, Scarborough, where he later obtained the necessary qualifications to gain a place studying law at the University of Liverpool. However, he did not complete the degree, being rusticated for his part in a student protest. However he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters at Liverpool University in 2011.^[5]

Life and career[link]

After leaving Liverpool, Snow worked for New Horizon Youth Centre, a day centre for homeless young people in central London - an organisation with which he has remained involved and of which he subsequently became chairman. Snow was an assistant to Lord Longford.^{[citation needed]}

Journalist[link]

Snow in June 2007.

He served as ITN's Washington correspondent (1983–1986) and as diplomatic editor (1986–1989)^[3] before becoming the main presenter of Channel 4 News in 1989. In 1992 he was the main anchor for ITN's Election Night programme, broadcast on ITV; he presented the programme alongside Sir Robin Day, Alastair Stewart, and Julia Somerville. (Previously ITN's programme had typically been presented by Sir Alastair Burnet, who left ITN in 1991. The 1992 election night programme was the only one hosted by Snow. He was replaced by Jonathan Dimbleby from 1997 onwards.) He has won several RTS Awards^[3] - two for reports from El Salvador, one for his reporting of the Kegworth air disaster, and two as "Presenter of the Year".^{[citation needed]}

In 2002 he returned to radio, presenting Jon Snow Reports on Oneword Radio, a weekly show and podcast. He wrote regular articles for the Channel 4 News website, and writes 'Snowmail' – a daily email newsletter on the big stories coming up on the evening edition of Channel 4 News.

He is known for his vast collection of colourful ties and socks.^[3][6]

On 14 June 2011, Snow presented the multiple award-winning investigative documentary Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, directed by Callum Macrae, which documented war crimes committed in the finals days of the Sri Lankan conflict in 2009. The program consisted of some of the most horrific footage ever broadcast in the UK; its second part, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished was broadcast in March 2012.^[7]

Snow declined an OBE because he believes working journalists should not take honours from those that they report on.^[8][9]

Memorable incidents[link]

Whilst working as a journalist in Uganda he flew sitting next to president Idi Amin in the presidential jet. He has recounted how whilst Amin appeared to be asleep he thought seriously about taking Amin's revolver and shooting him dead, but was worried about the consequences of firing a loose round in a jet.^[10]

In 1976, Snow rejected an approach by the British intelligence services to spy on his colleagues. At first he was asked to supply information about the Communist Party, but he was then asked to spy on certain "left-wing people" working in television.^[8][11] In return he would have received secret monthly tax-free payments into his bank account, matching his then salary.^[12][13]

In 2003, at the height of the "dodgy dossier" affair, Alastair Campbell walked into the studio to rebut statements by the BBC. With no notes or preparation Snow questioned Campbell about the affair.^[14]

In 2004, Snow published an autobiography, Shooting History.

He refuses to wear any symbol which may represent his views on air; in the run up to Remembrance Day he condemned what he called 'Poppy Fascism' because "in the end there really must be more important things in life than whether a news presenter wears symbols on his lapels".^[15]

On 28 February 2008 Snow courted controversy by claiming that the silence of the British media on the decision to allow Prince Harry to fight in Afghanistan was unacceptable with the following statement:^[16] "I never thought I'd find myself saying thank God for Drudge. The infamous US blogger has broken the best kept editorial secret of recent times. Editors have been sworn to secrecy over Prince Harry being sent to fight in Afghanistan three months ago." These remarks provoked criticism from some members of the public and other media outlets,^[17] with some accusing Snow of wishing to undermine the safety of the Prince and his troops, and (according to Snow himself at the end of that day's bulletin, and later reported in the Daily Mail) one captain in the armed forces called Snow's actions "treason".^[18]

On 9 February 2009, Snow interviewed Lt-Col Yvonne Bradley, the military counsel for Binyam Mohamed, a British resident detained for five years at Guantanamo Bay. Snow asked if Mohamed's allegations of torture were justified. Lt-Col Bradley said there was no doubt at all that he had been tortured.^{[citation needed]} Mohamed was released and returned to Britain on 23 February 2009. In November 2010 Snow was sent to Haiti to report on the cholera outbreak.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Snow was briefly engaged in 1979 to fellow ITN journalist Anna Ford, who later became an equally high profile television news presenter.^[4] For 35 years his partner was human rights lawyer Madeleine Colvin, with whom he has two daughters.^[4] In March 2010 he married Precious Lunga, a ­Zimbabwe-born academic.^[19]

He was a school governor for many years at Brecknock Primary School, Camden, London.^[20]

Affiliations[link]

• Trustee of the National Gallery and Tate Gallery from 1999 to 2008.^[21][22]

• Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008, regularly attending ceremonial events at the University. In 2009 he was awarded an honorary degree by Oxford Brookes - Doctor of the University.^[23]

• Honorary professor and guest lecturer on Stirling University's Film & Media Studies course.^[24]

• Honorary Fellow (since 15 February 2006) of the Royal Institute of British Architects, an annually-conferred lifetime honour which allows the recipient to use the initials Hon FRIBA after his or her surname.^[25] Snow has an honorary degree from Aberdeen University, in recognition of his services to broadcasting.

• Chairman of the Prison Reform Trust from 1992 to 1997.^[3]

• President of the Cyclists' Touring Club in January 2007, succeeding Phil Liggett.^[26]

• Patron of Reprieve, a legal action charity which uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantánamo Bay.^[27]

• Patron of the African Prisons Project, an international non-governmental organisation with a mission to bring dignity and hope to men women and children in African prisons through health, education, justice and reintegration.^[28]

• Patron of Media Legal Defence Initiative, a UK-based charity that provides legal support to journalists and media outlets.^[29]

• Patron of the tree planting charity Trees for Cities.^[30]

• Patron of The DIPEx Charity, a UK-based charity that produces two health websites, Healthtalkonline^[31] and Youthhealthtalk,^[32] featuring people's real life experiences of health and illness.^[33]

Bibliography[link]

Snow published his autobiographical work, Shooting History, in 2004. The book was published by Harper Perennial and details Snow's life from his childhood, up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.^[34]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jon Snow's Blog on the Channel 4 News web site
• Jon Snow on Twitter
• Snowmail Jon Snow's daily email newsletter
• Jon Snow on the Impact of New Media at IIEA, 4 September 2009

Sir Patrick Moore CBE, FRS, FRAS
Born	Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore (1923-03-04) 4 March 1923 (age 89)[1] Pinner, Middlesex, England
Occupation	Writer, broadcaster and astronomer
Television	The Sky at Night
Political party	United Country Party (dissolved 1980)
Website
sirpatrickmoore.com/biography/

Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS (born 4 March 1923) is a British amateur astronomer who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter, and who is credited as having done more than any other person to raise the profile of astronomy among the British general public.^{[citation needed]}

He is a former president of the British Astronomical Association, co-founder and former president of the Society for Popular Astronomy (SPA), author of over 70 books on astronomy, and presenter of the world's longest-running television series with the same original presenter, The Sky at Night on the BBC. As an amateur astronomer, he became known as a specialist on observing the Moon and creating the Caldwell catalogue. Idiosyncrasies such as his rapid diction and monocle have made him a popular and instantly recognisable figure on British television.

Moore is also a self-taught xylophone and piano player and an accomplished composer, and a former amateur cricketer, golfer, and chess player. In addition to his many popular science books, he has written numerous works of fiction, and was the presenter of the 1990s TV series GamesMaster. An opponent of fox hunting, he is an outspoken critic of the European Union, and served as chairman of the short-lived anti-immigration United Country Party. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II; his fiancée was killed during the war and he has never married or had children.

Early life[link]

Moore was born in Pinner in Middlesex on 4 March 1923 to Captain Charles Trachsel Caldwell-Moore MC (died 1947^[2]) and Gertrude, née White (died 1981^[2]) and moved to Bognor Regis, and later East Grinstead (both in Sussex), where he spent his childhood.^[1] His youth was marked by heart problems, which left him in poor health, and as a result he was educated at home by private tutors.^[1] He developed an interest in astronomy at the age of six^[3] and joined the British Astronomical Association at the age of eleven.^[4] He was invited to run a small observatory in East Grinstead at the age of fourteen, after his mentor – the man who ran the observatory – was killed in a road accident.^[5] At the age of sixteen he began wearing a monocle – an unusual step for a young man even in 1939 – after an oculist told him his right eye was weaker than his left eye.^[6] Three years later, he began wearing a full set of dentures.^[7]

Moore lied about his age in order to join the RAF and fight in World War II at the age of sixteen,^[8] and from 1940 until 1945 he served as a navigator in RAF Bomber Command, reaching the rank of Flight lieutenant. He first received his flying training in Canada, during which time he met Albert Einstein and Orville Wright while on leave in New York.^[9] The war had a significant influence on his life: his only romance ended when his fiancée, a nurse called Lorna, was killed by a bomb which struck her ambulance. Moore subsequently remarked that he never married because "there was no one else for me...second best is no good for me...I would have liked a wife and family, but it was not to be."^[10] In his autobiography he stated that after sixty years he still thought about her, and that because of her death "if I saw the entire German nation sinking into the sea, I could be relied upon to help push it down."^[11]

Moore stated that he was "exceptionally close" to his mother Gertrude,^[2] a talented artist who lived with him at his Selsey home, which is still adorned with her paintings of "bogeys" – little friendly aliens – which she regularly produced and which were sent out annually as Moore's Christmas cards.^[12] Moore wrote the foreword for Gertrude's 1974 book Mrs Moore In Space.^[13]

Career in astronomy[link]

After the war, Moore rejected a government grant to study at Cambridge University, citing a wish to "stand on my own two feet".^[4] He wrote his first book in 1952, Guide to the Moon (later retitled Patrick Moore on the Moon), which was published a year later.^[4] He wrote it on a 1908 Woodstock typewriter, which he continued to use in writing every book of his career.^[11] He also began teaching, first in Woking and then at Holmewood House School in Langton Green.^[14] His second book was a translation of a work of French astronomer Gérard de Vaucouleurs (Moore speaks fluent French).^[15] After writing his second original science book, Guide to the Planets, he penned his first work of fiction, entitled The Master of the Moon.^[16] This was the first of numerous young-adult fiction books based on space adventures (including the late 1970s series the Scott Saunders Space Adventure); he did write a more adult novel as well as a farce novel titled Ancient Lights, though he did not wish to find a publisher for either work.^[17]

During his time as a teacher at Holmewood he set up at his home a 12 ½ inch reflector telescope, which he kept with him into his old age.^[5] He developed a particular interest in the Moon, particularly the far side, a small part of which is visible from Earth as a result of the Moon's libration; the Moon has remained his specialist subject all through his life.^[5] He named the Mare Orientale (Eastern Sea) in 1946,^[18] along with H P Wilkins, though German astronomer Julius Heinrich Franz has also been credited with the discovery.^[19] Moore was also credited with the discovery of the transient lunar phenomenon, describing the short-lived glowing areas on the lunar surface in 1968.^[18]

He made his first television appearance in a debate over the existence of flying saucers following a spate of sightings in the 1950s; Moore argued against Lord Dowding and a few other UFO proponents.^[20] Following this, he was invited to present a live astronomy programme; he later noted that the greatest difficulty was in settling on an appropriate theme tune, Jean Sibelius' Pelléas et Mélisande was eventually chosen, and remained a key part of the show throughout its existence.^[21] The name of the show was originally planned to be Star Map, before The Sky at Night was thought of as a better enticement in the Radio Times.^[21] On 26 April 1957, at 10:30 pm, Moore presented the first episode of The Sky at Night, which was about the Comet Arend–Roland.^[21] The show was pitched to casual viewers up to professional astronomers, in a format which has remained consistent since its inception.^[22] Moore has presented every episode each month, except July 2004, when he was replaced by Chris Lintott because Moore suffered a near-fatal bout of food poisoning caused by eating a contaminated goose egg.^[23] Moore appears in the Guinness World Records book as the world's longest-serving TV presenter, by virtue of having presented the show since 1957. Since 2004, the programme has been presented from Moore's home, as he is no longer able to travel to the studios, owing to arthritis. Over the years he received many more financially lucrative offers to take his programme onto other networks, but has rejected them because he holds a 'gentlemen's agreement' with the BBC.^[24]

One of the highlights of the series came in 1959, when as a reward for his assistance in mapping the Lunar surface the Russians allowed Moore to be the first Westerner to see the photographic results of the Luna 3 probe, and to show them live on air.^[25] Less successful was the transmission of the Luna 4 probe, which ran into technical difficulties – it was also around this time that Moore famously swallowed a large fly that flew into his mouth; both episodes were live and so Moore had to continue on regardless.^[26] He was later invited to visit the Soviet Union, where he met Yuri Gagarin, the first man to journey into outer space.^[27] For the fiftieth episode of Sky at Night, broadcast September 1961, Moore became the first person ever to show a live broadcast of a direct telescope view of a planet; the result was another unintended 'comedy episode', as cloud obscured all view of outer space.^[28]

In 1965, he was appointed Director of the newly constructed Armagh Planetarium in Northern Ireland, a post he held until 1968.^[29] His stay outside England would be short partly because of the beginning of the The Troubles, a dispute Moore wanted no part of.^[30] He was appointed Armagh County secretary for the Scout movement, but resigned after he was told not to allow Catholics.^[31] In developing the Planetarium, Moore travelled to Japan to secure a Goto Mars projector.^[32] He also helped with the redevelopment of the Birr Telescope south of the border.^[33] Later on he was also a key figure in the development of the Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath.^[34]

In June 1968 he returned to England, settling in his current home in Selsey after resigning his post in Armagh.^[35] During the Apollo programme, Moore was a presenter of the Apollo 8 mission, stating that "this is one of the great moments of human history", only to have his broadcast interrupted by a showing of Jackanory.^[36] He was also a presenter of the Apollo 9 and Apollo 10 mission, and was co-presenter along with James Burke, of the BBC's television's coverage of the Moon landing missions.^[36] Moore does not remember his words at "The Eagle Has Landed" moment, and the BBC lost all the tapes of the broadcast.^[37] He continued to present Apollo missions 12 through 17.^[38]

He was elected as a member of the International Astronomical Union in 1966;^[39][40] having twice edited the Union's General Assembly newsletters he remains the only amateur astronomer to be a member of the IAU.^[41] He attempted to establish an International Union of Amateur Astronomers, though this venture failed due to lack of interest.^[42] During the 1970s and 80s, he reported on the Voyager and Pioneer programes, often from NASA headquarters.^[43] During this time he became increasingly annoyed by conspiracy theorists asking ludicrous questions, as well as by reporters who often asked him questions such as "Why waste money on space research when there is so much to be done here?"; he later said then when asked these type of questions "I know that I'm dealing with an idiot."^[44] Another question that annoys him is "what is the difference between astronomy and astrology?"^[45] Despite this he always made a point of responding to all letters delivered to his house, and he sent a variety of standard replies to all letters asking basic questions, as well as those from conspiracy theorists, proponents of hunting and 'cranks'.^[46] Despite his fame, as of 2003 his phone number was listed in the telephone directory and he was happy to show members of the public round his observatory.^[47]

He compiled the Caldwell catalogue of astronomical objects and in 1982, asteroid 2602 Moore was named in his honour.^[48] In February 1986 he presented a special Sky at Night episode on the approach of Halley's Comet, though he later stated that the BBC's better-funded Horizon team "made a complete hash of the programme."^[49] In January 1998, part of Moore's observatory in his garden was destroyed by a tornado, which passed through the area; the observatory was subsequently rebuilt.^[50] Moore campaigned unsuccessfully against the closure of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in 1998.^[51] One of Moore's favourite type of The Sky at Night episodes have been those that focus on an eclipse, and he has stated that "there is nothing in nature to match the glory of a total eclipse of the Sun."^[52] Moore was the BBC's presenter for the total eclipse in England in 1999 (the next such event will occur in 2090), though the view he and his team had from Cornwall was completely obscured by cloud.^[53] Moore was the patron for the South Downs Planetarium & Science Centre, which was opened in 2001.^[54]

On 1 April 2007, a 50th anniversary semi-spoof edition of the programme was broadcast on BBC One, with Moore depicted as a Time Lord and featuring, as special guests, amateur astronomers Jon Culshaw (impersonating Moore presenting the very first The Sky at Night) and Brian May. On 6 May 2007, a special edition of The Sky at Night was broadcast on BBC One, to commemorate the programme's 50th anniversary, with a party in Moore's garden at Selsey, attended by amateur and professional astronomers. Moore celebrated the record breaking 700th episode of The Sky at Night at his home in Sussex on 6 March 2011. He presented with the help of special guests Professor Brian Cox, Jon Culshaw and Lord Rees, the Astronomer Royal.

It was reported in January 2012 that because of arthritis and the effects of an old spinal injury he was no longer able to operate a telescope. However he was still able to present The Sky at Night from his home.^[55]

Activism and political beliefs[link]

Moore is noted for his conservative political views. In the 1970s, he was Chairman of the anti-immigration United Country Party, a position he held until the party was absorbed by the New Britain Party in 1980. He campaigned for Edmund Iremonger in 1979, as both men agreed that the French and Germans were not to be trusted.^[56] Iremonger and Moore gave up political campaigning after deciding that they were Thatcherites.^[56] Moore later campaigned on behalf of Douglas Denny (UKIP) for the Chichester constituency in 2001.^[57] A Tory voter for many years, he now remains a supporter and patron of the eurosceptic UK Independence Party.^[58] He briefly supported the Liberal Party in the 1950s, though condemned the Liberal Democrats, stating that he believed they could alter their position radically and "would happily join up with the BNP or the Socialist Workers Party... if [by doing so] they could win a few extra votes."^[57] He has also stated his admiration for the Official Monster Raving Loony Party,^[59] and wrote in his autobiography that Liechtenstein had the best political system in the world.^[60] Moore was a critic of George W. Bush's Iraq War,^[61] and has stated that "the world was a safer place when Ronald Reagan was in the White House".^[62]

Proudly declaring himself to be English (rather than British) with "not the slightest wish to integrate with anybody".^[59] Moore denies being ultra-right despite asking "can anyone please tell me where he [Enoch Powell] went wrong?",^[63] citing his opposition to blood sports and capital punishment.^[59] He devoted an entire chapter ("The Weak Arm of the Law") of his autobiography to denouncing modern British society, particularly "motorist-hunting" policemen, sentencing policy, as well as the Race Relations Act, Sex Discrimination Act and the "Thought Police / Politically Correct Brigade".^[64] He later wrote that "homosexuals are mainly responsible for the spreading of AIDS (the Garden of Eden is home of Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve)".^[65]

In an interview with Radio Times, he provocatively asserted that the BBC was being "ruined by women", commenting that: "The trouble is that the BBC now is run by women and it shows: soap operas, cooking, quizzes, kitchen-sink plays. You wouldn’t have had that in the golden days." In response, a BBC spokeswoman described Moore as being one of TV's best-loved figures and remarked that his "forthright" views were "what we all love about him".^[66] In his June 2002 appearance on Room 101 he banished female news readers into Room 101.^[67]

"I may be accused of being a dinosaur, but I would remind you that dinosaurs ruled the Earth for a very long time."

—Moore responds to those who criticise his Euro-sceptic and right-wing beliefs.^[68]

He is an opponent of fox hunting and blood sports.^[69] Though not a vegetarian, he has stated that he holds "a deep contempt for people who go out to kill merely to amuse themselves."^[70] He has been a lifelong animal lover, actively supporting many animal welfare charities (particularly Cats Protection). He has a particular affinity for cats and has stated that "a catless house is a soulless house".^[71]

Other interests and popular culture[link]

Because of his long-running television career and eccentric demeanour, Moore is widely recognised and has become a popular public figure. In 1976, this was used to good effect for an April Fool's spoof on BBC Radio 2, when Moore announced that at 9.47 am, a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that meant that if listeners could jump at the exact moment of an imminent celestial event they would experience a temporary floating sensation.^[72] The BBC received many telephone calls from listeners alleging that they actually experienced the sensation.^[72] He also was a key figure in the establishment of the International Birdman event in Bognor Regis, which was initially held in Selsey.^[73]

Aside from presenting The Sky at Night, Moore has appeared in a number of other television and radio shows, including Just a Minute and, from 1992 until 1998, playing the role of GamesMaster in the television show of the same name: a character who professed to know everything there is to know about video gaming.^[74] He would issue video game challenges and answer questions on cheats and tips presented in the Consoletation Zone.

Moore also was a keen amateur actor, appearing regularly in local plays.^[75] He also appeared in self-parodying roles, in several episodes of The Goodies and on the Morecambe and Wise show, and also broadcast with Kenneth Horne only a few days before Horne's death.^[76] He had a minor role in the fourth radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and a lead role in the Radio 1 sci-fi BBC/20th Century Fox radio play, Independence Day UK in which amongst other things, Moore fills in as a Navigator. He also appeared in It's a Celebrity Knockout, Blankety Blank and Face the Music. He has appeared on television at least once in a film prop space suit. He has also appeared as himself in the Doctor Who story The Eleventh Hour.

A keen amateur chess player, Moore often carries a pocket set around with him and has been honoured with the title of Vice President of Sussex Junior Chess Association.^[77] In 2003, he presented Sussex Junior David Howell with the best young chess player award on Carlton Television's Britain's Brilliant Prodigies show. Moore himself had represented Sussex in his youth.^[27]

Moore was also an enthusiastic amateur cricketer, playing for the Selsey Cricket Club well into his seventies.^[78] He also played for the Lord's Taverners, a cricketing charity team, as a bowler with an unorthodox action. Though an accomplished leg spin bowler, he was an 11th order batter and a poor fielder.^[79] The jacket notes to his 1960s book "Suns, Myths and Men" state that his hobbies include "chess, which he plays with a peculiar leg-spin, and cricket." He also played golf, and won a Pro-Am competition in Southampton in 1975.^[80]

Until being forced to give up owing to arthritis, Moore was a keen musician and accomplished xylophone player, having first played the instrument at the age of thirteen.^[81] He has composed a substantial corpus of works, including two operettas.^[82] Moore has also had a ballet entitled 'Lyra's Dream' written to his music. He once performed at a Royal Command Performance, and has also performed a duet with Evelyn Glennie.^[83] In 1998, as a guest on Have I Got News For You, he accompanied the show's closing theme tune on the xylophone and as a pianist, he once accompanied Albert Einstein playing The Swan by Camille Saint-Saëns on the violin (of which no recording was made).^[84] In 1981 he performed a solo xylophone rendition of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." in a Royal Variety Performance.^[85]

On 7 March 2006 he was hospitalised and fitted with a pacemaker because of a cardiac abnormality.^[86] Before such health problems he was an extensive traveller, and has set foot on all seven continents, (including Antarctica); he has stated that his favourite two countries were Iceland and Norway.^[87]

He is a friend of Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May, who is an occasional guest on The Sky at Night.^[88] The pair have co-authored a book with Chris Lintott, entitled Bang! The Complete History of the Universe. In February 2011, Moore completed (with Robin Rees and Iain Nicolson) his comprehensive Patrick Moore's Data Book of Astronomy for Cambridge University Press. In addition he wrote Bureaucrats: How to Annoy Them under the pseudonym R. T. Fishall, which was published by Sidgwick & Jackson in 1981.^[89] In 1986 he was identified as the co-author of a book published in 1954 called Flying Saucer from Mars, attributed to Cedric Allingham, which was intended as a practical joke on UFO believers;^[90] Moore has never admitted his involvement. He once joined the Flat Earth Society as an ironic joke.^[91]

Honours and appointments[link]

In 1945, Moore was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. In 1968, he was appointed OBE and promoted to CBE in 1988. In 1999 Moore became the Honorary President of the East Sussex Astronomical Society, a position which he still holds. In 2001, he was knighted for "services to the popularisation of science and to broadcasting".^[92] In the same year, he was appointed an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society, allowing him to use the letters FRS after his name.^[93] In June 2002, he was appointed as Hon. Vice President of the Society for the History of Astronomy. Also in 2002, Buzz Aldrin presented Moore a BAFTA for services to television.^[94]

Bibliography[link]

Moore has written a large number of popular books. The website Astronomy Now Online estimates that Moore has published over a thousand books on popular science, including all known editions and reprints.^[95] The list below is therefore not exhaustive:

See also[link]

• Jack Horkheimer (American counterpart)

References[link]

Specific

General

• Moore, Patrick (2003), The Autobiography, Sutton Publishing, ISBN 0-7472-6427-9 

External links[link]

• Biography at the BBC website
• Bang! The Complete History of the Universe by Brian May, Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott