Xemxija

Xemxija (Maltese: Ix-Xemxija, pronounced shem-shee-ya) is a suburb on the western part of St. Paul's Bay in the Northern Region, Malta. It is a quiet resort, surrounded by Maltese countryside and some of the most fertile valleys in Malta. There is also a picturesque small fishing harbour. The resort is the gateway to the sandy beaches of Golden Bay to the west, and to Mellieħa Bay to the north. There are a few hotels and restaurants in Xemxija, but nightlife, shops and bars can be found in nearby St. Paul's Bay, Buġibba and Qawra.

History

The area around Xemxija has been inhabited since prehistoric times. It contains a number of archaeological sites, which now form a heritage trail. These include a number of rock-hewn tombs, remains of two megalithic temples, a Bronze Age grain silo, trogloditic dwellings, cart ruts, a Roman road, and Roman apiaries.

In around 1715, the Order of St. John built Arrias Battery as part of a series of fortifications defending Malta's coastline. The redoubt was also called Xemxija Battery since it was on the sunny side of the bay (xemxija means "sunny" in Maltese), and the area around it became known as Xemxija. Today, the redoubt is a restaurant.

Mountain bike

A mountain bike or mountain bicycle (abbreviated MTB; or ATB, for all-terrain bicycle) is a bicycle created for off-road cycling.

Mountain bikes are typically ridden on mountain trails, fire roads, logging roads, single tracks and other unpaved environments. These types of terrain commonly include rocks, washouts, ruts, loose sand, loose gravel, roots, and steep grades (both inclines and declines). Mountain bikes are built to handle this terrain and the obstacles that are found in it like logs, vertical drop offs, and smaller boulders.

Mountain bike construction differs from a typical bicycle in many ways. The most noticeable differences are the inclusion of suspension on the frame and fork, larger knobby tires, more durable heavy duty wheels, more powerful brakes, and lower gear ratios needed for steep grades with poor traction.

Since the development of the sport in the 1970s many new subtypes of mountain biking have developed, such as cross-country (XC) biking, all-day endurance biking, Freeride-biking, downhill mountain biking, and a variety of track and slalom competitions. Each of these place different demands on the bike requiring different designs for optimal performance. MTB development has included an increase in suspension, typically up to 8" or 203mm, and gearing, up to 30 speeds, to facilitate both climbing and rapid descents. However, advancements in sprocket design has recently led to the "1x (pronounced one by)" trend, simplifying the gearing to one Chainring/Sprocket in the front and multiple sprockets on the rear of the drive train, more commonly, 9, 10 or 11 speed.

Ta' Qali

Ta' Qali is a village in Malta, a wide open space in the middle of Malta containing the national stadium, Ta' Qali National Park and a national vegetable market which is locally known as the Pitkalija.

Shortly before World War II, the area was used to build a military aerodrome and a station for the Royal Air Force (RAF), called RAF "Ta Kali". RAF Ta Kali was operational throughout the war and continued to be used as an RAF airfield until the mid-1950s. Latterly, U.K.-based squadrons visited Ta Kali as part of their annual proficiency training.

Since the departure of the RAF, the location has been transformed into a recreational area. The area is small in scale but considered by some in Malta as an ideal place to go for a picnic and spend weekend afternoons. The National Park also includes an amphitheatre. A number of international concerts were staged at the park, including artists as diverse as Status Quo, Deep Purple, Fish, Iron Maiden, Demis Roussos, Alannah Myles, Bonnie Tyler and many others. International artists such as Riccardo Fogli have also planted their own trees in the Park.

Thomas Cook

Thomas Cook (22 November 1808 – 18 July 1892) of Melbourne, Derbyshire, England founded the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son (popularly nicknamed Cook's Tours) that became Thomas Cook AG before eventually becoming Thomas Cook Group in 2007.

Life

Thomas Cook was born to John and Elizabeth Cook, who lived at 9 Quick Close in the village of Melbourne, Derbyshire.

The couple's first child, he was named after Elizabeth's father, Thomas Perkins. John Cook died when Thomas was three years old, and his mother remarried later that same year.

At the age of 10, Cook started working as an assistant to a local market gardener for a wage of sixpence a week. At the age of 14, he secured an apprenticeship with John Pegg, and spent five years as a cabinet maker.

He was brought up as a strict Baptist, and joined his local temperance society. In February 1826, Cook became a preacher, and toured the region as a village evangelist, distributing pamphlets and occasionally working as a cabinet maker to earn money. After working as a part-time publisher of Baptist and Temperance pamphlets, he became a Baptist minister in 1828.

San Martín

San Martín or San Martin may refer to:

People