Channel

Channel, channels, and similar terms may refer to:

Places

English Channel

The English Channel (French: la Manche, "the Sleeve"; Breton: Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; Cornish: Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"), also called simply the Channel, is the body of water that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the southern part of the North Sea to the rest of the Atlantic Ocean. The name "English Channel" is mostly used in English.

It is about 560 km (350 mi) long and varies in width from 240 km (150 mi) at its widest to 32.3 km (20.1 mi) in the Strait of Dover. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some 75,000 km² (29,000 sq mi).

Geography

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the English Channel as follows:

The IHO defines the southwestern limit of the North Sea as "a line joining the Walde Lighthouse (France, 1°55'E) and Leathercoat Point (England, 51°10'N)". The Walde Lighthouse is 6 km east of Calais (50°59′06″N 1°55′00″E / 50.98500°N 1.91667°E / 50.98500; 1.91667), and Leathercoat Point is at the north end of St Margaret's Bay, Kent (51°10′00″N 1°24′00″E / 51.16667°N 1.40000°E / 51.16667; 1.40000).

Monty Python

Monty Python (sometimes known as The Pythons) were a British surreal comedy group who created the sketch comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus, that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four seasons. The Python phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, spawning touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books, and a stage musical. The group's influence on comedy has been compared to The Beatles' influence on music.

Broadcast by the BBC between 1969 and 1974, Flying Circus was conceived, written, and performed by its members Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a sketch show, but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach (aided by Gilliam's animation), it pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in style and content. A self-contained comedy team responsible for both writing and performing their work, the Pythons had creative control which allowed them to experiment with form and content, discarding rules of television comedy. Their influence on British comedy has been apparent for years, while in North America, it has coloured the work of cult performers from the early editions of Saturday Night Live through to more recent absurdist trends in television comedy. "Pythonesque" has entered the English lexicon as a result.

Asking Alexandria

Asking Alexandria are an English metalcore band from York, North Yorkshire formed initially in 2008 by lead guitarist Ben Bruce along with former lead singer Danny Worsnop, bassist Joe Lancaster, keyboardist and synth player Ryan Binns, and current members drummer James Cassells and rhythm guitarist Cameron Liddell. Lancaster and Binns later departed from the band in 2009 with Lancaster joining heavy metal band With One Last Breath. Bassist Sam Bettley joined the band that same year, and in January 2015 Worsnop departed to focus on his new band We Are Harlot and was later replaced by Denis Stoff. The band has released three studio albums and are currently in production of a fourth.

History

Roots, formation and Stand Up and Scream (2006–2009)

Ben Bruce, the band's current lead guitarist and backing vocalist, originally formed the band in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2006. The band's original line up consisted of completely different members compared to that of the band's lineup from 2008 and released their debut album titled The Irony of Your Perfection. After realizing he wouldn't be able to achieve international success in Dubai, he moved back to England, Nottingham in 2008 and reassembled the band with new members from the local area, including lead singer Danny Worsnop, of which he had moved into his flat apartment in York.

Channel Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel (French: Le tunnel sous la Manche; also referred to as the Chunnel) is a 50.5-kilometre (31.4 mi) rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent, in the United Kingdom, with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, near Calais in northern France, beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is 75 m (250 ft) deep. At 37.9 kilometres (23.5 mi), the tunnel has the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world, although the Seikan Tunnel in Japan is both longer overall at 53.85 kilometres (33.46 mi) and deeper at 240 metres (790 ft) below sea level. The speed limit in the tunnel is 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph).

The tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, the Eurotunnel Shuttle for road vehicles—the largest such transport in the world—and international freight trains. The tunnel connects end-to-end with the LGV Nord and High Speed 1 high-speed railway lines.

Ideas for a cross-Channel fixed link appeared as early as 1802, but British political and press pressure over the compromising of national security stalled attempts to construct a tunnel. An early attempt at building a Channel Tunnel was made in the late 19th century, on the English side "in the hope of forcing the hand of the English Government". The eventual successful project, organised by Eurotunnel, began construction in 1988 and opened in 1994. At £4.65 billion, the project came in 80% over its predicted budget. Since its construction, the tunnel has faced several problems. Both fires and cold weather have disrupted its operation. Illegal immigrants have attempted to use the tunnel to enter the UK, causing a minor diplomatic disagreement over the siting of the refugee camp at Sangatte, which was eventually closed in 2002.