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M25 motorway [SEP] In 1990 the Secretary of State for Transport announced plans to widen the whole of the M25 to four lanes. By 1993 the motorway, designed for a maximum of 88,000 vehicles per day, was carrying 200,000. At this time, the M25 held 15% of UK motorway traffic and there were plans to add six lanes to the section from Junctions 12 to 15 as well as widening the rest of the motorway to four lanes. In parts, particularly the western third this plan went ahead, due to consistent congestion.

M25 motorway [SEP] Again, however, plans to widen further sections to eight lanes (four each way) were scaled back in 2009 in response to rising costs. The plans were reinstated in the agreed Highways Agency 2013–14 business plan. In June 1992, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced a proposal to widen the section close to Heathrow Airport to fourteen lanes by way of three additional link roads. This attracted fierce opposition from road protesters opposing the Newbury Bypass and other schemes, but also from local authorities.

M25 motorway [SEP] Surrey County Council led a formal objection to the widening scheme. It was cancelled shortly afterwards. In 1994, the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Appraisal published a report saying that "the M25 experience most probably does ... serve as an example of a case where roads generate traffic" and that further improvements to the motorway were counterproductive. In April 1995, the Transport Minister, Brian Mawhinney announced that the Heathrow link roads would be scrapped.

M25 motorway [SEP] In 1995 a contract was awarded to widen the section between Junctions 8 and 10 from six to eight lanes for a cost of £93.4 million and a Motorway Incident Detection and Automatic Signalling (MIDAS) system was introduced to the M25 from Junction 10 to Junction 15 at a cost of £13.5m in 1995. This was then extended to Junction 16 at a cost of £11.7m in 2002.

M25 motorway [SEP] This consists of a distributed network of traffic and weather sensors, speed cameras and variable-speed signs that control traffic speeds with little human supervision, and has improved traffic flow slightly, reducing the amount of start-stop driving. After Labour won the 1997 election, the road budget was cut from £6 billion to £1.4 billion. However, the DfT announced new proposals to widen the section between Junction 12 (M3) and Junction 15 (M4) to twelve lanes.

M25 motorway [SEP] At the Heathrow Terminal 5 public inquiry, a Highways Agency official said that the widening was needed to accommodate traffic to the proposed new terminal, however the transport minister said that no such evidence had been given. Environmental groups objected to the decision to go ahead with a scheme that would create the widest motorways in the UK without holding a public inquiry. Friends of the Earth cynically claimed the real reason for the widening was to support Terminal 5. The decision was again deferred.

M25 motorway [SEP] A ten-lane scheme was announced in 1998 and the £148 million 'M25 Jct 12 to 15 Widening' contract was awarded to Balfour Beatty in 2003. The scheme was completed in 2005 as dual-five lanes between Junctions 12 and 14 and dual-six lanes from Junctions 14 to 15. In 2007, Junction 25 (A10/Waltham Cross) was remodelled to increase capacity.

M25 motorway [SEP] The nearby Holmesdale Tunnel was widened to three lanes in an easterly direction, and additional left-turn lane added from the A10 onto the motorway. The total cost was £75 million. Work to widen the exit slip-roads in both directions at Junction 28 (A12 road / A1023) was completed in 2008.

M25 motorway [SEP] It was designed to reduce the amount of traffic queueing on the slip roads at busy periods, particularly traffic from the clockwise M25 joining the northbound A12 where the queue extended onto the inside lane of the motorway. In 2018, a new scheme was proposed as the junction had reached capacity at over 7,500 vehicles per hour. This would involve building a two-lane link road between the M25 and the A12. The work is expected to be completed around 2021/22.

M25 motorway [SEP] In 2006 the Highways Agency proposed to widen of M25 from six to eight lanes, between Junctions 5 and 6, and 16 to 30, as part of a Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) project. A shortlist of contractors was announced in October 2006 for the project which was expected to cost £4.5 billion.

M25 motorway [SEP] Contractors were asked to resubmit their bids in January 2008 and in June 2009 the new transport minister indicated that the cost had risen to £5.5 billion and the benefit to cost ratio had dropped considerably. In January 2009 the government announced that plans to widen the sections from Junctions 5 to 7 and 23 to 27 had been 'scrapped' and that hard shoulder running would be introduced instead. However widening was reinstated to four lanes in the 2013–14 Highways Agency Business Plan.

M25 motorway [SEP] In 2009 a £6.2 billion M25 DBFO private finance initiative contract was awarded to Connect Plus to widen the sections between Junctions 16 to 23 and 27 to 30, and maintain the M25 and the Dartford Crossing for a 30-year period. Works to widen the section between Junctions 16 (M40) and 23 (A1(M)) to dual four lanes started in July 2009 at an estimated cost of £580 million.

M25 motorway [SEP] The Junction 16 to 21 (M1) section was completed by July 2011 and the Junction 21 to 23 by June 2012. Works to widen the Junctions 27 (M11) to 30 (A13) section to dual four lanes also started in July 2009. The Junction 27 to 28 (A12) section was completed in July 2010, the Junction 28 to 29 (A127) in June 2011 and finally the Junction 29 to 30 (A13) section opened in May 2012.

M25 motorway [SEP] Works to introduce smart motorway technology and permanent hard shoulder running on two sections of the M25 began in 2013. The first section between Junctions 5 (A21/M26) and 7 (M23) started construction in May 2013 with the scheme being completed and opened in April 2014. The second section, between Junctions 23 (A1/A1(M)) and 27 (M11), began construction in February 2013 and was completed and opened in November 2014.

M25 motorway [SEP] In December 2016, Highways England completed the capacity project at Junction 30 (Thurrock) as part of the Thames Gateway Delivery Plan. The £100m scheme included widening the M25 to four lanes, adding additional link roads, and improvements to drainage. The M25 is one of Europe's busiest motorways. In 2003, a maximum of 196,000 vehicles a day were recorded on the motorway just south of Heathrow between junctions 13 and 14.

M25 motorway [SEP] The stretch between Junctions 14 and 15 nearby consistently records the highest number of daily traffic counts on the British strategic road network with the average flow in 2018 of 219,492 counts (lower than the record peak measured in 2014 of 262,842 counts). Traffic on the M25 is monitored by Connect Plus Services on behalf of Highways England. The company operate a series of transportable CCTV cameras that can be easily moved into congestion hotspots.

M25 motorway [SEP] This allows operators to see a clear view of the motorway and what can be done to tackle individual areas of congestion. Prior to its liquidation, Carillion was subcontracted to manage traffic on the M25, delivering live alerts from body-worn cameras via 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi. Since 1995, sections of the M25 have been equipped with variable speed limits. These purposefully slow traffic down in the event of congestion or an obstruction and help manage the traffic flow.

M25 motorway [SEP] The scheme was originally trialled between Junctions 10 and 16, and was made a permanent fixture in 1997. The Dartford Crossing is the only fixed vehicle crossing of the Thames east of Greater London. It is also the busiest crossing in the United Kingdom, and consequently puts pressure on M25 traffic. Users of the crossing do not pay a toll, but rather a congestion charge; the signs at the crossing are the same deployed over the London congestion charge zone.

M25 motorway [SEP] In 2009 the Department for Transport published options for a new Lower Thames Crossing to add capacity to the Dartford Crossing or create a new road and crossing linking to the M2 and M20 motorways. Plans for this stalled, and were cancelled by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson in 2013, to be replaced by the Gallions Reach Crossing. Initially a straight ferry replacement for the Woolwich Ferry, this was later changed to be a possible bridge or tunnel.

M25 motorway [SEP] On 16 December 1988, several vehicles were stolen and used as getaway for acts of murder and robbery, using the M25 to quickly move between targets. Three men, including Raphael Rowe were tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1990, but maintained their innocence. They became known as the M25 Three. Rowe studied journalism while in prison and following release became investigative journalist for the BBC. In 1996, Kenneth Noye murdered Stephen Cameron in a road rage incident while stopped at traffic lights on a M25 junction.

M25 motorway [SEP] He was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was released in June 2019. In November 2014, during overnight roadworks, a piece of road surface near Junction 9 at Leatherhead failed to set correctly because of rain. This created a pothole in the road and caused a tailback. The Minister for Transport, John Hayes criticised the work and the resulting traffic problems. The M25 has had problems with animals or birds running onto the carriageway.

M25 motorway [SEP] In 2009, the Highways Agency reported that they were called out several times a week to remove a swan from the motorway around Junction 13. There have been several reported accidents resulting from horses running onto the main carriageway. The orbital nature of the motorway, in common with racetracks, lent itself to unofficial, and illegal, motor racing. At the end of the 1980s, before the advent of speed enforcement devices, owners of supercars would meet at night at service stations such as South Mimms and conduct time trials.

M25 motorway [SEP] Times below 1 hour were achieved – an average speed of over 117 mph (188 km/h), which included coming to a halt at the Dartford Tunnel road user charge payment booths. The winner of the race received champagne rather than any money. The "Enfield Gazette" ran an advertisement saying "M25 club", and posters appeared near the M25 advertising the "First London Cannonball Run". Boris Johnson found out about the illegal racing while a junior reporter for "The Times".

M25 motorway [SEP] The racing had mostly disappeared by the end of the 1980s, but could no longer be done at all after speed cameras were introduced on the M25. A video game, "M25 Racer" was produced by Davilex Games in 1997, simulating the racing phenomenon. A similar game, "TOCA Race Driver 3" by Codemasters was released in 2006. It was criticised by road safety experts for its realistic portrayal of a V8 supercar travelling the M25 at , completing a lap in 42 minutes.

M25 motorway [SEP] Iain Sinclair's 2002 book and film "London Orbital" is based on a year-long journey around the M25 on foot. The M25 and the Dartford Crossing are known for its frequent traffic jams. These have been the subject of so much comment from such an early stage that even at the official opening ceremony Thatcher complained about "those who carp and criticise".

M25 motorway [SEP] The jams have inspired derogatory names, such as "Britain's Biggest Car Park" and songs (e.g., Chris Rea's "The Road to Hell"). Nevertheless, coach tours around the M25 have continued to run into the 21st century. The M25 plays a role in the comedy-fantasy novel "Good Omens", as "evidence for the hidden hand of Satan in the affairs of Man".

M25 motorway [SEP] The demon character, Crowley, had manipulated the design of the M25 to resemble a Satanic sigil, and tried to ensure it would anger as many people as possible to drive them off the path of good. The lengthy series of public inquiries for motorways throughout the 1970s, particularly the M25, influenced the opening of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", where the Earth is destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass.

M25 motorway [SEP] The M25 enjoyed a more positive reputation among ravers in the late 1980s, when this new orbital motorway became a popular route to the parties that took place around the outskirts of London. This use of the M25 for these raves inspired the name of the electronic duo Orbital. A piece of graffiti on the Chalfont Viaduct, clearly visible from the M25 and reading "" (parodying John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance") became popular with the public, attracting its own Facebook group.

M25 motorway [SEP] The message originally read "Peas", supposedly the tag of a London graffiti artist; the rest of the wording is reported to refer to his frequent clashes with the law. In September 2018, after standing for almost 20 years, the graffiti was vandalised and then removed and replaced with the message "give Helch a break". A spokesman for Network Rail sympathised with the requests to store the "much-loved graffiti", but said they do not condone people putting their lives at risk by trespassing.

M25 motorway [SEP] Data from driver location signs provide carriageway identifier information. The numbers on the signs are kilometres from a point on the north side of the Dartford Crossing, while the letter is "A" for the clockwise carriageway and "B" for the anticlockwise. They are spaced every . The M25 has been criticised for having too many junctions; 14 of them serve only local roads. In 2016, Edmund King, president of the Automobile Association attributed congestion on the M25 to excessive junctions.

M25 motorway [SEP] This leads to "junction hoppers" who only use the motorway for a short distance before exiting; their difference in speed when entering and leaving the main carriageway causes a domino effect, resulting in all vehicles slowing down. The M25 originally opened without any service areas. The first, at South Mimms was opened by Thatcher in June 1987, a week before the election. Thatcher admired the practical and no-frills architecture of Charles Forte and praised him in her opening speech.

M25 motorway [SEP] The second, Clacket Lane, was opened by Robert Key, Minister for Roads and Traffic on 21 July 1993. Construction was delayed as the remains of a Roman villa were found on the site, requiring archaeological research. The other service area between Junctions is Cobham, which opened on 13 September 2012. ! scope=col| miles ! scope=col| km ! scope=col| Clockwise exits (A carriageway) ! scope=col| Junction !

M25 motorway [SEP] scope=col| Anti-clockwise exits (B carriageway) ! scope=col| Opening date Notes Citations Sources

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Dame Edna Everage is a character created and performed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured or "wisteria hue" hair and cat eye glasses or "face furniture", her favourite flower, the gladiolus ("gladdies") and her boisterous greeting: "Hello, Possums!"

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] As Dame Edna, Humphries has written several books including an autobiography, "My Gorgeous Life", appeared in several films and hosted several television shows (on which Humphries has also appeared as himself and other alter-egos). Humphries has regularly updated Edna, originally a drab Melbourne housewife satirising Australian suburbia. Then he caused the Edna character to adopt an increasingly outlandish wardrobe after performances in London in the 1960s through which his Edna character grew in stature and popularity.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] She is also well-known for her outlandish spectacles. Barry Humphries has claimed that they were inspired by the glasses worn by Melbourne eccentric, beautician, radio broadcaster, actor and dancer Stephanie Deste; as were many other aspects of Dame Edna's personality. Following film appearances and an elevation to damehood in the 1970s, the character evolved to "Housewife and Superstar", then "Megastar" and finally "Gigastar".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Dame Edna became increasingly known in North America after multiple stage and television appearances. Edna describes her chat-shows as "an intimate conversation between two friends, one of whom is a lot more interesting than the other". The character has been used to satirise the cult of celebrity, class snobbery, and prudishness and is often used by Humphries to poke fun at the political leaders and fashions of the times.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Her exuberant persona and scathing commentary on society and celebrity, as well as her habit of treating celebrities like ordinary people (on her TV shows) and ordinary people like celebrities (in her stage shows) have become signatures. Although Humphries freely states that Edna is a character he plays, Edna refers to Humphries as her "entrepreneur" or manager. Humphries and his staff of assistants and writers only refer to Edna as "she" and "her", never mixing the character with Humphries himself.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] It is this precision and richness of identity which gives Dame Edna her unique force as a character. In March 2012, Humphries announced that the character would be retired at the end of the current stage tour, but later in 2013 he decided to bring her back.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] While Dame Edna is a fictitious character (whose life story has been entirely created by Barry Humphries), so complete is her identity as an individual that Macmillan published "My Gorgeous Life", Edna's "autobiography" (written by Humphries but credited to Edna herself), on its non-fiction list. Humphries has also written an "Unauthorised Biography" of his life as Edna's manager: "Handling Edna", published in 2010.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] According to "My Gorgeous Life", and statements Edna has made over the years, she was born Edna May Beazley in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, with a sibling who would give birth to Barry McKenzie. Everage started her stage career in a sketch entitled "Olympic Hostess" in the revue "Return Fare" on 19 December 1955 as Mrs. Norm Everage, an "average Australian housewife" from Moonee Ponds, a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] She spends her time visiting world leaders and jet-setting between her homes in Los Angeles, London, Sydney, Switzerland and Martha's Vineyard. She is a friend and confidante of the Queen and has advised prime ministers and presidents. Edna once took an on-air phone call from President Ronald Reagan to assure him that he was, indeed, still the president; and at stageshows she has claimed to be giving former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, elocution lessons.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] The character has three adult children, Bruce, Kenny, and Valmai. Her first daughter, Lois, when still an infant, went missing and was believed to have been abducted by a "rogue koala" during a family camp-out in the outback, à la Azaria Chamberlain. In "Handling Edna, the Unauthorised Biography", Humphries absolves the koala of any role in the affair and reveals the true fate of Lois, who in fact survived abduction to become a Catholic nun.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Edna's surviving daughter, Valmai, has assisted Dame Edna on her most recent programmes for ITV1, including "The Dame Edna Treatment" and has assisted on her live tour shows. Edna takes great pride in her two sons: Bruce, who works as an engineer in South Melbourne and is married to Joylene from Ivanhoe, and her youngest, Kenneth (or Kenny), who is a fashion designer in London and designs all of her frocks.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Dame Edna refers often to him and his partner, Clifford Smale, both of whom Edna believes are searching for "Miss Right", although she admits they are looking "in some very strange places". Kenny appeared in Sir Les Patterson's documentary "Les Patterson and the Great Chinese Takeaway" as a boutique owner in Hong Kong. Dame Edna's mother is incarcerated in a "maximum-security twilight home for the permanently bewildered".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Valmai and Kenny are the only family members (so far) who have appeared on stage or screen with their mother. Her husband, Sir Norman Everage, died in 1988 after many years in hospital suffering from prostate problems and a "testicular murmur"; Edna founded the non-profit "Friends of the Prostate" in his honour. Dame Edna was not with Norm when he died.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] And due to his insistence that all his organs be donated; by the time she reached his bedside, Norm had been "globally recycled" and all that remained was "a dent in the pillow". As a result, Dame Edna almost believed that Norm's cremation was a "waste of money". In recent years, Edna has demonstrated her social conscience and sensitivity, telling audiences of her intention to adopt an African child from "the country where Madonna shops for loved ones".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Dame Edna spent many years accompanied by her bridesmaid and constant companion Madge Allsop (played by Emily Perry), a New Zealander from Palmerston North who assisted Dame Edna with her appearances and television shows. ( Perry died at the age of 100 in 2008 and now Dame Edna's daughter Valmai has replaced her on stage). Madge never spoke a public word (although she sang on Comic Relief), and while she was often the butt of Dame Edna's jokes, the two were devoted.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] In "Handling Edna, the Unauthorised Biography", Humphries gives Madge a voice and explains the sad loss of her own husband in New Zealand's boiling mud, whilst the couple were on their honeymoon. On some of her shows ("The Dame Edna Experience") Dame Edna was joined on stage by 'Chuck' (Charlton Heston) where he would be mildly humiliated and mistreated. Dame Edna is praised for her insights into her homeland.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] When asked why Australians are so good at sport she commented: "Good food and diet; open air life; juicy steaks; sunshine — and the total absence of any kind of intellectual distraction". Dame Edna launched a campaign to be appointed as a BBC newsreader in 2009 after the corporation announced it wished to seek a female newsreader over 50 years old.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] On 7 March 2007, Melbourne renamed a city street in her honour: Dame Edna Place, formerly Brown Alley off Little Collins Street, was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, John So. Dame Edna Place is opposite Royal Arcade and The Causeway, between the major roads, Elizabeth Street and Swanston Street; it was, until its renaming, a service alley for adjoining buildings. Dame Edna was not at the renaming ceremony but was represented by ten look-alike Dames.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Everage Street in suburban Moonee Ponds has also been named in her honour. In 1982, Dame Edna's alter-ego Barry Humphries was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for "services to the theatre" and on 16 June 2007 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to entertainment. In MAC Cosmetics 2008 Winter Line-Up, a Dame Edna collection of cosmetics were released including eye shadow, lipstick, powder, and nail polish.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] A bronze statue was unveiled at Melbourne Docklands in January 2009. It is located by the Yarra river near Harbour Town which also includes statues of singer John Farnham, Dame Nellie Melba, and Graham Kennedy. Barry Humphries was invited to join the fledgling Union Theatre Repertory Company early in 1955 and toured Victorian country towns performing "Twelfth Night", directed by Ray Lawler. On tour, Humphries invented Edna gradually as part of the entertainment for the actors during commutes between country towns.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Humphries gradually developed a falsetto impersonation of a Melbourne housewife, imitating the Country Women's Association representatives who welcomed the troupe in each town. At Lawler's suggestion, Mrs Everage (later named Edna after Humphries' nanny) made her first appearance in a Melbourne University's UTRC revue at the end of 1955, as the city prepared for the 1956 Olympic Games.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] The sketch involved a houseproud "average housewife" offering her Moonee Ponds home as an Olympic billet, spruiking her home as possessing "burgundy wall-to-wall carpets, lamington cakes and reindeers frosted on glass dining-room doors". At this time the character was billed as "Mrs Norm Everage" (Humphries describing this name as "Everage as in 'average', husband Norm as in 'normal'") and had none of the characteristic flamboyant wardrobe of later years.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] His mother (whom the interviewer William Cook said "sounds like a frightful snob") was a major inspiration for Edna, although he denied it when she was alive to protect her feelings. Her first monologue in 1955 was about her "lovely home", reflecting young Barry’s own site visits accompanying his builder father. Originally she was a "mousy" character and too quiet to please the raucous crowd at The Establishment club in London.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] According to John Lahr, Edna came into her own during the 1980s when the policies of Thatcherism—and what he described as the "vindictive style of the times"—allowed Dame Edna to sharpen her observations accordingly. Lahr wrote that Edna took Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's "seemingly hypocritical motto" of "caring and compassion" for others and turned it on its head, Edna became the voice of Humphries' outrage. Humphries played the character at comedy clubs, satirising the atmosphere of 1950s Melbourne suburbia.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] An interview with "Mrs Everage" was one of the programmes screened on HSV-7's first day of programming in 1956. Another revue called Rock'n'Reel followed in 1958 at the New Theatre in Melbourne. She appeared in a televised revue shown on New Year's Eve, 1958, "Wild Life and Christmas Belles".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] The character's overseas debut, now as Edna Everage, was in the early 1960s at comedian Peter Cook's nightclub, The Establishment, in London's West End, where she received a poor review from Bamber Gascoigne, then the drama critic for "The Spectator". Barry Humphries cites Cook as being instrumental in launching Edna's UK career.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] While her first appearances at the Establishment Club was a flop, the mousy Edna being too quiet to please that raucous crowd, a 2016 interviewer William Cook saw the early failure as a blessing, so that Humphries spent the sixties as a jobbing actor rather than as a pampered star. In 1972, the character appeared as Barry McKenzie's "Aunt Edna" in the film, "The Adventures of Barry McKenzie".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] In the sequel "Barry McKenzie Holds His Own", the Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam cameos at the close of the film to confer upon Edna the title of Dame, henceforth to be known as "Dame Edna".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Following the lukewarm reception to Edna's early appearances in Humphries' 1969 stageshow "Just a Show" and the BBC television series "The Barry Humphries Scandals", a growing awareness and appreciation among British audiences for Edna emerged and Humphries devised a stage show titled "Edna Everage Housewife Superstar" which was successfully presented in London's West End in the mid-1970s. The show featured monologues, songs and what was becoming an Edna trademark – interaction with the theatre audience.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] In April 1976, Edna made an appearance in "A Poke in the Eye (with a Sharp Stick)" – the first of what became Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball series of benefit shows. Edna performed a song for the show and was featured in the film of the show. She also appeared in the 1981 Amnesty show "The Secret Policeman's Other Ball". Edna made a cameo appearance in the 1978 film "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] In 1979 she was the subject of a BBC "Arena" mockumentary: "La Dame aux Gladiolas". Humphries debuted the character off-Broadway in New York City in the late 1970s, but the show received such a poor review from "The New York Times" that Humphries later joked that he thought, "Well, I'll go back to Broadway but I'll wait till the critic's dead – and I had to wait 25 years.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] I had to wait a quarter of a century for that critic to die". Dame Edna's success grew in the UK throughout the 1980s and early 1990s with semi-regular stage and television shows. Her first TV specials were in 1978/79 on BBC, but she became popular with broadcaster ITV after her initial performance on "An Audience With...Dame Edna Everage" in 1980, in front of an audience of invited celebrities.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] She went on to perform two more "An Audience With..." specials (in 1984 and 1988), the only performer ever to make three shows in the series. In 1987, Edna starred alongside Humphries's vulgar alter-ego Les Patterson in the comedy feature "Les Patterson Saves the World".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] In the same year "The Dame Edna Experience", ostensibly a talk show which she described as "really a monologue interrupted by total strangers" aired, featuring high-profile "celebrity guests" such as Sean Connery, Mel Gibson, Joan Rivers, and Germaine Greer (an old friend of Humphries'), as well as Madge, her silent, sour-faced "bridesmaid and travelling companion".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] In 1989, the show was back for a second season, this time taking place in her "luxury penthouse suite" where her guests stayed and, in the case of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr, did her grocery shopping. Subsequently, these shows were aired in the U.S. on PBS, broadening her audience and enlarging her fame. "

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch" a reality/game show hybrid, aired in 1992, and saw her and Madge having a look at her "by invitation only, ladies audience" member's houses, and evaluating their housekeeping skills. U.S. television specials followed, as did an unsuccessful series which aired only one episode. She appeared as a guest of Phil Donahue on his talk show on 17 February 1993. In 1997, she appeared in another television talk show "Dr Dame Edna Kisses It Better".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Edna continued her Australian stage and television appearances including a record five appearances as guest presenter at the TV Week Logie Awards and a role as a co-narrator (along with Humphries and Les Patterson) of the ABC's Australian social history series "Barry Humphries Flashbacks" in 1999. In 2000 and 2004, Dame Edna appeared on Broadway, and toured America with both shows. These were ostensibly not "performances", but rather "appearances", with Dame Edna giving monologues and interacting with audience members.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Her 2000 show, "The Royal Tour," won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show, and a Tony Award. During 2001 and 2002, Dame Edna appeared in the fifth season of the television show "Ally McBeal" playing the guest role of Claire Otoms, a client of the show's law firm who later became a secretary at the same firm.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] The character shared Dame Edna's voice and style and was explicitly listed in the opening credits as being played by Dame Edna Everage (although Barry Humphries received a credit in the closing credits). Claire Otoms is an anagram of "A Sitcom Role". In the 2002 motion picture "Nicholas Nickleby" Dame Edna plays the role of Mrs. Crummles, an actress and wife of the manager of a provincial theatre company. Barry Humphries also appears in the film as Mr. Leadville.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Dame Edna appeared at the Party at the Palace in London in 2002 where she referred to the Queen as the "jubilee girl". The nostalgic "Barry Humphries: Back to my Roots" tour featured Humphries, Edna, Sir Les and Sandy Stone around Australia in 2003. In 2003, she had an interview punctuated with NPR Weekend Edition's host Scott Simon's table-pounding laughter. The character celebrated her 50th "birthday" in 2005. She appeared in the 2005 Myer Christmas advert.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] To mark the occasion, in 2006, Australia Post featured Edna on a postage stamp and the Lord Mayor of Melbourne presented Edna with the key to the city. She toured Australia with the stageshow "Barry Humphries Back With a Vengeance" and appeared on camera "together" with Humphries for the first time in an interview by Ray Martin for Australia's 60 Minutes.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] She also appeared on screen at the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne while 1000 "Commonwealth Dames" danced around the arena wearing purple wigs, garish costumes and gladioli, singing along to her song, "We've Made The Most Of Melbourne" : "It's not as small as Adelaide, Compared to Canberra, it's bliss, And if you've been to Melbourne, You can give Sydney a miss."

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] On 20 May 2006 she appeared on ITV's coverage of The Prince's Trust 30th Birthday Concert. During the telethon-style segments of the event, she took part in a game of "Blind Date" picking former "X Factor" contestant Chico Slimani over actors Roger Moore and Richard E Grant. In the summer of 2006, Dame Edna appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" alongside Billy Crystal.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] On 23 September 2006, during an interview on "Parkinson", she revealed that she would be returning to ITV in 2007 with a new chat show called "The Dame Edna Treatment". The show began on Saturday 17 March 2007, with the set-up being that Edna runs a health spa where various famous guests come for treatment. On 17 December 2006, Dame Edna appeared as a guest panellist on the ABC TV Show "Spicks and Specks" where she sang with presenter Adam Hills.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] On 16 December 2007 she appeared as the last guest on the final episode of the "Parkinson" UK talk show. On 29 May 2008 she appeared on "The Graham Norton Show" alongside Ray Mears and Alanis Morissette. On 8 August 2008 she appeared on "Loose Women" on the final show of that year's series. On 12 September and 15 December 2008, and also on 27 May 2009, she made guest appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Accompanied by her daughter Valmai in America and Sir Les Patterson in the UK, Dame Edna again toured with what was declared "My First Last Tour". On television in early 2009, she appeared in adverts to publicise the insurance company Norwich Union's change of name to Aviva, quoting her change of name from Mrs Everage. On 9 June 2009, she appeared as a guest on "The Late Late Show" with Craig Ferguson.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] On 17 July 2009, she appeared as a guest on "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross". On an episode of "The One Show" in September 2009 a piece of graffiti on Sunderland's Penshaw Monument read "Edna Woz Ere 09" and a pair of Everage's signature glasses were drawn next to it.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Dame Edna performed the "Last Night of the Poms" at the Royal Albert Hall accompanying the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on 15 September 2009 and on 21 September, she appeared as a guest on Channel 4's "The Paul O'Grady Show". In 2010, Dame Edna collaborated with cabaret pianist and singer Michael Feinstein for a two-person revue in the US entitled "All About Me", based on the premise that the pair were rivals who were forced to work together for the show's sake.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] The show opened as the second production for the newly refurbished Henry Miller's Theatre and was planned to run from 18 March through 18 July 2010 (with previews beginning on 22 February), but lukewarm reviews and low ticket sales led to the limited engagement being cut short and closing on 4 April 2010, after 27 previews and 20 regular performances. On 25 March 2010, she appeared on the television talk show "The View" as a guest host to promote the production.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] On 29 April 2011 she appeared on the BBC-1 broadcast "William and Kate: The Royal Wedding", with Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson, covering the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton at Buckingham Palace, along with Tracy Grimshaw and Kathy Lette at Westminster Abbey. On 18 March 2012, Humphries announced he would "retire" the Dame Edna character because he was "beginning to feel a bit senior".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] On 15 March 2013, Dame Edna Everage appeared on "Red Nose Day 2013" as a guest star and judge for the "Comic Relief Does MasterChef" competition between Jack Whitehall and Micky Flanagan. In June 2013, Dame Edna returned in a Sydney Opera House production of "Peter and the Wolf". In 2013, Dame Edna announced her final tour of the UK. The show opened in November 2013 at the London Palladium before beginning a UK tour in January 2014.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] On 11 February 2015 she appeared on "The Great Comic Relief Bake Off" in aid of Comic Relief.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] "Dame Edna's Glorious Goodbye – The Farewell Tour" – began in Seattle, Washington at The Moore Theatre (15–18 January 2015) and continued on to The Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles (24 January 2015 through 15 March 2015) next traveling to San Francisco's Orpheum Theater (17–22 March 2015) then on to the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California (30 March 2015 – 4 April 2015) then Toronto, Ontario, Canada's Princess of Wales Theatre (9–19 April 2015) and concluding in Washington, DC at the National Theatre (21–26 April 2015.)

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Dame Edna was a guest on "Michael McIntyre's Big Christmas Show", broadcast by BBC1 on Christmas Day 2015. Dame Edna appeared briefly in "" (2016) in a non-speaking cameo, one of two characters played by Humphries in the film. In 1997 Naxos released a CD in the Children's Classics series (catalogue number 8.554170) In 2003, "Vanity Fair" magazine invited Dame Edna to write a satirical advice column.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] She created controversy with a piece published in the February 2003 issue. Replying to a reader who asked if she should learn Spanish, she wrote: Some members of the Hispanic community read this reply as a racist remark and complaints flooded in to the magazine. Actress Salma Hayek responded angrily, penning a furious letter in which she denounced Dame Edna. After "Vanity Fair" received death threats, the magazine published a full-page apology to the Hispanic community.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] Humphries commented later: "If you have to explain satire to someone, you might as well give up".

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] When Dame Edna was questioned about the controversy on the eve of her 2003 Australian tour, she retorted that Hayek's denunciation was due to "professional jealousy", and that Hayek was envious because the role of painter Frida Kahlo (for which Hayek received an Oscar nomination) had originally been offered to Edna: When I was offered the part of Frida I turned it down, and she was the second choice.

Dame Edna Everage [SEP] I said 'I'm not playing the role of a woman with a moustache and a monobrow, and I'm not having same-sex relations on the screen' ... I'm not racist. I love all races, particularly white people. You know, I even like Roman Catholics.

Phlegra hentzi [SEP] Phlegra hentzi is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is found in the United States and Canada.

Alton Towers [SEP] Alton Towers () (often referred to as Alton Towers Resort) is an amusement park in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton, which is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, spa, mini golf and hotel complex. Originally a private estate, Alton Towers grounds opened to the public in 1860 to raise funds. In the late 20th century, it was transformed into a theme park and opened a number of new rides from 1980 onwards.

Alton Towers [SEP] In 2017, it was the second most visited theme park in the UK after Legoland Windsor. The park features a range of attractions, such as Congo River Rapids, Runaway Mine Train, Nemesis, Oblivion, Galactica, The Smiler, and Wicker Man. It operates a total of ten roller coasters and offers a range of accommodation and lodging options alongside the theme park. Facilities include Alton Towers Waterpark, conference facilities, a crazy golf course, and a high ropes course.

Alton Towers [SEP] The theme park is open from mid-March to early November, whilst many of its hotels and amenities are open year-round. The theme park is occasionally closed midweek in the quieter months. Special events are hosted throughout the year, including Alton Towers Scarefest (the park's Halloween event), and a season-ending fireworks display held on the last three days of the season. Alton Towers first opened to the public on a regular basis following the opening of Alton travel railway. station.

Alton Towers [SEP] Money raised from railway excursions was paid to the Earl and helped to maintain the upkeep of the grounds. In 1924, a group of local businessmen formed Alton Towers Ltd and began to restore the gardens as a tourist attraction. In the 1950s, this included the operation of a fairground, and by the 1970s included a boating lake and chairlift. After millionaire property developer John Broome married the daughter of majority shareholder Denis Bagshaw in 1973, he bought out the controlling stake in Alton Towers.

Alton Towers [SEP] Over the next few years, he laid the foundation for the modern theme park by installing various permanent rides and developing areas of the grounds in progressive stages. In the 1980s, Broome opened a succession of rides and roller coasters around the park, including Corkscrew, Pirate Ship (now The Blade), Alpine Bobsleigh, The Flume, and The Black Hole.

Alton Towers [SEP] Broome sold Alton Towers to The Tussauds Group, then a division of Pearson plc, in 1990, after encountering financial troubles in attempting to develop the former Battersea Power Station into a similar theme park. The change of ownership brought an era of major redevelopment and promotion, involving the opening of large themed areas and new attractions, such as Runaway Mine Train (1992), The Haunted House (1992), Toyland Tours (1994), and Nemesis (1994).

Alton Towers [SEP] Later, Oblivion (1998) and Air (2002, now Galactica) saw the park sustain its reputation for major roller coasters, both marketed as 'World First' rides. Tussauds' park development team from 1990 to 2002 included well-known attraction producer John Wardley, among experienced others. The Tussauds Group was sold to venture capitalist firm Charterhouse in 1998, then to Dubai International Capital (DIC) for £800 million in 2005.

Alton Towers [SEP] The Tussauds Group was then bought by Merlin Entertainments in March 2007 for over £1billion from DIC, placing Alton Towers under their control. In May 2007, The Blackstone Group purchased The Tussauds Group for US$1.9 billion and merged it into Merlin Entertainments with management by Merlin. Dubai International Capital also gained 20% of Merlin Entertainment. On 17 July 2007, Alton Towers was sold to private investor Nick Leslau's investment firm Prestbury under a sale and leaseback agreement.