20 Pounds Sterling 2020, Kingdom of Great Britain
| no number in katalog | - |
| Years of issue: | 14.10.2020 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | Chief Financial Officer: Katie Murray |
| Serie: | Northern Ireland |
| Specimen of: | 12.04.2018 |
| Material: | Polymer |
| Size (mm): | 139 х 73 |
| Printer: | De la Rue currency,Gateshead |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Lough Neagh and denomination 20.
Lough Neagh is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. It is the largest lake by area in the British Isles, with a surface area of 151 square miles (392 square kilometers). It supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows are the Upper River Bann and River Blackwater, and its main outflow is the Lower River Bann. Its name comes from Irish: Loch nEachach, meaning "Eachaidh's lake". The lough is owned by the Earl of Shaftesbury.
Geologically the Lough Neagh Basin is a depression, built from many tectonic events dating back as far as 400 million years ago. These tectonic events are responsible for a NE-SW bedrock structure which has controlled many subsequent events. During the Paleozoic era, the Lough Neagh Basin was a depositional graben.
Of the 1,760-square-mile (4,550 km2) catchment area, around 9% lies in the Republic of Ireland and 91% in Northern Ireland; altogether 43% of the land area of Northern Ireland is drained into the lough, which itself flows out northwards to the sea via the River Bann. As one of its sources is the Upper Bann, the Lough can itself be considered as part of the Bann. Lough Neagh is fed by many tributaries including the rivers Main (34 mi., 55 km.), Six Mile Water (21 mi., 34 km.), Upper Bann (40 mi., 64 km.), Blackwater (57 mi., 92 km.), Ballinderry (29 mi., 47 km.) and Moyola (31 mi., 50 km.)
The lough's English name derives from Irish: Loch nEachach, meaning "Eachaidh's lake". In the aftermath of the Plantation of Ulster, the names Lough Sydney and Lough Chichester were variously applied, in honour of the Lord Deputies of the same name, however, they did not supplant "the more ancient though less refined appellation".
In the Irish mythical tale Cath Maige Tuired ("the Battle of Moytura"), Lough Neagh is called one of the 12 chief loughs of Ireland. The origin of the lake and its name is explained in an Irish tale that was written down in the Middle Ages, but is likely pre-Christian. According to the tale, the lake is named after Echaid (modern spelling: Eochaidh or Eachaidh), who was the son of Mairid (Mairidh), a king of Munster. Echaid falls in love with his stepmother, a young woman named Ébliu (Ébhlinne). They try to elope, accompanied by many of their retainers, but someone kills their horses. In some versions, the horses are killed by Midir (Midhir), which may be another name for Ébliu's husband Mairid. Óengus (Aonghus) then appears and gives them an enormous horse that can carry all their belongings. Óengus warns that they must not let the horse rest or it will be their doom. However, after reaching Ulster the horse stops and urinates, and a spring rises from the spot. Echaid decides to build a house there and covers the spring with a capstone to stop it overflowing. One night, the capstone is not replaced and the spring overflows, drowning Echaid and most of his family, and creating Loch n-Echach (Loch nEachach: the lake of Eochaidh or Eachaidh).
The character Eochaidh refers to The Daghdha, a god of the ancient Irish who was also known as Eochaidh Ollathair (meaning "horseman, father of all").[23] Ébhlinne, Midhir and Aonghus were also names of deities. Dáithí Ó hÓgáin writes that the idea of a supernatural being creating the landscape with its own body is an ancient one common to many pre-Christian cultures. A Gaelic sept called the Uí Eachach (meaning "descendants of Eochaidh") dwelt in the area and it is likely that their name comes from the cult of the god Eochaidh.
Another tale tells how the lake was formed when Ireland's legendary giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) scooped up a chunk of earth and tossed it at a Scottish rival. It fell into the Irish Sea, forming the Isle of Man, while the crater left behind filled with water to form Lough Neagh.
Sir Hugh Clotworthy settled from England near Antrim town in the reign of Elizabeth I and was granted the office of "Captain of Lough Neagh", with a stipend in return for maintaining boats on the lake to enforce royal authority. Clotworthy's successors as captain were his son and grandson-in-law, the first and second Viscounts Massereene. In 1660 Charles II gave the first Viscount the rights to the fish and bed of the lake. 
Bank logo of Ulster Bank - Daisy wheel.
Avers:
On top are European eels.
Eel fishing has been a major industry in Lough Neagh for centuries. These European eels make their way from the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, some 4,000 miles (6,000 km.) along the Gulf Stream to the mouth of the River Bann, and then make their way into the lough. They remain there for some 10 to 15 years, maturing, before returning to the Sargasso to spawn. Today Lough Neagh eel fisheries export their eels to restaurants all over the world, and the Lough Neagh Eel has been granted Protected Geographical Status under European Union law.
Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney produced a collection of poems A Lough Neagh Sequence celebrating the eel-fishermen's traditional techniques and the natural history of their catch.
The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a species of eel, a snake-like, catadromous fish. They are normally around 60-80 cm. (2.0-2.6 ft.) and rarely reach more than 1 m. (3 ft. 3 in.), but can reach a length of up to 1.5 m. (4 ft. 11 in.) in exceptional cases.
Eels have been important sources of food both as adults (including the famous jellied eels of East London) and as glass eels. Glass-eel fishing using basket traps has been of significant economic value in many river estuaries on the western seaboard of Europe.
Crataegus monogyna, known as common hawthorn, oneseed hawthorn, or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. It is native to Europe, northwest Africa and West Asia but has been introduced in many other parts of the world.
The common hawthorn is a shrub or small tree 5-14 meters (15 to 45 feet) tall, with a dense crown. The bark is dull brown with vertical orange cracks. The younger stems bear sharp thorns, approximately 12.5 mm. (half an inch) long. The leaves are 20 to 40 mm (1 to 1½ inches) long, obovate and deeply lobed, sometimes almost to the midrib, with the lobes spreading at a wide angle. The upper surface is dark green above and paler underneath.
The hawthorn is associated with Faerie in Ireland, and as such is not disturbed by those who believe in the danger fairies traditionally represent.
I found an article that one girl wrote in her live journal. I quote here the text, as it relates to hawthorn and Northern Ireland, with reference to the original!:
"The sixth letter of Ogama is Huath, sometimes referred to as Uath. Its phonetic meaning is the "h" sound. Huath is a tree of the goddess of carnal love, thorny and round-leaved hawthorn (Craetegus monogyna, in modern Irish - sceach gheal, in Welsh - ysbyddaden or draenenwen). Another name for hawthorn is "maypole", because the month of Huath lasts from the middle of the merry month of May, that is, from May 13 to June 9. In Ohama, this letter is called "terrible", which serves as a reminder of the "wicked witch" or destructive aspect of the Three-Faced Goddess. That is why it was considered a bad omen among the people to bring Maypole flowers into the house: unfortunately. The crown of the slain King Richard III was found in 1485 at Bosworth Field on a hawthorn bush. This tree has always been considered "enchanted" by the people, and anyone who is reckless enough to encroach on it cannot escape an evil fate. It was widely believed in Ireland that those responsible for destroying the sacred "seog" would be punished. In confirmation of this belief, there is still fresh tradition about the destruction of hawthorn when laying the road to the ill-fated De Lore plant in Northern Ireland. Local residents associated the catastrophic collapse of this enterprise with the evil fate of the hawthorn felling. The death of children or the death of livestock, the loss of accumulated money is the lot of those who had the audacity to destroy this thorny bush. The sacred maypoles were recorded by Sir Vaughan Cornish in his work Sacred Hawthorn Trees in the British Isles; many of them, unfortunately, have not survived to this day. And yet, either by virtue of custom, or out of due respect for the holy hawthorn, strips of matter are tied to its branches, clearly reminiscent of offerings to the Goddess. With the advent of Christianity, this custom was included in the cult of St. Monica. The new name overshadowed the pagan goddess of the woody pantheon. The letter Huath is a magical protector from all evils; it attracts the forces of the other world. The ornithological correspondence to Huath is hadaig, or "the crow that croaks at night." Hawthorn is considered the fourth peasant tree; its color is huath, that is, "terrible", and in a more modern interpretation - crimson, the forbidden color of the witch aspect of the Goddess. Being the letter of the frightening forces of the Other World, it does not have an esoteric number and has no parallel in the Gali alphabet". (ice-fairies.livejournal.com .rus)
Near the fuchsia is butterfly Cryptic Wood White (Leptidea juvernica).
Family: Whites and Yellows – Pieridae
Subfamily: Mimic Sulphurs – Dismorphiinae
Wing span: Medium-sized, 36-44 mm. (1.42–1.73 in.).
Wing upper side: White, forewing tip grey or black.
Wing underside: Light yellow, light green and light grey as patches.
Habitat: Forest edges and clearings.
Flying time: Early May-late June.
Overwintering form: Cocoon.
Larval foodplant: Meadow vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis), tufted vetch (Vicia cracca), bush vetch (V. sepium) and also other Pea family (Fabaceae) plants.
The cryptic wood white was definred as a species in its own right in 2011. (It was earlier described as réal’s wood white). Like the wood white (L. sinapis), cryptic wood white always rests with its wings against each other, which makes their upper surface difficult to study. Their long, round-tipped wings and slow, fluttering flying style are characteristic properties of both wood white species, and it is very difficult to tell them apart with absolute certainty. The blotch on the tip of cryptic wood white’s forewings is slightly darker and spreads along the leading edge towards the base (wood white’s blotch spreads towards the tip). The cryptic wood white might be more common in Finland than it is thought to be, as a completely certain identification can only be made with a study of the genitals. (www.luontoportti.com)
Revers:
On top are, again, the European eels.
The lilac 20-pounds note focuses on Northern Ireland as a place to live, highlighting architecture and the local concept of "craic", loosely translated as a spirit of fun and conviviality.
The main image of the reverse is street performers and their grateful audience (Craic) as a reflection of local music and culture.
Craic - Most likely, this word has already become globally used, but if you haven't come across it, then "Craic" is an Irish slang word for "fun" or "fun". For example, "The craic was mighty last night" ("We had a lot of fun last night").
Ever since the word "Craic" has become common in Irish everyday life, the term "Minus Craic" has emerged, which is used to mean that something was not just not funny, but "anti-fun" ... terrible!
Visible in the ultraviolet are skeletons, Leisler's bats, a pillar and a denomination of 20.
As a nod to Londonderry’s famous Halloween celebrations, security features visible under UV light incorporate skeletons and Leisler’s bat, which is the largest type of bat in Ireland.
If your plans do not include walking with the living dead, meeting with otherworldly forces, chilling stories about witches, werewolves and vampires. If you do not want to find yourself in a dank gothic castle with ghosts, who on this particular day are especially eager to communicate with the living, then stay away from these places. And do not say later that we did not warn you.
On October 31, the entire Western world celebrates Halloween or All Hallows' Eve - the evening on the eve of All Saints Day. The tradition of celebrating it dates back to the customs of the ancient Celts. It is believed that on this day, the souls of the dead return to Earth to visit their loved ones. Ireland and Scotland are recognized as the birthplace of the holiday, and it got a special scope in America, having gone there from Europe along with the first settlers. On this day, a real devilry is happening on earth.
Halloween originated in Ireland and was originally known here as the pagan festival of Samhain, the end of the harvest. And he acquired his mystical component in the 10th century, transforming into the Day of the Dead. The celebration of Halloween in the city of Derry (or Londonderry) takes place on a special scale. Carnival on the banks of the Foyle River lasts for nine whole days, and its peak falls naturally on October 31st. It seems that the whole city at this time goes out into the street, dressed up in creepy costumes. Music is playing, fireworks are flying into the sky, those who wish are invited to enter haunted houses, and there are horror film festivals. About 30 thousand tourists come to see the carnival every year. And we think there is nothing pleasant to be in the crowd of these madmen.
The lesser noctule, Leisler's bat or the Irish bat (Nyctalus leisleri), is a species of insectivorous bat belonging to the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. The species was named to honour the naturalist Johann Philipp Achilles Leisler.
It is a medium-sized bat, slightly smaller than the common noctule. It has a length of 48 to 68 mm. (head and body) and a wingspan of 260 to 330 mm. The forearm measures 38 to 47 mm. and the bat's weight is 11 to 20 grams. The face, ears and wings are dark. The fur is brown, darker at the base than the tip unlike that of the common noctule which is the same colour along its length. The undersides of the arms are hairy giving it the alternative name "hairy-armed bat". The ears are short and rounded with a mushroom-shaped tragus. The wings are long and narrow.
The lesser noctule is found locally across Europe and western Asia, eastwards as far as the Urals and Himalayas. It is also found in north-west Africa, the Canary Islands and Madeira. The form in the Azores is often considered to be a separate species - Azores noctule (Nyctalus azoreum).
It is typically found in forests, both coniferous and deciduous, but has also adapted to parkland and urban areas and frequently roosts in buildings.
In most parts of its range the lesser noctule is rare, however in Ireland it is much more common, being the island's largest and third most common bat species. Due to the lesser noctule's ubiquity in Ireland, the island is also considered its global stronghold. In Britain it is known from a few colonies in England and Wales with occasional wanderers reaching Scotland. Threats to its survival include declines in large insects, loss of forest and hollow trees and toxic chemicals found in treated timber in buildings.
The frequencies used by this bat species for echolocation lie between 25-54 kHz, have most energy at 29 kHz and have an average duration of 8.5 ms.
On background of banknote are tiles, brickwork, and patterns inspired by Northern Ireland’s ubiquitous red-brick public housing buildings. Other elements of the note’s unique design are drawn from the ornate decoration found on and in famous public buildings, corporate architecture, and domestic homes in Derry, Belfast, and other cities in Northern Ireland.
Comments:
Actress Jamie Lee O’Donnell pictured with Terry Robb (left), Ulster Bank’s head of personal banking, and Chris McGuinness, local director at Ulster Bank, at the launch of the bank's new £20 notes.
Derry Girls star Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, who plays Michelle in the hit Channel 4 series, helped launch the design of the new note at the bank's Culmore Road branch in Derry yesterday.
Terry Robb, head of personal banking in Northern Ireland, said the bank had received positive feedback on the design.
"Bank notes continue to be an important part of the way that people interact with us, and we're proud to introduce these bold new designs which celebrate our cities and commitment to enjoying ourselves," he said. (www.irishnews.com)
If you find my work useful I will be grateful for any help in supporting the site.
-
PayPal
-
For users of European Union banking system