Bove
Bove is an important city in Candelaria And Marquez, situated on the east coast of the largest island, Candelaria, several miles inland on the Peláez Cove. First established as the town of Bovington in the late 1840s, the early success of the city that would become Bove was built on the rich mineral deposits to the west. Since this time it has always been seen as the "muscles" of the Candelarias, a heavily industrialised city with huge steel and ironworks employing the bulk of the population. Throughout most of the second half of the twentieth century it fought with Arrigo for the title of the country’s most populous city, only being surpassed when the borders of the city of Albrecht were expanded. Modern Bove is essentially continuous with Albrecht to the extent that only a public referendum stopped plans for its inclusion in the capital’s new borders. Though many of the original industries have diminished in output and importance; Bove is still a feistily working-class city where the various chemical plants, factories for glass-making, textiles and, increasingly, electronic equipment; are the major employers after Public Administration. Having expanded to include a number of fishing villages in the early twentieth century; port activities are also important though not to the extent of most of the other large settlements on the east of Candelaria and west of Marquez. The media is also a key employer, with the country’s largest television stations all based in the city. Much of the city still consists of turn-of-the-last-century terraced housing where thousands of poor, left-leaning 'Bovities' expect to earn a job for life after leaving school at eighteen with one of these large companies. The living conditions in these areas are often modest but far from unpleasant, and the City Council has gone to great lengths in recent years to introduce many more green spaces. There are also significant expanses of red-brick family homes and relatively plush and modern high-rises, particularly surrounding the city centre. The modern city is based around Courtney Market, the largest traditional open air market in the country. The main financial and commercial district, Thornywood Ward, is to the east; the entertainment and civic areas to the west of the market. The country’s largest urban park, the Little Farm, sits to the north. The park includes several large stately houses, which were previously owned by wealthy individuals who often ran small surrounding hamlets in an almost feudal style; a state of affairs that did not alter drastically until the 1980s when most of the houses were bought by the City Council. One such, Beeftown House, is now the City Council building. To the south lies the Media City, an important employer and part of Bove’s modern identity. Formed around Nunian Road and Candle Street; the MC is the base of operations for the country’s state television TV1, TV2 and pay-per-view TV3 channels and the largest national commercial network, TTO. The Albrecht Herald and Albrecht Mercury are today edited and printed here, alongside the national Bove National Reporter and left-leaning local paper Bovington Citizen, one of the oldest in the Candelarias. The current C&M government have also been keen to attract major foreign broadcasters to the country and to open offices in the city, though at the current time only LBG broadcasts nationally. Bove is not known as a centre of sporting excellence, with basketball being traditionally the most popular team sport (there are four semi-professional teams in the city). There have been a series of short-lived football clubs all attaining only a very modest degree of success and public popularity. The game in the city could well be on the rise however, with the achievements of AFC MN Smith, formed in 2003, who could well qualify for the CMSC's Division One |
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