Manganese

Maid Marian is presented differently in the many Robin Hood ballads and stories. In some she is portrayed as a Saxon girl who has known Robin Hood all her life, in others she is a Norman noblewoman, or the ward of the Sheriff of Nottingham who spies for Robin Hood. Sometimes she is a damsel in distress, and at others she is depicted as an able swordswoman, or the brains behind the Merry Men.

Yet, almost always, Maid Marian is Robin Hood's true love. According to local legend, they were married in St. Mary's church in Edwinstowe and remained together for the rest of their lives.

Sally Pollard (Chappell) was Nottingham's official Maid Marian until her death in 2017. Her day job was as a talented researcher in human genetics and dedicated teacher at the University of Nottingham. Outside of this role, she was Nottingham’s official Maid Marian, playing and dressing for the role at official events and re-enactments for more than 12 years and in the process meeting her husband Tim Pollard, who has been Nottingham’s Official Robin Hood for more than 20 years.

Sally and Tim were married in September 2016 and they have a daughter, Scarlett.

Manganese has an atomic number of twenty-five, and has twenty-five protons in the nucleus of an atom.

It exists as a naturally occurring free element, or is often combined with iron. 

Johann Gottlieb Gahn was the first scientist to isolate manganese from pyrolusite in 1774.

Some soils have low levels of manganese and so it is added to some fertilisers and given as a food supplement to grazing animals.