Tampere tramcar 05, working Line 3 in Hämeenkatu at Koskipuisto tram stop.

 

Tampere was the principal industrial center of Finland for many years and the center of the country's labor movement. Efforts to develop an urban tramway system date to 1907, during the period of Russian rule. Financing could not be obtained because of the First World War and the subsequent Suomen sisällissota (Finnish Civil War) of 1918 January - May. (The Battle of Tampere, 1918 March - April, is remembered today as the most destructive engagement of the war.) Thereafter, a motorbus service was started in 1918 but soon went bankrupt, and was discontinued in 1920. A plan for a four-line tramway system was drafted in 1923 but did not advance. The tramway plan was abandoned formally in 1929.

 

2022 July 1.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

The AMD Mystère S represents one of the many evolutionary steps in French 2nd generation jet fighter aircraft design, which began with the straight-wing Dassault Ouragan and progressed through the Mystère II/III and Mystère IV to the supersonic Super Mystère SM2B. Internally designated AMD 461 and originally called the Mystère X (Roman numeral “10”, not the letter “X”), the new aircraft was the attempt to improve the successful Mystère IV from 1953 in many respects, following Marcel Dassaults strategy to take small, evolutionary steps instead of radical quantum leaps. While the overall outlines were similar and followed the proven layout of the former Dassault jet fighters, the AMD 461 was a completely new design, though.

 

First of all, the machine was from the start designed around the indigenous axial-flow Atar 101 jet engine, since it had become obvious that the former radial-flow engines used in Dassault’s fighters, like the Rolls-Royce Tay and its French-built version, the Hispano-Suiza Verdon 350, did not offer the potential for sustained supersonic performance in level flight. As a result, the fuselage became thinner and the aircraft had a less tubby look. Furthermore, in order to achieve the ambitious performance goals, a new wing was devised, and it incorporated leading edges made from novel composite materials. The wing shape was more complex than previous AMD designs: unlike the simple trapezoid Mystère II and IV wing designs, the AMD 461’s wings had kinked wing leading edges at about half span, so that the wing root sections were extended forward and had a slightly stronger sweep than the outer wing sections (47° vs. 45°), resulting in a crescent planform with rounded tips. Dogteeth at the kinks’ position increased the wings’ critical Mach number, augmented by small boundary layer fences. A novelty were power-operated ailerons. The tail surfaces were swept, too, and featured a variable-incidence tail plane.

 

The Mystère IV’s circular nose air intake arrangement was retained, but the intake received a sharper lip for better aerodynamic efficiency at high speed. The intake ducts were split deeper down inside of the fuselage, flanking the cockpit and the weapon bay behind it (see below) on both sides. The small ranging radar, originally developed for the upgraded Mystère IVB (which never made it into series production due to a fatal prototype crash and the progress of AMD’s other supersonic projects), was relocated and now mounted on top of the intake section, reminiscent of the F-86’s arrangement. A gun camera was placed outside of the intake in a small fairing on the starboard side. Two pitots under the air intake (one main and a secondary sensor) replaced the Mystère IV’s single wing-mounted sensor boom.

 

Being a classic “gunfighter”, the AMD 461’s main armament comprised a pair of 30mm DEFA cannon in the lower front fuselage, taken over from the Mystère IV, and a retractable Type 103 pannier for 45 unguided MATRA missiles against air or ground targets behind the front wheel well. Four underwing hardpoints could carry a total payload of 1.500 kg (3.300 lb), including a pair of supersonic 625 l drop tanks on the inner pair of pylons. A typical fighter weapon were lightweight Matra Type 116M launchers, each with 19 unguided SNEB-68 air-to-air rockets. Up to four could be carried under the wings. In a secondary attack/fighter bomber role, bombs of various caliber (up to 500 kg/1.100 lb on the inner and 250 kg/550 lb on the outer hardpoints) and other unguided missiles/pods were possible, too.

 

The first Mystère X prototype was powered by the Atar 101D with 29,420 N (6,610 lbf) of thrust, and it flew successfully in June 1953. However, due to the lack of an afterburner at this stage, the machine could only become supersonic in a dive, just like the former Mystère fighters, and it offered in this guise only minimal performance improvements – even though the handling near Mach 1 was already noticeably better. The initial flight test program was successful, though, and the Armée de l’Air immediately placed an order for 100 Mystère X aircraft, intended to improve the Armée de l’Air’s interception capabilities as soon as possible. Serial production started instantaneously, even while the flight tests were still ongoing, and the production machines were powered by the newly developed Atar 101F, which had just been cleared for production and operation on the Mystère X prototype. The Atar 101F was basically a D model with an afterburner added to it, to produce a temporary thrust of 37,300 N (8,400 lbf) and ensure the desired top speed in level flight of more than Mach 1. As a result, the Mystère X’s tail section had to be modified to accommodate the new engine’s longer tailpipe, which did not feature an adjustable nozzle yet – it was simply extended beyond the fin’s trailing edge, and even then the longer jet pipe protruded from the hull. However, this modification was successful and incorporated into the serial aircraft. With the Atar 101F, the serial production Mystère X’s performance was appreciably improved: beyond supersonic top speed, initial rate of climb was almost doubled in comparison with the Mystère IV, but the thirsty afterburner engine almost nullified any gain in range from the new type’s higher internal fuel capacity. Drop tanks had to be carried almost all the time.

 

The quick (if not hastened) order for the Mystère X also served as an insurance policy in the event of the AMD effort failing to produce an even more capable supersonic aircraft with the Mystère XX, a project that had been under development as a private venture in parallel, but with a time lag of about two years and benefitting from the research that had been done for the AMD 461. However, both designs turned out to be successful and both were adopted for service. They became known to the public as the Mystère S (for ‘supersonique’) and the Super Mystère, respectively. The first Super Mystère prototype, powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon RA.7R, took to the air on 2 March 1955, and the promising aircraft already broke the sound barrier in level flight the following day. The Super Mystère turned out to be the more capable and modern aircraft thanks to its new, more powerful Atar 109G-2 engine.

 

The more capable Super Mystère was immediately favored and, as a consequence, the running Mystère S order was cancelled in May 1955 and its initial production run limited to a mere 54 airframes - the number that had been completed until that point. The Super Mystère became the Armée de l’Air’s standard fighter for the late Fifties and production was quickly switched to the new type, 180 specimen were eventually built. Since a mix of types in the operational fighter squadrons was not economical, the Armée de l’Air decided to separate them and find a different role for the young but relatively small Mystère S fleet. Since the aircraft had a rugged airframe and had shown very good handling characteristics at medium to low altitude, and because the Armée de l’Air was lacking a fast, tactical and indigenous reconnaissance aircraft at that time (the standard type was the RF-84F), the Armée de l’Air decided in 1956 to convert the Mystère S fighters accordingly.

 

This modification was a relatively easy task: The retractable missile pannier (which was hardly ever used) was removed and its well behind the cockpit offered sufficient internal space for optical reconnaissance equipment in a conditioned compartment. This comprised four OMERA cameras (less than the RF-84F’s six cameras), covered by a ventral canoe fairing. One camera was facing forward, two were set on mounts that allowed vertical photography or camera orientation to either port or starboard, and the fourth camera had a panoramic field of view. After these modifications, the machines were re-designated Mystère SR to reflect their new role and capabilities.

 

Initially, the converted machines retained the twin DEFA cannon armament and full external stores capability. Typical load in the new photo-recce role was the standard pair of drop tanks, plus optional flares for night photography. In this guise the Mystère SR fleet was distributed among two reconnaissance units, ER 2/33 “Savoie” and ER 3/33 “Moselle” in Eastern France, close to the German border, starting service in April 1957.

Later in their career, the Mystère SR’s guns and also the ranging radar equipment (even though the empty small radome was retained) were often removed. This was initially a weight-saving measure for better performance, but due to their short legs many Mystère SRs had extra fuel tanks added to the former gun and ammunition bays. In some cases the space was used to house additional mission equipment, the aircrafts’ designation did not change, though. The integration of the new Matra R.550 Magic AAM was considered briefly in 1970, but not deemed relevant for the Mystère SR’s mission profile. However, eight late-production Mystère SRs received a new, bigger panoramic OMERA camera, which necessitated a larger ventral fairing and some other internal changes. These machines were re-designated Mystère SRP (‘panoramique’). Another early Mystère SR was used for the development of indigenous infra-red linescan and side looking airborne radar systems, which were both later incorporated in an under-fuselage pod for the Mirage IIIR.

 

Having become quickly obsolete through the introduction of 3rd generation jet fighters in the early Sixties – namely the Mirage III – the Mystère SR’s active career only lasted a mere 10 years, and the Mirage III’s fighter variants quickly replaced the Super Mystère, too. Due to its many limitations, the Mystère SR was soon replaced by the Mirage IIIR reconnaissance version, by 1974 all aircraft had been retired. Another reason for this early operational end were durability problems with the composite elements on the aircraft’s wings – there had been no long-term experience with the new material, but the elements tended to become brittle and collapse under stress or upon bird strikes. AMD conceived a plan to replace the affected panels with light metal sheets, but this update, which would have prolonged service life for 10 more years, was not carried out. After spending 5 years in mothballed storage, all surviving Mystère SR airframes were scrapped between 1980 and 1981.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 42 ft 3 in (12.88 m) overall

42 ft 3 in (12.88 m) w/o pitots

Wingspan: 32 ft 4 in (9.86 m)

Height: 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in)

Wing area: 345.5 sq ft (32.2 m²)

Empty weight: 13,435 lb (6,094 kg)

Gross weight: 21,673 lb (9,831 kg)

Fuel capacity: 3,540 l (778 imp gal; 934 US gal) internally

plus 2x 625 l (72 imp gal; 165 US gal) drop tanks

 

Powerplant:

1× Atar 101F turbojet, rated at 29.42 kN (6,610 lbf) dry thrust

and with 37.3 kN (8,400 lbf) with afterburner

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 1,110 km/h (600 kn, 690 mph) at sea level

1,180 km/h (637 kn 732 mph,) at 11,000 m (36,089 ft)

Combat range: 915 km (494  nmi, 570 mi) with internal fuel only

Maximum range: 1,175 km (730 mi, 634 nmi)

Service ceiling: 45,800 ft (14,000 m)

Rate of climb: 14,660 ft/min (74.5 m/s)

Time to altitude: 40,000 ft (12,000 m) in 4 minutes 41 seconds

 

Armament:

2x 30mm (1.18 in) DEFA 552 cannon with 150 rounds per gun (later frequently deleted)

Four underwing hardpoints for 1.500 kg (3.300 lb) of ordnance,

including a pair of 625 liter drop tanks, flares and various unguided missiles and iron bombs

  

The kit and its assembly:

A project I had on my idea list for a long time – there were so many AMD jet fighter designs (both that entered service but also many paper projects and prototypes) during the Fifties and Sixties that I wondered if I could smuggle a what-if type somewhere into the lineage. A potential basis appeared when I recognized that the British Supermarine Swift had a fuselage shape quite similar to the contemporary French fighters, and from this impression the idea was born to “Frenchize” a Swift.

 

This called for a kitbash, and I used a Matchbox Mystère IV (Revell re-boxing) for the French donor elements that would be grafted onto an Xtrakit FR.5 model, which looks good in the box but has serious fit issues, e.g. between the rear fuselage halves or when the wings have to be mated with the completed fuselage.

The transplantations from the rather primitive/blunt Matchbox Mystère included the whole cockpit section except for the interior, which was taken from the in this respect much better Swift, the glazing, the spine and the whole tail with fin and stabilizers. The Swift provided most of the fuselage, the wings and the landing gear, even though I used the Mystère’s main wheels because of their characteristic hub caps/brake arrangement.

Mating the fuselage sections from the two models became a major stunt, though, because the diameters and shapes were rather different. Three-dimensional gaps and steps behihd the cockpit had to be bridged, initially with 2C putty for the rough overall shape and then with NC putty for a smooth finish. A gap in the spine in front of the fin had to be improvised/filled, too, and the Mystère’s fin had to be tailored to the different Swift rear fuselage shape, too.

The result looks a little odd, though, the Swift’s original air intake ducts now look from certain angles like hamster cheeks – but after all, the ducts have to pass the central cockpit section on both sides somehow, so that the arrangement makes nonetheless sense. And the small dorsal spine taken over from the Mystère changes the Swift’s profile considerably, as well as the shorter Dassault-style canopy.

 

The small ranging radar radome is just a piece of sprue from the Mystère kit, blended into the rest of the fuselage with putty. The interior of the air intake was heavily modified – the original splitter, positioned directly inside of the intake, was deleted and the walls trimmed down for a much thinner/sharper lip. Inside of the intake a bulkhead was added as a sight blocker, and a new splitter was mounted to the new bulkhead in a much deeper position. The gun camera fairing is a piece of styrene profile, the new twin pitots (reminiscent of the SM2B’s arrangement) were made from heated sprue material.

The camera fairing is the lower half from a P-47 drop tank, left over from a Hobby Boss kit, IIRC, and in order to fit the Swift’s cockpit tub into the Mystère’s fuselage the rear bulkhead had to be re-created with the help of paper tissue drenched with white glue.

The drop tanks come from a KP MiG-19, which had the benefit of integral, thin pylons at a suitable position for the Mystère SR. For a different look I just canted their fins downwards.

  

Painting and markings:

For a subtle impression I settled for an authentic livery: the French rendition of the USAF SEA scheme for the F-100 with local CELOMER tones, which was not only applied to the Armée de l’Air’s F-100s (these were originally delivered in NMF and camouflaged later in the Sixties), but also to the Super Mystères - the SM2Bs actually carried a quite faithful adaptation of the USAF’s F-100 pattern! However, the indigenous CELOMER paints differed from the original U.S. Federal Standard tones (FS 30219, 34102, 34079 and 36622, respectively), esp. the reddish light tan was more of an earth tone, and the dark green had a more bluish hue.

 

This offered some freedom – even more so because real life pictures of French reference aircraft show a wide range of shades of these basic tones and frequent serious weathering. Instead of the U.S. tan I went for RAF Dark Earth (Humbrol 29), the dark Forest Green was replaced with Humbrol 75 (Bronze Green). The light green became a 2:1 mix of Humbrol 117 (the original FS 34102) with Humbrol 78 (RAF Cockpit Green), for more contrast and less yellow in the tone. The undersides were painted with Humbrol 166 (RAF Light Aircraft Grey).

After a black ink wash I gave the model a thorough panel post-shading and recreated some lost panel lines with the help of silver paint, too. I also added some paint patches and touch-ups, for a rather worn look of the aircraft.

The black areas around the gun muzzles were created with the help of decal material, generic black decal sheet material was also used to create the camera windows. Grey (Revell 75) dielectric panels were added to the fin tip and behind the cockpit. The cockpit interior became very dark grey (Revell 09, Anthracite, with some dry-painted medium grey on top), while the landing gear and the respective wells were left in aluminum (Humbrol 56).

 

The decals are a mix from various sources. The ER 2/33 markings came from a Heller Mirage III sheet, which offers an optional IIIR from 1984. I also settled for relatively small roundels (from a Mirage F.1C) – a trend which started in the Armée de l’Air in the early Seventies and also comprised the deletion of the fin flash. Contemporary real world SM2Bs with the French SEA cammo frequently carried a similar type of subdued markings instead of earlier, bigger roundels found on the machines in NMF finish or on the aircraft from EC 1/12 "Cambresis" with their unique and different camouflage in two shades of green and a rather sandy tan, almost like a desert paint scheme. The white tactical code “33-PS” was improvised with single 4mm letters from TL Modellbau. The stencils were puzzled together from various Mirage III/V/F.1C sheets and also from an IAI Kfir.

 

The kit received some additional dry-painting with silver to simulate more wear, and was finally sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish.

  

Another “missing link” build, but I think that my Mystère S fits stylistically well into the (non-existent, though) gap between the Mystère IV and the Super Mystère, sporting vintage details like the round air intake but coupled with highly swept wings and the Swift’s elegant lines. The “traditional” French paint scheme adds to the realism - and, when put in the right background/landscape context, turns out to be very effective. Not a spectacular model, despite serious body work around the cockpit, but a convincing result.

Colosseum

Following, a text, in english, from the Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia:

The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started between 70 and 72 AD[1] under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus,[2] with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (81–96).[3] The name "Amphitheatrum Flavium" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name (Flavius, from the gens Flavia).

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators,[1][4][5] the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Although in the 21st century it stays partially ruined because of damage caused by devastating earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.[6]

The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.

The Colosseum's original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, often anglicized as Flavian Amphitheater. The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, hence its original name, after the reign of Emperor Nero.[7] This name is still used in modern English, but generally the structure is better known as the Colosseum. In antiquity, Romans may have referred to the Colosseum by the unofficial name Amphitheatrum Caesareum; this name could have been strictly poetic.[8][9] This name was not exclusive to the Colosseum; Vespasian and Titus, builders of the Colosseum, also constructed an amphitheater of the same name in Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli).[10]

The name Colosseum has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby.[3] (the statue of Nero itself being named after one of the original ancient wonders, the Colossus of Rhodes[citation needed]. This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios (Sol) or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.

In the 8th century, a famous epigram attributed to the Venerable Bede celebrated the symbolic significance of the statue in a prophecy that is variously quoted: Quamdiu stat Colisæus, stat et Roma; quando cadet colisæus, cadet et Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus ("as long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world").[11] This is often mistranslated to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus (as in, for instance, Byron's poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage). However, at the time that the Pseudo-Bede wrote, the masculine noun coliseus was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as the Flavian amphitheatre.

The Colossus did eventually fall, possibly being pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.[12]

The name further evolved to Coliseum during the Middle Ages. In Italy, the amphitheatre is still known as il Colosseo, and other Romance languages have come to use similar forms such as le Colisée (French), el Coliseo (Spanish) and o Coliseu (Portuguese).

Construction of the Colosseum began under the rule of the Emperor Vespasian[3] in around 70–72AD. The site chosen was a flat area on the floor of a low valley between the Caelian, Esquiline and Palatine Hills, through which a canalised stream ran. By the 2nd century BC the area was densely inhabited. It was devastated by the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, following which Nero seized much of the area to add to his personal domain. He built the grandiose Domus Aurea on the site, in front of which he created an artificial lake surrounded by pavilions, gardens and porticoes. The existing Aqua Claudia aqueduct was extended to supply water to the area and the gigantic bronze Colossus of Nero was set up nearby at the entrance to the Domus Aurea.[12]

Although the Colossus was preserved, much of the Domus Aurea was torn down. The lake was filled in and the land reused as the location for the new Flavian Amphitheatre. Gladiatorial schools and other support buildings were constructed nearby within the former grounds of the Domus Aurea. According to a reconstructed inscription found on the site, "the emperor Vespasian ordered this new amphitheatre to be erected from his general's share of the booty." This is thought to refer to the vast quantity of treasure seized by the Romans following their victory in the Great Jewish Revolt in 70AD. The Colosseum can be thus interpreted as a great triumphal monument built in the Roman tradition of celebrating great victories[12], placating the Roman people instead of returning soldiers. Vespasian's decision to build the Colosseum on the site of Nero's lake can also be seen as a populist gesture of returning to the people an area of the city which Nero had appropriated for his own use. In contrast to many other amphitheatres, which were located on the outskirts of a city, the Colosseum was constructed in the city centre; in effect, placing it both literally and symbolically at the heart of Rome.

The Colosseum had been completed up to the third story by the time of Vespasian's death in 79. The top level was finished and the building inaugurated by his son, Titus, in 80.[3] Dio Cassius recounts that over 9,000 wild animals were killed during the inaugural games of the amphitheatre. The building was remodelled further under Vespasian's younger son, the newly designated Emperor Domitian, who constructed the hypogeum, a series of underground tunnels used to house animals and slaves. He also added a gallery to the top of the Colosseum to increase its seating capacity.

In 217, the Colosseum was badly damaged by a major fire (caused by lightning, according to Dio Cassius[13]) which destroyed the wooden upper levels of the amphitheatre's interior. It was not fully repaired until about 240 and underwent further repairs in 250 or 252 and again in 320. An inscription records the restoration of various parts of the Colosseum under Theodosius II and Valentinian III (reigned 425–455), possibly to repair damage caused by a major earthquake in 443; more work followed in 484[14] and 508. The arena continued to be used for contests well into the 6th century, with gladiatorial fights last mentioned around 435. Animal hunts continued until at least 523, when Anicius Maximus celebrated his consulship with some venationes, criticised by King Theodoric the Great for their high cost.

The Colosseum underwent several radical changes of use during the medieval period. By the late 6th century a small church had been built into the structure of the amphitheatre, though this apparently did not confer any particular religious significance on the building as a whole. The arena was converted into a cemetery. The numerous vaulted spaces in the arcades under the seating were converted into housing and workshops, and are recorded as still being rented out as late as the 12th century. Around 1200 the Frangipani family took over the Colosseum and fortified it, apparently using it as a castle.

Severe damage was inflicted on the Colosseum by the great earthquake in 1349, causing the outer south side, lying on a less stable alluvional terrain, to collapse. Much of the tumbled stone was reused to build palaces, churches, hospitals and other buildings elsewhere in Rome. A religious order moved into the northern third of the Colosseum in the mid-14th century and continued to inhabit it until as late as the early 19th century. The interior of the amphitheatre was extensively stripped of stone, which was reused elsewhere, or (in the case of the marble façade) was burned to make quicklime.[12] The bronze clamps which held the stonework together were pried or hacked out of the walls, leaving numerous pockmarks which still scar the building today.

During the 16th and 17th century, Church officials sought a productive role for the vast derelict hulk of the Colosseum. Pope Sixtus V (1585–1590) planned to turn the building into a wool factory to provide employment for Rome's prostitutes, though this proposal fell through with his premature death.[15] In 1671 Cardinal Altieri authorized its use for bullfights; a public outcry caused the idea to be hastily abandoned.

In 1749, Pope Benedict XIV endorsed as official Church policy the view that the Colosseum was a sacred site where early Christians had been martyred. He forbade the use of the Colosseum as a quarry and consecrated the building to the Passion of Christ and installed Stations of the Cross, declaring it sanctified by the blood of the Christian martyrs who perished there (see Christians and the Colosseum). However there is no historical evidence to support Benedict's claim, nor is there even any evidence that anyone prior to the 16th century suggested this might be the case; the Catholic Encyclopedia concludes that there are no historical grounds for the supposition. Later popes initiated various stabilization and restoration projects, removing the extensive vegetation which had overgrown the structure and threatened to damage it further. The façade was reinforced with triangular brick wedges in 1807 and 1827, and the interior was repaired in 1831, 1846 and in the 1930s. The arena substructure was partly excavated in 1810–1814 and 1874 and was fully exposed under Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.

The Colosseum is today one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually. The effects of pollution and general deterioration over time prompted a major restoration programme carried out between 1993 and 2000, at a cost of 40 billion Italian lire ($19.3m / €20.6m at 2000 prices). In recent years it has become a symbol of the international campaign against capital punishment, which was abolished in Italy in 1948. Several anti–death penalty demonstrations took place in front of the Colosseum in 2000. Since that time, as a gesture against the death penalty, the local authorities of Rome change the color of the Colosseum's night time illumination from white to gold whenever a person condemned to the death penalty anywhere in the world gets their sentence commuted or is released,[16] or if a jurisdiction abolishes the death penalty. Most recently, the Colosseum was illuminated in gold when capital punishment was abolished in the American state of New Mexico in April 2009.

Because of the ruined state of the interior, it is impractical to use the Colosseum to host large events; only a few hundred spectators can be accommodated in temporary seating. However, much larger concerts have been held just outside, using the Colosseum as a backdrop. Performers who have played at the Colosseum in recent years have included Ray Charles (May 2002),[18] Paul McCartney (May 2003),[19] Elton John (September 2005),[20] and Billy Joel (July 2006).

Exterior

Unlike earlier Greek theatres that were built into hillsides, the Colosseum is an entirely free-standing structure. It derives its basic exterior and interior architecture from that of two Roman theatres back to back. It is elliptical in plan and is 189 meters (615 ft / 640 Roman feet) long, and 156 meters (510 ft / 528 Roman feet) wide, with a base area of 6 acres (24,000 m2). The height of the outer wall is 48 meters (157 ft / 165 Roman feet). The perimeter originally measured 545 meters (1,788 ft / 1,835 Roman feet). The central arena is an oval 87 m (287 ft) long and 55 m (180 ft) wide, surrounded by a wall 5 m (15 ft) high, above which rose tiers of seating.

The outer wall is estimated to have required over 100,000 cubic meters (131,000 cu yd) of travertine stone which were set without mortar held together by 300 tons of iron clamps.[12] However, it has suffered extensive damage over the centuries, with large segments having collapsed following earthquakes. The north side of the perimeter wall is still standing; the distinctive triangular brick wedges at each end are modern additions, having been constructed in the early 19th century to shore up the wall. The remainder of the present-day exterior of the Colosseum is in fact the original interior wall.

The surviving part of the outer wall's monumental façade comprises three stories of superimposed arcades surmounted by a podium on which stands a tall attic, both of which are pierced by windows interspersed at regular intervals. The arcades are framed by half-columns of the Tuscan, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, while the attic is decorated with Corinthian pilasters.[21] Each of the arches in the second- and third-floor arcades framed statues, probably honoring divinities and other figures from Classical mythology.

Two hundred and forty mast corbels were positioned around the top of the attic. They originally supported a retractable awning, known as the velarium, that kept the sun and rain off spectators. This consisted of a canvas-covered, net-like structure made of ropes, with a hole in the center.[3] It covered two-thirds of the arena, and sloped down towards the center to catch the wind and provide a breeze for the audience. Sailors, specially enlisted from the Roman naval headquarters at Misenum and housed in the nearby Castra Misenatium, were used to work the velarium.[22]

The Colosseum's huge crowd capacity made it essential that the venue could be filled or evacuated quickly. Its architects adopted solutions very similar to those used in modern stadiums to deal with the same problem. The amphitheatre was ringed by eighty entrances at ground level, 76 of which were used by ordinary spectators.[3] Each entrance and exit was numbered, as was each staircase. The northern main entrance was reserved for the Roman Emperor and his aides, whilst the other three axial entrances were most likely used by the elite. All four axial entrances were richly decorated with painted stucco reliefs, of which fragments survive. Many of the original outer entrances have disappeared with the collapse of the perimeter wall, but entrances XXIII (23) to LIV (54) still survive.[12]

Spectators were given tickets in the form of numbered pottery shards, which directed them to the appropriate section and row. They accessed their seats via vomitoria (singular vomitorium), passageways that opened into a tier of seats from below or behind. These quickly dispersed people into their seats and, upon conclusion of the event or in an emergency evacuation, could permit their exit within only a few minutes. The name vomitoria derived from the Latin word for a rapid discharge, from which English derives the word vomit.

Interior

According to the Codex-Calendar of 354, the Colosseum could accommodate 87,000 people, although modern estimates put the figure at around 50,000. They were seated in a tiered arrangement that reflected the rigidly stratified nature of Roman society. Special boxes were provided at the north and south ends respectively for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins, providing the best views of the arena. Flanking them at the same level was a broad platform or podium for the senatorial class, who were allowed to bring their own chairs. The names of some 5th century senators can still be seen carved into the stonework, presumably reserving areas for their use.

The tier above the senators, known as the maenianum primum, was occupied by the non-senatorial noble class or knights (equites). The next level up, the maenianum secundum, was originally reserved for ordinary Roman citizens (plebians) and was divided into two sections. The lower part (the immum) was for wealthy citizens, while the upper part (the summum) was for poor citizens. Specific sectors were provided for other social groups: for instance, boys with their tutors, soldiers on leave, foreign dignitaries, scribes, heralds, priests and so on. Stone (and later marble) seating was provided for the citizens and nobles, who presumably would have brought their own cushions with them. Inscriptions identified the areas reserved for specific groups.

Another level, the maenianum secundum in legneis, was added at the very top of the building during the reign of Domitian. This comprised a gallery for the common poor, slaves and women. It would have been either standing room only, or would have had very steep wooden benches. Some groups were banned altogether from the Colosseum, notably gravediggers, actors and former gladiators.

Each tier was divided into sections (maeniana) by curved passages and low walls (praecinctiones or baltei), and were subdivided into cunei, or wedges, by the steps and aisles from the vomitoria. Each row (gradus) of seats was numbered, permitting each individual seat to be exactly designated by its gradus, cuneus, and number.

The arena itself was 83 meters by 48 meters (272 ft by 157 ft / 280 by 163 Roman feet).[12] It comprised a wooden floor covered by sand (the Latin word for sand is harena or arena), covering an elaborate underground structure called the hypogeum (literally meaning "underground"). Little now remains of the original arena floor, but the hypogeum is still clearly visible. It consisted of a two-level subterranean network of tunnels and cages beneath the arena where gladiators and animals were held before contests began. Eighty vertical shafts provided instant access to the arena for caged animals and scenery pieces concealed underneath; larger hinged platforms, called hegmata, provided access for elephants and the like. It was restructured on numerous occasions; at least twelve different phases of construction can be seen.[12]

The hypogeum was connected by underground tunnels to a number of points outside the Colosseum. Animals and performers were brought through the tunnel from nearby stables, with the gladiators' barracks at the Ludus Magnus to the east also being connected by tunnels. Separate tunnels were provided for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins to permit them to enter and exit the Colosseum without needing to pass through the crowds.[12]

Substantial quantities of machinery also existed in the hypogeum. Elevators and pulleys raised and lowered scenery and props, as well as lifting caged animals to the surface for release. There is evidence for the existence of major hydraulic mechanisms[12] and according to ancient accounts, it was possible to flood the arena rapidly, presumably via a connection to a nearby aqueduct.

The Colosseum and its activities supported a substantial industry in the area. In addition to the amphitheatre itself, many other buildings nearby were linked to the games. Immediately to the east is the remains of the Ludus Magnus, a training school for gladiators. This was connected to the Colosseum by an underground passage, to allow easy access for the gladiators. The Ludus Magnus had its own miniature training arena, which was itself a popular attraction for Roman spectators. Other training schools were in the same area, including the Ludus Matutinus (Morning School), where fighters of animals were trained, plus the Dacian and Gallic Schools.

Also nearby were the Armamentarium, comprising an armory to store weapons; the Summum Choragium, where machinery was stored; the Sanitarium, which had facilities to treat wounded gladiators; and the Spoliarium, where bodies of dead gladiators were stripped of their armor and disposed of.

Around the perimeter of the Colosseum, at a distance of 18 m (59 ft) from the perimeter, was a series of tall stone posts, with five remaining on the eastern side. Various explanations have been advanced for their presence; they may have been a religious boundary, or an outer boundary for ticket checks, or an anchor for the velarium or awning.

Right next to the Colosseum is also the Arch of Constantine.

he Colosseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events. The shows, called munera, were always given by private individuals rather than the state. They had a strong religious element but were also demonstrations of power and family prestige, and were immensely popular with the population. Another popular type of show was the animal hunt, or venatio. This utilized a great variety of wild beasts, mainly imported from Africa and the Middle East, and included creatures such as rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, aurochs, wisents, barbary lions, panthers, leopards, bears, caspian tigers, crocodiles and ostriches. Battles and hunts were often staged amid elaborate sets with movable trees and buildings. Such events were occasionally on a huge scale; Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in Dacia in 107 with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators over the course of 123 days.

During the early days of the Colosseum, ancient writers recorded that the building was used for naumachiae (more properly known as navalia proelia) or simulated sea battles. Accounts of the inaugural games held by Titus in AD 80 describe it being filled with water for a display of specially trained swimming horses and bulls. There is also an account of a re-enactment of a famous sea battle between the Corcyrean (Corfiot) Greeks and the Corinthians. This has been the subject of some debate among historians; although providing the water would not have been a problem, it is unclear how the arena could have been waterproofed, nor would there have been enough space in the arena for the warships to move around. It has been suggested that the reports either have the location wrong, or that the Colosseum originally featured a wide floodable channel down its central axis (which would later have been replaced by the hypogeum).[12]

Sylvae or recreations of natural scenes were also held in the arena. Painters, technicians and architects would construct a simulation of a forest with real trees and bushes planted in the arena's floor. Animals would be introduced to populate the scene for the delight of the crowd. Such scenes might be used simply to display a natural environment for the urban population, or could otherwise be used as the backdrop for hunts or dramas depicting episodes from mythology. They were also occasionally used for executions in which the hero of the story — played by a condemned person — was killed in one of various gruesome but mythologically authentic ways, such as being mauled by beasts or burned to death.

The Colosseum today is now a major tourist attraction in Rome with thousands of tourists each year paying to view the interior arena, though entrance for EU citizens is partially subsidised, and under-18 and over-65 EU citizens' entrances are free.[24] There is now a museum dedicated to Eros located in the upper floor of the outer wall of the building. Part of the arena floor has been re-floored. Beneath the Colosseum, a network of subterranean passageways once used to transport wild animals and gladiators to the arena opened to the public in summer 2010.[25]

The Colosseum is also the site of Roman Catholic ceremonies in the 20th and 21st centuries. For instance, Pope Benedict XVI leads the Stations of the Cross called the Scriptural Way of the Cross (which calls for more meditation) at the Colosseum[26][27] on Good Fridays.

In the Middle Ages, the Colosseum was clearly not regarded as a sacred site. Its use as a fortress and then a quarry demonstrates how little spiritual importance was attached to it, at a time when sites associated with martyrs were highly venerated. It was not included in the itineraries compiled for the use of pilgrims nor in works such as the 12th century Mirabilia Urbis Romae ("Marvels of the City of Rome"), which claims the Circus Flaminius — but not the Colosseum — as the site of martyrdoms. Part of the structure was inhabited by a Christian order, but apparently not for any particular religious reason.

It appears to have been only in the 16th and 17th centuries that the Colosseum came to be regarded as a Christian site. Pope Pius V (1566–1572) is said to have recommended that pilgrims gather sand from the arena of the Colosseum to serve as a relic, on the grounds that it was impregnated with the blood of martyrs. This seems to have been a minority view until it was popularised nearly a century later by Fioravante Martinelli, who listed the Colosseum at the head of a list of places sacred to the martyrs in his 1653 book Roma ex ethnica sacra.

Martinelli's book evidently had an effect on public opinion; in response to Cardinal Altieri's proposal some years later to turn the Colosseum into a bullring, Carlo Tomassi published a pamphlet in protest against what he regarded as an act of desecration. The ensuing controversy persuaded Pope Clement X to close the Colosseum's external arcades and declare it a sanctuary, though quarrying continued for some time.

At the instance of St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Pope Benedict XIV (1740–1758) forbade the quarrying of the Colosseum and erected Stations of the Cross around the arena, which remained until February 1874. St. Benedict Joseph Labre spent the later years of his life within the walls of the Colosseum, living on alms, prior to his death in 1783. Several 19th century popes funded repair and restoration work on the Colosseum, and it still retains a Christian connection today. Crosses stand in several points around the arena and every Good Friday the Pope leads a Via Crucis procession to the amphitheatre.

 

Coliseu (Colosseo)

A seguir, um texto, em português, da Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre:

 

O Coliseu, também conhecido como Anfiteatro Flaviano, deve seu nome à expressão latina Colosseum (ou Coliseus, no latim tardio), devido à estátua colossal de Nero, que ficava perto a edificação. Localizado no centro de Roma, é uma excepção de entre os anfiteatros pelo seu volume e relevo arquitectónico. Originalmente capaz de albergar perto de 50 000 pessoas, e com 48 metros de altura, era usado para variados espetáculos. Foi construído a leste do fórum romano e demorou entre 8 a 10 anos a ser construído.

O Coliseu foi utilizado durante aproximadamente 500 anos, tendo sido o último registro efetuado no século VI da nossa era, bastante depois da queda de Roma em 476. O edifício deixou de ser usado para entretenimento no começo da era medieval, mas foi mais tarde usado como habitação, oficina, forte, pedreira, sede de ordens religiosas e templo cristão.

Embora esteja agora em ruínas devido a terremotos e pilhagens, o Coliseu sempre foi visto como símbolo do Império Romano, sendo um dos melhores exemplos da sua arquitectura. Actualmente é uma das maiores atrações turísticas em Roma e em 7 de julho de 2007 foi eleita umas das "Sete maravilhas do mundo moderno". Além disso, o Coliseu ainda tem ligações à igreja, com o Papa a liderar a procissão da Via Sacra até ao Coliseu todas as Sextas-feiras Santas.

O coliseu era um local onde seriam exibidos toda uma série de espectáculos, inseridos nos vários tipos de jogos realizados na urbe. Os combates entre gladiadores, chamados muneras, eram sempre pagos por pessoas individuais em busca de prestígio e poder em vez do estado. A arena (87,5 m por 55 m) possuía um piso de madeira, normalmente coberto de areia para absorver o sangue dos combates (certa vez foi colocada água na representação de uma batalha naval), sob o qual existia um nível subterrâneo com celas e jaulas que tinham acessos diretos para a arena; Alguns detalhes dessa construção, como a cobertura removível que poupava os espectadores do sol, são bastante interessantes, e mostram o refinamento atingido pelos construtores romanos. Formado por cinco anéis concêntricos de arcos e abóbadas, o Coliseu representa bem o avanço introduzido pelos romanos à engenharia de estruturas. Esses arcos são de concreto (de cimento natural) revestidos por alvenaria. Na verdade, a alvenaria era construída simultaneamente e já servia de forma para a concretagem. Outro tipo de espetáculos era a caça de animais, ou venatio, onde eram utilizados animais selvagens importados de África. Os animais mais utilizados eram os grandes felinos como leões, leopardos e panteras, mas animais como rinocerontes, hipopótamos, elefantes, girafas, crocodilos e avestruzes eram também utilizados. As caçadas, tal como as representações de batalhas famosas, eram efetuadas em elaborados cenários onde constavam árvores e edifícios amovíveis.

Estas últimas eram por vezes representadas numa escala gigante; Trajano celebrou a sua vitória em Dácia no ano 107 com concursos envolvendo 11 000 animais e 10 000 gladiadores no decorrer de 123 dias.

Segundo o documentário produzido pelo canal televisivo fechado, History Channel, o Coliseu também era utilizado para a realização de naumaquias, ou batalhas navais. O coliseu era inundado por dutos subterrâneos alimentados pelos aquedutos que traziam água de longe. Passada esta fase, foi construída uma estrutura, que é a que podemos ver hoje nas ruínas do Coliseu, com altura de um prédio de dois andares, onde no passado se concentravam os gladiadores, feras e todo o pessoal que organizava os duelos que ocorreriam na arena. A arena era como um grande palco, feito de madeira, e se chama arena, que em italiano significa areia, porque era jogada areia sob a estrutura de madeira para esconder as imperfeições. Os animais podiam ser inseridos nos duelos a qualquer momento por um esquema de elevadores que surgiam em alguns pontos da arena; o filme "Gladiador" retrata muito bem esta questão dos elevadores. Os estudiosos, há pouco tempo, descobriram uma rede de dutos inundados por baixo da arena do Coliseu. Acredita-se que o Coliseu foi construído onde, outrora, foi o lago do Palácio Dourado de Nero; O imperador Vespasiano escolheu o local da construção para que o mal causado por Nero fosse esquecido por uma construção gloriosa.

Sylvae, ou recreações de cenas naturais eram também realizadas no Coliseu. Pintores, técnicos e arquitectos construiriam simulações de florestas com árvores e arbustos reais plantados no chão da arena. Animais seriam então introduzidos para dar vida à simulação. Esses cenários podiam servir só para agrado do público ou como pano de fundo para caçadas ou dramas representando episódios da mitologia romana, tão autênticos quanto possível, ao ponto de pessoas condenadas fazerem o papel de heróis onde eram mortos de maneiras horríveis mas mitologicamente autênticas, como mutilados por animais ou queimados vivos.

Embora o Coliseu tenha funcionado até ao século VI da nossa Era, foram proibidos os jogos com mortes humanas desde 404, sendo apenas massacrados animais como elefantes, panteras ou leões.

O Coliseu era sobretudo um enorme instrumento de propaganda e difusão da filosofia de toda uma civilização, e tal como era já profetizado pelo monge e historiador inglês Beda na sua obra do século VII "De temporibus liber": "Enquanto o Coliseu se mantiver de pé, Roma permanecerá; quando o Coliseu ruir, Roma ruirá e quando Roma cair, o mundo cairá".

A construção do Coliseu foi iniciada por Vespasiano, nos anos 70 da nossa era. O edifício foi inaugurado por Tito, em 80, embora apenas tivesse sido finalizado poucos anos depois. Empresa colossal, este edifício, inicialmente, poderia sustentar no seu interior cerca de 50 000 espectadores, constando de três andares. Aquando do reinado de Alexandre Severo e Gordiano III, é ampliado com um quarto andar, podendo suster agora cerca de 90 000 espectadores. A grandiosidade deste monumento testemunha verdadeiramente o poder e esplendor de Roma na época dos Flávios.

Os jogos inaugurais do Coliseu tiveram lugar ano 80, sob o mandato de Tito, para celebrar a finalização da construção. Depois do curto reinado de Tito começar com vários meses de desastres, incluindo a erupção do Monte Vesúvio, um incêndio em Roma, e um surto de peste, o mesmo imperador inaugurou o edifício com uns jogos pródigos que duraram mais de cem dias, talvez para tentar apaziguar o público romano e os deuses. Nesses jogos de cem dias terão ocorrido combates de gladiadores, venationes (lutas de animais), execuções, batalhas navais, caçadas e outros divertimentos numa escala sem precedentes.

O Coliseu, como não se encontrava inserido numa zona de encosta, enterrado, tal como normalmente sucede com a generalidade dos teatros e anfiteatros romanos, possuía um “anel” artificial de rocha à sua volta, para garantir sustentação e, ao mesmo tempo, esta substrutura serve como ornamento ao edifício e como condicionador da entrada dos espectadores. Tal como foi referido anteriormente, possuía três pisos, sendo mais tarde adicionado um outro. É construído em mármore, pedra travertina, ladrilho e tufo (pedra calcária com grandes poros). A sua planta elíptica mede dois eixos que se estendem aproximadamente de 190 m por 155 m. A fachada compõe-se de arcadas decoradas com colunas dóricas, jónicas e coríntias, de acordo com o pavimento em que se encontravam. Esta subdivisão deve-se ao facto de ser uma construção essencialmente vertical, criando assim uma diversificação do espaço.

 

Os assentos eram em mármore e a cavea, escadaria ou arquibancada, dividia-se em três partes, correspondentes às diferentes classes sociais: o podium, para as classes altas; as maeniana, sector destinado à classe média; e os portici, ou pórticos, construídos em madeira, para a plebe e as mulheres. O pulvinar, a tribuna imperial, encontrava-se situada no podium e era balizada pelos assentos reservados aos senadores e magistrados. Rampas no interior do edifício facilitavam o acesso às várias zonas de onde podiam visualizar o espectáculo, sendo protegidos por uma barreira e por uma série de arqueiros posicionados numa passagem de madeira, para o caso de algum acidente. Por cima dos muros ainda são visíveis as mísulas, que sustentavam o velarium, enorme cobertura de lona destinada a proteger do sol os espectadores e, nos subterrâneos, ficavam as jaulas dos animais, bem como todas as celas e galerias necessárias aos serviços do anfiteatro.

O monumento permaneceu como sede principal dos espetáculos da urbe romana até ao período do imperador Honorius, no século V. Danificado por um terremoto no começo do mesmo século, foi alvo de uma extensiva restauração na época de Valentinianus III. Em meados do século XIII, a família Frangipani transformou-o em fortaleza e, ao longo dos séculos XV e XVI, foi por diversas vezes saqueado, perdendo grande parte dos materiais nobres com os quais tinha sido construído.

Os relatos romanos referem-se a cristãos sendo martirizados em locais de Roma descritos pouco pormenorizadamente (no anfiteatro, na arena...), quando Roma tinha numerosos anfiteatros e arenas. Apesar de muito provavelmente o Coliseu não ter sido utilizado para martírios, o Papa Bento XIV consagrou-o no século XVII à Paixão de Cristo e declarou-o lugar sagrado. Os trabalhos de consolidação e restauração parcial do monumento, já há muito em ruínas, foram feitos sobretudo pelos pontífices Gregório XVI e Pio IX, no século XIX.

ROMA ARCHEOLOGICA & RESTAURO ARCHITETTURA 2022. Roma Fascista a Roma Futura (1925/2025): La Ripresa dell'era Fascista Viadotto della Via Dell'impero (Arch. Guido Fiorini [1934]), ora Via dei Fori per il nuovo Progetto Fori; in: Giovanni Caudo / Roma Futura, Comune di Roma / Fb (21/01/2022). S.v., Pubblicato Risorsa digitale sul Viadotto di Via dell’ Impero / Via dei Fori (1931-2021). wp.me/pbMWvy-2py

 

Foto: Dr. Arch. Guido Fiorini, “Chirurgia Archeologica.” Quadrivio No. 31 (27/ 05/1934): 3.

www.flickr.com/photos/imperial_fora_of_rome/51835340101

 

“Chiudere via dei Fori e costruire un viadotto sull’area archeologica”. [Adriano] La Regina: “Soluzione appoggiata dalla commissione”. LUMSA NEWS Online (09/03/2015). S.v., Arch. Guido Fiorini (1934).

 

ROMA - Rivive l' Urbe Antica anche "Grazie" al Duce (1925/2025) - La ripresa dell'era fascista Viadotto della Via Dell'impero (Arch. Guido Fiorini, 1934), ora Via dei Fori per il nuovo Progetto Fori; come proposto e avallato per la prima volta dagli Archeologi Italiani:

 

--- Dr. Guglielmo Gatti (1932-33?), Dr. Guido Calza (1934), Prof. Antonio M. Colini (1981) & Prof. Adriano La Regina (1999/2004/ 2015 & 2019) e

 

Gli Architetti Italiani:

 

--- Arch. Luigi Lenzi (1931), Arch. Guido Fiorini (1934), Arch. Pierluigi Romeo (1979 [= A.M. Coloni, 1981]), Arch. Costantino Dardi (1985), Arch. Leonardo Benevolo (1988), Arch. Carlo Aymonino (1998), Arch. Massimiliano Fuksas / Doriana O. Mandrelli (2004) & Dr. Giovanni Caudo (2014-2015 & 2021).

 

S.v.,

 

Opposizione al Progetto Via dei Fori Imperiali nel Prof. Cesare Brandi (1983), cfr:

 

--- RARA 2022: Prof. Cesare Brandi, Gli scavi nei Fori: “Non sono d’ accordo" – A Proposto Della Polemica Sulle Ricerche Archeologiche Zona di Via dei Fori Imperiali. CORRIERE DELLA SERA (18|03|1983): 3 (in PDF).

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2014/11/29/roma...

 

--- RARA 2022: ROMA, VIA DEI MONTI (1924), VIA DELL’ IMPERO (1934), VIA DEI FORI IMPERIALI (1944) & VIA DEL RIVISIONISMO (2014), in: Tomaso Montanari, “Fori (Imperiali) nell’ acqua,” LA REPUBBLICA (31|12|2014).

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2015/01/02/roma...

 

--- RARA 2022: “Roma, Planimetria del Centro della Citta’ Prima del 1924,” Fondo Morpurgo (Pianta generale – G. Lugli. La zona archeologica di Roma [ed. 1924]); in: S. Diebner, BULL. COMM. 111 (2011), Fig. 1 | p. 154.

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/roma...

 

--- RARA 2022: Prof. Eng. Gustavo Giovannoni – Tra storia e progetto. Napoli (2018) = “Studio per il piano regolatore del colle capitolino e dei fori imperiali (c.ante 1924) ; in: A.A.V.V., Gustavo Giovannoni – Tra storia e progetto. Napoli (2018) [in PDF]. S.v., Corrado Ricci, Alfonso Bartoli, Antonio Munoz e Gustavo Giovannoni (1922-38); Guido Fiorini (1934-38); Guido Calza (1934); Luigi Lenzi (1931); V. Morpurgo / G. Lugli (1924); Adamo Boari (1921); Romolo Artioli (1916); Primo Acciaresi & Giuseppe Sacconi (1911) & Corrado Ricci (1910).

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2019/04/06/roma...

 

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Foto: Giovanni Caudo / Roma Futura, Comune di Roma / Fb (21/01/2022).

www.flickr.com/photos/imperial_fora_of_rome/51834393847

 

1). ROMA - Negli atti del Comune di Roma entra finalmente il Progetto Fori, grazie a un emendamento approvato ieri in Assemblea Capitolina, presentato da Roma Futura e fatto proprio da tutta la maggioranza. Giovanni Caudo / Roma Futura, Comune di Roma / Fb (21/01/2022).

 

Negli atti del Comune di Roma entra finalmente il Progetto Fori, grazie a un emendamento approvato ieri in Assemblea Capitolina, presentato da Roma Futura e fatto proprio da tutta la maggioranza.

 

Del Progetto Fori si discute da decenni nella nostra città: ci sono studi e proposte ma tranne poche eccezioni come durante gli anni della giunta Marino o nel 1979 con Petroselli, negli atti ufficiali di programmazione mancava un riferimento a questo Progetto Strategico.

 

_________________

 

Foto: Per ricordare Sindaco Luigi Petroselli & Il Foro Romano – Smantellamento di via della Consolazione, 15 dicembre 1980.

You-Tube (04/16/2016) [10:34]

www.flickr.com/photos/imperial_fora_of_rome/51720085523

 

S.v.,

RARA 2022: Per ricordare Sindaco Luigi Petroselli & Il Foro Romano - smantellamento di via della Consolazione, 15 dicembre 1980. You-Tube (04/16/2016) [10:34] & Laboratorio Carteinregola (23/09/2019). S.v., Corriere Della Sera (10/11/1980) & Antonio Cederna, Corriere Della Sera (16/12/1980).

romaarcheologiaerestauroarchitettura.wordpress.com/2021/1...

 

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Questo progetto rinnoverà il rapporto tra Roma e l’archeologia: i resti archeologici non saranno più racchiusi in un recinto specializzato destinato solo alla fruizione turistica, ma entreranno a far parte della dimensione quotidiana di chi attraversa e vive la città a piedi.

 

L’emendamento che abbiamo presentato dedica 15 milioni di euro per completare la realizzazione del percorso pedonale che da Via Baccina, tramite l’Arco del Pantano attraversa il Foro di Traiano, quello di Cesare e passando dietro il Tabularium arriva alla Bocca della Verità e da qui risale dal Basamento Aventino fino al Giardino degli Aranci.

In pochi metri sarà possibile attraversare la città contemporanea, quella ottocentesca e quella medievale.

 

Ora si potrà finalmente riprendere il progetto Fori dando attuazione alle previsioni del Piano regolatore generale che prevede per queste aree un ambito strategico specifico, quello dell’Area Monumentale Centrale.

Le risorse del PNRR attribuite a Roma nell’ambito del piano Caput Mundi insisteranno in parte in quest’area e daranno ulteriore consistenza e forza al Progetto Fori.

 

È necessario, però, che si approvi quanto prima il Piano di assetto dell’area monumentale centrale previsto dal Piano regolatore generale del 2008 e per il quale esistono già studi e documenti pronti per essere riuniti e coordinati. Dallo studio ora serve passare all’approvazione in Aula consiliare e infine alla realizzazione.

 

Sono convinto che i tempi siano ormai maturi per una grande svolta nel rapporto tra Roma e l’archeologia e la sua stratificazione storica nel solco di Petroselli e di Nicolini.

 

Fonte / source:

--- Giovanni Caudo / Roma Futura, Comune di Roma / Fb (21/01/2022).

 

www.facebook.com/caudogiovanni/posts/1603685643320260

  

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Foto: "Il dibattito sulla stampa all’inizio degli anni Ottanta sul destino dei Fori Imperiali"; in: Gianmarco Casoli et al., Università di Bologna, Corso di Studio in Architettura (15/02/2017).

www.flickr.com/photos/imperial_fora_of_rome/51836075115

 

2). ROMA - Rivive l' Urbe Antica anche "Grazie" al Duce - La ripresa dell'era fascista Viadotto della Via Dell'impero (Arch. Guido Fiorini, 1934), ora Via dei Fori per il nuovo Progetto Fori; come proposto e avallato per la prima volta dagli Archeologi Italiani:

 

--- Dr. Guglielmo Gatti (1932-33?), Dr. Guido Calza (1934), Prof. Antonio M. Colini (1981) & Prof. Adriano La Regina (1999/2004/ 2015 & 2019) e

 

Gli Architetti Italiani:

 

--- Arch. Luigi Lenzi (1931), Arch. Guido Fiorini (1934), Arch. Pierluigi Romeo (1979 [= A.M. Coloni, 1981]), Arch. Costantino Dardi (1985), Arch. Leonardo Benevolo (1988), Arch. Carlo Aymonino (1998), Arch. Massimiliano Fuksas / Doriana O. Mandrelli (2004) & Giovanni Caudo (2014-2015 & 2021).

  

Fonte / source, foto:

--- "Il dibattito sulla stampa all’inizio degli anni Ottanta sul destino dei Fori Imperiali"; in: Gianmarco Casoli, Antonio Giaconia, Alessandro Mengacci, Silvia Profita Arianna Talevi. ARCHITETTURA E ARCHEOLOGIA: La Via dei Fori Imperiali, un’idea di valorizzazione e musealizzazione dell’area archeologica. Università di Bologna, Corso di Studio in Architettura (15/02/2017).

amslaurea.unibo.it/13570/

 

S.v.,

 

--- Dr. Guglielmo Gatti (1932-33?); in:

 

RARA 2022: Roma, Via dei Monti | Via Dell’ Impero = “VIA DELLA NUOVA & VIA DEI COLLI” [c. 1930-32?]. Fonte: l’ Archivio Centrale Dello Stato, Fondo Gatti | Guglielmo Gatti (1905 –1981).

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2015/11/25/roma...

 

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2015/10/23/roma...

 

--- Dr. Luigi Lenzi (1931), in:

 

RARA 2022: Dr. Luigi Lenzi, “The New Rome”, The Town Planning Review, Vol. 14, No. 3 (May, 1931): 162.

romaarcheologiaerestauroarchitettura.wordpress.com/2021/1...

 

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2019/03/30/roma...

 

--- Dr. Guido Calza (1934), in:

 

RARA 2022: Dr. Guido Calza, “THE VIA DELL` IMPERO AND THE IMPERIAL FORA,” JRIBA, (24 March 1934): 489 & 503.

 

romaarcheologiaerestauroarchitettura.wordpress.com/2021/1...

 

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2019/03/30/roma...

 

--- Arch. Guido Fiorini (1934), in:

 

RARA 2022: Dr. Arch. Guido Fiorini, “Chirurgia Archeologica.” Quadrivio No. 31 (27/ 05/1934): 3.

romaarcheologiaerestauroarchitettura.wordpress.com/2021/1...

 

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2019/05/18/roma...

 

--- Arch. Pierluigi Romeo (1979); in:

 

RARA 2022: Prof. Antonio M. Colini (1981), COSI`NACQUE VIA DEI FORI IMPERIALI, IL TEMPO (30|11|1981), p. 4 & UN TERZO INTERVENTO DEL PROF. A. M. COLINI, IL TEMPO (18|02|1981), p. (?).

 

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/roma...

 

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/roma...

 

--- Prof. Antonio M. Colini (1981); in:

 

RARA 2022: Prof. Antonio M. Colini (1981);COSI`NACQUE VIA DEI FORI IMPERIALI, IL TEMPO (30|11|1981), p. 4 & UN TERZO INTERVENTO DEL PROF. A. M. COLINI, IL TEMPO (18|02|1981), p. (?).

 

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/roma...

 

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/roma...

 

--- Prof. Antonio Cederna (1981); in:

 

RARA 2022: “Polemiche su via dei Fori – Un Viadotto da Fantascienza.” OCCHIO (03/03/1981): 12 [in PDF].

romaarcheologiaerestauroarchitettura.wordpress.com/2021/0...

 

--- Arch. Costantino Dardi (1985), in:

 

RARA 2022: Arch. Costantino Dardi, “Ristrutturazione via dei Fori Imperiali / Progetto per la ristrutturazione del margine urbano dell’area dei Fori Imperiali a Roma. “; collaboratori: Franco Bagli, Giorgio Bartoleschi, Fabienne Gerin-Jean, Ugo Novelli (1985); in: Costantino Dardi, “Semplice lineare complesso”, Milano (1987) | Costantino Dardi, Le trame dello spazio, in “Eupalino”, n. 8, (1987).

romaarcheologiaerestauroarchitettura.wordpress.com/2021/0...

 

--- Arch. Leonardo Benevolo (1988); in:

RARA 2022: Prof. Arch. L. Benevolo, " FORO DI NERVA. Stamane riprendono gli scavi nel giardino accanto ai Fori Imperiali - Taglio del nastro al cantiere e Benevolo mette insieme i pro e i contro. IL MESSAGGERO (29/09/1988): 29. wp.me/pPRv6-3BS

 

ROMA 2022: Progetto Fori – Addio a Leonardo Benevolo, storico dell’architettura, LA REPUBBLICA (06/01/2016). wp.me/pPRv6-3BS

 

--- Arch. Carlo Aymonino (1998); in:

 

RARA 2022: Carlo Aymonino, “Progetto di sistemazione dell’area dei Fori / Project for the ordering of the Forums area.” Zodiac No. 21 (1999): 188-193 (in PDF).

 

RARA 2022: Carlo Aymonino, “Tra scavi, conservazione e completamenti: quali interventi per i Fori Imperiali? / Excavation, conservation, completion: what should be done with the Imperial Forums?” Zodiac No. 19 (1998b): 18-23 (in PDF).

romaarcheologiaerestauroarchitettura.wordpress.com/2020/0...

 

--- Prof. Adriano La Regina (1999); in:

 

RARA 2022: ROMA – RIVIVE L’ URBE ANTICA “ANCHE GRAZIE AL DUCE.” Gli espropri già` realizzati da Mussolini costerebbe centinaia di miliardi. Corriere Della Sera (29|07|1999): 27. [Nota: Italiano / English].

 

RARA 2022: ROME – The Ancient City Lives Again “Also Thanks to Il Duce.” Corriere Della Sera (29|07|1999): 27.

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2019/03/29/roma...

 

--- Prof. Adriano La Regina / Arch. Massimiliano Fuksas & Doriana O. Mandrelli (2004); in:

 

RARA 2022: Mostra: "Forma / La città moderna e il suo passato (2004). Ma per Brandi lo stradone tra i fori resta necessario. Corriere della Sera (14/08/2004): 47.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/imperial_fora_of_rome/3801371629

 

--- Prof. Adriano La Regina (2015/2019); in:

 

RARA 2022: ROMA – “Chiudere via dei Fori e costruire un viadotto sull’area archeologica”. [Adriano] La Regina: “soluzione appoggiata dalla commissione”. LUMSA NEWS Online (09/03/2015).

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2019/03/30/roma...

 

RARA 2022: Locali Roma – La Regina: ”Ora demoliamo la via costruita nel Ventennio.“ La Repubblica (14/06/2019) (in PDF).

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2019/06/26/roma...

 

--- Dr. Giovanni Caudo (2021); in:

 

RARA 2022: MUSEO PER ROMA – Roberto Gualtieri; in: ROMA TODAY (23/08/2021); Virginia Raggi; in: IL Messaggero (24/08/2021) & ItaliaChiamaItalia (25/08/2021).

romaarcheologiaerestauroarchitettura.wordpress.com/2021/0...

 

RARA 2022: ‘Giubileo straordinario’ 2015-16: Caudo: “Per i Giubileo apriamo i varchi sotto ai Fori Imperiali”, LA REPUBBLICA (15|03|2015).

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2015/03/15/roma...

 

RARA 2022: Prof. Arch. Michele Zampilli, “Roma, Fasi Formative Tessuti e Tipi Edilizi della Citta,” (2009), pp. 1-58 (in PDF) & S. MURATORI ET ALLI., CARTA | STUDI PER OPERANTE STORIA URBANA DI ROMA (1963) [FOLIO 1:4000 & 1:2000], in: Andrea Bollati (2010) & Roma Capitale (2014-2015) [s.v., sotto =].

 

RARA 2022: ROMA – ROMA CAPITALE – CARTA DELLE PERMANENZE E PERSISTENZE [FOLIO 01.0], in: ‘Archeologia e città: dal progetto Fori all’Appia Antica,’ (21 March 2014), in: Giovanni Caudo, “LINEE DI INDIRIZZO PER IL PROGETTO FORI (03/01/2015): 1-19 (in PDF).

rometheimperialfora19952010.wordpress.com/2017/05/13/roma...

Holga 120N

Kodak Portra 160NC

DA62 just returned and stands behind a Dennis Trident 3 in the Wah Fu Estate South Terminus.

 

Dennis Condor is one of my favourite buses because it is now the oldest in the fleet, also it is once owned by China Motor Bus (CMB), which I missed so much. I am not a fan of new streamline look of the new buses, as I am still favour the old square look of the Dennis Condor - flat front & rear, central mullion in the middle of the front windows, lead me to nickname it "Loaf Bread".

 

Its engine sounds like lion roars, noisy and powerful. I also enjoy the rough ride created by the hard suspension, it reminds me of ride on the Leyland Victory MK2 in the old days. Also the bus drivers drive them very fast & brake very hard, thus the ride on DA is exactly like back in the old days with CMB!

 

New World First Bus NWFB purchased 92 air-conditioned buses Dennis Condor from China Motor Bus CMB on 1 September 1998, after CMB lost its bus operation franchised. The Company had operated these bus since 1997, and they are now the oldest workhorse of the fleet. They are still very active in Routes 4, 4X, 38, 91, 590, 590A etc.

 

DA62

Date of Registration: 25th October 1996

Registration Number: GY 2016

Body: Duple MetSec

Engine: Cummins LTA10-B252（Euro 1）

Gearbox: Voith DIWA 863

Passenger Capacity: U53/L40+S32

3 in stock - $40 each

(3 in 1 RR)

From the May 2016 trip to Thailand and Cambodia:

 

After five days in Thailand (3 in Bangkok, which included the day trip to Ayuthaya, and 2 nights on Koh Chang), it was time to make our way to Cambodia. There were two places in Cambodia I was looking forward to seeing: Angkor Wat (which pretty much everyone who comes to southeast Asia wants to see) and Phnom Penh’s Killing Field memorials.

 

First, though, was the matter of getting from a semi-remote tropical island in Thailand to the national capital of Cambodia, about 400 kilometers to the east. There isn’t a direct, easy way to do this, so being able to get it done in the time I hoped for was the biggest concern of the whole trip to me. Part of the reason time was such a factor is because I had only planned to spend Friday evening and all day Saturday (until early afternoon) in Phnom Penh before flying out to Siem Reap. With so little time there, I wanted to have as much as possible. With that in mind on waking up, I wasn’t sure how the day would turn out. I’m glad to say, it went very well.

 

The first thing we needed to do was get from the Arunee Resort to the pier on the opposite side of a small mountain at 6:00 in the morning…on an island with no taxis. (It is a tropical place to relax, after all.) The hotel drove us over in a truck for 300 baht. After another 40 baht/person ferry ride across the gulf, we got back to the mainland sometime around 7:40. From there, another 50 baht/person via tuktuk/van to the main bus terminal in Trat, about 45 minutes away found us in good time to grab a bus. (This is the terminal to come to for buses returning to Bangkok or going on to the Cambodian border.)

 

The minibus to the Cambodian border was roughly an hour and a half ride, and I was another 120 baht/person lighter. The time flew by, though, as we only passed through one very small town between Trat and Hat Lek (the border town).

 

The border crossing at Hat Lek is a bit interesting. Lonely Planet advised me ahead of time that this is the most expensive (and only truly expensive) border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia. (Unfortunately for me, it was also the only practical/logical one to use, so I didn’t have an option.) Via airports and at all other border crossings, the Cambodian visa costs about $25-30. Here at Hat Lek, though – and I don’t know why – it’s over $50. The fact that there isn’t uniform regulations at border crossings seemed suspect to me to begin with, but it doesn’t change the fact that you still have to do what they say. (You just get the feeling that you’re being fleeced unnecessarily…and by government officials, at that.)

 

On arriving at the border, the first thing you do is pass through the Thai exit post, which is quick and painless (and free). Walking a few meters farther, you come to the Cambodian entry office, which has a lot of folding tables set up outside. The first thing you do (as US citizen, anyway) is hand over your passport to someone who does NOT look official – yet, he is. You pay him 1600 baht for the visa, plus another 200 baht if you don’t have a passport picture on hand (which I didn’t). So…that was $60 more out of pocket.

 

Also, while sitting at these tables having your passport/visa processed, people will come up and ask where you’re going and offer private cars to get there. There are supposedly three buses from Hat Lek to Phnom Penh, the last leaving at 11:30 in the morning (and taking 5 hours to get to the capital), and you would have to take a car to the town/bus stop which is about 10 km away. (Not knowing, precisely, how to do that, I went for the easiest way there and just agreed to pay a guy 1000 baht/person to drive us in his Camry all the way – 300 km – to Phnom Penh. It ended up costing 2000 baht (close to $65) plus another $25US in total. Now, $90 may seem a bit expensive, but this was a personal car, what amounted to be a 4 hour ride, and he dropped us off right at our hotel. (I put this in perspective simply by thinking of the cost of a taxi ride from Newark International Airport to JFK in New York City…and this deal was much, much better.) The only thing that was slightly disconcerting is that we didn’t actually know this guy and could have possibly been taken advantage of. However, my charmed life seems to continue…

 

We got to our hotel and checked in by 4:00 in the afternoon on Friday, so things – though slightly pricy by local standards – went very, very well. The Number 9 Hotel (on St. 258) is less than a five minute walk from the Royal Palace in downtown Phnom Penh. There are quite a few monuments around the area as well (Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Monument, Independence Monument, etc.) The hotel itself was also a bit no-frills, and advertised a Jacuzzi/spa on the roof…which they said was under repair after we checked in. No worries, though; the restaurant at the hotel was quite good and I think it’s the only place we ate for the ~24 hours that we were there. The staff and service were top notch.

 

As I was still getting over the previous day’s bug/virus/whatever, I didn’t go out on Friday night. Saturday, though, was a different story. Just outside the hotel (and there are quite a few boutique guesthouses on the rather short St 258) are a group of tuktuk drivers all happy to get your business.

 

Now, Phnom Penh isn’t actually much of a tourist destination. In total, there’s the Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda (within walking distance) and the National Museum (just north of the palace). Additionally, there’s the Russian Market (which we didn’t get to). The main reason I really wanted to come to Phnom Penh, though, was to go to the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. (I won’t give a long history lesson here, though highly encourage anyone reading this to do a quick Wikipedia search for “Choeung Ek Killing Fields” or, for something slightly more in depth, try to find information from the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975-1979.)

 

The only things I’ll mention about that era is that, in 1975, the population of Cambodia was about 8 million people. In the five years of the Khmer Rouge regime, they saw fit to assassinate close to 3 million of their countrymen. (Think about that for a minute…imagine your country’s population, whatever the number, then imagine the country is taken over by a military regime that commences to slaughter 35% of the populace. The most conservative numbers I’ve seen are 2 million killed, which is still 25%.)

 

With that as background info, we arranged one of the tuktuks to take us to the Tuol Sleng Museum, then to the Killing Fields, 15 km southwest of downtown Phnom Penh. Our driver, Ron (perhaps Ran, but pronounced like the former) agreed to be our driver for the day. He took us to the museum, then the killing field, then in the early afternoon to the National Museum and picked us up at the Royal Palace around 3:00. At 4:00, he ushered us about 15 km north of town to the airport. We met his wife as we went to the airport. Total cost for the day: $33.

 

Our first stop was the Tuol Sleng Museum. This is a former high school (a place of optimism, aspiration) that the Khmer Rouge converted into a torture chamber. (Additional psychological trauma, I guess?) I’ll give no details, save to say that I likened it to a Nazi concentration camp minus the gas chamber. To visit here, though, you are spared no detail in the presentation. I’ll commend (perhaps not the best word) the Cambodians for owning up to their atrocities. Other countries in the region could learn a lot from this. (They say it’s important to bare all so that people can see the horror and it will be less likely to happen again.) Anyway, after paying the admission ($6, I think?), you wander through the buildings with your audio guide and the many well-presented exhibits. At the end, about an hour later, there’s a man selling a book for $10. He’s a survivor of this place. I really had no words; just hugged the guy. He and his daughter said he was spared simply because he knew how to fix and use a typewriter.

 

After leaving Tuol Sleng, in quite a somber mood, Ran took us across town to the Choeung Ek Killing Fields (this is probably the most famous one in the nation, though there are literally hundreds here…and also still many active landmines from the war in the 1970s, so…I wouldn’t wander around too freely).

 

If the Tuol Sleng Museum was somber, this place is equally, if not more, harrowing. The admission here was also around $6 or so, and comes with another audio guide. There’s also a small room/museum with a 15 minute informative video. After that, you wander from point to point where you learn that this place was the former mass grave for Chinese. You also see mass graves for women, for babies…a tree (still standing) where babies were murdered, and so on. The final stop is a memorial stupa which contains the skulls and other bones of countless victims, classified by gender and method of murder (though all victims are still unidentified). However, the presentation is more than powerful enough to make its point.

 

The morning touring done, we returned to Number 9, had a leisurely lunch, then had Ran take us up to the National Museum. It’s a rather small museum, though quite good – especially if you like stone Buddhas. The museum admission is around $5, and the building has four small wings, that visitors tend to visit beginning on the left and going in a clockwise manner. No picures are allowed to be taken inside the museum (which I thought rather unfortunate, as it really was quite interesting and tasteful, as far as museums go), but you could take pictures of the museum itself and the internal courtyard. Leisurely seeing the entire museum takes less than an hour.

 

From there, it was about a 5-10 minute walk along the palace wall (north side, around the east wall that runs parallel to the river). After paying to enter the Royal Palace at the southeast gate, you’re allowed entry to the grounds and have access to view buildings such as the Coronation Hall, the Crown Room, and the Silver Pagoda. This is essentially quite similar to Thailand’s Royal Palace in terms of how much (and what) you can see, though it wasn’t quite as nice as Thailand’s to me. (I don’t mean to imply that it’s not nice, though; it was an enjoyable afternoon, though with temps around 40 degrees, my energy waned rather quickly.)

 

After an hour or so here at the Royal Palace, we made our way back to Number 9 (at this point, barely a 2 minute ride by tuktuk), where we rested until 4:00 and had Ran take us to the airport for our 7:30 flight to Siem Reap, 45 minutes away.

 

En route, though – and also from observations riding around on the way back from Choeung Ek – I got the impression that while Phnom Penh may not be the most touristy place in the world, it sure seemed like a great place to live (as much for expats as anyone). There’s still a lot of French influence, so my first abstract impression is that it reminded me of a combination of the French Quarter in New Orleans, Fuxing in Shanghai, and just some trendy/hippie areas in general. There were lots of cool little boutique hotels, restaurants, stores…and the Cambodians are exceptionally friendly and pleasant (as are Thais). I don’t know that I’ll ever come back here, but I certainly wouldn’t feel bad if I did…

 

At any rate, those were just my impressions on the way out of town. Getting to the airport, I was ready for the final stop: Siem Reap & Angkor Wat. The only thing standing between me and my ultimate destination…a prop jet.

right place,right time,wrong sun angle...two EB BNSF stacks pass thru WB Jct while a westbound baretable on the NS waits...10/13/16

Wedensday.

 

And still on the Island.

 

Through the night, yet more rain fell, and into the morning so I woke to the sound of yet another cloudburst. But it should be clearing soon.

 

So, I leap out of bed, do 50 press-ups, have a cold shower and am ready for the rigours of the day ahead, and in this I would be helped by a pot of black coffee and the finest sausage and bacon sandwich known to man.

 

And a man in the kitchen makes it for me, so all I have to do is eat it.

 

Non nom nom.

 

I drink the last dregs off the coffee, and I'm away to work.

 

It was supposed to be a slow and easy start, but I was summoned to an emergency department meeting, and needed to be at the factory to get internet access.

 

Our soon-to-be-ex-boss is now officially our ex-boss, and we have a new interim manager.

 

That's it.

 

So on with the audit.

 

Outside, the clouds did clear and the sun did shine, and did shine into the meeting room where even in November was so warm the air conditioning could not cope and we got very warm indeed.

 

We broke for lunch, and talked about the struggles we face, and how jolly nice the Island is.

 

Well, it is.

 

We were done by half three, so I drove back to the hotel, but saw the sign I had passed dozens of times, pointing to the 11th century church of St John the Baptist. Today would be the day to visit.

 

Light was fading fast, but with a warm light, and only with my compact camera, my shots won't win many prizes, but the best camera is the one you have.

 

From the outside, it seems to be a very Victorian church, but there is a Norman arch in the porch, and many more details inside, among the Victorian fixtures and fittings.

 

Inside there is a very tall and narrow Jacobian pulpit, some fine monuments from before the 19th century work, and some what I think is medieval glass, or at least fragements reset.

 

Back at the hotel I wrote a little then decided I really should go an exercise my fat little legs, so should walk into Cowes for a pint at the Ale House, where there was a fine firkin of porter on.

 

But, before then, as I walked along the promenade, over the other side of the Solent, the just past full moon rose over the Pompy skyline. It was pretty breath-taking, I leaned on railings to watch it rise and get brighter and its yellow colour fade to pure white.

 

Dozens of other people were doing the same thing too.

 

And it was a free show.

 

My favourite price.

 

I walk into town and up the Ale House, a group of sailing types were talking over pints of fizzy Eurolager, so I order porter just because I can.

 

There was a wide range of places to eat, most with lots of free tables.

 

I wasn't in a seafood mood, curry perhaps, but then at a restaurant I saw they had a dish called "sambal chicken". Sambal is a spicy chili sauce from Indonesia, that I sued to eat lots of when I was on the survey boats.

 

I asked, do you make your own sambal?

 

They did.

 

And cocktails were two for £15.

 

I order the sambal chicken and a marshmallow martini.

 

Very fuckin sophisticated.

 

The sambal was hot, just about bearable, but not not leave any doubt, it came with sliced fresh chilli, as did the Thai spiced cheesy chips.

 

I eat most of it all, then finish up with a "rhubarb and custard cocktail, which did mix quite poorly with the sambal on the walk back to the hotel.

 

Back to the hotel, I settle the bill and so all ready to leave in the morning, as I have to catch the six o'clock ferry.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

The Church of St. John the Baptist is a parish church located in Northwood, Isle of Wight. The church dates from the 12th century. The mid-19th century saw extensive restoration work carried out on the church. In 1864 the wooden tower and dormer window were both swept away. The restoration was completed in 1874. Despite this restoration work, the church still retains many of its original features including a Norman arch over the south doorway and a Jacobean pulpit.

 

www.spottinghistory.com/view/12080/church-of-st-john-the-...

 

----------------------------------------------

 

NORTHWOOD

Northewode (xiii cent.).

 

Northwood is a parish and village midway between Newport and Cowes, and now includes Pallance Gate. In 1894 the parish was extended to include a part of the parish of St. Nicholas. (fn. 1) The soil is for the most part loam, while the subsoil is of clay and gravel. The parish contains 4,333 acres, of which 878 acres are arable, 2,612 acres are permanent grass and 419 acres woodlands. There are also 292 acres of foreshore, 2 of land covered by water and 78 by tidal water. Cowes contains 576 acres, of which 2 acres are arable and 166 permanent grass. There are also 35 acres of foreshore and 5 acres of land covered by water. (fn. 2) There is a station on the Isle of Wight Central railway at the cement works, available for Northwood, and the pumping station of the Cowes Waterworks is situated at Broadfields within the parish. The Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers have large works on the Medina at the West Medina Mills, and there are brickworks at Hillis belonging to Messrs. Pritchett. There existed a confraternity of Brothers and Sisters of St. John Baptist (fn. 3) in a building, later called the Church House, which was standing in 1690. It was founded c. 1500 and dissolved in 1536. An old glebe barn, with a date stone 'Restored 1742,' was pulled down in 1901. There is a Council school (mixed), built in 1855 and enlarged in 1906. The rectory-house lies to the east of the church and dates from the 18th century. (fn. 4)

 

The parish has a long seaboard as the north-west boundary, which includes the bays of Thorness and Gurnard, the latter the landing-place of Charles II in 1671. Gurnard (fn. 5) is a small village, mostly consisting of villas with a number of artisans' dwellings. There are a coastguard station here and a Council school, erected in 1863.

 

Northwood Park, the property of Mr. E. Granville Ward, was occupied from 1902 to 1906 by a community of Benedictine nuns, who have since moved to Appley, near Ryde (q.v.). The house, which is properly in Cowes, was built in 1837, on the site of a former residence called Belle View, by Mr. George H. Ward, uncle to the present owner, and is a somewhat stately stone building of classic detail, to which a wing has been since added.

 

At Hurstake on the Medina there was in the 18th century a flourishing shipyard, but by the end of the century it had fallen to decay. (fn. 6)

 

Cowes was taken out of Northwood and constituted a separate parish under the Local Government Act of 1894. (fn. 7) It is a thriving seaport town, daily increasing inland to the south, and is a terminus of the Isle of Wight Central railway and the main entrance to the Isle of Wight from Southampton. A steam ferry and launch service connect it with East Cowes. The town affairs are regulated under the Local Government Act of 1894 by an urban district council, who have acquired control of the water supply and gasworks. There is a steamboat pier and landingstage, and the Victoria Promenade Pier was built by the urban district council in 1901. There are wharves and storehouses along the Medina. The principal industries are the shipbuilding business of John Samuel White & Co., Ltd., the brass and iron foundry of Messrs. William White, the ropery of Messrs. Henry Bannister & Co. and the well-known sail-making establishment of Messrs. Ratsey & Lapthorn. A recreation ground of 9 acres was presented to the town by Mr. W. G. Ward in 1859.

 

The main or High Street of Cowes is a narrow, winding, old-fashioned road, widening as it approaches the shore at the north end, and finally terminating in the Parade, the principal sea-front of the town. At the end of the Parade is the Royal Yacht Squadron (fn. 8) Club House, converted to its present use in 1858, and beyond is the 'Green,' made over to the town authorities in 1864 by Mr. George R. Stephenson. The well-known annual regatta is held here the first week in August. (fn. 9) The oldest inn is the 'Fountain,' by the landing-pier, dating from the 18th century. The Gloucester Hotel, by the Parade, was the former home of the Royal Yacht Squadron, and probably owes its name to the visit of the Duke of Gloucester and his sister the Princess Sophia in 1811. The Royal Marine Hotel, also on the Parade, was certainly in existence at the beginning of the 19th century. (fn. 10) A public cemetery, about half a mile south of the town, was opened in 1855, and is under a joint burial board composed of members from Cowes and Northwood.

 

Besides Northwood Park, the principal residences are Egypt House, (fn. 11) the property of Mr. E. Granville Ward, and Nubia House, the home of Sir Godfrey Baring, late M.P. for the Island.

 

The name Cowes dates from the beginning of the 16th century, before which time the port—if port it could be called—was higher up the river at Shamblers. (fn. 12) In 1512 the fleet under Sir Edward Haward victualled at Cowes (the Cowe) on its way to Guienne, (fn. 13) so it is evident the place did not take its name from the defensive work, which was certainly not built before 1539. (fn. 14) Leland speaks of forts both at East and West Cowes, (fn. 15) but the former had become a ruin by the 17th century. (fn. 16) The latter, however, was kept up and added to, and had, in addition to the gun platform and magazine, apartments for the captain and gunners, and at the end of the 18th century mounted eleven nine-pounders. (fn. 17)

 

The inhabitants of this part of Northwood parish seem to have been seafarers and traders, or at any rate smugglers, as early as the 14th century. In July 1395 Thomas Shepherd received a 'pardon of the forfeitures and imprisonment incurred by him because he and two of the ferrymen sold two sacks of wool to men of a skiff from Harflete, carried the said wool as far as le Soland and there delivered the same, taking money.' (fn. 18) At another time he 'sold wool without custom . . . with the clerks of the chapel of the Earl of Salisbury, and at another time with a skiff from Harflete belonging to Janin Boset of Harflue.' (fn. 19)

 

The merchants' houses and stores were principally at East Cowes, where most of the business was transacted; but West Cowes in the 18th century became a shipbuilding centre, contributing many first-class battleships to the English navy. (fn. 20) By the year 1780 it was 'the place of greatest consideration in the parish of Northwood,' (fn. 21) and though the town was indifferently built, with very narrow streets, the inhabitants managed to be 'in general, genteel and polite although not troublesomely ceremonious.' (fn. 22)

 

In 1795 there were 2,000 inhabitants and the town had a good trade in provisions to the fleets riding in the roads waiting for a wind or a convoy. While the lower part of Cowes was crowded with seamen's cottages and business premises, the upper part on the hill slope was occupied by villas, chiefly of retired naval men. (fn. 23)

 

By the 19th century the tide of prosperity began to flow from East to West Cowe, which became a favourite bathing and boating resort, patronized by Royalty. The town now grew rapidly, and in 1816 an Act was passed for 'lighting, cleansing and otherwise improving the town of West Cowes . . . and for establishing a market within the said town.' (fn. 24)

 

The advent of the Royal Yacht Squadron, and the consequent popularity of racing, put a seal on West Cowes. It became fashionable and has remained so ever since—the hub of the yachting world.

 

There are two halls for entertainments—the Foresters' Hall in Sun Hill and another in Bridge Road, each capable of seating over 500 people.

 

There are Council schools in Cross Street (infants), and a mixed school has been lately erected in the same street; boys' and infants' in York Street; non-provided (boys and girls) in Cross Street.

 

MANORS

There is no mention of a manor of NORTHWOOD in Domesday Book, and it seems probable that then, as in the 13th century, the greater part of the land in the parish formed a member of the manor of Bowcombe in Carisbrooke (fn. 25) (q.v.). In the 17th century this land came to be regarded as a separate manor, but it continued to follow the descent of Bowcombe (fn. 26) until the latter half of the 18th century, when it was presumably sold to the Wards, whose representative, Mr. Edmund Granville Ward, is the present lord of the manor.

 

There was a small holding in Northwood possibly, as Mr. Stone suggests from research he has made, to be identified with Shamlord (q.v.). It was held, together with other property, under the manor of Bowcombe by a branch of the Trenchard family at least as early as 1338. (fn. 27) In 1560 Richard Trenchard, who seems to have been the grandson of John Trenchard of Chessell in Shalfleet, died seised of this property, which he had held 'in socage by fealty and rent of 25s. yearly, suit at court and finding one man and one woman yearly to mow the corn of the farmer of Bowcombe for one day.' He was succeeded by his son William. (fn. 28)

 

There were also lands in Northwood which formed a member of the manor of Alvington in Carisbrooke and were held in the reign of Henry III by William de St. Martin. (fn. 29) They afterwards belonged to Sir Stephen Popham (fn. 30) and descended to Sir Nicholas Wadham in the early part of the 16th century, at which time they were regarded as a separate manor; they continued, however, to follow the descent of Alvington (q.v.).

 

In the reign of Henry VIII there was in the parish much woodland which belonged before the Dissolution to the Prior and convent of Christchurch Twyneham, (fn. 31) who had perhaps bought it from the abbey of St. Mary, Romsey, to which it belonged in the 13th century. (fn. 32) In 1280 this abbey had received from Edward I a confirmation of a charter of Henry II granting them 'all their wood of Northwood, as King Edward gave it to them.' (fn. 33) There is, however, no mention of any property in Northwood among the possessions of Romsey Abbey at its dissolution. In 1544 the wood was granted to Thomas Hopson (fn. 34) and subsequently followed the descent of Ningwood in Shalfleet (q.v.). It was described as 'the manor of Northwood' in 1626, at which time it was in the possession of John Hopson. (fn. 35)

 

The manor of WERROR (Werore, xii cent.; Werole, xiii cent.; Warror, xvi cent.) was granted to God's House, Southampton, immediately after its foundation about 1197, for it was confirmed to the hospital by Richard I in 1199. (fn. 36) It had been given to the hospital by a certain Mark, and his gift was confirmed in 1209 by his son Roger, of whom the manor was to be held at a yearly rent of 6d. (fn. 37) William de Redvers Earl of Devon (1184–1216) granted to the hospital rights of pasturage and fuel, except for six weeks each year, over the whole land of Werror which belonged to his fee, and which is described as lying within Parkhurst, Northwood, Carisbrooke and the Medina. (fn. 38)

 

The estate remained in the hands of successive priors until the Dissolution (fn. 39) and passed with God's House to Queen's College, Oxford, (fn. 40) by whom the manor is still owned. (fn. 41)

 

CHURCHES

The church of ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST lies to the east of the road from Newport to Cowes. It was built as a chapel for the northern portion of the parish of Carisbrooke in the middle of the 12th century, and consists of a chancel, a nave with north and south aisles and a modern tower with spire added at the west end in 1864. The south door is a good specimen of 12th-century work, to be classed with those of Yaverland and Wootton. Both aisles are very narrow and are of four bays, with columns having the characteristic splay-cornered capitals found elsewhere in the Isle of Wight, (fn. 42) and must have been added towards the end of the century, the south being the later. (fn. 43) There are curious flying arches across these, evidently inserted later, to withstand the thrust of the roof and carry the flat above. In the 15th century windows of the period were inserted in the walls and the chancel reroofed, (fn. 44) if not rebuilt, and a small door inserted in the north wall of the nave. There is a good canopied Jacobean pulpit, somewhat similar in detail to that at Wootton. The chancel arch is a plain splay springing direct from the wall without an impost, and looks as though the earlier one had been destroyed and the opening widened in the 15th century. The memorials of interest are a painted wooden tablet to the children of Samuel and Grace Smith, who died in 1668 and 1670, and a curious memorial to Thomas Smith, rector, who died in 1681. (fn. 45)

 

The one bell, founded by Mears, was hung in 1875.

 

The plate consists of a chalice inscribed 'T.H. E.L.'; a paten inscribed 'Thomas Troughear, D.D. istius Ecclĩae Rector,' dated 1732; a flagon (plated) inscribed 'Northwood Church, 1831'; an oval paten inscribed '1813.'

 

The registers date from 1539, and are in seven books (fn. 46) : (i) 1539 to 1593; (ii) 1594 to 1598; (iii) 1599 to 1605; (iv) 1606 to 1618; (v) 1621 to 1660; (vi) 1653 to 1759; (vii) 1743 to 1812.

 

There is a mission church in Pallance Road with a Sunday school attached.

 

The church of ST. MARY, WEST COWES, built in 1867 on the site of an earlier church erected in 1657, is a stone structure consisting of chancel, nave of four bays and aisles, with a tower containing one bell and a clock. It has a handsome reredos and a fine organ. There is a brass memorial tablet to Dr. Arnold of Rugby. The living is a vicarage in the gift of the vicar of Carisbrooke. The register dates from 1679.

 

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, built of brick in 1832 at the sole expense of the late Mrs. S. Goodwin, was enlarged by the addition of a chancel in 1862. It has a western tower with embattled cornice and angle pinnacles. The register dates from 1833. The living is in the gift of Mr. Ll. Loyd.

 

The Roman Catholic church of St. Thomas of Canterbury in Terminus Road is a white brick building erected in 1796. There is a large altar-piece by Cau representing the Descent from the Cross, and another of the Death of the Virgin, on the north wall.

 

At Gurnard is the church of ALL SAINTS, attached to Holy Trinity, Cowes. It is of brick with Bath stone dressings, and has nave, chancel, north and south transepts and a turret with one bell.

 

ADVOWSONS

The church of Northwood was a chapel of ease to Carisbrooke, and belonged in early times to the priory there, (fn. 47) to which it had been granted by William de Redvers Earl of Devon. When the prior and convent obtained the rectory and endowed the vicarage of Carisbrooke, the tithes of Northwood, both great and small, were assigned to the vicar. (fn. 48) In the reign of Henry VIII Northwood obtained parochial privileges and was exempted from contribution to the repairs of Carisbrooke Church. (fn. 49) The living is still attached to Carisbrooke, and the patrons at the present day are the Provost and Fellows of Queen's College, Oxford.

 

Cowes is ecclesiastically divided into two districts. The church of St. Mary was built in 1657, and further endowed in 1679 by George Morley Bishop of Winchester, 'provided that the inhabitants should pay the minister (who is always of their own choosing) £40 a year.' (fn. 50) The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £130, in the gift of the vicar of Carisbrooke.

 

The Roman Catholic church of St. Thomas of Canterbury was served at the beginning of the 19th century by two chaplains of Napoleon's Foreign Legion. The earliest register contains the names of several of the officers and men.

 

¶There are several large Nonconformist chapels in the town. The oldest of these is the Congregational chapel, which was built in 1804. The Wesleyan chapel was built in 1831, the Baptist chapel in 1877 and the Primitive Methodist and United Methodist Free Churches in 1889.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol5/pp268-271

this is a 3 in 1 cookie. one ball of cookie dough on top and one ball of cookie dough on the bottom of an oreo cookie. stick the edges together to stuff the oreo inside. walla! you get a big giant cookie.

One the last singe articulated non self service trams entering the Frederik Hendrik Plantsoen in August 1969. The 586 has been preserved. © Henk Graalman 7493

From the May 2016 trip to Thailand and Cambodia:

 

After five days in Thailand (3 in Bangkok, which included the day trip to Ayuthaya, and 2 nights on Koh Chang), it was time to make our way to Cambodia. There were two places in Cambodia I was looking forward to seeing: Angkor Wat (which pretty much everyone who comes to southeast Asia wants to see) and Phnom Penh’s Killing Field memorials.

 

First, though, was the matter of getting from a semi-remote tropical island in Thailand to the national capital of Cambodia, about 400 kilometers to the east. There isn’t a direct, easy way to do this, so being able to get it done in the time I hoped for was the biggest concern of the whole trip to me. Part of the reason time was such a factor is because I had only planned to spend Friday evening and all day Saturday (until early afternoon) in Phnom Penh before flying out to Siem Reap. With so little time there, I wanted to have as much as possible. With that in mind on waking up, I wasn’t sure how the day would turn out. I’m glad to say, it went very well.

 

The first thing we needed to do was get from the Arunee Resort to the pier on the opposite side of a small mountain at 6:00 in the morning…on an island with no taxis. (It is a tropical place to relax, after all.) The hotel drove us over in a truck for 300 baht. After another 40 baht/person ferry ride across the gulf, we got back to the mainland sometime around 7:40. From there, another 50 baht/person via tuktuk/van to the main bus terminal in Trat, about 45 minutes away found us in good time to grab a bus. (This is the terminal to come to for buses returning to Bangkok or going on to the Cambodian border.)

 

The minibus to the Cambodian border was roughly an hour and a half ride, and I was another 120 baht/person lighter. The time flew by, though, as we only passed through one very small town between Trat and Hat Lek (the border town).

 

The border crossing at Hat Lek is a bit interesting. Lonely Planet advised me ahead of time that this is the most expensive (and only truly expensive) border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia. (Unfortunately for me, it was also the only practical/logical one to use, so I didn’t have an option.) Via airports and at all other border crossings, the Cambodian visa costs about $25-30. Here at Hat Lek, though – and I don’t know why – it’s over $50. The fact that there isn’t uniform regulations at border crossings seemed suspect to me to begin with, but it doesn’t change the fact that you still have to do what they say. (You just get the feeling that you’re being fleeced unnecessarily…and by government officials, at that.)

 

On arriving at the border, the first thing you do is pass through the Thai exit post, which is quick and painless (and free). Walking a few meters farther, you come to the Cambodian entry office, which has a lot of folding tables set up outside. The first thing you do (as US citizen, anyway) is hand over your passport to someone who does NOT look official – yet, he is. You pay him 1600 baht for the visa, plus another 200 baht if you don’t have a passport picture on hand (which I didn’t). So…that was $60 more out of pocket.

 

Also, while sitting at these tables having your passport/visa processed, people will come up and ask where you’re going and offer private cars to get there. There are supposedly three buses from Hat Lek to Phnom Penh, the last leaving at 11:30 in the morning (and taking 5 hours to get to the capital), and you would have to take a car to the town/bus stop which is about 10 km away. (Not knowing, precisely, how to do that, I went for the easiest way there and just agreed to pay a guy 1000 baht/person to drive us in his Camry all the way – 300 km – to Phnom Penh. It ended up costing 2000 baht (close to $65) plus another $25US in total. Now, $90 may seem a bit expensive, but this was a personal car, what amounted to be a 4 hour ride, and he dropped us off right at our hotel. (I put this in perspective simply by thinking of the cost of a taxi ride from Newark International Airport to JFK in New York City…and this deal was much, much better.) The only thing that was slightly disconcerting is that we didn’t actually know this guy and could have possibly been taken advantage of. However, my charmed life seems to continue…

 

We got to our hotel and checked in by 4:00 in the afternoon on Friday, so things – though slightly pricy by local standards – went very, very well. The Number 9 Hotel (on St. 258) is less than a five minute walk from the Royal Palace in downtown Phnom Penh. There are quite a few monuments around the area as well (Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Monument, Independence Monument, etc.) The hotel itself was also a bit no-frills, and advertised a Jacuzzi/spa on the roof…which they said was under repair after we checked in. No worries, though; the restaurant at the hotel was quite good and I think it’s the only place we ate for the ~24 hours that we were there. The staff and service were top notch.

 

As I was still getting over the previous day’s bug/virus/whatever, I didn’t go out on Friday night. Saturday, though, was a different story. Just outside the hotel (and there are quite a few boutique guesthouses on the rather short St 258) are a group of tuktuk drivers all happy to get your business.

 

Now, Phnom Penh isn’t actually much of a tourist destination. In total, there’s the Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda (within walking distance) and the National Museum (just north of the palace). Additionally, there’s the Russian Market (which we didn’t get to). The main reason I really wanted to come to Phnom Penh, though, was to go to the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. (I won’t give a long history lesson here, though highly encourage anyone reading this to do a quick Wikipedia search for “Choeung Ek Killing Fields” or, for something slightly more in depth, try to find information from the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975-1979.)

 

The only things I’ll mention about that era is that, in 1975, the population of Cambodia was about 8 million people. In the five years of the Khmer Rouge regime, they saw fit to assassinate close to 3 million of their countrymen. (Think about that for a minute…imagine your country’s population, whatever the number, then imagine the country is taken over by a military regime that commences to slaughter 35% of the populace. The most conservative numbers I’ve seen are 2 million killed, which is still 25%.)

 

With that as background info, we arranged one of the tuktuks to take us to the Tuol Sleng Museum, then to the Killing Fields, 15 km southwest of downtown Phnom Penh. Our driver, Ron (perhaps Ran, but pronounced like the former) agreed to be our driver for the day. He took us to the museum, then the killing field, then in the early afternoon to the National Museum and picked us up at the Royal Palace around 3:00. At 4:00, he ushered us about 15 km north of town to the airport. We met his wife as we went to the airport. Total cost for the day: $33.

 

Our first stop was the Tuol Sleng Museum. This is a former high school (a place of optimism, aspiration) that the Khmer Rouge converted into a torture chamber. (Additional psychological trauma, I guess?) I’ll give no details, save to say that I likened it to a Nazi concentration camp minus the gas chamber. To visit here, though, you are spared no detail in the presentation. I’ll commend (perhaps not the best word) the Cambodians for owning up to their atrocities. Other countries in the region could learn a lot from this. (They say it’s important to bare all so that people can see the horror and it will be less likely to happen again.) Anyway, after paying the admission ($6, I think?), you wander through the buildings with your audio guide and the many well-presented exhibits. At the end, about an hour later, there’s a man selling a book for $10. He’s a survivor of this place. I really had no words; just hugged the guy. He and his daughter said he was spared simply because he knew how to fix and use a typewriter.

 

After leaving Tuol Sleng, in quite a somber mood, Ran took us across town to the Choeung Ek Killing Fields (this is probably the most famous one in the nation, though there are literally hundreds here…and also still many active landmines from the war in the 1970s, so…I wouldn’t wander around too freely).

 

If the Tuol Sleng Museum was somber, this place is equally, if not more, harrowing. The admission here was also around $6 or so, and comes with another audio guide. There’s also a small room/museum with a 15 minute informative video. After that, you wander from point to point where you learn that this place was the former mass grave for Chinese. You also see mass graves for women, for babies…a tree (still standing) where babies were murdered, and so on. The final stop is a memorial stupa which contains the skulls and other bones of countless victims, classified by gender and method of murder (though all victims are still unidentified). However, the presentation is more than powerful enough to make its point.

 

The morning touring done, we returned to Number 9, had a leisurely lunch, then had Ran take us up to the National Museum. It’s a rather small museum, though quite good – especially if you like stone Buddhas. The museum admission is around $5, and the building has four small wings, that visitors tend to visit beginning on the left and going in a clockwise manner. No picures are allowed to be taken inside the museum (which I thought rather unfortunate, as it really was quite interesting and tasteful, as far as museums go), but you could take pictures of the museum itself and the internal courtyard. Leisurely seeing the entire museum takes less than an hour.

 

From there, it was about a 5-10 minute walk along the palace wall (north side, around the east wall that runs parallel to the river). After paying to enter the Royal Palace at the southeast gate, you’re allowed entry to the grounds and have access to view buildings such as the Coronation Hall, the Crown Room, and the Silver Pagoda. This is essentially quite similar to Thailand’s Royal Palace in terms of how much (and what) you can see, though it wasn’t quite as nice as Thailand’s to me. (I don’t mean to imply that it’s not nice, though; it was an enjoyable afternoon, though with temps around 40 degrees, my energy waned rather quickly.)

 

After an hour or so here at the Royal Palace, we made our way back to Number 9 (at this point, barely a 2 minute ride by tuktuk), where we rested until 4:00 and had Ran take us to the airport for our 7:30 flight to Siem Reap, 45 minutes away.

 

En route, though – and also from observations riding around on the way back from Choeung Ek – I got the impression that while Phnom Penh may not be the most touristy place in the world, it sure seemed like a great place to live (as much for expats as anyone). There’s still a lot of French influence, so my first abstract impression is that it reminded me of a combination of the French Quarter in New Orleans, Fuxing in Shanghai, and just some trendy/hippie areas in general. There were lots of cool little boutique hotels, restaurants, stores…and the Cambodians are exceptionally friendly and pleasant (as are Thais). I don’t know that I’ll ever come back here, but I certainly wouldn’t feel bad if I did…

 

At any rate, those were just my impressions on the way out of town. Getting to the airport, I was ready for the final stop: Siem Reap & Angkor Wat. The only thing standing between me and my ultimate destination…a prop jet.

Scrubber car 134s does a demonstration run as W2 249 and R1 1740 look on. STM Loftus

From the May 2016 trip to Thailand and Cambodia:

 

After five days in Thailand (3 in Bangkok, which included the day trip to Ayuthaya, and 2 nights on Koh Chang), it was time to make our way to Cambodia. There were two places in Cambodia I was looking forward to seeing: Angkor Wat (which pretty much everyone who comes to southeast Asia wants to see) and Phnom Penh’s Killing Field memorials.

 

First, though, was the matter of getting from a semi-remote tropical island in Thailand to the national capital of Cambodia, about 400 kilometers to the east. There isn’t a direct, easy way to do this, so being able to get it done in the time I hoped for was the biggest concern of the whole trip to me. Part of the reason time was such a factor is because I had only planned to spend Friday evening and all day Saturday (until early afternoon) in Phnom Penh before flying out to Siem Reap. With so little time there, I wanted to have as much as possible. With that in mind on waking up, I wasn’t sure how the day would turn out. I’m glad to say, it went very well.

 

The first thing we needed to do was get from the Arunee Resort to the pier on the opposite side of a small mountain at 6:00 in the morning…on an island with no taxis. (It is a tropical place to relax, after all.) The hotel drove us over in a truck for 300 baht. After another 40 baht/person ferry ride across the gulf, we got back to the mainland sometime around 7:40. From there, another 50 baht/person via tuktuk/van to the main bus terminal in Trat, about 45 minutes away found us in good time to grab a bus. (This is the terminal to come to for buses returning to Bangkok or going on to the Cambodian border.)

 

The minibus to the Cambodian border was roughly an hour and a half ride, and I was another 120 baht/person lighter. The time flew by, though, as we only passed through one very small town between Trat and Hat Lek (the border town).

 

The border crossing at Hat Lek is a bit interesting. Lonely Planet advised me ahead of time that this is the most expensive (and only truly expensive) border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia. (Unfortunately for me, it was also the only practical/logical one to use, so I didn’t have an option.) Via airports and at all other border crossings, the Cambodian visa costs about $25-30. Here at Hat Lek, though – and I don’t know why – it’s over $50. The fact that there isn’t uniform regulations at border crossings seemed suspect to me to begin with, but it doesn’t change the fact that you still have to do what they say. (You just get the feeling that you’re being fleeced unnecessarily…and by government officials, at that.)

 

On arriving at the border, the first thing you do is pass through the Thai exit post, which is quick and painless (and free). Walking a few meters farther, you come to the Cambodian entry office, which has a lot of folding tables set up outside. The first thing you do (as US citizen, anyway) is hand over your passport to someone who does NOT look official – yet, he is. You pay him 1600 baht for the visa, plus another 200 baht if you don’t have a passport picture on hand (which I didn’t). So…that was $60 more out of pocket.

 

Also, while sitting at these tables having your passport/visa processed, people will come up and ask where you’re going and offer private cars to get there. There are supposedly three buses from Hat Lek to Phnom Penh, the last leaving at 11:30 in the morning (and taking 5 hours to get to the capital), and you would have to take a car to the town/bus stop which is about 10 km away. (Not knowing, precisely, how to do that, I went for the easiest way there and just agreed to pay a guy 1000 baht/person to drive us in his Camry all the way – 300 km – to Phnom Penh. It ended up costing 2000 baht (close to $65) plus another $25US in total. Now, $90 may seem a bit expensive, but this was a personal car, what amounted to be a 4 hour ride, and he dropped us off right at our hotel. (I put this in perspective simply by thinking of the cost of a taxi ride from Newark International Airport to JFK in New York City…and this deal was much, much better.) The only thing that was slightly disconcerting is that we didn’t actually know this guy and could have possibly been taken advantage of. However, my charmed life seems to continue…

 

We got to our hotel and checked in by 4:00 in the afternoon on Friday, so things – though slightly pricy by local standards – went very, very well. The Number 9 Hotel (on St. 258) is less than a five minute walk from the Royal Palace in downtown Phnom Penh. There are quite a few monuments around the area as well (Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Monument, Independence Monument, etc.) The hotel itself was also a bit no-frills, and advertised a Jacuzzi/spa on the roof…which they said was under repair after we checked in. No worries, though; the restaurant at the hotel was quite good and I think it’s the only place we ate for the ~24 hours that we were there. The staff and service were top notch.

 

As I was still getting over the previous day’s bug/virus/whatever, I didn’t go out on Friday night. Saturday, though, was a different story. Just outside the hotel (and there are quite a few boutique guesthouses on the rather short St 258) are a group of tuktuk drivers all happy to get your business.

 

Now, Phnom Penh isn’t actually much of a tourist destination. In total, there’s the Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda (within walking distance) and the National Museum (just north of the palace). Additionally, there’s the Russian Market (which we didn’t get to). The main reason I really wanted to come to Phnom Penh, though, was to go to the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. (I won’t give a long history lesson here, though highly encourage anyone reading this to do a quick Wikipedia search for “Choeung Ek Killing Fields” or, for something slightly more in depth, try to find information from the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975-1979.)

 

The only things I’ll mention about that era is that, in 1975, the population of Cambodia was about 8 million people. In the five years of the Khmer Rouge regime, they saw fit to assassinate close to 3 million of their countrymen. (Think about that for a minute…imagine your country’s population, whatever the number, then imagine the country is taken over by a military regime that commences to slaughter 35% of the populace. The most conservative numbers I’ve seen are 2 million killed, which is still 25%.)

 

With that as background info, we arranged one of the tuktuks to take us to the Tuol Sleng Museum, then to the Killing Fields, 15 km southwest of downtown Phnom Penh. Our driver, Ron (perhaps Ran, but pronounced like the former) agreed to be our driver for the day. He took us to the museum, then the killing field, then in the early afternoon to the National Museum and picked us up at the Royal Palace around 3:00. At 4:00, he ushered us about 15 km north of town to the airport. We met his wife as we went to the airport. Total cost for the day: $33.

 

Our first stop was the Tuol Sleng Museum. This is a former high school (a place of optimism, aspiration) that the Khmer Rouge converted into a torture chamber. (Additional psychological trauma, I guess?) I’ll give no details, save to say that I likened it to a Nazi concentration camp minus the gas chamber. To visit here, though, you are spared no detail in the presentation. I’ll commend (perhaps not the best word) the Cambodians for owning up to their atrocities. Other countries in the region could learn a lot from this. (They say it’s important to bare all so that people can see the horror and it will be less likely to happen again.) Anyway, after paying the admission ($6, I think?), you wander through the buildings with your audio guide and the many well-presented exhibits. At the end, about an hour later, there’s a man selling a book for $10. He’s a survivor of this place. I really had no words; just hugged the guy. He and his daughter said he was spared simply because he knew how to fix and use a typewriter.

 

After leaving Tuol Sleng, in quite a somber mood, Ran took us across town to the Choeung Ek Killing Fields (this is probably the most famous one in the nation, though there are literally hundreds here…and also still many active landmines from the war in the 1970s, so…I wouldn’t wander around too freely).

 

If the Tuol Sleng Museum was somber, this place is equally, if not more, harrowing. The admission here was also around $6 or so, and comes with another audio guide. There’s also a small room/museum with a 15 minute informative video. After that, you wander from point to point where you learn that this place was the former mass grave for Chinese. You also see mass graves for women, for babies…a tree (still standing) where babies were murdered, and so on. The final stop is a memorial stupa which contains the skulls and other bones of countless victims, classified by gender and method of murder (though all victims are still unidentified). However, the presentation is more than powerful enough to make its point.

 

The morning touring done, we returned to Number 9, had a leisurely lunch, then had Ran take us up to the National Museum. It’s a rather small museum, though quite good – especially if you like stone Buddhas. The museum admission is around $5, and the building has four small wings, that visitors tend to visit beginning on the left and going in a clockwise manner. No picures are allowed to be taken inside the museum (which I thought rather unfortunate, as it really was quite interesting and tasteful, as far as museums go), but you could take pictures of the museum itself and the internal courtyard. Leisurely seeing the entire museum takes less than an hour.

 

From there, it was about a 5-10 minute walk along the palace wall (north side, around the east wall that runs parallel to the river). After paying to enter the Royal Palace at the southeast gate, you’re allowed entry to the grounds and have access to view buildings such as the Coronation Hall, the Crown Room, and the Silver Pagoda. This is essentially quite similar to Thailand’s Royal Palace in terms of how much (and what) you can see, though it wasn’t quite as nice as Thailand’s to me. (I don’t mean to imply that it’s not nice, though; it was an enjoyable afternoon, though with temps around 40 degrees, my energy waned rather quickly.)

 

After an hour or so here at the Royal Palace, we made our way back to Number 9 (at this point, barely a 2 minute ride by tuktuk), where we rested until 4:00 and had Ran take us to the airport for our 7:30 flight to Siem Reap, 45 minutes away.

 

En route, though – and also from observations riding around on the way back from Choeung Ek – I got the impression that while Phnom Penh may not be the most touristy place in the world, it sure seemed like a great place to live (as much for expats as anyone). There’s still a lot of French influence, so my first abstract impression is that it reminded me of a combination of the French Quarter in New Orleans, Fuxing in Shanghai, and just some trendy/hippie areas in general. There were lots of cool little boutique hotels, restaurants, stores…and the Cambodians are exceptionally friendly and pleasant (as are Thais). I don’t know that I’ll ever come back here, but I certainly wouldn’t feel bad if I did…

 

At any rate, those were just my impressions on the way out of town. Getting to the airport, I was ready for the final stop: Siem Reap & Angkor Wat. The only thing standing between me and my ultimate destination…a prop jet.

As Of Friday May 29, 2020, Illinois entered Stage 3 in it's reopening plan which meant malls can reopen so I went to Woodfield to check it out. Not many stores were open yet due to it being early for those tenants. Sears was also the only anchor opened. The mall was not very busy but there were some people. There are destined entrances and not all of them are open. Other than the food court which was take out only, there wasn't much difference in shopping experience. Overall, I think Simon did a good job with reopening the mall and the lesser crowds in a large mall make it easy for people to social distance.

Laurent Giles Dorus Mohr ketch, another superb powerful yacht from this famous yacht designer. The first of 4 to be built, the original construction of this yacht was no expense spared, all teak hull, decks and superstructure. 4 cylinder Gardner engine. 4 berths in 2 luxurious double cabins, plus settee berth in the saloon. Good 2010 survey report. This is a very comprehensively equipped yacht in extremely smart condition and ready to go. A better example you will not find.

 

£ 98,000

Specs

Builder: Port Hamble Ltd

Designer: J. Laurent Giles

Flag of Registry: United Kingdom

Keel: Full

Hull Shape: Displacement

 

Dimensions

Beam: 12 ft 2 in

LWL: 38 ft 0 in

Length on Deck: 49 ft 3 in

Minimum Draft: 6 ft 0 in

Maximum Draft: 6 ft 0 in

 

Engines

Total Power: 56 HP

 

Engine 1:

Engine Brand: Gardner

Engine Model: 4LW

Engine/Fuel Type: Diesel

Propeller: 3 blade propeller

Drive Type: Direct Drive

Engine Power: 56 HP

  

Tanks

Fresh Water Tanks: (280)

Fuel Tanks: (134)

 

Accommodations

Number of single berths: 1

Number of twin berths: 2

Number of cabins: 3

Number of heads: 2

Number of bathrooms: 2

 

Electronics

Autopilot - Autohelm 7000

Compass

Radar

VHF - Navico. XM DSC.

Radar Detector

Depthsounder - Autohelm

Plotter - Garmin

Wind speed and direction

Log-speedometer

 

Sails

Battened mainsail

Genoa

 

Rigging

Steering wheel

 

Inside Equipment

Oven

Refrigerator

Marine head

Electric bilge pump

Manual bilge pump

Battery charger - Numar

Hot water - Valiant gas heaters

Heating - Eberspacher warm air and Shipmate solid fuel.

 

Electrical Equipment

Shore power inlet

 

Outside Equipment/Extras

Liferaft - 6 man

Tender - Plastimo 240 + Tohatsu outboard

Total Liferaft Capacity: 6

Electric windlass

 

Covers

Mainsail cover

Lazyjacks

  

Full specification

A classic Jack Laurent Giles design, the first of 4 that were been built to this design.

 

Built by Port Hamble Ltd, in 1961. This is a top quality and very expensive original construction in all teak hull, deck and superstructure.

 

She has had a recent refit, autumn 2010 and is looking very smart indeed.

 

The hull is planked in teak, all copper and bronze fastened to heavy oak frames with twin steamed intermediates

 

Oak floors on the heavy frames, galvanised straps on the steamed timbers.

 

Lead keel, bronze keel bolts.

 

Extra thick sheer strake in classic Laurent Giles style with gold cove line.

Exceptionally fair hull.

Solid yacht-laid teak deck, caulked and payed with varnished king plank and cover-boards and deep varnished teak toe rail.

 

Stainless steel stanchions, pulpit and push-pit.

 

Delta plough anchor self-stows in a stemhead fitting.

 

Danforth bower anchor self stows in a hawse in the stbd bow with stainless steel protection plate.

 

Superstructure in 4 parts:

a shallow coach-roof over the fore cabin, galley and fwd heads:

 

the next step up over the sunken deck saloon

 

step up to the wheel shelter over the midships cock-pit

 

after coach-roof over the aft cabin.

 

The coamings are in varnished teak with chromed port holes and window frames.

 

Varnished grab rails on the coach-roof decks

 

Fine chromed vents on Dorade boxes.

 

Modern Lewmar style flush deck hatch on the fore deck.

 

Perspex roof in the wheel shelter allows the helmsman to see the sails above.

 

Bermudian ketch rig on varnished spruce masts and spars.

 

The main mast is stepped on the forward coach-roof with a steel tube compression post

 

below. Single spreaders with jumper struts above.

 

Stainless steel rigging with swaged terminals and bronze rigging screws to internal

 

stainless steel chain plates.

 

Twin lowers and cap shrouds, twin fore stays to the stemhead, twin standing back-stays.

 

Twin topping lifts to the main boom which stows in a crutch on the wheel-house roof.

 

Main boom 3-point attachment sheet on the after coach-roof.

 

The mizzen mast is stepped through the aft deck.

 

Cap shrouds round twin forward swept spreaders, twin well-spaced lowers, twin standing back-stays to the push-pit.

Mizzen boom sheets to the push-pit.

3 x Barlow 26 top action sheet winches on the after coach-roof under the wheel shelter.

 

Pair of captive wire and brake halyard winches on the main mast take the headsail and main sail halyards.

Single top-action Lewmar winch on the main mast.

Mizzen mast halyard winch.

 

Sails

Mainsail with lazy jacks and sail cover

Mizzen with lazy jacks and sail cover

Genoa.

 

Gardner 4LW 56hp 4-cyl diesel engine with Gardner gear-box to centre-line 3-blade prop.

 

Fresh water cooled with remote header tank.

 

Remote heat exchanger.

 

Borg Warner Velvet Drive gear box allows very smooth gear change.

 

Separate gear and throttle controls.

 

Tanks:

Fuel 603 litres

Water 1278 litres.

Batteries

Engine start 2 x 12v

Service 4 x 12v

Numar battery charger

 

Accommodation:

4 berths + saloon settee.

V-berths in for cabin.

Centre bulkhead door to passageway with stbd heads and port galley.

The heads compartment has a Blake sea toilet with varnished teak seat, porcelain hand

Basin and shower. Teak grating shower tray. Paloma gas bulkhead mounted water heater.

Galley with Plastimo Neptune 2500 2 burner grill and oven gas cooker, new 2010, sink,fridge and Valiant gas water heater on the bulkhead.

Steps up to the saloon with U-shaped dinette to port upholstered in blue fabric around the double drop leaf teak table.

Chart desk/side-board down to stbd side with drawers and cupboards under and stowage under the side deck.

 

Shipmate stainless steel sold fuel cabin heater on the fwd bulkhead with flue to deck,

tiles on the bulkhead behind.

Beautiful varnished teak joinery, glinting brass of lamps, clock and barometer.

 

Centre-line step up to the cock-pit with port helm and helmsman’s seat. Seat lockers each side.

 

From the saloon, steps down in the after stbd corner to a passageway through to the aft cabin.

Lockers to stbd under the side deck. Engine room to port.

Aft cabin with port and stbd berths, dressing table between.

Hanging locker in the fwd stbd corner by the door, heads compartment in the forward port corner with Blake sea toilet, porcelain hand basin, shower with hot water from

Valiant gas waster heater on the bulkhead.

All original varnished mahogany joinery with drawers under the generous berths.

 

Compass,

Radar

XM DSC VHF

Navico VHF

Garmin 65 GPS

Garmin Map 185 chart plotter

Autohelm 7000 auto-pilot

Autohelm speed indicator

Autohelm depth sounder

Autohelm wind indicator

Autohelm electronic compass

Clock and barometer

Rudder indicator

Eberspacher warm air cabin heater.

Kent Clearview screen

Boarding ladder

Vetus 24v windlass

Ample chain

Danforrth bower anchor

Delta kedge anchor

Plastimo 240 RIB with Tohatsu o/b engine

S/s davits over the stern

6-man life raft

2 x life buoys with lights

Radar reflector

Manual and 12v bilge pumps

Plastimo MOB rescue sling.

Warps and fenders

 

An exceptionally fine and practical classic yacht.

Inspected spring 2011.

2010 survey report.

Uni hubcap, Renault Modus hubcap and Renault Clio hubcap.

  

St James's Park, the first of The Royal Parks to be opened to the public, provides habitats for a variety of different species. A short walk away from three palaces (St James's, Westminster and Buckingham Palaces) and in the heart of historical London, the park welcomes over 5.5 million visitors every year and is one of the most visited parks in Europe. This heavy use inevitably has an impact on the wildlife in the area, yet it can be surprising to some how much can live and grow alongside humans.

 

One of the key habitats in St James's Park is the lake. It is home to a wide range of bird life (including 15 different species of waterfowl) and has nesting sites on Duck Island and West Island.

 

Tancho Crane/ Red-crowned Crane

 

The red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), also called the Manchurian crane or Japanese crane (Japanese: 丹頂鶴 or タンチョウヅル; rōmaji: tanchōzuru), is a large East Asian crane among the rarest cranes in the world. In some parts of its range, it is known as a symbol of luck, longevity, and fidelity.

 

Adult red-crowned cranes are named for a patch of red bare skin on the crown, which becomes brighter during mating season. Overall, they are snow white in color with black on the wing secondaries, which can appear almost like a black tail when the birds are standing, but the real tail feathers are actually white. Males are black on the cheeks, throat, and neck, while females are pearly gray in these spots. The bill is olive green to greenish horn, the legs are slate to grayish black, and the iris is dark brown.

 

This species is among the largest cranes, typically measuring about 150 to 158 cm (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 2 in) tall and 101.2–150 cm (3 ft 4 in–4 ft 11 in) in length (from bill to tail tip). Across the large wingspan, the red-crowned crane measures 220–250 cm (7 ft 3 in–8 ft 2 in). Typical body weight can range from 4.8 to 10.5 kg (11 to 23 lb), with males being slightly larger and heavier than females and weight ranging higher just prior to migration. On average, it is the heaviest crane species, although both the sarus and wattled crane can grow taller and exceed this species in linear measurements. On average, adult males from Hokkaidō weighed around 8.2 kg (18 lb) and adult females there averaged around 7.3 kg (16 lb), while a Russian study found males averaged 10 kg (22 lb) and females averaged 8.6 kg (19 lb); in some cases, females could outweigh their mates despite the males' slightly larger average body weight. Another study found the average weight of the species to be 8.9 kg (20 lb).

 

In the spring and summer, the migratory populations of the red-crowned crane breed in Siberia (eastern Russia), north-eastern China and occasionally in north-eastern Mongolia (i.e., Mongol Daguur Strictly Protected Area). The breeding range centers in Lake Khanka, on the border of China and Russia. Normally, the crane lays two eggs, with only one surviving. Later, in the fall, they migrate in flocks to the Korean Peninsula and east-central China to spend the winter. Vagrants have also been recorded in Taiwan. In addition to the migratory populations, a resident population is found in eastern Hokkaidō in Japan. This species nests in wetlands and rivers. In the wintering range, their habitat is comprised mainly by paddy fields, grassy tidal flats, and mudflats. In the flats, the birds feed on aquatic invertebrates and, in cold, snowy conditions, the birds switch to mainly living on rice gleanings from the paddy fields.

 

The population of red-crowned cranes in Japan is mostly non-migratory, with the race in Hokkaidō moving only 150 km (93 mi) to its wintering grounds. Only the mainland population experiences a long-distance migration. They leave their wintering grounds in spring by February and are established on territories by April. In fall, they leave their breeding territories in October and November, with the migration fully over by mid-December.

 

A red-crowned crane pair duets in various situations, helping to establish formation and maintenance of the pair bond, as well as territorial advertisement and agonistic signaling. The pair moves rhythmically until they are standing close, throwing their heads back and letting out a fluting call in unison, often triggering other pairs to start duetting, as well. As it is occurs year around, the social implications of dancing are complex in meaning. However, dancing behavior is generally thought to show excitement in the species. To strengthen the bond, red-crowned cranes engage in dual honking rituals before performing a dance.

 

The estimated total population of the species is only 2,750 in the wild, including about 1,000 birds in the resident Japanese population. Of the migratory populations, about 1,000 winter in China (mainly at the Yellow River delta and Yancheng Coastal Wetlands), and the remaining winter in Korea. It received endangered status on June 2, 1970.

 

In Japan, this crane is known as the tanchōzuru and is said to live for 1,000 years. A pair of red-crowned cranes was used in the design for the Series D 1000-yen note (reverse side). In the Ainu language, the red-crowned crane is known as sarurun kamuy or "marsh-kamuy". At Tsurui, they are one of the 100 Soundscapes of Japan. Cranes are said to grant favours in return for acts of sacrifice, as in Tsuru no Ongaeshi ("crane's return of a favor").

 

Status: Endangered

Marilyn

 

+3 in comments

Maspalomas beach, Gran Canaria

Hi all after my shit day my mum took this it look really cool I am getting footage when I am on holidays !!

Waiting for the traffic lights to change before turning right into Whitehall. Don't forget to change the destination blind!

Nearly 3 in one shot with Reays Van Hool obscuring Clynnog &Trefor coach and Atkinsons close behind...going to the Cup Final on the M1...May 11 2013.

From Wikipedia.com:

  

Santa Cruz Island was the largest privately owned island off the continental United States, but is currently part-owned by the National Park service (NPS owns 24%, and the Nature Conservancy owns 76%).[1] The island, located off the coast of California, is 22 miles (35 km) long and from 2 to 6 miles (3.2 to 9.7 km) wide. It is part of the northern group of the Channel Islands of California,[1] and at 61,764.6 acres (249.952 km2) or 96.507 sq mi) is the largest of the eight islands in the chain. Santa Cruz Island is located within Santa Barbara County, California. The coastline has steep cliffs, gigantic sea caves, coves, and sandy beaches. Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block 3000, Block Group 3, Census Tract 29.10 of Santa Barbara County, the 2000 census showed an official population of two persons.[2] The highest peak is Devils Peak, at 2450+ feet (747+ m).

A central valley splits the island along the Santa Cruz Island Fault, with volcanic rock on the north and older sedimentary rock on the south.

Santa Cruz is the only place where the Island Scrub Jay is found.

Contents [hide]

1 History

1.1 Early history

1.2 Mexican land grant

1.3 Ranching

1.4 Other uses

1.5 National park

2 Wildlife

3 Reintroduced bald eagles

4 References

4.1 Notes

4.2 Bibliography

5 External links

[edit]History

 

[edit]Early history

Archaeological investigations indicate that Santa Cruz Island has been occupied for at least 9,000 years. People, of the Chumash Indian tribe lived on the island and developed a highly complex society dependent on marine harvest, craft specialization and trade with the mainland population. The Santa Cruz Island Chumash produced shell beads that they used for currency, which formed an important part of the overall Chumash economy. Native villagers had no known contact with Europeans until the 16th and early 17th centuries. Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, who is credited with the first European exploration of the California coast, observed at least six villages, though he and his crew did not come ashore. Cabrillo named the island San Lucas, although the Chumash called it Limuw.[3]

In 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno led the last Spanish expedition to California. His map named Santa Cruz Island the Isla de Gente Barbuda (island of the bearded people). Between 1602 and 1769 there was no recorded European contact with the island. Finally, in 1769, the land-and-sea expedition of Don Gaspar de Portolà reached Santa Cruz Island. Traveling with him were Father Juan González Vizcaíno and Father Francisco Palóu. Father Palóu wrote of Father Vizcaíno’s visit to the Santa Cruz village of Xaxas that the missionaries on ship went ashore and “they were well received by the heathen and presented with fish, in return for which the Indians were given some strings of beads.” The island was considered for establishment of a Catholic mission to serve the large Chumash population. When Mission San Buenaventura was founded across the channel in 1782, it commenced the slow religious conversion of the Santa Cruz Chumash. In 1822, the last of the Chumash left the island for mainland California.[3]

With Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1821, the Mexican government asserted its control over California. In an effort to increase the Mexican presence, the government began sending convicted criminals to populate many areas. Around 40 prisoners were sent to Santa Barbara where, upon arrival, they were sent to Santa Cruz Island. They lived for a short time in an area now known as Prisoners Harbor.[3]

[edit]Mexican land grant

Governor Juan Alvarado made a Mexican land grant of the Island of Santa Cruz to his aide Captain Andrés Castillero in 1839. When California became a state in 1850, the United States government, through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, required that land previously granted by Spanish and Mexican governments be proved before the Board of Land Commissioners. A claim was filed with the Land Commission in 1852,[4] confirmed by the US Supreme Court[5] and the grant was patented to Andrés Castillero in 1867.[6] For twelve years Castillero’s claim to Santa Cruz Island was disputed, even after his property had been sold. During Castillero’s ownership, Dr. James B. Shaw, an English physician, acted as manager of the island. He built the island’s first ranch house by 1855 and is thought to have brought the first French Merino sheep to the island.[3]

[edit]Ranching

See also: Santa Cruz (sheep)

  

Scorpion Ranch, 2009

Castillero sold the island to William Barron, a San Francisco businessman and co-owner of the company Barron, Forbes & Co., in 1857. During the twelve years that Barron owned the island, Dr. Shaw continued to manage it as superintendent and was charged by Barron to expand the sheep ranching operation begun during the Castillero era. The Civil War significantly increased the demand for wool and by 1864 some 24,000 sheep grazed the hills and valleys of Santa Cruz Island.[3]

Shaw’s island sheep ranch was well known by 1869, the year he left Santa Cruz. He imported cattle, horses, and sheep to the island and erected one of the earliest wharves along the California coast at Prisoners Harbor by 1869. He built corrals and houses for himself and his employees and expanded the road system. Shaw was the first rancher to ship sheep to San Francisco by steamer, some selling at $30 per animal. When Barron sold the island in 1869 to ten investors from San Francisco for $150,000, Shaw left for San Francisco and Los Alamos where he continued ranching. At that time, the gross proceeds from the ranch on Santa Cruz Island were supposedly $50,000.[3]

One of the investors, Justinian Caire, was a French immigrant and founder of a successful San Francisco hardware business that sold equipment to miners. By the late 1880s Caire had acquired all of the shares of the Santa Cruz Island Company which he and his colleagues had founded in 1869. He continued a successful livestock and ranching industry on the island for many years.[3]

An extended and complicated series of litigation among Caire family members resulted in the division of the island and the sale of most of it in 1937. Justinian Caire's descendents retained 6,000 acres (24 km2) on the east end of the island, on which they continued the sheep ranching operation. Other family members sold the remaining 90 percent of the island to Los Angeles oilman Edwin Stanton in 1937.[3]

Edwin Stanton’s purchase of the major part of Santa Cruz Island brought a major shift in agricultural production on the island. After trying for a short time to continue the sheep operation, he decided to switch to beef production. At the time, the beef industry in California was growing rapidly, with Santa Barbara County among the top ten beef producers in the state.[3]

Edwin Stanton’s ranch on Santa Cruz Island saw changes that reflected the evolution of cattle ranching in a working landscape. While retaining most of the 19th century structures dating from the Caire period, Stanton constructed a few buildings to meet the needs of his cattle ranch, the most notable of which is Rancho del Norte on the isthmus. Pasture fencing and corrals were altered to suit the cattle operation and an extensive water system was added to provide water to the cattle.[3]

The Gherini family, descendents of Justinian Caire, continued their sheep ranching operations on the east end of Santa Cruz Island until 1984, using Scorpion Ranch as their base. They managed the island with resident managers and laborers and often worked as a family during shearing and during the summer. Production dropped during the 1970s and 80s and the expense of ranching on a remote island rose. By 1984 the last ranch lessee vacated the island and a newly formed hunting club called Island Adventures leased the facilities from the Gherinis. The hunt club used the ranch houses at Scorpion and Smugglers to house guests who came to hunt the feral pigs and remaining sheep.[3] The fight between the Gherinis and the federal government started in 1980, when the northern Channel Islands were designated a national park and Congress authorized the purchase of the family's remaining acreage. But the purchase agreement stalled for years as family members pushed the federal government to pay what they believed was the appropriate amount for the land. In the early 1990s, the government managed to buy the interests of Francis Gherini's three siblings for about $4 million apiece. But the former Oxnard attorney rejected the offer as too low, keeping his 25% interest in the 6,264-acre (25.35 km2) ranch and leaving the park service with 75%. Park officials continued negotiations in recent years, but said they were constrained by law from paying more than fair market value. In 1995, park officials were still reviewing appraisals of the land, hoping they could meet Gherini's price and snatch up the last privately owned land in the national park. In November 1996, government officials settled with Mr. Gherini for 14 million dollars which included 2 million dollars in back interest.[7]

With Edwin Stanton’s death in 1964, his widow and son, Carey, re-incorporated the Santa Cruz Island Company and continued the cattle operations on the island. Carey Stanton died unexpectedly in 1987 at the ranch and was buried in the family plot in the island chapel yard at the Main Ranch. The real property passed to The Nature Conservancy through a prior agreement that Carey Stanton had established with the non-profit organization. The Nature Conservancy rapidly liquidated the cattle operation and ended the ranching era on the island.[3]

[edit]Other uses

Santa Cruz was a base for otter hunters, fishermen, and smugglers. The Channel Islands often provided smugglers and bootleggers with convenient yet isolated hideaways where they could store their goods, one area is known today as Smugglers Cove.[3]

George Nidever recalled hunting otter at Santa Cruz in the winter of 1835-1836. Working from a base camp at Santa Rosa Island, he and two others obtained 60 skins that season. Fishermen encamped on the island, trading fish for other goods from passing boats.[3]

The United States military began to use Santa Cruz Island during World War II, and has constructed and maintained strategic installations on the island. Like all of the Channel Islands, Santa Cruz Island was used as an early warning outpost for observing enemy planes and ships during World War II. During the Cold War a communications station was installed as a part of the Pacific Missile Range Facility. This station remains in operation, although not at the levels of use seen in the 1950s and 1960s.[3]

[edit]National park

In 1936 the Caire family reportedly offered their 90% of the island for $750,000 to the state of California for use as a state or federal park. Nothing came of this proposal and the property was sold to Edwin Stanton. Stanton's son and heir was not interested in a government purchase of his island and took steps to avoid such events by forging an agreement with The Nature Conservancy and the property was transferred to the organization upon his death. Although Santa Cruz Island is included within the boundaries of Channel Islands National Park, The Nature Conservancy portion of the island does not belong to the park. A transfer of 8,500 acres (34 km2) from the Nature Conservancy to the park was completed in 2000.[3]

Channel Islands National Park owns and operates approximately 24% of Santa Cruz Island. The remaining land is managed by a combination of organizations which includes The Nature Conservancy, the University of California Field Station, and the Santa Cruz Island Foundation.

[edit]Wildlife

   

Lichen encrusted rocks upon the cliffs of Santa Cruz Island

Introduced and invasive species on Santa Cruz Island include:

Golden Eagle (invader), which replaced the native bald eagle, and hunted island foxes to threatened status.

Fennel (introduced), served as cover for Island Foxes, but as forage for the feral pigs.

Feral Pigs (introduced), displaced native island foxes.

Santa Cruz sheep

Native species include:

Island Scrub-jay

Hoffman's rockress, which is known only from Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands.[8]

Island manzanita[9] and whitehair manzanita,[10] shrubs which are endemic to Santa Cruz Island.

Island fence lizard,[11] endemic to the Channel Islands of California[12]

[edit]Reintroduced bald eagles

 

Bald eagles were once numerous on California's Channel Islands. Because of eggshell thinning caused by DDT and other factors, the last known successful bald eagle nesting in the northern Channel Islands was in 1949. By the 1960s, bald eagles could no longer be found on any of the Channel Islands.

The Institute for Wildlife Studies started a program in 2002 to reintroduce bald eagles to the Channel Islands, funded by money from a $25 million fund to deal with the lingering effects of tons of DDT dumped by the Montrose Chemical Corporation of California into the ocean near Santa Catalina Island. Since June 2002, 46 young bald eagles have been released on Santa Cruz Island. On 17 March 2006, wildlife biologists for the Institute announced that for the first time in over 50 years there has been a successful hatching on Santa Cruz Island.[13][14]

In April 2007, the Nature Conservancy announced another successful chick hatching.[15] The chick broke free of its shell on 13 April 2007.

Recipe Name: Randy's 3 in one

 

Cone: Color:

Firing: Oxidation Surface: Glossy

 

Amount Ingredient

5 Gerstley Borate--1999

2 Whiting

41 Feldspar--Custer

12 Ball Clay--Old Mine #4

10 Red Art

6 Spodumene--Gwalia

11 Dolomite

7 Bone Ash

3 Talc

2 Lithium Carbonate

5 Silica

 

104 Total

  

Unity Oxide

.113 Li2O

.064 Na2O

.133 K2O

.229 MgO

.461 CaO

1.000 Total

 

.368 Al2O3

.049 B2O3

.016 Fe2O3

 

2.357 SiO2

.008 TiO2

.056 P2O5

 

6.4 Ratio

7.2 Exp

 

Comments: a semi gloss silk mat evenly covering glaze. Has a light tan overall color. Smooth surface/

         

-----------------------------------

Calculations by GlazeMaster™

www.masteringglazes.com

------------------------------------

 

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

Uruguay, like several other countries in South America, has been a traditional customer of US military hardware. In Uruguay’s case, this first example were 40 M3A1 Stuart light tanks delivered in 1944-1945. In the years following the Second World War and the Korean War, obsolete armored vehicles which were no longer deemed as required for the current situation of the US military were given as military aid to US allies, particularly in Latin America. It was in this context that Uruguay would receive 17 M24 Chaffee light tanks and 12 M4A3E8 Sherman medium tanks in 1957-1958 from American surplus stock.

 

Deliveries were completed on September 30th, 1958. This was part of the American Military Assistance Program (MAP), under which the US provided military equipment to aligned nations within the context of the Cold War. These tanks did not come from the mainland US but were instead delivered from US Army stocks in Japan and Korea. A considerable number of spare parts were likely delivered along with these, too, as well as in the coming years. Along with the Chaffees and Shermans, Uruguay furthermore received a single Sherman-based M74 Armored Recovery Vehicle.

 

By the time of the Korean War, the M4 series had evolved into its final form, often referred to as the M4A3E8, and this was the Sherman version that was also delivered to Uruguay. To the Marines in Korea, they were known as the “Old Reliables”. Entering service late in the Second World War, this model featured an improved Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS) that replaced the iconic Vertical Volute Spring Suspension (VVSS) of earlier models. This suspension allowed for a wider track, improving grip and lower ground pressure on softer ground.

Propulsion was provided by the Ford GAA all-aluminum 32-valve DOHC 60-degree, 500 hp, V8 gasoline/petrol engine. This could propel the tank to a top speed of 40 – 48 km/h (25 – 30 mph). Armor on the vehicle was up to 76 mm (3 in) thick. The tank had a crew of five, consisting of a commander, driver, co-driver/bow machine gunner, gunner, and loader.

 

Even though a large number of newer 90mm gun armed M26 Pershings and M46 Pattons were dispatched to the Korean Peninsula, multiple variants of the HVSS Sherman were also used in the Korean War. These included the regular M4A3(76)W HVSS, which was armed with the 76mm Tank Gun M1A1 or M1A2, the M4A3(105) HVSS, armed with the 105mm Howitzer M4, and finally, the POA-CWS-H5, a specialist version armed with both a 105mm Howitzer and a coaxial flamethrower.

 

The ex-American tanks were delivered to Uruguay’s Batallón de Infantería Nº 13 (13th Infantry Battalion), founded in 1904, and with the arrival of the new equipment at the Durazno Arsenal in central Uruguay the regiment was aptly renamed Batallón de Infantería Blindado Nº 13 (13th Armored Infantry Battalion). The tanks formed two Compañías Blindada de Tanques (Armored Tanks Companies), formally created on 12 July 1958. In each company, two tanks formed a command section while the remaining were divided into platoons of five. Each platoon was coded with an individual color and the command tanks received colored shields as background to their tactical codes. Additionally, the command tanks received individual names, beginning with letters corresponding to their respective commanded platoons, e. g. “Ceasar” for one of the 3rd platoon’s commanding M4s, which carried the tactical code "2" on a green background, the 3rd platoon’s color.

 

The tanks were delivered in a unicolor camouflage, likely U.S. Army olive drab. They received prominent Uruguayan army roundels on the turret flanks, comprising a blue roundel in the center, circled by white and then further circled by blue again, with a red bar going through the roundel diagonally. Later, likely in the 1960s, the tanks were given a disruptive four-color scheme, comprising medium green, dark green, tan and a dark brown bordering on black.

 

The first months of the new tanks’ service were marked by several instances of ceremonial use in foreign presidential visits to Uruguay, during which the tanks would perform a parade in the streets of Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital – often in the company of the vintage M3A1 Stuarts which were still retained in service by this point for training.

 

The 1960s were a decade of turmoil in Uruguay, with an economic crisis caused by struggling Uruguayan exports causing significant unrest and political uproar. This led to the rise of an armed revolutionary left-wing movement known as the Tupamaros or MLN-T (Movimiento de Liberación Nacional-Tupamaros, Tupamaros National Liberation Movement) which would progressively grow more violent. In 1968, the Uruguayan president, Jorge Pachero, declared a state of emergency that would see the military largely deployed in the streets. The following president, Juan María Bordaberry, would continue authoritarian policies and suspend civil liberties. In June 1973, he dissolved the Uruguayan congress and became a de facto dictator sponsored by the Uruguayan military.

 

During this time, the Tupamaros fought in an urban guerilla war against the Uruguayan military. The Uruguayan tanks, especially the compact M24s, were regularly employed in the streets as a show of force, being a very intimidating presence to potential insurgents. For this mission, a few M4s and M24s, primarily command tanks, were outfitted with locally developed hydraulic dozer blades. These were detachable, though, and the tanks should retain the installations for the rest of their career.

 

By mid-1972, the Tupamaros had largely been defeated, killed, captured, or forced into exile, as many other Uruguayans had been. The Uruguayan dictatorship would maintain itself all the way to 1985 however, engaging in repressive policies which, while often overshadowed by some employed by other regimes, such as Augusto Pinochet’s Chile, would see many Uruguayans exiled, and many assassinations performed against political opponents, even though most of which took place outside of Uruguay’s borders. The M4s and M24s would continue to regularly be used for intimidation purposes during this era, though Uruguay would also purchase more modern tanks in 1982, including twenty-two M41 Walker Bulldog light tanks from Belgium. These didn’t replace the vintage WWII vehicles, though.

 

In 1984, elections were finally held, seeing Uruguay return to civilian rule from this point onward. Though amnesty for human rights abusers would be declared, Uruguay would move back towards being one of the more democratic and stable countries in South America in the next decades, which would culminate in a former Tupamaros, who had spent fifteen years in prison, José Mujica, being elected president in 2009.

At the same time as Uruguay was transitioning back to democracy, the M4s and M24s the country had now operated for about thirty years were becoming increasingly obsolete. The tanks’ engines were worn out after 30 years of constant use and useful ammunition for the M4s 76 mm gun was not available anymore. Funds for new/more modern tanks were not available at that time, therefore, it was decided to modernize the powerplants and drivetrains of the tanks and outfit the Shermans with a modern, bigger main gun.

 

For this purpose, the Brazilian company Bernardini was contracted. The Bernardini S/A Industria e Comercio (Bernardini Industrial and Commerce Company), based at São Paulo, was originally a safe manufacturer which operated from 1912, but during its later years it branched out into vehicle production, too, and created several conversions and indigenous tanks for the Brazilian Army.

Bernardini outfitted the light M24s with a Saab-Scania DN11 220-230 hp engine, a Swedish industrial truck engine manufactured in Brazil. This was a commercially available engine for which parts could be very easily sourced, and it was coupled with a new GAV 762 automatic gearbox. Mounting these totally different engines called for considerable modifications, including a completely new raised engine deck with integrated coolers.

The Shermans received new Continental AOS-895-3 six-cylinder air-cooled petrol engines, which had been procured together with the Belgian M41s as part of a spares deal and directly delivered to Brazil for the conversions. This engine delivered 500 bhp (370 kW), the same as the former Ford GAA V8, but provided more torque, was lighter and more compact, and had a considerably lower fuel consumption. It was coupled with a new gearbox, an Allison CD-500-3, with 2 ranges forward, 1 reverse.

 

For the planned armament upgrade, the modern 90 mm Cockerill Mk. 7 gun was chosen, another item procured from Belgium. Weighing less than ¾ of a ton and with a length of 4.365 m, the 90 mm Cockerill operated at a pressure of just 310 MPa and produced a recoil stroke of only 350 to 370 mm. Ammunition for the Cockerill gun was made by MECAR (another Belgian arms company) and included a potent Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilised Discarding Sabot – Tracer (APFSDS-T) round with a muzzle velocity of 1,500 m/s, able to defeat even heavy targets. Furthermore, there were High Explosive Plastic rounds (HEP) to defeat bunkers, structures, light armor and also for indirect fire use, smoke, canister, High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT), and training rounds.

 

However, the plan to simply exchange the old 76 mm gun in the original M4A3 turret turned out to be impossible, so that Bernardini offered to adapt one of the company’s own turret designs, a cast turret for an upgrade for the indigenous CCL X1A2 “Carcará” tank that never materialized due to low Brazilian funds, to the M4’s very similar hull. The Uruguayan government agreed and the deal for the conversion of all M4s left in service was closed in late 1982. Some sources refer to this modernization as having occurred in 1983, while some others mention 1987.

 

The new Bernardini turret resembled the earlier Sherman turret, but it was overall larger and featured a long, characteristic jutty as a counterweight for the bigger and longer gun. It also offered ample space for a radio set and ammunition. The turret had a maximum armor strength of 114 mm (4.5 in) at the front, instead of the former 76 mm (3 in); traverse was full 360° (manual and electric-hydraulic) at a rate of 36°/sec. The turret’s higher overall weight was compensated for by the relatively light gun and the lighter engine – even though this raised the tank’s center of gravity and somewhat reduced its handling quality. The commander and gunner sat in the turret on the right side, with the commander provided with a domed U.S.-style cupola. The gunner did not have a hatch and was seated forward of the commander. A loading assistant was placed on the left side of the gun, with a separate hatch that was also used to board the tank by the crew and to load ammunition. A tool storage box was normally mounted externally on the rear of the already long bustle, and smoke grenade launchers could be mounted on each side of the turret – even though this never happened, and Uruguay apparently never procured such devices. A large radio antenna was mounted to the turret roof and at the rear of the jutty, command tanks had a second antenna for a dedicated inter-tank communication radio set next to the cupola.

 

The 90 mm Cockerill Mk. 7 gun had a rifled L/52 barrel and was outfitted with a light T-shaped muzzle brake and a smoke ejector. The secondary armament was changed to two 7.62 mm Browning M1919 machine guns (which were able to fire 7.62×51 mm NATO standard ammunition), one coaxial with the main gun and the other in the hull. A manually operated 12.7 mm Browning M2HB machine gun was mounted in an anti-aircraft position on the turret roof, in front of the commander cupola. A total of 55 rounds for the 90 mm gun were carried, plus 4,750 rounds for the 7.62 mm machine guns and 600 rounds for the 12.7 mm gun. This ammunition was mostly stored in the hull, the turret jutty held a new ammunition-ready rack with 11 rounds.

 

At some point following their modernization, during the late Eighties, all Uruguayan tanks were given a new, more subdued camouflage scheme, vaguely resembling the American woodland scheme, consisting of a very dark brown/black, light brown, and dark green. The prominent roundel was removed, too, an the vehicles’ tactical code was now either retained in a dark color on the turret side or completely omitted.

 

The 1990s saw the 13th Armored Infantry Battalion receive a fleet of fifteen BVP-1s purchased from the Czech Republic; ten more were delivered in 1996, with a further five in 1998, plus three vehicles for spare parts in 1999. These more modern infantry fighting vehicles would be operated alongside the M4s and M24s within the battalion’s fleet during the coming decades. Other purchases from the 1990s included, for example, Tiran-5Sh main battle tanks (revamped captured T-55s from Israel) and 2S1 self-propelled artillery pieces.

 

Uruguay retired its M4 fleet around 2012, but the light M24s soldiered on until 2019, when the last WWII type in Uruguayan service was eventually sorted out, after a long process that was delayed by a lack of an export permission for M41s as replacement from the United States for no less than six years.

  

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator/hull machine gun operator)

Weight: 33.7 tons combat loaded

Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in) hull only

8.21 m (26 ft 10 1/2 in) overall with gun forward

Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only

Height: 3,45 m (11 ft 3 3/4 in) w/o AA machine gun

Tread: 89 in

Ground clearance: 17 in (0.43 m)

Fire Height: 90 in (2.29 m)

Suspension: Horizontal volute spring

Fuel capacity: 168 gallons 80 Octane gasoline

 

Armor:

0.5 – 4.5 in (13 – 114 mm)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 30 mph (48 km/h) in a dash

26 mph (42 km/h) sustained on road

Operational range: 120 mi (193 km) on roads

Maximum grade: 60 percent

Maximum trench: 7.5 feet

Maximum vertical Wall: 24 inches

Maximum fording depth: 36 inches

Minimum turning circle: (diameter) 62 feet

Power/weight: 13.5 hp/ton

Ground pressure: Zero penetration 11.0 psi

 

Engine & transmission:

Continental AOS-895-3 six-cylinder air-cooled petrol engine with 500 bhp (370 kW),

coupled with an Allison CD-500-3 gearbox with 2 ranges forward, 1 reverse

 

Armament:

1× 90 mm (L/52) Cockerill Mk. 7 gun with 55 rounds

2× 7.62 mm Browning M1919 machine guns with a total of 4,750 rounds,

one co-axial with the main gun, another in the front glacis plate

1× 12.7 mm Browning M2HB anti-aircraft machine gun on the commander cupola with 600 rounds

  

The kit and its assembly:

This whiffy M4 Sherman was inspired by two things: one was that I have so far never built a fictional M4 before, despite the type’s large number in WWII and thereafter. And I had a surplus turret from a Japanese 1:72 Type 61 tank (Trumpeter kit) in the donor bank, which frequently grinned at me – but I never had a proper idea how to use it.

 

This changed when I combined both, and the idea of a post-WWII M4 conversion/modernization was born, inspired by the successful Israeli M50/51 upgrades. I also settled for an M4A3E8 chassis, because I wanted a relatively modern Sherman with a welded hull and the new running gear as the basis – and the choice fell on the respective Hasegawa kit (which has its fundamental scale and proportions flaws, but it was cheap and readily available). Using an alternative Trumpeter kit might have been a better choice from a detail point of view, but I think that the Hasegawa kit’s weaknesses are negligible – and this here is whifworld, after all.

 

The next conceptual problem arose quickly, though: who’d be the operator of this tank? A natural choice was Japan’s JGSDF, because they received M4A3E8s from the USA (the Hasegawa kit even provides decals for such a vehicle), and the Type 61 was its successor. But the Sherman was not very popular in Japan – it was quite big, with logistics problems (tunnel sizes, train transport), and the interior was not suited to the smaller Japanese crews. The JGSDF was quite happy to get rid of the vintage Shermans.

The IDF was another candidate, but the M50/51s were “already there”. After long further research I went across Middle and South America. Chile, for instance, operated a highly modified M4A3E8 upgrade with a 60 mm high-velocity gun called “M-60”. And Paraguay decided to re-activate its M3 and M4 fleet in 2014, even though only for training purposes.

I eventually settled for a small and rather exotic operator: Uruguay! I found a very good article about the M24 Chaffee’s active duty in this country, which lasted from 1958 until 2019(!), and these Chaffees underwent massive conversions and upgrades during their long career – and some M4s would be a nice and plausible company. Another selling point was that the Uruguayan Army’s roundel was easy to replicate, and, as a bonus, the M24s carried a very attractive camouflage early in their career.

 

With this concept, the build was straightforward: The M4A3E8 was basically built OOB, it went together with no trouble, even though its details appear rather clumsy and almost toylike these days. A good thing about the kit is, though, that you can paint the small road wheels separately, while the HVSS suspension can be attached to the hull. This makes painting quite easy and convenient.

Trumpeter’s Type 61 turret was another matter, though, because its fit was rather dubious and called for some PSR. Furthermore, it was incomplete: some small parts of it had already been used in other projects, so that I had to improvise.

First, I had to create an adapter so that it could be combined with the Sherman hull – it was created from styrene sheet and profiles, together with a “floor” for the turret with 0.5 mm sheet. But now the turret can be mounted into the original opening, and it fits like a glove into the intended space. Even the low deflector walls that protect its base fit snuggly around it, it’s a very natural combo (at least on the Hasegawa hull!).

Biggest problem was the missing original commander cupola. The spare box did not yield a proper replacement, so I ordered M48/M60 cupolas from Bulgaria-based OKB Grigorovich – very crisp stuff, the set comes with four pieces and the cupolas are even made from clear resin so that the periscopes have a natural look on the model. As a lucky coincidence, the cupola’s diameter perfectly matched the respective hole in the turret, so that the implant looks very natural. Because the cupola came with a separate hatch, I fixed it in an open position and added a crew figure from the Hasegawa Sherman.

 

The dozer blade was a late addition, inspired by equipment carried by some real Uruguayan M24s. However, in this case the device was scratched from the remains of a dozer blade from a WWII Bergehetzer. Hydraulic rams to lift it and some hoses were scratched from steel wire and various bits and pieces. Improvised, but it looks the part, and it’s a nice detail that fits well into the model’s real world historic background.

  

Painting and markings:

The camouflage is based on a single-color picture I was able to find of a Uruguayan M24 wearing it, providing a guesstimate basis for the four tones, and a profile drawing of the same vehicle, just from the other side. I settled upon Humbrol 63, 75, and mix of 150 with 63 and 10 with 85 for the respective tan (which appears very yellow-ish), dark green, light green and the very dark brown tone. The pattern is a free interpretation of what could be discerned on the reference material, with guesstimates for front, back and upper surfaces. As it is a retrofitted piece, the dozer shield became all dark green.

 

The model then received an overall washing with a highly thinned mix of black and dark brown acrylic artist paint. The vinyl tracks were painted, too, with a mix of grey, red brown and iron, all acrylic paints, too, that do not interact chemically with the soft vinyl in the long run.

 

Markings are minimal; the Uruguayan Army roundel is an Argentinian cocarde from an Airfix Skyhawk (and a bit pale) with a separate red decal stripe placed over it – unfortunately it’s a bit obscured by the handles running along the turret. The tactical code number came from an Israeli tank, and it had to be placed quite high because of the handles/rails.

Uruguayan tanks from the Eighties and earlier seem to have carried additional registration numbers, too, and I gave the Sherman the fictional code "A 247" on the glacis plate and its flanks. The nickname "Caesar" is a personal twist.

 

Dry-brushing with earth brown to further emphasize edges and details followed. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic vanish (Italeri) overall, and some very light extra dry-brushing with silver and light grey was done to simulate flaked paint, esp. on the dozer blade. Dirt and rust residues were added here and there. After final assembly (the vinyl tracks refused to stick to the road wheels!), the lower areas of the model were powdered with mineral pigments to simulate dust.

  

All in all, this fictional Uruguayan Sherman update looks very natural and convincing. The Type 61 turret matched the M4A3E8 hull in an almost unnatural fashion, and the dozer blade adds a certain twist to the tank, even though this detail is rooted in Uruguay’s tank operations history. The disruptive “tiger stripes” paint scheme is also very attractive, and together with the unusual roundels the whole thing has a very exotic look – but it’s not unbelievable. :D

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

After the first German experiences with the newer Soviet tanks like the T-34 or the Kliment Voroshilov tank during Operation Barbarossa, the need for a Panzerjäger capable of destroying these more heavily armoured tanks became clear.

 

In early 1942, several German companies designed tank destroyers using existing chassis or components, primarily of both the Panzer III and Panzer IV tank, and integrating the powerful 8,8 cm Panzerjägerkanone 43/1 L/71 (or shortly Pak 43/1), a long-barreled anti-tank gun. Alkett, for instance, came up with the SdKfz. 164 “Hornisse” SPG (later renamed “Nashorn”), and Vomag AG proposed the SdKfz. 163, a derivative of the recently developed SdKfz. 162, the Jagdpanzer IV, which was armed with a Pak 39 L/48 at that time in a low, casemate-style hull.

 

However, mounting the bulky, heavy and powerful Pak 43/1 into the Panzer III hull was impossible, and even the Panzer IV was not really suited for this weapon – compromises had to be made. In consequence, the “Nashorn” was only a lightly armoured vehicle with an open crew compartment, and the Jagdpanzer IV was much too low and did not offer sufficient internal space for the large cannon.

 

Vomag’s design for the SdKfz. 163 eventually envisioned a completely new upper hull for the standard Panzer IV chassis, again a casemate style structure. However, the new vehicle was much taller than the Jagdpanzer IV – in fact, the Pak 43/1 and its massive mount necessitated the superstructure to be more than 2’ higher than the Jagdpanzer IV. This also resulted in a considerably higher weight: while a standard Panzer IV weighed less than 23 tons, the SdKfz. 163 weighed more than 28 tons!

 

The driver was located forward, slightly in front of the casemate, and was given the Fahrersehklappe 80 sight from the Tiger I. The rest of the crew occupied the cramped combat section behind him. Ventilation of the casemate’s fumes and heat was originally provided by natural convection, exiting through armored covers at the back of the roof.

The gun/crew compartment’s casemate was well-protected with sloped sides and thick armor plates. Its thickness was 80 mm (3.93 in) at a 40° angle on the front, 40 mm/12° (1.57 in) for the front hull, 50 mm/25° (1.97 in) for the side superstructure, 30 mm (1.18 in) for the side of the lower hull, 30 mm/0° (1.18 in) for the rear of the casemate and 20 mm/10° (0.79 in) for the back of the hull. The top and bottom were protected by 10 mm (0.39 in) of armor at 90°. This was enough to withstand direct frontal hits from the Soviet 76,2 mm (3”) gun which the T-34 and the KV-1 carried.

 

The SdKfz. 163’s main weapon, the Pak 43/1, was a formidable gun: Accurate at over 3,000 m (3,280 yards) and with a muzzle velocity of over 1,000 m/s (3,280 ft/s), the 88 mm (3.5 inch) gun has more than earned its reputation as one of the best anti-tank guns of the war. Even the early versions, with a relatively short L56 barrel, were already able to penetrate 100mm of steel armour at 30°/1000m, and late versions with the long L71 barrel even achieved 192mm.

The main gun had an elevation of +15°/-5° and could traverse with an arc of fire of 12° to the left and 17° to the right, due to the weapon’s off-center position and limited through the side walls and the “survival space” for the crew when the Pak 43/1 was fired. The recoil cylinder was located under and the recuperator above the gun. There were also two counterbalance cylinders (one on each side), and the gun featured a muzzle brake, so that the already stressed Panzer IV chassis could better cope with the weapon’s recoil.

The Pak 43/1 was able to fire different shells, ranging from the armor piercing PzGr. 39/43 and PzGr. 40/43 to the high explosive Gr. 39/3 HL. The main gun sight was a telescopic Selbstfahrlafetten-Zielfernrohr la, with Carl Zeiss scopes, calibrated from 0 to 1,500 m (0-5,000 ft) for the Pz.Gr.39 and 0 to 2,000 m (6,500 ft) for the Pz.Gr.40. There was a 5x magnification 8° field of view.

 

46 8.8 cm rounds could be stored inside of the SdKfz. 163’s hull. In addition, a MP 40 sub-machine gun, intended to be fired through the two firing ports on each side of the superstructure, was carried as a hand weapon, and a single MG 34 machine gun was located in the front bow in a ball mount for self-defense, at the radio operator’s place. Another MG 34 could be fastened to the open commander’s hatch, and 1.250 rounds for the light weapons were carried.

 

The SdKfz. 163 was, together with the SdKfz. 164, accepted by the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) in late 1942, and immediately ordered into production. Curiously, it never received an official name, unlike the SdKfz. 164. In practice, however, the tank hunter was, in official circles, frequently referred to as “Jagdpanzer IV/ 43” in order to distinguish it from the standard “Jagdpanzer IV”, the SdKfz. 162, with its 7,5cm armament. However, the SdKfz. 163 also received unofficial nicknames from the crews (see below).

 

Production was split between two factories: Alkett from Berlin and Stahlindustrie from Duisburg. Alkett, where most of the Panzer IVs were manufactured, was charged with series production of 10 vehicles in January and February 1943, 20 in March and then at a rate of 20 vehicles per month until March 1944. Stahlindustrie was tasked with a smaller production series of 5 in May, 10 in June, 15 in July and then 10 per month (also until March 1944), for a planned initial total of 365 vehicles.

 

Initially, all SdKfz. 163s were directly sent to the Eastern Front where they had to cope with the heavy and well-armoured Soviet tanks. Soon it became apparent that these early vehicles were too heavy for the original Panzer IV chassis, leading to frequent breakdowns of the suspension and the transmission.

 

Efforts were made to ameliorate this during the running production, and other Panzer IV improvements were also gradually introduced to the SdKfz. 163s, too. For instance, the springs were stiffened and new all-metal road wheels were introduced – initially, only one or two front pairs of the road wheels were upgraded/replaced in field workshops, but later SdKfz. 163s had their complete running gear modified with the new wheels directly at the factories. These late production vehicles were recognizable through only three return rollers per side, in order to save material and production costs.

 

Furthermore, an electric ventilator was added (recognizable by a shallow, cylindrical fairing above the radio operator’s position) and the loopholes in the side walls for observation and self-defense turned out to be more detrimental to the strength of the armor than expected. In later models, these holes were completely omitted during production and in the field they were frequently welded over, being filled with plugs or 15 mm (0.59 in) thick steel plates. Another important modification was the replacement of the Pak 43/1’s original monobloc barrel with a dual piece barrel, due to the rapid wear of the high-velocity gun. Although this did not reduce wear, it did make replacement easier and was, over time, retrofitted to many earlier SdKfz. 163s.

 

Despite these improvements, the SdKfz. 163 remained troublesome. Its high silhouette made it hard to conceal and the heavy casemate armour, together with the heavy gun, moved the center of gravity forward and high that off-road handling was complicated – with an overstressed and easily damaged suspension as well as the long gun barrel that protruded 8’ to the front, especially early SdKfz. 163s were prone to stoop down and bury the long Pak 43/1 barrel into the ground. Even the vehicles with the upgraded suspension kept this nasty behavior and showed poor off-road handling. This, together with the tank’s bulbous shape, soon earned the SdKfz. 163 the rather deprecative nickname “Ringeltaube” (Culver), which was quickly forbidden. Another unofficial nickname was “Sau” (Sow), due to the tank’s front-heavy handling, and this was soon forbidden, too.

 

Despite the suspension improvements, the tank’s relatively high weight remained a constant source of trouble. Technical reliability was poor and the cramped interior did not add much to the vehicle’s popularity either, despite the SdKfz. 163 immense firepower even at long range. When the bigger SdKfz. 171, the Jagdpanther, as well as the Jagdpanzer IV/L70 with an uprated 7.5 cm cannon became available in mid-1944, SdKfz. 163 production was prematurely stopped, with only a total of 223 vehicles having been produced. The Eastern Front survivors were concentrated and re-allocated to newly founded Panzerjäger units at the Western front, where the Allied invasion was expected and less demanding terrain and enemies were a better match for the overweight and clumsy vehicles. Roundabout 100 vehicles became involved in the defense against the Allied invasion, and only a few survived until 1945.

  

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator)

Weight: 28.2 tons (62,170 lbs)

Length: 5.92 m (19 ft 5 in) hull only

8.53 m (28 ft) overall

Width: 2.88 m (9 ft 5 in)

Height: 2.52 m (8 ft 3 in)

Suspension: Leaf spring

Fuel capacity: 470 l (120 US gal)

 

Armour:

10 – 50 mm (0.39 – 1.96 in)

 

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 38 km/h (23.6 mph)

Sustained road speed: 34 km/h (21.1 mph)

Off-road speed: 24 km/h (15 mph)

Operational range: 210 km (125 mi)

Power/weight: 10,64 PS/t

 

Engine:

Maybach HL 120 TRM V12 petrol engine with 300 PS (296 hp, 221 kW)

 

Transmission:

ZF Synchromesh SSG 77 gear with 6 forward and 1 reverse ratios

 

Armament:

1× 8.8 cm Panzerabwehrkanone PaK 43/1 L71 with 46 rounds

1× 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 with 1,250 rounds in bow mount;

an optional MG 34 could be mounted to the commander cupola,

and an MP 40 sub-machine gun was carried for self-defense

  

The kit and its assembly:

This fictional tank is, once more, a personal interpretation of a what-if idea: what if an 8.8 cm Pak 43/1 could have been mounted (effectively) onto the Panzer IV chassis? In real life, this did not happen, even though Krupp apparently built one prototype of a proposed Jagdpanzer IV with a 8.8 cm Pak 43 L/71 on the basis of the SdKfz. 165 (the “Brummbär” assault SPG) – a fact I found when I was already working on my model. Apparently, my idea seems to be not too far-fetched, even though I have no idea what that prototype looked like.

 

However, the PaK 43/1 was a huge weapon, and mating it with the rather compact Panzer IV would not be an easy endeavor. Taking the Jagdpanther as a benchmark, only a casemate layout would make sense, and it would be tall and voluminous. The “Brummbär” appeared to be a suitable basis, and I already had a Trumpeter model of a late SdKfz. 165 in the stash.

 

Just changing the barrel appeared too simple to me, so I decided to make major cosmetic changes. The first thing I wanted to change were the almost vertical side walls, giving them more slope. Easier said than done – I cut away the side panels as well as wedges from the casemate’s front and rear wall, cleaned the sidewalls and glued them back into place. Sound simple, but the commander’s hatch had to be considered, the late SdKfz. 165’s machine gun mount had to go (it was literally cut out and filled with a piece of styrene sheet + PSR; the front bow machine gun was relocated to the right side of the glacis plate) and, due to the bigger angle, the side walls had to be extended downwards by roughly 1.5mm, so that the original mudguard sideline was retained.

 

The gun barrel caused some headaches, too. I had an aftermarket metal barrel for a PaK 43/1 from a Tiger I in the stash, and in order to keep things simple I decided to keep the SdKfz. 165’s large ball mount. I needed some kind of mantlet as an adapter, though, and eventually found one from a Schmalturm in the stash – it’s quite narrow, but a good match. It had to be drilled open considerably in order to accept the metal barrel, but the whole construction looks very plausible.

 

Another cosmetic trick to change the SdKfz. 165’s look and esp. its profile was the addition of protective side shields for the entry hatch area at the rear (frequently seen on Jagdpanzer IVs) – these were created from 0.5 mm styrene sheet material and visually extend the casemate almost the up to hull’s rear end.

  

Painting and markings:

Inspiration for the paint scheme came from a picture of a Jagdpanther that took part in the 1944 Ardennenoffensive (Battle at the Bulge): It was painted in the contemporary standard tones Dunkelgelb (RAL 7028), Olivgrün (RAL 6003) and Rotbraun (RAL 8012), but I found the pattern interesting, which consisted primarily of yellow and green stripes, but edged with thin, brown stripes in order to enhance the contrast between them – not only decorative, but I expected this to be very effective in a forest or heath environment, too.

 

The picture offered only a limited frontal view, so that much of the pattern had to be guessed/improvised. Painting was done with brushes and enamels, I used Humbrol 103 (Cream), 86 (Light Olive) and 160 (German Red Brown) in this case. The green tone is supposed to be authentic, even though I find Humbrol’s 86 to be quite dull, the real RAL 6003 is brighter, almost like FS 34102. The brown tone I used, RAL 8012, is wrong, because it was only introduced in Oct. 1944 and actually is the overall factory primer onto which the other colors were added. It should rather be RAL 8017 (Schokoladenbraun), a darker and less reddish color that was introduced in early 1944, but I assume that frontline workshops, where the camouflage was applied in situ, just used what they had at hand. Dunkelgelb is actually very close to Humbrol 83 (ochre), but I decided to use a lighter tone for more contrast, and the following weathering washing would tone everything down.

 

I also extended the camouflage into the running gear – not a typical practice, but I found that it helps breaking up the tank’s outlines even more and it justifies wheels in different colors, too. The all-metal road wheels were painted with a mix of medium grey and iron. The black vinyl track was treated with a cloudy mix of grey, red brown and iron acrylic paint.

 

The kit received a washing with highly thinned dark brown acrylic paint as well as an overall dry-brushing treatment with light grey. Around the lower front of the hull I also did some dry-brushing with red brown and iron, simulating chipped paint. After the decals had been applied, the model was sealed with acrylic matt varnish and finally I dusted the lower areas and esp. the running gear with a grey-brown mix of mineral artist pigments, partly into a base of wet acrylic varnish that creates a kind of mud crust.

 

Gibraltar Cruise Terminal. Thomson Spirit being fuelled by Hercules 100 with Royal Princess looming over them.

Author : @Kiri Karma

Japan Expo 2025 - Day 3

 

Various pics of the day 3 in Japan Expo 2025

Diverses photos prisent a la japan Expo (jour : 3)

 

( Edition 2025 - 24 eme impact )

Blog : www.totobricks.com/2016/01/lego-31044-lego-creator-3-in-1...

 

LEGO 31044 LEGO CREATOR 3 in 1 2016 Park Animals Squirrel (3/3) Instructions video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSvHyY_3-jo

We roll into Norwich, just about on time, which is rare on this line I guess. I am in no hurry, so let the others in the carriage get off before me. I can hear the growl of a Type 3 in the platform next to my train, and I plan to get to the concourse to snap it, I had toyed with the idea of climbing back on the train to snap it through the window of the train. I thought better of it, but I am then disappointed and yet thrilled at the noise as the 37 pulled away from the buffers and the engines echoing off the tranished. By the time I get to the concourse, all there is left is a haze of blue smoke. Darn, missed them.

 

I have my cameras in the rucksack and a small bag with a change of clothing and other bits and pieces. I go to my hotel just down from the station, hoping to drop the small bag off, but there is no one in. So, I would have to take the bag with me. Now, I had decided to go to the festival on the 2nd day rather than the first, so I could make the last two hours of the afternoon session. So I walk up Prince of Wales Road then up through Tombland to St Andrew's Hall. And for a change, there is no queue.

 

I walk up to the entrance, flash my CAMRA membership card, get in, buy some tokens and a glass, then head for the first stillage to decide on my first drink: Moulton's Mild. It is deep dark brown and has a fine nutty flavour. Perfect. However, with my two bags and the crowds, it is hard to get round easily. So I limit myself to a few visits, a couple of porters, and a couple of over-hopped beers, and then they call time at half two. Not bad, eithet two or two and a half pints, and a fine hand made pork pie to take the edge of my hunger. Lovely.

 

I walk back up the hill to the market place, and decide I need a pasty. I remember there is a pasty place along Gentleman's Walk, and indeed there is, and they have a fresh batch just out of the oven, along with a gingerbread latte it is splendid, and looking at the people walking by. The well dressed teens and the yokel in cords held up with knotted string. Normal for Norfolk.

 

I walk back down Prince of Wales Road then along Riverside to the hotel. I check in and am shown to my room. The heating is on full and the window closed. It is like a sauna. Once alone, I turn the radiators off and open the windows wide and lay on the bed to cool down. I fall asleep.

 

I wake up with my mobile ringing. I struggle to remember how to answer it. I make plans for tomorrow, then get ready for the evening ahead. I think a walk past some of Norwich's finest buildings. Up Riverside is PUll's Ferry: lit up well, an building with a vault over a landing stage, when this was one of the few ways over the river, but now a private house by fine symbol of Norwich. Along is the ancient Bishop's Bridge, also lit up and ripe for snapping.

 

I cross the bridge heading to the cathedral and the close, which I hope will be open. Indeed the gate at the start of the footpath is open, so I walk through and have the whole close just about to myself. I take shots, hoping they will come out.

 

Out through the impressive gate then down to the start of Elm Hill, and ancient cobbled streets lines with half timbered houses and shops. It is as glorious as it sounds.

 

Past the raucous noise coming out of St Andrews Hall where the evening session of the festival was in full swing. But I go past it, walk up across the main road, up more narrow cobbles lanes to Pottergate where the old Inn there, now called The Birdcage was having a beer festival too, and opposite the chippy was doing posh food. However, I have just battered sausage and chips, then go into the pub for a pint of golden ale. I had bought a book at the football club in the afternoon, so I spend half an hour sipping the beer and reading, raising my eyes to people watch as people come and go. Its cheap entertainment.

 

With the one pint, I decide I have had enough, and if I go back to the hotel I can listen to the football on the radio. So, back along near-deserted streets and back down the hill to the river where the hotel was. City were playing Everton in the League cup, and ended up losing on penalties, shich is always the way. But an improved performance by all accounts. However, Arsenal lost to Sheffield Wednesday, 3-0, which made me chuckle at the faces old whiner would be pulling.

 

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Norwich Castle is a medieval royal fortification in the city of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. It was founded in the aftermath of the Norman conquest of England when William the Conqueror (1066–1087) ordered its construction because he wished to have a fortified place in the important city of Norwich. It proved to be his only castle in East Anglia. It is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The castle now houses the Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, which holds significant objects from the region, especially archaeological finds.

 

Norwich Castle was founded by William the Conqueror some time between 1066 and 1075. It originally took the form of a motte and bailey.[1] Early in 1067, William the Conqueror embarked on a campaign to subjugate East Anglia, and according to military historian R. Allen Brown it was probably around this time that Norwich Castle was founded.[2] The castle is first mentioned in 1075 when Ralph de Gael, Earl of Norfolk, rebelled against William the Conqueror and Norwich was held by his men. A siege was undertaken, but ended when the garrison secured promises that they would not be harmed.[3]

 

Norwich is one of 48 castles mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086. Building a castle in a pre-existing settlement could require demolishing properties on the site. At Norwich, estimates vary that between 17 and 113 houses occupied the site of the castle.[4] Excavations in the late 1970s discovered that the castle bailey was built over a Saxon cemetery.[5] Historian Robert Liddiard remarks that "to glance at the urban landscape of Norwich, Durham or Lincoln is to be forcibly reminded of the impact of the Norman invasion".[6] Until the construction of Orford Castle in the mid-12th century under Henry II, Norwich was the only major royal castle in East Anglia.

 

The stone keep, which still stands today, was probably built between 1095 and 1110.[1] In about the year 1100, the motte was made higher and the surrounding ditch deepened.[8] During the Revolt of 1173–1174, in which Henry II's sons rebelled against him and started a civil war, Norwich Castle was put in a state of readiness. Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk was one of the more powerful earls who joined the revolt against Henry.[9] With 318 Flemish soldiers that landed in England in May 1174, and 500 of his own men, Bigod advanced on Norwich Castle. They captured the castle and took fourteen prisoners who were held for ransom. When peace was restored later that year, Norwich was returned to royal control.[10]

 

The Normans introduced the Jews to Norwich and they lived close to the castle. A cult was founded in Norwich in the wake of the murder of a young boy, William of Norwich, for which the Jews of the town were blamed.[11] In Lent 1190, violence against Jews erupted in East Anglia and on 6 February (Shrove Tuesday) it spread to Norwich. Some fled to the safety of the castle, but those who did not were killed.[12] The Pipe Rolls, records of royal expenditure, note that repairs were carried out at the castle in 1156–1158 and 1204–1205.[13]

 

The castle was used as a gaol from 1220, with additional buildings constructed on the top of the motte next to the keep. These buildings were demolished and rebuilt between 1789 and 1793 by Sir John Soane, and more alterations were made in 1820. The use of the castle as a gaol ended in 1887, when it was bought by the city of Norwich to be used as a museum. The conversion was undertaken by Edward Boardman, and the museum opened in 1895.[8]

 

The forebuilding attached to the keep was pulled down in 1825.[14] Although the keep remains, its outer shell has been repaired repeatedly, most recently in 1835–9 by Anthony Salvin, with James Watson as mason using Bath stone. None of the inner or outer bailey buildings survive, and the original Norman bridge over the inner ditch was replaced in about the year 1825.[8] During the renovation, the keep was completely refaced based faithfully on the original ornamentation.

 

The castle remains a museum and art gallery today and still contains many of its first exhibits, as well as many more recent ones. Two galleries feature the museum's decorative art collections, including costume, textiles, jewellery, glass, ceramics and silverware, and a large display of ceramic teapots. Other gallery themes include Anglo-Saxons (including the Harford Farm Brooch [16]) and Vikings, Queen Boudica and the Iceni tribe, Ancient Egypt, and natural history.

  

Norwich Castle and cattle market at the end of the 19th century

The fine art galleries include works from the 17th to 20th centuries, and include English watercolour paintings, Dutch landscapes and modern British paintings. The Castle also houses a good collection of the work of the Flemish artist Peter Tillemans.[17] Two galleries feature changing exhibits of modern art, history and culture.

 

Norwich Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building.[1] Visitors can tour the castle keep and learn about the castle through interactive displays. Separate tours are also available of the dungeon and the battlements. Although not permanently on display, one of the largest collections it holds is the butterfly collection of Margaret Fountaine. An unusual artefact is the needlework done by Lorina Bulwer at the turn of the twentieth century whilst she was confined in a workhouse. The work has featured on the BBC.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwich_Castle

Founded in 1850, the University of Sydney is Australia's first university and is regarded as one of its most prestigious, ranked as the 27th most reputable university in the world. In 2013, it was ranked 38th and in the top 0.3% in the QS World University Rankings. Five Nobel or Crafoord laureates have been affiliated with the university as graduates and faculty. The University is colloquially known as one of Australia's "Sandstones", a status similar to that of the "Ivy League" in the United States and the "Russell Group" in the United Kingdom.

 

The university's Coat of Arms, granted by the College of Arms are an amalgamation of the arms of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and their important figures, heraldry and other references to the two ancient universities are sprawled throughout the university in its architecture and character. Its motto, "Sidere mens eadem mutato" translated literally gives "Though the stars change, the mind is the same", but has been more liberally translated to give, "Sydney University is really just Oxford or Cambridge laterally displaced approximately 12,000 miles".

 

The 2013 QS World University Rankings placed Sydney in the top 20 in the world in 11 subjects; more than a third of the 30 measured. The University of Sydney was ranked 8th in the world for Education, 9th in Accounting and Finance and 10th in Law. Additionally, Sydney was placed 12th in English Language and Literature, History and Archaeology, Linguistics and Civil Engineering and Structural Engineering, the highest in Australia of those subjects. Psychology at Sydney was ranked 14th, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, and Communication and Media were ranked 16th, and the Sydney Medical School was ranked 17th.

 

Its main campus has been ranked in the top 10 of the world's most beautiful universities by the British Daily Telegraph, The Huffington Post and Disney Pixar, among others such as Oxford and Cambridge and is spread across the inner-city suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington.

 

The Main Quadrangle's Great Tower houses the largest and oldest of Australia's two carillons, a performance may be viewed here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYq7x5qAtGE

St Andrew's has been a bugbear of mine, it is a unusual looking Kentish church, a short drive from my house, and yet I have found it always locked.

 

I was now on a run of successes and so hoped to find it open for the riders and striders, and for me too.

 

I parked hard against the high bank beside the road, parking here is always problematic. You approach the church up steep steps, and from the lesser used side, I did not know if the door would be open, but I could hear voices.

 

I was in luck, sitting outside in the warm sunshine was a warden, apparently waiting for his wife to relieve his time on duty, but I was still greeted warmly and encouraged to go inside, as if that was necessary.

 

St Andrews sits in a quiet corner of a quiet village. The main Dover to Sandwich road is a couple of hundred yards away, but you can just hear the sounds of the countryside. Attractive houses and cottages huddle together on the other side of the road, and once in the small churchyard, you can look down on them.

 

St Andrew's has a small squat tower, and so is un-Kentish, but conforms to the usual Norman two cell layout, and once inside, feels ancient, much thanks to the sympathetic improvements done during the 19th century.

 

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A dark and atmospheric church on a steep hill above the village-end. Built of flint with stone and brick work of later periods it has changed little in a hundred years. The Victorian benefactors who refurnished the church did us a great favour – keeping the best of the old whilst giving us the best of the new. Most windows are by Kempe and some are uncommonly good – especially King David in the low side window of the nave. Both nave altars had their own arch and window and the Victorian Rood Screen creates a medieval effect. In the chancel is a fine late medieval brass to one of the owners of Dane Court – the big house of the village, because it has always been on the wall it is in pristine condition. The gorgeous reredos by Powell’s showing Christ the Alpha and Omega is especially fine. Outside the gate is a good set of village stocks!

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Tilmanstone

 

The church, which is dedicated to St. Andrew, is a small mean building, consisting of a body and chancel, with a square tower at the west end, very low, but formerly higher, having been taken down a few years ago; there is one bell in it. In the chancel, against the east wall, is a brass plate, on it are the figures of a man and woman, on his side one son, on her's three daughters, all kneeling, with the arms of Fogg, with a label of three points, impaling Sackville, with a crescent, for Richard Fogg, esq. and Anne his wife; he died in 1598. A gravestone for Richard Fogg, esq. father of fourteen children, famous for his poetry, and skill in heraldry, obt. 1680. A gravestone for Jane, daughter of the Rev. Strangford Viol, late rector of Upminster, in Essex, and Jane his wife, daughter of Richard Fogg, esq. obt. 1719; she married Edward Jacob, surgeon, of Canterbury, who died in 1756. In the east window are three shields of painted glass; the first, the field gone, On a chief, azure, three lions rampant, or; on the sides in black letter, Sir John Lisle, knt. The field was probably or; second, Gules, a cross, argent; third, azure, a bend cotized, argent, between six martlets of the second, under which was formerly this legend, Orate p aia Wi. Tonge, now obliterated. In the north window are remaining four figures; first, a man in armour with a shield, having a plain cross on it, on his breast, in the attitude of thrusting a lance through the jaws of a beast lying at his feet; probably, by the cross designed for St. George; second, a young man crowned; third, an older man crowned, with a globe and sceptre in his hands, and seemingly weeping; fourth, an antient man kneeling, full bearded, on his shoulder a child holding a globe and sceptre, to which he is looking up. In the south window is the figure of a man bearded, with a palmer's bonnet on, and staff, holding in his right hand a book. In the body of the church, a marble monument against the north wall, near the chancel, and inscription, shewing that in the vault underneath are deposited the remains of Michael Hatton, esq. of Dane-court, obt. 1776; also Mrs. Alice Hatton, his widow, obt. 1791; arms, Azure, a chevron, between three wheat sheaves, or, impaling gules, three lilies, argent, stalked and leaved, vert. A monument against the same wall for Thomas Michael Tierney, late student of Brazen Noze college, Oxford, and son of Thomas Tierney, of London, by Savine his wife, obt. 1770, at Arras, in France, on his return to England, æt. 19. On seven different gravestones are memorials for the Smiths, resident at Thornton, from the year 1632 to 1664. In the windows of this church were formerly much more painted glass, both of figures and coats of arms.

 

This church was antiently part of the possessions of the knights hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, to whom it was appropriated by archbishop Langton, about the end of king John's reign; the archbishop reserving to himself and successors, the nomination and institution of a vicar, and at the same time he endowed the vicarage, decreeing that the vicar should receive the whole altarage, and the moiety of all the tithes belonging to this church, and a certain messuage, &c. belonging to it; (fn. 3) in which state the appropriation and vi carage of this church remained until the dissolution of the above order, in the 32d year of king Henry VIII.'s reign, when they both came into the king's hands, and remained there till the year 1558, being the last of Philip and Mary, when the advowson of the vicarage was granted among others to the archbishop; and the appropriation likewise in the third year of queen Elizabeth, this rectory being then valued at six pounds per annum; since which both the appropriation and advowson have remained part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, the archbishop being now possessed of them. The vicarage of Tilmanstone is valued in the king's book at 7l. 12s. 6d. It is now a discharged living, and is of the yearly value of forty-five pounds. In 1588 here were one hundred and nine communicants, in 1640 there were the like number of communicants, and it was valued at fifty pounds. In 1740 it was of the value of sixty pounds.

 

Archbishop Wake, in 1719, on the petition of Nicholas Carter, vicar of this church, gave licence for him to take down the old vicarage-house and to erect a new one. (fn. 4) This vicarage is at present endowed with one half of the great tithes, with a vicarage-house, and garden only, for the vicar's use. The remaining half of the great tithes belongs to the parsonage, with twenty-four acres of glebe land, held on a beneficial lease from the archbishop, by the two sons of the late Mr. John Curling, of Ham. There are fifteen acres of land in this parish allotted as a glebe to Eastry parsonage.

 

In the parish register (the antient part of it) are the names of Cocks, Fogg, very numerous, Arden, Willford, Billingsley, Bargrave, Pattinson, Burville, Capell, Boys, Picks, and Ower.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63613

Design 3 in the Preston Bus Station design competition.

 

To find out more visit: www.lancashire.gov.uk/competition

More coming and 3 in line...

 

Bus No: 652

Year released: 1995

Capacity: 49; 2x2 seating configuration

Route: Caloocan/Cubao-Sta. Cru, Zambales via Camiling/Tarlac/Dau/Sta. Ignacia/Alaminos/Mangatarem/Soconyi

Body: Nissan Diesel Philippines Corp.

Engine: Nissan Diesel PE6T

Fare: Airconditioned

Aircon System: Denso overhead a/c

Transmission System: M/T

Plate No.: CVU-648

Taken on: August 22, 2009

Location: Rizal St., Brgy. Poclacion, Camiling, Tarlac

Le Mans Classic 2018 .

Longueur : 5,126 m / 201.8 in

Largeur : 1,811 m / 71.3 in

Empattement: 2,934 m / 115.5 in

moteur V8

Cylindrée : 4267 cm3 / 260,4 cui

Puissance : 122 kW / 164 ch / 166 ch

Poids : 1579 kg / 3481 lbs

Vitesse maxi : 161 km/h

 

She's such a centered and peaceful dog!

 

Jan 7, 2010 7/365

 

Today is #3 in my ten things about me list...

 

3) I am a dog person! I have always had a dog as far as I remember and I really love them! I'm really an animal person in general, but I think it's safe to say I'm mostly about dogs... they are my first preference, but really animals in general are the best!

 

I have 2 dogs... this is Angel. She is the most amazing dog I've ever had, so gentle, smart, easy going, & devoted! My daughters and I think she's really a human trapped in a dog's body. She just seems to look at you sometimes and "know." She's been like a best friend to me the last few years! I can't even think about losing her w/o tearing up!

 

Oh, and Mr. Sardonicus is her biggest fan! If I die, I've willed her to him!

 

My other dog, Marley, will be in my 365 soon. I'll say this about her... I've never had a dog that was such a DAWG! She's a stick-chewing, treat-begging, let me in - let me out, don't leave your shoes on the floor, mutt! Oh Marley! You are such a Marley!!

 

AND... I chose this rather "pedestrian" photo today to show that I'M BURIED IN SNOW!!!

It's really ridiculous!

That's all I have to say about that!

436 SA15VTP Volvo B5TL / Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 in Edinburgh

Würzburg WSB Nr. 256 als Linie 3 in der Steigungsstrecke zum Heuchelhof.

Genesis 1:3

 

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

in our garden, Frankfurt, Germany

Entry 3 in 10 Days of HDR. At the Calgary Zoo.