The progress of the East Side Access construction in Long Island City, Queens, as of December 20, 2012.

This photo shows work underway on one of the most challenging parts of the entire project: Excavating a tunnel under Northern Boulevard, while simultaneously supporting the overhead roadway, the overhead underground subway (E/M/R), and the elevated subway (N/Q).

To ensure stability, the tunnel was excavated in seven separate horizontal segments, or “drifts." And because the ground is soft at this site and difficult to control during excavation, it was frozen to allow for increased control and rigidity.

Workers had to drive a new set of foundation pilings into the ground to temporarily support the elevated structure during construction. They then jacked up the line a fraction of an inch to shift the weight to the temporary supports, which you can see in some views running vertically through the newly built tunnel. Those supports will be removed after the weight of the elevated subway is shifted back to the walls of the tunnel, which has been engineered to carry the load.

Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.

this device enables wireless connections to users, its like a wireless ethernet cable

Stone Circle Access visits take place outside the normal opening times at Stonehenge, and are very early in the morning or late in the evening, and are not offered during the normal opening times.

For those of you who have not visited this sacred site, we should mention that the complex is roped off. Visitors observe the stones from a distance and are not permitted within the temple complex. Our special access tours allow you to be amongst the stones. Your guide will bring to life its many myths, legends and rich and fascinating history.

We have arranged with English Heritage for you to experience a unique guided visit to this ancient sacred site - beyond the fences and after the crowds have gone home. Walk amongst the stones and experience the magical atmosphere within the inner circle.

Stonehenge Sunset and Sunrise Trips from London and Salisbury

Stonehenge Guided Tours: www.StonehengeTours.com

The East Side Access project is connecting the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal. This photo from June 21, 2011, shows construction of the caverns that will house an escalator bank to the new platforms at Grand Central. Photo by Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.

The progress of the East Side Access construction in Long Island City, Queens, as of December 20, 2012.

This photo shows work underway on one of the most challenging parts of the entire project: Excavating a tunnel under Northern Boulevard, while simultaneously supporting the overhead roadway, the overhead underground subway (E/M/R), and the elevated subway (N/Q).

To ensure stability, the tunnel was excavated in seven separate horizontal segments, or “drifts." And because the ground is soft at this site and difficult to control during excavation, it was frozen to allow for increased control and rigidity.

Workers had to drive a new set of foundation pilings into the ground to temporarily support the elevated structure during construction. They then jacked up the line a fraction of an inch to shift the weight to the temporary supports, which you can see in some views running vertically through the newly built tunnel. Those supports will be removed after the weight of the elevated subway is shifted back to the walls of the tunnel, which has been engineered to carry the load.

Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.

[click photo to view larger on black background]

Access road at Searles Valley Minerals, Searles Lake, CA

Photograph by: Ryan Nyenhuis

Sunday June 15th 2008, Fathers Day. Ryan and I woke with a plan. The plan being to sneak into the abandon R.L. Hearn Thermal Generation Power Plant which is located in the south east area of downtown Toronto. We wanted to photograph the beauty of decay.

We had made a trip over to the power plant a week prior to scout out the area, to see where guards were located and to find easy access inside.

Sneaking past the guard house located at the front of the property and making our way along the north west section of property towards the back of the plant where the barbed wire fence was weakest.

We then smoked three quarters of a joint together before working up the nerve to hop the fence. Ryan went first, watching him hop the fence and dart out into the yard and hiding behind scrap metal for cover then finally making it to the back of the building. Then it was my turn. What excitement that was, knowing your breaking the law to do something adventurous.

After getting onto the property we were standing at the back of the Hearn and looking for our way inside. To do so we had to hop up onto a metal fence post and from there had to reach up and grab a hold of plywood that covered up the tall entrance area. A good 15 foot climb up, over and in.

Once inside the first photo that was taken was the one of Ryan and I standing together, titled "final hours".

This place was like no other we had ever explored together. The shear size of it all was breathtaking and mind blowing at the same time. The beauty of destruction.

After the first photo was taken we started exploring the plant. Taking the necessary precautions we had come prepared with asbestos masks and flashlights.

We had made our way around on the ground floor, through locker rooms, showers, storage rooms. Then we started making our way up stairs to the 2nd and 3rd level offices, had the remainder of our joint together.

From the office levels we went back onto the factory area and started climbing the metal stairs up further still. Some photos show how high up we were in that building.

We then made ourselves up onto the roof. What a view from there looking out over the city core. Looking out over Lake Ontario we saw really dark storm clouds. Ryan pulled out a cigarette and had a smoke.

We were up on the roof for about a half hour before Ryan asked me "what do you want to do now man?". "Do you want to go home now or stay a bit longer and explore?". My camera battery had died at this point and being there any longer served no purpose for me. I was hesitant on a response because at the same time I wanted to keep exploring because the plan was to keep coming back weekend after weekend to explore and document the old structure.

I then agreed to keep exploring. We came in off the roof, coming down a level, walked through a doorway into a long looking dark room. All across the top level of The Hearn runs conveyor belts that run coal from one end to the other. Walking together along the metal grating flooring. Ryan was 2 feet in front of me.

I then ended up tripping over a small extruded piece of metal on the floor, and from that second on I pointed my flashlight directly onto the floor to see where I was walking.

Very shortly after this happens, in mid sentence Ryan just falls into blackness. All I see is from his waist up as he plunges into complete blackness and followed by about 4-5 seconds before hearing a sick crash far below.

I then look 2 feet in front of me and see there is no more floor. My imediant thought is that he is dead. Then my brain clicks "I have to get my best friend out of here".

I then tried my best to back track to get out of the building, taking a route that he and I had not taken to get to this point. All I knew is I had to get out of The Hearn and find someone that could help.

I don't even know how I got out of that place. When I did I came out on the back side of the building, ran around to the guard house screaming for help.

I screamed to the guard that my best friend just fell in there and is hurt really bad, he asked what we were doing in there and I told him we were just taking photos.

The guard then called like every paramedic, fire and police officer in the city. About 10 minutes after the call was made all I could hear were the sirens. Scared and relived at the same time I was.

Once they all showed up I told them Ryan was in there, that we were up high in the building and he fell. All the cops were telling me to retrace my steps, they wanted to see where we came in from. I screamed at them "we don't have time for that right now, my best friend is dying in there". I then started leading them to the front of the Hearn because I knew it was the closet way inside. We get to the front and all entrances were boarded up. One cops said to me "Ian there is no way in through this way, you have to show us where you came in from". I then demanded to the fire fighters that they bust this plywood down to get inside.

Once inside the cops started fucking with my mind, me being in total shock at the time they started asking me where we had explored, they wanted me to take them on what would have been a few hours of exploration, which we didn't have time for.

Then an officer finds his asbestos mask and glasses. My first thought is he was okay, that he somehow managed to crawl out under his own power. I was wrong. His mask and glasses had bounced off of objects on the fall and Ryan was nowhere to be found.

The police tried getting a hold of Rogers Communication to see if they could pin point his location with the cell phone he had on him. They ended up using thermal vision to locate him. He was trapped in a coal hopper located high up in the building.

I was escorted out at this point in time because I was too "hysterical" for the cops liking.

Two and a half hours went by, a fierce thunderstorm was passing through.

While they were working on getting Ryan out I was giving my statement to the police. Never gave one of those in my life. I told them everything that I am writing here right now, everything, even the joint smoking. I had Nothing to hide.

We went in undetected but I didn't care if the whole world was watching at this point, I was doing what any best friend would do. I was trying to save him. City Pulse News was there and I was trying to hide from them. I was scared that this is how his family would find out and how my family would find out, being Fathers days and all.

After two and a half hours of hell they finally got Ryan out. I watched them carry him out on a backboard and I yelled to him that I loved him.

Ryan was rushed to St. Micheal's Hospital, the best in all the city for trauma.

I followed about an hour after him, being escorted in a police car. On the drive one officer said to me "this is going to cost you and your buddy about a hundred thousand dollars for all that had to be done here today". What a jackass thing to say. I responded by saying "I don't give a fuck about money, take all I have from me I don't care, I'm loosing the most important person in my life right now".

We get to the hospital, I enter the trauma wing of St. Micheal's. They told me that I was going to be the one to call the home of the Nyenhuis'. I thought that was insane, and told them I could not make that call, that they would have to.

I then went into the waiting room, sat down. I remember the NBA finals were on the televisions in there and I ended up falling asleep somehow.

Waking to Stevie and Tammy's faces hours later (Stevie being Ryan's room mate and Tammy being Ryan's girlfriend).

Stevie told me that John and Cheryl were on their way and that we could go up stairs to the trauma ward to see Ryan.

The trauma centre, located on the 9th floor of St. Micheal's Hospital.

Hours passed by, as the night went on the news kept getting worse and worse about his condition.

I ended up leaving to come back to my apartment at 6am the following morning, I had to talk to my parents and try and shovel some food into my system. Still being in shock and never got treatment for shock when it happened.

I returned to the hospital at 3pm that day. Only to find nothing had changed with his condition.

Then came the worst words I ever had to hear, Ryan's father coming in the room and telling me it was time to say goodbye to Ryan.

We made our way into where he was being cared for. To see my best friend in the state he was in broke my heart. Blood coming out the back of his head, body black and blue bruised from head to toe, internal damage that could not be repaired, feeling his forehead and it being ice cold. He was laying there in front of us, dead. Machines were the only thing keeping him "alive".

I said my goodbyes to him, telling him that he can't leave me here, he can't leave the creation of Studies In Comfort behind, something that is so brilliant, that we were supposed to take over the world together and do all that was planned. I told him to haunt me.

I then looked at his eyes and saw tears. He may have been brain dead but I know he heard every word I said. Doctors did not give an explanation to what was coming out of his eyes.

If only I had said to Ryan "hey man watch your step" he might still be alive today. I have been told over and over again that I can not blame myself for what happened that day. I sometimes still do.

Ryan and I once had a conversation that if something ever happened to one of us that Studies In Comfort would stop, without a core creator there is no sense to continue it. Well I am going against those wishes. I can't lose what he and I created even before it took off the ground.

I now know my purpose in life. To carry on Studies In Comfort. I must continue on for him, finish off the 3 studio albums we had in the works and continue on with this art form.

Ryan died at the wheel and I have moved his lifeless body to the passengers seat and now a fucking insane madman is driving.

Ryan Nyenhuis, whos favourite artist was Nine Inch Nails, who lived on floor number 9, who wore a roman numeral 9 on his right arm, who died on the 9th floor at St. Micheal's Hospital, Toronto.

Thank you to 55 Division and all the paramedics and fire fighters who helped get Ryan out of that terrible dark place.

Ryan Nyenhuis is survived by his father, John, mother Cheryl, sisters, Jennifer and Leah, their beautiful children, myself and Studies In Comfort.

Ryan John Nyenhuis

July 28th 1981 - June 15th 2008

We love and miss you.

___________________________

All photographs were taken by Ryan Nyenhuis & Ian Levack with a Casio EX-Z1050 camera.

Rolleiflex 2,8F, Zeiss Planar 2,8/80, Kodak T Max 100, Romek PQ7 1+3

One of my favourites from a SuicideGirls set I shot for Malloreigh. Police Brutality

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

The Lockheed L300 was originally conceived as a military strategic airlifter that served under the designation C-141 Starlifter with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the United States Air Force (USAF).

StarLifters remained in military duty for over 40 years until the USAF withdrew the last C-141s from service in 2006, after replacing the airlifter with the C-17 Globemaster III. In civil service, however, the L300, despite its small production number, outlasted the C-141. After the military aircraft’s retirement, more than twenty StarLifters were still in private service, most of them operating under harsh climatic conditions and in remote parts of the world.

General characteristics:

Crew: 4 - 6 (2 pilots, 2 flight engineers, 1 navigator, 1 loadmaster)

Length: 145 ft (44.27 m)

Wingspan: 160 ft 0 in (48.8 m)

Height: 39 ft 3 in (12 m)

Wing area: 3,228 ft² (300 m²)

Empty weight: 136,900 lbs (62,153 kg)

Loaded weight: 323,100 lbs (146,688 kg)

Max Payload, 2.25g: 94,508 lb (42.906 kg)

Max Takeoff Weight, 2.25g: 343,000 lb (155,722 kg)

Powerplant:

4× CFM International CFM56-2 high-bypass turbofans, delivering 22,000 lb (98.5 kN) each

Performance:

Maximum speed: 567 mph (493 kn, 912 km/h)

Cruise speed: 495 mph (430 kn, 800 km/h)

Range: 4,320 mi (2,350 nmi, 6,955 km)

Ferry range: 7,245 mi (6,305 nmi, 11,660 km)

Service ceiling: 41,000 ft (12,500 m)

Rate of climb: 2,600 ft/min (13.2 m/s)

Wing loading: 100.1 lb/ft2 (490 kg/m²)

Thrust/weight: 0.25

The kit and its assembly:

This is another project I had on my agenda for a long time, it was inspired by a picture of the civilian L300 demonstrator and the question what a StarLifter in civil service could look like? Such a type (like the C-130) would only make sense for bulk cargo transport business, and probably only for rather remote locations, so I went up North with my thoughts and initially considered Air Canada or Buffalo Airways as an operator, but then remembered Air Greenland – a very good fit, and the current livery would make the L300 a colorful bird, too.

The basis is Roden’s C-141B kit, AFAIK the only affordable IP kit of this aircraft when I had the idea for this build a while ago; A&A Models released in the meantime a C-141A in June 2021, but it is prohibitively expensive, and Anigrand does a C-141A resin kit. The Roden kit is a sound offering. The parts fit well, even though the seams along the long fuselage and the wing roots need attention and PSR, and at the small 1:144 scale the (engraved) surface details are just fine. It’s not a stellar model, but a sturdy representation with surprisingly massive parts, esp. the fuselage: its walls are almost 3mm thick!

However, I did not want to build the stretched USAF version. The original civil L300 had the same fuselage as the C-141A, and I found this option to be more plausible for the haul of singular heavy equipment than the stretched version, and the decision to shorten the C-141B also had logistic reasons, because I’d have to store the model somewhere once finished… And, finally, I think that the original, short C-141 is just looking good. ;-)

So, I simply “de-plugged” the fuselage. In real life, the C-141B had two extensions: a 160” plug in front and another 120” insert behind its wings. This translated into 2.8 and 2.1 cm long sections on the model that were simply sawed off from the completed fuselage. Thanks to the massive fuselage walls, gluing the parts back together was an easy task, resulting in a very stable connection. The seams were hidden under some PSR, as well as two windows. The C-141B’s fairing for the refueling receptive was also sanded away. The front plug was easily hidden, but the rear plug called for some body sculpting, because the fuselage has a subtle bulge around the cargo door and its ramp – the shapes in front and behind it don’t differ much, though.

Another change for a more fictional civil variant: the engines. This was a lucky coincidence, because I had a complete set of four CFM56 turbofan nacelles left over from my shortened Minicraft DC-8 build a while ago, and the StarLifter lent itself to take these different/more modern engines, esp. for the civilian market. The swap was not as easy as expected, though, because the C-141’s nacelles are much different, have longer pylons and their attachment points in the wings were OOB not compatible at all with the CFM56 pods. I eventually filled the attachment slots in the wings and glued the complete CFM56 nacelles with their short DC-8 pylons directly under the wings, blending these areas with PRS. The engines’ position is now markedly different (higher/closer to the wings and further forward), but the engines’ bigger diameter IMHO justifies this change – and it turned out well.

The rest of the Roden model was left OOB, I just added a ventral display adapter for the flight scenes.

Painting and markings:

As mentioned above, I was looking for a “bush pilot” operator of suitable size in the Northern hemisphere, and Greenland Air was chosen because of its exoticism and the airline’s distinctive and simple livery. Does anyone know this rather small airline at all? Potential freight for the US Army as well as for private mining companies with lots of heavy equipment made the StarLifter’s operation plausible.

To make the plan work I was lucky that Draw Decal does an 1:144 sheet for the airline‘s (sole) Boeing 757, and its simple post-2002 all-red paint scheme was easily adapted to the StarLifter. The fuselage and the nacelles were painted with brushes in Humbrol 19 (Gloss Red, it comes IMHO close to the rich real-world tone), while the wings and the engine pylons became Humbrol 40 (Glossy Light Gull Grey). For some variety I added a medium grey (Humbrol 126, FS 36270) Corroguard panel to the wings’ upper surface, later framed with OOB decals. The white door markings came from a generic PAS decals sheet. All decals were very thin, esp. the Draw Decals sheet, which had to be handled with much care, but they also dried up perfectly and the white print inks turned out to have very good opacity. Adapting the Boeing 757 decals to the very different C-141 hull was also easier than expected, even though the "Air Greenland" tag on the nose ended up quite far forward and the emblem on the fin lots its uppermost white circle.

The cockpit, which comes with no interior, was painted in black, while the landing gear wells and struts were painted in a very light grey (Humbrol 196, RAL 7035) with white rims.

Panel lines were emphasized with a little black ink, and the cockpit glazing turned out to be a bit foggy - which became only apparent after I added the red around it. In order to hide this flaw I just laid out the window panels with Tamiya "Smoke".

Finally the model finally received an overall coat of gloss acrylic varnish from a rattle can.

A colorful result, even though the bright red C-141 looks unusual, if not odd. The different engines work well; with the shorter fuselage, the new, wider nacelles change the StarLifter’s look considerably. It looks more modern (at least to me), like a juiced-up Bae 146 or a C-17 on a diet?

St Helen is probably my favourite Kent church. At least from the outside. Alternating bands of flints and local stone give it a Christmas Cake effect, but in bright sunshine it looks stunning.

Inside, its no less impressive. Part of the wall paintings survive, as do geometric patterns on some of the supporting columns.

And it is huge, with a fine wooden roof, a replacement after a fire, but still works well, and the fabric of the church seems good.

Everywhere there are fabulous things to find; Aumbries, memorials, and so much more.

And I reeived a warm welcome from the warden who was waiting for visitors. Last time I was here, there was a display of how the estuary airport-cum-Boris Johnson vanity project seemed a real possibility. Now he is back insulting foreigners, and the airport is dead. But a new Thames crossing is being mooted, and it might run across Grain, which would be a shame to have the peace and quiet shattered.

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

An absolute knockout of a church. From the first glimpse of the exterior, with its zebra-like stripes of flint and stone, you know that here is a church of great interest. In plan it consists of an aisled nave, transepts, chancel and west tower - all built on a prodigious scale. Although the church was heavily restored on two occasions in the nineteenth century there is still a great deal of interest and a visit here should not be rushed. The pillars of the nave have distinctive 'V' paintings contemporary with their fourteenth-century construction. The pulpit is of 1636 and shows some excellent carved arcading. Attached to it is a contemporary hourglass stand. The north transept has wall paintings depicting the martyrdom of St Edmund, but these were over-touched-up by Professor Tristram in 1932. Further paintings exist in the south transept and probably show the martyrdom of St Margaret. The base of the rood screen is fifteenth century while the rather insubstantial traceried top is an early twentieth-century addition. There is an elaborate tie-beam high in the roof with little quatrefoil piercings in the spandrels, but this could not have supported the rood as the remains of the rood loft staircase may be seen in its usual position. Outside the north chancel wall can be found a piscina and holy water stoup - all that remains of a medieval chantry chapel or anchorite's cell which has been demolished. The blocked-up doorway that originally gave access to it may be seen both inside and out. On the inside south wall of the chancel is one of the finest sedilia in Kent which together with its double piscina dates from the early years of the fourteenth century.

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

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

THE Church at Cliffe is dedicated to St. Helen and bears the distinction of being the only church in Kent dedicated to that Saint. It stands in a prominent position at the edge of the Hoo peninsula overlooking the extensive marshes which at this point stretch some two miles to the Thames.

The village seems at one time to have been of greater importance than it is to-day. Lambarde describes it as a large town in his day in spite of a disastrous fire which had destroyed many of the houses about 1520, a fire from the effects of which it appears never to have recovered.

The Manor of Cliffe belonged from very early times to the Prior and Convent of Christ Church, Canterbury, who were also the owners of the advowson, and thus became concerned with the upkeep of the church. At the Dissolution the Manor passed to George Brooke, Lord Cobham, though the Archbishop of Canterbury is still the patron of the living. Among the Rectors of Cliffe were several men of distinction, some of whom probably never visited the parish. From an early date there seems to have been a perpetual vicarage attached to the church, but when it became merged in the Rectory is uncertain.

Of the first church at Cliffe there is no definite record. It is sometimes said to have been founded by Offa, king of Mercia, in the latter part of the eighth century, though the only evidence for this appears to be the presumed identification of the place with the Cloveshoo of the Saxon Chronicle, where various synods of the Saxon Church were held in the eighth and ninth centuries. Without attempting to suggest a solution of this very debatable point, it can only be said that the evidence in favour of Cliffe appears to rest on at least as good authority as that of the rival claimants—Abingdon in Berkshire, and Clifton Hoo in Bedfordshire. There is moreover good reason to think that Cliffe was less inaccessible than might be supposed in mediaeval times. There still remain traces of a causeway across Higham Marsh, which must at one time have led to a ferry, thus affording an easy means of approach from Essex and the Midlands.

The earliest undisputed documentary reference to a church at Cliffe is in the Domesday Survey. It was evidently a building of more than usual importance for it is expressly stated that two ministers were in charge. Of this building, however, not a vestige remains, though there can be little doubt that from it the present plan has, on more or less recognised lines, been developed.

The plan as it exists to-day is complete, and consists of a nave with wide aisles, north and south transepts, chancel, western tower and south porch. The church is one of the largest in Kent, and is a striking example of a parish church whose size and splendour could have borne but little relation to the actual needs of the locality. It was the product of an age whose zeal for church building was limited only by the funds available. The total internal length from east to west is 182 feet, while the width across the transept is 82 feet. The exterior has been the subject of somewhat extensive restoration, which has robbed it of much of its ancient appearance. The south aisle differs from that on the north in having an embattled parapet, similar to that of the porch. The walls of the tower and transepts are faced with flint rubble with little attempt at regular coursing. The later work of the nave and chancel, though extensively refaced, is composed of alternate courses of dressed flints and stone ; the latter, a soft ragstone from the lower green sand formation which, quarried probably from the outcrop a few miles to the south, has weathered badly in many places. A variety of other materials is noticeable, some of which appear to have been reused from the earlier church. A block of Caen stone in the east wall of the chancel, and several pieces in the north wall, have obviously been reused, while a single piece of calcareous tufa can be seen in the north wall of the transept; Reigate stone is also fairly abundant.

It is not till one enters the church, that its size is fully realised. The absence of pews over a large part of the nave, with the fact that the nave arcade is carried past the crossing without a break, and the absence of a chancel arch, all combine to emphasise its spaciousness. The impression

gathered from a superficial survey of the interior is that of a thirteenth century church with considerable additions in the fourteenth century, but a more careful inspection shows at least one trace of an earlier building. The arch from the north aisle into the transept, which has been partially cut away when the thirteenth century nave arcade was constructed, is certainly of late twelfth century date and must therefore have survived from an earlier church. Before, however, considering the development of the ground plan, it is necessary to refer briefly to the chief features of architectural interest which call for notice.

The porch is of a fairly common type, with an upper room, approached by a stair turret from the south aisle. It measures internally 11 feet 5 inches from east to west by 16 feet from north to south, and is apparently of late fifteenth century date. On the right of the inner doorway are the remains of a holy water stoup. The room above has been considerably modernised, and there is nothing to indicate its original use. Occasionally an altar is found in the porch chamber, which, however, in this case would seem more likely to have been used for storing the church goods.

The north and south aisles of the nave are 19 feet 10 inches and 18 feet wide respectively, and are thus considerably wider than the nave itself. They contain a fine series of Decorated windows, those at the end of either aisle being particularly interesting examples of three lights. The church as a whole is very rich in windows of this period, which form in themselves an interesting study in design. The south aisle has a stone bench running along its south and west walls.

The tower is entered from the nave by a plain thirteenth century arch, and measures approximately 15 feet 6 inches from east to west by 17 feet 6 inches from north to south (interior measurements). The lower stage, which is shut off from the church by a screen, and is now used as a vestry, is lit by three narrow lancets, one in each of the disengaged walls. The roof is a simple quadripartite vault, without any boss at the intersection of the ribs, which are carried on shafts supported on corbels set in the four angles. The lower part of the tower is apparently thirteenth century work, and somewhat earlier than the transepts. The flat, clasping buttresses appear to be original, though now entirely re-faced, and might in themselves suggest a transitional date for the base of the tower. The upper part has been rebuilt at a much later date, and contains a Perpendicular window. Like most towers of the period, it is probable that there was originally no structural stairway leading to the upper stages, access to which had to be obtained by means of a ladder, though the existing doorway to the modern stair turret appears to be of fairly early date.

The transepts deserve special consideration on account of the very interesting work which they contain. Their date cannot be later than about 1260 and there are some grounds for thinking that the south transept may be slightly the earlier of the two. The east wall of the south transept is

divided into two bays by blind arches, supported on slender banded shafts, with a narrow lancet window in the centre of each arch. A somewhat similar arrangement exists on the east wall of the north transept, though in this case the central shaft is not carried to the ground, but rests midway on a moulded bracket, below which is a piscina with a trefoil head of the same date. The treatment of the west wall of the north transept is very similar to that of the east, but the arches are much narrower, and the arrangement has been somewhat interfered with by a later widening of the nave aisle. In the south transept the arcading on the west wall is somewhat plainer, and the banded shafts have been dispensed with. Although similar in general design, certain details point to the south transept being slightly the earlier. The string course below the windows, which is continued round the shafts of the mural arcading, is a plain scroll moulding, while in the north transept a fillet is substituted, and the central bands on the shafts of the arcading are of a more elaborate character. The triple lancet windows at the ends of either transept are modern, and replaced two large fifteenth-century windows, which are shown in several early views.

The north transept was formerly shut off from the rest of the church by a screen, and used for holding the Rector's Court. In mediaeval times, and down to 1845, the Rector of Cliffe had a peculiar jurisdiction within his parish. He was exempt from all ecclesiastical authority other than personal visitation from the Archbishop of Canterbury. The wills of parishioners were proved in the local court, and the official seal of the Peculiar is still preserved in the Rochester Museum.

The chancel, which appears to have been rebuilt entirely in the middle of the fourteenth century, is complete, save for the insertion of a modern east window, which replaced an extraordinarily ugly eighteenth-century aperture of brick. The remaining windows are all fine examples of Decorated work, the tracery of which shows a distinctly Flamboyant tendency. The eastern pair affords interesting examples of Kentish tracery. All have good hood-mouldings with

grotesques at the ends. Beneath the windows is a stringcourse, which terminates at the altar rails with a grotesque head on either side. That on the north has been renewed, but the southern one represents the battered head of a monk.

The chief interest in the chancel, however, is its fittings. In the south wall is a series of three very beautiful fourteenth century sedilia, with a piscina of uniform character, recessed in the wall and ascending eastward. They are divided by slender buttressed shafts, supporting elaborately carved ogee canopies, and surmounted by crockets and finials. Beneath the canopies are trefoiled arches, and behind these the roof is carved in imitation of sexpartite vaulting.

Opposite in the north wall is a fine late-fourteenth century tomb of early Perpendicular character, which is often referred to as an Easter sepulchre, for which purpose it may well have been used. The wide cinquefoil arch is surmounted by an elaborate embattled cornice, supported on narrow

buttressed shafts, and terminating with a carved head at either end ; circles with internal cuspings fill the spandrils of the arch.

Immediately west of this tomb is a blocked doorway which led to an adjoining building, now demolished. The exterior wall at this point is of a different character from the rest of the chancel walls, and apparently of earlier date. It is composed of a variety of material, including pieces of Caen stone, which probably came from the earlier church, and suggests that this section of wall and the chapel, of which it formed part, survived the re-building of the chancel in the fourteenth century. The two adjoining buttresses have been constructed out of sections of the eastern and western walls of the chapel, and serve to indicate its approximate size. The position of its low roof is clearly shown by the stone corbels which remain at a height of 7 feet 8 inches from the ground. The floor must have been somewhat lower than the present ground level, as the small piscina in the exterior of the chancel wall is now only two feet from the ground. In the base of the westernmost of the two buttresses is a niche, now scarcely eighteen inches from the ground, which may originally have been used as a holy water stoup, since it was close to the entrance to the chapel. This small building probably served the joint purpose of a Sacristy and Chapel. That it contained an altar there can be no doubt from the piscina already noted.

It may possibly be referred to in the will of Richard Elys, who in 1468 left 12 pence to the light of the Blessed Mary in the chapel and 4 pence to the light of the Blessed Mary near the pulpit, though one of the transepts may of course have been here intended. Such evidence as there is on the other hand seems to point to the chapel having been pulled down at the time of the rebuilding of the chancel or soon afterwards. The blocked doorway in the chancel wall was originally carried down to the present ground level on the exterior, so that there must have been some steps in the thickness of the wall leading down into the chapel. The date of this doorway, which was probably contemporary with the building to which, it led, is uncertain. It is certainly earlier than the adjoining late-fourteenth-century tomb, as parts have been cut away when the latter was inserted, and the use of somewhat small stones points to an earlier rather than a later date. Its details on the other hand include the wave moulding which is usually taken to be characteristic of the Decorated period, or one might otherwise be inclined to think that it formed part of the thirteenth century chancel. The filling on the exterior is certainly not modern, and the fact that a plinth has been inserted when the doorway was blocked up, to match that round the rest of the chancel evidently with the intention, which was never carried out, of continuing it along the section of earlier walling where the chapel stood, seems to suggest that this work was undertaken about the same time as the rebuilding of the chancel.

We are now in a position to consider the probable development of the ground plan, which, though somewhat conjectural for the earlier period, has left some interesting and unmistakable traces of its later history. In the entire absence of remains of the early Norman church, one is forced to rely for the identification of its position on analogy with other buildings of similar type. The first church of which we have any record in all probability consisted of a simple nave and square- ended chancel. The three easternmost bays of the existing nave arcade would preserve the line of

the north and south walls of the church, while the chancel would occupy the interior of the present crossing. There is nothing to show the position of the west wall, but it would have been approximately in a line with the present north and south doors. Towards the close of the twelfth century north and south aisles, about half the width of the present ones, were probably added by piercing the original walls with arches, and about the same time a small chapel or aisle appears to have been built to the north of the original chancel, and the existing arch constructed so as to give access into it. This arch, which cannot be later than about 1200, is obviously much earlier than the present transept and must therefore have communicated with an earlier building on its site. Some evidence in support of this came to light during the restoration of the north transept in 1864. The foundations of an early wall four feet thick were found beneath the present floor running parallel and close to its eastern wall. At a distance of 15 feet from the chancel wall it appears to have been met by another wall at right angles to it. Unfortunately no further record was made of this discovery, but it establishes beyond doubt the existence of a building in this position, to which the arch in question opened. It is possible that this was the chancel arch of a late twelfth century church, and that the foundations were those of the former chancel, though such a theory would be more difficult to reconcile with the later development of the plan. Moreover on the assumption that there already existed a building on the north of the original chancel when the thirteenth-century builders decided to remodel the church, it is possible to account for the hitherto unexplained fact that the north transept is wider than the south by some three feet. The normal development of the thirteenth century produced a cruciform church. A new and longer chancel, and north and south transepts, were built around the small twelfth century chancel, while the nave and aisles were lengthened by the removal of the west wall some 20 feet further west, and a tower erected to the west of this. These extensive works could not of course have been simultaneous.

The tower appears to be somewhat earlier than the transepts, so that presumably the lengthening of the west end was undertaken first, and at the same time an Early English arcade, extending an additional bay westward, was inserted in place of the twelfth century arches. Contrary to what was frequently the case in churches of this type, there was clearly never any intention to erect a central tower over the crossing, since the abutments are far too weak to have supported the weight. This weakness would account for the presence of the strainer arch of oak, which must

have been inserted sometime in the fifteenth century.

With the completion of this work the early builders grew more ambitious. Almost immediately the work on the new chancel and transepts must have begun. A temporary hoarding was probably erected, shutting off the nave and the altar, transferred there until the new works were finished. The chancel and the south transept were probably first erected, as the sites were free of buildings ; the width of the latter being determined by the size of the former chancel and the chapel on the north. When the work was completed attention was directed towards the north transept, which, according to the usual practice, would have been rebuilt round the earlier building, the foundations of which were discovered in 1864, thus accounting for its slight extra width. Probably towards the end of the century the small chapel, the remains of which have already been mentioned, was built on the north of the new chancel.

Considerable alterations were undertaken in the fourteenth century, the principal of which were the rebuilding of the thirteenth century chancel, and the widening of the nave aisles. The latter was a very frequent form of improvement at this period, and was usually occasioned by the desire

for extra space to set up additional altars so as to meet the enormous increase in the popularity of Chantry bequests. At Cliffe the effect of this widening is clearly shown on the already completed design of the transepts. In the north transept one of the lancets was cut away, and a short pointed arch springing from shafts, which do not reach the ground, inserted in its place. The apex of the original lancet still remains in the wall above. In the south transept a similar alteration in plan is treated somewhat differently. A segmental arch, here reaching to the ground, and opening into the extended aisle, was inserted within the earlier bund arch in the west wall of the transept. This also necessitated the removal of an original lancet, the head of which can be seen occupying the space between the original arch and the later insertion. The windows in the nave all appear to be of this date. Probably contemporary with this extension of the aisles, was the heightening of the nave to allow for the clerestory with its row of single splayed lancets. The junction of this work with the old can be clearly seen immediately above the arcading. The thirteenth century roof of the nave was about on a level with those of the aisles, as the small window in the east face of the tower, which now looks into the church, must originally have looked out over the roof. The line of the fourteenth roof, which was erected at the time that the clerestory was added, can be seen on the wall of the tower, passing across the window opening. Below this the position of the third roof, erected 1732, can also be seen. This roof, which was almost flat, was replaced by the present one about forty years ago.

The rebuilding of the chancel would appear to have been undertaken at the same time as extension of the aisles, to judge from the similarity of the external stonework. This would again have necessitated the use of the nave for services, and it is probable that either at this time, or during the earlier work on the interior of the transepts, the round headed arch, which can be seen on the exterior of the north wall of the north transept, was constructed for the convenience of the masons while the ordinary entrances were not available. That this arch or doorway, which has sometimes been said to be of Norman origin, was really of a much later date, and of a purely temporary character, seems to be shown by a close inspection of its construction. The position is not in the centre of the wall while the arch itself is made up of a variety of material including large flints, pieces of Beigate stone and a single block of calcareous tufa, the latter doubtless coming from the early church. Further, the fact that the filling of the arch' seems to be of much the same character as the adjoining walls points to it only having been used for a comparatively short time. Everything in fact indicates that it was a purely temporary arrangement used during the construction of the transepts, or the later chancel, and filled up as soon as the work was completed. A somewhat similar, though smaller, arch in the exterior of the south wall of the tower was probably of a similar nature, though its purpose is conjectural, and it may have had some connection with original stairs to the upper floors. By the end of the fourteenth century the church was practically complete. The porch was added early in the following century, and the large Perpendicular windows, which formerly existed at the ends of the transepts, inserted. At the same time the upper part of the west tower was rebuilt. Certain work also seems to have been in progress about this time in the chancel, for in the will of the Rector in 1413 a sum of money was left towards that object. Exactly what resulted from the bequest one cannot say.

The subsequent additions were chiefly in the nature of modern insertions. The eighteenth century saw many acts of destruction which are duly entered in the parish registers. In 1730, during the Rectorship of George Green, the old high-gabled roofs were taken down, the lead recast, and an

almost flat roof substituted. Two years later the east window was demolished and a hideous brick opening substituted, and at the same time the old timber roof of the chancel, which, since it bore his arms, had probably been erected during the time of Archbishop Arundel, who occupied the See from 1396 to 1414, was pulled down, and both the nave and chancel ceiled. During this period also the two enormous brick buttresses, which are shown in some early views, were erected on the north and south sides of the tower. The church was in this condition when Sir Stephen Glynne visited it in 1857. Subsequent restorations have been extensive, though for the most part necessary. The brick buttresses to the Tower were removed shortly after Sir Stephen Glynne's visit, and the present circular stair turret erected in the place of the southern one. The chancel was restored in 1875, when traces of the original reredos were discovered, and the jambs of the original east window, which were of Reigate stone and about 15 feet apart, were found in situ. The present window was erected in place of the eighteenth century one in 1884, and at the same time the flat lead roofs of the nave and chancel were removed, and the present high-pitched tiled roofs substituted. Finally a small building, without any communication with the church, has been erected in recent years to the east of the north transept. During these successive restorations much of the external walls has been refaced from time to time, and the whole of the upper part of the east wall of the chancel which was pulled down in 1732, was rebuilt when the present window was inserted.

It is somewhat difficult now to picture the appearance of the interior of the church in mediaeval times. A brilliant colour scheme evidently played an important part in the general effect. Many of the piers of the nave arcades, which are apparently constructed of hard chalk, still show traces of a bold chevron pattern in red and yellow, and, together with the extensive wall paintings, slight traces of which still remain in the transepts, and the brilliance of the mediaeval glass, must have combined to give a very rich effect to the interior. Of the ancient glass very little remains. Dr.

Grayling mentions some fourteenth century borders in the chancel windows, which seem to have disappeared. In the central window of the north aisle is a small piece of ancient glass representing a ship with fish in the water beneath, which is said to have been found many years ago in a shed in the churchyard. In the top of the adjoining window is a fifteenth century figure of the Virgin and Child. A coat of arms in another window is mentioned by Thorpe, but this also seems to have disappeared. The wall paintings, though now very indistinct, were evidently much clearer until

comparatively recent times. On the east wall of the north transept, in the space between the southernmost of the two lancets and the arch in which it is placed, is one of these paintings, divided into five panels, depicting the Martyrdom of St. Edmund. Very little of it can now be made out, though the whole of this transept showed traces of colour at the time of the restoration of 1864. Some remains of a painting in a similar position in the south transept can still be seen, and are said to represent the Last Judgment.

Several bequests for the provision and upkeep of lights before the various altars add a little to our knowledge of the interior in mediaeval times. Of the various saints to whom lights were dedicated in the church Our Lady was of course the most popular. We have already seen that two altars

were dedicated to her. One of these is again mentioned in 1483, when Robert Qwikerell left 20 pence "to the Parish Church of Cleue and to the ligth of Our Lady besyde the pulpett there" and also a similar amount to the lights of St. Laurence and St. George. Richard Elys in 1469 also

mentions lights of St. Christopher, St. John and St. James, while in 1509 Steven Tudor bequeathed to the high altar of St. Elyn 20 pence, and to the light of St. Elyn 12 pence.

Of the position of these various lights one cannot speak with any certainty. That to St. Christopher would have been near the main entrance to the church, while the light of the patron saint, St. Helen, would have been in the Chancel, probably over the high altar. Remains of a piscina in four other places in the church prove the former existence of altars in these positions. That in the Sacristy has already been mentioned. At least one altar stood in each of the transepts, while a small piscina, apparently constructed of broken window tracery at the east end of the south aisle, testifies to another. An altar probably stood in a corresponding position in the north aisle. This disposition would exactly account for the number of lights mentioned in early wills. Besides the lights burning before the altars, there would also be a light before the great Rood over the entrance to the chancel. Some of the lower panels of the original rood screen survive. Above, and partly supported by, the screen was the rood loft, which was already in existence as early as 1413, when it is mentioned in conjunction with the great rood itself and its attendant figures in the will of Nicholas de Ryssheton, Canon of Sarum and Rector of Cliffe. The small fifteenth century doorway with a fourcentred arch, which gave access to it, can still be seen high up in the north wall just east of the entrance of the chancel, and the original stairs remain in good condition, though the entrance from the church has been blocked up and covered over with plaster.

The furniture in the church has suffered much from “restoration" and other causes. Six of the ancient stalls remain, three on each side of the chancel, though panelling at the backs and all the seats except two are modern. The sides terminate in carved heads, some of which have been

renewed, while the two original miserecords are carved with grotesques. The Communion rails are Jacobean, though somewhat repaired. They are of the fairly common baluster type with a central bulge. The pulpit is a very fine piece of Renaissance carving, and retains the original stand for the hour glass, though the glass itself is modern; on it is the date 1636.

Besides the fragments of the original rood screen there is another screen shutting off the vestry under the tower.

The font, which has been moved from its original position, is 3 feet 4£ inches in height, and apparently of late-fourteenth century date. The perfectly plain octagonal bowl has concave sides, around the lower edge of which is a hollow chamfer. The bowl is supported by an octagonal, buttressed stem on a plain base. On the westernmost pillar of the south arcade can still be seen the bracket and chain by which the font cover was raised, indicating its original position.

The monuments in the church are few, and call for little comment. In the floor at the west end of the north aisle are two flat coffin-shaped stones with early fourteenth century French inscriptions in Lombardic capitals. The one on the north is probably the earlier, judging from the very rough

characters which are now scarcely legible. It commemorated Eleanor de Olive, of whom nothing is known. The other stone shows traces of brass, and is inscribed in memory of Joan, wife of John Earn. These stones are described in the Gentleman's Magazine, and old rubbings of them exist among the collection of the Society of Antiquaries. There are three brasses of seventeenth century date, one of which is thought to have been engraved locally.

Two wills are of interest in connection with early burials in the church. In 1376 Robert de Walton, Rector of Cliffe, desired to be buried in the church of Olyve at the entrance to the quire. Some years later, in 1387, Thomas de Lynton, a subsequent rector, directed that he should be buried in the chancel near the entrance, and between the entrance to the quire and the tomb of Master Robert Walton, late Rector, and he ordered that a handsome marble monument should be placed over his body at the discretion of his executors. It seems not unlikely however that his executors favoured a brass monument. In the chancel is the stone matrix of what must once have been a very fine brass of about this period, representing a priest under a canopy. Another smaller matrix of an ecclesiastic is close to the pulpit.

Of the church plate the most important piece is a very beautiful paten of silver gilt of the early part of the sixteenth century. In the centre, worked in coloured enamels, is a seated figure of God the Father holding before Him a figure of the crucifixion. The extreme rarity of pre-reformation

plate is not generally recognised, and the example at Cliffe is one of the finest English patens in existence. At some period or other the paten at Cliffe served as a chalice cover, and it is even said to have been used as an alms dish, which would account for its numerous signs of wear. The other plate is of seventeenth century and later date, and of no particular interest.

It remains for me to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. F. O. Blliston Erwood for several suggestions and for the photographs which illustrate this paper. The present account is intended to supplement, but not to supplant altogether, an article on Cliffe Church, by the Rev. I. Gr. Lloyd, a former Rector, which appeared in Vol. XI. of Arch. Cant., where reference should be made for further particulars.

www.cliffehistory.co.uk/martin.html

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CLIFFE (St. Helen), a parish, in the union of North Aylesford, hundred of Shamwell, lathe of Aylesford, W. division of Kent, 5 miles (N. by W.) from Rochester; containing 842 inhabitants. The parish is bounded on the north by the Thames, and comprises 5660 acres, whereof 180 are woodland, about 2000 arable, and the remainder pasture, including a considerable portion of marshy land. The village, which is supposed to take its name from the cliff or rock on which it stands, was formerly of much greater extent, a great part of it having been destroyed by fire in 1520: it was the scene of several provincial councils. A pleasurefair is held on September 28th. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £50; net income, £1297; patron, the Archbishop of Canterbury: the glebe contains 20 acres. The church is considered one of the finest in the county, being a large handsome cruciform structure in the early English style, with an embattled central tower, and containing several curious monuments and remains of antiquity, together with six stalls that belonged to a dean and five prebendaries, it having been formerly collegiate.

www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp63...

That big green door, danger of death apparently?

NO PARKING 24 HOURS ACCESS

Albion Street, Leicester

Windows and Doors Project

Cyber Fair At ACCESS

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/ACCESS%202/145/247/1519

Happy Fence Friday.

View On Black

Barnaul, Altai Krai, South Siberia, Russia

On Saturday night about 10:00 PM Oregon, IL Fire was dispatched to train derailment at Pines Rd. near Devil's Backbone. A string of empty sand cars being stored on the Mt. Morris branch line West of Gale Rd. rolled down hill and hit the derail on the north side of Pines Rd. The derail did its job and 17 of the 99 cars in the string derailed. The cars came to rest in a pile mostly north of Pines, a few cars did end up in the road way. Luckily no vehicles were passing at the time and no one was injured. The Mt. Morris line is operated by Illinois Railway (OmniTrax) and their officials arrived quickly to access the damage. Maggio's of Rockford started showing up with their parade of equipment and worked through the night and the majority of the next day righting cars and getting the road open. I am sure the heavy rain, high winds and rapidly dropping temperatures made job even harder.

Oct.15, 2016

Support this project on LEGO Ideas: ideas.lego.com/projects/131464

The Astrosurfer: an atomic-powered intergalactic sports car, accompanied by the hit new space rock band The Highway Stars! This epic futuristic vehicle is detailed and articulated with wheels, rubber tires, hinged doors, reclining seats, and with access to the car’s trunk. On the hood of the car is a metallic minifigure hood ornament, and underneath is a detailed engine. In the rear of the car are two folding jet engines, a set of tailpipes, a spoiler, and an Octan bumper sticker.

Background: this project was initially conceived back in fall 2015, during my long, imaginative train of thought. In late November of 2015, I took some photos of my Futuron minifigs in front of Christmas lights for an artistic bokeh effect. This led me to come up with the idea of taking a group shot of a few spacemen hanging out as friends, accompanied by lyrics from the Ramones song “I Just Want to Have Something to Do.” This soon evolved into the idea of making each of the spacemen as musicians in a fictional band, that was inspired by the music video for the aforementioned song — which starts off with the Ramones playing the song in the back of a car. With this concept in mind, in early December I took a photo of some Futuron minifigs playing instruments in front of Christmas lights. Upon releasing this photo, I was then struck with another bolt of inspiration while watching the music video for Monster Magnet’s “Negasonic Teenage Warhead“: towards the end of the video, the band takes off in a purple classic Buick and flies through space! This idea hit me, and that night I had a dream to build a futuristic space sports car being driven by a rock band — essentially an amalgamation of those videos by the Ramones and Monster Magnet, along with my previous LEGO space photography!

Production for this creation began immediately after Christmas 2015, as I was preoccupied in December with production of my LEGO Nutcrackers and electronic Mega Man sprite. The bulk of this model was completed in the middle of January, but unfortunately I ran into one tiny (yet major) obstacle: I wanted a Classic Space symbol flag for the car’s antenna, however the Collectible Minifigure that contained this particular part wasn’t available in the United States yet. It wasn’t until early February that these figures were available (scarcely) at my local Toys ‘Я’ Us in Whitestone. I felt up all of the packages, and managed to snag the very last astronaut, thus obtaining that seemingly-insignificant flag for the antenna!

The five astronauts are made from authentic Classic Space minifig bodies, hence the noticeable play wear in their insignia. I did however deviate by giving them helmets with color-coordinated visors, as well as contemporary faces. The instruments were from other Collectible Minifigure sets, with the exception of the drum kit. For the car’s design, I initially wanted to build an accurate replica of a 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air or perhaps a Cadillac Eldorado — but instead, I opted to make an original design of an arbitrary concept. The two-tone color scheme wasn’t intentional: I wanted to make the car solid pink, but had to instead make use with available pieces in the pink/purple color family.

Prototype source image - "Space Truckin'": www.flickr.com/photos/baronvonbrunk/23438359150/

"I Just Want to Have Something to Do" by the Ramones: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRwek-qyyeM

"Negasonic Teenage Warhead" by Monster Magnet: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKj5cJ9_KSg

Governor Kathy Hochul and MTA Chair & CEO Janno Lieber are joined by other officials at a groundbreaking ceremony at the future Parkchester Metro-North station, part of the future Penn Access project, on Friday, December 9, 2022.

(Marc A. Hermann / MTA)

Gretna Green is a parish in the southern council area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on the Scottish side of the border between Scotland and England, defined by the small river Sark, which flows into the nearby Solway Firth. It was historically the first village a traveller would come to in Scotland when following the old coaching route from London to Edinburgh. Gretna Green railway station serves both Gretna Green and Gretna. The Quintinshill rail disaster, the worst rail crash in British history, in which over 220 died, occurred near Gretna Green in 1915.

Gretna Green sits alongside the main town of Gretna. Both are accessed from the A74(M) motorway.

Gretna Green is most famous for weddings. The Clandestine Marriages Act 1753 prevented couples under the age of 21 marrying in England or Wales without their parents' consent. As it was still legal in Scotland to marry without such consent, couples began crossing the border into Scotland to marry.

Gretna's "runaway marriages" began in 1754 when Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act came into force in England. Under the Act, if a parent of a person under the age of 21 objected to the minor's marriage, the parent could legally veto the union. The Act tightened the requirements for marrying in England and Wales but did not apply in Scotland, where it was possible for boys to marry at 14 and girls at 12 with or without parental consent (see Marriage in Scotland). It was, however, only in the 1770s, with the construction of a toll road passing through the hitherto obscure village of Graitney, that Gretna Green became the first easily reachable village over the Scottish border.

Scottish law allowed for "irregular marriages", meaning that if a declaration was made before two witnesses, almost anybody had the authority to conduct the marriage ceremony. The blacksmiths in Gretna became known as "anvil priests", culminating with Richard Rennison, who performed 5,147 ceremonies. The local blacksmith and his anvil became lasting symbols of Gretna Green weddings.

Victorian chronicler Robert Smith Surtees described Gretna Green at length in his 1848 New Monthly Magazine serial, The Richest Commoner in England:

Few of our readers—none we should think of our fair ones—but at some period or other of their lives, have figured to themselves the features of Gretna Green. Few we should think but have pictured to themselves the chaise stained "with the variations of each soil", the galloping bustle of the hurrying postboys, urging their foaming steeds for the last stage that bears them from Carlisle to the border. It is a place whose very name is typical of brightening prospects. The poet sings of the greenest spot on memory's waste, and surely Gretna Green was the particular spot he had under consideration. Gretna Green! The mind pictures a pretty straggling, half Scotch, half English village, with clean white rails, upon a spacious green, and happy rustics in muffin caps, and high cheek bones, looking out for happier couples to congratulate. Then the legend of the blacksmith who forged the links of love, added interest to the place, and invested the whole with fairy feature.

How much better, brighter, more promising, in short, a Gretna Green marriage sounds than a Coldstream or Lamberton toll-bar one! and yet they are equally efficacious. Gretna Green indeed, is as superior in reality as it is in name. It looks as if it were the capital of the God of Love, while the others exhibit the bustling, trading, money-making pursuits of matter-of-fact life. Though we dare say Gretna Green is as unlike what most people fancy, still we question that any have gone away disappointed. It is a pretty south country-looking village, much such as used to exist in the old days of posting and coaching. A hall house converted into an hotel, and the dependents located in the neighbouring cottages. Gretna Hall stands a little apart from the village on the rise of what an Englishman would call a gentle eminence, and a Scotchman a dead flat, and is approached by an avenue of stately trees, while others are plentifully dotted about, one on the east side, bearing a board with the name of the house, the host and high-priest, "Mr. Linton". There is an air of quiet retirement about it that eminently qualifies it for its holy and hospitable purpose.

Since 1929, both parties in Scotland have had to be at least 16 years old, but they still may marry without parental consent. Since April 2022 in England and Wales, the minimum age for marriage is now 18 irrespective of parental consent. Of the three forms of irregular marriage that had existed under Scottish law, all but the last were abolished by the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1939, which came in force from 1 July 1940. Prior to this act, any citizen was able to witness a public promise.

Gretna's two blacksmiths' shops and countless inns and smallholding became the backdrops for tens of thousands of weddings. Today there are several wedding venues in and around Gretna Green, from former churches to purpose-built chapels. The services at all the venues are always performed over an iconic blacksmith's anvil.

In common law, a "Gretna Green marriage" came to mean, in general, a marriage transacted in a jurisdiction that was not the residence of the parties being married, to avoid restrictions or procedures imposed by the parties' home jurisdiction. A notable "Gretna" marriage was the second marriage in 1826 of Edward Gibbon Wakefield to the young heiress Ellen Turner, called the Shrigley abduction (his first marriage was also to an heiress, but the parents wanted to avoid a public scandal). Other towns in which quick, often surreptitious marriages could be obtained came to be known as "Gretna Greens". In the United States, these have included Elkton, Maryland, Reno and, later, Las Vegas.

In 1856 Scottish law was changed due to a measure passed in Parliament by Alexander Colquhoun-Stirling-Murray-Dunlop to require 21 days' residence for marriage, and a further law change was made in 1940. The residential requirement was lifted in 1977. Other Scottish border villages used for such marriages were Coldstream Bridge, Lamberton, Mordington and Paxton Toll, and Portpatrick for people coming from Ireland.

In Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, when Lydia Bennet elopes with George Wickham she leaves behind a note stating that their intended destination is Gretna Green, though later they are found cohabitating in London, having not in fact travelled to Scotland.

In Season 3, Episode 5 of the BBC series You Rang, M'Lord?, two of the characters elope to Gretna Green. This then prompts two other characters to elope in a similar manner. However, they are stopped before they reach Scotland.

In Season 6, Episode 20 of the BBC series Waterloo Road, student Jonah Kirby elopes with teacher and Head of Spanish, Francesca 'Cesca' Montoya, to Gretna Green in order to get married.

In Season 2, Episode 7 of the ITV series Downton Abbey, Lady Sybil Crawley tries to elope to Gretna Green with chauffeur Tom Branson.

In Episode 3 of the ITV series Doctor Thorne, adapted from the Anthony Trollope novel of the same name, the character Frank makes a joke about him and Mary running off to marry in Gretna Green.

In Season 5, Episode 6 of the BBC series Poldark, Geoffrey Charles and Cecily Hanson try to flee to Gretna Green.

In Season 1 of the Netflix series Bridgerton, Colin Bridgerton and Marina Thompson plan to run away to Gretna Green for a quick wedding, though the scheme ultimately falls through.

In Half A Sixpence the two main characters (Arthur Kipps and Ann) marry at Gretna Green.

Gretna Green is revealed to be the hometown of the character James Spooner in Season 6 Episode 1 of the podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno.

Dumfries and Galloway is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the north-east; the English ceremonial county of Cumbria, the Solway Firth, and the Irish Sea to the south, and the North Channel to the west. The administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Dumfries. The second largest town is Stranraer, located 76 miles (122 km) to the west of Dumfries on the North Channel coast.

Dumfries and Galloway corresponds to the historic shires of Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, and Wigtownshire, the last two of which are collectively known as Galloway. The three counties were combined in 1975 to form a single region, with four districts within it. The districts were abolished in 1996, since when Dumfries and Galloway has been a unitary local authority. For lieutenancy purposes, the area is divided into three lieutenancy areas called Dumfries, Wigtown, and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, broadly corresponding to the three historic counties.

The Dumfries and Galloway Council region is composed of counties and their sub-areas. From east to west:

Dumfriesshire County

the sub-area of Dumfriesshire – Annandale

the sub-area of Dumfriesshire – Eskdale

the sub-area of Dumfriesshire – Nithsdale

Kirkcudbrightshire County

the sub-area of Kirkcudbrightshire – Stewartry (archaically, Desnes)

Wigtownshire County

the sub-area of Wigtownshire – Machars (archaically, Farines)--divided into census areas (civil parish areas)

the sub-area of Wigtownshire – Rhins of Galloway divided into census areas (civil parish areas)

The term Dumfries and Galloway has been used since at least the 19th century – by 1911 the three counties had a united sheriffdom under that name. Dumfries and Galloway covers the majority of the western area of the Southern Uplands,[1] it also hosts Scotland's most Southerly point, at the Mull of Galloway in the west of the region.

Water systems and transport routes

The region has a number of south running water systems which break through the Southern Uplands creating the main road, and rail, arteries north–south through the region and breaking the hills up into a number of ranges.

River Cree valley carries the A714 north-westward from Newton Stewart to Girvan and Water of Minnoch valley which lies just west of the Galloway Hills carries a minor road northward through Glentrool village into South Ayrshire. This road leaves the A714 at Bargrennan.

Water of Ken and River Dee form a corridor through the hills called the Glenkens which carries the A713 road from Castle Douglas to Ayr. The Galloway Hills lie to the west of this route through the hills and the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills lie to the east.

River Nith rises between Dalmellington and New Cumnock in Ayrshire and runs east then south down Nithsdale to Dumfries. Nithsdale carries both the A76 road and the rail line from Dumfries to Kilmarnock. It separates the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills from the Lowther Hills which lie east of the Nith.

River Annan combines with Evan Water and the River Clyde to form one of the principal routes into central Scotland from England – through Annandale and Clydesdale – carrying the M74 and the west coast railway line. This gap through the hills separates the Lowthers from the Moffat Hills.

River Esk enters the Solway Firth just south of Gretna having travelled south from Langholm and Eskdalemuir. The A7 travels up Eskdale as far as Langholm and from Langholm carries on up the valley of Ewes Water to Teviothead where it starts to follow the River Teviot to Hawick. Eskdale itself heads north west from Langholm through Bentpath and Eskdalemuir to Ettrick and Selkirk.

The A701 branches off the M74 at Beattock, goes through the town of Moffat, climbs to Annanhead above the Devil's Beef Tub (at the source of the River Annan) before passing the source of the River Tweed and carrying on to Edinburgh. Until fairly recent times the ancient route to Edinburgh travelled right up Annandale to the Beef Tub before climbing steeply to Annanhead. The present road ascends northward on a ridge parallel to Annandale but to the west of it which makes for a much easier ascent.

From Moffat the A708 heads north east along the valley of Moffat Water (Moffatdale) on its way to Selkirk. Moffatdale separates the Moffat hills (to the north) from the Ettrick hills to the south.

There are three National scenic areas within this region.

Nith Estuary: this area follows the River Nith southward from just south of Dumfries into the Solway Firth. Dumfries itself has a rich history going back over 800 years as a Royal Burgh (1186). It is particularly remembered as the place where Robert the Bruce murdered the Red Comyn in 1306 before being crowned King of Scotland – and where Robert Burns spent his last years. His mausoleum is in St Michael's graveyard. Going down the east bank is the village of Glencaple, Caerlaverock Castle, Caerlaverock Wild Fowl Trust, an ancient Roman fort on Ward Law Hill and nearby in Ruthwell is the Ruthwell Cross and the Brow Well where Robert Burns "took the waters" and bathed in the Solway just before his death. On the west bank, there are several walks and cycle routes in Mabie Forest, Kirkconnell Flow for the naturalist, the National Museum of Costume just outside New Abbey and Sweetheart Abbey within the village. Criffel (569 metres) offers the hill walker a reasonably modest walk with views across the Solway to the Lake District. The house of John Paul Jones founder of the American Navy is also open to visitors near Kirkbean.

East Stewartry Coast: this takes in the coast line from Balcary Point eastward across Auchencairn Bay and the Rough Firth past Sandyhills to Mersehead. There are several coastal villages within this area – Auchencairn, Kippford, Colvend, Rockcliffe, and Portling. There is also a round tower at Orchardton and the islands of Hestan Isle and Rough Island can be reached at low tide outside the breeding season for birds. Mersehead is a wildfowl reserve. The area has a number of coastal paths.

Fleet Valley: this area takes in Fleet Bay with its holiday destinations of Auchenlarie, Mossyard Bay, Cardoness, Sandgreen and Carrick Shore. The area also includes the town of Gatehouse of Fleet and the historic villages of Anworth and Girthon – there is a castle at Cardoness in the care of Historic Scotland.

The region is known as a stronghold for several rare and protected species of amphibian, such as the Natterjack toad and the Great crested newt. There are also RSPB Nature Reserves at the Mull of Galloway, Wood of Cree (Galloway Forest Park), Ken Dee Marshes (near Loch Ken) and Mereshead (near Dalbeattie on the Solway Firth)

There are five 7Stanes mountain biking centres in Dumfries and Galloway at Dalbeattie, Mabie, Ae, Glentrool and Kirroughtree. The Sustrans Route 7 long distance cycle route also runs through the region. There is excellent hill walking in the Moffat Hills, Lowther Hills the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills and Galloway Hills. The Southern Upland Way coast to coast walk passes through Dumfries and Galloway and the 53-mile long Annandale Way travels from the Solway Firth into the Moffat hills near the Devil's Beef Tub. There is also fresh water sailing on Castle Loch at Lochmaben and at various places on Loch Ken Loch Ken also offers waterskiing and wakeboarding. The Solway Firth coastline offers fishing, caravaning and camping, walking and sailing.

Dumfries and Galloway is well known for its arts and cultural activities as well as its natural environment.[citation needed]

The major festivals include the region-wide Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival, and Spring Fling Open Studios. Other festivals include Big Burns Supper in Dumfries and the Wigtown Book Festival in Wigtown – Scotland's national book town.

Places of interest

Galloway and List of Category A listed buildings in Dumfries and Galloway

Annandale distillery - Scotch Whisky

Bladnoch Distillery & Visitor Centre - Scotch Whisky

Caerlaverock Castle – Historic Scotland

Caerlaverock NNR (national nature reserve)

WWT Caerlaverock – a reserve of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

Cardoness Castle

Castle of St John, Stranraer

Corsewall Lighthouse, privately owned

Drumlanrig Castle

HM Factory, Gretna, Eastriggs – site of a munitions factory during World War I

Galloway Forest Park, Forestry and Land Scotland

Galloway Hydro Electric Scheme, Scottish Power

Glenlair – home of 19th century physicist James Clerk Maxwell

Glenluce Abbey

Hallhill Covenanter Martyrs Memorial - near Kirkpatrick Irongray Church.

Isle of Whithorn Castle

Kenmure Castle – a seat of the Clan Gordon

Loch Ken

MacLellan's Castle, Kirkcudbright

Motte of Urr

Mull of Galloway – RSPB/ South Rhins Community Development Trust

Ruthwell Cross

Samye Ling Tibetan Monastery

Southern Upland Way – long distance footpath

Sweetheart Abbey, New Abbey

Threave Castle

Prior to 1975, the area that is now Dumfries and Galloway was administered as three separate counties: Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, and Wigtownshire. The counties of Scotland originated as sheriffdoms, which were established from the twelfth century, consisting of a group of parishes over which a sheriff had jurisdiction. An elected county council was established for each county in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889.

The three county councils were abolished in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which established a two-tier structure of local government across Scotland comprising upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. A region called Dumfries and Galloway was created covering the area of the three counties, which were abolished as administrative areas. The region contained four districts:

Annandale and Eskdale, covering the eastern part of Dumfriesshire.

Nithsdale, covering the western part of Dumfriesshire and a small part of Kirkcudbrightshire.

Stewartry, covering most of Kirkcudbrightshire.

Wigtown, covering all of Wigtownshire and a small part of Kirkcudbrightshire.

Further local government reform in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 saw the area's four districts abolished, with the Dumfries and Galloway Council taking over the functions they had previously performed. The council continues to use the areas of the four abolished districts as committee areas. The four former districts are also used to define the area's three lieutenancy areas, with Nithsdale and Annandale and Eskdale together forming the Dumfries lieutenancy, the Stewartry district corresponding to the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright lieutenancy, and the Wigtown district corresponding to the Wigtown lieutenancy.

The council headquarters is at the Council Offices at 113 English Street in Dumfries, which had been built in 1914 as the headquarters for the old Dumfriesshire County Council, previously being called "County Buildings".

The first election to the Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council was held in 1974, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 16 May 1975. A shadow authority was again elected in 1995 ahead of the reforms which came into force on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1975 has been as follows:

Since 2007 the council has been required to designate a leader of the council. The leader may also act as the convener, chairing council meetings, or the council may choose to appoint a different councillor to be convener. Prior to 2007 the council sometimes chose to appoint a leader, and sometimes did not. The leaders since 2007 have been:

Seen on the wall of the toilets of Sydney University Quad.

Access Hollywood interviews with the cast of New Moon today, November 6th 2009.

No Copyright Infringement Intended.

Starcraft paratransit minibus in Ocean Beach, San Diego.

About the Exhibition

Tatzu Nishi (b. 1960, Nagoya, Japan) is known internationally for his temporary works of art that transform our experience of monuments, statues, and architectural details. His installations give the public intimate access to aspects of our urban environment and at the same time radically alter our perceptions. For his first public project in the United States, Nishi has chosen to focus on the historic statue of Christopher Columbus.

The marble statue, which rises to more than 75 feet atop a granite column, was designed by the Italian sculptor Gaetano Russo. It was unveiled in 1892 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas. Despite its prominent public location, the statue itself is little known, visible only as a silhouette against the sky or at a distance from surrounding buildings.

Nishi’s project re-imagines the colossal 13-foot-tall statue of Columbus standing in a fully furnished, modern living room. Featuring tables, chairs, couch, rug, and flat-screen television, the décor reflects the artist’s interpretation of contemporary New York style. He even designed wallpaper inspired by memories of American popular culture, having watched Hollywood movies and television as a child in Japan. Discovering Columbus offers both a unique perspective on a historical monument and a surreal experience of the sculpture in a new context. Allowing us to take a journey up six flights of stairs to a fictional living room, Tatzu Nishi invites us to discover for ourselves where the imagination may lead.

About the Monument

Erected in 1892, this monument was designed by the Italian artist Gaetano Russo to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas. Atop the monument is a larger-than-life marble statue of explorer Christopher Columbus, who surveys the City from his perch some 75 feet above the street. He stands on a granite column featuring bronze ships’ prows and anchors that refer to his famous voyage with the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Supporting the column is a base adorned with bas relief plaques portraying Columbus’s journey in addition to an American bald eagle, and an allegorical figure titled the “Genius of Discovery.” The monument was sponsored by Il Progresso Italo-Americano, a New York City-based Italian-language newspaper.

The monument is located in the center of Columbus Circle at the intersection of Eighth Avenue, Broadway, Central Park South (West 59 Street), and Central Park West. It is the point from which all official distances from New York City are measured.

For more information on these monuments or Central Park, please visit www.nycgovparks.org or www.centralparknyc.org.

Conservation

In conjunction with Tatzu Nishi: Discovering Columbus, Public Art Fund will oversee the conservation of the Columbus Monument in cooperation with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

In 2005 Columbus Circle was improved with the goal of making it a more hospitable destination for visitors. The roadways were reconfigured and the pedestrian walkways and crosswalks enhanced. Surrounding the monument, a new granite plaza was installed with specially designed benches and rimmed with seasonal planting beds, to create an oasis in the middle of the Circle. The interior fountain was removed, permitting seating at the base of the monument, and was replaced with perimeter fountains that soften the sounds of this busy crossroads.

The monument was unveiled in 1892, and in the hundred years since, its marble and original materials have been ravaged by time, weather, and other factors. The current conservation includes cleaning and pointing of granite and marble features, stone repair and consolidation, and bronze surface treatment.

As a non-profit organization, Public Art Fund has fundraised extensively to present this exhibition. Primary support comes from corporations, private individuals, and foundations.

Because the monument to Christopher Columbus is being conserved in conjunction with the exhibition, the Department of Cultural Affairs has provided funds to cover some of the conservation costs.

Lead Sponsors: Time Warner Inc.; Related Companies; Bloomberg

Additional funding is provided by The Bloomingdale’s Fund of the Macy’s Foundation; Charina Endowment Fund; Lauren & Martin Geller; The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation; Kraus Family Foundation; Nancy & Duncan MacMillan; Marc Haas Foundation; David Rockefeller; The Secunda Family Foundation Inc.; Patty & Howard Silverstein; The Silverweed Foundation; Billie Tsien & Tod Williams; Vital Projects Fund, Inc.; Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP; David Wine & Michael P. MacElhenny; The Zegar Family Foundation; and anonymous donors. Supported in part by The ABNY Foundation; Elise & Andrew Brownstein; Mickey Cartin; Joan Ganz Cooney & Peter G. Peterson; Marcia Dunn & Jonathan Sobel Foundation; Wendy Fisher; Linda Lennon & Stuart Baskin; Holly & Jonathan Lipton; The Moore Charitable Foundation; Nancy & Morris W. Offit; Red Crane Foundation; The Rudin Foundation, Inc.; Linda & Andrew Safran; Trump International Hotel and Tower; and Young & Rubicam.

Support for the conservation of the Columbus Monument provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

Construction Partner: Tishman Construction, an AECOM Company

Special thanks to Bloomingdale’s and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams for providing furnishings; Bouchon Bakery and Café for event catering; FLOR, an Interface company, for modular floor covering; Samsung Electronics America for electronics; The Shops at Columbus Circle for hosting our information desk; Tender Creative for design services; Trove for producing custom wall coverings; and Artex Fine Art Services for conservation assistance.

Public Art Fund gratefully acknowledges the partnership of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; First Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris; Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Veronica White; Central Park Conservancy President Douglas Blonsky; Department of Design and Construction Commissioner David J. Burney; and Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin

Dace Praulins

Access is difficult. Not only did the bus required to be jacked up but here I have had to remove an access panel to locate the cab cable run. This will be used to pull the old wiring out and run three new lines. A little clean will take place too.

The Weapons Storage Area (WSA) at the outskirts of Mather Air Force Base (AFB) in Rancho Cordova, California was the munitions storage facility for the United States Air Force, 320th Bombardment Wing.

This facility was built for the secure storage and maintenance of the nuclear and conventional weapons for the B-52 Stratofortress bombers, which were stationed at Mather and were always ready in case of attack by the USSR during the Cold War. The WSA was to supply these bombers with nuclear weapons in a matter of minutes.

On December 5, 1977 a breach of operational security took place at the Mather WSA, in which a reported for Atlanta based Cox Newspapers was able to gain access to the facility by posing as a fencing contractor and examine the safety and security measures in place, talk with security personnel about their roles and responsibilities in case of an attack on the facility and observe and photograph the facility, including entry controls and weapon storage areas. The reporter was also able to obtain blueprints of the WSA.

Later, a series of articles about the Air Force's lack of security were published in the Washington Star newspaper as well as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, much to the consternation of Air Force commanders.

The WSA was controlled and guarded by the 320th Security Police Squadron from February 1, 1963 until September 30, 1989. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the thawing of Cold War hostilities, this facility was decommissioned and abandoned.

Today, the WSA area belongs to the County of Sacramento, the bunkers are shuttered and much of the facility has been destroyed by time and vandalism.

Even with this condition, this facility still serves as a reminder of the Cold War and the readiness of our military to respond with nuclear offensive capability during those tense times.

All photographs appearing on this page are the property of Golden Republic Photography. They are protected by U.S. Copyright Laws, and are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without the written permission of Golden Republic Photography. © 2015-2016 Golden Republic Photography. All Rights Reserved.

The Park of the Alcantara River covers the basin of the Alcantara river located on the northern slopes of the Etna volcano. The source of the river is located in the Nebrodi Mountains near to Floresta. The Alcantara river has a length of around 50 kilometres and, near to the point where it crosses a series of imposing lava flows, the river has created a series of deep gorges characterised by their sheer sides and columns with prismatic bases. The columns surround the walls of the basalt canyon like organ pipes. Inside the gorges small pools and cascades have formed where it is possible to take a swim. Access to the park is located near to Motta Camastra at Fondaco Motta and from this point it is possible to descend into the gorge to the riverbank on foot via a long pathway or, upon payment, via a series of private lifts. In the summer the Circumetnea railway offers a tourist package which includes a guided tour of the Alcantara Gorges. Another feature worthy of a visit are the so-called "Gurne" of small lakes which are formed by the river near to Francavilla di Sicilia.

The Alcantara is a river in Sicily. It has its source on the south side of Monti Nebrodi and its mouth in the Ionian Sea at Capo Schiso in Giardini-Naxos. The river is 52 km long.The name Alcantara is of Arabic origin (al Qanţara - the Bridge) and refers to a bridge from Roman times found by the Arabs.Thucydides called it Akesines Potamos while its Latin names were "Assinus or Assinos" and "Onobala".Cantera was another hydronym adopted by Normans.The Alcantara has its source at an altitude of 1250m in the municipality of Floresta. On its way to the sea, past the north of Mount Etna, it flows through the municipalities of Randazzo, Mojo Alcantara, Francavilla di Sicilia, Motta Camastra, Castiglione di Sicilia, Graniti, Gaggi, Calatabiano, Taormina and Giardini-Naxos.Several thousand years ago, the river bed was blocked by a lava flow from Mount Etna. As the lava was cooled much more quickly by the water than it would have done otherwise, it crystallised in the form of columns. Over the next millennia, the river naturally eroded a channel through these columns, resulting in impressive gorges and ravines such as the "Gole dell'Alcantara".

Il parco fluviale dell'Alcantara è un parco regionale della Sicilia che è stato istituito nel 2001 al posto della preesistente riserva e comprende quella parte di territorio delle province di Messina e Catania che forma il bacino fluviale del fiume Alcantara, ed è situato nel versante nord dell'Etna, allo scopo di proteggere e promuovere il sistema naturale esistente.La sede del Parco si trova a Francavilla di Sicilia, nella struttura costruita negli anni novanta per ospitare un asilo nido e mai usata.Il territorio attraversato dal fiume Alcantara è di particolare importanza in virtù della sua morfologia creata proprio dallo scorrimento delle acque che lo hanno modellato ed inciso creando, nell'attraversamento di un'imponente serie di colate laviche, in località Fondaco Motta (comune di Motta Camastra) delle suggestive e profonde gole a strapiombo, conosciute come le Gole dell'Alcantara. Insieme ad uno spettacolare succedersi di laghetti e di cascate, di acque freddissime, è possibile osservare le stupefacenti strutture laviche colonnari a base prismatica. Disposte a canne d'organo esse decorano per lunghi tratti le pareti di roccia basaltica. Grazie allo studio di tali strutture i geologi hanno potuto elaborare precisi studi sull'evoluzione del vulcano Etna e sulla successione nel tempo delle sue colate più imponenti.Nel 1493 il Bembo descriveva la valle dell'Alcantara come fitta di boschi di platani, querce, roveri ed olmi. Oggi sopravvivono solo rare tracce di Platanus orientalis, mentre predomina la tipica macchia mediterranea con varie specie di ginestra e la Peonia mascula con la sua infiorescenza rossa. Man mano che si scende di quota fitti boschi di nocciolo si alternano agli agrumeti e ai vigneti da cui si ricava un vino scuro e corposo famoso dall'antichità. Ancora boschetti di quercia e pascoli. In primavera le rive sono tutte un'esplosione cromatica: fioriture di viola, papavero, anemone, mirto, rosa canina, ficodindia, terebinto, oleandro e varie specie di orchidee (tra le altre Anacamptis papilionacea, Ophrys tenthredinifera e Orchis purpurea).

L'avifauna della valle dell'Alcantara è assai varia, circa 200 specie, tra le quali vanno menzionate tra i rapaci il falco pellegrino, il gheppio e il lodolaio, estinto come nidificante il Lanario. Dubbia la presenza del piccione selvatico ben distribuita la tortora selvatica e il martin pescatore fino ai migratori della foce. Non raramente si incontrano anche la coturnice, la garzetta e il corvo imperiale. Altri animali presenti sono la volpe, il gatto selvatico, la martora, e il ghiro; ed ancora il riccio, l'istrice, l'arvicola di Savi e la crocidura siciliana. Presso le rive può trovarsi il discoglosso dipinto, anfibio tipico della Sicilia e il colubro leopardino, un bellissimo rettile raro ed innocuo. Tra le specie ittiche troviamo la trota iridea che in questo particolare corso d'acqua riesce a riprodursi, il triotto, l'anguilla e il ghiozzo.

L'Alcantara è un fiume della Sicilia orientale lungo 52 chilometri, tributario del Mar Ionio. Il suo bacino idrico si estende per circa 573 km² nelle province di Messina e di Catania.

L'Alcantara anticamente era chiamato dai Greci Akesines e dai Romani Onobola. Il nome attuale deriva dal termine di origine araba Al qantar (il ponte).Nasce dai Nebrodi a circa 1.400 m dalla Serra Baratta in Provincia di Messina. Dirigendosi impetuoso verso sud entra in Provincia di Catania giungendo in breve nella parte Nord della cittadina di Randazzo: qui muta bruscamente direzione grazie alla "spinta" del suo principale affluente di destra: il fiume Flascio. Rimpinguato notevolmente nella portata dall'affluente l'Alcantara si dirige verso est compiendo praticamente un angolo retto (è da precisare che sulle carte il fiume principale parebbe essere addirittura il Flascio e non l'Alcantara tanto è netto l'angolo di confluenza). Da qui il fiume prende a scorrere tra il massiccio di origine vulcanica del monte Etna a sud e i contrafforti meridionali dei monti Nebrodi e Peloritani a nord, fungendo sino alla foce da confine tra le province di Messina e Catania. Dal comune di Moio Alcantara in poi il fiume inizia a scorrere per lo più incassato, lambendo i centri di Francavilla di Sicilia e Castiglione di Sicilia. Presso Motta Camastra in località Fondaco Motta, dopo aver ricevuto da sinistra il torrente Zavianni, il fiume si inforra in uno spettacolare tratto ingolato costituito da lave basaltiche delle colate dell'Etna, le cosiddette Gole dell'Alcantara, meta assai celebre e frequentata ogni anno da migliaia di turisti. Da Gaggi fino verso Calatabiano il fiume amplia l'alveo per tornare a restringersi in prossimità della foce, nel territorio di Giardini-Naxos, dove solcano le campate del famoso ponte di origine araba Al qantar (il ponte), dal quale derivò il nome di questo meraviglioso corso d'acqua. La foce avviene nel Mar Ionio e precisamente in loc. San Marco.Il letto dell'Alcantara, sotto il profilo vulcanologico, ha visto in epoche preistoriche e protostoriche, il passaggio a più riprese di colate laviche che ne hanno ostruito e modificato il percorso. Il corso d'acqua ha così creato localmente delle caratteristiche forre con pareti alte diverse decine di metri, caratterizzate da strutture a colonne subverticali detta a canna d'organo o leggermente arcuate ad arpa e a ventaglio o disposte orizzontalmente a catasta di legna o, infine, disposte caoticamente e fratturate. Nel comune di Motta Camastra, sul versante Messinese, si trova l'unica grotta di scorrimento vulcanico: difficile da raggiungere ma splendida da ammirare viene chiamata Grotta dei Cento cavalli a testimoniare le sue enormi dimensioni.L'Alcantara è uno dei principali fiumi siciliani per portata media d'acqua in quanto seconda solo a quella del Simeto con circa 9 m³/s. Ove però si considerasse la regolarità di regime delle portate il fiume è sicuramente il primo della regione in quanto assai più regolare rispetto al Simeto. Ciò grazie alla collocazione dell'alto bacino che si estende in una delle aree più piovose della Sicilia unitamente all'approvvigionamento dato dai nevai dell'Etna e al carsismo dei terreni di origine lavica del medio bacino, spiega la sua cospicua portata annua e la presenza di acque anche nel periodo estivo. Non mancano in ogni caso piene eccezionali dovute a piogge insistenti, come avvenuto recentemente nel dicembre 2003, durante le quali l'Alcantara può mostrare un'impressionante irruenza soprattutto nel tratto ingolato.

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This is a photograph from the Castlepollard 5KM Road Race and Fun Run 2014 which was held in Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath, Ireland on Wednesday 13th August 2014 at 20:00. The race is hosted by North Westmeath Athletic Club. The race has grown in stature and popularity over the years and is now one of the most well attended road races in the midlands. The race offers prizes in all categories. Castlepollard 5KM Road Race attempts to support young runners and walkers by organising a range of underage races around the town square before the adult race at 20:00. Profits from the race go towards grassroots athletics in the region - North Westmeath Athletics, Schools Cross Country, and local community games.

Reading on a Smartphone or tablet? Don't forget to scroll down further to read more about this race and see important Internet links to other information about the race! You can also find out how to access and download these photographs.

The Castlepollard 5KM can be considered as the final major race in summer road racing in the midlands as with the fading light of the late summer comes less opportunities to hold races in the evening time. Castlepollard is a small town located in North County Westmeath amongst the lakes of Lough Lene and Lough Derravagh. One of the enduring symbols of the Castlepollard 5KM is the tireless work of Andy MacEoin of North Westmeath AC who has been a visitor to almost every road race in the Midlands and beyond over the past number of months to publicize the event. Many of the participants tonight will have seen Andy's strategically placed advertising signs around other road race routes. Certainly this work, and that of many other members of North Westmeath AC, has paid off well.

The race begins near the center of the town square and proceeds directly out the R395 towards Coole and Edgeworthstown. The first KM is flat and quick allowing the field to spread out. The race then enters the Tullynally Castle estate and proceeds up the tree-lined avenue. The gardens, like the castle are on a grand scale, taking in nearly 12 acres. This allows the race to make a big loop of the gardens with a quick downhill stretch followed by a sharp climb before the race rejoins it's outgoing path for the final 1.5KM of the race. The final 1100M from the gate of the Castle grounds to the finish is as the first - fast and flat and allows for a great finish passing the GAA grounds with finish line just outside the local Fire Station.

One of the show pieces of the race landscape is Tullynally Castle. The name Tullynally is an adaption of 'Tulaigh an Eallaigh' – the Hill of the Swan. The hill overlooks Lough Derravaragh, the legendary lake of the Children of Lir who were turned into swans. Tullynally Castle is still a family home to this day. Details of visitor times and other information is available on the links below.

This year over 450 participants took part in the race. This represented another great attendance. Last year's Castlepollard 5KM set the bar very high for future races with a record participation of just under 470 on the night. The race in 2013 showed an increase of over 100 participants from the previous record of 366 set at the 2012 event. It goes without saying that the Castlepollard 5KM has become one of the "must do" road race events in the midlands. Everything that is good about club road racing in Ireland can be found here.

We have a large set of photographs from the event today. The full set is accessible at: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/14714159280/ - They were taken at the start and finish of the event.

2014 Castlepollard 5KM Results: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=2115

2013 Castlepollard 5KM Results: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=1444

2012 Castlepollard 5KM Results: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=960

Our Flickr Photographs from Castlepollard 5KM 2013: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157645912529346/

Our Flickr Photographs from Castlepollard 5KM 2011: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157627404031092/

Our Flickr Photographs from Castlepollard 5KM 2010: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157624655001130/

Our Flickr Photographs from Castlepollard 5KM 2009: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157622023529006/

Timing and event management was provided by Precision Timing. Results are available on their website at www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=2100 with additional material available on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/davidprecisiontiming?fref=ts) See their promotional video on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-7_TUVwJ6Q

Reading on a Smartphone or tablet? Don't forget to scroll down further to read more about this race and see important Internet links to other information about the race! You can also find out how to access and download these photographs.

Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?

Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.

We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. Our only "cost" is our request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us.

This also extends the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.

I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?

You can download the photographic image here direct to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. However - look for a symbol with three dots 'ooo' or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.

I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?

If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.

Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.

In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting does take a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.

I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?

Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.

We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs

We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?

The explaination is very simple.

Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.

ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.

Creative Commons aims to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/

I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?

As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:

     ►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera

     ►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set

     ►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone

     ►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!

You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.

Don't like your photograph here?

That's OK! We understand!

If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.

I want to tell people about these great photographs!

Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets

Wrightsville Beach provides numerous public accesses to the beach; however, a visitor has to pay to park a car. it's tough walking in deep sand but it sure gives my calves and thighs a workout. The ocean is on other side of the top of the dune.

The cabin is wide enough to allow for play and the best access is through the removable roof (which also contains the 9V lighting)

Warren County

Brant Lake Boat Launch Site

Waterbody: Brant Lake

Directions: On Route 8, 1 mile northeast of Hamlet of Brant Lake.

Site Details: Hard surface ramp, parking for 11 cars and trailers

Accessibility Details: Designated accessible parking, accessible privy and path to loading dock

Access control security gates provide another layer of protection.

Visit the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's website at www.nrc.gov/.

For those who wish to leave a comment or feedback please send via email to opa.resource@nrc.gov.

Photo Usage Guidelines: www.flickr.com/people/nrcgov/

Privacy Policy: www.nrc.gov/site-help/privacy.html

Access control security hand scanner provides another layer of protection at a nuclear facility.

Visit the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's website at www.nrc.gov/.

For those who wish to leave a comment or feedback please send via email to opa.resource@nrc.gov.

Photo Usage Guidelines: www.flickr.com/people/nrcgov/

Privacy Policy: www.nrc.gov/site-help/privacy.html

This is the first issue of "Random Access." I made this zine in high school with my friend Ludwig using his father's office copier. We only printed 50 issues and this may be the last one in existence. Most of the issues were confiscated and an issue was sent home to my parents. Ludwig went by the name "Mighty Mighty Quinn" and I went by "Harlequin" so I have no idea how they traced it back to us :p

Visit this location at Shazzam - Ladies Club & All Access in Second Life

Romain S. Donadio