A new addition, I was finally able to find a Yamaha B-6 amp (the truncated pyramid on the second from bottom shelf) which I have wanted for a very long time (I know, I am a 'collector' :-)). At any rate except for dealing with an apparent problem in my power distributor this system is done. Very happy with the sound right out of the box, we'll see if it changes any with some time in.

Aruba, a small island in the Dutch Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela, has a dry climate, sunny beaches and gentle waves. Constant winds produce a cool breeze and tilt trees (like the famous divi-divi) to the southwest. The European influence appears in the architecture, characterized by the Dutch gables painted in tropical pastel tones. This is also evident in the coexistence of the local language, Papiamento, with English, Dutch and Spanish. The country does not have fresh water but it has desalinated water of excellent quality and you can safely drink tap water. The small country is a major producer and exporter of aloe vera (aloe vera) and is strong in the financial and fishing sectors, in addition to logistical services in the oil sector. It is a small island with a lot of sun and wind all the time, which favors the country's main economic activity, tourism. Its area is 179 km2 (69.1 mi2) and is densely populated by approximately 110,000 inhabitants (2020 Census) and has a per capita income of just over US$25,000 p.a. The country's capital is Oranjestad.

 

Aruba, pequena ilha do Caribe holandês ao largo da costa da Venezuela, tem clima seco, praias ensolaradas e ondas suaves. Ventos constantes produzem uma brisa fresca e inclinam as árvores (como a famosa divi-divi) para o sudoeste. A influência europeia aparece na arquitetura, caracterizada pelas empenas holandesas pintadas em tons pastel tropicais. Isso também fica evidente na convivência do idioma local, o papiamento, com o inglês, o holandês e o espanhol. O país não tem água doce mas tem água dessalinizada de ótima qualidade e vc pode tomar agua da torneira com segurança. O pequeno país é um grande produtor e exportador de aloé vera (babosa) e é forte no setor financeiro e de pesca além de serviços logísticos na área petroleira. É uma pequena ilha com muito sol e vento o ando todo o que favorece a principal atividade econômica do país, o turismo. Sua área é de 179 km2 (69.1 mi2) e é densamente povoada por aproximadamente 110.000 habitantes (Censo de 2020) e tem uma renda per capita de pouco mais de US$ 25,000 a.a. A capital do país é Oranjestad.

 

Aruba, een klein eiland in de Nederlandse Caraïben voor de kust van Venezuela, heeft een droog klimaat, zonnige stranden en zachte golven. Constante winden produceren een koel briesje en kantelen bomen (zoals de beroemde divi-divi) naar het zuidwesten. De Europese invloed komt terug in de architectuur, gekenmerkt door de Hollandse gevels geschilderd in tropische pasteltinten. Dit blijkt ook uit het naast elkaar bestaan van de lokale taal, Papiamento, met Engels, Nederlands en Spaans. Het land heeft geen zoet water maar wel ontzilt water van uitstekende kwaliteit en je kunt er veilig kraanwater drinken. Het kleine land is een belangrijke producent en exporteur van aloë vera (aloë vera) en is sterk in de financiële en visserijsector, naast de logistieke dienstverlening in de oliesector. Het is een klein eiland met de hele tijd veel zon en wind, wat de belangrijkste economische activiteit van het land, het toerisme, bevordert. Het gebied is 179 km2 (69,1 mi2) en is dichtbevolkt met ongeveer 110.000 inwoners (telling van 2020) en heeft een inkomen per hoofd van de bevolking van iets meer dan 25.000 dollar per jaar. De hoofdstad van het land is Oranjestad.

 

Aruba, una piccola isola dei Caraibi olandesi al largo della costa del Venezuela, ha un clima secco, spiagge assolate e onde dolci. I venti costanti producono una brezza fresca e inclinano gli alberi (come i famosi divi-divi) a sud-ovest. L'influenza europea appare nell'architettura, caratterizzata dai timpani olandesi dipinti in toni pastello tropicali. Ciò è evidente anche nella coesistenza della lingua locale, il papiamento, con l'inglese, l'olandese e lo spagnolo. Il paese non ha acqua dolce ma ha acqua desalinizzata di ottima qualità e si può bere tranquillamente l'acqua del rubinetto. Il piccolo paese è un importante produttore ed esportatore di aloe vera (aloe vera) ed è forte nei settori finanziario e della pesca, oltre ai servizi logistici nel settore petrolifero. È una piccola isola con tanto sole e vento tutto il tempo, il che favorisce la principale attività economica del paese, il turismo. La sua area è di 179 km2 (69,1 mi2) ed è densamente popolata da circa 110.000 abitanti (censimento 2020) e ha un reddito pro capite di poco superiore a US $ 25.000 all'anno. La capitale del paese è Oranjestad.

 

Aruba, una pequeña isla en el Caribe holandés frente a la costa de Venezuela, tiene un clima seco, playas soleadas y olas suaves. Los vientos constantes producen una brisa fresca e inclinan los árboles (como el famoso divi-divi) hacia el suroeste. La influencia europea aparece en la arquitectura, caracterizada por los frontones holandeses pintados en tonos pastel tropicales. Esto también es evidente en la coexistencia del idioma local, el papiamento, con el inglés, el holandés y el español. El país no tiene agua dulce pero tiene agua desalada de excelente calidad y se puede beber agua del grifo sin peligro. El pequeño país es un importante productor y exportador de aloe vera (sábila) y es fuerte en los sectores financiero y pesquero, además de los servicios logísticos en el sector petrolero. Es una isla pequeña con mucho sol y viento todo el tiempo, lo que favorece la principal actividad económica del país, el turismo. Su área es de 179 km2 (69.1 mi2) y está densamente poblada por aproximadamente 110,000 habitantes (Censo 2020) y tiene un ingreso per cápita de poco más de US$25,000 p.a. La capital del país es Oranjestad.

 

Aruba, eine kleine Insel in der niederländischen Karibik vor der Küste Venezuelas, hat ein trockenes Klima, sonnige Strände und sanfte Wellen. Konstante Winde erzeugen eine kühle Brise und neigen Bäume (wie das berühmte Divi-Divi) nach Südwesten. Der europäische Einfluss zeigt sich in der Architektur, die durch die in tropischen Pastelltönen gestrichenen holländischen Giebel gekennzeichnet ist. Dies zeigt sich auch in der Koexistenz der lokalen Sprache Papiamento mit Englisch, Niederländisch und Spanisch. Das Land hat kein Süßwasser, aber entsalztes Wasser von ausgezeichneter Qualität und Leitungswasser kann bedenkenlos getrunken werden. Das kleine Land ist ein bedeutender Produzent und Exporteur von Aloe Vera (Aloe Vera) und ist neben logistischen Dienstleistungen im Ölsektor stark im Finanz- und Fischereisektor. Es ist eine kleine Insel mit viel Sonne und Wind, was die wichtigste wirtschaftliche Aktivität des Landes, den Tourismus, begünstigt. Seine Fläche beträgt 179 km2 (69,1 mi2) und ist mit etwa 110.000 Einwohnern (Volkszählung 2020) dicht besiedelt und hat ein Pro-Kopf-Einkommen von knapp über 25.000 US-Dollar pro Jahr. Die Hauptstadt des Landes ist Oranjestad.

 

Aruba, une petite île des Caraïbes néerlandaises au large des côtes du Venezuela, a un climat sec, des plages ensoleillées et des vagues douces. Des vents constants produisent une brise fraîche et inclinent les arbres (comme le fameux divi-divi) vers le sud-ouest. L'influence européenne apparaît dans l'architecture, caractérisée par les pignons hollandais peints dans des tons pastel tropicaux. Cela est également évident dans la coexistence de la langue locale, le papiamento, avec l'anglais, le néerlandais et l'espagnol. Le pays ne dispose pas d'eau douce mais il dispose d'une eau dessalée d'excellente qualité et vous pouvez boire l'eau du robinet en toute sécurité. Le petit pays est un important producteur et exportateur d'aloe vera (aloe vera) et est fort dans les secteurs financier et de la pêche, en plus des services logistiques dans le secteur pétrolier. C'est une petite île avec beaucoup de soleil et de vent tout le temps, ce qui favorise la principale activité économique du pays, le tourisme. Sa superficie est de 179 km2 (69,1 mi2) et est densément peuplée d'environ 110 000 habitants (recensement de 2020) et a un revenu par habitant d'un peu plus de 25 000 $ US par an. La capitale du pays est Oranjestad.

 

تتمتع أروبا ، وهي جزيرة صغيرة في منطقة البحر الكاريبي الهولندية قبالة سواحل فنزويلا ، بمناخ جاف وشواطئ مشمسة وأمواج لطيفة. تنتج الرياح المستمرة نسيمًا باردًا وتميل الأشجار (مثل ديفي ديفي الشهير) إلى الجنوب الغربي. يظهر التأثير الأوروبي في العمارة التي تتميز بالجملونات الهولندية المطلية بدرجات ألوان الباستيل الاستوائية. وهذا واضح أيضًا في تعايش اللغة المحلية ، البابيامينتو ، مع الإنجليزية والهولندية والإسبانية. لا يوجد في البلاد مياه عذبة ولكنها تحتوي على مياه محلاة بجودة ممتازة ويمكنك شرب مياه الصنبور بأمان. تعد الدولة الصغيرة منتجًا ومصدرًا رئيسيًا للصبار (الألوة فيرا) وهي قوية في قطاعي المال وصيد الأسماك ، بالإضافة إلى الخدمات اللوجستية في قطاع النفط. إنها جزيرة صغيرة بها الكثير من الشمس والرياح طوال الوقت ، مما يفضل النشاط الاقتصادي الرئيسي للبلاد ، وهو السياحة. تبلغ مساحتها 179 كيلومترًا مربعًا (69.1 ميل 2) وهي مكتظة بالسكان بحوالي 110.000 نسمة (تعداد 2020) ويبلغ دخل الفرد فيها أكثر من 25000 دولار أمريكي بقليل. عاصمة البلاد هي أورانجيستاد.

 

ベネズエラ沖のオランダのカリブ海にある小さな島、アルバは、乾燥した気候、太陽が降り注ぐビーチ、穏やかな波に恵まれています。絶え間ない風が涼しい風を生み出し、木々を（有名なディビディビのように）南西に傾けます。ヨーロッパの影響は、熱帯のパステル トーンで描かれたオランダの切妻を特徴とする建築に現れます。これは、地元の言語であるパピアメント語と、英語、オランダ語、スペイン語が共存していることにも明らかです。この国には真水はありませんが、優れた品質の淡水化された水があり、水道水を安全に飲むことができます。この小さな国は、アロエベラ (アロエベラ) の主要な生産国および輸出国であり、石油部門の物流サービスに加えて、金融および漁業部門に強みを持っています。それは国の主要な経済活動である観光に有利な、常に太陽と風がたくさんある小さな島です。その面積は 179 km2 (69.1 mi2) で、約 110,000 人の住民 (2020 年の国勢調査) が密集しており、1 人あたりの収入は年間 25,000 米ドル強です。国の首都はオラニエスタッドです。

Another addition to my western diorama.

 

Many thanks for the help to Andelko, Franko and Mrva!

 

Check out my other western creations.

Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., and with roughly 35,000 people in just under 2 square miles (5 km2), it is also one of the most densely populated.

 

As a geographic feature, Capitol Hill rises near the center of the District of Columbia and extends eastward. Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant, as he began to develop his plan for the new federal capital city in 1791, chose to locate the "Congress House" (the Capitol building) on the crest of the hill at a site that he characterized as a "pedestal waiting for a monument". The Capitol building has been the home of the Congress of the United States and the workplace of many residents of the Capitol Hill neighborhood since 1800.

 

The Capitol Hill neighborhood today straddles two quadrants of the city, Southeast and Northeast. A large portion of the neighborhood is now designated as the Capitol Hill Historic District.

 

The name Capitol Hill is often used to refer to both the historic district and to the larger neighborhood around it. To the east of Capitol Hill lies the Anacostia River, to the north is the H Street corridor, to the south are the Southeast/Southwest Freeway and the Washington Navy Yard, and to the west are the National Mall and the city's central business district.

 

The Capitol building is surrounded by the Capitol Hill Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The Capitol Hill Historic District was expanded in 2015 to the north to include the blocks bordered by 2nd Street, F Street, 4th Street, and just south of H Street, NE, collectively known as the Swampoodle Addition.

 

Capitol Hill's landmarks include not only the United States Capitol, but also the Senate and House office buildings, the Supreme Court building, the Library of Congress, the Marine Barracks, the Washington Navy Yard, and Congressional Cemetery.

 

It is, however, largely a residential neighborhood composed predominantly of rowhouses of different stylistic varieties and periods. Side by side exist early 19th century manor houses, Federal townhouses, small frame dwellings, ornate Italianate bracketed houses, and the late 19th century press brick rowhouses with their often whimsical decorative elements combining Richardsonian Romanesque, Queen Anne, and Eastlakian motifs. In the 1990s, gentrification and the booming economy of the District of Columbia meant that the neighborhood's non-historic and obsolete buildings began to be replaced. New buildings, which have to comply with height limits and other restrictions, are often done in a decorative modernist style, many by Amy Weinstein, whose designs feature polychrome brickwork set in patterned relief.

 

There are multiple schools within the boundaries, including Brent Elementary School, the main primary school, St. Peter's School on Capitol Hill, the only Catholic school, Capitol Hill Day School, Stuart-Hobson Middle School, Elliot-Hine Jr.High School, Eastern High School and many others. Compared to other DC neighborhoods, it has an abnormally large number of schools.

 

The main non-residential corridor of Capitol Hill is Pennsylvania Avenue, a lively commercial street with shops, restaurants and bars. Eastern Market is an 1873 public market on 7th Street SE, where vendors sell fresh meat and produce in indoor stalls and at outdoor farmers' stands. It is also the site of an outdoor flea market every weekend. After a major fire gutted the main market building on April 30, 2007, it underwent restoration and reopened on June 26, 2009. One of the most beloved stores, Fragers Hardware, has been based on Pennsylvania Avenue for nearly 100 years before it suffered a fire similar in destructiveness to the Eastern Market fire. It has successfully rebuilt on the same location.

 

Barracks Row (8th Street SE), so called because of its proximity to the U.S. Marine Barracks, is one of the city's oldest commercial corridors. It dates to the late 18th century and has recently been revitalized.

 

A new addition to Capitol Hill is a community center named Hill Center. Hill Center is housed in the restored Old Naval Hospital at the corner of 9th and Pennsylvania Avenue SE. The rehabilitation of the Old Naval Hospital combines the restoration of a historically significant landmark with the cutting edge technologies of modern “green” architecture. Hill Center is a vibrant new home for cultural, educational, and civic life on Capitol Hill.

 

from Wikipedia

Taken from the old Forth road bridge, with the timely addition of a fast moving boat.

This is Roofus. He likes to swim, and to eat, and make bubbles at the top of his tank. If anyone wants me to give Roofus a treat for them, just let me know... I am sure that Rofus would appreciate it!

Brugge

Swords Express are busy adding to their fleet, Plaxton/Vovlo 11D56402 is seen on its 507 service to Swords Manor via Mountgorry.

Between Lipsia and lotus I added labels for concepts that cannot be spelled

(Latin - German dictionary, tea tags, gesso, ink)

 

Wörterbuch-Ergänzungen: Zwischen Lipsia und lotos habe ich einige nicht mit Buchstaben ausdrückbare Begriffe eingefügt.

(Latein-Deutsch-Wörterbuch, Tee-Anhänger, Gesso, Tusche)

Goldenrods are a beautiful addition to a fall garden. They are especially effective when placed next to purple asters and other lavender and purple colored blooms such as Blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum).

 

There are many species as well as cultivars that will beautify a home garden as well as support pollinators when other plants are beginning to senesce. The one important trait is a clumping growth habit and low stature. Avoid ones that proliferate by runners and have a weedy appearance.

 

Here is a shot list of garden-worthy species:

 

Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), Gray Goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis), Early Goldenrod (Solidago juncea), Anise-scented Goldenrod (Solidago odora), Silverrod (Solidago bi-color), and Seaside Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens). All do well in full sun and the last one is tolerant of salt spray.

 

There are also a couple of species for shade: Blue-stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago caesia) and Zig-zag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis).

 

Of the cultivated ones 'Fireworks' seems very polupar, but it is a taller species. This cultivar has a wispy appearance and a very appealing winter presence.

 

Of the ones to entirely avoid in the garden are

Grass-leaved Goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia), Giant Goldenrod (Solidago gigantea) and Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis).

They are tall, weedy and too aggressive spreading by runners and will overtake a garden planting. They are true to the saying: First year they sleep, second year they creep and third year they leap. Not a good scenario.

 

Happy planting!

 

This photo taken at a pollinator garden in Anne Arundel County, Maryland

   

This is a relatively recent addition to the morning chapel, the Rex Whistler Memorial, which was engraved by his brother Laurence Whistler and given to the cathedral in 2000. Rex Whistler, whose family lived in the Close, was killed in Normandy in 1944. The engraved glass prism is 12 inches high and revolves in a blue-bronze lantern. Half the building is engraved up to the centre of the tower, coinciding with one corner of the prism so that as the prism revolves the image is doubled and suggests the whole Cathedral. The nave and transepts, trees and the Walton Canonry in the Close (where the brothers lived) and a distant view of Old Sarum appear and disappear. The blank prism was given by Stephen Steuben of New York, and the bronze lantern by the Welsh Guards. It was cast by Richard Cowdy in 1987. I don't really understand how it does it, but if you click on the photo you can see inside and outside the cathedral at the same time.

Atkinson Mk I Silver Knight 4x2 tractor unit Reg No ARN 722C was a new addition to the Walter Edmundson fleet in 1965.

 

Powered by a Gardner 150 engine it is pictured here when brand new parked just off Lodge Street Preston while coupled to a tandem axle trailer with a loaded Lancashire Flat on board.

 

A brief history of Walter Edmundson

 

Walter Edmundson started trading in Preston as a timber merchant during the 1920's.

 

His first venture into Road Haulage was with the acquisition of Mitchell Bros. of Darwen, but this was short-lived, due to the Nationalisation of Road Haulage in 1948.

 

In 1955, with John Edmundson now having joined his father in the business, they re-entered the road haulage industry in a very small way and the company purchased an operating base in Preston.

 

Preston Dock was at its peak of success at this period in time, and Walter Edmundson Limited became Preston agents for Companies servicing Northern and Southern Ireland with the handling of ships from Larne, Belfast, Dublin & Waterford.

 

Edmundson's represented in Preston companies such as Northern Ireland Eggs Ltd., Ulster Ferry Transport Ltd and Jenkinson & Archer Ltd.,(J.&A. Line of Dublin) who later became part of the George Bell (Bell-Line) empire.

 

Preston dock, at this time was said to be busier than both Liverpool & Manchester ports.

 

By the mid 1960's there came a call for bigger and faster vessels to serve Ireland, and preferably from non-tidal ports and as a result Preston lost out to Liverpool & Fleetwood, and the ever increasing popularity of the Scottish ports at the top end of the M6.

 

During the late 1960's the Isle of man became embraced in this new method of handling cargo so Ronagency (Shipping) Ltd., Walter Edmundson Ltd and a few small private investors formed Manx Line, and purchased M.V Monte Castillo from Navier Aznar of Spain.

 

She was refitted in Leith emerging as the Manx Viking and this seaborne operation became embroiled in the massive organisation that was known as Sealink.

 

Sealink eventually acquired Manx Line, itself becoming a part of Sea Containers empire shortly afterwards.

 

Sealink was later privatised, and merged with Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. Ltd.

 

Edmundson Haulage owned by Manx Independent Carriers of Isle of Man are now based at 8 Prospect Place, Prescot Road, East Pimbo Estate, Skelmersdale.

 

In January 2025 Trade Distribution (TDL) purchased fellow Isle of Man haulier Manx Independent Carriers and it's associates after the business received “serious interest” from UK operators.

 

At the time Mark Crowther, chairman of Heron & Brearley Group (TDL) said “Above all, we are delighted that Manx Independent Carriers will remain under Manx ownership".

 

Operating a large fleet of vehicles more details can be found on the Edmundson Ronagency website

Seen today covering emergency Rail replacement

Leica M9, Noctilux f/1 v4

... while I am so happy with my latest addition - the M6 and 35mm Summicron - I just discovered a crack on my M9's sensor (notice the line on the top left corner). Arrrgggh!!!

The Royal Air Force unveiled impressive images of a unique aircraft formation to celebrate the forty years of service of the Panavia "Tornado GR4" attack jet.

  

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The Panavia "Tornado" is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom, and West Germany. There are three primary "Tornado" variants: the "Tornado IDS" (interdictor/strike) fighter-bomber, the suppression of enemy air defences "Tornado ECR" (electronic combat/reconnaissance) and the "Tornado ADV" (air defence variant) interceptor aircraft.

 

The "Tornado" was developed and built by Panavia Aircraft GmbH, a tri-national consortium consisting of British Aerospace (previously British Aircraft Corporation), MBB of West Germany, and Aeritalia of Italy. It first flew on 14 August 1974 and was introduced into service in 1979–1980. Due to its multirole design, it was able to replace several different fleets of aircraft in the adopting air forces. The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) became the only export operator of the "Tornado" in addition to the three original partner nations. A tri-nation training and evaluation unit operating from RAF Cottesmore, the Tri-National "Tornado" Training Establishment, maintained a level of international co-operation beyond the production stage.

 

The "Tornado" was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), Italian Air Force, and RSAF during the Gulf War of 1991, in which the "Tornado" conducted many low-altitude penetrating strike missions. The "Tornado's" of various services were also used in conflicts in the former Yugoslavia during the Bosnian War and Kosovo War, the Iraq War, Libya during the Libyan civil war, as well as smaller roles in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria. Including all variants, 992 aircraft were built.

  

Development

 

Origins

 

During the 1960s, aeronautical designers looked to variable-geometry wing designs to gain the manoeuvrability and efficient cruise of straight wings with the speed of swept wing designs. The United Kingdom had cancelled the procurement of the TSR-2 and subsequent F-111K aircraft, and was still looking for a replacement for its Avro "Vulcan" and Blackburn "Buccaneer" strike aircraft. Britain and France had initiated the AFVG (Anglo French Variable Geometry) project in 1965, but this had ended with French withdrawal in 1967. Britain continued to develop a variable-geometry aircraft similar to the proposed AFVG, and sought new partners to achieve this. West German EWR had been developing the swing-wing EWR-Fairchild-Hiller "A400 AVS (Advanced Vertical Strike) (which has a similar configuration to the "Tornado").

 

In 1968, West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Canada formed a working group to examine replacements for the Lockheed F-104 "Starfighter", initially called the Multi Role Aircraft (MRA), later renamed as the Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA). The participating nations all had ageing fleets that required replacing; but, as the requirements were so diverse, it was decided to develop a single aircraft that could perform a variety of missions that were previously undertaken by a fleet of different aircraft. Britain joined the MRCA group in 1968, represented by Air Vice-Marshal Michael Giddings, and a memorandum of agreement was drafted between Britain, West Germany, and Italy in May 1969.

 

By the end of 1968, the prospective purchases from the six countries amounted to 1,500 aircraft. Canada and Belgium had departed before any long-term commitments had been made to the programme; Canada had found the project politically unpalatable; there was a perception in political circles that much of the manufacturing and specifications were focused on Western Europe. France had made a favorable offer to Belgium on the Dassault "Mirage 5", which created doubt as to whether the MRCA would be worthwhile from Belgium's operational perspective.

 

Panavia Aircraft GmbH

 

On 26 March 1969, four partner nations – United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, agreed to form a multinational company, Panavia Aircraft GmbH, to develop and manufacture the MRCA. The project's aim was to produce an aircraft capable of undertaking missions in the tactical strike, reconnaissance, air defence, and maritime roles; thus allowing the MRCA to replace several different aircraft then in use by the partner nations. Various concepts, including alternative fixed-wing and single-engine designs, were studied while defining the aircraft. The Netherlands pulled out of the project in 1970, citing that the aircraft was too complicated and technical for the RNLAF's preferences, which had sought a simpler aircraft with outstanding manoeuvrability. An additional blow was struck by the German requirement reduced from an initial 600 aircraft to 324 in 1972. It has been suggested that Germany deliberately placed an unrealistically high initial order to secure the company headquarters and initial test flight in Germany rather than the UK, so as to have a bigger design influence.

 

When the agreement was finalised, the United Kingdom and West Germany each had a 42.5% stake of the workload, with the remaining 15% going to Italy; this division of the production work was heavily influenced by international political bargaining. The front fuselage and tail assembly was assigned to BAC (now BAE Systems) in the United Kingdom; the centre fuselage to MBB (now EADS) in West Germany; and the wings to Aeritalia (now Alenia Aeronautica) in Italy. Similarly, tri-national worksharing was used for engines, general and avionic equipment. A separate multinational company, Turbo-Union, was formed in June 1970 to develop and build the RB199 engines for the aircraft, with ownership similarly split 40% Rolls-Royce, 40% MTU, and 20% FIAT.

 

At the conclusion of the project definition phase in May 1970, the concepts were reduced to two designs; a single seat Panavia 100 which West Germany initially preferred, and the twin-seat Panavia 200 which the RAF preferred (this would become the "Tornado"). The aircraft was briefly called the Panavia "Panther", and the project soon coalesced towards the two-seat option. In September 1971, the three governments signed an Intention to Proceed (ITP) document, at which point the aircraft was intended solely for the low-level strike mission, where it was viewed as a viable threat to Soviet defences in that role. It was at this point that Britain's Chief of the Defence Staff announced "two-thirds of the fighting front line will be composed of this single, basic aircraft type".

  

Prototypes and testing

 

The first of more than a dozen "Tornado" prototypes took flight on 14 August 1974 at Manching, Germany; the pilot, Paul Millett described his experience: "Aircraft handling was delightful... the actual flight went so smoothly that I did begin to wonder whether this was not yet another simulation". Flight testing led to the need for minor modifications. Airflow disturbances were responded to by re-profiling the engine intakes and the fuselage to minimise surging and buffeting experienced at supersonic speeds.

 

According to Jim Quinn, programmer of the "Tornado" development simulation software and engineer on the "Tornado" engine and engine controls, the prototype was safely capable of reaching supercruise, but the engines had severe safety issues at high altitude while trying to decelerate. The triple shaft engine, designed for maximum power at low altitude, resulted in severe vibrations while attempting to decelerate at high altitude. At high altitude and low turbine speed the compressor did not provide enough pressure to hold back the combustion pressure and would result in a violent vibration as the combustion pressure backfired into the intake. To avoid this effect the engine controls would automatically increase the minimum idle setting as altitude increased, until at very high altitudes the idle setting was so high, however, that it was close to maximum dry thrust. This resulted in one of the test aircraft being stuck in a mach 1.2 supercruise at high altitude and having to reduce speed by turning the aircraft, because the idle setting at that altitude was so high that the aircraft could not decelerate.

 

The British Ministry of Supply ordered Chief Engineer Ted Talbot from the Concorde development team to provide intake design assistance to the "Tornado" development team in order to overcome these issues, which they hesitantly agreed to after noting that the "Concorde" intake data had apparently already been leaked to the Soviet Union. The German engineers working on the "Tornado" intake were unable to produce a functional "Concorde" style intake despite having data from the "Concorde" team. To make the problem worse, their management team incorrectly filed a patent on the "Concorde" design, and then tried to sue the British engineers who had provided the design to them. The German lawyers realized that the British had provided the designs to the German team, and requested further information to help their engineers overcome the problems with the "Tornado" intake, but Chief Engineer Talbot refused. According to Talbot, the "Concorde" engineers had determined the issue with the "Tornado" intake was that the engine did not respond to unexpected changes in the intake position, and therefore the engine was running at the wrong setting for a given position of the intake ramps. This was because the "Concorde" had similar issues due to control pressure not being high enough to maintain proper angles of the intake ramps. Aerodynamic forces could force the intakes into the improper position, and so they should have the ability to control the engines if this occurs. The "Tornado" intake system did not allow for this. Due to the behaviour of the German management team, the British engineers declined to share this information, and so the "Tornado" was not equipped with the more advanced intake design of the "Concorde".

 

Testing revealed that a nose-wheel steering augmentation system, connecting with the yaw damper, was necessary to counteract the destabilising effect produced by deploying the thrust reverser during landing rollouts.

 

From 1967 until 1984 Soviet KGB agents were provided details on the "Tornado" by the head of the West German Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Planning department, Manfred Rotsch.

 

Two prototypes were lost in accidents, both of which had been primarily caused by poor piloting decisions and errors leading to two ground collision incidents; a third "Tornado" prototype was seriously damaged by an incident involving pilot-induced pitch oscillation. During the type's development, aircraft designers of the era were beginning to incorporate features such as more sophisticated stability augmentation systems and autopilots. Aircraft such as the "Tornado" and the General Dynamics F-16 "Fighting Falcon" made use of these new technologies. Failure testing of the "Tornado's" triplex analogue command and stability augmentation system (CSAS) was conducted on a series of realistic flight control rigs; the variable-sweep wings in combination with varying, and frequently very heavy, payloads complicated the clearance process.

  

Production

 

The contract for the Batch 1 aircraft was signed on 29 July 1976. The first aircraft were delivered to the RAF and German Air Force on 5 and 6 June 1979 respectively. The first Italian "Tornado" was delivered on 25 September 1981. On 29 January 1981, the Tri-National "Tornado" Training Establishment (TTTE) officially opened at RAF Cottesmore, remaining active in training pilots from all operating nations until 31 March 1999. The 500th "Tornado" to be produced was delivered to West Germany on 19 December 1987.

 

Export customers were sought after West Germany withdrew its objections to exporting the aircraft; Saudi Arabia was the only export customer of the "Tornado". The agreement to purchase the "Tornado" was part of the controversial Al-Yamamah arms deal between British Aerospace and the Saudi government. Oman had committed to purchasing "Tornado's" and the equipment to operate them for a total value of £250 million in the late 1980s, but cancelled the order in 1990 due to financial difficulties.

 

During the 1970s, Australia considered joining the MRCA programme to find a replacement for their ageing Dassault "Mirage IIIs"; ultimately the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 "Hornet" was selected to meet the requirement. Canada similarly opted for the F/A-18 after considering the "Tornado". Japan considered the "Tornado" in the 1980s, along with the General Dynamics F-16 "Fighting Falcon" and F/A-18, before selecting the "Mitsubishi F-2", a domestically produced design based on the F-16. In the 1990s, both Taiwan and South Korea expressed interest in acquiring a small number of "Tornado ECR" aircraft. In 2001, EADS proposed a "Tornado ECR" variant with a greater electronic warfare capability for Australia.

 

Production came to an end in 1998; the last batch of aircraft being produced went to the Royal Saudi Air Force, who had ordered a total of 96 IDS "Tornado's". In June 2011, it was announced that the RAF's "Tornado" fleet had flown collectively over one million flying hours. Aviation author Jon Lake noted that "The Trinational Panavia Consortium produced just short of 1,000 Tornados, making it one of the most successful postwar bomber programs". In 2008, AirForces Monthly said of the "Tornado": "For more than a quarter of a century ... the most important military aircraft in Western Europe."

The Wiz, or short for the wizened one.

 

Wizened means shriveled or wrinkled with age. In addition to that, I thought he also had the look of a wise old man, so perhaps there are various meanings to the title. The misty / hazy look to the shot is from the temperature difference between the somewhat chilly morning air and the spa like water.

 

This is a return to Jigokudani Yaen-Koen (Jigokudani Monkey Park) in Japan. Home to the famous Japanese Macaques, sometimes better known as the Snow Monkeys. This was a fun side trip that we had planned from early on. While I knew the chance for snow in April would be slim, I was still happy we made the trek. Now that said, this isn't exactly what I'd call a natural environment. The park opens at 0830 and immediately two guys go around baiting the monkeys by tossing seed / food pretty much everywhere. This includes the single large pool or spa that you see in the comments shot. So they are basically chumming the monkeys. If you didn't know, this is a pretty famous location. Many of the top nature shooters go here, and there are many tours to this location. Some paint this as an exotic animal encounter. I would say it's fun and worth doing, and would probably be that much cooler with the snow everywhere, but would I specifically travel half-way around the world for this and this only. No. There are two ways into the park by foot. We took the long way in and had a nice 1 mile walk through the woods. That was actually pretty pleasant. We took the other way out which is a little path that skirts some houses and industrial buildings. I'm not poo-pooing the park or the experience, but this is not some trek into the wilds of Japan in search of the elusive snow monkey. This is a side excursion to the Yokoyu River which has this single spa like pool where tens of people crowd around for a shot. We got there first thing when it opened so it wasn't too much trouble to move around the pool. I should also mention there are tens of (if not 100+) monkeys all around the area including along the river. So the men bait them to what I guess are the prime spots and then they forage around from there. I'm glad we did it. I'm glad I got a couple shots that I'm happy with. I'm also glad I didn't make this the sole focus of the trip.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

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Comments and constructive criticism always appreciated.

Stream on Black and a Different View on Black

During my last visit to London in December 2017, Stagecoach seemed to exclusively use Alexander Dennis Enviro 400MMC hybrids on the 53 route between Plumstead and Trafalgar, however this year I noted this original style Enviro 400, and an Enviro 400MMC bodied Volvo B5LH in addition to the integral MMCs.

New addition.

Postmarked July 1954.

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The Baltimore Steam Packet Company, nicknamed the Old Bay Line, was an American steamship line from 1840 to 1962 that provided overnight steamboat service on the Chesapeake Bay, primarily between Baltimore, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia. Called a "packet" for the mail packets carried on government mail contracts, the term in the 19th century came to mean a steamer line operating on a regular, fixed daily schedule between two or more cities. When it closed in 1962 after 122 years of existence, it was the last surviving overnight steamship passenger service in the United States.[1][2]

 

In addition to regularly calling on Baltimore and Norfolk, the Baltimore Steam Packet Company at various times provided freight, passenger and vehicle transport to Washington, D.C., Old Point Comfort, and Richmond, Virginia. The Old Bay Line, as it came to be known by the 1860s, was acclaimed for its genteel service and fine dining, serving Chesapeake Bay specialties. Walter Lord, famed author of A Night to Remember (and whose grandfather had been the packet line's president from 1893 to 1899), mused that its reputation for excellent service was attributable to "some magical blending of the best in the North and the South, made possible by the Company's unique role in 'bridging' the two sections ... the North contributed its tradition of mechanical proficiency, making the ships so reliable; while the South contributed its gracious ease".[2]

 

One of the Old Bay Line's steamers, the former President Warfield, later became famous as the Exodus ship of book and movie fame, when Jewish refugees from war-torn Europe sailed aboard her in 1947 in an unsuccessful attempt to emigrate to Palestine.

 

Old Bay Line 1950s timetable

 

History

Just seven years after Robert Fulton proved the commercial viability of steam-powered ships with his North River Steamboat (more commonly known today as Clermont) in 1807, small wood-burning steamers began to ply the Chesapeake Bay. Before the arrival of railroads and river steamboats in the early 19th century, overland travel was exceedingly slow and tedious.[2] Rivers were the main means of transportation and most cities were founded on them. This was especially so in North America, where journeys over vast distances of hundreds or even thousands of miles required months of hazardous, uncomfortable travel by stagecoach or wagon on rutted, unpaved trails. In the 1830s, railroads were being built, but the technology was crude and average passenger train speed was only 12 miles per hour (19 km/h).[3] Perhaps more importantly, most early railroads did not connect. It would be many years before the various lines were knitted together to make intercity rail travel in the U.S. a reality. Not until 1863, for example, was it possible to travel between New York City and Washington, D. C., without changing trains en route.[4]

 

In this period, steamships on rivers such as the Ohio and Mississippi or large inland bodies of water such as the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay offered a comfortable and relatively fast mode of transportation. The first steamboat to serve Baltimore was the locally built Chesapeake, constructed in 1813 to link Baltimore with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operated by the Union Line, the boat connected with a stagecoach for the overland portion of the journey.[5] Two years later, the Briscoe-Partridge Line's Eagle was the first steamboat to sail the length of Chesapeake Bay.[3]

 

The direct ancestor of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company was the Maryland & Virginia Steam Boat Company formed in 1828 to link Baltimore, Richmond, and Norfolk, traversing the Chesapeake Bay and the James River. By 1839, the Maryland & Virginia was heavily in debt from the purchase of two new, large ships the year before: the 210-foot (64 m) long Alabama and the 173-foot (53 m) Jewess. The Alabama was expensive to operate and proved impractical for Chesapeake Bay operations, causing the bankruptcy of the Maryland & Virginia later that year.[5]

 

1840s–1850s

When the Maryland & Virginia collapsed in late 1839, the Maryland legislature convened to grant a charter to the Baltimore Steam Packet Company, organized in Baltimore to provide overnight steamship service on the Chesapeake Bay. The company's incorporators were Benjamin Bush, Andrew F. Henderson (who became the line's first president), John B. Howell, Thomas Kelso (who would become a director of the line), John S. McKim, Samuel McDonald, Gen. William McDonald, Robert A. Taylor, and Joel Vickers, all of Baltimore.[6]

 

The company was granted a 20-year charter on March 18, 1840, by the Maryland legislature and then acquired three of the former Maryland & Virginia's steamboats: Pocahontas, Georgia, and Jewess.[5][Note 1] The company began overnight paddlewheel steamship passenger and freight service daily except Sundays between Baltimore and Norfolk. By 1848, the company's steamship Herald was making the trip in less than 12 hours, a time which the line would maintain until the end in 1962.[8] An affiliate, the Powhatan Line, started service between Norfolk and Richmond in 1845, interchanging freight and passengers with the Old Bay Line.[8]

 

By the 1850s, competition was keen as steamships grew in size and efficiency to serve the fast-growing nation. The Old Bay Line, in particular, served as a link between the antebellum South and northern markets, hauling large quantities of cotton north and manufactured goods south, along with a thriving passenger business between Baltimore and Norfolk. Railroads also began acquiring steamship lines in the 1850s, and the Seaboard & Roanoke Railroad, a predecessor of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (RF&P), acquired a controlling interest in the Baltimore Steam Packet Company in 1851.[8] As competitors entered the field, each line vied to outdo its competitors in the luxurious appointments of their ships' staterooms and dining service. The company acquired newer and larger ships in the 1850s, such as the North Carolina in 1852 and the Louisiana in 1854, the latter at 266 feet (81 m) in length being the largest wooden vessel the company would own.[8] A passenger on the Baltimore Steam Packet Company's Georgia, carried away by delight over his travel experience in 1853, was effusive in his description of an overnight trip:

 

I know of no more delightful trip from Baltimore down the Chesapeake ... upon the broad blue waters with an exquisite breeze, which came up with invigorating freshness from the silver waves. Night came on, and her azure curtain gemmed with myriad stars was drawn over the expanse above.

 

— W.S. Forrest, Historical Sketches of Norfolk, 1853[9]

The North Carolina similarly impressed a Baltimore Patriot reporter in 1852, who described the ship's dining saloon as "having imported Belgian carpets, velvet chairs with marble-topped tables, and white panelling with gilded mouldings".[8]

 

On February 20, 1858, the northbound steamer Louisiana collided with a sailing vessel, the William K. Perrin, causing the sailboat to founder near the mouth of the Rappahannock River.[10] In a case that reached all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Haney et al. v Baltimore Steam Packet Company, the Louisiana was found to be at fault. The high court considered the rules of the sea pertaining to steamers and sailing ships approaching one another and concluded (with Chief Justice Roger B. Taney dissenting) that "entire disregard of these rules of navigation by the steamer" caused the collision, reversing a Circuit Court ruling.[10]

 

The North Carolina burned on January 29, 1859, when a fire started in a passenger stateroom. She sank the following day with the loss of two lives.[11] The following month, the line acquired the Adelaide to replace the lost steamer.[12]

 

1860s–1910s

The outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861 immediately affected the Baltimore Steam Packet Company. On April 19, two days after Virginia's secession, a violently pro-Southern mob in Baltimore attacked Union soldiers en route to Washington, D.C. as the troops marched through the city's streets between railroad stations. Thereafter known as the Baltimore riot of 1861, the resulting loss of life and local unrest also threatened the USS Allegheny, a U.S. Navy ship in Baltimore at the time. Later that same day, the Baltimore Steam Packet Company declined to transport Union forces from Baltimore to the beleaguered Union naval yard facility at Portsmouth, Virginia.[13]

 

Two weeks later, on May 7, the Adelaide was chartered by the U.S. Navy and attached to the Atlantic Blockading Squadron. In that role, she was used to transport Federal troops in support of operations in North Carolina's Outer Banks, directed against the Confederate-held forts guarding Hatteras Inlet.[12] Later that year, the Adelaide was returned to the Baltimore Steam Packet Company.

 

As a steamship line connecting northern cities and the south, the Old Bay Line hauled a considerable volume of freight between the two regions and their ships' cargo holds were filled with bales of cotton, produce, and other goods. When hostilities commenced, Southern ports were blockaded by the Federal Navy and the Old Bay Line was unable to serve Norfolk for the duration of the war, going no further south than Old Point Comfort. Passenger traffic as well as cargo shipping declined significantly. The Powhatan Line discontinued operations altogether between Norfolk and Richmond until the war's end.[14]

 

The Old Bay Line's Eolus in 1869

As soon as the war ended in 1865, the Leary Line of New York briefly challenged the Baltimore Steam Packet Company on the Chesapeake, starting its own Baltimore-Norfolk steamship service. A fare war ensued, with one-way prices reduced to $3.00 (equivalent to $24.34 in 2019). Emphasizing the longevity of its service compared to their upstart rival, the Baltimore Steam Packet Company began referring to itself as the "Old Established Bay Line" in advertising, a moniker that would soon become simply the Old Bay Line for the next century.[14]

 

The Leary Line withdrew in January 1867, selling its George Leary to the Old Bay Line. Two years later, the Norfolk Journal of August 2, 1869, described the vessel as having a "gorgeous style of furniture and elegant fittings ... magnificently furnished with upholstered sofas and lounges of rich red velvet ...".[15] Another competitor, the Chesapeake Steamship Company, began directly competing on the Baltimore-Norfolk route in 1874. Controlled by the Southern Railway, a rival of the RF&P, it would be a formidable competitor until 1941, when the two steamship lines merged. Cargo traffic was also booming in the 1870s as the South recovered from the Civil War, resulting in the Old Bay Line's freight revenue surpassing passenger revenue by the end of the decade.

 

By the time of John Moncure Robinson's retirement as president of the company in 1893, the Old Bay Line had upgraded its fleet with propeller-driven, steel-hulled steamers equipped with modern conveniences such as electric lighting and staterooms with private baths. The Georgia introduced in 1887 was the first Old Bay Line boat to have a modern screw propeller instead of old-fashioned side paddlewheels and the Alabama launched in 1893 was the company's first steel-hulled vessel. Robinson served the Old Bay Line as president for 26 years (1867–1893), longer than any other person in the company's history.[16]

 

The halcyon days of the 1890s were the company's heyday, under president Richard Curzon Hoffman (the grandfather of noted author Walter Lord), when the prosperous line's gleaming steamships were heavily patronized by passengers enjoying the well-appointed staterooms and Chesapeake Bay culinary delights while dining to the accompaniment of live music. The nightly menu on board included oyster fritters, diamondback terrapin, duck, and turkey.[16]

 

The company built a new terminal and headquarters in Baltimore on Light Street in 1898 to accommodate the increasing traffic. Rebuilt after the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, the building with its four-sided clocktower would be a landmark for decades on Baltimore's Inner Harbor waterfront.[16] (The location of the now-demolished terminal is between the present Harborplace and Maryland Science Center.)

 

The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, which had first acquired a controlling interest in the Baltimore Steam Packet Company in 1851, gained total control of the company's stock on September 5, 1901. The Old Bay Line continued to be managed separately from the RF&P, however.[16]

 

World War I and aftermath

 

The Old Bay Line's Baltimore terminal (1898–1950)

In contrast to the Civil War, when hostilities sharply curtailed business on the Old Bay Line, World War I doubled freight and passenger business on the line to the busy ports of Norfolk and the Hampton Roads area, with 107,664 passengers using the line in 1917. As a result of congestion on the nation's railroads and ports when the U.S. entered the war in April 1917, the Federal government established the wartime U.S. Railroad Administration (USRA) to take charge of railroads and steamship companies, including the Baltimore Steam Packet Company. The USRA directed the operations of the Old Bay Line and the rival Chesapeake line for the duration of the war and more than a year thereafter, until March 1, 1920.[17]

 

Baltimore-native John Roberts Sherwood, who had joined the Old Bay Line as a 22-year-old engineer in 1868 and became president in 1907, retired in October 1918 after 49 years with the company. The Baltimore Sun extolled Sherwood's distinguished half-century of service to the steamer line when he retired, noting approvingly that his oft-expressed philosophy was, "Stand up for your home city wherever you may go."[18] (His son, John W. Sherwood, founded Baltimore's celebrated Sherwood Gardens in the mid-1920s.) Sherwood was succeeded by S. Davies Warfield as president (1918–1927).

 

Catastrophe struck the Old Bay Line on May 24, 1919, when the Virginia II caught fire shortly after midnight in the middle of Chesapeake Bay with 156 passengers and a crew of 82 on board. The ship burned completely as many passengers jumped overboard and a lifeboat capsized. The Chesapeake Line's City of Norfolk and other vessels came to the rescue and pulled people from the water to safety. The Virginia's captain, Walter Lane, remained with his ship to the end and suffered burns.[19]

 

1920s–1930s

The corporate ownership of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company changed again in 1922, when the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) formed the Seaboard–Bay Line Company, which owned all of the outstanding shares of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company, making the steamship company a wholly owned subsidiary of the SAL on February 6, 1922. In addition to the infusion of capital from the SAL, the Old Bay Line also obtained a $4.4 million federal loan (equivalent to $67.2 million in 2019) to build two new steamers for the Old Bay Line: the State of Maryland and the State of Virginia.[17] The Old Bay Line's president, S. Davies Warfield, was named president of SAL railroad as well as the Old Bay Line in 1922.

 

A late 1920s advertisement of an Old Bay Line ship's interior

In 1928, the Baltimore Steam Packet Company took delivery of two more new ships – the President Warfield and the Yorktown. The President Warfield, built by Pusey and Jones Corp. in Wilmington, Delaware, was named for the Old Bay Line's president of the time, S. Davies Warfield. She would be the last new ship built for the Old Bay Line.[20]

 

As the new-fangled Ford Model Ts and other early automobiles increasingly took to the roads in the 1920s, inland steamship lines in the U.S. initially resisted carrying automobiles on their boats.[2] By the Depression-ravaged 1930s, however, the Old Bay Line became one of the first inland steamship companies to promote the carriage of automobiles as a means of filling its ships' empty cargo holds. The Depression and loss of business to improved highways took an increasing toll of many U.S. steamship lines in the 1930s, as historic companies such as the Fall River Line ceased operation in 1937, preceded by the Lake Champlain company, which was the oldest steamboat line in the U.S. at its demise in 1932.

 

Fortunately for the Old Bay Line, its freight and passenger traffic remained relatively strong in the 1930s and the company embarked on a modernization program for its main boats of the line. The President Warfield and State of Maryland were converted from coal to oil burning in 1933 and had sprinkler systems installed in 1938. In 1939, the State of Virginia was converted to oil burning and all three ships were equipped with radio direction finders and ship-to-shore telephones.[20]

 

1940s

As the Old Bay Line celebrated its centennial in 1940 with parades and other events in Baltimore, the company's future seemed bright. Business was steady and the company's facilities were in sound condition. Commemorative dinner plates in blue and pink decorated with a map of the Chesapeake Bay were introduced.

 

On June 14, 1941, the Baltimore Steam Packet Company's owner, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, entered into an agreement with a consortium of railroads and steamship companies to merge the Chesapeake Steamship Company into the Old Bay Line. The railroad group, consisting of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Southern Railway, and the SAL, together controlled the Baltimore Steam Packet Company and the Chesapeake Steamship Company. As a result, the Old Bay Line took over the Chesapeake Line's business and assets and became the sole operator of passenger and freight steamship transportation between the important ports of Baltimore and Norfolk. As part of this agreement, half of the outstanding shares of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company were assigned to Chesapeake Steamship Company, which was one-third owned by Southern Railway and two-thirds owned by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.[20] With the amalgamation, two of the Chesapeake Line's steamboats, the City of Norfolk and City of Richmond, were transferred to the Old Bay Line. As it turned out, these would be the last two vessels operated by the Old Bay Line when it went out of business in 1962.[21] Robert E. Dunn was named president of the Old Bay Line in 1941, remaining at the helm of the company to the end of service in 1962.[1][20]

 

World War II

After the United States entered World War II on December 7, 1941, the Federal government set up the War Shipping Administration to manage the vitally important maritime shipping and Naval support needs of the U.S. and its Allies, including the power to expropriate civilian-owned boats. On April 1, 1942, the government acquired the Old Bay Line's State of Virginia and State of Maryland. On July 13, the President Warfield and Yorktown were also taken over. Thus, by mid-1942, four of the Old Bay Line's six ships had become government property, leaving the company only the two oldest and smallest ships in its fleet for the duration of the war, the City of Norfolk and City of Richmond.[20]

 

Postwar and the Exodus

After World War II, the line promoted its automobile service to Florida-bound motorists, advertising the elimination of 230 miles (370 km) of driving by taking the family car on an overnight cruise down the Chesapeake to Virginia, while enjoying a sumptuous dinner and relaxing stateroom aboard an Old Bay Line steamer instead of a roadside motel. In March 1946, the Old Bay Line installed radar on the City of Richmond and City of Norfolk, the first commercial passenger ships to be equipped with radar.[21]

 

After the President Warfield was expropriated in 1942 by the War Shipping Administration for national defense as a transport during World War II, it was transferred to the United Kingdom on September 21, 1942. Later in the war, it was returned to the U.S. Navy and commissioned as the USS President Warfield (IX-169) on May 21, 1944. Following the end of World War II, the President Warfield was decommissioned and returned to the War Shipping Administration for disposal as surplus.[22] After inspecting the President Warfield, Old Bay Line officials decided that the expense for reconditioning the badly deteriorated ship was excessive, and accepted a cash settlement from the War Shipping Administration instead of taking back the war surplus vessel.[20]

 

The old President Warfield was eventually acquired in early 1947 by Mossad Le'aliyah Bet, a Jewish organization helping Holocaust survivors illegally reach Palestine, then under British mandate. The former Baltimore Steam Packet and U.S. Navy steamship was renamed Exodus when she embarked from France for Palestine on July 11, 1947, carrying 4,515 passengers. Two Royal Navy destroyers rammed the Exodus as she entered Palestinian waters near Haifa on July 18. British forces boarded the damaged ship and eventually deported the passengers. The Exodus remained in Haifa harbor until 1952, when the derelict caught fire and burned completely.[23] The 1960 film Exodus depicted the refugees' odyssey aboard the former President Warfield.

 

1950s and demise

The Bay Line's Light Street terminal and headquarters building in Baltimore, where it had been located since 1898, were sold to the city in October 1950 for the widening of Light Street and later development as the acclaimed Inner Harbor waterfront festival marketplace. The company relocated to a pier on Pratt Street at the foot of Gay Street, where it remained until it went out of business in 1962.[23]

  

City of Richmond

Various travel writers in the 1950s extolled the pleasures of the nightly cruises and meals on the Old Bay Line's antique steamers. By the mid-1950s, however, improved highways and the increase in air travel meant that the Old Bay Line's 12-hour transit time between Baltimore and Norfolk was a comparatively slow means of transportation. Old Bay Line officials hoped that the steamship line's unique service might continue to appeal to travellers seeking the pleasures of a cruise on the scenic Chesapeake with fine dining en route and a well-furnished, private stateroom. The Sunday travel section of The New York Times in 1954 featured the "long established, more leisurely water route across Chesapeake Bay", as the writer described the Old Bay Line, recommending "the boat trip can be made comfortably and comparatively inexpensively every night between Baltimore, Old Point Comfort and Norfolk, and on alternate nights between Washington, D. C., and the Virginia communities".[24]

 

In the end too few people opted for this leisurely form of travel and passenger volume steadily declined. As deficits rose during the 1950s, the Old Bay Line began cutting back. On September 30, 1957, it abandoned service to Washington, D.C., discontinuing its Washington–Norfolk overnight service on the Potomac River. By 1960, the Old Bay Line reduced operation of its mainstay Baltimore–Norfolk route to freight service only during the lightly travelled winter months of October–April, eliminating all passenger service on the Chesapeake Bay during those months. In October 1961, the company announced that its passenger service was "temporarily suspended until further notice", indicating that resumption of passenger service was expected the following summer season beginning in April 1962.[25] Finally, on April 14, 1962, the venerable Old Bay Line discontinued all operations entirely, ending one of the very last remaining overnight steamship passenger services in the United States (The Georgian Bay Line still operated out of Georgian Bay along with Canadian Pacific and Canada Steamship Lines but those companies engaged in purely cruising and all were out of service by 1967).[1] The following month, the stockholders of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company formally voted on May 25, 1962 to liquidate the 122-year-old corporation, ending forever the melodious whistles of Old Bay Line steamboats on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.[7]

 

The company owned 54 ships during its 122 years of existence, many being small cargo vessels. Originally, all of the line's steamboats were of wooden construction with side paddlewheels and used wood logs for fuel. The first boat with an iron hull acquired by the Old Bay Line was the Georgeanna, in 1860. By the late 1870s, the company had acquired its last paddlewheel steamers: Florida, Carolina, and Virginia. Later, ships would use coal for fuel until the 1930s, when oil began to be used. Beginning with the Georgia built in 1887, their ships used the more modern propeller or "screw" design. The Georgia also was the first Old Bay Line vessel to be equipped with electric lighting and steam heating. Passenger ships of the line provided large, lavishly furnished staterooms to accommodate passengers on the overnight trip. The Alabama built in 1892 represented the inception of modern shipbuilding and design for the Old Bay Line: the first vessel to have a steel hull instead of iron or wood and propelled by a four-cylinder triple-expansion reciprocating engine, the same type engine that all of the line's later steamers would have. Notable Old Bay Line passenger vessels used in scheduled overnight service, with dates acquired and gross tonnages, were:

 

At the time of the Old Bay Line's dissolution in April 1962, three ships remained docked at the Pratt Street pier: the District of Columbia, which had been kept as a spare since the Washington–Norfolk service ended in 1957, was scrapped soon afterwards. The City of Richmond was sold for use as a floating restaurant in the Virgin Islands, but sank in the Atlantic Ocean off Georgetown, South Carolina, while under tow to her new home.[26] The City of Norfolk was idled in Norfolk until 1966, when it was towed to Fieldsboro, New Jersey on the Delaware River and scrapped.[21]

This weeks addition to the Dirty Window Series.

 

Lamar drove the same route, on the same tracks, for years before he broke. The view the same,the people unpleasant, and the nickname they gave him, 'Driver 8', that damn name, stuck, much to his chagrin.

 

The benefits of the job were great, but that is where it ended. On his best days he would hope for an accident to happen, just to break up the monotony. He had dreams. Hell, he still did.

 

It was a Monday when Driver 8 first missed work, then Tuesday and Wednesday after that. No one knows where Driver 8 is today, but one thing is for certain: he changed seats.

Fernwood, PEI

Holga

This cathedral was built in various stages between 1864 and 1922 with additions at the sanctuary end in 1989.

 

The land at the site was originally designated for church purposes in 1847. Six allotments of section 33 were set aside for the use of the Roman Catholic Church in September 1848 with the original deeds of grant being signed by Governor Charles Fitzroy in November 1849. Father Hanly, one of the first parish priests, purchased allotment 13 in 1851 and allotment 6 in 1854 and a further 18 perches of land was bought by Bishop Quinn in 1877 to extend the school playgrounds.

 

From the early days of free settlement, Brisbane's Catholic population was significant as they comprised 30% of residents in 1846. By 1861 Catholics constituted about 25% of the total Queensland population. Saint Stephens Cathedral was the third site for Catholic worship in Brisbane. Services were originally conducted in a rented brick building near the corner of Elizabeth and Albert Streets until 1850 when Old Saint Stephens Church was completed. In 1859 with the separation of Queensland, the Archdiocese of Brisbane was created with James Quinn as the first bishop. Quinn, who did not arrive from Ireland until 1861, planned a large cathedral to accommodate a growing congregation and on the Feast of Saint Stephen (26th of December) in 1863 he laid the foundation stone for a grand cathedral designed by Benjamin Backhouse. The project was to be completed in stages and about one-third of the total area of the foundations was laid in 1864, after which work ceased for several years during the economic crisis of the later 1860s. In the late 1860s R George Suter was commissioned to design a smaller, simpler building than the one originally planned and in 1870 work recommenced on the existing foundations. By early 1874 the nave of the cathedral was sufficiently completed for the opening service to be held on 17 May, but work continued for several months after this date.

 

In 1884 the top of the west gable was completed and the two sandstone spires were added. In October 1887, the cathedral was furnished with four benefactors' gifts: a large French-made Carrara marble altar with a relief panel of the Last Supper, and three stained glass windows made in Munich. One window depicted the Sacred Heart, the second showed the resurrection of Lazarus and the third was a group of three medallions showing the Lamb with the Cross, Saint John and the Virgin and Child. The medallions were installed over the northern door.

 

The depression of the 1890s discouraged further additions but with the post-Federation recovery, plans to add the transepts were revived. A 1911 Hall & Dods design shows an ambitious proposal for completion works which included a large tower at the intersection of the nave and transepts. However, the death of Archbishop Robert Dunne in 1917 made way for a successor, James Duhig, whose long-range plans for a cathedral did not include Saint Stephens. James Duhig decided to work towards the construction on another site of a new cathedral, to be known as the Holy Name Cathedral. The grand plans for completion of Saint Stephens were abandoned and instead a simple Hennessy, Hennessy & Hall design was adopted for the addition of transepts and a sanctuary to Saint Stephens. Duhig laid the foundation stone for these additions in October 1920 and the work was completed in 1922.

 

Meanwhile the plans for the Holy Name Cathedral proceeded and in an impressive ceremony on the 16th of September 1928 two massive foundation stones were laid by visiting church dignitaries. Legal and financial difficulties postponed work on the Holy Name Cathedral which was never built - Saint Stephens was to remain the site for the bishop's seat.

 

Serious erosion of the two sandstone spires prompted their removal in 1977 and in the 1980s Archbishop Rush initiated plans for the restoration and extension of the cathedral. Architect Robin Gibson designed modifications to the building. Internal modifications respond to changing liturgical practices.The sandstone spires were replaced with ones of glass-reinforced concrete and three new chapels were added to the eastern frontage. During this development, the foundation stones from the Holy Name Cathedral site were relocated to the grounds of Saint Stephens and the Last Supper relief panel from the 1887 altar was set into a wall. The modified cathedral was dedicated on the 3rd of December 1989.

 

Source: Queensland Heritage Register.

Recently ordered some pieces to expand my military and Indiana Jones collections

In addition to the Wrightbus Streetlite's (63256-76) at Midland Bluebird (Larbert), Scotland East (Livingston, Deans) have recieved five (63251-5) in the two tone blue livery. SN65 OKR (63251) is seen here in Whitburn whilst working service 22 (Harthill-Livingston). Despite the fleet numbering, this is October 2015 registered whilst Larbert's were September registered. Note that this carries First Midland Bluebird lettering above the doors.

For any bicycling enthusiasts this ad will be running in upcoming additions of Bicycling magazine. Before the shoot I had no idea bikes could be so light...and expensive!

 

For the Advertising Photographer group: The client wanted to produce a dramatic scene loosely based on some imagery from my portfolio. They liked the idea of police helicopters seemingly chasing one of their bikes. The question was why? For the answer we thought what better reason than mangled frames from the competition. Visually, this was completed by adding in the stacked wall of twisted bikes and parts. They also provided a bit of a semi-circle further framing in the hero of the shot.

Another addition at Mounts Bay Coaches is this rare Autosan A1012T 'Eagle' 70 seat school bus, which has replaced the old Vehixel bodied Ivecos. One of just 54 UK examples, this was one of final examples to enter service, being new to Taylors of Yeovil from whom it came last Autumn.

In addition to 44 published novels, Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) wrote approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. Although Dick spent most of his career as a writer in near-poverty, eleven popular films based on his works have been produced, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, Paycheck, Next, Screamers, The Adjustment Bureau and Impostor. In 2005, Time magazine named Ubik one of the hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923. In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.

meet Miou

Sourp Magar or Magaravank is an Armenian monastery located in a forested valley in the Pentadaktylos range in Cyprus. It is de facto located in Northern Cyprus. The Magaravank stands at 530 metres and is about 3 km from the Halevga Forest Station. In addition to its historical interest as a centre of Armenian culture, Sourp Magar is noted for its picturesque location and distant views of the Mediterranean and the mountains in Anatolia. The monastery had close ties with the Armenian Catholicosate of Cicilia, located in Antelias, Lebanon.

 

Magaravank was founded in the early eleventh century and at that time seems to have belonged to the Coptic Orthodox Church. It was dedicated to Saint Macarius of Alexandria who died in 395 AD. Of the Coptic history of Sourp Magar nothing is known, but sometime before 1425 the monastery was transferred to the Armenians in Cyprus. Armenians had long been resident in Cyprus, but their numbers increased substantially after fall of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in 1375 when its last king Leo V escaped the Mamlukes. The crown of the Kingdom of Armenia subsequently passed to the Lusignan rulers of Cyprus. Armenians continued to migrate to Cyprus as Turkic peoples entered Anatolia and established powerful kingdoms there in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The transfer of Sourp Magar to the Armenians was probably occasioned by these events and the increasing importance of the Armenian community in the Lusignan kingdom.

 

The Armenians retained control of Sourp Magar and its lands under Venetian and Ottoman rule. In the Ottoman Era, it was often called the Blue Monastery on account of the colour of the doors and windows. In 1642, at the time of Ibrahim I, the establishment was exempted from taxes. This exemption was renewed in 1660 and 1701. Restoration work is recorded to have been undertaken in 1735 and again in 1814, when the larger of the two chapels was reconstructed. Sourp Magar has, over its long history, served a wide range of social functions, from a school and rest-house for pilgrims to an orphanage and summer retreat for the Armenians of Nicosia. Some people lived on-site full-time, a report made in 1935 noting that 17 people resided there. Sourp Magar once housed a collection of manuscripts and other sacred items, but these were re-located to the Holy See of Cilicia in 1947. After the 1974 Turkish invasion, the Armenian community could no longer maintain custodians at Sourp Magar and the complex fell into ruins. Armenians nonetheless retain great attachment to their ancient establishment. Thanks to the efforts of Armenian Cypriot MP Vartkes Mahdessian, three pilgrimages have been made there, the last of which took place on 9 May 2010.

 

The Sourp Magar consists of an irregular rectangle of two-storied residential buildings constructed around a generous precinct. The site overall slopes gently from west to east. Two small churches or chapels, standing in the north-east part of the central courtyard, stand side-by-side. The largest chapel, with its vault still in place, was built in 1814. The chapels appear to be the vestiges of the side aisles of a fairly large church, the nave of which has more or less disappeared. This nave is represented by a large arch (rebuilt) and the common vestibule between the two chapels. The antiquity of the apses is indicated by the masonry which is close to the eleventh-century parts of the churches at Lythrangomi and Aphendrika on the Karpass Peninsula. The Aphendrika churches have been dated on good authority to the eleventh century and appear to have suffered a similar fate, being ruined by earthquakes in the thirteenth or fourteenth century.

 

The line of residential buildings facing towards the north and east probably belong to the fifteenth century judging from the shape and style of the Gothic windows and doors. One window has a chevron design, a characteristic feature of later Gothic building in Cyprus (as well old Coptic Cairo). These building were probably put up when the Armenians first took possession of the site. Internally, the buildings are two-storied, with a simple arcade below and a walkway above. The walkway was originally edged by stone posts with wooden lintels. The roofs throughout rested on wooden beams and were covered with curved tiles.

 

The residential buildings at Sourp Magar are extremely important for the history of architecture in Cyprus, being the best-preserved and most extensive examples of late medieval domestic building on the island, even in their ruined state. Camille Enlart (1862–1927), the doyen of Gothic architecture who visited Cyprus in the nineteenth century, did not mention Sourp Magar in his landmark volume, and the buildings, as a consequence, have not been received the recognition they deserve. The only architectural account was given by George H. Everett Jeffery who, writing in 1918, commented that the east side "retains its architectural character in richly moulded pointed arch windows ... and in a venerable doorway. A large room used as a guest chamber, with the roof supported on a central column at the north-east corner, is of the same date as the eastern façade."

 

From the 1920s modern tiles and other additions were added in many places, while the post-war period brought misguided rebuilding with reinforced concrete. One of the medieval windows had a concrete awning with steel I-beams inserted into it, evidently to provide a place for a toilet and bathroom. Part of the walkway floor in the interior was also rebuilt using reinforced concrete.

 

The 1974 Turkish invasion precipitated a degree of vandalism and the looting of the site for building materials. Many of the old roof tiles, now rendered valueless by recent prosperity, lie neatly stacked beside the outer walls. Most of the wooden rafters have disappeared. From 2005 the Turkish authorities rebuilt and re-roofed some rooms on the south side of the precinct with the idea of providing refreshments for forest trekkers and there was discussion of further developments. The project, however, has not been continued.

 

Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.

 

A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.

 

Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.

 

Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.

 

Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.

 

Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.

 

The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.

 

Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.

 

Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.

 

By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.

 

EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.

 

However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.

 

On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.

 

In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.

 

By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.

 

In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.

 

The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.

 

After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".

 

As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.

 

Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

 

On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.

 

The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.

 

Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.

 

The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.

 

Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.

 

Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria

An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."

 

In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.

 

Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.

 

In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.

 

Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.

 

Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.

 

Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.

 

The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:

 

UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.

 

The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.

 

By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."

 

After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.

 

On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.

 

The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.

 

During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.

 

In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.

 

Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.

 

A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.

IMC Newest model , . THE WEST OF SCOTLAND Mercedes AROCS J70 WOS 1/50 scale model is a new addition to my growing collection , Tuesday 03rd January 2017

Another of our new addition, he isn't always as good as this photo may suggest :)

Renishaw Hall, Derbyshire.

Grade l listed.

 

South or Garden Front.

 

Asymmetrical, with eleven bays to the main ranges, and a five bay centre incorporating the remnants of the C17 gabled house.

 

The house was originally built in 1625 by George Sitwell (1601–1667), The Sitwell fortune was made as colliery owners and ironmasters from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Substantial alterations and the addition of the west and east ranges were made to the building for Sir Sitwell Sitwell, 1st Baronet (1769-1811) by Joseph Badger of Sheffield between 1793 and 1808.

 

The formal garden was laid out from 1879 by Sir George Sitwell (1860-1943).

 

The-principal flight of steps lies on the central axis to the garden, with the steps linking the first and second levels, and becoming wider as they descend. The piers support full size statues of Neptune and Diana, each with accompanying dog.

 

The steps, walls & statues are Grade ll listed.

 

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Renishaw Hall

 

Renishaw Hall is a country house in Renishaw in the parish of Eckington in Derbyshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building and has been the home of the Sitwell family for over 350 years. The hall is located south-east of Sheffield, and north of Renishaw village, which is north-east of Chesterfield.

 

History

 

The house was built in 1625 by George Sitwell (1601–67) who, in 1653, was High Sheriff of Derbyshire. The Sitwell fortune was made as colliery owners and ironmasters from the 17th to the 20th centuries.

 

Substantial alterations and the addition of the west and east ranges were made to the building for Sir Sitwell Sitwell by Joseph Badger of Sheffield between 1793 and 1808 and further alterations were made in 1908 by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Renishaw had two owners between 1862 (when Sir George Sitwell succeeded in his infancy) and 1965, when Sir Osbert Sitwell gave the house to his nephew, Sir Reresby Sitwell, 7th Baronet. He was the eldest son of Sir Sacheverell Sitwell brother of Edith and Osbert and owned the hall from 1965 until 2009 when he bequeathed it to his daughter, Alexandra Hayward. The house and estate are separated from the Renishaw baronetcy for the first time in the family's history. Sir George Sitwell lives at Weston Hall.

 

Architecture

 

The house was built in stages and has an irregular plan. It is constructed in ashlar and coursed rubble coal measures sandstone with crenellated parapets with pinnacles. It has pitched slate roofs.

 

Gardens

 

The gardens, including an Italianate garden laid out by Sir George Sitwell (1860–1943), are open to the public. The hall is open for groups by private arrangement. The park is listed in the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England as Grade II*.

 

The 1980 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice used footage shot at Renishaw Hall. D. H. Lawrence is said to have used the local village of Eckington and Renishaw Hall as inspiration for his novel Lady Chatterley's Lover.

   

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renishaw_Hall

 

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1054857

 

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000683

 

www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/renishaw_hall_garden

 

www.visitchesterfield.info/things-to-do/renishaw-hall-and...

 

www.kevinwgelder.com/renishaw-hall/

 

www.thegardeningwebsite.co.uk/renishaw-hall-and-gardens-c...

 

www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/GardenDetails/RENISHAW-HALL

 

www.renishaw-hall.co.uk

 

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

 

Renishaw Hall

 

Heritage Category: Park and Garden

 

Grade: II*

 

List Entry Number: 1000683

  

Location

 

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

 

County: Derbyshire

 

District: North East Derbyshire (District Authority)

 

Parish: Eckington

 

National Grid Reference: SK4345978378

  

Details

 

Gardens and a park of the late C19 and early C20 with C17 origins which were laid out by Sir George Sitwell.

 

HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT

 

The Sitwell family appear in records of 1301 when they were resident at Ridgeway, c 2km from Renishaw. The family settled in Stavely Netherthorpe in the earlier C16 and the site at Renishaw was acquired by Robert Sytwell in the mid C16 when he bought fields and common land. By 1600 it had become the family seat. The family acquired wealth through their ironworks which by the end of the C17 were the largest producers of iron nails in the world. The estate passed through marriage to the Hurt family who changed their name to Sitwell in 1777. Sir George Sitwell (1860-1943), fourth baronet, was responsible for the layout of the formal gardens and wrote On the Making of Gardens in 1909. The estate has remained in the Sitwell family since that time and is in private ownership (1998).

 

DESCRIPTION

 

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

 

Renishaw Hall lies to the west of the village of Renishaw from which it is divided by a railway line. The village of Eckington lies to the north-west, there are open fields to the north-east and west, and an opencast mine to the south. To the north and west the boundary is formed by Staveley Lane, the B6053, and to the east by the A616. Fencing divides the south side of the park from an opencast mine. The c 100ha site is on land which falls to the east.

 

ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES

 

The main entrance is on the north-east side of the site where gates lead to a drive running south-west from the A616. Some 100m south-west of the entrance there is an early C19 lodge and entrance archway (listed grade II) which was designed by Sir Sitwell Sitwell and moved to this position in the mid C19. The drive turns north-west up a hill and continues westwards to the Hall and stables. An entrance with gates on the north side of the site runs south from the B6053. On the south-west side of the site there is an entrance from Staveley Lane from which a track leads north through Chesterfield Approach Plantation. The track continues north-east from the edge of the Plantation and from this point trees alongside it are the remains of an avenue shown on the large-scale OS map of 1875 which was probably part of a system of avenues shown on an C18 estate map.

 

PRINCIPAL BUILDING

 

Renishaw Hall (listed grade I) was built in c 1625 by George Sitwell as an H-plan house. The building was altered and extended 1793-1808 by Joseph Badger for Sitwell Sitwell, first baronet. Edwin Lutyens (1866-1944) was responsible for interior alterations in 1909. The Hall is in use as a private residence (1998).

 

Stables (listed grade II*) by Badger are ranged around a courtyard c 100m north-west of the Hall.

 

GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS

 

On the north side of the Hall there are lawns in an area shown on the C18 estate map as an enclosure. There are views north over parkland and agricultural land beyond. Formal gardens lie on the south side of the Hall axially aligned with its south front. They consist of rectangular compartments divided from one another by clipped hedges which are terraced down to the south in three stages, as well as occupying different levels as the land falls to the east. A terrace running along the front of the Hall overlooks a square lawn lined with topiary on the east and west sides which divides it from two smaller lawns called the First Candle on the west side and the Second Candle to the east. Each of these areas has a fountain, the appearance of which gave rise to the name. A bank divides the First Candle from an area of higher ground called Top Lawn where a lime avenue runs north/south along the length of the gardens. This is one of several avenues shown on the C18 estate map and probably represents one of the only surviving features of a layout instituted in c 1698 by George Sitwell which included walled orchards and yew hedges. To the west of the avenue, c 60m south-west of the Hall, there is a gothick temple (listed grade II) which was designed by Joseph Badger in the early C19 as an aviary and is now used as a pet cemetery (1998).

 

A second terraced walk lined with clipped hedges runs east/west across the garden, c 50m south of the Hall. At the east end the walk leads through a gateway into woodland called Broxhill Wood which is marked 'Little Old Orchard' on the C18 estate map. A classical temple of late C20 date lies c 120m south-east of the Hall in the woodland. The walk overlooks a central lawn with a circular swimming pool. In a compartment to the east called Lower Lawn there is a water garden which consists of a central sub-rectangular island with clipped hedges within a rectangular water-filled enclosure. On the west side of the swimming pool an enclosure with lawns is called the Buttress Garden for the buttressed wall which divides it from Top Lawn to the west. Clipped hedges divide these areas from a grass walk running along the top of a ha-ha, c 100m south of the Hall, which runs east/west across the bottom of the garden. This overlooks a central semicircular lawn divided from the park by railings. There are views to the south of the lakes and parkland.

 

The C18 map shows the Hall surrounded by gardens laid out in geometrical patterns with quartering paths, and the area south of these is marked 'Great Old Orchard'. The layout shown probably represents that instituted by George Sitwell in c 1698. The 1875 OS map shows that apart from a small area on the south-east side of the Hall, the formal gardens had been swept away, and a lawn, divided from the park by a ha-ha and flanked by the lime avenue, is shown on the south side of the Hall.

 

PARK

 

There is parkland on all sides of the Hall. To the north the land falls and the north-east part of the park is laid out as a golf course which was created in the early C20. Old Waterworks Plantation shelters part of the north-east boundary, and North Wood, which is to the west of the drive from Eckington, separates the golf course from parkland to the west. Some 350m west of the Hall is a set of walled paddocks, shown on the 1875 OS map, which probably originated as a stud farm and are now (1998) vineyards. Chesterfield Approach Plantation lies immediately south of the paddocks and in the area between this and the gardens there are the remains of at least one lime avenue, shown on the 1875 OS map, which survives from the formal layout shown on the C18 estate map and runs parallel to the avenue within the garden.

 

East and south of the Hall the land falls and in the valley there are two lakes. The northernmost is the smaller of the two, and the southern lake, which has an island near its south-east shore, is c 500m in length. Sir George Sitwell was MP for Scarborough and conceived of the scheme to construct the lakes as relief for the unemployed in his constituency and they were duly created by unemployed fishermen in the closing years of the C19. To the north of the lake is Renishaw Wood and Broxhill Wood, and along the east boundary Willowbed Plantation, designed to screen the railway and ironworks. The planting in this and possibly in other areas of the park was directed by William Milner who was employed by Sir George in 1890. The land rises up to the south and west from the lake with Halfmoon Plantation sheltering the south-east boundary. A patch of woodland on the sloping land c 800m south-west of the house is called Milner Plantation.

 

KITCHEN GARDEN

 

Some 200m south-west of the Hall are the remains of a kitchen garden. An orangery entered from the north side from a door with a pedimented doorcase is in ruinous condition (1998), as are the attached walls which have arched entrances. A tennis court lies south of the orangery. The 1875 OS map shows the garden with two compartments, the southern of which occupied the tennis court area. Another kitchen garden, also shown on the 1875 OS map, lies immediately west of the stable block. It is walled and has a number of free-standing glasshouses, some of which are probably of late C19 or early C20 date.

 

Legacy

 

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

 

Legacy System number: 1674

 

Legacy System: Parks and Gardens

  

Sources

 

Books and journals

 

Jellicoe, G, Jellicoe, S (at al), The Oxford Companion to Gardens, (1986), 519-20

Sitwell, R, The Garden at Renishaw Hall, (c1995)

Sitwell, R, Renishaw Hall, (c1995)

 

Other

 

Country Life (14 May 1948), pp 506-11

Country Life, 162 (1 September 1977), pp 522-5

Country Life, 83 (7 May 1948), pp 476-80

Estate Map, probably early C18 (private collection)

OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1875

OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition surveyed 1874-5

 

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000683

Addition to my long standing window series that I must organise sometime, next lockdown perhaps?

Nearly made it B&W but then why bother?

Never touched the white balance, just auto, good old M8 keeps plugging on, like her owner perhaps?

 

All questions today.

 

Northampton MA

In addition to Acadia's beautiful hiking trails, there are also over 45 miles of carriage roads built by millionaire philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. between 1913 and 1940. Originally conceived as a way to give city folk an escape to the natural world, the carriage road system wanders through some of the best forested and lakeside scenery and is enjoyed by bikers, hikers, and horseback and horse-drawn carriage riders alike.

 

© Lindbloom Photography

  

5G1A1222-E

Mounts Bay Coaches 2006 BMC Condor, YK55 AUN, "Trevithick".

Addition to my personal collection. Rune Plan, 2003.

laguna heights - san francisco, california. 6 stitched images.

In addition to our refrigerator conking out, we got a more pleasant (but still problematic...) surprise from the pregnant stray cat that has been hanging around recently, sneaking food here and there. She had disappeared for a couple of weeks, and we thought perhaps something had happened to her. Well, clearly....something did! 😉

It seems she had a litter of kittens under our tool shed...and they just popped their little heads out last week. As if we didn't have enough trouble right now! 😲

Yeah they are undeniably cute as the dickens....but we simply can't handle that many cats. 🙀 Mom is very friendly and we're pretty sure she is currently unowned, so as soon as she is finished nursing her little fuzzballs, she is going to the vet to be spayed....and we will have to find homes for at least two of her babies. I've already decided to keep the cream colored one, and maybe one more if push comes to shove...but no more. Any takers??? Yeah...I already know the answer....😉

Shibuya, Tokyo

September 2011

Based on M. Raichelson's "Behemoth" design, with many novel additions.

Supermonduntergang unter dem neusten Anbau der ISS, dem letzten Europaischen ATV Raumschiff

 

A supermoon setting behind our newest addition to ISS: the last European ATV spaceship

 

Credit: ESA/NASA

Another addition of Amtrak 6, the Zephyr climbs Spanish Fork Canyon, early in the morning. Amtrak 335 and 322 are today's power.