Chow Chow breed.

Recent DNA analysis confirm that this breed is one of the oldest dog breeds. Research indicates it is one of the first primitive breeds to evolve from the gray wolf, and is thought by many to have originated in the arid steppes of northern China/Mongolia, although other theorists conjecture that its origin is in Siberian regions of Asia. A Chinese bas-relief from 150 BCE shows a hunting dog and a dog very friendly toward children similar in appearance to the Chow Chow. Later, Chow Chows were bred as general-purpose working dogs for hunting, herding and protection of the home. The black tongued Chow Chow was also bred for human consumption. Some scholars claim the Chow Chow was the original ancestor of the Samoyed, Norwegian Elkhound, Pomeranian, and Keeshond.

In the United States, the Chow Chow was a highly popular pet among the rich and famous during the Roaring Twenties. President Calvin Coolidge and his wife owned a black Chow Chow named Timmy.

   

Jeanne Villepreux-Power (1794–1871) was 17 when she began her 186 mile walk from her home in rural France to her dream job as a seamstress in Paris. On the way, the cousin assigned as her guardian sexually assaulted her and fled with her identity papers. Jeanne found shelter in a convent and, as soon as she had new travel documents, kept going. By the time she made it to Paris, the position she had been promised was already taken. The only job she could secure was as a seamstress’s assistant.

Four years (and thousands of dresses) later, Jeanne was tasked with outfitting a duchess for a royal wedding. At the ceremony, she met and fell in love with an English merchant, married & moved with him to Messina, Sicily. There, she immersed herself in reading about geology and natural history and set out to study the island’s ecosystem.

Walking the shoreline and wading into the sea in her long skirts, she observed one of Earth’s most alien life-forms: the small octopus Argonauta argo, known as paper nautilus. This creature had fascinated naturalists like Aristotle and Leonardo da Vinci with the mystery of its spiral shell. They wondered whether the animal made it, or, like the hermit crab, inherited as a hand-me-down.

Observing argonauts in the wild is incredibly difficult — the skittish creatures flee the surface and plunge into the depths as soon as they feel they are being approached, puffing a cloud of ink between themselves and their perceived predator.

To bypass their shyness, Jeanne designed and constructed the world’s first offshore research station— a system of immense cages she anchored off the coast, complete with observation windows through which she could study the argonauts undisturbed. Every day, she prepared food for them, rowed her boat to the cages, and knelt at the platform, making notes & drawings.

For closer observation, Jeanne invented the first aquarium. Her home became a marine biology lab, stacked with vast tanks. She started with the obvious yet radical insight that you cannot understand the living morphology of a creature by studying dead specimens (how all naturalists studied at the time). To find out when and how the argonaut gets to have a shell, you must observe it from birth. She wrote: “I armed myself with patience and courage, and only after several months managed to dissolve my doubts and see my research crowned with happy confirmation.”

In a series of groundbreaking experiments she began in 1833 — the final year of her thirties — the seamstress-turned-scientist solved the ancient mysteries of whether, how, and when the argonaut makes its spiral home: she demonstrated “by unequivocal proofs, that the female Argonauta octopus is the builder of its shell.”

Her most revolutionary experiment demonstrated a phenomenon no one had ever imagined. Jeanne made a small puncture in the shell of an adult female to see whether and how the animal would repair itself, and what that might reveal about its intelligence, in an era when science was yet to recognize the consciousness of non-human animals. She watched in marvel as the octopus protruded its front arms and, sweeping the silvery membranes previously thought to function as sails over the puncture like a windshield wiper, seal it back into cohesion with a glutenous substance, the chemical composition of which she analyzed and determined to be identical to the calcium carbonate of the original shell. The restored part, she observed, was more robust than the shell itself, “somewhat bumpy, puffy,” not following the regular furrows of the shell but corrugating sideways, a sort of scar.

Next, she developed an experiment that only someone who had spent years sewing pieces of fabric together might consider. She decided to see whether the argonaut could repair its shell using spare parts. She broke off a small piece of an adult’s shell, but this time she placed in the tank next to it fragments from other shells. To her astonishment, the argonaut rushed to the pieces and began feeling them out with its arms, searching for the suitable shape, then applied it to its own shell and began the work of welding, struggling to orient the furrows of the borrowed piece parallel to those of its existing shell to patch the hole.

She spent hours bent over the cage, watching this staggering feat of multiple intelligences. Naturalists before her, working only with dead specimens and theoretical conjecture, had declared this impossible.

Since women were excluded from the scientific establishment, unable to attend universities or speak at learned societies, her research was transmitted to the world by proxy. In 1839, Sir Richard Owen — England’s preeminent scientist in the era before Charles Darwin, read one of her letters and presented her findings to the London Zoological Society. Her research was a revelation. Soon, it was being published in English, French, and German, and circulated widely across Europe. By the end of her long life, she belonged to more than a dozen scientific societies. Her research not only illuminated an enduring mystery about the physiology and biology of a particular species of octopus, but, through her experiments on shell repair, laid the groundwork for the study of octopus intelligence, which has forever changed our understanding of consciousness itself.

There’s a window of peacefulness at Smuggler’s Cove, it seems. Earlier in the day there were lots of young families with all the chatter that entails (not annoying, just noisy), as well as lots of dog owners letting the beasts run wild* (just as noisy, much more annoying). But for now everything is peaceful.

 

I love the varied colours in the shallows — the sea here runs from pale green to deep blue.

 

The origin of the name Smuggler Cove is subject to much speculation. One theory holds that the bay was used by one Larry "Pig Iron" Kelly to pick up Chinese labourers to be smuggled into the United States after the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Another story is that the concealed cove was used as a transhipment location for the smuggling of bootleg liquor, produced on neighbouring Texada Island, into the US during the prohibition era. Given the cove's proximity to Secret Cove, one can conjecture at some connection.

 

This is a High Dynamic Range panorama stitched from 24 bracketed images with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, then touched up in Aperture.

 

Original size: 10635 × 4349 (46.3 MP; 215.94 MB).

 

Location: Smuggler Cover Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada

  

*Any dog who leaves paw prints on my chest isn’t "under control" — and in any case I would expect the owners to heed the "pets must be on leash" signs.

This small surface transport rover is one of the first examples of a photosynthetically powered vehicle. The Biotron faction were able to unlock the secrets of chlorophyll energy amplification and harness it as an energy source. The "engine" needs only a shot of full spectrum light to get started and once it is going, requires only the occasional drink of water and perhaps a little light jazz and a few honest compliments to run indefinitely. It can be a little sluggish to wake up on a rainy autumn Saturday, but who isn't?

-Another small rover for FebRovery 2016. My apologies to Crimso for any misappropriation of Biotron fact, fiction or conjecture. :)

I don't know how else to say it: today we saw a dragon.

I'm just glad it didn't see us, because it was huge and probably a carnivore. Let me explain.

Djiimi and I were walking above the abyss on the narrow strip in single file while small clouds rolled in the wind around us, sometimes obscuring our trail. There were a few ferns here and there to point the way, but they were growing sparsely, and we would only find one every couple dozen yards or so. Besides these and whatever Djiimi disturbed this morning when she threw a stone into the abyss,we hadn't seen any signs of life here. It was eerie, but I was finally getting some peace and quiet to contemplate our situation. First there was Quane, who I was terrified we'd be too late to save. Djiimi has been stuck here longer and has some knowledge of the plants and animals; (which explains how she knew what plant to heal me with) she assured me that if Quane's captor was what she thought it was, it wouldn't touch her until it got to its lair, which definitely wasn't here. I still worried though. And then there was Djiimi. I didn't know what to think of her, she seemed to be on our side, but her story didn't add up. She had thanked nameum or something when I came to, and it sounded like some sort of deity. I remember vaguely that there was something called religion when I was small, but the Empress got rid of it when she came to power. Djiimi seemed younger than me, so how could she have gods? I'd also never seen any other mutants in the Empire, although there were myths and whispered stories of children born with extra limbs and eyes or red fur...

My train of thought was interrupted by a distant rumble from below us. Djiimi looked at me, and though her face was as expressionless than ever, there was fear in her eyes.

"We should get away from here," she said.

The rumbling noise sounded again, closer this time.

We started running.

It emanated from beneath us again, and this time I recognized it as a roar. We fell back and cowered as a giant purple shadow burst through the clouds, a scaly winged terror with wings twelve feet long and a horned face with a pair of wicked looking mandibles at the front. Two green slits stared out at us, but by some miracle it did not notice us as its lithe serpentine body arched over our little stretch of solid ground before plunging back into the infinite blackness on the other side. It roared again, a deep pulsating hiss that penetrated my bones and shook my soul. Then it was gone.

 

We are both terrified and on the alert as we continue on our way. My staff is gone now, it was knocked into the chasm when the dragon passed us. Now that I know what lurks in the depths below us I dare not return to my conjectures about Djiimi...

 

Well here's number fourteen, enjoy and PLEASE favor and comment, because that dragon taxed both my patience and the laws of physics! :D

 

Simonopetra Monastery or Simonos Petra (Greek: Σιμωνόπετρα or Σίμωνος Πέτρα) is one of the many monasteries that occupy the peninsula commonly called Mount Athos. It is dedicated to the Nativity of Christ. It is ranked thirteenth in the hierarchical order of the Mount Athos monasteries located on the peninsula. While the origins of a monastery founded by Blessed Simon the Myrrh-flowing that may have been the beginnings of the existing monastery are clouded in the mists of time, the recorded establishment of the present monastery around 1368 is credited to the Serbian prince Ioannis (Joan, Jovan) Uglješa. The monastery has through the years experienced changing fortunes as it has weathered various political and leadership issues and natural disasters. With the formation of a number of metochia during the twentieth century the monastery is weathering the latest disastrous fire of 1990.

 

Early Origins

 

Establishment of settlements of hermits on Athos began in the later part of the first millennium. Organized monastic communities, while maintaining close relations with Athos, were restricted to the neighboring Halkidiki area. As the numbers of monks increased in the Athos area, the use of the expression "holy mountain" began to appear. This expression had been in use for many areas where sizable communities of monks grew. Formal recognition of the Athonite and neighboring coenobium communities was by Basil I in 857 who granted imperial privileges to the communities that protected the monks from tax collectors. Emperor Romanus I Lecepenus, in 941, then introduced annual grants for the monks at Athos. As the tenth century progressed further imperial support was given to anchorite communities at Athos. By the turn of the millennium Mt. Athos was a large and economically strong community with prestige and influence in Constantinople.

 

History

 

The origins of Simonopetra monastery on Mt. Athos before Prince Ioannis Ugljesa has relied upon information in the Life of the Blessed Simon and writings of Bp. Porfiry (Porphirios) Uspensky. These discuss the existence of a "Monastery of Simon" on Mt. Athos in the tenth and eleventh centuries. Other than the paucity of information about this "Monastery of Simon" and the later note of construction of the monastery on Simon's rock little is known of the intervening years other than conjecture based upon tradition attached to the Blessed Simon and the similarity of the name. In the event a monastery of Simonopetra was completed around 1257, and the reputation of the monastery attracted many monks.

 

In the intervening years the monastery declined until Prince Ioannis Ugljesa, impressed with the reputation of the Blessed Simon, petitioned Cyril Lucaris, Patriarch of Constantinople, to reactivate the empty monastery. With this permission, Ugljesa immediately built an entire monastery, but, after a brief period of prosperity, Athos and the monastery entered into the chaos and ruin of the ascendency of the Ottoman Turks over the area. Most records of this period were destroyed in a great fire of 1580. Yet, the monastery had functioned without interruption. On December 11, 1580, the monastery suffered total destruction by fire killing many of the monks. The survivors, however, were able to save the coffers of the monastery, which apparently were considerable as the Simonopetra monks were able to buy the assets and administration of a neighboring monastery, Xenophontos Monastery as a temporary home. As rebuilding the monastery required consideration funds, the abbot, Evyenios, journeyed to Wallachia in 1587 to raise money. Earlier in 1566, the Great Postelnik Gheorma in Wallachia had donated the Monastery of St Nicholas in the suburbs of Bucharest to Simonopetra monastery as a metochi. In the meantime the rebuilding of the monastery at Mt. Athos continued so that by 1586 the monks were back in their own monastery.

 

On June 8, 1622, Simonopetra experienced a second fire. However, this one only caused minor damage, and by 1623, the abbot, Timotheos, dedicated the restored katholikon. After this time the monastery appeared to enter a period of decline. By 1745 the population of the monastery had decreased to five. Finally, in 1762, the monastery was closed and taken over by the central administration of Athos (the Great Mese) to satisfy its creditors. In the meantime, Fr. Ioasaph of Mytilene managed to raise enough funds to buy back the monastery's metochia and restore parts of the monastery. However, the revival was accompanied by apparent financial wrongdoings that brought Patriarch Kallinikos into assert control and eventually assign a new abbot, Dionysios.

 

This period of chaos continued when the effects of the Greek independence movement caused the occupation of Mt. Athos by the Turks. While the monastery continued to function, the high taxation by the Turks and looting resulted in the departure of all the monks by 1823. After the Turks departed in 1830, the monastery returned to a life of constant turmoil. This turmoil continued until the destructive fire of May 27, 1891. Through the efforts of the abbot, Neophytos, and both with the cooperation and demands of the Russian Church Simonopetra was again restored and was flourishing by the turn of the century.

 

Under the leadership of Abbot Ieronymos, Simonopetra continued to flourish. But, after his retirement to the metochi of the Ascension in Athens in 1931, the Simonopetra monastery began another decline both intellectually and spiritually. By the time of his death in 1957, the decline of monasticism on Mt. Athos, as well as Simonopetra, was well advanced as depopulation of the monasteries continued. In 1973 a rebirth began at Simonopetra when a large group of monks under the leadership of Abbot Aimilianos Vafeidis arrived from the Monastery of the Transfiguration at Meteora. Subsequently a number of metochia were established under the guidance of the monks of Simonopetra, including three in France. Again Simonopetra was faced with the destruction of monastery property by a fire that started on August 14, 1990, on Mt. Athos that lasted 14 days. This again presented a challenge for the monks.

 

Recordings

 

In recent years, the monastery has become world-renowned for its high-quality recordings of traditional Byzantine chant in Greek and has a growing discography.

 

Hymns from the Psalter (1990)

O Pure Virgin (Agni Partheni) (1990)

Divine Liturgy (1999)

Great Vespers (1999)

Paraklesis (1999)

Service of Saint Simon (1999)

Sunday Matins (Orthros) (1999)

Service of St. Silouan the Athonite (2004)

Chatwick Chronicles

A Persistent Saga

Intro

The Doctoral Candidate

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

From Chatwick SL

The study below was derived from facts uncovered while doing research for the following Doctoral dissertation:

Light to the shadows of their mind:

Criminal tactics and strategies

Criminology Department .

Chatwick University

Case Study 48

Accounts derived from a series of meetings clandestinely conducted with the subject.

***

She had never had interviewed anyone quite like this one, even Angelica!

 

She was in the twilight of a doctoral thesis that had been in the works for almost three years now. The research she was doing centered on career criminals, trying to pinpoint in her studies of how they operated, trying to establish motives that may have been compelling enough for them to have lived the lives they did. Her conjectures were that by understanding their thought processes, a series of tests could be developed that could be used on younger subjects to determine their rehabilitation attainment perspective.

  

She had interviewed dozens of career criminals from assorted paths in life. Most of whom had been hardened ,elderly, and had paid their dues, or were in the process of doing so( Prison). It had not been an easy time of it, a rough road of hurt, treachery and deceit, running the gauntlet from muggers, to pickpockets, to burglars, to various other thieves. Gathering information from them, weeding fact from fiction through checking histories, deciding whether or not to use what she had gathered it in her research , testing the results and writing them up! The last 3 years had certainly been a rollercoaster ride, a whirlwind of activity, number crunching, and pages upon pages of notes:. then, amongst all this controlled chaos of her work, He had come into her life

  

This One had been different. He had contacted her, never revealing exactly why, or how He had heard of her and her project. She had gone into it blind, not knowing anything about the man, what he did, or really even if it was at all relevant to her research. She had only the subjects assurance, through an intermediary( A Priest), that it would be to her benefit to interview him.

  

She had already made plans to go out that evening when abruptly informed of the time of meeting she had been trying to coordinate with him. She was under the impression that it was a one shot deal, and would not last for more than a couple of hours.

  

Since she would already be in the city, she convinced her date to act as chaperone, and then they would leave after the interview for their night out clubbing. She had thought nothing of wearing her favorite party dress to the interview. It was a pretty thing, a russet velvet top and bronze taffeta skirt. She had even worn her good jewelry, gold with inset pearls, wearing her long hair down, but tied back so the long earrings of the set could dangle freely.

  

She remembered clearly the evening of their first encounter; it had almost seemed ominous when she and her companion had pulled up to the address given to her. It was an old lime stoned church, with gothic overlays, the stone darkened black with age. All it needed was a group of villagers with torches and pitchforks to make the picture complete, her friend had joked, but she had not found it funny.

  

She had gone inside with some reservation, it all seemed too much like something out of a film noir bit of theatre. She remembered thinking that thought as , just before opening one of the old oak doors to the church, as she was brushing back a wisp of her hair, her fingers touching a long pearled gold earring. She also had remembered thinking, as she had been going through her notes weeks afterwards, how much differently she would have approached the interview if she had been aware of the most peculiar nature of the Man waiting inside for her!

  

She may have given more thought to how she had dressed, if she had known the type of man she was interviewing! But as it turned out, her idea to kill 2 birds with one stone that evening may have been quite fortuitous indeed.

  

The Priest, vicar of the church, met the two of them as they came into the church. He was a cheerful man in his mid-fifties with reddish hair and beard , complete with a deep Irish brogue and twinkling green eyes, He had had her companion go up into the choir loft, where there were refreshments of scones, tea and/or wine. The good father indicated that once she was situated at the interview, he would join her date in the loft to keep her companion company. This would become the practice with rest of her various escorts from the University; sitting with the Vicar in the choir loft as the priest kept an ever watchful eye on the activities going on below in the nave of his church.

  

Otherwise the church was deserted, except for Him. She never did meet with Him face to face. They used , appropriately enough, one of the old oak confessionals. Although He could see her through the screen , all she could see was a darkened shadowy figure. Later she would learn that the confessional had a secret door, with a monk’s passage that led out somewhere in the bowls of the catacombs below the church. She was never to find out where it went, came out, or was ever offered to explore the passage by the Vicar.

  

Her subject possessed a deep, sing-song voice had a light eastern welsh accent, with his carefully selected words spoken crisply, succinctly, and right to the point, very little emotion behind anything he told her. She guessed his age at around fifty,( based on the priests age) and it would always vex her to know if he was that age, younger, or if he was as handsome as he sounded, she had to admit to herself.

  

He was polite, obviously well educated, and listened to her questions seemingly with deep interest. On her own part she found herself paying rapt attention at what he told her, writing down his words in a note book, using the dim light from the church coming into the confessional doorway way she kept open. She was not permitted to tape the interviews, and she felt compelled to make as many notes as she could.

  

She had approached the whole affair holding a grain of salt. It could be all something of a hoax, a bit of tom foolery designed to lead her on. She knew of one or two individuals capable of such deceptions, willing to go to such lengths to play with her mind a bit, so it was not totally with a blind eye that she first came into these interviews.

  

It was quite soon into their first meeting that all her fears of this being a put on were quelled, it was no hoax, the cold reality was that the man on the other side of the screen, authentically was for real. He himself, almost like reading her mind, had been the first to give voice to her secret concerns about it being a hoax. It was first of many times when he appeared to anticipate one of her questions. He was for real, the real Mccoy as an American acquaintance had been found of saying. Her new subject ended up providing her with a wealth of information, and left her with almost as many unanswered questions.

  

He did not beat around the bush, informing her of what he was without hesitation or regret.

 

He was a person in a character mold that she had never quite encountered or classified before. An accomplished sleight of hand street Magician, who never made magic a profession; His career instead was that of an expert jewel thief: both a pickpocket and cat burglar, who appeared ( without actually stating) to have arisen to the upper echelons of his chosen field. He never indicated that he had ever been caught, or incarcerated, although it was clear he had not been totally unsuspected. But she had been given an impression that he was now retired, for the most part, and had done quite well by himself financially, albeit, his earnings were tainted( her opinion) by the methods he had employed to accumulate his fortune.

  

He talked about his life in singular, mentioning only sparsely people he had befriended, including the Irish vicar, or at least one Irish priest whom she assumed was the one present during the interviews. He had mentioned several women by description as lovers and partners, although she had given them different names, she had a strong impression that they all may have been one and the same Lady. She wanted to believe that she, if she had indeed existed, was still a part of his guarded life, and he was protecting her from any possible repercussions of his conducting this interview...

  

The strange thing was, and as a Psych Major she was unable to fully explain her actions, she found herself becoming enveloped in his story, like she had been almost a player in his escapades. She had never experienced that, not even with the charming female pickpocket, Angelica.

  

He had given the impression that he had only wanted to be interviewed once, and that there were to be limited questions. But he didn’t follow that course, seemingly encouraging her to ask questions, and it was he, himself, asking her if they could meet again. She had jumped on the opportunity. She found herself looking forward to his interviews, even dressing up for them, even going so far as wearing her pearls on several occasions. He seemed to open up more when she did, and she began to wonder sometimes, as she was alone in her room transcribing the information, if perhaps he saw in her potential prey. It was for this reason that she always took inventory of her jewelry after the interview was over, feeling just a wee bit silly in the process!

  

And so, sometimes as he talked, she was finding herself secretly hoping he was watching her, maybe even…. Well nothing ever came about anyway of course, she was a professional herself. And he had left her life after that final interview as he had come into it… a mystery man. She later came to the conclusion that it was all because she could not see his face, was unable to see how his eyes moved, his expressions, and so, she had begun invented things from her own deep personal fantasies to fill in the gaps, and despite her training, had begun to allow herself to come under the spell of her own imagination. It would never happen again, she promised herself, in her field of study, it could spell disaster!

  

So, afterwards, she just concentrated on putting it all together, trying to keep her emotions in check. As an outlet she began to write down some of his narratives, a chronicle of his life as she had been allowed to delve into. She had asked, and from the dark shadows of the confessional, had received his voiced blessing to do so.

 

The accounts below are derived from those chronicles.

  

That first meeting, as she had gotten her things together, she had automatically started off by asking him for a first name, he hadn’t answered , and she never did receive a proper one. But then, as she was gathering her things to leave, he had said, in his pleasantly rolling welsh accent;

Luv, just call me Chatwick …..

 

SEE :

Anatomy of a Jewel Thief

For part Duex of the Chatwick Chronicles

 

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Try to photograph the anoles during the day, and you will quickly realize that they are exceptionally agile, visually acute and very responsive to movement or anything that might be construed as threatening. They have to be. They lack venom and/or poison, no physical deterrents, no real defensive displays, they are lambs in a forest of wolves. But...all defensive strategies are not necessarily so dramatic or "active". Passive defensive strategies like camouflage are hugely effective, and avoid conflict in the first place. "You can run, but you can't hide", a photographer might say, stupidly not realizing just who he is dealing with". Only to realize that once again nature has made a fool of him... Or her...this is obviously a hypothetical with no basis on my own experience...

Predators choose the most suitable prey based on their current needs, both nutritionally (vitamin/mineral composition) as well as their gross energy needs (Larger, and more potentially dangerous prey will only be approached when a predator is facing starvation, or extenuating circumstances like feeding their young). Outwardly, the anoles seem like the ideal food source. However, like the photographer, they are likely to give up quickly when faced with the reality. It's a delicious, ripe, tasty ambrosia, but it is a mirage, that recedes as one draws near. A gust of movement, the trace of malintent and an empty stomach, or a photo of an empty branch is ones only reward.

Crypsis and speed would seem to be the winning combination. But the anole leads a complicated life, not only must it, you know, not be eaten, but it must also guard its territory against potential rival males and woo females. Unfortunately being the most cryptic is not a feature that females find particularly mate-worthy. But what's that gorgeous bright, orange thing? It has red and ohhhhh, you can make it bigger or smaller. Colour me intrigued!

Camouflage has had its day; now, it is time to attract a female. The male, possessing a colourful fold of expandable skin under its neck, known as the dewlap will choose a perch, usually highly visible and expand the fold of skin until it is fully inflated. It will bob its head, possibly wave its arms, anything to garner attraction. It is an invitation...and a challenge. When sex is on the table, you can bet all those guys that moments before were lounging on the couch have suddenly perked up. Rivals will square off, head-bobbing and inflating their dewlaps. While most encounters are quickly resolved without violence and with larger individuals carrying the day, biting and wrestling in some species might also be observed. Dewlap evolution is still a thing of conjecture and hypotheses with most theories revolving around sexual selection.

The anole truly is the cryptic beauty. See more #reptilesofSani.

Photographed for the #SaniProject2017. Follow us at #DestinationEcuador #Sanilodge #Paulbertner.

A corner of St. Mary's Church Fetcham with the setting sun reflecting in one of the small stained glass windows .

 

Built during Anglo-Saxon and early Norman periods, the structure has been conjectured by the Victoria County History's architectural analysis to have been a redevelopment of an Anglo-Saxon church:

 

Roman bricks in considerable quantities in Fetcham Church, remains of Anglo-Saxon architecture in the church...

...quoins and dressings of thin red bricks, no doubt Roman, set in wide mortar joints.

 

Traces of its long past exist in many parts of its structure. These include the south-west quoin of the nave, and a single splay window high on the south wall with traces of Roman brick, as well as arches which fit with the architecture prevailing before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

 

In the 19th century a considerable amount of restoration and improvement in the church was carried out by Rev. Sir Edward Moon rector from 1854 to 1904. Moon inherited his baronetcy in 1871 on the death of his father Sir Francis Moon, 1st Baronet, who was commemorated in much of the restoration work in the church.

 

The structure gained listed status in 1951, has some stained glass windows, and is classed as Grade II*.

 

A suitable sight and sound to go with the shot .

 

youtu.be/FBanU-AHMqg

  

Photos from our road trip down the South Island of New Zealand in January. This shot was taken in Oamaru our stop of for lunch on the first day of our trip, January 20, 2015 New Zealand.

 

The whitestone townscape of Oamaru contains some of the best-preserved heritage buildings in New Zealand. In the late 19th century, the town prospered through gold-mining, quarrying and timber milling. Some of the wealth was spent on elegant stone buildings made from local limestone.

 

This Harbour-Tyne Street area in the Victorian precinct is particularly special and great for shopping is great too.

 

The name Oamaru derives from Māori words meaning the place of Maru.The identity of Maru remains open to conjecture.

For more Info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oamaru

The monastery of Solesmes, on the bank of the Sarthe, on the frontier between Maine and Anjou, France, was created at the beginning of the eleventh century at the initiative and on the lands of the seigneur Geoffrey de Sable. The great abbey of St Peter de la Couture at Le Mans, to whom the new establishment was entrusted, sent thither the first Benedictine monks. For eight centuries Solesmes remained dependent on the Abbey of la Couture, of which it was a priory. The charter of this gift was drawn up on the occasion of the dedication of the new church of the monastery. It took place certainly on a 12th of October between 1006 and 1015. The year of the foundation received by tradition as the foundation- date, 1010, is pure conjecture.

At 1707 hrs on 29th April 1989, 47327 approaches Hadnall on the Crewe to Shrewsbury line with southbound Gulf oil tanks.

 

There is some conjecture as to the identity of this working (see comments below). On this date, the line between Wolverhampton North Junction and Stafford Road Junction was closed for bridge replacement which would have necessitated the diversion of the Albion Oil Terminal to Waterston empties, but it may have been a train returning from British Tar at Glazebrook.

 

292'10731

This is an illustration by Toronto artist Jody Hewgill

www.jodyhewgill.com

 

Billie Holiday

(April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959), also called Lady Day, was an American singer, generally considered one of the greatest female jazz voices of all time, alongside Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald.

 

Born Eleanora Fagan Gough, Billie Holiday had a difficult childhood which greatly affected her life and career. Much of her childhood is clouded by conjecture and legend, some of it propagated by herself in her autobiography published in 1956. This account is known to contain many inaccuracies. Her professional pseudonym was taken from Billie Dove, an actress she admired, and Clarence Holiday, her father. At the outset of her career, she spelled her last name "Halliday", presumably to distance herself from her neglectful father, but eventually changed it back to "Holiday".

 

She was born in Philadelphia but grew up in the Fells Point section of Baltimore, Maryland. According to her autobiography, her house was the first on their street to have electricity. Her mother Sadie moved to Philadelphia to hide her pregnancy. Sadie was allegedly only thirteen at the time of her birth (according to Ancestry.com, her Mother's birth year is 1896, making Billie's mother the age of 19 when she was born); her father Clarence Holiday, a jazz guitarist who would play for Fletcher Henderson, was 17. There is some controversy regarding Holiday's paternity, stemming from a copy of her birth certificate in the Baltimore archives that lists the father as a "Frank DeViese." Some historians consider this an anomaly, probably inserted by a hospital or government worker . Clarence Holiday accepted paternity, but was hardly a responsible father. In the rare times she did see him, she would shake him down for money by threatening to tell his then-girlfriend that he had a daughter. Recent research has proven that Frank De Viese is Billie's real father.

 

According to her autobiography, her parents married when she was three, but they soon divorced, leaving her to be raised largely by her mother and other relatives. At the age of ten, she reported having been raped, which resulted in her being sent to a Catholic reform school. It was only through the assistance of a family friend that she was released two years later. Sadie remarried and abandoned Billie. She was raised by a woman that she called grandma, Martha Miller. She started skipping school heavily, and in 1925, she was sentenced to a year at House of the Good Shepherd.

 

Scarred by these experiences, Holiday moved to New York with her mother in 1928. According to her accounts, she was recruited by a brothel, worked as a prostitute, and was eventually imprisoned for a short time. It was in Harlem in the early 1930's that she started singing for tips in various night clubs. According to legend, penniless and facing eviction, she sang "Body and Soul" in a local club and reduced the audience to tears. She later worked at various clubs for tips, and ultimately we know that she worked at Pod's and Jerry's, a well known Harlem jazz club. Not a lot is known about her early singing career, but we do know that she was working at a club named Monette's in 1933 when she was discovered by talent scout John Hammond.

 

Hammond managed to get Holiday recording sessions with Benny Goodman and booked her for live performances in various New York clubs. In 1935 her career got a big push when she recorded four sides that became hits, including "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" and "Miss Brown To You". This landed her a recording contract of her own, and from 1935 to 1942 she laid down masters that would ultimately become an important segment of early American jazz. Sometimes referred to as her "Columbia period" (after her label), these recordings represent a large portion of her total body of work.

 

During this period, the American music industry was still moderately segregated, and many of the songs Holiday was given to record were intended for the black jukebox audience. She was often not considered for the 'best' songs of the day, which were reserved for white singers. However, Holiday's style and fresh sound soon caught the attention of musicians across the nation, and her popularity began to climb. Peggy Lee, who began recording with Benny Goodman in the early 1940s, is often said to have emulated Holiday's light, sensual style.

 

In 1936 she was working with Lester Young, who gave her the now-famous nickname of Lady Day. Holiday joined Count Basie in 1937 and Artie Shaw in 1938. She was one of the first black women to work with a white orchestra, an impressive accomplishment at the time.

 

Holiday was working for Columbia in the late 1930's when she was introduced to a song entitled "Strange Fruit", which began as a poem about the lynching of a black man written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish schoolteacher from the Bronx. Meeropol used the pseudonym "Lewis Allen" for the work. The poem was set to music and performed at teachers' union meetings, where it was eventually heard by the manager of Cafe Society, an integrated nightclub in Greenwich Village, who introduced it to Holiday. Holiday performed the song at Cafe Society in 1939, a move that by her own admission left her fearful of retaliation. Holiday later said that the imagery in "Strange Fruit" reminded her of her father's death, and that this played a role in her persistence to perform it.

 

She approached Columbia about recording the song, but was refused due to the subject matter of the song. She arranged to record it with an alternate label, Commodore, Milt Gabler's alternative jazz label in 1939. She would record two major sessions at Commodore, one in 1939 and one in 1944. Although there were far fewer songs recorded with Commodore, some of her biggest hits were under this label, including "Fine and Mellow", "I Cover the Waterfront" and "Embraceable You". "Strange Fruit" was highly regarded and admired by intellectuals, and is in a large part responsible for her widespread popularity. "Strange Fruit's" popularity also prompted Holiday to record the type of songs that would become her signature, namely slow, moving love ballads.

 

It is widely conjectured that this is the period where Holiday first began what would become a long, and ultimately fatal, history of substance abuse. Holiday stated that she began using hard drugs in the early 1940s.

 

Her personal life was as turbulent as the songs she sang. She married trombonist Jimmy Monroe (a small-time drug dealer) on August 25, 1941. While still married to Monroe, she took up with trumpeter Joe Guy as his common law wife. She finally divorced Monroe in 1947, and also split with Guy. In 1947 she was jailed on drug charges and served eight months at the Alderson Federal Correctional Institution for Women in West Virginia. Her New York City Cabaret Card was subsequently revoked, which kept her from working in clubs there for the remaining 12 years of her life.

 

By the 1950s Holiday's drug abuse, drinking, poor taste in abusive men, and deteriorating health set her life on a slow and steady decline. Her voice coarsened and did not project the vibrance it once did. However, she seemed to stand as a prime example of the struggling artist, and projected a certain bittersweet dignity.

 

On March 28, 1952, Holiday married Louis McKay, a Mafia "enforcer." McKay, like most of the men in her life, was abusive, but did try to get her off drugs. They were separated at the time of her death. Holiday was also rather openly bisexual and was rumored to have had several affairs with notable stage and film actresses, including Tallulah Bankhead. She sometimes had friends call her "Bill." Gossip has it that she paid prostitutes to perform oral sex on her, which she called "french kissing." Holiday also had a relationship with Orson Welles.

 

Her late recordings on Verve are as well remembered as her Commodore and Decca work. From 1952 to 1959 Holiday released a little more than 100 new recordings for this label, which would constitute about a third of her recorded work. Her voice reflects a rugged timbre on these tracks, reflecting a vulnerability to the once grand and bold diva. Her performance of "Fine and Mellow" on CBS's The Sound of Jazz program is memorable for her interplay with her long-time friend Lester Young; both were less than two years from death.

 

Holiday toured Europe in 1954 and again from late 1958 to early 1959. While in London in February 1959, Holiday made a memorable televised appearance on the BBC's Chelsea at Nine, singing, among other songs, "Strange Fruit." Holiday made her final studio recordings (with Ray Ellis and his Orchestra, who had also recorded her Lady in Satin album the previous year — see below) for the MGM label in March 1959 (included in her complete Verve recordings collection.) These final studio recordings were released posthumously on a self-titled album, later re-titled and re-released as Last Recordings. She made her final public appearance at a benefit concert at the Phoenix Theater in Greenwich Village, New York City on May 25, 1959. According to the masters of ceremony at that performance, Leonard Feather (a renowned jazz critic) and Steve Allen, she was only able to make it through two songs, one of which was "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do."

 

On May 31, 1959, she was taken to Metropolitan Hospital in New York, suffering from liver and heart problems. On July 12, she was placed under house arrest at the hospital for possession, despite evidence suggesting the drugs may have been planted on her. Holiday remained under police guard at the hospital until she died from cirrhosis of the liver on July 17, 1959 at the age of 44. In the final years of her life, she had been progressively swindled out of her earnings, and she died with only $0.70 in the bank and $750 on her person.

 

Her impact on other artists was undeniable, however; even after her death she influenced such singers as Janis Joplin and Nina Simone. In 1972, Diana Ross played her in a movie version of Holiday's autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues. To everyone's surprise, the film was a commercial smash and earned a Best Actress nomination for Ross. In 1987 U2 released "Angel of Harlem", a tribute to her.

 

Like many artists, the importance of Holiday's music and her influence were only truly realized after her death. She struggled against racism and sexism her entire career, and achieved fame despite a turbulent life. She is also often also cited as an example to the black and gay communities, both which admire her early efforts to stand up for equal rights, and to speak out against discrimination and racism. She is now considered one of the most important vocalists of the 20th century.

 

Billie Holiday is interred in Saint Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx, New York.

 

While instantly recognizable, Holiday's voice changed over time. Her first recordings in the mid-1930s featured a bouncy, girlish voice. By the early 1940s her singing became informed by her acting skill. It was during this time when she recorded her signature songs "Strange Fruit" and "I Cover the Waterfront". Many called her voice lovingly sweet, weathered and experienced, sad and sophisticated. As she aged, the effects of her drug abuse continued to ravage her range and her voice changed considerably, becoming somewhat rougher. Her last major recording, Lady in Satin, was released in 1958 and reveals a woman with an extremely limited range, but wonderful phrasing and emotion. The recording featured a backing from a 40-piece orchestra conducted and arranged by Ray Ellis, who said of the album in 1997:

 

I would say that the most emotional moment was her listening to the playback of "I'm a Fool to Want You." There were tears in her eyes...After we finished the album I went into the control room and listened to all the takes. I must admit I was unhappy with her performance, but I was just listening musically instead of emotionally. It wasn't until I heard the final mix a few weeks later that I realized how great her performance really was.

 

Billie was 5'5"

 

Her grandfather was one of seventeen children of a black Virginia female slave and a white Irish plantation owner.

 

The Black Eyed Peas paid her a tribute in a Coca Cola commercial

 

America's Next Top Model contestant Mercedes Yvette posed as Billie Holiday during a photoshoot in which the models had to portray a famous figure. The judges said that the photograph captured Billie's sweet sadness.

 

Holiday spent much of the 1930's working with famous jazz saxaphonist Lester Young. It was Young who gave Holiday the nickname Lady Day, and Holiday gave Young the nickname "Prez". The two were reunited at a performance on the CBS television special The Sound of Jazz on December 8, 1957. They were both on tour in Europe in March of 1959 when Young fell ill and had to return to New York. Young died on March 15, 1959 at the age of 49. According to renowned jazz critic Leonard Feather, who rode with Holiday in a taxi to Young's funeral, she told Feather on the ride over, "I'll be the next one to go". Holiday died almost exactly four months later.

On September 18,1994, the United States Postal Service honored Holiday by introducing a USPS sponsored stamp.

 

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 (under the category 'early influence')

 

A statue of Holiday stands at the corner of Lafayette and Pennsylvania Avenues in Baltimore.

 

December 24, 1929, Sadie discovered Wilbert Rich (a neighbor) raping Billie. Wilbert was only sentenced 3 months in jail.

 

Sadie died October 6,1945.

 

While in the hospital, Billie hid her drugs in a Kleenex box, a nurse discovered it and she was arrested on her deathbed.

 

In April 2005, in honor of the 90th anniversary of Billie's birth, Columbia University's radio station, WKCR-FM (www.WKCR.org), broadcast a two-week marathon festival of Billie's music, pre-empting all regular programming.

 

Cousin of boxer Henry Armstrong

 

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Billie Holiday in Washington DC

 

Billie Holiday began appearing in Washington near the beginning of her career. In 1937 she appeared at the Howard Theatre as vocalist with the Count Basie Orchestra, returning for weeklong engagements as headliner in 1940 and 1941. She also performed on the bill at the Lincoln Theater near 12th and U Streets NW.

 

After her 1947 prison term for narcotics made it impossible for her to appear at Manhattan nightclubs, Billie began grueling years of incessant touring. In Washington she played Club Bali in 1948 and its sucessor, Cafe Trinidad, in 1954 . She also appeared at Bohemian Caverns at 11th and U Streets NW during the 1950s.

 

Two clubs where Billie appeared regularly were far from the U Street entertainment corridor.

Olivia Davis' Patio Lounge at 713 13th Street NW was a popular downtown stop for touring jazz musicians of the mid-1950s. Today it is remembered as the scene of a week-long Lester Young engagement that became the 5 CD set "Lester in Washington-1956". However, a recording of an October, 1956 Billie Holiday broadcast from the Patio Lounge is also available on CD.

 

In the 1950s, every big city had its "Brown Derby". The Washington version was far uptown at 3333A Connecticut Avenue NW. Despite its seeming isolation from city life, the Brown Derby presented Billie Holiday for several engagements and attracted top acts into the 1960s.

 

Although the scene they embodied has long since faded, most places where Billie Holiday performed can be visited today. The Lincoln Theatre was renovated with public funds in the 1990s and still hosts jazz events today. Unfortunately the Howard Theatre, renovated in the 1980s, failed to build an audience and today stands shuttered at the intersection of 7th Street, T Street, and Florida Avenue NW.

 

After closing for almost 30 years after the 1968 riot drove away a significant portion of its customer base, Bohemian Caverns is again a functioning nightclub with live music. Billie Holiday's portrait is displayed in the window enclosure just to the left of the traffic light. The Brown Derby is a restaurant, while the Cafe Trinidad is a theatrical performance space. Only the Patio Lounge, which closed in 1978, has been demolished.

        

Yellowstone National Park (Arapaho: Henihco'oo or Héetíhco'oo) is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone, widely held to be the first national park in the world, is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular features in the park. It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies forests ecoregion.

 

Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles (8,983 km2), comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges. Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent. The caldera is considered an active volcano. It has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years. Half of the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism. Lava flows and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone. The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining nearly-intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone.

 

Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either endangered or threatened. The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Yellowstone Park is the largest and most famous megafauna location in the Continental United States. Grizzly bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in the park. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States. Forest fires occur in the park each year; in the large forest fires of 1988, nearly one third of the park was burnt. Yellowstone has numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing and sightseeing. Paved roads provide close access to the major geothermal areas as well as some of the lakes and waterfalls. During the winter, visitors often access the park by way of guided tours that use either snow coaches or snowmobiles.

 

The park is located at the headwaters of the Yellowstone River, from which it takes its historical name. Near the end of the 18th century, French trappers named the river "Roche Jaune", which is probably a translation of the Hidatsa name "Mi tsi a-da-zi" (Rock Yellow River). Later, American trappers rendered the French name in English as "Yellow Stone". Although it is commonly believed that the river was named for the yellow rocks seen in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Native American name source is not clear.

 

The first detailed expedition to the Yellowstone area was the Cook–Folsom–Peterson Expedition of 1869, which consisted of three privately funded explorers. The Folsom party followed the Yellowstone River to Yellowstone Lake. The members of the Folsom party kept a journal and based on the information it reported, a party of Montana residents organized the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition in 1870. It was headed by the surveyor-general of Montana Henry Washburn, and included Nathaniel P. Langford (who later became known as "National Park" Langford) and a U.S. Army detachment commanded by Lt. Gustavus Doane.

 

The expedition spent about a month exploring the region, collecting specimens and naming sites of interest. A Montana writer and lawyer named Cornelius Hedges, who had been a member of the Washburn expedition, proposed that the region should be set aside and protected as a national park; he wrote a number of detailed articles about his observations for the Helena Herald newspaper between 1870 and 1871. Hedges essentially restated comments made in October 1865 by acting Montana Territorial Governor Thomas Francis Meagher, who had previously commented that the region should be protected. Others made similar suggestions. In an 1871 letter from Jay Cooke to Ferdinand V. Hayden, Cooke wrote that his friend, Congressman William D. Kelley had also suggested "Congress pass a bill reserving the Great Geyser Basin as a public park forever".

 

By 1915, 1,000 automobiles per year were entering the park, resulting in conflicts with horses and horse-drawn transportation. Horse travel on roads was eventually prohibited.

 

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a New Deal relief agency for young men, played a major role between 1933 and 1942 in developing Yellowstone facilities. CCC projects included reforestation, campground development of many of the park's trails and campgrounds, trail construction, fire hazard reduction, and fire-fighting work. The CCC built the majority of the early visitor centers, campgrounds and the current system of park roads.

 

During World War II, tourist travel fell sharply, staffing was cut, and many facilities fell into disrepair. By the 1950s, visitation increased tremendously in Yellowstone and other national parks. To accommodate the increased visitation, park officials implemented Mission 66, an effort to modernize and expand park service facilities. Planned to be completed by 1966, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Park Service, Mission 66 construction diverged from the traditional log cabin style with design features of a modern style. During the late 1980s, most construction styles in Yellowstone reverted to the more traditional designs. After the enormous forest fires of 1988 damaged much of Grant Village, structures there were rebuilt in the traditional style. The visitor center at Canyon Village, which opened in 2006, incorporates a more traditional design as well.

A large arch made of irregular-shaped natural stone over a road

 

The 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake just west of Yellowstone at Hebgen Lake damaged roads and some structures in the park. In the northwest section of the park, new geysers were found, and many existing hot springs became turbid. It was the most powerful earthquake to hit the region in recorded history.

 

In 1963, after several years of public controversy regarding the forced reduction of the elk population in Yellowstone, United States Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall appointed an advisory board to collect scientific data to inform future wildlife management of the national parks. In a paper known as the Leopold Report, the committee observed that culling programs at other national parks had been ineffective, and recommended management of Yellowstone's elk population.

 

The wildfires during the summer of 1988 were the largest in the history of the park. Approximately 793,880 acres (321,272 ha; 1,240 sq mi) or 36% of the parkland was impacted by the fires, leading to a systematic re-evaluation of fire management policies. The fire season of 1988 was considered normal until a combination of drought and heat by mid-July contributed to an extreme fire danger. On "Black Saturday", August 20, 1988, strong winds expanded the fires rapidly, and more than 150,000 acres (61,000 ha; 230 sq mi) burned.

 

The expansive cultural history of the park has been documented by the 1,000 archeological sites that have been discovered. The park has 1,106 historic structures and features, and of these Obsidian Cliff and five buildings have been designated National Historic Landmarks. Yellowstone was designated an International Biosphere Reserve on October 26, 1976, and a UN World Heritage Site on September 8, 1978. The park was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger from 1995 to 2003 due to the effects of tourism, infection of wildlife, and issues with invasive species. In 2010, Yellowstone National Park was honored with its own quarter under the America the Beautiful Quarters Program.

Heritage and Research Center

 

The Heritage and Research Center is located at Gardiner, Montana, near the north entrance to the park. The center is home to the Yellowstone National Park's museum collection, archives, research library, historian, archeology lab, and herbarium. The Yellowstone National Park Archives maintain collections of historical records of Yellowstone and the National Park Service. The collection includes the administrative records of Yellowstone, as well as resource management records, records from major projects, and donated manuscripts and personal papers. The archives are affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration.

 

Approximately 96 percent of the land area of Yellowstone National Park is located within the state of Wyoming. Another three percent is within Montana, with the remaining one percent in Idaho. The park is 63 miles (101 km) north to south, and 54 miles (87 km) west to east by air. Yellowstone is 2,219,789 acres (898,317 ha; 3,468.420 sq mi) in area, larger than the states of Rhode Island or Delaware. Rivers and lakes cover five percent of the land area, with the largest water body being Yellowstone Lake at 87,040 acres (35,220 ha; 136.00 sq mi). Yellowstone Lake is up to 400 feet (120 m) deep and has 110 miles (180 km) of shoreline. At an elevation of 7,733 feet (2,357 m) above sea level, Yellowstone Lake is the largest high altitude lake in North America. Forests comprise 80 percent of the land area of the park; most of the rest is grassland.

 

The Continental Divide of North America runs diagonally through the southwestern part of the park. The divide is a topographic feature that separates Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean water drainages. About one third of the park lies on the west side of the divide. The origins of the Yellowstone and Snake Rivers are near each other but on opposite sides of the divide. As a result, the waters of the Snake River flow to the Pacific Ocean, while those of the Yellowstone find their way to the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Mexico.

 

The park sits on the Yellowstone Plateau, at an average elevation of 8,000 feet (2,400 m) above sea level. The plateau is bounded on nearly all sides by mountain ranges of the Middle Rocky Mountains, which range from 9,000 to 11,000 feet (2,700 to 3,400 m) in elevation. The highest point in the park is atop Eagle Peak (11,358 feet or 3,462 metres) and the lowest is along Reese Creek (5,282 feet or 1,610 metres). Nearby mountain ranges include the Gallatin Range to the northwest, the Beartooth Mountains in the north, the Absaroka Range to the east, and the Teton Range and the Madison Range to the southwest and west. The most prominent summit on the Yellowstone Plateau is Mount Washburn at 10,243 feet (3,122 m).

 

Yellowstone National Park has one of the world's largest petrified forests, trees which were long ago buried by ash and soil and transformed from wood to mineral materials. This ash and other volcanic debris, are believed to have come from the park area itself. This is largely due to the fact that Yellowstone is actually a massive caldera of a supervolcano. There are 290 waterfalls of at least 15 feet (4.6 m) in the park, the highest being the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River at 308 feet (94 m).

 

Three deep canyons are located in the park, cut through the volcanic tuff of the Yellowstone Plateau by rivers over the last 640,000 years. The Lewis River flows through Lewis Canyon in the south, and the Yellowstone River has carved two colorful canyons, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone in its journey north.

 

Yellowstone is at the northeastern end of the Snake River Plain, a great U-shaped arc through the mountains that extends from Boise, Idaho some 400 miles (640 km) to the west. This feature traces the route of the North American Plate over the last 17 million years as it was transported by plate tectonics across a stationary mantle hotspot. The landscape of present-day Yellowstone National Park is the most recent manifestation of this hotspot below the crust of the Earth.

 

The Yellowstone Caldera is the largest volcanic system in North America. It has been termed a "supervolcano" because the caldera was formed by exceptionally large explosive eruptions. The magma chamber that lies under Yellowstone is estimated to be a single connected chamber, about 37 miles (60 km) long, 18 miles (29 km) wide, and 3 to 7 miles (5 to 12 km) deep. The current caldera was created by a cataclysmic eruption that occurred 640,000 years ago, which released more than 240 cubic miles (1,000 km³) of ash, rock and pyroclastic materials. This eruption was more than 1,000 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. It produced a caldera nearly five eighths of a mile (1 km) deep and 45 by 28 miles (72 by 45 km) in area and deposited the Lava Creek Tuff, a welded tuff geologic formation. The most violent known eruption, which occurred 2.1 million years ago, ejected 588 cubic miles (2,450 km³) of volcanic material and created the rock formation known as the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff and created the Island Park Caldera. A smaller eruption ejected 67 cubic miles (280 km³) of material 1.3 million years ago, forming the Henry's Fork Caldera and depositing the Mesa Falls Tuff.

 

Each of the three climactic eruptions released vast amounts of ash that blanketed much of central North America, falling many hundreds of miles away. The amount of ash and gases released into the atmosphere probably caused significant impacts to world weather patterns and led to the extinction of some species, primarily in North America.

Wooden walkways allow visitors to closely approach the Grand Prismatic Spring.

 

A subsequent caldera-forming eruption occurred about 160,000 years ago. It formed the relatively small caldera that contains the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake. Since the last supereruption, a series of smaller eruptive cycles between 640,000 and 70,000 years ago, has nearly filled in the Yellowstone Caldera with >80 different eruptions of rhyolitic lavas such as those that can be seen at Obsidian Cliffs and basaltic lavas which can be viewed at Sheepeater Cliff. Lava strata are most easily seen at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, where the Yellowstone River continues to carve into the ancient lava flows. The canyon is a classic V-shaped valley, indicative of river-type erosion rather than erosion caused by glaciation.

 

Each eruption is part of an eruptive cycle that climaxes with the partial collapse of the roof of the volcano's partially emptied magma chamber. This creates a collapsed depression, called a caldera, and releases vast amounts of volcanic material, usually through fissures that ring the caldera. The time between the last three cataclysmic eruptions in the Yellowstone area has ranged from 600,000 to 800,000 years, but the small number of such climactic eruptions cannot be used to make an accurate prediction for future volcanic events.

 

The most famous geyser in the park, and perhaps the world, is Old Faithful Geyser, located in Upper Geyser Basin. Castle Geyser, Lion Geyser and Beehive Geyser are in the same basin. The park contains the largest active geyser in the world—Steamboat Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin. A study that was completed in 2011 found that at least 1283 geysers have erupted in Yellowstone. Of these, an average of 465 are active in a given year. Yellowstone contains at least 10,000 geothermal features altogether. Half the geothermal features and two-thirds of the world's geysers are concentrated in Yellowstone.

 

In May 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey, Yellowstone National Park, and the University of Utah created the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO), a partnership for long-term monitoring of the geological processes of the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field, for disseminating information concerning the potential hazards of this geologically active region.

 

In 2003, changes at the Norris Geyser Basin resulted in the temporary closure of some trails in the basin. New fumaroles were observed, and several geysers showed enhanced activity and increasing water temperatures. Several geysers became so hot that they were transformed into purely steaming features; the water had become superheated and they could no longer erupt normally. This coincided with the release of reports of a multiple year United States Geological Survey research project which mapped the bottom of Yellowstone Lake and identified a structural dome that had uplifted at some time in the past. Research indicated that these uplifts posed no immediate threat of a volcanic eruption, since they may have developed long ago, and there had been no temperature increase found near the uplifts. On March 10, 2004, a biologist discovered 5 dead bison which apparently had inhaled toxic geothermal gases trapped in the Norris Geyser Basin by a seasonal atmospheric inversion. This was closely followed by an upsurge of earthquake activity in April 2004. In 2006, it was reported that the Mallard Lake Dome and the Sour Creek Dome— areas that have long been known to show significant changes in their ground movement— had risen at a rate of 1.5 to 2.4 inches (3.8 to 6.1 cm) per year from mid–2004 through 2006. As of late 2007, the uplift has continued at a reduced rate. These events inspired a great deal of media attention and speculation about the geologic future of the region. Experts responded to the conjecture by informing the public that there was no increased risk of a volcanic eruption in the near future. However, these changes demonstrate the dynamic nature of the Yellowstone hydrothermal system.

 

Yellowstone experiences thousands of small earthquakes every year, virtually all of which are undetectable to people. There have been six earthquakes with at least magnitude 6 or greater in historical times, including a 7.5‑magnitude quake that struck just outside the northwest boundary of the park in 1959. This quake triggered a huge landslide, which caused a partial dam collapse on Hebgen Lake; immediately downstream, the sediment from the landslide dammed the river and created a new lake, known as Earthquake Lake. Twenty-eight people were killed, and property damage was extensive in the immediate region. The earthquake caused some geysers in the northwestern section of the park to erupt, large cracks in the ground formed and emitted steam, and some hot springs that normally have clear water turned muddy. A 6.1‑magnitude earthquake struck inside the park on June 30, 1975, but damage was minimal.

 

For three months in 1985, 3,000 minor earthquakes were detected in the northwestern section of the park, during what has been referred to as an earthquake swarm, and has been attributed to minor subsidence of the Yellowstone caldera. Beginning on April 30, 2007, 16 small earthquakes with magnitudes up to 2.7 occurred in the Yellowstone Caldera for several days. These swarms of earthquakes are common, and there have been 70 such swarms between 1983 and 2008. In December 2008, over 250 earthquakes were measured over a four-day span under Yellowstone Lake, the largest measuring a magnitude of 3.9. In January 2010, more than 250 earthquakes were detected over a two-day period. Seismic activity in Yellowstone National Park continues and is reported hourly by the Earthquake Hazards Program of the U.S. Geological Survey.

 

On March 30, 2014, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck almost the very middle of Yellowstone near the Norris Basin at 6.34am; reports indicated no damage. This was the biggest earthquake to hit the park since February 22, 1980.

 

Over 1,700 species of trees and other vascular plants are native to the park. Another 170 species are considered to be exotic species and are non-native. Of the eight conifer tree species documented, Lodgepole Pine forests cover 80% of the total forested areas. Other conifers, such as Subalpine Fir, Engelmann Spruce, Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir and Whitebark Pine, are found in scattered groves throughout the park. As of 2007, the whitebark pine is threatened by a fungus known as white pine blister rust; however, this is mostly confined to forests well to the north and west. In Yellowstone, about seven percent of the whitebark pine species have been impacted with the fungus, compared to nearly complete infestations in northwestern Montana. Quaking Aspen and willows are the most common species of deciduous trees. The aspen forests have declined significantly since the early 20th century, but scientists at Oregon State University attribute recent recovery of the aspen to the reintroduction of wolves which has changed the grazing habits of local elk.

 

There are dozens of species of flowering plants that have been identified, most of which bloom between the months of May and September. The Yellowstone Sand Verbena is a rare flowering plant found only in Yellowstone. It is closely related to species usually found in much warmer climates, making the sand verbena an enigma. The estimated 8,000 examples of this rare flowering plant all make their home in the sandy soils on the shores of Yellowstone Lake, well above the waterline.

 

In Yellowstone's hot waters, bacteria form mats of bizarre shapes consisting of trillions of individuals. These bacteria are some of the most primitive life forms on earth. Flies and other arthropods live on the mats, even in the middle of the bitterly cold winters. Initially, scientists thought that microbes there gained sustenance only from sulfur. In 2005 researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder discovered that the sustenance for at least some of the diverse hyperthermophilic species is molecular hydrogen.

 

Thermus aquaticus is a bacterium found in the Yellowstone hot springs that produces an important enzyme (Taq polymerase) that is easily replicated in the lab and is useful in replicating DNA as part of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process. The retrieval of these bacteria can be achieved with no impact to the ecosystem. Other bacteria in the Yellowstone hot springs may also prove useful to scientists who are searching for cures for various diseases.

 

Non-native plants sometimes threaten native species by using up nutrient resources. Though exotic species are most commonly found in areas with the greatest human visitation, such as near roads and at major tourist areas, they have also spread into the backcountry. Generally, most exotic species are controlled by pulling the plants out of the soil or by spraying, both of which are time consuming and expensive.

  

Yellowstone is widely considered to be the finest megafauna wildlife habitat in the lower 48 states. There are almost 60 species of mammals in the park, including the gray wolf, the threatened lynx, and grizzly bears. Other large mammals include the bison (often referred to as buffalo), black bear, elk, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, mountain goat, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and mountain lion.

Bison graze near a hot spring

 

The Yellowstone Park bison herd is the largest public herd of American bison in the United States. The relatively large bison populations are a concern for ranchers, who fear that the species can transmit bovine diseases to their domesticated cousins. In fact, about half of Yellowstone's bison have been exposed to brucellosis, a bacterial disease that came to North America with European cattle that may cause cattle to miscarry. The disease has little effect on park bison, and no reported case of transmission from wild bison to domestic livestock has been filed. However, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has stated that bison are the "likely source" of the spread of the disease in cattle in Wyoming and North Dakota. Elk also carry the disease and are believed to have transmitted the infection to horses and cattle. Bison once numbered between 30 and 60 million individuals throughout North America, and Yellowstone remains one of their last strongholds. Their populations had increased from less than 50 in the park in 1902 to 4,000 by 2003. The Yellowstone Park bison herd reached a peak in 2005 with 4,900 animals. Despite a summer estimated population of 4,700 in 2007, the number dropped to 3,000 in 2008 after a harsh winter and controversial brucellosis management sending hundreds to slaughter. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is believed to be one of only four free roaming and genetically pure herds on public lands in North America. The other three herds are the Henry Mountains bison herd of Utah, at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota and on Elk Island in Alberta.

Elk Mother Nursing Her Calf

 

To combat the perceived threat of brucellosis transmission to cattle, national park personnel regularly harass bison herds back into the park when they venture outside of the area's borders. During the winter of 1996–97, the bison herd was so large that 1,079 bison that had exited the park were shot or sent to slaughter. Animal rights activists argue that this is a cruel practice and that the possibility for disease transmission is not as great as some ranchers maintain. Ecologists point out that the bison are merely traveling to seasonal grazing areas that lie within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem that have been converted to cattle grazing, some of which are within National Forests and are leased to private ranchers. APHIS has stated that with vaccinations and other means, brucellosis can be eliminated from the bison and elk herds throughout Yellowstone.

A reintroduced northwestern wolf in Yellowstone National Park

 

Starting in 1914, in an effort to protect elk populations, the U.S. Congress appropriated funds to be used for the purposes of "destroying wolves, prairie dogs, and other animals injurious to agriculture and animal husbandry" on public lands. Park Service hunters carried out these orders, and by 1926 they had killed 136 wolves, and wolves were virtually eliminated from Yellowstone. Further exterminations continued until the National Park Service ended the practice in 1935. With the passing of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, the wolf was one of the first mammal species listed. After the wolves were extirpated from Yellowstone, the coyote then became the park's top canine predator. However, the coyote is not able to bring down large animals, and the result of this lack of a top predator on these populations was a marked increase in lame and sick megafauna.

Bison in Yellowstone National Park

 

By the 1990s, the Federal government had reversed its views on wolves. In a controversial decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (which oversees threatened and endangered species), northwestern wolves, imported from Canada, were reintroduced into the park. Reintroduction efforts have been successful with populations remaining relatively stable. A survey conducted in 2005 reported that there were 13 wolf packs, totaling 118 individuals in Yellowstone and 326 in the entire ecosystem. These park figures were lower than those reported in 2004 but may be attributable to wolf migration to other nearby areas as suggested by the substantial increase in the Montana population during that interval. Almost all the wolves documented were descended from the 66 wolves reintroduced in 1995–96. The recovery of populations throughout the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho has been so successful that on February 27, 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf population from the endangered species list.

 

An estimated 600 grizzly bears live in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, with more than half of the population living within Yellowstone. The grizzly is currently listed as a threatened species, however the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that they intend to take it off the endangered species list for the Yellowstone region but will likely keep it listed in areas where it has not yet recovered fully. Opponents of delisting the grizzly are concerned that states might once again allow hunting and that better conservation measures need to be implemented to ensure a sustainable population. Black bears are common in the park and were a park symbol due to visitor interaction with the bears starting in 1910. Feeding and close contact with bears has not been permitted since the 1960s to reduce their desire for human foods. Yellowstone is one of the few places in the United States where black bears can be seen coexisting with grizzly bears. Black bear observations occur most often in the park's northern ranges and in the Bechler area which is in the park's southwestern corner.

 

Population figures for elk are in excess of 30,000—the largest population of any large mammal species in Yellowstone. The northern herd has decreased enormously since the mid‑1990s; this has been attributed to wolf predation and causal effects such as elk using more forested regions to evade predation, consequently making it harder for researchers to accurately count them. The northern herd migrates west into southwestern Montana in the winter. The southern herd migrates southward, and the majority of these elk winter on the National Elk Refuge, immediately southeast of Grand Teton National Park. The southern herd migration is the largest mammalian migration remaining in the U.S. outside of Alaska.

 

In 2003 the tracks of one female lynx and her cub were spotted and followed for over 2 miles (3.2 km). Fecal material and other evidence obtained were tested and confirmed to be those of a lynx. No visual confirmation was made, however. Lynx have not been seen in Yellowstone since 1998, though DNA taken from hair samples obtained in 2001 confirmed that lynx were at least transient to the park. Other less commonly seen mammals include the mountain lion and wolverine. The mountain lion has an estimated population of only 25 individuals parkwide. The wolverine is another rare park mammal, and accurate population figures for this species are not known. These uncommon and rare mammals provide insight into the health of protected lands such as Yellowstone and help managers make determinations as to how best to preserve habitats.

 

Eighteen species of fish live in Yellowstone, including the core range of the Yellowstone cutthroat trout—a fish highly sought by anglers. The Yellowstone cutthroat trout has faced several threats since the 1980s, including the suspected illegal introduction into Yellowstone Lake of lake trout, an invasive species which consume the smaller cutthroat trout. Although lake trout were established in Shoshone and Lewis lakes in the Snake River drainage from U.S. Government stocking operations in 1890, it was never officially introduced into the Yellowstone River drainage. The cutthroat trout has also faced an ongoing drought, as well as the accidental introduction of a parasite—whirling disease—which causes a terminal nervous system disease in younger fish. Since 2001, all native sport fish species caught in Yellowstone waterways are subject to a catch and release law. Yellowstone is also home to six species of reptiles, such as the painted turtle and Prairie rattlesnake, and four species of amphibians, including the Boreal Chorus Frog.

 

311 species of birds have been reported, almost half of which nest in Yellowstone. As of 1999, twenty-six pairs of nesting bald eagles have been documented. Extremely rare sightings of whooping cranes have been recorded, however only three examples of this species are known to live in the Rocky Mountains, out of 385 known worldwide. Other birds, considered to be species of special concern because of their rarity in Yellowstone, include the common loon, harlequin duck, osprey, peregrine falcon and the trumpeter swan.

 

As wildfire is a natural part of most ecosystems, plants that are indigenous to Yellowstone have adapted in a variety of ways. Douglas-fir have a thick bark which protects the inner section of the tree from most fires. Lodgepole Pines —the most common tree species in the park— generally have cones that are only opened by the heat of fire. Their seeds are held in place by a tough resin, and fire assists in melting the resin, allowing the seeds to disperse. Fire clears out dead and downed wood, providing fewer obstacles for lodgepole pines to flourish. Subalpine Fir, Engelmann Spruce, Whitebark Pine, and other species tend to grow in colder and moister areas, where fire is less likely to occur. Aspen trees sprout new growth from their roots, and even if a severe fire kills the tree above ground, the roots often survive unharmed because they are insulated from the heat by soil. The National Park Service estimates that in natural conditions, grasslands in Yellowstone burned an average of every 20 to 25 years, while forests in the park would experience fire about every 300 years.

 

About thirty-five natural forest fires are ignited each year by lightning, while another six to ten are started by people— in most cases by accident. Yellowstone National Park has three fire lookout towers, each staffed by trained fire fighters. The easiest one to reach is atop Mount Washburn, though it is closed to the public. The park also monitors fire from the air and relies on visitor reports of smoke and/or flames. Fire towers are staffed almost continuously from late June to mid-September— the primary fire season. Fires burn with the greatest intensity in the late afternoon and evening. Few fires burn more than 100 acres (40 ha), and the vast majority of fires reach only a little over an acre (0.5 ha) before they burn themselves out. Fire management focuses on monitoring dead and down wood quantities, soil and tree moisture, and the weather, to determine those areas most vulnerable to fire should one ignite. Current policy is to suppress all human caused fires and to evaluate natural fires, examining the benefit or detriment they may pose on the ecosystem. If a fire is considered to be an immediate threat to people and structures, or will burn out of control, then fire suppression is performed.

 

In an effort to minimize the chances of out of control fires and threats to people and structures, park employees do more than just monitor the potential for fire. Controlled burns are prescribed fires which are deliberately started to remove dead timber under conditions which allow fire fighters an opportunity to carefully control where and how much wood is consumed. Natural fires are sometimes considered prescribed fires if they are left to burn. In Yellowstone, unlike some other parks, there have been very few fires deliberately started by employees as prescribed burns. However, over the last 30 years, over 300 natural fires have been allowed to burn naturally. In addition, fire fighters remove dead and down wood and other hazards from areas where they will be a potential fire threat to lives and property, reducing the chances of fire danger in these areas. Fire monitors also regulate fire through educational services to the public and have been known to temporarily ban campfires from campgrounds during periods of high fire danger. The common notion in early United States land management policies was that all forest fires were bad. Fire was seen as a purely destructive force and there was little understanding that it was an integral part of the ecosystem. Consequently, until the 1970s, when a better understanding of wildfire was developed, all fires were suppressed. This led to an increase in dead and dying forests, which would later provide the fuel load for fires that would be much harder, and in some cases, impossible to control. Fire Management Plans were implemented, detailing that natural fires should be allowed to burn if they posed no immediate threat to lives and property.

 

1988 started with a wet spring season although by summer, drought began moving in throughout the northern Rockies, creating the driest year on record to that point. Grasses and plants which grew well in the early summer from the abundant spring moisture produced plenty of grass, which soon turned to dry tinder. The National Park Service began firefighting efforts to keep the fires under control, but the extreme drought made suppression difficult. Between July 15 and 21, 1988, fires quickly spread from 8,500 acres (3,400 ha; 13.3 sq mi) throughout the entire Yellowstone region, which included areas outside the park, to 99,000 acres (40,000 ha; 155 sq mi) on the park land alone. By the end of the month, the fires were out of control. Large fires burned together, and on August 20, 1988, the single worst day of the fires, more than 150,000 acres (61,000 ha; 230 sq mi) were consumed. Seven large fires were responsible for 95% of the 793,000 acres (321,000 ha; 1,239 sq mi) that were burned over the next couple of months. A total of 25,000 firefighters and U.S. military forces participated in the suppression efforts, at a cost of 120 million dollars. By the time winter brought snow that helped extinguish the last flames, the fires had destroyed 67 structures and caused several million dollars in damage. Though no civilian lives were lost, two personnel associated with the firefighting efforts were killed.

 

Contrary to media reports and speculation at the time, the fires killed very few park animals— surveys indicated that only about 345 elk (of an estimated 40,000–50,000), 36 deer, 12 moose, 6 black bears, and 9 bison had perished. Changes in fire management policies were implemented by land management agencies throughout the United States, based on knowledge gained from the 1988 fires and the evaluation of scientists and experts from various fields. By 1992, Yellowstone had adopted a new fire management plan which observed stricter guidelines for the management of natural fires.

 

from Wikipedia

  

For the first churchly visit of that November 2023 trip to the southern French provinces of Roussillon and Languedoc, I will treat you to a truly unique place, the so-called “priory” of Serrabone, which features an absolute world-class masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture: its tribune.

 

I said “so-called” above because a priory, in the genuine acception of the word, is a secondary monastery established by an abbey. It is populated by monks sent by that abbey. Those monks are led by a prior, whose superior is the abbot of the founding abbey. In the case of Serrabone, there first was a late Carolingian parochial church established in this mountainous locale and first mentioned in writing in 1069. The walls of the nave are, for some part, still those of that ancient church.

 

It was then, at a time when local lords used to meddle more and more in the affairs of the Church (which was one of the reasons that prompted the coming of the Gregorian reform), that the viscount of Cerdagne and the local lord of Corsavy installed on the Serrabone mountaintop an unusually mixed group of canons and canonesses to live in accordance with the Augustinian Rule.

 

A new college church was built (mostly by enlarging the previous one) and consecrated in 1151. Its architecture is harmonious but very simple, as one would expect: in the Middle Ages, those mountains were populated (hence the creation of the parish) and did feed their inhabitants (serra bona in Catalan means “good mountain”), but there was precious little commerce with the outside world and the locals had nothing of real value to export. Therefore, the local economy was pretty much a closed circuit and money was far from flowing in abundantly. The style of the church, even though there were donations from the aforementioned lords, reflects this paucity of financial resources.

 

It is therefore a total mystery how the magnificent sculpted tribune, which would have cost a veritable fortune, was funded, and by whom. Nothing has ever been demonstrated in that matter, although many have conjectured in various directions. The only certainty we have is that it was built around the time when the church itself was completed, i.e., the mid–1150s.

 

The culmination of the “priory” did not last very long: canons and canonesses are not monks and nuns, their commitment is found throughout history and places to be much less strong, and by the late 1200s they had already broken communal life and begun to live in their own separate homes. Decadence went to such extremes that the “priory” was secularized by the pope in the 16th century and made a dependency of the chapter of the cathedral of Solsona. The last “prior” died in 1612 and the church returned to its simple parochial status.

 

The place was progressively abandoned as people left the mountains to go live easier lives in the valleys. It was almost in ruins when it was listed as a Historic Landmark in 1875 and the restoration began. Fortunately, the tribune had been protected and its capitals and columns hidden by the locals.

 

The “cloister gallery” seen from the other end. Modest in length, it serves, at ground level, what could have been the refectory, at the time when canons and canonesses still lived a communal life. It is now the entrance and gift shop. The stairs lead up to what was possibly the chapter room (photo to come later) —at least , that is the conjecture of Marcel Durliat in Roussillon roman published by the Éditions Zodiaque (4th edition, 1986).

When iron gates and railings were cut down to help the war effort in the 1940s, what happened next is a mystery and has been a matter of conjecture for many decades.

Steelworks at places like Port Talbot, Shotton, Sheffield and Motherwell had been in business since the start of the twentieth century and their histories are well documented. Yet, while the removal of the iron is recounted by hundreds of eye witnesses, there are no similar reports of the lorries arriving at the steel works with large quantities of railings and gates to be loaded into the blast furnaces. Lord Beaverbrook (Minister for War Production) was nothing if not thorough and his logistics operations would have been geared to deliver the iron as promptly as possible to the steel works. The most likely explanation is that far more iron was collected - over one millions tons by September 1944 - than was needed or could be processed.

Faced with an oversupply, rather than halt the collection, which had turned out to be a unifying effort for the country and of great propaganda value, the government allowed it to continue. The ironwork collected was stockpiled away from public view in depots, quarries, railway sidings. After the war, even when raw materials were still in short supply, the widely held view is that the government did not want to reveal that the sacrifice of so much highly valued ironwork had been in vain, and so it was quietly disposed of, or even buried in landfill or at sea and the pertinent documentation shredded to avoid embarrassment.

Theories to its fate vary, but none have been substantiated. One comes from an interview with dockers in Canning Town in 1978 who worked during the war on lighters that were towed down the Thames estuary to dump vast quantities of scrap metal and decorative ironwork. They claimed that so much was dumped at certain spots in the estuary that ships passing the area needed pilots to guide them because their compasses were so strongly affected by the quantity of iron on the sea-bed! Another has the ironwork used as ballast in ships to Africa with unverified reports that houses can be found in ports on the West African coast, surrounded by decorative Victorian cast-iron railings.

One WW2 aircraft website has an account from a member saying that, running out of munitions towards the end of the war, the bombers flying over France were simply loaded up with cut-down railings, which they dropped on the enemy; a scenario worthy of those toe-curling post-war comedy films that always seem to star Brian Rix and Ronald Shiner that often do the rounds on Talking Pictures Channel.

 

Thanks to www.londongardenstrust.org/features/railings3.htm

This model is of Samson, from the Bible, destroying the temple of Dagon.

 

The foundation and shaping of this temple building is based on a real philistine temple which was uncovered in a place called Tell Qasile.

 

This temple had two stone bases on which the pillars would sit. These pillars were wooden logs rested in place, with only the weight of the roof holding them in place. This is why my pillars are depicted in this manner instead of the more common approach by artists who represent them as being stone.

 

While going up from the foundations is purely conjecture we do know that the Philistine homes of this era had open roof styles (similar to the Roman villa). With the Bible describing the Philistines as being on the roof it stands to reason then that they could see into the chamber somehow so I went with the open roof design seen here. This would also explain why they did not have further pillars supporting the roof elsewhere.

Other photos in First Comment Box and Photos from the net to make this tribute up and put it together to remember the lives lost that night 40 years ago

 

Remembered Today.

December 19th 1981, 40 years ago.

 

Loss of the Penlee Lifeboat "Solomon Browne"47 ft Watson Class going to the aid of the coaster "Union Star".

 

The helicopter stood by as Penlee’s 14m Watson class wooden lifeboat launched into the hurricane force 12 gale, fighting against 90-knot winds and 18m waves.

 

The Solomon Browne struck against the side of the coaster and the lifeboat crew stood against the railings, throwing lines across to pull themselves alongside.

 

The lifeboat valiantly battled to come alongside the coaster for half an hour.

 

The Solomon Browne radioed back to the Coastguard: ‘we’ve got four off’

 

But the lifeboat decided to make a final rescue attempt – and after that point, all radio contact was lost at 21.21

 

The Coastguard radioed back to the lifeboat, but there was no response. Ten minutes later, the lights of the Solomon Browne disappeared.

 

All 8 Crew of the Lifeboat Lost.

 

All 8 on board of the coaster lost.

 

The Penlee lifeboat

 

Cornwall, at the south-west corner of England, juts out into the Atlantic, attracting the worst of the weather and the massive breakers that crash against its granite cliffs and rocks. It is not surprising that there are no fewer than fourteen lifeboat stations around the coast of this one county alone.

 

Penlee Point is just to the north of the fishing village of Mousehole (pronounced Mousle to rhyme with tousle). The first lifeboat was stationed here in 1913, transferred from nearby Newlyn, although there had been a rescue service in the area from as far back as 1803. In the years before 1981 the station distinguished itself by carrying out many operations and saving lives, recognised by the award of many medals and certificates.

 

In 1981 the station was equipped with “Solomon Browne”, a 47-foot Watson class wooden boat, a type that has long been superseded. However, it was highly manoeuvrable and could be launched straight down a steep slipway into St Mount’s Bay.

 

The voyage of Union Star

 

Union Star was a small bulk carrier, registered in Dublin, that was making its maiden voyage from Denmark via the Netherlands to Ireland, with a cargo of fertiliser. The master was Henry Morton, who had a crew of four on board, plus his wife and her two teenage daughters. He was breaking the rules by having family members on board, but that is a rule that is often broken.

 

Weather conditions were bad as Union Star beat her way towards Lands End, hoping to make it round the headland and into relatively calmer waters before the worst of the storm struck. However, Captain Morton’s luck ran out when his engines failed just as he reached the most exposed part of the voyage. He was offered a tow from a tugboat, the Noord Holland, but declined the offer. By riding out the storm at anchor and repairing the engines in calmer weather, he would avoid having to pay salvage charges.

 

The storm was one of the worst to strike that part of the coast for years, with winds of 85 mph, gusting to 95 mph, which is hurricane force. Union Star started to drag her anchor, and the fuel tanks became contaminated with seawater. The ship was being driven towards the Cornish coast and had no means of avoiding her fate if the storm continued, which it did. The Noord Holland was still in the area, should the captain change his mind, but even this option vanished when conditions became so bad that the tug itself would have been in danger. Eventually, Henry Morton called Falmouth Coastguard for help, and the call went out to the Penlee lifeboat crew.

 

The launch of Solomon Browne

 

When the call goes out, a lifeboat crew stops what it is doing and gets to the lifeboat station with all due speed. All the crew of the Penlee boat lived in Mousehole, some of them being local fishermen, and some with other jobs. They included the landlord of the Ship Inn, for example. That night, most of the crew were socializing in the British Legion club in the village, but, knowing that they were on call and also being aware of the state of the weather, they would have kept their alcohol intake to a minimum.

 

The Coxswain was William Trevelyan Richards, at 56 a highly experienced lifeboatman who already had commendations for bravery for previous rescues. Richards knew that this was going to be a very dangerous mission, and for that reason he refused the services of Neil Brockman, aged 17, because his father was already in the crew, and the Coxswain would not risk the lives of two members of any one family. This is common practice in the lifeboat community. The lifeboat was launched shortly after 8pm, well after dark, into waves that reached as high as forty feet.

 

Solomon Browne did not have far to go to find the Union Star, which was approaching the rocks close to Boscawen Bay and the Tater Du lighthouse, only a few miles down the coast. A helicopter from the Royal Naval Air Station at Culdrose was overhead, but conditions were so bad that it was impossible to winch anyone off the ship. Eventually the helicopter had to break off, and so did not witness the final outcome. There were also people on the cliff top, but in the darkness they could see very little apart from the lights of the two vessels.

 

Tragedy strikes

 

In those tumultuous seas, and in the dark, it was essential that nobody went into the water, as their chances of survival would be virtually nil. Solomon Browne therefore had no choice but to get alongside Union Star and for the crew and passengers to be helped across on to the lifeboat. Coxswain Richards was in radio contact with Falmouth Coastguards, and we know from the radio transcripts that several attempts were made get the two vessels as close as possible. On at least one occasion, it would appear that the lifeboat actually landed on the deck of the coaster and was then thrown off again.

 

We know that four people did manage to get aboard Solomon Browne, as Coxswain Richards’s final message was “we’ve got four off at the moment”. Exactly what happened next must be conjecture, because no more was heard from the Coxswain, and the watchers on the cliffs saw no more lights from shortly afterwards. Nobody from either vessel survived.

 

A huge rescue mission was launched, but nothing could be done. Other lifeboats were called out, but the Sennen Cove boat could not get round Land’s End, and the Lizard boat, from the other direction, only found wreckage when it arrived. Only eight bodies were ever recovered, four from Union Star and four from Solomon Browne. Union Star lay capsized at the foot of the cliffs for several days before she broke up, but little was ever found of Solomon Browne.

 

The aftermath

 

So what happened? It is highly unlikely that the lifeboat capsized, because all lifeboats of its class were self-rightable. However, if a huge wave had turned the boat over, would all of its crew have been washed over the side? Or was one more collision between the vessels too much for Solomon Browne’s wooden hull?

 

Whatever the cause, the result sent shockwaves through the whole country, which had been looking forward to Christmas and was suddenly reminded of the perils faced by seafarers and the courage of those who volunteer to save their lives.

 

The shock was particularly profound among those people whose living is made from the sea, and the entire population of south-west England. The custom at Mousehole itself has been, on the evening of 19th December every year, to extinguish all lights in the village as a mark of respect.

 

A local appeal raised three million pounds to support the families of the crew and provide fitting memorials, although many contributions came from well beyond the local area.

 

There are always “might have beens” that are asked on such occasions. Should Henry Morton have been required to take a tow from the Noord Holland? One consequence of the disaster has been that, in similar circumstances, today’s regulations demand exactly that. Had Morton’s three family members not been on board, would Solomon Browne have needed to make another attempt to get alongside? Perhaps so, given that only four people had been rescued and not five, but would it have been easier to rescue five seafarers rather than eight people who included two teenage girls? Such questions can be asked, but probably not answered.

 

There is still a Penlee lifeboat today, although the old lifeboat station is no longer used, being instead preserved as a memorial to Solomon Browne and her crew. In 1983, an Arun class lifeboat, the Mabel Alice, came into service, based at Newlyn. In 2003, a Severn class boat, the Ivan Ellen, came into service. Both boats have made many lifesaving rescues in recent years, including some that have earned awards for courage and outstanding service.

 

The full list of the lost crew of Solomon Browne, all of whom received posthumous awards, is as follows:

 

William Trevelyan Richards (age 56) (Coxswain)

 

James Madron (35) (2nd Coxswain)

 

Nigel Brockman (43)

 

John Blewett (43)

 

Kevin Smith (23)

 

Barrie Torrie (33)

 

Charles Greenhaugh (46)

 

Gary Wallis (23)

 

In 1992, Neil Brockman, who at 17 was refused a place aboard Solomon Browne on the night that his father lost his life, was appointed Coxswain of the Penlee lifeboat.

 

I grew up in Poole, which is where the Royal National Lifeboat Institution has its headquarters. I have known many men and women who have gained their living or recreation from the sea, and some who have been members of lifeboat crews. I am delighted to have this opportunity to pay my own tribute to the selfless dedication of these volunteers who put their lives at risk to help save others.

  

player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-the-loss-of-the-penlee-...

 

In The Compleat Angler or The Contemplative Man's Recreation, Izaak Walton wrote, 'And you are further to know, that there be certain waters, that breed Trouts remarkable both for their number and smallness. I know a little brook in Kent, that breeds them to a number incredible, and you may take them twenty and forty in an hour, but none greater than about the size of a Gudgeon ...'. It was conjectured by James Rennie (Editor of the 1833 Printing), that Walton was referring to the River Cray, seen here as it flows through Foots Cray Meadows (in the London Borough of Bexley).

The theme for a 11/2 lifetime is bringing life into a sense of balance through the analyzing and synthesizing of ideas. Learning to trust in yourself, your intuition, and your psychic abilities.

Justice and the High Priestess (Papess) represent form the gateway into an 11/2 lifetime. Justice (ruled by the planet Libra) places focus on harmony, understanding others, and finding a sense of balance in life. Libra is by nature active and social, with the need to balance between nurturing self and helping others. The High Priestess (Papess) is ruled by the Moon, which places focus on our inner selves, our inner needs, intuition, unconscious, and psychic abilities. Here we are looking at reacting, rather than taking action. The nature here is a passive one. Personal empowerment is the ability to focus our personal and spiritual energy in a manner that enhances how we experience our life. As we define our true power, we actualize out potential and begin to live life from a core of inner confidence.

 

theworldoftarot.wordpress.com/2014/03/15/birth-card-pairs...

 

The occult has moved from secrecy to mainstream acceptance, and tarot card reading stands as a testament to this shift. The Rider-Waite deck, named after the mystic A.E. Waite and publisher William Rider and Son, is considered the definitive tarot deck. However, the captivating imagery and symbolism that define this deck come from the artistic genius of Pamela Colman Smith, a woman often forgotten in the history of the occult.

Smith, an artist with possible Jamaican roots, led a bohemian lifestyle and was introduced to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn by the renowned poet William Butler Yeats. She joined the secret society, which explored occult and paranormal aspects, as well as philosophy and magic. There, she met A.E. Waite, who would later request her artistic talents in creating a new deck of divination cards. Despite the immense popularity of the Rider-Waite deck, Smith’s role in its creation was largely forgotten.

However, many tarot enthusiasts today have started acknowledging her contributions by calling it the “Smith-Waite” deck or using decks that feature her name prominently.

 

culture.org/the-unseen-mothers-of-the-occult-pamela-colma...

 

"Gospel according to "Myriam" and this Mary is generally identified, without certainty, as being Mary of Magdala....In Christian tradition, the Three Marys also refers to three daughters – all three called Mary – whom Anne, the maternal grandmother of Jesus would have had with three successive husbands. According to Fernando Lanzi and Gioia Lanzi, this tradition would have been condemned by the Council of Trent (16th century), but it is still very much alive, particularly in German-speaking countries16 and in the Netherlands. then retired to the cave of Sainte-Baume where she lived for 30 years as a hermitage, with her only clothing, the fleece of her hair, and as her only food, the song of the angels who daily raised her to the heavens, seven times a day, it is said. She left Sainte Baume to die with Saint Maximin, one of the 72 disciples, in the small town where he had built his oratory and which today bears his name. He buried the saint in an alabaster sarcophagus.The name Magdala comes from Magdal in Aramaic or Migdal in Hebrew and designates a construction in the shape of a tower, representing faith, very similar to the House of God (The Tower) in Marseille's Tarot !

 

The Tarot de Marseille would then be a testimony to the teaching of Mary Magdalene. In Spanish-speaking countries, the Orion Belt Asterism is called “Las Tres Marias” (The Three Marys). In other Western countries, it is sometimes called "The Three Kings", a reference to the "Magi who came from the East" of the childhood narrative added to the Gospel according to Matthew and to the tradition of the three Magi, bearers of gifts for the child Jesus, whose oldest witnesses are found in Tertullian and Origen (early 3rd century). My "Mary Magdalene theory" is fortunately supported by thousands of codes that all come interconnected. "You will progress on a healthier basis with someone you know. Be authentic. Make sure you reserve moments of relaxation and do not pull too much on the rope, you tend to exceed your physical limits. Mary (mother of Jesus) Mary Magdalene Mary of Clopas. These three women are very often represented in art, as for example in this picture. The Three Marys (also spelled Maries) are women mentioned in the canonical gospels' narratives of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Mary was the most common name for Jewish women of the period. Mary speaks of strange encounters with Creator Beings. Read about her experiences with them, and how their decree changed her life with Jesus. In this final volume of the trilogy, Magdalene appears to the author by the river in Rennes les Bains, France. There she reveals an ancient healing technique called The True Baptism. Mary illustrates how to organize the life force from the matrix of The All and allow it to trigger our genetic code. Mary then answers more of your questions, this time about the hidden properties of gold, the evolution of her bloodline with Jesus, free will, inner earth, the star knowledge, and much more. The Tarot, in both its origin as a card game and in its transformation into an occult divinatory tool, functions as an iconographic mirror of a particular culture's time and place. By the examining the evolution of the World card, from the 14th century Italian decks to contemporary ones, we will see a shift from male Christ imagery to female anima mundi imagery. Parallel to this iconographic shift is the figure of Mary Magdalene, who in Renaissance painting began to be portrayed less as a sinner and more of a penitent saint. The assumption of Mary Magdalene in art correlates with the finalized form of the World card. The alterations of Christian iconography and symbolism in Tarot cards are the result of occultists’ reappropiation of the Tarot in the late 1700s. The fear/distrust/disbelief of God and Christianity that began at this time funneled into an interest in the occult; in the Tarot, we see a preservation of the luminous but a problematic relationality with Christianity. The World card, as it has been handed down to us today, is a synthesis of the assumption of Mary Magdalene, the Christus Victor, and the anima mundi. A sacred priestess of the ancient Womb Rites, Mary Magdalene was at the center of a great and enduring Mystery tradition. Unveiling the lost left-hand path of the Magdalene, the authors offer rituals and practices to initiate you into the Womb magic of the ancient priestesses and access deeper dimensions of sexuality and feminine power.

 

www.innertraditions.com/books/magdalene-mysteries

 

Tarot historians are in agreement that the appropriation of the cards by occultists occurred in the late 18th century. The first known interpretation of the Tarot through an esoteric lens was penned by the French occultist Court de Gebelin. He believed the deck was the lost Egyptian Book of Thoth, containing the secret mysteries of Egyptian wisdom and magic; following Gebelin, occultists began syncretizing the Tarot with the systems of Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and alchemy. I believe we can locate the apex of this appropriation in the Waite-Smith deck from 1909 – the most familiar and popular deck to the contemporary reader. Later we will consider the effect this had on the Tarot symbolism and its relationship to the shifts in religious understanding in France and other European countries.Although there is a clear historical distinction between Tarot as “playing cards” and as occult divination tools, this is not to say that the imagery of the early decks are absent of symbolism or meaning. Rather than esoteric, the early cards are exoteric in their imagery; the symbols are clear referents to religion, culture, and mythology. While they seem esoteric today, as much of Christian iconography is to the contemporary viewer, these cards were probably not hard to decipher by their audiences. While much is admittedly conjecture, (as is a lot of Tarot historical studies), there is still much we can tease out of the visual evolution of the cards over time. It is surprising that there has been so little work done on the correlations and similarities between Tarot and Christian symbolism and iconography. My research hit a lot of dead-end roads in terms of proof, but I believe it is important to reveal my initial observations to show that, while perhaps not conscious, there is a great deal of Christian symbolism in Tarot, even in decks from the post-occult turn of the 18 and 19 centuries and from today as well.In the Waite-Smith deck, the most obvious Christian card is the 20 Major Arcana, Judgment, in which an angel blows a trumpet and the souls of dead bodies rise from coffins. Another obvious example is the Tower card, clearly a depiction of the fall of the Tower of Babel. Less obvious, perhaps, is the Fool card. It depicts a young man walking up to a cliff precipice, as though he does not see it; he carries a bag of money and is followed by a dog. Does this not recall the story of blind Tobias, who also carries money and is followed by a dog? Although in painting he is normally portrayed being guided by the angel Raphael, the similarities are astounding. How did this come to be?

  

The Hanged Man card is surprisingly consistent from the early Italian decks to the contemporary post-occult decks, and is one of the most mysterious within esoteric interpretation. In the Waite-Smith deck, it depicts a man hanging from a Tau cross by one leg; his other leg is crossed underneath the other to form another cross, and a nimbus glows around the head. Most occult interpretations of this card go along the lines that it is a symbol of self-sacrifice for spiritual gain. Robert Place argues that this can be understood as Christ, in that Christ was executed as a traitor by the state.3 Furthermore, a numerical reading of the card offers insight – being card 12, it might refer also to the self-sacrifice and martyrdom of the twelve disciples. By employing basic gematria, we can add the digits one and two to reach three, which could be the Trinity.

 

www.academia.edu/8851376/Tarot_and_Christian_Iconography_...

  

The Gospels refer to several women named Mary. At various points of Christian history, some of these women have been identified with one another..look at this picture from the Waite-Rider-Smth tarot:from left to right 1 Mary Magdalene 2 Mary of Jacob (mother of James the Less) 3 Mary, mother of Jesus (Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40; Luke 24:10) Mary of Clopas (John 19:25), sometimes identified with Mary of Jacob. Mary of Bethany (Luke 10:38–42, John 12:1–3), not mentioned in any Crucifixion or Resurrection narratives but identified with Mary Magdalene in some traditions. Another woman who appears in the Crucifixion and Resurrection narratives is Salome, who, in some traditions, is referred to as Mary Salome and identified as being one of the Marys. Other women mentioned in the narratives are Joanna and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.Marie-Madeleine, Marie Salomé and Marie de Clopas are the 3 Maries of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a French town, capital of the Camargue, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône. The designation "of-the-sea" derives from the fact that after the death of Jesus, the three Marys crossed the sea by boat to there and then lived there, thus helping to bring Christianity to France and Europe. These 3 Marys were present during the execution of Jesus and, they were the first witnesses of the empty tomb at the resurrection of Jesus... After the death of Jesus, around 42 J.C. the Christians were persecuted, and the three Marys were arrested and expelled from Palestine. They therefore embarked, with many other Christians, on a ship named "The Ship of Peter" devoid of oars and sails which, led by Providence, managed to reach the shores of Provence, in the south of France in a place which now bears their names.This is where the three Marys were welcomed by Sara, according to some texts, according to others, Sara, herself would be the Holy Grail, the direct descent of Mary Magdalene and Jesus. Only Marie Salomé, Marie Jacobé and Sarah will remain; Marie Madeleine, will retire to a hermitage in a cave...This is a historically attested fact, because Christianity began to spread in Europe precisely from Gaul, which thus became the gateway to the new religion in Europe. Mary Magdalene occupies a privileged place for Christ, at the head of a group of women who accompany him. She will be the first witness to the Resurrection of Christ, the first to whom the Lord appears on Easter morning, a sign, whether we believe in it or not, of an exceptional position. She is Jewish like Christ, like him from the North of Palestine (Israel), from Galilee, probably from Magdala, near Nazareth and Cana. It is believed that she was an aristocrat born in the year 3 AD, who after attending the court of the king of the Jews Herod, was converted by Christ, changed her life and decided to follow him and put her fortune at the disposal of the group. Arrived in the Camargue, with the two other Maries, she evangelized the Marseillais, then withdrew to the cave of Sainte-Baume where she lived 30 years in hermitage, with as only clothing, the fleece of her hair, and as only food, the song of the angels who raised her daily in the heavens, seven times a day, it is said.

 

www.calistabellini.com/post/les-saintes-maries-de-la-mer-...

 

Different sets of three women have been referred to as the Three Marys: Three Marys present at the crucifixion of Jesus;

Three Marys at the tomb of Jesus on Easter Sunday; Three daughters of Saint Anne, all named Mary. The three Marys at the

 

The presence of a group of female disciples of Jesus at the crucifixion of Jesus is found in all four Gospels of the New Testament. Differences in the parallel accounts have led to different interpretations of how many and which women were present. In some traditions, as exemplified in the Irish song Caoineadh na dTrí Muire, the Three Marys are the three whom the Gospel of John mentions as present at the crucifixion of Jesus: However, Jesus was not crucified upside-down. Looking at the Visconti-Sforza deck, we have an almost identical depiction of the Hanged Man. Helen Farley points out that in Renaissance society, there was an art form called pittura infamante – ‘shame painting’ – “in which a person was depicted as a traitor, particularly when beyond the reach of legitimate legal. recourse.”4 By depicting someone hanging upside-down, this could alternately mean the person had turned away from God. It also was used for the execution of Jews, witches, and Christians who had committed perfidy. I immediately thought of Peter, who is said to have asked to be crucified upside-down because he was unworthy to die as Christ died. In Christian iconography, he is the only individual portrayed in this manner. Peter could be said to be a traitor, in that he denied Christ three times, but the negative associations of shame paintings don’t seem to correlate with Peter’s sainthood. Judas is also said to have hung himself, and is traitor par excellance, but I remained convinced that this card was based upon Peter. While the usual understanding of Peter’s request for an upside-down crucifixion is his humility in relation to Christ’s death, there is a different explanation in apocryphal accounts. In the Acts of Peter, Peter speaks from the cross, saying that, “when the first man [Adam] came into the world, he came headfirst. That means that Adam’s perspective, as the one who brought sin into the world, was entirely reversed and upside down. That is why people seem to think that what is true is false and what is false true....All of this is because humans have reverse vision, due to the actions of Adam.”6 Thus, hanging upside-down is a model for Christians to live by, to see the world correctly. This is nearly identical to how Tarot esotericists interpret the Hanged Man; it is both Christ in its self-sacrifice, and also an inversion of corporeal ‘reality’ and perspective through which one gets a better understanding of how to reach God. While one cannot veritably locate a thread between the Acts of Peter and the Hanged Man, this connection exemplifies the latent Christian symbolism that flows through the Tarot, from 14th century Italy to now.

 

Mary Magdalene, Mary of Clopas and Mary (mother of Jesus). These three women are very often represented in art, as for example in these Flickr's picture.

 

Women at the tarot like a passkey to heaven; The Three Marys as passkey. What may be the earliest known representation of three women visiting the tomb of Jesus is a fairly large fresco in the Dura-Europos church in the ancient city of Dura Europos on the Euphrates. The fresco was painted before the city's conquest and abandonment in AD 256, but it is from the 5th century that representations of either two or three women approaching a tomb guarded by an angel appear with regularity, and become the standard depiction of the Resurrection. They have continued in use even after 1100, when images of the Resurrection of Jesus in Christian art began to show the risen Christ himself. Examples are the Melisende Psalter and Peter von Cornelius's The Three Marys at the tarot. Eastern icons continue to show either the Myrrhbearers or the Harrowing of Hell. The fifteenth-century Easter hymn "O filii et filiae" refers to three women going to the tomb on Easter morning to anoint the body of Jesus. The original Latin version of the hymn identifies the women as Mary Magdalene (Maria Magdalene), Mary of Joseph (et Iacobi), and Salome (et Salome).

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Marys

 

The World (XXI) is the 21st trump or Major Arcana card in the tarot deck. It can be incorporated as the final card of the Major Arcana or tarot trump sequence (the first or last optioned as being "The Fool" (0). It is associated with the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet, 'Shin' also spelled 'Sin'. The oval shape of the wreath is also used by the Golden Dawn in their Tattva cards. These colorful cards were designed to aid the development of clairvoyance through visual meditation, and one of the symbols in the cards is an oval. The oval corresponds to the Akasha, ether or spiritual realm (see Akashic Records).

 

Description

 

Christ in Majesty is surrounded by the animal emblems representing the four evangelists in a German manuscript.

In the traditional Tarot of Marseilles, as well as the later Rider–Waite tarot deck, a naked woman hovers or dances above the Earth holding a staff in each hand, surrounded by a wreath, being watched by the four living creatures (or hayyoth) of Jewish mythology: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. This depiction parallels the tetramorph used in Christian art, where the four creatures are used as symbols of the four Evangelists. Some astrological sources explain these observers as representatives of the natural world or the kingdom of beasts. According to astrological tradition the Lion is Leo—a fire sign, the Bull or calf is Taurus—an earth sign, the Man is Aquarius—an air sign, and the Eagle is Scorpio—a water sign. These signs are the four fixed signs and represent the classical four elements. In some decks the wreath is an ouroboros biting its own tail. In the Thoth Tarot designed by Aleister Crowley, this card is called "The Universe." The World card, the highest ranked Major Arcana card, exists in the early Visconti-Sforza, Marseilles, and contemporary decks. It will serve as our loci in considering the relationship between Tarot and Christian iconography, the evolution of Mary Magdalene in Christian depiction/understanding, and the rise of the female anima mundi in occult and esoteric movements. To recall, the Visconti-Sforza is one of our earliest known decks. Helen Farley notes that the deck’s symbolism reflects concerns and themes of the Italian Renaissance: The proximity of death, the fickle hand of fortune, the desirability of living a life

of virtue, the importance of spirituality but also the contempt with which corporeal concerns were held, namely the corruption of the Church...[it] portrayed the lives and history of the Viscontis...as a game: a potent allegory of Visconti life. These themselves more as we follow the orbit of the World card around the sun of time.reveal themes, particularly the tension between spirituality and Catholicism, will. In the Visconti-Sforza deck, the world is shown as a globe, within which is surrounded by turbulent waters (fig. I). The globe is held aloft by two putti. The blue wings indicate they are Seraphim, the highest rank of angels. In other versions from this time, there is usually a figure of a woman or angel upon the globe and city usually represents Jerusalem, the city of God; “the microcosm of the city symbolically linked the earthly (human) body with the heavenly (cosmic) ‘body’”, observes Farley. This derives, of course, from St. Augustine’s The City of God, wherein the Christian empire is located around the Church of Rome, which links humankind with God. The earthly city reflects the heavenly city, and this card connects the actual city of Milan with the celestial city of heaven. Duke Sforza’s domination of Milan is enforced and made holy through its pictorial self-portrayal as the Augustinian city. This pride in the city-state enforces the power, wealth, and status of Milan; interestingly, as the World card follows the Resurrection/Judgment card, Milan is portrayed as the city Augustine believes will contain the saved souls. One also may observe that the city is separated from the rest of the ‘world’ by the edge of the globe; it is strongly fortified and separated by waters, illuminated by the stars of heaven.

 

What does 3 stars in the sky mean? many meanings...Each culture gives the Três Marias a different meaning. In Christian tradition, the stars are associated with the three women who visited the tomb of Jesus at the resurrection. They also represent the Three Wise Men -Gaspar, Melchior and Baltasar-, who would be on their way to Bethlehem at the birth of the messiah. What are the three Marias? Mark 16:1 indicates that "Mary Magdalene", "Mary the mother of James" and "Salome" went to the tomb to anoint Jesus....How many stars do the 3 Marias have?

The Belt or Belt of Orion, popularly known as the Three Marys or Three Kings, is an asterism of three stars that form the belt of the constellation of Orion, the hunter. The stars, easily identifiable in the sky by their brightness and alignment, are known as Mintaka, Alnilam, and Alnitak. Where are the three Marias?

To identify it we must locate 3 stars close to each other, of the same brightness, and aligned. They are called Tres Marías and they form the belt of the constellation of Orion, the hunter. Their names are Mintaka, Alnilan and Alnitaka, from the Arabic Al-Mintakah, the belt, An-Nidham, the pearl, and An-Nitak, the rope.

What are the stars we see in the sky? Stars are large spheres formed by plasma heated to thousands of degrees. Its shape is due to its gravity, which points towards the core of the star. Stars are large spheres of plasma that are powered by nuclear fusion. Stars are large spheres of plasma, held together by their own gravity. > Constellation of ORION: Why are the three Marias called Três Marias? Origin and meanings of Três Marias.Each culture gives the Três Marias a different meaning. In Christian tradition, the stars are associated with the three women who visited the tomb of Jesus at the resurrection. They also represent the Three Wise Men -Gaspar, Melchior and Baltasar-, who would be on their way to Bethlehem at the birth of the messiah. What are the three Marias? Mark 16:1 indicates that "Mary Magdalene", "Mary the mother of James" and "Salome" went to the tomb to anoint Jesus....How many stars do the 3 Marias have? The Belt or Belt of Orion, popularly known as the Three Marys or Three Kings, is an asterism of three stars that form the belt of the constellation of Orion, the hunter. The stars, easily identifiable in the sky by their brightness and alignment, are known as Mintaka, Alnilam, and Alnitak.Where are the three Marias? To identify it we must locate 3 stars close to each other, of the same brightness, and aligned. They are called Tres Marías and they form the belt of the constellation of Orion, the hunter. Their names are Mintaka, Alnilan and Alnitaka, from the Arabic Al-Mintakah, the belt, An-Nidham, the pearl, and An-Nitak, the rope.The most curious thing of all is that, in reality, their names are Mintaka, Alnilan and Alnitak, Arabic names that mean, respectively, the "Belt", the "Pearl/Precious Stone" and the "Rope". Another is knowing that they are actually very close together in the sky, approximately 1,500 light-years from Earth.There are three enormous stars visible in the winter sky and in the center of the constellation Orion, the celestial cathedral. These three stars form a nearly perfect tilted alignment, separated by seemingly nearly equidistant distances. They are known as the three Marys, the three wise men or the belt of Orion -a giant hunter from mythology-, but these names are not enough to understand the mysteries that such colossal stars contain. We must look towards the south, at half height; between the horizon and the zenith. It has no loss, it is a brilliant stellar alignment, which is unique in the firmament. Three blue stars, three giants: Mintaka, Altinak and Alnilam.

 

Источник: planetariodevitoria.org/estrelas/qual-e-o-nome-das-estrel...

 

An engineer born in Alexandria in 1948, Robert Bauval, with a background in astronomy and an interest in Egyptology, discovered that the three Marys are positioned exactly like the three great pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The star Mintaka, in the upper part of the alignment of the three Marys, is somewhat deviated with respect to the previous two, the same imperfect alignment has the three great pyramids. But also, the pyramid deviated from the straight line that joins the other two, is the smallest of the three (Micerino), like Mintaka, which is the star that shines the least of the three Marias. Also, the pyramid that is highest on the plateau of the three and that stands out the most (Kefren) is the central one, as is the central star of Las tres Marías, which is the brightest. Did the Egyptians also know that these stars are visible from all over the world? And more specifically Mintaka, which is right on the celestial equator. Everything can be the product of chance, but many coincidences bear the truth. Curiously, the Egyptians believed that after their death, the gates of heaven opened in the place occupied by Orion's belt, but they never understood the greatness of those three spectacular stars. The three Marys were the place where the soul of Osiris, the Egyptian god of resurrection, rested and presides over the court of the judgment of the deceased, among other powers.Alnitak, an Arabic name meaning "belt", is the lowest of the three stars. A new star 6 million years old, while the Sun is about 5,000 million. This blue giant, 16 times the diameter of the Sun, with a visual magnitude of 1.79, located 700 light years from the Sun, of spectral type O9, shines with an intensity 100,000 times greater than that of our Sun, which next to it is a tiny star with a mass 20 times less than Alnitak. It ranks 35th among the most luminous stars we know of, including stars from other galaxies. Alnitak is a peculiar star, whose surface temperature reaches 29,000 degrees. The Sun only reaches 6,500. But it is also a very intense source of X-rays, due to the strong stellar winds that are projected from the surface in the form of particles, essentially hydrogen and helium, sweeping the surrounding space at speeds of 2,000 km/s. These types of giant stars have their days numbered. The bigger the stars are, the less time they live, so that Alnitak, in a short time will become a red supergiant, it will explode in the form of a supernova, which can be seen even during the day from Earth, to end up as a tiny star about 10 km in diameter, called a neutron star, a star so dense that a teaspoon of its surface would weigh as much as a mountain. Also Alnitak is a triple star. Alnilam. Located in the center of the stellar trio that make up Las tres Marías, it is a true celestial spectacle. It shines with a magnitude of 1.70, being the fourth brightest star in Orion and the brightest of the three Marys, in addition to being the furthest at 1,340 light years, but that is nothing compared to the luminosity of the star, equal to 380,000 times greater than the Sun, ranking 27th of all known stars. It is a blue supergiant star, 31 times the diameter of the Sun and 40 solar masses. Extraordinarily young, only 4 million years old, somewhat colder than the previous one, with about 25,000ºC on the surface. It also has a powerful stellar wind with speeds of 2,000 km/s, 20 million times more than the solar wind. The temperature and radiation are so high in this star that it lights up a nebula of gas and dust called NGC 1990 by reflection. Alnilam is so young that it is not yet a stable star, but variable in its brightness (pulsating variable), due to its continuous expansion and contraction. The Sun is a stable star, it does not pulse, expand, or contract. The force of gravity pulling in on the Sun has been offset by the expansive force of thermonuclear reactions by converting hydrogen to helium, but in Alnilam, both forces continue without agreeing. If it is possible to have planets, life there as we know it would be impossible, due to the instability of the star. Alnilam will end its days as Alnitak, becoming a premature red supergiant, exposing its superdense core; a neutron star. Meanwhile, it is moving away from us at a speed of 26 km/s. Mintaka: Arabic word meaning "for belt." Another blue giant star, although the faintest in brightness of the three Marias reaching 2.5 magnitude. It contains 20 solar masses and a luminosity 90,000 times greater than that of the Sun. Located at a distance of 915 light years, it is surprising that it shines with such intensity, not in vain its surface temperature is 31,000ºC. Mintaka is one of the most complex multiple systems known. The main star, that is to say Mintaka, has a companion of magnitude 6.8 at a real distance of more than 2.3 trillion km, or what is the same, ¼ of a light year. But in turn, this star that appears to be 1' of arc distant from Mintaka, is a spectroscopic binary, that is, it has another companion so close to it that it is impossible to take it off with telescopes, but it can be done using spectroscopy; the only thing we can detect is the spectrum of the companion, but we can't see it. Between the spectroscopic binary and Mintaka, there is a faint 14th magnitude star that may belong to the system. But in addition, Mintaka has an extraordinarily close companion to her, which is why she is a spectroscopic binary. Curiously, the companion star has almost the same characteristics as Mintaka, the same mass, temperature and luminosity and must be the same size. A complex 5-star star system. Almost all stars are double or multiple, the rarity is our Sun, which is a solitary star. However, many researchers look for dwarf stars that may be trapped by the Sun's gravity.

 

www.abc.es/ciencia/20140122/abci-tres-marias-estrellas-co...

  

The two putti slowly disappeared in other decks, to be replaced by either a male or female figure. In this example from the Museo Civico, we see a woman holding a wand and a globe as she stands upon the globe (fig. II). Another early example of a female World card is the Cary-Yale Visconti deck (fig. III), depicting a royally-clothed woman wielding a scepter and a crown. It was not uncommon to portray the earth as a feminine figure, but these early examples seem to be stressing not so much a personification of the earth but rather the domination of earth by something/someone. Consider figure IV and figure V. Here we have a male figure, one clothed and the other nude, ruling over the world. Consider also the nude male in the Jacques Vieville deck and the Bologna deck (fig. VI). In Christian art, when Jesus is portrayed as the Christus Victor, he looms over the world holding a globe with a cross fixed to it. He is often surrounded by the four evangelists as he stands upon God’s throne. When he is surrounded by the four evangelists, Christ is enclosed within a mandorla, and the four evangelists are often in the four corners. Should we understand these male figures as Christ? The examples we’ve looked at that have a clothed male figure can clearly be an iconographic Christus Victor; the World card, being the last Major Arcana, is Christ victorious over the entire world after the Resurrection. But what of the nude figures? The only instance of Christ nude in Christian art, that I know of, is Michelangelo’s altar wall in the Sistine Chapel; there, Christ is nude and beardless, as with these particular cards. But there is a shift from the Christ standing upon the world to the Christ on God’s throne. As we see with the Jacques Vieville card (fig. VI), the nude Christ holds his standard iconographic scepter with attached globe, is enclosed by a mandorla (a laurel wreath), and surrounded by the four evangelists. Again, following the tradition of Christian art, Matthew is a human with wings, Mark is a lion, Luke is an ox, and John is an eagle. There is no essential difference between this Tarot card and an atypical Christus Victor. It should be noted that this visual structure was also used in alchemy through the 16 to the 18 century. The four

evangelists are correlated with the four elements of the world, the four seasons, and the four directions. Consider figure VII; note the chalice with the serpent, the attribute of John the Evangelist, unusually associated with the anima mundi. But something happened. Recall that the Marseilles deck, circa blueprint structure and pattern for most subsequent decks created in France, Italy, and Belgium, and also for the decks created by occultists in the 19th century deck is unusual considering its forerunners. We have the same iconography of the four evangelists and the mandorla, but instead of the Christus Victor or royally-clothed woman, there is a nude woman (figure VIII). There are many versions of this, of course, but we can say that she is often portrayed with long hair, with a loose banner rippling around her nude body. She sometimes holds a bottle and a scepter; more often, two equal wands (that is, wands with a knob on both ends). She is always enclosed within a laurel wreath, and the four evangelists remain in the four corners of the card. Suddenly, a nude woman is dancing, or floating, on God’s throne instead of Christ; perhaps, she is being assumed up into heaven. This card serves as the bridge between the City of God and the Christus Victor depictions to most of the subsequent World cards: the rather curious and baffling conflagration of Christian iconography and feminine/Goddess imagery. What does this shift mean, and how can we situate it within Christian art? Let us turn our attention, now, to the portrayal of Mary Magdalene in Christian art. Mary Magdalene underwent quite a transformation through Renaissance art. The sinner Magdalene ultimately becomes the penitent, holy reformer to which many upheld as an exemplary and relatable model. Mrs. Jameson locates the rising popularity of Magdalene as penitent in the 16th and 17th into heaven. Magdalene became “still more endeared to the popular imagination by more affecting and attractive associations, and even more eminently picturesque...We have Magdalenes who look as if they never could have sinned, and others who look as if they never could have repented.”11 Magdalene became more sexualized just as she became more penitent. Rachel Geschwind observes that in the 16th century, paintings like Rossiglio’s Conversion of the Magdalene began to give Venus-like characteristics to Magdalene; she is both divine and corporeal. and art, and sometimes one might even mistake a Venus for a Magdalene. Courtesans at this time would write of divine love and the desire to enter the ‘paradise of Venus’, which was a metaphor where she is praying for forgiveness or being reconciled and/or assumed up for the city. (Recall the City of God from the Visconti deck). Magdalene seemed to serve as a perfect model for passion and romance that was acceptable religiously, and as a locus for the world of divine love. The dichotomy between the corporeal and the divine is also inherent in Correggio’s Noli Me Tangere; Margaret A. Morse writes that “Correggio evoked a natural style, while maintain a beauty and sanctity for which his subjects called, whereby the beholder...would be able to recognize the divine in the physical.”14 She is a bridge between the viewer and Christ, between the body and the spirit. Given that Neo-Platonism was on the rise during the Renaissance, it makes sense that this balance between two kinds of love, “sacred and profane, formulated by Plato in the Symposium”15, found Mary Magdalene as the perfect template and model. In addition to Venus-like characteristics, Magdalene was also beginning to assume the role as a “new Eve” from the Virgin.The relationship between the images of the Tarot de Marseille and the medieval heresy of the Holy Grail. The followers of this heresy claimed that Jesus of Nazareth had married Mary Magdalene. In this work are presented all the symbols of the Tarot in relation to this heresy and, for the first time, it is revealed that these images constitute the secret heritage of Mary Magdalene. that the game was the lost Egyptian book of Thoth, containing the secret mysteries of Egyptian wisdom and magic; following Gebelin, occultists

2 began to syncretize the Tarot with the systems of Kabbalah, Hermeticism and Alchemy. We believe we can place the pinnacle of this appropriation in the Waite-Smith game of 1909 - the most familiar and popular game for the contemporary reader. Later we will look at the effect this has had on Tarot symbolism and its relationship to changes in religious understanding in France and other European countries.

 

Mary Magdalene (Mary of Magdala), the woman with jars in Christian symbolism, could very well in this case be represented in the star map. But their assumptions stopped there. No one had ever imagined that the Tarot itself represents in its entirety the teaching and life of Marie-Madeleine on the one hand and even less that the Tarot was created by Marie-Madeleine herself in the 1st century. This is the entirely new Tarot theory that I have been expounding since the beginning of the second millennium. If my theory of the Tarot turns out to be correct, it completely changes the vision and the understanding that one could have of the Tarot. It changes the dating of the Tarot which goes from the 14th century to the 1st century AD with Mary Magdalene, the Tarot de Marseille thus becoming the ancestor of all Western tarots, that is to say "the Tarot". Historians and experts said that the Tarot originated in Italy during the Renaissance era around the end of the 14th century the beginning of the 15th century. On the other hand, no one thought that the Tarot de Marseille itself originated from Marseille. When I started to propose the theory of a Marseille origin of the Tarot de Marseille, Tarot historians and Tarot experts thought that I was an eccentric or that I wanted to make a publicity stunt. In 1999, I explained publicly that in my opinion the Tarot had been transmitted to Europe around 415 by the monk Jean Cassien who was entirely dedicated to Marie-Madeleine and who founded the order of the Abbey of Saint-Victor in Marseille. My Tarot theory is based on thousands of secret codes that can be found in the new Tarot de Marseille Camoin that I drew in the 90s. The Mandorla that surrounds the naked woman indicates that it is a saint who has reached the beatific state. The most significant secret Tarot code in "The Mary Magdalene Theory" that I have discovered resides in the last two cards of the Tarot Major Arcana, Judgment and the World. Indeed, by their number, these two cards are naturally placed next to each other. I revealed that the two cards put together give the key to the mystery of the Tarot character that is found in the World card. Because the identity of this character had remained a mystery for centuries. Almost all Tarot researchers claimed that it was the androgynous Christ, so much so that it had become a real dogma in the Tarot world. Historians could not imagine that it was a woman because of the presence of the four living beings who are attributed to Christ in Christian sacred art. Some had interpreted this mysterious young woman as being the soul of the World, "Anima Mundi".

But the Tarot is coded in another way. Tarot codes are embedded in other Tarot codes and so on. Also, if we disregard the four living beings in the World map, we obtain a naked woman surrounded by an almond-shaped oval. This oval called mandorla symbolizes the state of beatific vision. We find the mandorla around some saints. This means that in the Tarot de Marseille, the woman on the World Map is a saint. My "Mary Magdalene theory" continues like this. In the pantheon of Western saints, there is only one saint who is depicted naked, and that is Saint Mary Magdalene. However, Marie de Magdala lived in the vicinity of Marseilles for 30 years. My theory, which is unique in the history of the Tarot, states that it is Mary Magdalene who is represented in the map of the World and that the Tarot de Marseille is therefore dedicated to this saint.

 

The two cards form a new symbol. Mary of Magdala is the Saint who sees the Resurrection of Christ (in blue. Furthermore, we can locate similar attributes to Magdalene from apocryphal sources as well as the writings of Origen. In the apocryphal Pistis Sophia, Magdalene is the sole recipient of Christ’s gnosis, rather than Peter and the other disciples. Christ says, “Well done, Mary. You are more blessed than all women on earth, because you will be the fullness of fullnesses and the completion of completions.”17Although this apocryphal account could not have been known to people during the Renaissance, it reveals that even within the early Christian communities there was a holiness attributed to Magdalene that transcended all others. Yet the Gnostic contempt for materiality seems to clash with the embrace of dualism during the Renaissance. This dualism can be found in Origen’s writings, however. In his commentary on the Song of Songs, he allegorically reads the bride as the Christian church. The bride anoints her lover with an ointment; Origen connects this with the scriptural account of Mary Magdalene anointing Christ. He interprets the line spoken by the bride, “I am dark but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem” (Song 1:5), as follows: “She has repented of her sins...beauty is the gift conversion has bestowed; that is the reason she is hymned as beautiful. She is called black, however, because she has not yet purged of every stain of sin, she has not yet been washed unto salvation, nevertheless she does not stay dark-hued, she is becoming white.”18 The dualism of black/evil and white/good is unfortunate, but the connection between the Bride of the Song of Songs and Magdalene reinforces her movement away from sin into penitence, and her positive association with the Church and Christ. The sexual language employed in the Song of Songs has always been difficult for commentators; however we see that when Magdalene is associated with the Bride, the sexuality is compounded with Magdalene’s penitence, in the same way we’ve seen in Renaissance painting. The portrayals of Magdalene’s assumption into heaven connect us back to the Tarot. Mrs. Jameson observes, dryly, that Italian paintings of Magdalene’s assumption began “to recall the idea of a Venus Meretrix.”19 Let us consider Giovanni Lanfranco’s La maddalenan portata in cielo, (fig. IX) and Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (fig. X). Jameson is quite correct in her observation, despite her negativity towards this shift. In the Lanfranco, Magdalene’s hair barely covers her nude body as she is borne aloft by three putti. She holds out her hands at an angle, and below her is the world’s expanse of mountains, lakes, and forests. It is sexual and chaste, physical and divine. Her figure is very much the Platonic divine love, the ideal Venus. In some of the Assumptions, she is almost dwarfed by the sublime immensity of the landscape. The fact that the very earth is prominent in these paintings underscores Magdalene’s dualistic characteristics of corporeality and divinity; the world gapes below her as she rises above it into the sky. Although she is always borne by putti in her assumption, she seems to float and dance in ecstasy as she rises. We observed the replacement of the Christus Victor with a female nude in the Marseilles World card. That card is remarkably similar to the Lanfranco, Durer’s Assumption of the Magdalene, and others. One gets the same sense of elevation and completion (recall Christ’s words in the Pistis Sophia) in the rise of Magdalene as one gets in the World card. I argue for a parallel between Magdalene’s evolution and the World card’s evolution; just as painting was infusing Magdalene with traits of divine love and worldliness, Tarot decks began to see the post- Resurrection world not in light of Christ but in a neo-Platonic Venus, a Magdalene/New Eve that encompasses the new World. We saw that some World cards have the woman holding a bottle of some sort, which is an attribute of Magdalene. Also, the instances of the two equal wands supports the dualism of divinity and corporeality, dark and light, sinner and penitent, in the portrayals of Magdalene. Robert Place agrees, writing that “She takes her position in the sacred center, which identifies her as the Anima Mundi and the Quinta Essentia...she has mastered or transcended duality...the World Soul is depicted as both Christ, or Sophia his female counterpart....divine wisdom.”20 She is the completion, the alchemical Great Work, the culmination of all earthly phases into the elevation of the world into heaven. This is, of course, an esoteric alchemical interpretation, which as we noted did not apply to Tarot until the late 1700s. I hold that Magdalene’s iconographic transition in the Renaissance parallels the exoteric symbolism of the World; but what to make of the occultists’ appropriation of this image in the late 1700s? Farley argues that, “With tarot removed from its original environment, its symbolism lost its previous relevance and context, rendering its imagery mysterious.”21 Institutionalized religion was being questioned at this time; indeed, the first publications by occultists on the Tarot coincide with the French Revolution. While we cannot delve deeply into the Revolution here, suffice it to say that it was characterized by a rejection of Christianity but a preservation of Christian structure. “It had its creeds, liturgies and sacred texts, its own vocabulary of virtues and vices...and the ambition of regenerating mankind itself, even if it denied divine intervention or the afterlife. The result was a series of deified abstractions worshipped through the denatured language and liturgy of Christianity.”22 Much of the Revolution’s tactics was the replacing of old symbols with new ones, but maintaining the same essential religious structure. Similarly, I argue that the occult appropriation of the Tarot was also an appropriation of Christian iconography, in a general sense; esoteric interpretations and the revisions of Tarot symbolism was an attempt to escape Christian doctrine through fabricated ancient lore (Egyptian roots, e.g.) and synthesized connections between the Tarot and old esoteric traditions such as Kabbalah.

 

Interpretation

According to A.E. Waite's 1910 book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the World card carries several divinatory associations:

 

Mary Magdalene (Mary of Magdala), the woman with jars in Christian symbolism, could very well in this case be represented in the star map. But their assumptions stopped there. No one had ever imagined that the Tarot itself represents in its entirety the teaching and life of Marie-Madeleine on the one hand and even less that the Tarot was created by Marie-Madeleine herself in the 1st century. This is the entirely new Tarot theory that I have been expounding since the beginning of the second millennium.

If my theory of the Tarot turns out to be correct, it completely changes the vision and the understanding that one could have of the Tarot. It changes the dating of the Tarot which goes from the 14th century to the 1st century AD with Mary Magdalene, the Tarot de Marseille thus becoming the ancestor of all Western tarots, that is to say "the Tarot". Historians and experts said that the Tarot originated in Italy during the Renaissance period around the end of the 14th century the beginning of the 15th century. On the other hand, no one thought that the Tarot de Marseille itself originated from Marseille.

 

21.THE WORLD—Assured success, recompense, voyage, route, emigration, flight, change of place. Reversed: Inertia, fixity, stagnation, permanence.

The World represents an ending to a cycle of life, a pause in life before the next big cycle beginning with the fool.[3] The figure is male and female, above and below, suspended between the heavens and the earth. It is completeness. It is also said to represent cosmic consciousness; the potential of perfect union with the One Power of the universe.[4] It tells us full happiness is to also give back to the world: sharing what we have learned or gained. As described in the book The New Mythic Tarot by Juliet Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene (p. 82), the image of the woman (Hermaphroditus in Greek Mythology) is to show wholeness unrelated to sexual identification but rather of combined male and female energy on an inner level, which integrates opposites traits that arise in the personality charged by both energies. Opposite qualities between male and female that create turmoil in our life are joined in this card, and the image of becoming whole is an ideal goal, not something that can be possessed rather than achieved.

 

According to Robert M. Place in his book The Tarot, the four beasts on the World card represent the fourfold structure of the physical world—which frames the sacred center of the world, a place where the divine can manifest. Sophia, meaning Prudence or Wisdom (the dancing woman in the center), is spirit or the sacred center, the fifth element. Prudence is the fourth of the Cardinal virtues in the tarot. The lady in the center is a symbol of the goal of mystical seekers. In some older decks, this central figure is Christ, whereas in others it is Hermes. Whenever it comes up, this card represents what is truly desired.

 

In other media

In the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, tarot cards are used to name the character's powers, named 'Stands'. The overarching antagonist of Stardust Crusaders, DIO, has a Stand named The World, named after The World card. This stand has the power to stop time whenever DIO commands it to, and he can move during frozen time. In Steel Ball Run, an alternate version of DIO, Diego Brando, later gains this Stand after being summoned by Funny Valentine.

 

In the film Cryptozoo, a tarot reading is done with the Waite-Smith Deck that reveals The World card as part of the protagonist's journey.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_(tarot_card)

 

The relationship between the images of the Tarot de Marseille and the medieval heresy of the Holy Grail. The followers of this heresy claimed that Jesus of Nazareth had married Mary Magdalene. In this work are presented all the symbols of the Tarot in relation to this heresy and, for the first time, it is revealed that these images constitute the secret heritage of Mary Magdalene. that the game was the lost Egyptian book of Thoth, containing the secret mysteries of Egyptian wisdom and magic; following Gebelin, occultists began to syncretize the Tarot with the systems of Kabbalah, Hermeticism and Alchemy. We believe we can place the pinnacle of this appropriation in the Waite-Smith game of 1909 - the most familiar and popular game for the contemporary reader. Later we will look at the effect this has had on Tarot symbolism and its relationship to changes in religious understanding in France and other European countries.The Mandorla that surrounds the naked woman indicates that it is a saint who has reached the beatific state.

The most significant secret Tarot code in "The Mary Magdalene Theory" that I have discovered resides in the last two cards of the Tarot Major Arcana, Judgment and the World. Indeed, by their number, these two cards are naturally placed next to each other. I revealed that the two cards put together give the key to the mystery of the Tarot character that is found in the World card.

Because the identity of this character had remained a mystery for centuries. Almost all Tarot researchers claimed that it was the androgynous Christ, so much so that it had become a real dogma in the Tarot world. Historians could not imagine that it was a woman because of the presence of the four living beings who are attributed to Christ in Christian sacred art. Some had interpreted this mysterious young woman as being the soul of the World, "Anima Mundi". But the Tarot is coded in another way. Tarot codes are embedded in other Tarot codes and so on. Also, if we disregard the four living beings in the World map, we obtain a naked woman surrounded by an almond-shaped oval. This oval called mandorla symbolizes the state of beatific vision. We find the mandorla around some saints. This means that in the Tarot de Marseille, the woman on the World Map is a saint. My "Mary Magdalene theory" continues like this. In the pantheon of Western saints, there is only one saint who is depicted naked, and that is Saint Mary Magdalene. However, Marie de Magdala lived in the vicinity of Marseilles for 30 years. My theory which is unique in the history of the Tarot stipulates that it is Mary Magdalene who is represented in the map of the World and that the Tarot of Marseilles is therefore dedicated to this saint.

 

fr.camoin.com/tarot/Tarot-Marie-Madeleine-Magdala.html

  

What is the name of the brightest star?

Sirius, also called Sirius, α Canis Majoris is the brightest star in the night sky visible to the naked eye, with an apparent magnitude of −1.46. In Greek mythology, Orion's hunting dogs are said to have ascended to heaven at the hands of Zeus, taking the form of the star Sirius.,What are the stars called?

they are called bright stars. How the stars are classified? Astronomers classify stars by size and surface temperature. Based on their size, stars can be called supergiants, bright giants, giants, subgiants, dwarfs or normals, and subdwarfs.

 

Источник: planetariodevitoria.org/estrelas/qual-e-o-nome-das-estrel...

 

Hebrew Letter: Tave

In this article The World Symbols, I refer to The World card from the Rider Waite Tarot deck, also known as the Waite-Smith, or Rider-Waite-Smith, or Rider tarot deck. The symbolism found on this trump card is primarily drawn from mythology, Christianity, alchemy, astrology. Contents

The World: Key Symbol. Compare The World Tarot Card Symbols with Historical Decks

What Does The Dancer Symbolize in The World Tarot Card? Dancer Purple Sash Red Hairband

Two Wands Crossed Legs Symbolism What is The Meaning of The Laurel Wreath in The World Card?Laurel Wreath Two Red Ribbons Who Are The Four Figures in The World Card and What do They Symbolize? Man Lion Eagle Bull What is The Meaning of The Blue Background? The Rider Waite World card borrows heavily from the Marseille Tarot. Waite himself says, “this final message of the Major Trumps is unchanged – and indeed unchangeable – in respect of its design”. In both instances the naked World dancer moves encased within a victory wreath. The four corners of the card contain tetramorphs, mystical creatures of antiquity and mythology depicting a bull, lion, bird and human face.

The dancer holds dual magical wands, as opposed to The Magician who only holds one. What Does The Dancer Symbolize in The World Tarot Card? Dancer. The dancer symbolizes the fetus waiting to be born again, as the Fool prepares to start over through the procession of the Major Arcana. However, this is no babe starting from scratch, we are presented with a woman at her height of beauty and youth. She signifies the next stage of evolution. Some occultists claim that the figure is a hermaphrodite, because her sexual gender is hidden by the scarf. They say she is the union of male and female, and that sexual identity is no longer relevant or defining. The dancer perfectly integrates aspects of the male and female. Wouldn’t this card be a suitable iconographic image for gender fluidity in todays times! The dancer is both the bride and bridegroom. Purple Sash. The purple sash is the color of divinity and wisdom. It evokes the images of a Catholic priest who puts on a purple stole when offering the sacrament during mass. The sash curves in the figure of eight, suggestive of the cosmic lemniscate or infinity sign.

Red Hairband. The dancer wears a red hairband, which draws fire energy to her head area. It symbolizes that her mind and conscious is active. This is not someone who exists only in the spiritual realm.

Two Wands. The dancer holds two double-sided wands, which represent the polarity powers of involution and evolution. Involution is the decent of God into the soul or consciousness, and evolution is the assent of the soul back to God or the creator. ⭐Wands also appear here: The Magician Symbols

Crossed Legs Symbolism. The dancer crosses her legs in a similar manner to the Hanged Man. However, the triangle he represents is under the cross of the tree, symbolizing he is still bound by earthly things. The dancer is reversed, she forms a triangle pointing upwards, from the tip of her head to her two outstretched hands. Thus the triangle of Spirit now overturns the cross of the material earthly plane. What is The Meaning of The Laurel Wreath in The World Card? Laurel Wreath. The woman is surrounded by a large laurel wreath, traditionally a symbol of success and victory. The implication here, on the Fools Journey, is that there is cause for celebration. This is the end of the road before a new era begins. The wreath forms the shape of a zero, which is the number of The Fool card. The wreath also symbolizes the womb, signaling that the woman is like an embryo waiting to be reborn. The oval shape of the wreath is also used by the Golden Dawn in their Tattva cards. These colorful cards were designed to aid the development of clairvoyance through visual meditation, and one of the symbols in the cards is an oval. The oval corresponds to the Akasha, ether or spiritual realm (see Akashic Records). See Shamanism for more information on Tattva cards. ⭐A laurel wreath also appears here: The Chariot Symbols, Ace of Swords Symbols, Seven of Cups Symbols, Six of Wands Symbols Two Red Ribbons. The red ribbon bindings at the top and bottom of the wreath indicate completion, the circle has been made complete.

It also reminds one of the ancient quote, “as above, so below”. Who Are The Four Figures in The World Card and What do They Symbolize? The four beasts represent the four living figures or hayyot, which are a class of heavenly beings in Jewish mythology. According to both Jewish and Christian tradition, the creatures vary by description. In this card we see the four tetramorph, a lion, man, eagle and bull.

These creatures represent the four seasons, as well as the four elements of Fire, Air, Water and Earth. Their presence implies that they are the cornerstones of a balanced life. Man. The blond-haired man represents the astrological sign of Aquarius, winter season and the element Air. Lion. The Lion represents Leo, summer and fire. Eagle. The Eagle represents Scorpio, autumn and water.

Bull. The Bull represents Taurus, spring and earth. What is The Meaning of The Blue Background?

The blue background is the cosmic mind or ‘Universe’ as it has come to be known in the New Age. The dancer is able to manipulate this realm easily with her two wands.

 

karinastarot.com/world-symbols/

 

Furthermore, we can locate similar attributes to Magdalene from apocryphal sources as well as the writings of Origen. In the apocryphal Pistis Sophia, Magdalene is the sole recipient of Christ’s gnosis, rather than Peter and the other disciples. Christ says, “Well done, Mary. You are more blessed than all women on earth, because you will be the fullness of fullnesses and the completion of completions.”17Although this apocryphal account could not have been known to people during the Renaissance, it reveals that even within the early Christian communities there was a holiness attributed to Magdalene that transcended all others. Yet the Gnostic contempt for materiality seems to clash with the embrace of dualism during the Renaissance. This dualism can be found in Origen’s writings, however. In his commentary on the Song of Songs, he allegorically reads the bride as the Christian church. The bride anoints her lover with an ointment; Origen connects this with the scriptural account of Mary Magdalene anointing Christ. He interprets the line spoken by the bride, “I am dark but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem” (Song 1:5), as follows: “She has repented of her sins...beauty is the gift conversion has bestowed; that is the reason she is hymned as beautiful. She is called black, however, because she has not yet purged of every stain of sin, she has not yet been washed unto salvation, nevertheless she does not stay dark-hued, she is becoming white.” The dualism of black/evil and white/good is unfortunate, but the connection between the Bride of the Song of Songs and Magdalene reinforces her movement away from sin into penitence, and her positive association with the Church and Christ. The sexual language employed in the Song of Songs has always been difficult for commentators; however we see that when Magdalene is associated with the Bride, the sexuality is compounded with Magdalene’s penitence, in the same way we’ve seen in Renaissance painting.

The portrayals of Magdalene’s assumption into heaven connect us back to the Tarot. Mrs. Jameson observes, dryly, that Italian paintings of Magdalene’s assumption began “to recall the idea of a Venus Meretrix.”19 Let us consider Giovanni Lanfranco’s La maddalenan portata in cielo, (fig. IX) and Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (fig. X). Jameson is quite correct in her observation, despite her negativity towards this shift. In the Lanfranco, Magdalene’s hair barely covers her nude body as she is borne aloft by three putti. She holds out her hands at an angle, and below her is the world’s expanse of mountains, lakes, and forests. It is sexual and chaste, physical and divine. Her figure is very much the Platonic divine love, the ideal Venus. In some of the Assumptions, she is al

St Mary the Virgin Church at Stone-in-Oxney was rebuilt following a serious fire in 1464, and little of any earlier building survives. There is conjecture that St Mary’s stands on the site of a Roman Mithraic temple, although the earliest record of a church here is a document, held at the Dean and Chapter, Canterbury Cathedral, dated 1265. The first recorded vicar of the 13th century church is one Thomas de Maydenston who served from 1287

Other photos in First Comment Box and Photos from the net to make this tribute up and put it together to remember the lives lost that night 40 years ago

 

Remembered Today.

December 19th 1981, 40 years ago.

 

Loss of the Penlee Lifeboat "Solomon Browne"47 ft Watson Class going to the aid of the coaster "Union Star".

 

The helicopter stood by as Penlee’s 14m Watson class wooden lifeboat launched into the hurricane force 12 gale, fighting against 90-knot winds and 18m waves.

 

The Solomon Browne struck against the side of the coaster and the lifeboat crew stood against the railings, throwing lines across to pull themselves alongside.

 

The lifeboat valiantly battled to come alongside the coaster for half an hour.

 

The Solomon Browne radioed back to the Coastguard: ‘we’ve got four off’

 

But the lifeboat decided to make a final rescue attempt – and after that point, all radio contact was lost at 21.21

 

The Coastguard radioed back to the lifeboat, but there was no response. Ten minutes later, the lights of the Solomon Browne disappeared.

 

All 8 Crew of the Lifeboat Lost.

 

All 8 on board of the coaster lost.

 

The Penlee lifeboat

 

Cornwall, at the south-west corner of England, juts out into the Atlantic, attracting the worst of the weather and the massive breakers that crash against its granite cliffs and rocks. It is not surprising that there are no fewer than fourteen lifeboat stations around the coast of this one county alone.

 

Penlee Point is just to the north of the fishing village of Mousehole (pronounced Mousle to rhyme with tousle). The first lifeboat was stationed here in 1913, transferred from nearby Newlyn, although there had been a rescue service in the area from as far back as 1803. In the years before 1981 the station distinguished itself by carrying out many operations and saving lives, recognised by the award of many medals and certificates.

 

In 1981 the station was equipped with “Solomon Browne”, a 47-foot Watson class wooden boat, a type that has long been superseded. However, it was highly manoeuvrable and could be launched straight down a steep slipway into St Mount’s Bay.

 

The voyage of Union Star

 

Union Star was a small bulk carrier, registered in Dublin, that was making its maiden voyage from Denmark via the Netherlands to Ireland, with a cargo of fertiliser. The master was Henry Morton, who had a crew of four on board, plus his wife and her two teenage daughters. He was breaking the rules by having family members on board, but that is a rule that is often broken.

 

Weather conditions were bad as Union Star beat her way towards Lands End, hoping to make it round the headland and into relatively calmer waters before the worst of the storm struck. However, Captain Morton’s luck ran out when his engines failed just as he reached the most exposed part of the voyage. He was offered a tow from a tugboat, the Noord Holland, but declined the offer. By riding out the storm at anchor and repairing the engines in calmer weather, he would avoid having to pay salvage charges.

 

The storm was one of the worst to strike that part of the coast for years, with winds of 85 mph, gusting to 95 mph, which is hurricane force. Union Star started to drag her anchor, and the fuel tanks became contaminated with seawater. The ship was being driven towards the Cornish coast and had no means of avoiding her fate if the storm continued, which it did. The Noord Holland was still in the area, should the captain change his mind, but even this option vanished when conditions became so bad that the tug itself would have been in danger. Eventually, Henry Morton called Falmouth Coastguard for help, and the call went out to the Penlee lifeboat crew.

 

The launch of Solomon Browne

 

When the call goes out, a lifeboat crew stops what it is doing and gets to the lifeboat station with all due speed. All the crew of the Penlee boat lived in Mousehole, some of them being local fishermen, and some with other jobs. They included the landlord of the Ship Inn, for example. That night, most of the crew were socializing in the British Legion club in the village, but, knowing that they were on call and also being aware of the state of the weather, they would have kept their alcohol intake to a minimum.

 

The Coxswain was William Trevelyan Richards, at 56 a highly experienced lifeboatman who already had commendations for bravery for previous rescues. Richards knew that this was going to be a very dangerous mission, and for that reason he refused the services of Neil Brockman, aged 17, because his father was already in the crew, and the Coxswain would not risk the lives of two members of any one family. This is common practice in the lifeboat community. The lifeboat was launched shortly after 8pm, well after dark, into waves that reached as high as forty feet.

 

Solomon Browne did not have far to go to find the Union Star, which was approaching the rocks close to Boscawen Bay and the Tater Du lighthouse, only a few miles down the coast. A helicopter from the Royal Naval Air Station at Culdrose was overhead, but conditions were so bad that it was impossible to winch anyone off the ship. Eventually the helicopter had to break off, and so did not witness the final outcome. There were also people on the cliff top, but in the darkness they could see very little apart from the lights of the two vessels.

 

Tragedy strikes

 

In those tumultuous seas, and in the dark, it was essential that nobody went into the water, as their chances of survival would be virtually nil. Solomon Browne therefore had no choice but to get alongside Union Star and for the crew and passengers to be helped across on to the lifeboat. Coxswain Richards was in radio contact with Falmouth Coastguards, and we know from the radio transcripts that several attempts were made get the two vessels as close as possible. On at least one occasion, it would appear that the lifeboat actually landed on the deck of the coaster and was then thrown off again.

 

We know that four people did manage to get aboard Solomon Browne, as Coxswain Richards’s final message was “we’ve got four off at the moment”. Exactly what happened next must be conjecture, because no more was heard from the Coxswain, and the watchers on the cliffs saw no more lights from shortly afterwards. Nobody from either vessel survived.

 

A huge rescue mission was launched, but nothing could be done. Other lifeboats were called out, but the Sennen Cove boat could not get round Land’s End, and the Lizard boat, from the other direction, only found wreckage when it arrived. Only eight bodies were ever recovered, four from Union Star and four from Solomon Browne. Union Star lay capsized at the foot of the cliffs for several days before she broke up, but little was ever found of Solomon Browne.

 

The aftermath

 

So what happened? It is highly unlikely that the lifeboat capsized, because all lifeboats of its class were self-rightable. However, if a huge wave had turned the boat over, would all of its crew have been washed over the side? Or was one more collision between the vessels too much for Solomon Browne’s wooden hull?

 

Whatever the cause, the result sent shockwaves through the whole country, which had been looking forward to Christmas and was suddenly reminded of the perils faced by seafarers and the courage of those who volunteer to save their lives.

 

The shock was particularly profound among those people whose living is made from the sea, and the entire population of south-west England. The custom at Mousehole itself has been, on the evening of 19th December every year, to extinguish all lights in the village as a mark of respect.

 

A local appeal raised three million pounds to support the families of the crew and provide fitting memorials, although many contributions came from well beyond the local area.

 

There are always “might have beens” that are asked on such occasions. Should Henry Morton have been required to take a tow from the Noord Holland? One consequence of the disaster has been that, in similar circumstances, today’s regulations demand exactly that. Had Morton’s three family members not been on board, would Solomon Browne have needed to make another attempt to get alongside? Perhaps so, given that only four people had been rescued and not five, but would it have been easier to rescue five seafarers rather than eight people who included two teenage girls? Such questions can be asked, but probably not answered.

 

There is still a Penlee lifeboat today, although the old lifeboat station is no longer used, being instead preserved as a memorial to Solomon Browne and her crew. In 1983, an Arun class lifeboat, the Mabel Alice, came into service, based at Newlyn. In 2003, a Severn class boat, the Ivan Ellen, came into service. Both boats have made many lifesaving rescues in recent years, including some that have earned awards for courage and outstanding service.

 

The full list of the lost crew of Solomon Browne, all of whom received posthumous awards, is as follows:

 

William Trevelyan Richards (age 56) (Coxswain)

 

James Madron (35) (2nd Coxswain)

 

Nigel Brockman (43)

 

John Blewett (43)

 

Kevin Smith (23)

 

Barrie Torrie (33)

 

Charles Greenhaugh (46)

 

Gary Wallis (23)

 

In 1992, Neil Brockman, who at 17 was refused a place aboard Solomon Browne on the night that his father lost his life, was appointed Coxswain of the Penlee lifeboat.

 

I grew up in Poole, which is where the Royal National Lifeboat Institution has its headquarters. I have known many men and women who have gained their living or recreation from the sea, and some who have been members of lifeboat crews. I am delighted to have this opportunity to pay my own tribute to the selfless dedication of these volunteers who put their lives at risk to help save others.

  

player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-the-loss-of-the-penlee-...

 

Another of my garden residence.

 

Woodlouse Spider

Dysdera crocata

Whereas most spiders have eight eyes, Dysdera crocata belongs to a group that have evolved with only six eyes. Whether this has any bearing on its choice of prey, the slow moving woodlouse, is open to conjecture.

 

In order to predate on the well armoured woodlouse it has developed a pair of substantial fangs (the largest of any UK spider) with which to pierce and grasp its prey. . In action, the fangs open sideways in a scissor action and are inclined inwards to achieve a very effective gripping action. They are capable of giving humans a painful nip but cause no lasting harm.

 

Males grow to about 10mm and females, with their larger abdomens, to about 15mm.

 

They tend to be nocturnal hunters and are not often seen unless disturbed from their hiding places amongst rotting wood and compost heaps (where woodlice are also found). Being 'true' hunters, they do not spin entrapment webs but use silk to line their nests.

  

Towering high above the Dee Valley and the bustling town of Llangollen, home of the International Eisteddfod, Castell Dinas Bran occupies one of Britain's most spectacular sites. A rugged, foreboding pinnacle, the hillock was the ideal spot to erect a castle. It seemed completely impenetrable, commanded views for miles around, and offered quick recognition of an approaching visitor, whether friend or foe. Yet, the native Welsh princes of Powys occupied the hilltop for only a few decades.

Today, that same site is open to exploration by the public. Forced to climb to the summit, modern visitors experience the struggle and the exhilaration that the castle's medieval inhabitants - and their Edwardian attackers - must have felt. Without a doubt, the walk is a breathtaking challenge. However, that climb heightens the allure of Dinas Bran. And, it demonstrates the stark reality of medieval castle life.

 

"Dinas Bran" is variously translated as "Crow Castle," "Crow City," "Hill of the Crow," or "Bran's Stronghold." The castle first appears in 12th century historical documents as part of a medieval piece entitled "Fouke le Fitz Waryn,"or "The Romance of Fulk Fitzwarine." While this work claimed that the castle, known as "Chastiel Bran," was in ruin as early as 1073, the remains we see today date to the occupation of the princes of Powys Fadog in the mid 13th century. Possibly, the Chastiel Bran mentioned in the romance was a Norman timber castle, but nothing of substance supports this conjecture. However, the encompassing ditch and earthen embankments, which enclose the southern and eastern portions of the stone fortress, do date to the Iron Age. They remind us that this hilltop had strategic value long before the princes of Powys, or the Normans, ventured into the region. Interestingly, the word, "Dinas," has its origins in the Iron Age as well, and is found in the names of Iron Age hillforts throughout Wales.

 

www.castlewales.com/dinas.html

St Kilda (Scottish Gaelic: Hiort) is an isolated archipelago 64 kilometres (40 mi) west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.[6] The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom; three other islands (Dùn, Soay and Boreray) were also used for grazing and seabird hunting. The islands are administratively a part of the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar local authority area.[7]

 

The origin of the name St Kilda is a matter of conjecture. The islands' human heritage includes numerous unique architectural features from the historic and prehistoric periods, although the earliest written records of island life date from the Late Middle Ages. The medieval village on Hirta was rebuilt in the 19th century, but the influences of religious zeal, illnesses brought by increased external contacts through tourism, and the First World War all contributed to the island's evacuation in 1930.[8] The story of St Kilda has attracted artistic interpretations, including Michael Powell's film The Edge of the World and an opera.[9]

 

St Kilda may have been permanently inhabited for at least two millennia, the population probably never exceeding 180 (and certainly no more than 100 after 1851). The entire remaining population was evacuated from Hirta (the only inhabited island) in 1930. Currently, the only year-round residents are military personnel; a variety of conservation workers, volunteers and scientists spend time there in the summer months.[3][10]

 

The entire archipelago is owned by the National Trust for Scotland.[11] It became one of Scotland's five World Heritage Sites in 1986 and is one of the few in the world to hold joint status for its natural and cultural qualities.[12] Parties of volunteers work on the islands in the summer to restore the many ruined buildings that the native St Kildans left behind. They share the island with a small military base established in 1957.[13]

 

Two different early sheep types have survived on these remote islands, the Soay, a Neolithic type, and the Boreray, an Iron Age type. The islands are a breeding ground for many important seabird species including Northern Gannets, Atlantic Puffins, and Northern Fulmars. The St Kilda Wren and St Kilda Field Mouse are endemic subspecies.[3]

My Series 2 Ilford Advocate from 1953 back from shutter repair. A simple shutter but needed a part fabricating, beyond my tinkering skills.

Trivia: All Advocate body serial numbers begin with 1919. A possible reason for this was conjectured by David Gardner and Andy Holliman in Andy's book "The Cameras of Ilford", is that it may have been in tribute to David Kennedy's daughter, Joan, who was born in 1919.

They were manufactured by Kennedy Instruments, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ilford Ltd.

 

As the sticker inside says "Always use Ilford" regrettably none of the FP3, HP3 or Pan F it lists were to hand so FP4+ and Ilfotec HC developer.

   

Also known as Captain Cook's Cottage, this is located in the Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne, Australia. The cottage was constructed in 1755 in the English village of Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, by the parents of Captain James Cook, James and Grace Cook. It is a point of conjecture among historians whether James Cook, the famous navigator, ever lived in the house, but almost certainly he visited his parents at the house.

 

In 1933 the owner of the cottage decided to sell it with a condition of sale that the building remain in England. She was persuaded to change "England" to "the Empire", and accepted an Australian bid of £800, by Russell Grimwade, as opposed to the highest local offer of £300.

 

The cottage was dismantled brick by brick and packed into 253 cases and 40 barrels for shipping aboard the motor ship Port Dunedin from Hull. Cuttings from ivy that adorned the house were also taken and planted when the house was re-erected in Melbourne. Grimwade, a notable businessman and philanthropist, donated the house to the people of Victoria for the centenary anniversary of the settlement of Melbourne in October 1934.

 

The cottage immediately became a popular tourist attraction. In 1978 further restoration work was carried out on the cottage.

 

This view is taken from the back of the English cottage garden that has been established around the house, further adding to its period reconstruction.

 

Captain James Cook FRS was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and Captain in the Royal Navy. Cook made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. A statue of the great man can be seen on the left.

For the first churchly visit of that November 2023 trip to the southern French provinces of Roussillon and Languedoc, I will treat you to a truly unique place, the so-called “priory” of Serrabone, which features an absolute world-class masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture: its tribune.

 

I said “so-called” above because a priory, in the genuine acception of the word, is a secondary monastery established by an abbey. It is populated by monks sent by that abbey. Those monks are led by a prior, whose superior is the abbot of the founding abbey. In the case of Serrabone, there first was a late Carolingian parochial church established in this mountainous locale and first mentioned in writing in 1069. The walls of the nave are, for some part, still those of that ancient church.

 

It was then, at a time when local lords used to meddle more and more in the affairs of the Church (which was one of the reasons that prompted the coming of the Gregorian reform), that the viscount of Cerdagne and the local lord of Corsavy installed on the Serrabone mountaintop an unusually mixed group of canons and canonesses to live in accordance with the Augustinian Rule.

 

A new college church was built (mostly by enlarging the previous one) and consecrated in 1151. Its architecture is harmonious but very simple, as one would expect: in the Middle Ages, those mountains were populated (hence the creation of the parish) and did feed their inhabitants (serra bona in Catalan means “good mountain”), but there was precious little commerce with the outside world and the locals had nothing of real value to export. Therefore, the local economy was pretty much a closed circuit and money was far from flowing in abundantly. The style of the church, even though there were donations from the aforementioned lords, reflects this paucity of financial resources.

 

It is therefore a total mystery how the magnificent sculpted tribune, which would have cost a veritable fortune, was funded, and by whom. Nothing has ever been demonstrated in that matter, although many have conjectured in various directions. The only certainty we have is that it was built around the time when the church itself was completed, i.e., the mid–1150s.

 

The culmination of the “priory” did not last very long: canons and canonesses are not monks and nuns, their commitment is found throughout history and places to be much less strong, and by the late 1200s they had already broken communal life and begun to live in their own separate homes. Decadence went to such extremes that the “priory” was secularized by the pope in the 16th century and made a dependency of the chapter of the cathedral of Solsona. The last “prior” died in 1612 and the church returned to its simple parochial status.

 

The place was progressively abandoned as people left the mountains to go live easier lives in the valleys. It was almost in ruins when it was listed as a Historic Landmark in 1875 and the restoration began. Fortunately, the tribune had been protected and its capitals and columns hidden by the locals.

 

An entire book could be written on the representation of the human figure in Serrabone... and perhaps one will be some day!

Von Wielligh's Baobab

 

Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 km2 (7,523 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south and 65 km (40 mi) from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926.

 

To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.

 

The park is part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere an area designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an International Man and Biosphere Reserve (the "Biosphere").

 

The park has nine main gates allowing entrance to the different camps.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Adansonia digitata, the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus Adansonia, the baobabs, and is native to the African continent. The long-lived pachycauls are typically found in dry, hot savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa, where they dominate the landscape, and reveal the presence of a watercourse from afar. Their growth rate is determined by ground water or rainfall, and their maximum age, which is subject to much conjecture, seems to be in the order of 1,500 years. They have traditionally been valued as sources of food, water, health remedies or places of shelter and are steeped in legend and superstition. European explorers of old were inclined to carve their names on baobabs, and many are defaced by modern graffiti.

 

The scientific name Adansonia refers to the French explorer and botanist, Michel Adanson (1727–1806), who observed a specimen in 1749 on the island of Sor, Senegal. On the nearby Îles des Madeleines Adanson found another baobab, 3.8 metres (12 ft) in diameter, which bore the carvings of passing mariners on its trunk, including those of Henry the Navigator in 1444 and André Thevet in 1555. When Théodore Monod searched the island in the 20th century, this tree was not to be found. Adanson concluded that the baobab, of all the trees he studied, "is probably the most useful tree in all." He consumed baobab juice twice a day while in Africa, and was convinced that it maintained his health. "Digitata" refers to the digits of the hand, as the baobab has compound leaves with normally five (but up to seven) leaflets are akin to a hand.

 

Common names for the baobab include monkey-bread tree (the soft, dry fruit is edible), upside-down tree (the sparse branches resemble roots), and cream of tartar tree (cream of tartar).

 

The trees usually grow as solitary individuals, and are large and distinctive elements of savannah or scrubland vegetation. Some large individuals live to well over a thousand years of age. All baobab trees are deciduous, losing their leaves in the dry season, and remain leafless for eight months of the year.

 

They can grow to between 5–25 m (16–82 ft) in height. They are in fact known both for their height and trunk's girth. The trunk tends to be bottle-shaped and can reach a diameter of 10–14 m (33–46 ft). The span of the roots actually exceed the tree's height, a factor that enables it to survive in a dry climate. Many consider the tree to be “upside-down” due to the trunk likeness to a taproot and the branches akin to finer capillary roots. The trunk is smooth and shiny and can range from being reddish brown to grey. The bark can feel cork-like. The branches are thick and wide and very stout compared to the trunk.

 

During the early summer (October to December in southern hemisphere) the tree bears very large, heavy, white flowers. These are 12 cm (4.7 in) across and open during the late afternoon to stay open for one night. The pendulous, showy flowers have a very large number of stamens. They have a sweet scent but later emit a carrion smell, especially when they turn brown and fall after 24 hours. Researchers have shown that they appear to be primarily pollinated by fruit bats of the subfamily Pteropodinae. The flowers have 5 petals that are leathery and hairy on the inside. The sepals are cup-shaped and 5-cleft. The stamens are divided into multiple anthers and styles are 7-10 rayed.

 

The indehiscent fruit are large, egg-shaped capsules. They are filled with pulp that dries, hardens, and falls to pieces which look like chunks of powdery, dry bread. The seeds are hard, black and kidney-shaped.

 

They are native to mainland Africa. The tree has also been introduced to other regions such as Australia and Asia. The northern limit of its distribution in Africa is associated with rainfall patterns; only on the Atlantic coast and in the Sudanian Savanna does its occurrence venture naturally into the Sahel. On the Atlantic coast, this may be due to spreading after cultivation. Its occurrence is very limited in Central Africa, and it is found only in the very north of South Africa. In Eastern Africa, the trees grow also in shrublands and on the coast. In Angola and Namibia, the baobabs grow in woodlands, and in coastal regions, in addition to savannahs. and in Penang, Malaysia, along certain streets.

 

The baobab is native to most of Africa, especially in drier, less tropical climates. It is not found in areas where sand is deep. It is sensitive to water logging and frost. More specifically: Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, northern Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, Congo Republic, DR Congo (formerly Zaire), Eritrea, Ethiopia, southern Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, São Tomé, Príncipe, Annobon, Java (introduced), Nepal (introduced), Sri Lanka (introduced), Philippines (introduced), Jamaica (introduced), South Africa (Transvaal), Namibia, Botswana, Puerto Rico (introduced), Haiti (introduced), Dominican Republic (introduced), Venezuela (introduced), Seychelles (introduced), Madagascar (introduced), Comoros (introduced), India (introduced), southwest Yemen (introduced), Oman (Dhofar) (introduced), Guangdong (introduced), Fujian (introduced), Yunnan (introduced).

 

Adansonia trees produce faint growth rings, probably annually, but they are not reliable for aging specimens, because they are difficult to count and may fade away as the wood ages. Radiocarbon dating has provided data on a few individuals of A. digitata. The Panke baobab in Zimbabwe was some 2,450 years old when it died in 2011, making it the oldest angiosperm ever documented, and two other trees — Dorslandboom in Namibia and Glencoe in South Africa — were estimated to be approximately 2,000 years old. Another specimen known as Grootboom was dated after it died and found to be at least 1275 years old. Greenhouse gases, climate change, and global warming appear to be factors reducing baobab longevity.

 

The baobab is a traditional food plant in Africa, but is little-known elsewhere. The fruit has been suggested to have the potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development, and support sustainable land care.

 

The African baobab fruit is usually 15–20 cm (6–8 in) long, but can be as big as 25 centimetres (9.8 in). In Sudan — where the tree is called tebeldi — people make tabaldi juice by soaking and dissolving the dry pulp of the fruit in water, locally known as gunguleiz.

 

Baobab leaves can be eaten as a relish. Young fresh leaves are cooked in a sauce and sometimes are dried and powdered. The powder is called lalo in Mali and sold in many village markets in Western Africa. The leaves are used in the preparation of a soup termed miyan kuka in Northern Nigeria and are rich in phytochemicals and minerals. Oil extracted by pounding the seeds can be used for cooking but this is not widespread.

 

Baobab leaves are sometimes used as forage for ruminants in dry season. The oilmeal, which is a byproduct of oil extraction, can also be used as animal feed. In times of drought, elephants consume the juicy wood beneath the bark of the baobab.

 

In 2008, the European Union approved the use and consumption of baobab fruit. It is commonly used as an ingredient in smoothies and cereal bars. In 2009, the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) granted generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status to baobab dried fruit pulp as a food ingredient.

 

In Africa, the different populations of baobabs have revealed significant genetic differences. It has consequently been suggested that the taxon contains more than one species. The shape of their fruit especially, varies considerably from region to region.

 

Baobab seed withstand drying and remain viable over long periods, as it has a hard seed coat. It can potentially be dispersed over long distances, and its germination potential is improved when it has passed through the digestive tract of an animal. Animals like elephants, black rhinos and eland can potentially convey the seeds over long distances. Baboons likewise spread the seeds in their dung, but over shorter distances.

 

Pollination in the baobab is achieved primarily by fruit bats, but bush babies and several kinds of insect also assist. Some aspects of the baobab's reproductive biology are not yet understood. It is still speculated whether fertile baobab seeds can result from pollination by the tree's own pollen. It would appear as if pollen from another tree is required for fertile seed, as isolated trees do form seed, only to abort them at a late stage. The existence of some very isolated trees, may then be due to their self-incompatibility and inability to reproduce.

 

Arab traders introduced it to northwestern Madagascar. There they were often planted at the center of villages, and sometimes outlived them.

 

Along the Zambezi, the tribes believe that baobabs were upright and too proud. The gods became angry and uprooted them and threw them back into the ground upside-down. Evil spirits now cause bad luck to anyone that picks up the sweet white flowers. More specifically, a lion will kill them. In Kafue National Park, one of the largest baobabs is known as “Kondanamwali” or the “tree that eats maidens.” The tree fell in love with four beautiful maidens. When they reached puberty, they made the tree jealous by finding husbands. So, one night, during a thunderstorm, the tree opened its trunk and took the maidens inside. A rest house has been built in the branches of the tree. On stormy nights, the crying of the imprisoned maidens can still be heard. Some people believe that women living in kraals where baobabs are plenty will have more children. This is scientifically plausible as those women will have better access to the tree's vitamin-rich leaves and fruits to complement a vitamin-deficient diet.

 

The tree also plays a role in Antoine De Saint-Exupéry’s fictional children’s book, The Little Prince. In the story, baobabs are described as dangerous plants which must be weeded out from the good plants, less they overcome a small planet and even break it to pieces.

 

As of April 2015 baobabs are not yet classified by the IUCN's Red List criteria, but they are a part of the “Catalogue of Life.” The baobab is a protected tree in South Africa. In the Sahel, the effects of drought, desertification and over-use of the fruit have been cited as causes for concern.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Kruger-Nationalpark (deutsch häufig falsch Krüger-Nationalpark) ist das größte Wildschutzgebiet Südafrikas. Er liegt im Nordosten des Landes in der Landschaft des Lowveld auf dem Gebiet der Provinz Limpopo sowie des östlichen Abschnitts von Mpumalanga. Seine Fläche erstreckt sich vom Crocodile-River im Süden bis zum Limpopo, dem Grenzfluss zu Simbabwe, im Norden. Die Nord-Süd-Ausdehnung beträgt etwa 350 km, in Ost-West-Richtung ist der Park durchschnittlich 54 km breit und umfasst eine Fläche von rund 20.000 Quadratkilometern. Damit gehört er zu den größten Nationalparks in Afrika.

 

Das Schutzgebiet wurde am 26. März 1898 unter dem Präsidenten Paul Kruger als Sabie Game Reserve zum Schutz der Wildnis gegründet. 1926 erhielt das Gebiet den Status Nationalpark und wurde in seinen heutigen Namen umbenannt. Im Park leben 147 Säugetierarten inklusive der „Big Five“, außerdem etwa 507 Vogelarten und 114 Reptilienarten, 49 Fischarten und 34 Amphibienarten.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Afrikanische Affenbrotbaum (Adansonia digitata), auch Afrikanischer Baobab (von arabisch bu-hubub) genannt, zählt zur Unterfamilie der Bombacoideae in der Familie der Malvengewächse (Malvaceae). Er gehört zu den bekanntesten und charakteristischsten Bäumen des tropischen Afrika.

 

Der wissenschaftliche Gattungsname ehrt den europäischen Entdecker des Baums, den französischen Naturforscher Michel Adanson, der im 18. Jahrhundert in Saint-Louis den ersten Botanischen Garten Senegals anlegte. Das Artepitheton digitata spielt auf die Form der Blätter an, die sich aus fünf bis neun Einzelblättchen zusammensetzen, welche entfernt an die Finger einer menschlichen Hand erinnern.

 

Der Affenbrotbaum zeichnet sich durch einen relativ kurzen, extrem dicken Stamm aus. So steht in Südafrika im Letaba-Distrikt ein Affenbrotbaum, der bei einer Höhe von 19 Metern einen Stammdurchmesser von 10,64 Metern aufweist. In Ostafrika treten sehr häufig flaschenförmige Stammformen auf, bei denen sich der Stamm abrupt in wenigen Metern Höhe stark verjüngt.

 

Die Baumkrone besteht aus kräftigen, oft unförmig erscheinenden Ästen, die eine weit ausladende Krone bilden. Im unbelaubten Zustand erinnert die Astkrone an ein Wurzelsystem, was zu der Legende beigetragen hat, der Affenbrotbaum sei ein vom Teufel verkehrt herum gepflanzter Baum.

 

Der Stamm ist häufig tief gefurcht oder weist kehlige Vertiefungen auf. Die graubraune bis graue Rinde ist zwischen fünf und zehn Zentimeter dick. Deshalb kann der Baum kleinere Buschbrände relativ unversehrt überstehen. Sie ist außen hart und innen faserig. Junge Bäume haben zuerst eine Pfahlwurzel. Mit zunehmendem Alter des Baumes entwickelt sich ein Lateralwurzelsystem, das bis in 1,8 Meter Tiefe reicht. In horizontaler Richtung erstreckt sich das Wurzelsystem weiter als die Baumhöhe.

Baobab im Senegal

 

Bei Baobabs werden entsprechend der Stammform vier Entwicklungsphasen unterschieden: schmale Schösslinge, Kegelförmige, Flaschenförmige und Alte. Schösslinge (bis 10–15 Jahre) wachsen zunächst ohne ausgeprägtes Dickenwachstum zu einer Höhe von vier bis sechs Metern heran, die Äste ragen spitzwinklig nach oben. Auf geeigneten Standorten wachsen die jungen Baobabs anfangs jährlich zwischen 80 und 100 Zentimetern. Dann schwillt der Stamm zu einer Kegelform an (bis 60 bis 70 Jahre), der Baum wird 5 bis 15 Meter hoch und bis zu 7 Meter dick, und der Baum blüht erstmals. In einem Alter von 30 bis 40 Jahren beginnen die Äste rechtwinklig vom Stamm weg zu wachsen und nehmen ab diesem Zeitpunkt in ihrem Längenwachstum deutlich zu. Danach ist der Baum mit 10 bis 20 Metern in der Höhe ausgewachsen, der Stamm nimmt in der Dicke nur langsam zu und entwickelt eine Flaschenform (200–300 Jahre). Ein Baum kann im Alter von einhundert Jahren bereits einen Stammdurchmesser von vier bis fünf Metern erreicht haben. Schließlich entwickelt der Baum eine ausladende Krone und wächst nur noch sehr langsam in die Breite; hohle und mehrfache Stämme sind häufig zu finden (Alter: bis zu 800 Jahre).

 

Der Affenbrotbaum ist ein periodisch laubabwerfender Baum. Die einfachen oder handförmigen, langstieligen und wechselständigen Laubblätter erscheinen an den Zweigenden im Frühsommer kurz vor dem Beginn der Regenzeit und entwickeln sich vollständig innerhalb von vier Wochen. Bleibt der Regen aus oder ist die Regenmenge sehr gering, verzögert sich die Blattentwicklung.

 

Affenbrotbäume treiben zuerst Blätter von einfacher elliptischer Form aus, die jedoch sehr frühzeitig wieder abgeworfen werden; auch an jungen Pflanzen sind die Blätter einfach. Ihnen folgen glänzend grüne Laubblätter, die fünf- bis neunteilig sind. Sie haben einen Durchmesser von etwa 20 Zentimetern; die Blätter oder Blättchen sind jeweils ganzrandig und bespitzt bis zugespitzt. Der Blattstiel ist bis 16 Zentimeter lang.

 

Das Alter, in dem der Baum das erste Mal Blüten ansetzt, ist abhängig von seinem Verbreitungsgebiet. In Westafrika blüht der Affenbrotbaum erstmals im Alter von acht bis zehn Jahren, in Ost- und Südafrika frühestens mit 16 Jahren.

 

Der Blütenansatz erfolgt vier Wochen nach der Blattentwicklung. Die Hauptblütezeit beträgt vier Wochen, die einzelne Blüte blüht dagegen nur 24 Stunden. In dieser Zeit ist sie für etwa 16 bis 20 Stunden bestäubungsfähig.

 

Die zwittrigen Blüten mit doppelter Blütenhülle erscheinen meist einzeln oder paarig. Die sehr großen Blüten sind von wachsig-weißer Farbe und hängen an langen Stielen von den Blattachseln herab. Sie bestehen aus fünf Kronblättern, die sich ein wenig überlappen und 4,5 bis 5 Zentimeter breit und 12 Zentimeter lang sind. Sowie einem drei- bis fünflappigen, leicht haarigen Kelch. Jede Blüte beinhaltet 720 bis 1.600 rasierpinselförmig angeordnete Staubblätter, die an ihrer Basis zu einer 1,5 bis 4,5 Zentimeter langen, schmalen Röhre (Androphor) zusammengewachsen sind. Der mehrkammerige Fruchtknoten ist oberständig, mit einem langen und vorstehenden Griffel mit einer mehrlappigen Narbe. Auch hier zeigen sich geografische Unterschiede. In Ost- und Südafrika ist der Blütenstiel lediglich 20 Zentimeter lang, in Westafrika dagegen bis zu 90 Zentimeter.

 

Die für Menschen auf Grund ihres süßlichen Aasgeruches unangenehm riechenden Blüten öffnen sich ab dem späten Nachmittag und sind am nächsten Morgen ganz offen. Während der Nacht werden sie durch Flughunde wie den Palmen- und den Nilflughund bestäubt. Auch der Großohr-Riesengalago, der Senegal-Galago und verschiedene Nachtfalter besuchen die Blüten und tragen in kleinerem Umfang zur Bestäubung bei.

 

Nach der Bestäubung entwickeln sich an den langen Stielen innerhalb von acht Monaten holzige und samtig behaarte, nicht öffnende, vielsamige Kapseln, die je nach Verbreitungsgebiet unterschiedlich geformt sind. Bei in Angola verbreiteten Affenbrotbäumen ist die Frucht von länglicher Form, in den anderen natürlichen Verbreitungsgebieten eher ei- bis kugelförmig. Die an Stielen herabhängenden Früchte werden 25 bis 50 Zentimeter lang. Sie verfärben sich während des Reifungsprozesses von Grün über Gelb in ein Graubraun.

 

Das auch für den Menschen essbare Fruchtfleisch ist weiß und trocken-mehlig, schmeckt durch den Vitamin-C-Gehalt säuerlich und ist von einer Konsistenz, die in etwa an feste, brüchige Watte erinnert. Darin eingebettet sind die dunkelbraunen Samen der Früchte, die man herausbrechen und gleichfalls essen kann. Sie sind relativ glatt, haselnussgroß, nierenförmig und sehr fettreich.

 

Vor allem Elefanten und Paviane, aber auch Antilopen und Kleinsäuger fressen die Früchte und nehmen dabei auch die Samen auf, die aber den Verdauungstrakt unaufgeschlossen passieren und von Vögeln aus dem ausgeschiedenen Kot herausgepickt werden. Die Samen bleiben mehrere Jahre keimfähig. Ihre lange Keimruhe endet in der Natur vermutlich durch Buschfeuer, langanhaltende Regenfälle oder die Verdauung durch Elefanten (Endochorie).

 

Unbehandelt beträgt die Keimfähigkeit der Samen unter 20 %. Man kann sie künstlich keimfähig machen, indem sie mit kochend heißem Wasser übergossen und etwa einen Tag in der Flüssigkeit stehen gelassen werden. Je nach Witterungsbedingungen können solcherart vorbehandelte Samen dann nach drei Wochen bis sechs Monaten zur Keimung kommen. Auch Säurebehandlung und Anschleifen der dicken Samenschale können die Keimfähigkeit steigern.

 

Die Mächtigkeit der Bäume und ihre unregelmäßige Wuchsform hat immer wieder dazu geführt, dass ihr Alter überschätzt wurde. So war David Livingstone der Überzeugung, dass ein Baum, den er am Sambesi entdeckte, ein Alter von mindestens 4000 Jahren aufweise. Umfangreiche Untersuchungen in Kenia, Mali, Sudan, Tansania und Sambia haben jedoch gezeigt, dass nur sehr wenige Affenbrotbäume älter als 400 Jahre sind.

 

2018 berichteten Forscher von einem teilweisen bzw. vollständigen Absterben von 9 der 13 ältesten Baobabs innerhalb der vergangenen zwölf Jahre. Die Ursache hierfür sei unbekannt; womöglich hätten Klimaveränderungen einen Einfluss. Der Studie zufolge sei der weltweit älteste Baobab, Panke in Simbabwe, nach über 2.500 Jahren (2.429 [±14] Jahre mit Radiokohlenstoffmethode gemessen) in den Jahren 2010–2011 abgestorben. Der älteste weitgehend intakte Baobab sei nun Humani Bedford Old baobab in Simbabwe mit einem geschätzten Alter von 1.800 Jahren.

 

Die Mächtigkeit der Bäume und ihre unregelmäßige Wuchsform hat immer wieder dazu geführt, dass ihr Alter überschätzt wurde. So war David Livingstone der Überzeugung, dass ein Baum, den er am Sambesi entdeckte, ein Alter von mindestens 4000 Jahren aufweise. Umfangreiche Untersuchungen in Kenia, Mali, Sudan, Tansania und Sambia haben jedoch gezeigt, dass nur sehr wenige Affenbrotbäume älter als 400 Jahre sind.

 

2018 berichteten Forscher von einem teilweisen bzw. vollständigen Absterben von 9 der 13 ältesten Baobabs innerhalb der vergangenen zwölf Jahre. Die Ursache hierfür sei unbekannt; womöglich hätten Klimaveränderungen einen Einfluss. Der Studie zufolge sei der weltweit älteste Baobab, Panke in Simbabwe, nach über 2.500 Jahren (2.429 [±14] Jahre mit Radiokohlenstoffmethode gemessen) in den Jahren 2010–2011 abgestorben. Der älteste weitgehend intakte Baobab sei nun Humani Bedford Old baobab in Simbabwe mit einem geschätzten Alter von 1.800 Jahren.

 

Elefanten nutzen die Fähigkeit des Affenbrotbaumes zur Wasserspeicherung. Mit den Stoßzähnen brechen sie die Rinde des Affenbrotbaums auf, entfernen mit dem Rüssel die feuchten Fasern im Bauminnern und kauen diese, um so Feuchtigkeit zu gewinnen. Dabei entstehen große Hohlräume in den Bäumen, die dazu führen können, dass die Bäume kollabieren. Es sollen schon Elefanten durch plötzlich umstürzende Affenbrotbäume erschlagen worden sein.

 

Große Elefantenpopulationsdichten in verschiedenen Nationalparks führten und führen zu einer Gefährdung der Bestände des Baobab, da dessen natürliche Sukzession nicht ausreicht, die Bestandsdichte zu erhalten. Besonders in den Nationalparks Simbabwes gibt es mittlerweile so viele Elefanten, dass sie das langfristige Überleben der Affenbrotbaumbestände gefährden. In anderen Regionen, in denen aufgrund des Bevölkerungsdrucks die landwirtschaftliche Nutzung intensiviert wurde, fehlen dagegen Wildtiere, die die Samen der Affenbrotbäume verbreiten. Auch wenn man die Bäume, die nur sehr schwer zu roden sind, in der Regel stehen lässt, wenn Land einer landwirtschaftlichen Nutzung zugeführt wird, ist damit die natürliche Verjüngung der Bestände unterbunden.

 

Der Affenbrotbaum ist Wirtspflanze für eine Reihe von Insekten, die als landwirtschaftliche Schädlinge betrachtet werden, und Nebenwirt einiger, besonders für Kakao- und Baumwollpflanzungen problematischer Schadinsekten. Rodungen von Affenbrotbäumen haben jedoch gezeigt, dass diese Schädlinge auf andere Wirtspflanzen ausweichen, wenn Affenbrotbäume fehlen.

 

Der Affenbrotbaum bietet außerdem zahlreichen weiteren Tierarten Schutz und Nahrung. So nisten in der Krone der Affenbrotbäume beispielsweise Webervögel und Sperlingspapageien; Galagos suchen dort Schutz. Höhlen im Stamm und in den Ästen werden von Blauracken, Eisvögeln, Schleiereulen, Nashornvögeln und einer Reihe von Arten der Langflügelpapageien und Unzertrennlichen zum Brüten genutzt. In einzelnen Regionen brütete der Graukopfpapagei ausschließlich in Höhlen des Affenbrotbaums. Die Früchte des Baums werden außer von Vögeln auch von Elefanten und Pavianen sowie Antilopen und einer Reihe von Kleinsäugern gefressen.

 

Die San, Bewohner der Kalahari-Wüste, zapfen direkt den Wasservorrat der Bäume an, um ihren Flüssigkeitsbedarf zu decken. Auch Fruchtfleisch, Samen, Rinde, Blätter und Sprösslinge des Affenbrotbaums sind vielseitig einsetzbar; die Höhlungen des Baumes werden außerdem als Speicher für Getreide und Wasser verwendet.

 

Ähnlich der Rolle, die früher Linden und Eichen im mitteleuropäischen Dorfleben innehatten, spielt der Affenbrotbaum außerdem im afrikanischen Leben eine große Rolle. An zentral gelegenen Bäumen finden in vielen Dörfern Märkte, Verhandlungen und sonstige soziale Ereignisse statt.

 

In der afrikanischen Volksmedizin findet nahezu jeder Teil des Affenbrotbaums Verwendung. So werden die Früchte beispielsweise gegen Infektionen und Krankheiten wie Pocken und Masern eingesetzt. Die Blätter werden bei Erkrankungen wie Ruhr, Diarrhöe, Koliken und Magen-Darm-Entzündungen eingenommen. Die Samen werden als Herzmittel, bei Zahnschmerzen, Leberinfektionen und Malaria-Erkrankungen genutzt.

 

Biochemisch nachgewiesen wurde das Vorkommen von Proanthocyanidinen im Perikarp der Früchte. Allerdings stehen placebokontrollierte klinische Studien zur Bewertung der phytopharmakologischen Wirkstoffe aus.

 

Das Fruchtfleisch und die Samen sind reich an Proteinen, Kohlenhydraten und Öl und enthalten besonders die Mineralien Calcium, Kalium und Magnesium. Nach Entfernung der Samen und Fasern wird das Fruchtfleisch getrocknet und entweder unverarbeitet gegessen oder in Milch oder Breie gemischt. Aus den fettreichen Samen gewinnt man durch Pressen ein Öl, welches reich an Palmitinsäure ist und eine hohe oxidative Stabilität aufweist; in Pulverform dient es zum Andicken von Suppen. Die Samen werden auch geröstet gegessen oder fermentiert als Gewürz verwendet.

 

Die Blätter des Affenbrotbaums werden außerdem als Gemüse genutzt, indem sie wie Spinat zubereitet entweder frisch gegessen oder getrocknet und pulverisiert werden. 100 Gramm haben einen Energiewert von durchschnittlich 289 kJ (69 kcal) und enthalten unter anderem 3,8 Gramm Eiweiß sowie 50 Milligramm Ascorbinsäure. In Nigeria werden die Blätter als kuka bezeichnet. Kuka-Suppe ist eine für dieses Land typische Spezialität.

 

Auch zur Getränkeherstellung sind die Früchte geeignet: Das Fruchtfleisch kann bierartig vergoren werden. Im Sudan wird aus Fruchtfleisch mit Wasser ein Getränk unter dem Namen Tabaldi hergestellt.

 

Der Baum liefert darüber hinaus Material für Kleidung, zum Dachdecken, Halsschmuck, Schnüre und Seile, Netze, Matten, Hüte, Tabletts, Kisten, Körbe und Papier. Verwendet werden dafür die Fasern des inneren Bastes, die sehr dauerhaft und kräftig sind. Sie werden gewonnen, indem die Rinde der Bäume abgeschält wird. Ähnlich wie bei Korkeichen regeneriert sich die Rinde wieder, so dass die Bäume wiederholt als Bastlieferanten genutzt werden können. Aus den Wurzeln wird ein roter Farbstoff gewonnen; der Pollen ergibt, vermischt mit Wasser, einen Klebstoff. Aufgrund des hohen Pottascheanteils wird aus der Asche verschiedener Baumteile außerdem Seife hergestellt.

 

Affenbrotbäume, die einen hohlen Stamm haben, sollen gelegentlich als Gefängnis oder Toilette verwendet werden; aus Westafrika wird berichtet, dass hohle Affenbrotbäume auch als Begräbnisstätte fungieren.

 

Forstwirtschaftlich wird der Affenbrotbaum dagegen nicht genutzt. Aufgrund seiner Elastizität ist das leichte Holz nur schwer mit der Axt zu bearbeiten, und es verrottet sehr schnell.

 

Aufgrund seines Aussehens ranken sich mehrere Legenden um den Affenbrotbaum.

 

Nach einer in Afrika weit verbreiteten Vorstellung riss der Teufel den Baum aus und steckte ihn anschließend mit den Zweigen zuerst in den Boden, so dass die Wurzeln nun in die Luft ragen. Einer anderen Erzählung zufolge wollte der Baum bei seiner Entstehung schöner als alle anderen Bäume werden. Als ihm dies jedoch nicht gelang, steckte er seinen Kopf in die Erde und das Wurzelwerk ragte gegen den Himmel. Aus dem Reich der Schöpfungsmythologie erschließt sich uns eine weitere Erklärung: Als am Anbeginn der Welt die Hyäne beim ersten Blick ins spiegelnde Wasser ihre eigene Hässlichkeit erkannte, war sie darüber sehr erzürnt. Sie riss einen Baobab aus und schleuderte ihn gen Himmel, um ihren Schöpfer zu treffen, der ihr dies angetan hatte. Der Baum jedoch verfehlte sein Ziel, stürzte zurück zur Erde, blieb dort umgekehrt im Boden stecken und wächst seither mit den Wurzeln nach oben.

 

Als Sitz von Göttern und Geistern spielt der Baobab außerdem in einer Reihe weiterer afrikanischer Legenden und Sagen eine Rolle.

 

In der modernen westafrikanischen Literatur steht der Baobab häufig als ein Symbol des traditionellen afrikanischen Lebens und der unberührten, ewigen Natur. Orte mit "heiligen" Baobabs werden oftmals als Sinnbild des Garten Eden verwendet.

 

Auch in die europäische Kinderliteratur hat der Baum Eingang gefunden. In Antoine de Saint-Exupérys Geschichte Der Kleine Prinz sorgt sich dieser, dass Baobabs seinen kleinen Asteroiden überwuchern und mit ihrem Wurzelwerk sprengen könnten: „Die Affenbrotbäume beginnen damit klein zu sein, bevor sie groß werden.“

 

Auch in der modernen deutschsprachigen Lyrik ist der Affenbrotbaum gelegentlich als Sujet anzutreffen (so z. B. bei Paul Celan). Hans Magnus Enzensberger benutzt den Affenbrotbaum als Bild für das Neuronale Netz.

 

(Wikipedia)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launching the Globalstar 2 satellite at 12:27 am, viewed from Vero Beach. No other payload was listed by SpaceX which would normally leave enough fuel for the first stage to return to the Cape to land. Instead, however, the first stage made a successful landing on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions which was about 500 miles out to sea. This has lead to conjecture that there may have been additional payloads. This was the ninth flight of this particular first stage, and the 126th successful landing of a first stage by SpaceX. Approximate cost of the mission was $52,000,000.

Jetties have been built since ancient times to protect seafarers against the oceanic furies of nature -- winds, waves, currents. Usually constructed at the mouth of a river or harbor, they thrust outward into the organic curl of the sea in brute, linear, perfection. The Ancient Mariner, as well as mariners long before and long after, have sailed in the lee of jetties in comparative safety -- as well as to comparative safety.

 

The spiral is an archetypical symbol that probably predates speech. In the American west it is found everywhere in the petroglyphs and pictographs and designs of ancient inhabitants. The meaning, the stories these spirals tell, is lost -- something of a mystery, open to conjecture.

 

"Spiral Jetty", a modern artwork constructed into the Great Salt Lake of Utah from a remote, barren, shore, seems, at first, incongruous, perhaps fanciful. It stands, after all, on the shallow remnant of a dead prehistoric inland sea. A sea on which no one sails. And there is neither river nor harbor for miles.

 

To walk the length of “Spiral Jetty” can be, with each arc, to metaphorically experience wall after wall constructed between you and nature -- layer after layer of safety. At its end, it is possible to sense an existential isolation as profoundly cosmic as the finality of a galaxy spinning inexorably into a black hole. The only way out is to return the way you came…

 

~~~

 

Some may see this ancient bristlecone figure as something more reminiscent of a cinnamon roll. Others might consider such a perception off-theme. It is not -- a cinnamon roll being, in itself, a cosmic decadence...often consumed, layer after layer, from the outside-in.

For the first churchly visit of that November 2023 trip to the southern French provinces of Roussillon and Languedoc, I will treat you to a truly unique place, the so-called “priory” of Serrabone, which features an absolute world-class masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture: its tribune.

 

I said “so-called” above because a priory, in the genuine acception of the word, is a secondary monastery established by an abbey. It is populated by monks sent by that abbey. Those monks are led by a prior, whose superior is the abbot of the founding abbey. In the case of Serrabone, there first was a late Carolingian parochial church established in this mountainous locale and first mentioned in writing in 1069. The walls of the nave are, for some part, still those of that ancient church.

 

It was then, at a time when local lords used to meddle more and more in the affairs of the Church (which was one of the reasons that prompted the coming of the Gregorian reform), that the viscount of Cerdagne and the local lord of Corsavy installed on the Serrabone mountaintop an unusually mixed group of canons and canonesses to live in accordance with the Augustinian Rule.

 

A new college church was built (mostly by enlarging the previous one) and consecrated in 1151. Its architecture is harmonious but very simple, as one would expect: in the Middle Ages, those mountains were populated (hence the creation of the parish) and did feed their inhabitants (serra bona in Catalan means “good mountain”), but there was precious little commerce with the outside world and the locals had nothing of real value to export. Therefore, the local economy was pretty much a closed circuit and money was far from flowing in abundantly. The style of the church, even though there were donations from the aforementioned lords, reflects this paucity of financial resources.

 

It is therefore a total mystery how the magnificent sculpted tribune, which would have cost a veritable fortune, was funded, and by whom. Nothing has ever been demonstrated in that matter, although many have conjectured in various directions. The only certainty we have is that it was built around the time when the church itself was completed, i.e., the mid–1150s.

 

The culmination of the “priory” did not last very long: canons and canonesses are not monks and nuns, their commitment is found throughout history and places to be much less strong, and by the late 1200s they had already broken communal life and begun to live in their own separate homes. Decadence went to such extremes that the “priory” was secularized by the pope in the 16th century and made a dependency of the chapter of the cathedral of Solsona. The last “prior” died in 1612 and the church returned to its simple parochial status.

 

The place was progressively abandoned as people left the mountains to go live easier lives in the valleys. It was almost in ruins when it was listed as a Historic Landmark in 1875 and the restoration began. Fortunately, the tribune had been protected and its capitals and columns hidden by the locals.

 

And finally, the tribune: this is the masterpiece for which Mediævalists flock to Serrabone from all over the world. Made from local white and red marble from the Bouleternère quarries, it serves a double purpose: separate the eastern part of the nave, intended for the community of canons and canonesses from the western one, meant for the parishioners; and serve as a coro alto for religious dignitaries to sit above the rest of the congregation and address them from a high place, a function which jubés (rood screens) will address in later churches.

 

This side, the western one, facing the congregation, is highly decorated: it served to impress and educate through the use of images those who could not read (the immense majority of the populace back then). The colonnade at the top was rebuilt via a careful, three-year anastylosis between 1980 and 83.

 

The spandrels (“écoinçons”) on this face as decorated with floral motifs and a theophany in which the deity is represented by the Agnus Dei, as you will see if you zoom into the photograph.

 

In the background, looking through the single archway leading to the transept from the other side of the tribune, you can see the main altar. The archway to the left in the foreground leads to the northern aisle, which was also designed to accommodate the parishioners (they would enter the church via the northern portal which I will show another say). We will of course take a very close look at the magnificent historied capitals over the next few days.

 

The lateral walls are those of the earlier, Carolingian church (medium to large apparel of shale stones).

Calton Hill (archaically spelt Caltoun or Caldoun and also known as "the Calton Hill"), is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, just to the east of Princes Street and is included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the city.

 

Calton Hill is the headquarters of the Scottish Government, which is based at St Andrew's House, on the steep southern slope of the hill; with the Scottish Parliament Building, and other notable buildings, for example Holyrood Palace, lying near the foot of the hill. The hill also includes several iconic monuments and buildings: the National Monument, the Nelson Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument, the old Royal High School, the Robert Burns Monument, the Political Martyrs' Monument and the City Observatory.

 

In 1456, James II granted land to Edinburgh by charter wherein Calton Hill is referred to as "Cragingalt" from the Gaelic for "rock or hill of the hazel". This points to "calltuinn", the Gaelic for "hazel grove or copse" as being the derivation of Calton. The hill is referred to as Cragge Ingalt on the Petworth map of the Siege of Leith in 1560. Other, conjectured, derivations are "choille-dun" (forested hill) or "cauldh-dun" (black hill), both also from Gaelic. Mention is made of Caldtoun in the records of South Leith Parish Church in 1591 and this or similar spellings remained general until about 1800 with, for example, the Armstrongs' map of 1773 still using Caldtoun and Ainslie's maps changing from Caltoun in 1780 to Calton in 1804.

 

The anglicised derivation of Calton is "cold town".

 

By his charter of 1456, James II granted the community of Edinburgh the valley and the low ground between Calton Hill and Greenside for performing tournaments, sports and other warlike deeds. This was part of his policy of military preparedness that saw the Act of 1457 banning golf and football and ordering archery practise every Sunday. This natural amphitheatre was also used for open-air theatre and saw performances of the early Scots play "Ane Pleasant Satyre of the Thrie Estaitis" by Sir David Lyndsay. In May 1518 the Carmelite Friars (also known as White Friars and locally based at South Queensferry), were granted lands by charter from the city at Greenside and built a small monastery there. Monasteries were suppressed following the Scottish Reformation of 1560, and this stood empty before conversion in 1591 into a hospital for lepers, founded by John Robertson, a city merchant. So severe were the regulations that escape, or even the opening of the gate of the hospital between sunset and sunrise, would incur the penalty of death carried out on the gallows erected at the gate. The monastery would appear to have been located at the north-east end of Greenside Row and its site is shown there on the 1931 Ordnance Survey maps. Ten skeletons found in July 2009 during roadworks to create a new tramway in Leith Walk (since abandoned) are believed to have been connected with the hospital.

 

The Calton area was owned by the Logan family of Restalrig but their lands were forfeited in 1609 following the posthumous sentence of treason on Robert Logan. The lands of Restalrig and Calton, otherwise known as Easter and Wester Restalrig, passed to the Elphinstone family. Sir James Elphinstone was made Lord Balmerino in 1604 and in 1673 the lands of Restalrig and Calton were erected into a single barony. In 1725, Calton was disjoined and sold to the royal burgh of Edinburgh. Calton remained a burgh of barony (although it was not administered as such) until it was formally incorporated into Edinburgh by the Municipality Extension Act of 1856.

 

In 1631, the then Lord Balmerino granted a charter to The Society of the Incorporated Trades of Calton forming a society or corporation. This also gave the Society the exclusive right to trade within Calton and the right to tax others who wished to do so. Normally the trades of burghs were separately incorporated, for example in the Canongate there were eight incorporations, but the Incorporated Trades of Calton allowed any tradesman to become a member providing they were healthy and their work was of an acceptable standard. This lack of restrictive practices allowed a thriving trade to develop.

 

The village of Calton was situated at the bottom of the ravine at the western end of Calton Hill, hence its early name of Craigend. It was on the road from Leith Wynd in Edinburgh and North Back of Canongate to Leith Walk and also to Broughton and thence the Western Road to Leith. In the village, the street was variously known as St. Ninian's Row or Low Calton. Many of the old buildings here were demolished at the time of the Waterloo Place and Regent Bridge development, which bridged the ravine, from 1816. The remaining old village houses of the Low Calton were removed in the 1970s.

 

Calton was in South Leith Parish and Calton people went to church in Leith. The churchyard there was inconveniently situated for burials from Calton and, in 1718, the Society bought a half acre of land at a cost of £1013 from Lord Balmerino for use as a burial ground. This became known as Old Calton Burial Ground. Permission was granted for an access road, originally known as High Calton and now the street called Calton Hill, up the steep hill from the village to the burial ground. The group of 1760s houses near the top of this street are all that remain of the old village.

 

The Old Calton Burial Ground was the first substantial development on Calton Hill and lies on the south-western side of the hill. The philosopher David Hume is buried there. His tomb is engraved only with the year of his birth (1711) and death (1776), on the "simple Roman tomb" (a relatively large monument) which he prescribed. The Political Martyrs' Monument is also in the burial ground. This is in memory of five campaigners for political reform and universal suffrage who were convicted of sedition and sent in 1793 to Botany Bay, Australia.

 

On the West side of Calton Hill is the street named Calton Hill. Agnes Maclehose, better known as Robert Burns' Clarinda, lived at number 14 and died there in 1841. Burns, Scotland's national poet, sent Clarinda many verses over several years in unsuccessful (it is believed) attempts to seduce this beautiful married lady.

 

Calton Hill was the location of the notorious Calton Jail, a complex comprising a Debtors' Prison, the Bridewell (1791-96) by Robert Adam (later replaced) and a Felons' Prison of 1815-17 by Archibald Elliot. The jails were replaced by Saughton Prison and demolished in 1930 providing a site for St. Andrew's House, home to Scotland's senior civil servants. The sole surviving building is the castellated and turreted Governors House by Elliot. The lower curtain walls of the prison are still visible on the south side of St. Andrew's House, above Calton Road.

 

The eastern end of the ornate Regent Bridge is built into the side of the hill, crossing a deep gorge (at the bottom of which the opening scene from Trainspotting was shot) to connect the hill with Princes Street, now Edinburgh's main shopping street. The engineer in charge of building Regent Bridge in 1815 was Robert Stevenson, grandfather of the author Robert Louis Stevenson.

 

The renowned Scottish architect William Henry Playfair was responsible for the elegant thoroughfare that encircles the hill on three sides. Comprising Royal Terrace, Carlton Terrace and Regent Terrace, the largest of the townhouses can be found on Royal Terrace. Playfair's plan is dated 1819 and the first house was built at what is now 40 Royal Terrace. The gardens that cover over one half of the summit of the hill are privately administered by the local Residents Association.

 

Most of the properties on the terraces are occupied as houses but on Royal Terrace there is a number of hotels by far the largest being the Royal Terrace Hotel while on Regent Terrace is located the United States Consulate. Royal Terrace with its fine views over the Firth of Forth was known affectionately in the 19th-century as Whisky Row. This is said to be a reference to the amount of Spirit merchants, who bought the new properties, and for their supposed abilities to see their ships return from trading trips. Another explanation is that it was so named because of the large number of wine merchants who used to live there. Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême (the elder son of Charles X of France, last of the Bourbon kings) and his wife Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte, (the daughter of Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette), moved into what is now 22 (then 21) Regent Terrace in 1830.[5] Caroline Ferdinande Louise the Duchesse de Berri, sister in law of the Duc d'Angoulême, also lived at what is now 12 (then 11) Regent Terrace at that time. Her young son, Henri, the Comte de Chambord, is said to have wept bitterly when his family left for Austria in 1932 as he had become very attached to Scotland. The painter Francis Cadell one of the Scottish Colourists lived in 30 Regent Terrace from 1930-1935. The Western end of Regent Terrace was closed in 2001 to traffic because of security concerns about the United States Consulate. The City of Edinburgh Council proposed closing the Royal Terrace/Blenheim Place entrance to the Calton Hill Terraces in 2010 because of the Edinburgh Trams Project.

 

Playfair was responsible for many of the monumental structures on the summit of the hill most notably the Scottish National Monument. This monument was intended to be another Parthenon and to commemorate Scottish Soldiers killed in the Napoleonic wars. Construction started in 1826 but work was stopped in 1829 when the building was only partially built due to lack of money. It has never been completed. For many years this failure to complete led to its being nicknamed "Scotland's Disgrace" but this name has waned given the time elapsed since the Napoleonic Wars and it is now accepted for what it is.

Your eyes are useless when your mind is blind.

The Bara Gumbad, or "big dome," is a large domed structure grouped together with the Friday mosque of Sikander Lodi and a mehman khana (guesthouse), located in New Delhi's Lodi Gardens. The buildings were constructed at different times during the Lodi era and occupy a common raised platform. Formerly an outlying area of Delhi, the Lodi Gardens are a British-planned landscaped garden which includes a number of monuments (primarily tombs) from the Sayyid and the Lodi dynasties. Originally called Willingdon Park, the gardens were located in the former village of Khairpur, now on the edge of Lutyen's Delhi, the colonial capital built by the British in the early 20th century. The gardens, which cover approx. 70 acres, have come to be surrounded by institutional buildings and some of contemporary Delhi's most expensive real estate.

 

Although they were built under the same dynasty, each of the three structures was undertaken separately. The Bara Gumbad, completed in 1490, is considered to have the first full dome constructed in Delhi. Its original purpose is contested; although it appears to be a freestanding tomb, it contains no tombstone. This causes the speculation that the building might have been intended as a gateway for the Friday mosque; however, their respective placements, stylistic differences, and construction dates do not support this theory. The Friday mosque, completed in 1494, is the first example of the new mosque type that developed during the Lodi era. Characterized by a relatively simple five bay prayer hall building adjacent to a simple open courtyard, this type was an important precedent for mosque architecture in the Lodi and Mughal eras.

 

The complex can be accessed from various points along the roads bordering the Lodi Gardens, with the access from the Lodi road towards the south most prominent. The buildings are situated at a distance of about 300 meters from Muhammad Shah's tomb towards the south and about 380 meters from Sikander Lodi's tomb towards the north. Another prominent structure, the Shish Gumbad, is located facing the Bara Gumbad at a distance of about seventy-five meters towards the north. The area surrounding the buildings is landscaped with manicured grass lawns. Few trees are planted in the immediate vicinity, leaving the view of the structures unobscured. The path winding through the Lodi Gardens approaches the buildings axially from the north, although the building plinth is accessible all from all sides.

 

The buildings are sited on a three-meter-high platform, measuring approximately 30 meters (east-west) by 25 meters (north-south). The Friday mosque is located along the western edge of the platform; the guesthouse is sited opposite it, occupying the eastern edge, while the Bara Gumbad is located along the southern edge. Stone masonry walls, about six meters high, connect the three structures along the southern edge. The northern edge is provided with staircases for accessing the platform. A centrally located straight flight comprising of eight steps, about ten meters wide, connects the ground to a generous mid landing. Another 'C' shaped flight of eight steps wraps around the landing, creating an amphitheatre-like space and reaching the top of the platform. The current arrangement of steps appears to be more recent, and the remains of walls adjoining the southern face of the guesthouse and the mosque indicate that the northern edge might have originally been walled. In the center of the raised court, with its southern edge along the staircase, are the remains of a square shaped platform, 8 meters wide, which appears to be a grave.

 

Friday mosque:

 

The Friday mosque is a single aisled, rectangular building, approx. 30 meters (north-south) by 8 meters (east-west). The mosque is organized in five unequal bays, which correspond to the five arched doorways on the eastern (entry) elevation. The width of the arched doorways decreases from the center towards the sides. The arches span across grey granite piers. The central arch is framed within a projecting rectangular portal, measuring about 8 meters in height by 6 meters wide. The piers of the rectangular frame are cased in dressed granite and have three shallow arched niches in red sandstone, occurring vertically above the springing point of the arch, on either side. The doorway itself is described by four receding planes of ogee arches, the outermost one being in line with the external face of the rectangular portal. The doorways immediately to the side of the central portal are about 5 meters wide, while those at the two ends are approx. 1.5 meters wide with two receding planes of ogee arches, adding to the prominence of the central doorway. The apex of each innermost arch is constant, measuring approx. 5 meters from the top of the platform. Each arch is finished in plaster and embellished with intricate carved Arabic inscriptions. The spandrels are also heavily carved with geometric motifs, and their the corners are adorned with round inscribed plaster medallions. Red sandstone eaves (chajjas) on stone brackets top the arches, interrupted only by the central projecting portal that extends above them. There is a blank plastered frieze above the eaves, followed by the projecting horizontal bands of the cornice that is topped by a blind masonry parapet adorned with petal shaped crenellations with inscribed plaster medallions.

 

The interior of the prayer hall reflects the five bay division of the eastern elevation. It is a rectangular space, measuring about 27 meters (north-south) by about 7 meters (east-west). Additional arches spanning between the piers on the eastern elevation and the engaged piers of the western wall emphasize the demarcation of the interior space into bays. These internal ogee arches reach a height of about five meters. They are finished in plaster and profusely decorated with carvings of Arabic inscriptions. The piers are unornamented, dressed gray granite.

 

The qibla (western) wall of the prayer hall is a blind wall divided into five unequal bays expressed as recessed ogee arched niches, reflecting the arched openings on the eastern wall. The two bays adjacent to the central bay have three equal niches carved out from the portion below the springing line of the main arch. These niches are separated by granite piers, which have smaller arched niches in the top third of their elevation. The three niches are made of two layers of ogee arches framed by the piers. The external layer is in gray-yellow granite, while the interior arch is made of red sandstone. The central niche is mildly distinguishable from the others because its arched portion is curved and the imposts are engraved, while those of the adjacent arches are plain. The innermost rectangular portion of the central niche is blank, while that of the adjoining niches has the carving of a vase and flora inscribed in it. The tympanum of the main outer arch is finished in plaster and has an additional niche directly above the central niche which is embellished heavily with plaster carvings of Arabic inscriptions. A band of similar inscriptions runs along the interior perimeter of the arch and around the upper niche in a closed loop. The voussoirs of the outer arch are plastered and embellished with another layer of carvings. The central bay of the western wall also has three niches, each made of four recessed planes of alternating rectangular and arched profiles. The central mihrab niche is taller and wider. It is also shallower and the innermost plane is blank, while the other two niches are deeper set with relief work. A stone minbar with three steps has been provided abutting the northern pier of the central niche.

 

Hemispherical domes cover the three central bays, while the terminal bays are covered by low flat vaulted ceilings. The square plan of the three central bays transitions into an octagonal drum through the application of corbelled pendentives at the corners. The corbelling occurs in four layers, which increases in width from the bottom up. The layers are further embellished with curved niches set into rectangular frames, which also increase in number, the lowest corbel having one and the last corbel having five such niches. The last layers of the pendentives form alternate edges of the octagonal drum; the remaining edges being formed by the extension of the walls and are also provided with similar curved niches. The octagonal drum transitions into a hexadecagon, followed by a thirty-two-sided polygon by the provisions of small struts. Each face of the hexadecagon is provided with shallow niches, while the thirty-two-sided polygon is described by a projecting band of red sandstone, followed by a band of inscriptions finally topped by the hemispherical dome. The dome is finished in plain plaster. The voussoirs of the arches, the pendentives and the tympanum are all covered by intricate stucco Arabic inscriptions. The central dome is relatively higher that the other two domes.

 

The northern and southern walls of the mosque are punctured by ogee arch doorways below the springline of the main arch. Each opening leads to a projecting balcony, comprising of red sandstone posts supporting a tiered roof. The balconies protrude out from the faade and are supported on red sandstone brackets, whose profiles and carvings are characteristic of Hindu architecture. An elaborately carved arched niche is provided above each opening on the interior wall. It is set into a rectangular frame embossed with Arabic text.

 

The plasterwork on the external northern and southern walls of the mosque has fallen off, exposing the stone masonry, while that on the western wall has survived. The central bay of the western wall projects out and is marked by two solid towers at the corners. These towers are divided vertically into four layers; the first two layers from the bottom are orthogonal, while the third layer has alternating curved and angular fluting; the top layer, extending over the parapet of the mosque, has a circular section. The corners of the mosque are marked by similar tapering towers, which are divided into four layers. Each layer is circular in plan except the third layer, which is described by alternating curved and angular fluting. All the towers have the remains of finials at their apex. The central projecting wall has four red sandstone brackets in its upper third portion, which may have supported a projecting balcony similar to those on the north and south elevations.

 

The plasterwork on the walls of the plinth is now gone, exposing the rubble masonry construction below. The western face of the plinth is punctured by five ogee arch openings set into rectangular frames, one in the center and two each on the sides. These openings provide access to the basement within the plinth.

 

The roof has three domes corresponding to the three central bays of the prayer hall and the three central arches on the eastern elevation. The extrados of the domes are finished in plaster. The octagonal drums supporting the domes protrude out over the roof level, above which the circular bases of the domes are decorated with blind crestings having floral motifs. The central dome is marginally larger than the adjacent domes and all three have the remains of lotus finials at their apex.

 

Bara Gumbad:

 

Square in plan, the Bara Gumbad measures approx. 20 meters per side. Set on a plinth 3 meters high, it joins the common plinth on the north and projects beyond it to the south. Its plinth is decorated on the east, south, and west with ogee arch openings set into rectangular frames. These provide access to a basement.The walls of the Bara Gumbad are approx. 12 meters tall, above which a hemispherical dome on a hexadecagonal drum extends another 14 meters from the roof level, for a total building height of 29 meters above ground level.

 

Each of its elevations is nearly identical and divided into 2 horizontal sections. A projecting portal composed of an ogee arch set in a rectangular frame (approx. 8 meters wide), is centered in each elevation and rises approximately 75 cm above the parapet line of the building. The 1.5 meter wide frame is made of dressed gray granite. Each vertical pier of the frame has six shallow red sandstone niches arranged atop one another at varying heights; nine niches continue in a line along the horizontal portion of the frame. The portal is described by two receding planes of grey granite ogee arches; the spandrels are cased with black granite with a thin projecting edge of red sandstone. Two round plaster medallions adorn the spandrels. The lower layer of the portal has a central doorway, spanned by two red sandstone brackets that form a trabeated arch supporting a black granite lintel. These brackets are supported on grey granite posts. An intricately carved red sandstone frame adorns the brackets and the lintel; it starts at the springing point of the arch and frames the lintel of the doorway. The entire composition is set in a rectangular yellow sandstone frame. An ogee arch window has been provided above the trabeated entrance. The portal is crowned by the arched crenellations of the blind parapet. Solid turrets mark the projecting corners of the portal.

 

The remainder of the elevation, that flanking the central portal on either side and recessed behind it, is divided vertically into two equivalent parts by projecting horizontal bands of stone. Each part is described by two equal arched panels set into rectangular frames. Both the panels of the upper part on either side of the portal are blind and filled with granite masonry. The lower panels located adjacent to the portal are windows, while the lower panels at the edges are filled in. The parapet, like the portal, is decorated with arched crenellations, and the roof has solid turrets at each corner.

 

A single hemispherical dome surmounted on a sixteen-sided drum crowns the building. Each face of the drum is described by an ogee arched niche set in a rectangular frame. The voussoirs of the arches are gray granite, while the spandrels are clad with red sandstone. The top edge of the drum is decorated with a band of arched crenellations, similar to those on the roof parapets, running above a projecting band of stone that surrounds the drum. Below this projection is band of leaves carved in relief. The extrados of the dome are finished in smooth plaster. The lotus base, possibly for a vanished calyx finial, is still extant.

 

The structure can be entered either from the raised courtyard via the north elevation or from a double flight of steps located on the western elevation. Inside, the square building measures about seven meters per side. An 80 cm high, 45 cm wide solid seat runs continuously along the interior perimeter of the building. Light streams in from all four walls, which are punctured by the openings of the doorway at the ground level and the ogee arch window above. The interior surfaces of the Gumbad are unornamented and finished in dressed granite. The square plan of the room transitions into an octagon via squinches, which then support the thirty-two-sided drum and the dome. The apex of the dome has two bands of floral inscriptions; otherwise, the dome is finished in plaster. The absence of historical inscriptions has contributed to the confusion over the original purpose of the Bara Gumbad.

 

Mehman Khana:

 

The third structure in the group is rectangular in plan, measuring about 27 meters (north-south) by 7 seven meters (east-west). Located along the eastern edge of the common plinth, it faces the mosque and is connected to the Bara Gumbad by a masonry wall along its northern face. The structure is believed to have either been a mehman khana, (guesthouse) or a majlis khana (assembly hall).

 

The building is accessed from the common plinth through its western wall, which is divided into five bays, mirroring the eastern elevation of the mosque opposite it. The three central bays are considerably larger and have ogee arch doorways, giving access to the interior, while windows puncture the smaller end bays. The arches are set in rectangular frames, which are recessed from the face of the elevation. Each opening is composed of two recessed planes of arches. The spandrels are clad in red sandstone, contrasting with the gray granite of the elevation, and are decorated with round plaster medallions with lotus motifs. The window openings have an additional tie beam or lintel at the springline. The tympanum of the window towards the south has been filled with stone, while that of the window towards the north has been left open. A continuous chajja, supported on equidistant stone brackets, projects from the western wall above the rectangular frame. The cornice is unornamented and is topped by the projecting horizontal band of the parapet, which reaches a height of approximately five meters from the top of the raised plinth. The roof of the structure is flat. The exterior of the building lacks decoration and is finished in dressed granite.

 

The interior is divided into seven chambers occurring from north to south; the central chamber is the largest, measuring about 5 meters (north-south) long. It is abutted by relatively narrow chambers (approx. 2.5 meters long). The outside chambers which flank the 2.5 meter wide chambers on either side are approximately the size of the central chamber, and correspond to the arched openings in the western wall. The chambers are separated from each other by gray granite walls, punctured by simple ogee arched doorways set in rectangular frames. Square in plan, the outer rooms are separated from the adjacent chambers by stone walls with rectangular door openings with blind ogee arches and rectangular frames. Each doorway has shallow rectangular recesses on either side, as well as a small arched window set into a rectangular recess and a stone jali screen set above the doorway within the tympanum of the main arch. The eastern wall of the building has blind ogee arches, occurring as two successive planes, reflecting the arched openings of the western elevation.

 

The roof of the central chamber is flat and supported on arches located on four sides; flat stone brackets appear at the corners. The two adjacent rooms are covered by shallow domes supported on squinches. The interior domes are finished in plaster with carved concave fluting. The exterior of the domes has been filled to blend with the flat roof of the central room.

 

Certain stylistic continuities are recognizable in the three buildings; each was constructed with (local) gray granite and lime mortar. However, the degree and type of embellishment, both interior and exterior, on the mosque differs substantially from that found on the other two, relatively unadorned, buildings.

Apart from the grouping of the three structures and their stylistic similarities, the buildings do not appear to have been planned as a complex. The Friday mosque is the first example of the panchmukhi building type, where "panch" (five) and "mukhi " (facade) characterize a five-bay prayer hall. This approach was influential in both the Lodi and the Mughal periods. The Bara Gumbad is significant for having the first complete hemispherical dome in Delhi.

 

The differences in the surface ornament of the buildings suggest that the buildings were constructed at different times, with the Bara Gumbad and the guesthouse being similar in style and decoration, without the multilayered arches of the Friday mosque. The function of the Bara Gumbad is still unknown; its geometry and form aligns with the predominant tomb architecture of the period (like the neighboring Shish Gumbad). However, there is no grave or cenotaph in the building, and rather than being blank, its qibla wall (like its other walls) is punctured by an entrance. While the continuous stone bench in the interior is also found in gateway architecture, (as in the Alai Darwaza at the Quwat-ul-Islam Mosque in Mehrauli), the size of the Bara Gumbad vis-a-vis the Friday mosque does not support this conjecture. Some scholars surmise that the structure might have been a gateway to the larger complex of tombs within the Lodi Gardens.

 

Lodi Dynasty

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

The Lodi dynasty in India arose around 1451 after the Sayyid dynasty. The Lodhi Empire was established by the Ghizlai tribe of the Afghans. They formed the last phase of the Delhi Sultanate. There were three main rulers in the history of Lodi dynasty. All three of them have been discussed in detail in the following lines. So read on about the Lodi dynasty history.

 

Buhlul Khan Lodi

Buhlul Khan Lodi (1451-1489) was the founder of the Lodi dynasty in India and the first Afghan ruler of Delhi. He was an Afghan noble who was a very brave soldier. Buhlul Khan seized the throne without much resistance from the then ruler, Alam Shah. His territory was spread across Jaunpur, Gwalior and northern Uttar Pradesh. During his reign in 1486, he appointed his eldest son Barbak Shah as the Viceroy of Jaunpur. Though he was an able ruler, he really couldn't decide as to which son of his should succeed him as the heir to the throne.

 

Sikandar Lodi

After the death of Buhlul Khan, his second son succeeded him as the king. He was given the title of Sultan Sikander Shah. He was a dedicated ruler and made all efforts to expand his territories and strengthen his empire. His empire extended from Punjab to Bihar and he also signed a treaty with the ruler of Bengal, Alauddin Hussain Shah. He was the one who founded a new town where the modern day Agra stands. He was known to be a kind and generous ruler who cared for his subjects.

 

Ibrahim Lodhi

Ibrahim Lodhi was the son of Sikander who succeeded him after his death. Due to the demands of the nobles, his younger brother Jalal Khan was given a small share of the kingdom and was crowned the ruler of Jaunpur. However, Ibrahim's men assassinated him soon and the kingdom came back to Ibrahim Lodhi. Ibrahim was known to be a very stern ruler and was not liked much by his subjects. In order to take revenge of the insults done by Ibrahim, the governor of Lahore Daulat Khan Lodhi asked the ruler of Kabul, Babur to invade his kingdom. Ibrahim Lodhi was thus killed in a battle with Babur who was the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India. With the death of Ibrahim Lodhi, the Lodhi dynasty also came to an end.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodi_dynasty

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodi_Gardens

4 Interlocking Hyperboloidal Self-Interwoven Enneacontakaienneagonal Stars 396 units In my hand.

I have designed a number of interlocking star compounds in the past, but this compound was specifically undertaken to illustrate a conjecture I noted not too long ago, namely that almost any convex polyhedral shape can be accommodated to modelling with polygonal stars if 3 frames weave around each other at each vertex, representative of 3 underlying edges converging at that vertex. Of course, many polyhedra have more than 3 edges joining at some vertices, but a truncation of any such vertex will result in new vertices where 3 units do in fact converge every vertex, and are therefore “modelable” using polygonal stars. By trisecting the edges of existing polyhedra, applying truncations, and using the resulting truncated shape as the basis for a polygonal compound, an enormous number of new compound possibilities are opened up. I decided to test an application of this simple conjecture upon an interesting polyhedral shape with pyritohedral symmetry, a near-miss Johnson Solid called a Pentahexagonal pyritoheptacontatetrahedron. The resulting shape has the following axial whorls: 6 dodecagons, 12 decagons, 56 hexagons, 24 pentagons, 36 quadrilaterals, and 264 triangles, by my calculations. The assembly was a bit more challenging than some of the previous polygonal star compounds I have designed, but overall I think it turned out rather well. This is quite simply a compound of four 99-sided polygon stars, which makes these the largest polygons I have ever worked with and the largest polygons (as far as I know) ever rendered in modular origami.

Designed by me.

Folded out of memo paper.

 

The kylix

Eos poignantly lifts her fallen son, Memnon, who lies listlessly in her arms. She is dressed in a finely pleated Ionic chiton which reveals the lines of her legs, wears a patterned sakkos on her head, and has elaborately patterned wings. Her arms and parts of the torso of Memnon are gone and restored with plain clay. Memnon's head and arms fall lifeless down at the right. Some details of his anatomy and the bleeding wounds are done in dilute glaze. The border around the tondo is formed of alternating crosses, maeanders (alternating directions), and X's; the last two maeanders above the exergue mistakenly overlap.

All characters are named. Above Eos' head, her name “hεος” is reported, near the painter’s signature : Δορις | εγραφσεν – Douris painted.

Below, the face of Memnon, in three lines filling all the space, the are the name of the character, Μεμλον, and the potter’s signature Καλ[λ]ιαδες | εποιεσεν, Kaliades made.

On the left, below Eos’ winges an inscription arranged in three parallel lines reading

[?]ενεμεκνερινε - hερμογενες | καλος{3}. The first sequence is mysterious and disputed, but probably connected to the sexual appeal of the “awesome Hermogenes”.

 

Source: www.perseus.tufts.edu

CAV / CAVI @ www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/

 

The Poem Aethiopis.

Proclus' synopsis of the Aethiopis' contents is preserved before the text of the Iliad in the tenth century manuscript known as Venetus A. The poem was divided into five books, and its length may therefore be estimated at some 2,500-3,000 lines. It was attributed to Arctinus of Miletus.

Memnon’ s account is narrated in the Aethiopis’ second book. He is the son of Tithonus and Eos. Accompanied by a large force of Aethiopians, he arrived to assist the Trojans. Thetis prophesied to her son Achilles about the encounter with Memnon. She warned him that if he fought Memnon, he would kill him, but be killed himself after a short time. When battle is joined, Antilochus, Nestor’s son, is killed by Memnon, but then Achilles kills Memnon. The circumstances are assumed to be as related by Pindar, Pyth. 6. 28-42. One of the horses drawing Nestor's chariot is hit by an arrow shot by Paris, preventing Nestor's escape from the onset of Memnon, he shouts to his son Antilochus for help, and Antilochus came and fights Memnon, losing his own life but saving his father's. It is further conjectured that Achilles wanted to avoid Memnon because of his mother’s warning, but that now, incensed by the death of his young friend Antilochus, he joins battle with Memnon killing him. Eos confers immortality upon her son after prevailing on Zeus.

 

Source: West M.L., "Iliad" and "Aethiopis"

 

Attic red figure kylix

H. 12 cm; Dm. 26 cm.

Attributed to Douris as painter by signature, and Kalliades as potter by signature

485 – 480 BC

From Capua

Paris, Musée du Louvre, G 115

 

Fetenacity

 

A mid summers dream series

A)Dreams tending Arousal

 

Lakefront Cottage Dream

 

A narration in one acte

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

This story is based from a rather intense dream/ experience I had some weeks past when I stayed for a extended autumn weekend alone at my uncles lake cottage.

  

It was at this same cottage where we held my Cousins wedding late the previous year

 

I had attended a formal dinner/dance/ fundraiser in the area and was using the lakefront cottage to save on having to rent a room during my extended visit there.

  

My friend from university, who also was coming, and I had dared each other to wear the glittery sequined , sleek blue bridesmaids gowns that had been collecting dust in our closets since a mutual friends wedding the previous month.

  

We both did, with her adding her good jewels to wear with, and I wore my matching set of antique rhinestones I had come across at an antique shoppe, along with my favorite rings.

  

We must have made a pleasing pair for we were continuously being approached for conversation and then asked to dance by several blokes.

  

As things were wrapping up and we were given the boot, we stopped in a pub for a drink and that was when my friend told me she had been creeped upon after leaving her hotel earlier!

  

A young man in a houndstooth sports jacket had been standing in her hotel lobby talking to a pretty young lady wearing a black satin blouse, her buxomy figure loaded up with shiny gold chains .

 

As my friend walked through the lobby, dressed as she was for the dance, the girl had eyed her over .

  

She , of course, smiled at her, and surprisingly the girl had just looked back to the guy wearing the houndstooth sport coat without acknowledging her.

  

Then as she walked outside down the block, realized the guy in the houndstooth sports jacket was following along.

  

He had seen her look at him and darted down an alley.

 

Uncomfortable about it, she had spied an approaching hansom and had hailed it to be driven to her destination.

  

“Do you think he may have wanted to ask me something?” she wondered as she played with her string of white pearls, the rings in her fingers all glittery.

  

I soothed her by telling her she was “being a silly sod, and not to fret over it!”

 

Which at the time was my honest opinion of the affair? Certainly did not think the bloke was “creeping” and I told her so with conviction!

  

I did see her home safely to her hotel room before heading to the lake.

  

But then walking quite alone up to the cottage in early morning hours, moving in and out of creeping shadows,slightly intoxicated, I heard the rich swishing of my long gown along the path.

 

I must have presented an interesting picture, waking about alone, dressed such as I was!

 

I remembered my friend’s story, if someone was following her and had been listening to us, they would know I was here, alone!

  

This made my hairs prickle as of course my run away imagination Formed some rather chilling , foreboding conjectures

  

I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts, feeling my earrings swinging up against my cheeks.

 

Buggers, my bloody jewels would give me away!

  

I scurried to the cottage, feeling foolish with myself as I unlatched the door!

  

But entering the dark ,sinisterly empty house, did me no good either, and I held my breath as I cautiously tip toes in to turn on the lights!

  

My mind was reeling at that point keeping me from feeling tired, as I checked all the windows and doors to make sure they were fastened!

  

Without bothering to change , I tried watching some telly, before going to bed.

 

But I ended up watching the only channel that was coming in.. and all it had was an old BW crime thriller that night, which also added fuel to the building fire of my imagination!

  

Though I will admit that I harbor a like for those type of situations depicted in such movies, experiencing a titillating thrill when a shadow emerged from a dark alleyway, similar to those that compels one to watch horror flicks!

  

Also, on top of all that, having just being also all dressed up in that wedding party a fortnight ago, before appeared to have been added to the subconscious mix!

 

Finding I had fallen asleep without seeing the ending,I stretched, rose and went to the bedroom I was staying in.

 

Dressing for bed, loop-lolly half asleep , watched my reflection in the long mirror removing my twinkling rhinestones, an old silent film I once had critiqued for a term paper quite some time ago popped in from somewhere in a forgotten recess of my mind ...

Of course..!!

 

- [ ] 1927 Called “Cat and the Canary” and is a dark moody film taking place in a secret passage laced mansion, with sinisterly dark figures , and a sleeping lady whose diamonds are robbed off from around her throat .

There is a 1930 sound remake called “The Cat Creeps” with Helen Twelvetrees that i really had wanted to write about, but found out it is unfortunately an Americans “lost” film!

 

So I do imagine that it ‘twas those concerns and remembrances all combined, which took root in my sleep, taking a dark flight with my dreams of fancy that night!

 

For, as I was soon asleep;

 

I found myself experiencing a sweating combination of nightmare/ wet dream that was so utterly realistic that the scare nearly caused me to soil my slip nightie before I managed to awaken sweating from its horrible hold, feeling some dampness around my crotch!

 

In the process I had become so entangled in my Blankets that it took some time to extract myself.

 

Finally awake and free of the blankets I rose...

 

Placing a thin black robe over my purple slip nightgown, I got a mixed drink, and sat down upon a sofa to collect my wits as I convinced myself it had only been a rather intriguingly wicked dream!

 

And then I, of course me being me, was compelled to take notes of my night terror before the last vestiges drifted off , as I was then unable to sleep in the empty cottage anyways!

  

So the long and short is that from those notes taken from that night terror was risen this dream inspired tale!

 

€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€

Mid-summer Dream sequence A

 

A beguiling Evening at the Lake House

  

My dream, not surprisingly,took me innocently enough, to the wedding at my uncle’s family’s rather posh Lakefront “Cottage” where I have spent many a week since youthful childhood...

 

Mixing in bits of both reality and fiction, my dream went on ...

  

My cousin(with whom I had been with at University) was getting married at the end of the week which is why I had gone, that and I was to be her Maid of honour.

  

The week went fast, planning, getting ready for the guests.

  

What little time I had to myself, I spent on a small deserted island in middle of the lake, just off of the bottom hill landing above which sat my Cousin’s family’s lake front cottage.

 

The island is a rather secluded, private spot,a great place to just think.

  

Then came the time for the wedding to be held at the lake village church with reception behind the family lake cottage.

  

The groom’s best man and I were the only members of the bridal party.

  

My Cousin had selected a dazzling white satin dream gown.

 

Sleeveless with a Lacey bodice and a daringly plunging neckline. The skirt fell down to her silver heels in a glistening flow of sleekness. An emerald green rippled satin sash encircled her jealousy petite waist with a glittering crescent shaped emerald rhinestone broach pinned to the centre. Long green satin gloves all added a splash of color for her naturally red hair.

  

As bridesmaid I was wearing my rather elegant burgundy coloured slick taffeta gown she had helped me pick out.

  

The neckline is squared , the skirt was short in front reaching just below my knees, and long in back, reaching the tickling down to just past my ankles.

 

Full sleeves that scrunched up, with their bottom bit reaching up to my wrist, but the top part reaching over my hands ending in pointed tips at my middle finger and held on by gold rings that went on along my middle fingers.

 

It also had a darling matching flat satin waist-hugging sash that was detachable and tied snugly in the back

  

Actually the whole outfit was a rather tightly snug fit, but my Cuz liked the look and I will be able to have it let out before wearing it out again.

  

But it was fun that I appeared to have a pair of noticeably rounded breasts for a change !

 

Compliments of the gowns fairly tight molded cleavage !

  

Because my Cousin has decided on wearing her rather handsome collection of pearls, I decided not to wear my own good pearls, but instead opted to wear my rhinestones, which of course in my dream became valuable diamonds.

  

Also amongst the fine jewels I was wearing was Included at the last minute a rather daring ruby and diamond brooch which I had just picked up in an antique store that is located in the village at the northern most end of the lake.

  

It was quite a dazzling pretty overall effect we both were putting on, as noted when we poised giggling like a brace of school girls before the bedroom mirror hanging on the backside of our basement bedrooms’ door.

  

My cousins younger sister, who is just a school girl, overhead us and sauntered down in from the upstairs kitchen.

 

In my dream she was dressed as she had really been at the actual wedding.

 

A red head also, she was fetchingly wearing a green satin gown pouring down along her figure, re-wearing It from a dance she had attended that spring.

 

She also was strikingly wearing the new set of my Aunt’s expensively matched emerald and diamond jewelry !

 

I felt her gown was rather to slinky in my silent opinion, and the “always gets my way “party girl a bit too immature to be wearing good jewels, but the ensemble certainly grabbed one’s attention I will with a bit of jealousy, admit to that!

 

But then I guess that is what weddings are all in about, and the bride and I were certainly in no position, glammed up as we were , to caste the first (Gem)stones!

  

After a bit more girl talk, we put on our serious faces and headed upstairs to begin the day long festivities!

  

So the wedding and reception proper went off with very few minor hitches and we killed much time pleasantly , dancing and drinking till midnight!

 

It was a very pretty affair in many aspects!

  

Then well after midnight as most of the remaining guests were hanging around a fire in the back terrace of the cottage, I felt a wanderlust whimsical feeling to go and sit on one of the antique benches set around a small landing that was set up down the bottom front hillside, the top of which was where the cottage had been built.

 

Grabbing a flute of wine, I headed off away around the cottage, then down the hillside stairs leading down to the landing, looking forward to finally being away from the lime lite as it were!

  

I was quite alone in this secluded spot. With a view of my small island off some 50 meters from the landing.

  

I was setting there for some time lost in my thoughts, feeling sleepy, when I realized with a shiver that it was getting chilly!

But then a warm breeze came in and my mind started to play tricks on me.

  

That I had not shivered because of the cold, but instead I was getting goose pimples from feeling someone’s eyes upon me !

 

But then I started to imagined that I was indeed being watched from the island!

 

A dark figure in a houndstooth sports jacket with hard cold eyes and a mind to be up the to no good!

 

Someone was watching me I convinced myself!

 

I nervously turned around and jumped a little!

 

There was actually a long shadowy figure at the top of the stairs, framed in moonlight, staring me down!!!

  

As I watched the figure slipped down the stairs, by the flapping dress I knew it was female.

 

Finally I could make out who it was as she came into the light cast off from the docks lanterns.

 

It was lady in a slinky black satin number , wearing a bouncing emerald/ diamond pendent and swinging earrings that glittered noticeably from her as she moved.

 

She smiled, rising a hand that held a tall glass of ice and some clear liquid, her expensive looking bracelet twinkling in a mesmerizing display of its rich coloured emerald/diamond gemstones.

 

I recognized her as one of the guests I had briefly met,whom, much like a humming bird, had been flittering about amongst us without never really staying long in any one place!

  

When I first met the slowly approaching lady , She had been a total stranger to me,coming up to me at the reception to compliment me on my pretty attire.

  

Said she was there alone and was usually quite shy around strangers, though she had not appeared to me in anyway a timid dear!

  

She had blushed ever so prettily, her eyes magnified by the horned rim glasses she was wearing.

  

She was actually quite handsome, wearing a long black satin dress with vertical gold stripes. I complimented her on it and she smiled, prettily blushing . She was wearing no jewelry, so I was not able to use that as a topic of conversation or admirations!

  

Feeling sorry for the poor thing, we had chatted a bit, light talk, and she had taken her leave, apologizing if she was appearing rude, but she must compliment my cousin, the bride, who I saw had just came in, new husband and her pouty younger sister in tow!

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

I was watching her now, coming down then over to me as I was sitting on the landings bench, inwardly shuddering a bit!

  

She was a odd bird, especially the way she was eagerly looking down upon me like an old friend!

  

But there was something different about her now, something had changed, but in my befuddled state of mind at her appearance it was something could not place a finger on at the time?

  

But trying to work out a solution to that mystery slipped from my mind as I again felt a chill and wished I had brought my gowns matching wrap!

  

I couldn’t be rude enough to hurriedly make that as an excuse and leave her just as she arrived. So I settled down to hold ground and meet my fate!

  

So much for quiet solitude I thought wryly, and assuming my role as part of the bridal party, politely motioned the unwished for guest to come sit with me.

  

She swished down over, laid a hand on my shoulder, her bracelet sparkling , as I looked up. I could see my own necklace shimmering in her horned rim glassed, rather surprised over how lavish the reflection appeared!

  

“‘Ello, we meet again !” she said adjusting her gown as she sat next to me.

 

“Cheers “ she continued clinking her glass to mine and we both took a drink.

  

She was looking out over the misty waters as she sipped...

  

“Must say, you are brave, to be down here all alone ?” she asked me, glancing around.

  

“Not really.” I replied ... “ I come down here a lot to sit and think, it’s one of my favorite spots.”

 

“Here, and the island over there also!” I added, pointing across the water to the small island.

  

She shivered. “Creepy island, who knows what or who may be over there lurking in the shadows watching us!”

  

Despite myself I did jump a little at her words.

She was beginning creeping me out saying things I had already been thinking.

  

She started to babble on about odd things she had heard happening to others. Footsteps in the dark with no one appearing and other sorts of unwarranted , alone in a dark alleyway ,like tidbits that began to make me a bit uncomfortable!!!

  

She was on about an old silent movie where a deranged mental patient had broken into an isolated mansion where a young heiress was spending a lonely evening when I decided enough was enough!!!

  

I was quite done with this uninvited guest and decided it had been time enough, and I could ethically take my leave.

  

Surrendering my dock landing hideaway to her and head up to rejoin the guests around the warm friendly fire!

  

I turned to her, startled by the way for a second she had been smiling at me like she knew an untold secret, but her expression changed immediately as I had looked, smiling she leaned over to pat my wrist, her fingers touching my diamond bracelet.

  

Then, like she had been eerily reading my mind...

  

“Hope I’m not making you uncomfortable luv?” She said consolingly, but without any real depth to her apology!

  

Then, while patting me, her drink sloshed, spilling some of the ice cubes, which pooled down upon the lap of my gown, making me shiver,the cool air and the dampness on my gown increasingly adding on an overwhelming need to use the loo, which also added to my already existing urge to excuse myself!!

  

“Oh dear I’ve solid your dress! Here let me get something...”

  

As she fumbled in a small, rather bulging, black clutch purse, I declined her assistance ,just glad of a reason to be rid of this odd lady , and told her I would clean up inside the cottage!

  

She in turn gave me an odd , knowing smile as I rose and politely took my leave.

   

I managed to stand up without shaking and went back up the deck stairs resisting the urge to run!

  

At the top I looked back to the island for a few seconds, nothing moved, except the rising shapes of mist that was forming over the long lakes waveless dark waters.

  

Of course no one was watching from there!

I looked down upon the interloper still seated on my bench...

  

She was just sitting there, dress fluttering not bothering to look up at me.

  

The breeze was still warm, so why did I still feel chilled?

  

I then headed inside through the kitchen to the downstairs basement bath.

  

The house was quiet and empty, lending to the atmosphere and I was trembling on pins and needles as I was making myself scared silly to be in there, looking down darkened corridors that appeared to be passing themselves off as sinister alleyways!!!

  

I went in and downstairs to the basement bedroom I was sharing with my cousin .

  

Going to the small toilet I quickly did my business, dabbed at the wet spot on my party dress , deciding I should not take time to change!

  

As I took a quick look in the mirror, I scolded my panicked stricken looming reflection that I was a “silly old duck”, and then hurriedly left to head back to join the rest of the dwindling reception guests by the warm fire.

  

I froze in my tracks , the bedroom door that I had left open was now forbiddingly, firmly shut!!!

  

Suddenly I was grasped from behind by a pair of strong hands.

  

My whole figure jumped with the enveloping shivering shock , while an ice cold hand clamped over my mouth silencing my startled shriek as it started. ...

  

A most menacing voice muttered with conviction, “What have we here saide the spyder to the pretty butterfly?”

  

A chilling feeling swept down over me! As the voice continued on answering my silent question...

  

“I was coming down to leave, lady and imagine my surprise when I saw you heading downstairs into this hidden bedroom!”

  

I began to quiver in delicious fright...

  

“Now Don’t move about my pretty red bird!”

 

The voice snarled as something hard was stroked along up against my side , and then poked into my waist ,as my heart was pounding in my throat!

  

“No cry’s for help either Miss “ he hissed close in my ear “Or I may have to use this!” , and the thing he was poking was pressed in even harder into my back to make his point known!

  

I nodded helplessly in submissive agreement to his threat!

  

I was cringing and feeling waves of shivers sparking up and down my spine as he held me captive in his hard unforgiving grasp!

  

Not really knowing with any sickening realty what all was going to happen next, though I was fairly certain my pretty jewels would be on his list!!

  

He turned me around and I was face to face with an evily black attired man wearing an even blacker, snarly appearing ski mask!

  

Holding me close as he stared at me with his hard grey eyes he muttered, half to himself.

  

“Well, well, look at the pretty package we have caught!”

  

“I only was interested in riffling through the contents of your bedrooms rooms wasn’t I luv, while your fine lot were distracted outside !” He said happily.”

  

“But the bonus of watching you and your sparklers appear for your ill timed call to nature is appreciated, I will say that !”

 

“And the discovery of a new bedroom to have a look around is always appreciated, always nice things to be found in ‘em aint there now, Miss !”

  

He hissed this as he was eyeing me over as I noticed my long shimmering diamond earrings were richly sparkling , reflected in his lusting evil eyes!

  

I gulped as a dryly feeling scratchy frog came lumping up in my throat!

  

In answer his rough left hand began excitedly snaking up my front, up over my breasts and lifting up the end of my twinkling diamond necklace as he smirked!

  

As he had groped along my breasts , he drooled his words, talking to himself .

“A rather fine plump one we have!

Then while he tugged greedily at my necklace. “With some Rather nice ice to be melted away!”

  

I tried pulling back, but he grasped me harder by the waist and held me to him as I squirmed, I could quite feel that this Wankers figure was undeniably hot and quite stiff with desire!

  

“Dem flashy jewels your wearin luv, I believe I’ll have them then now won’t” I ! he purred nastily, with a craving conviction.

  

I countered. “Not my jewels sir I whined, they are worthless!”

  

But he ignored my pleas and began working me over quite thoroughly chuckling with delight as he , with adept precision ,felt searchingly along my cringing my figure for jewels!

  

The mirror that was hanging down on the closed door that we had primped in front of earlier, was in view, and I could see my reflection in it, and ... also his as he was working me over. I tried not to look but failed miserably and I began to feel my whole being wilt in utter despair as one by one he I watched him plucking my trembling figure clean!

  

Starting first by forcing off my flashing rings, then unclamping my favorite diamond cuff bracelet,then yanked off both my earrings , greedily pocketing the lot!

  

Once finished with that he concentrated on working off the main prize, my shiny necklace!

  

Reaching up behind my neck, unfastening, drooling over, and then finally pocketing my diamond necklace!

 

He had taken my Diamond Necklace! And I squirmed uncomfortably as he stashed it away !!

  

The wanker was all too fondly enjoying this game he was playing at my expense!!!

  

Finished with that job, he lastly reached down over to my waist to begin prying off my shimmery new broach which my Cousin had had me pin to my sash as a last minute addition so as to match her’s!

  

I loved that broach!

 

I managed out a sobbing, crackling dry plea for him not to take it

  

Surprisingly, He listened and removed his hand from it promising he would not lay a finger on it, “Scouts honours” dame!

  

Then had me turn around.

 

“All right dame, lets see you raise those hands up, and keep ‘em there if you know what’s good fer you!”

  

Wondering “ what now ?!” I obeyed.

  

He placed his hands upon the sides of my gown, reaching just up under my armpits, and started carefully to pat me down from behind .

 

I knew he knew he had taken me for everything and was just playing me, adding insult to injury while he was satisfying a dreadful lust to cope a feel of my tight fitting ultra smooth gown! Typical male!

  

I realized that, Like a seasoned male actor, he obviously was a professional and had played this role enough times that he was self-confident, assuredly in control, and was cravingly, relishing every second of this wicked game!

 

Everything he did had a purpose, rhyme and reason behind it !

 

I was just beginning to realize, but I still was not fast enough to figure those reasons ahead of time, and it would cost me !!!

  

I sighed deeply in my misery and despair, unable to move in my utterly vulnerably paralyzing distress !

  

Sighing as deeply as I just had, the monster finished, and stood back behind me.

 

I was still too frozen in fear to move, and saw in the reflection that he had reached into his pocket and pulled out some gold silk handkerchiefs.

 

The unscrupulous Git must have snatched them from a silky pocket that must have been inside one of the dresses hanging in another bedroom closet!!

  

“To make sure the creeping cat keeps your tongue!” he said as he gagged me silent with one!

 

Then he reached up, and yanking down my arms so the were behind my back, he tightly bound my hands with another!

  

Cheeky Bastard !

  

But the wanker wasn’t through with me yet!

  

He pulled my back up against his lustful body and I felt the cold damply sweaty fingers of his right hand reach up and laying his right hand on my the front of my dress !

He than happily felt along my breasts, while his left hand held me securely by the waist as I squirmed in his hold as he fondled about.

 

It was a bittersweet prickling process I felt as I helplessly underwent his obviously practiced ritual!

  

“Pity You’re not hiding anything there !” he hissed in my ear he withdrew his hand.

“ Only one more hiding hole to clear !” he said matter of factley taking deep breaths!

  

Knowing what was coming, I stiffened as he crouched down and cringed as I felt his hand press up into my dress, pushing the still damp material up in between my thighs as I put my legs together in an attempts to force the walkers hand out!!!

  

My back arched in a spasm as the thief’s right hands fingers attempted to penetrate and grope through my gown to reach towards my private’s !!

  

As I squirmed about I tried to say through my gag. “ I thought you have my diamonds isn’t that enough you touchy git!”

  

But he did pull away as I clamped my knees on him!

  

Prevented from going any further with his groping fingers, he rose quickly as he held his hands onto my waist for support!

  

“Nuttin in there either, guess I’ve cleaned you out dame !” he said chuckling at his crude humour!

  

He finally stopped chuckling , than said

 

“Times a eating !” And pushed me over to my cousins bed and had me turn and awkwardly sit down upon it .

  

The bastard was having me watch him as he worked over our room for our valuables!

  

As if what he had done so far wasn’t enough!

  

As I squirmed with acute anxiety in my bindings, he went about it!

  

He was thorough I will admit, quickly, unerringly, ransacking our room with expert precision, wasting no time, as he checked through drawers, riffling through our shared closet, quickly fingering over the expensive clothes he was finding within.

  

Then he searched the bed-stands, discovering both our jewel cases, which he spotlessly cleaned out!

 

He even pocketed my small gold (plated) antique brush with the rhinestone handle!

  

The thief was cannily taking anything found that was small, shiny, easily carried, and of any possible value!!

  

He even managed to find the thin silver headband, the one set with pricey diamond chips, that my cousin had placed hidden at the bottom drawer of her lingerie cabinet!

  

I had convinced her not to wear it this evening, she had looked better in her bridal gown with her long red hair down and flowing free

  

And now she would never be wearing it again, and she had that blue satin sequined gown that went amazingly with it as she wore it to hold up her hair at the rehearsal dinner!

  

Actually that sleek blue gown was now lying in a glittery heap in the floor outside the closet. He had greedily yanked it out to make sure none of the sparkling his hungry eyes had drooled over were actual gems!

  

He had even shot me a look as he held up it in his touchy paws to see if I was flinching to indicate that it may be valuable enough to steal.

 

At my lifeless blank stare, he just grunted and tossed it down in a heap!

 

For some reason my heart had sunk piercingly lower at his discovery of the glittery silver headband even more than it had been doing while I watched him looting our room.

  

When he had finished, he went and stood over me

  

“Anything I missed luv?!” he demanded loudly!

  

Startled, I couldn’t help myself.

  

He saw me glance over to my pillow

  

The unethical stinker!

  

“Thought so!” he said preening with satisfaction at his tomfololery!

  

I deflatedy cringed as directly he went over to my bed, bending over over and lifting my plum satin coverlet and picking up the matching pillow.

 

He grasped up the long thin silk purple slip I was wearing for a night gown and looked underneath !

 

He cackled as he plucked up greedily, the small black velvet satchel that had been hidden underneath my night gown.

  

He walked it over and emptied it onto his palm before my puppy sad eyes!

 

I tearfully watched as my pearls, my beautiful set of gleaming white pearls, spilled out onto his eager hand as he whistled his triumphant find!

  

Now my heart really plummeted !

 

The greedy, unscrupulous bastard, he had now taken everything with any value that I owned from me and our bedroom!

  

Then he added his insult to the already deep injury

  

Leaning over me, looking at me dead in the eye..

 

Been ever so nice doing business with you, luv!”

 

He smirked while as he stuffed my pearls roughly inside his pocket, then he slid his fingers along my shoulder and down my tied up taffeta clad arm as I twitched, wallowing in misery...!!

  

“Where did you come from?” I Irrationally tried to asked, again my words muffled by the gag!

  

He was watching me struggle to speak...

  

And once again he answered my unspoken question...

  

“Followed you from the hotel now didn’t we !” , he said mysteriously as he put on a houndstooth sport jacket.

  

Then he backed out the door closing it,

I could hear feet rapidly going down the stairs.

   

Stiff with fright I jumped as a door slams from above

  

Squirming I managed to quickly undo my tied wrists, silk does not make for solid knots, but then he probably knew that!

  

It was as I untied my gag, that I coldly realized I had not actually seen the pistol.

  

“Twit!” I said admonishing myself

  

That was because he had had no pistol!

  

The bastard had used only his index finger to utterly fool me into compliancy because I believed he had one!!

  

Rising I went upstairs to the door leading to the dock stairs.

 

I should warn her , if she was still setting there on the bench waiting for my return!

  

Too late, I saw him head down the stairs to the landing.

  

The lady on the bench rose, diamonds and emeralds rippling a sparkling riot of fire along around her wrist as she walked up to join him, hugging!

  

She was in on it, had planned this, had set me up in their fiendishly evil trap!

  

She must have been coming down to wait and meet up with her partner once he was done burgling the cottage bedrooms!

  

Then she had spied me surpriseingly alone , all dressed up and sitting there by my myself!

  

What a sweetly plump lamb I must have looked under her wolffish gaze.

  

All she had to do was simply figure out a way to get this shimmering bird to go alone into the house where her partner was busy looting the bedrooms of guests staying there of their jewels !

  

And she had decided the ones I had been wearing were to be added into that loot!

  

She must have been laughing at how easy it had been to trick me into walking into the trap!

  

And the emeralds/diamonds jewelry she was wearing?

  

I had suddenly just then remembered , She had not been wearing my any jewelry, when she first approached me!!!

  

She had been flaunting it, why?

  

A cold realization finally pierced through the fog of my memory!

  

They were from the collection of jewelry my cousin had been wearing! Not the bride, but her younger, green satin siren gowned, sister!

  

The cretins must have surreptitiously (hopefully)removed them from her!

  

In my minds eye I briefly had a picture of how easily it would have been to stoke the vain ego of my overly dressed flashy young cousin, with her upper levels typically arrogant manner, in order to get her to willingly, literally be played into their hands !!!

  

Shuddering I watched with falling heart as arm in arm the scoundrels turned a corner and I soon saw a punt appear, with him earnestly rowing away them both away!

   

I had my hand to my waist as I watched , then with icy cold revelation , suddenly I realized that my sash was gone!

  

I looked down, with it the also was gone the brilliantly shimmering broach he had promised not to touch, but he had not promised to not touch my sash !

   

The cold jellied eel like turd had done it as he had been patting me down. And while behind me, fondling me to distraction, his eyes were on another prize!

  

He flagrantly had white lied to me and untied the sash , unnoticed by me, had slipped it off from my around my waist.

  

Untying it it with his left hand and pulling it off as he was distracting me by pawing and trying to grope my private bits with his right !

  

The devil had fooled me entirely, for I had believed his fondling of me had been for his self pleasure, but it had been entirely for the self gain of my valuably gemmed one of a kind broach!!

  

No wonder he had appeared to be so thoroughly loving his work!

  

Damn fool I am

  

I placed a hand to my neck, ears, looked down wrist and fingers.. all of my pretty jewels were gone, going away with the thief as he escaped with his bulging pockets!!

  

Then I again felt my waistline, hoping I was wrong!

 

I wasn’t !!!

  

If I had noticed I pondered, felt him untying it from around my waist ?

 

Caught red handed, would he then have stopped his pickpocketing? I tried to reason,

  

“Twit !” I called myself again, “ He wouldn’t have stopped taking the sash. But then he may have demanded I strip and hand over my sumptuous party dress just to be a pisser for my cheekiness !!!”

  

“But it was all of no use! I hadn’t caught on to his cruel deception, and now the pair of thieves were making off with the jewels, all of my…and our guests , expensively pretty jewels!”

  

“Never trust a bloody thief!”

  

I thought sarcastically as I watched the pair of em disappearing into the mist that was rising on the evil appearing black water of the lake, rowing past the lake small island!

  

It was then I finally found my tongue and screamed the alarm!

 

With that I managed to wake myself up from the paralyzingly wicked, far too realistic, nightmare I had been caught up in while asleep, tangled up in my covers !!

 

Fini

 

For the first churchly visit of that November 2023 trip to the southern French provinces of Roussillon and Languedoc, I will treat you to a truly unique place, the so-called “priory” of Serrabone, which features an absolute world-class masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture: its tribune.

 

I said “so-called” above because a priory, in the genuine acception of the word, is a secondary monastery established by an abbey. It is populated by monks sent by that abbey. Those monks are led by a prior, whose superior is the abbot of the founding abbey. In the case of Serrabone, there first was a late Carolingian parochial church established in this mountainous locale and first mentioned in writing in 1069. The walls of the nave are, for some part, still those of that ancient church.

 

It was then, at a time when local lords used to meddle more and more in the affairs of the Church (which was one of the reasons that prompted the coming of the Gregorian reform), that the viscount of Cerdagne and the local lord of Corsavy installed on the Serrabone mountaintop an unusually mixed group of canons and canonesses to live in accordance with the Augustinian Rule.

 

A new college church was built (mostly by enlarging the previous one) and consecrated in 1151. Its architecture is harmonious but very simple, as one would expect: in the Middle Ages, those mountains were populated (hence the creation of the parish) and did feed their inhabitants (serra bona in Catalan means “good mountain”), but there was precious little commerce with the outside world and the locals had nothing of real value to export. Therefore, the local economy was pretty much a closed circuit and money was far from flowing in abundantly. The style of the church, even though there were donations from the aforementioned lords, reflects this paucity of financial resources.

 

It is therefore a total mystery how the magnificent sculpted tribune, which would have cost a veritable fortune, was funded, and by whom. Nothing has ever been demonstrated in that matter, although many have conjectured in various directions. The only certainty we have is that it was built around the time when the church itself was completed, i.e., the mid–1150s.

 

The culmination of the “priory” did not last very long: canons and canonesses are not monks and nuns, their commitment is found throughout history and places to be much less strong, and by the late 1200s they had already broken communal life and begun to live in their own separate homes. Decadence went to such extremes that the “priory” was secularized by the pope in the 16th century and made a dependency of the chapter of the cathedral of Solsona. The last “prior” died in 1612 and the church returned to its simple parochial status.

 

The place was progressively abandoned as people left the mountains to go live easier lives in the valleys. It was almost in ruins when it was listed as a Historic Landmark in 1875 and the restoration began. Fortunately, the tribune had been protected and its capitals and columns hidden by the locals.

 

Those of you who will say “We have already seen this one!” like they spot twice-used footage in a movie are right, and I congratulate them for being so attentive!

 

I admit I unashamedly post a black-and-white version of an earlier color photograph of the underside of the Serrabone tribune —tell me which one you like best! Personally, I like both versions very much: the color version gives you additional information which is important and an integral part of the experience, but the black-and-white one retains, I feel, more “mystery” and ambiance, leaving more to the imagination...

The soaring neo-Gothic façade and central tower of Barcelona Cathedral, completed in 1913, are not medieval but deeply expressive of their time. Funded by banker and politician Manuel Girona i Agrafel, the additions reflected a blend of personal piety, civic ambition, and the prestige of beautifying Barcelona’s religious heart.

 

They were also aligned with the Renaixença, Catalonia’s late 19th-century cultural revival, which viewed Gothic architecture as a distinctly Catalan inheritance. Re-Gothicizing the cathedral wrapped modern identity in the spiritual grandeur of the past—an act of both nostalgia and assertion.

 

While the nave, apse, and cloister are genuinely medieval, the façade and tower are authentic to the Gothic Revival moment: not the product of medieval faith, but of Romantic historicism.

 

As with Viollet-le-Duc’s Notre-Dame in Paris, they reflect the modern impulse to reclaim and reimagine the sacred.

(Chat GPT)

 

The city of Barcelona must have received the light of Christian faith very early on. The martyrdoms of Saint Eulalia and Saint Cucuphas during the Diocletianic Persecution bear witness to the existence of Christians in Barcelona at least by the late 3rd and early 4th centuries.

 

Unfortunately, we have no historically proven records of the ecclesiastical organization of our dioceses until 343, when Bishop Praetextatus of Barcelona and another five bishops of Hispania attended the Council of Sardica to ratify the provisions set forth in the Ecumenical Council of Nicea (325) as to the divinity of Jesus Christ.

 

Certain solidly grounded conjectures lead us to believe that Barcelona already had an Episcopal temple or Cathedral at that time, which would be used soon thereafter for pastoral ministry by other key bishops of our diocese: Saint Pacian (390), Lampius (400), Nundinarius (461), Nebridius (540), Ugne (599), Severus (633), Quiricus (656), Idalici (688), Laülf (693), Frodoí (890), etc. In the year 599 our Cathedral appears in a document dedicating it to the Holy Cross (Second Council of Barcelona).

 

Recent excavations of the substrata of the Carrer dels Comtes of Barcelona (which currently runs along the Eastern wall of the Cathedral) brought to light a building comprising three naves separated by two series of white marble columns. This undoubtedly identifies with the paleo-Christian basilica constructed in the 4th century and ennobled by subsequent bishops over seven centuries despite the difficulties caused by the Arian fight

 

That early basilica solemnly housed the relics of Saint Eulalia in one of its chapels, hidden to avoid profanation by the Arab invaders of our peninsula (711). In 877 they were miraculously discovered at the temple of Santa María de les Arenes (or Santa María del Mar).

 

The primitive Cathedral, profoundly affected when the Arab chieftain Almanzor burned and destroyed the city, remained standing until 1046, when the Count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer the Old and his wife Almodis, together with Bishop Guislabert, commenced construction of another Cathedral, called the Romanesque Cathedral. That second Cathedral was consecrated on 18 November 1058 by the Archbishop Wilfred of Narbonne.

 

The Gothic Cathedral we have today was built on the foundations of the primitive paleo-Christian basilica and the subsequent Romanesque Cathedral. Construction commenced on 1 May 1298 during the mandate of Bishop Bernardo Pelegrí and the reign of King James II of Aragon, the Just, and was virtually completed by the mid-15th century, under the mandate of Bishop Francisco Clemente Sapera and the rule of King Alfonso V of Aragon.

 

Three distinct periods can be defined within the 150 years of construction: in the first, the building was planned and the apse and radial chapels were built, as were the presbytery – with its altar and crypt- and the pseudo transept; afterward, the three naves, with their respective lateral chapels, were extended back to the choir; finally, construction of the basilica continued to the façade, which was later closed with a simple wall (1417). The Cloister was finished in 1448.

 

At the end of the 19th century, the Barcelona industrialist Manuel Girona Agrafel offered to undertake the work on the façade and on the two side towers, in keeping with the plans drawn up by the architect Josep O. Mestres and inspired by the initial 15th-century project. Mr Girona’s children finalized their father’s work in 1913 on completion of the cimborio.

 

catedralbcn.org/en/the-cathedral/history/

  

The Cathedral of Barcelona comprises three naves [1], but just a single apse [2] and ambulatory [3]. The naves have five sections: that closest to the façade is the longest in order to accommodate the dimensions of the cimborio [4], which is adjacent to the main entrance.

 

The typical structure used in Catalan Gothic constructions, arranged to permit use of the spaces within the buttresses [5], allowed rows of secondary chapels [6] to be opened up in the Cathedral. There are two chapels in each section of the naves, encircling the entire basilica [7.]

 

Two large bell towers [8]are located at the ends of the section nearest to the presbytery [9], with no side chapels. One of the towers is over the door of Saint Ivo and the other is over the interior entryway to the Cloister [10]. On the basilica’s terraces, these towers are octagonal with a prismatic body used for the stairways, which are built into the towers (1386–1393 and 16th century).

 

Large windows open up onto the radial chapels [11] of the ambulatory, illuminating the presbytery. In the lateral naves, a tall, windowed gallery runs above the chapels on the outer wall of the basilica. A small triforium [12] runs around the central nave and the presbytery near the dome [13].

  

Footnotes

 

1. [Nave – The central part of a church building, intended to accommodate most of the congregation. It is usually flanked by aisles.] ↩

 

2. [Apse – A semicircular or polygonal termination to the choir or sanctuary, usually at the eastern end of a church.] ↩

 

3. [Ambulatory – A covered passage around the apse and choir of a church, often providing access to chapels.] ↩

 

4. [Cimborio – A Spanish term referring to the lantern or tower situated over the crossing of a church, often allowing light into the space below.] ↩

 

5. [Buttress – A projecting support built against an external wall, often to counteract the lateral thrust of a vault or roof.] ↩

 

6. [Chapel – A small area within a church, usually set aside for private prayer or dedicated to a particular saint.] ↩

 

7. [Basilica – A type of building with a central nave and aisles, originally Roman and later adopted for Christian worship. In this context, it refers to the architectural form rather than a church's official rank.] ↩

 

8. [Bell tower – A tower housing one or more bells, typically part of or adjacent to a church.] ↩

 

9. [Presbytery – The part of a church reserved for the clergy, located near the altar and often within the apse.] ↩

 

10. [Cloister – A covered walkway, often forming a quadrangle, found in monastic and cathedral settings, linking the church to other buildings.] ↩

 

11. [Radial chapel – A chapel that radiates out from the ambulatory around the apse, typically found in large churches or cathedrals.] ↩

 

12. [Triforium – A shallow arched gallery within the thickness of an inner wall, above the nave arcade and below the clerestory.] ↩

 

13. [Dome – A rounded vault forming the roof of a building or structure, typically with a circular base.] ↩

catedralbcn.org/en/the-cathedral/building/

 

St Mary's Church, Fetcham, Surrey, England is a Church of England parish church (community) but also refers to its building which dates to the 11th century, that of the Norman Conquest and as such is the settlement's oldest building. It is set off the residential road of its address, The Ridgeway, behind a small park, in the suburban part of the largely 20th century railway settlement adjoining the M25 London Orbital Motorway which has retained farmed rural outskirts. The closest secular building is Grade II* listed Fetcham Park House, which is in the same architectural category and the church has an adjoining church hall.

Built during Anglo-Saxon and early Norman periods, the structure has been conjectured by the Victoria County History's architectural analysis to have been a redevelopment of an Anglo-Saxon church:

 

Roman bricks in considerable quantities in Fetcham Church, remains of Anglo-Saxon architecture in the church...

...quoins and dressings of thin red bricks, no doubt Roman, set in wide mortar joints.

 

Traces of its long past exist in many parts of its structure. These include the south-west quoin of the nave, and a single splay window high on the south wall with traces of Roman brick, as well as arches which fit with the architecture prevailing before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

 

In the 19th century a considerable amount of restoration and improvement in the church was carried out by Rev. Sir Edward Moon rector from 1854 to 1904. Moon inherited his baronetcy in 1871 on the death of his father Sir Francis Moon, 1st Baronet, who was commemorated in much of the restoration work in the church.

 

The structure gained listed status in 1951, has some stained glass windows, and is classed as Grade II*.

An Alien Lost in Space

 

Description: Definitely a member of the order Diptera, suborder Nematocera, infraorder Culicomorpha, superfamily Chironomoidea and family Chironomidae. Beyond here are dangerous grounds. Chironominae as a subfamily is the most probable bet, and I'm almost willing to place my hand in the fire on this. Cesar of Insetologia thinks the same. The fauna of Chironomids of Ceará in Brazil are very little studied as shown in the link gifted by Cesar: sites.google.com/site/brazilianchironomids/checklist-braz...

 

Guessing by the fauna of São Paulo, courtesy of Cesar (sites.google.com/site/brazilianchironomids/checklist-braz...), we have something in or close to the genus Axarus based on the other species of the genus (www.pbase.com/tmurray74/image/107284264). So, if we would risk and risk again, Chironomini would be the most probable tribe and the genus Axarus looks close to the individual portrayed.

 

These are all conjectures with no certainties. Perhaps, though, this will aid in finding the true identity in the future. For now, this will be left as unidentified until further notice. Here is the article on Insetologia: www.insetologia.com.br/2018/05/mosquito-quironomideo-no-c...

 

As I mentioned in the text in the website above, Pseudochironomini and Tanytarsini also left me in doubt. So there are no guarantees below family level, although there are even less guarantees below subfamily level. For now, I believe the subfamily is correct but will also leave it as doubtful.

 

Chironomids do not bite. They lack the mouthparts and wing scales of the Culicids.

 

The subject portrayed is a female, as can be noted from the lack of plumose antennae, which males possess, and had a body length of approximately 2mm. Chironomids are also poorly known as they are incredibly difficult to identify, with some species being identifiable through cytogenetic analysis of the polytene chromosomes.

 

The larvae are aquatic or semiaquatic and can be found in puddles left on dead leaves, in the holes of trees, puddles left on the leaves of plants, puddles in the soil and puddles in artificial objects and places. Some species of Chironomids do not feed, while others do. The ones that feed will feed on fly droppings, nectar, pollen, honeydew and various sugar-rich materials. Sugar gives energy which allows them to fly longer.

 

Their importance on pollination is discussed. But the proteins and other nutrients in the pollen, in comparison to nectar, might contribute to the success of the females' reproductive capacities. Both the larvae and the pupae are important food to many fishes and many other aquatic organisms. These aquatic organisms include Hemipterans in the families Nepidae, Notonectidae and Corixidae in their aquatic phases. Water beetles in Dytiscidae and Hydrophillidae, birds, bats, Odonata and Empidids also feed on them. They are important bioindicators of the presence or absence of pollutants. This is due to them being more tolerant to polluted water and are often one of the few organisms encountered in such situations. The larvae of a few genera of Chironomids possess hemoglobin, which fixates the oxygen in the water with ease and allows the larvae to stay more time submerged.

 

The subject portrayed was found in an urban habitat in the 16th floor of a flat.

 

Source:

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chironomidae

 

eol.org/pages/482/overview

 

You can find my picture here, in Planeta Invertebrados, where I allowed the owner to post it for environmental education: www.planetainvertebrados.com.br/index.asp?pagina=especies...

 

PROJECT NOAH (Português): www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1106960195

Cooks' Cottage,

noto anche come Captain Cook's Cottage, si trova nei Fitzroy Gardens.

Il cottage fu costruito nel 1755 nel villaggio inglese di Great Ayton, nel North Yorkshire, dai genitori del capitano James Cook, James e Grace Cook.

Fu portato a Melbourne nel 1934 dal filantropo australiano Sir Russell Grimwade.

È un punto di congettura tra gli storici se James Cook, il famoso navigatore, abbia mai vissuto nella casa, ma quasi certamente andò a trovare i suoi genitori nella casa.

L'interno del cottage comprende oggetti d'antiquariato secolari ed è stilizzato in stile settecentesco, così come gli abiti delle guide volontarie.

Nel 1933, la proprietaria del cottage decise di venderlo a condizione che l'edificio rimanesse in Inghilterra.

È stata convinta a cambiare "Inghilterra" in "Impero" e ha accettato un'offerta australiana di £ 800 da Russell Grimwade.

Il cottage è stato smontato mattone dopo mattone e imballato in 253 casse e 40 barili per la spedizione a bordo della Port Dunedin da Hull . Anche i ritagli di edera che adornavano la casa furono presi e piantati quando la casa fu ricostruita a Melbourne.

Grimwade, un noto uomo d'affari e filantropo, donò la casa al popolo di Victoria per il centenario dell'insediamento di Melbourne nell'ottobre 1934.

 

Cooks' Cottage,

also known as Captain Cook's Cottage, is located in Fitzroy Gardens. The cottage was built in 1755 in the English village of Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, by Captain James Cook's parents, James and Grace Cook.

It was brought to Melbourne in 1934 by Australian philanthropist Sir Russell Grimwade.

It is a point of conjecture among historians whether James Cook, the famous navigator, ever lived in the house, but he almost certainly visited his parents in the house.

The interior of the cottage includes centuries-old antiques and is stylized in an eighteenth-century style, as are the clothes of the volunteer guides.

In 1933, the owner of the cottage decided to sell it on the condition that the building remain in England.

She was persuaded to change "England" to "Empire" and accepted an Australian offer of £800 from Russell Grimwade.

The cottage was dismantled brick by brick and packed in 253 crates and 40 barrels for shipment aboard the Port Dunedin from Hull. The ivy cuttings that adorned the house were also taken and planted when the house was rebuilt in Melbourne.

Grimwade, a well-known businessman and philanthropist, donated the house to the people of Victoria for the centenary of the settlement of Melbourne in October 1934.

 

IMG_9392m

For the first churchly visit of that November 2023 trip to the southern French provinces of Roussillon and Languedoc, I will treat you to a truly unique place, the so-called “priory” of Serrabone, which features an absolute world-class masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture: its tribune.

 

I said “so-called” above because a priory, in the genuine acception of the word, is a secondary monastery established by an abbey. It is populated by monks sent by that abbey. Those monks are led by a prior, whose superior is the abbot of the founding abbey. In the case of Serrabone, there first was a late Carolingian parochial church established in this mountainous locale and first mentioned in writing in 1069. The walls of the nave are, for some part, still those of that ancient church.

 

It was then, at a time when local lords used to meddle more and more in the affairs of the Church (which was one of the reasons that prompted the coming of the Gregorian reform), that the viscount of Cerdagne and the local lord of Corsavy installed on the Serrabone mountaintop an unusually mixed group of canons and canonesses to live in accordance with the Augustinian Rule.

 

A new college church was built (mostly by enlarging the previous one) and consecrated in 1151. Its architecture is harmonious but very simple, as one would expect: in the Middle Ages, those mountains were populated (hence the creation of the parish) and did feed their inhabitants (serra bona in Catalan means “good mountain”), but there was precious little commerce with the outside world and the locals had nothing of real value to export. Therefore, the local economy was pretty much a closed circuit and money was far from flowing in abundantly. The style of the church, even though there were donations from the aforementioned lords, reflects this paucity of financial resources.

 

It is therefore a total mystery how the magnificent sculpted tribune, which would have cost a veritable fortune, was funded, and by whom. Nothing has ever been demonstrated in that matter, although many have conjectured in various directions. The only certainty we have is that it was built around the time when the church itself was completed, i.e., the mid–1150s.

 

The culmination of the “priory” did not last very long: canons and canonesses are not monks and nuns, their commitment is found throughout history and places to be much less strong, and by the late 1200s they had already broken communal life and begun to live in their own separate homes. Decadence went to such extremes that the “priory” was secularized by the pope in the 16th century and made a dependency of the chapter of the cathedral of Solsona. The last “prior” died in 1612 and the church returned to its simple parochial status.

 

The place was progressively abandoned as people left the mountains to go live easier lives in the valleys. It was almost in ruins when it was listed as a Historic Landmark in 1875 and the restoration began. Fortunately, the tribune had been protected and its capitals and columns hidden by the locals.

 

Capitals of the tribune. The quality of the sculpture is truly stunning.

 

I have made black-and-white versions of some of these shots and I will upload them as well, so you can see if you too believe that “color detracts from the substance”, as my old master dom Angelico, osb, used to say.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thatta

 

Thatta (Sindhi: ٺٽو, Urdu: ٹھٹہ) is a historic town of 220,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments especially its necropolis at Makli are listed among the World Heritage Sites.[1] The Shah Jahan Mosque is also listed separately on the tentative list since 1993.[2] Located 62 miles (98 kilometeres) east of the provincial capital of Sindh; Karachi, it makes for a practical escape for people from the city seeking to visit the picturesque old town.

  

HistoryThe city, formerly commanding the delta of the Indus, was the capital of Lower Sindh from the 14th century. During the ruling period of Soomro Tribe Thatta was the capital of Sindh for 95 years. Between 1592-1739, it was governed in the name of the Mughal emperors of Delhi. In 1739 however following the Battle of Karnal the province was ceded to Nadir Shah of Persia, after which Thatta fell into neglect.

 

Thatta may be the site of ancient Patala,the main port on the Indus in the time of Alexander the Great. Siltation has caused the Indus to change its course many times since the days of Alexander, and the site of Patala has been subject to much conjecture. Ahmad Hasan Dani, director of the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations, Islamabad, concluded: “There has been a vain attempt to identify the city of Patala. If ‘Patala’ is not taken as a proper name but only refers to a city, it can be corrected to ‘Pattana’, that is, city or port city par excellence, a term applied in a later period to Thatta, which is ideally situated in the way the Greek historians describe”.[3]

 

The geographer Strabo (c.64 BC–c.24 AD) had said: “The Indus falls into the southern sea by two mouths, encompassing the country of Patalênê, which resembles the Delta in Egypt”.[4] He noted: “All these [nations] were conquered by Alexander, and last of all he reduced Patalênê, which the Indus forms by splitting into two branches… Patalênê contains a considerable city, Patala, which gives its name to the island”.[5] In the late second century BC Agatharchides of Cnidus recorded merchants from Patala, or as he called it, “Potana”, coming to the island of Socotra to trade with Alexandrian merchants.

  

SightsThatta's monuments include the Jama Mosque (also Shah Jahan Mosque and Badshahi Mosque), built by Shah Jahan in 1647-49 and lined with glazed tiles. This edifice has 101 domes and is designed in such a way that imam's voice can reach every corner of this building without the help of any loudspeaker or other device. There are also the tombs of Jam Nizamuddin, Satihoo Seven Soomro Sisters (reigned in 1461-1509), several Tarkhan rulers and Mughal officials. A vast old necropolis with thousands of graves may be found at the nearby Makli Hills.

 

Thatta is historically an important region of Sindh which has served as a centre of literature, religious ideologies and socio political clashes. Makli, the heart of interior Sindh is counted among one of the largest necropolis in the world. Located a few kilometers away from Thatta. Makli is a vibrant archaeological site in Pakistan; it covers about 15-1/2 square kilometers. The mausoleums and [[tombs in Makli are one of the greatest ruins of Sindh and also dictate a lot about Sindh's communal structure from 14 to 18th century. Apart from the mausoleums of Jam Nizam al-Din and Jan Beg Takhan, Makli has undertaken a lot of Sufis, warriors, poets, intellectuals. The artistic monuments at Makli show proof of Islamic ideologies and the Hindu mythology.

 

The huge graves are made of solid rock and the mosuleums of the sun baked brick with different kinds of Quranic verses embossed on them. Another historical landmark that resides in Thatta is the Shah Jahan Masjid built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. This mosque was built on the orders of Shah Jahan, for the people of Thatta because they welcomed him with open hearts when his father died.

 

The Shah Jahan Mosque is a great example of highly defined tile work. In total this mosque has 33 arches and 93 domes which are of different sizes which adds the flavor to its beauty. White and Blue tiles of glowing texture have been put together in such a manner that it looks like a beautiful mosaic. The most surprising fact about this mega structure is that unlike other Mughal buildings such as Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, this building has negligible amount of pink sandstone in it. The characteristic that makes this mosque unique is that it has no minarets in it and it only has one dome which lies in the central prayer hall.

   

2010 Pakistan flood

In August 2010 Thatta was one of the worst affected districts of Pakistan as a result of devastating floods. The sea was on high tide when flooded river water reached it multiplying the damage manifold. By August 28, 175,000 people had left their homes due to another levee being breached and forced to camp on the main road under open sky.

 

Parámetros :: Parameters :: Paramètres: Fuji FinePix SL1000 ; ISO 400; 0 ev; f3.2; 1/220 s; 4.3 mm Fuji Lens.

 

Título :: Title :: Titre ::: Fecha (Date): Mujer con rojo :: Woman with red :: Femme avec du rouge ::: 2016/01/01 10:38

Palabras Clave, Keywords: León, España, Calle, Húmedo, Mujer, Gente, Spain, Streets, Damp, Woman, People, Gens, Espagne, Humide, Rues, Femme.

 

(Es). Historia: León. España. Primer día del año; a la búsqueda de imágenes de personas que aún no se han acostado. Primer paseo con Fray en el 2016. Ya por aquellas fechas pensaba que iba a ser complicado que aquellos que tienen un sueldo mensual por encima de los 4.000,00 € tuvieran prisa en perderlos. Los partidos no pactan para gobernar. Ninguno de ellos, ni de sus dirigentes hacen caso a las urnas. El Soberano, nosotros, hemos dicho que no queremos otra cosa que no sea entenderse entre todos. Ellos a sus sillas y sillones, a sus discursos y visiones, a sus sueldos y descansadas vidas, a sus apariciones en los medios con corbata o remangados, a seguir tomándonos el pelo tanto los viejos como los nuevos. Los charlatanes se están apropiando del debate político. Triste temporada en España.

 

Sigo caminando y hoy estoy a finales de Marzo. Nuestros políticos/chamanes siguen igual. Pero hay mas refugiados queriendo tener simplemente una vida posible y temporal en Europa para volver cuando antes a su país; pero los políticos/chamanes europeos prefieren venderlos a buen precio a un tercero. Hay más muertos en atentados cometidos inevitablemente por estúpidos trastornados que no tendrán otro futuro que ser vencidos por la cordura con defectos, pero cordura al fin y al cabo… aunque nos vaya la vida en ello.

 

Toma: He quedado con un amigo en la Plaza de la Catedral y subo calle arriba con la cámara dispuesta a trabajar. Me adelante con paso urgente una mujer con bolso rojo, cigarro en mano y caminar desgarbado… poco estilosa. Cabizbaja la supongo cansada de la fiesta que va terminando. Ella va y otros dos vienen; espero a tenerlos casi a la misma altura.

 

Tratamiento: Con Lightroom. Original en RAW. Recorto la imagen en un formato más panorámico y encuadrando las líneas de fuga del suelo. Reduzco la intensidad de color manteniendo los rojos tenuemente, marcando ligeramente las alfombras navideñas y el bolso de la mujer. Aumento el enfoque, pero al mismo tiempo reduzco el detalle intentando empastar algunas zonas como si fuera un trazo aleatorio de acuarela sobre ciertas partes mínimas de la imagen. Bordes a sangre sin viñeta.

 

¡Eso es todo amigos!

 

(En). The History: León. Spain. First day of the year; to meet images of people still they have not slept. First ride in Leon Fray in 2016. Already at that time thought it would be complicated to those who have a monthly salary above € 4.000,00 were in a hurry to lose. The parties do not compromise to govern. Neither they nor their leaders ignore the polls. The Sovereign, ourselves, say we are not willing to anything that is not understood by all. Them to their chairs and armchairs, their speeches and visions, their salaries and rested lives, their media appearances to tie or rolled up, to keep teasing us both the old parties and new. Quacks are appropriating the political debate. Sad season in Spain.

 

I keep walking and I'm late March today. Our politicians / shamans continue with their very good life. But there are more refugees wanting to simply have a possible temporary life in Europe and to return to his country as before; but politicians / European shamans prefer to sell at a good price to a third party. There are more deaths in attacks committed by stupid inevitably upset that no other future will be overcome by our defective reason, but reason to after all ... though we go life in it.

 

Taking up: I've been shot with a friend in the Cathedral Square and climb up the street with the camera ready to work. Suddenly I see urgent step forward me a woman with red bag, cigar in hand and walk ... with little ungainly style. The crestfallen guess the party winds down tired. She and two others will come; I hope to have them almost at the same height.

 

Treatment: With Lightroom. Original in RAW. Cut out the image in a widescreen format and framing creepage ground. I reduce the color intensity tenuously holding red, slightly marking the Christmas carpets and bag woman. Increase focus, but at the same time we reduce the detail, trying to density to some areas like a random stroke watercolor on certain minimum parts of the image. Without vignette edges.

 

That's all folks !!

 

(Fr). Histoire: León. L'Espagne. Jour de l'An; pour répondre à des images de personnes encore ils n'ont pas dormi. Première promenade à Leon Fray en 2016. Déjà à cette époque pensait que ce serait compliqué à ceux qui ont un salaire supérieur à € 4.000,00 étaient pressés de perdre. Les parties ne compromettent pas à gouverner. Ni eux, ni leurs dirigeants ignorent les sondages. Le souverain, nous, dire que nous ne sommes pas disposés à quoi que ce soit qui ne soit pas comprise par tous. Eux à leurs chaises et fauteuils, leurs discours et leurs visions, leurs salaires et reposé vie, leurs apparitions dans les médias pour attacher ou enroulées, pour nous garder les deux vieux partis et de nouvelles taquineries. Les charlatans s'approprient le débat politique. Saison Sad en Espagne.

 

Je garde la marche et je suis en retard Mars aujourd'hui. Nos politiciens / chamans continuent avec leur très bonne vie. Mais il y a plus de réfugiés qui veulent simplement avoir une vie temporaire possible en Europe et de revenir dans son pays comme avant; mais les politiciens / chamans européens préfèrent vendre à un bon prix à un tiers. Il y a plus de morts dans des attentats commis par des stupides inévitablement bouleversé qu'aucun autre avenir sera surmonté par notre raison défectueuse, mais la raison d'après tout ... mais nous allons la vie en elle.

 

Prendre: On m'a tiré dessus avec un ami dans la place de la cathédrale et monter la rue avec l'appareil photo prêt à fonctionner. Tout à coup, je vois pas d'urgence transmettre moi une femme avec un sac rouge, cigare à la main et de marcher ... avec peu de style disgracieuse. La conjecture penaud le parti Lancien fatigué. Elle et deux autres viendront; J'espère les avoir presque à la même hauteur.

 

Traitement: Avec Lightroom. Original RAW. Découpez l'image dans un format écran large et d'encadrement sol Cheminement. Je réduis l'intensité des couleurs tenuously tenant rouge, marquant légèrement le tapis et sac femme de Noël. Mettre davantage l'accent, mais en même temps, nous réduisons le détail, en essayant de densité dans certaines zones, comme un accident vasculaire cérébral aquarelle aléatoire sur certaines parties minimales de l'image. Sans bords de vignette.

 

Voilà, c'est tout!

  

Chronicles of lifting Light B (Bridesmaids)

The alternate version of Chronicles of lifting Light C (The Reception Game)- Album

 

“ The wedding was a little over the top. The bride wanted her girl’s dresses to be something they would wear out again. A nice thought, but the gowns she found were a little too long for anything but formal evening wear, according to our girls who were asked to be part of the bridal party. The maid of honor wore a red satin version; midnight black satin was selected for the 6 bridesmaids.”

 

“A few years ago, “Ginny” was watching some type of show when I heard her squeal out. Our Golden Retriever ‘Sam’ meandered back in to see what all the fuss was about? I obediently followed. She pointed out to me an actress ( Emma Watson at the premier for NOAH) , That’s M’gown she exclaimed with enthusiasm, you remember, The ones your sister and I first wore for “Shiela’s” brides party, the one where your sister thought she had been ro… but she broke it off as something caught her attention on the telly.”

 

“Squirrel I thought, as Sam and I both looked. It was a black satin gown very strikingly similar in colour, cut, and material ( but Ginny’s version lacked a dangling train behind) to the one worn by Ginny ( and me sister) at thier chums wedding years before ( and winningly worn several times hence I might add). It is a pretty thing to behold my charming Ginny wearing it, and in its time, it has born witness to a few goings on that most ladies wearing a gown like that would most likely never encounter…….”

 

Chronicles of lifting Light B

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This story is true, and is really pretty much told as it happened, but in writing it down for the first time ever I found I could not resist the temptation to embellish and expand some of the scenarios. It makes for a much better story I believe.

 

It is long, so here goes it….

 

My twin sister and our friend “Ginny” were invited to join in a school chums bridal party. The groom didn’t have enough to go around so my sister’s boyfriend “Brian” and I were pressed into service.

 

At the reception Ginny made a comment about the flimsy clasps on the longish rhinestone earrings they were wearing. My sister, touching an earring, told her, “ no worries, luv, no one would nick them anyways, they are only rhinestones”. I wasn’t sure what was going on in my sister’s head that made her come out with that reply. But as I watched her pull at an earring, a seed was planted in my head about something I myself had seen in an old TV show (An episode that first wakened an interest in pickpocketing).

 

Much later that evening found Brian and I alone, and a little drunk (always a precarious time with us). I had been enjoying watching our girls on the dance floor. “Ginny” was dancing a slow dance with the brides Groom ( an awkward chap with the sometimes unfortunate name of Cecil), Sis was dancing with some boorish banker bloke whose name I choose not to remember. As I watched the girl’s swishing gowns move and flutter about in quite an interesting exhibition, I found meself mesmerized by the manner in which their display of jewels were sparkling. Not being able to shake Ginny’s earlier comment, nor its answer, out of my head, my mind began to drift and wander in some very deep waters; pulled about in some strong personal currents.

 

Suddenly, I had an epiphany, and I started to tell Brian about the show that had vexed me all these years past. It was an old Gilligan’s Island episode ( The Kidnapper). Ginger was dancing in formal wear with the thief they were trying to reform. He lifted up her long hair, exposing these long diamonded earrings she was wearing. When he let her hair back down, gone went Ginger’s diamond Earrings.( he also nicked another ladies diamond necklace in a similarly devious fashion).

 

I had been thinking about it, and saw that this may be a prime opportunity to try and mimic what I had found so intriguing in my younger day’s ( is what happened to Ginger possible in real life?) and so I drew Brian’s attention to where my sister was dancing and intentionally pointed out her healthy collection of rhinestones ( the lot of matching sets the bride had picked out for her girls to wear with their silky gowns was a bit overkill in Brian’s opinion, a view not shared by me).

 

I decided then to plant my own seed, so I questioned out loud if it was possible to pickpocket jewelry in the manner the thief in Gilligan’s Island had so cunningly carried out? We discussed it for bit, ending the friendly dispute that ensued by daring that the other couldn’t pull it off. I focused on my sister, because I figured that would be more of a tantalizing bait to dangle in front of Brian, who was horribly smitten with her, and I was right on the money! So my twin sister in the black satin gown and her rhinestones ended up being the preferred guinea pig for the goad.

 

Brian lost the toss and danced with her first,( happily cutting in on the banker fella) and was surprisingly as successful as he was swift. I watched as he swirled sis around the dance floor. For such a gig guy, “Brian” is surprisingly light on his feet, which is why in school he was an outstanding rugby player. I was watching eagerly, trying to guess what he was going after. His large hands began inching down her satin gown’s sleeves, so I was sure he was going for one of her dangling rhinestone bracelets.

 

He must have said something funny, for my sister raised her head back laughing, her long straight hair falling charmingly back, baring her throat to him. Brian’s hands moved back up, and in behind her throat. Then in a manner quite graceful for fingers that large, unclasped and slipped away the thin necklace from around her sweat glistened throat and pocketed it before she had finished her spurt of laughter. The song soon ended, and the pair of ‘em came back, Brian with a very smug grin on his bearded mug. He then took “Ginny” (who had just rejoined us after shaking off a seedy looking bloke who had wanted her to dance) by the hand and led her off dancing, his eyes taunting me to make my attempt.

 

Not to be outdone, I immediately led Sis back onto the floor before she had time to catch a breath. We danced to a rather Latin type beat. My sister turned her backside into me, and sort of did this gyrating move up and down my front side, with her hands held high above her head. As her warm, sweaty figure, slipped up and down slickly against mine, I looked things over, deciding on which of her remaining jewelry to target.

 

I started by placing my hands at her waist and let them slither up the silky sides of her satin gown, as I made my choice, one of her shimmering bracelets that were winking at me from her wrists waving above my head. With the prize within my grasp, I made my move. I found meself trembling a bit, as I moved my hands to her shoulders , with the thought bring down her arms in order to work my fingers down her gowns’ sleeve, where just below would be lying my objective. But just as I did, Sis pulled her arms behind me head, and laid her head back on my shoulder and closing her eyes, getting into the music’s deep beat. Her longish rhinestone earrings just hung there, like Gingers, ripe for the picking.

 

Without really putting any thought into it, I reached up and placed my hands gently alongside her ears, her eyes still shut, my victim smiled. The rest of the maneuver was surprisingly easy, as I glided my fingers down and slipped it off the pair of em in one effortless motion. The sparkling beauties came away from her sweaty ears as smoothly as an ice cube moves along a steaming hot grill ( I actually did have a thought like that). I held them in one fist for a bit, relishing in my success, before securing them away. We finished out the song, me basking in the fact that she was innocently unaware that her shiny earrings were now in her dance partners vest pocket.

 

But, not willing to be satisfied with the initial success of our experiment, we found that the dares kept coming out. Becoming so competitive between us, that by the time we left for the evening, the score was 5 pieces of jewelry to 4, with Brian winning the bragging rights, and my sister out all of the rhinestone pieces she had started out wearing about on her person.

 

Of course this is sounding like a masterful bit of pickpocketing, but our efforts were aided by keeping our pretty victim plied with alcohol ( wondering all the while if that is a technique is used by pickpockets working over their victims in real life?). Using that as an edge; another turn on the dance floor, a compliment induced hug, and the victim falling into deep sleep in a lounge armchair, enabled us vultures to eventually part my twin from all of her sparkling jewelry.

 

Also, as a side note here, all four of us had a discussion later about what it said of us as a society that none outside our group seemed to notice or bother pointing out to my sister about her slowly disappearing baubles!

 

We left the reception well after midnight and started walking the ten city blocks back to the hotel where Ginny and my sister shared a joining room with Brian and meself. As were making our way through a wooded Provincial park, we stopped in a small, isolated clearing and circling around her ,finally asked my sister about her missing jewels. Her reaction was absolutely, rewardingly priceless.

 

Her startled response was to the effect of: “Gasping, My God” as she fruitlessly felt about for them, her rustling gown glistened dark in the moon light. “My jewels, where did they go!, who took them, I’ve been robbed, mugged?” she pleaded helplessly, her thought patterns and speech a little slurred by her rather intoxicated condition. She looked desperately around at us, then seeing the look on upon our faces, and upon noticing that Ginny was still adorned with her jewels, Sis froze with the realization that we had all been up to something no good. As the silliness of her conjectures came home, she blushed, and told us to spill it out.

 

Here, we had all thought she had eventually caught on to what we had been up to all evening and was just humoring us, but in reality she had been utterly clueless. Ginny ( who had soon caught on to our little game but played dumb) was merciless in her teasing of my sister, rubbing it all in as she helped my twin place back on the Rhinestones that Brian and I dug from our pockets. I didn’t add any fuel to the fire, but I noticed that when Sis had uttered the word mugged, Ginny had automatically held onto her necklace and pendent!

Sis ended up taking it all with her usual good humor, or so we thought.

 

This next bit is my favorite.

 

We went up to the boys room, as the girls called our room, where we drank beer, danced to music and talked a bit. About two hours later found Brian passed out on the couch, and me sitting next to him in kind of a hazy stupor while holding onto a beer. Ginny and my sister were standing directly in front of me, holding beers of their own and giggling over some girlish nonsense, the swaying of their long glossy black satin gowns slowly putting me to sleep.

 

Ginny started giggling at one of sis jokes, and turned her figure so the brooch at the center of her gowns’ waistline almost hit me on the nose. Half asleep I reached up and lifted it. Looking up at the girls I saw that Ginny was paying no never mind towards me, my sister however, did notice (this is why I like the Sonia clip) and she laid a hand on Ginny’s shoulder, drawing her close so she could whisper a secret. I was able to undo the brooch, and slip it carefully off without notice. I held it up to my sister’s hand, which closed over it, and then she turned and plopped down next to me on the couch.

 

We both started talking to Ginny, now standing in front of us, as if nothing was going on. Puzzled I waited for my sister to flaunt the brooch in Ginny’s face. Instead, as she got Ginny into another giggling fit, she leaned over and whispered the word pendant in my ear, her hand holding out her own for added emphasis. I knew then she had thought up some grand plan.

 

Now wide awake, I got into fully my sister’s game. As I watched the giggling Ginny, my eyes took careful inventory of all her finer points (not just her jewels I will admit) . Now role playing that I was a professional pickpocket, and my twin was the spotter, pointing out whose jewels were worth taking. Ginny stopped, and caught my eyes looking her over, she blushed, and not knowing what was really going through my mind, smiled at me, as I smiled back, my eyes drinking her fetchingly attired figure up. I was imagining that all of Ginny’s collection of rhinestones was real diamonds. And that I was an actual thief after her lovely sparklers.

 

Thinking for a moment, I rose to my feet, and feeling like the real thing, I took Ginny’s hand and led her across to the window the couch was facing. We were on the 14th floor with a grand sweeping view of the great cities skyline. I asked her if she knew what the pink lights were about (there were no pink lights) and as she looked and kept asking where, I saw in the windows reflection that behind me my sister was pinning Ginny’s brooch onto the Brian’s passed out figure. Smiling, I got to the task at hand.

 

Using my hands I got Ginny to bend over more to help in her search, watching her dangling “diamond “ chain with its’ oval “diamond” pendent swinging an enticingly beckoning reflection in the window. I reached around with one hand and easily undid the clasp to poor befuddled Ginny’s chain. Using the pendants reflection in the window as a focal point, I subtly lowered my other hand underneath it, and as I caught it, let go of the chain. Pendent and chain slithered into a nice little pile in my palm, which I immediately closed up around it, hiding it from my victim’s possible notice.

 

I turned and nodded to my sister, who rose, tipsily, and slinked across the room to us. She brushed up against me with the pretense of seeing what we were up to. I felt her arm go around my waist, and handed Ginny’s necklace off. Sis than circled around us, giving Ginny a squeeze, and looked at me meaningfully, her fingers brushing an earring. She went back to the couch and began draping the shimmery chain and pendent on poor Brian.

 

A slow song had been playing, so I told Ginny to no never mind pink lights, and taking her hand, asked “madameswell” if she cared to dance. I tried it in an accent, failed miserably, and got Ginny to giggling as she accepted. I lead her the long way around the couch to where we had cleared out a little bit of a dancing floor. As I took her into my arms I found it exciting that she was oblivious to my intentions. Innocently unaware, that in indifference to my sisters words earlier, someone did now want to nick the earrings so merrily sawing from her ears.

 

I bided my time, appearing to look into Ginny’s eyes, my mind was working on something else. When I made my first move it was as subtle as could be, and it paid off. Raising me hand, I lifted her hair above an ear, and an let my fingers run back down through. One of her earrings vanished into my hand, and reaching around, was neatly tossed into another. As my sister placed it on Brian’s ear,( by now he was looking quite comical, and it was all we could do to keep from bursting out laughing), I leaned in and whispered something into Ginny’s now bare ear, while my other hand reached around and plucked the other earring away, and tossed the sparkler gracefully over to my sisters waiting hands.

 

Needing no more direction from sis now that I knew her plan ( It was her way of getting back at Brian for our game, and at Ginny for her teasing, it never occurred to me to wonder what my punishment would be!), I carried on alone.

 

Employing the same method that the thief had used in the Gilligan’s Island episode to remove his dance partners necklace, I began to compliment Ginny on how devastating she looked ( no lies), slowly moving my one hand up the slick material of the gown covering her back until I reached the dangling part of her hook and eye necklace with its’ glittering row of single “diamonds”. Lifted it up as she fawned over my words of (not false) praise, holding her ever so her tightly around the waist with my free hand, I unhooked the clasp, and let the necklace fall over one shoulder. Ginny never felt it hanging, or noticed it as I slipped it off her chest and over her gown’s satin shoulder till it slipped sparkling down behind her. I held it hanging behind her back for a few turns, still pouring out the compliments, until I was close enough to neatly toss her necklace over the couch to my waiting partner in crime.

 

Sis was waiting, and as the necklace sailed over the couch, I saw her raise a hand, and pull at one of her rings. How?, I mouthed, and she held up a finger motioning me to wait a sec. I continued to dance with Ginny, who was growing ever heavier in my arms, as sis placed the necklace around poor Brian’s throat.

 

I watched as me twin got up and passed us , her satin gown whispering as she walked, heading to get a beer from the fridge. She stood for a moment then gave me a signal to twirl our victim around.

 

I lifted her hand, and spun Ginny around in a pirouette . The poor thing, already more than a little tipsy, fell hard against me, giggling. I did it again, and as she stared to lose her balance, my sister walked past and faking a trip, bumped into Ginny and both girl’s went down in a heap of black swishing satin. As I bent over to help the pair of giggling dolls untangle, I manage to slip off a ring off from over the sweaty knuckles of Ginny’s left pinky finger.

 

I helped them both up, and as my sister helped straighten Ginny’s gown while giggling over the incident, Ginny placed her hands behind her back, exposing her bracelets. I pocketed the ring, and moving up against Ginny from behind, attempted to remove the first “Diamond” bracelet from around her wrist. It came away with absolutely no resistance, or notice, and I moved off, and went to stand next to my sister, hands crossed behind me back. She put her arm around me, hugging me against her, I felt her fingers go to my hand, and I opened my fingers and let her take the ring and bracelet. Keeping her fist closed, she coolly left us, retrieving her unopened beer from the floor, and headed back smoothly to the couch.

 

I will admit I was now getting overly confident. I asked Ginny if she wanted a beer and we went over to the kitchenette to get them. As we walked, I placed my hands on her slick waist and led her there, as she giggled tipsily the whole way. I held the door open, and as she was bending down to get them, she laid her arm along the top of the drawer. I then made my seventh attempt, on her other “Diamond” bracelet

 

I had undone the clasp, and was getting ready to take it when I made the fatal error at looking over her shoulder at the couch. My sister was inwardly laughing at her handiwork, and to see a person like Brien, who takes his masculinity with pride, now decked out like some bearded floozy, was too much. I chuckled, and the bracelet fell, clanking against the door, landing at Ginny’s feet. I was caught red handed and my attempt at any more thievery was thwarted. Ginny smirked; here now lad, don’t try yer games on me.

 

Behind her, Ginny head my sister snort, and looking at my smirk, demanded to know what we had found so funny. So I grabbed her, spun her around, and led her back around the couch until she caught sight of the still snoring Brian! We both joined my sister in busting a gut laughing. Then, come to find that poor innocent Ginny thought that it was my sister’s rhinestones plastered all over poor Brian. When we pointed out the errors of her conclusion, it was my sister’s turn to laugh and tease the poor girl over her dumbfounded expression as now it was her hands failing to find her missing pieces of jewelry. Then Brian woke and he became the new center of the joke.

 

Ginny had reclaimed her rhinestones and had disappeared into the ladies room to replace them to their rightful perch and rejoin in with their remaining companions, which I thought, being so late, why bother? And Brain and Sis were on the couch still teasing the other. Suddenly I felt a hand softly placed on my shoulder, and looking up found myself trapped in a “come hither” look, emanating from Ginny’s twinkling green eyes, a look that I have come since to know very well.

 

We left the pair of gigglers on the couch, and went out into the evening, just the two of us, meeting nary another living soul at that early morning hour. The only exceptions were a weary desk clerk with a nose buried in her book, and a curious short blue-haired lady wearing a grey pant-suit, carrying a large handbag, who came upon Ginny in the lobby, while I was absent using its restroom . The odd thing here is, that until I showed up after doing my business, the lady appeared to be trying to lead good hearted Ginny outside to help search for some lost keys or such, at 2:30 Am! I suggested her to wait until light.

 

After managing to pry Ginny away, receiving the now disapproving look from purse –lipped blue haired lady for my efforts, we otherwise were not held up in our progress. The world was now ours, as my richly attired lady and her tuxedoed (handsome?)Escort made their journey together hand in hand. We ended up making a very long stroll in the Provincial park, and reentering the same isolated, secret clearing, proceeded to acting out our own role playing game, ala the movie “to Catch a Thief”, complete with fireworks of our own making.

 

And I still remember feeling pretty bloody cocky as Ginny and I left our room and rode the elevator down. And why not, I ask? Cause now , not only was I out strolling about with the most captivating ginger haired lass, sparkling in fancy dress around, but I had totally creamed Brian’s score in the jewelry lifting department, and that’s what life is all about for us boys, winning the game, isn’t it?

 

So ends my story, of which I have written 2 versions.

My question is now this:

Which version, if one reads both, do you believe to be the truer?

Please leave a comment at the end of the story you believe is..

In appreciation,

Thank You

 

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In Appraisal

This story may be unique in its nature, but if not we would love to hear about it. Please leave a comment or drop an email ( or both) about you own experience.

Thank You

 

The Sonia clip shortcut ( recommended viewing)

youtu.be/HAZdjhNVjxk

 

Ps. Check out Chronicles of lifting light C for a less embellished telling this particular event

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Courtesy of Chatwick University Archives

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DISCLAIMER

All rights and copyrights observed by Chatwick University, Its contributors, associates and Agents

 

The purpose of these chronological photos and accompanying stories, articles is to educate, teach, instruct, and generally increase the awareness level of the general public as to the nature and intent of the underlying criminal elements that have historically plagued humankind.

 

No Part of this can reprinted, duplicated, or copied be without the express written permission and approval of Chatwick University.

 

These photos and stories are works of fiction. Any resemblance to people, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

As with any work of fiction or fantasy the purpose is for entertainment and/or educational purposes only, and should never be attempted in real life.

We accept no responsibility for any events occurring outside this website.

 

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Other photos in First Comment Box and Photos from the net to make this tribute up and put it together to remember the lives lost that night 40 years ago

 

Remembered Today.

December 19th 1981, 40 years ago.

 

Loss of the Penlee Lifeboat "Solomon Browne"47 ft Watson Class going to the aid of the coaster "Union Star".

 

The helicopter stood by as Penlee’s 14m Watson class wooden lifeboat launched into the hurricane force 12 gale, fighting against 90-knot winds and 18m waves.

 

The Solomon Browne struck against the side of the coaster and the lifeboat crew stood against the railings, throwing lines across to pull themselves alongside.

 

The lifeboat valiantly battled to come alongside the coaster for half an hour.

 

The Solomon Browne radioed back to the Coastguard: ‘we’ve got four off’

 

But the lifeboat decided to make a final rescue attempt – and after that point, all radio contact was lost at 21.21

 

The Coastguard radioed back to the lifeboat, but there was no response. Ten minutes later, the lights of the Solomon Browne disappeared.

 

All 8 Crew of the Lifeboat Lost.

 

All 8 on board of the coaster lost.

 

The Penlee lifeboat

 

Cornwall, at the south-west corner of England, juts out into the Atlantic, attracting the worst of the weather and the massive breakers that crash against its granite cliffs and rocks. It is not surprising that there are no fewer than fourteen lifeboat stations around the coast of this one county alone.

 

Penlee Point is just to the north of the fishing village of Mousehole (pronounced Mousle to rhyme with tousle). The first lifeboat was stationed here in 1913, transferred from nearby Newlyn, although there had been a rescue service in the area from as far back as 1803. In the years before 1981 the station distinguished itself by carrying out many operations and saving lives, recognised by the award of many medals and certificates.

 

In 1981 the station was equipped with “Solomon Browne”, a 47-foot Watson class wooden boat, a type that has long been superseded. However, it was highly manoeuvrable and could be launched straight down a steep slipway into St Mount’s Bay.

 

The voyage of Union Star

 

Union Star was a small bulk carrier, registered in Dublin, that was making its maiden voyage from Denmark via the Netherlands to Ireland, with a cargo of fertiliser. The master was Henry Morton, who had a crew of four on board, plus his wife and her two teenage daughters. He was breaking the rules by having family members on board, but that is a rule that is often broken.

 

Weather conditions were bad as Union Star beat her way towards Lands End, hoping to make it round the headland and into relatively calmer waters before the worst of the storm struck. However, Captain Morton’s luck ran out when his engines failed just as he reached the most exposed part of the voyage. He was offered a tow from a tugboat, the Noord Holland, but declined the offer. By riding out the storm at anchor and repairing the engines in calmer weather, he would avoid having to pay salvage charges.

 

The storm was one of the worst to strike that part of the coast for years, with winds of 85 mph, gusting to 95 mph, which is hurricane force. Union Star started to drag her anchor, and the fuel tanks became contaminated with seawater. The ship was being driven towards the Cornish coast and had no means of avoiding her fate if the storm continued, which it did. The Noord Holland was still in the area, should the captain change his mind, but even this option vanished when conditions became so bad that the tug itself would have been in danger. Eventually, Henry Morton called Falmouth Coastguard for help, and the call went out to the Penlee lifeboat crew.

 

The launch of Solomon Browne

 

When the call goes out, a lifeboat crew stops what it is doing and gets to the lifeboat station with all due speed. All the crew of the Penlee boat lived in Mousehole, some of them being local fishermen, and some with other jobs. They included the landlord of the Ship Inn, for example. That night, most of the crew were socializing in the British Legion club in the village, but, knowing that they were on call and also being aware of the state of the weather, they would have kept their alcohol intake to a minimum.

 

The Coxswain was William Trevelyan Richards, at 56 a highly experienced lifeboatman who already had commendations for bravery for previous rescues. Richards knew that this was going to be a very dangerous mission, and for that reason he refused the services of Neil Brockman, aged 17, because his father was already in the crew, and the Coxswain would not risk the lives of two members of any one family. This is common practice in the lifeboat community. The lifeboat was launched shortly after 8pm, well after dark, into waves that reached as high as forty feet.

 

Solomon Browne did not have far to go to find the Union Star, which was approaching the rocks close to Boscawen Bay and the Tater Du lighthouse, only a few miles down the coast. A helicopter from the Royal Naval Air Station at Culdrose was overhead, but conditions were so bad that it was impossible to winch anyone off the ship. Eventually the helicopter had to break off, and so did not witness the final outcome. There were also people on the cliff top, but in the darkness they could see very little apart from the lights of the two vessels.

 

Tragedy strikes

 

In those tumultuous seas, and in the dark, it was essential that nobody went into the water, as their chances of survival would be virtually nil. Solomon Browne therefore had no choice but to get alongside Union Star and for the crew and passengers to be helped across on to the lifeboat. Coxswain Richards was in radio contact with Falmouth Coastguards, and we know from the radio transcripts that several attempts were made get the two vessels as close as possible. On at least one occasion, it would appear that the lifeboat actually landed on the deck of the coaster and was then thrown off again.

 

We know that four people did manage to get aboard Solomon Browne, as Coxswain Richards’s final message was “we’ve got four off at the moment”. Exactly what happened next must be conjecture, because no more was heard from the Coxswain, and the watchers on the cliffs saw no more lights from shortly afterwards. Nobody from either vessel survived.

 

A huge rescue mission was launched, but nothing could be done. Other lifeboats were called out, but the Sennen Cove boat could not get round Land’s End, and the Lizard boat, from the other direction, only found wreckage when it arrived. Only eight bodies were ever recovered, four from Union Star and four from Solomon Browne. Union Star lay capsized at the foot of the cliffs for several days before she broke up, but little was ever found of Solomon Browne.

 

The aftermath

 

So what happened? It is highly unlikely that the lifeboat capsized, because all lifeboats of its class were self-rightable. However, if a huge wave had turned the boat over, would all of its crew have been washed over the side? Or was one more collision between the vessels too much for Solomon Browne’s wooden hull?

 

Whatever the cause, the result sent shockwaves through the whole country, which had been looking forward to Christmas and was suddenly reminded of the perils faced by seafarers and the courage of those who volunteer to save their lives.

 

The shock was particularly profound among those people whose living is made from the sea, and the entire population of south-west England. The custom at Mousehole itself has been, on the evening of 19th December every year, to extinguish all lights in the village as a mark of respect.

 

A local appeal raised three million pounds to support the families of the crew and provide fitting memorials, although many contributions came from well beyond the local area.

 

There are always “might have beens” that are asked on such occasions. Should Henry Morton have been required to take a tow from the Noord Holland? One consequence of the disaster has been that, in similar circumstances, today’s regulations demand exactly that. Had Morton’s three family members not been on board, would Solomon Browne have needed to make another attempt to get alongside? Perhaps so, given that only four people had been rescued and not five, but would it have been easier to rescue five seafarers rather than eight people who included two teenage girls? Such questions can be asked, but probably not answered.

 

There is still a Penlee lifeboat today, although the old lifeboat station is no longer used, being instead preserved as a memorial to Solomon Browne and her crew. In 1983, an Arun class lifeboat, the Mabel Alice, came into service, based at Newlyn. In 2003, a Severn class boat, the Ivan Ellen, came into service. Both boats have made many lifesaving rescues in recent years, including some that have earned awards for courage and outstanding service.

 

The full list of the lost crew of Solomon Browne, all of whom received posthumous awards, is as follows:

 

William Trevelyan Richards (age 56) (Coxswain)

 

James Madron (35) (2nd Coxswain)

 

Nigel Brockman (43)

 

John Blewett (43)

 

Kevin Smith (23)

 

Barrie Torrie (33)

 

Charles Greenhaugh (46)

 

Gary Wallis (23)

 

In 1992, Neil Brockman, who at 17 was refused a place aboard Solomon Browne on the night that his father lost his life, was appointed Coxswain of the Penlee lifeboat.

 

I grew up in Poole, which is where the Royal National Lifeboat Institution has its headquarters. I have known many men and women who have gained their living or recreation from the sea, and some who have been members of lifeboat crews. I am delighted to have this opportunity to pay my own tribute to the selfless dedication of these volunteers who put their lives at risk to help save others.

  

player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-the-loss-of-the-penlee-...

 

There’s a window of peacefulness at Smuggler’s Cove, it seems. Earlier in the day there were lots of young families with all the chatter that entails (not annoying, just noisy), as well as lots of dog owners letting the beasts run wild* (just as noisy, much more annoying). But for now everything is peaceful.

 

I love the varied colours in the shallows — the sea here runs from pale green to deep blue.

 

The origin of the name Smuggler Cove is subject to much speculation. One theory holds that the bay was used by one Larry "Pig Iron" Kelly to pick up Chinese labourers to be smuggled into the United States after the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Another story is that the concealed cove was used as a transhipment location for the smuggling of bootleg liquor, produced on neighbouring Texada Island, into the US during the prohibition era. Given the cove's proximity to Secret Cove, one can conjecture at some connection.

 

This is a High Dynamic Range panorama stitched from 93 bracketed images with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, then touched up in Aperture.

 

Original size: 17445 × 6747 (117.7 MP; 541.96 MB).

 

Location: Smuggler Cover Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada

  

*Any dog who leaves paw prints on my chest isn’t "under control" — and in any case I would expect the owners to heed the "pets must be on leash" signs.