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River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the 2nd week of September 2017.
Hard to believe - but I've been recording this project now for 5+ years.
Most of the main civil engineering works have ceased along the Slang/Rehills section of the river bank.
The soil-shifters have finished. The main area of land has been seeded and growth is already happening. In selected areas, plants/shrubs have also been planted.
The plan now will be to allow nature to complete the task of reverting this section back to a wild habitat.
The deer, the foxes, the herons, the raptor birds and other associated wildlife can reclaim the banks . . until the planners decide on their next, belated, unnecessary intervention.
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Between the M11 motorway, and the Upper Dargle Road / Hazelwood areas, a stream has run for many years. As well as running from the Fassroe region (west above the M11) this also funnels much of the water run-off from the motorway itself.
There is a culvert running under the road and draining directly into the river opposite The Slang/Rehills.
A branch also runs parallel and through the Egan Business Park before exiting under the road and into the Dargle close to what is identified in historic Ordnance Survey maps as 'Rose Cottage - Laundry'.
There are plans to lay a proper pipe system to channel this water directly across to the Dargle. No doubt a welcome relief to householders along this stretch of road, given that their properties have been victim to the flash flooding that is happening more often due to changes in the meteorological systems, compounded by developments on the opposite side of the motorway.
The downside of this work is the removal of many trees here, and the consequent unwelcome exposure to said properties.
However, recently the contractors have 'filled-in' a large swathe of the previously cleared opening.
To develop this new pipeline, they need to channel a branch pipe under the Upper Dargle Road, discharging into the adjacent Dargle River itself.
This is not a simple 'cut and fill' overnight operation. They have to excavate deeply, pile-drive the cuttings for support, and lay the pipe sections. The plan here is to close off one lane of the road, at a time, while the work proceeds.
This is quite a busy road, with traffic especially heavy during morning and evening rush hour.
Control traffic lights allow contra-flow systems.
This is causing yet more inconvenience for local residents.
Unfortunately, based on previous bad experience with mindless hooliganism, the temporary compound now requires 24-hour security to protect the assembled machinery.
Irish Military Static Line Parachute Course
Members of the Irish Defence Force during the Military Static Line Parachute Course at the Defence Forces Training Centre – 29th March 2012
Photos: Sgt Paul Brady
Netley Castle is a former artillery fort constructed in either 1542 or 1544 by Henry VIII in the village of Netley, Hampshire. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and it defended Southampton Water near the Solent.
The castle included a central, stone keep with two flanking gun platforms and was garrisoned by ten men.
It was decommissioned during the English Civil War and by 1743 it was overgrown and in ruins.
In the 19th century the property was gradually converted into a private house, being extended in a Gothic style, complete with octagonal towers.
Between 1939 and 1998 it was used as a nursing home, until the high costs of maintenance led to its closure.
Following an archaeological survey, it was then converted into nine residential flats. It is protected under UK law as a Grade II* listed building.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the second week of April 2017.
Most of the main civil engineering works have ceased along the Slang/Rehills section of the river bank.
However, the soil-shifters are at it again.
Smaller operation than before, but a steady process of removing soil, shifting soil and reshaping the banks.
Said it before, and I'll say it again . . . . .
I call it the 'Biggest Sandpit/Playarea' in Wicklow, in Leinster, in Ireland.
The place is a mess. Aesthetically, the uneven flow to the ridges and terraces annoys me.
You don't have to be a certified civil engineer to figure out that there are quicker and more efficient ways to move the soil.
Using one excavator, a few dumper-trucks and a single bulldozer is a process not driven by time/cost.
If you 'really' had to complete this work quickly, you'd line up a few 'bigboy' bulldozers . . . . . and shift the soil in days, rather than weeks-months.
Obviously someone has a Plan.
So everyone works to the Plan.
Except that there have obviously been many Plans.
This 'hurdler on the ditch' simply comments on the piecemeal nature of this planning!
Coming up now on 5 years of this work.
Often overlooked by many, there is a smaller Palmerston fort in the Solent, near Bembridge on the Isle of Wight.
This is St. Helens Fort. Construction began in 1865 and was completed in 1878. It's much smaller than the other, circular, forts in the Solent.
Periodically (often in August), on one of the lowest tides of the year, there is a mass walk from St Helens beach out to the fort and back.
On this day the causeway appears from the sea upon which the original materials were carried out from the shore at St Helen's Old Church, where there was formerly a quarry. Access is from this point, but also along the spit from Bembridge.
Paratroopers in the First Snow of the Season
Paratroopers at Mt. Hermon trained in and enjoyed the first snows of the winter season – 6th December 2013
Photo Credit: Ben Ram David and Tal Lisus, IDF Spokesperson's Unit
Israeli women soldiers help another during the final stages of a march near Ein Yahav in southern Israel.
Defence Forces Indoor Track & Field Competition Held in Athlone Institute of Technology Stadium 2015
Israeli Soldiers from the Caracal battalion prior to the start of a field training exercise 15th December 2011
Photos: Israel Defence Force
Estonian Defence Force Soldiers live fire training while serving with BKN09 in Mali
Photos: srs Valner Väino
@kaitsevagi.edf
20.maijā vairāk nekā 600 aizsardzības nozares pārstāvji – karavīri, tai skaitā sabiedroto karavīri, jaunsargi un zemessargi, Aizsardzības ministrijas ierēdņi un darbinieki, kā arī padotības iestāžu darbinieki – skrēja vienotā komandā 28. “Lattelecom Rīgas maratonā”.
Kopumā aizsardzības nozares komandu pārstāvēja 192 sievietes un 436 vīrieši. 41 komandas pārstāvis skrēja maratona distanci, 231 – pusmaratonu, 183 - 10 kilometru distanci, savukārt 173 dalībnieki - 6 kilometru distanci.
Foto: Gatis Dieziņš (Aizsardzības ministrija)
More than 600 soldiers and civil servants from defence sector, including NATO eFP soldiers, run in joint team in “Lattelecom Riga Marathon” on May 20, 2018. There were 192 women and 436 men in the joint team.
The sea defences I photographed a few months ago, but from a different angle, and just after the tide has retreated - the seaweed is still fresh. The sound of the lapping water, and the complete absence of people, made this a quiet, almost secret place, hidden below the sea wall, facing away from the land.
Incidentally, I was able to go to a much longer exposure than I am usually comfortable with handheld, because I was balancing my elbows on the sea wall.
Canon 50D, 70-200mm f/4L
200mm, f/4.0, 1/60, ISO 200.
Fort Santiago is a citadel first built by Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi for the new established city of Manila in the Philippines. The defence fortress is part of the structures of the walled city of Manila called Intramuros ( within the walls ). The fort is one of the most important historical sites in Manila. Several lives were lost in its prisons during the Spanish Colonial Period and World War II. José Rizal, the Philippines' national hero, was imprisoned here before his execution in 1896. The Rizal Shrine museum displays memorabilia of the hero in their collection and the fort features, embedded onto the ground in bronze, his footsteps representing his final walk from his cell to the location of the actual execution. The fort was named after Saint James the Great ( Santiago in Spanish ), the patron saint of Spain, whose relief adorns the facade of the front gate. It is located at the mouth of the Pasig River and served as the premier defence fortress of the Spanish Government during their rule of the country. It became a main fort for the spice trade to the Americas and Europe for 333 years. The Manila Galleon trade to Acapulco, Mexico began from the Fuerza de Santiago.
The fort has a perimeter of 2,030 feet ( 620 m ), and it is of a nearly triangular form. The south front, which looks toward the city, is a curtain with a terreplein, flanked by two demi-bastions - the Bastion of San Fernando, on the riverside, and the Bastion of San Miguel, by the bay side. A moat connected with the river separates the fort from the city. Near the beginning of the north face, instead of a bastion, a cavalier called Santa Barbara was built with three faces of batteries, one looking seaward over the anchorage place, one facing the entrance, and the third looking upon the river. The latter is united with a tower of the same height as the walls, through which there is a descent to the water battery placed on a semicircular platform, thus completing the triangular form of the fort.
The 22-foot ( 6.7 m ) high walls, with a thickness of eight feet ( 2.4 m ) are pierced for the necessary communications. The front gateway facade measures 40 feet ( 12 m ) high being in the south wall and facing the city. The communication with the river and the sea was by an obscure postern gate - the Postigo de la Nuestra Señora del Soledad ( Postern of Our Lady of Solitude ). Inside the fort were guard stations, together with the barracks of the troops of the garrison and quarters of the warden and his subalterns. Also inside the fort were various storehouses, a chapel, the powder magazine, the sentry towers, the cisterns, etc. The location of Fort Santiago was once the site of a palisaded fort, armed with bronze guns, of Rajah Sulaiman, a Muslim chieftain of pre-Hispanic Manila. It was destroyed by maestre de campo ( master-of-camp ) Martin de Goiti who, on arriving in 1570 from Cebu, fought several battles with the Islamic natives. The Spaniards started building Fort Santiago ( Fuerza de Santiago ) after the establishment of the city of Manila under Spanish rule on June 24, 1571, and made Manila the capital of the newly colonized country.
The first fort was a structure of palm logs and earth. Most of it was destroyed when the city was invaded by Chinese pirates led by Limahong. Martin de Goiti was killed during the siege. After a fierce conflict, the Spaniards under the leadership of Juan de Salcedo, eventually drove the pirates out to Pangasinan province to the north, and eventually out of the country. The construction of Fort Santiago with hard stone, together with the original fortified walls of Intramuros, began in 1590 and finished in 1593 during the reign of Gomez Perez Dasmariñas. The stones used were volcanic tuff quarried from Guadalupe ( now Gualupe Viejo in Makati ). The fort as Dasmariñas left it consisted of a castellated structure without towers, trapezoidal in trace, its straight grey front projecting into the river mouth. Arches supported an open gun platform above, named the battery of Santa Barbara, the patron saint of all good artillerymen. These arches formed casemates which afforded a lower tier of fire through embrasures. Curtain walls of simplest character, without counter forts or interior buttresses, extended the flanks to a fourth front facing the city.
In 1714, the ornate gate of Fort Santiago was erected together with some military barracks. The Luzon earthquakes of 1880, which destroyed much of the city of Manila, destroyed the front edifice of the fort changing its character. During the leadership of Fernándo Valdés y Tamon in the 1730's, a large semicircular gun platform to the front called media naranja ( half orange ) and another of lesser dimensions to the river flank were added to the Bastion of Santa Barbara. The casemates were then filled in and embrasures closed. He also changed the curtain wall facing city ward to a bastioned front. A lower parapet, bordering the interior moat, connects the two bastions. Fort Santiago, the 16th century military defence structure, stands witness to the valour and heroism of the Filipino through the centuries. Today, the fort, its bastions, and the prison dungeons for criminals used by the Spanish officials, is now part of a historical park which also includes the Plaza del Moriones ( also called the Plaza de Armas ) and several ruins. The park houses well-preserved legacies from the Spanish Colonial Period including Jose Rizal memorabilia at the Rizal Shrine.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme. These images were taken in the second full week of November 2014. There's a big drop-off in activity on this site now. The main (final) focus will be on completing the profiles to the wall, securing with poured concrete, and then the completion with the pre-fabricated stone capping. The guys have attached steel frames to the recess of the sheet-steel uprights, and filled with concrete. They very carefully check levels, laser-assisted. There's still a surprising amount of intricate manual work involved -- machines can only do so much! The next step involves swinging in Precast Retaining Structure, Standard Capping Units (1.4T - supplied by Banagher Precast Concrete), with inset jacking points, and embedded rods to intertwine with the sheet-steel wall. Accuracy satisfied, the welder melds them together. A race against time, schedules - and the winter rains. Topcon RL-H3C 'Self-leveling construction laser'.brochure.
Training in the Market
On March 5, the Paratroopers Brigade simulated combat in urban territory during a special exercise in the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv.
Photo Credit: Omri Samson, IDF spokesperson’s Unit
Israeli girls write messages in Hebrew on shells ready to be fire by mobile artillery unit toward Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon 17 July 2006, at a military staging area along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed today to continue Israel's punishing twin offensive against the "terrorists" of Hezbollah and Hamas, declaring his country was facing a "moment of truth". At least 47 people were killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon today and 10 more bodies found, pushing the death toll from the Israeli offensive to more than 200 over the past six days. The overall toll now comprises 195 civilians and 12 soldiers killed in Lebanon since 12 July, medics and police said. Nine of the 12 soldiers were killed today. More than 440 people have been wounded.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken during the fourth week of April 2017.
Most of the main civil engineering works have ceased along the Slang/Rehills section of the river bank.
However, the soil-shifters are at it again.
Smaller operation than before, but a steady process of removing soil, shifting soil and reshaping the banks.
Said it before, and I'll say it again . . . . .
I call it the 'Biggest Sandpit/Playarea' in Wicklow, in Leinster, in Ireland.
The place is a mess. Aesthetically, the uneven flow to the ridges and terraces annoys me.
Early Spring, and an unusually dry period had re-introduced the dust clouds.
You don't have to be a certified civil engineer to figure out that there are quicker and more efficient ways to move the soil.
Using one excavator, a few dumper-trucks and a single bulldozer is a process not driven by time/cost.
If you 'really' had to complete this work quickly, you'd line up a few 'bigboy' bulldozers . . . . . and shift the soil in days, rather than weeks-months.
Obviously someone has a Plan.
So everyone works to the Plan.
Except that there have obviously been many Plans.
This 'hurdler on the ditch' simply comments on the piecemeal nature of this planning!
Coming up now on 5 years of this work.
Members of the Irish Defence Force serving with the 118th Battalion, serving in the Lebanon with UNIFIL
Photos: Airman Gibney
Givati Brigade Trains in the Golan Heights
These Givati Brigade soldiers are tasked with protecting Israel's northern border. Here they train in the Golan Heights, Israel's highest altitude region.
Photo Credit: Gil Kremer, IDF Spokesperson's Unit
Israeli infantry soldiers from the Kfir Brigade take part in a drill in urban warfare simulating a combat mission with Lebanon's Hezbollah at the Israeli army base of Elyakim in northern Israel on July 11, 2013. Israeli military built the training base at Elyakim to train soldiers on how to fight Hezbollah as Israel bolsters security along its border with Syria, where Hezbollah militants are reportedly fighting alongside government forces against rebels.
Member of the Irish Defence Forces serving in Lebanon as part of UNIFIL during a routine patrol of the Blue Line in the vicinity of UNP 6-52. 2014
Members of the Irish Defence Force serving with the 118th Battalion, serving in the Lebanon with UNIFIL
Photos: Airman Gibney
ICC Bemba trial: Closing oral statements begin, 12 November 2014
The Prosecution and Defence will have approximately three hours each and the Legal representative of victims one and a half hours to make their final submissions. The closing oral statements should be limited to issues arising from the evidence admitted in the Bemba case and the participants' written closing statements.
Following these closing statements, the judges will commence their deliberations and the judgment will be pronounced in due course.
Airbus Defence & Space (CASA) C295MPA 'Persuader'
MSN S-052
16708
FORÇA AÉREA PORTUGUESA (FAP)
Portuguese Air Force
AFP
Copyright © 2014 A380spotter. All rights reserved.
River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
These images were taken towards the end of the third week of February 2017.
These are the critical stabilisation works at the Silverbridge site, adjacent to the N11 dual-carriageway:
Back in November 2014, we'd observed bank stabilisation works here involving excavation, repair and building of a support wall structure -- carried out by JONS Construction on behalf of the National Roads Authority.
We would occasionally catch sight of this work in the distance. Quite an impressive little piece of structural engineering.
Having built a retaining concave wall, backfilled for solidity, they were also drilling, fixing and sealing ground anchors to pin the entire structure together.
Now we see that further works are being undertaken.
Word has it that extra ‘stabilisation work’ had to be done to protect the integrity of the riverbank.
At the section here we can see that there’s not much space between the edge of the rock face and the Armco at the side of the dual-carriageway.
Have yet to determine what precisely that will entail. Serious work to reinforce the side access ramp down to the river.
The N11 carriageway runs adjacent to this sunken side of the riverbank -- barely 2 (large) paces divide the two. Even with twin strips of Armco along the roadside, it's perilously close. Traffic speeds along this stretch (maximum speed 100 kmp). Only needs a touch from a heavy vehicle to cause secondary impact, which (worst possible scenario) could result in something going airborne.
Working in these confined spaces puts a premium of safety and communication.
The guys have hard-filled a working shelf on the riverbed, to allow machinery access to the rockface. Obviously some serious drilling is called for before a form of extra 'pinning' is put in place.
They have sunk a series of hollowed tubes/casings -- obviously to form the foundations of a more extensive structure.
And some investigative work around the transverse buttress of the access bridge, parallel to the heavy-duty pipeline carrying water down from the Vartry reservoir.
At a (rough) guess -- I'd say the foundations were sunk to a depth of approx 4+m.
With such secure foundations in place, they would then look to construct a substantial bank of material, and/or retaining wall (similar to that in place further along the roadside bank).
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Previously the guys drilled and sunk 4+metre deep reinforced tubing and rods along a newly laid concrete base. Those stubs were then used to attach steel rod cradles -- which, in turn, were filled with poured concrete. Result - the wall quickly rises. Variation on the method they've used elsewhere along this stretch of the river.
A continuous stretch of protective wall has now been poured, and joined up with the section originally erected back in 2014.
As we can see from the side-on shot, the base of the wall has pre-cut openings for the retaining pins that have been driven into the side wall of the roadside cliff. These have been sealed and capped.
Progress has been rapid, the full stretch of wall is completed, and the guys are now working on back-filling the empty space between the protective wall and the roadside rock face. You don't just throw in a few trucks loads of soil and hope for the best. You load, layer, level and compress.
And, at the same time, the guys are clearing away material used to build access ramps down into the riverbed.
The thought crossed my mind -- in doing so (removing the stone-filled gabions etc,) are they potentially exposing the river bank on that side to erosion, slippage etc?
We know the destructive force of fast running waters. Hell, this is precisely why the protective works have been carried out along the rest of the stretch, down to the Bray Harbour. Unless they have other plans to stabilise it, what is going to be left here is loose soil -- very close to the access road into the halting site itself.
Some repair/reinforcing work is going on here to protect the (old) buttress that supports the pipework carrying water to the Bray region.
Members of the Irish Defence Force serving with the 118th Battalion, serving in the Lebanon with UNIFIL
Photos: Airman Gibney
Built during the reign of King Henry VIII, Walmer Castle is one of the most fascinating visitor attractions in the South East. Originally designed as part of a chain of coastal artillery defences it evolved into the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. The Duke of Wellington held the post for 23 years and enjoyed his time spent at the castle and in recent years Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother made regular visits to the castle.
The armchair in which Wellington died and an original pair of 'Wellington boots' along with some of the rooms used by the Queen Mother are among the highlights. And with the magnificent gardens, a woodland walk and some excellent bird spotting there's something for everyone to enjoy. There is also a pleasant cycle path along the beach front to nearby Deal Castle.
Brother's Keeper Operation in Judea & Samaria
On the night of June 12, three Israeli teenagers suddenly went missing in Judea and Samaria. Our forces are relentlessly searching for them, operating under the presumption that they were kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists. These exclusive photos show the efforts of the IDF soldiers in Judea and Samaria.
The names of the abducted Israelis are Eyal Yifrach (age 19), Gilad Shaar (age 16), and Naftali Frenkel (age 16). Our mission is to bring them home as quickly as possible. We will do everything to #BringBackOurBoys
For more updates:
The Israel Defense Forces Facebook
The Israel Defense Forces blog
Paratroopers Prove Themselves On the Ground
The paratroopers of the 101st Battalion had a full week of training to make sure they know exactly what to do once they land on the ground.
Images: Copyright Israel Defence Force
Combat Intelligence Soldiers Train in the South
The Combat Intelligence Corps operates to collect intelligence in the field. They must make use of their surroundings and environment in order to camouflage themselves. The Nahshol Company is a combat intelligence company which is made up solely of women, from the soldiers to the company commander. These are some photos from their routine exercise in the Southern Region.
Copyright: Israel Defence Force
A Grade
Round 6 of the CHNL saw a depleted Hepburn take on Creswick. For the 2nd week in a row the Burra’s were forced to line up with 2 players out injured. Confident in their squad, the competition leaders tried various line ups throughout the game until they quickly settled. Captain Libby Purtell at Goal Attack was instrumental in providing Hepburn with plenty of options in attack. Purtell maintained her 100% accuracy throughout the first half and was supported brilliantly by sharp shooter Jane Lienhop at Goal Shooter.
Creswick managed to keep the mid-court battle alive by providing sharp drives to the circle; however the Burra’s defensive pressure in the circle from Ebony Place saw the ball turned over time and time again. The junior of Hepburn’s team,18 year old Tara Ford clocked up her 150th game for the club in great style at Goal Defence. Ford seems to be taking every opportunity in seniors to develop her game with the help of Place at Goal Keeper. However it was wing attack Brydie Taig that stood up to the challenge and lifted the Burra’s confidence. Taig was named Hepburn’s best on court thanks to her speed and sharp feeding into the circle. Hepburn ran out winners 53 to 17.
The Mo Shepherd award went to Hannah Cameron-Taylor and Libby Purtell for outstanding work.
Goals: Jane 74% 40/54, Libby 80% 12/15
B Grade
Hepburn’s reserves were also focussed on keeping their unbeaten run to the finals alive. The Burras got off to a shaky start as they tried to adjust to Creswick’s style. Moving Janee Brown into Centre in the second quarter was all it took to lift the Burras confidence and provide a 24 to 9 lead at half time.
Courtney Wetzel at Goal Defence, Kristi Pedretti at Goal Keeper and Caitlan Ryan at Wing Defence stepped up in the second half and kept Creswick scoreless until the final minutes of the game. Wetzel provided one of her best games of netball this year getting her hands on ever pass that came her way. Final scores Hepburn 53 to 13.
The Mo Shepherd award went to Caitlan Ryan and Janee Brown
Goals: Mel Penny 75% 41/55, Tania Grant 92% 12/13
Israeli soldier drive on a (APC) , armored vehicles during a military exercise in the Golan Heights northern Israel on 21 August 2012
The 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade during a drill held in the Golan Heights, northern Israel. The NAMER ("Tiger"), a new vehicle combining the artillery abilities of the Merkava tank and the APC's shielding capacities, was fully integrated in this drill for the first time, improving the battle tactics used by the IDF in the field. August 21, 2012
Photo by Cpl. Shay Wagner – Israel Defence Force