“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” – ~Aaron Rose

p.p. done with a texture by Tota!

Thank you so much my dear!

Aloes in Auckland botanic Gardens

The gardens now have almost 400 varieties out of a total 550 in the aloe family.

www.aucklandbotanicgardens.co.nz/whats-on/news/aloes-on-t...

Aloe species are frequently cultivated as ornamental plants both in gardens and in pots. Many aloe species are highly decorative and are valued by collectors of succulents. Aloe vera is used both internally and externally on humans as folk or alternative medicine. The plants can also be made into types of special soaps.

Linguella Tower, Portoferraio, Elba Island

The fortified structure of the tower was built in the early 16th century on the spot where stood the remains of an ancient Roman Villa. It owes its creation to Medici, who would in the Tower, one more defensive structure to protect the port of Portoferraio. The coastal Tower has an octagonal plan, with a crease articulated in the lower part bordering the below base, which on six of the eight sides rests directly on the rocky strand of the sea.

The top of the Linguella Tower has a greater overhang than the bottom, where on the summit ends with some mighty brackets that surround the terrace originally used for sighting. The walls of the tower is entirely covered with red bricks with some finishing touches of white marble and with traces of stone curtain walls that are at the north-western corner of the tower, going to delimit externally a bastion structure with shoe base, which previously gave it an additional element of security to the entire complex.

The Navy installed a lighthouse on the western corner of walls of the tower for the night lighting of the port area of Portoferraio.

This supreme example of military architecture to defend the port of Portoferraio was designed by Giovanni Camerini in 1548. In the past the Linguella Tower, was linked to the Gallo Tower from a big chain, which prevented for defensive purposes the entrance into the dock of Portoferraio.

In the 17th century, Grand Duke Ferdinando II, did reinforce the ramparts overlooking the sea. The bastion of St. Francis and the sentry box on which stands the cross of Lorena was rebuilt after the war devastation.

In the 13th/14th centuries there was already a brewery and bakery on the site. In medieval times, the Kiepenkerlviertel district was already a merchant quarter – after all, an “infrastructure” for battling hunger and thirst was essential.

In 1891, the famous Germania brewery was constructed here. Like many other regional breweries, Germania was taken over by a major brewery from Dortmund in the 1980’s and the brewing, which was being done externally by that point, was shut down completely.

The same cannot be said for the former Stammhaus.

In 2012, Klaus Friedrich Helmrich, the owner of the “Holstein Delicatessen” establishments in Münster and his wife Wilma von Westphalen took over Grosser Kiepenkerl to transform it into another version of guest house, so they could realize their vision of a sustainable regional cuisine.

Set in Mottistone Gardens, Brighstone, Isle of Wight, UK. National Trust. Gardens are opened for visitors, the house may only be viewed externally.

Can you feel the light warming the cool autumn air?

Happy Bokeh Wednesday!

Flakstad, Nordland, Lofoten, Norway

This was our first stop-off on the photography tour. Since the car/coach park is right next to the entrance and our minibus stopped right next to it, this limits compositions somewhat. Still, work with what’s in front of you.

Note to anyone… the better shot is from the E10 main road with the mountains in the background. It looked great as we drove past it on the return trip!!!

Not much more to say apart from the Wikipedia extract…

Flakstad Church (Norwegian: Flakstad kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Flakstad Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Flakstad. It is the church for the Flakstad parish which is part of the Lofoten prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland. The red, wooden church was built in a cruciform style in 1780. The church seats about 300 people. It is the millennium site for Flakstad Municipality.

The long, low church building is a cog-jointed construction using timbers clad externally with red-painted wooden panelling, as was usual at the end of the eighteenth century. The small-paned windows have white frames. The roof is covered with tiles and a ridge turret with an onion dome and spire crowns the intersection of the cross arms.

History

Flakstad Church was first mentioned in existing written sources in 1430, but it was likely built before that time. The church has a limestone baptismal font that dates back to 1250–1300, which suggests that the church may have been built in the second half of the 13th century. The medieval building was a timber-framed cruciform design, but had no tower. The old building was destroyed by a storm around the year 1780. Shortly afterwards, a new church was built in approximately the same site using timber from Russia. The new building seats about 300 people. One of chandeliers in the new church also came from Russia. Several of the items from the old church including two chandeliers and the altar table were taken from the old church and put into the new church. The new church had a tower on the roof about the central part of the building. The tower has a small onion dome on top.

In 1814, this church served as an election church (Norwegian: valgkirke). Together with more than 300 other parish churches across Norway, it was a polling station for elections to the 1814 Norwegian Constituent Assembly which wrote the Constitution of Norway. This was Norway's first national elections. Each church parish was a constituency that elected people called "electors" who later met together in each county to elect the representatives for the assembly that was to meet in Eidsvoll later that year.

Woodbridge Tide Mill is a rare example of a tide mill whose water wheel still turns and is capable of grinding a wholemeal flour. The mill is a Grade I listed building. It is a three-storey building constructed from wood; externally it is clad in white Suffolk boarding and has a Gambrel roof. Its machinery reflects the skills and achievements of the early Industrial Revolution. It has been preserved and is open to the public. The reservoir constructed for demonstration purposes is roughly half an acre in extent, the original 7-acre (28,000 m2) one is now a marina.

The first recording of a tide mill on this site was a medieval mill in 1170; it is unknown how many mills have stood here, but probably three. The mill, which was operated by the local Augustinian priory in the Middle Ages, was acquired by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. It is possible that the Augustinians rebuilt the mill shortly before the dissolution. This mill and the former Woodbridge Priory was granted to Thomas Seckford by Elizabeth I. That mill passed through the hands of various private owners until it was rebuilt in the seventeenth century. This is the mill preserved today.

By the outbreak of World War II the mill was one of only a handful still operating. In 1957 it closed as the last commercially operating tide mill in Britain. In 1968 the derelict mill was purchased by Mrs Jean Gardner and a restoration programme was launched. It was opened to the public five years later in 1973. It is now managed by a charitable trust (Woodbridge Tide Mill Trust) staffed by volunteers, and in 2011 the trust undertook a further and more complete restoration and modernisation project, including a new water wheel and fully restored machinery, which allowed milling to begin again. It re-opened in 2012 and is now the only tide mill in the UK that can regularly grind wheat grain producing wholemeal flour for resale.

In 1901 the drawing were approved for a new Church,which would relieve St.Peter`s and St.Paul`s parishes,where the population growth was large.Construction started in 1903,with a planned completion date of 1906,which was when St.John`s Parish was founded .The Church was finally inaugurated by Bishop Gottfrid Billing on Holy Teinity Day,june 1907.Designed in the Art Noveau style by Axsel Anderberg.

Tower height: 60,2m.Height to ceiling 26,13m. Length of Church 52,27m.

Both externally and internally,the Church is adorned with roses cut and carved by hand,which is why it is called "The Church of Roses".The are more than 1,000 roses in the Church.

During the late summer and early fall breeding season, male Eastern Hellbenders will choose a large rock that is excavated from below to form a cavity. They will defend this shelter vigorously against rival males but will accept a female. While in this cavity, the female will lay several hundred eggs that are then externally fertilized by the male who will stay with, and guard, the nest until they hatch and even for a short period while the larvae grow.

Sufficiently clear

Occasion consequence

Environmental entities

The Parkleuchten (Park Illumination) festival in Essen's GRUGA park features both regularly installed, externally lit sculptures (see previous photo) and temporary, "intrinsically" lit sculptures and art installations.

Officially on the UK Civil Register since September 2015 but I don't think the civil marks are carried externally. WA638 was built in 1949 and up to 23 November 2022 it had accumulated 1,269 flying hours.

Solanum dulcamara

It has a long history in folk medicine and lore. Used externally in poultices and salves, it was used to remedy psoriasis and other skin afflictions. Mixed with other herbs, small doses were given internally as a diuretic or a purgative—basically to flush the body one way or the other. Sachets of the dried leaves and berries tenderly placed under the pillow were said to help heal a broken heart. And witches, spurned lovers, and farmers alike sought out the plant to protect their animals, homes, and loved ones from the evil eye.

Das Alte Stadthaus ist Sitz der Berliner Innenverwaltung. Erbaut wurde es 1902 bis 1911 nach Entwürfen des Stadtbaurats Ludwig Hoffmann. Hoffmann schuf ein monumentales Gebäude mit fünf Innenhöfen, um „einmal die Büros der städtischen Verwaltungen, die im Rathaus keinen Platz haben, aufzunehmen; es sollte aber außerdem die Halle für große öffentliche Feiern enthalten, die der Stadt fehlt, und auch nach außen hin das Berlin von heute repräsentieren und also ausgesprochener monumentaler Prunkbau sein“ (Ludwig Hoffmann 1914). Die Repräsentationsfunktion zeigt sich nach außen im etwa 80 Meter hohen Turm (die Angaben variieren hier), der sich auf einem quadratischen Sockel über dem Mittelrisalit an der Jüdenstraße erhebt. Der Turm besteht aus zwei Trommeln mit Säulenkranz und wird von einem Kuppelhelm gekrönt, die eine 3,25 Meter große Fortuna-Figur aus Kupfer von Ignatius Taschner trägt. Der Turm ist ein Zitat der von Carl von Gontard entworfenen Türme des Französischen und des Deutschen Domes am Gendarmenmarkt und soll aufzeigen, dass „Berlin eine in die Höhe gerichtete Entwicklung nimmt“.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altes_Stadthaus_(Berlin)

The Altes Stadthaus is the seat of Berlin's interior administration. It was built between 1902 and 1911 according to designs by the city architect Ludwig Hoffmann. Hoffmann created a monumental building with five inner courtyards to ‘house the offices of the city administration, which had no room in the City Hall; but it was also to contain the hall for large public celebrations, which the city lacked, and also represent the Berlin of today to the outside world and thus be a decidedly monumental and magnificent building’ (Ludwig Hoffmann 1914). The representational function is reflected externally in the approximately 80 metres high tower (the figures vary here), which rises on a square base above the central risalit on Jüdenstraße. The tower consists of two drums with a wreath of columns and is crowned by a domed helmet bearing a 3.25 metre tall Fortuna sculpture made of copper by Ignatius Taschner. The tower is a quote from the towers of the French and German Churches on Gendarmenmarkt designed by Carl von Gontard and is intended to show that ‘Berlin is developing upwards’.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altes_Stadthaus_(Berlin)

All Saints Church in Idmiston, Wiltshire, England, was built in the 12th century. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building and is in the care of The Churches Conservation Trust. It was declared redundant on 1 April 1977, and was vested in the Trust on 29 September 1978.

The church was built of flint with interspersed limestone in the 12th and 13th centuries. It has a west tower with north and south asiles and a nave. The chancel has a north porch.

The church was heavily restored, including the rebuilding of the upper section of the tower, by John Loughborough Pearson and Ewan Christian in 1865 to 1867. It includes a collection of mediaeval carvings, in the form of elegant corbel-heads, roof bosses, and externally in the form of fearsome gargoyles. The medieval octagonal font is made of Purbeck Marble. The tombs and memorials include those to the family of John Bowle who was the vicar of Idmiston in the 18th century and is known today primarily for his ground-breaking, annotated edition of Cervantes's Don Quixote.

Amaliehaven, an oasis in the middle of the city, was designed by the Belgian architect Jean Delogne and opened in 1983 and comprises of four externally uniform (but internally different) palaces encircling an octagonal courtyard, in the middle of which has been erected an equestrian statue of Frederik V – the founder of the Amalienborg Palace complex and the Frederiksstad.

Gray langurs, sacred langurs, Indian langurs or Hanuman langurs are a group of Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent constituting the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus.

These langurs are largely gray (some more yellowish), with a black face and ears. Externally, the various species mainly differ in the darkness of the hands and feet, the overall color and the presence or absence of a crest. Typically all north Indian gray langurs have their tail tips looping towards their head during a casual walk whereas all south Indian and Sri Lankan gray langurs have an inverted "U" shape or a "S" tail carriage pattern. There are also significant variations in the size depending on the sex, with the male always larger than the female. The head-and-body length is from 51 to 79 cm (20 to 31 in). Their tails, at 69 to 102 cm (27 to 40 in) are never longer than their bodies. Langurs from the southern part of their range are smaller than those from the north. At 26.5 kg (58 lb), the heaviest langur ever recorded was a male Nepal gray langur. The larger gray langurs are rivals for the largest species of monkey found in Asia. The average weight of gray langurs is 18 kg (40 lb) in the males and 11 kg (24 lb) in the females.

Langurs mostly walk quadrupedally and spend half their time on the ground and the other half in the trees. They will also make bipedal hops, climbing and descending supports with the body upright, and leaps. Langurs can leap 3.6–4.7 m (12–15 ft) horizontally and 10.7–12.2 m (35–40 ft) in descending.

The entire distribution of all gray langur species stretches from the Himalayas in the north to Sri Lanka in the south, and from Bangladesh in the east to Pakistan in the west. They possibly occur in Afghanistan. The bulk of the gray langur distribution is within India, and all seven currently recognized species have at least a part of their range in this country.

Gray langurs can adapt to a variety of habitats.They inhabit arid habitats like deserts, tropical habitats like tropical rainforests and temperate habitats like coniferous forests, deciduous habitats and mountains habitats. They are found at sea level to altitudes up to 4,000 m (13,000 ft). They can adapt well to human settlements, and are found in villages, towns and areas with housing or agriculture.They live in densely populated cities like Jodhpur, which has a population numbering up to a million.

Gray langurs are diurnal. They sleep during the night in trees but also on man-made structures like towers and electric poles when in human settlements. When resting in trees, they generally prefer the highest branches.

Ungulates like bovine and deer will eat food dropped by foraging langurs.Langurs are preyed upon by leopards, dholes and tigers.Wolves, jackals, Asian black bears and pythons may also prey on them

Gray langurs are primarily herbivores. However, unlike some other colobines they do not depend on leaves and leaf buds of herbs, but will also eat coniferous needles and cones, fruits and fruit buds, evergreen petioles, shoots and roots, seeds, grass, bamboo, fern rhizomes, mosses, and lichens. Leaves of trees and shrubs rank at the top of preferred food, followed by herbs and grasses. Non-plant material consumed include spider webs, termite mounds and insect larvae.They forage on agricultural crops and other human foods, and even accept handouts. Although they occasionally drink, langurs get most of their water from the moisture in their food.

In one-male groups, the resident male is usually the sole breeder of the females and sires all the young. In multiple-male groups, the highest-ranking male fathers most of the offspring, followed by the next-ranking males and even outside males will father young. Higher-ranking females are more reproductively successful than lower-ranking ones.

Female gray langurs do not make it obvious that they are in estrous. However, males are still somehow able to reduce the reproduction state of females.Females signal that they are ready to mate by shuddering the head, lowering the tail, and presenting their anogenital regions. Such solicitations do not always lead to copulation. When langurs mate, they are sometimes disrupted by other group members. Females have even been recorded mounting other females.

The gestation period of gray langur lasts around 200 days, at least at Jodhpur, India. In some areas, reproduction is year-around. Year-round reproduction appears to occur in populations that capitalize on human-made foods. Other populations have seasonal reproduction.

Infanticide is common among gray langurs. Most infanticidal langurs are males that have recently immigrated to a group and driven out the prior male. These males only kill infants that are not their own.Infanticide is more commonly reported in one-male groups, perhaps because one male monopolizing matings drives the evolution of this trait. In multiple-male groups, the costs for infanticidal males are likely to be high as the other males may protect the infants and they can't ensure that they'll sire young with other males around. Nevertheless, infanticide does occur in these groups, and is suggested that such practices serve to return a female to estrous and gain the opportunity to mate.

Females usually give birth to a single infant, although twins do occur. Most births occur during the night. Infants are born with thin, dark brown or black hair and pale skin. Infants spend their first week attach themselves to their mothers' chests and mostly just suckle or sleep. They do not move much in terms of locomotion for the first two weeks of their life. As they approach their sixth week of life, infants vocalize more.They use squeaks and shrieks to communicate stress. In the following months, the infants are capable of quadrupedal locomotion and can walk, run and jump by the second and third months. Alloparenting occurs among langurs, starting when the infants reach two years of age. The infant will be given to the other females of the group. However, if the mother dies, the infant usually follows.Langurs are weaned by 13 months.

The B-52E was a slightly improved version of the B-52D. The E model was virtually identical to the D in outward appearance. Most of the improvements were to internal systems. A new bomb navigation system and an improved Doppler radar system were the major avionics upgrades.

The first of 100 B-52Es ordered was completed in October 1957. The first flight was on the roll out date, in part, because the E model was so similar to the D, there was no need for an extensive ground test program. Boeing and the USAF also used the concurrent rollout/first flight for public relations purposes.

Initial deployment of the B-52E in late 1957 was to the 6th Bomb Wing stationed at Walker Air Force Base. Improvements in surface-to-air missile technology during the late 1950s made high-level penetration of enemy airspace increasingly dangerous. Because of this threat, B-52 combat tactics began to change from high-level penetration missions to standoff weapons delivery.

The AGM-28 Hound Dog missile was the primary air-to-ground missile used beginning in the late 1950s. Two AGM-28s were carried on wing pylons mounted between the fuselage and inboard engine nacelles. The B-52E remained in operational frontline service until the early 1970s when the last aircraft were phased out in favor of more modern models.

- Stratofortress Technical Specifications -

‧ Contractor: Boeing Company

‧ Deployment Date: First flight on August 4, 1954

‧ Type: Intercontinental Strategic and Conventional Bomber

‧ Engines: Eight Pratt & Whitney TF-33-P-3 turbofans

‧ Thrust (per engine): 17,000 lbs

‧ Span: 185 feet

‧ Length: 156 feet, 7 inches

‧ Height: 48 feet, 4 inches

‧ Weight: 450,000 lbs

‧ Maximum Speed: 638 MPH

‧ Service Ceiling: 46,200 feet

‧ Range: 8,338 miles

‧ Crew: 6 (pilot, copilot, electronic warfare officer, navigator, bombardier-radar navigator, tail gunner)

‧ Bomb load: 81 five hundred pound bombs (“Big Belly Ds”) or

20 cruise missiles externally and/or 4 to 8 nuclear weapons internally

-- Technical Information (or Nerdy Stuff) --

‧ Camera - Nikon D7200 (handheld)

‧ Lens – Nikkor 18-300mm Zoom

‧ ISO – 4000

‧ Aperture – f/3.5

‧ Exposure – 1/50 second

‧ Focal Length – 18mm

The original RAW file was processed with Adobe Camera Raw and final adjustments were made with Photoshop CS6.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11

The best way to view my photostream is through Flickriver with the following link: www.flickriver.com/photos/photojourney57/

Tempio di Atena Pronaia - Tholos.

Esternamente, venti colonne doriche sostenevano un fregio con triglifi e metope.

La parete circolare della cella, la camera centrale dell'edificio, è stata anche coronata da un fregio, metope e triglifi simili ma in misura minore.

All'interno, una panchina di pietra era posizionata su cui si ergevano dieci pilastri in stile corinzio, tutti attaccati alla superficie concava del muro.

La combinazione multipla e la fusione di vari stili architettonici nello stesso edificio è stata completata attraverso un naturale effetto policromatico, derivante dall'uso di diversi materiali.

I materiali utilizzati includevano lastre sottili di Eleusino (chiamate "titanolithos") e marmo pentelico nella sovrastruttura e calcare sulla piattaforma.

Anche il tetto a otto archi dell'edificio era costruito in marmo ed era decorato rispettivamente da otto statue femminili scolpite in un movimento netto e vivace.

Temple of Athena Pronaia - Tholos.

Externally, twenty Doric columns supported a frieze with triglyphs and metopes.

The circular wall of the cella, the central chamber of the building, was also crowned with a similar but to a lesser extent frieze, metopes and triglyphs.

Inside, a stone bench was positioned on which stood ten Corinthian-style pillars, all attached to the concave surface of the wall.

The multiple combination and fusion of various architectural styles in the same building was completed through a natural polychromatic effect, resulting from the use of different materials.

The materials used included thin Eleusinian slabs (called "titanolithos") and Pentelic marble in the superstructure and limestone on the platform.

The eight-arched roof of the building was also constructed of marble and was respectively decorated with eight female statues carved in a sharp and lively movement.

_MG_3782m

Best viewed large.

Lake Country, BC.

My first decent shot of a magpie. I know they are corvids, but this bill confirms it for me.

Also known as the American magpie.

The black-billed magpie is a bird in the crow family that inhabits the western half of North America, from southern coastal Alaska to northern California, northern Nevada, northern Arizona, northern New Mexico, central Kansas, and Nebraska. It is one of only four North American songbirds whose tail makes up half or more of the total body length (the others being the yellow-billed magpie, the scissor-tailed flycatcher, and the fork-tailed flycatcher).

The black-billed magpie is one of the few North American birds that build a domed nest.

Externally, The black-billed magpie is almost identical with the European magpie, Pica pica, and is considered conspecific by many sources. The American Ornithologists' Union, however, splits it as a separate species, Pica hudsonia, on the grounds that its mtDNA sequence is closer to that of California's yellow-billed magpie, Pica nuttalli, than to the European magpie.

It appears that after the ancestral magpie spread over Eurasia, the Korean population became isolated, at which point the species crossed the Bering Land Bridge and colonized North America, where the two American magpies then differentiated. Fossil evidence indicates that the ancestral North American magpie had arrived in its current range around the mid-Pliocene (3–4 mya) and that the yellow-billed magpie lineage split off rather soon thereafter due to the Sierra Nevada uplift and the beginning ice ages.

Corvids are considered the most intelligent of the birds, and among the most intelligent of all animals, having demonstrated self-awareness in mirror tests (European magpies) and tool-making ability (crows, rooks)—skills until recently regarded as solely the province of humans and a few other higher mammals. Their total brain-to-body mass ratio is equal to that of great apes and cetaceans, and only slightly lower than in humans.

Corvids are derived from Australasian ancestors and from there spread throughout the world.

Wikipedia.

TCF wharf

The yellow-legged gull is a large gull, though the size does vary, with the smallest females being scarcely larger than a common gull and the largest males being roughly the size of a great black-backed gull. They range in length from 52 to 68 cm (20 to 27 in) in total length, from 120 to 155 cm (47 to 61 in) in wingspan and from 550 to 1,600 g (1.21 to 3.53 lb) in weight. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 40.8 to 47.2 cm (16.1 to 18.6 in), the bill is 4.6 to 6 cm (1.8 to 2.4 in) and the tarsus is 5.6 to 7.5 cm (2.2 to 3.0 in).

Adults are externally similar to herring gulls but have yellow legs. They have a grey back, slightly darker than herring gulls but lighter than lesser black-backed gulls. They are much whiter-headed in autumn, and have more extensively black wing tips with few white spots, just as lesser black-backed. They have a red spot on the bill as adults, like the entire complex. There is a red ring around the eye like in the lesser black-backed gull but unlike in the herring gull which has a dark yellow ring.

First-year birds have a paler head, rump and underparts than those of the herring gull, more closely resembling first-year great black-backed gulls in plumage. They have a dark bill and eyes, pinkish grey legs, dark flight feathers and a well-defined black band on the tail.

They become lighter in the underparts and lose the upper part pattern subsequently. By their second winter, birds are essentially feathered like adults, save for the patterned feathers remaining on the wing coverts. However, their bill tips are black, their eyes still dark, and the legs are a light yellow flesh colour.

The call is a loud laugh which is deeper and more nasal than the call of the herring gull.

This image was taken in the Mediterranean in the harbour at Cartagena in Spain on 21st October 2021.

At the time a popular bridge for photographers on the Erewash.....Bridge 34a at Lee Lane ,Langley Mill was in a poor state as can be seen here the day before it was replaced.....The extra strengthening had been put in on the wider trackbed of the former Ripley route, some would say to hold up all the gricers that would stand in that corner....While the bridge had been left to rot externally.....an equally neglected 58040 "Cottam Power Station" heads an unidentified south bound MGR from the Nottinghamshire coalfield on 13th Feb 98....Today we have the new replacement green footbridge,but unfortunately its becoming increasingly surrounded by trees.

Beauty is a reflection of divine bliss and, since God is Truth, the reflection of His bliss will be that mixture of happiness and truth which is to be found in all beauty.

Forms allow of a direct, 'plastic' assimilation of the truths - or of the realities - of the spirit. The geometry of the symbol is steeped in beauty, which in its turn and in its own way is also a symbol. The perfect form is that in which truth is incarnate in the rigour of the symbolical formulation and in the purity and intelligence of the style.

Beauty mirrors happiness and truth. Without the element of 'happiness' there remains only bare form - geometrical, rhythmical or other - and without the element of 'truth' there remains only a wholly subjective enjoyment or, it might be said, luxury. Beauty stands between abstract form and blind pleasure, or rather so combines them as to imbue veridical form with pleasure and veridical pleasure with form.

Beauty is a crystallization of some aspect of universal joy; it is something limitless expressed by means of a limit.

Beauty is in one sense always more than it gives, but in another sense it always gives more than it is. In the first sense the essence shows as appearance; in the second the appearance communicates the essence.

Beauty is always beyond compare; no perfect beauty is more beautiful than another perfect beauty. One may prefer this beauty to that, but this is a matter of personal affinity or of complementary relationship and not of pure aesthetics. Human beauty, for instance, can be found in each of the major races, yet normally a man prefers some type of beauty in his own race rather than in another; inversely, sometimes affinities between qualitative and universal human types show themselves to be stronger than racial affinities.

Like every other kind of beauty artistic beauty is objective, and so can be discovered by intelligence, not by "taste". Taste is indeed legitimate, but only to the same extent as individual peculiarities are legitimate, that is, just in so far as these peculiarities translate positive aspects of some human norm.

Different tastes should be derived from pure aesthetic and should be of equal validity, just as are the different ways in which the eye sees things. Myopia and blindness are certainly not different ways of seeing - they are merely defects of vision.

In beauty man ’realizes’, passively in his perception and externally in his production of it, that which he should himself 'be' after an active or inward fashion.

When man surrounds himself with the ineptitudes of an art that has gone astray how can he still 'see' what he should 'be'? He runs the risk of 'being' what he 'sees' and assimilating the errors suggested by the erroneous forms among which he lives.

Modern satanism is manifested, no doubt in a very external way but in the most directly tangible way and in the way which makes the greatest inroads, in the unintelligible ugliness of forms. 'Abstracted' people, who never 'see' things, none the less allow themselves to be influenced in their general mental outlook by the forms around them to which they sometimes, with astonishing superficiality, deny all importance, just as though traditional civilizations did not unanimously proclaim the contrary. In this connection the spiritual aesthetics of some of the great contemplatives will be recalled as evidence that, even in a world of normal forms, the sense of the beautiful may acquire a special spiritual importance.

Todas estas imágenes creo que pertenecen a la misma especie. Al igual que el grupo de Aricia montensis que subí ayer, hoy toca este grupo de Polyommatus icarus/celina, la mayoría antes de amanecer durmiendo en un prado de alta montaña a unos 2200 metros de altura. Estas dos especies son externamente idénticas y no se pueden distinguir sin estudiar genitalia, por lo que hay que dejarlo como que puede ser cualquiera de las dos.

All these images I think belong to the same species. Like the group of Aricia montensis that I uploaded yesterday, today it is the turn of this group of Polyommatus icarus / celina, most before dawn sleeping in a high mountain meadow at about 2200 meters high. These two species are externally identical and can not be distinguished without studying genitalia, so we have to leave them as it can be either.

Sierra Nevada Granada España

Julio 2018

This is one cool building! When you come across it wedged in amongst all the other blocks in London's financial district it's immediately recognisable with all the externally mounted, staircases, lifts, and services.

Sitting at No 1 Lime Street it was completed 28 years ago at a cost of 75 million quid. it still looks the business. Sometimes known as the Inside-Out Building it's the home of the insurance institution Lloyd's of London.

The building is a leading example of radical Bowellism architecture in which the services are located on the exterior to maximise space in the interior. Twenty-five years after completion in 1986 it received a Grade I listing; it was the youngest structure ever to obtain this status. It is said by English Heritage to be "universally recognised as one of the key buildings of the modern epoch.

It was designed by architect Richard Rogers and built between 1978 and 1986. The building consists of three main towers and three service towers around a central, rectangular space. Its core is the large Underwriting Room on the ground floor, which houses the famous Lutine Bell within the Rostrum. The Underwriting Room (often simply called "the Room") is overlooked by galleries, forming a 60 metres (197 ft) high atrium lit naturally through a huge barrel-vaulted glass roof. The first four galleries open onto the atrium space, and are connected by escalators through the middle of the structure. The higher floors are glassed in and can only be reached via the exterior lifts.

6 exp tripod mounted hdr +3 to -2 long exposure hdr. Post processing in acr, photomatix, photoshop, topaz de-noise and topaz clarity. Fuji X-E2 with 14mm f2.8, f11, ISO 800, av exposure 7.5 secs.

The Mk IX was the second most numerous of any Spitfire version manufactured after the Mk V.

It was rushed into production over the slightly better Mk VIII as a short-term counter to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, which was superior in most ways to then current Spitfire Mk V.

Externally, the Mk IX can be differentiated from earlier Spitfire versions by having a four-bladed propeller, and unlike the Mk VIII, does not have a retractable tail wheel. This particular Spitfire dates from 1944 and has a supercharger optimized for lower level performance, making it an 'LF' model. It is fitted with the 'e' wing which eliminated the four outer machine gun positions. This machine only has two of the remaining four inner positions fitted with either cannons or heavy machine guns. Despite being painted in large red letters, the squadron codes of QJ are surprisingly hard to make out!

Porsche 928 Series 1 (1977-85) Engine 4500cc 16v V8 229bhp

Registration Number NOY 183 V (London NW)

PORSCHE ALBUM

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623690528015...

Designed by Wolfgang Mobius the 928 was originally intended to replace the 911, with a wider appeal and more of a Grand Tourer than out and out sports car. The 928 is also the companies first mass produced car to be powered by a V8 engine. During the cars 17 year span (1978-95) it evolved comsiderably and has been powered by V8 engines of 4.5, 4.7 5.0 and 5.4ltrs.

This is a Series 1 car, originally introduced in 1977 and powered by a 4.5 litre V8 of 219bhp, Porsche upgraded the engine from mechanical to electronic fuel injection in 1980 for US models, although power remained the same.. The S variant was introduced in 1980 powered by a 4.7 litre engine for the European market and 1983 in the USA, European versions debuted with 300 PS and were upgraded to 310 for 1984. Externally, the S wore new front and rear spoilers and sported wider wheels and tires than the older variant.

Diolch am 82,557,086 o olygfeydd anhygoel, mae pob un yn cael ei werthfawrogi'n fawr.

Thanks for 82,557,086 amazing views, every one is greatly appreciated.

Shot 05.06.2021. at Bicester Heritage Centre, Bicester, Oxon. 146-394

ARRIVA Kent & Surrey 6454 GN58 BSY accelerates away from one of the many speed humps on Oxley Shaw Lane, Leybourne whilst working school route 575. Friday 13th May 2016.

Eight of these vehicles (6450-6457) were new to ARRIVA Medway Towns in 2008 for dedicated use on route 101 (Medway Towns to Maidstone). From Sunday 14th September 2014 route 101 became a Sapphire branded route, for which six brand new E400s were delivered, four of the current batch (6450-6453) were refurbished and two additonal vehicles ex-ARRIVA the Shires arrived as spares. The four 'standard' unrefurbished E400s were then debranded and reallocated to Maidstone although since then have been internally refreshed with new seats and externally repainted.

ADL Trident 2 - ADL Enviro 400

IMG_34170

A small college town in southwest Florida was planned with this large Oratory church in the center. The facade of the building displays sculptor Márton Váró's 30-foot-tall (9 m) sculpture of the Annunciation, depicting the Archangel Gabriel greeting the Virgin Mary with the words "Ave Maria" (Hail Mary). Váró's "Good Shepherd" sculpture is also featured inside the Oratory, also carved in marble from Cave Michelangelo in Carrara, Italy.

This Oratory serves as the home of the Roman Catholic Quasi-parish of Ave Maria Oratory, part of the Diocese of Venice, which serves as the parish for the university and the local residents. One of the oratory's most distinctive characteristics is its steel structure, much of which is exposed internally and externally.

The landmark church received an architectural award from the American Institute of Steel Construction in 2008. Tom Monaghan, Ave Maria founder, has had a significant interest in architecture for more than 50 years and has been one of the world's largest collectors of the works and memorabilia of Frank Lloyd Wright. He drew the oratory's first sketches himself on a tablecloth and then Cannon Design, a Grand Island, N.Y.-based architecture firm, took it from there.

This massive chapel to date is the largest concrete pour in Florida and stands out as the largest structure in the town of Ave Maria. The project is the architectural design of Harry L. Warren, AIA, of Cannon Design, Grand Island, NY. Original plans for this church called for a 185-foot-tall building with 3,300 seats. Due to rising costs, the structure was reduced to 104 feet with 1,100 seats and an overall size of 25,755 square feet.

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ave_Maria,_Florida

www.avemaria.com/

www.sacredarchitecture.org/articles/everglade_oratory/

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

The Gothic church of St. Peter, consecrated in 1198. It was built over a pre-existing 5th century Palaeo-Christian church, which had rectangular plan and semicircular apse. The new part, from the 13th century, is marked externally by white and black stripes. (Wikipedia)

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Chiesa di Sant'Elia (sec. IX - X)

Risale addirittura a epoca bizantina, edificata attorno all’anno mille: è uno degli edifici sacri paleocristiani di maggior interesse della Sardegna. Caratteristiche sono le dimensioni molto ridotte (dieci metri di lunghezza per nove di larghezza), tipiche delle chiese sorte in Sardegna nella seconda metà del I millennio d.C., in epoca paleocristiana.

La pianta è a croce greca con quattro bracci uguali, il cui incrocio è sormontato da un tiburio quadrangolare coperto da una cupola emisferica (l’originale è crollata ma ricostruita nel Novecento).

I bracci sono esternamente coperti da tetti a doppio spiovente con tegole.

I muri perimetrali sono caratterizzati dall’irregolarità dei conci: soltanto i blocchi degli spigoli risultano ben intagliati, squadrati regolarmente e ben disposti.

Una cornice di lastrine sporgenti, impostate sotto gli spioventi del tetto, corre lungo tutto il perimetro: è l’unica decorazione nel contesto di estrema semplicità, che caratterizza anche l’interno dell’edificio.

L’ingresso centrale architravato si apre nella facciata rivolta a est ed è sormontato da un piccolo campanile a vela.

Church of Sant'Elia (IX - X century)

It even dates back to the Byzantine era, built around the year one thousand: it is one of the most interesting early Christian sacred buildings in Sardinia. Characteristic are the very small dimensions (ten meters long by nine wide), typical of the churches built in Sardinia in the second half of the first millennium AD, in the early Christian era.

The plan is a Greek cross with four equal arms, the intersection of which is surmounted by a quadrangular lantern covered by a hemispherical dome (the original collapsed but rebuilt in the twentieth century).

The arms are externally covered by double pitched roofs with tiles.

The perimeter walls are characterized by the irregularity of the ashlars: only the blocks of the edges are well carved, squared regularly and well arranged.

A frame of protruding slabs, set under the sloping roof, runs along the entire perimeter: it is the only decoration in the context of extreme simplicity, which also characterizes the interior of the building.

The central architraved entrance opens into the facade facing east and is surmounted by a small bell gable.

_MG_6212m

Taken with a Pentax K1000 with 28mm f/2.5 lens which the meter coupling was not working, so externally metered using a Weston Master II. Taken on Agfa Vista 200 shot at box speed and home developed in C-41 Chemistry. Scanned with an Epson V800

A rather shabby looking G523 leads 8155 down Bell Post Hill, away from Moorabool, as 7720V loaded grain train from Dimboola GrainFlow to Geelong for unloading.

G523 has just re-entered traffic, after being stored at Port Kembla for several years. However the harsh sea air had deteriorated the exterior, requiring the engine to have body work done before it came back into service. This end of G523 has noticeably had work done, however the other end is immaculate.

Sunday 26th March 2017

Das Dorf Steinhöfel ist in östlicher Richtung mit dem Auto knapp 70 km von Berlin entfernt. Etwa um 1730 errichtete die ortsansässige Familie von Wulffen, ein Herrenhaus, den Grundbau des heutigen Schlosses. Etwa um 1730 errichtete die ortsansässige Familie von Wulffen ein Herrenhaus, den Grundbau des heutigen Schlosses. m Jahr 1790 erwarb es Valentin von Massow. Massow war Regimentskamerad des preußischen Kronprinzen Friedrich Wilhelm, der ihn wegen seines Kunstverstands schätzte. Massow, der später Oberhofmarschall des Kronprinzen wurde, ließ in den Jahren 1790 bis 1795 die vorhandene, märkische Herrenhausanlage in programmatischer Weise durch David Gilly, der seinen Sohn Friedrich Gilly zur Mitarbeit heranzog, im Stil des Frühklassizismus vollständig umbauen. Das „Mustergut“ Steinhöfel wurde zu einem Vorbild für andere Brandenburger Landgüter. Die Wirtschaftsgebäude, die bis dahin gegenüber dem Herrenhaus gestanden hatten, wurden restlos abgerissen. An ihrer Stelle des entstand ein von einer Wiese umgebener, baumgesäumter, langgestreckter Teich, den am Ende als point de vue eine kleine Brücke überspannte, als Mitte einer Parkanlage. Das Ganze erschien nun als Verlängerung des Dorfangers. Zu betreten war der Park von dort durch ein von Gottfried Schadow mit zwei Sphingen flankiertes Portal. Das Schloss wirkte wie in den Park seitwärts hineingerückt und seine Hauptachse hatte nicht länger die übliche, herrschaftlich axiale Ausrichtung innerhalb der Guts- und Gartenanlage. Hinzu kamen im Park Gebäude der Gartenarchitektur, ein Tempel, genutzt als Bibliothek, ein Chinesisches Haus, eine Grotte, ein künstlicher Wasserfall und ein Vogelhaus. Mehrere Bauerngehöfte entlang des Angers und die Bauten des Wirtschaftshofs an dessen anderem Ende errichtete Gilly neu. Um 1820 und um 1840 veranlassten die Eigentümer Veränderungen, die Gillys Hauptbau unkenntlich machten. Um 1880 ließen sie das Gebäude spätklassizistisch umbauen. 1930 wurde das Gut an einen zahlungskräftigen Bauern verkauft. Im Zuge der Bodenreform wurde das Gut 1945 zugunsten der Gemeinde enteignet. Das bald baulich entstellte Schloss diente der Konsumgenossenschaft als Warenhaus und galt 1958 als „verwahrlost“, der Park als „durch Traktoren verwüstet, aber wenig abgeholzt“. Nach der deutschen Wiedervereinigung wurde das Schloss 1991 bis 93 äußerlich restauriert. Ab 2000 wurde das Schloss vollständig restauriert und für seine heutige Nutzung als Hotel ausgebaut.

Quelle: Wikipedia.de

The village of Steinhöfel is about 70 km away from Berlin in eastern direction by car. It was around 1730 that the local von Wulffen family built thecore part of the present Manor, called "Palace" as is the use for manors all over Brandenburg region. Around 1730 the local von Wulffen family built a manor house, the foundation of the present castle. This was acquired by Valentin von Massow in 1790. Massow was a regimental comrade of the Prussian crown prince Friedrich Wilhelm, who appreciated him for his artistic sense. Massow, who later became Lord Chamberlain of the Crown Prince, had the existing modest manor house complex completely rebuilt in the style of early Neoclassical architecture in the years 1790 to 1795 in a programmatic manner by David Gilly, who enlisted his son Friedrich Gilly as assistant. The "model estate" Steinhöfel became a model for other Brandenburg estates. The farm buildings, which until then had stood opposite the manor house, were completely demolished. They were replaced by a tree-lined, elongated pond surrounded by a meadow. At its end the pond was spanned by a small bridge as a point de vue, as the centre of the park. The whole thing now appeared as an extension of the Village Green. The park was accessed from there through a portal flanked by two sphinxes created by the eminent sculptor Gottfried Schadow. The Manor appeared as if it had been moved sideways into the park. In addition, there were buildings of garden architecture, a temple used as a library, a Chinese house, a grotto, an artificial waterfall and an aviary. Gilly rebuilt several farmhouses along the village green and the buildings of the farm at the other end. Around 1820 and around 1840 the owners made changes that made Gilly's main building unrecognisable. Around 1880 they had the building rebuilt in late Neoclassical style. In 1930 the estate was sold to a wealthy farmer. In the course of the land reform, the estate was expropriated in 1945 for the benefit of the community. The manor, which was soon structurally disfigured, served the consumer cooperative as a department store and was considered "neglected" in 1958, the park as "devastated by tractors, but little deforested".After the German reunification the castle was externally restored from 1991 to 93. From 2000 it was completely restored and extended for its current use as a hotel.

Source: Wikipedia.de

Multi format externally selected pinhole camera

Two storeys. Externally appears as 19th century with applied thin timber framing, semi-dormers and dormers. Modern shopfront. Steep plain clay-tiled roof. First floor jettied. In fact, this is a remaining wing of Earl's Place, a major 15th century courtyard house. The former carriage entrance to the courtyard was via an archway (now infilled) beneath the oriel window (an original feature, remodelled) at the left-hand end. Fine crown post roof survives internally.

Commentary.

Canterbury Cathedral.

The Mother Church of England

for over 1,000 years.

A glorious creation to

the worship of God.

Reaching to the heavens in its bid

for spiritual domination.

Like many Medieval streets,

Butchery Lane, now, appears no more than

an alley-way.

Apart from North, South, East and West streets,

thoroughfares would often adopt

the names of the main economic activity.

Fish-market Street.

Candlemaker’s Place.

Baker’s Road.

One wonders what blood and gore this lane saw.

And yet, in a city of such

supreme Medieval buildings,

their structure had to be retained,

in some cases, internally modernised,

but, largely changed their purpose or activity.

Externally, they are still standing strong

and are regularly and lovingly re-furbished,

whilst keeping their precious Medieval features.

This is why Canterbury is such an iconic and

much-visited city!

Herstmonceux is renowned for its magnificent moated castle, set in beautiful parkland and superb Elizabethan gardens. Built originally as a country home in the mid- 15th - century, Herstmonceux Castle embodies the history of Medieval England and the romance of Renaissance Europe.

Set among carefully maintained Elizabethan gardens and parkland, your enchantment begins with your first sight of the castle as it breaks into view.

Visitors are invited to walk around our beautiful Elizabethan walled gardens and the many woodland trails, leading to delightful discoveries such as our Rhododendron Gardens, Rose Garden and Herb Garden.

Take a slow stroll past the lily covered lakes to the 1930's folly and admire the sheer magnificence of the castle.

Herstmonceux was a significant place long before the Castle was built. There is evidence of Roman remains, and in the 12th century a saxon lady, Idonea de Herst married a Norman nobleman, Ingelram de Monceux, to give the place it's name. The name of the owners changed through marriage to Fiennes, and the family increased in wealth and power. James Fiennes distinguished himself fighting for King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt and later became sheriff of Surrey and Sussex.

It was his elder brother, Sir Roger Fiennes, Treasurer of the Household of Henry V1, who started building the castle in 1441. This is one of the first major brick buildings (today it is the oldest brick building of any note still standing in England) and was years ahead of it's time in other respects, with concentration more on grandeur and comfort than on defence.

The family fortunes are interesting and varied, but by 1700 the last Lord Dacre, Earl of Sussex, was forced to sell Herstmonceux Castle. By the end of this century the owner, Robert Hare had demolished most of it and used the bricks to refashion Herstmonceux Place, further up the hill.

It had deteriorated into a ruin until 1911 when it was bought by Lt. col. Claude Lowther who used Local craftsman to carry out the building work, and by 1912 most of the South front was rebuilt.

Col Lowther was responsible for much of the present design and for installing a number of pieces of fine woodwork and panelling purchased from other great historic houses in England.

After Col Lowther's death in 1929, Sir Paul Latham contributed very greatly to the construction of the castle both internally and externally. In 1946 he sold it to the Admiralty who bought the estate for the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and it became an important scientific institution for the next 40 years.

In 1993 Herstmonceux Castle was acquired by Queen's University of Canada through the generosity of Drs Alfred and Isabel Bader, and is now an International Study Centre attracting students from around the world.

It was during a visit to their Sussex home that Drs Alfred and Isabel Bader chanced on an advertisement offering Herstmonceux Castle for sale, and their vision and support for the potential of the Castle taking on a new guise as an International Study Centre, bringing students from all over the world to study in the beauty and tranquillity of East Sussex countryside.

Enjoy a delicious cream tea in the castle Tearoom and browse through interesting and unusual gifts in the castle shop. For those who wish to know more about the history of the castle, there is a visitors centre displaying various artefacts, photographs and information.

Also visitors are encouraged to take part in a guided tour of the interior of the castle to gain an insight into what life was like in times gone by and to become familiar with the stories and rumours which have circulated over the years, including those of smugglers and our resident ghosts.

NB: The castle is not open to the public, however guided tours are conducted at an extra charge and subject to availability, but due to the operation of a busy working university we strongly advise you to phone for confirmation of times before your visit.

Generally tours are conducted once/twice daily, Sunday - Friday between 11am-2pm.

For more information, please visit www.herstmonceux-castle.com/

Rover 3500 Ser.II P6 (1970-76) Engine 3528cc V8 OHV Production 19896 (+ 37700 3500 models)

Registration Number CDV 395 L (Devon)

ROVER ALBUM

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623690660271...

Designed by Spen King, Gordon Bashford and David Bache, the new Rover P6 represented a design aimed at appealing to a wider clientele than the traditional Rover buyer. The design was advanced for the time with a de Dion tube suspension at the rear, four-wheel disc brakes (inboard on the rear), and a fully synchromesh transmission. The unibody design featured non-stressed panels bolted to a unit frame, inspired by the Citroën DS. The de Dion set-up was unique in that the tube was in two parts that could telescope, thereby avoiding the need for sliding splines in the drive shafts,

The 3500 was launched in April 1968. Powered by a compact former Buick V8 of 3528cc, that had previously powered the Buick Special, Rover acquired the rights to the innovative aluminium engine which was modified firstly for use in the Rover P6B and the P6. The 3500 was produced alongside the Rover 2000, with the company claiming their new lightweight V8 weighed no more than the smaller capacity four cylinder engine. But propelled the new car to a top speed of 114mph as well as its 10.5-second acceleration time from 0–60 mph (impressive figures for the time). To accommodate the V8 engine in the engine bay the front suspension cross-member had to be relocated forward, while a more visible change was an extra air intake beneath the front bumper to accommodate the larger radiator. and the battery was shifted from under the bonnet to the boot. Externally apart from badging the two cars were largely the same, the 3500 being distinguished by a black vinyl covering on the C-pillar, though this later became a feature of the four cylinder cars. A 3-speed Borg Warner 35 automatic was the only transmission until the 1971 addition of a four-speed manual 3500S model, the S did not denote Sport but Syncromesh, despite the S being quicker.

The Series II, or Mark II as it was actually named by Rover, was launched in 1970. All variants carried the battery in the boot and had new exterior fixtures such as a plastic front air intake (to replace the alloy version), new bonnet pressings (with V8 blips even for the 4-cylinder-engined cars) and new rear lights. The interior of the 3500 and 2000TC versions was updated with new instrumentation

Diolch am 88,829,991 o olygfeydd anhygoel, mae pob un yn cael ei werthfawrogi'n fawr.

Thanks for 88,829,991 amazing views, every one is greatly appreciated.

Shot 10.10.2021 at Bicester Scramble, Bicester, Oxon. Ref. 122-356

Das Dorf Steinhöfel ist in östlicher Richtung mit dem Auto knapp 70 km von Berlin entfernt. Etwa um 1730 errichtete die ortsansässige Familie von Wulffen, ein Herrenhaus, den Grundbau des heutigen Schlosses. Etwa um 1730 errichtete die ortsansässige Familie von Wulffen ein Herrenhaus, den Grundbau des heutigen Schlosses. m Jahr 1790 erwarb es Valentin von Massow. Massow war Regimentskamerad des preußischen Kronprinzen Friedrich Wilhelm, der ihn wegen seines Kunstverstands schätzte. Massow, der später Oberhofmarschall des Kronprinzen wurde, ließ in den Jahren 1790 bis 1795 die vorhandene, märkische Herrenhausanlage in programmatischer Weise durch David Gilly, der seinen Sohn Friedrich Gilly zur Mitarbeit heranzog, im Stil des Frühklassizismus vollständig umbauen. Das „Mustergut“ Steinhöfel wurde zu einem Vorbild für andere Brandenburger Landgüter. Die Wirtschaftsgebäude, die bis dahin gegenüber dem Herrenhaus gestanden hatten, wurden restlos abgerissen. An ihrer Stelle des entstand ein von einer Wiese umgebener, baumgesäumter, langgestreckter Teich, den am Ende als point de vue eine kleine Brücke überspannte, als Mitte einer Parkanlage. Das Ganze erschien nun als Verlängerung des Dorfangers. Zu betreten war der Park von dort durch ein von Gottfried Schadow mit zwei Sphingen flankiertes Portal. Das Schloss wirkte wie in den Park seitwärts hineingerückt und seine Hauptachse hatte nicht länger die übliche, herrschaftlich axiale Ausrichtung innerhalb der Guts- und Gartenanlage. Hinzu kamen im Park Gebäude der Gartenarchitektur, ein Tempel, genutzt als Bibliothek, ein Chinesisches Haus, eine Grotte, ein künstlicher Wasserfall und ein Vogelhaus. Mehrere Bauerngehöfte entlang des Angers und die Bauten des Wirtschaftshofs an dessen anderem Ende errichtete Gilly neu. Um 1820 und um 1840 veranlassten die Eigentümer Veränderungen, die Gillys Hauptbau unkenntlich machten. Um 1880 ließen sie das Gebäude spätklassizistisch umbauen. 1930 wurde das Gut an einen zahlungskräftigen Bauern verkauft. Im Zuge der Bodenreform wurde das Gut 1945 zugunsten der Gemeinde enteignet. Das bald baulich entstellte Schloss diente der Konsumgenossenschaft als Warenhaus und galt 1958 als „verwahrlost“, der Park als „durch Traktoren verwüstet, aber wenig abgeholzt“. Nach der deutschen Wiedervereinigung wurde das Schloss 1991 bis 93 äußerlich restauriert. Ab 2000 wurde das Schloss vollständig restauriert und für seine heutige Nutzung als Hotel ausgebaut.

Quelle: Wikipedia.de

The village of Steinhöfel is about 70 km away from Berlin in eastern direction by car. It was around 1730 that the local von Wulffen family built thecore part of the present Manor, called "Palace" as is the use for manors all over Brandenburg region. Around 1730 the local von Wulffen family built a manor house, the foundation of the present castle. This was acquired by Valentin von Massow in 1790. Massow was a regimental comrade of the Prussian crown prince Friedrich Wilhelm, who appreciated him for his artistic sense. Massow, who later became Lord Chamberlain of the Crown Prince, had the existing modest manor house complex completely rebuilt in the style of early Neoclassical architecture in the years 1790 to 1795 in a programmatic manner by David Gilly, who enlisted his son Friedrich Gilly as assistant. The "model estate" Steinhöfel became a model for other Brandenburg estates. The farm buildings, which until then had stood opposite the manor house, were completely demolished. They were replaced by a tree-lined, elongated pond surrounded by a meadow. At its end the pond was spanned by a small bridge as a point de vue, as the centre of the park. The whole thing now appeared as an extension of the Village Green. The park was accessed from there through a portal flanked by two sphinxes created by the eminent sculptor Gottfried Schadow. The Manor appeared as if it had been moved sideways into the park. In addition, there were buildings of garden architecture, a temple used as a library, a Chinese house, a grotto, an artificial waterfall and an aviary. Gilly rebuilt several farmhouses along the village green and the buildings of the farm at the other end. Around 1820 and around 1840 the owners made changes that made Gilly's main building unrecognisable. Around 1880 they had the building rebuilt in late Neoclassical style. In 1930 the estate was sold to a wealthy farmer. In the course of the land reform, the estate was expropriated in 1945 for the benefit of the community. The manor, which was soon structurally disfigured, served the consumer cooperative as a department store and was considered "neglected" in 1958, the park as "devastated by tractors, but little deforested".After the German reunification the castle was externally restored from 1991 to 93. From 2000 it was completely restored and extended for its current use as a hotel.

Source: Wikipedia.de

The fight against darkness manifesting in the world is essential. But my foremost duty is the battle against the darkness in my very own soul.

All things that are light-like are in solidarity with one another.

Triumphal death on the battlefield means victory over death, for though I could not conquer the enemy, I triumphed over death - externally I went under death, internally however I won and ascended triumphally.

259. The ultimate goal is salvation, but there is still a goal, an absolute goal, beyond this ultimate goal: the awakening. A goal is just in this sense a goal: a goal is a goal for this absolute goal exists - since without an absolute goal there could not be relative goals either.

174. Without exception, everyone reaches their goals, if they really have these goals.

218. He who wants the Goal, should also want the means that lead to the Goal. For if he does not want the means leading to the Goal, he certainly does not want the Goal.

203. Every true ascent from below is an ascent controlled from above. I want to get higher for what is higher in me »calls for« what is lower in me.

204. The adequate and legitimate way of getting back to Heaven is well symbolized by the ladder of Jacob: getting back to Heaven is only possible by climbing up the ladder which descends from Heaven. The inadequate and illegitimate way is the story of the Tower of Babel: the ascent from the Earth necessarily leads to collapse and confusion of mind.

238. In every manifested state it is essential that one should swim against the current towards the source.

239. Swimming against the current, backwards, toward the Source, towards the Light, towards God, towards Myself.

293. Knowledge of the origin, knowledge of the path, knowledge of the all-transcending, ultimate goal: this is metaphysical realisation.

294. Tradition springs forth from the eternal, points at the eternal, and in the human modality of being represents the aspiration towards the eternal.

240. It is impossible to initiate Modern man - only archaic man can be initiated. Therefore man’s task above all is to archaize himself.

241. Descent, the »going down to the netherworld«, should by all means take place and it does take place and it takes place intentionally. But while if I descend using my own will powers my descent will be followed by an ascension, if I descend subjecting myself to the forces of a foreign will it will not be followed by an ascension.

242. Realisation without asceticism is pure nonsense.

243. He who controls himself, controls the world.

244. By gaining power over consciousness man gains power over being.

276. With the awakening of man the whole world awakens.

[As in the case of common dreaming where with the awakening of the dreamer his whole dream world, reintegrated into the dreamer himself, awakens.]

277. When I reconstruct myself, I reconstruct the world.

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Metaphysical aphorisms by András László

www.tradicio.org/english/solumipsum.htm

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Painting by Bernat Martonel

In later years Pave Hawks were updated with more extensive self-protection gear, which saw the addition of lots of a few more lumps and bumps (missile approach warning systems, more chaff/flare launchers and externally mounted machine guns). Mine is still relatively clean.