A cúpula (o Domo), no interior do Panteão, em Roma.

The Dome, at Pantheon's Interior, in Rome.

 

A text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Pantheon, Rome.

The Pantheon (Latin: Pantheon, from Greek: Πάνθειον, meaning "Temple of all the gods") is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt circa 126 AD during Hadrian's reign. The intended degree of inclusiveness of this dedication is debated. The generic term pantheon is now applied to a monument in which illustrious dead are buried. It is the best preserved of all Roman buildings, and perhaps the best preserved building of its age in the world. It has been in continuous use throughout its history. The design of the extant building is sometimes credited to Trajan's architect Apollodorus of Damascus, but it is equally likely that the building and the design should be credited to Emperor Hadrian's architects, though not to Hadrian himself as many art scholars once thought. Since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church. The Pantheon is the oldest standing domed structure in Rome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).

n the aftermath of the Battle of Actium (31 BC), Agrippa built and dedicated the original Pantheon during his third consulship (27 BC). Agrippa's Pantheon was destroyed along with other buildings in a huge fire in 80 AD. The current building dates from about 126 AD, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, as date-stamps on the bricks reveal. It was totally reconstructed with the text of the original inscription ("M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT", standing for Latin: Marcus Agrippa, Lucii filius, consul tertium fecit translated to "'Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the third time, built this") which was added to the new facade, a common practice in Hadrian's rebuilding projects all over Rome. Hadrian was a cosmopolitan emperor who travelled widely in the East and was a great admirer of Greek culture. He might have intended the Pantheon, a temple to all the gods, to be a kind of ecumenical or syncretist gesture to the subjects of the Roman Empire who did not worship the old gods of Rome, or who (as was increasingly the case) worshipped them under other names. How the building was actually used is not known.

Cassius Dio, a Graeco-Roman senator, consul and author of a comprehensive History of Rome, writing approximately 75 years after the Pantheon's reconstruction, mistakenly attributed the domed building to Agrippa rather than Hadrian. Dio's book appears to be the only near-contemporary writing on the Pantheon, and it is interesting that even by the year 200 there was uncertainty about the origin of the building and its purpose:

Agrippa finished the construction of the building called the Pantheon. It has this name, perhaps because it received among the images which decorated it the statues of many gods, including Mars and Venus; but my own opinion of the name is that, because of its vaulted roof, it resembles the heavens. (Cassius Dio History of Rome 53.27.2)

The building was repaired by Septimius Severus and Caracalla in 202 AD, for which there is another, smaller inscription. This inscription reads "pantheum vetustate corruptum cum omni cultu restituerunt" ('with every refinement they restored the Pantheon worn by age').

In 609 the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV, who converted it into a Christian church and consecrated it to Santa Maria ad Martyres, now known as Santa Maria dei Martiri.

The building's consecration as a church saved it from the abandonment, destruction, and the worst of the spoliation which befell the majority of ancient Rome's buildings during the early medieval period. Paul the Deacon records the spoliation of the building by the Emperor Constans II, who visited Rome in July 663:

Remaining at Rome twelve days he pulled down everything that in ancient times had been made of metal for the ornament of the city, to such an extent that he even stripped off the roof of the church [of the blessed Mary] which at one time was called the Pantheon, and had been founded in honor of all the gods and was now by the consent of the former rulers the place of all the martyrs; and he took away from there the bronze tiles and sent them with all the other ornaments to Constantinople.

Much fine external marble has been removed over the centuries, and there are capitals from some of the pilasters in the British Museum. Two columns were swallowed up in the medieval buildings that abbutted the Pantheon on the east and were lost. In the early seventeenth century, Urban VIII Barberini tore away the bronze ceiling of the portico, and replaced the medieval campanile with the famous twin towers built by Maderno, which were not removed until the late nineteenth century. The only other loss has been the external sculptures, which adorned the pediment above Agrippa's inscription. The marble interior and the great bronze doors have survived, although both have been extensively restored.

Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has been used as a tomb. Among those buried there are the painters Raphael and Annibale Carracci, the composer Arcangelo Corelli, and the architect Baldassare Peruzzi. In the 15th century, the Pantheon was adorned with paintings: the best-known is the Annunciation by Melozzo da Forlì. Architects, like Brunelleschi, who used the Pantheon as help when designing the Cathedral of Florence's dome, looked to the Pantheon as inspiration for their works.

Pope Urban VIII (1623 to 1644) ordered the bronze ceiling of the Pantheon's portico melted down. Most of the bronze was used to make bombards for the fortification of Castel Sant'Angelo, with the remaining amount used by the Apostolic Camera for various other works. It is also said that the bronze was used by Bernini in creating his famous baldachin above the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica, but according to at least one expert, the Pope's accounts state that about 90% of the bronze was used for the cannon, and that the bronze for the baldachin came from Venice. This led the Roman satirical figure Pasquino to issue the famous proverb: Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini ("What the barbarians did not do, the Barberinis [Urban VIII's family name] did")

In 1747, the broad frieze below the dome with its false windows was “restored,” but bore little resemblance to the original. In the early decades of the twentieth century, a piece of the original, as could be reconstructed from Renaissance drawings and paintings, was recreated in one of the panels.

Also buried there are two kings of Italy: Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Umberto's Queen, Margherita. Although Italy has been a republic since 1946, volunteer members of Italian monarchist organizations maintain a vigil over the royal tombs in the Pantheon. This has aroused protests from time to time from republicans, but the Catholic authorities allow the practice to continue, although the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage is in charge of the security and maintenance.

The Pantheon is still used as a church. Masses are celebrated there, particularly on important Catholic days of obligation, and weddings.

The building is circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus), the Great Eye, open to the sky. A rectangular structure links the portico with the rotunda. Though often still drawn as a free-standing building, there was a building at its rear into which it abutted; of this building there are only archaeological remains.

In the walls at the back of the portico were niches, probably for statues of Caesar, Augustus and Agrippa, or for the Capitoline Triad, or another set of gods. The large bronze doors to the cella, once plated with gold, still remain but the gold has long since vanished. The pediment was decorated with a sculpture — holes may still be seen where the clamps which held the sculpture in place were fixed.

The 4,535 metric ton (5,000 tn) weight of the concrete dome is concentrated on a ring of voussoirs 9.1 metres (30 ft) in diameter which form the oculus while the downward thrust of the dome is carried by eight barrel vaults in the 6.4 metre (21 ft) thick drum wall into eight piers. The thickness of the dome varies from 6.4 metres (21 ft) at the base of the dome to 1.2 metres (4 ft) around the oculus. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft), so the whole interior would fit exactly within a cube (alternatively, the interior could house a sphere 43.3 metres (142 ft) in diameter). The Pantheon holds the record for the largest unreinforced concrete dome. The interior of the roof was possibly intended to symbolize the arched vault of the heavens. The Great Eye at the dome's apex is the source of all light in the interior. The oculus also serves as a cooling and ventilation method. During storms, a drainage system below the floor handles the rain that falls through the oculus.

The interior features sunken panels (coffers), which, in antiquity, may have contained bronze stars, rosettes, or other ornaments. This coffering was not only decorative, but also reduced the weight of the roof, as did the elimination of the apex by means of the Great Eye. The top of the rotunda wall features a series of brick-relieving arches, visible on the outside and built into the mass of the brickwork. The Pantheon is full of such devices — for example, there are relieving arches over the recesses inside — but all these arches were hidden by marble facing on the interior and possibly by stone revetment or stucco on the exterior. Some changes have been made in the interior decoration.

It is known from Roman sources that their concrete is made up of a pasty hydrate of lime, with pozzolanic ash (Latin pulvis puteolanum) and lightweight pumice from a nearby volcano, and fist-sized pieces of rock. In this, it is very similar to modern concrete. No tensile test results are available on the concrete used in the Pantheon; however Cowan discussed tests on ancient concrete from Roman ruins in Libya which gave a compressive strength of 2.8 ksi (20 MPa). An empirical relationship gives a tensile strength of 213 psi (1.5 MPa) for this specimen. Finite element analysis of the structure by Mark and Hutchison found a maximum tensile stress of only 18.5 psi (0.13 MPa) at the point where the dome joins the raised outer wall. The stresses in the dome were found to be substantially reduced by the use of successively less dense concrete in higher layers of the dome. Mark and Hutchison estimated that if normal weight concrete had been used throughout the stresses in the arch would have been some 80% higher.

The 16 gray granite columns Hadrian ordered for the Pantheon's pronaos were quarried at Mons Claudianus in Egypt's eastern mountains. Each was 39 feet (11.8 m) tall, five feet (1.5 m) in diameter, and 60 tons in weight. These were dragged on wooden sledges when transporting on land. They were floated by barge down the Nile and transferred to vessels to cross the Mediterranean to the Roman port of Ostia where they were transferred back onto barges and up the Tiber to Rome.

As the best-preserved example of an Ancient Roman monumental building, the Pantheon has been enormously influential in Western Architecture from at least the Renaissance on; starting with Brunelleschi's 42-meter dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, completed in 1436 – the first sizeable dome to be constructed in Western Europe since Late Antiquity. The style of the Pantheon can be detected in many buildings of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; numerous city halls, universities and public libraries echo its portico-and-dome structure. Examples of notable buildings influenced by the Pantheon include: the Panthéon in Paris, the Temple in Dartrey, the British Museum Reading Room, Manchester Central Library, Thomas Jefferson's Rotunda at the University of Virginia, the Rotunda of Mosta, in Malta, Low Memorial Library at Columbia University, New York, the domed Marble Hall of Sanssouci palace in Potsdam, Germany, the State Library of Victoria, and the Supreme Court Library of Victoria, both in Melbourne, Australia, the 52-meter-tall Ottokár Prohászka Memorial Church in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, Holy Trinity Church in Karlskrona by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, Sweden, The National Gallery of Art West Building by John Russell Pope, located in Washington, D.C, as well as the California State Capitol in Sacramento.

The present high altar and the apse were commissioned by Pope Clement XI (1700-1721) and designed by Alessandro Specchi. In the apse, a copy of a Byzantine icon of the Madonna is enshrined. The original, now in the Chapel of the Canons in the Vatican, has been dated to the 13th century, although tradition claims that it is much older. The choir was added in 1840, and was designed by Luigi Poletti.

The first niche to the right of the entrance holds a Madonna of the Girdle and St Nicholas of Bari (1686) painted by an unknown artist. The first chapel on the right, the Chapel of the Annunciation, has a fresco of the Annunication attributed to Melozzo da Forli. On the left side is a canvas by Clement Maioli of St Lawrence and St Agnes (1645-1650). On the right wall is the Incredulity of St Thomas (1633) by Pietro Paolo Bonzi.

The second niche has a 15th century fresco of the Tuscan school, depicting the Coronation of the Virgin. In the second chapel is the tomb of King Victor Emmanuel II (died 1878). It was originally dedicated to the Holy Spirit. A competition was held to decide which architect should be given the honor of designing it. Giuseppe Sacconi participated, but lost — he would later design the tomb of Umberto I in the opposite chapel. Manfredio Manfredi won the competition, and started work in 1885. The tomb consists of a large bronze plaque surmounted by a Roman eagle and the arms of the house of Savoy. The golden lamp above the tomb burns in honor of Victor Emmanuel III, who died in exile in 1947.

The third niche has a sculpture by Il Lorenzone of St Anne and the Blessed Virgin. In the third chapel is a 15th-century painting of the Umbrian school, The Madonna of Mercy between St Francis and St John the Baptist. It is also known as the Madonna of the Railing, because it originally hung in the niche on the left-hand side of the portico, where it was protected by a railing. It was moved to the Chapel of the Annunciation, and then to its present position some time after 1837. The bronze epigram commemorated Pope Clement XI's restoration of the sanctuary. On the right wall is the canvas Emperor Phocas presenting the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV (1750) by an unknown. There are three memorial plaques in the floor, one conmmemorating a Gismonda written in the vernacular. The final niche on the right side has a statue of St. Anastasio (1725) by Bernardino Cametti.

On the first niche to the left of the entrance is an Assumption (1638) by Andrea Camassei. The first chapel on the left, is the Chapel of St Joseph in the Holy Land, and is the chapel of the Confraternity of the Virtuosi at the Pantheon. This refers to the confraternity of artists and musicians that was formed here by a 16th-century Canon of the church, Desiderio da Segni, to ensure that worship was maintained in the chapel. The first members were, among others, Antonio da Sangallo the younger, Jacopo Meneghino, Giovanni Mangone, Zuccari, Domenico Beccafumi and Flaminio Vacca. The confraternity continued to draw members from the elite of Rome's artists and architects, and among later members we find Bernini, Cortona, Algardi and many others. The institution still exists, and is now called the Academia Ponteficia di Belle Arti (The Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts), based in the palace of the Cancelleria. The altar in the chapel is covered with false marble. On the altar is a statue of St Joseph and the Holy Child by Vincenzo de Rossi. To the sides are paintings (1661) by Francesco Cozza, one of the Virtuosi: Adoration of the Shepherds on left side and Adoration of the Magi on right. The stucco relief on the left, Dream of St Joseph is by Paolo Benaglia, and the one on the right, Rest during the flight from Egypt is by Carlo Monaldi. On the vault are several 17th-century canvases, from left to right: Cumean Sibyl by Ludovico Gimignani; Moses by Francesco Rosa; Eternal Father by Giovanni Peruzzini; David by Luigi Garzi and finally Eritrean Sibyl by Giovanni Andrea Carlone.

The second niche has a statue of St Agnes, by Vincenco Felici. The bust on the left is a portrait of Baldassare Peruzzi, derived from a plaster portrait by Giovanni Duprè. The tomb of King Umberto I and his wife Margherita di Savoia is in the next chapel. The chapel was originally dedicated to St Michael the Archangel, and then to St. Thomas the Apostle. The present design is by Giuseppe Sacconi, completed after his death by his pupil Guido Cirilli. The tomb consists of a slab of alabaster mounted in gilded bronze. The frieze has allegorical representations of Generosity, by Eugenio Maccagnani, and Munificence, by Arnaldo Zocchi. The royal tombs are maintained by the National Institute of Honour Guards to the Royal Tombs, founded in 1878. They also organize picket guards at the tombs. The altar with the royal arms is by Cirilli.

The third niche holds the mortal remains — his Ossa et cineres, "Bones and ashes", as the inscription on the sarcophagus says — of the great artist Raphael. His fiancée, Maria Bibbiena is buried to the right of his sarcophagus; she died before they could marry. The sarcophagus was given by Pope Gregory XVI, and its insription reads ILLE HIC EST RAPHAEL TIMUIT QUO SOSPITE VINCI / RERUM MAGNA PARENS ET MORIENTE MORI, meaning "Here lies Raphael, by whom the mother of all things (Nature) feared to be overcome while he was living, and while he was dying, herself to die". The epigraph was written by Pietro Bembo. The present arrangement is from 1811, designed by Antonio Munoz. The bust of Raphael (1833) is by Giuseppe Fabris. The two plaques commemorate Maria Bibbiena and Annibale Carracci. Behind the tomb is the statue known as the Madonna del Sasso (Madonna of the Rock) so named because she rests one foot on a boulder. It was commissioned by Raphael and made by Lorenzetto in 1524.

In the Chapel of the Crucifixion, the Roman brick wall is visible in the niches. The wooden crucifix on the altar is from the 15th century. On the left wall is a Descent of the Holy Ghost (1790) by Pietro Labruzi. On the right side is the low relief Cardinal Consalvi presents to Pope Pius VII the five provinces restored to the Holy See (1824) made by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. The bust is a portrait of Cardinal Agostino Rivarola. The final niche on this side has a statue of St. Rasius (S. Erasio) (1727) by Francesco Moderati.

www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/conwy/

  

www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/conwy/about.aspx

  

Situated on the banks of the Conwy estuary, with magnificent views of Snowdonia and Conwy Castle, this reserve is delightful at any time of year.

 

Conwy's a great place to get close to wildlife, to spend time with family and friends, or just take time out in fantastic scenery that embraces 4,000 years of human history. There’s a network of pushchair-friendly trails with viewpoints and hides to make the most of your visit and plenty if information to explain what you're watching. Perhaps you’ll meet one of our friendly volunteer wildlife guides who can help you discover just a little bit more?

 

In our Visitor Centre, our warm welcome will ensure you have exactly what you need for your visit. We have events to suit everyone from keen birdwatchers to beginners or young families, whether your interest is wildlife, history, art or any number of other subjects.

 

We love our food at Conwy so why not visit our monthly Farmers' Market or call in at the Waterside Coffee Shop, overlooking the lagoon, and enjoy a drink, a snack or light lunch using delicious local produce. We have a well-stocked shop, too, with good advice on everything from feeding birds to new binoculars.

 

We welcome group visits, but please book these with us in advance so that we can give you the best possible service. Entry rates are listed below, but we can also organise guided walks for a flat-fee of £30 for a group of up to 15 people, £50 for a group of 15 to 30 people. Please ring the reserve at least six weeks before your proposed visit to arrange a group visit.

  

Opening times

  

The shop and visitor centre is open every day (except Christmas Day) from 9.30 am-5 pm. The coffee shop is open from 10 am-4.30 pm (to 4 pm from November to March).

  

Entrance charges

  

Members free. Non-members: adults £3, concessions £2, children £1.50. Family ticket £6.50.

  

If you are new to birdwatching...

  

Why not join a guided walk with our volunteers every Saturday at 11 am? They will help you spot and identify the birds. You can hire a pair of binoculars from us (£3 a visit). Just ask at reception.

  

Information for families

  

From our Visitor Centre, you can collect one of our Bingo cards, encouraging you all to take a closer look at the reserve. Bingo cards change according to season and are available in Welsh or English. There's a self-guided Discovery Trail, and all the tracks are pushchair-friendly. The Waterside Coffee Shop has a popular toybox to occupy little hands while you're enjoying a cuppa.

  

Information for dog owners

  

Sorry, we don't allow dogs, except registered assistance dogs, because there are breeding birds and, in winter, roosting birds on the reserve. There’s a popular dog walk along the estuary, running north from the reserve.

  

www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/conwy/star_species.aspx

  

Star species

  

Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.

  

Black-tailed godwit

  

These elegant, long-billed waders can be seen on the estuary and lagoons here in autumn. Look out for their striking black and white wingbars as they take flight.

  

Lapwing

 

Look - and listen - for the acrobatic aerial displays of lapwings over the grassland in spring as they stake a claim to territories and try to attract a mate. These wonderful birds can be seen throughout the year.

  

Sedge warbler

  

Another warbler that returns from Africa in spring, the sedge warbler is easy to see because it 'pirouettes' up into the air from the tops of the bushes, singing its scratchy song as it goes.

  

Shelduck

  

Colourful shelducks are present in large numbers most of the year, with smaller numbers in summer. You can see them in flocks on the estuary and the lagoons.

  

Water rail

  

Water rails can be seen from the hides in winter. A bit of patience should reward you with a sighting of one of these skulking birds weaving in and out of the reeds.

   

www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/conwy/seasonal_highlight...

  

Seasonal highlights

  

Each season brings a different experience at our nature reserves. In spring, the air is filled with birdsong as they compete to establish territories and attract a mate. In summer, look out for young birds making their first venture into the outside world. Autumn brings large movements of migrating birds - some heading south to a warmer climate, others seeking refuge in the UK from the cold Arctic winter. In winter, look out for large flocks of birds gathering to feed, or flying at dusk to form large roosts to keep warm.

  

Spring

  

Lapwings perform their tumbling display flights. Grey herons build their nests. Birdsong increases from April as migrants arrive from Africa. Cowslips burst into flower around the coffee shop. Orange-tip and peacock butterflies take nectar from early flowers.

  

Summer

  

Warblers sing from the reedbeds and scrub. Common blue butterflies and six-spotted burnet moths feed on the bright yellow bird's foot trefoil. Young ducks and waders hatch. A profusion of wild flowers, including delicate bee orchids. Stoats hunt on the estuary track. Little egret numbers build up following the breeding season.

  

Autumn

  

Waders pass through on migration. Ducks arrive for the winter. Grassland is rich in fungi. Dragonflies lay eggs on warm afternoons. Sea buckthorn and brambles are festooned with berries. Buzzards soar over the nearby woods.

  

Winter

  

Huge flocks of starlings settle down to roost at dusk. Water rails may be seen from the Coffee Shop. Close-up views of buntings and finches at the feeding station. Gorse bursts into flower from January. Look for tracks of birds and mammals in the snow.

  

www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/conwy/facilities.aspx

  

Facilities

  

Facilities

 

•Visitor centre

•Car park : Ample parking with cycle racks.

•Toilets

•Disabled toilets

•Baby-changing facilities

•Picnic area

•Binocular hire

•Group bookings accepted

•Guided walks available

•Good for walking

•Pushchair friendly

  

Viewing points

  

Along the trails there are three hides and three viewing screens from which you get great views of wildlife and the scenery.

  

Nature trails

  

There are three nature trails that together create a circular loop of just under two miles. The Blue Tit and Redshank Trails are entirely accessible by wheelchairs and pushchairs; the Grey Heron trail is unpaved and can be bumpy.

  

Tearoom

  

Hot and cold drinks, lunches, cakes and snacks are available from the Waterside Coffee Shop, which stocks a range of Fairtrade and local produce.

 

Refreshments available

 

•Hot drinks

•Cold drinks

•Sandwiches

•Snacks

•Confectionery

  

Shop

  

Our friendly and knowledgeable team can help with advice on everything from a new pair of binoculars, the right book to go birdwatching or bird food and feeders that will suit your garden.

  

The shop stocks:

 

•Binoculars and telescopes

•Books

•Bird food

•Bird feeders

•Nestboxes

•Outdoor clothing

•Gifts

  

Educational facilities

  

Our friendly field teachers run a variety of activities and educational programmes for children. These fun and inspirational sessions are available for schools, youth groups and clubs. For more information contact Charlie Stretton on 01492 584091 or email conwy@rspb.org.uk. Educational facilities include an indoor activity room which is available for children's parties and community events. Please call for more information.

  

Group visits

 

We welcome group visits, but please book these with us in advance so that we can give you the best possible service. Entry rates are listed above, but we can also organise guided walks for a flat-fee of £30 for a group of up to 15 people, or £50 for a group of 15 to 30 people. Please ring the reserve at least six weeks before your proposed visit to arrange a group visit.

  

For more information

 

Contact us

 

Tel: 01492 584091

E-mail: conwy@rspb.org.uk

  

www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/conwy/conwyconnections.aspx

  

Enhancing RSPB Conwy nature reserve for people and nature

  

Over the next few months, RSPB Conwy will be transformed with a fresh look and exciting new facilities. We've been dreaming of this for years! Find out more about Conwy Connections and what you can look forward to.

  

What we've got planned

  

In autumn 2012 we started a programme of work that we're calling Conwy Connections.

 

The brownfield land that connects the visitor centre and coffee shop will be transformed into what we're calling 'Y Maes' - the 'village square' of the reserve. It'll be a place for families and friends to meet, relax and explore.

 

Hillocks and hummocks will provide elevated views of the reserve and the Conwy valley. It includes a play area, tunnel, picnic area, wildlife meadow, events area and much more.

 

Landforms and natural features will introduce more children to nature, stimulating learning through play and their own imaginations. It's going to be a wonderful place for everyone, throughout the year.

 

We're also constructing a new building which we're calling the 'observatory.' It will be a fantastic indoor space, built into the bank with the lagoon right in front of it. It's going to be a great place to watch wildlife, and we'll use it for events throughout the year.

 

It's by no means a run-of-the mill design. This very special, green construction will be built out of straw bales, rendered with clay on the inside and lime on the outside.

 

Other elements of the project that are yet to happen include new artwork for Talyfan Hide, a new viewpoint to be built on Y Ganol footpath and a big art installation. Watch this space!

  

It's all thanks to our supporters

  

The Communities and Nature project is supporting the Conwy Connections with £179,000. The Crown Estate pledged a generous £55,000 to build the new observatory. Tesco plc decided to donate the money it collected in its stores in Wales from the Welsh Government's 5p single-use bag levy to RSPB Cymru and a portion of this goes towards our project.

 

The fantastic volunteers of the RSPB Conwy Support Group also raised an impressive £30,000 towards the match-funding in less than two years. This shows huge support for what was proposed, for which we're very grateful.

 

We've also been able to install solar panels in the coffee shop and improve the car park, thanks to Conwy Connections.

 

Roll on August!

 

The Conwy Connections launch will take place on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 August 2013. It'll be a fun-filled day for you and all the family to enjoy the new facilities first-hand.

 

Why not sign up to our mailing list to receive our regular bulletin? Email us, follow us on Twitter or read the latest news on our blog.

 

Conwy Connections is an initiative part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government and is a component element of the Countryside Council for Wales' Communities and Nature strategic project.

 

RSPB Cymru would also like to thank those whose donations support RSPB Conwy nature reserve and visitor facilities, including The Crown Estate, Cemlyn Jones Trust, Environment Wales, Tesco Plc, Conwy Town Council and the RSPB Conwy Support Group.

  

www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/conwy/accessibility.aspx

  

Accessibility

 

9 July 2012

 

This is a Summary Access Statement. A full access statement is available to download from this page.

  

Before you visit

 

•Clear print site leaflet available from our reserve reception

•Free entry to members, Entrance fee for non members. Carer or essential companion admitted free with disabled visitor

•No dogs, except Registered Assistance Dogs. A water bowl is at the visitor centre

•Pushed wheelchairs for hire, free of charge, bookable in advance

•Visitor Centre open 9.30 am to 5 pm. Cafe open 10 am to 4 pm (4.30 pm in summer). Closed Christmas Day. Trails open outside visitor centre opening hours

•Check accessibility for events and activities

•RSPB Conwy is featured in A Rough Guide to Accessible Britain.

  

How to get here

 

•Llandudno Junction Railway Station less than a mile away

•Bus stop at Tesco or Llandudno Junction.

  

Car parking

 

•Eight Blue Badge spaces at visitor centre

•Large car park

•Gates locked at 5 pm

•Drop off outside the visitor centre

•Rolled stone surface

•No lighting

•No height restrictions

•Estuary viewed from parking outside entry gate.

  

Visitor centre and shop

  

Entry by three steps or a ramp with handrails on both sides. Heavy manual doors open outward. All one level with step-free entry and non-slip vinyl surface. Lowered counter. Two seats in reception. Good lighting. Clear print materials. Most text in English and Welsh. Binoculars hire. Some goods may be difficult to reach. Staff available to assist.

  

Nature trails

  

Three signposted trails, mainly flat; a mixture of surfaces including rolled slate and boardwalk. Benches provided. Information boards in large print.

  

Viewing facilities

  

Three viewing hides with adjacent viewing screens. Three stand-alone viewing screens with variable height viewing slots. Occasional weekend staffing at hides.

  

Toilets and baby changing facilities

 

A unisex accessible toilet with baby changing facility is in the coffee shop. Visitor toilets are behind the coffee shop.

  

Catering

  

Coffee shop 30 m past the visitor centre along a tarmac path. Panoramic windows on a single level with vinyl flooring. Self-service with staff available. Colour-contrasted crockery. Large-handled cutlery.

  

Picnic area

 

10 tables with wheelchair spaces between the visitor centre and the coffee shop. Visitors are welcome to consume their own food and drink here.

  

Education facilities

  

Step-free, level access throughout. Flexible layout. Non-slip vinyl flooring. Good lighting.

 

Help us improve accessibility by sending feedback to the Site Manager.

  

www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/conwy/optics.aspx

  

Thinking of buying binoculars or a telescope? Interested in using a digital camera with a telescope, but don't know where to start?

 

Book an appointment with an expert. Our one-hour field demonstrations will help you choose the best equipment for you – in the sort of conditions that you'll be using them, not just looking down the high street.

 

Telephone us on 01492 584091 to arrange your time with our advisers.

 

We also hold monthly demonstration weekends – check out our events page for details.

 

Chris Lusted, one of our optics team, says: 'Whether it's your first pair of binoculars, or you're thinking of upgrading your telescope, I love helping people to discover the world outside the window. I spend my spare time testing out new gear so that I can give customers the best advice.

 

'Everyone's different – your eyes, your hands, the places you go – so what's right for one person will be different from the next. I want people to appreciate birds well, so we can secure their future.'

  

www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/conwy/directions.aspx

  

How to get here

  

By train

 

The nearest train station is Llandudno Junction, less than a mile from the reserve. The quickest route is to turn left out of the station and take the first left down Ferndale Road. Follow the footpath to the right and turn left over the road bridge (Ffordd 6G). The road goes past Tesco and a cinema complex to the large A55 roundabout. The reserve is on the south side of the roundabout and is signposted.

 

A more enjoyable, but slightly longer walk, is just over a mile. Turn left out of the station and take the first left down Ferndale Road. Go under the bridge and after 200 m, go under another bridge and immediately up steps to join Conwy Road. Walk towards Conwy and at the start of the gardens, drop to your right and loop beneath Conwy Road through an underpass. Then it’s over the footbridge and follow the estuary track for half a mile until you get to the reserve car park.

 

A map to the reserve is on posters at Llandudno Junction railway station. If you’re travelling here by train, take advantage of our offer of a free drink. Present a valid rail ticket for arrival at Llandudno Junction in the Waterside Coffee Shop on the day of travel, and we’ll give you a free cup of tea or filter coffee.

  

By bus

  

The nearest bus stop is the number 27 at Tesco, follow directions as above. Many other buses stop nearby in Llandudno Junction (number 5, 9, 14, 15, 19 and 84), directions are as from the train station.

  

By road

  

From the A55, take junction 18 (signposted Conwy and Deganwy) and follow the brown RSPB signs. The reserve is on the south side of the roundabout. From Conwy, Deganwy and Llandudno, take the A546/A547 to the Weekly News roundabout, drive south past Tesco and the Cinema complex (Ffordd 6G) and cross the roundabout over the A55. The entrance to the reserve is on the south side.

  

www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/conwy/history/index.aspx

  

Conwy is an upside-down nature reserve. Until the late 1980s, it was a river. Twice a day the tide went out and revealed huge mudbanks. Waders fed on the mud, and at high tide roosted along the railway embankment.

 

And then their world changed. What happened could have been disastrous for wildlife, but thanks to some inspired thinking and hard work, new habitats and a popular reserve were created. We also highlight some of the historic features to look out for when you visit.

  

This is where we came from

  

We're an upside-down nature reserve because the earth you walk over sat at the bottom of the Conwy estuary for thousands of years. In the 1980s, the government decided to build a road tunnel through the estuary to relieve traffic congestion in the old walled town of Conwy.

 

The design was revolutionary - it was the first immersed tube tunnel in the world. But it came at a price: the final outside bend of the river would be 'reclaimed' and covered with the silt from the riverbed. After the tunnel was built, this land might have been grassed over and grazed, but for a moment of wisdom from a town planner from Aberconwy Borough Council, Dave Phillips.

 

Over a pint with countryside ranger John Davies, they wondered whether the lagoons could become the centre of a new wetland. A phone call to the RSPB, and several years of meetings and negotiations later, after the tunnel was opened by HM The Queen in October 1991, work began to create the neighbouring reserve.

  

www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/conwy/history/4000years....

  

Stand on the reserve and you can see 4,000 years of human history that stems from the Conwy valley's importance as a 'highway', first by boat, later by train and more recently by road.

 

Most of the west bank of the Conwy is in the Snowdonia National Park. The land here has been worked for more than 4,000 years: Stone Age quarries produced axes for export, early Celts lived in roundhouses and grew crops and livestock in field systems with terraced cultivation, burying their dead in cromlech chambers that remain in today's landscape.

 

After the Roman invasion of modern-day England, the Celtic tribes kept the Romans at bay for several years, using their knowledge of the hills to sabotage the Roman forces and undertake guerrilla warfare. The Romans' superior technology and organisation eventually won through and they took over the Celtic forts, such as Pen-y-gaer, which guard the Roman road through the hills to Anglesey.

 

After the Romans left, the land returned to the local tribes until after the Normans conquered England. Then this area became the Checkpoint Charlie of Wales – Celtic Wales on the west bank and lands ruled by English lords on the east. There were plenty of skirmishes, with castles built, occupied and knocked down, and battles fought on the shoreline that reputedly made the River Conwy run red with blood.

  

A tale of two castles

  

From the reserve, you can look north to two castles: on the east bank is the Vardre, fortified from Roman times until its abandonment and destruction by Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, in 1263. On the west bank is the impressive Conwy Castle, one of eight huge fortresses built by English king, Edward I when he conquered Wales. Built between 1283 and 1289, the castle and the town were built with 6-foot thick town walls to keep the Welsh out. At £15,000 (about £9 million today), it was the most expensive of the 'iron ring' of castles built by Edward.

 

The village to the south, Glan Conwy, has been a settlement for at least 1500 years. Llansanffraid Glan Conwy means 'Church of St Ffraid on the bank of the River Conwy'. The parish was founded, according to legend, when St. Bridget (Ffraid in Welsh) sailed from Ireland on a green turf and landed here - a tale which probably stems from the arrival of Irish Christians in the 5th century.

 

Glan Conwy was a busy port in the Georgian era with ships commuting to Chester and Bristol, carrying flour from the mill, fruit from the farms, timber and slates from the upper Valley and iron from the furnace at Bodnant. Until the railway line was built, Glan Conwy was a shipbuilding village, with ships that went as far as Australia, and a row of warehouses along the wharf where the A470 now lies.

 

This part of the estuary was notoriously hazardous for ships, with fast tidal races and frequent winter storms. Several boats sank here, the remains of one being obvious in the muddy saltmarsh just off the reserve.

 

The fast-flowing tidal river below the castle kept out invaders and was dangerous for early ferries. Many people drowned trying to cross it, including passengers aboard the Irish mailcoach. Engineer Thomas Telford designed the causeway (known as The Cob) and suspension bridge as part of the first North Wales coast road, which with the Castle and estuary provides a scenic backdrop to the reserve.

 

The railway from Llandudno Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog Railway, that runs alongside the reserve, was opened in 1863 to carry slate to a purpose built dock at Deganwy. Building the Cob altered the flow of the main channel in the estuary, reducing Glan Conwy's role as a port and the railway finished the boat traffic almost overnight, and with it a way of life, with its own language, was gone.

 

Beautiful Golden Ratio Swimsuit Bikini Model Goddess! Helen of Troy! Pretty Athletic Woman!

 

The golden gun is designed with proportions of the golden ratio! Learn more here:

facebook.com/goldennumberratio

instagram.com/goldennumberratio

  

Would you like to see the whole set? Comment below and let me know!

 

Follow me!

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I am working on several books on "epic photography," and I recently finished a related one titled: The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Why the Fibonacci Numbers Exalt Beauty and How to Create PHI Compositions in Art, Design, & Photography: An Artistic and Scientific Introduction to the Golden Mean . Message me on facebook for a free review copy!

 

www.facebook.com/goldennumberratio/

 

The Golden Ratio also informs the design of the golden revolver on all the swimsuits and lingerie, as well as the 45surf logo!

 

The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Dr. E’s Golden Ratio Principle: The golden ratio exalts beauty because the number is a characteristic of the mathematically and physically most efficient manners of growth and distribution, on both evolutionary and purely physical levels. The golden ratio ensures that the proportions and structure of that which came before provide the proportions and structure of that which comes after. Robust, ordered growth is naturally associated with health and beauty, and thus we evolved to perceive the golden ratio harmonies as inherently beautiful, as we saw and felt their presence in all vital growth and life—in the salient features and proportions of humans and nature alike, from the distribution of our facial features and bones to the arrangements of petals, leaves, and sunflowers seeds. As ratios between Fibonacci Numbers offer the closest whole-number approximations to the golden ratio, and as seeds, cells, leaves, bones, and other physical entities appear in whole numbers, the Fibonacci Numbers oft appear in nature’s elements as “growth’s numbers.” From the dawn of time, humanity sought to salute their gods in art and temples exalting the same proportion by which all their vital sustenance and they themselves had been created—the golden ratio.

 

Exalt in the glorious golden ratio! facebook.com/goldennumberratio

Control tower. 1939-40, to 1939 Watch Office with Meteorological Section design by Air Ministry's Directorate of Works. Drawing no. 5845/39. Painted brickwork walls, reinforced concrete floors and roof, with asphalt finish.

 

PLAN: a near-square plan on three floors with wide glazed balconies facing the flying field. The ground floor has the main watch office and pilots' room, forecast and teleprinters, and WCs; at first floor is the main control room backed by the meteorological and signals offices; the rear staircase gives access also to the glazed observation room at second floor level.

 

EXTERIOR: the original steel casements with horizontal glazing bars have been retained almost throughout, including those to the long observation frontages. At ground floor the front has three large 4-light windows separated by brick piers, under a concrete balcony cantilevered out to semi-circular ends, and with a 'nautical' style steel balustrade in four horizontal bars and handrail to simple uprights; at this level is a continuous multi-light window returned to quadrants at each end, above a low breast wall, and with a deep parapet wall taken up as a balustrade to the top deck, which has a further range of full-width glazing to a set-back observation room. The return walls each have a series of tall casements, linked at the upper level by a 'frieze band' under the cantilevered flat slab with the nautical balustrade continued to the rear to the stair tower. The rear faÎade has a single light each side of the projecting stair tower, with a small bulls-eye above a deep stair light, and small lights on the return.

 

Later alterations comprise timber-framed and glazed observation room, and extension over rear doorway. The building is flanked at each side by two-bay and three-bay fire tender and flare stores.

 

INTERIOR: original doors and joinery; solid concrete staircase.

 

HISTORY: This is the best example of this type of control tower after Swanton Morley. It is the most sophisticated Air Ministry design of the inter-war period both in terms of its planning, with a meteorological section incorporated into the design behind the control room. Its distinctly Art Deco treatment strongly recalls the Bauhaus tradition from which this style was evolved. In the second half of the 1930s, increasing attention was being given to the dispersal and shelter of aircraft from attack, ensuring serviceable landing and take-off areas, and the control of movement: the result was the development of the control tower, from the simple watch office of the 1920s, and the planning from 1938 of the first airfields with runways and perimeter tracks. The development of radio communication, and the increasing need to organise the flying field into different zones for take-off, landing and taxiing, brought with it an acceptance that movement on the airfield needed to be controlled from a single centre: control towers thus evolved from the simple duty pilot's watch office to the tower design of 1934 and integration of traffic control and weather monitoring in the Art Deco horizontality of the Watch Office with Meteorological Section of 1939. The control tower became the most distinctive and instantly recognisable building associated with military airfields, particularly in the Second World War when they served as foci for base personnel as they awaited the return of aircraft from operations.

 

From 1930 the Maidstone School of Flying used the area as a private landing ground, which was registered as Maidstone airport in 1932. A satellite of Biggin Hill within Fighter Command's strategically critical 11 Group, West Malling was opened as a fighter station in June 1940, although a series of raids in August and September 1940 rendered the airfield unserviceable for much of the Battle of Britain. It reopened in October of that year, although the station was able to accept a full station only in April 1941. It became a nightfighter station at this time, its Bristol Beaufighter pilots including Guy Gibson and Don Parker - both becoming famous names in Bomber Command, the former for his leadership of 617 Squadron in the Dams Raid and other precision attacks. It was later used by Mosquitos and Typhoons in operations against occupied Europe, including the support of 'D' Day, and became the principal station during 'Operation Diver' in 1944, the name given to the defence of the east and south-eastern coasts against the V1 bomb. It is significant, in this context, that there are no other fighter stations associated with 'Operation Diver' that have survived in a sufficiently complete state of preservation to merit listing: the other key sites in the London area - Northolt, Biggin Hill and Kenley - were placed behind the balloon barrage erected for the operation. With the end of the war, West Malling became the main rehabilitation centre for POWs returning from Germany to Britain. The base was put into 'care and maintenance' in August 1960, and was acquired in 1970 by Kent County Council: in 1972 it became a centre for dispossessed Ugandan Asians, and eventually some of the major buildings were adapted for Local Authority use (notably the Officers' Mess and Building 60), whilst others were retained and incorporated as part of a larger commercial park.

Portuguese police officer during a race cyclists.

Note to self!!! Ensure that your CF card is in your camera for arrival shots - No good stuck at home in the PC!!!

"Air Europa 006" arriving into Dublin from Madrid, 6th July 2021, for attention with International Aerospace Coatings Ltd.

Wandering the back alleys of Vancouver's Mount Pleasant community checking out Vancouver Mural Festival (VMF) works. - one final mural shot. This one is not part of VMF.

 

The mural is one of two in Mount Pleasant paying tribute to Vancouver graffiti artist Holden Courage (AKA as Sefer), who passed away in 2015 at 21 from a toxic drug overdose. Sefer was Holden’s graffiti artist name.

 

The Sefer Project celebrates graffiti and includes the Holden Courage Memorial Fund for Artists supporting graffiti artists in Vancouver.

 

The project and fund were founded by Vancouver broadcaster Tara McGuire in memory of her son Holden Courage. The fund is coordinated by The Vancouver Foundation.

 

Annually a Holden Courage Memorial Graffiti Jam is held as part of the Vancouver Mural Festival.

 

ABOUT HOLDEN

Toxicology screening confirmed Holden died of opioid toxicity, otherwise known as a heroin overdose. To be more precise, an unfortunate mixture of alcohol and heroin. A combination of the two is often enough to slow and eventually stop even the youngest, strongest, and most beautiful of hearts.

 

BC’s ILLICIT OVERDOSE DRUG STATUS:

14 April 2021 marked the 5 year anniversary of BC declaring opiate drug deaths an emergency health crisis.

 

5 people are dying of an overdose every day in B.C., 5 years after a public health emergency was declared.

 

The BC Coroners Service said 7,072 people died of an overdose between January 2016 and the end of February 2021. Provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall declared the emergency on April 14, 2016.

 

The latest data shows a total of 329 people died in the first two months of 2021.

 

So far, 2021 is shaping up to be worse than 2020, the deadliest year on record for overdose deaths with 1,716 lives lost.

 

The average age of those dying from illicit drug toxicity is 43. Fentanyl or fentanyl analogues are now detected in 80 per cent of all deaths.

 

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increasingly toxic illicit drug supply and heightened anxiety and loneliness for many people with addiction issues.

 

Five years later with more deaths, no real, fulsome, safe supply of drugs and all the government seems to be doing is research and writing up plans that never come to fruition.

 

As B.C. marks five years since declaring a public health emergency due to opioid deaths, the provincial government has announced it will be making an official federal request to become the first province in Canada to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs.

 

Decriminalization of drug possession and increased access to safer supplies are important initiatives but people with addiction issues also require help and supports.

 

Despite evidence-based solutions, models and best practices that have worked in other jurisdictions, the province and the federal governments have yet to move forward with policy changes and actions required to ensure access to regulated, pharmaceutical grade alternatives to the toxic drug supply.

 

Overdose deaths continue and illicit drug suppliers flourish with no defined solution in sight - unbelievable.

 

05 May 2021 - The Tyee.

Read more from Holden’s mother (Tara McGuire) here:

 

I Want to Tell You How This Feels:

 

thetyee.ca/Analysis/2021/05/05/I-Want-To-Tell-You-How-Thi...

~ Stacia Tauscher

 

===

 

Recommended - View Large On Black

 

Hey everyone... I'm still unable to find time to Flickr aside from quick peeks here and there... I would be lying if I promise that I can visit your streams... the fact is, I can't. Not yet...

 

So much things happening at work at the moment... There's a lot of uncertainties... And there are other more important things taking priority at this stage... Flickr can always wait...

 

But just to ensure I don't totally get disconnected from Flickr... I'll endeavor to upload 1 photo per week...

 

Have a great rest of the week.......

 

===

 

No comments required. :)

  

An early start to ensure I captured these beauties in the orange glow of sunrise. RSPB Bempton Cliffs.

ENGLISH:

Slope tractor for driving on inclines of 45%. To ensure stability, twin wheels are attached at the rear. The tractor has a dual-circuit compressed air brake system, which acts separately on the rear and front wheels.

The 4 cylinder diesel engine has an output of 100 HP. The dead weight of the four-wheel drive tractor is 6.5 tons.

For better ventilation, the cabin roof can be opened diagonally upwards at the front.

Manufacturer: Kombinat Progress Agricultural Machinery – VEB Traktorenwerk Schönebeck, GDR.

In my 1:87 diorama the tractor is equipped with a sowing machine.

 

ESPAÑOL:

Tractor de pendientes para circular en pendientes de hasta el 45%. Para garantizar la estabilidad, se colocan ruedas gemelas en la parte trasera. El tractor dispone de un sistema de frenos de aire comprimido de doble circuito que actúa por separado sobre las ruedas traseras y delanteras.

El motor diésel de 4 cilindros tiene una potencia de 100 CV. El peso propio del tractor con tracción en las cuatro ruedas es de 6,5 toneladas.

Para una mejor ventilación, el techo de la cabina se puede abrir hacia arriba en la parte delantera.

Fabricante: Kombinat Progress Agriculture Machinery – VEB Traktorenwerk Schönebeck, RDA.

En mi diorama a escala 1:87, el tractor está equipado con una sembradora.

 

DEUTSCH:

Hangtraktor zum Befahren von Steigungen bis 45 %. Um die Stabilität zu gewährleisten, sind am Heck Zwillingsräder angebracht. Der Traktor verfügt über eine Zweikreis-Druckluftbremsanlage, die getrennt auf die Hinter- und Vorderräder wirkt.

Der 4-Zylinder-Dieselmotor hat eine Leistung von 100 PS. Das Eigengewicht des Allradschleppers beträgt 6,5 Tonnen.

Zur besseren Belüftung lässt sich das Kabinendach vorne schräg nach oben öffnen.

Hersteller: Kombinat Fortschritt Landmaschinen – VEB Traktorenwerk Schönebeck, DDR.

In meinem Diorama im Maßstab 1:87 ist der Traktor mit einer Sämaschine ausgestattet.

 

Ensure gate is not malfunctioning before proceeding.

 

LEGO 365: Jar Jar Having A Bad Year

Waimea Valley is deeply rooted in Hawaiian history and continues to be a respite for Hawaiian spirituality and traditions. Waimea Valley is an ahupua‘a, a division of land stretching from the mountains to the sea. If you imagine the island like a pie, each slice is an ahupua‘a. Land was divided this way in Hawai‘i for many reasons, the most important of which was to ensure each community within the ahupua‘a had the resources they needed to survive. Resources are found at various elevations and places within each ahupua’a. By dividing land in this way, each community had access to forest land, fresh water from the mauka region, various ecological for planting different crops, and a path to the ocean for fishing and travel.

 

From the uka (uplands) region, plants that provide medicines are found. Trees for constructing wa‘a (canoes) and hale (houses and other structures) are harvested here. Birds are caught and released for making hulu (feather) adornments. The kula (plains, midland) region is where most agricultural crops are farmed such as mai‘a (banana), kalo (taro), ‘ulu (breadfruit), ‘uala (sweet potato) and niu (coconut). The kai (seaside) region provided food and other resources from the ocean, including i‘a (fish), he‘e (octopus), pūpū (shells), limu (seaweed) and pa‘akai (salt).

 

Each ahupua‘a was ruled by a chief, or ali‘i ‘ai. He in turn appointed a konohiki. The konohiki served as general manager responsible for the use of an ahupua‘a as a resource system. Under the konohiki were luna (specialists). For example, the luna wai was responsible for the fresh water flow and irrigation system.

Plumeria is related to the Oleander, Nerium oleander, and both possess an irritant, rather similar to that of Euphorbia. Contact with the sap may irritate eyes and skin.[4] Each of the separate species of Plumeria bears differently shaped alternate leaves with distinct form and growth habits. The leaves of P. alba are quite narrow and corrugated, whereas leaves of P. pudica have an elongated shape and glossy, dark-green color. P. pudica is one of the everblooming types with non-deciduous, evergreen leaves. Another species that retains leaves and flowers in winter is P. obtusa; though its common name is "Singapore," it is originally from Colombia.[citation needed]

 

Plumeria flowers are most fragrant at night in order to lure sphinx moths to pollinate them. The flowers have no nectar, however, and simply dupe their pollinators. The moths inadvertently pollinate them by transferring pollen from flower to flower in their fruitless search for nectar.[citation needed]

 

Plumeria species may be propagated easily from cuttings of leafless stem tips in spring. Cuttings are allowed to dry at the base before planting in well-drained soil. Cuttings are particularly susceptible to rot in moist soil.

 

In order to get the most from a plumeria plant with respect to growth, size, blooms, and scent, there is a fine balance that must be maintained. Ideally, a plumeria is in its element when it can have plenty of sun and appropriate water, so as to maintain soil moistness just above a state of dryness. On the other hand, if the plant receives a lesser amount of sun, then a lesser amount of watering is necessary - again, to ensure that soil moistness stays just above the dry state. The more sun, the more water. The less sun, the less water. A common mistake of novice plumeria growers is to over-water the plant when it is not able to be exposed to enough sun, thereby resulting in a rotted root system. Conversely, if a plumeria plant is able to receive maximum exposure to the sun, but they aren't watered enough, the plant will die.[citation needed]

 

Propagation can also be by tissue culture from cuttings of freshly elongated stems or aseptically germinated seed. Pruning is best accomplished in the winter for deciduous varieties, or when cuttings a

desired. Thanks to those who view, comment or save my photo. It will be highly appreciated. No multii invites please. I will not comment or save a photo made by a cell phone, Ipads, or similar devices.

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REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS

  

MECONOPSIS BETONICIFOLIA

  

Visit : www.refordgardens.com/

 

From Wikipedia:

 

Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.

 

Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.

  

Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.

 

She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.

 

In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.

 

During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.

 

In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.

 

Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.

 

To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.

 

Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.

 

In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)

 

Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford

 

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Visit : www.refordgardens.com/

 

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LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS

 

Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.

 

Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.

 

Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada

 

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Golegã, Portugal

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Since October 15, 1978 the rights of animals are set out in the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights, created by UNESCO. The purpose of this memorandum is to ensure the preservation of species around the planet and ensure their well-being. The World Animal Day is celebrated since 1930 in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, protector of animals that died on October 4, 1226.

The Postcard

 

A postally unused postcard that was published in 1986 by Impact of Pittsburg, California 94565. The card, which was designed and distributed in the USA, was printed in Korea.

 

The photography was by Ken Raveill, and the card, which has a divided back, was made with recycled paper.

 

Hearst Castle

 

Hearst Castle, known formally as La Cuesta Encantada ("The Enchanted Hill"), is an estate in San Simeon, located on the Central Coast of California. Conceived by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his architect Julia Morgan, the castle was built between 1919 and 1947.

 

George Bernard Shaw described Hearst Castle as:

 

"What God would have built

if he had had the money."

 

Today, Hearst Castle is a museum open to the public as a California State Park and registered as a National Historic Landmark and California Historical Landmark.

 

George Hearst, William Randolph Hearst's father, had purchased the original 40,000-acre (162 km2) estate in 1865 and Camp Hill, the site for the future Hearst Castle, was used for family camping vacations during Hearst's youth.

 

In 1919 William inherited $11,000,000 (equivalent to $172,000,000 in 2021) and estates, including the land at San Simeon. He used his fortune to further develop his media empire of newspapers, magazines and radio stations, the profits from which supported a lifetime of building and collecting.

 

Within a few months of Phoebe Hearst's death, he had commissioned Morgan to:

 

"Build something a little more

comfortable up on the hill."

 

This was the genesis of the present castle. Morgan was an architectural pioneer:

 

"America's first truly independent

female architect."

 

She was the first woman to study architecture at the School of Beaux-Arts in Paris, the first to have her own architectural practice in California, and the first female winner of the American Institute of Architects' Gold Medal.

 

Julia worked in close collaboration with Hearst for over twenty years, and the castle at San Simeon is her best-known creation.

 

In the Roaring Twenties and into the 1930's, Hearst Castle reached its social peak. Originally intended as a family home for Hearst, his wife Millicent and their five sons, by 1925 he and Millicent had effectively separated and he held court at San Simeon with his mistress, the actress Marion Davies.

 

Their guest list comprised most of the Hollywood stars of the period; Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Greta Garbo, Buster Keaton, Mary Pickford, Jean Harlow and Clark Gable all visited, some on multiple occasions.

 

Political luminaries encompassed Calvin Coolidge and Winston Churchill, while other notables included Charles Lindbergh, P. G. Wodehouse and George Bernard Shaw.

 

Visitors gathered each evening at Casa Grande for drinks in the Assembly Room, dined in the Refectory and watched the latest movie in the theater before retiring to the luxurious accommodation provided by the guest houses of Casa del Mar, Casa del Monte and Casa del Sol.

 

During the days, they admired the views, rode, played tennis, bowls or golf and swam in "the most sumptuous swimming pool on earth".

 

While Hearst entertained, Morgan built; the castle was under almost continual construction from 1920 until 1939, with work resuming after the end of World War II until Hearst's final departure in 1947.

 

Hearst, his castle and his lifestyle were satirized by Orson Welles in his 1941 film Citizen Kane. In the film, which Hearst sought to suppress, Charles Foster Kane's palace Xanadu is said to contain:

 

"Paintings, pictures, statues, the very stones

of many another palace – a collection of

everything so big it can never be cataloged

or appraised; enough for ten museums; the

loot of the world".

 

Welles's was referring to Hearst's mania for collecting; the dealer Joseph Duveen called him the "Great Accumulator".

 

With a passion for acquisition almost from childhood, he bought architectural elements, art, antiques, statuary, silverware and textiles on an epic scale. Shortly after starting San Simeon, he began to conceive of making the castle:

 

"A museum of the best

things that I can secure".

 

Foremost among his purchases were architectural elements from Western Europe, particularly Spain. Over thirty ceilings, doorcases, fireplaces and mantels, entire monasteries, paneling and a medieval tithe barn were purchased, shipped to Hearst's Brooklyn warehouses and transported on to California.

 

Much was then incorporated into the fabric of Hearst Castle. In addition, he built up collections of more conventional art and antiques of high quality; his assemblage of ancient Greek vases was one of the world's largest.

 

In May 1947, Hearst's health compelled him and Marion Davies to leave the castle for the last time. He died in Los Angeles in 1951, and Morgan died in 1957. The following year, the Hearst family gave the castle and much of its contents to the State of California, and the mansion was opened to the public on the 17th. May 17, 1958.

 

It has since operated as the Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument, and attracts about 750,000 visitors annually.

 

The Hearst family retains ownership of the majority of the 82,000 acres (332 km2) wider estate and, under a land conservation agreement reached in 2005, has worked with the California State Parks Department and American Land Conservancy to preserve the undeveloped character of the area.

 

Early History to 1864

 

The coastal range of Southern California has been occupied since prehistoric times. The indigenous inhabitants were the Salinans and the Chumash. In the late 18th. century, Spanish missions were established in the area in order to convert the Native American population.

 

The Mission San Miguel Arcángel, one of the largest, opened in what is now San Luis Obispo county in 1797. By the 1840's, the mission had declined and the priests departed. In that decade, the governors of Mexican California distributed the mission lands in a series of grants.

 

Three of these were Rancho Piedra Blanca, Rancho Santa Rosa and Rancho San Simeon. The Mexican–American War of 1846–1848 saw the area pass into the control of the United States under the terms of the Mexican Cession. The California Gold Rush of the next decade brought an influx of American settlers, among whom was the 30-year old George Hearst.

 

Buying the land: 1865–1919

 

Born in Missouri in 1820, George Hearst made his fortune as a miner of gold and silver, notably at the Comstock Lode and the Homestake Mine. He then undertook a political career, becoming a senator in 1886, and bought The San Francisco Examiner.

 

Investing in land, he bought the Piedra Blanca property in 1865, and subsequently extended his holdings with the acquisition of most of the Santa Rosa estate, and much of the San Simeon lands.

 

In the 1870's George Hearst built a ranch house on his estate, which remains a private property maintained by the Hearst Corporation. The San Simeon area became a site for family camping expeditions, including his young son, William. A particularly favored spot was named Camp Hill, the site of the future Hearst Castle.

 

Years later Hearst recalled his early memories of the place:

 

"My father brought me to San Simeon

as a boy. I had to come up the slope

hanging on to the tail of a pony.

We lived in a cabin on this spot and I

could see forever. That's the West –

forever."

 

George Hearst developed the estate somewhat, introducing beef and dairy cattle, planting extensive fruit orchards, and expanding the wharf facilities at San Simeon Bay. He also bred racehorses.

 

While his father developed the ranch, Hearst and his mother traveled, including an eighteen-month tour of Europe in 1873, where Hearst's life-long obsession with art collecting began.

 

When George Hearst died in 1891, he left an estate of $18 million to his widow including the California ranch. Phoebe Hearst shared the cultural and artistic interests of her son, collecting art and patronizing architects.

 

She was also a considerable philanthropist, founding schools and libraries, supporting the fledgling University of California, Berkeley, including the funding of the Hearst Mining Building in memory of her husband, and making major donations to a range of women's organizations, including the YWCA.

 

During the late 1890's, Mrs Hearst encountered Julia Morgan, a young architecture student at Berkeley. On Phoebe Hearst's death in 1919, William Hearst inherited the ranch, which had grown to 250,000 acres and 14 miles (23 km) of coastline, as well as $11 million.

 

250,000 acres is a huge area for an estate - to accommodate that area in a square, it would need sides of over 19.8 miles (32 km).

 

Within days of his mother's death, William was at Morgan's San Francisco office.

 

Julia Morgan

 

Julia Morgan, who was born in 1872, was 47 when Hearst entered her office in 1919. Her biographer Mark A. Wilson has described her subsequent career as that of:

 

"America's first independent

full-time woman architect".

 

After studying at Berkeley, where she worked with Bernard Maybeck, and in 1898 she became the first woman to win entry to the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Passing out from the École in 1902, Morgan returned to San Francisco and took up a post at the architectural practice of John Galen Howard.

 

Howard recognized Morgan's talents, but also exploited them:

 

"The best thing about this person

is, I pay her almost nothing, as it is

a woman."

 

In 1904, Julia passed the California architects' licensing examination, the first woman to do so, establishing her own office in 1906 at 456 Montgomery Street in San Francisco.

 

During her time with Howard, Morgan was commissioned by Phoebe Hearst to undertake work at her Hacienda del Pozo de Verona estate at Pleasanton. This led to work at Wyntoon and to a number of commissions from Hearst himself; an unexecuted design for a mansion at Sausalito, north of San Francisco, a cottage at the Grand Canyon, and the Los Angeles Examiner Building.

 

In 1919, when he turned up at Morgan's office, Hearst was fifty-six years old, and the owner of a publishing empire that included twenty-eight newspapers, thirteen magazines, eight radio stations, four film studios, extensive real-estate holdings and thirty-one thousand employees.

 

He was also a significant public figure: although his political endeavors had proved largely unsuccessful, the influence he exerted through his direct control of his media empire attracted fame and opprobrium in equal measure.

 

In 1917, one biographer described him as:

 

"The most hated man

in the country".

 

The actor Ralph Bellamy, a guest at San Simeon in the mid-1930's, recorded Hearst's working methods in a description of a party in the Assembly Room:

 

"The party was quite gay. And in the midst of it,

Mr Hearst came in. There was a teletype machine

just inside, and he stopped and he read it.

He went to a table and picked up a phone.

He asked for the editor of his San Francisco

newspaper and he said, 'Put this in a two-column

box of the front pages of all the newspapers

tomorrow morning.'

And without notes he dictated an editorial."

 

Morgan and Hearst's partnership at San Simeon lasted from 1919 until his final departure from the castle in 1947. Their correspondence, preserved in the Julia Morgan archive in the Robert E. Kennedy Library at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, runs to some 3,700 letters and telegrams.

 

Victoria Kastner, Hearst Castle's in-house custodian, has described the partnership as "a rare, true collaboration," and there are many contemporary accounts of the closeness of the relationship. Walter Steilberg, a draughtsman in Morgan's office, once observed them at dinner:

 

"The rest of us could have been a

hundred miles away; they didn't pay

any attention to anybody ... these

two very different people just clicked".

 

Thomas Aidala, in his 1984 history of the castle, made a similar observation:

 

"Seated opposite each other, they

would discuss and review work,

consider design changes, pass

drawings back and forth ... seemingly

oblivious of the rest of the guests."

 

Having a Ball: 1925–1938

 

Hearst and his family occupied Casa Grande for the first time at Christmas, 1925. Thereafter, Hearst's wife, Millicent, went back to New York, and from 1926 until they left for the last time in 1947, Hearst's mistress Marion Davies acted as his chatelaine at the castle.

 

The Hollywood and political elite often visited in the 1920's and 1930's. Among Hearst's guests were Calvin Coolidge, Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, the Marx Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, and Clark Gable.

 

Churchill described his host, and Millicent Hearst and Davies, in a letter to his own wife:

 

"A grave simple child – with no doubt a

nasty temper – playing with the most

costly toys.

Two magnificent establishments, two

charming wives, complete indifference

to public opinion, oriental hospitalities."

 

Weekend guests were either brought by private train from Glendale Station north of Los Angeles, and then by car to the castle, or flew into Hearst's airstrip, generally arriving late on Friday evening or on Saturday. Cecil Beaton wrote of his impressions during his first visit for New Year's Eve in 1931:

 

"We caught sight of a vast, sparkling white

castle in Spain. It was out of a fairy story.

The sun poured down with theatrical

brilliance on tons of white marble and white

stone.

There seemed to be a thousand statues,

pedestals, urns. The flowers were unreal in

their ordered profusion.

Hearst stood smiling at the top of one of

the many flights of garden steps".

 

Guests were generally left to their own devices during the day. Horseback riding, shooting, swimming, golf, croquet and tennis were all available, while Hearst would lead mounted parties for picnics on the estate. The only absolute deadline was for cocktails in the assembly room at 7.30 on Saturday night.

 

Alcohol was rationed; guests were not permitted to have liquor in their rooms, and were limited to one cocktail each before dinner. This was due not to meanness on Hearst's part, but to his concerns over Davies's alcoholism, though the rule was frequently flouted.

 

The actor David Niven later reflected on his supplying illicit alcohol to Davies:

 

"It seemed fun at the time to stoke up

her fire of outrageous fun and I got a

kick out of feeling I had outwitted one

of the most powerful and best informed

men on earth, but what a disloyal and

crummy betrayal of him, and what a

nasty potential nail to put in her coffin."

 

Dinner was served at 9.00 in the refectory. Wine came from Hearst's 7,000-bottle cellar. Charlie Chaplin commented on the fare:

 

"Dinners were elaborate -- pheasant, wild

duck, partridge and venison -- but were

also informal: amidst the opulence, we

were served paper napkins, it was only

when Mrs Hearst was in residence that

the guests were given linen ones."

 

The informality extended to the ketchup bottles and condiments in jars which were remarked on by many guests.

 

Dinner was invariably followed by a movie; initially outside, and then in the theater. The actress Ilka Chase recorded a showing in the early 1930's:

 

"The theater was not yet complete – the plaster

was still wet – so an immense pile of fur coats

was heaped at the door, and each guest picked

one up and enveloped himself before entering...

Hearst and Marion, close together in the gloom

and bundled in their fur coats, looked for all the

world like the big and baby bears".

 

Movies were generally films from Hearst's own studio, Cosmopolitan Productions, and often featured Marion Davies. Sherman Eubanks, whose father worked as an electrician at the castle, recorded in an oral history:

 

"Mr Hearst would push a button and call up to

the projectionist and say 'Put on Marion's Peg

o' My Heart'.

So I've seen Peg o' My Heart about fifty times.

This is not being critical. I'm simply saying that's

the way it was. This repetition tended to put a

slight strain on the guests' gratitude."

 

In 1937, Patricia Van Cleeve married at the castle, the grandest social occasion there since the visit of President and Mrs Coolidge in February 1930. Ken Murray records these two events as the only occasions when formal attire was required of guests to the castle.

 

Van Cleeve, who married the actor Arthur Lake, was always introduced as Marion Davies' favorite niece. It was frequently rumored that she was in fact Davies and Hearst's daughter, something she herself acknowledged just before her death in 1993.

 

In February 1938, a plane crash at the San Simeon airstrip led to the deaths of Lord and Lady Plunket, who were traveling to the castle as Hearst's guests, and the pilot Tex Phillips. The only other passenger, the bobsledding champion, James Lawrence, survived.

 

The Specter at the Feast: Hearst, Welles and Xanadu

 

Hearst Castle was the inspiration for Xanadu, and Hearst himself the main model for Charles Foster Kane in Orson Welles's 1941 film Citizen Kane.

 

Having made his name with the Mercury Theatre production of The War of the Worlds in 1938, Welles arrived in Hollywood in 1939 to make a film version of Joseph Conrad's novel, Heart of Darkness for RKO Pictures.

 

The film was not made, and Welles began a collaboration with the screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz on a screenplay originally entitled American. The film tells the stories of Kane, a media magnate and aspiring politician, and of his second wife Susan Alexander, a failed opera singer driven to drink, who inhabit a castle in Florida.

 

Filming began in June 1940, and the movie premiered on the 1st. June 1941. Although at the time Orson Welles and RKO denied that the film was based on Hearst, his long-time friend and collaborator, John Houseman was clear:

 

"The truth is simple: for the basic concept

of Charles Foster Kane and for the main

lines and significant events of his public life,

Mankiewicz used as his model the figure of

William Randolph Hearst".

 

Told of the film's content before its release – his friends, the gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons having attended early screenings – Hearst made strenuous efforts to stop the premiere. When these failed, he sought to damage the film's circulation by alternately forbidding all mention of it in his media outlets, or by using them to attack both the movie and Welles.

 

Hearst's assault damaged the film at the box office, and harmed Welles' subsequent career.

 

Since its inception in 1952 through to 2012, the Sight and Sound Critics' Poll voted Citizen Kane the greatest film of all time in every decade of polling. On the 9th. March 2012 the film was screened in the movie theater at Hearst Castle for the first time as part of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.

 

Depression, Death and After: 1939–Present

 

By the late 1930's, the Great Depression and Hearst's profligacy had brought him to the brink of financial ruin. Debts totaled $126 million, and he was compelled to cede financial control of the Hearst Corporation. Newspapers and radio stations were sold, and much of his art collection was dispersed in a series of sales, often for much less than he had paid.

 

Hearst railed against his losses, and the perceived incompetence of the sales agents, Parish-Watson & Co:

 

"They greatly cheapened them and us,

he advertises like a bargain basement

sale. I am heartbroken".

 

Construction at Hearst Castle virtually ceased. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the castle was closed up and Hearst and Davies moved to Wyntoon, which was perceived to be less vulnerable to enemy attack.

 

They returned in 1945, and construction on a limited scale recommenced, finally ending in 1947. In early May of that year, with his health declining, Hearst and Davies left the castle for the last time. The pair settled in at 1007 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills.

 

William Randolph Hearst died in 1951, his death abruptly severing him from Davies, who was excluded from the funeral by Hearst's family:

 

"For thirty-two years I had him,

and they leave me with his

empty room".

 

In 1950 Julia Morgan closed her San Francisco office after a career of forty-two years. Ill health marred her retirement and she died, a virtual recluse, in early 1957.

 

In 1958 the Hearst Corporation donated Hearst Castle, its gardens, and many of its contents, to the state of California. A plaque at the castle reads:

 

"La Cuesta Encantada presented to

the State of California in 1958 by the

Hearst Corporation in memory of

William Randolph Hearst who created

this Enchanted Hill, and of his mother,

Phoebe Apperson Hearst, who

inspired it".

 

The castle was opened to the public for the first time in June 1958. Hearst Castle was added to the National Register of Historic Places on the 22nd. June.

 

Hearst was always keen to protect the mystique of his castle. In 1926, he wrote to Morgan to congratulate her after a successful party was held on the hill:

 

"Those wild movie people said it was

wonderful and that the most extravagant

dream of a movie picture fell far short of

this reality. They all wanted to make a

picture there but they are NOT going to

be allowed to do this."

 

Commercial filming at the castle is still rarely allowed. Since 1957 only two projects have been granted permission:

 

-- Stanley Kubrick's 1960 film Spartacus used the castle to stand in as the villa of Marcus Licinius Crassus, played by Lawrence Olivier.

 

-- In 2014, Lady Gaga's music video for "G.U.Y." was filmed at the Neptune and Roman Pools.

 

On the 12th. February 1976, the Casa del Sol guesthouse was damaged by a bomb. The device was placed by allies of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), in retaliation for Patty Hearst, Hearst's granddaughter, testifying in court at her trial for armed robbery, following her kidnapping by the SLA in 1974.

 

On the 22nd. December 2003, an earthquake occurred with its epicenter some three miles north of the castle. With a magnitude of 6.5, it was the largest earthquake recorded at San Simeon. The very limited structural damage which resulted was a testament to the quality of the castle's construction.

 

Since its opening, the castle has become a major California tourist attraction, attracting over 850,000 visitors in 2018. Recent changes to the tour arrangements now allow visitors time to explore the grounds independently at the conclusion of the conducted tours.

 

The Hearst family maintains a connection with the castle, which was closed for a day in early August 2019 for the wedding of Amanda Hearst, Hearst's great-granddaughter.

 

The castle closed in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After 2 years of closure and repairs to the access road due to rainstorm damage, the castle reopened on the 11th. May 2022.

 

Architecture of Hearst Castle

 

Hearst's original idea was to build a bungalow, according to Walter Steilberg, one of Morgan's draftsmen who recalled Hearst's words from the initial meeting:

 

"I would like to build something up on

the hill at San Simeon. I get tired of

going up there and camping in tents.

I'm getting a little too old for that.

I'd like to get something that would

be a little more comfortable".

 

However within a month, Hearst's original ideas for a modest dwelling had greatly expanded. Discussion on the style began with consideration of "Jappo-Swisso" themes. Then the Spanish Colonial Revival style was favored. Morgan had used this style when she worked on Hearst's Los Angeles Herald Examiner headquarters in 1915.

 

Hearst appreciated the Spanish Revival but was dissatisfied with the crudeness of the colonial structures in California. Mexican colonial architecture had more sophistication, but he objected to its abundance of ornamentation.

 

Thomas Aidala, in his 1984 study of the castle, notes the Churrigueresque influence on the design of the main block:

 

"Flat and unembellished exterior surfaces;

decorative urges are particularized and

isolated, focused mainly on doorways,

windows and towers".

 

The Panama-California Exposition of 1915 in San Diego held the closest approximations in California to the approach Hearst desired. But William's European tours, and specifically the inspiration of the Iberian Peninsula, led him to Renaissance and Baroque examples in southern Spain that more exactly suited his tastes. He particularly admired a church in Ronda, Spain and asked Morgan to model the Casa Grande towers after it.

 

In a letter to Morgan dated 31st. December 1919, Hearst wrote:

 

"The San Diego Exposition is the best source

of Spanish in California. The alternative is to

build in the Renaissance style of southern Spain.

We picked out the towers of the church at Ronda...

a Renaissance decoration, particularly that of the

very southern part of Spain, could harmonize well

with them.

I would very much like to have your views on what

style of architecture we should select."

 

This blend of Southern Spanish Renaissance, Revival and Mediterranean examples became San Simeon's defining style:

 

"Something a little different than other

people are doing out in California".

 

The architectural writers Arrol Gellner and Douglas Keister describe Casa Grande as

 

"A palatial fusion of Classicism and Mediterranean

architecture that transcended the Mission Revival

era and instead belonged to the more archaeological

Period Revival styles that gained favor after the

Panama-California Exposition of 1915".

 

Hearst Castle has a total of 42 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, 127 acres (half a square kilometer) of gardens, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a movie theater, an airfield and, during Hearst's lifetime, the world's largest private zoo.

 

Hearst was an inveterate rethinker who would frequently order the redesign of previously agreed, and often built, structures: the Neptune Pool was rebuilt three times before he was satisfied.

 

He was aware of his propensity for changing his mind; in a letter dated the 18th. March 1920, he wrote to Morgan:

 

"All little houses stunning. Please complete

before I can think up any more changes".

 

As a consequence of Hearst's persistent design changes, and financial difficulties in the early and later 1930's, the complex was never finished.

 

By the late summer of 1919, Morgan had surveyed the site, analyzed its geology, and drawn initial plans for Casa Grande. Construction began in 1919 and continued through 1947 when Hearst left the estate for the last time.

 

During the early years of construction, until Hearst's stays at San Simeon became longer and more frequent, his approval for the ongoing design was obtained by Morgan sending him models of planned developments.

 

By the late 1920's the main model, designed by another female architect Julian C. Mesic, had become too large to ship, and Mesic and Morgan would photograph it, hand-color the images, and send these to Hearst.

 

Construction of Hearst Castle

 

The castle's location presented major challenges for construction. It was remote; when Morgan began coming to the estate for site visits in 1919, she would leave her San Francisco office on Friday afternoon and take an eight-hour, 200-mile train journey to San Luis Obispo, followed by a fifty-mile drive to San Simeon.

 

The relative isolation made recruiting and retaining a workforce a constant difficulty. In the early years, the estate lacked water, its limited supplies coming from three natural springs on Pine Mountain, a 3,500-foot-high (1,100 m) peak seven miles (11 km) east of Hearst Castle.

 

The issue was addressed by the construction of three reservoirs, and Morgan devised a gravity-based water delivery system that transported water from the nearby mountain springs to the reservoirs, including the main one on Rocky Butte, a 2,000-foot (610 m) knoll less than a mile southeast of Hearst Castle.

 

Water was of particular importance; as well as feeding the pools and fountains Hearst desired, it provided electricity, by way of a private hydroelectric plant, until the San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation began service to the castle in 1924.

 

The climate presented a further challenge. The proximity to the coast brought strong winds in from the Pacific Ocean, and the site's elevation meant that winter storms were frequent and severe.

 

After a period of severe storms in February 1927, Hearst wrote a letter:

 

"We are all leaving the hill. We are drowned,

blown and frozen out. Before we build anything

more, let's make what we have practical,

comfortable and beautiful.

If we can't do that we might just as well change

the names of the houses to Pneumonia House,

Diphtheria House and Influenza Bungalow.

The main house we can call the Clinic."

 

Water was also essential for the production of concrete, the main structural component of the houses and their ancillary buildings.

 

Morgan had substantial experience of building in steel-reinforced concrete and, together with the firm of consulting engineers Earl and Wright, experimented in finding suitable stone, eventually settling on that quarried from the mountain top on which the foundation platform for the castle was built.

 

Combining this with desalinated sand from San Simeon Bay produced concrete of exceptionally high quality. Later, white sand was brought in from Carmel. Material for construction was transported either by train and truck, or by sea into a wharf built in San Simeon Bay below the site. In time, a light railway was constructed from the wharf to the castle, and Morgan built a compound of warehouses for storage and accommodation for workers by the bay.

 

Brick and tile works were also developed on site, as brick was used extensively, and tiling was an important element of the decoration of the castle. Morgan used several tile companies to produce her designs, including Grueby Faience, Batchelder, California Faience and Solon & Schemmel.

 

Albert Solon and Frank Schemmel came to Hearst Castle to undertake tiling work, and Solon's brother, Camille, was responsible for the design of the mosaics of blue-and-gold Venetian glass tile used in the Roman pool and the murals in Hearst's Gothic library.

 

Morgan worked with a series of construction managers; Henry Washburn from 1919 to 1922, then Camille Rossi from 1922, until his firing by Hearst in 1932, and finally George Loorz until 1940. From 1920 to 1939, there were between 25 and 150 workmen employed in construction at the castle.

 

Costs of Hearst Castle

 

The exact cost of the entire San Simeon complex is unknown. Kastner makes an estimate of expenditure on construction and furnishing the complex between 1919 and 1947 as "under $10,000,000".

 

Thomas Aidala suggests a slightly more precise figure for the overall cost at between $7.2 and $8.2 million. Hearst's relaxed approach to using the funds of his companies, and sometimes the companies themselves, to make personal purchases made clear accounting for expenditure almost impossible.

 

In 1927 one of his lawyers wrote:

 

"The entire history of your corporation

shows an informal method of withdrawal

of funds".

 

In 1945, when the Hearst Corporation was closing the Hearst Castle account for the final time, Morgan gave a breakdown of construction costs, which did not include expenditure on antiques and furnishings.

 

Casa Grande's build cost is given as $2,987,000, and that for the guest houses, $500,000. Other works, including nearly half a million dollars on the Neptune pool, brought the total to $4,717,000.

 

Morgan's fees for twenty-odd years of almost continuous work came to $70,755. Her initial fee was a 6% commission on total costs. This was later increased to 8.5%. Many additional expenses, and challenges in getting prompt payment, led her to receive rather less than this.

 

Kastner suggests that Morgan made an overall profit of $100,000 on the entire, twenty-year, project. Her modest remuneration was unimportant to her. At the height of Hearst's financial travails in the late 1930's, when his debts stood at over $87 million, Morgan wrote to him,

 

"I wish you would use me in any way

that relieves your mind as to the care

of your belongings. There never has

been, nor will there be, any charge in

this connection, it is an honor and a

pleasure".

 

Casa del Mar

 

Casa del Mar, the largest of the three guest houses, provided accommodation for Hearst himself until Casa Grande was ready in 1925. He stayed in the house again in 1947, during his last visit to the estate.

 

Casa del Mar contains 5,350 square feet (546 square meters) of floor space. Although luxuriously designed and furnished, none of the guest houses had kitchen facilities, a lack that sometimes irritated Hearst's guests. Adela Rogers St. Johns recounted her first visit:

 

"I rang and asked the maid for coffee.

With a smile, she said I would have to

go up to the castle for that.

I asked Marion Davies about this. She

said W. R. Hearst did not approve of

breakfast in bed."

 

Adjacent to Casa del Mar is the wellhead from Phoebe Hearst's Hacienda del Pozo de Verona, which Hearst moved to San Simeon when he sold his mother's estate after her death in 1919.

 

Casa del Monte

 

Casa del Monte was the first of the guest houses, originally entitled simply Houses A (del Mar), B (del Monte) and C (del Sol). It was built by Morgan on the slopes below the site of Casa Grande during 1920–1924.

 

Hearst had initially wanted to commence work with the construction of the main house, but Morgan persuaded him to begin with the guest cottages because the smaller structures could be completed more quickly.

 

Each guest house faces the Esplanade, and appears as a single story at its front entrance. Additional stories descend rearward down the terraced mountain side. Casa del Monte has 2,550 sq ft (237 sq. meters) of living space.

 

Casa del Sol

 

The decorative style of the Casa del Sol is Moorish, accentuated by the use of antique Persian tiles. A bronze copy of Donatello's David stands atop a copy of an original Spanish fountain.

 

The inspiration for the fountain came from an illustration in a book, The Minor Ecclesiastical, Domestic and Garden Architecture of Southern Spain, written by Austin Whittlesey and published in 1919.

 

Hearst sent a copy to Morgan, while retaining another for himself, and it proved a fertile source of ideas. The size of the house is 3,620 square feet (242 sq. meters).

 

Morgan's staff were responsible for the cataloguing of those parts of Hearst's art collection which were shipped to California, and an oral record made in the 1980's indicates the methodology used for furnishing the buildings at San Simeon:

 

"We would set the object up, and then I would

stand with a yardstick to give it scale. Sam Crow

would take a picture. Then we would give it a

number and I would write a description.

These were made into albums.

When Mr Hearst would write and say 'I want a

Florentine mantel in Cottage C in Room B, and

four yards of tiles,' then we would look it up in

the books and find something that would fit."

 

Casa Grande

 

Construction of Casa Grande began in April 1922. Work continued almost until Hearst's final departure on the 2nd. May 1947, and even then the house was unfinished. The size of Casa Grande is 68,500 square feet (5,634 sq. meters).

 

The main western façade is four stories. The entrance front, inspired by a gateway in Seville, is flanked by twin bell towers modeled on the tower of the church of Santa Maria la Mayor.

 

The layout of the main house was originally to a T-plan, with the assembly room to the front, and the refectory at a right angle to its center. The subsequent extensions of the North and South wings modified the original design.

 

As elsewhere, the core construction material is concrete, though the façade is faced in stone. In October 1927 Morgan wrote to Arthur Byne:

 

"We finally took the bull by the horns

and are facing the entire main building

with a Manti stone from Utah."

 

Morgan assured Hearst that it would be "the making of the building".

 

A cast-stone balcony fronts the second floor, and another in cast-iron the third. Above this is a large wooden overhang or gable. This was constructed in Siamese teak, originally intended to outfit a ship, which Morgan located in San Francisco.

 

The carving was undertaken by her senior carver Jules Suppo. Sara Holmes Boutelle suggests Morgan may have been inspired by a somewhat similar example at the Mission San Xavier del Bac in Arizona. The façade terminates with the bell towers, comprising the Celestial suites, the carillon towers and two cupolas.

 

The curator Victoria Kastner notes a particular feature of Casa Grande, the absence of any grand staircases. Access to the upper floors is either by elevators or stairwells in the corner turrets of the building. Many of the stairwells are undecorated and the plain, poured concrete contrasts with the richness of the decoration elsewhere.

 

The terrace in front of the entrance, named Central Plaza, has a quatrefoil pond at its center, with a statue of Galatea on a Dolphin. The statue was inherited, having been bought by Phoebe Hearst when her son was temporarily short of money.

 

The doorway from the Central Plaza into Casa Grande illustrates Morgan and Hearst's relaxed approach to combining genuine antiques with modern reproductions to achieve the effects they both desired. A 16th.-century iron gate from Spain is topped by a fanlight grille, constructed in a matching style in the 1920's by Ed Trinkeller, the castle's main ironmonger.

 

The castle made use of the latest technology. Casa Grande was wired with an early sound system, allowing guests to make music selections which were played from a Capehart phonograph located in the basement, and piped into rooms in the house through a system of speakers. Alternatively, six radio stations were available.

 

The entire estate was also equipped with 80 telephones, operated through a PBX switchboard, which was staffed 24 hours a day, and ran under the exclusive exchange 'Hacienda'.

 

Fortune recorded an example of Hearst's delighting in the ubiquitous access the system provided:

 

"A guest) fell to wondering about the result

of a ball game while seated by a campfire

with Mr Hearst, a day's ride from the castle.

'I'll tell you' volunteers Mr Hearst and,

fumbling with the rock against which he was

leaning, pulls from there a telephone, asks

for New York, and relieves his guest's curiosity".

 

The Assembly Room

 

The assembly room is the main reception room of the castle, described in 1985 by Taylor Coffman as:

 

"One of San Simeon's most

magnificent interiors".

 

The fireplace, originally from a Burgundian chateau in Jours-lès-Baigneux, is named the Great Barney Mantel, after a previous owner, Charles T. Barney, from whose estate Hearst bought it after Barney's suicide.

 

The ceiling is from an Italian palazzo. A concealed door in the paneling next to the fireplace allowed Hearst to surprise his guests by entering unannounced. The door opened off an elevator which connected with his Gothic suite on the third floor.

 

The assembly room, completed in 1926, is nearly 2,500 square feet in extent, and was described by the writer and illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans as:

 

"Looking like half of Grand

Central Station".

 

The room held some of Hearst's best tapestries. These include four from a set celebrating the Roman general Scipio Africanus, designed by Giulio Romano, and two copied from drawings by Peter Paul Rubens depicting The Triumph of Religion.

 

The need to fit the tapestries above the paneling and below the roof required the installation of the unusually low windows.

 

The room has the only piece of Victorian decorative art in the castle, the Orchid Vase lamp, made by Tiffany for the Exposition Universelle held in Paris in 1889. It was bought by Phoebe Hearst, who had the original vase converted to a lamp. William placed it in the assembly room in tribute to his mother.

 

The Refectory

 

The refectory was the only dining room in the castle, and was built between 1926 and 1927. The choir stalls which line the walls are from the La Seu d'Urgell Cathedral in Catalonia, and the silk flags mounted on the walls are Palio banners from Siena.

 

Hearst originally intended a "vaulted Moorish ceiling" for the room but, finding nothing suitable, he and Morgan settled on the Italian Renaissance example, dating from around 1600, which Hearst purchased from a dealer in Rome in 1924.

 

Victoria Kastner considered that the flat roof, with life-size carvings of saints:

 

"Strikes a discordant note of

horizontality among the vertical

lines of the room".

 

The style of the whole is Gothic, in contrast to the Renaissance approach adopted in the preceding assembly room. The refectory is said to have been Morgan's favorite interior within the castle.

 

The design of both the refectory and the assembly room was greatly influenced by the monumental architectural elements, especially the fireplaces and the choir stalls used as wainscoting, and works of art, particularly the tapestries, which Hearst determined would be incorporated into the rooms.

 

The central table provided seating for 22 in its usual arrangement of two tables, which could be extended to three or four, on the occasion of larger gatherings. The tables were sourced from an Italian monastery, and were the setting for some of the best pieces from Hearst's collection of silverware. One of the finest is a wine cooler dating from the early 18th. century and weighing 14.2 kg by the Anglo-French silversmith David Willaume.

 

The Library

 

The library is on the second floor, directly above the assembly room. The ceiling is 16th. century Spanish, and a remnant is used in the library's lobby. It comprises three separate ceilings, from different rooms in the same Spanish house, which Morgan combined into one.

 

The fireplace is the largest Italian example in the castle. Carved from limestone, it is attributed to the medieval sculptor and architect Benedetto da Maiano.

 

The library contains a collection of over 5,000 books, with another 3,700 in Hearst's study above. The majority of the library collections, including Hearst's choicest pieces from his sets of, often signed, first editions by Charles Dickens, his favorite author, were sold at sales at Parke-Bernet at 1939 and Gimbels in 1941. The library is also the location for much of Hearst's important holding of antique Greek vases.

 

The Cloisters and the Doge's Suite

 

The Cloisters form a grouping of four bedrooms above the refectory and, along with the Doge's Suite above the breakfast room, were completed in 1926. The Doge's Suite was occupied by Millicent Hearst on her rare visits to the castle.

 

The room is lined with blue silk, and has a Dutch painted ceiling, in addition to two more of Spanish origin, which was once the property of architect Stanford White.

 

Morgan also incorporated an original Venetian loggia in the suite, refashioned as a balcony. The suite leads on to Morgan's inventive North and South Duplex apartments, with sitting areas and bathrooms at entry level and bedrooms on mezzanine floors above.

 

The Gothic Suite

 

The Gothic suite was Hearst's private apartment on the third floor. He moved there in 1927. It comprises the Gothic study or library and Hearst's own South Gothic bedroom and private sitting room.

 

The ceiling of the bedroom is one of the best Hearst bought; Spanish, of the 14th. century, it was discovered by his Iberian agent Arthur Byne who also located the original frieze panels which had been detached and sold some time before.

 

The whole was installed at the castle in 1924. The space originally allocated for the study was too low to create the impression desired by Morgan and Hearst, a difficulty Morgan surmounted by raising the roof and supporting the ceiling with concrete trusses.

 

These, and the walls, were painted with frescoes by Camille Solon. Light was provided by two ranges of clerestory windows. The necessity of raising the roof to incorporate the study occasioned one of the few instances where Hearst hesitated:

 

"I telegraphed you my fear of the cost...

I imagine it would be ghastly."

 

Nevertheless Morgan urged further changes and expense. The result vindicated Morgan. The study, completed in 1931, is dominated by a portrait of Hearst at age 31, painted by his life-long friend, Orrin Peck.

 

The Celestial Suites

 

The Celestial bedrooms, with a connecting, shared, sitting room, were created between 1924 and 1926. The bell towers were raised to improve the proportions of the building, and the suites constructed in the spaces created below.

 

The relatively cramped spaces allowed no room for storage, and en-suite bathrooms were "awkwardly squeezed" into lower landings. Ludwig Bemelmans, a guest in the 1930's, recalled:

 

"There was no place to hang your

clothes, so I hung mine on wire

coat hangers that a former tenant

had left hanging on the arms of

two six-armed gold candelabra,

the rest I put on the floor".

 

The sitting room contains one of the most important paintings in Hearst's collection, Bonaparte Before the Sphinx (1868) by Jean-Léon Gérôme. The suites are linked externally by a walkway, the Celestial Bridge, which is decorated with elaborate tiling.

 

The North and South Wings

 

The North, or Billiard, and the South, or Service, wings complete the castle, and were begun in 1929.

 

The North wing houses the billiard room on the first floor, which was converted from the original breakfast room. It has a Spanish antique ceiling and a French fireplace, and contains the oldest tapestry in the castle, a Millefleur hunting scene woven in Flanders in the 15th. century.

 

The spandrel over the doorcase is decorated with a frieze of 16th. century Persian tiles depicting a battle. The 34 tiles originate from Isfahan and were purchased by Hearst at the Kevorkian sale in New York in 1922.

 

The theater, which leads off the billiard room, was used both for amateur theatricals and the showing of movies from Hearst's Cosmopolitan Studios. The theater accommodated fifty guests and had an electric keyboard that enabled the bells in the carillon towers to be played. The walls are decorated in red damask, which originally hung in the Assembly room, and feature gilded caryatids.

 

The upper stories of the North Wing were the last to be worked upon, and were never completed. Activity recommenced in 1945 and Morgan delegated the work to her assistant, Warren McClure. Many of the rooms are unfinished, but Aidala considers that the bathrooms in the wing represent first-rate examples of streamline design.

 

The Service Wing contains the kitchen. The hotel-scale units and worktops are constructed in Monel Metal, an expensive form of nickel alloy invented in 1901. The wing contains further bedroom suites, a staff dining room, and gives entry to the 9,000 square foot basement which contained a wine cellar, pantries, the boiler plant which heated the main house, and a barber shop, for the use of Hearst's guests.

 

Planned but Uncompleted Elements

 

Hearst and Morgan intended a large ballroom or cloister to connect the North and South wings at the rear of Casa Grande and unify the whole composition, but it was never undertaken.

 

In 1932, Hearst contemplated incorporating the reja (grille) he had acquired from Valladolid Cathedral in 1929 into this room. He described his vision in a letter to Morgan dated that year:

 

"A great ballroom and banqueting hall,

that is the scheme! Isn't it a pippin."

 

The letter was signed "Sincerely, Your Assistant Architect".

 

Other structures that did not develop beyond drawings and plans included two more guest houses, in English and Chinese architectural styles.

 

Collections

 

After a visit to Ansiglioni's workshop in 1889, William wrote the following in a letter to his mother:

 

"Why didn't you buy Ansiglioni's Galatea. It is

superb...I have a great notion to buy it myself,

the one thing that prevents me is a scarcity of

funds.

The man wants eight thousand dollars for the

blooming thing. I have the art fever terribly.

Queer, isn't it?

I never miss a gallery and I go and nosey about

the pictures and statuary and wish they were mine."

 

Hearst was a voracious collector of art, with the stated intention of making the castle "a museum of the best things that I can secure."

 

The dealer Joseph Duveen, from whom Hearst bought despite their mutual dislike, called him the "Great Accumulator." His robust approach to buying, particularly the purchase and removal of entire historic structures, generated considerable ill-feeling, and sometimes outright opposition.

 

William's deconstruction and removal of the 14th. century Bradenstoke Priory in England led the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings to organize a campaign which used language so violent that its posters had to be pasted over for fear of a libel suit.

 

Hearst sometimes encountered similar opposition elsewhere. In 1919 he was writing to Morgan about:

 

"The patio from Bergos (sic) which, by the

way, I own but cannot get out of Spain".

 

The dismantling of a monastery in Sacramenia, which Hearst bought in its entirety in the 1920's, saw his workmen attacked by enraged villagers.

 

Hearst's tardiness in paying his bills was another less attractive feature of his purchasing approach; in 1925 Morgan was obliged to write to Arthur Byne:

 

"Mr. Hearst accepts your

dictum – cash or nothing".

 

Some of the finest pieces from the collections of books and manuscripts, tapestries, paintings, antiquities and sculpture, amounting to about half of Hearst's total art holdings, were sold in sales in the late 1930's and early 1940's, when Hearst's publishing empire was facing financial collapse, but a great deal remains.

 

William's art buying had started when he was young and, in his tested fashion, he established a company, the International Studio Arts Corporation, as a vehicle for purchasing works and as a means of dealing with their export and import.

 

In 1975, the Hearst Corporation donated the archive of Hearst's Brooklyn warehouses, the gathering point for almost all of his European acquisitions before their dispersal to his many homes, to Long Island University.

 

As of 2015, the university has embarked on a digitization project which will ultimately see the 125 albums of records, and sundry other materials, made available online.

 

Antiquities

 

The ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities are the oldest works in Hearst's collection. The oldest of all are the stone figures of the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet which stand on the South Esplanade below Casa Grande. They date from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties, approximately 1550 to 1189 BC.

 

Morgan designed the pool setting for the pieces, with tiling inspired by ancient Egyptian motifs. In the courtyard of Casa del Monte is one of a total of nine Roman sarcophagi collected by Hearst, dated to 230 AD, and previously held at the Palazzo Barberini, which was acquired at the Charles T. Yerkes sale in 1910.

 

The most important element of the antiquities collection is the holding of Greek vases, on display in the second-floor library. Although 65 vases were purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York after Hearst's death, those which remain at the castle still form one of the world's largest private groups. Hearst began collecting vases in 1901, and his collection was moved from his New York homes to the castle in 1935.

 

At its peak, the collection numbered over 400 pieces. The vases were placed on the tops of the bookshelves in the library, each carefully wired in place to guard against vibrations from earthquakes. At the time of Hearst's collecting, many of the vases were believed to be of Etruscan manufacture, but later scholars ascribe all of them to Greece.

 

Sculptures

 

Hearst often bought multiple lots from sales of major collections; in 1930 he purchased five antique Roman statues from the Lansdowne sale in London. Four are now in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and one in the Metropolitan.

 

William collected bronzes as well as marble figures; a cast of a stone original of Apollo and Daphne by Bernini, dating from around 1617, stands in the Doge's suite.

 

In addition to his classical sculptures, Hearst was content to acquire 19th. century versions, or contemporary copies of ancient works:

 

"If we cannot find the right thing

in a classic statue, we can find a

modern one".

 

He was a particular patron of Charles Cassou, and also favored the early 19th. century Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen whose Venus Victorious remains at the castle.

 

Both this, and the genuinely classical Athena from the collection of Thomas Hope, were displayed in the Assembly room, along with the Venus Italica by Antonio Canova. Other works by Thorvaldsen include the four large marble medallions in the Assembly room depicting society's virtues.

 

Two 19th. century marbles are in the anteroom to the Assembly room, Bacchante, by Frederick William MacMonnies, a copy of his bronze original, and Pygmalion and Galatea by Gérôme.

 

A monumental statue of Galatea, attributed to Leopoldo Ansiglioni and dating from around 1882, stands in the center of the pool on the Main terrace in front of Casa Grande.

 

Textiles

 

Tapestries include the Scipio set by Romano in the Assembly room, two from a set telling the Biblical story of Daniel in the Morning room, and the millefleur hunting scene in the Billiard room. The hunting scene is particularly rare, one of only "a handful from this period in the world".

 

Hearst also assembled and displayed an important collection of Navajo textiles at San Simeon, including blankets, rugs and serapes. Most were purchased from Herman Schweizer, who ran the Indian Department of the Fred Harvey Company.

 

Originally gathered at Hearst's hacienda at Jolon, they were moved to Wyntoon in 1940 before being brought to San Simeon. They were finally donated to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1942.

 

Hearst was always interested in pieces that had historical and cultural connections to the history of California and Central and Latin America. The North Wing contains two Peruvian armorial banners. Dating from the 1580's, they show the shields of Don Luis Jerónimo Fernández Cabrera y Bobadilla, Count of Chinchón and viceroy of Peru.

 

Nathaniel Burt, the composer and critic evaluated the collections at San Simeon thus:

 

"Far from being the mere kitsch that

most easterners have been led to

believe, San Simeon is full of real

beauties and treasures".

 

Paintings

 

The art collection includes works by Tintoretto, whose portrait of Alvisius Vendramin hangs in the Doge's suite, Franz Xaver Winterhalter who carried out the double portraits of Maximilian I of Mexico and his empress Carlota, located in Casa del Mar, and two portraits of Napoléon by Jean-Léon Gérôme.

 

Hearst's earliest painting, a Madonna and Child from the school of Duccio di Buoninsegna, dates from the early 14th. century. A gift from his friend, the editor Cissy Patterson, the painting hangs in Hearst's bedroom.

 

Portrait of a Woman, by Giulio Campi, hangs in a bedroom in the North Wing. In 1928 Hearst acquired the Madonna and Child with Two Angels, by Adriaen Isenbrandt.

 

The curator Taylor Coffman describes this work, which hangs in the Casa del Mar sitting room, as perhaps "San Simeon's finest painting". In 2018, a previously unattributed Annunciation in the Assembly room was identified as a work of 1690 by Bartolomé Pérez.

 

The Gardens and Grounds of Hearst Castle

 

The Esplanade, a curving, paved walkway, connects the main house with the guest cottages; Hearst described it as:

 

"Giving a finished touch to the big

house, to frame it in, as it were."

 

Morgan designed the pedestrianized pavement with great care, to create a coup de théâtre for guests, desiring:

 

"A strikingly noble and saississant effect

be impressed upon everyone on arrival."

 

Hearst concurred:

 

"Heartily approve. I certainly want that

saississant effect. I don't know what it

is, but I think we ought to have at least

one such on the premises".

 

A feature of the gardens are the lampposts topped with alabaster globes; modeled on "janiform hermae", the concept was Hearst's. The Swan lamps, remodeled with alabaster globe lights to match the hermae, were designed by Morgan's chief draftsman, Thaddeus Joy.

 

Others who influenced Hearst and Morgan in their landscaping include Charles Adams Platt, an artist and gardener who had made a particular study of the layout and planting of Italian villas. Also Nigel Keep, Hearst's orchardman, who worked at San Simeon from 1922 to 1947, and Albert Webb, Hearst's English head gardener who was at the hill from 1922 to 1948.

 

The Neptune Pool

 

The Neptune Pool, "the most sumptuous swimming pool on earth", is located near the edge of the hilltop. It is enclosed by a retaining wall and underpinned by a framework of concrete struts to allow for movement in the event of earthquakes.

 

The pool is often cited as an example of Hearst's changeability; it was reconstructed three times before he was finally satisfied. Originally begun as an ornamental pond, it was first expanded in 1924 as Millicent Hearst desired a swimming pool.

 

It was enlarged again during 1926–1928 to accommodate Cassou's statuary. Finally, in 1934, it was extended again to act as a setting for a Roman temple, in part original and in part comprising elements from other structures which Hearst transported from Europe and had reconstructed at the site.

 

The pool holds 345,000 gallons of water, and is equipped with seventeen shower and changing rooms. It was heated by oil-fired burners. In early 2014, the pool was drained due to drought conditions and leakage.

 

After a long-term restoration project to fix the leaking, the pool was refilled in August 2018. The restoration of the pool was recognized with a Preservation Design Award for Craftsmanship from the California Preservation Foundation in 2019.

 

The pool is well-supplied with sculpture, particularly works by Charles Cassou. His centerpiece, opposite the Roman temple, is The Birth of Venus. An even larger sculptural grouping, depicting Neptune in a chariot drawn by four horses, was commissioned to fill the empty basin above the Venus. Although carved, it was never installed.

 

Roman Pool

 

The Roman Pool, constructed under the tennis courts, provided an indoor alternative to the Neptune pool. Originally mooted by Hearst in 1927, construction did not begin until 1930, and the pool was not completed until 1935.

 

Hearst initially wanted the pool to be fed by salt-water, but the design challenges proved to be insuperable. A disastrous attempt to fulfill Hearst's desires by pouring 20 tons of washed rock salt into the pool saw the disintegration of the cast-iron heat exchanger and pump.

 

Inspiration for the mosaic decoration came from the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna. The tiles are of Murano glass, with gold-leaf, and were designed by Solon and manufactured in San Francisco.

 

Although a pool of "spectacular beauty", it was little used as it was located in a less-visited part of the complex.

 

The Pergola and Zoo

 

Two other major features of the grounds were the pergola and the zoo. The pergola, an ornamental bridleway, runs to the west of Casa Grande. Comprising concrete columns, covered in espaliered fruit trees, Morgan ensured that it was built to a height sufficient to allow Hearst, "a tall man with a tall hat on a tall horse", to ride unimpeded down its mile-long length.

 

Plans for a zoo, to house Hearst's large collection of wild animals, were drawn up by Morgan, and included an elephant house and separate enclosures for antelopes, camels, zebras and bears. The zoo was never constructed, but a range of shelters and pits were built, sited on Orchard Hill.

 

The Estate

 

At the height of Hearst's ownership, the estate totaled more than 250,000 acres. W. C. Fields commented on the extent of the estate while on a visit:

 

"Wonderful place to bring up children.

You can send them out to play. They

won't come back till they're grown."

 

23 miles to the north of the castle, Morgan constructed the Milpitas Hacienda, a ranch-house that acted as a trianon to the main estate, and as a focus for riding expeditions.

 

Appraisals of Hearst Castle

 

As with Hearst himself, Hearst Castle and its collections have been the subject of considerable criticism. From the 1940's the view of Hearst and Morgan's most important joint creation as the phantasmagorical Xanadu of Orson Welles's imagination has been commonplace.

 

Some literary depictions were gently mocking; P. G. Wodehouse's novel of 1953, The Return of Jeeves has a character describe her stay:

 

"I remember visiting San Simeon once,

and there was a whole French Abbey

lying on the grass."

 

John Steinbeck's unnamed description was certainly of Hearst:

 

"They's a fella, newspaper fella near the

coast, got a million acres. Fat, sof' fella

with little mean eyes an' a mouth like a

ass-hole".

 

The writer John Dos Passos went further, explicitly referencing Hearst in the third volume of his 1938 U.S.A trilogy:

 

"The emperor of newsprint retired to his

fief of San Simeon where he built an

Andalusian palace and there spends his

last years amid the relaxing adulations

of screen stars, admen, screenwriters,

publicity-men, columnists.

Until he dies, a spent Caesar grown old

with spending."

 

The English architectural writer Clive Aslet was little more complimentary about the castle. Disliking its "unsympathetic texture of poured concrete", he described it as "best seen from a distance".

 

The unfinished, and unresolved, rear façade of Casa Grande has been the subject of particular negative comment; Carleton Winslow and Nicola Frye, in their history from 1980, suggest:

 

"The flanking North and South wings

compete rather disastrously with the

central doge's suite block."

 

Others questioned the castle's very existence; the architect Witold Rybczynski asked:

 

"What is this Italian villa doing on the

Californian Coastal Range? A costly

piece of theatrical décor that ignores

its context and lacks meaning."

 

Hearst's collections were similarly disparaged. The art historian William George Constable echoed Joseph Duveen when he assessed Hearst as:

 

"Not a collector but a gigantic

and voracious magpie."

 

Later decades after Hearst's death have seen a more sympathetic and appreciative evaluation of his collections, and the estate he and Morgan created to house them.

 

The director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas Hoving, although listing Hearst only at number 83 in his evaluation of America's top 101 art collectors, wrote:

 

"Hearst is being reevaluated. He may

have been much more of a collector

than was thought at the time of his

death."

 

The curator Mary Levkoff, in her 2008 study, Hearst the Collector, contends that he was indeed a collector, describing the four separate "staggeringly important" collections of antique vases, tapestries, armor and silver which Hearst had brought together.

 

She wrote of the challenge of bringing their artistic merit to light from under the shadow of his own reputation.

 

Of Morgan's building, its stock has risen with the re-evaluation of her standing and accomplishments, which saw her inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2008. She became the first woman to receive the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 2014, and to have an obituary in The New York Times as recently as 2019.

 

The writer John Julius Norwich recorded his recantation after a visit to the castle:

 

"I went prepared to mock; I remained

to marvel. Hearst Castle is a palace in

every sense of the word."

 

Final Thoughts From William Randolph Hearst

 

"News is something somebody doesn't

want printed; all else is advertising.”

 

"Don't be afraid to make a mistake,

your readers might like it."

 

"Putting out a newspaper without

promotion is like winking at a girl

in the dark -- well-intentioned, but

ineffective."

 

"Truth is not only stranger than

fiction, it is more interesting."

 

"You must keep your mind on the

objective, not on the obstacle."

Our peaceful, Grade 1 registered garden is unlike any other with its romantic design and architecture, combining formality with nature and magnificent rural views across an unspoilt valley, whilst beautifully framed architectural gems and antiquities punctuate your visit throughout. Set on the last hill of the Cotswolds, within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, we hope that all who visit leave here feeling relaxed and inspired.

 

From its origins in the wool industry, through Georgian gentrification, then Harold Peto’s Edwardian structures, and right up to the present period, the passion of Iford’s inhabitants and its history are inextricably bound up in the beautiful garden’s unique design.

 

Today, Iford’s story continues to be written in this secluded corner of ‘Olde England’ with a new generation of owners, William and Marianne Cartwright-Hignett, who are taking the garden forward. Their appointment of Troy Scott Smith as Head Gardener (previously Head Gardener at Sissinghurst, Bodnant and The Courts) ensures there is much of horticultural interest throughout the season, as well as architectural and design. The gardens will be expanded yet further over the coming years, whilst refreshing the planting and preserving the heritage within the main garden itself. There will therefore be something new to discover on every visit.

 

The structural design seen today was largely created by Harold Peto, who lived at Iford from 1899-1933. A man of exquisite taste, with a talent for placing objects sympathetically to their surroundings, he designed gardens for royalty and aristocracy around the world. Trained as an architect, working in partnership with Sir Ernest George, Harold Peto ‘discovered’ a real passion for plants when undertaking work at Gravetye Manor, then home to ‘the father of gardening’ William Robinson.

 

Learning much about gardening directly from Robinson, Peto subsequently travelled the world, including Japan, Canada, America, Egypt and across Europe, learning about garden design and bringing back plants from all over the world. His skill for garden design, planting and architecture meant that he was in demand, especially on the Cap Ferrat in France where many of the world’s most expensive houses are today. Peto was the architect for several of those villas and gardens, to the extent that the Cap Ferrat was nicknamed ‘Peto Point’ in Edwardian times. Working for royalty, aristocracy and tycoons, his main patrons were the then Countess of Warwick and Isabella Stewart-Gardner.

 

Influenced mainly by his love of Roman, Italian and Japanese design, he was a promoter of the renaissance period and had a strong influence on the Arts and Crafts period. Striking the balance between formal and informal gardening, between soft planting and hard structure, Harold Peto’s work was appreciated in writings by Gertrude Jeykll and William Robinson.

 

During the past 55 years, today’s owners, the Cartwright-Hignett family, have lovingly restored the garden (once thought 'lost' after WW2) and continued to develop it, saving the buildings therein, finishing the Oriental Garden area designed by John Hignett and redesigning areas of the garden as they age, 100 years after Peto’s original plantings

The Rochdale Canal in Mytholmroyd, Calderdale, West Yorkshire.

 

The Rochdale is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire.

 

The Rochdale Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester.

 

The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first two attempts to obtain an act failed after being opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. The promoters, to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and in 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and its construction. Rennie's estimated cost in the second bill was £291,000, and the company was empowered to raise the money by issuing shares, with powers to raise a further £100,000 if required.

 

When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974.

 

The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park. They worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust.

 

In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal.

 

Information Source:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochdale_Canal

 

Belle Meade Reserve is the premium expression of the multi-award-winning Belle Meade Bourbon, crafted to meet the growing demand among aficionados for elite, high-proof bourbon.

 

AWARDS

Whisky Advocate “Top 20 Whiskies of 2018” (#10)

 

POINTS OF DIFFERENCE

Higher proof: 108.3

Small batch

Not chill-filtered, ensuring maximum flavor

High rye content

 

TASTING NOTES

Though the selection process guarantees a certain degree of batch-by-batch variation, every bottle of Belle Meade Reserve is rich and full-flavored, showing vanilla, caramel, spice, and stone fruits.

www.bellemeadebourbon.com/reserve

 

Whiskey Day, 07/01/2022, Nashville, TN

 

Panasonic DMC-GF2

7-Artisans 35mm f/0.95

ƒ/1.4 35.0 mm 1/25 100

 

Instagram in B&W Only | Instagram in Color | Lens Wide-Open

Vacationers adore the Outer Banks for its unspoiled stretches of undeveloped shoreline, and some may not initially realize that this sporadic lack of development is completely intentional, and is the result of decades of careful environmental planning. While tourism flourished on the beaches, for generations, locals and visitors alike made inquiries and partnerships with government branches to ensure that certain areas of the Outer Banks would always remain pristine, unspoiled, and open to everyone.

A stellar example of this ideology in practice is the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve. Located on the borders of Corolla and the 4WD accessible areas of Carova, the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve is 965 acres of natural maritime habitat. Visitors are free to explore the nature trails that wind through the area for some of the Northern Outer Banks' best fishing, hunting, birding, hiking, photo ops, and wild discoveries of how all of the barrier islands of the Outer Banks used to be decades and even centuries ago.

The northern portion of the Outer Banks, namely Corolla and Carova, was more or less deserted for centuries, inhabited only by the local Poteskeet Native Americans. European explores would pass by en route to Virginia or neighboring Roanoke Island, which was settled in the 1580s, but relatively few ever came to shore on Corolla and the Currituck Banks, which were dark, desolate, and protected from foreign explorers by an ocean border of shifting shoals and sand bars.

In fact, it wasn't until the mid to late 1800s that small fishing and farming communities began to pop up, populated by mainland or neighboring barrier island transplants, as well as the families of the lighthouse keepers and servicemen of the area's lifesaving stations. The area soon became popular with sport fishermen and hunters as well who heard rumors of the unspoiled beaches and fantastic wildlife, and would make miles-long treks across empty beaches to get there. The Whalehead Club in Corolla is one distinctive relic of this first generation of wealthy outdoorsmen, who were the first vacationers to fall in love with the Northern Outer Banks' wild landscape.

By the 1970s, however, rapidly growing vacationer interest as well as the development of a paved road to the Northern Outer Banks towns of Duck and Corolla had caused development to boom, with new businesses, homes, accommodations and even hotels beginning to pop up along the natural landscape. As a result, several large parcels of land were donated by locals, off-island land owners, or simply reserved by the state and federal governments to remain natural locales for local wildlife to flourish.

One such parcel was the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve. This area was one of three original components of the Currituck Banks that was dedicated by the NOAA and the Division of Coastal Management in 1985, and was reserved and protected due to its distinct and completely unique ecosystem. As a result, countless habitats for fish, reptiles, birds, and even the famous Corolla Wild Horses have been careful preserved in their natural condition.

The Geography of the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve

The Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve is, in fact, a wonderful example of a low-salinity estuarine system. This term basically refers to the nature and subsequent landscape of a migrating barrier island. Throughout the centuries, the islands of the Currituck Banks have basically been moving, at a glacial pace, to the west, creating marshes and saltwater streams stemming from inlet deltas and over wash fans that were directly affected by changes in rising sea levels.

Another factor leading to significant changes in the Currituck landscape is the influx of fresh water. For centuries, the northern barrier islands of the Currituck Banks were separated by a small series of inlets, but one by one, they all started to close as larger inlets along the Outer Banks, like Oregon Inlet or even Hatteras Inlet, began to open, encouraged in no small part by passing nor'easters and hurricanes. The last inlet on the Currituck Banks closed in 1828, leaving the island more than 60 miles away from the closes saltwater inlet. Because of this, Currituck Sound does not have regular deposits of saltwater, and as the decades have passed, the waters of the soundside have gradually changed from strictly salty waters to more freshwater environments.

In addition to this movement and barrier island changes and adaptations, the warm Gulf Stream Current and cold Labrador Current that intermingle just offshore create a unusual habitat where both northern and southern species of plant and animal life can survive. In fact, the Currituck Banks are the southernmost home to a number of northern species, and the northernmost home to many southern species.

The result of all of these factors is a completely diverse range of habitats, which is exceptionally phenomenal for the reserve's relatively small size. This nearly-1,000 acre parcel of land is home to ocean beaches, sand dunes, shrub thickets, grasslands, maritime forests, freshwater marshes, saltwater marshes, tidal flats, and sub-tidal soft bottoms. And all of these minor ecosystems accommodate and serve as a home for countless species of fish, birds, reptiles, mammals and plants.

After all, the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve spans from the borders of the Atlantic Ocean west to the Currituck Sound, and is essentially and quite literally a "slice" of wild barrier island life.

Located .75 miles north of the very edge of Corolla, where NC Highway 12 ends and the 4WD accessible only beaches of the northern portion island begins, many explorers attest that the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve is best discovered via the two nature trails, or with a 4WD vehicle. Though not very long from its southern to northern borders, the area encompasses a wide range of land from ocean to soundfront, and visitors are encouraged to explore every portion of this parcel to get an up-close-and-personal view of all the different habitats.

Wildlife at the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve

The completely unique ecosystem of the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve allows visitors to view a range of wildlife, from migrating birds to both fresh and saltwater fish. Perhaps the reserve's most famous residents are the Currituck Wild Horses, which were relocated here from the bustling town of Corolla in the 1980s to protect them from the busy traffic and population influx along NC Highway 12. While the horses tend to navigate throughout the entire 10+ mile region of the northern Currituck Banks, and stay away from the humans who pop up from time to time, reserve visitors have their best chance of spotting them meandering along the beach or the high and dry sand dunes where they are protected and shielded from the majority of visitors.

As for fish, there is a rich supply of both game and commercial varieties in the area, in the Currituck Sound, the intertidal pools and ponds, the brackish marshes, and even in some small pockets of freshwater. Varieties include largemouth bass, yellow perch, tidewater silverside, pumpkinseed, blue-spotted sunfish, bluegill, black crappie, and channel catfish. In addition, observant vacationers may even stumble upon white perch, carp, shad, herring, and even eels.

The area is also an important stop along the Atlantic Flyway, which basically means it is a resting area for a number of migrating birds. Whether these visitors flock to Currituck for a day, a week, or an entire season, a wide variety of different birds reside, at least temporarily, at the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve. In fact, it's estimated that 32% of North Carolina's wintering waterfowl vacation in Currituck, (with another significant percentage taking up residence at the nearby Pea Island Wildlife Refuge on Hatteras Island.)

Because of this, visiting birders to the reserve, (and particularly off-season visitors who explore the area from November to March), may spot dabbling ducks, diving ducks, white swans, and Canadian geese. Other notable residents, (who occasionally stick around year-long), include osprey, Wilson's plover, black skimmer, and least tern. The birds take up residence all along the reserve, from the shorebirds of the ocean wash to the egrets or ibises hiding out in the brackish marshes. Birders should be sure and bring their binoculars, their camera, and their guide books, as with hundreds of species passing through on a seasonal basis, there's no telling what you'll spot during your reserve travels.

It should also be noted that because of this wide range of species, and large number of migrating waterfowl, the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve has been designated as a part of the North Carolina Birding Trail System.

As for mammals, there are plenty of wild critters to encounter besides the fames wild horses. The reserve is home to mammals of all kinds, hiding out in the maritime forests, the sandy dunes, and the muddy flats bordering the Currituck Sound. Special species of note include muskrats, nutrias, river otters and minks, as well as white-tailed deer, gray foxes, raccoons, opossums and even occasional feral hogs. While most visitors will rarely encounter these mammals, which as a rule of thumb are shy around humans, a quiet lingering through the reserve, especially in the evenings around the maritime forests, may very well present visitors with a local furry resident sighting.

While the aforementioned species are all relatively common residents of a barrier island ecosystem like the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve, the area is also a safe haven to a small number of threatened or endangered species as well. Migrating or visiting species include the American Bald Eagle, piping plovers, and even Peregine falcons that can make a seasonal fall appearance on the Outer Banks.

In addition, during the warm months of the summer from late May until mid-October, the barrier island is a regular nesting ground for loggerhead or green sea turtles, which will travel miles inshore from the Gulf Stream to shimmy up the coastline for a night and lay their eggs.

Summer visitors may notice portions of the beach that are sectioned off by rope and thick swatches of black plastic. This serves as a protective barrier for the turtle eggs, to protect them from human foot traffic, and also to provide a light barrier for when they hatch. After hatching, the baby turtles' instincts guide them to the small shimmering lights off the ocean, to start a year-long swim towards the Gulf Stream. By blocking out the lights from the villages and communities in the villages, the turtles have no distraction or confusions to sway them off their path to the sea.

 

OuterBanks.com

Camera: Kowa/SIX

Lens: 85mm f/2.8

Film: Fomapan 100 medium format film

Dev: Rodinal 1+100 at 20ºC for 18 mins

 

An old tree in amongst the younger upstarts in the forest approaching Lochan Spling in the Trossachs near Aberfoyle, north of Glasgow, Scotland.

 

This shot was taken to test my Kowa Six which has been brought back out of retirement after some repairs and a replacement 85mm lens.

 

Again, this was shot on Fomapan 100 - the most inexpensive film I can find at the moment where Ilford HP5 is ridiculously expensive. Or perhaps another sign I haven’t bought film for quite some time.

 

I stumbled across this tree and had an image in mind. This isn’t quite it - but it was a good exercise in drawing as much detail as possible from the negative during scanning. It was also the driver in forcing me to reconsider my workflow when it comes to scanning as the standard film holders ion the Epson V550 are far from ideal.

 

Having pixel peeped - I can deduce that while my eyesight isn’t what it used to be - it’s not the critical factor here in getting the image quality I am after. I also think I am somewhat spoilt by the AI enhanced HDR panacea of iPhone photography.

 

The was shot on tripod at around f/16 with cable release. The Kowa has a beast of a mirror so tried my best to ensure everything was set down to avoid as much shutter slap as possible. Again, at 100 ISO in such conditions, you are headed to shutter speeds not compatible with handheld and certainly not on medium format.

 

The image was then processed in Adonol (Rodinal) R09 for 18 minutes at 1+100 dilution. Scanned flat to glass on Epson V550 with VueScan and adjusted using Negative Lab Pro and the Nik suite of tools in conjunction with Lightroom Classic.

 

Greetings mate! As many of you know, I love marrying art, science, and math in my fine art portrait and landscape photography!

 

The 45surf and gold 45 revolver swimsuits, shirts, logos, designs, and lingerie are designed in accordance with the golden ratio! More about the design and my philosophy of "no retouching" on the beautiful goddesses in my new book:

 

www.facebook.com/Photographing-Women-Models-Portrait-Swim...

 

"Photographing Women Models: Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype"

 

If you would like a free review copy, message me!

 

Epic Landscape Photography! New Book!

www.facebook.com/epiclandscapephotography

 

And here's more on the golden ratio which appears in many of my landscape and portrait photographs (while shaping the proportions of the golden gun)!

 

www.facebook.com/goldennumberratio/

'

The dx4/dt=ic above the gun on the lingerie derives from my new physics books devoted to Light, Time, Dimension Theory!

 

www.facebook.com/lightimedimensiontheory/

 

Thanks for being a fan! Would love to hears your thoughts on my philosophies and books! :)

 

facebook.com/mcgucken

http:/instagram.com/elliotmcgucken

instagram.com/goldennumberratio

 

Beautiful swimsuit bikini model goddess!

 

Golden Ratio Lingerie Model Goddess LTD Theory Lingerie dx4/dt=ic! The Birth of Venus, Athena, and Artemis! Girls and Guns!

 

Would you like to see the whole set? Comment below and let me know!

 

Follow me!

instagram.com/45surf

facebook.com/mcgucken

instagram.com/elliotmcgucken

 

I am working on several books on "epic photography," and I recently finished a related one titled: The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Why the Fibonacci Numbers Exalt Beauty and How to Create PHI Compositions in Art, Design, & Photography: An Artistic and Scientific Introduction to the Golden Mean . Message me on facebook for a free review copy!

 

www.facebook.com/goldennumberratio/

 

The Golden Ratio informs a lot of my art and photographic composition. The Golden Ratio also informs the design of the golden revolver on all the swimsuits and lingerie, as well as the 45surf logo! Not so long ago, I came up with the Golden Ratio Principle which describes why The Golden Ratio is so beautiful.

 

The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Dr. E’s Golden Ratio Principle: The golden ratio exalts beauty because the number is a characteristic of the mathematically and physically most efficient manners of growth and distribution, on both evolutionary and purely physical levels. The golden ratio ensures that the proportions and structure of that which came before provide the proportions and structure of that which comes after. Robust, ordered growth is naturally associated with health and beauty, and thus we evolved to perceive the golden ratio harmonies as inherently beautiful, as we saw and felt their presence in all vital growth and life—in the salient features and proportions of humans and nature alike, from the distribution of our facial features and bones to the arrangements of petals, leaves, and sunflowers seeds. As ratios between Fibonacci Numbers offer the closest whole-number approximations to the golden ratio, and as seeds, cells, leaves, bones, and other physical entities appear in whole numbers, the Fibonacci Numbers oft appear in nature’s elements as “growth’s numbers.” From the dawn of time, humanity sought to salute their gods in art and temples exalting the same proportion by which all their vital sustenance and they themselves had been created—the golden ratio.

 

The Birth of Venus! Beautiful Golden Ratio Swimsuit Bikini Model Goddess! Helen of Troy! She was tall, thin, fit, and quite pretty!

  

Read all about how classical art such as The Birth of Venus inspires all my photography!

www.facebook.com/Photographing-Women-Models-Portrait-Swim...

 

"Photographing Women Models: Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype"

One quintessential component to any effective military is simply communication. The presence of a robust telecommunications network ensures nearly any armed force is able to mobilize units effectively and therein able to counter the efforts of the enemy. Indeed nearly every element of NATO's order of battle is able to send and receive data in real-time, therein giving the alliance a three-dimensional impression of the battlefield. This ability to rapidly map the combat space has given Western armies a leg up in almost every campaign they've been involved with, including their stabilization efforts in the Balkans and Eastern Europe more broadly.

 

Lacking the funds and diverse domestic electronics industry to create parity with the West's fine-tuned command and control network, Yugoslavia instead focused on manufacturing select technologies to mute NATO's constant data transmissions. The M-104 is one iteration of this effort as it was designed as a terrestrial electronic warfare suite capable of intercepting or otherwise corrupting wireless transmissions from UAVs, radios, and so forth. In effect, NATO's Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Eastern Europe has often found its ISR operations interfered with by unidentifiable sources. For nearly two years the organization was unaware that Yugoslavia possessed the means to inflict such localized information blackouts. After a bout of FININT, however, it was discovered the JNA had shadily purchased rights to West Russian EW technology. This purchase was laundered extensively, so it's no wonder it took some time before NATO was able to discover it.

 

Regardless, the JNA--or more accurately, the Black Cross terror organization--has utilized the Ozhwiena to great effect. During the hotter spells of the conflict in Ukraine, dozens of donated UAVs had their relay components fried and several sorties by piloted SFOR aircraft had to be written off after "substantial external interference compromised targeting and transmission modules" aboard the offending jets. Although NATO has committed a considerable number of clandestine and overt assets to counter the threat to their battlefield information monopoly, the operators of the M-104 are often highly trained and are able to avoid getting blasted thanks to the conservative use of the EW systems and rapid deployment times. It's very uncommon for the same truck to linger in an area for more than a day and even then it often has some sort of anti-aircraft coverage lingering nearby to bite back against confident pilots. If electronic warfare technologies like those found in the Ozhwiena are allowed to proliferate in Eastern Europe--and indeed East Asia as well--then NATO and its allies are likely going to need to re-train themselves in more primitive information conveyance methods. Perhaps the carrier pigeon isn't totally outmoded after all.

The Mount Elliott Mining Complex is an aggregation of the remnants of copper mining and smelting operations from the early 20th century and the associated former mining township of Selwyn. The earliest copper mining at Mount Elliott was in 1906 with smelting operations commencing shortly after. Significant upgrades to the mining and smelting operations occurred under the management of W.R. Corbould during 1909 - 1910. Following these upgrades and increases in production, the Selwyn Township grew quickly and had 1500 residents by 1918. The Mount Elliott Company took over other companies on the Cloncurry field in the 1920s, including the Mount Cuthbert and Kuridala smelters. Mount Elliott operations were taken over by Mount Isa Mines in 1943 to ensure the supply of copper during World War Two. The Mount Elliott Company was eventually liquidated in 1953.

 

The Mount Elliott Smelter:

 

The existence of copper in the Leichhardt River area of north western Queensland had been known since Ernest Henry discovered the Great Australia Mine in 1867 at Cloncurry. In 1899 James Elliott discovered copper on the conical hill that became Mount Elliott, but having no capital to develop the mine, he sold an interest to James Morphett, a pastoralist of Fort Constantine station near Cloncurry. Morphett, being drought stricken, in turn sold out to John Moffat of Irvinebank, the most successful mining promoter in Queensland at the time.

 

Plentiful capital and cheap transport were prerequisites for developing the Cloncurry field, which had stagnated for forty years. Without capital it was impossible to explore and prove ore-bodies; without proof of large reserves of wealth it was futile to build a railway; and without a railway it was hazardous to invest capital in finding large reserves of ore. The mining investor or the railway builder had to break the impasse.

 

In 1906 - 1907 copper averaged £87 a ton on the London market, the highest price for thirty years, and the Cloncurry field grew. The railway was extended west of Richmond in 1905 - 1906 by the Government and mines were floated on the Melbourne Stock Exchange. At Mount Elliott a prospecting shaft had been sunk and on the 1st of August 1906 a Cornish boiler and winding plant were installed on the site.

 

Mount Elliott Limited was floated in Melbourne on the 13th of July 1906. In 1907 it was taken over by British and French interests and restructured. Combining with its competitor, Hampden Cloncurry Copper Mines Limited, Mount Elliott formed a special company to finance and construct the railway from Cloncurry to Malbon, Kuridala (then Friezeland) and Mount Elliott (later Selwyn). This new company then entered into an agreement with the Queensland Railways Department in July 1908.

 

The railway, which was known as the 'Syndicate Railway', aroused opposition in 1908 from the trade unions and Labor movement generally, who contended that railways should be State-owned. However, the Hampden-Mount Elliott Railway Bill was passed by the Queensland Parliament and assented to on the 21st of April 1908; construction finished in December 1910. The railway terminated at the Mount Elliott smelter.

 

By 1907 the main underlie shaft had been sunk and construction of the smelters was underway using a second-hand water-jacket blast furnace and converters. At this time, W.H. Corbould was appointed general manager of Mount Elliott Limited.

 

The second-hand blast furnace and converters were commissioned or 'blown in' in May 1909, but were problematic causing hold-ups. Corbould referred to the equipment in use as being the 'worst collection of worn-out junk he had ever come across'. Corbould soon convinced his directors to scrap the plant and let him design new works.

 

Corbould was a metallurgist and geologist as well as mine/smelter manager. He foresaw a need to obtain control and thereby ensure a reliable supply of ore from a cross-section of mines in the region. He also saw a need to implement an effective strategy to manage the economies of smelting low-grade ore. Smelting operations in the region were made difficult by the technical and economic problems posed by the deterioration in the grade of ore. Corbould resolved the issue by a process of blending ores with different chemical properties, increasing the throughput capacity of the smelter and by championing the unification of smelting operations in the region. In 1912, Corbould acquired Hampden Consols Mine at Kuridala for Mount Elliott Limited, followed with the purchases of other small mines in the district.

 

Walkers Limited of Maryborough was commissioned to manufacture a new 200 ton water jacket furnace for the smelters. An air compressor and blower for the smelters were constructed in the powerhouse and an electric motor and dynamo provided power for the crane and lighting for the smelter and mine.

 

The new smelter was blown in September 1910, a month after the first train arrived, and it ran well, producing 2040 tons of blister copper by the end of the year. The new smelting plant made it possible to cope with low-grade sulphide ores at Mount Elliott. The use of 1000 tons of low-grade sulphide ores bought from the Hampden Consols Mine in 1911 made it clear that if a supply of higher sulphur ore could be obtained and blended, performance, and economy would improve. Accordingly, the company bought a number of smaller mines in the district in 1912.

 

Corbould mined with cut and fill stoping but a young Mines Inspector condemned the system, ordered it dismantled and replaced with square set timbering. In 1911, after gradual movement in stopes on the No. 3 level, the smelter was closed for two months. Nevertheless, 5447 tons of blister copper was produced in 1911, rising to 6690 tons in 1912 - the company's best year. Many of the surviving structures at the site were built at this time.

 

Troubles for Mount Elliott started in 1913. In February, a fire at the Consols Mine closed it for months. In June, a thirteen week strike closed the whole operation, severely depleting the workforce. The year 1913 was also bad for industrial accidents in the area, possibly due to inexperienced people replacing the strikers. Nevertheless, the company paid generous dividends that year.

 

At the end of 1914 smelting ceased for more than a year due to shortage of ore. Although 3200 tons of blister copper was produced in 1913, production fell to 1840 tons in 1914 and the workforce dwindled to only 40 men. For the second half of 1915 and early 1916 the smelter treated ore railed south from Mount Cuthbert. At the end of July 1916 the smelting plant at Selwyn was dismantled except for the flue chambers and stacks. A new furnace with a capacity of 500 tons per day was built, a large amount of second-hand equipment was obtained and the converters were increased in size.

 

After the enlarged furnace was commissioned in June 1917, continuing industrial unrest retarded production which amounted to only 1000 tons of copper that year. The point of contention was the efficiency of the new smelter which processed twice as much ore while employing fewer men. The company decided to close down the smelter in October and reduce the size of the furnace, the largest in Australia, from 6.5m to 5.5m. In the meantime the price of copper had almost doubled from 1916 due to wartime consumption of munitions.

 

The new furnace commenced on the 16th of January 1918 and 77,482 tons of ore were smelted yielding 3580 tons of blister copper which were sent to the Bowen refinery before export to Britain. Local coal and coke supply was a problem and materials were being sourced from the distant Bowen Colliery. The smelter had a good run for almost a year except for a strike in July and another in December, which caused Corbould to close down the plant until New Year. In 1919, following relaxation of wartime controls by the British Metal Corporation, the copper price plunged from about £110 per ton at the start of the year to £75 per ton in April, dashing the company's optimism regarding treatment of low grade ores. The smelter finally closed after two months operation and most employees were laid off.

 

For much of the period 1919 to 1922, Corbould was in England trying to raise capital to reorganise the company's operations but he failed and resigned from the company in 1922. The Mount Elliott Company took over the assets of the other companies on the Cloncurry field in the 1920s - Mount Cuthbert in 1925 and Kuridala in 1926. Mount Isa Mines bought the Mount Elliott plant and machinery, including the three smelters, in 1943 for £2,300, enabling them to start copper production in the middle of the Second World War. The Mount Elliott Company was finally liquidated in 1953.

 

In 1950 A.E. Powell took up the Mount Elliott Reward Claim at Selwyn and worked close to the old smelter buildings. An open cut mine commenced at Starra, south of Mount Elliott and Selwyn, in 1988 and is Australia's third largest copper producer producing copper-gold concentrates from flotation and gold bullion from carbon-in-leach processing.

 

Profitable copper-gold ore bodies were recently proved at depth beneath the Mount Elliott smelter and old underground workings by Cyprus Gold Australia Pty Ltd. These deposits were subsequently acquired by Arimco Mining Pty Ltd for underground development which commenced in July 1993. A decline tunnel portal, ore and overburden dumps now occupy a large area of the Maggie Creek valley south-west of the smelter which was formerly the site of early miner's camps.

 

The Old Selwyn Township:

 

In 1907, the first hotel, run by H. Williams, was opened at the site. The township was surveyed later, around 1910, by the Mines Department. The town was to be situated north of the mine and smelter operations adjacent the railway, about 1.5km distant. It took its name from the nearby Selwyn Ranges which were named, during Burke's expedition, after the Victorian Government Geologist, A.R. Selwyn. The town has also been known by the name of Mount Elliott, after the nearby mines and smelter.

 

Many of the residents either worked at the Mount Elliott Mine and Smelter or worked in the service industries which grew around the mining and smelting operations. Little documentation exists about the everyday life of the town's residents. Surrounding sheep and cattle stations, however, meant that meat was available cheaply and vegetables grown in the area were delivered to the township by horse and cart. Imported commodities were, however, expensive.

 

By 1910 the town had four hotels. There was also an aerated water manufacturer, three stores, four fruiterers, a butcher, baker, saddler, garage, police, hospital, banks, post office (officially from 1906 to 1928, then unofficially until 1975) and a railway station. There was even an orchestra of ten players in 1912. The population of Selwyn rose from 1000 in 1911 to 1500 in 1918, before gradually declining.

 

Source: Queensland Heritage Register.

Can face masks help slow the spread of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19? Yes. Face masks combined with other preventive measures, such as getting vaccinated, frequent hand-washing and physical distancing, can help slow the spread of the virus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends fabric masks for the general public. People who haven’t been fully vaccinated should continue to wear face masks in indoor public places and outdoors where there is a high risk of COVID-19 transmission, such as crowded events or large gatherings. The CDC says that N95 masks should be reserved for health care providers. How do the different types of masks work? Medical masks Also called surgical masks, these are loosefitting disposable masks. They're meant to protect the wearer from contact with droplets and sprays that may contain germs. A medical mask also filters out large particles in the air when the wearer breathes in. To make medical masks more form-fitting, knot the ear loops where they attach to the mask. Then fold and tuck the unneeded material under the edges.

An N95 mask is a type of respirator. It offers more protection than a medical mask does because it filters out both large and small particles when the wearer inhales. Because N95 masks have been in short supply, the CDC has said they should be reserved for health care providers. Health care providers must be trained and pass a fit test before using an N95 mask. Like surgical masks, N95 masks are intended to be disposable. However, researchers are testing ways to disinfect and reuse them. Some N95 masks, and even some cloth masks, have valves that make them easier to breathe through. Unfortunately, these masks don't filter the air the wearer breathes out. For this reason, they've been banned in some places. A cloth mask is intended to trap respiratory droplets that are released when the wearer talks, coughs or sneezes. It also acts as a barrier to protect the wearer from inhaling droplets released by others.

The most effective cloths masks are made of multiple layers of tightly woven fabric like cotton. A mask with layers will stop more droplets from getting through your mask or escaping from it. How to get the most from your mask; The effectiveness of cloth and medical masks can be improved by ensuring that the masks are well fitted to the contours of your face to prevent leakage of air around the masks' edges. Masks should be snug over the nose, mouth and chin, with no gaps. You should feel warm air coming through the front of the mask when you breathe out. You shouldn't feel air coming out under the edges of the mask. Masks that have a bendable nose strip help prevent air from leaking out of the top of the mask. Some people choose to wear a disposable mask under their cloth mask. In that case, the cloth mask should press the edges of the disposable mask against the face. Don't add layers if they make it hard to breathe or obstruct your vision. Proper use, storage and cleaning of masks also affects how well they protect you. Follow these steps for putting on and taking off your mask: Wash or sanitize your hands before and after putting on your mask. Place your mask over your mouth and nose and chin. Tie it behind your head or use ear loops. Make sure it's snug.,Don't touch your mask while wearing it. If you accidentally touch your mask, wash or sanitize your hands. If your mask becomes wet or dirty, switch to a clean one. Put the used mask in a sealable bag until you can get rid of it or wash it. Remove the mask by untying it or lifting off the ear loops without touching the front of the mask or your face.

Wash your hands immediately after removing your mask.

Regularly wash cloth masks in the washing machine or by hand. (They can be washed along with other laundry.)

And don't forget these precautions: Don't put masks on anyone who has trouble breathing or is unconscious or otherwise unable to remove the mask without help. Don't put masks on children under 2 years of age. Don't use face masks as a substitute for physical distancing. What about face shields? The CDC doesn't recommend using face shields instead of masks because it's unclear how much protection shields provide. However, wearing a face mask may not be possible in every situation. If you must use a face shield instead of a mask, choose one that wraps around the sides of your face and extends below your chin.

Do you still need to wear a facemask after you’re fully vaccinated? After you're fully vaccinated, the CDC recommends that it's ok not to wear a mask except where required by a rule or law. However, if you are in an area with a high number of new COVID-19 cases in the last week, the CDC recommends wearing a mask indoors in public and outdoors in crowded areas or when you are in close contact with unvaccinated people. If you are fully vaccinated and have a condition or are taking medications that weaken your immune system, you may need to keep wearing a mask. You're considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after you get a second dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine or 2 weeks after you get a single dose of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. In the U.S., everyone also needs to wear a mask while on planes, buses, trains and other forms of public transportation. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends medical masks for health care workers as well as for anyone who has or may have COVID-19 or who is caring for someone who has or may have COVID-19.``

 

www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-dep...

 

The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have sorted us into three types based on our attitudes toward masking: Call them nervous maskers, never-maskers and uncertain maskers. The first feel guilty or nervous about unmasking, so they tend to default to wearing masks; the second feel angry and resentful about being told to mask, so they often refuse entirely. And the third group is just trying to do the right thing without a lot of certainty one way or another. Winter is coming, with its continued battles against delta or mu or another variant. We have better protections now (vaccinations, natural antibodies) but also are returning to higher-risk environments (nightclubs, offices, schools). To complicate matters, there are additional factors to consider such as waning immunity from vaccines and the potential of a bad flu season.

Fortunately, there have been a number of important studies on the efficacy of masking over the past 18 months. The good news is that the research suggests most of us can actually de-mask without guilt or worry in many instances — and not just outdoors. It tells us, for example, that plexiglass dividers are in most cases useless or worse. But relaxed refuseniks need a rethink, too — we shouldn’t be ditching masks entirely. On the contrary, the more people adopt a policy of tactical masking, taking situational factors into account, the lower the infection risk and the more freedoms we can enjoy again. As the probability of infection increases, mask wearers lower the risk of catching the virus compared with no masking. For N95 or FFP2 masks, the protection is far greater. Note: Relative reduction in risk-of-infection figures are for an infection probability of 4%.

It’s no wonder we’re either nervous, angry or confused about masks when you consider how masking guidance and conventions have been all over the map. It seems amazing now that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and various governments had warned against using masks in the early days of the pandemic. When Thomas Nitzsche, mayor of Jena, Germany, made the decision to require masks in public in early April 2020, his city became one of the first to do so. Infections dropped by up to 75% over the next few weeks. In May, the CDC said fully vaccinated people no longer needed to wear masks in most public settings. Two months later, as delta variant cases rose, the CDC revised that guidance. Now seven U.S. states — Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington — require most people to wear masks indoors in public places. Some states, including Texas and Florida, bar local authorities from imposing Covid-19 restrictions, including mask-wearing. In places that view masking as an affront to liberty, university professors can’t even ask students to wear masks during office hours without putting their jobs at risk. In England, there was a general lifting of restrictions in July, though U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said last week that masking may become mandatory again in some indoor settings this winter, depending mainly on whether hospitalizations from Covid spike. While masks are required on public transport, I’d say about half or fewer comply during my journeys. Many offices require workers to mask while walking around, but few Tory lawmakers are wearing them in the House of Commons. Scotland still requires masks to be worn in shops and restaurants while not seated, as well as on public transport. Berlin requires the medical-grade FFP2 masks on public transport. Certain regions of France also have masking requirements in place. But if you care about what the evidence says (and some people don’t), the jury is in: Masks help a lot. Take, for example, the study that shows most U.S. states that had high mask usage in one month avoided high Covid rates in the subsequent month, even after adjusting for masking policy, social-distancing policy and demographic factors. The majority of states with low mask usage ended up with high Covid case rates. Note: Low mask adherence means states that fall below the 25th percentile; high adherence are those states above the 75th percentile. Study analyzed data from April to October 2020.

The largest study yet on the effectiveness of masking, posted online in pre-print earlier this month, was a randomize trial conducted in 600 villages across Bangladesh covering a population of more than 340,000 adults. It offered strong evidence that masks, and surgical masks in particular, reduce virus transmission. Researchers found that a 29 percentage-point increase in mask adoption led to an 11% reduction in symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 prevalence, where surgical masks were distributed; and a 35% reduction in people over 60. Symptom reductions using surgical masks were not statistically significant in younger age groups. While vaccines have largely broken the link between infections and hospitalizations (and death), they haven’t eliminated the need for mask-wearing. Data released last week showed that two doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine were 67% effective against delta-variant infections (compared with 80% for two doses of Pfizer/BioNTech’s). Infections can still be nasty; long Covid remains another reason for vigilance. Not only can fully vaccinated people catch and transmit the virus, but it is unvaccinated adults who are more mask-resistant. Since it’s estimated that around half of all transmissions come from asymptomatic persons, masks are still key to preventing infections. But masking shouldn’t be performative, as it often is with those uncertain maskers who just want to show they are being thoughtful. Which masks we wear, and especially how they fit, is important. Mind the Gap . While N95s offer a higher level of protection, a well-fitted surgical mask blocks most particles.

More particles get through mask; Of course, not all masks are created equal, as a recent study published in the journal Nature highlighted. The authors measured the thermal behavior of face masks in real time during inhalation and exhalation to determine the relationship between the fabric structure of the masks and their performance. Their experiment helped shed light on how aerosol-containing bacteria and coronaviruses penetrate three different kinds of masks — reusable face masks, disposable surgical masks and the N95 — and how we can evaluate air filtration performance.Reusable masks have longer, thicker fibers with a larger average pore diameter. Unsurprisingly, they have

higher levels of permeability, with the surgical mask coming second, followed by the F95 (similar to the FFP2 in Europe). Those findings should even help manufacturers create a new generation of masks that offer more breathability while also improving filtration. The CDC doesn’t recommend scarves and other headwear because they tend to be made from loosely woven fabrics. Loosely Denser fabrics such as cotton with a 600 thread count compared with cotton that is woven with 80 threads per inch, are much more effective. Mixed fabrics also tend to have better results. A study on masks with and without gaps shows that leaks can significantly reduce their effectiveness. In addition to materials, layering them can also improve efficacy. New lab evidence on different kinds of masks showed that a three-ply surgical mask blocked 42% of particles from a simulated cough; a three-ply cloth mask was pretty similar. But the protection jumped to 92% when a cloth mask was worn over a surgical mask. Comfort is important to being able to wear a mask for long periods of time. In addition to metal nose-bridge strips that can help a mask stay on better, straps that tie behind the head and mask extenders can help reduce soreness around the ears. Insertable filters can be replaced when masks get wet.

Masks will also help prevent more vaccine-resistant variants from emerging as well as higher rates of flu infections, which can also cause serious illness and even death. Even so, the research strips away some of the mask myths and can help all categories of maskers — nervous, nevers and uncertains — be more tactical and aware. To know whether a mask is a must-have, a good idea or entirely superfluous, check the risk factors the way you might a weather report in the mountains: How densely packed and how well-ventilated is the space you are entering? Will you be moving around or stationary? It’s certainly good to mask up in an elevator or on public transport where people are pretty close together. It’s probably not necessary in an open-planned, well-ventilated office, provided people observe a measure of social distancing. Then be mindful of the infection and vaccination rates where you are. If you are in Broward County, Florida, where 70% of over-18s are vaccinated, you’d be justified in having a more relaxed approach; drive next door to Glades County, where only 31% are vaccinated and infection rates are high, and you’ll want to be more vigilant. Similarly only 16% of over-65s in King County, Texas, are vaccinated compared with 70% next door in Knox County, where the CDC recommends even vaccinated people mask. By moving beyond the “hygiene theater” of practices that don’t offer much benefit while also accepting that there are many different levels of risk tolerance and factors that increase or lower situational risk, we can treat masking a little like checking the weather forecast. Some days require a little more covering up than others.

 

www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-opinion-how-to-wear-face-...

++++ from WIKIPEDIA ++++++

 

Abruzzo (UK: /æˈbrʊtsoʊ/,[5] US: /ɑːˈbruːtsoʊ, əˈ-/; Italian: [aˈbruttso]; Abbrùzze [abˈbruttsə], Abbrìzze [abˈbrittsə] or Abbrèzze [abˈbrɛttsə] in Neapolitan Abruzzese; Aquilano: Abbrùzzu) or Abruzzi is a region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: L'Aquila, Teramo, Pescara, and Chieti. Its western border lies 80 km (50 mi) east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the Gran Sasso d'Italia, and a coastal area in the east with beaches on the Adriatic Sea.

 

Abruzzo is considered a region of Southern Italy in terms of its culture, language, history and economy, although geographically it may also be considered central.[8] The Italian Statistical Authority (ISTAT) also deems it to be part of Southern Italy, partly because of Abruzzo's historic association with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

 

Abruzzo is known as "the greenest region in Europe" as almost half of its territory, the largest in Europe,[9] is set aside as national parks and protected nature reserves. There are three national parks, one regional park, and 38 protected nature reserves. These ensure the survival of 75% of Europe's living species, including rare species such as the golden eagle, the Abruzzo (or Abruzzese) chamois, the Apennine wolf and the Marsican brown bear.[10] Abruzzo is also home to Calderone, Europe's southernmost glacier.

 

The visiting nineteenth-century Italian diplomat and journalist Primo Levi (1853–1917) said that the adjectives "forte e gentile" (strong and kind) best describe the beauty of the region and the character of its people. "Forte e gentile" has since become the motto of the region and its inhabitants.

 

Provinces and politics

Abruzzo provinces

Provinces

 

Abruzzo is divided into four administrative provinces:

Province Area (km2) Population Density (inh./km2)

Chieti 2,588 396,190 153.1

L'Aquila 5,034 308,876 61.3

Pescara 1,225 318,701 260.1

Teramo 1,948 308,769 158.5

Politics

 

History

Human settlements in Abruzzo have existed since at least the Neolithic times. A skeleton from Lama dei Peligni in the province of Chieti dates back to 6,540 BC under radiometric dating.[13] The name Abruzzo appears to be derivative of the Latin word "Aprutium". In Roman times, the region was known as Picenum, Sabina et Samnium, Flaminia et Picenum, and Campania et Samnium.[14] The region was known as Aprutium in the Middle Ages, arising from four possible sources: it is a combination of Praetutium, or rather of the name of the people Praetutii, applied to their chief city, Interamnia, the old Teramo.

 

Many cities in Abruzzo date back to ancient times. Corfinio was known as Corfinium when it was the chief city of the Paeligni, and later was renamed Pentima by the Romans. Chieti is built on the site of the ancient city of Teate, Atri was known as Adria. Teramo, known variously in ancient times as Interamnia and Teramne, has Roman ruins which attract tourists.

 

After the fall of the Roman Empire, a string of invasions and rulers dominated the region, including the Lombards, Byzantines, and Hungarians. Between the 9th and 12th centuries, the region was dominated by the popes. Subsequently, the Normans took over, and Abruzzo became part of the Kingdom of Sicily, later the Kingdom of Naples. Spain ruled the kingdom from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The French Bourbon dynasty took over in 1815, establishing the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and ruled until Italian unification (also known as the Risorgimento) in 1860.

 

Until 1963, Abruzzo was part of the combined Abruzzi e Molise region. The term Abruzzi (plural of Abruzzo) derives from the time when the region was part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The territory was administered as Abruzzo Citeriore (nearer Abruzzo) and Abruzzo Ulteriore I and II (farther Abruzzo I and II) from Naples, the capital of the kingdom.[14] Abruzzo Citeriore is now Chieti province. Teramo and Pescara provinces now comprise what was Abruzzo Ulteriore I. Abruzzo Ulteriore II is now the province of L'Aquila.

 

In the twentieth century, war had a great impact on the region. During the Second World War, Abruzzo was on the Gustav Line, part of the German's Winter Line. One of the most brutal battles was the Battle of Ortona. Abruzzo was the location of two prisoner of war camps, Campo 21 in Chieti,[18] and Campo 78 in Sulmona. The Sulmona camp also served as a POW camp in World War 1; much of the facility is still intact and attracts tourists interested in military history.

 

Geography

Geographically, Abruzzo is located in central Italy and southern Italy, stretching from the heart of the Apennines to the Adriatic Sea, and includes mainly mountainous and wild land. The mountainous land is occupied by a vast plateau, including Gran Sasso, at 2,912 metres (9,554 ft) the highest peak of the Apennines, and Mount Majella at 2,793 metres (9,163 ft). The Adriatic coastline is characterized by long sandy beaches to the North and pebbly beaches to the South. Abruzzo is well known for its landscapes and natural environment, parks and nature reserves, characteristic hillside areas rich in vineyards and olive groves, and one of the highest densities of Blue Flag beaches.

 

Climate

The Abruzzo region has two types of climate that are strongly influenced by the Apennine Mountains, dividing the climate of the coastal and sub-Apennine hills from the interior's high mountain ranges. Coastal areas have a Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers and mild winters and rainy hills with a sublittoral climate where temperatures decrease progressively with increasing altitude and precipitation with altitude. Precipitation is also strongly affected by the presence of the Apennines mountain ridges of the region; it increases with the proportion being more abundant in the field and on the slopes exposed to the west, instead of decreasing towards the east and east-facing slopes. Often the Adriatic coast are sidelined rainfall from the west to the barrier effect of the Apennines undergoing the action of gentle winds descending from it (or Libeccio).[21] The minimum annual rainfall, however, is found in some inland valleys, sheltered from much disturbance to the blocking action of mountain ridges, such as the Peligna Valley, or the valley of the river Tirino, which in some places (Ofena, Capestrano) showed barely 500 millimetres (19.7 inches), and not along the coast where it never falls below 600 millimetres (23.6 inches); for if Teramo is relatively little watered by rain (Teramo less than 800 millimetres (31.5 inches)), the metre is exceeded in Chieti, reaching maximum levels in the Adriatic, while between Ortona and Vasto in Costa dei Trabocchi decrease again.[21] The highest rainfall occurs in upland areas on the border with Lazio; they are especially vulnerable to Atlantic disturbances. Around 1,500 to 2,000 millimetres (59 to 79 inches) of precipitation is typical (Pescara in 2010 showed a value close to 2,800 millimetres (110.2 inches)).

 

Flora and fauna

As with many Mediterranean regions, Abruzzo's vegetation is characterized by different Mediterranean ecosystems. The coast and the surrounding areas are characterized by the presence of typical plants of Mediterranean shrubland, such as myrtle, heather and mastic, while in the hilly areas other species grow, including olive, pine, willow, oak, poplar, alder, arbutus, broom, acacia, capers, rosemary, hawthorn, licorice and almond trees, interspersed with oak trees. At elevations between 600 and 1,000 metres (2,000 and 3,300 ft) there is sub-montane vegetation, mainly characterized by mixed forests of oak and turkey oak, maple and hornbeam; shrubs include dog rose and red juniper. Elevations between 1,000 and 1,900 metres (3,300 and 6,200 ft) are dominated by beech trees. In the Apennine Mountains at elevations above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) species include alpine orchid, mountain juniper, silver fir, black cranberry and the Abruzzo edelweiss.

 

The fauna of Abruzzo is highly varied, including the region's symbol, the Abruzzo chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata), which has recovered from near-extinction. Animals typical of this region include: marsican brown bear, along with Italian wolf, deer, lynx, roe deer, snow vole, fox, porcupine, wild cat, wild boar, badger, otter, and viper.

 

The natural parks of the region include the Abruzzo National Park, the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park,[24] the Maiella National Park and the Sirente-Velino Regional Park, as well as many other natural reserves and protected areas.

 

Economy

Until a few decades ago, Abruzzo was a region of poverty in Southern Italy; over the past decades, however, it has developed to such an extent that it has escaped from the spiral of underdevelopment to become the 'first' region of the 'Italian Mezzogiorno'. This confirms its pivotal role in the national economic system. Since the 1950s, Abruzzo has had steady economic growth. In 1951, Abruzzo per capita income or GDP was 53% of that of Northern Italy, the nation's richest region. By 1971, Abruzzo was at 65% and, by 1994, per capita income was at 76% of Northern Italy's per capita income, giving Abruzzo the highest per capita GDP of Southern Italy and surpassing the growth of every other region of Italy. The construction of autostrade (motorways) from Rome to Teramo (A24) and Rome to Pescara (A25) opened Abruzzo to easy access. State and private investment in the region increased, and Abruzzo attained higher per capita education levels and greater productivity growth than the rest of the South. As of 2003, Abruzzo's per capita GDP was €19,506 or 84% of the national average of €23,181 and well outpacing that of the South (€15,808). The region's average GDP per capita was approximately 20,100 EUR.

 

The 2009 L'Aquila earthquake led to a sharp economic slowdown. However, according to statistics at the end of 2010, it seems that the economy of Abruzzo is recovering, despite the negative on regarding employment.[28] In fact, at the end of 2010, Abruzzo's growth was 1.47%, which placed it fourth among the Italian regions with the highest annual growth rates after Lazio, Lombardy and Calabria.[30] In 2011 Abruzzo's economic growth was +2.3%, the highest percentage among the regions of Southern Italy.[31] The region is also the richest region of Southern Italy, with a GDP per capita of €25,700.[21]

Travel poster from the 1920s.

 

Abruzzo's industrial sector expanded rapidly, especially in mechanical engineering, transportation equipment and telecommunications. The structure of production in the region reflects the transformation of the economy from agriculture to industry and services. Although industry has developed strongly, it retains weak points due to the existence of only a few large businesses alongside a huge fabric of small and medium-sized businesses. Both pure and applied research are carried out in the region, where there are major institutes and factories involved in research in the fields of pharmaceutics, biomedicine, electronics, aerospace and nuclear physics. The industrial infrastructure is spread throughout the region in industrial zones. The most important of these are: Val Pescara, Val Sangro, Val Trigno, Val Vibrata and Conca del Fucino. A further activity worthy of note is seaside and mountain tourism, which is of considerable importance to the economy of the region.[33] Agriculture, involving small holdings, has succeeded in modernising and offering high-quality products. The mostly small, agricultural holdings produce: wine, cereals, sugar beet, potatoes, olives, vegetables, fruit and dairy products. Traditional products are saffron and liquorice. Most famous in the world is Abruzzo's wine Montepulciano d'Abruzzo; in the late 20th and early 21st century, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo earned a reputation as being one of the most widely exported DOC classed wine in Italy.[34]

 

In the past decade, tourism has increased, in particular by internal and European arrivals. Abruzzo is world-famous for its wildlife parks (Abruzzo National Park, Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, Maiella National Park) and regional park (Sirente Velino), and 38 protected areas between oasis, regional reserves, and state reserves. The inland mountainous region contains several ski resorts, and coastal tourism is also well-developed, in particular, the Trabocchi Coast. Abruzzo's castles and medieval towns, especially around the town of L'Aquila, have earned it in some quarters the nickname of "Abruzzoshire", by analogy with the "Chiantishire", nickname sometimes used to refer to the Chianti area of Tuscany, but Abruzzo is still off the beaten path for most visitors to Italy.[35]

 

Chieti

Although the population density of Abruzzo has increased over recent decades, it is still well below the Italian national average: in 2008, 123.4 inhabitants per km2, compared to 198.8. In the provinces, the density varies: as of 2008 Pescara is the most densely populated with 260.1 inhabitants per km2, whereas L'Aquila is the least densely populated with 61.3 inhabitants per km2, although it has the largest area. After decades of emigration from the region, the main feature of the 1980s is immigration from third world countries. The population increase is due to the positive net migration. Since 1991 more deaths than births were registered in Abruzzo (except for 1999, when their numbers were equal).[36] In 2008, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that 59,749 foreign-born immigrants live in Abruzzo, equal to 4.5% of the total regional population.

 

The most serious demographic imbalance is between the mountainous areas of the interior and the coastal strip. The largest province, L'Aquila, is situated entirely in the interior and has the lowest population density. The movement of the population of Abruzzo from the mountains to the sea has led to the almost complete urbanization of the entire coastal strip especially in the province of Teramo and Chieti. The effects on the interior have been impoverishment and demographic aging, reflected by an activity rate in the province of L'Aquila which is the lowest among the provinces in Abruzzo – accompanied by geological degradation as a result of the absence of conservation measures. In the coastal strip, however, there is such a jumble of accommodations and activities that the environment has been negatively affected. The policy of providing incentives for development has resulted in the setting-up of industrial zones, some of which (Vasto, Avezzano, Carsoli, Gissi, Val Vibrata, Val di Sangro) have made genuine progress, while others (Val Pescara, L'Aquila) have run into trouble after their initial success. The zones of Sulmona and Guardiagrele have turned out to be more or less failures. Outside these zones, the main activities are agriculture and tourism.

 

Main settlements

L'Aquila is both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila and second largest city (pop. 73,000). L'Aquila was hit by an earthquake on 6 April 2009, which destroyed much of the city centre. The other provincial capitals are Pescara, which is Abruzzo's largest city and major port (pop. 123,000); Teramo (pop. 55,000) and Chieti (pop. 55,000). Other large municipalities in Abruzzo include the industrial and high tech center Avezzano (pop. 41,000), as well as three important industrial and touristic centers such as Vasto (pop. 40,636), Lanciano (pop. 36,000), and Sulmona (pop. 25,000).

 

Transport

Airports

 

Abruzzo International Airport is the only international airport in the region. Open to civilian traffic since 1996, the number of passengers has increased over the years because of low-cost air carriers' use of the facility. Today, the airport has a catchment area of over 500,000 passengers annually and connects the city of Pescara and the entire region with many Italian and Europe destinations.

L'Aquila-Preturo Airport is located in the nearby village of Courts and was recently renovated and modernized to accommodate presidential flights for G8 activities.

 

Ports

There are four main ports in Abruzzo: Pescara, Ortona, Vasto and Giulianova.

 

Over the years the Port of Pescara became one of the most important tourist ports of Italy and the Adriatic Sea. Heavily damaged in World War II, it underwent some sixty years of major restoration and was reborn as a modern marina with advanced moorings and shipbuilding facilities. It has been honored with the European Union's blue flag for the quality of services offered. The port of Pescara has lost passenger traffic because of its shallowness and silting, but its fishery and aquaculture activities are thriving.[38]

Railways

 

There is a significant disparity between the railways of the Abruzzo coast and the inland areas, which badly need modernization to improve the service, in particular, the Rome-Pescara line.

 

Existing railway lines:

Adriatic railway runs through the whole of Italy from north to south, along the Adriatic Sea.

Train Rome – Sulmona – Pescara

Sulmona – Carpinone

Sulmona–Terni railway

Avezzano railroad – Roccasecca

Giulianova – Teramo

Sangritana (Lanciano – Castel di Sangro)

 

Highways

There are three highways that serve the region:

 

Highway A24 Rome – L'Aquila – Teramo, was built in the 1970s and connects Rome with Lazio and more specifically to the Abruzzo Teramo via L'Aquila. It performs an important liaison function of the region, both Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic, due to the presence of several interchanges of connecting roads and highways. The Gran Sasso tunnel, the longest road tunnel entirely on Italian territory, was opened in 1984. It connects L'Aquila and Teramo on the A24 making the northern Abruzzo coast reachable within two hours from Rome.

 

Highway A25 Turin – Avezzano – Pescara makes the connection between Rome and Pescara. The road running out of Turin begins its journey where it branches off the A24, runs into the Conca del Fucino, crosses the Abruzzo Apennines, comes to the valley of Peligna, and ends at the exit for Pescara-Villanova to join the A14.

Motorway A14 Bologna – Taranto known as the A14 "Adriatica", includes 743 km (461.68 mi) of road, including lengths in the cities of Bologna and Taranto. Opened to traffic in 1965, it is now a major tourist road, running through the coastal towns of Emilia Romagna, Marche, Abruzzo, Molise, and Apulia.

 

Culture

Castel del Monte, one of Abruzzo's little-known hill towns

Gabriele d'Annunzio from Pescara

Abbazia di San Liberatore a Majella (Serramonacesca)

Ovid from Sulmona

Cathedral of San Giustino (Chieti)

Fishing trabucco of San Vito Chietino

 

The museum Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo in Chieti houses the famed warrior statue Warrior of Capestrano which was found in a necropolis from 6th century B.C. Of cultural importance are: Teramo Cathedral, its archeological museum and Roman theater, the Castello della Monica, the Collurania-Teramo Observatory, the famous L'Aquila Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio (which holds the remains of Pope Celestine V), the Museo Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Santa Maria del Suffragio, the Forte Spagnolo, the Fountain of 99 Spouts, Gabriele D'Annunzio's house in Pescara, Campli's Scala Sancta and its church, the church of Santissima Annunziata in Sulmona, the cathedrals of Chieti, Lanciano, Guardiagrele, Atri and Pescara along with the castles of Ortona, Celano and Ortucchio.

 

Every 28–29 August, L'Aquila's Santa Maria di Collemaggio commemorates the Perdonanza Celestiniana, the indulgence issued by Pope Celestine V to any who, "truly repentant and confessed" would visit that Church from the Vespers of the vigil to the vespers of 29 August.[39] Sulmona's Holy Week is commemorated with traditional celebrations and rituals, such as 'La Madonna che Scappa in Piazza', where a large statue of the Madonna, carried by a group of Sulmonesi part of Confraternities, is taken through the square towards her resurrected Son.[40] Cocullo, in the province of L'Aquila, holds the annual 'Festa dei serpari' (festival of snake handlers) in which a statue of St. Dominic, covered with live snakes, is carried in a procession through the town; it attracts thousands of Italian and foreign visitors. In many Abruzzo villages, Anthony the Great's feast is celebrated in January with massive and scenic bonfires.[41] In the past, the region of Abruzzo was well known for the transumanza, the migratory movement of sheep principally south to the region of Puglia during the cold winter months.[42] The Feast of St. Biagio, protector of wool dealers, is the most widespread in Abruzzo. On the third of February in Taranta Peligna every year since the sixteenth century an evocative ritual is carried out, entailing the distribution of panicelle, which are small loaves made of flour and water, in the shape of a blessing hand, which are distributed to the faithful.

 

Historical figures include: the Roman orator Asinius Pollio; Latin poets Sallust and Ovid, who were born in L'Aquila and Sulmona respectively, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman senator and leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar; and Pontius Pilate, who was born in the province of Teramo and is best known for authorizing the crucifixion of Jesus. Abruzzo's religious personalities include Saint Berardo; John of Capistrano, who led a crusade against the Ottoman Empire; Thomas of Celano, author of three hagiographies about Saint Francis of Assisi; and Alessandro Valignano, who introduced Catholicism to the Far East and Japan. The Polish Pope John Paul II loved the mountains of Abruzzo, where he would retire often and pray in the church of San Pietro della Ienca. When he died, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, gave the local Abruzzo community some of the late pontiff's blood as a token of the love he had felt for the mountainous area.[43] The greatest Italian poet of the 20th century Gabriele D'Annunzio was from Pescara; other notable Abruzzo personalities in the field of humanities include: poet Ignazio Silone, director Ennio Flaiano who co-wrote La dolce vita, philosopher Benedetto Croce, composer Sir Paolo Tosti and the sculptor Venanzo Crocetti.

 

American artists and celebrities such as: Madonna, Dean Martin, Bradley Cooper, Perry Como, Henry Mancini, Nancy Pelosi, Rocky Marciano, Rocky Mattioli, Bruno Sammartino, Mario Batali, John and Dan Fante, Tommy Lasorda, Dan Marino, Mario Lanza, Garry Marshall, Penny Marshall, Al Martino, Ariana Grande and Canadian Michael Bublé have Abruzzo origins.

 

Some international movies shot in Abruzzo include The American, Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose, Fellini's La Strada and I Vitelloni, Schwarzenegger's Red Sonja, Ladyhawke, King David, Francesco, Keoma, The Barbarians, The Fox and the Child and Krull.

Medieval and Renaissance hill towns

The fortress of Civitella is the most visited monument in Abruzzo

 

For most of its history, a large number of the Abruzzese people have been hill people, often working as shepherds in mountainous areas, or establishing hill towns, especially in the parts of Abruzzo further from the Adriatic coast.[citation needed] Before the 2009 earthquake, Abruzzo was the region with the highest number of castles and hill towns in Italy, but it still holds many of Italy's best-preserved medieval and Renaissance hill towns, twenty-three of which are among The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy.[44] These awards are not only for aesthetic beauty but also for art and culture, historical importance and livability.

 

The abrupt decline of Abruzzo's agricultural economy in the early to mid-20th-century saved some of the region's historic hill towns from modern development. Many lie entirely within regional and national parks. Among the most well preserved are Castel del Monte and Santo Stefano di Sessanio, which lie in the Gran Sasso National Park on the edge of the high plain of Campo Imperatore and nestled beneath the Apennines' highest peaks. Both hill towns, which were ruled by the Medicis for over a century-and-a-half, have relatively little tourism. Between the two towns sits Rocca Calascio, the ruin of an ancient fortress popular with filmmakers. Both Monteferrante and Roccascalegna are two of the most representative Abruzzo villages in the province of Chieti. Within the Gran Sasso National Park is also found Castelli, an ancient pottery center whose artisans produced ceramics for most of the royal houses of Europe.

 

Civitella del Tronto played a crucial role in the history of the unification of Italy. The fortress of Civitella is the most visited monument in the Abruzzo region today.[45] Other medieval hill towns located fully within Abruzzo's park system are Pacentro in the Maiella National Park and Pescasseroli in the Abruzzo National Park. Pacentro, which features a 14th-century castle with two intact towers, has been little touched by modernisation. The Shrine of Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, in the province of Teramo, which attracts some two million visitors per year, is one of the 15 most-visited sanctuaries in the world.[46] Capestrano, a small town in the province of L'Aquila, is the hometown of Saint John of Capistrano, Franciscan friar and Catholic priest, as well as the namesake of the Franciscan missions San Juan Capistrano in Southern California, the mission Mission San Juan Capistrano (Texas) and the city of San Juan Capistrano in Orange County. Giulianova is a notable example of a Renaissance "ideal city."

 

The proximity to Rome, the protected natural reserves and landscapes which make the region one of the greenest in Europe, the presence of some of the most beautiful Italian villages, its rich and heterogeneous gastronomy, along with a long history of deep-rooted local tradition and authentic Italian culture, make Abruzzo fifth among Italian regions for tourist visits after Calabria, Marche, Sardinia and Trentino. In 2010, visitors included 6,381,067 Italians and 925,884 foreign tourists.

 

In 2015, the American organization Live and Invest Overseas included Abruzzo on its list of World's Top 21 Overseas Retirement Havens. The study was based on such factors as climate, infrastructure, health care, safety, taxes, cost of living and more. In 2017 the Chamber of Commerce of Pescara presented Abruzzo region to the Annual conference of Live and Invest Overseas in Orlando (USA). One year later, in October 2018, Live and Invest Overseas held its first conference in Abruzzo.

 

Universities

There are three universities in the Abruzzo region:

University of L'Aquila

D'Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara

University of Teramo

 

Harvard University bases an intensive summer Italian language and culture program in Vasto, a resort town on Abruzzo's southern coast.

 

Science

Between the province of Teramo and L'Aquila, under the Gran Sasso Tunnel, is the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) of the INFN, one of the three underground astroparticle laboratories in Europe.

 

The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "Giuseppe Caporale", which conducts research in veterinary and environmental public health, is located in Teramo.

 

The Gran Sasso Science Institute, located in L'Aquila, is an advanced research institute which offers doctorates in astroparticle physics, computer science, and mathematics as well as urban studies and regional science, and which also conducts scientific research.

Sports

 

Interamnia World Cup, the largest international youth handball competition worldwide, takes place yearly in Teramo.[51]

 

There are several football clubs in Abruzzo. Delfino Pescara 1936 is a Serie B club; based in Pescara, its home stadium is Stadio Adriatico – Giovanni Cornacchia.

Dialects

 

The regional dialects of Abruzzo include Teramano, Abruzzese Orientale Adriatico and Abruzzese Occidentale. The first two form part of the dialect of southern Italy also known simply as "Neapolitan" since the region has been part of the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, while Aquilano is related to the Central Italian dialects including Romanesco. The dialects spoken in the Abruzzo region can be divided into three main groups:

Sabine dialect, in the province of L'Aquila (central Italian dialects)

Abruzzo Adriatic dialect, in the province of Teramo, Pescara and Chieti, that is virtually abandoned in the province of Ascoli Piceno (southern Italian dialects)

Abruzzo western dialect, in the province of L'Aquila (southern Italian dialects)

 

Cuisine

Renowned for its variety and richness due to the heterogeneity of its territory, Abruzzo's cuisine is among the best in Italy. In 2013 an Italian organization Confesercenti survey of foreign tourists showed that Abruzzo is the best Italian region to eat in. Both the agricultural and coastal aspects of Abruzzo have contributed to its cuisine. Due to the mountains, much of Abruzzo was isolated from international influence until the 20th century. As a result, the region's cuisine remained unique.

 

Popular dishes

One of the most popular regional dishes is spaghetti alla chitarra which is made by pressing or cutting pasta through a chitarra, an implement to form long thin noodles similar to spaghetti. The pasta is served with a tomato-based sauce, often flavored with peppers, pork, goose, or lamb. This dish is complemented by regional side dishes, such as the bean and noodle soup, sagne e fagioli. This soup is traditionally flavored with tomatoes, garlic, oil, and peperoncini. In terms of common ingredients, cuisine in Abruzzo often includes:

 

Lamb and mutton, primarily in the mountains.[54] Sheep's milk (or ricotta) is an important source of Abruzzese cheese, and lamb intestines are used as sausage casing or for stuffed meat rolls.[54][55] Mountain goat meat is also common in Abruzzo.

Truffles and mushrooms, particularly wild mushrooms from the forests and hills

Garlic, especially red garlic

Rosemary

Hot chili pepper or peperoncini, regionally known as diavolilli or diavoletti, is common in Abruzzese cuisine and often used to add spice to dishes. Abruzzo residents are well known for frequently adding peperoncini, or hot peppers, to their meals.

Vegetables such as lentils, grasspeas and other legumes, artichoke, eggplant, and cauliflower[54][55][56][57]

 

Other popular dishes include:

Gnocchi carrati, flavored with bacon, eggs and pecorino cheese

Scrippelle, a rustic French-style crêpe served either mbusse (a type of soup) or used to form a sort of soufflé with some ragù and stuffed with chicken liver, meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, and cheese

Pastuccia, a polenta stew with sausage, eggs, and cheese

 

Across the region, roast lamb is enjoyed in several variations. Some of these variations include:

 

Arrosticini, a skewered lamb dish

Pecora al cotturo, lamb stuffed with a variety of mountain herbs and cooked in a copper pot

Lamb cooked whole in a bread oven

Agnello cacio e ovo, a lamb-based fricassee

Mazzerella: lamb intestines stuffed with lamb, garlic, marjoram, lettuce, and spices

Le virtù: a soup from Teramo filled with legumes, vegetables and pork, usually eaten in the spring at celebrations

Timballo abruzzese: lasagna-like dish with pasta sheets (scrippelle) layered with meat, vegetables and rice; often served for Christmas and Easter[58]

Porchetta abruzzese: moist boneless-pork roast, slow-roasted with rosemary, garlic, and pepper[58]

 

Seafood is also popular, especially in coastal areas. The variety of fish available to the area has resulted in several fish-based Brodetti (broths), coming from such places as Vasto, Giulianova, and Pescara. These broths are often made by cooking fish, flavored with tomatoes, herbs, and peperoncino, in an earthenware pot. Rustic pizzas are also very common. Some of these are:

 

Easter Pizza, a rustic cake with cheese and pepper from the Teramo area

Fiadoni from Chieti, a dough of eggs and cheese well risen, cooked in the oven in a thin casing of pastry

A rustic tart pastry filled with everything imaginable: eggs, fresh cheeses, ricotta, vegetables, and all sorts of flavorings and spices.

 

Also from Teramo are the spreadable sausages flavored with nutmeg, and liver sausages tasting of garlic and spices. The ventricina from the Vasto area is made with large pieces of fat and lean pork, pressed and seasoned with powdered sweet peppers and fennel all encased in the dehydrated stomach of the pig itself. Atri and Rivisondoli are famous for cheeses. Mozzarella, either fresh or seasoned, is made from ewe's milk, although a great number of lesser known varieties of these cheeses can be found all over Abruzzo and Molise.

Sweets

 

The Abruzzo's sweets are world-famous and include:

 

Confetti, sugar-coated almonds, from Sulmona

Torrone Nurzia, a chocolate nougat from L'Aquila

Parrozzo , a cake-like treat made from a mixture of crushed almonds, and coated in chocolate.

Ferratelle (also known as Pizzelle). A wafer cookie, often flavored with anise

Croccante, a type of nougat made from almonds and caramelized suger, often flavored with lemon[59]

 

A Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wine labelled as being made from old vines.

Olive oil

 

The extra-virgin olive oil produced in Colline Teramane (Teramo hills) is marked by the DOP.[60]

 

The region has several cultivars that includes Carboncella, Dritta (Dritta Francavillese and Dritta di Moscufo), Gentile del Chieti, Nostrana (Nostrana di Brisighella), and Sargano olive cultivars.[61]

Wines and liquors

 

Renowned wines like Montepulciano DOCG and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo DOC are judged to be amongst the world's finest.[62] In 2012, a bottle of Trebbiano d'Abruzzo ranked No. 1 in the top 50 Italian wine awards.[63] In recent decades these wines have been joined, particularly, by wines from lesser known (heritage) white grapes, such as, Pecorino, Cococciola, Passerina, Montonico Bianco and Fiano.[64]

 

The region is also well known for the production of liquors such as Centerbe, Limoncello, Ratafia and Genziana.

  

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A one-day-old female Masai giraffe at the San Diego Zoo had her first medical exam earlier today. Veterinarians and animal care staff covered the newborn’s eyes with a soft towel to keep her calm while they confirmed her sex, checked her eyes, ears, tongue and throat, drew blood to ensure she is nursing properly, and checked her umbilicus for proper healing. Initial results determined the calf is healthy and strong, even though she is still getting used to her long, wobbly legs. The lanky youngster weighed in at 136 pounds and stands 6 feet tall; she may weigh as much as 500 pounds and stand 7 to 7 ½ feet tall by the time she is 6 months old.

 

After the exam, the youngster ventured around the maternity yard with her doting mother, Bahati. The curious calf interacted with her father, Silver, and other members of the Zoo’s giraffe herd from the protective fencing set up by keepers to separate the newborn and her mother from the herd until the calf is strong enough to venture into the larger habitat and interact with the others.

 

Bahati gave birth to the calf in the afternoon of May 19 after a three-hour labor under the watchful eyes of her keepers and to the amazement of Zoo guests. The experienced mother immediately began bonding with her calf, and Bahati helped the calf stand just minutes after her introduction to the world.

 

Masai giraffes, also known as Kilimanjaro giraffes, are the world’s tallest land animals and are native to Kenya and Tanzania. Masai giraffes are the most populous of the giraffe subspecies, but all giraffe populations have decreased from approximately 140,000 in the late 1990s to less than 80,000 today because of habitat loss and competition with livestock for resources. As a result, the future of giraffes is dependent on the quality of habitat that remains. San Diego Zoo Global supports community conservation efforts in Kenya and Uganda that are finding ways for people and wildlife to live together.

 

This is the 11th calf born to Bahati. Visitors to the San Diego Zoo can see the giraffe calf, yet to be named, on exhibit in the Urban Jungle.

Pratt & Whitney introduced the JT8D to commercial aviation in 1964 with the inaugural flight of Boeing's 727-100 aircraft. Many variants of the JT8D family have been produced, covering the thrust range from 14,000 to 17,400 pounds and powering 727, 737, and DC-9 aircraft. More than 11,800 JT8D standard engines have been produced, accumulating over 600 million hours of service operation.

The JT8D-200 series covers the 18,500- to 21,700-pound thrust range and is the exclusive power for the popular MD-80 series aircraft. Since starting service in 1980, more than 2,900 JT8D-200 engines have been produced.

To ensure the JT8D-200 stays current with environmental regulations, Pratt & Whitney has developed a new low-emissions combustion system, or E-Kit, that is FAR 25-certified. The E-Kit reduces JT8D-200 NOx emissions by 25 percent, unburned hydrocarbons by 99 percent and smoke by 52 percent. The E-Kit exceeds all ICAO standards for new production engines and qualifies for the Swiss Class 5 (cleanest) emissions category.

P&W and Aviation Fleet Solutions (AFS) have jointly developed a noise reduction kit for JT8D-200 powered MD-80 aircraft. The kit enables operators to comply with Chapter 4 noise standards while maintaining thrust and performance levels, and was FAA/EASA certified in 2006. The kit includes an improved fan inlet liner, a 16-lobe mixer, a muffler, and a tabbed nozzle and can be installed on-wing.

Flight-testing of a JT8D-200-powered 707 in late 2001 demonstrated the -200's substantial performance improvements and feasibility to complete J-STARS and AWACS mission profiles.

 

Engine Specifications:

Fan tip diameter: 39.9 - 49.2 in

Length, flange to flange: 120.0 - 154.1 in

Takeoff thrust: 14,000 - 21,700 lb

Flat rated temperature: 77 - 84° F

Bypass ratio: 1.0 - 1.7

Overall pressure ratio: 15.8 - 21.0

Fan pressure ratio: 1.92 - 2.21

 

Engine Models

JT8D-7/7A

JT8D-9/9A

JT8D-15/15A

JT8D-17/17A

JT8D-17R/17AR

JT8D-209

JT8D-217/217A/C

JT8D-219

 

Airplanes Powered

Boeing 727

Boeing 737-100/-200

McDonnell Douglas DC-9

Boeing MD-80

Super 27 Re-engining Program

 

Source: www.pw.utc.com/products/commercial/jt8d.asp

Spectator ensures he's well 'socially distanced' at this cricket match in Elgin's Cooper Park.

  

The Glasshouse is an international centre for musical education and concerts on the Gateshead bank of Quayside in northern England. Opened in 2004 as Sage Gateshead and occupied by North Music Trust The venue's original name honours a patron: the accountancy software company The Sage Group.

 

History

Planning for the centre began in the early 1990s, when the orchestra of Sage Gateshead, Royal Northern Sinfonia, with encouragement from Northern Arts, began working on plans for a new concert hall. They were soon joined by regional folk music development agency Folkworks, which ensured that the needs of the region's traditional music were taken into consideration and represented in Sage Gateshead's programme of concerts, alongside Rock, Pop, Dance, Hip Hop, classical, jazz, acoustic, indie, country and world, Practice spaces for professional musicians, students and amateurs were an important part of the provision.

 

The planning and construction process cost over £70 million, which was raised primarily through National Lottery grants. The contractor was Laing O'Rourke. The centre has a range of patrons, notably Sage Group which contributed a large sum of money to have the building named after it. Sage plc has helped support the charitable activities of Sage Gateshead since its conception. The venue opened over the weekend 17–19 December 2004.

 

Sage Gateshead was developed by Foster and Partners following an architectural design competition launched in 1997 and managed by RIBA Competitions. Over 100 architects registered their interest and 12 – a mixture of local, national and international talent – were invited to prepare concept designs. A shortlist of six was then interviewed with Foster and Partners unanimously selected as the winner. The Design has gone on to win a number of awards: the RIBA Inclusive Design Award, Civic Trust Award and The Journal North East Landmark of the Year Award.

 

As a conference venue, the building hosted the Labour Party's Spring conference in February 2005 and the Liberal Democrat Party conference in March 2012. On 18 August 2009, Sage Gateshead was selected to host the 2010 and 2011 National Union of Students annual conference. The 2010 Annual Conference took place 13–15 April 2010.

 

In 2022 The Sage Group announced that they were also sponsoring a new development that is being built next to Sage Gateshead which will be called The Sage. Sage Gateshead announced that they will be finding a new name for the venue prior to The Sage opening in 2024. On 13 September 2023 the venue announced its new name, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music.

 

Building

The centre occupies a curved glass and stainless steel building designed by Foster and Partners, Buro Happold (structural engineering), Mott MacDonald (engineering consultants) and Arup (acoustics), with views of Newcastle and Gateshead Quaysides, the Tyne Bridge and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

 

The Glasshouse contains three performance spaces; a 1,700-seater, a 450-seater, and a smaller rehearsal and performance hall, the Northern Rock Foundation Hall. The rest of the building was designed around these three spaces to allow for maximum attention to detail in their acoustic properties. Structurally it is three separate buildings, insulated from each other to prevent noise and vibration travelling between them. The gaps between them may be seen as one walks around inside. A special 'spongy' concrete mix was used in the construction, with a higher-than-usual air capacity to improve the acoustic. These three buildings are enclosed (but not touched) by the now-famous glass and steel shell. Sage One was intended as an acoustically perfect space, modelled on the Musikverein in Vienna. Its ceiling panels may be raised and lowered and curtains drawn across the ribbed wooden side walls, changing the sound profile of the room to suit any type of music. Sage Two is a smaller venue, possibly the world's only ten-sided performance space.

 

The building is open to the public throughout the day.

 

Concerts

The Glasshouse will host concerts from a wide range of internationally famous artists, and those who have played at the venue include Above and Beyond, Blondie, James Brown, Bonobo, Andy Cutting, De La Soul, Nick Cave, George Clinton, Bill Callahan, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Dillinger, Grace Jones, Gretchen Peters, Elbow, Explosions in the Sky, the Fall, Herbie Hancock, Mogwai, Morrissey, Mumford & Sons, Pet Shop Boys, Sunn O))), Nancy Sinatra, Snarky Puppy, Sting, Yellowman, Shane Filan of Westlife and others. In February 2015, it was one of the hosts of the second annual BBC Radio 6 Music Festival.

 

It is also home to Royal Northern Sinfonia, of which The Guardian wrote there is "no better chamber orchestra in Britain", and frequently hosts other visiting orchestras from around the world. The current music director for Royal Northern Sinfonia is the pianist and conductor Lars Vogt. In late 2014, Royal Northern Sinfonia collaborated with John Grant, performing at Sage Gateshead, and other venues throughout the UK. Recordings from this tour were made available as a limited edition CD and 12" record via Rough Trade Records in 2015.

 

Opinion

There has been popular debate surrounding what was Sage Gateshead. The venue is popular in the local area because of its concerts, and also its accessible learning courses for all ages and its constant interaction with local schools and academies through programmes such as Sing Up and the option of school visits.

 

Awards

2019: UK National Lottery 25th Birthday Award - Best Arts, Culture and Film

2019: Julie's Bicycle Creative Green 2 Star

2019: Gold Standard - Attitude is Everything

2018: Gold Award for Inclusive Tourism (North East Tourism Awards)

2018: Gold Award for Business Tourism (Visit England Awards for Excellence)

2005: Local Authority Building of the Year

2005: British Construction Industry Awards

2005: RIBA Award for Inclusive Design

 

Gateshead is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. The town shares the Millennium Bridge, Tyne Bridge and multiple other bridges with Newcastle upon Tyne.

 

Historically part of County Durham, under the Local Government Act 1888 the town was made a county borough, meaning it was administered independently of the county council.

 

In the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 120,046 while the wider borough had 200,214.

 

History

Gateshead is first mentioned in Latin translation in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People as ad caput caprae ("at the goat's head"). This interpretation is consistent with the later English attestations of the name, among them Gatesheued (c. 1190), literally "goat's head" but in the context of a place-name meaning 'headland or hill frequented by (wild) goats'. Although other derivations have been mooted, it is this that is given by the standard authorities.

 

A Brittonic predecessor, named with the element *gabro-, 'goat' (c.f. Welsh gafr), may underlie the name. Gateshead might have been the Roman-British fort of Gabrosentum.

 

Early

There has been a settlement on the Gateshead side of the River Tyne, around the old river crossing where the Swing Bridge now stands, since Roman times.

 

The first recorded mention of Gateshead is in the writings of the Venerable Bede who referred to an Abbot of Gateshead called Utta in 623. In 1068 William the Conqueror defeated the forces of Edgar the Ætheling and Malcolm king of Scotland (Shakespeare's Malcolm) on Gateshead Fell (now Low Fell and Sheriff Hill).

 

During medieval times Gateshead was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Durham. At this time the area was largely forest with some agricultural land. The forest was the subject of Gateshead's first charter, granted in the 12th century by Hugh du Puiset, Bishop of Durham. An alternative spelling may be "Gatishevede", as seen in a legal record, dated 1430.

 

Industrial revolution

Throughout the Industrial Revolution the population of Gateshead expanded rapidly; between 1801 and 1901 the increase was over 100,000. This expansion resulted in the spread southwards of the town.

 

In 1854, a catastrophic explosion on the quayside destroyed most of Gateshead's medieval heritage, and caused widespread damage on the Newcastle side of the river.

 

Sir Joseph Swan lived at Underhill, Low Fell, Gateshead from 1869 to 1883, where his experiments led to the invention of the electric light bulb. The house was the first in the world to be wired for domestic electric light.

 

In the 1889 one of the largest employers (Hawks, Crawshay and Company) closed down and unemployment has since been a burden. Up to the Second World War there were repeated newspaper reports of the unemployed sending deputations to the council to provide work. The depression years of the 1920s and 1930s created even more joblessness and the Team Valley Trading Estate was built in the mid-1930s to alleviate the situation.

 

Regeneration

In the late noughties, Gateshead Council started to regenerate the town, with the long-term aim of making Gateshead a city. The most extensive transformation occurred in the Quayside, with almost all the structures there being constructed or refurbished in this time.

 

In the early 2010s, regeneration refocused on the town centre. The £150 million Trinity Square development opened in May 2013, it incorporates student accommodation, a cinema, health centre and shops. It was nominated for the Carbuncle Cup in September 2014. The cup was however awarded to another development which involved Tesco, Woolwich Central.

 

Governance

In 1835, Gateshead was established as a municipal borough and in 1889 it was made a county borough, independent from Durham County Council.

 

In 1870, the Old Town Hall was built, designed by John Johnstone who also designed the previously built Newcastle Town Hall. The ornamental clock in front of the old town hall was presented to Gateshead in 1892 by the mayor, Walter de Lancey Willson, on the occasion of him being elected for a third time. He was also one of the founders of Walter Willson's, a chain of grocers in the North East and Cumbria. The old town hall also served as a magistrate's court and one of Gateshead's police stations.

 

Current

In 1974, following the Local Government Act 1972, the County Borough of Gateshead was merged with the urban districts of Felling, Whickham, Blaydon and Ryton and part of the rural district of Chester-le-Street to create the much larger Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.

 

Geography

The town of Gateshead is in the North East of England in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear, and within the historic boundaries of County Durham. It is located on the southern bank of the River Tyne at a latitude of 54.57° N and a longitude of 1.35° W. Gateshead experiences a temperate climate which is considerably warmer than some other locations at similar latitudes as a result of the warming influence of the Gulf Stream (via the North Atlantic drift). It is located in the rain shadow of the North Pennines and is therefore in one of the driest regions of the United Kingdom.

 

One of the most distinguishing features of Gateshead is its topography. The land rises 230 feet from Gateshead Quays to the town centre and continues rising to a height of 525 feet at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Sheriff Hill. This is in contrast to the flat and low lying Team Valley located on the western edges of town. The high elevations allow for impressive views over the Tyne valley into Newcastle and across Tyneside to Sunderland and the North Sea from lookouts in Windmill Hills and Windy Nook respectively.

 

The Office for National Statistics defines the town as an urban sub-division. The latest (2011) ONS urban sub-division of Gateshead contains the historical County Borough together with areas that the town has absorbed, including Dunston, Felling, Heworth, Pelaw and Bill Quay.

 

Given the proximity of Gateshead to Newcastle, just south of the River Tyne from the city centre, it is sometimes incorrectly referred to as being a part of Newcastle. Gateshead Council and Newcastle City Council teamed up in 2000 to create a unified marketing brand name, NewcastleGateshead, to better promote the whole of the Tyneside conurbation.

 

Economy

Gateshead is home to the MetroCentre, the largest shopping mall in the UK until 2008; and the Team Valley Trading Estate, once the largest and still one of the larger purpose-built commercial estates in the UK.

 

Arts

The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art has been established in a converted flour mill. The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, previously The Sage, a Norman Foster-designed venue for music and the performing arts opened on 17 December 2004. Gateshead also hosted the Gateshead Garden Festival in 1990, rejuvenating 200 acres (0.81 km2) of derelict land (now mostly replaced with housing). The Angel of the North, a famous sculpture in nearby Lamesley, is visible from the A1 to the south of Gateshead, as well as from the East Coast Main Line. Other public art include works by Richard Deacon, Colin Rose, Sally Matthews, Andy Goldsworthy, Gordon Young and Michael Winstone.

 

Traditional and former

The earliest recorded coal mining in the Gateshead area is dated to 1344. As trade on the Tyne prospered there were several attempts by the burghers of Newcastle to annex Gateshead. In 1576 a small group of Newcastle merchants acquired the 'Grand Lease' of the manors of Gateshead and Whickham. In the hundred years from 1574 coal shipments from Newcastle increased elevenfold while the population of Gateshead doubled to approximately 5,500. However, the lease and the abundant coal supplies ended in 1680. The pits were shallow as problems of ventilation and flooding defeated attempts to mine coal from the deeper seams.

 

'William Cotesworth (1668-1726) was a prominent merchant based in Gateshead, where he was a leader in coal and international trade. Cotesworth began as the son of a yeoman and apprentice to a tallow - candler. He ended as an esquire, having been mayor, Justice of the Peace and sheriff of Northumberland. He collected tallow from all over England and sold it across the globe. He imported dyes from the Indies, as well as flax, wine, and grain. He sold tea, sugar, chocolate, and tobacco. He operated the largest coal mines in the area, and was a leading salt producer. As the government's principal agent in the North country, he was in contact with leading ministers.

 

William Hawks originally a blacksmith, started business in Gateshead in 1747, working with the iron brought to the Tyne as ballast by the Tyne colliers. Hawks and Co. eventually became one of the biggest iron businesses in the North, producing anchors, chains and so on to meet a growing demand. There was keen contemporary rivalry between 'Hawks' Blacks' and 'Crowley's Crew'. The famous 'Hawks' men' including Ned White, went on to be celebrated in Geordie song and story.

 

In 1831 a locomotive works was established by the Newcastle and Darlington Railway, later part of the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway. In 1854 the works moved to the Greenesfield site and became the manufacturing headquarters of North Eastern Railway. In 1909, locomotive construction was moved to Darlington and the rest of the works were closed in 1932.

 

Robert Stirling Newall took out a patent on the manufacture of wire ropes in 1840 and in partnership with Messrs. Liddell and Gordon, set up his headquarters at Gateshead. A worldwide industry of wire-drawing resulted. The submarine telegraph cable received its definitive form through Newall's initiative, involving the use of gutta-percha surrounded by strong wires. The first successful Dover–Calais cable on 25 September 1851, was made in Newall's works. In 1853, he invented the brake-drum and cone for laying cable in deep seas. Half of the first Atlantic cable was manufactured in Gateshead. Newall was interested in astronomy, and his giant 25-inch (640 mm) telescope was set up in the garden at Ferndene, his Gateshead residence, in 1871.

 

Architecture

JB Priestley, writing of Gateshead in his 1934 travelogue English Journey, said that "no true civilisation could have produced such a town", adding that it appeared to have been designed "by an enemy of the human race".

 

Victorian

William Wailes the celebrated stained-glass maker, lived at South Dene from 1853 to 1860. In 1860, he designed Saltwell Towers as a fairy-tale palace for himself. It is an imposing Victorian mansion in its own park with a romantic skyline of turrets and battlements. It was originally furnished sumptuously by Gerrard Robinson. Some of the panelling installed by Robinson was later moved to the Shipley Art gallery. Wailes sold Saltwell Towers to the corporation in 1876 for use as a public park, provided he could use the house for the rest of his life. For many years the structure was essentially an empty shell but following a restoration programme it was reopened to the public in 2004.

 

Post millennium

The council sponsored the development of a Gateshead Quays cultural quarter. The development includes the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, erected in 2001, which won the prestigious Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2002.

 

Former brutalism

The brutalist Trinity Centre Car Park, which was designed by Owen Luder, dominated the town centre for many years until its demolition in 2010. A product of attempts to regenerate the area in the 1960s, the car park gained an iconic status due to its appearance in the 1971 film Get Carter, starring Michael Caine. An unsuccessful campaign to have the structure listed was backed by Sylvester Stallone, who played the main role in the 2000 remake of the film. The car park was scheduled for demolition in 2009, but this was delayed as a result of a disagreement between Tesco, who re-developed the site, and Gateshead Council. The council had not been given firm assurances that Tesco would build the previously envisioned town centre development which was to include a Tesco mega-store as well as shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, offices and student accommodation. The council effectively used the car park as a bargaining tool to ensure that the company adhered to the original proposals and blocked its demolition until they submitted a suitable planning application. Demolition finally took place in July–August 2010.

 

The Derwent Tower, another well known example of brutalist architecture, was also designed by Owen Luder and stood in the neighbourhood of Dunston. Like the Trinity Car Park it also failed in its bid to become a listed building and was demolished in 2012. Also located in this area are the Grade II listed Dunston Staithes which were built in 1890. Following the award of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of almost £420,000 restoration of the structure is expected to begin in April 2014.

 

Sport

Gateshead International Stadium regularly holds international athletics meetings over the summer months, and is home of the Gateshead Harriers athletics club. It is also host to rugby league fixtures, and the home ground of Gateshead Football Club. Gateshead Thunder Rugby League Football Club played at Gateshead International Stadium until its purchase by Newcastle Rugby Limited and the subsequent rebranding as Newcastle Thunder. Both clubs have had their problems: Gateshead A.F.C. were controversially voted out of the Football League in 1960 in favour of Peterborough United, whilst Gateshead Thunder lost their place in Super League as a result of a takeover (officially termed a merger) by Hull F.C. Both Gateshead clubs continue to ply their trade at lower levels in their respective sports, thanks mainly to the efforts of their supporters. The Gateshead Senators American Football team also use the International Stadium, as well as this it was used in the 2006 Northern Conference champions in the British American Football League.

 

Gateshead Leisure Centre is home to the Gateshead Phoenix Basketball Team. The team currently plays in EBL League Division 4. Home games are usually on a Sunday afternoon during the season, which runs from September to March. The team was formed in 2013 and ended their initial season well placed to progress after defeating local rivals Newcastle Eagles II and promotion chasing Kingston Panthers.

 

In Low Fell there is a cricket club and a rugby club adjacent to each other on Eastwood Gardens. These are Gateshead Fell Cricket Club and Gateshead Rugby Club. Gateshead Rugby Club was formed in 1998 following the merger of Gateshead Fell Rugby Club and North Durham Rugby Club.

 

Transport

Gateshead is served by the following rail transport stations with some being operated by National Rail and some being Tyne & Wear Metro stations: Dunston, Felling, Gateshead Interchange, Gateshead Stadium, Heworth Interchange, MetroCentre and Pelaw.

 

Tyne & Wear Metro stations at Gateshead Interchange and Gateshead Stadium provide direct light-rail access to Newcastle Central, Newcastle Airport , Sunderland, Tynemouth and South Shields Interchange.

 

National Rail services are provided by Northern at Dunston and MetroCentre stations. The East Coast Main Line, which runs from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley, cuts directly through the town on its way between Newcastle Central and Chester-le-Street stations. There are presently no stations on this line within Gateshead, as Low Fell, Bensham and Gateshead West stations were closed in 1952, 1954 and 1965 respectively.

 

Road

Several major road links pass through Gateshead, including the A1 which links London to Edinburgh and the A184 which connects the town to Sunderland.

 

Gateshead Interchange is the busiest bus station in Tyne & Wear and was used by 3.9 million bus passengers in 2008.

 

Cycle routes

Various bicycle trails traverse the town; most notably is the recreational Keelmans Way (National Cycle Route 14), which is located on the south bank of the Tyne and takes riders along the entire Gateshead foreshore. Other prominent routes include the East Gateshead Cycleway, which connects to Felling, the West Gateshead Cycleway, which links the town centre to Dunston and the MetroCentre, and routes along both the old and new Durham roads, which take cyclists to Birtley, Wrekenton and the Angel of the North.

 

Religion

Christianity has been present in the town since at least the 7th century, when Bede mentioned a monastery in Gateshead. A church in the town was burned down in 1080 with the Bishop of Durham inside.[citation needed] St Mary's Church was built near to the site of that building, and was the only church in the town until the 1820s. Undoubtedly the oldest building on the Quayside, St Mary's has now re-opened to the public as the town's first heritage centre.

 

Many of the Anglican churches in the town date from the 19th century, when the population of the town grew dramatically and expanded into new areas. The town presently has a number of notable and large churches of many denominations.

 

Judaism

The Bensham district is home to a community of hundreds of Jewish families and used to be known as "Little Jerusalem". Within the community is the Gateshead Yeshiva, founded in 1929, and other Jewish educational institutions with international enrolments. These include two seminaries: Beis Medrash L'Morot and Beis Chaya Rochel seminary, colloquially known together as Gateshead "old" and "new" seminaries.

 

Many yeshivot and kollels also are active. Yeshivat Beer Hatorah, Sunderland Yeshiva, Nesivos Hatorah, Nezer Hatorah and Yeshiva Ketana make up some of the list.

 

Islam

Islam is practised by a large community of people in Gateshead and there are 2 mosques located in the Bensham area (in Ely Street and Villa Place).

 

Twinning

Gateshead is twinned with the town of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen in France, and the city of Komatsu in Japan.

 

Notable people

Eliezer Adler – founder of Jewish Community

Marcus Bentley – narrator of Big Brother

Catherine Booth – wife of William Booth, known as the Mother of The Salvation Army

William Booth – founder of the Salvation Army

Mary Bowes – the Unhappy Countess, author and celebrity

Ian Branfoot – footballer and manager (Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton)

Andy Carroll – footballer (Newcastle United, Liverpool and West Ham United)

Frank Clark – footballer and manager (Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest)

David Clelland – Labour politician and MP

Derek Conway – former Conservative politician and MP

Joseph Cowen – Radical politician

Steve Cram – athlete (middle-distance runner)

Emily Davies – educational reformer and feminist, founder of Girton College, Cambridge

Daniel Defoe – writer and government agent

Ruth Dodds – politician, writer and co-founder of the Little Theatre

Jonathan Edwards – athlete (triple jumper) and television presenter

Sammy Johnson – actor (Spender)

George Elliot – industrialist and MP

Paul Gascoigne – footballer (Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers and Middlesbrough)

Alex Glasgow – singer/songwriter

Avrohom Gurwicz – rabbi, Dean of Gateshead Yeshiva

Leib Gurwicz – rabbi, Dean of Gateshead Yeshiva

Jill Halfpenny – actress (Coronation Street and EastEnders)

Chelsea Halfpenny – actress (Emmerdale)

David Hodgson – footballer and manager (Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Sunderland)

Sharon Hodgson – Labour politician and MP

Norman Hunter – footballer (Leeds United and member of 1966 World Cup-winning England squad)

Don Hutchison – footballer (Liverpool, West Ham United, Everton and Sunderland)

Brian Johnson – AC/DC frontman

Tommy Johnson – footballer (Aston Villa and Celtic)

Riley Jones - actor

Howard Kendall – footballer and manager (Preston North End and Everton)

J. Thomas Looney – Shakespeare scholar

Gary Madine – footballer (Sheffield Wednesday)

Justin McDonald – actor (Distant Shores)

Lawrie McMenemy – football manager (Southampton and Northern Ireland) and pundit

Thomas Mein – professional cyclist (Canyon DHB p/b Soreen)

Robert Stirling Newall – industrialist

Bezalel Rakow – communal rabbi

John William Rayner – flying ace and war hero

James Renforth – oarsman

Mariam Rezaei – musician and artist

Sir Tom Shakespeare - baronet, sociologist and disability rights campaigner

William Shield – Master of the King's Musick

Christina Stead – Australian novelist

John Steel – drummer (The Animals)

Henry Spencer Stephenson – chaplain to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II

Steve Stone – footballer (Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Portsmouth)

Chris Swailes – footballer (Ipswich Town)

Sir Joseph Swan – inventor of the incandescent light bulb

Nicholas Trainor – cricketer (Gloucestershire)

Chris Waddle – footballer (Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday)

William Wailes – stained glass maker

Taylor Wane – adult entertainer

Robert Spence Watson – public benefactor

Sylvia Waugh – author of The Mennyms series for children

Chris Wilkie – guitarist (Dubstar)

John Wilson - orchestral conductor

Peter Wilson – footballer (Gateshead, captain of Australia)

Thomas Wilson – poet/school founder

Robert Wood – Australian politician

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road: ensuring driving fun beyond compare on 48 km for over 80 years.

Driving beautiful curvy roads is a fantastic experience.

© all rights reserved by B℮n

 

It will be k-k-cold this weekend. The temperature can drop to -8 degrees and that means of course only one thing: skating! After a few nights of good frost we could skate on March 3, 2018 at the Loosdrechtse Plassen. Every effort was made to ensure that we could skate. Plassenschap Loosdrecht has issued a sailing ban for the Loosdrechtse Plassen. After an extra night of frost, the ice is perfect. Beautiful black smooth ice without weak spots. Finally perfect ice to tie up the irons for skating enthusiasts. There can be wonderful kilometers of skating between the peat area and vast frozen lakes. You experience nature in places where you normally can not come. The northwestern part of the Loenderveense Plas is also referred to as Terra Nova. In this part of the Loenderveense Plas, experiments have been carried out in recent years to improve water quality by removing the bream fish. This fish accumulates the sludge layer that is formed at the bottom of the ponds by over-fertilization. Only a few plants and animals can live in this muddy water. Although already impressive results can be seen from the bream removal - the whole lake has turned from muddy to clear water, which also means that the water is freezing faster than other puddles. The peatland is a paradise for skaters from the west of the Netherlands, because it is usually the first large-scale area where you can skate on natural ice.

 

Today 3th of March 2018 we got the opportunity to go ice skating on real ice instead of going to an ice rink. A good freeze only comes from a win in the climatic lottery. Thus the chance for our Dutch to be wild adventurers on their own land comes only every few years. We glide across solidified, frosted lakes with fish frozen into the ice. The Loosdrechtseplassen in the winter are a real skater’s paradise. Snapchat shot of me taken by my daughter Samantha. I'm enjoying the wide and smooth ice surface.

 

Het wordt k-k-koud dit weekend. De temperatuur kan dalen tot wel -8 graden en dat betekent natuurlijk maar één ding: schaatsennn! Na een paar nachten goede vorst konden we op 3 maart 2018 schaatsen op de Loosdrechtseplassen. Er werd alles aan gedaan om te zorgen dat we konden schaatsen. Plassenschap Loosdrecht heeft een vaarverbod afgegeven voor de Loosdrechtse Plassen. Na een extra nacht van vorst ligt het ijs er perfect bij. Prachtig zwart glad ijs en nergens wakken. Eindelijk weer heerlijk ijs om voor schaatsliefhebbers de ijzers onder te binden. Er kan heerlijk kilometers geschaats worden tussen het veengebied. Je beleeft de natuur op plekken waar je normaal niet kan komen.

De Loosdrechtseplassen zijn afgegraven veengebieden, gelegen in het Gooi. Het noordwestelijke deel van de Loenderveense Plas wordt ook wel aangeduid als Terra Nova. Terra Nova is een aan de Vecht gelegen landgoed en natuurgebied met veenplassen. In dit deel van de Loenderveense Plas is de afgelopen jaren geëxperimenteerd met het verbeteren van de waterkwaliteit door het wegvangen van brasem. Deze vis woelt de sliblaag op die op de bodem van de plassen is ontstaan door overbemesting. In dit troebele water kunnen slechts weinig planten en dieren leven waardoor de soortenrijkdom van de plassen sterk is teruggelopen. Hoewel nu al aansprekende resultaten te zien zijn van het wegvangen van de brasem – het hele meer is omgeklapt van troebel naar helder water wat ook weer betekend dat het water eerder bevriesd dan andere plassen. Het veengebied is een paradijs voor schaatsers uit het westen van Nederland, omdat het meestal het eerste grootschalige gebied is waar men goed kan schaatsen op natuurijs. We genieten van de ruimte en mooie schaatsijs van de Loosdrechtseplassen. Snapchat foto van mij genomen door mijn dochter Samantha.

 

Satuday 24th August 2019 saw the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final take place at Wembley Stadium featuring St Helens vs Warrington Wolves followed by the 1895 Cup Final between Sheffield Eagles and Widnes Vikings. This ensured a good turn out of coaches from those areas with no less than 150 parking up in the Yellow parking zone, a further 40 in the Orange zone and around another 20 in the Pink zone.

 

I took a good selection of the Yellow zone arrivals which saw examples of bodywork from 20 different manufacturers ranging from Barbi to Yutong.

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Kicking around on my desktop, I still have a handful of photos from the past few months that I want to upload before 2010 officially whips into town. My logic being that, if I have nothing else (or at least very little) "old" left to upload, I will be even more spurred on to ensure that I carve out more time for photography in coming year.

 

These delightfully cute (and ever so sweet tasting!) crimson, wee little strawberries were shot last autumn, when we still had days warm enough to go bare sleeve. Suddenly, in the quivering, pale light of a bleak autumn morning, such sun smooched afternoons seem a hundred million miles away, yet they live on in photos like this to remind us that spring and summer really do return...one day.

The Rochdale Canal in Todmorden, Calderdale, West Yorkshire.

 

It is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of 14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles across the Pennines from the Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire.

 

The Canal was conceived in 1776, when a group of 48 men from Rochdale raised £237 and commissioned James Brindley to conduct a survey of possible routes between Sowerby Bridge and Manchester.

 

The promoters, unsure as to whether to build a wide or a narrow canal, postponed the decision until an Act of Parliament had been obtained. The first two attempts to obtain an act failed after being opposed by mill owners, concerned about water supply. The promoters, to understand the mill owners' position, asked William Jessop to survey the parts of the proposed canal that were causing most concern. Jessop gave evidence to the Parliamentary committee, and in 1794 an act was obtained which created the Rochdale Canal Company and its construction.

 

When an Act of Parliament was sought in 1965, to authorise the abandonment of the canal, the Inland Waterways Association petitioned against it, and when it was finally passed, it contained a clause that ensured the owners would maintain it until the adjacent Ashton Canal was abandoned. Discussion of the relative merits of restoring the canal or the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1973 led the formation of societies to promote both schemes in 1974.

 

The Rochdale Canal Society wanted to see the canal fully re-opened, as part of a proposed Pennine Park. They worked hard both to protect the line of the canal and to begin the process of refurbishing it. A new organisational structure was created in 1984, with the formation of the Rochdale Canal Trust.

 

In 1997, the Rochdale Canal Trust was restructured, in response to announcements that there might be large grants available as part of the millennium celebrations. The canal was still at this point owned by a private company, and the Millennium Commission would not make grants to a scheme which was for private profit, rather than public benefit. The restructuring would allow the Trust to take over responsibility for the canal. However, the plan was rejected by the Commission, and to access the grant of £11.3 million, the Waterways Trust took over ownership of the canal.

 

Information Source:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochdale_Canal

 

A few miles away from the big outer city walls, next to a small river on a rock, a watch tower rises high above the trees. It was build to spot enemy troops from a distance, to ensure a defense could be prepared.

 

This is my first Castle/Medieval themed MOC, also my first tower.

Many great MOCs from other people inspired me to do this.

I enjoyed this project a lot, it was a blast for me to create something totaly different from my usual activity. Making more MOCs within this theme is very likely!

U.S. Army Reserve Spc. Christopher Landon, a motor transport operator assigned to the 182nd Transportation Company, fires an M240B machine gun as part of Operation Cold Steel II, hosted by the 79th Theater Sustainment Command at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., Dec. 2, 2017. Operation Cold Steel is the U.S. Army Reserve’s crew-served weapons qualification and validation exercise to ensure that America’s Army Reserve units and Soldiers are trained and ready to deploy on short-notice as part of Ready Force X and bring combat-ready and lethal firepower in support of the Army and our joint partners anywhere in the world. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Sgt. Heather Doppke)www.dvids.hub.net

Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Considered the most important religious site in Kiev, the Holy Dormition Cathedral is a part of the Pechersk Lavra Historic-Cultural Preserve and was declared world heritage site by UNESCO in 1991.

 

The beginning of monkhood in Kiev is closely associated with this place. One of the caves at the Pechersk Lavra Monastery was once home of the Christian priest Illarionov who in 1051 became the Metropolitan of Kiev. After he vacated the cave, it was occupied by Venerable Anthony, an ascetic who sought isolation in order to serve God without any distraction. Despite his intention, the presence of Anthony soon became obvious and started to draw people like a magnet. Some of these people came for an advice, others sought to become monks themselves. Eventually, a community of people dedicated to God was established. At some point, Anthony left the caves for an isolated dwelling on the opposite hill (known today as the Near Caves), while other monks remained in the old settlement (the Far Caves) and gradually organized themselves into a community with strict regulations, residential quarters and places of worship. The Holy Dormition Cathedral was the first praying facility built by the monks, sometime between 1062 and 1074. The wooden structure was destroyed in the following century by foreign invaders. The church was rebuilt in 1470, by Prince Semen Olegovich, only to be destroyed again in 1482. Over the centuries, the monks, inhabiting the caves, have endured many hardships - devastating invasions, property expropriation and persecution. After the 1980s, little by little, life at the monastery got back to norm with the help of the government. In 2000, the Holy Dormition Cathedral was inaugurated and the monastic life was once again strengthened. Today, the monks are preoccupied with ensuring that the prayer here doesn't stop ever again.

U.S. Marines with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force and with Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Marine Division move as an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft comes into land in Hat Yao, Thailand, Feb. 19, 2014, during Cobra Gold 2014. Cobra Gold is a regularly scheduled joint/combined exercise designed to ensure regional peace and strengthen the ability of the Royal Thai Armed Forces to defend Thailand or respond to regional contingencies. (DoD photo by Cpl. Zachary Scanlon/Released)

To ensure that, Father's Day is a good time to make sure Dad and everyone in your family are eating plenty of dark green, leafy vegetables.

 

The diets of animals similar to us makes it clear that we were designed to eat plenty of greens. The USDA has based its food recommendation of making vegetables the most important food on our plates. That's because studies have shown that those who eat plenty of green vegetables live longer and have less incidence of degenerative disease. Even so, nine out of ten people in the United States don’t eat enough of these health-giving foods.

 

Pines’ #greensuperfoods provide a convenient and economical way to increase the green in your diet. They are available in powders, tablets and capsules.'

 

Our website (wheatgrass.com) provides a store locator to find a store near you, Accept no substitutes. Poorly grown and poorly packaged products in plastic tubs and paper packets are devitalized. Further, Pines is the ONLY #vegan-friendly wholefood #wheatgrass and #alfalfa company in Kansas that is 100% organic and that has never produced pesticide-based feed for the mechanized meat industry. All our products are certified #organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, #Kosher and #raw.

 

As the original green #superfood company in the modern natural food marketplace, for more than 40 years, Pines has followed the standards established in 1937 for how to grow, harvest and package wheatgrass, alfalfa and other cereal grasses. All Pines products are packaged in amber glass bottles with special metal caps that allow us to remove the oxygen from each bottle to protect against the deterioration that occurs with plastic and paper packaging. The special metal caps allow the consumer to tightly seal the bottles between uses to keep the greens fresh and vibrant.

 

Pines Website: www.wheatgrass.com/

 

Pines Instagram: instagram.com/wheatgrass_people

 

Pines Twitter: twitter.com/PinesWheatGrass

 

Pines Flickr: bit.ly/1I60Mzc

 

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A kestrel eyes me with suspicion and ensures that I keep my distance

For the time being whilst Leake Road is closed around the Ridgeway Plantation area, the 1 is diverted from East Leake to Clifton running via Bunny, Bradmore, Ruddington, Compton Acres and the other side of Ruddington ( the road closure in the village causing chaos).

 

To ensure the village of Gotham isn't cut off from the outside world, a shuttle service is running up to Clifton Pastures to connect with either the main route or the 48.

 

614 is seen absolutely flying up Gotham Moor with a Shuttle Bus to Clifton.

© All Rights Reserved - Black Diamond Images

 

We left Bairndale early in the morning to ensure our journey through to Delegate in NSW via Bruthen, Buchan then on Gelantipy Road followed by McKillops Road got us into Delegate in time for lunch.

 

Once we entered McKillops Road we were in very isolated country, much of the 80 kilometre journey being through the Snowy Mountains National Park.

McKillops Road is regarded by many as Australia's most dangerous road, although I'd put a few other roads I've travelled in recent years right up there with it.

The surface of McKillops Road (officially C611) is generally speaking good and quite suitable for two wheel drive cars in fine weather conditions. The main reasons for the roads reputation is the precipitous drop offs along much of the road down the appropriately named Mount Turnback, at least as far as McKellar’s Crossing and the now famous McKillops Bridge. Passing opportunities are extremely limited with the road being narrow and mostly single lane. Meeting an oncoming car or worse a truck or caravan can mean backing up a considerable distance on certain sections of the road.

 

"Before traveling on this road, check current road conditions, carry a chainsaw or sharp axe as roads may be blocked by fallen trees, carry recovery gear including a winch, tree protector and shovel, and leave details of your trip intentions with a responsible person. Bring your own drinking water." Reference

 

Nevertheless driven in good weather with care, staying well clear of the road edges, and by maintaining consistent concentration you should make it safely through into NSW.

The road is unsuitable for caravans, trucks over 20 tonnes, and certainly semi-trailers, however if you're unlucky you may strike vehicles that by rights should not be travelling this road, as we did when we encountered 2 caravans as we headed down the mountain toward McKillops Bridge.

 

While the views down over the Snowy River are stunning, and indeed distracting, the most interesting feature of the road is undoubtedly the impressive McKillops Bridge, regarded by many as one of Australia's most impressive bridges.

At the time of its construction by the Victorian Country Roads Board in 1931-32 it was considered a highly significant feat of engineering.

With the wooden plank deck spanning 251 metres the bridge stands 22.5 metres above the Snowy River. Reference

 

Unfortunately the just over one year old welded-steel truss bridge seated on tall one-piece reinforced-concrete piers was washed away in a flood on the 8th January 1934 when the weight of accumulating debris became too great for the bridges central pylon which gave way. The calamity occurred just 11 days before the bridge was due to be officially opened on January 19th 1934.

Remnants of the original bridge can be still seen downstream with some wreckage found as far as 80km downstream near Orbost.

A new bridge was completed in December 1935 and officially opened on the 20th December 1935.

The elaborate timber decking superstructure is today showing considerable signs of wear and tear and probably not far off needing replacing.

 

Like a lot of the south east region of Southern NSW and Eastern Victoria in January 2020 McKillops Bridge was seriously threatened by bushfire.

Although the bridge, since its rebuilding in 1934, has stood strong for many years its archilles heal is undoubtedly its central pylon which is vulnerable to build up of debris during floods.

 

Heading North over the bridge one arrives at the Snowy River National Park Campground from where its possible to access the river. Just upstream is the confluence of the Deddick River and a few kilometres further on are the localities of Tubbut and Bonang before the road heads through to Delegate in NSW.

At Bonang the sealed Princes Highway heads south to Orbost.

 

Note - McKillops Bridge crossing was originally known as 'Turnback' but after agitation from graziers wanting a safer way to move stock south across the Snowy river a punt or ferry was installed. After a number of the appointed ferrymen quit Duncan McKellar took on the role, hence the name McKellar's Crossing replaced the name 'Turnback'. READ MORE

At some point the name McKillops Bridge replaced McKellar's Crossing Bridge the name deriving from the early explorer surveyor George McKillop who opened up Eastern Gippsland to settlement by squatters migrating down out of the NSW Monaro into East Gippsland.

McKellars Crossing Bridge

   

Gents — The whole point of stacking JENGA Blocks is to ensure the blocks don’t topple! Perhaps you should have more beer and try again. 😏

 

In the meantime, the NCAA Women’s Final Four (South Carolina, Connecticut, Louisville, Stanford) begins tonight! So make sure you find a good spot at the bar to see those two semi-final games! 🏀

 

The NCAA Men’s Final Four (Kansas, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina) begins tomorrow! 🏀

NAO Power is a Platform Supply Vessel, designed and built by ULSTEIN. The hull form, with the ULSTEIN X-BOW®,

combined with diesel electric propulsion system, ensures the best performances with regard to fuel consumption, sea

keeping, station keeping, and speed.

 

The main propulsion system comprises two azimuth pulling thrusters, each driven by frequency controlled variable speed electric motor.

 

One retractable azimuth thruster and two tunnel thrusters forward are installed, ensuring the vessel to obtain the best

station keeping capabilities with ERN[99,99,96,90].

 

The vessel is equipped, built and certified according to IMO Class II for Dynamic Positioning

 

MAIN PARTICULARS:

Length overall 83,40 m

Length between p.p. 76,50 m

Breadth moulded 18.00 m

Depth main deck 8,00 m

Max. load line draft midship 6.70 m

Max Speed (at T=4,5 m, approx) 15,6 knots

ERN 99.99.96.90

 

ACCOMMODATION:

Accommodation and equipment for 23 persons

 

CAPACITIES:

Cargo deck area (free area - 10T/5T/m2) 850 m2

Deck cargo (COG=1.0 above main deck) 2 240 t

Deadweight 4 200

 

MAIN ENGINES & GENERATOR SETS:

2 off main diesel engines, 2 250 ekW each, 690 V, 1 800 rpm

2 off main diesel engines, 940 ekW each, 690 V, 1 800 rpm

 

EMERGENCY GENERATOR SET:

1 off emergency generator set, 187 ekW, 690 V, 1 800 rpm

 

THRUSTER:

3 off el. driven side thrusters forward:

2 x Tunnel thrusters, 880kW, 0-1200 RPM

1 x Azimuth retractable thruster, 880 kW, 1800RPM

 

MAIN PROPULSION:

2 off azimuth thrusters, el. driven frequency controlled propellers

and water cooled drives.

Power: 2 200 ekW each

 

DECK EQUIPMENT:

1 off Hydraulic deck/ provison crane, 3T 18M

"Dreamstream"

 

Saturday September 14, 2024

 

DJ Performances:

6-7:30 PM - Sabbian

7:30-9 PM - Creme

9-10:30 PM - Shiny

10:30 PM-12AM - H

 

Location: LM: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/TheRefuge/164/126/2061

 

Dresscode: Dreamy in Black or White

 

Music: A sonic journey through dream pop, shoegazing, and surreal electronica. Let yourself be enveloped by ethereal sounds, hypnotic beats, and otherworldly atmospheres as live DJs take you through a dreamlike voyage of sound.

 

NOTE: To fully immerse yourself in the event, please ensure you're using a PBR-enabled viewer, as the venue features PBR-enabled objects, environment and terrain. This will enhance your experience and allow you to appreciate the detailed visual effects. Thank you!

 

This event was inspired by a dream...

 

The soft hum of dream pop gently fades in, as if the sound itself is pulling her from the shadows of sleep. She opens her eyes to a world bathed in sunset—the sky is a hazy lavender and reddish orange, with stars flickering softly like forgotten memories. The air feels thick, like velvet, and everything around her glows with a surreal, pearlescent light.

 

This is The Transcendent Realm—the dream world she has created to escape the harshness of life. In the distance, a tall man approaches, his figure gleaming like a beacon. His outfit is almost otherworldly, sleek and futuristic, all in white. His face, translucent and glowing, radiates warmth, but his eyes are deep, almost unknowable.

 

The dreamstream hums with the sound of ethereal shoegazing as he moves closer, as if the music is an extension of the dream itself. "Welcome," he says, his voice a mix of soothing tones, like notes drifting through fog. He extends a hand, and she takes it without hesitation. His touch feels light, almost weightless, but it grounds her in this dream world in a way she can't explain. They walk together, and he leads her through the Transcendent Realm, where the impossible feels ordinary.

 

Juniper trees with beautiful leaves sway in rhythm to the surreal electronica soundtrack that surrounds them, their colors look painted. The sky above seems to stretch endlessly, as if the horizon has no end. It's beautiful, and yet, there’s an underlying familiarity in it. She pauses as they pass a small grove of trees, and a wave of curiosity washes over her. The man notices her hesitation. "What is it?" he asks, his glowing face turning toward hers."This place..." she murmurs. "It reminds me of my childhood. I used to be so curious about everything around me." In her mind, fleeting images of her younger self exploring the woods near her home flash by—innocent, unburdened by the weight of reality. He smiles gently, but his gaze remains enigmatic. "Curiosity has a way of bringing us back to ourselves."

 

They continue walking, the music around them evolving—soft, dreamlike, and tinged with melancholy, as though the notes are holding memories she’s forgotten. But then, without warning, the peaceful soundtrack is shattered by a sudden, blinding flash of light. Lightning, crackling with raw energy, strikes a massive stone structure in the distance.

 

The sound reverberates through the air, sharp and overwhelming. Her heart pounds in her chest as she stares at the smoldering rock, the force of it so vivid it feels real. Too real. Before she can process it, the world begins to blur, the dream dissolving around her like smoke in the wind. She gasps, sitting up abruptly in her bed, her pulse racing. The Transcendent Realm is gone.

 

Days pass, and she can’t shake the image of the man, his glowing face, his enigmatic smile. He seemed so real, more than just a figment of her imagination. Who was he? Was he a stranger from her waking world or a part of her own subconscious that had taken form in the dream? She finds herself longing to return to the Transcendent Realm, to the beauty of the place, and to the mystery of the man who showed her a world beyond the ordinary.

 

Every night, she lies awake, hoping that sleep will take her back there. Back to him. But each time, she wakes up to reality. The music of the dream lingers in her mind, haunting her, pulling her back toward a world she can’t quite reach. She knows one thing for certain—whatever the Transcendent Realm is, it’s not just a dream. It’s a part of her now, forever etched in the space between dreams and reality.

 

See you soon, where we can all escape and dream for a while.

 

XOXO

Cate Infinity

Founder and Creative Brain of The Refuge Productions