The first Ida Rentoul Outhwaite Children's Library Stained Glass Window, "Regatta" is taken from the story "Serana: The Bush Fairy", from the book "Fairyland", published by A. and C. Black in London in 1926. The original illustration was executed in pen and ink, so it is brought to colourful life in the pink, brown, green and golden yellow stained glass panel. Juvenile faeries, both male and female, naughty pixies and frogs ride down a river in everything from canoes to improvised vessels made of nutshells, cups and lily pads with paper sails. One of two water police frogs in the bottom right of the panel hooks a naughty pixie as he sails by with his silver topped cane, making the whole scene quite a chaotic one. The faerie girls all wear contemporary 1920s sun dresses, and have either fashionable Marcelle Wave or bobbed hairstyles, which is contrary to the little boy faerie, who seems to have what we may consider to be more traditional faerie garb. The faerie girl at the top right of the melee even has a 1920s stub handled parasol to shade her! The canoe rowed by a frog with two girl faeries in it also has a connection to 1920s modernity, with a Chinese lantern hanging from the stern of the boat: a common site on punts at the time.

In 1923 with Fitzroy still very much a working class area of Melbourne with pockets of poverty, the parish of St. Mark the Evangelist decided to address the need of the poor in the inner Melbourne suburb. Architects Gawler and Drummond were commissioned to design a two storey red brick Social Settlement Building. It was opened in 1926 by the Vicar of St. Mark the Evangelist, the Reverend Robert G. Nichols (known affectionately amongst the parish as Brother Bill). Known today as the Community Centre, the St. Mark the Evangelist Social Settlements Building looks out onto George Street and also across the St. Mark the Evangelist's forecourt. When it opened, the Social Settlement Building's facilities included a gymnasium, club rooms and children's library.

Opened in 1926, the children's library, which was situated in the corner room of the Social Settlements Building, is believed to be the first known free dedicated children's library in Victoria. The library was given to the children of Fitzroy by Mrs. T. Hackett, in memory of her late husband. The library contained over 3,000 books, as well as children's magazines and even comics. The Social Settlements Building was only erected because Brother Bill organised the commitment of £1,000.00 each from various wealthy businessmen and philanthropists around Melbourne. Mrs Hackett's contribution was the library of £1,000.00 worth of books. Another internationally famous resident of the neighbourhood, Australian children's book illustrator Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, then at the zenith of her career, was engaged by the relentless Brother Bill to create something for the library. Ida donated four stained glass windows each with a hand-painted panel executed by her, based upon illustrations from her books, most notably "Elves and Fairies" which was published to great acclaim in Australia and sold internationally in 1916 and "Fairyland" which had been published earlier that year. These four hand painted stained glass windows were equated to the value of £1,000.00, but are priceless today, as they are the only public works of Ida Rentoul Outhwaite ever commissioned that have been executed in this medium. Ida Rentoul Outhwaite was only ever commissioned to create one other public work; a series of four panels executed in watercolour with pencil underdrawing in 1910 for the Prince Henry Hospital's children's wards in Melbourne (now demolished). Of her panels, only two are believed still to be in existence, buried within the hospital archives. The four Ida Rentoul Outhwaite stained glass windows each depict faeries, pixies, Australian native animals and children, taken from her book illustrations. At the time of photographing, the windows - three overlooking George Street and one St. Mark the Evangelist's forecourt - were located in the community lounge, which served as a drop-in lounge and kitchen for Fitzroy's homeless and marginalised citizens. Today the space has been re-purposed as offices for the Anglicare staff who run the St. Mark's Community Centre, possibly as a way to protect the precious windows from coming to any harm. The only down-side to this is that they are not as easily accessed or viewed as when I photographed them, making my original visit to St. Mark the Evangalist in 2009 extremely fortuitous.

The Ida Rentoul Outhwaite Children's Library Stained Glass Windows are one of Australia's greatest hidden treasures, which seems apt when you consider that the pixies and faeries they depict are also often in hiding when we read about them in children's books and the faerie tales of our childhood. The fact that they are hidden, because it is necessary to enter a little-known and undistinguished building in order to see them, ensures their protection and survival. The windows are unique, not only because they are the only stained glass windows designed and hand-painted by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, but because they are the earliest and only examples of stained glass art in Australia that deals with theme of childhood.

I am indebted to Peter Bourke who ran the St. Mark's Community Centre in 2009 for giving me the privilege of seeing these beautiful and rare windows created by one of my favourite children's book artists on a hot November afternoon, without me having made prior arrangements. I also appreciate him allowing me the opportunity to photograph them in great detail. I will always be grateful to him for such a wonderful and moving experience.

Ida Sherbourne Outhwaite (1888 - 1960) was an Australian children's book illustrator. She was born on the 9th of June 1888 in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton. She was the daughter of the of Presbyterian Reverend John Laurence Rentoul and his wife Annie Isobel. Her family was both literary and artistic, and as such, gifted Ida was encouraged from an early age to embrace her talent of drawing. Her elder sister, Annie Rattray Rentoul (1882 - 1978), was likewise encouraged to write, and both would later form a successful partnership. In 1903 six fairy stories written by Annie and illustrated by Ida were published in the ladies' journal "New Idea". The following year the Rentoul sisters collaborated on a book called "Mollie's Bunyip" which was received with instant success because it combined the idea of European faeries, witches and elves and the Australian bush. "Mollie's Staircase" followed in 1906. In 1908 the Rentoul sisters published their first substantial story book, "The Lady of the Blue Beads". On 9 December 1909 Ida married Arthur Grenbry Outhwaite (1875-1938), manager of the Perpetual Executors and Trustees Association of Australia Ltd. (Annie remained unmarried her entire life). After her marriage, Ida was known as Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, but did not publish anything substantial as she established her family and household until part way through the Great War. In 1916 she brought out her first coloured work; "Elves and Fairies", a de luxe edition produced entirely in Australia by Thomas Lothian. The success of the book, with its delicate watercolour plates, was due both to Ida's artistic talent and to the business acumen of her husband, who provided a £400.00 subsidy to ensure a high-quality production and consigned royalties to the Red Cross, thereby encouraging vice-regal patronage. "Elves and Fairies" is still her best known and loved work. Encouraged by her latest success, Ida travelled to Europe after hostilities ended and in 1920 exhibited in Paris and London. The critics compared her to other artists of the golden years of children's illustration such as Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, thus sealing her international success. She signed a contract with British book publishers A. & C. Black who published five books for her over the next decade, including "The Enchanted Forest" (1921), with text by her husband, and, probably the most popular of all the Rentoul sisters' collaborations, "The Little Green Road to Fairyland" (1922). "The Fairyland of Ida Rentoul Outhwaite" (1926), another sumptuous volume, with text by her husband and sister, was less successful. A. & C. Black also produced a number of postcard series using her illustrations from "Elves and Fairies" as well as her other books published by them. In 1930 the last of her books published by A. & C. Black was released, but already times were changing, and the interest in Ida's work was rapidly fading. Angus & Robertson brought out two more books in 1933 and 1935 but they received relatively little attention. Her last two exhibitions, which between 1916 and 1928 were almost annual events, were held in 1933. The Second World War changed the world, and Ida and Annie's work was relegated to a bygone era, shunned and forgotten. Ida suffered the loss of both of her sons during the war, and she spent her last years sharing a flat in Caulfield with her sister, where, survived by her two daughters, she died on 25 June 1960. She did not live to see the resurgence of interest in her work some twenty-five years later, when in 1985, her picture of "The Little Witch" from "Elves and Fairies" was published on an Australian stamp, opening the fairy world of Ida Rentoul Outhwaite to a whole new generation of children and adults alike.

Front façade and court yard of the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau, Azay-le-Rideau, Loire Valley, France

Some background information:

Azay-le-Rideau is a commune in the French department of Indre-et-Loire in the Centre-Val de Loire region. It has more than 3,400 residents and is located about 30 km (19 miles) to the southwest of the city of Tours. There are two historic châteaux in the municipal area of Azay-le-Rideau: the Château de l'Islette and the more famous Château d'Azay-le-Rideau. Both belong to the UNESCO Word Heritage Site "The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes" with its many breathtaking châteaux. Altogether there are more than 400 of them in the Loire region.

Built between 1518 and 1527, the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau is considered one of the foremost examples of early French renaissance architecture. Set on an island in the middle of the Indre river, this picturesque castle has even become one of the most popular of all the châteaux of the Loire valley. The current occupies the site of a former feudal castle. During the 12th century, the local seigneur Rideau d'Azay, a knight in the service of the then French King Philip II Augustus, built a fortress here to protect the Tours to Chinon road where it crossed the river Indre.

However, this original medieval castle fell victim to the rivalry between Burgundian and Armagnac factions during the Hundred Years' War. In 1418, the future King Charles VII passed through Azay-le-Rideau as he fled from Burgundian occupied Paris to the loyal Armagnac stronghold of Bourges. Angered by the insults of the Burgundian troops occupying the town, the dauphin ordered his own army to storm the castle. The 350 soldiers inside were all executed and the castle itself burnt to the ground. For centuries, this fate was commemorated in the town's name of Azay-le-Brûlé (in English: "Azay the Burnt"), which remained in use until the 18th century.

In 1518, the land, together with the ruined castle, was acquired by Gilles Berthelot, the mayor of Tours and treasurer-general of the King's finances under King Charles VII and King Louis XII. Desiring a residence to reflect his wealth and status, Berthelot set about reconstructing the building in a way that would incorporate its medieval past alongside the latest architectural styles of the Italian Renaissance. Although the château's purpose was to be largely residential, defensive fortifications remained important symbols of prestige, and so Berthelot was keen to have them integrated in the architecture of his new castle.

Berthelot's duties meant that he was frequently absent from the château, so the responsibility for supervising the building works fell to his wife, Philippa Lesbahy. These took time, since it was difficult to lay solid foundations in the damp ground of this island in the Indre, and the château had to be raised on stilts driven into the mud. In 1527, the château was still incomplete, when the execution of Jacques de Beaune, (the chief minister in charge of royal finances and cousin to Berthelot) forced Gilles to flee the country. The then French King Francis I confiscated the unfinished building and, in 1535, gave it to Antoine Raffin, one of his knights-at-arms.

In 1583, Raffin's granddaughter Antoinette, a former lady-in-waiting to Margaret of Valois (the then Queen of Navarre and later Queen of France), took up residence in the château. With the help of her husband Guy de Saint-Gelais, she began modernising the décor. The Raffins, and their relations by marriage, the Vassés, retained ownership of the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau until 1787, when it was sold for 300,000 livres to the Marquis Charles de Biencourt, field marshal of King Louis XVI.

After having affiliated to the Third Estate and having committed himself to the ideals of the French Revolution, he was allowed to retain possession of his estate, which was in poor condition at that time. At the beginning of the 1820s, Biencourt undertook some alteration work. But after his death in 1824, it was his son Armand-François-Marie de Biencourt, who accomplished an extensive restoration of the château. This included restoring the old medallions and royal insignia on the staircase (which had been covered up during the French Revolution), extending the courtyard façade and adding a new tower at the east corner.

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 to 1871, the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau was once again threatened with destruction. It served as the headquarters for the Prussian troops in the area, but when one night a chandelier fell from the ceiling onto the table where their leader, Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, was dining, he suspected an assassination attempt and ordered his soldiers to set fire to the building. Only his officers' assurances that the chandelier had dropped by accident persuaded him to stay his hand and thus saved the château from a second burning.

Following the Prussian troops' retreat, Azay-le-Rideau returned to the Biencourt family. In 1899, financial difficulties forced the young widower Charles-Marie-Christian de Biencourt to sell the château, along with its furniture and 540 hectares of land, to the businessman Achille Arteau. He sold the château‘s contents for profit and as a result, the building was emptied and its artwork and furniture dispersed. In 1905, the estate was purchased by the French state for 250,000 francs and finally became a listed historical monument.

Today, the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau is one of many national monuments under the protection of the Centre des monuments nationaux. It is open to the public and its rooms are re-equipped with interior decoration and furniture, which reflect the influence of the Italian Renaissance. Many of the rooms display 16th- and 17th-century Flemish tapestries and the château also houses a significant collection of artwork. The current gardens were designed in the 19th century by the Biencourts, who laid out a large landscaped park in the English style. To the south and west, the river serves as a water mirror for the château, reflecting the façades and creating an attractive tableau.

"Eshley had conceived and executed a dainty picture of two reposeful milch-cows in a setting of walnut tree and meadow-grass and filtered sunbeam, and the Royal Academy had duly exposed the same on the walls of the Summer Exhibition... His 'Noontide Peace', a study of two dun cows under a walnut tree, was followed by 'A Mid-Day Sanctuary', a study of a walnut tree, with two dun cows under it. In due succession there came 'Where the Gad-Flies Cease From Troubling', 'The Haven of the Herd', and 'A Dream in Dairyland', studies of walnut trees and dun cows." - Saki, The Stalled Ox

Yes, these are getting repetitive, and yes, there will no doubt be many more. I can't help it because I love reflections, especially reflections of flora on water. Its beyond my control.

My next tree on water shot will be entitled 'Wispy'.

Credits listed here:

mystiquemoyet.blogspot.de/2017/12/sometimes-dresses-want-...

Sleeping Faun (also known as the drunken faun or the Barberini faun)

Marble, 1726-1730

Edme Bouchardon

Chaumont-in-Bassigny, 1698 - Paris, 1762

This work, executed in Rome, is a copy of a famous antique of the Barberini collection.

(today in Glyptotheque of Munich). For one and a half centuries, It was moved around several parks (the garden of Monceau, the park of Saint-Cloud, the garden of Luxembourg), and this long stay outside has damaged the surface of the marble irremediably.

The font in the Augustinerkirche in Zürich. This was executed by local sculptor Franz Fischer during the church's reordering of 1958-9.

The Augustinerkirche in Zürich, located at the south-west of the Münzplatz in the Lindenhof area of the city centre. It is now home to the Old Catholic congregation in the centre of the city.

It was originally one of the five main churches in the old town of Zürich, together with the Fraumünster, Grossmünster, Predigerkirche and St Peter’s.

First built around 1270 as a Romanesque church belonging to the Augustinian abbey, worship in the church was discontinued at the Reformation. The church was rebuilt by Ferdinand Stadler for the Roman Catholic community of the city in 1843-4, a growing minority at the time. The majority of Zürich’s Catholics, however, rejected the decisions of the First Vatican Council of 1870, and consequently the whole community was excommunicated. The Augustinerkirche remains an Old Catholic congregation to this day.

In 1958-9, the church was rebuilt by Max Kopp in accordance with the original and more ambitious plans and with the Gothic Revival elements removed, leading to a much starker modernist aesthetic, a combination which I find very interesting.

Réplique exécutée par Yannec Tomada. La statue originale du sculpteur Jim Brothers se trouve au "National D-Day Memorial " de Bedford en Virginie aux USA.

Again for model year 1963 minor restyled details were executed by Brooks Stevens (1911-1995) like a renewed grille and dashboard. Stevens also used thinner upper door frames to improve the visibility. More striking was the elimination of the outdated semi-panoramic windshield. All these measures gave the Lark a more modern look.

Despite all affords and the good reputation and reliability of Studebaker, and the fact that the Lark was relatively cheap (special the V8 versions), sales went down year by year.

You can find a very interesting article about the history of the Lark here: www.indieauto.org/2021/04/16/1964-studebaker-brooks-steve...

4739 cc V8 engine (was shared with Hawk GT and Avanti).

C. 1350 kg.

Production Studebaker Lark series: 1959-1966.

Production Studebaker Lark 2nd generation: Autumn 1961-1963.

Production Studebaker Lark Six and Eight this version: Autumn 1962-1963.

Picture was taken from:

Cars of the Sizzling '60s, a Decade of Great Rides and Good Vibrations, by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, Publications International LTD, Lincolnwood, 1997.

Original photographer, place and date unknown.

Book collection Sander Toonen (1998).

Halfweg, July 10, 2024.

© 2024 Sander Toonen, Halfweg | All Rights Reserved

Apres avoir vu ce quilt grandiose de Katie Masopust je voulais pouvoir aller contempler moi meme le paysage du Canyon de Chelly. Ma visite eu lieu en mai 1998 et septembre 2000.

After seeing this quilt ( 96" X 54" ) by Katie Masopust I wanted to go and see the canyon de Chelly which I did in May 1998 and September 2000

St Albans claims to be the earliest site of Christian pilgrimage in England, being named after our first martyr, who was executed at some point in the 3rd century AD (when the city was still known by its Roman name, Verulanium) having sheltered a persecuted Christian priest, St Amphibalus, and been impressed by his faith, offering himself for arrest in his place. Both men were buried here and Alban's tomb was venerated and marked in some form long before the present cathedral was built.

The cathedral is nonetheless one of the most ancient of our major churches, though its cathedral status dates only to 1877 when the new diocese of St Albans was formed. The church was originally founded as St Alban's Abbey, and built close to the presumed site of Alban's martyrdom. Founded in 793 by King Offa, the abbey was rebuilt several times with the earliest parts of the present cathedral dating back to the late 11th century. Much use was made of recycled material from the abandoned Roman city of Verulanium, and the handsome Romanesque tower appears to be entirely constructed of reused Roman bricks. The Abbey was built on an impressive scale, and must have once been a very wealthy institution owing to pilgrimages to the shrine of St Alban behind the high altar. However its fortunes had begun to decline even before the Reformation swept medieval monastic life away.

The abbey church miraculously survived the Dissolution in its entirety and was sold to the town for use as their parish church. The monastic buildings however were completely erased aside from the splendid Abbey Gatehouse near the west end, and only the weathered remains of arcading on the south side of the nave remains of the former cloisters. Upkeep thereafter seems to have been a serious challenge and the huge church spent much of the following centuries in poor repair, thus much work was done by a succession of architects in the Victorian period prior to the abbey church being raised to the status of cathedral. The most obvious interventions are those made by Edmund Beckett / Lord Grimthorpe, an amateur architect who paid for much of the work in the 1870s in return for a free hand in redesigning parts of the building. His are the strange turrets on ends of the transepts, along with their facade windows below and the west front, which is clearly a Victorian confection, though the medieval facade it replaced had been left in a rather bare, unfinished state.

The cathedral we see today is thus a rather surprising mixture of styles and materials, everything from Roman brick, flint and rubble to fine white limestone., which gives it a rather patchy appearance. Its great length however is remarkable, being the second longest medieval church in the country (only Winchester is longer, but St Albans has a longer nave). The oldest parts are the towers and transepts from the end of the 11th century, along with much of the north side of the nave, all fine examples of early Romanesque architecture. Most of the rest was rebuilt in the Gothic style in various phases throughout the 14th century, including the greater part of the nave and all of the choir and Lady Chapel (though the east end was heavily renewed externally in the Victorian restoration).

Entering the cathedral one cannot fail to be impressed by the enormous length of the nave,, mostly of late 13th and early 14th century date aside from the strikingly austere north arcade in the more easterly section, where the raw unadorned early Norman architecture contrasts dramatically with the more ornate Gothic arcade opposite. The Norman columns have the added appeal of retaining substantial remains of medieval mural decoration, with a succession of Crucifixion scenes that may have originally served as reredos to long vanished side altars. The medieval pulpitum screen remains and separates the eastern bays for use as the choir beyond it. This area also retains its flat late medieval wooden ceiling complete with painted panels of angels holding shields.

The transepts and crossing beneath the tower form an especially memorable interior space, again the architecture is of the more raw, auster Norman variety, but the tower arches are enlivened with painted decoration simulating brickwork and much Roman and Saxon material is incorporated in to the transepts. Beyond is the fully Gothic eastern limb with the presbytery covered by a handsome medieval wooden vault, again replete it medieval painted decoration, and the striking altar reredos, a towering late medieval screen populated with elaborate niches and statuary (the latter being Victorian replacements for originals long lost). Behind this is the re-assembled shrine of St Alban (along with that of St Amphibalus in the south choir aisle nearby). The Lady Chapel beyond is a handsome example of 14th century Decorated Gothic, though much restored following centuries of use as a schoolroom separated from the rest of the church.

There is much of interest to see in the cathedral, though most of the furnishings are Victorian (the originals having long vanished) and there are few monuments of note aside from the two late medieval chantry chapels of Abbot Ramryge and Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, the latter overlooking the shrine of St Alban and balanced by a 15th century wooden watching loft on the opposite side (a rare survival). There is a mixture of glass, the most notable pieces being the most recent additions in the south aisle and north transept rose window. The best features are the unusually extensive remnants of medieval mural painting in various parts of the church, a quite remarkable survival, making a thorough exploration of this cathedral all the more rewarding.

This was my third visit, and longest one, though my attempt at a fuller photographic record was severely compromised by accidents with my camera, which at one point fell from my tripod onto the stone floor in one of the chantry chapels. I was lucky it survived at all given the dreadful crash it made, but it was seriously affected and my photos were very hit and miss from that point onwards. My day however ended on a happier note, returning in the evening to attend a lovely performance of Mozart's Requiem, and the acoustics in there are indeed impressive.

For more about the cathedral see below.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Albans_Cathedral

"Super Nova Expulsion"

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In July of 2011, while photographing and freezing fireworks no longer felt like a challenge, and I began to realize that a lot of the pictures had seemed to look way too similar to each other. To solve this problem, I wanted to get a little experimental and spice things up a bit with some creativity. I developed a few deeply thought out techniques to be executed within the camera at the time of the photo being taken, to that make the fireworks look like anything except for what we are used to perceiving as an actual "firework".

This experimentation and creative technique, had proven fireworks to be my favorite things to photograph, as well as leading me to win 3rd place in the Popular Photography Magazine's "Your Best Shot Contest", with this photo:

"Abstract Explosion"

www.flickr.com/photos/nickbenben/5939053732

(Which can be found in the April Issue of Popular Photography Magazine)

When the celebrations began in 2012 for the anniversary of America's independence, I set out with a mission to photograph as many firework displays as I possibly had the time and energy for. My goal was to refine and improve my techniques and experiment further, to get and idea of what other immense and colorful designs I would be able to create - with no expectations.

***Instead of uploading a whole batch all at once, I will be revealing a new abstract firework photograph DAILY, for the next 30 days - to keep things more interesting***

Thank you so much for taking your time to read what I wrote, and for spending the time to look at my work.

Please, don't be afraid to share your thoughts- I'd love to know what you think.

I hope you enjoy some of my most recent results!

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© Nick Benson, All rights reserved. Use of this image without permission is illegal.

If you like my work and you would like to see more, please feel free to visit my website, nickbensonphoto.com.

One of the best ways you can stay updated with my current and most recent work, is by liking my fan page on Facebook!

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This meticulously executed drawing only came to light in London, at a Sotheby's sale in 1989 (July 3), where it was correctly attributed to Bronzino and recognized as a preparatory study for the Portrait of a Young Man in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (plate 56). X-ray and other technical examination of the painting reveal that it went through several stages of execution.' In the first of these, the sitter was shown bareheaded and with an antique-styled suit of armor, visible underneath the collar and shoulder outline (fig. 54-1). The Getty drawing clearly was made in connection with this first version, in which the features of the face and hair are conceived in a somewhat idealized and Roman manner. lt also shows a bit more breadth in the cheeks and more pronounced irises, the latter conveying a starker expressive quality than is found in the final painting.

This is one of only three surviving drawings by Bronzino securely identifiable as portraits, so caution is necessary in generalizing about his methodology. lt has been suggested that this work was made from life, but the classicized features and small scale tend to argue that it was developed from a more naturalistic study. Both painting and drawing fit well into Bronzino's work

Source:

The drawings of Bronzino The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010 - ISBN 978-1-58839-354-8 - (plate 56)

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Head of a Man; Agnolo Bronzino (Italian, 1503 - 1572); about 1550–1555; Black chalk; 13.8 × 10.3 cm (5 7/16 × 4 1/16 in.); 90.GB.29; No Copyright - United States (rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/)

Executed in lilac and served with a smile.

A swallowtail butterfly executes it's rounds in a field of cone flowers.

View On Black

What I love about the Eastlake style is that the decorative scheme extends to every part of the building.

Here, pillars and pilasters provide a surface for a design that's a cross between a flower and a tuning fork. It's a motif that's equally at home executed in jigsawed wood on the exterior of a building and as a decorative flourish on book cover.

What drove later generations crazy was that it served no practical purpose. I think designers and homeowners alike associated the busy exteriors of Queen-Anne houses with the cluttered interiors of Victorian homes.

The exquisite attention to detail and the love of the ornate had no place in an industrial society that placed an emphasis on speed and efficiency. Besides, who had the time and patience to dust the nooks and crannies of the woodwork that surrounded the fireplaces, doors and windows or repair and repaint the exterior gingerbread that was little more resistant to the elements than sugar candy?

You don't need to inspect this photo closely to see that the Flavel mansion is about due for a new coat of paint. I'd volunteer to prep and paint provided that I didn't have to work on scaffolding.

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Flavel House History

The Flavel House Museum was the home of Captain George Flavel (1823-1893), one of Astoria’s most influential citizens in the late 1800s. Captain Flavel was a noted bar pilot on the Columbia River and a prominent businessman.

His Queen Anne style house was designed by German-born architect Carl W. Leick and was completed in the spring of 1886 as his retirement home.

The Captain lived here for seven years with his wife Mary Christina Boelling (1839-1928) and his two grown daughters, Nellie and Katie. The couple’s son, George Conrad Flavel, never lived in his parent’s new residence as he was already married and living in a house of his own.

The house remained in the family until 1934 when George and Mary’s great-granddaughter, Patricia Jean Flavel, gave the property to the city as a memorial to her family.

In 1936 there was talk of tearing the house down and establishing an outdoor community park on the property. However, the city had financial difficulties and decided to return the property to Patricia Flavel. That same year the residence and grounds were deeded to Clatsop County with the understanding that both would be kept in good repair and used for public purposes.

From 1937 through World War II, the Public Health Department, the Red Cross, and the local Welfare Commission all had offices in the house.

In 1951, there was once again the talk of tearing the house down, this time to make way for a parking lot for the County Courthouse.

Concerned citizens organized to save the home, and the Flavel House was made into a local history museum managed by the Clatsop County Historical Society while still under the ownership of the County.

Eventually, the County transferred full ownership of the property to the Historical Society.

About the Interior

The Flavel House is approximately 11,600 square feet and consists of two and a half stories, a single story rear kitchen, a four-story tower, and a full basement.

The interior woodwork around the doors, windows, and stair-cases are Eastlake-influenced in design. The Douglas Fir doors, moldings, and wainscoting were faux wood-grained by a master craftsman to look like exotic hardwoods such as mahogany and burl rosewood. The wood likely came from a mill in Portland or San Francisco and was shipped to Astoria by steamer.

Six fireplaces grace the home and feature different imported tiles from around the world, elaborate hand-carved mantels, and a patterned metal firebox designed to burn coal.

The fourteen-foot high ceilings on the first floor and the twelve-foot high ceilings on the second floor are embellished with plaster medallions and plaster crown moldings.

The house was very modern with wall-to-wall carpet-ing, gaslighting, indoor plumbing, and a central heating system.

The First Floor is comprised of the public rooms such as the grand entrance hall, the formal parlor, the music room (the scene of musical recitals by the Flavel daughters), the library (the heart of the house), the dining room, and the conservatory. The butler’s pantry, the kitchen, and the mudroom make up the housekeeping area.

The Second Floor features the main bathroom, five bedchambers, and a small room used as a sewing room or storage room.

The Attic Floor is a large, unfinished area with two small plain bedrooms used by the Flavel’s domestic help.

The tower gave the Captain a broad view of Astoria and the Columbia River to keep an eye on the local ship traffic.

The Basement of the house originally had a dirt floor and contained a large wood-burning furnace.

About the Exterior

The Flavel House rests on park-like grounds covering an entire city block. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1951.

The Queen Anne architectural style, popular from 1880 to 1910, can be seen in the house’s steeply pitched roof, patterned shingles, and cut-away bay windows.

Other characteristics of the Queen Anne style are the octagonal-shaped tower, the one-story wrap-around porch, and its asymmetrical facade.

Decorative elements of the Stick and Italianate styles are also apparent in the vertical stickwork, the bracketed eaves, and the hooded moldings above the windows and doors.

Outlining the roof and verandas of the house is the original wrought-iron cresting.

About the Carriage House

The Carriage House was built on the south-west corner of the property in 1887. It served as the place where the family kept their carriage, sleigh, and small buggies.

It also had three temporary holding stalls for their horses, a tack room, and a hayloft upstairs.

In the mid-1890s, the Carriage House was home to the family’s hired caretaker, Alex Murray.

In time, automobiles, including the Flavel’s Studebaker sedan, found a home in the Carriage House, and the family’s driver kept a room upstairs.

Today the Carriage House functions as the Visitor Center, museum store, and exhibit hall for the Flavel House Museum and the administrative offices of the Clatsop County Historical Society.

astoriamuseums.org/explore/flavel-house-museum/

Biagio d’Antonio Tucci (1446-1516)

or Cosimo Rosselli (1439-1507)

"The Crossing of the Red Sea" is a fresco executed in 1481–1482 and located on the South wall in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City.

Description:

The scene is part of the chapel's Stories of Moses cycle, and, like other frescoes there, shows several scenes at the same time. The sequence begins from the right background, where Moses and Aaron are begging the pharaoh to free the Israelites. On the right are the Egyptian soldiers, shown in typical Italian Renaissance military garments, armor and weapons, who are drowning after the Red Sea waters, which had miraculously opened to allow the Israelites to cross them, close around them. The pharaoh is portrayed in a frantic scream, while other figures try to return to the Egyptian shore by swimming. Before the army is a column hovering over the waters: this is a representation of the fire pillar sent by Yahweh to scare the Egyptians.

In the upper central area is a hail storm, sent by God to punish the Egyptians. Also depicted are some sunrays and, more to the left, a rainbow, symbols of the upcoming liberation for the Israelite people. Similar representation of meteorological phenomena were not uncommon in the 15th-century Italian art: other examples are Fra Angelico's Martyrdom of St. Mark on the Tabernacle of the Linaioli, and several Paolo Uccello's St. George and the Drake.

On the left bank are the Israelites, led by a young Moses with the typical yellow garment and green cloak, and a command baton, after they have just crossed the sea. Their safeness is testified by the presence of recreational activities, such as the prophetess Miriam playing a chordophone in the foreground. They continue their trip in procession, disappearing on the left, in a naturalistic landscape. Details include a pet dog in the foreground (probably a Chihuahua of the painter Cosimo Rosselli), reminiscent of Benozzo Gozzoli's paintings in the Magi Chapel.

Source;

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crossing_of_the_Red_Sea_(Sistine_Chapel)

Police from Tameside investigating modern slavery and drugs trafficking between Tameside and #Humberside have made arrests this morning.

Warrants were executed at addresses in #NewtonHeath, #Failsworth, and the #NorthernQuarter area as part of an operation dedicated to disrupting a drugs line between Tameside and #Hull that involves the criminal exploitation of vulnerable children.

The action is part of #OperationMarconi which was formed in June 2020 and concerns the exploitation of children from Tameside aged between 16 and 17.

It is one of over 20 investigations being led by GMP Tameside's Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) team dedicated to modern slavery and the exploitation of vulnerable people who have been coerced into criminal activity in the district.

The CCE team have already made an additional eight arrests as part of those investigations and four people have been charged with modern slavery and drug offences.

A number of vulnerable individuals coerced into 'county lines' and identified as high-risk have been safeguarded and re-housed with support from local partner agencies.

County lines describes organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more importing areas within the UK, using dedicated mobile phone lines.

Children and vulnerable adults are often exploited to move and store the drugs and money often through coercion, intimidation, violence and weapons.

Police continue to collaborate with social services and schools, in particular, to help spot the signs of any children that may have been identified to be at risk of such exploitation.

Detective Constable Laura Hughes, of GMP Tameside's Child Criminal Exploitation team, said: "Today's action is a significant statement as we continue to tackle the pernicious exploitation of vulnerable young people for illicit gains.

"We have been working tirelessly in the CCE team in Tameside to work with local agencies in identifying and safeguarding potential victims of this criminality, while pursuing those that we believe are responsible for such exploitation.

"Tackling 'county lines' by its nature requires closely co-ordinated work, not just with local partners, but also policing partners from across the country and I would like to thank Humberside Police for their support during this operation so far.

"A lot of our work is based on intelligence and we are forever gaining a clearer picture as to how these criminal enterprises operate and are developing a real understanding of how these groups recruit and coerce vulnerable young people.

"It is important people know to spot the signs of when someone may be being exploited; whether it being withdrawn from family and friends and skipping school, to having more than one phone and going missing from home more regularly.

"Anyone with suspicions or concerns should contact police online via our website, call 101 and always dial 999 in an emergency. Details can be passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."

The photo is executed in technique «LightGraphic » or «The painting of light», that assumes illumination of model by small light sources in darkness on long endurance.

Thus, all lightcloth (composition) - is one Photo Exposition, is embodied on a matrix of the camera in one click of a shutter.

The sketches very often executed in such a way further are drawn in the graphic editor as it would be on a canvas a brush. Plug-ins and filters are not used.

Siena - Piccolomini-Bibliothek

Adjoining the cathedral is the Piccolomini Library, housing precious illuminated choir books and frescoes painted by the Umbrian Bernardino di Betto, called Pinturicchio, probably based on designs by Raphael.

The frescoes tell the story of the life of Siena's favorite son, cardinal Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who eventually became Pope Pius II. [ He was the uncle of cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini (then archbishop of Siena and the future pope Pius III), who commissioned this library in 1492 as a repository of the books and the manuscript collection of his uncle. The ceiling is covered with painted panels of mythological subjects. They were executed between 1502 and 1503 by Pinturicchio and his assistants.

The entrance is a finely carved marble monument with two openings with round arches, executed in 1497 by Lorenzo di Mariano. It contains a round relief of St. John the Evangelist (probably) by Giovanni di Stefano and, below the altar, a polychrome Pietà by the sculptor Alberto di Betto da Assisi in 1421. Above this marble monument is a fresco of the Papal Coronation of Pius III by Pinturicchio in 1504.

In the middle of the library is the famous statue Three Graces, a Roman copy of a Greek original.

Pinturicchio painted this cycle of frescoes around the library between 1502 and 1507, representing Raphael and himself in several of them. This masterpiece is full of striking detail and vivacious colours. Each scene is explained in Latin by the text below. They depict ten remarkable events from the secular and religious career of pope Pius II, first as a high prelate, then bishop, a cardinal and ultimately pope:

Enea Silvio Piccolomini (ESP) leaves for the Council of Basel. The storm scene in the background is a first in western art.

ESP, ambassador at the Scottish Court

ESP crowned court poet by emperor Frederick III

ESP makes an act of submission to Pope Eugene IV

ESP, bishop of Siena, presents emperor Frederick III with his bride-to-be Eleanora of Portugal at the Porta Camollia in Siena.

ESP receives the cardinal's hat in 1456

ESP, enters the Lateran as pontiff in 1458

Pius II convokes a Diet of Princes at Mantua to proclaim a new crusade in 1459

Pius II canonizes Saint Catherine of Siena in 1461

Pius II arrives in Ancona to launch the crusade.

Beneath the frescoes, the psalters of the cathedral's sacristy are on display. These exquisite illuminations by Liberale da Verona and Girolamo da Cremona were executed between 1466 and 1478 and later carried on by other Sienese illuminators.

(Wikipedia)

Die sogenannte Piccolomini-Bibliothek befindet sich in einem Nebenraum des Domes von Siena. Entlang des linken Seitenschiffes, vor dem Querschiff gelegen, wurde sie 1492 vom Erzbischof von Siena, Kardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, dem späteren Papst Pius III., erbaut, um das reiche Bibliothekserbe seines Onkels Papst Pius II. aufzubewahren. Zwischen 1502 und 1507 wurde sie von Pinturicchio und Gehilfen, darunter der Bologneser Amico Aspertini und der junge Raffaelo Sanzio, vollständig ausgemalt.

Geschichte

Kardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, von 1492 bis 1502 Bischof von Siena, hat in einigen Räumen des Pfarrhauses, neben der linken Seite des Doms, ein Raum entworfen um die kostbaren Bibliotheksbestände seines Onkels, des Humanisten und späteren Papstes Enea Silvio Piccolomini (Pius II.), verstorben 1464, zu erhalten.

Ab etwa 1497 schuf Lorenzo di Mariano, genannt „il Marrina“, die äußere Marmorfassade der Bibliothek, wobei die beiden Bögen auf der einen Seite die Eingangstür der Bibliothek und auf der anderen Seite eine Darstellung des „Evangelisten Johannes“ aus dem 17. Jahrhundert beinhalten. (Von ungewisser Datierung, Zuschreibung und Herkunft, auch wenn man glaubt, dass sie von Giovanni di Stefano am Ende des 15. Jahrhunderts geschnitzt wurde.)

Die Bilddekoration der Bibliothek, eines der größten Bildwerke Italiens vom Beginn des 16. Jahrhunderts[1], wurde dem umbrischen Maler Pinturicchio, anvertraut, der sich nach seinen Erfolgen in der Römischen Kurie auf dem Höhepunkt des Ruhmes befand. Der Vertrag wurde am 29. Juni 1502 abgeschlossen und ist einer der seltenen Fälle von Renaissance-Verträgen mit großen Bildzyklen, die erhalten blieben: er wurde von Gaetano Milanesi als Anhang zu seinem Kommentar über die Vita di Bernardino Pinturicchio von Vasari veröffentlicht. Man kann zum Beispiel lesen, wie das Gewölbe mit "Grotesken", einem relativ neuen Motiv im künstlerischen Panorama, lebendig gestaltet werden sollte und wie die Wände zehn Geschichten aus dem Leben von Pius II. enthalten sollten; Pinturicchio war auch "verpflichtet, alle Geschichten persönlich auf Kartons und an der Wand zu zeichnen, alle Köpfe in Fresko, und die Retuschen in Secco um sie in Perfektion auszuführen."

Die erste Bauphase, mit dem Gewölbe und dem architektonischen Gitter an den Wänden, wurde Ende 1503 abgeschlossen. Am 22. September desselben Jahres wurde der Bauherr zum Papst als Pius III. gewählt. In den Dekorationen wird daher sein Wappen noch im Kardinalshut gezeigt. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt mussten auch die beiden großen Fenster fertig gewesen sein. Nur 26 Tage später, am 18. Oktober 1503, starb der Papst, wodurch die Arbeit unterbrochen wurde. Der Maler widmete sich also anderen Aufgaben, blieb aber in Siena.

Die Geschichten von Pius II. wurden erst um 1505 wieder aufgenommen, wahrscheinlich mit einem neuen, von den Erben unterzeichneten Vertrag, von dem es jedoch keine Spur gibt. 1507 muss das Projekt beendet gewesen sein, da der Maler zu diesem Zeitpunkt andere Aufträge aus Umbrien anzunehmen begann, während er in der toskanischen Stadt blieb. Unter den vielen Gesellen, die im Betrieb beschäftigt waren, müssen der berühmte Bologneser Maler Amico Aspertini und der junge Raffael, gewesen sein, die von der Bedeutung des Betriebes zeugen, der in jenen Jahren ein wahrer künstlerischer Knotenpunkt Mittelitaliens war.

Auf jeden Fall wurden die Zahlungen noch für ein paar Jahre geleistet. Das Thema der Bibliothek war ein ungewöhnliches ikonographisches Programm zu Beginn des 16. Jahrhunderts. Einerseits erhob sie die Legitimität der päpstlichen Macht, die kurz zuvor von Savonarola, mit Gewalt in Frage gestellt wurde, andererseits erhob sie die Familie der Piccolomini mit ihrem berühmtesten Repräsentanten.

Später, noch während des 16. Jahrhunderts aber ab einem unbekannten Datum, ließ Kardinal Francesco Bandini Piccolomini ein Denkmal an der linken Seite der Marrina-Fassade schnitzen. Es ist ein Denkmal, in dem die Figur des auferstandenen Erlösers zu Ehren des Bruders und des Neffen des Auftraggebers, Bandino und Germanico Bandini Piccolomini steht, die beide ihre kirchliche Laufbahn begannen und vorzeitig 1521 und 1569 starben. Der Künstler bleibt unbekannt.

Beschreibung und Stil

Die Bibliothek ist vom Kirchenschiff aus durch ein reiches Marmorportal von Marrina einzusehen, das aus zwei Bögen mit Reliefverzierungen besteht (1497). Auf dem rechten Bogen befindet sich ein kleiner Altar mit dem Flachrelief des Evangelisten Johannes, einem Werk von Giovanni di Stefano, sowie einer hölzernen Pietà unter dem Altartisch. Der Eingang zur Bibliothek befindet sich im linken Bogen, mit zwei Bronzetüren von Antonio Ormanni von 1497. Über dem Portal befindet sich das Fresko der Krönung Pius III., ebenfalls von Pinturicchio (1503–1508).

Es handelt sich um einen rechteckigen Saal, der von einem Kappengewölbe überdacht und von zwei hohen Fenstern beleuchtet wird. Die feierliche Architektur wird von Möbeln von höchster Qualität begleitet: Holzschränke für die Bücher, geschnitzt vom berühmten Barili; Bodenfliesen in Majolika mit den Halbmonden der Piccolomini (im 19. Jahrhundert erneuert); eine stuckierte Nische mit der Vertreibung aus dem irdischen Paradies über dem Eingangsportal, eine Kopie eines Reliefs von Jacopo della Quercia an der Fonte Gaia, vielleicht von Marrina oder einem anonymen Bildhauer der Epoche.

Außerdem stellte der Kardinal aus dem römischen Palast der Familie die berühmte antike Marmorstatue der Drei Grazien zur Verfügung, für die eine Basis von Giovanni di Stefano geschnitzt wurde. Dies ist eine römische Kopie des dritten Jahrhunderts nach einem griechischen Original, vielleicht aus der hellenistischen Zeit. Obwohl die Bücher von Pius II. nie in Siena ankamen, werden heute eine Reihe von Choralbüchern und Antiphonarien, mit Buchmalereien vor allem von Liberale da Verona und Girolamo da Cremona (sechziger und siebziger Jahre des 15. Jahrhunderts) gezeigt, aber auch von Sano di Pietro, Pellegrino di Mariano, Guidoccio Cozzarelli, welche sich im Besitz des Domkapitels und der Kirche Santa Maria della Scala befinden.

Die Geschichten von Pius II. markierten die Apotheose des Erzählstils des 15. Jahrhunderts, in der elegantesten Version, durchdrungen von flämischen Vorschlägen. Die Wirkung ist die einer rationalen und stabilen Ordnung, die aus Gewissheiten besteht, die immer noch die Denkweise widerspiegelt, die durch den dramatischen Niedergang Landsknechte in eine Krise geraten würde.

Das Ergebnis war grandios, aber schon im Moment der Fertigstellung von dem Streben nach Erneuerungen in der Kunst bedroht, die, wenn auch in weiter Ferne, bald störend und unumkehrbar werden würden. 1507 schuf Raffael die Grablegung Christi und Michelangelo bereitete sich auf die Unterzeichnung des Vertrages für das Deckengemälde der Sixtinischen Kapelle vor.

Gewölbe

Das Gewölbe besteht aus einem langen zentralen Rechteck, das mit Segmenten (oder Kappen) und Eckzwickel das Kreuzrippengewölbe unterteilt, was architektonisch als Kappengewölbe definiert wird. Die Dekoration ist inspiriert von den quadratischen Gewölben der Domus Aurea, welcher in jenen Jahren wiederentdeckt wurden und unter den Künstlern der Generation häufig nachgeahmt wurden, aber sie überträgt das Modell auf eine mittelalterliche Architekturtypologie mit den Kreuzen. Die Längsseiten haben vier goldene und gelbe Hintergrundsegel und drei blaue Hintergrundfahnen, während die kurzen Seiten eine gelbe und zwei rote Segel haben. Die hellen Farben sind dann von dichten antiken Grottesken bedeckt.

Das zentrale Rechteck ist in Friese und geometrische Fächer unterteilt, inspiriert durch das Goldene Gewölbe und das Stuckgewölbe des Königspalastes von Nero, mit dem Piccolomini-Wappen in der Mitte innerhalb einer Girlande. In den Feldern, die in der Bildausführung Girolamo del Pacchia zugeschrieben werden, befinden sich die von Reliefs auf den Sarkophagen inspirierten Tugenden und heidnischen Mythen. Für vier der Tugenden wurde auch der Miniaturist Littifredi Corbizi vorgeschlagen, der 1494 nach Siena kam und vielleicht schon an die Seite von Pinturicchio im Appartamento Borgia gearbeitet hat.

Die Skizze der Vergewaltigung der Proserpina wurde sicherlich von einer Zeichnung des Amico Aspertini von einem römischen Sarkophag, heute im Codex Wolfegg (fol. 36v-37r), übernommen. Aspertini fügte tatsächlich eine männliche Figur auf einem Streitwagen, der von zwei Schlangen gezogen wurde, an jener Stelle hinzu, wo das Relief des Sarkophags zerbrochen ist (er ist heute im Louvre zu sehen), wo stattdessen die Mutter von Proserpina, Ceres war. Pinturicchio oder der die Zeichnung für ihn sah und kopierte, interpretierte sie als Saturn, und schrieb ihm das ungewöhnliche Ziehen von Schlangen anstelle der üblichen schwarzen Pferde zu.

Das Gewölbe war in jenen Jahren eines der komplexesten Zeugnisse der Neuauflage antiker Themen, im Zeichen einer echten Renaissance, im Gegensatz zur verfänglichen Gelehrsamkeit und phantastischen Neuauflage des frühen 15. Jahrhunderts.

Wände

Die Wände sind in zehn Bögen unterteilt, mit einem Bildrahmen, der die Bögen in perspektivisch verkürzter Form simuliert. Die im grotesken Stil verzierten falschen Säulen bilden eine Art Loggia, die auf einer künstlichen Marmorbrüstung mit antiken Reliefs und erklärenden Inschriften in goldenen Großbuchstaben auf blauem Grund von hoher ästhetischer Qualität ruht.

Das Thema der Freskendekoration war eine gemalte Chronik des Lebens von Pius II. aus der Biographie von Giovanni Antonio Campano und aus den von Enea Silvio Piccolomini selbst geschriebenen Kommentaren. In den Zeichnungen werden die Szenen von einer großen Menschenmenge begleitet, die von Zeit zu Zeit die Aktionen des Protagonisten verstärken und sowohl im Innen- als auch im Außenbereich angesiedelt sind, wo sich die angenehmen Landschaften mit monumentalen Stadtszenen abwechseln.

Es ist jetzt gesichert, dass sich Pinturicchio in der Entwurfsphase der Mitarbeit eines jungen Mannes aus der Schule Petri (Perugino) bediente, welcher der junge Raffaelo Sanzio war. Vasari schrieb im Leben von Pinturicchio, dass der Schüler "einige" der Zeichnungen und Karton gemalt habe, während er sich in Raphaels Biographie widersprach, indem er ihm Skizzen und Karton von "allen Geschichten" zuordnete. Einer dieser Kartons wurden zur Zeit des Schriftstellers aus Arezzo in Siena aufbewahrt, während andere Skizzen im persönlichen Zeichenbuch Raffaels verblieben. Heute neigen Kunstkritiker nach dem anfänglichen Widerstand dazu, in zwei kleinen Kartons (eine aus der sienesischen Familie der Baldeschi, die sie 1586 von Piccolomini erhielten, die andere im Zeichnungen und Druckgraphik-Kabinett der Uffizien) und einige Zeichnungen (Ashmolean Museum, Uffizien und Louvre) die Hand Raffaels in Bezug auf dieses Vorhaben zu erkennen.

Die Ausführung der Fresken stammt von Pinturicchio und seinen Assistenten (vielleicht auch von den Sienesen Girolamo del Pacchia und Giacomo Pacchiarotto), denn ab 1504 war Raffael, nach kurzem Aufenthalt in Siena, datierbar 1502/1503, und nach einer wahrscheinlichen Reise nach Rom, bereits in Florenz.

Der Stil ähnelt dem von Miniaturen: scharf, reich an brillanten Farben, gekonnt abgestimmt, voll von Dekorationen und dreidimensionalen Anwendungen in Goldtabletten, auf Waffen, Schmuck, Oberflächen etc.

(Wikipedia)

He's a meticulously-executed Colossus. Head to toe body paint, applied with a lot of thought and care, sparing only what was covered by a pair of trunks. He was instantly impressive, owing to the level of detail and attention.

I snapped a full-figure pose. Like many cosplayers who put this much work into their costume, he was hanging out at the atrium for the benefit of people with cameras (which, in 2015, is "everybody").

So I had plenty of time to observe him after I got my photo. And as good as his costume and makeup were, I was far more fascinated by his profile. Such sharp, distinct, dare I say "lordly" features...the sight reminded me of portrait engravings in 16th century books.

Okay, and/or the logo of a long-dead software company, which was a streamlined version of such a portrait of Aldus Manutius.

I was rocking three lenses all weekend. This was one of the surprisingly few times I saw fit to break out the long zoom. I'm glad I got this other shot.

It does get me thinking about the creative relationship between cosplayers and photographers. It's his costume, but it's my photo. I don't think a cosplayer should expect me to compose the photo the way he or she would shoot it. Still, it must be interesting for them to see how an outsider saw their costume.

It must have been obvious to him that the "wow factor" was his full-body makeup. And yet, to me, it was his "Italian Renaissance nobleman" features. This is a profile that should be under a floppy velvet hat and just above a gold-embroidered collar.

Update: He posted about his cosplay on Reddit. Terrific story: he was sixty pounds heavier a couple of years before this, and began working out and training, with the specific goal of cosplaying Colossus at Comic-Con. www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/3pdmcl/17_month_progres...

When a man is convicted as a traitor to "his" country and executed by hanging his remaining family must have had very mixed experiences. On the one hand those loyalist acquaintances must have viewed him in a bad light and therefore the family might have felt shame. On the other hand those who supported his cause would see him as a hero and his death as a sacrifice so the feelings would have been those of reflected glory? The sisters of Sir Roger Casement must have gone through all of those feelings/experiences and a lot more!

Photographers: H.L. Lloyd

Collection: Roger Casement Photographic Collection

Date: Undated After 1910-ish

NLI Ref: NPA CAS94A

You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie

He deserves to die for all his crimes.. but this isn't the right way nor the right time.. it's Eid day!!

During his last minutes he showed no fear at all!! One strong man he was...

The painting was executed in Auvers not long before van Gogh's death. He repeated the motif of peasant huts on many occasions: "In my opinion, the most marvellous of all that I know in the sphere of architecture is huts with their roofs of moss-grown straw and a smoky hearth," wrote van Gogh in one of his letters. The thatched roofs seem to be just as much an organic part of nature as the hills, fields and sky. The hilly relief of the distance allowed the artist to accentuate the dynamics of space, which he reinforced through the use of colour contrasts. The tense, wavy brushstrokes and lines convey the dramatism of the artist's perception of life and the world.

[Oil on canvas, 59 x 72 cm]

gandalfsgallery.blogspot.com/2010/09/vincent-van-gogh-cot...

Cette mosaïque murale exécutée par les ateliers Martin de Paris rappelle le vœu du roi auprès de la Vierge pour enfin concevoir un fils qui sera Louis XIV qui naîtra après plus de 20 ans de mariage.

Le décor intérieur exubérant et diversifié est constitué de mosaïques de style néo-byzantin. La basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière fut construite entre 1872 et 1896, suite à un vœu durant la guerre franco-prussienne de 1870 comme le Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. Elle fut consacrée à la Vierge Marie représentée par cette statue qui couronne normalement le clocher en tour-lanterne qui se dresse sur le flanc gauche à la Basilique. Elle-même accueille une statue de saint Michel comme c’est souvent le cas des sites religieux catholiques situés au sommet d’une colline. Sorte d'acropole de la cité avec ses murailles crénelées et ses 4 tours octogonales (architecture romano-byzantine), la basilique est devenue une image forte de Lyon.

Située dans le sud-est de la France, au confluent du Rhône et de la Saône, la ville de Lyon, ancienne capitale des Gaules du temps de l'Empire romain, fut le siège d'un archevêché dont le titulaire porte le titre de primat des Gaules. Lyon devint une ville très commerçante et une place financière de premier ordre à la Renaissance. Sa prospérité économique a été portée successivement par la soierie, puis par l'apparition des industries notamment textiles.

La ville a donc conservé un patrimoine architectural important allant de l'époque romaine au 20e siècle en passant par la Renaissance et, à ce titre, les quartiers du Vieux Lyon, de la colline de Fourvière, de la Presqu'île et des pentes de la Croix-Rousse sont inscrits sur la liste du patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO (WHL-872) depuis 1998.

A postcard showing Arbutus Cottage in Killarney with a couple and a child standing and displaying items that have had wood inlay work carried out. The child has a wonderful head of curly blonde hair but the interest is on the reverse of the card where Margaret Pearse, the mother of two sons executed in 1916 has made some notes. One suspects that the card is one of a number because the message appears to be incomplete.

Photographer: Unknown

Collection: Pearse Papers, 1870-1932

Date: Circa 1920s

NLI Ref: MS 21,059/19/19

You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie

Rochester is a town and historic city in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, England. It is situated at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about 30 miles (50 km) from London.

Rochester was for many years a favourite of Charles Dickens, who owned nearby Gads Hill Place, Higham,[1] basing many of his novels on the area. The Diocese of Rochester, the second oldest in England, is based at Rochester Cathedral and was responsible for the founding of a school, now The King's School in 604 AD,[2] which is recognised as being the second oldest continuously running school in the world. Rochester Castle, built by Bishop Gundulf of Rochester, has one of the best preserved keepsin either England or France, and during the First Barons' War (1215–1217) in King John's reign, baronial forces captured the castle from Archbishop Stephen Langton and held it against the king, who then besieged it.[3]

Neighbouring Chatham, Gillingham, Strood and a number of outlying villages, together with Rochester, nowadays make up the MedwayUnitary Authority area. It was, until 1998,[4]under the control of Kent County Council and is still part of the ceremonial county of Kent, under the latest Lieutenancies Act.[5]

Toponymy[edit]

The Romano-British name for Rochester was Durobrivae, later Durobrivis c. 730 and Dorobrevis in 844. The two commonly cited origins of this name are that it either came from "stronghold by the bridge(s)",[6] or is the latinisation of the British word Dourbruf meaning "swiftstream".[7]Durobrivis was pronounced 'Robrivis. Bede copied down this name, c. 730, mistaking its meaning as Hrofi's fortified camp (OE Hrofes cæster). From this we get c. 730 Hrofæscæstre, 811 Hrofescester, 1086 Rovescester, 1610 Rochester.[6] The Latinised adjective 'Roffensis' refers to Rochester.[7]

Neolithic remains have been found in the vicinity of Rochester; over time it has been variously occupied by Celts, Romans, Jutes and/or Saxons. During the Celtic period it was one of the two administrative centres of the Cantiaci tribe. During the Roman conquest of Britain a decisive battle was fought at the Medway somewhere near Rochester. The first bridge was subsequently constructed early in the Roman period. During the later Roman period the settlement was walled in stone. King Ethelbert of Kent(560–616) established a legal system which has been preserved in the 12th century Textus Roffensis. In AD 604 the bishopric and cathedral were founded. During this period, from the recall of the legions until the Norman conquest, Rochester was sacked at least twice and besieged on another occasion.

The medieval period saw the building of the current cathedral (1080–1130, 1227 and 1343), the building of two castles and the establishment of a significant town. Rochester Castle saw action in the sieges of 1215 and 1264. Its basic street plan was set out, constrained by the river, Watling Street, Rochester Priory and the castle.

Rochester has produced two martyrs: St John Fisher, executed by Henry VIII for refusing to sanction the divorce of Catherine of Aragon; and Bishop Nicholas Ridley, executed by Queen Mary for being an English Reformation protestant.

The city was raided by the Dutch as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch, commanded by Admiral de Ruijter, broke through the chain at Upnor[8] and sailed to Rochester Bridge capturing part of the English fleet and burning it.[9]

The ancient City of Rochester merged with the Borough of Chatham and part of the Strood Rural District in 1974 to form the Borough of Medway. It was later renamed Rochester-upon-Medway, and its City status transferred to the entire borough. In 1998 another merger with the rest of the Medway Towns created the Medway Unitary Authority. The outgoing council neglected to appoint ceremonial "Charter Trustees" to continue to represent the historic Rochester area, causing Rochester to lose its City status – an error not even noticed by council officers for four years, until 2002.[10][11]

Military History

Rochester has for centuries been of great strategic importance through its position near the confluence of the Thames and the Medway. Rochester Castle was built to guard the river crossing, and the Royal Dockyard's establishment at Chatham witnessed the beginning of the Royal Navy's long period of supremacy. The town, as part of Medway, is surrounded by two circles of fortresses; the inner line built during the Napoleonic warsconsists of Fort Clarence, Fort Pitt, Fort Amherst and Fort Gillingham. The outer line of Palmerston Forts was built during the 1860s in light of the report by the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdomand consists of Fort Borstal, Fort Bridgewood, Fort Luton, and the Twydall Redoubts, with two additional forts on islands in the Medway, namely Fort Hoo and Fort Darnet.

During the First World War the Short Brothers' aircraft manufacturing company developed the first plane to launch a torpedo, the Short Admiralty Type 184, at its seaplane factory on the River Medway not far from Rochester Castle. In the intervening period between the 20th century World Wars the company established a world-wide reputation as a constructor of flying boats with aircraft such as the Singapore, Empire 'C'-Class and Sunderland. During the Second World War, Shorts also designed and manufactured the first four-engined bomber, the Stirling.

The UK's decline in naval power and shipbuilding competitiveness led to the government decommissioning the RN Shipyard at Chatham in 1984, which led to the subsequent demise of much local maritime industry. Rochester and its neighbouring communities were hit hard by this and have experienced a painful adjustment to a post-industrial economy, with much social deprivation and unemployment resulting. On the closure of Chatham Dockyard the area experienced an unprecedented surge in unemployment to 24%; this had dropped to 2.4% of the local population by 2014.[12]

Former City of Rochester[edit]

Rochester was recognised as a City from 1211 to 1998. The City of Rochester's ancient status was unique, as it had no formal council or Charter Trustees nor a Mayor, instead having the office of Admiral of the River Medway, whose incumbent acted as de facto civic leader.[13] On 1 April 1974, the City Council was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, and the territory was merged with the District of Medway, Borough of Chatham and most of Strood Rural District to form a new a local government district called the Borough of Medway, within the county of Kent. Medway Borough Council applied to inherit Rochester's city status, but this was refused; instead letters patent were granted constituting the area of the former Rochester local government district to be the City of Rochester, to "perpetuate the ancient name" and to recall "the long history and proud heritage of the said City".[14] The Home Officesaid that the city status may be extended to the entire borough if it had "Rochester" in its name, so in 1979, Medway Borough Council renamed the borough to Borough of Rochester-upon-Medway, and in 1982, Rochester's city status was transferred to the entire borough by letters patent, with the district being called the City of Rochester-upon-Medway.[13]

On 1 April 1998, the existing local government districts of Rochester-upon-Medway and Gillingham were abolished and became the new unitary authority of Medway. The Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions informed the city council that since it was the local government district that officially held City status under the 1982 Letters Patent, the council would need to appoint charter trustees to preserve its city status, but the outgoing Labour-run council decided not to appoint charter trustees, so the city status was lost when Rochester-upon-Medway was abolished as a local government district.[15][16][17] The other local government districts with City status that were abolished around this time, Bath and Hereford, decided to appoint Charter Trustees to maintain the existence of their own cities and the mayoralties. The incoming Medway Council apparently only became aware of this when, in 2002, it was advised that Rochester was not on the Lord Chancellor's Office's list of cities.[18][19]

In 2010, Medway Council started to refer to the "City of Medway" in promotional material, but it was rebuked and instructed not to do so in future by the Advertising Standards Authority.[20]

Governance[edit]

Civic history and traditions[edit]

Rochester and its neighbours, Chatham and Gillingham, form a single large urban area known as the Medway Towns with a population of about 250,000. Since Norman times Rochester had always governed land on the other side of the Medway in Strood, which was known as Strood Intra; before 1835 it was about 100 yards (91 m) wide and stretched to Gun Lane. In the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act the boundaries were extended to include more of Strood and Frindsbury, and part of Chatham known as Chatham Intra. In 1974, Rochester City Council was abolished and superseded by Medway Borough Council, which also included the parishes of Cuxton, Halling and Cliffe, and the Hoo Peninsula. In 1979 the borough became Rochester-upon-Medway. The Admiral of the River Medway was ex-officio Mayor of Rochester and this dignity transferred to the Mayor of Medway when that unitary authority was created, along with the Admiralty Court for the River which constitutes a committee of the Council.[21]

Like many of the mediaeval towns of England, Rochester had civic Freemen whose historic duties and rights were abolished by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. However, the Guild of Free Fishers and Dredgers continues to the present day and retains rights, duties and responsibilities on the Medway, between Sheerness and Hawkwood Stone.[22] This ancient corporate body convenes at the Admiralty Court whose Jury of Freemen is responsible for the conservancy of the River as enshrined in current legislation. The City Freedom can be obtained by residents after serving a period of "servitude", i.e. apprenticeship (traditionally seven years), before admission as a Freeman. The annual ceremonial Beating of the Boundsby the River Medway takes place after the Admiralty Court, usually on the first Saturday of July.

Rochester first obtained City status in 1211, but this was lost due to an administrative oversight when Rochester was absorbed by the Medway Unitary Authority.[10] Subsequently, the Medway Unitary Authority has applied for City status for Medway as a whole, rather than merely for Rochester. Medway applied unsuccessfully for City status in 2000 and 2002 and again in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Year of 2012.[23] Any future bid to regain formal City status has been recommended to be made under the aegis of Rochester-upon-Medway.

Ecclesiastical parishes[edit]

There were three medieval parishes: St Nicholas', St Margaret's and St Clement's. St Clement's was in Horsewash Lane until the last vicar died in 1538 when it was joined with St Nicholas' parish; the church last remaining foundations were finally removed when the railway was being constructed in the 1850s. St Nicholas' Church was built in 1421 beside the cathedral to serve as a parish church for the citizens of Rochester. The ancient cathedral included the Benedictine monastic priory of St Andrew with greater status than the local parishes.[24] Rochester's pre-1537 diocese, under the jurisdiction of the Church of Rome, covered a vast area extending into East Anglia and included all of Essex.[25]

As a result of the restructuring of the Church during the Reformation the cathedral was reconsecrated as the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary without parochial responsibilities, being a diocesan church.[26] In the 19th century the parish of St Peter's was created to serve the burgeoning city with the new church being consecrated in 1859. Following demographic shifts, St Peter's and St Margaret's were recombined as a joint benefice in 1953 with the parish of St Nicholas with St Clement being absorbed in 1971.[27] The combined parish is now the "Parish of St Peter with St Margaret", centred at the new (1973) Parish Centre in The Delce (St Peter's) with St Margaret's remaining as a chapel-of-ease. Old St Peter's was demolished in 1974, while St Nicholas' Church has been converted into the diocesan offices but remains consecrated. Continued expansion south has led to the creation of an additional more recent parish of St Justus (1956) covering The Tideway estate and surrounding area.[28]

A church dedicated to St Mary the Virgin at Eastgate, which was of Anglo-Saxon foundation, is understood to have constituted a parish until the Middle Ages, but few records survive.[29]

Geography

Rochester lies within the area, known to geologists, as the London Basin. The low-lying Hoo peninsula to the north of the town consists of London Clay, and the alluvium brought down by the two rivers—the Thames and the Medway—whose confluence is in this area. The land rises from the river, and being on the dip slope of the North Downs, this consists of chalksurmounted by the Blackheath Beds of sand and gravel.

As a human settlement, Rochester became established as the lowest river crossing of the River Medway, well before the arrival of the Romans.

It is a focal point between two routes, being part of the main route connecting London with the Continent and the north-south routes following the course of the Medway connecting Maidstone and the Weald of Kent with the Thames and the North Sea. The Thames Marshes were an important source of salt. Rochester's roads follow north Kent's valleys and ridges of steep-sided chalk bournes. There are four ways out of town to the south: up Star Hill, via The Delce,[30] along the Maidstone Road or through Borstal. The town is inextricably linked with the neighbouring Medway Towns but separate from Maidstone by a protective ridge known as the Downs, a designated area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

At its most limited geographical size, Rochester is defined as the market town within the city walls, now associated with the historic medieval city. However, Rochester historically also included the ancient wards of Strood Intra on the river's west bank, and Chatham Intra as well as the three old parishes on the Medway's east bank.

The diocese of Rochester is another geographical entity which can be referred to as Rochester.

Climate[edit]

Rochester has an oceanic climate similar to much of southern England, being accorded Köppen Climate Classification-subtype of "Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate).[31]

On 10 August 2003, neighbouring Gravesend recorded one of the highest temperatures since meteorogical records began in the United Kingdom, with a reading of 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 degrees Fahrenheit),[32]only beaten by Brogdale, near Faversham, 22 miles (35 km) to the ESE.[33] The weather station at Brogdale is run by a volunteer, only reporting its data once a month, whereas Gravesend, which has an official Met Office site at the PLA pilot station,[34] reports data hourly.

Being near the mouth of the Thames Estuary with the North Sea, Rochester is relatively close to continental Europe and enjoys a somewhat less temperate climate than other parts of Kent and most of East Anglia. It is therefore less cloudy, drier and less prone to Atlanticdepressions with their associated wind and rain than western regions of Britain, as well as being hotter in summer and colder in winter. Rochester city centre's micro-climate is more accurately reflected by these officially recorded figures than by readings taken at Rochester Airport.[35]

North and North West Kent continue to record higher temperatures in summer, sometimes being the hottest area of the country, eg. on the warmest day of 2011, when temperatures reached 33.1 degrees.[36]Additionally, it holds at least two records for the year 2010, of 30.9 degrees[37] and 31.7 degrees C.[38] Another record was set during England's Indian summer of 2011 with 29.9 degrees C., the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK for October.

North and North West Kent continue to record higher temperatures in summer, sometimes being the hottest area of the country, eg. on the warmest day of 2011, when temperatures reached 33.1 degrees.[36]Additionally, it holds at least two records for the year 2010, of 30.9 degrees[37] and 31.7 degrees C.[38] Another record was set during England's Indian summer of 2011 with 29.9 degrees C., the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK for October.

Building

Rochester comprises numerous important historic buildings, the most prominent of which are the Guildhall, the Corn Exchange, Restoration House, Eastgate House, as well as Rochester Castle and Rochester Cathedral. Many of the town centre's old buildings date from as early as the 14th century up to the 18th century. The chapel of St Bartholomew's Hospital dates from the ancient priory hospital's foundation in 1078.

Economy

Thomas Aveling started a small business in 1850 producing and repairing agricultural plant equipment. In 1861 this became the firm of Aveling and Porter, which was to become the largest manufacturer of agricultural machinery and steam rollers in the country.[39] Aveling was elected Admiral of the River Medway (i.e. Mayor of Rochester) for 1869-70.

Culture[edit]

Sweeps Festival[edit]

Since 1980 the city has seen the revival of the historic Rochester Jack-in-the-Green May Day dancing chimney sweeps tradition, which had died out in the early 1900s. Though not unique to Rochester (similar sweeps' gatherings were held across southern England, notably in Bristol, Deptford, Whitstable and Hastings), its revival was directly inspired by Dickens' description of the celebration in Sketches by Boz.

The festival has since grown from a small gathering of local Morris dancesides to one of the largest in the world.[40] The festival begins with the "Awakening of Jack-in-the-Green" ceremony,[41] and continues in Rochester High Street over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

There are numerous other festivals in Rochester apart from the Sweeps Festival. The association with Dickens is the theme for Rochester's two Dickens Festivals held annually in June and December.[42] The Medway Fuse Festival[43] usually arranges performances in Rochester and the latest festival to take shape is the Rochester Literature Festival, the brainchild of three local writers.[44]

Library[edit]

A new public library was built alongside the Adult Education Centre, Eastgate. This enabled the registry office to move from Maidstone Road, Chatham into the Corn Exchange on Rochester High Street (where the library was formerly housed). As mentioned in a report presented to Medway Council's Community Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 28 March 2006, the new library opened in late summer (2006).[45]

Theatre[edit]

There is a small amateur theatre called Medway Little Theatre on St Margaret's Banks next to Rochester High Street near the railway station.[46] The theatre was formed out of a creative alliance with the Medway Theatre Club, managed by Marion Martin, at St Luke's Methodist Church on City Way, Rochester[47] between 1985 and 1988, since when drama and theatre studies have become well established in Rochester owing to the dedication of the Medway Theatre Club.[48]

Media[edit]

Local newspapers for Rochester include the Medway Messenger, published by the KM Group, and free newspapers such as Medway Extra(KM Group) and Yourmedway (KOS Media).

The local commercial radio station for Rochester is KMFM Medway, owned by the KM Group. Medway is also served by community radio station Radio Sunlight. The area also receives broadcasts from county-wide stations BBC Radio Kent, Heart and Gold, as well as from various Essex and Greater London radio stations.[49]

Sport[edit]

Football is played with many teams competing in Saturday and Sunday leagues.[50] The local football club is Rochester United F.C. Rochester F.C. was its old football club but has been defunct for many decades. Rugby is also played; Medway R.F.C. play their matches at Priestfields and Old Williamsonians is associated with Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School.[51]

Cricket is played in the town, with teams entered in the Kent Cricket League. Holcombe Hockey Club is one of the largest in the country,[52]and is based at Holcombe Park. The men's and women's 1st XI are part of the England Hockey League.[53] Speedway was staged on a track adjacent to City Way that opened in 1932. Proposals for a revival in the early 1970s did not materialise and the Rochester Bombers became the Romford Bombers.[54]

Sailing and rowing are also popular on the River Medway with respective clubs being based in Rochester.[55][56]

Film[edit]

The 1959 James Bond Goldfinger describes Bond driving along the A2through the Medway Towns from Strood to Chatham. Of interest is the mention of "inevitable traffic jams" on the Strood side of Rochester Bridge, the novel being written some years prior to the construction of the M2 motorway Medway bypass.

Rochester is the setting of the controversial 1965 Peter Watkins television film The War Game, which depicts the town's destruction by a nuclear missile.[57] The opening sequence was shot in Chatham Town Hall, but the credits particularly thank the people of Dover, Gravesend and Tonbridge.

The 2011 adventure film Ironclad (dir. Jonathan English) is based upon the 1215 siege of Rochester Castle. There are however a few areaswhere the plot differs from accepted historical narrative.

Notable people[edit]

Charles Dickens

The historic city was for many years the favourite of Charles Dickens, who lived within the diocese at nearby Gads Hill Place, Higham, many of his novels being based on the area. Descriptions of the town appear in Pickwick Papers, Great Expectations and (lightly fictionalised as "Cloisterham") in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Elements of two houses in Rochester, Satis House and Restoration House, are used for Miss Havisham's house in Great Expectations, Satis House.[58]

Sybil Thorndike

The actress Dame Sybil Thorndike and her brother Russell were brought up in Minor Canon Row adjacent to the cathedral; the daughter of a canon of Rochester Cathedral, she was educated at Rochester Grammar School for Girls. A local doctors' practice,[59] local dental practice[60] and a hall at Rochester Grammar School are all named after her.[61]

Peter Buck

Sir Peter Buck was Admiral of the Medway in the 17th century; knightedin 1603 he and Bishop Barlow hosted King James, the Stuart royal familyand the King of Denmark in 1606. A civil servant to The Royal Dockyardand Lord High Admiral, Buck lived at Eastgate House, Rochester.

Denis Redman

Major-General Denis Redman, a World War II veteran, was born and raised in Rochester and later became a founder member of REME, head of his Corps and a Major-General in the British Army.

Kelly Brook

The model and actress Kelly Brook went to Delce Junior School in Rochester and later the Thomas Aveling School (formerly Warren Wood Girls School).

The singer and songwriter Tara McDonald now lives in Rochester.

The Prisoners, a rock band from 1980 to 1986, were formed in Rochester. They are part of what is known as the "Medway scene".

Kelly Tolhurst MP is the current parliamentary representative for the constituency.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester,_Kent

The Capuchin Friars first arrived in Dublin in 1615, but it was not until 1624 that the first friary was established, in Bridge Street. They came to Church Street in 1690, shortly after the Battle of the Boyne and opened a “Mass house” at the site of the present Church. The Mass house was enlarged in 1796. The present Church dates from 1881. The architect was James J.McCarthy. The altar and reredos was designed by James Pearse, the father of Pádraig and Willie Pearse who were executed after the 1916 Rising. It was friars from the Church Street community that attended those executed in 1916 and administered the last rites.

Today the friars serve the local community through parish work and through the Capuchin Day Centre. The Capuchin Mission Office which supports the work of the Irish friars overseas, in Zambia, South Africa, New Zealand and Korea is also located in Church Street. St Mary of the Angels is not a parish church, however, the Friars also have responsibility for Halston Street Parish, one of the oldest in Dublin City Centre.

Le jardin botanique de Thoutmôsis III est une représentation, exécutée avec un remarquable souci du détail, de la faune et surtout de la flore de l'empire égyptien à son apogée. Celle-ci se trouve sur les murs de la pièce contiguë à la salle des fêtes de Thoutmôsis III. Ce dernier, grand pharaon guerrier, repousse les frontières de l'Égypte dans le nord comme dans le sud et crée le plus grand empire que l'Égypte ait jamais connu, avec outre un butin considérable des essences rares, des animaux et des plantes luxuriantes.

Sur les terrains situés à l'arrière du naos, jugé trop exigu, il fait bâtir un nouvel ensemble appelé Akhmenou : temple de la régénération du souverain, représentation magnifiée et sublimée du jardin sacré du temple d'Amon, où animaux et oiseaux avaient l'habitude de se côtoyer, protégés par un enclos. Un autre enclos identique se situait à côté du lac sacré, à proximité des magasins. De cet endroit partait une galerie couverte permettant aux oies sacrées d'aller s'ébattre dans le lac et de rentrer au bercail à l'abri des regards (cf. wikipédia).

Two pilasters executed in very low relief at the sides of the stele support a pediment with two corner akroteria and a shield at the center bearing the inscription ἀγαθῆι τύχηι (for good fortune).

At the bottom is a relief depiction of a ship with three seated oarsmen and two standing, one at the prow and one at the stern. Almost the entire surface of the stele is covered by an inscription. The names of the eponymous archont, Philisteides of Piraeus, and the kosmetes, Claudius son of Herakleides of Melite are inscribed on pediment:, at the left, ἐπὶ ἄρχοντος Φιλιστείδος Πειραιές , at the right, κοσμητεύοντος · Κ(λ) · Ἡρακλείδου Μελιτέως.

The rest of the inscription refers to the names of the gymnsiarchs and ephebes and also to festivals, encomia and victories.

Source: IG II² 2087; Kaltsas N., “Sculpture in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens”

Pentelic marble stele

Height 78 cm; width 49 cm

AD 163/164

From Athens, near Agios Dimitrios Katiphoris church, site of the Gymnasium of Diogenes,

Athens, National Archaeological Museum - Inv. No. 1466

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The Liechtenstein Garden Palace is a Baroque palace at the Fürstengasse in the 9th District of Vienna, Alsergrund . Between the palace, where the Liechtenstein Museum was until the end of 2011, and executed as Belvedere summer palace on the Alserbachstraße is a park. Since early 2012, the Liechtenstein Garden Palace is a place for events. Part of the private art collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein is still in the gallery rooms of the palace. In 2010 was started to call the palace, to avoid future confusion, officially the Garden Palace, since 2013 the city has renovated the Palais Liechtenstein (Stadtpalais) in Vienna's old town and then also equipped with a part of the Liechtenstein art collection.

Building

Design for the Liechtenstein Garden Palace, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in 1687/1688

Canaletto: View of Palais Liechtenstein

1687 bought Prince Johann Adam Andreas von Liechtenstein a garden with adjoining meadows of Count Weikhard von Auersperg in the Rossau. In the southern part of the property the prince had built a palace and in the north part he founded a brewery and a manorial, from which developed the suburb Lichtental. For the construction of the palace Johann Adam Andreas organised 1688 a competition, in the inter alia participating, the young Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. Meanwhile, a little functional, " permeable " project was rejected by the prince but, after all, instead he was allowed to built a garden in the Belvedere Alserbachstraße 14, which , however, was canceled in 1872.

The competition was won by Domenico Egidio Rossi, but was replaced in 1692 by Domenico Martinelli. The execution of the stonework had been given the royal Hofsteinmetzmeister (master stonemason) Martin Mitschke. He was delivered by the Masters of Kaisersteinbruch Ambrose Ferrethi , Giovanni Battista Passerini and Martin Trumler large pillars, columns and pedestal made ​​from stone Emperor (Kaiserstein). Begin of the contract was the fourth July 1689 , the total cost was around 50,000 guilders.

For contracts from the years 1693 and 1701 undertook the Salzburg master stonemason John and Joseph Pernegger owner for 4,060 guilders the steps of the great grand staircase from Lienbacher (Adnet = red) to supply marble monolith of 4.65 meters. From the Master Nicolaus Wendlinger from Hallein came the Stiegenbalustraden (stair balustrades) for 1,000 guilders.

A palazzo was built in a mix of city and country in the Roman-style villa. The structure is clear and the construction very blocky with a stressed central risalite, what served the conservative tastes of the Prince very much. According to the procedure of the architectural treatise by Johann Adam Andreas ' father, Karl Eusebius, the palace was designed with three floors and 13 windows axis on the main front and seven windows axis on the lateral front. Together with the stems it forms a courtyard .

Sala terrene of the Palais

1700 the shell was completed. In 1702, the Salzburg master stonemason and Georg Andreas Doppler took over 7,005 guilders for the manufacture of door frame made ​​of white marble of Salzburg, 1708 was the delivery of the fireplaces in marble hall for 1,577 guilders. For the painted decoration was originally the Bolognese Marcantonio Franceschini hired, from him are some of the painted ceilings on the first floor. Since he to slow to the prince, Antonio Belucci was hired from Venice, who envisioned the rest of the floor. The ceiling painting in the Great Hall, the Hercules Hall but got Andrea Pozzo . Pozzo in 1708 confirmed the sum of 7,500 florins which he had received since 1704 for the ceiling fresco in the Marble Hall in installments. As these artists died ( Pozzo) or declined to Italy, the Prince now had no painter left for the ground floor.

After a long search finally Michael Rottmayr was hired for the painting of the ground floor - originally a temporary solution, because the prince was of the opinion that only Italian artist buon gusto d'invenzione had. Since Rottmayr was not involved in the original planning, his paintings not quite fit with the stucco. Rottmayr 1708 confirmed the receipt of 7,500 guilders for his fresco work.

Giovanni Giuliani, who designed the sculptural decoration in the window roofing of the main facade, undertook in 1705 to provide sixteen stone vases of Zogelsdorfer stone. From September 1704 to August 1705 Santino Bussi stuccoed the ground floor of the vault of the hall and received a fee of 1,000 florins and twenty buckets of wine. 1706 Bussi adorned the two staircases, the Marble Hall, the Gallery Hall and the remaining six halls of the main projectile with its stucco work for 2,200 florins and twenty buckets of wine. Giuliani received in 1709 for his Kaminbekrönungen (fireplace crowning) of the great room and the vases 1,128 guilders.

Garden

Liechtenstein Palace from the garden

The new summer palace of Henry of Ferstel from the garden

The garden was created in the mind of a classic baroque garden. The vases and statues were carried out according to the plans of Giuseppe Mazza from the local Giovanni Giuliani. In 1820 the garden has been remodeled according to plans of Joseph Kornhäusel in the Classical sense. In the Fürstengasse was opposite the Palais, the Orangerie, built 1700s.

Use as a museum

Already from 1805 to 1938, the palace was housing the family collection of the house of Liechtenstein, which was also open for public viewing, the collection was then transferred to the Principality of Liechtenstein, which remained neutral during the war and was not bombed. In the 1960s and 1970s, the so-called Building Centre was housed in the palace as a tenant, a permanent exhibition for builders of single-family houses and similar buildings. From 26 April 1979 rented the since 1962 housed in the so-called 20er Haus Museum of the 20th Century , a federal museum, the palace as a new main house, the 20er Haus was continued as a branch . Since the start of operations at the Palais, the collection called itself Museum of Modern Art (since 1991 Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation ), the MUMOK in 2001 moved to the newly built museum district.

From 29 March 2004 till the end of 2011 in the Palace was the Liechtenstein Museum, whose collection includes paintings and sculptures from five centuries. The collection is considered one of the largest and most valuable private art collections in the world, whose main base in Vaduz (Liechtenstein) is . As the palace, so too the collection is owned by the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation .

On 15 November 2011 it was announced that the regular museum operating in the Garden Palace was stopped due to short of original expectations, visiting numbers remaining lower as calculated, with January 2012. The Liechtenstein City Palace museum will also not offer regular operations. Exhibited works of art would then (in the city palace from 2013) only during the "Long Night of the Museums", for registered groups and during leased events being visitable. The name of the Liechtenstein Museum will no longer be used.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Liechtenstein_(F%C3%BCrstengasse)

EXECUTION IN THE CHURCHYARD

When Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite supporters took over Inverness in 1746 they imprisoned government soldiers in the church tower. When the Jacobites were defeated at the Battle of Culloden just outside Inverness the Duke of Cumberland, the leader of the government troops, was able to take control of the town. Cumberland released the government soldiers from their tower prison and replaced them with captured Jacobite soldiers.

The prisoners were led outside into the churchyard, blindfolded and executed one by one. The place of execution was arranged so it could be seen by wounded prisoners being held at Balnain House across the river. You can still see the mark made by musket balls in the wall of the tower.

Some prisoners were too weak to stand erect so they were propped up against a small gravestone at the west end of the churchyard while a government soldier rested his musket in the notch of a gravestone nine paces east to assure an accurate shot. The two gravestones are still standing and provide a grim reminder of those dark days.

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As my friend Velvetart says: "Everyone has a name."

Jean Charles de Menezes (January 7, 1978–July 22, 2005) was a Brazilian electrician living in London. He grew up on a farm in rural Brazil and went to England on a student visa, where he was working to send money back to his family. How do you think they feel today?

He was assassinated this weekend by an elite team of Israeli-trained British metro police under orders to "shoot to kill" suspected terrorists. Menezes fled after being trailed and attacked by armed undercover agents who may or may not have identified themselves to him as police. Twenty police officers in plain clothes pursued Menezes into Stockwell station, where he jumped over the ticket barrier, ran down an escalator and tried to jump onto a train. He was pushed to the floor of the carriage. Two officers pinned him down, while a third executed him by shooting him 8 times in the back of the head and shoulders at close range.

The murderers explained that they were simply following police policy, which - quite appallingly - states they may summarily execute suspected suicide bombers by shooting them in the head. Unsurprisingly, according to the BBC, this grotesque policy was devised pursuant to the recommendations of the fucking Israelis.

Menezes was assassinated, at least to some extent, because he was brown. The police thought he looked "asian" and thought his baggy jacket in 62F weather was suspicious. Someone else reported that this electrician may have had electrical wires with him. But ultimately he was assassinated because the government of Britain has made a disastrous strategic choice.

...

"Lord Stevens, the former Met commissioner, staunchly defended the tactic of shooting to the head. He had sent officers [of the Metropolitan police's elite S019 firearms team] to Israel, where they learned the "terrible truth" that the only way to stop a suicide bomber was to "destroy his brain, instantly, utterly", otherwise he might still be able to trigger a device."

www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,16132,1535632,0...

...

People in Britain: please attend the memorial vigil at Stockton tube this evening. Please don't get all huffy if you see someone with a sign saying FUCK THE POLICE. Anger is not the enemy.

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MONTHS LATER, several facts have emerged. He was NOT wearing a baggy jacket. He was not running into the tube station. He was not hailed or asked to stop. He had no idea he was being followed. As he sat in the train, a member of the death squad walked in, stood him up and turned him against the wall, and shot De Menezes in the head at point blank range. Fascinating to observe the completely fictitious "controversy" that was concocted, and even more fascinating, in retrospect, to observe all the people who stood up to bitch about lack of "fairness" and incorrect "facts" and a need for "balance" in my comments - all of them enthusiastically defending a total fabrication. Seemed like every five minutes someone was giving me the old "if the shoe was on the other foot and you had to act fast to save the lives of millions of Londoners" etc., line. Fucking death squads, man. In London. And there are actually people who think that's great.

Irving R. Bacon (1875-1962)

Pen and ink with graphite on paper

Executed during Bacon’s Munich period of study at the Royal Academy.

Irving Roscoe Bacon was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts on November 29, 1875.

Bacon studied with Wm Chase, F. Luis Mora, and at the Royal Academy in Munich. He spent most of his career in Michigan where he was personal artist for Henry Ford.

He died in El Cajon, CA on Nov. 21, 1962.

Exhibits:

Royal Academy, 1909 (medal)

National Academy of Design (New York City), 1910-12

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1911, 1912

Art Institute of Chicago, 1911, 1912

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Examples of Bacon's paintings can be seen here: www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-col...(Irving%20Reuben),%201875-1962&years=0-0&perPage=10&pageNum=1&sortBy=relevance

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FROM THE WEBSITE OF THE HENRY FORD:

Irving R. Bacon worked for Henry Ford as an artist. His work ranged from cartoons in the Ford Times to paintings of artifacts and events at the Edison Institute. His papers include photographs, drawings, and correspondence related to his career with Ford Motor Company and the Edison Institute.

Biographical / Historical Note

Born in 1875 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Irving Bacon received his early art training from Joseph Gies at the Art School of the Detroit Museum of Art.

Much of his early work concentrated on illustrations and cartoons, and often his artwork reflected the influence of his travels to the American West.

From 1894 to 1900 he worked as an illustrator at the Detroit Evening News and the Detroit Free Press. He first met Henry Ford through a mutual acquaintance in 1898, when he rode to Royal Oak and back to Detroit on Woodward Avenue in Henry's new automobile.

In 1902 he went to New York City to study at the Chase School of Art and to illustrate for Harper's Weekly and McClure's.

In 1906 he went to the Royal Academy in Munich and studied under Heinrich von Zugel, a noted animal painter. It was there where Bacon acquired his talent for painting landscapes and portraits.

After returning to Detroit in 1910, he once again met Henry Ford, who by this time was a millionaire. Henry became interested in art largely due to the interest and talent of his own son, Edsel.

He purchased a landscape scene from Bacon-a painting, which, according to Bacon, was "certainly not a masterpiece." It was after this meeting that Bacon gained permission from Henry to utilize his large estate for landscape paintings.

In 1913 he received a generous gift of money from his friend Harold Wills (a Ford executive), and once again returned to Munich for further study. His stay was cut short, however, due to the start of World War I.

Upon returning to Detroit, he realized the need for a steady salary in order to adequately support his wife and six children, so he met again with Henry Ford and soon became an employee of the Ford Motor Company, drawing cartoons for the Ford Times and later, illustrations for The Dearborn Independent.

Henry loved Bacon's cartoons, an area of work which Bacon wanted to discontinue. According to Bacon, "That class of work seemed to conflict with my high aims of art. Little did I realize at the time that I was beginning a thirty three year stretch of work for Henry Ford and his great organization that eventually would wean me away from the art world."

Working for Henry at the Ford Motor Company, and later the Edison Institute, Bacon's tasks included painting scenes and portraits that were of great interest to Henry Ford and his Museum and Village. These included portraits of Ford's family and friends, Noah Webster, Luther Burbank, Mark Twain, Dr. George Washington Carver, Stephen Foster, John Burroughs, and others.

He was also responsible for creating paintings of the artifacts located at the institute, and he also acted as stage designer for the Museum's theater.

His interest in photography and motion pictures led him to become the head of the Photographic Department for several years. Bacon retired from the Edison Institute in 1948, and moved to Miami with his second wife. He died in 1962 at the age of 86.

This collection is mainly composed of photographs, drawings, and some correspondence related to Bacon's career with the Ford Motor Company and the Edison Institute. The series within this collection are accordingly arranged to the different aspects involved with the work of Henry Bacon.

There are five series in the collection, the Golden Jubilee painting, Irving Bacon personal materials, Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum, Henry Ford related work, and Dearborn Independent.

Series I, Golden Jubilee painting: This series is comprised of pamphlets, notes, lists, correspondence, and photographs related Bacon’s painting entitled "Celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the Invention of the Incandescent Electric Light" also known as the "The Dedication of the Edison Institute of Technology." The Golden Jubilee occurred on October 21, 1929. It is arranged by the sub-series Printed material (1929), Correspondence (1936-1937), and Photographs (dates unknown, but assumed to be between 1920-1938). The photographs, which are mainly portraits of the individuals who attended the events of October 21, 1929, were obtained by Bacon in the years 1936-1938, for the purpose of recreating the dinner scene, some seven to nine years previous. Over 400 individuals attended this dinner, ranging from Henry Ford's personal friends to contemporary world business and political leaders. The number of dinner guests eventually included in Bacon's painting numbered 266. The filing arrangement for the Photographs subseries was left in much the same way that Bacon had organized it, which was by seating arrangements. He categorized his filing system according to "Tables," "Arches," and "Individuals Standing" e.g., Table 1, Arch 1, etc.

Series II, Irving Bacon personal materials: In this series are various materials (1907-1957) which apparently were kept for the personal use and interest of Mr. Bacon. A large portion of this series, theater interests, contains materials on early theater and film actors/actresses. The majority of the materials within this series are photographs, unless otherwise noted.

Series III, Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum: This series is an assortment of photographs, mixed with notes and sketches related to subjects found at Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum. Bacon collected photographs of the various subjects in order to study them and eventually create a likeness within his own paintings.

Series IV, Henry Ford related work: This series is an example of yet another type of work that Bacon undertook as an employee of Henry Ford. It reflects the personal interests of Henry Ford. Included are miscellaneous printed materials, photographs, sketches, and maps (photographed). The folders have retained the original titles given by Bacon himself.

Series V, Dearborn Independent: Irving Bacon's artwork created for the Dearborn Independent is found within this series (approximately 1925-1935). These oversized materials consist mainly of sketches, prints, and color drawings.

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Collection Details

Object ID: 84.1.1657.0

Creator: Bacon, Irving R. (Irving Reuben), 1875-1962

Inclusive Dates: 1863-1957

Size: 4.4 cubic ft. and 4 oversize boxes 7.8 cubic ft. (17 boxes) [Collection Survey]

Language: English

From the website of The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-col...

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From the website of The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-col...

Once again I had been called into the field for a last minute operation for the Triumvirate, I had my orders to go to Iridonia, a planet covered in rocks sand and acid pools. The planet was an important one to capture as it had access to many useful hyper lanes, leading straight to the hearts of some of our greatest threats, so it was key that we executed the orders without fail.

Once landing, I had been dispatched from the main group with a squad of elite death troopers, who were to help me target a specific group of rebels while the rest rounded out other rebels. We arrived at the house, which was surrounded by an acid lake, typical of this part of the planet, where we entered peacefully, the Zabrak I talked claimed he knew nothing but I k ew who he was, Baak Chiser, freedom fighter of Iridonia, as I continued to pursue answers from him about the hideouts located around the planet, the remainder of my squad located those that were there and executed them without question. We had them all where we wanted them except for one, there was a child of Chiser’s who was hidden from us, I tapped into their fins but found nothing, my troopers arrived back to me and reported they had done what they had asked. “I will escort Chiser back the ship personally, he has a child find it!”

Vadodara - Gujarat - India

Pithora or Pithoro painings

Narukot village - typisch huis met originele muurfresco's - Pithora painting

Pithora is a highly ritualistic painting done on the walls by several tribes such as the Rathwas and Bhilalas who live in the central Gujarat, 90 km (56 mi) from Vadodara, in a village called Tejgadh.

In several other villages around Tejgadh (even in Madhya Pradesh) and Chhota Udaipur taluka of Vadodara district, lives a large population of these tribes where we find Pithora paintings on three inter walls of the house. These paintings have significance in their lives and executing the Pithora paintings in their homes brings peace, prosperity and happiness. What is even more interesting is that there is never an attempt to imitate nature. A horse or a bull, which might be a vision of a God, impresses him with only one central quality. This central quality is worked upon and given a form. It might be crude but it is this crudity that adds to the beauty of this painting.

A Pithora painting at the Crafts Museum in New Delhi

Pithora paintings are more of a ritual than an art form. These rituals are performed either to thank God or for a wish or a boon to be granted.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pithora_(painting)

Pithoro called Babo Pithoro by the tribals is one of the many deities worshipped in the region and this Pithoro style of folk painting is a way of appeasing the Gods and not a decorative wall piece.

The walls of the houses are painted by professional artists belonging to the Rathawa caste. The owner of the house prays for deliverance from evil and bad times (be it illness, lack of rains, low harvest yields) with the promise of getting a pithoro painted.

Since the painting is done only by professionals, it is an expensive affair and the owner gets it done when it suits him. If a pithoro painting is already done on a wall, it is redone.

The main wall in the house is prepared, along with the adjacent walls. The surface is coated with a plaster of clay & cow dung, by the young unmarried girls. The actual painting is done on a Wednesday. The rituals start a day earlier. On the Tuesday, the walls are whitewashed. The white dry clay is brought in five new baskets covered with five pieces of new cloth.

www.indian-heritage.org/painting/pithoro.html

Another two minifigs I made to use PoP pieces. Again, inspired after seeing Bantha's awesome minifigs.

At around 5.30am today (Tuesday 12 October) officers from GMP's Oldham Challenger Team executed three warrants at addresses across Newton Heath and Failsworth.

The warrants formed part of an ongoing investigation into the supply of class A drugs across Greater Manchester, as well as the criminal use of the encrypted communications platform Encrochat, often used by organised criminal groups.

During the raids, three men in their 30s were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply cocaine and two of the men were further arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply amphetamine, entering into a money laundering agreement and possession of a prohibited weapon with intent to cause fear.

They remain in custody for questioning by detectives.

Following searches of all three properties, suspected class A and B drugs were recovered, along with over £3000 in cash, designer clothing, jewellery, phones and vehicles.

In July 2020, GMP alongside nearly every law enforcement agency across the UK came together as part of the National Crime Agency led 'Operation Venetic', focused on the takedown of 'Encrochat' - a sophisticated encrypted communications service used by OCG's.

GMP launched a series of intricate investigations bringing together 16 teams of officers from across all ten districts of Greater Manchester. Codenamed 'Operation Foam', the force wide operation has been in constant action for the past 15 months.

Detective Sergeant Alex Brown of GMP's Oldham Challenger Team, said: "Today's action is the culmination of months of intricate investigative work and is another positive result for the team in our endeavour to disrupt and dismantle the distribution and trade of drugs across our region.

"Thankfully today we have been able to remove what is suspected to be a large quantity of drugs from our community, and although we have three men in custody our searches and investigation will continue this morning and we will ensure all criminal assets are seized.

"An inordinate amount of work goes on behind the scenes to investigate the distribution of drugs and I hope today's arrests and seizures send a stark warning that GMP will do all in its power to pursue offenders and ensure no one benefits from ill-gotten gains and the sale of drugs.

"Often these investigations rely on intelligence passed to police by members of the public can often play a big part in investigations. If you have information that could aid our investigations into the trade of drugs across Greater Manchester then please get in touch with police."

Anyone with information should contact police on 101. Alternatively, details can be passed via our LiveChat function at www.gmp.police.uk or via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

You can access many of our services online at www.gmp.police.uk.

For emergencies only call 999, or 101 if it's a less urgent matter.

Greater Manchester Police have made 18 arrests, seized a substantial amount of Class A drugs and shut down a cannabis farm after executing a series of warrants in Salford.

This morning, Wednesday 14 October 2015, more than 200 officers executed warrants at 22 addresses across Eccles and Pendleton as part of a Project Gulf operation designed to tackle organised crime.

Gulf is part of Programme Challenger, the Greater Manchester approach to tackling organised criminality across the region.

The raids are the result of an intelligence-led operation conducted over a number of months into offences such as supplying Class A drugs and other criminality. Searches at a number of properties are still on-going.

Fifteen men and three women have so far been arrested on suspicion of supplying Class A drugs. They remain in custody for questioning.

Searches of the 22 properties also uncovered a cannabis farm, and have resulted in officers seizing a substantial amount of cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, cannabis, a stolen motorbike and some cash.

Superintendent Mark Kenny, of Salford Division, said: “These warrants are a result of a sustained and in-depth operation into the supply of Class A drugs not just in Salford, but Greater Manchester as a whole.

“They have utilised some excellent work by my officers in the gathering of intelligence and information, which has allowed us to seize a significant amount of drugs which would soon have been poisoning our streets.

“We have also been successful in confiscating a large amount of cash, hitting the dealers where it hurts.

“We would not have been able to carry out these warrants had it not been for members of the public coming to us with information and intelligence, and that is very pleasing.

“However, our investigations are continuing and if anyone has any information they think will assist I would encourage them to contact us.

“Our communities have already shown they are prepared to work with us in the fight against drugs and organised crime and I would like to express my thanks to those who came forward and helped us reduce the amount of dangerous narcotics in their areas.

“But there is still more to do and, as with any fight against organised crime groups embedded in our communities, we need residents to come to us with information so we can put a stop to this criminality.

“If you see drug dealing taking place in your area, come to us, we can help to put a stop to it and help to make Greater Manchester a safer place to live.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Police have arrested two people in raids across Wigan today (24/8/10) as part of an operation to crack a major drug dealing gang.

Warrants were executed at five addresses in Golborne and Platt Bridge as part of Operation Delmas.

Led by the North West Regional Crime Unit, the raids were supported by armed officers from Greater Manchester Police’s Tactical Firearms Unit.

The operation is aimed at disrupting a major drug conspiracy that has seen large quantities of cocaine travelling north from London to be sold on the streets of Wigan and the wider North West.

For more information about Greater Manchester Police please visit our website.

www.gmp.police.uk

Father Michael Smythe, a missionary priest, who was stationed at Fort Smith, traveled through Eureka Springs around the year 1880. He started construction on a frame church which would not be completed until 1882. That year the Diocese of Little Rock recognized the new foundation of faith as a “station with a church.” Between 1882 and 1901 priests visited the station on their regular monthly trips through the Northwest Arkansas missions.

During 1901, the frame church was moved and relocated closer to the growing town. Upon completion of the building, the Diocese recognized the Church and its membership as the Sacred Heart Parish. Since the founding of this parish, there have been 37 priests administering the Sacraments to the Catholic people of Eureka Springs and tending to their spiritual and temporal needs. The first Baptism was recorded in 1880 – the first Marriage in 1881. Confirmation ceremonies were held in 1885 and administered by Bishop Fitzgerald to seven people, three of whom were adults. Sacred Heart Parish was given its name in 1901 and Father Carroll recorded the first Baptism and the first wedding in 1904.

Earlier in 1901, the Hotel Dieu Hospital, a large two story building opened by the Sisters of Mercy from St. Louis, had been established as a convalescent home, hospital, school, and convent. There were 34 pupils attending the opening day ceremonies at the Saint Elizabeth’s School. The Hotel Dieu Hospital closed its doors in 1913 after eleven years in operation but was placed later under the guidance of the Olivetan Benedictines.

In 1904 a three story frame rectory was constructed beside the Sacred Heart Church and was used as a rectory, school, and meeting hall for the Catholic community. This building is still in use today as the Mount Victoria Bed and Breakfast. Two blocks away, on Crescent Drive, Mr. Richard Kerens, was also constructing an edifice. The Kerens Memorial Chapel was being built in memory of his deceased mother, Elizabeth.

In 1908, after lengthy discussions with Bishop Fitzgerald, Kerens added a church proper to the existing Chapel, and the dedication ceremonies of the Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church were held on May 11, 1909. The existing chapel became the vestibule of the church, with all the exterior construction material of dolomite limestone supplied by local quarries. Kerens imported marble altars and mosaic flooring from Italy. Paintings depicting the Stations of the Cross were donated by the parishioners. Four pieces of statuary taken from the Sacred Heart Church and Hotel Dieu – statues of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and two kneeling angels – were moved to the new Church. These fine pieces of turn-of-the-century statuary still have their home in the interior of the church today.

The coming years lay heavy on the church, and disrepair set in almost immediately, not because of inferior construction, but from lack of adequate heating. For a few years the church became a mission out of Harrison because of the small congregation. Second collections were started to defray the cost of repairs, but not until Father Joseph Lauro’s pastorate in the early 1950’s did the remodeling really begin.

Father Lauro did extensive restoration to the interior of the church, and constructed a stone rectory at the rear of the church. He then enlisted the talents of an Italian artists’ society which, under the direction of sculptor Checchi Mario, executed marble statues which grace the gardens of the church, including the statues of Our Lady of Fatima, the children, and the sheep, which were erected in 1953, along with the statues of The Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Joseph, St. Francis, and St. Elizabeth. In his second term at Saint Elizabeth, Father Lauro originated the plan for the Stations of the Cross, in white Carrara marble, also sculpted in Italy, which are arranged on the wall beside the ramp leading from the Bell Tower to the door. The designer said the statuary consumed 40 days of work by five sculptors for any single piece. The names of various families were etched into the base of each statue, thus commemorating their donation. The stations were installed in 1958.

Saint Elizabeth’s Church has become a landmark in Eureka Springs and is listed on the National Historic Register. The Church’s unique unattached Bell Tower has welcomed thousands of visitors each year from all over the world. They come to admire the simplicity of the stone church which was constructed years ago and which still holds its charm and peacefulness in the fast paced world of today.

Portret dame Govert (or Govaert) Teuniszoon Flinck (Kleve 25 January 1615 – Amsterdam 2 February 1660) Dutch painter of the Dutch Golden Age. 20150724 6279 MuzCROMimara_008 9756 MuzCROMimara

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BornGovert Teuniszoon Flinck

25 January 1615

Kleve, Dutch Republic

Died2 February 1660 (aged 45)

Amsterdam, Dutch Republic

Nationality Dutch

Education Rembrandt van Rijn

Known for Painting

Movement Dutch Golden Age

Baroque

Govert (or Govaert) Teuniszoon Flinck (25 January 1615 – 2 February 1660) was a Dutch painter of the Dutch Golden Age.

Born at Kleve, capital of the Duchy of Cleves, which was occupied at the time by the United Provinces, he was apprenticed by his father to a silk mercer, but having secretly acquired a passion for etching and drawing, was sent to Leeuwarden, where he boarded in the house of Lambert Jacobszoon, a Mennonite, better known as an itinerant preacher than as a painter.

Here Flinck was joined by Jacob Backer, and the companionship of a youth determined like himself to be an artist only confirmed his passion for painting. Amongst the neighbours of Jacobszon at Leeuwarden were the sons and relations of Rombertus van Uylenburgh, whose daughter Saskia married Rembrandt in 1634. Other members of the same family lived at Amsterdam, cultivating the arts either professionally or as amateurs. The pupils of Lambert probably gained some knowledge of Rembrandt by intercourse with the Ulenburgs. Certainly Joachim von Sandrart, who visited Holland in 1637, found Flinck acknowledged as one of Rembrandt's best pupils, and living habitually in the house of the dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh at Amsterdam.

For many years Flinck laboured on the lines of Rembrandt, following that master's style in all the works which he executed between 1636 and 1648. With aspirations as a history painter, however, he looked to the swelling forms and grand action of Peter Paul Rubens, which led to many commissions for official and diplomatic painting. Flinck's relations with Cleves became in time very important. He was introduced to the court of the Great Elector, Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg, who possessed the Duchy and who married in 1646 Louisa of Orange. He obtained the patronage of John Maurice of Nassau, who was made stadtholder of Cleves in 1649.

In 1652 a citizen of Amsterdam, Flinck married in 1656 an heiress, Sophie van der Houven, daughter of a director of the Dutch East India Company. Flinck was already well known in the patrician circles over which the brothers Cornelis and Andries de Graeff and the alderman Jan Six presided; he was on terms of intimacy with the poet Joost van den Vondel and the treasurer Johannes Uitenbogaard. In his house, adorned with casts after the Antique, costumes, and a noble collection of prints, he often received the stadtholder John Maurice, whose portrait is still preserved in the work of the learned Caspar Barlaeus. Flinck died in Amsterdam on 2 February 1660.

The earliest of Flinck's authentic pieces is a portrait of a lady, dated 1636, in the gallery of Brunswick. His first subject picture is the Blessing of Jacob (1638), in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. Both are thoroughly Rembrandtesque in effect as well as in vigour of touch and warmth of flesh tints. The four civic guards of 1642, and the twelve musketeers with their president in an arm-chair (1648); in the Stadhuis, Amsterdam, are fine specimens of composed portrait groups. But the best of Flinck's productions in this style is the peace of Münster in the Rijksmuseum, a canvas with 19 life-size figures full of animation in the faces, "radiant with Rembrandtesque colour," and admirably distributed. Flinck here painted his own likeness to the left in a doorway. The mannered period of Flinck is amply illustrated in the Marcus Curius Dentatus refuses the gifts of the Samnites, and Solomon receiving Wisdom, in the Palace on the Dam at Amsterdam. Here it is that Flinck shows most defects, being faulty in arrangement, gaudy in tint, flat and shallow in execution, that looks as if it had been smeared with violet powder and rouge.

The chronology of Flinck's works, so far as they are seen in public galleries, comprises, in addition to the foregoing, the Grey Beard of 1639 at Dresden, A Young Archer from 1640 in the Wallace Collection, the Girl of 1641 at the Louvre, a portrait group of a male and female (1646) at Rotterdam, a lady (1651) at Berlin.

In November 1659 the burgomaster of Amsterdam contracted with Flinck for 12 canvases to represent four heroic figures of David and Samson and Manius Curius Dentatus and Horatius Cocles, and scenes from the Batavians and Romans. Flinck was unable to finish more than the sketches. After his death Rembrandt was asked to fill one of the commissions, and produced his last great history picture, the Conspriracy of Claudius Civilis, which the authorities rejected.

In the same year he received a flattering acknowledgment from the town council of Cleves and the completion of a picture of Solomon which was a counterpart of the composition at Amsterdam. This and other pictures and portraits, such as those of Friedrich Wilhelm and John Maurice, and the allegory of Louisa of Orange attended by Victory and Fame and other figures at the cradle of the first-born son of the elector, have disappeared.[citation needed] Of several pictures which were painted for the Great Elector, none are preserved except the Expulsion of Hagar in the Berlin museum.

At the request of Frederic Mistral, a sculptor executed the head of his first dog "Pan Perdu" on his tomb in the Maillane cemetery.

And here is the story of “Pan Perdu” and “Pan Panet”

An evening of October 1891 (Frederic Mistral is 60 years old), our Poet from Provence goes home! On the road a little dog with black short fur emerges, feasts him, then makes a circus number: triple perilous jumps, double salto…! Frederic Mistral chases him with his stick and goes on his way! But the dog follows him to his farmhouse! The wife of Frederic Mistral and the maid give the dog a meal! The next day Frederic Mistral sees the dog in front of the door. It makes its circus again! So Frederic Mistral finally adopted it! He calls it "Pan Perdu" ("Lost Bread") and a beautiful, very nice friendship born between the two! Wherever Frederic Mistral goes, the dog follows him!

One day, Frederic Mistral said to the dog, "My dog, you're starting to get old, you should think of your offspring!" The dog goes away and comes back 10 minutes later with a dog and puppies! It had already thought of its offspring! But Frederic Mistral has long wondered whether the dog did not understand him.

Frederic Mistral adopts one of the puppies that he will call "Pan-Panet" ("Little Bread")! Then he adopted one of the sons of Pan-Panet whom he called "Jean Toutouro"!

A few years before his death, Frederic Mistral traced the plans of his tomb-mausoleum! More beautiful faces of young girls from Provence, the Poet demanded that a sculptor grave on the stone the effigy of Pan-Perdu!

But listen to the most surprising! The author who tells this story (in 1995) tells that it is in the United States in the city of Buffalo Bill! He visits the museum of the famous hunter! And there, he finds that Buffalo Bill and Frederic Mistral are similar to each other! What is true and that I had noticed a long time ago! The author, Pierre Roumel, asks questions about this circus dog, Pan Perdu! He does research in Provence and learns that Buffalo Bill came to Provence in 1881 with a circus!

The Baron Folco de Baroncelli who lived in the Camargue in southern France, invited Buffalo Bill to his ranch! And there, Buffalo Bill, said he lost his circus dog in Tarascon city!

Pan Perdu has crossed kms across fields, on the roads to attach itself to the look-alike of its lost master!

Isn't it incredible!

The first Ida Rentoul Outhwaite Children's Library Stained Glass Window, "Regatta" is taken from the story "Serana: The Bush Fairy", from the book "Fairyland", published by A. and C. Black in London in 1926. The original illustration was executed in pen and ink, so it is brought to colourful life in the pink, brown, green and golden yellow stained glass panel. Juvenile faeries, both male and female, naughty pixies and frogs ride down a river in everything from canoes to improvised vessels made of nutshells, cups and lily pads with paper sails. One of two water police frogs in the bottom right of the panel hooks a naughty pixie as he sails by with his silver topped cane, making the whole scene quite a chaotic one. The faerie girls all wear contemporary 1920s sun dresses, and have either fashionable Marcelle Wave or bobbed hairstyles, which is contrary to the little boy faerie, who seems to have what we may consider to be more traditional faerie garb. The faerie girl at the top right of the melee even has a 1920s stub handled parasol to shade her! The canoe rowed by a frog with two girl faeries in it also has a connection to 1920s modernity, with a Chinese lantern hanging from the stern of the boat: a common site on punts at the time.

In 1923 with Fitzroy still very much a working class area of Melbourne with pockets of poverty, the parish of St. Mark the Evangelist decided to address the need of the poor in the inner Melbourne suburb. Architects Gawler and Drummond were commissioned to design a two storey red brick Social Settlement Building. It was opened in 1926 by the Vicar of St. Mark the Evangelist, the Reverend Robert G. Nichols (known affectionately amongst the parish as Brother Bill). Known today as the Community Centre, the St. Mark the Evangelist Social Settlements Building looks out onto George Street and also across the St. Mark the Evangelist's forecourt. When it opened, the Social Settlement Building's facilities included a gymnasium, club rooms and children's library.

Opened in 1926, the children's library, which was situated in the corner room of the Social Settlements Building, is believed to be the first known free dedicated children's library in Victoria. The library was given to the children of Fitzroy by Mrs. T. Hackett, in memory of her late husband. The library contained over 3,000 books, as well as children's magazines and even comics. The Social Settlements Building was only erected because Brother Bill organised the commitment of £1,000.00 each from various wealthy businessmen and philanthropists around Melbourne. Mrs Hackett's contribution was the library of £1,000.00 worth of books. Another internationally famous resident of the neighbourhood, Australian children's book illustrator Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, then at the zenith of her career, was engaged by the relentless Brother Bill to create something for the library. Ida donated four stained glass windows each with a hand-painted panel executed by her, based upon illustrations from her books, most notably "Elves and Fairies" which was published to great acclaim in Australia and sold internationally in 1916 and "Fairyland" which had been published earlier that year. These four hand painted stained glass windows were equated to the value of £1,000.00, but are priceless today, as they are the only public works of Ida Rentoul Outhwaite ever commissioned that have been executed in this medium. Ida Rentoul Outhwaite was only ever commissioned to create one other public work; a series of four panels executed in watercolour with pencil underdrawing in 1910 for the Prince Henry Hospital's children's wards in Melbourne (now demolished). Of her panels, only two are believed still to be in existence, buried within the hospital archives. The four Ida Rentoul Outhwaite stained glass windows each depict faeries, pixies, Australian native animals and children, taken from her book illustrations. At the time of photographing, the windows - three overlooking George Street and one St. Mark the Evangelist's forecourt - were located in the community lounge, which served as a drop-in lounge and kitchen for Fitzroy's homeless and marginalised citizens. Today the space has been re-purposed as offices for the Anglicare staff who run the St. Mark's Community Centre, possibly as a way to protect the precious windows from coming to any harm. The only down-side to this is that they are not as easily accessed or viewed as when I photographed them, making my original visit to St. Mark the Evangalist in 2009 extremely fortuitous.

The Ida Rentoul Outhwaite Children's Library Stained Glass Windows are one of Australia's greatest hidden treasures, which seems apt when you consider that the pixies and faeries they depict are also often in hiding when we read about them in children's books and the faerie tales of our childhood. The fact that they are hidden, because it is necessary to enter a little-known and undistinguished building in order to see them, ensures their protection and survival. The windows are unique, not only because they are the only stained glass windows designed and hand-painted by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, but because they are the earliest and only examples of stained glass art in Australia that deals with theme of childhood.

I am indebted to Peter Bourke who ran the St. Mark's Community Centre in 2009 for giving me the privilege of seeing these beautiful and rare windows created by one of my favourite children's book artists on a hot November afternoon, without me having made prior arrangements. I also appreciate him allowing me the opportunity to photograph them in great detail. I will always be grateful to him for such a wonderful and moving experience.

Ida Sherbourne Outhwaite (1888 - 1960) was an Australian children's book illustrator. She was born on the 9th of June 1888 in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton. She was the daughter of the of Presbyterian Reverend John Laurence Rentoul and his wife Annie Isobel. Her family was both literary and artistic, and as such, gifted Ida was encouraged from an early age to embrace her talent of drawing. Her elder sister, Annie Rattray Rentoul (1882 - 1978), was likewise encouraged to write, and both would later form a successful partnership. In 1903 six fairy stories written by Annie and illustrated by Ida were published in the ladies' journal "New Idea". The following year the Rentoul sisters collaborated on a book called "Mollie's Bunyip" which was received with instant success because it combined the idea of European faeries, witches and elves and the Australian bush. "Mollie's Staircase" followed in 1906. In 1908 the Rentoul sisters published their first substantial story book, "The Lady of the Blue Beads". On 9 December 1909 Ida married Arthur Grenbry Outhwaite (1875-1938), manager of the Perpetual Executors and Trustees Association of Australia Ltd. (Annie remained unmarried her entire life). After her marriage, Ida was known as Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, but did not publish anything substantial as she established her family and household until part way through the Great War. In 1916 she brought out her first coloured work; "Elves and Fairies", a de luxe edition produced entirely in Australia by Thomas Lothian. The success of the book, with its delicate watercolour plates, was due both to Ida's artistic talent and to the business acumen of her husband, who provided a £400.00 subsidy to ensure a high-quality production and consigned royalties to the Red Cross, thereby encouraging vice-regal patronage. "Elves and Fairies" is still her best known and loved work. Encouraged by her latest success, Ida travelled to Europe after hostilities ended and in 1920 exhibited in Paris and London. The critics compared her to other artists of the golden years of children's illustration such as Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, thus sealing her international success. She signed a contract with British book publishers A. & C. Black who published five books for her over the next decade, including "The Enchanted Forest" (1921), with text by her husband, and, probably the most popular of all the Rentoul sisters' collaborations, "The Little Green Road to Fairyland" (1922). "The Fairyland of Ida Rentoul Outhwaite" (1926), another sumptuous volume, with text by her husband and sister, was less successful. A. & C. Black also produced a number of postcard series using her illustrations from "Elves and Fairies" as well as her other books published by them. In 1930 the last of her books published by A. & C. Black was released, but already times were changing, and the interest in Ida's work was rapidly fading. Angus & Robertson brought out two more books in 1933 and 1935 but they received relatively little attention. Her last two exhibitions, which between 1916 and 1928 were almost annual events, were held in 1933. The Second World War changed the world, and Ida and Annie's work was relegated to a bygone era, shunned and forgotten. Ida suffered the loss of both of her sons during the war, and she spent her last years sharing a flat in Caulfield with her sister, where, survived by her two daughters, she died on 25 June 1960. She did not live to see the resurgence of interest in her work some twenty-five years later, when in 1985, her picture of "The Little Witch" from "Elves and Fairies" was published on an Australian stamp, opening the fairy world of Ida Rentoul Outhwaite to a whole new generation of children and adults alike.

Description: 3D red cyan anaglyph of David Herold (1842 - 1865) Lincoln conspirator who accompanied John Wilkes Booth on his escape through southern Maryland into Virginia. After his capture he was put on trial and executed by hanging on July 7, 1865; he was 23 years old.

Notes: A brief excerpt from Wikipedia:

"......Herold and a group of co-conspirators had originally plotted to kidnap Lincoln, but later decided to kill him, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William H. Seward in a bid to help the Confederacy's cause.

On the night of April 14, 1865, Herold guided Lewis Powell to Seward's house. Inside, Powell attempted to kill Seward, severely wounding him and other members of his household. The ensuing commotion frightened Herold and he rode off, leaving Powell to fend for himself. He then met with Booth outside of Washington, D.C., and they proceeded to Surrattsville, Maryland (now Clinton, Maryland) where they picked up weapons that Mary Surratt had left earlier for them at her property...."

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Anaglyph Notes: Created from NARA 111-B-1161, multi-lens 8-image glass plate negative. Unfortunately, the NARA file is relatively low-res; I've sharpened and upscaled it, but it lacks the fine detail which would be present in the original glass plate. This is a new version with increased depth over the one I posted a few years ago.

Link to NARA 111-B-1161: catalog.archives.gov/id/525370

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Red/Cyan (not red/blue) glasses of the proper density must be used to view 3D effect without ghosting. Anaglyph prepared using red cyan glasses from The Center For Civil War Photography / American Battlefield Trust. CCWP Link: www.civilwarphotography.org/