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Klinkicht, Gerhard, * 1915, † 14.03.2000 Bavaria, Wehrmacht Captain. A commemorative plaque on St. Stephen's Cathedral (side of the gate Singertor) recalls that in April 1945 Klinkicht refused to execute the order to bombard the cathedral.

 

Klinkicht, Gerhard, * 1915, † 14.03.2000 Bayern, Wehrmachtshauptmann. Eine Gedenktafel am Stephansdom (Seite des Singertors) hält in Erinnerung, dass sich Klinkicht im April 1945 geweigert hatte, den Befehl zur Beschießung des Doms auszuführen.

 

Fire in St. Stephen's Cathedral: eyewitnesses cried in the face of devastation.

Despite great need after the war, the landmark of Austria was rebuilt within seven years.

04th April 2015

What happened in the heart of Vienna 70 years ago brought tears to many horrified residents. On 12 April 1945, the Pummerin, the largest bell of St. Stephen's Cathedral, fell as a result of a roof fire in the tower hall and broke to pieces. The following day, a collapsing retaining wall pierced through the vault of the southern side choir, the penetrating the cathedral fire destroyed the choir stalls and choir organ, the Imperial oratory and the rood screen cross. St. Stephen's Cathedral offered a pitiful image of senseless destruction, almost at the end of that terrible time when the Viennese asked after each bombing anxiously: "Is Steffl still standing?"

100 grenades for the cathedral

Already on April 10, the cathedral was to be razed to the ground. In retaliation for hoisting a white flag on St. Stephen's Cathedral, the dome must be reduced to rubble and ash with a fiery blast of a hundred shells. Such was the insane command of the commander of an SS Artillery Division in the already lost battle for Vienna against the Red Army.

The Wehrmacht Captain Gerhard Klinkicht, from Celle near Hanover, read the written order to his soldiers and tore the note in front of them with the words: "No, this order will not be executed."

What the SS failed to do, settled looters the day after. The most important witness of the events from April 11 to 13, became Domkurat (cathedral curate) Lothar Kodeischka (1905-1994), who, as the sacristan director of St. Stephen, was practically on the spot throughout these days. When Waffen-SS and Red Army confronted each other on the Danube Canal on April 11, according to Kodeischka a report had appeared that SS units were making a counter-attack over the Augarten Bridge. Parts of the Soviet artillery were then withdrawn from Saint Stephen's square. For hours, the central area of ​​the city center was without occupying forces. This was helped by gangs of raiders who set fire to the afflicted shops.

As a stone witness to the imperishable, the cathedral had defied all adversity for over 800 years, survived the conflagrations, siege of the Turks and the French wars, but in the last weeks of the Second World War St. Stephen was no longer spared the rage of annihilation. Contemporary witness Karl Strobl in those days observed "an old Viennese lady who wept over the burning cathedral".

The stunned spectators of destruction were joined, according to press reports, by a man in baggy trousers and a shabby hat, who incidentally remarked, "Well, we'll just have to rebuild him (the dome)." It was Cardinal Theodor Innitzer. Only a few weeks later, on May 15, 1945, the Viennese archbishop proclaimed to the faithful of his diocese: "Helping our cathedral, St. Stephen's Cathedral, to regain its original beauty is an affair of the heart of all Catholics, a duty of honor for all."

 

April 1945

In April 1945, not only St. Stephen's Cathedral burned. We did some research for you this month.

April 6: The tallest wooden structure of all time, the 190 meter high wooden tower (short-wave transmitter) of the transmitter Mühlacker, is blown up by the SS.

April 12: Following the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman is sworn in as the 33rd US President.

April 13: Vienna Operation: Soviet troops conquer Vienna.

April 25: Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer, member of the ABBA group, is born.

April 27: The provisional government Renner proclaims the Austrian declaration of independence.

April 30: The Red Army hoists the Soviet flag on the Reichstag building. Adolf Hitler, the dictator of the Third Reich, commits suicide with Eva Braun.

 

Brand im Stephansdom: Augenzeugen weinten angesichts der Verwüstung.

Trotz großer Not nach dem Krieg wurde das Wahrzeichen Österreichs binnen sieben Jahren wieder aufgebaut.

04. April 2015

Was vor 70 Jahren im Herzen Wiens passierte, trieb vielen entsetzten Bewohnern die Tränen in die Augen. Am 12. April 1945 stürzte die Pummerin, die größte Glocke des Stephansdoms, als Folge eines Dachbrandes in die Turmhalle herab und zerbrach. Tags darauf durchschlug eine einbrechende Stützmauer das Gewölbe des südlichen Seitenchors, das in den Dom eindringende Feuer zerstörte Chorgestühl und Chororgel, Kaiseroratorium und Lettnerkreuz. Der Stephansdom bot ein erbarmungswürdiges Bild sinnloser Zerstörung, und das fast am Ende jener Schreckenszeit, in der die Wiener nach jedem Bombenangriff bang fragten: "Steht der Steffl noch?"

100 Granaten für den Dom

Bereits am 10. April sollte der Dom dem Erdboden gleichgemacht werden. Als Vergeltung für das Hissen einer weißen Fahne auf dem Stephansdom ist der Dom mit einem Feuerschlag von 100 Granaten in Schutt und Asche zu legen. So lautete der wahnwitzige Befehl des Kommandanten einer SS-Artillerieabteilung im schon verlorenen Kampf um Wien gegen die Rote Armee.

Der aus Celle bei Hannover stammende Wehrmachtshauptmann Gerhard Klinkicht las die schriftlich übermittelte Anordnung seinen Soldaten vor und zerriss den Zettel vor aller Augen mit den Worten: "Nein, dieser Befehl wird nicht ausgeführt."

Was der SS nicht gelang, besorgten einen Tag später Plünderer: Zum wichtigsten Zeugen der Geschehnisse vom 11. bis 13. April wurde Domkurat Lothar Kodeischka (1905–1994), der als Sakristeidirektor von St. Stephan in diesen Tagen praktisch durchgehend an Ort und Stelle war. Als am 11. April Waffen-SS und Rote Armee einander am Donaukanal gegenüberstanden, war laut Kodeischka die Nachricht aufgetaucht, SS-Einheiten würden einen Gegenstoß über die Augartenbrücke unternehmen. Teile der sowjetischen Artillerie wurden daraufhin vom Stephansplatz abgezogen. Für Stunden sei der zentrale Bereich der Innenstadt ohne Besatzung gewesen. Dies nützten Banden von Plünderern, die Feuer in den heimgesuchten Geschäften legten.

Als steinerner Zeuge des Unvergänglichen hatte der Dom über 800 Jahre hinweg "allen Widrigkeiten getrotzt, hatte Feuersbrünste, Türkenbelagerungen und Franzosenkriege überstanden. Doch in den letzten Wochen des Zweiten Weltkrieges blieb auch St. Stephan nicht mehr verschont vor der Wut der Vernichtung. Zeitzeuge Karl Strobl beobachtete damals "eine alte Wienerin, die über den brennenden Dom weinte".

Zu den fassungslosen Betrachtern der Zerstörung gesellte sich laut Presseberichten ein Mann in ausgebeulten Hosen und mit abgeschabtem Hut, der so nebenbei bemerkte: "Na, wir werden ihn (den Dom) halt wieder aufbauen müssen." Es handelte sich um Kardinal Theodor Innitzer. Nur wenige Wochen danach, am 15. Mai 1945, ließ der Wiener Erzbischof an die Gläubigen seiner Diözese verlautbaren: "Unsere Kathedrale, den Stephansdom, wieder in seiner ursprünglichen Schönheit erstehen zu helfen, ist eine Herzenssache aller Katholiken, eine Ehrenpflicht aller."

 

April 1945

Im April 1945 brannte nicht nur der Stephansdom. Wir haben für Sie recherchiert wa noch in diesem Monat geschah.

6. April: Das höchste Holzbauwerk aller Zeiten, der 190 Meter hohe Holzsendeturm des Senders Mühlacker, wird von der SS gesprengt.

12. April: Nach dem Tod von Präsident Franklin D. Roosevelt wird Harry S. Truman als 33. Präsident der USA vereidigt.

13. April: Wiener Operation: Sowjetischen Truppen erobern Wien.

25. April: Björn Ulvaeus, schwedischer Sänger, Mitglied der Gruppe ABBA, kommt zur Welt.

27. April: Von der provisorischen Regierung Renner wird die österreichische Unabhängigkeitserklärung proklamiert.

30. April: Die Rote Armee hisst die sowjetische Fahne auf dem Reichstagsgebäude. Adolf Hitler, der Diktator des Dritten Reiches, begeht mit Eva Braun Selbstmord.

www.nachrichten.at/nachrichten/150jahre/ooenachrichten/Vo...

Tonight doctors informed us that they found a compatible kidney for my paternal granny, now they're executing the transplant.

She's waiting this moment for some years and in the meanwhile she started to do the dialysis.

I hope all will be ok, this will be a great Christmas present for her and all the family.

 

Dec. 20th, 2007

(111/365)

Costume executed by: Olgica Dojchinoska Momirovska

Hair and make up: Milena Kuzmanovska

Model: Miljana Atanasova

Photo and editing: Nikola Eftimov

 

Unlike the other images from this set that emerged as a result of visual research of old masters and dealt with other issues, in this case the starting point was a reconstructed costume and its presentation.

This morning, Thursday 2 February 2017, officers executed warrants at addresses across Miles Platting and Ancoats.

 

The warrants were executed as part of Operation Rudow a multi-agency operation targeting organised crime and the supply of drugs across Greater Manchester.

  

Chief Inspector Andy Cunliffe, of GMP’s City of Manchester team, said: "Drugs ruin lives and destroy communities. We will systematically root out and dismantle groups that seek to profit from flooding our streets with drugs.

  

"Today, we have made arrests after executing warrants across North Manchester.

  

"By sharing information with our partners, we are better equipped to tackle organised crime and make it impossible for them to profit from it.

  

"I'd like to thank the community who came forward with information that has proved vital in making this enforcement action a success.

 

“We still however, need people to come forward with information to prevent people from benefiting from the proceeds of crime at the demise of others. If you know about it, report it.

  

"Organised crime has no place on the streets of Greater Manchester and we will continue to work tirelessly to remove the scourge of criminal gangs."

  

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Twenty people have been arrested following the latest phase of an operation to tackle the sale of stolen metal in Greater Manchester.

 

Earlier today, Wednesday 22 May 2013, Greater Manchester Police and British Transport Police executed a number of warrants at scrap metal dealers across the area as part of an intelligence-led Operation Alloy day of action.

 

Raids were executed at scrapyards in Rochdale, Bury, north Manchester, Oldham, Bolton and Salford.

 

The initiative also saw officers search the home addresses of those arrested as well as a number of partner agencies assist in the search of recycling yards and the recovery of potentially stolen metal.

 

Superintendent Craig Thompson, who leads Greater Manchester Police's Operation Alloy team, said: "Since Operation Alloy was launched more than two years ago, we have made huge inroads into tackling metal theft.

 

"However, despite a sharp drop in incidents of metal theft, we know there is still a culture that exists among thieves who believe they can off-load stolen metal onto scrapyards.

 

"Any scrapyard dealer who knowingly accepts stolen goods or pays cash for metal is propagating this cycle of criminality, creating a market for thieves for prosper, and that is exactly why we have taken this action today. If a burglar knows he can sell stolen metal to a rogue dealer, it will entice them into committing offences that can cause real hardship to businesses and victims.

 

"For example, if a pensioner has her boiler stolen in winter they will be unable to heat their home which could put their life in danger. We also know of businesses that have been forced to shell out hundreds of thousands of pounds to pay for repairs as a direct result of metal thieves. The knock-on effect of that is to put people's jobs on the line as businesses struggle to fund those repairs, so the human cost of what these rogue dealers are doing should not be underestimated.

 

"It is important to stress that of the 70 scrapyards across Greater Manchester, the vast majority have worked hand-in-hand with police and are fully compliant with all the legislation. They have helped us to create a hostile environment that has made it very difficult for thieves to off-load stolen metal.

 

"What today is all about is targeting those rogue dealers who are suspected of lining their own pockets and making huge swathes of cash by knowingly selling stolen metal. In terms of officer numbers and the sheer scale of the investigation, this is the biggest operation ourselves and British Transport Police have run which shows our determination to tackling metal theft."

 

When Operation Alloy was originally launched in August 2011 the region was recording up to 900 incidents of metal theft per month, a number which has now been reduced to about 200 per month.

 

T/Chief Superintendent Pete Mason, BTP's North West Area Commander, said: "Today's warrants are the culmination of a year-long joint investigation into the trade in stolen metal across Greater Manchester.

 

"Metal theft is a serious issue which has a major impact on the lives of those living and working in Greater Manchester.

 

"Whether thieves target railway cable, power lines, electrical substations or lead from homes or business, the impact felt by communities is marked and causes not only disruption but also financial loss and potential risk of harm.

 

"Thankfully, during the past 12 months, there have been significant reductions in the number of thefts recorded - due, in part, to legislative change which has gone hand in hand with enforcement activity under Operation Alloy."

 

T/Chief Supt Mason added: "Unfortunately, despite this recent success, the issue has not gone away and some scrap metal recyclers are keeping the market for stolen metal alive by continuing to flout the law and purchase metal with a 'no questions asked' attitude.

 

"This has to stop and GMP and BTP, together with partner agencies across the region, will continue to work together to take action against both thieves and unscrupulous scrap metal dealers."

 

Steve Cox, future network manager for Electricity North West, the company which owns and maintains the regional power network, said: "We have been working closely with Greater Manchester Police and British Transport Police and today's successful day of action highlights our commitment to crack down on this very serious crime.

 

"Metal theft not only affects us, your network operator, but also communities and residents, who could be left without power in their homes.

 

"These thieves, who are breaking into our substations or stealing from our overhead lines, are putting themselves and others in great danger and it causes thousands of pounds worth of damage.

 

"We are investing a lot of money and resources into putting a stop to metal theft in our region once and for all, but we would still urge people to get in touch if they hear or see anything suspicious."

 

To find out more about Greater Manchester Police please visit our website.

www.gmp.police.uk

 

You should call 101, the new national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.

 

Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.

 

You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.

 

Big Crane is a superbly executed written statement from the past

In the undercover of darkness, officers from GMP’s Xcalibre task force executed a number of simultaneous warrants this morning (Wednesday 9 November 2022) – three in the Middleton area of Rochdale and one in Sheffield – and arrested four people on suspicion of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and possession of a firearm with the intent to endanger life.

 

The arrests come in response to the drive-by shooting that occurred on Quinney Crescent in Moss Side on Friday 29 July 2022, where a party was being held. A teenage girl sustained serious injuries from the shotgun blast and another girl was injured from what was believed to be shrapnel resulting from the firearms discharge.

 

Both attended hospital at the time and were subsequently discharged to recover at home.

 

Detectives are today renewing their appeal for witnesses to the incident and are urging anyone with any information on the shooting, or the vehicle of interest, as well as any mobile, CCTV, dashcam or doorbell footage to come forward and speak to GMP.

 

Officers will be out in the community of Moss Side today to offer reassurance and to be a point of contact for anyone who wants to talk.

 

Detective Superintendent David Meeney from the City of Manchester Division said: “This incident could have been far more serious. We do not believe that the two girls were the intended targets and were simply innocent bystanders, enjoying a party.

 

“This shows me that the people responsible are clearly dangerous as they have shown zero regard for who could have been injured that night. Guns have no place on the streets of Manchester and investigating these offences is a priority for GMP – to ensure we that we can bring the offenders to justice and protect the communities of Greater Manchester.

 

“Today’s arrests, led by the Xcalibre Task Force, shows how determined we are to bring those responsible for this callous attack to justice. I am appealing to anyone who was in the area of Moss Side on Friday 29 July 2022 between 10pm and 11pm, who may have seen a vehicle being driven erratically, to contact us.

 

“I am particularly interested in any sightings of a dark coloured SUV-type car and I am asking for anyone with any dashcam or doorbell footage that may have captured those responsible, either arriving or leaving the area, to please contact us. I have trained officers on-hand who can download and review any footage quickly.

 

“I am also appealing to anyone in the local community and those who live or work in the surrounding areas, who may have any information regarding the shooting to come forward. As well as approaching our officers who are out today, you can call 101 or use the Live Chat service on our website – www.gmp.police.uk.

 

Executed by the artist's wife, Lazarine Baudrion. (That's her profile on the image. )

Embroidery, wool yarn on canvas

About the great Hungarian artist, József Rippl-Rónai (1861-1927): geigervonmuller.com/hungarian-painters/jozsef-rippl-ronai/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3zsef_Rippl-R%C3%B3nai

Női fej virágokkal (1898)

Gyapjú, vászonhímzés, 60x60 cm

Felesége, Lazarine Baudrion kivitelezésében - az ő profilja látható a kárpiton.

mek.oszk.hu/02500/02571/html/eletrajz.htm</a

Twenty people have been arrested following the latest phase of an operation to tackle the sale of stolen metal in Greater Manchester.

 

Earlier today, Wednesday 22 May 2013, Greater Manchester Police and British Transport Police executed a number of warrants at scrap metal dealers across the area as part of an intelligence-led Operation Alloy day of action.

 

Raids were executed at scrapyards in Rochdale, Bury, north Manchester, Oldham, Bolton and Salford.

 

The initiative also saw officers search the home addresses of those arrested as well as a number of partner agencies assist in the search of recycling yards and the recovery of potentially stolen metal.

 

Superintendent Craig Thompson, who leads Greater Manchester Police's Operation Alloy team, said: "Since Operation Alloy was launched more than two years ago, we have made huge inroads into tackling metal theft.

 

"However, despite a sharp drop in incidents of metal theft, we know there is still a culture that exists among thieves who believe they can off-load stolen metal onto scrapyards.

 

"Any scrapyard dealer who knowingly accepts stolen goods or pays cash for metal is propagating this cycle of criminality, creating a market for thieves for prosper, and that is exactly why we have taken this action today. If a burglar knows he can sell stolen metal to a rogue dealer, it will entice them into committing offences that can cause real hardship to businesses and victims.

 

"For example, if a pensioner has her boiler stolen in winter they will be unable to heat their home which could put their life in danger. We also know of businesses that have been forced to shell out hundreds of thousands of pounds to pay for repairs as a direct result of metal thieves. The knock-on effect of that is to put people's jobs on the line as businesses struggle to fund those repairs, so the human cost of what these rogue dealers are doing should not be underestimated.

 

"It is important to stress that of the 70 scrapyards across Greater Manchester, the vast majority have worked hand-in-hand with police and are fully compliant with all the legislation. They have helped us to create a hostile environment that has made it very difficult for thieves to off-load stolen metal.

 

"What today is all about is targeting those rogue dealers who are suspected of lining their own pockets and making huge swathes of cash by knowingly selling stolen metal. In terms of officer numbers and the sheer scale of the investigation, this is the biggest operation ourselves and British Transport Police have run which shows our determination to tackling metal theft."

 

When Operation Alloy was originally launched in August 2011 the region was recording up to 900 incidents of metal theft per month, a number which has now been reduced to about 200 per month.

 

T/Chief Superintendent Pete Mason, BTP's North West Area Commander, said: "Today's warrants are the culmination of a year-long joint investigation into the trade in stolen metal across Greater Manchester.

 

"Metal theft is a serious issue which has a major impact on the lives of those living and working in Greater Manchester.

 

"Whether thieves target railway cable, power lines, electrical substations or lead from homes or business, the impact felt by communities is marked and causes not only disruption but also financial loss and potential risk of harm.

 

"Thankfully, during the past 12 months, there have been significant reductions in the number of thefts recorded - due, in part, to legislative change which has gone hand in hand with enforcement activity under Operation Alloy."

 

T/Chief Supt Mason added: "Unfortunately, despite this recent success, the issue has not gone away and some scrap metal recyclers are keeping the market for stolen metal alive by continuing to flout the law and purchase metal with a 'no questions asked' attitude.

 

"This has to stop and GMP and BTP, together with partner agencies across the region, will continue to work together to take action against both thieves and unscrupulous scrap metal dealers."

 

Steve Cox, future network manager for Electricity North West, the company which owns and maintains the regional power network, said: "We have been working closely with Greater Manchester Police and British Transport Police and today's successful day of action highlights our commitment to crack down on this very serious crime.

 

"Metal theft not only affects us, your network operator, but also communities and residents, who could be left without power in their homes.

 

"These thieves, who are breaking into our substations or stealing from our overhead lines, are putting themselves and others in great danger and it causes thousands of pounds worth of damage.

 

"We are investing a lot of money and resources into putting a stop to metal theft in our region once and for all, but we would still urge people to get in touch if they hear or see anything suspicious."

 

To find out more about Greater Manchester Police please visit our website.

www.gmp.police.uk

 

You should call 101, the new national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.

 

Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.

 

You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.

 

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."

 

Officers execute daybreak raids as part of a firearms investigation in Cheetham Hill.

 

This morning, Thursday 21 May, officers from the North Manchester division carried out raids at two addresses in Cheetham Hill as part of an ongoing investigation into a firearms discharge, which took place last week on Monday 11 May 2020.

 

In the early hours of that morning, at around 1.15am, police were called to reports of between two and four gunshot sounds on Galsworthy Avenue.

 

No injuries were reported but some damage was caused to a vehicle on the street.

 

During today's raids officers seized a quantity of cash as part of the direct action. One man was arrested.

 

Speaking after the raids, Superintendent Rebecca Boyce, of GMPs North Manchester district, said: “First and foremost I sincerely hope that this morning’s activity shows to the people of Cheetham Hill just how seriously we continue to take incidents of this nature. We will explore every line of enquiry available to us and leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of justice.

 

“Guns and violence have no place on our streets; and anyone who is harbouring weapons of this nature or taking part in this kind of criminal activity should know that we do not take these incidents lightly. Anyone who brandishes a weapon within our communities and ultimately puts the lives of others at risk can expect to be investigated by us.

 

“As part of our ongoing commitment to protecting people and making the streets of Cheetham Hill a safer place, we have been working closely with partners, including Manchester City Council –both Adult and Children’s Services and housing providers. This prevention work is absolutely vital if we are to support those most vulnerable in our society and put a stop to this type of offending. A huge priority for us is discouraging people from taking this path and turning to this kind of criminality and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our partners who have continued to support us in this.

 

“We have been always very clear that we cannot do this alone and would like to continue to appeal to the public to help us. Often, answers lie within communities and this type of criminal activity can only be halted completely with the support of those with information. If people would prefer to speak anonymously, they can do so by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers.”

 

Anyone with any information should contact police on 0161 856 3924 quoting incident number 124 of 11/05/2020. Details can also be anonymously passed to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

The Ithaca War Memorial and Park was created 1922 by a committee on behalf of Ithaca citizens. The monument was designed and executed by Brisbane monumental masonry firm A H Thurlow, under the supervision of R Black, the Ithaca town engineer. The stone memorial honours the 130 local men who died on active service during the First World War. The park was laid out by Ithaca Town Council landscape gardener, Alexander Jolly.

 

The park is situated on a parcel of land sandwiched between Enoggera and Latrobe Terraces on Cooks Hill. It was, and remains crown land designated for road purposes, but by 1922 the cutting along Latrobe Terrace negated future road use. The road survives only in the asphalted walkway beside the park, linking Enoggera and Latrobe Terraces.

 

In the first decade of the 20th century, Ithaca experienced a housing and population boom largely attributable to the expansion of the tramways through the area. Subsequently, in the 1910s the Ithaca Town Council embarked on a programme of civic improvements which included the formation and metalling of roads; tree planting; and the establishment of numerous embankment gardens, small reserves and street gardens.

 

Because of the hilly terrain, many of the new streets were divided, leaving embankments which the Ithaca Town Council considered were cheaper to plant and beautify than to cut down. This innovation in Brisbane civic landscaping led to the Council receiving numerous requests from other councils, interstate as well as Queensland, for photographs and plans of Ithaca street improvements. The War Memorial Park is one of the few areas from this period to have survived. Only small sections of the Waterworks Road rockeries remain, and most of the Cook's Hill garden was destroyed when the Paddington Tramways Substation was erected in 1929-30.

 

The Ithaca War Memorial was unveiled on 25 February 1922 by Sir Matthew Nathan, Governor of Queensland. The final cost totaling 650 was raised by the local community with fund raising beginning by September 1920.

 

Australia, and Queensland in particular, had few civic monuments before the First World War. The memorials erected in its wake became our first national monuments, recording the devastating impact of the war on a young nation. Australia lost 60 000 from a population of about 4 million, representing one in five of those who served. No previous or subsequent war has made such an impact on the nation.

 

Even before the end of the war, memorials became a spontaneous and highly visible expression of national grief. To those who erected them, they were as sacred as grave sites, substitute graves for the Australians whose bodies lay in battlefield cemeteries in Europe and the Middle East. British policy decreed that the Empire war dead were to be buried where they fell. The word 'cenotaph', commonly applied to war memorials at the time, literally means 'empty tomb'.

 

Australian war memorials are distinctive in that they commemorate not only the dead. Australians were proud that their first great national army, unlike other belligerent armies, was composed entirely of volunteers, men worthy of honour whether or not they paid the supreme sacrifice. Many memorials honour all who served from a locality, not just the dead, providing valuable evidence of community involvement in the war. Such evidence is not readily obtainable from military records, or from state or national listings, where names are categorised alphabetically or by military unit.

 

Australian war memorials are also valuable evidence of imperial and national loyalties, at the time, not seen as conflicting; the skills of local stonemasons, metalworkers and architects; and of popular taste. In Queensland, the soldier statue was the popular choice of memorial, whereas the obelisk predominated in the southern states, possibly a reflection of Queensland's larger working-class population and a lesser involvement of architects.

 

Many of the First World War monuments have been updated to record local involvement in later conflicts, and some have fallen victim to unsympathetic re-location and repair.

 

There were many different types of war memorials erected in Queensland, however, clock towers were comparatively rare. The memorial at Ithaca is the earliest of this type of memorial, and is the only one of its type in Brisbane. The clock was manufactured by the well-known Synchronome Electric Company of Brisbane, initially driven by a master clock in the adjacent fire station.

 

At the time of unveiling the hill top on which the memorial is located was bare, permitting the memorial to be a dominant landmark. Now that trees have become established, the landmark qualities of the memorial itself have diminished somewhat. However, the setting and location still forms a landmark within the streetscape.

 

The landscaping of the park was carried out by Alexander Jolly, Ithaca Town Council landscape gardener (and father of the first Mayor of Greater Brisbane, William Jolly). Son of a Scottish farmer, and a horticultural enthusiast, Jolly had arrived in Brisbane in 1879, aged 22 years. He was head gardener on Alexander Stewart's Glen Lyon estate at Ashgrove for at least seven years before he went to work for the Ithaca Town Council.

 

Jolly was a self-educated man, whose lifetime of gardening experience transformed the Ithaca townscape in the period 1915-25. Other landscaping works by Jolly included the rockeries along Musgrave and Waterworks Roads and the landscaping of Cook's Hill. After his death in 1925, the memorial park was renamed the Alexander Jolly Park, "in memory of one of the most esteemed men in the district", and as a "unique tribute . . . to the pick and shovel".

 

The Alexander Jolly Park, now known as Ithaca Memorial Park, has been maintained by the Brisbane City Council since 1925.

 

Source: Queensland Heritage Register.

Maido is absolutely amazing. The Nikkei Japanese Peruvian cuisine is executed perfectly, combining the best of both worlds. I know there are a lot of skeptics, but tasting it in person is the best test. It's the restaurant we miss the most in Peru. Would rather spend more time and money here.

 

"Nikkei Experience

 

Life is movement. Nothing is static or absolute. No one is. We are in a state of constant flux, just like the Earth, the tides, bacteria, light, the blood in our bodies, colors, seeds. Like family trees, cuisines are constantly being redefined, their identities enriched by an intense intercultural exchange which has formed the basis of all civilization ever since humans shared their first sounds, products, ideas, and customs. Fusion cuisine is just that: cooking, an inclusive word that perfectly encompasses it all. The fireplace is where bloodlines merge, where people come to sing, individual and group histories are forged, life gestates. The fireplace is where dialogue is fostered, the elements meet, opposites attract. Thus was born Peruvian Nikkei cuisine: from a complex history called Peru; and another, equally complex, far-off and foreign history called Japan that merged to live in harmony and create the third reality: Nikkei Cuisine.

 

Welcome to our world." - from Maido's website

 

Maido, Calle San Martin 399, Miraflores 15074, Peru

   

Death of Captain Cook was executed by George Carter in 1783. George Carter, an English historian and painter, created at least four depictions of the death of Captain James Cook within a few years of its occurence. This painting dramatically shows the event at Ka'awaloa near Kealakekua Bay, in 1779. At the time of his demise, Cook was already seen as a hero in his native England for his lengthy explorations of the Pacific Ocean. Pictures like this one, in which the doomed Cook is the center of attention amidst a crowd of threatening Hawaiian men, were widely reprinted and served to solidy his legendary status.

 

The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawai'i State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, located in the historic Kalihi district, is the largest museum in Hawai'i and home to the world's largest collection of Polynesian cultural and scientific artifact. The museum was founded in 1889 by Charles Reed Bishop, in honor of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the last legal heir of the Kamehameha Dynasty. The museum was established to house the collection of Hawaiian artifacts and royal family heirlooms of the Princess, but has since expanded to include millions of artifacts, documents and photographs. Bishop built the Hawaiian Hall and Polynesian Hall, to the Richardsonian Romanesque design of architect William F. Smith, on the grounds of the original Kamehameha School for Boys in 1898. The Museum and School shared the Kapa-lama campus until 1940 when a new larger school complex was opened nearby, and the museum expanded.

No correspondence.

 

In the Austro-Hungarian Army, rumours were abound of atrocities committed by civilians and civilian irregulars on soldiers: mutilations of the wounded and attacks from ambush by civilians, including women. In turn, the Austro-Hungarians retaliated in much the same fashion.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mata_Hari

Dancer, courtesan and alleged spy Mata Hari is executed for espionage by a French firing squad at Vincennes outside of Paris.

She first came to Paris in 1905 and found fame as a performer of Asian-inspired dances. She soon began touring all over Europe, telling the story of how she was born in a sacred Indian temple and taught ancient dances by a priestess who gave her the name Mata Hari, meaning “eye of the day” in Malay. In reality, Mata Hari was born in a small town in northern Holland in 1876, and her real name was Margaretha Geertruida Zelle. She acquired her superficial knowledge of Indian and Javanese dances when she lived for several years in Malaysia with her former husband, who was a Scot in the Dutch colonial army. Regardless of her authenticity, she packed dance halls and opera houses from Russia to France, mostly because her show consisted of her slowly stripping nude.

She became a famous courtesan, and with the outbreak of World War I her catalog of lovers began to include high-ranking military officers of various nationalities. In February 1917, French authorities arrested her for espionage and imprisoned her at St. Lazare Prison in Paris. In a military trial conducted in July, she was accused of revealing details of the Allies’ new weapon, the tank, resulting in the deaths of thousands of soldiers. She was convicted and sentenced to death, and on October 15 she refused a blindfold and was shot to death by a firing squad at Vincennes. She was driven from her cell in the Saint-Lazare prison to an old fort on the outskirts of Paris. It was just past 5:30 a.m. when she faced her firing squad: 12 French officers with their rifles at ease. Offered a white cloth to wear as a blindfold, Mata Hari refused, saying: “Must I wear that?”

PACIFIC OCEAN (June 16, 2023) - U.S. Marines with Battalion Landing Team 2/1, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, execute live-fire drills aboard the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6), in the Pacific Ocean, June 16, 2023. The live-fire training provided BLT 2/1 Marines the repetitions necessary to maintain their lethality while aboard the USS America. The 31st MEU is operating aboard ships of the America Amphibious Ready Group in the 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners and serve as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Christopher R. Lape) 230616-M-MJ391-092

 

** Interested in following U.S. Indo-Pacific Command? Engage and connect with us at www.facebook.com/indopacom | twitter.com/INDOPACOM | www.instagram.com/indopacom | www.flickr.com/photos/us-pacific-command; | www.youtube.com/user/USPacificCommand | www.pacom.mil/ **

"For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgement."

– John 5:26-29, which is part of today's Gospel at Mass.

 

Stained glass window from the chapel of St Albert's Priory in Oakland CA.

Yesterday (Wednesday 11 March 2020), officers from Greater Manchester Police and the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) executed a number of warrants at Great Ducie Street, Manchester.

 

Officers from GMP and the City of London Police - the national policing lead for fraud – worked alongside UK immigration, meaning a total of 100 officers and staff members were involved in the operation.

 

The search warrant, which developed from a previous operation that involved the sale and distribution of counterfeit items, saw thousands of labels, computer equipment and cash seized.

 

Detectives are currently exploring links between the counterfeit operation and Serious Organised Crime, helping to fund criminal activity beyond Greater Manchester.

 

15 people were arrested, after officers uncovered an estimated £7.5 million worth of branded clothing, shoes and perfume suspected to be counterfeit.

 

Chief Inspector Kirsten Buggy, of GMP’s North Manchester division, said: “Yesterday’s operation is one of the largest of its kind ever carried out in the area and has taken a meticulous amount of planning and preparation.

 

“I am thankful to colleagues from the City of London Police, who as the national policing lead for fraud, have worked in partnership with officers from GMP and helped bring about yesterday’s direct action. I am also grateful to those from UK Immigration for their help.

 

“Such partnerships are absolutely vital when tackling counterfeit operations, as they bring specialisms from across the country together in a bid to make an impactive and real difference. Steps such as yesterday are often only the start when it comes to investigating the scale of these operations and we will continue to work in conjunction with the City of London’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit to tackle this type of offending to its’ very core.

 

“It is important to recognise the far-reaching and serious impact of sophisticated and large scale counterfeit operations such as this one; and I would like to take this opportunity to remind members of the public of the repercussions of this kind of offending and the link to organised criminal activity. Please be under no illusion- this type of crime is not victimless.”

 

Police staff investigator Charlotte Beattie, of the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), said:

 

“The counterfeit goods business is a deceiving one and the key message to be take away from this operation, is that counterfeiting is not a victimless crime.

 

“An individual may think that when buying counterfeit goods they are only affecting a multi-million pound brand, and won’t matter, when in fact they are helping to fund organised criminal activity. Counterfeit goods also pose a health risk to individuals as they usually are not fit for purpose or have not gone through the legal health and safety checks.

 

“Working in partnership has ensured that today’s operation has been a success. We will continue to work with Greater Manchester Police and UK Immigration to tackle the scourge of the counterfeit goods problem.”

 

To find out more about Greater Manchester Police please visit our website. www.gmp.police.uk

 

You should call 101, the national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.

 

Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.

 

You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.

 

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

 

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.

 

The second Ida Rentoul Outhwaite Children's Library Stained Glass Window features the excerpt from a poem; "When the children go away, leaving earth's gray lonely places, God I know has room for play, in his gracious starry spaces". The hand-painted panel features three Australian native koalas in natty moss green sporting tweeds and red checks playing a round of golf (most fashionable in the 1920s) with three cheeky pixies as their caddies. One of the green tweed koalas smokes a pipe. The red check koala appears not only to have nearly hit one of his companion koalas with his club, but has sent his ball flying right into the nose of a pixie spectator. A rabbit, two laughing kookaburras and a goanna watch the scene with amusement; the kookaburras especially! Peeping from over the ridge, a Metroland 1920s clubhouse with a red tile roof, white walls and dormer windows can just be seen. Executed with a muted palate of mossy greens, reddish browns, pink and golden yellow, the colours of the Australian bush in summertime are truly captured in this pane. All the characters come from the book "Fairyland", published by A. and C. Black in London in 1926.

 

The third Ida Rentoul Outhwaite Children's Library Stained Glass Window features the excerpt from a poem; "While underneath in phantom shells, the fairy sailors go, and shining o'er the silent dells, the fairy beacons glow". It, and the painted panel above come from "Fairy Islands" from "Elves and Fairies" published by Thomas Lothian in Melbourne in 1910. The book illustration, much more Art Nouveau in influence than any of the others, is rich with night time blues. Yet the stained glass panel featuring six faeries riding down a river in nautilus shells beneath a silvery full moon, has highlights of pink and golden yellow. The girl faeries all wear Edwardian empire line dancing dresses, such as Isadora Duncan and Anna Pavlova wore, with belts of trailing yellow flowers. Whilst the water looks tranquil enough, the faeries are obviously moving swiftly down the river as their hair and dresses blow in the breeze, and the pink heath sprigs they carry all bend to the wind. The silhouettes of narrow gum trees stand against a full moon glimpsed between two steep banks.

 

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.

 

Cameras point downrange on the observation tower at Saylor Creek Range, part of the Mountain Home Air Force Base complex, where testing of the close air support capabilities of the F-35A at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, were conducted, Feb 16, 2016. Six operational test and evaluation F-35s and more than 85 Airmen of the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron, a tenant unit at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., travelled to Mountain Home AFB to conduct the first simulated deployment test of the F-35A, specifically to execute three key initial operational capability mission sets: suppression of enemy air defenses, close air support and air interdiction. (U.S. Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr.)

47694146 - bodybuilding, execute exercise with weight, in gym, horizontal panorama, collage of photo

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.

 

Quadrichromie exécutée par l'imprimerie des apprentis d'Auteuil parue dans L'illustration du livre français, Paris 1934

The Cupid and Psyche Statue, Eros en Psyche Sculpture, Amor and Psyche by Antonio Canova is meticulously crafted in cold cast bronze, the mixture of bronze powder and cold cast resin. These statues etc. can be purchased at thelastenchantment.com if you don't see what you want send them an email.

 

The upward ranged wings of Amor emphasize the divine, about to embrace mortal Psyche. The fulfillment of the love between the two is tangibly near. This group was executed in the period between the two versions of the Theseus myth. This sculpture elicited violent applause from its admirers and the most disparaging remarks from its critics. Amor and Psyche are turned towards each other in sensual love, and Canova had succeeded in presenting a highly expressive treatment of the theme of love from Greek mythology.

 

Cupid and Psyche Mythology

 

A certain king had three daughters. (This seems to be one of the latest fables of the Greek mythology. It has not been found earlier than the close of the second century of the Christian era. It bears marks of the higher religious notions of that time.) The two elder were charming girls, but the beauty of the youngest was so wonderful that language is too poor to express its due praise. The fame of her beauty was so great that strangers from neighboring countries came in crowds to enjoy the sight, and looked on her with amazement, paying her that homage which is due only to Venus herself. In fact, Venus found her altars deserted, while men turned their devotion to this young virgin. As she passed along, the people sang her praises, and strewed her way with chaplets and flowers.

 

This perversion to a mortal of the homage due only to the immortal powers gave great offence to the real Venus. Shaking her ambrosial locks with indignation, she exclaimed, "Am I then to be eclipsed in my honors by a mortal girl? In vain then did that royal shepherd, whose judgment was approved by Jove himself, give me the palm of beauty over my illustrious rivals, Pallas and June. But she shall not so quietly usurp my honors. I will give her cause to repent of so unlawful a beauty."

 

Thereupon she calls her winged son Cupid, mischievous enough in his own nature, and rouses and provokes him yet more by her complaints. She points out Psyche to him, and says, "My dear son, punish that contumacious beauty; give thy mother a revenge as sweet as her injuries are great; infuse into the bosom of that haughty girl a passion for some low, mean, unworthy being, so that she may reap a mortification as great as her present exultation and triumph."

 

Cupid prepared to obey the commands of his mother. There are two fountains in Venus's garden, one of sweet waters, the other of bitter. Cupid filled two amber vases, one from each fountain, and suspending them from the top of his quiver, hastened to the chamber of Psyche, whom he found asleep. He shed a few drops from the bitter fountain over her lips, though the sight of her almost moved him to pity; then touched her side with the point of his arrow. At the touch she awoke, and opened eyes upon Cupid (himself invisible) which so startled him that in his confusion he wounded himself with his own arrow. Heedless of his wound his whole thought now was to repair the mischief he had done, and he poured the balmy drops of joy over all her silken ringlets.

 

Psyche, henceforth frowned upon by Venus, derived no benefit from all her charms. True, all eyes were cast eagerly upon her, and every mouth spoke her praises; but neither king, royal youth, nor plebeian presented himself to demand her in marriage. Her two elder sisters of moderate charms had now long been married to two royal princes; but Psyche, in her lonely apartment, deplored her solitude, sick of that beauty, which, while it procured abundance of flattery, had failed to awaken love.

 

Her parents, afraid that they had unwittingly incurred the anger of the gods, consulted the oracle of Apollo, and received this answer: "The virgin is destined for the bride of no mortal lover. Her future husband awaits her on the top of the mountain. He is a monster whom neither gods nor men can resist."

 

This dreadful decree of the oracle filled all the people with dismay, and her parents abandoned themselves to grief. But Psyche said, "Why, my dear parents, do you now lament me? You should rather have grieved when the people showered upon me undeserved honors, and with one voice called me a Venus. I now perceive that I am a victim to that name. I submit. Lead me to that rock to which my unhappy fate has destined me." Accordingly, all things being prepared, the royal maid took her place in the procession, which more resembled a funeral than a nuptial pomp, and with her parents, amid the lamentations of the people, ascended the mountain, on the summit of which they left her alone, and with sorrowful hearts returned home.

 

While Psyche stood on the ridge of the mountain, panting with fear and with eyes full of tears, the gentle Zephyr raised her from the earth and bore her with an easy motion into a flowery dale. By degrees her mind became composed, and she laid herself down on the grassy bank to sleep. When she awoke, refreshed with sleep, she looked round and beheld nearby a pleasant grove of tall and stately trees. She entered it, and in the midst discovered a fountain, sending forth clear and crystal waters, and hard by, a magnificent palace whose August front impressed the spectator that it was not the work of mortal hands, but the happy retreat of some god. Drawn by admiration and wonder, she approached the building and ventured to enter. Every object she met filled her with pleasure and amazement. Golden pillars supported the vaulted roof, and the walls were enriched with carvings and paintings representing beasts of the chase and rural scenes, adapted to delight the eye of the beholder. Proceeding onward she perceived that besides the apartments of state there were others, filled with all manner of treasures, and beautiful and precious productions of nature and art.

 

While her eyes were thus occupied, a voice addressed her, though she saw no one, uttering these words: "Sovereign lady, all that you see is yours. We whose voices you hear are your servants, and shall obey all your commands with our utmost care and diligence. Retire therefore to your chamber and repose on your bed of down, and when you see fit repair to the bath. Supper will await you in the adjoining alcove when it pleases you to take your seat there."

 

Psyche gave ear to the admonitions of her vocal attendants, and after repose and the refreshment of the bath, seated herself in the alcove, where a table immediately presented itself, without any visible aid from waiters or servants, and covered with the greatest delicacies of food and the most nectareous wines. Her ears too were feasted with music from invisible performers; of whom one sang, another played on the lute, and all closed in the wonderful harmony of a full chorus.

 

She had not yet seen her destined husband. He came only in the hours of darkness, and fled before the dawn of morning, but his accents were full of love, and inspired a like passion in her. She often begged him to stay and let her behold him, but he would not consent. On the contrary, he charged her to make no attempt to see him, for it was his pleasure, for the best of reasons, to keep concealed. "Why should you wish to behold me?" he said. "Have you any doubt of my love? Have you any wish ungratified? If you saw me, perhaps you would fear me, perhaps adore me, but all I ask of you is to love me. I would rather you would love me as an equal than adore me as a god."

 

This reasoning somewhat quieted Psyche for a time, and while the novelty lasted she felt quite happy. But at length the thought of her parents, left in ignorance of her fate, and of her sisters, precluded from sharing with her the delights of her situation, preyed on her mind and made her begin to feel her palace as but a splendid prison. When her husband came one night, she told him her distress, and at last drew from him an unwilling consent that her sisters should be brought to see her.

 

So calling Zephyr, she acquainted him with her husband's commands, and he, promptly obedient, soon brought them across the mountain down to their sister's valley. They embraced her and she returned their caresses. "Come," said Psyche, "enter with me my house and refresh yourselves with whatever your sister has to offer." Then taking their hands she led them into her golden palace, and committed them to the care of her numerous train of attendant voices, to refresh them in her baths and at her table, and to show them all her treasures. The view of these celestial delights caused envy to enter their bosoms, at seeing their young sister possessed of such state and splendor, so much exceeding their own.

 

They asked her numberless questions, among others what sort of a person her husband was. Psyche replied that he was a beautiful youth, who generally spent the daytime in hunting upon the mountains. The sisters, not satisfied with this reply, soon made her confess that she had never seen him. Then they proceeded to fill her bosom with dark suspicions. "Call to mind," they said, "the Pythian oracle that declared you destined to marry a direful and tremendous monster. The inhabitants of this valley say that your husband is a terrible and monstrous serpent, who nourishes you for a while with dainties that he may by and by devour you. Take our advice. Provide yourself with a lamp and a sharp knife; put them in concealment that your husband may not discover them, and when he is sound asleep, slip out of bed bring forth your lamp and see for yourself whether what they say is true or not. If it is, hesitate not to cut off the monster's head, and thereby recover your liberty."

 

Psyche resisted these persuasions as well as she could, but they did not fail to have their effect on her mind, and when her sisters were gone, their words and her own curiosity were too strong for her to resist. So she prepared her lamp and a sharp knife, and hid them out of sight of her husband. When he had fallen into his first sleep, she silently rose and uncovering her lamp beheld not a hideous monster, but the most beautiful and charming of the gods, with his golden ringlets wandering over his snowy neck and crimson cheek, with two dewy wings on his shoulders, whiter than snow, and with shining feathers like the tender blossoms of spring. As she leaned the lamp over to have a nearer view of his face a drop of burning oil fell on the shoulder of the god, startled with which he opened his eyes and fixed them full upon her; then, without saying one word, he spread his white wings and flew out of the window. Psyche, in vain endeavoring to follow him, fell from the window to the ground. Cupid, beholding her as she lay in the dust, stopped his flight for an instant and said, "O foolish Psyche, is it thus you repay my love? After having disobeyed my mother's commands and made you my wife, will you think me a monster and cut off my head? But go; return to your sisters, whose advice you seem to think preferable to mine. I inflict no other punishment on you than to leave you forever. Love cannot dwell with suspicion." So saying he fled away, leaving poor Psyche prostrate on the ground, filling the place with mournful lamentations.

 

When she had recovered some degree of composure she looked around her, but the palace and gardens had vanished, and she found herself in the open field not far from the city where her sisters dwelt. She repaired thither and told them the whole story of her misfortunes, at which, pretending to grieve, those spiteful creatures inwardly rejoiced; "for now," said they, "he will perhaps choose one of us." With this idea, without saying a word of her intentions, each of them rose early the next morning and ascended the mountain, and having reached the top, called upon Zephyr to receive her and bear her to his lord; then leaping up, and not being sustained by Zephyr, fell down the precipice and was dashed to pieces.

 

Psyche meanwhile wandered day and night, without food or repose, in search of her husband. Casting her eyes on a lofty mountain having on its brow a magnificent temple, she sighed and said to herself, "Perhaps my love, my lord, inhabits there," and directed her steps thither.

 

She had no sooner entered than she saw heaps of corn, some in loose ears and some in sheaves, with mingled ears of barley. Scattered about lay sickles and rakes, and all the instruments of harvest, without order, as if thrown carelessly out of the weary reapers' hands in the sultry hours of the day.

 

This unseemly confusion the pious Psyche put an end to, by separating and sorting every thing to its proper place and kind, believing that she ought to neglect none of the gods, but endeavor by her piety to engage them all in her behalf. The holy Ceres, whose temple it was, finding her so religiously employed, thus spoke to her: "O Psyche, truly worthy of our pity, though I cannot shield you from the frowns of Venus, yet I can teach you how best to allay her displeasure. Go then, voluntarily surrender yourself to your lady and sovereign, and try by modesty and submission to win her forgiveness; perhaps her favor will restore you the husband you have lost."

 

Psyche obeyed the commands of Ceres and took her way to the temple of Venus, endeavoring to fortify her mind and thinking of what she should say and how she should best propitiate the angry goddess, feeling that the issue was doubtful and perhaps fatal.

 

Venus received her with angry countenance. "Most undutiful and faithless of servants," said she, "do you at last remember that you really have a mistress? Or have you rather come to see your sick husband, yet suffering from the wound given him by his loving wife? You are so ill-favored and disagreeable that the only way you can merit your lover must be by dint of industry and diligence. I will make trial of your housewifery." Then she ordered Psyche to be led to the storehouse of her temple, where was laid up a great quantity of wheat, barley, millet, vetches, beans, and lentils prepared for food for her doves, and said, "Take and separate all these grains, putting all of the same kind in a parcel by themselves, and see that you get it done before evening." Then Venus departed and left her to her task.

 

But Psyche, in perfect consternation at the enormous work, sat stupid and silent, without moving a finger to the inextricable heap.

 

While she sat despairing, Cupid stirred up the little ant, a native of the fields, to take compassion on her. The leader of the ant-hill, followed by whole hosts of his six-legged subjects, approached the heap, and with the utmost diligence taking grain by grain, they separated the pile, sorting each kind to its parcel; and when it was all done, they vanished out of sight in a moment.

 

Venus at the approach of twilight returned from the banquet of the gods, breathing odors and crowned with roses. Seeing the task done she exclaimed, "This is no work of yours wicked one, but his, whom to your own and his misfortune you have enticed." So saying, she threw her a piece of black bread for her supper and went away.

 

Next morning Venus ordered Psyche to be called, and said to her, "Behold yonder grove which stretches along the margin of the water. There you will find sheep feeding without a shepherd, with golden-shining fleeces on their backs. Go, fetch me a sample of that precious wool gathered from every one of their fleeces.

 

Psyche obediently went to the river-side, prepared to do her best to execute the command. But the river-god inspired the reeds with harmonious murmurs, which seemed to say, "O maiden, severely tried, tempt not the dangerous flood, nor venture among the formidable rams on the other side, for as long as they are under the influence of the rising sun, they burn with a cruel rage to destroy mortals with their sharp horns or rude teeth. But when the noontide sun has driven the flock to the shade, and the serene spirit of the flood has lulled them to rest, you may then cross in safety, and you will find the woolly gold sticking to the bushes and the trunks of the trees."

 

Thus the compassionate river-god gave Psyche instructions how to accomplish her task, and by observing his directions she soon returned to Venus with her arms full of the golden fleece; but she received not the approbation of her implacable mistress, who said, "I know very well it is by none of your own doings that you have succeeded in this task, and I am not satisfied yet that you have any capacity to make yourself useful. But I have another task for you. Here, take this box, and go your way to the infernal shades, and give this box to Proserpine, and say, 'My mistress Venus desires you to send her a little of your beauty, for in tending her sick son she has lost come of her own.' Be not too long on your errand, for I must paint myself with it to appear at the circle of the gods and goddesses this evening."

 

Psyche was now satisfied that her destruction was at hand, being obliged to go with her own feet directly down to Erebus. Wherefore, to make no delay of what was not to be avoided, she goes to the top of a high tower to precipitate herself headlong, thus to descend the shortest way to the shades below. But a voice from the tower said to her, "Why, poor unlucky girl, dost thou design to put an end to thy days in so dreadful a manner? And what cowardice makes thee sink under this last danger, who hast been so miraculously supported in all thy former?" Then the voice told her how by a certain cave she might reach the realms of Pluto, and how to avoid all the dangers of the road, to pass by Cerberus, the three-headed dog, and prevail on Charon, the ferryman, to take her across the black river and bring her back again. But the voice added, "When Proserpine has given you the box, filled with her beauty, of all things this is chiefly to be observed by you, that you never once open or look into the box nor allow your curiosity to pry into the treasure of the beauty of the goddesses.

 

Psyche encouraged by this advice obeyed it in all things, and taking heed to her ways travelled safely to the kingdom of Pluto. She was admitted to the palace of Proserpine, and without accepting the delicate seat or delicious banquet that was offered her, but contented with coarse bread for her food, she delivered her message from Venus. Presently the box was returned to her, shut and filled with the precious commodity. Then she returned the way she came, and glad was she to come out once more into the light of day.

 

But having got so far successfully through her dangerous task a longing desire seized her to examine the contents of the box. "What," said she, "shall I, the carrier of this divine beauty, not take the least bit to put on my cheeks to appear to more advantage in the eyes of my beloved husband!:" So she carefully opened the box, but found nothing there of any beauty at all, but an infernal and truly Stygian sleep, which being thus set free from its prison, took possession of her, and she fell down in the midst of the road, a sleepy corpse without sense or motion.

 

But Cupid being now recovered from his wound, and not able longer to bear the absence of his beloved Psyche, slipping through the smallest crack of the window of his chamber which happened to be left open, flew to the spot where Psyche lay, and gathering up the sleep from her body closed it again in the box, and waked Psyche with a light touch of one of his arrows. "Again," said he, "hast thou almost perished by the same curiosity. But now perform exactly the task imposed on you by my mother, and I will take care of the rest."

 

Then Cupid, as swift as lightning penetrating the heights of heaven, presented himself before Jupiter with his supplication. Jupiter lent a favoring ear, and pleaded the cause of the lovers so earnestly with Venus that he won her consent. On this he sent Mercury to bring Psyche up to the heavenly assembly, and when she arrived, handing her a cup of ambrosia, he said, "Drink this, Psyche, and be immortal; nor shall Cupid ever break away from the knot in which he is tied, but these nuptials shall be perpetual."

 

Thus Psyche became at last united to Cupid, and in due time they had a daughter born to them whose name was Pleasure.

 

The fable of Cupid and Psyche is usually considered allegorical. The Greek name for a butterfly is Psyche, and the same word means the soul. There is no illustration of the immortality of the soul so striking and beautiful as the butterfly, bursting on brilliant wings from the tomb in which it has lain, after a dull, grovelling caterpillar existence, to flutter in the blaze of day and feed on the most fragrant and delicate productions of the spring. Psyche, then, is the human soul, which is purified by sufferings and misfortunes, and is thus prepared for the enjoyment of true and pure happiness.

 

In works of art Psyche is represented as a maiden with the wings of a butterfly, alone or with Cupid, in the different situations described in the allegory.

 

Milton alludes to the story of Cupid and Psyche in the conclusion of his Comus:--

 

"Celestial Cupid, her famed son, advanced, Holds his dear Psyche sweet entranced, After her wandering labors long, Till free consent the gods among Make her his eternal bride; And from her fair unspotted side Two blissful twins are to be born, Youth and Joy; so Jove hath sworn."

 

The allegory of the story of Cupid and Psyche is well presented in the beautiful lines of T. K. Hervey:--

 

"They wove bright fables in the days of old When reason borrowed fancy's painted wings; When truth's clear river flowed o'er sands of gold, And told in song its high and mystic things! And such the sweet and solemn tale of her The pilgrim-heart, to whom a dream was given. That led her through the world, Love's worshipper, To seek on earth for him whose home was heaven!

 

"In the full city, by the haunted fount, Through the dim grotto's tracery of spars, 'Mid the pine temples, on the moonlit mount, Where silence sits to listen to the stars; In the deep glade where dwells the brooding dove, The painted valley, and the scented air, She heard far echoes of the voice of Love, And found his footsteps' traces everywhere.

 

"But never more they met! Since doubts and fears, Those phantom-shapes that haunt and blight the earth, Had come 'twixt her, a child of sin and tears, And that bright spirit of immortal birth; Until her pining soul and weeping eyes Had learned to seek him only in the skies; Till wings unto the weary heart were given, And she became Love's angel bride in heaven!"

 

The story of Cupid and Psyche first appears in the works of Apuleius, a writer of the second century of our era. It is therefore of much more recent date than most of the legends of the Age of Fable. It is this that Keats alludes to in his Ode to Psyche.

 

"O latest born and loveliest vision far Of all Olympus' faded hierarchy! Fairer than Phoebe's sapphire-regioned star Or Vesper, amorous glow-worm of the sky; Fairer than these, though temple thou hast none, Nor altar heaped with flowers; Nor virgin-choir to make delicious moan Upon the midnight hours; No voice, no lute, no pipe, no incense sweet, >From chain-swung censer teeming; No shrine, no grove, no oracle, no heat Of Pale-mouthed prophet dreaming."

 

In Moore's Summer Fete, a fancy ball is described, in which one of the characters personated is Psyche.

 

"not in dark disguise to-night Hath our young heroine veiled her light; For see, she walks the earth, Love's own. His wedded bride, by holiest vow Pledged in Olympus, and made known To mortals by the type which now Hangs glittering on her snowy brow, That butterfly, mysterious trinket, Which means the soul (though few would think it), And sparkling thus on brow so white, Tells us we've Psyche here to-night."

 

46545163 - bodybuilding, execute exercise press with weight, in gym, collage of photo

Dawn raids saw 10 people arrested as part of a crackdown on the supply of drugs in the Bury area

 

This morning (Thursday 13 June 2019) a team of officers executed warrants at properties across 6 addresses in the Manchester, Oldham, Salford and Bury areas.

 

The warrants were part of Operation Ballerina – set up by GMP to target those believed to be involved in the supply of Class A drugs across the Bury area.

 

A large amount of Class A drugs and cash was recovered and 7 men and 3 women were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply and supplying Class A drugs and remain in custody

 

Superintendent Paul Walker, of GMP’s Bury district, said: “This was the second raid in as many weeks that specifically targeted the supply of drugs, and has now seen 18 people arrested. This morning was a huge success with a large amount of Class A drugs and cash recovered, along with several vehicles used in the commission of criminal offences.

 

“Our stance remains the same, we do not tolerate the supply of drugs, and we will continue to take action if there is any suspicion of offences being committed in Greater Manchester.

 

“Operation Ballerina is very much ongoing, and we are continuing to crack down on the supply of drugs across Bury and the wider region.

 

"Our most powerful tool in the fight against drugs is the information we receive from the community. If you suspect drugs are being used or cultivated in your area, we urge you to get in touch with the police as soon as you can."

 

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0161 856 9023, or anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.

 

To find out more about Greater Manchester Police please visit our website. www.gmp.police.uk

 

You should call 101, the national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.

 

Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.

 

The Christ the King Window in St James’ Cathedral, Toronto, was executed in 1939 by Peter Haworth, with the assistance of Gladys Allen. It sits over the altar of the then recently dedicated St George’s Chapel. It depicts the risen, glorified Christ the King and Priest standing with outstretched arms before the cross on which he was crucified. The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove showers rays of divine light down from heaven.

 

St George’s Chapel, was converted into a chapel as a gift by the Cawthra family in 1935, the silver jubilee year of King George V. The chapel is dedicated to the Royal Regiment of Canada, hence its colours flying here.

 

The Cathedral Church of St. James, located in downtown Toronto, is the oldest Anglican church in the city and the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Toronto.

 

The Anglican parish of St. James was established in 1797 in the then-town of York (now Toronto). The first church, constructed in 1807, was a modest wooden structure. However, it played a significant role during the War of 1812 when it served as a hospital. Unfortunately, American troops later robbed and damaged it.

 

In 1833, the wooden church was replaced by a stone structure in the Neoclassical style. Tragically, this church burned down in 1839 but was reconstructed and reopened later that year; then this structure too burned down in the Great Fire of Toronto in 1849.

 

The current St. James Cathedral was built completed between 1850 and 1856, opening for services in 1853. It showcases exquisite Gothic Revival architecture.

 

Designed by Frederick William Cumberland, it remains one of the finest examples of this style. , featuring pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and soaring windows. The cathedral's exterior is characterized by its pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses, all hallmarks of the Gothic Revival style. The façade is constructed from a combination of Ohio sandstone and local stone St James’ has the second highest spire in North America at 92.9 metres, after St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York—although the spire of St. James is still shorter than the dome of Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, which is the tallest church in the Western Hemisphere. It was added later by architect Henry Langley in 1873-4, along with the transepts, and the pinnacles and finials.

 

Look closely, and you’ll find intricate stone carvings, including gargoyles and other decorative elements. The attention to detail reflects the Gothic Revival’s emphasis on craftsmanship and symbolism.

 

It became the episcopal seat in 1936 after the cathedra was moved from the Diocese's first cathedral, the Cathedral of St. Alban the Martyr, now the school chapel of Royal St George’s College.

 

Major renovations were completed in 1982. The parish celebrated its bicentenary in 1997, when the peal of 12 change ringing bells was installed as the largest peal in North America.

 

This description incorporates text from the English Wikipedia and information from the very useful guide leaflet produced by St James’ Cathedral.

James Connolly 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican and socialist leader, aligned to syndicalism and the Industrial Workers of the World. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents. He left school at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of his day. He also took a role in Scottish and American politics. He was executed by a British firing squad because of his leadership role in the Easter Rising of 1916.

 

Connolly was not actually held in gaol, but in a room (now called the "Connolly Room") at the State Apartments in Dublin Castle, which had been converted to a first-aid station for troops recovering from the war.

 

Connolly was sentenced to death by firing squad for his part in the rising. On 12 May 1916 he was taken by military ambulance to Royal Hospital Kilmainham, across the road from Kilmainham Gaol, and from there taken to the gaol, where he was to be executed. Visited by his wife, and asking about public opinion, he commented, "They will all forget that I am an Irishman."

 

Connolly had been so badly injured from the fighting (a doctor had already said he had no more than a day or two to live, but the execution order was still given) that he was unable to stand before the firing squad; he was carried to a prison courtyard on a stretcher. His absolution and last rites were administered by a Capuchin, Father Aloysius Travers. Asked to pray for the soldiers about to shoot him, he said: "I will say a prayer for all men who do their duty according to their lights." Instead of being marched to the same spot where the others had been executed, at the far end of the execution yard, he was tied to a chair and then shot.

 

His body (along with those of the other rebels) was put in a mass grave without a coffin. The executions of the rebels deeply angered the majority of the Irish population, most of whom had shown no support during the rebellion. It was Connolly's execution, however, that caused the most controversy. Historians have pointed to the manner of execution of Connolly and similar rebels, along with their actions, as being factors that caused public awareness of their desires and goals and gathered support for the movements that they had died fighting for.

 

The executions were not well received, even throughout Britain, and drew unwanted attention from the United States, which the British Government was seeking to bring into the war in Europe. H. H. Asquith, the Prime Minister, ordered that no more executions were to take place; an exception being that of Roger Casement as he had not yet been tried.

Stockton, CA

 

Amazing professionally executed neon tubing works on the renovated renowned Bob Hope Theatre seen here. They spent a ton of money and it came out beautiful. I guess things were still looking well for the city pre-housing crash of 2008. This shot was taken a decade ago.

 

More shots here

PEARL HARBOR (Dec. 7, 2017) Marines execute an honorary gun salute during the 76th Commemoration Event of the attacks on Pearl Harbor and Oahu at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The 76th commemoration, co-hosted by the U.S. Military, the National Park Service and the State of Hawaii, provided veterans, family members, service members and the community a chance to honor the sacrifices made by those who were present Dec. 7, 1941, as well as throughout the Pacific theater. Since the attacks, the U.S. and Japan have endured more than 70 years of continued peace, a cornerstone of security and prosperity in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. As a Pacific nation, the U.S. is committed to continue its responsibility of protecting the Pacific sea-lanes, advancing international ideals and relationships, well as delivering security, influence and responsiveness in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Katarzyna Kobiljak)

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.

 

"Running Fence" was a huge environmental art project conceived and executed by the New York artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, a husband-and-wife team famous for their often-massive installations all over the world. "Running Fence" began in the waters of the Pacific Ocean and snaked across the coastal hills of Sonoma and Marin counties in California for 24.5 miles (39 km). These are photos I shot on Sept. 10, 1976, when I was a newspaper reporter. The photos are of the installation's inland termination, on the morning the last of the 2,050 white nylon fabric panels, 18 feet or 5.5 meters high, were unfurled. A Google images search will get you more spectacular color photos of the completed art work. Like all of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's large-scale works, this one was temporary. After two weeks, it was dismantled, and its fabric and steel given for recycling to the ranchers over whose land it was built. These images were never printed until August 2017, when I asked Express Photo, Kansas City's premier vintage photograph restorers, to make digital files of the 41-year-old negatives. The film images were deteriorating, probably from too little time in the fixing bath during processing. Pentax Spotmatic, Super Takumar 50mm f1.4, Kodak Plus-X.

 

For more on "Running Fence," click the links below.

 

christojeanneclaude.net/projects/running-fence

 

eyelevel.si.edu/2010/04/christo-and-jeanneclaude-on-the-m...

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_Fence

James Connolly 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican and socialist leader, aligned to syndicalism and the Industrial Workers of the World. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents. He left school at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of his day. He also took a role in Scottish and American politics. He was executed by a British firing squad because of his leadership role in the Easter Rising of 1916.

 

Connolly was not actually held in gaol, but in a room (now called the "Connolly Room") at the State Apartments in Dublin Castle, which had been converted to a first-aid station for troops recovering from the war.

 

Connolly was sentenced to death by firing squad for his part in the rising. On 12 May 1916 he was taken by military ambulance to Royal Hospital Kilmainham, across the road from Kilmainham Gaol, and from there taken to the gaol, where he was to be executed. Visited by his wife, and asking about public opinion, he commented, "They will all forget that I am an Irishman."

 

Connolly had been so badly injured from the fighting (a doctor had already said he had no more than a day or two to live, but the execution order was still given) that he was unable to stand before the firing squad; he was carried to a prison courtyard on a stretcher. His absolution and last rites were administered by a Capuchin, Father Aloysius Travers. Asked to pray for the soldiers about to shoot him, he said: "I will say a prayer for all men who do their duty according to their lights." Instead of being marched to the same spot where the others had been executed, at the far end of the execution yard, he was tied to a chair and then shot.

 

His body (along with those of the other rebels) was put in a mass grave without a coffin. The executions of the rebels deeply angered the majority of the Irish population, most of whom had shown no support during the rebellion. It was Connolly's execution, however, that caused the most controversy. Historians have pointed to the manner of execution of Connolly and similar rebels, along with their actions, as being factors that caused public awareness of their desires and goals and gathered support for the movements that they had died fighting for.

 

The executions were not well received, even throughout Britain, and drew unwanted attention from the United States, which the British Government was seeking to bring into the war in Europe. H. H. Asquith, the Prime Minister, ordered that no more executions were to take place; an exception being that of Roger Casement as he had not yet been tried.

From signage in the church:

 

Between 1764 and 1781 the church was fitted with an ensemble of late Baroque fixtures: the pulpit, confessionals, pews and eleven altars. The ensemble displayed stylistic harmony, as well as a singleness of purpose-drawing attention to the main altar.

 

[The main altar] now contains the Crucifix that had previously hung above the altar of the Holy Cross. The cross was known to bestow special grace, and it was at this time that the fresco depicting this Crucifix was painted on the façade of the church. The identity of the person who designed the new interior furnishings is not now known. The interior was executed by several joiners (Giotto, Holtzas, Valteris and others are mentioned). Paintings for the altars were done by . . . a person with the surname Motiejus.

 

Between 1764 and 1768 Mikaloju Jansonas, a renowned organ builder of the day, restored the church organ and moved it from the side nave to a platform constructed at the back of the presbytery (choir). (At the end of the 19th century the organ was reconstructed once again and moved to the old balcony of the Bernardines.)

 

From the middle of the 18th century until the end of the 20th century the architecture and furnishings of the church remained largely unchanged. When the church was closed during the Soviet years, the painting over the altar, the liturgical vessels and other fixtures were scattered among museum collections or given to other churches.

 

The altar ensemble, which was disassembled for reconstruction has only been partially restored. In response to present-day liturgical requirements, a new altar created by Rimas Skakalauakas was constructed in 1998 and placed in the central nave of the church. The altar echoes the lines and shapes of the old Gothic belfry.

=====================

  

The Church of St. Francis and St. Bernard (also known as Bernardine Church) is a Roman Catholic church in the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is located next to St. Anne's Church. Dedicated to Saints Francis of Assisi and Bernardino of Siena, it is an important example of Gothic architecture in Lithuania.[1]

 

History

After their arrival in Vilnius, Bernardine monks built a wooden church in the second half of the 15th century, and at the end of the same century - a brick one. In the early 16th century it was reconstructed, apparently with the participation of a master from Gdansk (Danzig) Michael Enkinger.

 

In the beginning of the 16th century the church was incorporated into the construction of Vilnius defensive wall, so there are shooting openings in its walls.

 

Afterwards it was renewed many times, particularly after the 1655-61 war with Moscow, when the Cossacks ravaged the church killing the monks and citizens who had taken shelter there.

 

In the times of the Soviet occupation it was closed down and handed over to the Art institute.

 

In 1994, the brethren of St. Francis returned to the church. According to the legend, the Bernardine monks used to tell such good sermons that crowds would come to listen. That is why the church is so large.

 

Architecture

Church and Monastery are some of the largest sacral buildings in Vilnius, although in the 17th and 18th centuries they acquired the Renaissance and Baroque features. Being much larger and more archaic than the St. Anne's Church, it forms and interesting and unique ensemble with the latter. Gothic pointed-arch windows and buttresses stand out on the façade.

 

Above them rises a pediment with twin octagonal towers on the sides and a fresco depicting the Crucifix in the middle niche. A Gothic presbytery is the oldest part of the church. Eight high pillars divide the church interior into 3 naves. There are many valuable 16th-century wall paintings in Bernardine church and the oldest known artistic Lithuanian crucifix sculpture from the 15th century. [2]

 

The walls of the naves are decorated with Gothic polychrome frescoes, partly uncovered in 1981 - dynamic, colourful figural compositions on biblical and hagiographic themes, with occasional inscriptions in Gothic characters, floral ornaments, heraldic insignia etc. These mural paintings date from the early 16th century and are considered unique in the world: their composition and type of presentation of the subject matter belongs to Renaissance, and the stylistics - to the Gothic style. [3]

 

The Bernardine monastery north of the church, built simultaneously with the church, was renovated and reconstructed several times. Since its founding, a novitiate and a seminary operated at the monastery, a rich library had been accumulated, and a scriptorium operated. There artists, craftsmen and organists among the monks. The monastery was closed in 1864, and the building housed soldiers' barracks. In 1919 it was given to the art faculty of the university, later - to the Art Institute (now the Art Academy).

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Francis_and_St._Berna...

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.

 

James Connolly 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican and socialist leader, aligned to syndicalism and the Industrial Workers of the World. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents. He left school at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of his day. He also took a role in Scottish and American politics. He was executed by a British firing squad because of his leadership role in the Easter Rising of 1916.

 

Connolly was not actually held in gaol, but in a room (now called the "Connolly Room") at the State Apartments in Dublin Castle, which had been converted to a first-aid station for troops recovering from the war.

 

Connolly was sentenced to death by firing squad for his part in the rising. On 12 May 1916 he was taken by military ambulance to Royal Hospital Kilmainham, across the road from Kilmainham Gaol, and from there taken to the gaol, where he was to be executed. Visited by his wife, and asking about public opinion, he commented, "They will all forget that I am an Irishman."

 

Connolly had been so badly injured from the fighting (a doctor had already said he had no more than a day or two to live, but the execution order was still given) that he was unable to stand before the firing squad; he was carried to a prison courtyard on a stretcher. His absolution and last rites were administered by a Capuchin, Father Aloysius Travers. Asked to pray for the soldiers about to shoot him, he said: "I will say a prayer for all men who do their duty according to their lights." Instead of being marched to the same spot where the others had been executed, at the far end of the execution yard, he was tied to a chair and then shot.

 

His body (along with those of the other rebels) was put in a mass grave without a coffin. The executions of the rebels deeply angered the majority of the Irish population, most of whom had shown no support during the rebellion. It was Connolly's execution, however, that caused the most controversy. Historians have pointed to the manner of execution of Connolly and similar rebels, along with their actions, as being factors that caused public awareness of their desires and goals and gathered support for the movements that they had died fighting for.

 

The executions were not well received, even throughout Britain, and drew unwanted attention from the United States, which the British Government was seeking to bring into the war in Europe. H. H. Asquith, the Prime Minister, ordered that no more executions were to take place; an exception being that of Roger Casement as he had not yet been tried.

Executions down across globe, says Amnesty International

The number of people executed by their own governments fell by 25 per cent last year, with China carrying out the most executions, Amnesty International said Friday.

The human rights organization report — the Annual Death Penalty Statistics — outlines the number of executions and death sentences carried out in the world in 2006.

According to the report, at least 1,591 people were known to be executed by their own governments in 25 countries last year.

Of those executions, 90 per cent took place in six countries:

China - 1,010

Iran - 177

Pakistan - 82

Iraq - 65

Sudan - 65

U.S.A. - 53

Amnesty International believes the Chinese figures are drastically underestimated, suggesting the real total is close to 8,000 executions, based on information from a Chinese legal expert. China keeps its prisoner executions a state secret.

Five of the executions are known to be people under 18: four in Iran and one in Pakistan

"The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment," said Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan. "It must be abolished and a universal moratorium will be an important step forward."

Thousands on death row

The same year, 55 countries handed down 3,861 new death sentences, adding to the more than 20,000 people waiting on death row, said the report.

"A death penalty free world is possible if key governments are willing to show political leadership," said Khan.

Across the globe, Amnesty reports 128 countries have abolished the death penalty either by law or in practice, while 69 countries retain or use the death penalty.

Methods of execution include beheading, electrocution, hanging, lethal injection, shooting, stoning and stabbing.

While Canada abolished capital punishment in 1976, it retained the death penalty for military crimes such as treason or mutiny. All references to the death penalty were wiped from the National Defence Act in 1998.

The final execution in Canada took place in Toronto in December 1962, when two men were hanged for murder www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/04/27/amnesty-executions.html...

   

This morning, Thursday 2 February 2017, officers executed warrants at addresses across Miles Platting and Ancoats.

 

The warrants were executed as part of Operation Rudow a multi-agency operation targeting organised crime and the supply of drugs across Greater Manchester.

  

Chief Inspector Andy Cunliffe, of GMP’s City of Manchester team, said: "Drugs ruin lives and destroy communities. We will systematically root out and dismantle groups that seek to profit from flooding our streets with drugs.

  

"Today, we have made arrests after executing warrants across North Manchester.

  

"By sharing information with our partners, we are better equipped to tackle organised crime and make it impossible for them to profit from it.

  

"I'd like to thank the community who came forward with information that has proved vital in making this enforcement action a success.

 

“We still however, need people to come forward with information to prevent people from benefiting from the proceeds of crime at the demise of others. If you know about it, report it.

  

"Organised crime has no place on the streets of Greater Manchester and we will continue to work tirelessly to remove the scourge of criminal gangs."

  

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Neatly executed Matchbox 1976 Honda Civic CVCC seen here in its latest 2022 Case B recolour. Charming, inoffensive and looking beautifully stock in plain all red. Found recently at Tesco. Mint and boxed.

Choeung Ek, Cambodia

 

The judicial process of the Khmer Rouge regime, for minor or political crimes, began with a warning from the Angkar, the government of Cambodia under the regime. People receiving more than two warnings were sent for "re-education", which meant near-certain death. People were often encouraged to confess to Angkar their "pre-revolutionary lifestyles and crimes" (which usually included some kind of free-market activity; having had contact with a foreign source, such as a U.S. missionary, international relief or government agency; or contact with any foreigner or with the outside world at all), being told that Angkar would forgive them and "wipe the slate clean." They were then taken away to a place such as Tuol Sleng or Choeung Ek for torture and/or execution.

 

The executed were buried in mass graves. In order to save ammunition, the executions were often carried out using poison, spades or sharpened bamboo sticks. Inside the Buddhist Memorial Stupa at Choeung Ek, there is evidence of bayonets, knives, wooden clubs, hoes for farming and curved scythes being used to kill victims- with images of skulls, damaged by these implements, as evidence. In some cases the children and infants of adult victims were killed by having their heads bashed against the trunks of Chankiri trees, and then were thrown into the pits alongside their parents. The rationale was to stop them growing up and taking revenge for their parents' deaths.

 

Some victims were required to dig their own graves; their weakness often meant that they were unable to dig very deep. The soldiers who carried out the executions were mostly young men or women from peasant families.

Laocoön and His Sons - a probable marble copy executed between the 1st century BC and I century AD of an original bronze of 150 BC - Pio-Clementine Museum of Vatican Museums

 

Il gruppo statuario raffigura la fine di Laocoonte e dei suoi due figli Antifante e Timbreo mentre vengono stritolati da due serpenti marini

 

The statuary group depicts the end of Laocoonte and its two sons Antifante and Timbreo while being crushed by two sea serpents

 

With tongues flickering in their mouths red,

They like the twin killing stings in their head.

We fled away all bloodless for fear.

But with a braid to Laocoon to tear

They start attacking, and his two sons sing

First the other serpent latched on like a ring,

And with their cruel bite, and sting they fell,

Of tender limbs took many a sorry morsel;

Next they the priest invaded both to entwine,

Whence with his weapons did his body pine

His children for to help and rescue.

Both they about him looped in knots through,

And twice circled his middle round about,

And twice folded their scaly skin but doubt,

About his crown, both neck and head they scrag

Italy, ca. 1740

 

"These elgant wall plaques were executed in high relief with the figures' forms projecting off the surface. One shows a female and the other a male hunter with a quiver, so they might represent the lovers Venus and Adonis. These relief, said to have come from the royal palace at Monza, were among the last objects Yeon purchased for his collection."

 

Portland Art Museum: the collection of John Yeon.

 

If I had had John Yeon's money, I wouldn't have pursued most of the objects he did, including this one, but that's why he's John Yeon and I'm not.

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