The Postcard

 

A high-definition early view of a misericord in Chichester Cathedral on a postally unused postcard by Raphael Tuck & Sons Ltd.

 

Given that it is well over 600 years old, it is a very stylish and imaginative piece of carving which could almost be a piece of modern sculpture.

 

Misericords

 

Prayers in early medieval churches were often said standing with uplifted hands. The old and infirm could use crutches or, as time went by, misericordia (literally, an act of mercy).

 

Seating was constructed so that when the seats were turned up, the undersides were provided with a small shelf, thereby giving a person a small degree of comfort by leaning against it. The carving is always executed out of sight on the underside of the small shelf.

 

Misericords, which are usually skilfully carved, date in England from the 13th century.

 

The earliest existing set can be found in the choir stalls of Exeter Cathedral, and they contain the earliest-known image in the UK of an elephant.

 

The majority of English misericords date from the 14th. and 15th. centuries, and curiously most often represent pagan images and scenes - they can be quite at variance with the building in which they are located, the above image being a good example of this.

 

The scene depicted in the photograph is quite mild - it would probably best be described as cheeky - some misericords are downright salacious. Good examples of these are shown in Wikipedia in relation to Tréguier Cathedral in Brittany, France.

 

'An Arundel Tomb'

 

'An Arundel Tomb' is a poem by Philip Larkin, written and published in 1956, and subsequently included in his 1964 collection The Whitsun Weddings. It describes the poet's response to seeing a pair of recumbent medieval tomb effigies with their hands joined in Chichester Cathedral.

 

It is described by James Booth as "one of Larkin's greatest poems".

 

The Tomb

 

The tomb monument in Chichester Cathedral is now widely identified as that of Richard FitzAlan, 10th. Earl of Arundel (d. 1376) and his second wife, Eleanor of Lancaster (d. 1372).

 

The couple were buried in the chapter house of Lewes Priory, and their monument was probably fashioned by the master mason Henry Yevele: documentary evidence relates to the shipping of two "marble" tombs in January 1375 from Poole Harbour to London at Yevele's behest.

 

Having first been erected at Lewes Priory, the effigies were probably moved to Chichester following the priory's dissolution in 1537. The earliest certain record of their presence in the cathedral dates from 1635.

 

The male figure wears armour, and bears a lion rampant (the arms of the FitzAlan family) on his coat armour, and a lion's head couped as a crest on the helm beneath his head.

 

The female figure wears a veil, wimple, long gown and a mantle, all characteristic of the 14th. century; while beneath the gown, her legs are crossed.

 

In a feature common to many English tombs of this period, the knight has a lion at his feet, while the lady has a dog: the lion indicates valour and nobility, the dog loyalty. He has his right hand ungloved, and her right hand rests on his.

 

By the 19th. century, the Arundel effigies had become badly mutilated, and also separated from one another, being placed against the north wall of the northern outer aisle of the Cathedral, with the woman at the feet of the man.

 

In 1843 Edward Richardson (1812–1869) was commissioned to restore them. It was Richardson who was responsible not only for reuniting them side by side, but also for carving the present joined hands, the originals having been lost.

 

His research was conscientious, and the evidence would suggest that his restoration was reasonably faithful to the original pose. Nevertheless, it was Richardson who was responsible for the precise form of the hands.

 

An additional detail that may have been Richardson's own choice was to depict the knight's empty right-hand gauntlet held in his left hand.

 

The monument is not inscribed, and it is likely that Larkin's reference to "the Latin names around the base" was inspired by a card label placed by the cathedral authorities – which probably, in accordance with the thinking of the time, misidentified the couple as Richard FitzAlan, 11th. Earl of Arundel (d. 1397) and his countess.

 

Although many modern observers have – like Larkin – read the linking of hands as a sign of romantic love and affection, it seems more likely that the gesture's primary meaning was to signify the formal, legal, and sacramental bonds of matrimony.

 

The Poem

 

Larkin visited Chichester Cathedral with his lover Monica Jones in January 1956. He later claimed to have been very moved by the monument; while in an audio recording of the poem, he stated that the effigies were unlike any he had ever seen before, and that he had found them "extremely affecting".

 

The poem was completed on the 20th. February, and first published in the May 1956 issue of the London Magazine.

 

Larkin draws inspiration from the figures to muse on time, mortality, fidelity, and the nature of earthly love. In a letter to Monica written while the poem was still in progress, he identified his chief idea as that of:

 

"The two effigies lasting so long, and

in the end being remarkable only for

something they hadn't perhaps meant

very seriously".

 

Andrew Motion describes Larkin as:

 

"Using the detail of the hands as the

focus for one of his most moving

evocations of the struggle between

time and human tenderness".

 

The poem is as follows:

 

'Side by side, their faces blurred,

The earl and countess lie in stone,

Their proper habits vaguely shown

As jointed armour, stiffened pleat,

And that faint hint of the absurd—

The little dogs under their feet.

 

Such plainness of the pre-baroque

Hardly involves the eye, until

It meets his left-hand gauntlet, still

Clasped empty in the other; and

One sees, with a sharp tender shock,

His hand withdrawn, holding her hand.

 

They would not think to lie so long.

Such faithfulness in effigy

Was just a detail friends would see:

A sculptor’s sweet commissioned grace

Thrown off in helping to prolong

The Latin names around the base.

 

They would not guess how early in

Their supine stationary voyage

The air would change to soundless damage,

Turn the old tenantry away;

How soon succeeding eyes begin

To look, not read. Rigidly they

 

Persisted, linked, through lengths and breadths

Of time. Snow fell, undated. Light

Each summer thronged the glass. A bright

Litter of birdcalls strewed the same

Bone-riddled ground. And up the paths

The endless altered people came,

 

Washing at their identity.

Now, helpless in the hollow of

An unarmorial age, a trough

Of smoke in slow suspended skeins

Above their scrap of history,

Only an attitude remains:

 

Time has transfigured them into

Untruth. The stone fidelity

They hardly meant has come to be

Their final blazon, and to prove

Our almost-instinct almost true:

What will survive of us is love.'

 

The final line is among the most quoted of all of Larkin's work. When read out of context, it may be understood as a sentimental endorsement of love enduring beyond the grave.

 

However, the poem as a whole is rather more nuanced, and challenges a simple romantic interpretation, even if in the end it is conceded to have:

 

"An inevitable ring of truth – if only

because we want so much to hear it".

 

James Booth describes it as possessing:

 

"A mix of stark pessimism

and yearning despair".

 

Larkin himself wrote at the end of the manuscript draft of the poem:

 

"Love isn't stronger than death just

because statues hold hands for six

hundred years."

 

However he later commented in an interview:

 

"I think what survives of us is love, whether in

the simple biological sense or just in terms of

responding to life, making it happier, even if it's

only making a joke."

 

Larkin wrote in a letter to Monica Jones, shortly after the poem's first publication, that he found it "embarrassingly bad!", because it was trying to be too clever.

 

In another letter to Robert Conquest he described it as "a bit timey" (i.e. with too much emphasis on time).

 

Larkin later reiterated that he never really liked the poem, partly because it was unduly romantic, and partly for other reasons:

 

"Technically it's a bit muddy in the

middle – the fourth and fifth stanzas

seem trudging somehow, with awful

rhymes like voyage/damage.

Everything went wrong with that poem:

I got the hands wrong – it's right-hand

gauntlet really – and anyway the hands

were a nineteenth-century addition, not

pre-Baroque at all."

 

Larkin was disappointed to learn that the hand-joining gesture was not as unusual as he had thought:

 

"A schoolmaster sent me a number of

illustrations of other tombs having the

same feature, so clearly it is in no way

unique."

 

Legacy

 

The poem was one of three read at Larkin's memorial service in Westminster Abbey in February 1986. Its two final lines are also inscribed on the memorial stone to Larkin unveiled in December 2016 in Poets' Corner in the Abbey.

Outfit:

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Top: Mighty Fine Disney's The Little Mermaid Ariel Ombre Flower Crown Tank Top

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Bottom: Boohoo Claire Super Short Acid Wash Denim Hotpants

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Shoes: Vans 'Authentic Lo Pro - Neon' Sneaker (Women)

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Bag: Hawaiian Beach Flower Travel Tote Bag

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Hat: KENZO Wave-Print Cap

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Watch: Toy Watch Velvety Camo Silicone Watch

  

Seated Buddha, Tang dynasty (618–906), ca. 650

China

Dry lacquer with traces of gilt and polychrome pigments

 

Buddhist images executed in dry lacquer were highly valued by the Chinese because of their costly and time-consuming process of production. There are so few surviving examples that this seated Buddha is especially precious. To fashion the body of the image, the craftsman made a rough form of the sculpture in clay and then applied at least three layers of hemp cloth, each secured with a paste made of raw lacquer (the sap from the lac tree, Rhus verniciflua) and a fine powder of bone, horn, shell, ceramic, stone, or carbon. Each layer had to dry thoroughly before the next could be added. The clay core was then removed from the lacquered image. The head and hands were likely modeled separately, using the same technique as that used for the body, and then attached to the sculpture. The surface was finished with several coatings of pure lacquer and then painted.

 

Portrayed as a youthful figure, the Buddha sits in the full lotus position, with his legs tightly interlocked, though the lower part of the sculpture is missing. The position of the damaged arms suggests that the hands performed the gesture of contemplation. The columnar form and lean gracefulness of the figure recall the style of Buddhist sculpture of the late Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386–589), but the attempt to render anatomical differentiation and, in particular, the emotional impact of the Buddha's expression are distinguishing features of early Tang style. The traces of brilliant red and blue, vividly combined to form a stylized floral pattern in the hem of the undergarment crossing the chest, and the remains of shimmering gilt on the surface are evidence of the sumptuous effect of this once colorful figure.

 

Text from www.metmuseum.org

Diego Velázquez (1599-1660, Spanish) - Temptation of St. Thomas, 1632, oil on canvas, 244x203 cm, Museo Diocesano de Arte Sacro de Orihuela, provincia de Alicante, Spain.

 

The Temptation of St. Thomas is a painting by the Spanish Baroque painter Diego Velázquez, executed in 1632 and housed in the Museum of Sacred Art of Orihuela Cathedral, southern Spain.

 

The work, for a period, was attributed to Murcian painter Nicolás de Villacis, until it was recognized as Velázquez's in the 1920s. It portrays the episode of the life of Saint Thomas Aquinas when, as a novice, he resisted the temptation represented by a prostitute, who is visible in the background door. The saint is held by an angel, while another is preparing to dress him with a white ribbon, representing chastity.

 

Temptation of St. Thomas is among Velázquez's better-known paintings.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temptation_of_St._Thomas_(Vel%C3%A1zquez)

 

Diego Velazquez was born in Seville, Spain, in 1599. His artistic talent became evident when he was apprenticed to the artist Francisco Pacheco. He was very young, eighteen years old, when he married Pacheco's daughter and started to develop his own style which displayed a startling realism. Most of his early sketches orn paintings were naturalistic still life compositions. In 1622, he moved to Madrid and became the official painter at the court of King Philip IV. These were fertile years when he produced his finest paintings. At the royal court, he happily dedicated himself to portraiture, his speciality, as well as group portraits and religious paintings. He made two trips to Italy to study the High Renaissance artists.

 

He died in 1660 of a fever and was buried in the church of San Juan. Unfortunately, the church was destroyed by Napoleon's troops in 1811, and the location of the grave is lost.

 

Velazquez produced a total of 244 paintings, many of which can be admired in museums and galleries in Europe and USA. The El Prado Museum in Madrid has the lion's share of Velazquez paintings while many are on display in diverse London galleries.

His earliest works are group compositions such as "The Water-seller of Seville" of 1618 and "Adoration of the Magi", 1619. In Madrid, he painted many formal portraits in his role of court painter, including portraits of King Philip IV in 1628. A trip to Italy in 1629 inspired two large paintings: "Joseph's Tunic" and "The Forge of Vulcan", both painted in 1630. Many other portraits followed, including more of the king. In 1634-1635 he produced a series of beautiful, dynamic, prancing equestrian paintings. His famous self-portrait dates from 1640, the same year as the Michelangelo-inspired "Mars Resting". A second trip to Italy inspired more portraits in 1650, including the compelling painting of Pope Innocent X. In his later royal court years, 1650-1660, he painted several pictures of royal ladies: Mariana of Austria, the queen of Spain, and of the Infanta Margarita, as well as "Las Meninas" and the equally famous "The Spinners".

 

Baroque art flourished roughly between 1600 and 1750 and Velazquez was one of the main exponents of this highly dramatic artistic style. Indeed, a sense of drama and an emotional response in the viewer were the main aims of Baroque art. Other notable painters of around this time included Da Vinci and Michelangelo from the Renaissance, plus Caravaggio, who was closer to the time of Velazquez.

www.diegovelazquez.net/paintings/

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Ispitirea Sfântului Toma este un tablou al pictorului baroc spaniol Diego Velázquez, realizat în 1632 și aflat acum în Muzeul de Artă Sacră din Catedrala Orihuela, sudul Spaniei.

Pentru o perioadă opera i-a fost atribuită pictorului din regiunea Murcia Nicolás de Villacis, până când a fost recunoscută ca fiind a lui Velázquez în anii 1920. Pictura înfățișează episodul din viața sfântului Toma de Aquino când, novice fiind, a rezistat tentației reprezentate de o prostituată, care este vizibilă la ușa din fundal. Sfântul este ținut de un înger, în timp ce altul se pregătește să-l îmbrace cu o panglică albă, reprezentând castitatea.

Ispitirea Sfântului Toma este una dintre picturile cele mai cunoscute ale lui Velázquez. (wiki)

  

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

Building

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

Canaletto: View of Palais Liechtenstein

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

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

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

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

Sala terrene of the Palais

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

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

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

Garden

Liechtenstein Palace from the garden

The new summer palace of Henry of Ferstel from the garden

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

Use as a museum

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

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

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

 

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

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2 Grand Street Parade veterans stand in front of Needs.. they are looking forward to seeing Queen Annapolisa and the Apple Blossom Princesses in the Kentville Grand Street Parade that will soon be coming down Main Street .

  

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Following a 2 year absence due to Covi,, the 2022 Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival. (and Parade) will be held as per usual this year.. Unfortunately the Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition has had to be postponed until next year due to time constraints.

  

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Shocking news from ABF,

  

* There's been a stunning development at ABF. *

 

Apparently in a new younger generation there are those who harbor resentment towards our nations history, for English colonialism, and even for the Monarchy ? Other minority groups have voiced discontent over the diversity and inclusion issue ? And so it seems that the current ABF Board of Directors has listened to the concerns and complaints of a few small minority groups while apparently ignoring and excluding the overwhelming majority of Valley residents ? And it appears that this current Board of Directors chose to resolve such discontent by simply moving to implement and execute the nuclear option and the final solution ? And therefore after a highly successful lengthy run of 87 consecutive years in a row, the extremely anticipated, very popular, family oriented, inclusive and diverse, multi village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant along with the prestigious Royal Coronation crowning ceremonies held in Wolfville have all been terminated forever by this current board of Directors ?

  

Will a drag Queen replace an apple blossom Queen in Kentville ? www.nsbuzz.ca/life/kentville-all-ages-drag-show-draws-pro...

 

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-----------------------It's The End of an Era-----------------------------

  

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."

  

Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival 2023 - ABF Board of Directors has announced drastic new changes in format and even deeper cut-backs to the annual People's Festival ? Concerns over ceremony, symbolism, the monarchy and colonialism, along with some complaints over inclusion and diversity may have had an influence on the current ABF board of Directors and they have seen a need to update the long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess pageant in order to bring it up to a standard they view as being more relevant to the current times ? And so the Directors must have held an extremely private 'think tank' last Winter, and without notifying, caring, considering or consulting with any of the long time participating Valley communities, they had decided that rather than trouble themselves any further with this pesky issue, why not just take the easy way out and simply get rid of it ? And so it seems they made a final decision in private last Winter and moved to execute the final and fatal solution to their problem by ordering that the iconic 87 year old Pageant competition be immediately shut down and terminated forever ? And therefore, as a result of an uninclusive and uncontested decision made in private, one of the longest running, popular, identifiable, well known, highly anticipated, most inclusive and diverse, proud all family events that has ever benefited Valley residents of every age, has just been taken away ?

This unconditional act of finality will now end the long running 88 year reign of her royal Heinous Queen Annapolisa and will terminate all participation of the 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princess contestants and their child attendants that represent 7 to 10 local Valley communities ? It will also mean the end of the many beautiful hand crafted award winning Princess floats that always highlight Grand Street Parade, and it will also signal the end of the ultra glamorous Queen and Ladies-in-waiting Crowning ceremonies held annually and televised each year from Acadia University in Wolfville ? This also puts an end to the many popular community Princess Tea events, and also ends all Royal Party visitations to local Schools, hospitals and old folks homes that are so welcome and appreciated by Students, Seniors and shut-ins ? This also signals the end of Royal Party appearances at Kentville Children's Parade, at the Memorial Park Friday night open air concert and fireworks, and all Royal attendances at many other events held annually throughout the Valley and the Province ?

It appears now that current ABF Officials led by President Logan Morse along with Kentville town rep Lindsey Young have not only interrupted the Pageant in 2022 when they temporarily postponed it, but have now in 2023 moved to terminate this prestigious event forever explaining that their radical decision has been made to improve, include, modernize and evolve the famed beauty pageant ? This final act of termination ends almost 90 years of royal pageantry and also leaves a huge gap in the Festival itself ? It will also negatively affect so many of the nearby Valley communities who always participate and enter contestants in the Pageant ? The ending of such an important multiple community event and the taking away of the better half and Star of the Apple Blossom Festival brings forth the question of what replacement is planned, and what are local towns and villages that always play major roles in both the Queen and Princess competition suppose to do now ? And what about Valley youth and the childhood dreams of one day becoming a child attendant or an Apple Blossom Princess or even a Queen ?

You have to marvel at the level of ego and disrespect shown by this latest Board of Directors who have dared appoint themselves as the ones that will end the Pageant and then to think that Valley residents are stupid enough to believe that by cancelling and taking away a cherished and long running event, that they have in some perverted way of thinking moved the Valley forward or improved and modernized anything ? It seems far more likely that they have taken the Valley on a giant step backwards and they have robbed the people of a much beloved, long running, multi community, all inclusive, local production that has always been a highly anticipated all Valley highlight for the past almost 90 consecutive years ?

Why current ABF Management who have applied themselves to be the stewards who are in charge and responsible for the promotion and presentation of this event, appear as unable to perform their duties and do the job they are compensated to do and do what their predecessors have always done so well before them each and every year for the past 87 years often in far more trying circumstances and in far less prosperous times, is hard to understand ? And you have to wonder, Whatever happened to the # 1 rule in business that says that if you can't do the job because of inexperience, immaturity, inability, incompetency, bias, or just plain stupidity, then,, You're all FIRED ! (and a Class action recovery suit may be forthcoming ?)

 

ABF news updates :

  

Logan Morse and a newcomer ABF Board of Directors break the hearts of Valley families especially the Children when they move to terminate the historic and long running Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess Pageant after 88 years ? ABF Directors show no remorse, while boasting that their bold action was needed to improve, evolve and bring the pageant up to their modern standards ? www.pressreader.com/canada/annapolis-valley-register/2023...

 

May 26, 2023 - We Are the Ones. An unusual degree of arrogance and disrespect is shown when the long running Valley Peoples Pageant is cancelled without either of consideration or consultation ? A modern generation of newcomer ABF Directors with bold new ideas have apparently proclaimed themselves to be the one generation to interrupt and permanently end 88 years of wonderful multi Valley village Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess enjoyment ?

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/apple-blossom-festival...

 

Annapolis Valley families are in shock and children cry upon learning their beloved Queen Annapolisa Pageant has been cancelled without notice, consultation, consideration or compassion ? Newcomer Directors say they are taking their bold action to improve, evolve and modernize the historic Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.saltwire.com/atlantic-

 

Valley residents lose a long time major yearly entertainment event when the ever popular ABF Greenwood Airshow is terminated and will be no more. Fast forward to Aug 24, 2024, and to corporation greed ? Air Show Atlantic Inc. now charges big bucks to see taxpayer owned aircraft at a taxpayer owned airport in their vastly inferior airshow ? Air Show Atlantic Inc. does not offer a discount Seniors ticket category for Senior citizens ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52345513615

 

How dare They ! Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for all local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"

www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...

 

Kentville identity crisis. Help, Is there a Superhero anywhere out there to save Kentville from the newcomer agenda ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/51811175986/in/album-7...

 

The controversial 2017 Grand Street Parade - Has Kentville once again been targeted for exploitation ? After Warden Brothers, (Greenwood ) and Liberal MP L Glavine (Kingston) had all but hijacked Waterville Airport before relocating it to their own home riding in the Kingston/Greenwood area, it seems that the town of Kentville must face yet another attack from the Kingston area when Alxys Chamberlain, the Kingston Apple Blossom Princess, and other ABF Directors attempt to take yet another major source of revenue and major attraction away from the town of Kentville ?

Et tu, Madama Chamberlain ? The unconscionable attempted hijacking and subsequent recovery of Kentvilles's most beloved yearly event ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/18506181065

 

2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade - Disregard for safety shown as unrestrained Senior citizens are precariously perched atop an unsheltered, open sided, stop and go, large unstable jerking motion moving platform ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53900780519/in/album-7...

 

Exploiting Queen Annapolisa for a photo op ? Politicians at the official opening ceremony of the 2023 Apple Blossom Festival pretending there's still a Pageant in a photo while knowing full well that Queen Annapolisa and the Apple Blossom Princesses have been terminated forever and will no longer be a part of this year's Festival ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/53755100811/in/album-7...

 

2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade Newcomer ABF stewards defy our Liberal Government plea for diversity and inclusion ? Many nearby local Valley towns and villages that normally attend have now been excluded from the yearly parade ? Their absence means the loss of diversity that is always provided with the attendance of these local communities ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and all of the individual Town floats including Princess Kentville ? To view complete 2023 Kentville Grand Street Parade press here, www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie

 

Facebook, Friends of Kentville - The site Administrator, a new arrival from PEI, says she wants to see Kentville as the queerest town in all of Nova Scotia ? www.facebook.com/groups/2588266877982288

 

Will a drag Queen replace an apple blossom Queen in Kentville ? www.nsbuzz.ca/life/kentville-all-ages-drag-show-draws-pro...

 

Nov 16 2023 - Apple Blossom Princesses call for a return of Queen Annapolisa,

www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/communities/former-apple...

 

The Town of Kentville has moved to cut back and eliminate many hours of traditional public outdoor entertainment that have always been a standard part of the Apple Blossom Festival ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52094784785

 

A medley of the guest Tribute bands that have performed at Memorial Park Kentville - Always free of charge in the past when performing at the Apple Blossom Festival : Petty Larceny, Fleetwod Mix, Keep the Faith, Stones Tribute, Green River Revival, Viscious, Eddy's Basement, Matt Minglewood,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x5hqti9

 

Corporate greed shown by newcomer ABF directors in this year's Apple Blossom Festival ? Instead of providing a free guest Tribute band as per normal at the free Memorial Park Friday night concert, it will now cost 50.00 pp to see a 'Queen tribute band' performance. that's 50.00 per ticket in 2025 ? acadiau.universitytickets.com/

 

Town of Kentville rips off its own citizens right at Apple Blossom Festival time ? Cold heartless capitalism shown by Kentville and by the newcomer ABF management ? Citizens burdened with out of pocket expense of TWENTY DOLLARS each just to attend an outdoor street dance held downtown on taxpayer owned property during the Apple Blossom Festival ? Is there no shame ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54546051832/in/photost...

 

She's Ruined It ! Our great Festival is no longer even recognizable ? How could anyone take a world class event and turn it into something that can only be described as stupid ? President Erica Gillis has to be the worst ever ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54493011308/in/dateposted

 

2025 Kentville Grand Street Parade - is this a joke ? A brief 45-minute and bare minimum compacted Kentville Grand Street Parade this year ? Zero in large marching street bands and majorettes other than the one RCMP (mini version) marching unit, no Sottish pipers or pipe bands, zero in Apple Blossom Royalty and their famous royal floats, Most of the regular nearby Valley village participants not there, no horse and wagon entree, no armaments, soldiers, bands or displays from Aldershot or Greenwood, etc etc, ? And yet Guest parade announcer proclaims in quote @ 29:17, " this parade is the largest in Canada, incl Toronto - it's the longest with the largest route and the most entries. " Wha-a-a-t ? Where did she come from and what is she talking about ?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQuaIdrQi00

 

A different, come from away royal rider now sits on a makeshift throne that has been set aboard the historic Apple Blossom Princess float for its famous trip down Main Street on Apple Blossom festival Saturday. It seems our new Mayor will now grace the famous Town Princess float on its annual trip in Kentville's famous Grand Street Parade ?

' Somebody get that King a crown and sceptre '

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54557663677/in/dateposted

 

they've ruined it part 2 ? May 31st, 2025 Grand Street Parade - From 100,000 down to 10,000, Parade attendance shrinks to all time low, www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54568017261/in/photost.... Also see, They've ruined the Festival and the Parade too ?

www.facebook.com/avabf

 

ABF Directors may disapprove and terminated the beloved Queen Annapolisa pageant and the multiple village Apple Blossom Princess competition but Valley residents will always admire, support, respect and remain fond of the British Monarchy. The majority of Valley citizens are delighted to hear that his Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla are invited and will be coming for a royal visit to Canada on May 26 and 27, 2025. This year's incomplete and now Royalty-less ABF starts on the 28th, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/king-charles-canada-visit-1.7524946

 

The long and proud history of past Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess winners has been removed from sight and erased from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival website ? A special honorary history page dedicated to previous Queen Annapolisa winners from 1933 thru 2019 has been taken down and apparently replaced with jumbo size portraits of the newcomer President and other ABF directors who have taken over and ruined the world famous Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival ? www.appleblossom.com/history/past-queens

Meet the directors,

www.appleblossom.com/about/

 

May 30th, 2025 - 20 dollar burgers and bouncy castles ??? High level security enforcement hired for this year's Memorial Park Friday night rock concert ? ( must have taken up most of the budget ) ? Town of Kentville brings in outside police, closes roads, and sets up a defensive securiy perimeter around rhe event with manned traffic guard posts to provide heightened G7 level security for their Friday night Memorial Park Apple Blossom outdoor concert that in past years had always featured guest rock bands, interesting demonstrations and displays, and a Royal Queen Annapolisa visit following her prestigious coronation ceremony in Wolfville, but appears now to have deteriorated into some kind of an outdoor romper room type family show featuring food trucks, inflatable air bouncy castles and 2 live local groups as their featured invited guest star main stage star performer, with nothing much to do for anyone over elementary grade school level other than purchase some food at the upscale restaurant prices to dine on a paper plate using plastic utensils while standing up in a crowd of unruly kids and being lustfully observed by hungry saliva drooling pet dogs leashed to their owners ? And thanks to the upgraded crowd control, and heavy police presence and the strict traffic control hired for this event there was a report of a parking violator being successfully apprehended ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569

 

May 30th, 2025 Memorial Park Kentville - Seniors and those with disabilities made to walk long distances in order to reach this year's disappointing ABF Friday night outdoor rock Concert that didn't bring in a rock band, (nor much of anything else) ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54558198569/in/photost...

 

Oct 4th, 2025 - the Harvest Festival in Centre Square

Kentville - A disappointing harvest festival effort this year that forgot about the kids horse-drawn hay wagon ride, the pumpkin people scarecrow making class and group demo, the Valley harvest, Valley livestock and the Valley farmer ? They have apparently been replaced with multiple kiosks with street vendors selling unrelated merchandise, bouncy castles and expensive food trucks ? www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54835089011/in/photost...

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54835089011/in/photost...

 

Upgrade 2025 ? photo taken from front of Phinneys dept store - A massive expenditure is budgeted for a major upgrade to the Mayor's business backyard - Downtown Kentville Webster Street gets a complete and total beautification makeover with new installations of street paving, paint, new double sidewalks both sides, driveway entrances, and new curb and gutter both sides ? All other streets that surround the Phinneys' downtown business block have also been upgraded including Aberdeen Street, Cornwallis Street, and Main Street ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54835340734/in/photost...

  

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An Identity Crisis ;

  

Can an identity crisis be looming in the town of Kentville ?

 

A proud, neighborly salt of the earth working class community with generous hard working friendly citizens and a rich historic Railroad, agriculture and farming background is losing many of its longtime local traditions, themes and trademarks while elected Town officials, many of them new arrivals, just stand still, watch, and even enable ? Having always been identified as a main Provincial railroad center ever since the old Dominion Rail days dating back to 1869, the town has since lost all of its passenger and freight train rail service in and out including a modern passenger Dayliner service that traveled back and forth to Halifax every day ? And after the railway had been shut down it seemed they couldn't clear out the now useless brand new station, dig up the tracks and demolish the old roundhouse fast enough ? And so now, in what seems to be cruel mockery, the only railroading in Kentville left over from past glory days and from what was once the largest and most important and active railroad center west of Halifax, is just an old and faded hand painted train mural etched onto the weather beaten side of one of the downtown business establishments ?

Unfortunately the loss of the railway wasn't the last humiliating major transportation loss forced on the people of a small rural town as Kentville was soon to become even more isolated from the outside World when for no apparent logical, rational or reasonable reason the aviation community at Waterville municipal Airport CCW3 were told to get out when they had done nothing wrong and had no where else to go ? This long time invaluable contributor to the local area economy was lost when an established municipal airport, a well known Canadian sky diving facility, and an internationally known pilot training and licensing academy, and many privately owned aircraft with local owners, and many other established aviation businesses were told to get out ? The cold hearted eviction also left our young Air Cadets over at Camp Aldershot without a base to train on and so now the next generation has to grow up without their nearby aviation training and education facility ?

And so, a group of out-of-towners that mostly don't even live in this community had transformed an active thriving local Aviation business center that had taken decades to build and establish, into a barren and useless place where unsupervised Michelin children now ride bikes and dodge weeds poking their heads thru a deteriorating asphalt runway that was once a platform for private and commercial aircraft to fly in and out of the local area on a daily basis ? To add salt to the wound, this unwarranted calculated forced closure and loss of a vital member of the local economy was to be hailed by the executioners at Kings Council, ( and also by the prestigious Ivany Report Committee ) as being a bold and brilliant business decision that will greatly improve and benefit the local area ?

After months of homelessness and uncertainty over the future, a few evicted tenants found new sites elsewhere and relocated at their own expense to start all over again, while others just quit, while others were finally redirected to a new location in Greenwood which just happened by chance to be the Kings Council County Warden's home riding ? And so, in the end this devastating loss for Kentville and local area became a windfall for the Kingston Greenwood area, and, Kentville was left to carry on without either a Railway or an Airport ?

 

When the original KCA town School closed down, existing high school students were separated from their home school and had to be bused to the nearby town of Canning ? This would leave only the Grade 1 to 8 age groups to now identify Kentville as their home school, an education reality that still exists in Kentville ? There is no longer a movie theater in Kentville as the downtown movie theater has been closed forever, and the popular Edge sports bar, eatery and pool hall also closed down and never replaced ? Harvey's Hamburgers drive thru closed down and it never was replaced ? The longtime bowling alley in New Minas was bought out by developers, torn down, and replaced with a business office complex ? We lost the local salvage, reclamation and disposal site in South Alton when ordered shut down by the Provincial Government, but these same people who shut it down never ever offered to replace it with another leaving the community without this vital facility ? One day a portion of roof blew off the long time town funeral home and it never re-opened leaving only one such establishment left in town ? And, just as the citizens of Kentville were learning that both the Apple Blossom Princess and the Queen Annapolisa pageants were to be cancelled after 87 consecutive years, at the same time there was an all age Drag Queen show getting ready to entertain at the Kings Arms Pub in a total flip flop from the popular Irish Rovers or Scottish pipers that most Kentville citizens identify with at this time of year ? Numerous local restaurants and small businesses have all come and gone - mostly gone - and the main town supermarket Jasons IGA had a fire and was forced to close down for over a year so there was no supermarket to provide groceries for the local citizens ? The ever popular multi venue Wandlyn Inn burned down with all venues now lost to the community ? It wasn't replaced after the fire and now there's just a fast food MacDonald's take out to replace all of Wandlyn's many facilities including hotel rooms, indoor swimming pool, whirlpool and sauna, nightclub, dual convention centers and dual restaurants ? Not a very good exchange for the community ?

 

The traditional July 1st Canada Day town sponsored party event of fun, food,speeches and local entertainment held each year at the wading Pool was curtailed by the Town due to budget considerations ? And so now, if you want to enjoy July 1st entertainment or fireworks you have to go to New Minas, Hantsport or Berwick ? Access to clean drinking water is well known as one of the most identifiable entitlements provided by a town ? Billions are currently being spent by the Canadian taxpayer to provide First Nations people with free safe drinking water ? Yet the Kentville water commission charges the customer 10,000 dollars just to turn their town water on at roadside ? And then after this rather large up front financial layout paid for by the brand new customer, he will still have to pay for all of his yard trenching and household plumbing work ? And in return for this large initial forced surcharge, the valued new customer will be rewarded with a water bill courtesy of the town of Kentville each month hereafter ?

They even managed to take away Kentville's most famous of all and most instantly identifiable town landmark in the hotel name Cornwallis Inn ? Cornwallis Inn is a well known trademark hotel name that is synonymous World wide with the name of Kentville, and this name represents a multitude of fond memories for the local area residents and for other residents living all over the Valley ? It was hard to understand why the Town would ever allow this historic name to change,, and also hard to understand why a previous Town of Kentville planning dept would ever allow subsidized apartment units to be built onto the side of such a respected Town centerpiece and also block the access lane to the rear parking lot while doing it ? The Cornwallis Inn will always be an important Valley landmark and a future protected Canadian heritage site ?

They have even changed well known identifiable names of some Streets and even the local traffic bridge traversing the Cornwallis River ? And so now many local residents and delivery drivers don't know what they're talking about when these stupid new names are used ? This name change is especially hard on Kentville's Seniors who can become confused with such absurd name changes and has in some cases, created safety hazards ?

In 2017 ABF Directors tried to move Kentville's 87 year old yearly Grand Street Parade to different location in the Valley, and the town was forced to claw and battle its way just to get its own local yearly parade returned back home to them after hosting it for the last 90 years ? And in yet another major step backwards that same year, ABF and the Town decided to cease and desist all public ABF Wednesday, Thursday and weekends of fun, food, music, displays, amusements, local student performances, etc. etc. held at Memorial Park during the Apple Blossom festival week ? No explanation was given and no replacement or apology was ever offered by the Town for such a devastating loss to be absorbed by the citizens of Kentville ? Kentville has now lost its most identifiable of all citizens, that being their beloved Apple Blossom Princess Kentville, when newcomer ABF Directors had shown an uncommon degree of disrespect, as well as their disregard and insensitivity when presuming to appoint themselves as the ones entitled to end the long running iconic 88 year old iconic Queen Annapolisa and Apple Blossom Princess competition ? This termination means all public Royal party appearances including the Princess Teas, Kentville Children's Parade, all Royal visitations to schools, shut-ins, Seniors, and hospital attendances that are normally made by Queen Annapolisa and the Royal Princesses are now cancelled and no longer take place ?

In 2022 the Kentville Grand Street Parade was quite understandably very limited and downsized following the 2 previous Covi year cancellations, but this year's 2023 effort wasn't much better ? The immense contribution and the wonderful diversity supplied by nearby Valley communities from Windsor to Digby was no longer included in the Parade ? Apple Blossom royalty and all Princess floats were no longer included in the Parade ? And many local residents expressed disappointment when Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and her child attendant were no longer seen or to be included in the Town Parade ? It seemed that Kentville had lost yet another identifiable citizen and wonderful Ambassador that always performed her official duties including advertising, promoting the town and representing Kentville with charm, grace, dignity, talent and beauty wherever she went ?

After the long running 3 consecutive Apple Blossom weekdays of afternoon and evening mid week entertainment at the Park were all cancelled and Apple Blossom Week entertainment was cut down to a bare bone single Friday night affair, ( which btw will no longer include the highlight of the evening Royal Party visitation and rock music by Eddy's Basement ), it seems Officials were still unsatisfied and found yet another way to take away even more ? And this year they want to charge inflation stressed locals a fee to see entertainers like Matt Minglewood and Kevin Davison at private shows when in the past these entertainers appeared on a public stage free of charge ? Cut backs were also apparent in fireworks, (which btw will no longer be started by Queen Annapolisa at her official Royal Party visitation to the Park following Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville) ?

And so, in summing up, the citizens of Kentville are frustrated with cutbacks, the many steps backwards, and the cancellations and closures that never seem to be replaced once gone ? Both the Provincial Railway and municipal Airport are now permanently closed down and even Acadia Van lines inter provincial bus transit no longer stops ? The Wandlyn Inn complex and all of its popular hotel and restaurant services were lost by fire and never replaced ? Extreme cut backs were made to the historic Apple Blossom Festival that saw a week long fun filled period of public entertainment at Memorial Park reduced to one minimal Friday night affair followed the next day by a shortened mundane parade of less than an hour ? Concerns also remain about the absence of an in-Town High School for Teens, the loss of a key funeral home, the loss of the Pool Hall, the absence of a movie theater, the loss of Harveys drive thru burgers, the loss of one of the 2 dt Tim Hortons, the loss of the dt pizza parlor, the loss of Chinese food take out, the loss of the local fruit and vegetable market, the absence of a 7/24 convenience store, the closure of the bakery, and also the loss of the local disposal site when no replacement was ever offered by the Government that shut it down ? There was also the shocking cancellation and heartbreaking termination of her royal heinous the Apple Blossom Princess Kentville and the end of the prestigious Acadia U Coronation ceremonies in Wolfville ? There was also the erasing of, and then the changing of the name of Kentville's biggest most identifiable internationally known Cornwallis Inn name logo that is instantly recognizable world wide and symbolically married for decades to the Town name of Kentville ? There remains the problem of a serious local shortage of rental rooms and local dining spots for tourists created when the Wandlyn hotel complex burned down and when not one of these many hospitality, business, tourist, restaurant, hotel, night club, and recreational venues were ever replaced ?

And now, in a more recent issue, we are seeing more and more small businesses located all over the Valley that have not only provided local employment but also served as popular meet and greet gathering spots for friends and neighbors for years and years now, changing hands after being bought out and turned over to total strangers that are not from Halifax or from N.S. nor even Canada but have come here from another Continent ? A strange new phenomenon of foreign take-overs has arrived in the Valley that includes replacing the management, assuming full control of the business and taking over the labor force of many traditional Valley fast food, gas, and coffee businesses ? Some of these now include : the Petrocan in New Minas, many Valley Tim Hortons, the Subway, KFC, DQ, Burger King, and the Mary Brown's in New Minas to name a few ? And in another concern, because many newcomer employees are unfamiliar with the currency it is advisable to count your change carefully if paying by cash ? There are also some indications that nepotism is now being shown in the hiring of employees once these establishments are taken over by new foreign management, and that our local students can't get Summer jobs any more ? Another major local employer, Eassons Trucking, also seems affected by the current influx of new foreign workers with some reports of untrained, unlicensed, unqualified, (and Government subsidized) drivers behind the wheel, and rumors of some units with multiple drivers on board having a hole drilled in the floor of the sleeper cabin to accommodate a long piece of ABS plumbing pipe used to transfer raw shidzen sewage directly from the interior of the truck down onto the open highway below to avoid pit stops at the Big Stop ?

And, from the looks of a recent Town municipal election, most candidates might be unfamiliar with the Town's long time traditions, customs, character, and past history ? Some candidates even naively describe the town as a kind of happy go lucky, blissful, Hallmark or Who-ville movie set type of place teaming with busy villagers and joyful munchkins frolicking up and down picturesque cobblestone streets lined by colorful quaint shops and internationally known boutiques and fancy eateries which does not accurately describe the Town ?

And apparently the new Mayor who is also a new local business owner, appears to have befriended the ex- Kings County Warden Brothers who represents and resides in the Kingston/Greenwood area and who had previously sold out Kentville when she led the charge to shut down and evict our local municipal Airport, the well known skydiving academy, the international flight training academy and many other prosperous Waterville airport aviation businesses ? And who could forget the Mayors' recent New Year's message of congratulating himself on enlarging the size of his downtown retail store and expressing personal happiness over a new (taxpayer funded) installation of a brand new sidewalk in front of it, but failing to mention serious town issues like terrible poverty and youth unemployment, racial profile hiring at Tim Hortons, the opioid drug crisis, high cost of living crisis, the homelessness crisis, the devastating cancellation of thr Princess Kentville competition, the vacationers and travelers concerns over there being no place to stay in Kentville, and the much needed indoor town recreation facility, (no one wants to get their daily exercise by hiking down crude outdoor trails while attacked by mosquitos or witness a homeless user shoot up in the privacy of the forest) ? There was also the decimation of the Apple Blossom Festival and sad deterioration of the world famous Grande Street Parade ? And there's also the current Town housing crisis, the sudden high increases in rent, the alarming rate of downtown business bankruptcies, and also the urgent need to honor Kentvilles glorious past railroading history with a museum and outdoor display of some sort ? Adding to this there appears to be a newly elected Town Council that has immediately started to cancel and cut back on important traditional town public events when, ( due to a drop of rain ) they had cancelled this year's Military march-on and (best in the area) outdoors Remembrance Day ceremonies traditionally held at the Memorial Cenotaph on Park Street ? There was also this years' poor presentation of a Grande Street Parade and one unsafe situation in the newcomer Parade where normal residents (incl Seniors) were seen perched precariously aboard a stop and go, unsheltered, jerking motion, no sided vehicle without restraining devices, water or protection from the sun ? There was also the ridiculous changing of many of the long time well known town names including the most famous of them all the Cornwallis Inn ? There's also local residents plea to 'bring our high school students back home again' , and some complaints about the Town's failure to provide public outdoor entertainment events exceeding the grade school level ? There was also the controversy over the hanging up of the biggest pride flag money can buy above the main entrance of the honored heritage site Cornwallis Inn, and of course, also the recent down town flooding crisis ? The mayor did not address the question of why a Provincial Government would force the local reclamation and disposal site to permanently close down its operation and then those who ordered this major loss to the welfare of the community would not offer to replace it but would just leave the area without such a facility ? And, there was no mention of the need for an inquiry into the exorbitant five figure fee charged to customers by the Kentville water commission just to turn water on at the road ? And there are also concerns over the recent rash of sudden unopposed takeovers of small businesses by newly arrived foreigners from Asia when our locals around here can't find work ? And what about growing concerns over the formation of an exclusive Ontarioville newcomer type town growing within an already established town ? There were also many concerns expressed over the Spring pothole epidemic that made some streets unfit to drive on, at a time when a brand new double lane sidewalk was being installed in front of Phinneys that was smooth as a baby's bum ? And then there was the refusal by the Town to help citizens with expensive auto repairs caused by their dangerous unattended potholes ? And there was also the inadequate street lighting and residential streets and sidewalks that are still in need of attention ? There was also the inconvenience felt by many local residents when ultra slow motion repairs on Canaan Ave moved at three legged turtle racing speed causing this vital access route to remain closed to traffic, incl emergency vehicles, for many many Months, (very much unlike the speedy workmanship and high priority given to the new downtown sidewalk installation in the front of Phinneys) ?

And so, can it be time to stop the come from away newcomer mentality, and make it mandatory for all candidates bidding on these important Town governing positions to be born and raised and reside in Kentville in an effort to preserve, protect and retain the Town's unique character, history, diversity, identity, and its many longtime local traditions ?

 

OUCH ? ( could someone please remove the daggers from our back ), Et tu, Warden Brothers and u tu Leo ? March 10th 2014 - A Date That Will Live on in Infamy - Warden Brothers, (Greenwood riding) and the Kings County Council use a calculated forced eviction to shut down the Waterville Airport aviation complex and then relocate some components to the Kingston/Greenwood area ?

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/28588465413/in/album-7...

 

Newcomer ABF directors trying to erase history ? The page showing all past Queens and Apple Blossom Princesses has been removed from the official Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival site ? The popular history page honoring all past Queen Annapolisa winners 1933-2018 with photos and bios has been taken down and apparently replaced with huge portraits of the newcomer directors ?

Meet the newcomer directors,

www.appleblossom.com/about/

 

How dare They ! Kentville IS the Cornwallis Inn and the Cornwallis Inn IS Kentville ! If you were to google the 2 words Cornwallis Inn you will get over 600,000 entries with almost all of them married to the word Kentville.. (what a great promotional tool) . The world famous Cornwallis Inn is the source of many fond memories for local and Valley residents.. "It was the centre of everything’: The past and present of Kentville’s iconic Cornwallis Inn"

www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/lifestyles/it-was-the-centre...

 

The concerned Kentvillian must ask, " why is it that every time you gas up at Milne Court Petro-Can, New Minas Ultramar, KVille Ultramar, and now the Big Stop, or go to the KFC for chicken, or Mary Browns, or the Burger King, or Subway, or all of the 3 Timmies for coffee, or Walmart, oe Needs, or receive a parcel from amazon, or attend the cash register to pay the bill at many other downtown stores, it feels like your suddenly in a foreign country ? " www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54418705157/

 

Chamber of Commerce Kentville, NS

448 Main St, Kentville NS B4N

annapolisvalleychamber.ca/-

Kody Bloise . Liberal Party

  

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On the recent 2023 edition of the Grand Street Parade :

  

"it looked as if some spectators along the route just joined in and began to walk along and make themselves a part of the parade ? "

 

May 27th, 2023 - Dismay, disillusion and extreme disappointment prevail in Kentville over shocking changes and many missing regular entrees in this years 2023 Grand Street Parade ? Where is our famous Queen Annapolisa and where are the many Apple Blossom Princesses and their child attendants riding in their beautiful hand crafted decorated floats ? Where's the town criers ? And what about the dazzling majorette groups, the Scottish pipers and large multi instrumental marching bands that always come ? And where are the Hantsport and Windsor floats and their large delegations ? And where are Digby, Aylesford, Annapolis Royal, Canning, Middleton, Wolfville, and more ? Why are so many towns and villages that normally participate in the parade not included this year ? It was also a major disappointment when for the first time ever Kentville's own Apple Blossom Princess, (aka Miss Kentville) was no longer included in the parade as many toen residents young and old identify with their chosen Apple Blossom Princess at this time of year ? However the now royalty-free Princess float was still used to transport a grouping of normal everyday town residents sitting around together in a social scene meant to identity Kentville as being a diverse and inclusive place ? The New Minas float also did not include an Apple Blossom Princess for this year, however her float was transformed into an advertisement for the famous New Minas UFO incident which all New Minions identify with. The Berwick float didn't include a Princess Berwick this year either. but was altered to proudly identify with the town's upcoming Centennial celebrations. And the Kingston float was also missing an Apple Blossom Princess this year but was instead promoting their long running Kingston Steer Barbecue that all Kingstonians readily identify with. It was good to see an RCMP contingent again although they sent far less officers this year than usual ? And it was notable that only 1 other large marching band appeared in the parade when usually 4 or more big bands, many with many pipers usually attend after traveling up from places like Cape Breton, Bridgewater, Dartmouth etc ? And where have all of the pets and animals gone ? There's no horse teams, wooden wagons, riders or livestock this year ? Even the usual greyhound dogs weren't there ? Also noticed that some spectators must have just joined in and began walking along within the parade, and others must have come over from the Children's parade with their strollers to join in ? There was a variety of advertisers, most from out of town but some local ? There were various Political parties represented with the largest delegation coming from the Liberals ? All in all, this Year's parade seemed a bare minimum weak effort that was really missing the usual royal pageantry and 7 to 10 spectacular Princess floats, and the large marching bands and majorette groups that usually enter, and the usual agriculture horticulture and livestock component, and the very popular Scottish pipers bands that always attend, and the many large out of town contingents that always participate ? This was not the famous grand street parade that patrons are accustomed to and did not come near to the high standards and professionalism set by previous Grand Street Parades ? It became clearly obvious that what they were hailing as a newer, bolder, more inclusive and more diverse parade was instead the exact opposite ? This Grand Street Parades has lost the inclusion, diversity and major contribution given by the many Valley communities and their Princess contestants with Child attendants that come to participate in the Queen Annapolisa competition, the Friday evening coronation gala at Acadia University in Wolfville, the Princess Teas and Royal attendances at schools hospitals, senior citizen homes and shut-ins, as well as the Friday night Memorial Park outdoor concert, the Saturday morning Children's Parade and the Royal trip down Main street Kentville in the famous Grand Street parade ?

And so, to quickly sum up, can this strange, incomplete, hastily thrown together, shortened, newcomer mentality version of our world famous Kentville Grand Street Parade that is now missing all of the Queen Annapolisa Royalty and missing all 7 to 10 Apple Blossom Princesses and their 7 to 10 beautifully handcrafted individual Town Princess floats, and also missing the unique character and diversity brought forth by the many absent Valley villages and communities that are no longer included in the parade, and that had also failed to include many out of town large marching bands and pipers that usually attend, and that had also been lacking in the representation of local farming, agriculture and livestock displays, now signal the end of the once glorious Grand Street Parade era ?

  

Previous parades :

 

2011 Grand Street Parade Kentville 79th ABF

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVgh3Dh2xn8&t=208s

  

2012 Grand Street Parade Kentville www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB1VBx50b18

  

2014 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEo14IZKxp8&t=11s

  

2015 Kentville Grand Street Parade

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBifeG2SdPY&t=47s

 

2016 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2wedvN5_Iw&t=8s

 

2017 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=JozwyGpvfSY&t=1978s

 

2018 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOK1GmiLmNk&t=986s

 

2019 Kentville Grand Street Parade www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMdEx8Zf-q0&t=1492s

 

The exclusion of so many participants and denial of diversity have marred the 2023 edition of Kentville Grand Street Parade ? Many nearby Valley communities were missing when these longtime participants weren't included in this year's parade ? Where is Canning, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Hantsport Greenwood, Windsor ? Where's our Queen Annapolisa ? Where's the Apple Blossom Princesses and all the individual Town floats including Princess Kentville ? To view a complete (newcomer version) of the world famous Kentville Grand Street Parade press here www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lchie

  

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Public entertainment held at Memorial Park Kentville during the Apple Blossom Festival ;

  

A medley of some of the bands that have performed at Memorial Park Kentville, Apple Blossom Festival - Petty Larceny, Fleetwod Mix, Keep the Faith, Stones Tribute, Green River Revival, Viscious, Eddy's Basement, Matt Minglewood,

 

www.dailymotion.com/video/x76pn9b

 

www.dailymotion.com/video/x5hqti9

  

,

  

Fleetwood Mix;

 

in concert 2015,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbltesRRCNk&t=390s

 

Don't Stop www.dailymotion.com/video/x3o6auu

 

Gold Dust Woman

www.dailymotion.com/video/x3o5xbg

 

Edge of Seventeen

www.dailymotion.com/video/x3lpjb7

 

Everywhere

www.dailymotion.com/video/x3lo7rz

 

I don't wanna know

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2t85mg

 

Sisters of the Moon

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2gfold

 

Fleetwood Mix medley - 2015

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2sfjm1

 

Seven Wonders

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jxnas

 

The Chain

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jxnao

 

Rainbows End

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jxnaq

 

Just like a runaway girl

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jxnau

 

Tusk

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jxnfs

  

Viscious comes to Kentville ;

www.dailymotion.com/video/x8blaup

  

.

  

Green River Revival at the 2012 A B F ;

studio.youtube.com/video/Q2rO8pG5Mkk/edit

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2rO8pG5Mkk

 

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Eddy's Basement in Kentville Thursday at the Park,,

 

Just another brick in the Wall

www.dailymotion.com/video/x7u402l

 

No Time, Comfortably Numb, Tied to the Whipping Post, Sin City, Twilight Zone, Roller, Smokin,, Money, Just Another Brick in the Wall..

www.dailymotion.com/video/x7u672h

 

Comfortably Numb,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x3lmbgf

 

Sin City,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x3ot59g

 

Roller,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x3lm5z5

 

Whippin Post

www.dailymotion.com/video/x3o5o5o

  

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Bluesmobile in Kentville ; ;

 

Forget About It,,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x4f58y3

 

25 or 6 to 4,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x4lfjyc

 

Knock on wood, Proud Mary,, etc = Memorial park Friday night show

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f8WN0_OHz8&t=37s

 

Without Love

www.dailymotion.com/video/x4f1rgs

 

Caledonia_by Uncle D

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jv7ua

 

Superstitious

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jv7xy

 

All about the base

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jv7qs

 

No woman no cry

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jv7xw

 

Mustang Sally

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jv7y0

 

Bluesmobile on stage Gimme some luvin

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jv74i

 

Friday Bluesmobile on stage Memorial Park 1/2 hour

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jv6s0

 

2016 Bluesmobile on stage Friday Memorial Park Pt 1

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jxo5m

 

2016 Bluesmobile on stage Friday Memorial Park pt 2

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jxnhm

 

Bluesmobile in Kentville - 25 or 624

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9k6cma

  

An ABF Guest Tribute band,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x81qbxd

  

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Keep the Faith,

 

We got it going on,,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2fs7xm

 

Its my Life,,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2yxwbw

 

Keep the Faith in Kentville medley 3 songs

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9jvbli

  

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Petty Larceny

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2gq64d

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Matt Minglewood at Kentville Memorial Park ABF 2018, -

www.dailymotion.com/video/x6y6tww

  

2016 84th Apple Blossom Festival ;

The traditional Royal Party visitation to Memorial Park in Kentville following the Coronation Ceremonies at Acadia University in Wolfville,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x8zb7zg

 

Some bad news - Drastic cutbacks to public entertainment by the Town of Kentville will punish citizens and end the enjoyment of these guest Tribute band performances ? In an ongoing decline in content and quality of Kentville town entertainment, all normal mid-week public displays and entertainment that were always held at Memorial Park during the Apple Blossom Festival week have been curtailed by a new generation of administrators ? These Cost saving frugal decisions will conserve Town money by inflicting public entertainment cut-backs on citizens ?

 

More bad news, Drastic cutbacks by the Town of Kentville will end a long-time tradition of mid week Apple blossom open public entertainment normally held each year during the Apple Blossom Festival down at Memorial Park ? And so ever since these major entertainment cancellations backs in 2017, instead of an interesting and fun filled evening for the residents of Kentville, there's just a silent empty Park on Wednesdays and Thursdays at Kentville's Memorial Park during the Apple Blossom Festival ? No explanation, replacement, substitution or apology was ever offered ?

  

A Thursday at the Park,,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x81qbxd

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52087619256

  

Thursday at the Park - local students

www.dailymotion.com/video/x8blaur

 

Thursday at the Park - local music students performing at ABF

www.dailymotion.com/video/x8blaus

 

Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival Theme

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2gq8bx

 

Queen Annapolisa at the Park

www.dailymotion.com/partner/x15x1lv/media/video/details/x...

 

Thursday at the Park 20m Central Kings High drum core, www.dailymotion.com/partner/x15x1lv/media/video/details/x...

www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/52091143986/in/album-7...

 

Thursday at Memorial Park - Kentville Grade school kids perform,

www.dailymotion.com/video/x9k6c5c

 

Celebrate www.flickr.com/photos/74039487@N02/54544345629

     

Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630.

   

While rereading what I originally wrote for this post back in 2014, I couldn't help but feel that I had left so much out. Only part of the story was told, so I feel it only makes sense to rewrite this, and give Barbie's friends the spotlight they deserve. It's also fitting since the original photograph was also redone, to better represent the vision we originally had, but couldn't execute. There are two parts to this tale--how it all began, and what it became when I started collecting dolls as an adult. Early on, I was enamored by the friends of Barbie. Teresa, Kira, Christie, Midge, and those random one off characters always captured my attention. It was these characters of various ethnic representations who stood out to me. As a blonde little girl, I wasn't interested in playing with a doll that looked like myself. No, instead I desired to live vicariously through my plastic companions. So it became a trend very early on in my life that I collected/hunted down Barbie's friends.

 

The very first friend of Barbie I owned was a Sun Jewel Kira. She wasn't a doll I picked out myself--instead she was chosen by my sister. It was Colleen's birthday, most likely in 1994, when Dad took her out to the store to choose a doll. Of course since I was so young, Dad and Mom wanted to make sure I wouldn't get jealous of Colleen's new dolly, so Dad had her get one for me too. Colleen was drawn to the sparkling Sun Jewel line--for herself she elected Barbie, and for me, she opted to choose Kira. Why Kira? Colleen knew of my deep obsession for princess Jasmine, and Kira's black hair was reminiscent in a very small way of my favorite Disney character (that and her huge earrings). Colleen picked well, because for a while, until I got a real Jasmine doll, Kira was my stand in. While I can no longer remember the specifics of those early days, Colleen recalls the times she caught me red handed with some of her Jasmine doll's things on my "hideous" Kira doll. Kira was notorious for stealing Jasmine's golden necklace...and probably dating Colleen's Aladdin doll who I also "borrowed" without permission (which is how his head came off). Kira took a beating, despite being my very first store bought doll. Unlike her comrades of the olden days, she is no longer here. Somehow my secondhand friends outlived her. Kira's earrings broke off, her face paint rubbed away, her body became so limp it couldn't hold a pose....and there was that dreaded mullet hairdo I gave her for some reason. Of course I can't forget to mention Kira's decapitation--that time I let a little girl at the beach borrow her, and she lost Kira's head in the water. Instead of helping us search, she promptly handed me Kira's body and walked away. Luckily, Colleen and I were able to retrieve Kira's head in the murky pond waters somehow. Even with all my current knowledge of doll restoration, there was no way I could have possibly breathed life into my dear old friend. But I'm grateful to have a reincarnation of her, shown in this photo--a lucky flea market boxed find from years ago! Kira will always be a pillar in my doll collection, and as I re-immersed myself in to the world of dollies, I was quick to add more of her to my growing hoard. Even though she's not always the doll I find the most aesthetically pleasing, I can't help but feel a great attachment to Kira. Like my WNBA girl, who I longed for as a kid since she reminded me of my favorite figure skater, Kristi Yamaguchi. There was also Ocean Friends Kira, who I found in 2013 still sealed in her box. She was another one of those childhood dreams, who I almost picked over Barbie. But Barbie, aka Deenie, won out simply because she was packaged with the Orca whale, my favorite animal.

 

Kira was the doll who started it all for me, but there were other friends of Barbie who strengthened this obsession. I'd say that Christie was one of the very first characters I ever went out of my way to collect. Although I would have denied being a collector back then, as it felt like a stuffy, money motivated word to my younger self, that's precisely what I was doing. My Bathtime Fun Kelly and my American Girl Addy sparked an interest in African American dolls within me at a very young age. I still recall my fantasies of owning a dark skinned Barbie to pair with little Kelly, aka Kelsey. I finally got my hands on my dream doll, Pearl Beach Christie, after I managed to save $8 of my allowance up for her. So she wasn't the fanciest Christie I could have picked, but the fact that she was from a beach collection just like Kira, was a major bonus. For a time, it was this Christie who reigned supreme....until a woe begone Dentist Barbie came into my life and stole the spotlight. But Christie did regain popularity in several waves over the years, which is how she ended up with this short bob haircut that you can see in the photo. I wanted her to have a "summer" inspired hairdo...it was a terrible idea, but I love her nonetheless. From there I built up a trio of Christie dolls, which included Glam 'n Groom, Pearl Beach, and Happenin' Hair (who I picked out for my eighth birthday). Only my original Pearl Beach Christie still survives...the other two were given away during a regretful doll purge in the early 2000s. By the age of eleven, it became routine for me to pick Christie dolls out on those Friday night pizza/doll runs with Dad. His way of handling the loss of Mom was to constantly be out of the house, and to make up for his rageful outbursts by buying each of us dolls on the weekends. During those first few years without Mom, I collected Sunsation, Rain or Sun, Chair Flair, Rio de Janeiro, Hollywood Nails, and Dance Flex Christie. Most are still part of my collection, although a few of them were sold off at a yard sale in 2011. There were also the African American dolls who I thought were Christie, who turned out to be just an ethnic variation of Barbie, like the infamous Bead Blast "Christie." Oh how I pined for that doll, ever since the day I got a McDonald's miniature of her with my Happy Meal. It wasn't until 2015, when one finally came my way. I know she's technically Barbie, but Bead Blast will always be Christie in my heart.

 

I had many other favorite friends of Barbie growing up. Teresa was the beauty queen in my young eyes. Although Christie was usually the one I bought from a line first, I played more with Barbie's Hispanic friend. I had quite the hoard of Teresa dolls back then, even after giving away several of my dolls. There was also my Generation Girl binge of the late 90s, which was ignited when I first laid eyes on Chelsie at Toys 'R' Us, the same day I picked out Happenin' Hair Christie for my birthday. I spent over a year, closer to two, tracking down all six original Generation Girls. To this day, the Generation Girl line is one of my absolute favorites to ever exist, and I still squeal with delight when I find a Gen Girl I don't already own. There was also my Happy Family bender of 2003/2004--I quickly became obsessed with Midge, Alan, and their little family. In a very short span of time, I managed to get my hands on quite a few dolls/playsets. Strangely though, I think of all the heavily played with Barbie friends of my childhood years, it was a random character who left the greatest impact. Becky was a doll that only appeared three times over the years---Paralympic, Share a Smile, and I'm the School Photographer (I have all three now). I was at a friend's house one afternoon when I spotted a unique redhead in her messy pile of dolls. This gal was extra exotic since she was marketed with a wheelchair. By the end of the afternoon, I knew it was my destiny to get my very own Becky. In the coming months, Becky finally came to fruition. I saved my allowance up for her, and picked her out at a local Toys 'R' Us, the day Colleen chose Awesome Skateboard Janet. In an ironic twist of fate, my very own Becky doll just didn't do it for me like my friend's had. I don't know if perhaps my doll was just less attractive, or maybe the novelty had worn off. But she was cast aside not long after acquiring her. Little did I know that Colleen was secretly green with envy over Becky. She was always one who had a morbid fascination with illnesses and handicaps. I recall being very young and forced to be the make believe character in a wheelchair, to suit Colleen's inner medical daydreams. Sometime in 2001, we started one of our most infamous doll games of all time--the "Refugee Game." It was during this role that Becky stole the show, and Colleen got to rewrite her script. It began innocently enough--my beloved Tarzan Jane doll was cast as the older sister to Colleen's AA Kid Kore Katie, Holly. She ran a salon from inside the house, and a host of odd personalities always showed up to have their hair done. Jane's crazy, ditzy friend Ariel worked at the salon with her. Colleen decided to make Becky one of the rude clients. While at the house, Becky revealed her dirty little secret...she could walk after all! She made herself pizza in the kitchen and took a long, relaxing bubble bath while chowing down on her snack. Somehow, Becky became a "good guy" when the dolls had to run away to escape the villain, Barbie (Holiday Singing Sister), who was out to imprison Kid Kore Katie for being a "Fakian." Instead of turning Jane in for having a clone sister, she joined Ariel, Jane, and Katie in the Golden Dream Motorhomes as they fled for safety. This is where the inspiration for this photo was derived from. In the coming years, Becky became a staple in our doll family--she was older sister to Leroy, aka Water Jewel Magic Aladdin. Of course Colleen decided to make Becky authentically disabled in later scenarios. She spent much of her time wearing our doll hospital gown, grousing in the makeshift french fry box bed, constantly complaining of her many ailments.

 

The dolls of my younger years are the foundation for my interest in Barbie's friends. However, surprisingly the one I feel the deepest fondness for was not one of these ladies. Interestingly enough, the friend of Barbie who tugs at my heart strings the most would have to be Francie. Francie came and left the Barbie world long before I was even born. I don't know that I had any prior knowledge of her existence, until that fateful day my 1996 reproduction joined the family. It must have been sometime in 2004 when I spotted a mint in box Francie repro at a huge indoor flea market we frequented back then. I can't really say what it was about this doll, but I was compelled by her. Dad offered to get me Francie, but I politely declined for whatever reason....I probably didn't know what I'd do with her. Fate had a different plan for me though, because several minutes later, I happened upon an authentic, vintage Francie house. Being an absolute sucker for Barbie playsets, especially very old ones, I HAD to get Francie's case style vinyl house. Before leaving the flea market, Dad insisted that we double back and buy the boxed Francie. His logic was, "Well you need the Francie doll to go with the house!" It's a moment in time that has been frozen, and just thinking about it brings me to tears. I'm not sure what it is about my repro Francie, but nobody can quite hold a candle to her, much like that random Jammin' in Jamaica Nolee doll Dad bought me in 2003, when I had to have teeth pulled for braces. In that minute, it didn't seem like a big deal, just another occasion in which Dad wanted to spoil me rotten with dolls. Francie didn't even get played with until I was a teenager. It was a secret affair--Colleen and I conspired to break out the dolls when Dad was sick a few years later, probably when I was eighteen. We hadn't touched our plastic friends in several years, but for whatever reason we were compelled to do so. Francie took on the role of "Sara" and dated Pet Pals Kevin, aka Charlie. Although I don't remember much about the given scenario anymore, Francie kept her Sara persona after that game. Of course it's not shocking that as an adult collector, my fondness for Francie has grown. In the early days, I found Malibu and "Baggy" Francie in the "70s Bin" which we acquired on New Year's Day 2012...most likely the last flea market dolls Dad ever bought us when he was alive. Every time I stumble upon a Francie doll, I can't help but feel a certain sense of nostalgia and magic. I have a tendency to save ones that probably aren't worth while...like one of my blonde bendable leg gals who has a pixie cut, split legs, and missing eyelashes (ironically, she's one of my faves). There was also the day I found my dream doll, the 1965 "Straight Leg" Francie. I had seen others of her before, but they were far too expensive. I found my gal tucked away in a stinky, vintage Barbie case with a handful of ancient, authentic clothes, for just $5/$6. The reason I was so drawn to this particular doll was because of her resemblance to my beloved repro. Despite her yellowing face and the fact that I don't own a stitch of her original outfit, she's one of my personal favorites in my collection.

 

Barbie's friend circle is absolutely massive, so it's impossible to give each character I've connected with her own stage time. So while this passage highlights some of the most memorable, many dolls weren't mentioned, and some have their very own separate "My Story" write ups (like My Scene). There was also Ballerina Cara, who wooed me from an eBay listing at the tender age of 12. Her arms fell off immediately upon arrival in the mail, and it wasn't until 2012 that she was fixed. I think of all the African American characters ever created, Cara is the most breathtaking. Let's not forget about Jazzie, Barbie's oddly sized cousin who first captured my attention when I found the Sun Sensation one in a scruffy container of dolls at the flea market. She took on the name of Leanne, and I was set on adding more of her kind to my collection as an adult. Likewise there is Shani and co., much like the S.I.S. line of more modern times. Reading about Shani in my doll books made me covet my own that much more--I'll never forget Father's Day 2012, when I found Sun Jewel Shani and "1st Edition" Asha while at a huge outdoor flea market with Dad's best friend. The Mystery Squad drew me in when the dolls first hit store shelves in 2002. Kenzie became a childhood favorite, even after I made the mistake of brushing out her kinky curls (luckily I figured out how to fix them as an adult). I still recall the day that Dad bought me Kenzie, and then I was stuck going to a sleepover at a friend's house. How I longed to be at home with Colleen and her favorite Katie, playing dolls instead (or going to see a movie in theaters with Dad and Colleen). In my adult years, P.J. wormed a special place in my heart. I was magnetically drawn to her gorgeous, closed lipped head mold and her bold, wide eyes. Words cannot describe how hard I fell for Malibu P.J., the day I found her entangled in the "70s Bin" with a bunch of re-bodied dolls. I can never resist buying P.J. dolls whenever we cross paths at flea markets. Summer and Raquelle were two of the few store bought Barbies I purchased since my resurgence back into dolls. Although initially disinterested in the Life in the Dreamhouse franchise, I soon found myself lusting for them....and when they went on sale, I just couldn't help myself! There were also the Fairytopia friends, who once upon a time I found ever so creepy. I recall tossing Crystal into the garbage bag when we found her stained with mold in the "Lagoona bin" of 2013. But something called me back to her, and after a bath and stain removal treatment, she became one of my most prized possessions. Monster High dolls made me see that the Fairytopia friends really weren't all that bizarre, and now I look forward to adding more of these colorful creatures to my collection whenever they turn up in lots. Whether it is a one time appearance friend, or a character that spanned the decades, they are all wonderful in their own ways. While I do feel a certain affection for the dolls that graced store shelves in my childhood, I also feel the same nostalgia for characters like Francie, Whitney, Miko, and Jazzie who all preceded my youth, but were part of my childhood too. While I don't purchase many Barbies brand new these days, that doesn't mean I don't love her new generation of friends just the same. While it is sad to not see familiar faces like Christie and Kira, I will say that the likes of Summer, Raquelle, and Nikki get me just as excited. My love and devotion to the friends of Barbie is as eclectic as the dolls themselves--each decade, each generation brought something new and refreshing to the table, and without them all, Barbie's world would be a lot less colorful!

Arbour Hill is an inner city area of Dublin, on the Northside of the River Liffey, in the Dublin 7 postal district. Arbour Hill, the road of the same name, runs west from Blackhall Place in Stoneybatter, and separates Collins Barracks, now part of the National Museum of Ireland, to the south from Arbour Hill Prison to the north, whose graveyard includes the burial plot of the signatories of the Easter Proclamation that began the 1916 Rising.

  

The military cemetery at Arbour Hill is the last resting place of 14 of the executed leaders of the insurrection of 1916. Among those buried there are Patrick Pearse, James Connolly and Major John Mc Bride. The leaders were executed in Kilmainham and then their bodies were transported to Arbour Hill, where they were buried.

 

The graves are located under a low mound on a terrace of Wicklow granite in what was once the old prison yard. The gravesite is surrounded by a limestone wall on which their names are inscribed in Irish and English. On the prison wall opposite the gravesite is a plaque with the names of other people who gave their lives in 1916.

 

The adjoining Church of the Sacred Heart, which is the prison chapel for Arbour Hill prison, is maintained by the Department of Defence. At the rear of the church lies the old cemetery, where lie the remains of British military personnel who died in the Dublin area in the 19th and early 20th century.

 

A doorway beside the 1916 memorial gives access to the Irish United Nations Veterans Association house and memorial garden.

This piece is entitled "self portrait of ones entire life". I executed this piece with the a theory I developed that is called Dimensionalism . This theory has its inspiration form my experiences with pre-seizure events for I have epilepsy. In this state I become detached from reality and see time in a different construct,that of a hyper intensity. A hyper awareness of a moment and everything that constructs it from sounds,thoughts,things tactile . While in these pre seizure states, some instances time is slowed down/speed up or frozen. While in other instances I am forced away form all comprehension of what is in my present environment and reality takes on a totally foreign existence where all has to be re learned.

For the viewers of my piece all of life is in dimensions and how one moves through these dimensions of either large dimensional constructs such as ones life or to the minute dimensional construct of a simple word. Thus giving the viewer this new perspective of time and space. The suspended animation of the piece is only dynamic as the viewer views the piece from the narrower sides form either end where a visible play of time sequencing exists and ones eye is drawn into the piece...

A perspective of a Dimesionalist where one has a view of a moment with a gods eye/time traveler or a pure energy source . From looking at a simple word to a memory one has. All is captured in dimensions. There are other branches of my theory that further portray my experiences. Demensionalising and facitile dimensionalism. These ideas also play with the constructs of how one sees time/moment.I hope to execute these ideas in the future...........

All these ideas/theories have a direct correlation with present day society...from the over abundance of information that is transferred by different technologies to the ways these technologies directly affect our existence and how it adds other dimensions of time to our lives.

I will be placing more info online in the future. and creating a temp website that fully explains all the details and shows examples of these theories as well as go into more details..

 

If you are interested in more info please feel free to contact ...efj@sbcglobal.net

 

Best best

 

Efj.

All these ideas/theories have a direct correlation with present day society...from the over abundance of information that is transferred by different technologies to the ways these technologies directly affect our existence and how it adds other dimensions of time to our lives.

I will be placing more info online in the future. and creating a temp website that fully explains all the details and shows examples of these theories as well as go into more details..

 

If you are interested in more info please feel free to contact ...efj@sbcglobal.net

 

Best best

 

Efj.

This piece is entitled "self portrait of ones entire life". I executed this piece with the a theory I developed that is called Dimensionalism . This theory has its inspiration form my experiences with pre-seizure events for I have epilepsy. In this state I become detached from reality and see time in a different construct,that of a hyper intensity. A hyper awareness of a moment and everything that constructs it from sounds,thoughts,things tactile . While in these pre seizure states, some instances time is slowed down/speed up or frozen. While in other instances I am forced away form all comprehension of what is in my present environment and reality takes on a totally foreign existence where all has to be re learned.

For the viewers of my piece all of life is in dimensions and how one moves through these dimensions of either large dimensional constructs such as ones life or to the minute dimensional construct of a simple word. Thus giving the viewer this new perspective of time and space. The suspended animation of the piece is only dynamic as the viewer views the piece from the narrower sides form either end where a visible play of time sequencing exists and ones eye is drawn into the piece...

A perspective of a Dimesionalist where one has a view of a moment with a gods eye/time traveler or a pure energy source . From looking at a simple word to a memory one has. All is captured in dimensions. There are other branches of my theory that further portray my experiences. Demensionalising and facitile dimensionalism. These ideas also play with the constructs of how one sees time/moment.I hope to execute these ideas in the future...........

All these ideas/theories have a direct correlation with present day society...from the over abundance of information that is transferred by different technologies to the ways these technologies directly affect our existence and how it adds other dimensions of time to our lives.

I will be placing more info online in the future. and creating a temp website that fully explains all the details and shows examples of these theories as well as go into more details..

 

If you are interested in more info please feel free to contact ...efj@sbcglobal.net

 

Best best

 

Efj.

There are other branches of my theory that further portray my experiences. Demensionalising and facitile dimensionalism. These ideas also play with the constructs of how one sees time but deals more with dynamic movement .I hope to execute these ideas in the future...........

All these ideas/theories have a direct correlation with present day society...from the over abundance of information that is transferred by different technologies to the ways these technologies directly affect our existence and how it adds other dimensions of time to our lives.

 

I will be placing more info online in the future. and creating a temp website that fully explains all the details and shows examples of these theories as well as go into more details..

 

If you are interested in more info please feel free to contact ...efj@sbcglobal.net

 

Best best

 

Efj.

Perfectly executing the winning move and leaving the competition in the dust...

April 12

 

I'm certainly no botanist, but my understanding is that sometimes things happen, and petals fall to the ground. It's a completely natural process, although sometimes it isn't. Regardless of the specifics, when the "Czar" variation of the camellia japonica experiences this process the ground ends up blanketed in flowers as whole and vibrant as their siblings still attached above. Somewhere in the recesses of my noggin one could hear the *ding* of a plan being formed. I prefer to leave scenes like this undisturbed - what a shame it would be to rob others of the same visual experience I was lucky enough to enjoy - but measured selfishness is necessary for happiness, so I picked 3 favorites from the piles on the ground and spirited them home. Heist complete, work began on my first ever photos with staged lighting.

 

I started experiencing an itch last summer. In the long carpools from home to work and work to home we managed to diagnose it as years of little creative outlet. Ideas for alleviating this itch were discussed, concepts extensively written in notes apps, zero progress ever made. This photo, conceived in a minute and executed within the hour, was a victory.

Cutter, a military working dog, sniffs for mock explosives along a road while his handler, Cpl. Justin B. Trujillo, directs him July 2 in the Central Training Area. MWDs and their handlers executed improvised explosive device detection training, where the dog teams patrolled through areas with odors typically associated with IEDs. The goal in the training was to make it through the lane without missing any of the indicators. Trujillo is a Los Alamos, New Mexico, native and military working dog handler with 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, III MEF. Cutter is a specialized search dog with the battalion. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Drew Tech/Released)

  

Approximately two weeks ago, Sergeant Rob Long and John Davidson of the Hanceville Police Department conducted what initially seemed to be a routine traffic stop within the city limits of Hanceville. During the traffic stop interaction, Long established the likelihood that an illegal drug component was part of the incident.

 

Hanceville Police Department Narcotics Investigators were summoned to the scene.

 

Based upon evidence acquired during this traffic stop and subsequent questioning, Narcotics Investigator and Assistant Chief of Police Adam Hadder pursued a lengthy, ongoing investigation that took him across the county line into Blount County.

 

A single suspect with prior felony convictions involving narcotics possession and trafficking was the target of the investigation. Hadder pursued the likelihood that the individual may have once again been involve in the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.

 

That multi-day investigation allowed Hadder to develop a crime profile that indicated that significant amounts of narcotics and other illegal drugs - directly tied to this traffic stop - were potentially being trafficked into Hanceville, Cullman County, and surrounding communities from a residential location in the Blountsville area.

 

On Monday evening (December 19th) around 9:00 pm, Hadder along with the aforementioned Long, Lieutenant Brannon Hammick and Chief of Police Bob Long arranged for the purchase of one ounce of ICE methamphetamine in Blount County from a white male believed linked to the suspected trafficking mentioned above.

 

During the pre-arranged drug buy, the suspect became agitated just prior to the transaction. He departed the transaction location in a motor vehicle. Hadder surreptitiously followed the suspect in an unmarked vehicle.

 

The situation soon escalated with Hadder and other members of HPD pursuing the individual into downtown Blountsville with as full show of blue lights. Ultimately, the suspect vehicle was boxed in after a short chase by HPD cruisers and the unmarked car.

 

The suspect was taken into custody at the location with one ounce of ICE methamphetamine in his possession.

 

In the meantime, from research information provided by the Hanceville Police Department, Sgt. Kirkland of the Blount County Sheriff's Office conducted a multiple hours surveillance of the suspect's presumed home.

 

Upon the detainment of the suspect, a search warrant was generated by the Blount County Sheriff's Office to enter the subject's dwelling. Hanceville and Blount County Investigators discovered a residential interior heavy with the smell of marijuana. The residence was sparsely decorated and believed to be a 'stash house'.

 

The following items were discovered inside the home:

 

• Approximately 110 pounds of high-grade marijuana buds

 

(street valued at $3,500 per pound)

 

• Approximately 2 pounds of ICE Methamphetamine

 

• Approximately 3 ounces of Cocaine

 

• Numerous pills of suspected of being controlled substances (Ecstacy)

 

• Multiple firearms

 

• A Ballistic Vest

 

• Various drug paraphernalia and apparatus

 

• Cash currency amounts believed to be between $90,000 and $110,000

 

As a result of the above, Hanceville Police arrested:

 

BRADLEY NEAL STEELE (33) of Blountsville

 

The above items were seized and Steel was taken to the Blount County Jail.

 

Steele will be charged with:

 

• Trafficking of Controlled Substance (3 counts)

 

~ Marijuana

 

~ Methamphetamine

 

~ Cocaine

 

Additional charges made be pending in relation to this arrest such as Attempting to Commit A Controlled Substance Crime, Attempting to Elude and Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance.

 

The total estimated street value of all street drugs seized is well over $350,000.

 

Bond will be set at $3,000,000.00.

 

Hanceville Chief of Police Bog Long had these thoughts following a press conference explain the arrest and charges:

 

"The important thing about this entire incident is that a very large amount of illegal drugs won't be available on the streets. I would like to acknowledge that the officers of Hanceville Police Department did a fantastic job. I also want to express my sincere gratitude to Blount County Sheriff Lloyd Arrington and the Blount County Sheriff's Office for all their hard work and dedication on this case."

 

Further information on this case is expected in the near future from the Blount County Sheriff's Office and Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey (who is currently reviewing the circumstances of the case).

 

For the full story with images and press conference, please see:

 

cullmantoday.com/2016/12/21/hanceville-police-execute-lar...

Elle est exécutée par Emmanuel Fremiet, qui prend comme modèle Aimée Girodn, une jeune Lorraine de 18 ans, et inaugurée en 1874. Le piédestal est dessiné par l'architecte Paul Abadie. Cette statue de bronze est fondu par la Fonderie Thiébaut Frères. Une autre version de la statue, financée par le mécène Osiris, est exécutée en 1889 par Frémiet pour la ville de Nancy, sur la place Lafayette. Le cheval est réduit de taille, en 1899, Frémiet remplace le cheval de Paris par le modèle de Nancy, ce qui provoque une polémique. La version de Frémiet de Jeanne d'Arc à cheval est reproduite en de nombreux exemplaires, on la retrouve entre autres à Lille, Compiègne, Saint-Étienne, La Nouvelle-Orléans, Philadelphie, Portland et Melbourne.

 

This piece is entitled "self portrait of ones entire life". I executed this piece with the a theory I developed that is called Dimensionalism . This theory has its inspiration form my experiences with pre-seizure events for I have epilepsy. In this state I become detached from reality and see time in a different construct,that of a hyper intensity. A hyper awareness of a moment and everything that constructs it from sounds,thoughts,things tactile . While in these pre seizure states, some instances time is slowed down/speed up or frozen. While in other instances I am forced away form all comprehension of what is in my present environment and reality takes on a totally foreign existence where all has to be re learned.

For the viewers of my piece all of life is in dimensions and how one moves through these dimensions of either large dimensional constructs such as ones life or to the minute dimensional construct of a simple word. Thus giving the viewer this new perspective of time and space. The suspended animation of the piece is only dynamic as the viewer views the piece from the narrower sides form either end where a visible play of time sequencing exists and ones eye is drawn into the piece...

A perspective of a Dimesionalist where one has a view of a moment with a gods eye/time traveler or a pure energy source . From looking at a simple word to a memory one has. All is captured in dimensions. There are other branches of my theory that further portray my experiences. Demensionalising and facitile dimensionalism. These ideas also play with the constructs of how one sees time/moment.I hope to execute these ideas in the future...........

All these ideas/theories have a direct correlation with present day society...from the over abundance of information that is transferred by different technologies to the ways these technologies directly affect our existence and how it adds other dimensions of time to our lives.

I will be placing more info online in the future. and creating a temp website that fully explains all the details and shows examples of these theories as well as go into more details..

 

If you are interested in more info please feel free to contact ...efj@sbcglobal.net

 

Best best

 

Efj.

There are other branches of my theory that further portray my experiences. Demensionalising and facitile dimensionalism. These ideas also play with the constructs of how one sees time but deals more with dynamic movement .I hope to execute these ideas in the future...........

All these ideas/theories have a direct correlation with present day society...from the over abundance of information that is transferred by different technologies to the ways these technologies directly affect our existence and how it adds other dimensions of time to our lives.

 

I will be placing more info online in the future. and creating a temp website that fully explains all the details and shows examples of these theories as well as go into more details..

 

If you are interested in more info please feel free to contact ...efj@sbcglobal.net

 

Best best

 

Efj.

 

This morning (Thursday 15 January 2026), officers executed an arrest warrant at an address on Brooklands Avenue, Chadderton, resulting in three arrests.

 

A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A, B, and C drugs, as well as possession of offensive weapons. A man aged 62, and a woman aged 61, were also arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of drugs.

 

The warrant was the culmination of a thorough investigation by Chadderton’s Neighbourhood Team, who remain committed to tackling drug supply and misuse across the borough.

 

Acting on intelligence provided by the local community, officers identified the address as a suspected hub for drug activity. Police Sergeant Tom Layton and PC Aleks Gornisiewicz led the investigation, securing sufficient evidence to obtain today’s warrant.

 

Upon entry, officers located a man in an attic bedroom. Officers were able to seize drugs located in the bedroom.

 

Inside the property, officers discovered a variety of Class A, B, and C drugs, including suspected cocaine, nitrous oxide, and cannabis. Several bladed weapons—such as axes, machetes, and zombie knives were also seized, along with multiple mobile phones and luxury items.

 

The three suspects currently remain in custody for further questioning and all seized drugs will be transported to our labs for testing.

 

PS Tom Layton from the Chadderton Neighbourhood team said: "Today’s warrant was a great success, made possible thanks to vital intelligence from our community.

 

“I want residents to know that we are here to listen and act on your concerns. As a Neighbourhood Sergeant, my priority is keeping our community safe.

 

“Greater Manchester Police is relentless in tackling the supply and use of drugs across the force, and I am deeply committed to that mission here in Oldham.

 

“We have zero tolerance for offensive weapons and removing them from our streets remains an absolute priority.

 

“I urge anyone with information about criminal activity to come forward. Today’s warrant demonstrates just how crucial community intelligence is and how we act on it to protect you."

 

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

Guillotine brought to Vietnam by the French colonialists - In late 1950s, this guillotine was moved to several provinces in South Vietnam to execute revolutionists --- The guillotine was a device used for carrying out executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which a heavy blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the victim's head from his or her body. The device is noted for long being the main method of execution in France and, more particularly, for its use during the French Revolution. [Wikipedia.org]

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

Short story (in russian):

www.horyma.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=823

700 Uighurs executed, 16.000 imprisoned... who stands up for language, culture and religion of the Uighures gets marked as "Terrorist" by the Chinese government. Alone since March 23, at least 760 Uighures were arrested.

 

Occupied in 1949, East Turkestan is just one of the countries (besides Tibet and Inner Mongolia) that has been overrun by the Chinese Army more than half a century ago and now gets claimed to always have been Chinese...

 

At least Chinese authorities try everything that it once will be "really" Chinese. In 1949 only five percent of the population of East Turkestan was Chinese.. By official Chinese statistics, Xinjiang (as East Turkestan got named by the Chinese) now has 8.7 million Uighurs and 7.5 million Chinese. In reality the number of Chinese is supposed to be even larger than of the Uighurs.

 

Furthermore, every year children are being brought to China mainland to get "educated" there, or rather re-educated or "brainwashed", as Rebiya Kadeer says.

 

If that all wasn't enough girls and women get taken away from their homeland, under false pretenses to provide them with work... which is less than half the truth, because in labor camps they have work, but also don't have a choice to leave, not to mention other rights. This is the way how the Chinese government wants to increase these people's population...

The Bridge and Cascade.

 

Grade I listed.

 

Cascade I Bridge and cascade. Designed with a single arch by Robert Adam in 1761. Redesigned, with three arches in 1764. Executed 1770- 1771. Ashlar. The bridge has three round-arched spans with moulded hoodmoulds. Fluted roundels in the spandrels. Projecting piers with apsed niches and moulded sill band. The tops of the piers with swags. Fluted frieze and dentil cornice. Balustraded parapet the balusters divided into three units per span. Cast iron balusters. Steep road approaches with the end walls curving outwards and downwards. End piers. Rubblestone cascade to east.

 

Listing NGR: SK3126840716

 

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1335352

  

The Bridge by Robert Adam

 

Kedleston Hall is an English country house in Kedleston, Derbyshire, approximately four miles north-west of Derby, and is the seat of the Curzon family whose name originates in Notre-Dame-de-Courson in Normandy. Today it is a National Trust property.

 

The Curzon family have owned the estate at Kedleston since at least 1297 and have lived in a succession of manor houses near to or on the site of the present Kedleston Hall. The present house was commissioned by Sir Nathaniel Curzon (later 1st Baron Scarsdale) in 1759. The house was designed by the Palladian architects James Paine and Matthew Brettingham and was loosely based on an original plan by Andrea Palladio for the never-built Villa Mocenigo. At the time a relatively unknown architect, Robert Adam was designing some garden temples to enhance the landscape of the park; Curzon was so impressed with Adam's designs, that Adam was quickly put in charge of the construction of the new mansion.

 

World War II

 

In 1939, Kedleston Hall was offered by Richard Curzon, 2nd Viscount Scarsdale for use by the War Department.[1] Kedleston Hall provided various facilities during the period 1939–45 including its use as a mustering point and army training camp. It also formed one of the Y-stations used to gather Signals Intelligence via radio transmissions which, if encrypted, were subsequently passed to Bletchley Park for decryption.

 

National Trust

 

In the 1970s the estate was too expensive for the Curzon family to maintain. When Richard Nathaniel Curzon, 2nd Viscount Scarsdale died, his cousin Francis Curzon, 3rd Viscount Scarsdale offered the estate to the nation in lieu of death duties. A deal was agreed with the National Trust that it should take over Kedleston while still allowing the family to live rent-free in the 23-room Family Wing, which contained an adjoining garden and two rent-free flats for servants or other family members.

 

External design

 

The design of the three-floored house is of three blocks linked by two segmentally curved corridors. The ground floor is rusticated, while the upper floors are of smooth-dressed stone. The central, largest block contains the state rooms and was intended for use only when there were important guests in the house. The East block was a self-contained country house in its own right, containing all the rooms for the family's private use, and the identical West block contained the kitchens and all other domestic rooms and staff accommodation. Plans for two more pavilions (as the two smaller blocks are known) of identical size, and similar appearance were not executed. These further wings were intended to contain, in the south east a music room, and south west a conservatory and chapel. Externally these latter pavilions would have differed from their northern counterparts by large glazed Serlian windows on the piano nobile of their southern facades. Here the blocks were to appear as of two floors only; a mezzanine was to have been disguised in the north of the music room block. The linking galleries here were also to contain larger windows, than on the north, and niches containing classical statuary.

 

If the great north front, approximately 107 metres in length, is Palladian in character, dominated by the massive, six-columned Corinthian portico, then the south front (illustrated right) is pure Robert Adam. It is divided into three distinct sets of bays; the central section is a four-columned, blind triumphal arch (based on the Arch of Constantine in Rome) containing one large, pedimented glass door reached from the rusticated ground floor by an external, curved double staircase. Above the door, at second-floor height, are stone garlands and medallions in relief. The four Corinthian columns are topped by classical statues. This whole centre section of the facade is crowned by a low dome visible only from a distance. Flanking the central section are two identical wings on three floors, each three windows wide, the windows of the first-floor piano nobile being the tallest. Adam's design for this facade contains huge "movement" and has a delicate almost fragile quality.

 

Gardens and grounds

 

The gardens and grounds, as they appear today, are largely the concept of Robert Adam. Adam was asked by Nathaniel Curzon in 1758 to "take in hand the deer park and pleasure grounds". The landscape gardener William Emes had begun work at Kedleston in 1756, and he continued in Curzon's employ until 1760; however, it was Adam who was the guiding influence. It was during this period that the former gardens designed by Charles Bridgeman were swept away in favour of a more natural-looking landscape. Bridgeman's canals and geometric ponds were metamorphosed into serpentine lakes.

 

Adam designed numerous temples and follies, many of which were never built. Those that were include the North lodge (which takes the form of a triumphal arch), the entrance lodges in the village, a bridge, cascade and the Fishing Room. The Fishing Room is one of the most noticeable of the park's buildings. In the neoclassical style it is sited on the edge of the upper lake and contains a plunge pool and boat house below. Some of Adam's unexecuted design for follies in the park rivalled in grandeur the house itself. A "View Tower" designed in 1760 – 84 feet high and 50 feet wide on five floors, surmounted by a saucer dome flanked by the smaller domes of flanking towers — would have been a small neoclassical palace itself. Adam planned to transform even mundane utilitarian buildings into architectural wonders. A design for a pheasant house (a platform to provide a vantage point for the game shooting) became a domed temple, the roofs of its classical porticos providing the necessary platforms; this plan too was never completed. Among the statuary in the grounds is a Medici lion sculpture carved by Joseph Wilton on a pedestal designed by Samuel Wyatt, from around 1760-1770.

 

In the 1770s, George Richardson designed the hexagonal summerhouse, and in 1800 the orangery. The Long Walk was laid out in 1760 and planted with flowering shrubs and ornamental trees. In 1763, it was reported that Lord Scarsdale had given his gardener a seed from rare and scarce Italian shrub, the "Rodo Dendrone".

 

The gardens and grounds today, over two hundred years later, remain mostly unaltered. Parts of the estate are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, primarily because of the "rich and diverse deadwood invertebrate fauna" inhabiting its ancient trees.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kedleston_Hall

The Bridge and Cascade.

 

Grade I listed.

 

Cascade I Bridge and cascade. Designed with a single arch by Robert Adam in 1761. Redesigned, with three arches in 1764. Executed 1770- 1771. Ashlar. The bridge has three round-arched spans with moulded hoodmoulds. Fluted roundels in the spandrels. Projecting piers with apsed niches and moulded sill band. The tops of the piers with swags. Fluted frieze and dentil cornice. Balustraded parapet the balusters divided into three units per span. Cast iron balusters. Steep road approaches with the end walls curving outwards and downwards. End piers. Rubblestone cascade to east.

 

Listing NGR: SK3126840716

 

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1335352

  

The Bridge by Robert Adam

 

Kedleston Hall is an English country house in Kedleston, Derbyshire, approximately four miles north-west of Derby, and is the seat of the Curzon family whose name originates in Notre-Dame-de-Courson in Normandy. Today it is a National Trust property.

 

The Curzon family have owned the estate at Kedleston since at least 1297 and have lived in a succession of manor houses near to or on the site of the present Kedleston Hall. The present house was commissioned by Sir Nathaniel Curzon (later 1st Baron Scarsdale) in 1759. The house was designed by the Palladian architects James Paine and Matthew Brettingham and was loosely based on an original plan by Andrea Palladio for the never-built Villa Mocenigo. At the time a relatively unknown architect, Robert Adam was designing some garden temples to enhance the landscape of the park; Curzon was so impressed with Adam's designs, that Adam was quickly put in charge of the construction of the new mansion.

 

World War II

 

In 1939, Kedleston Hall was offered by Richard Curzon, 2nd Viscount Scarsdale for use by the War Department.[1] Kedleston Hall provided various facilities during the period 1939–45 including its use as a mustering point and army training camp. It also formed one of the Y-stations used to gather Signals Intelligence via radio transmissions which, if encrypted, were subsequently passed to Bletchley Park for decryption.

 

National Trust

 

In the 1970s the estate was too expensive for the Curzon family to maintain. When Richard Nathaniel Curzon, 2nd Viscount Scarsdale died, his cousin Francis Curzon, 3rd Viscount Scarsdale offered the estate to the nation in lieu of death duties. A deal was agreed with the National Trust that it should take over Kedleston while still allowing the family to live rent-free in the 23-room Family Wing, which contained an adjoining garden and two rent-free flats for servants or other family members.

 

External design

 

The design of the three-floored house is of three blocks linked by two segmentally curved corridors. The ground floor is rusticated, while the upper floors are of smooth-dressed stone. The central, largest block contains the state rooms and was intended for use only when there were important guests in the house. The East block was a self-contained country house in its own right, containing all the rooms for the family's private use, and the identical West block contained the kitchens and all other domestic rooms and staff accommodation. Plans for two more pavilions (as the two smaller blocks are known) of identical size, and similar appearance were not executed. These further wings were intended to contain, in the south east a music room, and south west a conservatory and chapel. Externally these latter pavilions would have differed from their northern counterparts by large glazed Serlian windows on the piano nobile of their southern facades. Here the blocks were to appear as of two floors only; a mezzanine was to have been disguised in the north of the music room block. The linking galleries here were also to contain larger windows, than on the north, and niches containing classical statuary.

 

If the great north front, approximately 107 metres in length, is Palladian in character, dominated by the massive, six-columned Corinthian portico, then the south front (illustrated right) is pure Robert Adam. It is divided into three distinct sets of bays; the central section is a four-columned, blind triumphal arch (based on the Arch of Constantine in Rome) containing one large, pedimented glass door reached from the rusticated ground floor by an external, curved double staircase. Above the door, at second-floor height, are stone garlands and medallions in relief. The four Corinthian columns are topped by classical statues. This whole centre section of the facade is crowned by a low dome visible only from a distance. Flanking the central section are two identical wings on three floors, each three windows wide, the windows of the first-floor piano nobile being the tallest. Adam's design for this facade contains huge "movement" and has a delicate almost fragile quality.

 

Gardens and grounds

 

The gardens and grounds, as they appear today, are largely the concept of Robert Adam. Adam was asked by Nathaniel Curzon in 1758 to "take in hand the deer park and pleasure grounds". The landscape gardener William Emes had begun work at Kedleston in 1756, and he continued in Curzon's employ until 1760; however, it was Adam who was the guiding influence. It was during this period that the former gardens designed by Charles Bridgeman were swept away in favour of a more natural-looking landscape. Bridgeman's canals and geometric ponds were metamorphosed into serpentine lakes.

 

Adam designed numerous temples and follies, many of which were never built. Those that were include the North lodge (which takes the form of a triumphal arch), the entrance lodges in the village, a bridge, cascade and the Fishing Room. The Fishing Room is one of the most noticeable of the park's buildings. In the neoclassical style it is sited on the edge of the upper lake and contains a plunge pool and boat house below. Some of Adam's unexecuted design for follies in the park rivalled in grandeur the house itself. A "View Tower" designed in 1760 – 84 feet high and 50 feet wide on five floors, surmounted by a saucer dome flanked by the smaller domes of flanking towers — would have been a small neoclassical palace itself. Adam planned to transform even mundane utilitarian buildings into architectural wonders. A design for a pheasant house (a platform to provide a vantage point for the game shooting) became a domed temple, the roofs of its classical porticos providing the necessary platforms; this plan too was never completed. Among the statuary in the grounds is a Medici lion sculpture carved by Joseph Wilton on a pedestal designed by Samuel Wyatt, from around 1760-1770.

 

In the 1770s, George Richardson designed the hexagonal summerhouse, and in 1800 the orangery. The Long Walk was laid out in 1760 and planted with flowering shrubs and ornamental trees. In 1763, it was reported that Lord Scarsdale had given his gardener a seed from rare and scarce Italian shrub, the "Rodo Dendrone".

 

The gardens and grounds today, over two hundred years later, remain mostly unaltered. Parts of the estate are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, primarily because of the "rich and diverse deadwood invertebrate fauna" inhabiting its ancient trees.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kedleston_Hall

After executing a fleeing Guardsman, Commissar Arehn starts to see the dead man's phantom – what does it mean, and will it lead him to enlightenment or disaster?

Situated beside the Kirkintilloch to Kilsyth Road, about a mile from the Kirkintilloch boundary, sits this monument to two executed Covenanters, John Wharry and James Smith, who were put to death for their faith.

Broadgate House. 1953 Designed by Hugh R. Hosking and executed by Rene Antonietti of Geneva.

The Coventry Martyrs were a group of Lollard Christians executed for their beliefs in Coventry between 1512 – 1522 (seven men and two women) and in 1555 (three men).

Those martyred were -

Joan Ward (or Washingby). She was burnt at Coventry on 12 March 1512.

Master Archer (a shoemaker), Thomas Bond (a shoemaker), Master Hawkins (a shoemaker or skinner), Robert Hockett, or Hatchet, or Hatchets (a shoemaker or leather-dresser), Thomas Lansdail or Lansdale (a hosier) and Master Wrigsham (a glover) were all burned on 4 April 1520.

A widow, Mistress Smith, was due to be discharged when a document was discovered in her sleeve, containing (in English) the Lord’s Prayer, Ten Commandments and Apostles' Creed. For this, she was immediately condemned and burnt with the others.

Robert Silkeby (or Silkby or Silkesby) was burnt on 13 January 1522.

The three martyrs burnt during the reign of Mary Tudor were-

Laurence Saunders burnt in the city on 8 February 1555.

Robert Glover burnt in Coventry on 20 September 1555.

Cornelius Bongey, or Bungey, was a tradesman (hatmaker), and was executed on the same day as Glover.

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

Building

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

Canaletto: View of Palais Liechtenstein

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

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

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

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

Sala terrene of the Palais

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

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

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

Garden

Liechtenstein Palace from the garden

The new summer palace of Henry of Ferstel from the garden

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

Use as a museum

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

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

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

 

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Liechtenstein_%28F%C3%BCrste...

The monument, executed by Sir William Goscombe and erected in 1933, to Evan & James James.

 

Evan James (Bardic name Ieuan ap Iago), was a weaver and poet. His son James James (Bardic name Ieuan ap Iago), is said to have thought up the tune for Hen Wlad fy Nhadau (Land of My Fathers) as he walked along the bank of the River Rhondda one day in 1856. He gave the tune to his father Evan, who composed the lyrics. The song became the National Anthem of Wales.

 

The monument depicts two Celtic figures, a boy playing a harp representing music, and a girl representing poetry. The faces of Evan & James are between the figures. Evan is shown as younger than his son, due to these being the only photographs available to the sculptor. In front of the group is the coped ledger stone from Evan's grave. When the Carmel Chapel was demolished, the remains of Evan and his wife Elizabeth were transferred to the foot of the monument, with the stone.

This piece is entitled "self portrait of ones entire life". I executed this piece with the a theory I developed that is called Dimensionalism . This theory has its inspiration form my experiences with pre-seizure events for I have epilepsy. In this state I become detached from reality and see time in a different construct,that of a hyper intensity. A hyper awareness of a moment and everything that constructs it from sounds,thoughts,things tactile . While in these pre seizure states, some instances time is slowed down/speed up or frozen. While in other instances I am forced away form all comprehension of what is in my present environment and reality takes on a totally foreign existence where all has to be re learned.

For the viewers of my piece all of life is in dimensions and how one moves through these dimensions of either large dimensional constructs such as ones life or to the minute dimensional construct of a simple word. Thus giving the viewer this new perspective of time and space. The suspended animation of the piece is only dynamic as the viewer views the piece from the narrower sides form either end where a visible play of time sequencing exists and ones eye is drawn into the piece...

A perspective of a Dimesionalist where one has a view of a moment with a gods eye/time traveler or a pure energy source . From looking at a simple word to a memory one has. All is captured in dimensions. There are other branches of my theory that further portray my experiences. Demensionalising and facitile dimensionalism. These ideas also play with the constructs of how one sees time/moment.I hope to execute these ideas in the future...........

All these ideas/theories have a direct correlation with present day society...from the over abundance of information that is transferred by different technologies to the ways these technologies directly affect our existence and how it adds other dimensions of time to our lives.

I will be placing more info online in the future. and creating a temp website that fully explains all the details and shows examples of these theories as well as go into more details..

 

If you are interested in more info please feel free to contact ...efj@sbcglobal.net

 

Best best

 

Efj.

All these ideas/theories have a direct correlation with present day society...from the over abundance of information that is transferred by different technologies to the ways these technologies directly affect our existence and how it adds other dimensions of time to our lives.

I will be placing more info online in the future. and creating a temp website that fully explains all the details and shows examples of these theories as well as go into more details..

 

If you are interested in more info please feel free to contact ...efj@sbcglobal.net

 

Best best

 

Efj.

This plaque in Llandovery town marks the spot of Llewelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan's death. He had led the army of King Henry IV on a 'wild goose chase' under the pretence of leading them to a secret rebel camp and an ambush of Owain Glyndwr's forces. Henry had him half hanged, disembowled in front of his own eyes, beheaded and quartered - the quarters salted and dispatched to other towns for public display. There is also a magnificent faceless 16ft high statue (unveiled in 2001) of Llewelyn on the north side of Llandovery Castle, overlooking the place of his execution in 1401 (see below).

detail of the vestments of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

embroidery executed by Nena Bernales.

HUD Secretaries Visit Puerto Rico to Execute Disaster Grant Agreement

 

Elizabethan and Stuart

The Chideock Martyrs are executed for their faith - statues by Elisabeth Frink. Fire strikes the town in 1613 - design by St Osmund's Middle School pupils. Puritan Rector John White founds the Nappers Mite Almshouses and Grammar School, and sends a Pilgrim ship to the New World.

 

Top left represents Elisabeth Frink's statues of two Elizabethan Catholic martyrs facing Death. The statues are in South Walks, near the site of the old gallows.

 

The Great Fire of 1613 destroyed much of the largely wooden medieval town. Pupils from St Osmund's Middle School designed the fire.

 

Dorchester has been altered rather than rebuilt and the town holds layers of hidden history in many of its buildings.

 

Puritan Rector of Dorchester, Reverend John White founded the Nappers Mite Almshouses, the Boys Grammar School and girls schools. He arranged for one of the first Pilgrim Fathers' ships, the Mary and John, to sail to the New World.

  

The Dorchester 700 Community Tapestry was designed by Suzanne Finch and embroidered, painted and quilted by local volunteers and children from Dorchester's middle schools.

 

It was created to mark the 700th Anniversary in 2005 of Dorchester's recognition as the County Town of Dorset in the Charter of King Edward I.

 

It was executed between September 2005 and December 2006 and is on permanent display in the foyer to the Corn Exchange, although it is not displayed in a good way at all and its doubtful that so many people in Dorchester are even aware of it.

What bright spark in the Town Council thought this would be the best place?

 

Still, its slightly more accessible than the John Hodgson's Dorchester Historical Illustrations conveniently on display in the Waitrose staff dining room.

Apologies if I'm breaking any copyright laws, but if this wonderful tapestry was displayed correctly perhaps I wouldn't feel it necessary to post it here.

 

Postcards of the tapestry can be bought at various locations in Dorchester including the Tourist Information centre and the Dorset County Museum

Last year CEA Project Logistics were employed to assist the Royal Thai Navy in the transportation and shipping of a USD multi-million Seahawk Helicopter.

 

This project was executed with the upmost efficiency with all parties involved being very happy with the outcome.

 

Such was the professionalism of the teams at CEA and the impression they gave, the Royal Thai Navy once again employed their service and assistance on a very similar project.For this project another Seahawk helicopter was to be transported and shipped to Australia for maintenance and repairs.

 

CEA teams, Royal Thai Navy personnel and representatives from the maintenance company convened at Utapao Airport in Rayong province Thailand to begin the project. As with all projects CEA conduct a tool box talk was given to the teams to explain the lift and rigging plan for the day. Rigging equipment was then prepared while another team set up a safe exclusion barricade for the operational activities.

 

Personnel from the Royal Thai Navy carefully moved the valuable cargo into position for the lift.Two Modular spreader bars were assembled with the required nylon slings attached, these were then attached to the waiting 55 T mobile crane. The slings and shackles were attached to the designated lift points on the Seahawk, with the fuselage of the helicopter being protected by use of sling pads. Chain blocks were used to make precise alterations to the lift to ensure that the helicopter lifted level.

 

As the helicopter rose form the ground a Drop-Deck Air Ride trailer was placed underneath, the Seahawk was lowered on to the trailer and secured in her slots. All slings and shackles were carefully removed and the rigging team went to action securely lashing down the helicopter readying her for the journey to CEA HQ in Laem Chabang.

 

Upon arrival at CEA the Seahawk was transported to one of their main warehouses and removed from the trailer. After all checks were complete a CEA Shrink Wrap team set to work enveloping the whole helicopter in an industrial grade shrink wrap that will protect the Seahawk from the corrosive effects the elements can produce during transportation.

 

The Aircraft was transported again on the Drop-Deck Air Ride Trailer to Laem Chabang Port where a Mafi Trailer was awaiting. Prior to loading the Mafi was thoroughly cleaned and sprayed with Cilsin 25 to negate any issues with Australian DAFF/AQIS authorities upon arrival. As the fore wheels were wider than the Mafi a steel plate extension was fabricated by the CEA team for a safe and secure load. The Aircraft was safely loaded onto the Mafi and professionally lashed by CEA under the close supervision of a 3rd party marine surveyor.

 

After she was loaded a tug master pushed the Mafi and aircraft into place on the RoRo vessel where it was safely secured for the transit to Australia. Hats off to the CEA team who once again handled another multi-million USD shipment without incident.

 

Found below at

campaign.matadordesignstudio.com/viewEmail.aspx?cID=648D4...

 

Re: Rhode Island and West Hollywood International Film Festivals

 

During the last few years DNA evidence has cleared 400+ condemned prisoners in the United States. This irrefutable scientific evidence has caused many Americans to consider the probability that the “system” has been executing the innocent. The Last Word is the first documentary to dig deeper than exoneration and prove beyond any doubt a case of wrongful execution. Most scholars, attorneys, religious leaders and politicians agree that proving a wrongful execution is the most important step toward slowing if not banning capital punishment.

 

The Last Word is not only dramatically captivating but also possesses high educational and motivational value for Americans (potential jurors) who presently support the death penalty. Through interviews and investigation this documentary unravels the complexity of our criminal justice system and demonstrates how we (society) built and continue to perpetuate a seriously flawed “machine” void of constitutionally guaranteed safety nets for the innocent. Equally inspirational is the film’s powerful message to Christians who have been misled by extremists to misinterpret the Bible as supportive of the death penalty.

 

The purpose of this email is to request your help by spreading the word about The Last Word (e.g. festival attendance; public screenings; classroom instruction; email forwards; home/church discussion groups; online chatter; etc.) The film is currently weaving across America on the film festival circuit. DVD copies are available at thelastworddocumentary.com and Amazon.com. Educational and library distribution is being handled by National Film Network- - nationalfilmnetwork.com.

  

EXECUTIONS FOR JULY/AUGUST

 

Click here to view details on seven executions scheduled in Texas within the next few weeks!

  

REVIEWS

REVIEWS

 

“Unique, intriguing and dramatic as it leads to a heart breaking conclusion. One of America’s greatest miscarriages of justice!”

 

Millard Farmer

Death Row Attorney

Atlanta, GA

 

[Mr. Farmer was Louisiana Death Row inmate Patrick Sonnier’s appellate attorney. Sean Penn portrayed Mr. Sonnier in Dead Man Walking.]

  

“A must see for every Christian who has an opinion about capital punishment.”

 

Bishop Emeritus Leroy Matthieson

  

“This film should be required viewing for every high school and college student in America.”

 

Bonita Gunden

United States Public Defender

  

“A perfect example of how lazy lawyers, crooked politicians and asinine laws caused the system to fail. In Garrett’s case, the match got thrown early on. His own lawyers threw the case!”

 

Jeff Blackburn

Texas Director,

The Innocence Project

  

“Had I known then what I know now I never would have voted to convict the boy. He’d still be alive today. We trusted in the doctors and the lawyers and the system. Unfortunately, we trusted too much.”

 

Nathan Shackleford

Juror #12

  

“Powerful! Eye opening and informative. The Last Word is a valuable educational resource which will inspire my students in many ways.”

 

Claudia Stuart

Professor Criminal Justice

Texas A&M University

  

“I’ve watched the film (three times) and enjoyed it immensely!”

 

Aaron Phillips

Travel & Entertainment Reporter

Amarillo Globe News

  

MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

 

Attorney and Documentarian Jesse Quackenbush has been notified that his feature documentary, The Last Word is an “Official Selection” of the West Hollywood and Rhode Island International Film Festivals.

 

According to Quackenbush The Last Word has been recognized as the first documentary in America to establish convincingly that a criminally accused man has been executed for a crime he didn’t commit. The film re-examines the case of Johnny Frank Garrett, a mentally retarded teenage boy who was arrested, convicted and ultimately executed for the rape, mutilation and murder of a 76 year old nun on Halloween night 1981. Sister Tadea Benz was brutally attacked as she slept in her room at the St. Francis Convent in Amarillo, Texas. Garrett claimed his innocence from the moment of his arrest until his dying breath. DNA evidence and admissions from the actual killer are revealed for the first time in the film. Adding a twist of horror, this documentary also reveals a curse Garrett cast on those responsible for his murder. The curse was written by Garrett in his final letter to “society.” The untimely and sometimes violent deaths of 20 people directly associated with Garrett’s case (including 5 suicides, 6 freak accidents and 7 rare cancers) are documented in the film. Quackenbush, who served as the films Writer, Director and Producer believes “the curse” is real and provides his reasons in Producer Comments at the film’s website.

 

The Last Word previously premiered at the Buffalo and Seattle International Film Festivals. The film is also an “Official Selection” at the Scottsdale & Eugene International Film Festivals in October. Discounted educational distribution is provided through National Film Network. DVD copies of the film are available through Amazon.com or at www.thelastworddocumentary.com.

 

Contact Info: Cinco Rosas Productions 512-963-0475

  

NEWS COVERAGE FROM DEATH ROW

 

The next victim of the Texas “Death Machine” will be Larry Donell Davis, scheduled for execution on July 31, 2008. I was actually present at Mr. Davis’ trial in Amarillo when his Prosecutor committed an egregious mistake jeopardizing Mr. Davis’ chance for a fair trial. The Prosecutor, during closing argument, stalked over to Mr. Davis who was seated at counsel table and screamed “How can you find for this man who sits . . . silently . . . hiding behind his lawyer!” This was a direct attack on Mr. Davis’ 5th Amendment right to remain silent and not have his silence counted against him. I testified at the Motion for New Trial about the reaction from three of the jurors, ranging from nodding heads of approval to gasps for air. The jury was clearly affected by the Prosecutor’s actions. The hang-em-high Judge, Sam Kaiser denied the Motion for New Trial in spite of his in chambers oral admonishment to the Prosecutor for potentially causing reversible error. I will learn soon if Mr. Davis has placed me on his witness list. If he decides to have me, I will attend and witness my first execution. I am also hoping to film Mr. Davis’ family as they prepare for and experience the execution. I hope to bring their misery to viewers in a future project.

 

Jesse Quackenbush

Director, The Last Word

  

FESTIVAL DETAILS

 

The Last Word is an "Official Selection" of the following upcoming film festivals.

 

West Hollywood International Film Festival

Regency Theatre

7907 Beverly Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90048

July 29, 2008 @ 2:30 p.m.

website

 

Rhode Island International Film Festival

Bell Street Chapel

5 Bell Street

Providence, RI 02903

August 10, 2008 @ noon

website

 

Eugene International Film Festival

October 3-5, 2008

website

  

Scottsdale International Film Festival

October 3-7, 2008

website

 

The Last Word has participated in the following film festivals in 2008.

 

Buffalo Film Festival

Seattle International Film Festival

  

QUICK FACTS

 

Legality

 

1. Is the Death Penalty Legal in the United States?

 

After being suspended in 1972 because of a lack of national standards, the death penalty was declared constitutional (legal) again in 1976 with the provision that rigid statutes be used as a guide. Each state determines whether to permit the sentence of the death penalty. Thirty-six states currently have the death penalty. New Jersey became the first state in 40 years to abolish the death penalty in 2007. (DPIC)

  

2. Is it legal to execute juveniles or the mentally ill in the United States?

 

The Supreme Court struck down the death penalty for juveniles in 2005 and declared it illegal to execute defendants with mental retardation in 2002. (DPIC)

  

3. Is the Supreme Court currently considering the legality of the death penalty?

 

No, the Supreme Court is currently considering a very specific issue of whether the “3-drug cocktail” method of lethal injection constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment” and would thus be unconstitutional. The Court held a hearing in January 2008 and is expected to make a ruling in spring 2008. (DPIC)

  

4. What is a moratorium?

 

A moratorium is a halt on executions for a certain time period. During a moratorium, detailed examinations of capital punishment laws and processes can take place. In a 2007 opinion poll by RT Strategies, 58% of respondents believed it was time for a moratorium on the death penalty, many of those supporting a moratorium also being supporters of the death penalty. (DPIC)

   

Death Row Executions

  

5. How many inmates are on Death Row?

 

In 2008 there are 3,263 inmates on Death Row, with the largest rows in California (609), Florida (388) and Texas (370). (DPIC)

  

6. How many people have been executed in the United States?

 

There have been 1,099 executions in the US since 1976, with a peak in 1999 of 98 executions. The largest number of executions since 1976, 405, took place in Texas, with 26 of those occurring in 2007. (DPIC)

  

7. What countries are responsible for the most executions worldwide?

 

In 2006 91% of all known executions took place in six countries: China (1,010), Iran (177), Pakistan (82), Iraq (65+), Sudan (65+), U.S. (53). American and Japan are the only post- industrial nations that impose the death penalty. (DPIC)

  

8. Don’t most people in the U.S. support the Death Penalty?

 

The percentage of Americans in support of the death penalty peaked in the mid-1990s. According to Pew Research Center surveys, support for the death penalty for persons convicted of murder has fluctuated within a relatively narrow range of 62% of 68% since 2001, while opposition has ranged from 24% to 32% during this time. A Pew survey from August 2007 finds that 62% of Americans favor the death penalty, while 32% oppose it and 6% are unsure. (DPIC)

  

9. How much does the death penalty cost tax payers?

 

According to the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, the estimated cost of single death penalty cases from arrest to execution ranges from $1 to $3 million, compared to an estimated cost of life imprisonment, including incarceration cost of $500,000. The estimated average cost of a death penalty case in TX, according to The Dallas Morning News is $2.3 million. (DPIC)

  

Methods

  

10. What methods of execution are currently used in the United States?

 

36 of the states with the death penalty use lethal injection for executions. In 2008 Nebraska, the only state that used the electric chair as the exclusive form of execution, outlawed the use of the electric chair. Some states utilizing lethal injection have other methods available as back-ups. (DPIC)

  

11. What is the “3-drug cocktail”?

 

A form of execution by lethal injection that involves three separate injections. The inmate is injected with sodium thiopental – an anesthetic, which puts the inmate to sleep. Next flows pavulon or pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes the entire muscle system and stops the inmate’s breathing. Finally, the flow of potassium chloride stops the heart. Death results from anesthetic overdose and respiratory and cardiac arrest while the condemned person is unconscious. (DPIC)

  

Wrongful Convictions and Exonerations

  

12. How many people have been released from death row?

 

Since 1973 over 120 people were released from death row with evidence of their innocence. From 1973-1999, there was an average of 3.1 exonerations per year. From 2000- 2007, there has been an average of 5 exonerations per year. (DPIC)

  

13. Is there any proof that an innocent person has been executed?

 

Until now, there has never been "uncontroverted proof" that an innocent person has been executed. No forum or legal standard exists for establishing such proof. However there is considerable evidence that other innocent persons have been executed. Cameron Willingham, executed in 2004 in Texas, is one such case. After examining evidence from Willingham’s prosecution, four national arson experts concluded that fire that Willingham was convicted of starting, was accidental. There are many other cases where significant doubts about guilt arose after a person’s execution, such as the case of Carlos DeLuna.

  

14. Do Americans believe those killed are guilty?

 

Three-quarters of Americans believe that an innocent person has been executed within recent years and that convictions is resulting in lower levels of support for the death penalty, according to a 2005 study by the University of Cincinnati and Radford University. When life in prison without the possibility of parole was offered as an alternative sentence for capital murder, less than half of all Americans who believe an innocent person has been executed supported the death penalty.

  

Religion

  

15. Do most Christians support the death penalty?

 

Some of the most recent data focusing on religion and the death penalty has looked at the views of Christians, a group that comprises over three quarters of the American population. According to a 2004 Gallop Poll, individuals who self-identify as Protestants are somewhat more likely to endorse capital punishment that are Catholics and far more likely than those with no religious preference. The poll found that more than 7 of 10 Protestants (71%) support the death penalty, while 66% of Catholics support it and that 57% of those with no religious preference favor the death penalty for murder. A 2005 Zogby poll revealed that only 48% of Catholics now support the death penalty. A recent poll by NationalChristianPoll.com found that two thirds of active Christians who oppose the death penalty are concerned about judicial error that could lead to an innocent person being executed. The poll also found that of Christians who support the death penalty, 60% do so because of biblical teachings. According to a 2007 Pew Forum poll, the strongest supporters of the death penalty are white evangelicals, with 74% approval.

  

16. What are the official stances of religious organizations on the death penalty?

 

According to the American Friends Service Committee’s Criminal Justice Program, which maintains a list of faith and ethical group that are opposed to the death penalty, many groups are officially opposed to capital punishment, including American Baptists, American Ethical Union, American Friends Service Committee, America Jewish Committee, The Bruderhof Communities, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Disciples of Christ, Church of the Brethren, Church Women United, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Friends United Meeting, General Conference of General Baptists, General Conference of Mennonite Church, Mennonite Church, Moravian Church in America, Orthodox Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), The Rabbinical Assembly, Reformed Church in America, Reorganized Church, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Unitarian Universalist Association, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, and the United States Catholic Conference. The Southern Baptists and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have not taken a public position on the issue of capital punishment. The Qur’an supports the death penalty, but there is a strong tradition of mercy within the faith.

  

The painting was probably executed in England in 1629-30, illustrating Rubens's hopes for the peace he was trying to negotiate between England and Spain in his role as envoy to Philip IV of Spain. Rubens presented the finished work to Charles I of England as a gift.

 

The central figure represents Pax (Peace) in the person of Ceres, goddess of the earth, sharing her bounty with the group of figures in the foreground. The children have been identified as portraits of the children of Rubens's host, Sir Balthasar Gerbier, a painter-diplomat in the service of Charles I.

 

To the right of Pax is Minerva, goddess of wisdom. She drives away Mars, the god of war, and Alecto, the fury of war. A winged cupid and the goddess of marriage, Hymen, lead the children (the fruit of marriage) to a cornucopia, or horn of plenty. The satyr and leopard are part of the entourage of Bacchus, another fertility god, and leopards also draw Bacchus's chariot. Two nymphs or maenads approach from the left, one brings riches, the other dances to a tambourine. A putto holds an olive wreath, symbol of peace, and the caduceus of Mercury, messenger of the gods.

 

Quoted From: Peter Paul Rubens | Minerva protects Pax from Mars ('Peace and War') | NG46 | The National Gallery, London

 

www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/peter-paul-rubens-mi...

  

HUD Secretaries Visit Puerto Rico to Execute Disaster Grant Agreement

One of many absurdities executed in our country with the historical heritage: the long promised but never opened railway museum in the place of El Clot del Moro. The lack of political commitment, and personnel mismanagement on the part of its director, was for many years preserved vehicles were abandoned in the open and subject to the effects of the harsh climate of the pre-Pyrenees.

 

In this picture you can see and old industrial shunter, with a poster that says: "Vehicle acquired by FGC. Allocated at project exposure for the Touristic Railway of Alt Llobregat." (Photo scanned from an original paper).

___________________________________________________________________________

 

Uno de tantos despropósitos ejecutados en nuestro país con el patrimonio histórico: el siempre prometido, pero nunca abierto, museo del ferrocarril en el paraje del Clot del Moro. La falta de compromiso político, y una pésima gestión personal por parte de su director, llevó a que durante muchos años los vehículos preservados fueran abandonados a la intemperie y sometidos a los efectos del duro clima del pre-Pirineo.

 

En esta foto se pueden ver un antiguo tractor industrial, con un cartel en el que pone: "Vehículo adquirido por FGC. Destinado al proyecto de exposición asociado al Ferrocarril Turístico de l'Alt Llobregat." (Foto escaneada de un original de papel).

East stained glass window designed and executed by John Hayward for the re-consecration of the church on 8th August 1964 after the disastrous fire of 1961

In the top section or tracery, set in rich reds and blues, the 3 Persons of the Trinity are represented symbolically. From left to right, they are The Passion of God The Son, The Creating Hands of God the Father and The Grace of God The Holy Spirit.

The middle section reflects that the church is dedicated to All Saints, as well as Saint Mary, and celebrates those saints specifically honoured by the altars in the shrine and church. Saints Nicholas, Anne, Catherine, and Lawrence with the saints of the 2 other premier pilgrimage locations in the Middle Ages - St James of Compostell & St Thomas of Canterbury

In the central panel the Image of Our Lady of Walsingham with the Christ Child is taken from the medieval Seal of the Walsingham Priory www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/V07X3e , also across the 3 central panels of the middle section are the words inscribed around the rim of the seal - "Virgo Pia Genetrix Sit Nobis" - (Tender Virgin be our Mother)

The images in the 2 panels on the extreme left and right are those of saints Augustine & Francis,

The bottom section tells the story of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham re-founded by vicar, Father Alfred Hope Patten in 1932.

The central panel (left) recalls the good news of the Annunciation to Our Lady in her home in Nazareth. This was at the heart of Lady Richeldis de Fervaques' vision and inspired her to build a replica of the Holy House in Walsingham, with the to the right Lady Richeldis is shown kneeling beside St Edward the Confessor.

The extreme left hand panel shows the great importance of Walsingham as a place of pilgrimage for many English Kings. This procession, starting with Richard the Lionheart includes Henry III, Edward I, II and III, Henry IV and VI, ended abruptly with Henry VIII who, though a regular pilgrim here allowed the Shrine and all other centres of pilgrimage to be destroyed with the dissolution of the monasteries. The figure of Henry VIII is shown at the bottom of this panel with the flaming Holy House in his hands.

In the right of the centre panel, amongst the flaming ruins, the new Shrine emerges with Father Hope Patten kneeling at its entrance. - Church of St Mary & All Saints, Little Walsingham Norfolk

 

Created for HonestReporting.com on Aug. 11, 2014. Image Credits: tryingmyhardist/3188443193

Please credit as "CC BY-SA HonestReporting.com, flickr/tryingmyhardist" (without quote marks) and link back to this page for attribution.

Original article: Hamas Executes Dozens of Tunnel Diggers.

In the current article series, we will learn about a structured vulnerability of the SPF mail standard, which can be easily exploited by a hostile element that can bypass the existing “SPF wall” that was built for protecting our organization recipients from Spoofing or Phishing...

 

o365info.com/how-can-hostile-element-execute-spoof-e-mail...

Photo: Tani Simberg

October 15, 2007 -- An interesting concept, hastily executed. I think I'll explore this more at some point.

 

I stuck some saran wrap on a glass door, drew on it with a fat black sharpie then shot through it with a flash. I leaned against the door so the shadows would be well defined.

 

Taken with my 350D instead of my new 40D since I don't have a remote trigger for that one yet (it's on it's way from Hong Kong).

 

Photoshop: Crop, curves to make flesh fleshier, darkened background, resize and unsharp mask.

 

Strobist info: 1 Vivitar 285HV ~6 feet to the right at 1/4th power. 50mm, 1/200th @ f/8, ISO 200.

HUD Secretaries Visit Puerto Rico to Execute Disaster Grant Agreement

One of the three apse windows that constitute the first major stained glass commission of John Piper & Patrick Reyntiens, executed 1954-6 and portraying nine aspects of Christ's divinity.

 

The also constitute the first major flowering of a new, contemporary approach to stained glass design, radically different from anything produced in this country before, and therefore a milestone in the evolution of modern stained glass in Britain.

 

Right hand (south east) window representing Christ as the Judge, the Teacher & the Good Shepherd.

 

This was my second visit to Oundle School Chapel, an impressive building designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield in 1922-3 and standing completely detached in splendid isolation in the grounds of Oundle School. The chapel was built in a late Perpendicular Gothic style with a nave flanked by low aisles and a tall clerestorey that floods the interior with light..The east end is formed by a polygonal apse surrounded with a low ambulatory (forming a hidden corridor within).

 

The interior is vast and spacious as a grand school chapel should be, but fine though the architecture is it is the explosions of coloured light that punctuate the aisles and the deep, brooding tones of the glass in the apse that draw the eye here. Oundle's chapel is a treasure house of modern stained glass, from the three altar windows by John Piper & Patrick Reyntiens (their first ever commission dating from 1954-6, often considered the first windows in a modern style in Britain) to the extensive scheme of aisle windows recently commissioned from Mark Angus and installed in 2002-5.

 

Piper & Reyntiens' apse windows are quite unique, and more figurative than so much of their more familiar later work. The images represent nine aspects of Christ, each personifying a different aspect of his divinity. The colouring is rich and dense and the stylisation bold, many of the faces being more reminiscent of some powerful tribal mask than anything seen in a British church before. It took great vision and courage to commission these windows (Piper & Reyntiens had little experience at this stage and no previous collaboration to their names) and is perhaps symptomatic of postwar optimism and a more forward thinking approach than is often seen in today's commissions in glass. John Betjeman was so impressed on first seeing these works that he stated that the chapel would become a place of pilgrimage to art lovers, and so it should be to anyone with an interest in modern glass.

 

The aisle windows by Mark Angus are no less richly coloured, and some (at the west end) are equally figurative but most use a more abstract symbolic language. Much of the drawing has a rather charming, almost childlike naivety and the designs are in many cases kept refreshingly simple, allowing the various bold colours to dominate these smaller apertures.

 

Oundle School Chapel is a must for anyone with an interest in contemporary stained glass and the School is to be commended for its vision in making such a statement in its choice of artists. The chapel may be open to visitors much of the time but it might be advisable to check if making a special journey to see it.

The Old Guard's Presidential Salute Battery executed its "Top Gun" 3 Aug 2018

 

The monument, executed by Sir William Goscombe and erected in 1933, to Evan & James James.

 

Evan James (Bardic name Ieuan ap Iago), was a weaver and poet. His son James James (Bardic name Ieuan ap Iago), is said to have thought up the tune for Hen Wlad fy Nhadau (Land of My Fathers) as he walked along the bank of the River Rhondda one day in 1856. He gave the tune to his father Evan, who composed the lyrics. The song became the National Anthem of Wales.

 

The monument depicts two Celtic figures, a boy playing a harp representing music, and a girl representing poetry. The faces of Evan & James are between the figures. Evan is shown as younger than his son, due to these being the only photographs available to the sculptor. In front of the group is the coped ledger stone from Evan's grave. When the Carmel Chapel was demolished, the remains of Evan and his wife Elizabeth were transferred to the foot of the monument, with the stone.

This morning (Friday 23 August) police in Rochdale executed two warrants in the Freehold neighbourhood as they continue their relentless pursuit of those intent on causing harm to the local community.

Three men aged 14 – 54, have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs. They remain in police custody for questioning.

  

Following a thorough search of the addresses, significant quantities of class A and B drugs were found, with an estimated street sale value of £51,000. We also seized several weapons, including two samurai swords, and several items consistent with a significant drugs operation.

  

This is the latest activity which comes under the district’s Operation Affect, the force’s latest Clear, Hold, Build initiative. Police are systematically dismantling and disrupting organised crime in the area, by pursuing gang members and criminals to clear the area, holding the location to prevent criminals exploiting the vacuum created by the original disruption, and working with partners and Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) to build a prosperous and resilient community.

  

So far, the team have made 36 arrests, secured three full closure orders on nuisance properties linked to criminality, and seized large quantities of cash, drugs, and weapons.

Building on a successful community event held earlier this year, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) are working with local residents and partners to design out crime in Freehold and rebuild a stronger community.

The overall investment is anticipated to be around £5M and will keep residents safer and improve the overall look of the local area, including providing higher quality common areas and improving the condition of the buildings.

  

Inspector Meena Yasin, who is leading Operation Affect, said: “Since launching this operation we’ve seen a real concerted effort to disrupt illegal drug supply in the Freehold area of Rochdale.

 

"From speaking with residents, we know that drug dealing, and anti-social behaviour has been a particular area of concern for them.

 

“The seizures this morning means we have been able to take tens of thousands of pounds worth of illicit and harmful products off our streets and dismantle a significant drugs operation which has been blighting our residents.

 

“Our officers remain in the area to provide a visible reassurance for residents. If you have any concerns or want to share information about suspicious behaviour in the area, please speak to them, they are there to help you.

 

“You know your community best, and your intelligence often forms a large and crucial park of our criminal investigations, helping us to remove criminals from the streets.”

 

Hayley Stockham, RBH Director of Neighbourhoods, said: "We have zero tolerance for anti-social behaviour and criminal activity in our neighbourhoods. We're very grateful to the local community for supporting our joint efforts to stamp out this behaviour.

 

“We will continue to work closely with our partners in the Police and at the Council, and we know that this is making a significant difference to the lives of local people. We encourage members of the community to continue to report crime and anti-social behaviour to RBH and to the Police.”

 

If you have any concerns about drugs in your area, let us know via our Live Chat function on our website, or by calling 101, so that we can take action.

 

Always dial 999 in an emergency.

Alternatively, you can report it to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.