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Taken on the museum island. I'm not sure, but I think I prefer the color version over the black and white one (toggle).
USC School of Dramatic Arts production of Great Expectations, Mar. 1-4, 2018, at the McClintock Theatre. © 2017 Photo by Craig Schwartz for the USC School of Dramatic Arts
The Montblanc Heritage Collection 1914 is a tribute to the story of Montblanc. In two different designs, its fountain pens exceed all technological and aesthetic expectations. Inspired by historic writing instruments in black rubber, the cap and barrel of the 1000-piece limited edition were made of black precious lacquer. The variant in coral-red precious resin recalls the colors of the fountain pen from the 1920s. The edition limit of 333 is a reference to the three founders of Montblanc. Both versions will be crowned with the Montblanc emblem in snow-white mother-of-pearl on the cap top.
A special innovation is the two-stage screw mechanism. It combines the complex filling process of a piston fountain pen with the pulling in and out of the solid 750 gold nib. This nib affords a soft writing sensation and, together with the triangular heart-hole and the iridium tip elegantly underlines the edition's avant-gardist character.
The Heritage Collection harks back to Montblanc's first milestones and unites past and present in an impressive new work of art.
In size and shape, the Montblanc Heritage Collection 1914 pays homage to its legendary predecessor, the Simplo safety fountain pen, which earned the nickname “Goliath” for its large capacity and generous size. In new livery, a limited edition now splendidly recalls the great achievement of days gone by and acknowledges the groundbreaking technologies and passionately pioneering spirit of the Montblanc master craftsmen of the early 20th century.
A tribute to the story of Montblanc
Netherton Arts Centre is hosting Great Expectations next month where every character is played by Dickens’ great great grandson.
Gerald Dickens presents a fascinating insight into the world of Charles Dickens in this one man performance of the world-famous book. There are two presentations on Friday 26 April 2013.
www.dudley.gov.uk/media/media-releases/march-2013/great-e...
USC School of Dramatic Arts production of Great Expectations, Mar. 1-4, 2018, at the McClintock Theatre. © 2017 Photo by Craig Schwartz for the USC School of Dramatic Arts
me getting ready to leave for work in the morning. I have to go to each of the kitties and give them a little pat on the head. this was Chloe. she was old and skinny, but she ate like a horse and had more love in her than she could handle sometimes.
R.I.P Chloe 1997-2011
____________________________
I am of the mind that I can fix anything in Photoshop. I can turn the most under exposed, grainy, horrible photo into something that resonates for me possibly more than if it was technically perfect at the time of capturing it. sometimes if a photo doesn't meet my expectations...I change my expectations. I think we have to remind ourselves sometimes that each image we create is our own art. we all have a different approach and that's what makes our work unique. I once heard a jazz musician say that what each of us does "wrong" in our technique, is what creates our style. if everything was perfect, it would be boring. don't be afraid to screw up...embrace your mistakes. I have to, because I make a lot of them. ;)
At the skating place there are several electronic games and vending machines for all kinds of cheap junk. Our child tried a couple and got out some... let's say "coooool" stuff. As cool as this "PARROT" digital watch, which sports the image of a bunny and is shaped like a pink Mickey Mouse. High quality stuff as you can imagine... starting from the scratches it already had when emerging "brand new" out of its spherical plastic enclosure.
Ok, a junky trinket, and that one can expect to stop working relatively fast. All that said, there's just one thing one can reasonably expect it to do, as long as it lives: tell the time.
We quickly noticed that this high-quality watch was rather enthusiastic about keeping time and telling it. In other words, it runs fast. Quite fast. In the photo here you see it exactly twenty-four hours after setting it to the right time (1 AM). In the course of 24 hours it gained an extra 27 minutes.
I don't know what precision you're used to, but gaining over an extra minute every hour sounds a bit much to me.
On the back of the watch it reads: ELECTRON SHOWS, Fei hu, MADE IN CHINA.
This explains everything! It's not a digital watch. It's an electron show.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Dreams, hopes, plans in 19th century England were bound to social class and wealth. The busy bee's life revolves around a parallel society without the emotional desires (or so one would presume). With work to do in gathering pollen and nectar, this one keeps buzzing. The Garden of Hope and Courage, Naples Community Hospital, Naples, FL
USC School of Dramatic Arts production of Great Expectations, Mar. 1-4, 2018, at the McClintock Theatre. © 2017 Photo by Craig Schwartz for the USC School of Dramatic Arts
What are the consequences of having attachment for people and/or things?
Having attachment turns into expectations, then into disappointment and later, into frustration. Pujya Niruma discusses this in the video. She explains that attachment ultimately leads to abhorrence. We should set such an understanding that whatever we get from another person, be it love or anger or hatred, we will accept it with equanimity. To reduce our attachment, we should analyse what we expect from a person, and then convince ourself not to have such expectations. In the end, such attachment and expectations only lead to suffering and sorrow.
Know more:
In English: www.dadabhagwan.org/path-to-happiness/relationship/true-l...
In Hindi: hindi.dadabhagwan.org/path-to-happiness/relationship/true...
In Gujarati: www.dadabhagwan.in/path-to-happiness/relationship/true-lo...
The Corps!
The not so adventurous adventures of 2 Platoon, RNLRAF Marine Corps.
Grunts inspired. Expect a strip every once in a blue moon. Best viewed in Original size. No, really.
Sorry for any cruddy editing.
Netherton Arts Centre is hosting Great Expectations next month where every character is played by Dickens’ great great grandson.
Gerald Dickens presents a fascinating insight into the world of Charles Dickens in this one man performance of the world-famous book. There are two presentations on Friday 26 April 2013.
www.dudley.gov.uk/media/media-releases/march-2013/great-e...
Umm this photo is a series of 3 photos taken on the same day... this one is dedicated to my Mom.. taken on the roof of my building...watching the sunset...
USC School of Dramatic Arts production of Great Expectations, Mar. 1-4, 2018, at the McClintock Theatre. © 2017 Photo by Craig Schwartz for the USC School of Dramatic Arts
People doing the "truffle shuffle" at the Sadie Hawkins Alleycat. Columbia Rd & Ontario Rd NW, Washington, DC.
USC School of Dramatic Arts production of Great Expectations, Mar. 1-4, 2018, at the McClintock Theatre. © 2017 Photo by Craig Schwartz for the USC School of Dramatic Arts
Ecovolis (Albanian for "Ecobike"), the system launched March 23 with four stations with 10 bikes each. They've already sold 2,000 subscriptions and have rented bikes out to many more customers on a per-trip basis.
The public enthusiasm has exceeded the best expectations of the group behind the scheme: the Social Alternatives Incentive Programme (PASS). It's also stirred interest among potential corporate donors, who had earlier raised their eyebrows at the idea. “Before starting the project, it was very difficult for us to persuade companies to sponsor the project,” said PASS's director Ened Mato “Now the companies are interested and trying to negotiate with us to sponsor the project.”
The response has been so promising, PASS already plans to open an additional two stations in Tirana and even hopes to expand Ecovolis to neighbouring communities.
Although the system is admittedly small for a city of 600,000 people, Ecovolis has been a feat of ingenuity and perseverance given the circumstances. In terms of infrastructure, Tirana has only a few recreational paths on the margins of city green areas, and also a few experimental shared bus/bike lanes. There is simply no culture of transport cycling in the city, and the modal share -- if it were to be measured -- is assumed to be well under 1 percent.
In a sense, introducing bike sharing to Tirana is tantamount to introducing cycling to Tirana. Full stop. Organisers had to be realistic about the start-up budget, while at the same time, make a big splash and stimulate interest in a novel transport concept. And because PASS's core mission is creating opportunities for needy citizens, they wanted the programme to have a strong social element.
So PASS rolled out Ecovolis as one element of a broader programme called Tirana Community Bicycle. Part of its activities are giving away bicycles to children of needy families and part is offering necessary staff positions to marginalised citizens. The programme also includes Sunday cycling lessons and various cycling activities for youth.
In regard to the bike-sharing scheme, it had to be low-tech. A swipe-card activated system of the type operating in London, Paris, Barcelona (and soon in Budapest) would have been far too expensive for Tirana. And aside from the cost, swipe cards just aren't used much in Albania.
But this was fine. PASS fashioned Ecovolis as a social business: Each docking station is staffed by two attendants at all times. The necessary staffing not only creates jobs (two shifts per day = four jobs per station), it also puts a human face on the service. The attendants can explain and promote bike sharing while raising awareness of utility cycling in a brand-new market.
Key to getting the project off the ground was the support of Tirana City Hall and a cash donation of USD 24,000 from the George Soros-funded Open Society Foundation Albania (OSFA). Even more significant was a donation of 450 used bikes from the US-based Pedal for Progress organisation.
One difficulty has been the higher than expected maintenance needs. Although this is a typical challenge for bike-sharing systems, it may be hitting Ecovolis especially hard due to the inexperience of users and the somewhat delicate quality of the standard-issue bicycles. During the initial weeks of the project, 30 of the scheme’s 40 bicycles required repairs on any given day. PASS hopes to address this by purchasing sturdier, new bikes as the system is expanded. It was also hoped that as the scheme’s customers get used to the system, they'll learn to use the bikes without causing damages.
Despite teething problems, Ecovolis is moving ahead. Plans include creating a database of users and members to get a better handle on Ecovolis's market (half of subscribers are women) and to start giving service discounts to Ecovolis customers. Meanwhile, according to Mato, PASS is in talks with the mayors of Durres, Pogradec and Vlora for possible franchises.
This is a photograph from the finish of the 36th Michael Manning Memorial "Dunshaughlin 10KM" Road Race and Fun Run which took place in Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, Ireland on Saturday 20th June 2015 at 19:30. This race is widely acknowledged within the Irish running community as one of the best races in Ireland. While being very well attended and competitive it is also one of the oldest 10KM races in Ireland. The numbers for this race have exceeded expectations year on year for the past number of years. In 2008 a record field of 306 took to the start line but by 2012 this number had more than doubled with 647 runners taking part. The starting numbers in 2013 topped this again at 668. Last year, 2014, the numbers rocketed to a new record of 883. This year 862 finished the race showing that the race continues to attract very substantial crowds. This year, as in previous years, the race attracted runners from not just all of Leinster but from the four corners of Ireland. Who knows but this race could reach 1,000 entrants next year? The work of the organising committee must be commended on making this event possible. The Dunshaughlin 10KM has earned it's place at the top of the pedestal of Irish running through the sheer hard work of Dunshaughlin AC over the years. Road race events do not survive on their own. There must be dedication, hard work and a development vision amongst the committee and the host club. Well done to all.
We have an extensive set of photographs from the race tonight taken at the 9KM mark and at 400M to go. The full set is available at: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157654823417232
Timing and event management was provided by Precision Timing. Results are available on their website at www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=2748 with additional material available on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/davidprecisiontiming?fref=ts) See their promotional video on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-7_TUVwJ6Q
Some useful links
Our Photographs from 2014: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157645329098733/
2015 Results: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=2748
2014 Results: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=2037
2013 Results: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=1320
2012 Results: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=891
History of the Dunshaughlin 10KM www.dunshaughlinac.com/
Dunshaughlin AC on Facebook: www.facebook.com/dunshaughlin.athleticclub?fref=ts
USING OUR PHOTOGRAPHS - A QUICK GUIDE AND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS
Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?
Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share directly to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.
BUT..... Wait there a minute....
We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. We do not charge for our photographs. Our only "cost" is that we request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, VK.com, Vine, Meetup, Tagged, Ask.fm,etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us or acknowledge us as the original photographers.
This also extends to the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.
I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?
You can download this photographic image here directly to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. Have a look for a down-arrow symbol or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.
I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?
If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.
Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.
In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting takes a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.
I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?
Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.
Let's get a bit technical: We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs
We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?
The explaination is very simple.
Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.
ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.
Above all what Creative Commons aims to do is to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?
As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:
►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera
►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set
►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone
►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!
You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.
Don't like your photograph here?
That's OK! We understand!
If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.
I want to tell people about these great photographs!
Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets
USC School of Dramatic Arts production of Great Expectations, Mar. 1-4, 2018, at the McClintock Theatre. © 2017 Photo by Craig Schwartz for the USC School of Dramatic Arts
Jeimar Tapasco (CIAT) shows us his expectation for the training: His hopes to fill in the knowledge gaps, that will help with the negotiations
USC School of Dramatic Arts production of Great Expectations, Mar. 1-4, 2018, at the McClintock Theatre. © 2017 Photo by Craig Schwartz for the USC School of Dramatic Arts
This is a photograph from the finish of the 36th Michael Manning Memorial "Dunshaughlin 10KM" Road Race and Fun Run which took place in Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, Ireland on Saturday 20th June 2015 at 19:30. This race is widely acknowledged within the Irish running community as one of the best races in Ireland. While being very well attended and competitive it is also one of the oldest 10KM races in Ireland. The numbers for this race have exceeded expectations year on year for the past number of years. In 2008 a record field of 306 took to the start line but by 2012 this number had more than doubled with 647 runners taking part. The starting numbers in 2013 topped this again at 668. Last year, 2014, the numbers rocketed to a new record of 883. This year 862 finished the race showing that the race continues to attract very substantial crowds. This year, as in previous years, the race attracted runners from not just all of Leinster but from the four corners of Ireland. Who knows but this race could reach 1,000 entrants next year? The work of the organising committee must be commended on making this event possible. The Dunshaughlin 10KM has earned it's place at the top of the pedestal of Irish running through the sheer hard work of Dunshaughlin AC over the years. Road race events do not survive on their own. There must be dedication, hard work and a development vision amongst the committee and the host club. Well done to all.
We have an extensive set of photographs from the race tonight taken at the 9KM mark and at 400M to go. The full set is available at: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157654823417232
Timing and event management was provided by Precision Timing. Results are available on their website at www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=2748 with additional material available on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/davidprecisiontiming?fref=ts) See their promotional video on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-7_TUVwJ6Q
Some useful links
Our Photographs from 2014: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157645329098733/
2015 Results: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=2748
2014 Results: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=2037
2013 Results: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=1320
2012 Results: www.precisiontiming.net/result.aspx?v=891
History of the Dunshaughlin 10KM www.dunshaughlinac.com/
Dunshaughlin AC on Facebook: www.facebook.com/dunshaughlin.athleticclub?fref=ts
USING OUR PHOTOGRAPHS - A QUICK GUIDE AND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS
Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?
Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share directly to: email, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.
BUT..... Wait there a minute....
We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. We do not charge for our photographs. Our only "cost" is that we request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, VK.com, Vine, Meetup, Tagged, Ask.fm,etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us or acknowledge us as the original photographers.
This also extends to the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.
I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?
You can download this photographic image here directly to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. Have a look for a down-arrow symbol or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.
I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?
If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.
Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.
In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting takes a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.
I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?
Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.
Let's get a bit technical: We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs
We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?
The explaination is very simple.
Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.
ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.
Above all what Creative Commons aims to do is to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?
As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:
►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera
►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set
►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone
►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!
You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.
Don't like your photograph here?
That's OK! We understand!
If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.
I want to tell people about these great photographs!
Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets
Late morning on Monday, October 5, and we step off the train into yet another quite warm autumn day, this time in hectic Varanasi, at the eastern edge of Uttar Pradesh. Though we’d be going to Delhi/New Delhi on the noon train tomorrow, I didn’t realize at the time that this would be the last of my photo shooting in India for this trip. (We were in Delhi for roughly 48 hours, but I got sick from train food on the 18 hour journey between Varanasi & the capital. Since the capital seemed way too smoggy, dirty, congested, disorganized…I didn’t feel like I’d missed out terribly, though there were a few places I would have liked seeing there.)
I’ll finish this posting on a good note, though, and focus on Varanasi. Before getting there, I wasn’t terribly excited about the tourist attractions I’d read about, but that’s not why people come to Varanasi. Varanasi is to Hindus what Mecca & Medina are to Muslims, or Jerusalem to Christians. It’s their holiest city. On the banks of the Ganges, people come here to die, then have their ashes spread in the river.
Varanasi has a lot of poor and indigent people as well, who come and hope to be cremated and buried in the river, and there are a few places that serve as pseudo-hospices to help them. They tend to try to collect donations from anyone to afford to pay for the wood – it’s a specific wood they use for the cremation – so they can help these people.
So Varanasi is an interesting place. There are many ghats (ghat is like…a pier, or a place where you can access the river), and the most famous are probably Dashashwamedh Ghat (the liveliest and most colorful) and Manikarnika (the Burning Ghat). There are many other ghats, as well, and some have specific histories attached to them.
For me, the best plan was to stay in a hotel near the ghats in the Old City so we could enjoy the sunrise and stroll around. The Hotel Alka was my random choice, and it turned out to be good. It’s cheap, riverside, has a decent restaurant (though, as it’s a hotel restaurant, not as good as many of the others where we’d eaten in the past two weeks), and overall a comfortable room.
After getting checked in (and this place was pretty crowded), I took a shower, then headed off with a local guy who gave me a tour of the Old City. Now, a word on that… It’s not recommended that you go with any local who offers because most of them will steer you into various businesses, or towards people who are all too happy to try to get your money. I was very firm with this guy, though, and told him the maximum price I’d pay regardless of what he showed me, and that he should plan accordingly. He didn’t, and was a bit disappointed when I paid him exactly what I said I would.
The tour included stops at a few temples – they all started to look a bit alike after the second one – and at Manikarnika (one of the places where you’re herded and they try to make you feel guilty if you don’t fork over five million dollars to pay for everyone’s cremation). The last stop was at his boss’s store, well away from the old city, over in the Muslim Quarter, where I had to sit patiently through a whole lot of lecturing on textiles and their pleading that I buy the entire building. I tried to be as polite as possible with the last part, stating up front that I wouldn’t buy a thing before going in, though that disappointed them to no end. In the end, perhaps it’s better to go on your own…
After about four hours with my guide, it was already dusk and the city actually felt less safe than others. (There were a lot of police out and about.) It turns out that there wa s a religious ceremony that the police were banning this particular year for some reason, so there was a bit of tension. And since Varanasi isn’t a city that is lit up much at night, there wasn’t much to see, so I was glad to just get to my room and call it a day.
Waking early on Tuesday morning, I caught the sunrise over the Ganges, then wandered up and down the ghats for an hour or so. This really was an interesting experience as it seems the entire city comes to bathe in the river, and everyone seems pretty happy. There are plenty of boat tours, too, which I skipped, as I just wanted to take a walk.
After an hour or so of wandering the riverside, I went back to the Alka, had breakfast, and enjoyed my remaining few hours just watching the sun rise higher before heading to the train station for the unofficial (though still unbeknownst to me) end of this trip to India.
In hindsight, this was a terrific two weeks. Though I enjoyed Uttar Pradesh, I wouldn’t go out of my way to return here – unless going to different parts of the state, and I would certainly include a trip to Agra in that – but Rajasthan…I would gladly go back to anytime. However, India has a lot to offer, and I’m not sure if I’ll return here or go to different parts of the country. Anything is possible…
Riverside Trail
Books about Town is coming to London this summer! Find all 50 unique BookBench sculptures, designed by local artists and famous names to celebrate London’s literary heritage and reading for enjoyment.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens at Montague Close
This student got as close to the 1000 BWU maximum as the possibly could without hitting it exactly. This exceeded my expectations by not only having correct math the whole way through but also because they were able to be between 950 and 1000 BWU.
It was a happy afternoon
My colleagues were on a holiday mood
I was little earlier for a meeting in our conference room
Saw my mobile and did some experiment
Camera Settings:- 10secs Self Timer, Exp Bias: -2, White Balance: Fluorescent
I WISH YOU ALL A BRIGHT AND COLORFUL HAPPY NEW YEAR!
NHS Values Summits bring together a diverse range of people and perspectives to foster greater understanding of how peoples' differences, social status and cultural expectations can affect their experiences of health and care.
Held on a quarterly basis across the country, each summit promotes values-based ways of working and explores a different theme relating to equality, health inequalities and human rights.
The theme of this NHS Values Summit, held on 18th September 2013, was entitled 'Making it happen in Greater Manchester: Integrated care across organisations'. Patient-centred care that is well co-ordinated across care settings and over time is better for all but can particularly benefit patients with long-term, chronic or complex conditions and those who may find it difficult to 'navigate' the health care system.
The Greater Manchester summit was held during National Recovery Month. This provided an opportunity for people to share their recovery stories with others and celebrate their successes, promoting the benefits of prevention, treatment and recovery for those experiencing mental health or substance misuse issues.
As a celebration of shared learning and partnership working, NHS England is pleased to welcome patients and the public, representatives from health and social care, and stakeholders from the private and voluntary/community sectors to these important events.