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The Sierra Maestra in Cuba is a historically significant mountain range, famously associated with the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro. It served as the primary base of operations for the revolutionary forces, providing both a strategic advantage and refuge in the rugged terrain. Today, it remains a symbol of the revolution's success and a destination for those interested in Cuban history and natural beauty.
Hermey the Elf, in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, famously says "Hey, what do you say be both be independent together, huh?!"
shot by KHWD, tide is out, king Cnut's daughter is buried here, a viking legend
want to see more images or read the blog?
www.motorhome-travels.net/post/blog-75-sussex-nostalgia-trip
🌟 Bosham is a charming village located on a small peninsula in Chichester Harbour, West Sussex, England. Here are some interesting facts about Bosham:
Historical Significance:
Bosham has a rich history dating back to Roman times. The Romans used Chichester Harbour as a port, and Vespasian (before becoming emperor) is said to have had a villa in Bosham.
The first parish church was built around 850 AD and allegedly over a Roman basilica.
An enormous sculpted marble head, known as ‘the Bosham Head,’ was found in 1800. It might have been part of a statue of Emperor Trajan that stood at the harbor entrance1.
Christian Heritage:
Bosham is reputed to be the oldest established Christian site in Sussex. St. Wilfred brought Christianity to the South Saxons around 680 AD.
King Canute (also known as Cnut or Cnut the Great) is associated with Bosham. He famously commanded the waves to retreat from here2.
King Canute Connection:
According to legend, King Canute’s daughter drowned in Bosham Mill stream, and her final resting place is believed to be below the foot of the chancel steps in Bosham’s Holy Trinity Church.
King Harold (of the Bayeux Tapestry fame) set sail for France from Bosham3.
Natural Beauty:
Bosham is picturesque and a thriving center for sailing.
Chichester Harbour, where Bosham is situated, is a sanctuary for migrating wildfowl and offers great walks along the sea shore4.
Next time you’re in the area, consider visiting Bosham and exploring its fascinating history! 😊🏰🌊
Feeling stressed today? Just breathe.
Bernheim is full of amazing art installations. Most famously seen are the forest trolls, however there are many others that deserve recognition! This one is named OXYGEN, created by AKUNZO in 2022.
Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest
Clermont, Kentucky
This colourful wader, its plumage a striking mix of chestnut, black and white, is widespread around our coasts in winter.
Breeding in the Arctic, the Turnstone is primarily a winter visitor; summering birds are usually younger individuals that have not attained breeding condition. The species can be found in any coastal habitat, although has a preference rocky shores.
Turnstones forage on the tideline, flipping over small stones in the search for small crustaceans and insects. But Turnstone are famously indiscriminate in their diet and there is a small sub-genre of the scientific literature enumerating the things they have been recorded eating – from packets of artificial sweetener to decomposing corpses!
Today's rose is 'Grace', an apricot coloured, fragrant, heritage rose. This is a David Austin rose.
Growing here at Galston, in the Hills District of Sydney.
So obviously 'Amazing Grace' is quite a famous song. There are SO many versions. This is a version by the Kingdom Choir, a gospel choir from London (who famously performed at the wedding of Princess Markle - my MOST favourite Royal).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7PBye83gAE
But here is another, even more 'amazing' version, recommended by
www.flickr.com/photos/time2/, my great Flickr friend from rural Victoria:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6l4OFPdqkw
My Canon EOS 5D Mk IV with the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens.
Processed in Adobe Lightroom.
The Fontainebleau Forest is one of the largest forests in France, and a true paradise for rock-climbers, athletes and Sunday picnickers, only an hour from Paris.
To the west of the Château de Fontainebleau, this forest, which became a royal estate in the 11th century, was intended for hunting, forestry and grazing. From the 18th century the forest was progressively restored, before gaining state protection as a heritage site. Famously, the landscape painters of the Barbizon School found abundant artistic inspiration here.
25,000 hectares of recreational areas
This exceptional nature reserve offers a gigantic space dedicated to sports and recreational activities. You may take advantage of the numerous circuits dedicated to climbing, mountain biking, and horseback riding, plus over 300 kilometres of marked trails. The Gorges de Franchard ravine will delight both expert and novice hikers.
Whilst on your forest adventure, notice the rich and surprising diversity of the landscapes, topographies and flora and fauna. These woods shelter over 1,200 species of animals and plants, including oaks, European beeches, chestnut trees and birches.
Pleasure and leisure
Hiking along marked trails, with a horse or by bike, free or supervised [climbing]/en/climbing-session-with-globe-climber) or even dog sledding, discover a whole range of ideas for outings and outdoor activities. Whether you want to relax or experience a new thrill, it's up to you! Ask the Pays de Fontainebleau Tourist Office for more information
From:
en.visitparisregion.com/en/fontainebleau-forest/
Idea that the forest was a home for lost civilization
www.ancientpages.com/2020/06/23/mysterious-fontainebleau-...
The Milkweed Leaf Beetle lives much of its life eating and reproducing on the Swamp Milkweed plant. Though it can fly, it has little need to, once it is established on a plant. These Beetles slice open veins on the leaves and drink the liquid that pools out. Despite appearances, they aren’t related to ladybugs, and are quite a bit larger and more solid.
One of the things that many creatures feeding on milkweed have in common is the orange and black markings, most famously associated with Monarch butterflies. It is thought that other creatures resident on milkweed have that colouring as a result of natural selection. In effect, the creatures that look like Monarchs (i.e. are orange and black) are thought to share their toxicity to predators. This is called aposematism, and it is a neat thing to find in a swamp!
Like other imitators that flash the colours of danger, however, the Milkweed Leaf Beetle doesn’t actually pose a risk to predators (that is the genius of aposematism). While Monarchs absorb and retain concentrations of cardiac glycosides from the milkweed that pose a risk to predators, these Beetles do not store those chemicals in their bodies.
The new statue in front of the Solid Rock Church in Lebanon, Ohio. In 2012, this statue, titled Lux Mundi (Light of the World), replaced the former statue, officially titled King of Kings. The latter had a number of nicknames due to various aspects of the statue itself, most famously:
Touchdown Jesus due to the pose of the statue, which resembled the signal that an American football referee uses to indicate a touchdown; and
Butter Jesus due to the color of the statue, which was made of styrofoam coated with fiberglass.
The latter was destroyed in 2010 in a lightning strike that set it on fire, leaving only a metal frame. US media had a lot of fun with this. One headline was "Butter Jesus is Toast," and others claimed that even God himself disliked the statue.
Wikipedia says that the new statue, also known as Hug Me Jesus is made of polymer composite and steel, and was mainly fabricated by Display Dynamics of Clayton, Ohio. Since the original statue at Solid Rock Church was destroyed by fire, the new statue incorporates fire resistant materials including a lightning suppression system. Following several months of work, the major pieces of the statue were assembled together at the site on September 19, 2012, and it was dedicated eleven days later.
Technical data:
Camera: Canon EOS 3
Lens: EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM
Film: Kodak TMax 400
Developer: Kodak TMax Developer
Scanner: Scanned with a Canon EOS R camera with a Sigma 105mm macro and the Essential Film Holder
Venice (Venezia) really needs no introduction. The Serenissima has been a fabled destination for centuries. Just the name Venice is enough to conjure up a host of images, even for those who have not yet set foot in Italy: gondoliers in striped jerseys, the Rialto and the Bridge of Sighs, masked balls, golden barges, courtesans in gondolas and crumbling palaces facing streets made of water. The western world's most famous figures visited Venice, marveled at the gold mosaics of St Mark's, admired art in churches, explored the city's maze of canals (or, in Byron's case, swam in them), and then proceeded to preach Venice's wonders to those unable to make the journey. In these days of budget airlines, however, Venice really is open to anyone. Both Ryanair and EasyJet run flights to Venice, so the city of lions and doges has never been so accessible.
Venice is a glorious cliché, more romantic, more beautiful and more surprising than you could expect. No matter how many photographs or films you may have seen, it is still a jaw-dropping experience seeing Venice's canals and palaces for the first time. That first cruise down the Grand Canal - punctuated by exclamations and photo-snapping - is one of life's unforgettable experiences.
Venice's quietest season is winter. You're unlikely to find Venice empty of tourists at any time, but late autumn and the first part of the winter are the best times to come if you want to avoid the crowds and take advantage of cheaper hotel rates. This is the best time to see a (relatively) tourist-free Venice - but be prepared for icy temperatures and mists. In January and February the two-week-long Carnival is one of Venice's big attractions and the crowds flock in - it is even more important at this time to book a hotel well in advance. There are masks and parties; it's a bit tamer now, though, than the decadent excesses of the past. As the spring turns into summer, tourist numbers rise; and Venice in the height of summer is avoided by many; August can be swelteringly hot. The Venice Film Festival takes place in late August and early September.
Venice is composed of more than a hundred tiny islets, packed closely together around canals. The city is in a lagoon, protected from the sea by a long strip of land called the Lido. Venice is famously sinking. Every year high water levels (acqua alta) threaten the city's fabric, and it has long been feared that the beautiful city will one day disappear beneath the water. Many ideas (and funds) have been put forward to protect the endangered heritage site, but the problem is a complex one and 'solutions' such as those to construct a giant water-gate are controversial.
For centuries Venice was a republic of immense power; controlling trade routes in the Adriatic, and waging successful wars with rival states. Ruled by a doge, who had his powers controlled by a cabinet, Venice was a proud and rich republic, known as la Serenissima, the most serene. Every year the Doge would take part in a symbolic ceremony, the Marriage of the Sea, to celebrate Venice's mastery over the ocean. Like most great powers, however, Venice's glory was followed by a decline. La Serenissima lost her chattels in wars, and the city's trade routes declined in importance. By the eighteenth century, Venetians was already seeking profits from the tourist trade, leasing fine palazzi to foreign travelers.
From Birminghamweare:-
"A pub at Old Turn Junction of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, The Malt House was built out of the shell of a nail warehouse dating to 1803 called the Kingston Building. During the G8 in 1998, US President Bill Clinton famously drank here."
I loved the look of threatening sky behind the sunny fascia of the building.
www.birminghamweare.com/kms/dmart.aspx?strTab=ProjectTime...
Gateacre Brow.
A place I've always found very attractive and very much in keeping with the village.
The former Gateacre Telephone Exchange
It sits on the corner of the junction with Sandfield Road and was built in 1889 by the National Telephone Company to house a local telephone exchange. The Grade II listed building was designed by the architect Walter Aubrey Thomas, who is more famously known as the architect of The Liver Building. The building came under the ownership of the General Post Office in 1911, although it remained a manned telephone exchange until 1946, when an automated system was installed. During the early-to-mid twentieth century the building was also home to several financial institutions including Parr’s Bank (which in 1920 became part of Westminster Bank) and later with the Prudential Assurance Company.
Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
Today however we are not at Cavendish Mews. We have travelled east across London, through Bloomsbury, past the Smithfield Meat Markets, beyond the Petticoat Lane Markets* frequented by Lettice’s maid, Edith, through the East End boroughs of Bethnal Green and Bow, to the 1880s housing development of Upton Park. It is here that Frank’s closest and only surviving relation lives: his elderly Scottish grandmother, Mrs. McTavish. It is Christmas Day 1925, and after catching a chill going home from a celebratory meal at Lyon’s Corner House** at the top of Tottenham Court Road to celebrate Edith and Frank’s engagement, which then settled on her chest and became influenza, Mrs. McTavish, whilst recovering well, is not well enough to travel through the cold fog and sleet of Christmas Day with Frank to Frank’s fiancée, Edith’s, family home in Harlesden. It was Edith who settled on the idea of rather than Frank and Mrs. McTavish coming to her parent’s home, going with her parents, George and Ada, to them instead, after she took inspiration from a Christmas window display in the Woolworths*** outside the Premier Super Cinema**** in East Ham, where Edith and Frank had seen a midday showing of ‘A Girl of London’***** on their day off.
“There!” Edith sighs, as she settles back on her haunches and admires her work.
Before her, on Mrs. McTavish’s flagstone floor a small Christmas Tree has been set up, it’s short height compensated by standing it in one of Mrs. McTavish’s unused tall terracotta flowerpots overturned, with the thin trunk slipped through the drain hole in its bottom, carefully hidden by an apron of festive red velvet supplied by Ada from her capacious basket, where it sat beneath a succulent roast chicken that she had started cooking in her own kitchen range in Harlesden. The tree’s decoration had been Edith’s job to manage, whilst her mother busied herself finishing off the chicken in the oven of Mrs. McTavish’s range. Being rather creative, this was a pleasure for Edith to do, and she quickly unpacked the gaily decorated boxes of thruppence and sixpence Christmas decorations she had bought at Woolworths in order to decorate the tree, one George had bought as a favour from one of his gardening contacts at his Harlesden allotment. Scattering spools of thick red velveteen****** ribbon and baubles of metallic red and gold across the floor. She quickly made the bare tree into a beautiful and festive centrepiece for the day’s festivities, expertly decorating its branches, hiding sparse parts of the rather weedy tree, until it looked full and perfect.
“What do you think, Gran?” Edith asks, looking over her right shoulder to Frank’s Scottish Grandmother peers out from beneath her thick tartan rug in her usual, old and worn wingback chair by the range.
Mrs. McTavish’s wizened face, covered in a maze of wrinkles beneath the lacy white froth of her cap colours a little and her dark eyes sparkle with delight as she spies the decorated Christmas tree. “Och, Edith my dear!” she exclaims in her thick Scottish brogue. “It looks grand! What a clever we bairn you are!”
“She’s right, Edith,” Frank says with a cheerful lilt as he pauses setting the table, holding one of his grandmother’s best blue and white china plates in his hands and looks over at the decorated tree. “It looks grand!”
“Oh, thank you both.” Edith says, blushing at their compliments.
“Edith always was the one with artistic talent,” George murmurs with pride to his wife as they both stand at the kitchen range, he holding a white bowl out to catch the green peas and bright orange carrots his wife scoops from one of Mrs. McTavish’s saucepans with a slotted spoon. “I would have liked it if she’d been able to pursue her creativity.”
Ada sighs heavily as she gazes at the beautifully decorated Christmas Tree, pausing in her scooping to observe the rich and fat bows and red and gold baubles bask in the golden light cast by Mrs. McTavish’s gas light overhead, giving them an essence of Christmas magic. She coughs and clears her throat before going back to the job at hand by spooning out the last of the sliced carrots from the bottom of the pot and shaking them off the spoon into the plain white bowl her husband holds. “Being an artist doesn’t make money, George.” she says matter-of-factly, drawing her husband from his own thoughts. “What good would she be to Frank if she could paint a picture, but not know how to cook, or one end of an iron from the other.”
George doesn’t reply, his eyes darting from Ada’s face with her determined, but not unfriendly gaze and the Christmas tree.
“No, domestic service was really our only choice with Edith, and it hasn’t worked out badly, has it George? She has a good job at present with Miss Chetwynd, and she knows how to cook and clean, and she’s a damn fine seamstress.”
“She could have worked at the Lambeth Studios******* with her skill as a paintress.” George muses.
“That’s foolish talk, George.” Ada scoffs with frustration, knocking the slotted spoon’s handle noisily against the edge of the beaten old pot to drown out her words from anyone’s hearing but George’s. “You know it is. We couldn’t have afforded the fees at the Lambeth School of Art******** for her to have sent her there, and well you know it.”
“With her precocious talent,” George retorts. “I still think we stood a chance of her winning a scholarship for her, Ada love.”
“Well,” Ada quips quickly. “We’ll never know now, will we? I did what I thought was best at the time,” She then adds a little more kindly. “And it was best for her, George love. You know it was.”
George sighs as he stares at his daughter as she happily laughs and chatters with her fiancée as they arrange Christmas parcels wrapped in brown paper and tied up with twine around the bottom of the tree. “I don’t know about that, Ada love.”
“Don’t let Edith hear you say that.” Ada cautions her husband, as she bangs the spoon handle against the pot determinedly again.
“Frank, I’m serving up the peas and beans for Ada,” George calls out to his future son-in-law as he moves across the kitchen floor from the range to the round table which has been dressed with one of Mrs. McTavish’s beautiful hand made white lace tablecloths. “Look lively my boy, and finish setting the table, or Ada will as likely have your guts for garters,” He chuckles good naturedly. “Or mine.”
“Aye, I will that, or both of you,” Ada laughs happily from the stove, clearly sharing that she will do no such thing, as she wraps the edge of her apron around her hand and opens the door of the oven and peers in.
A cloud of steam and the sizzle of cooking meat fills the air, as does the rich and evocative scent of the roasting chicken.
“That smells spiffing Mrs. Wat… Ada!” Frank exclaims, still stumbling over the idea of calling his future mother-in-law by her first name, rather than Mrs. Watsford.
“Thank you, Frank love.” Ada says with a proud smile as she turns and faces the room, her face flushed from the head radiating from the oven. Closing the door she adds, “Just a few more minutes and we’ll be ready to eat. I hope you’ve all brought a good, healthy appetite, most of all you, Nyree love.” She puts a hand gently on Mrs. McTavish’s shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze. “We need to be fattening you up. There’s no meat on your bones. No wonder you caught influenza.”
“Aha!” Frank cries from the table as he lays down the last of the dinner plates. He points across the room to his grandmother sitting snuggled in her chair as he says triumphantly, “Your own words, turned back on you for a change!” He laughs. “Gran’s always telling me I’m too thin, Ada. It’s time she had some of her own medicine for a change.”
“Och!” the old Scotswoman scoffs, before starting to cough heavily, her chest heaving up and down beneath her warm blanket. “You are too thin, Francis my bairn!” She coughs a little more, only less severely. “You eat like a wee house sparrow, you do,” she goes on through laboured breaths. “And that’s no good for a strapping young laddie!”
“Gran!” Frank moans. “How many times do I have to tell you, I’m Frank now. Francis is a girl’s name.”
“Nonsense!” she retorts, releasing another fruity cough. “It’s a splendid boy’s name. Twas the name your faither********** and mither*********** gave you and had you christened. You may want to be Frank, but,” She smiles beatifically at her grandson. “But you’ll always be Francis to me.”
“Oh Gran!” Frank says again, blushing red.
Edith giggles. “I’m glad you like the Christmas tree, Gran. I really wanted to make your Christmas a special one.” She reaches up and places her hands over the old woman’s gnarled and wrinkled ones and squeezes them affectionately.
“You have my wee bairn,” Mrs. McTavish says, withdrawing her hands from beneath Edith’s and placing them on Edith’s youthful cheeks. She smiles down at her. “You really have. How could anyone not be delighted by such kindness?” She sinks back in her seat. “You’ve all been so kind to bring the Christmas Day festivities to me.”
“Ahh,” Ada scoffs with a beatific smile and a dismissive wave of her hand as she walks the dirty pots over to the trough skin in the corner of the kitchen. “Christmas is wherever you decide to celebrate it, so why not have it here? As I was saying to Frank a week ago when he was visiting us, it would have been too much to expect you to travel all the way to us Nyree, even if it isn’t a long walk to and from the Tube************ station either way, in your condition.”
“That’s right.” Adds George. “It’s been so cold, and the fogs aren’t pleasant for you to go through either, Nyree love. Better we come to you, and you can keep nice and cosy and warm.”
“Thank you, George. “Lang may yer lum reek*************.”
“What does that mean, Gran?” Edith asks. “Long may yer lum reek?”
“Lang,” Mrs. McTavish corrects Edith gently. “Lang may yer lum reek.”
“It’s a Scottish blessing.” Frank explains. “Long may your chimney smoke. Isn’t that right, Gran?”
“It is, Francis my wee bairn!” Mrs. McTavish concurs. “It means I wish you good fortune and prosperity.”
“Lang may yer lum reek. Lang may yer lum reek.” Edith repeats over and over a few times.
“That’s it, Edith my dear.” Mrs. McTavish encourages. “Och! Francis and I will make a Scotswoman out of you yet!” She chortles happily.
“How do you say, Merry Christmas, Gran?” Edith asks. “In Scottish, I mean?”
“Nollaig Chirdheil**************.” Mrs. McTavish says in her growly Scottish brogue, smiling happily as she does.
“Oh!” Edith’s face falls. “Oh, I might struggle to say that.”
“Och! Well, you weren’t raised with Gaelic being spoken about you, Edith dearie.” Mrs. McTavish chuckles softly. “It will take some practice. However, if you apply yourself, perhaps you might be a better scholar than my wee bairn Francis was when it comes to speaking Gaelic.”
“I’ll try, Gran.” Edith says.
“Good girl!” She pats Edith’s hand. “When I’m better and get over this awful influenza, I’ll have to teach you how to make rumbledethumps***************.”
“Rumbledethumps!” Frank pipes up as he places the last brightly coloured Christmas cracker across a dinner plate at the table. “You’re going to teach Edith to make rumbledethumps?”
“Aye, cluasan mòra!” Mrs. McTavish calls out in reply to her grandson’s question.
“Cluasan mòra?” Edith asks. “What does that mean?”
“Tell your fiancée what a cluasan mòra is, then, Francis my wee bairn.” When Frank doesn’t reply, and busies himself straightening cutlery on the table that doesn’t need straightening, Mrs. McTavish goes on. “If he’d studied Gaelic like I said he should have, he’d know that cluasan mòra means ‘big ears’, Edith my dear.”
Edith can’t help but chuckle as she sees Frank blush bright red.
“Right!” Ada calls cheerily as she withdraws the golden yellow chicken from the oven. “Christmas tea is served!”
Everyone watches, transfixed as she walks across the small kitchen carrying the succulent roast bird across the table in one of her trusty roasting pans from her Harlesden kitchen. Roast potatoes, as golden and crusted as the chicken itself sit nestled around the chicken, and the whole dish releases a delicious aroma that quickly fills the small room.
“Now that smells like Christmas tea to me!” George says jovially. “I’ll open up a bottle of ale for us.”
“Come on Gran.” Frank says kindly as he scurries over to his grandmother’s side. “I’ll help you up.”
“I’ll help too, Frank.” Edith offers. “And we’ll get you safely over to the table and settled in.”
“Thanks Edith!” Frank replies, sighing gratefully.
As the pair help stand the old Scotswoman up, draw away her green and red tartan blanket and gently guide her across the flagstones, she turns her head to Edith. “So Edith, dearie. I hear from your parents and Frank, that this was all your doing.”
“Me?” Edith asks. “Oh I didn’t make the Christmas fare. Mum did, with a bit of help from Dad and me. You saw her, Gran.”
“No! No!” Mrs. McTavish hisses. “Not that. They tell me it was your idea to move your Christmas from your parent’s house here.”
“Oh, I think I might have suggested the idea in the first place, after we found out from Frank that you were sick.”
“You’re being too modest by half,” Frank retorts. “It was Edith’s idea alright, Gran. She should take credit for it.”
As Mrs. McTavish looks upon the blushing face of Edith she says, “Well, as you know, I haven’t really been well enough to finish the Christmas gift for you that I started making.”
“Oh, I don’t care about that, Gran. I don’t need anything from you, when you let us have Christmas in your home, like this.”
“Well, I will finish it, but once I’m better, Edith dearie. And then I’ll give it to you.” She groans a bit as she nears the table with Edith and Frank supporting her delicate and brittle figure. “But there is something I’ve been meaning to ask you, ever since you and Francis told me about your intended nuptials****************.”
“And what’s that, Gran?” Edith asks, as they manoeuvre Mrs, McTavish to a round back Windsor chair close by the warm range and gently lower her down into it.
“Aye. Thank you my wee bairns.” Mrs McTavish says gratefully. Turning her attention back to Edith, whilst Frank fetches her tartan blanket to drape over her knees, she says, “Edith dearie, would you do me the honour of letting me make your wedding veil? I’d rather like to, you know.”
“Oh Gran!” Edith exclaims, flinging her arms around Mrs. McTavish’s neck and hugging her tightly.
“I’ll take that as a yes, shall I then, Edith dearie?” the old woman laughs.
“Oh yes! Yes Gran!” Edith says in a muffled voice filled with elation as she buries her head into Mrs. McTavih’s neck. “Yes.”
“Good!” Mrs. McTavish says matter-of-factly, grasping Edith my the forearms, causing the young girl to release her embrace and take a step back. “That makes me very happy, Edith dearie.”
“Merry Christmas Gran.” Edith manages to say as she swallows her emotions and tries to remain composed in front of her fiancée and family.
“Nollaig Chirdheil, Edith dearie.” Old Mrs. McTavish replies kindly, a broad smile breaking across her face.
*Petticoat Lane Market is a fashion and clothing market in Spitalfields, London. It consists of two adjacent street markets. Wentworth Street Market and Middlesex Street Market. Originally populated by Huguenots fleeing persecution in France, Spitalfields became a center for weaving, embroidery and dying. From 1882, a wave of Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution in eastern Europe settled in the area and Spitalfields then became the true heart of the clothing manufacturing district of London. \'The Lane\' was always renowned for the \'patter\' and showmanship of the market traders. It was also known for being a haven for the unsavoury characters of London’s underworld and was rife with prostitutes during the late Victorian era. Unpopular with the authorities, as it was largely unregulated and in some sense illegal, as recently as the 1930s, police cars and fire engines were driven down ‘The Lane’, with alarm bells ringing, to disrupt the market.
**J. Lyons and Co. was a British restaurant chain, food manufacturing, and hotel conglomerate founded in 1884 by Joseph Lyons and his brothers in law, Isidore and Montague Gluckstein. Lyons’ first teashop opened in Piccadilly in 1894, and from 1909 they developed into a chain of teashops, with the firm becoming a staple of the High Street in the United Kingdom. At its peak the chain numbered around two hundred cafes. The teashops provided for tea and coffee, with food choices consisting of hot dishes and sweets, cold dishes and sweets, and buns, cakes and rolls. Lyons\' Corner Houses, which first appeared in 1909 and remained until 1977, were noted for their Art Deco style. Situated on or near the corners of Coventry Street, Strand and Tottenham Court Road, they and the Maison Lyonses at Marble Arch and in Shaftesbury Avenue were large buildings on four or five floors, the ground floor of which was a food hall with counters for delicatessen, sweets and chocolates, cakes, fruit, flowers and other products. In addition, they possessed hairdressing salons, telephone booths, theatre booking agencies and at one period a twice-a-day food delivery service. On the other floors were several restaurants, each with a different theme and all with their own musicians. For a time, the Corner Houses were open twenty-four hours a day, and at their peak each branch employed around four hundred staff including their famous waitresses, commonly known as Nippies for the way they nipped in and out between the tables taking orders and serving meals. The tea houses featured window displays, and, in the post-war period, the Corner Houses were smarter and grander than the local tea shops. Between 1896 and 1965 Lyons owned the Trocadero, which was similar in size and style to the Corner Houses.
***Woolworths began operation in Britain in 1909 when Frank Woolworth opened the first store in Liverpool, as a British subsidiary of the already established American company. The store initially sold a variety of goods for threepence and sixpence, making their goods accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy upper and middle-classes. The British subsidiary proved to be very popular, and it grew quickly, opening twelve stores by 1912 and expanding using its own profits to become a fixture on the high street. The stores became a beloved British institution, with many shoppers assuming they were originally a British company. In 1982, the United Kingdom operations underwent a management buyout from the American parent company, becoming Woolworth Holdings PLC. This followed the American parent company\'s sale of its controlling stake to a local consortium. Later, in 2000, the company\'s parent (by then known as Kingfisher Group) decided to restructure, focusing more on its DIY and electrical markets. The general merchandise division, including Big W stores, was spun off into a separate company called Woolworths in 2001. Unable to adapt to modern retail trends, the company faced increasing competition and financial difficulties. The last Woolworths stores in the United Kingdom closed their doors in December 2008 and January 2009, marking the end of an era.
****The Premier Super Cinema in East Ham was opened on the 12th of March, 1921, replacing the 800 seat capacity 1912 Premier Electric Theatre. The new cinema could seat 2,408 patrons. The Premier Super Cinema was taken over by Provincial Cinematograph Theatres who were taken over by Gaumont British in February 1929. It was renamed the Gaumont from 21st April 1952. The Gaumont was closed by the Rank Organisation on 6th April 1963. After that it became a bingo hall and remained so until 2005. Despite attempts to have it listed as a historic building due to its relatively intact 1921 interior, the Gaumont was demolished in 2009.
*****‘A Girl of London’ is a 1925 British silent drama film produced by Stoll Pictures, directed by Henry Edwards and starring Genevieve Townsend, Ian Hunter and Nora Swinburne. Its plot concerns the son of a member of parliament, who is disowned by his father when he marries a girl who works in a factory. Meanwhile, he tries to rescue his new wife from her stepfather who operates a drugs den. It was based on a novel by Douglas Walshe.
******Velveteen is a woven fabric with a short, dense pile that resembles velvet but is stiffer and has a matte finish. It is typically made of cotton or a cotton blend and is created by weaving loops that are then cut to create the soft, raised surface. Due to its durability and structure, it is used for garments that need to hold their shape, such as jackets and skirts, as well as for home décor like upholstery and draperies.
*******The first Royal Doulton pottery in Lambeth, London, opened in 1815. It started as a partnership between John Doulton, Martha Jones, and John Watts, specialising in utilitarian stoneware like pipes and jars. The company moved to larger premises in Lambeth Walk in 1826, trading as Doulton & Watts. The factory\'s production evolved over time, and in 1871, the famous Doulton Lambeth Studio was established. It became known for its beautiful art pottery, employing artists from the local Lambeth School of Art. The Lambeth Pottery employed over two hundred artists and designers from the Art School by the 1880s, many of them women. The original Lambeth factory finally closed in 1956 due to clean air regulations in the City of London, which prohibited salt glaze production.
********The Lambeth School of Art was an art school established in 1854 in the Lambeth area of London by William Gregory, the vicar of St Mary the Less Church. Now known as the City and Guilds of London Art School, it is now a leading independent art school in London. The school is also associated with the "Lambeth Method" of cake decorating, a style of elaborate buttercream piping known for its regal and intricate designs, famously used on the wedding cake of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
*********The phrase "guts for garters" means to punish someone severely or to threaten them with extreme violence. Its origin is the literal, and now obsolete, threat of disembowelling a person and using their intestines as garters to hold up one\'s stockings. This phrase is first recorded in late Sixteenth Century literature and gained popularity through alliteration and usage in various contexts, from military slang to a more general expression of anger.
**********Faither is an old fashioned Scottish word for father.
***********Mither is an old fashioned Scottish word for mother.
************People started calling the London Underground the "Tube" around 1900, after the opening of the Central London Railway. The railway\'s deep, cylindrical tunnels resembled tubes, and a newspaper nickname for it, the “Tuppenny Tube”, due to a flat fare of two pence, helped the term stick. Over time, the nickname spread to refer to the entire system.
*************A classic Scottish blessing for good luck is "Lang may yer lum reek," which literally means "long may your chimney smoke" and conveys the wish for continued prosperity and good fortune.
**************”Nollaig Chirdheil” is the traditional festive greeting in Gaelic shared at Christmas time.
***************Rumbledethumps is a dish that is popular in the Scottish border regions and is perfect for using up leftover mashed potatoes and excess vegetables. Often referred to as the Scottish version of bubble ‘n squeak, rumbledethumps recipes usually contain turnip and cabbage, but really any vegetable leftovers could be used. The vegetable mixture is topped with cheese and then baked until bubbling. The dish can be made the day before and heated up and whilst it can be eaten on its own, makes a nice accompaniment for a hearty stew.
****************Nuptials is a alternative word for marriage. The term “nuptials” emphasizes the ceremonial and legal aspects of a marriage, lending a more formal tone to wedding communications and documentation.
This festive scene in a cosy kitchen may look real to you, but it is not quite what it seems, for it is made up entirely of pieces from my 1:12 miniatures collection.
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
The Christmas tree at the centre of the image is a hand-made artisan example from dollhouse artisan suppliers in America. The parcels wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine beneath the tree I acquired from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering.
The boxed tinsel garland and the tree top angel box were a gift to me last Christmas from my Flickr friend BKHagar *Kim* who also collects 1:12 miniatures. She picked these up at a house auction as part of a large miniatures collection. The red box containing hand painted Christmas ornaments were hand made and decorated by artists of Crooked Mile Cottage in America. The patterned green box of red and green baubles at the front of Ada’s basket to the right was hand made by Mick and Marie’s Miniatures in the United Kingdom.
The box of Christmas crackers towards the bottom of the picture and the Christmas cards on the table to the left of the image are 1:12 miniatures made by artisan Ken Blythe. I have a large representation of Ken Blythe’s work in my miniatures collection – books mostly. Most of the books I own that he has made may be opened to reveal authentic printed interiors. In some cases, you can even read the words, depending upon the size of the print! Sadly, so little of his real artistry is seen because the books that he specialised in making are usually closed, sitting on shelves or closed on desks and table surfaces. As well as making books, he also made other small paper based miniatures including cards like the Christmas cards, and boxes of goods. The box, as you can see, is designed to be opened, and each one contains gaily coloured Christmas crackers made from real crêpe paper. The crackers from the box, coloured red, yellow and blue, can be seen sitting on the table. To create something so authentic to the original in such detail and so clearly, really does make them all miniature artisan pieces. Ken Blythe’s work is highly sought after by miniaturists around the world today and command high prices at auction for such tiny pieces, particularly now that he is no longer alive. I was fortunate enough to acquire pieces from Ken Blythe prior to his death about four years ago, as well as through his estate via his daughter and son-in-law. His legacy will live on with me and in my photography which I hope will please his daughter.
The round kitchen table is draped with an antique lace jug cover, which I thought made for a beautiful tablecloth for Christmas. As well as Ken Blythe’s Christmas crackers, there are other things of the table. These include beautiful blue and white dinner plates which come from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop in the United Kingdom. The succulent looking roast chicken comes from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures. The cutlery also comes from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures. All the water glasses I have had since I was a teenager. I bought them from a high street stockist that specialised in dolls’ houses and doll house miniatures. Each glass is hand blown using real glass.
Mrs. McTavish’s intentionally worn leather wingback chair and the sewing table to the left of the photo are both 1:12 artisan miniatures. The inside of the sewing table is particularly well made and detailed with a removable tray made up of multiple compartments. Beneath it, the floral fabric lines the underside and opens up into a central bag. Both pieces come from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop. The top comparts are full of sewing items which also came from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop and various online specialists on E-Bay. The small, round pedestal table at the arm of Mrs. McTavish’s chair also comes from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop
The sewing basket that you can see on the floor beneath the sewing table I bought from a high street shop that specialised in dolls and doll house furnishings. It is an artisan miniature and contains pieces of embroidery and embroidery threads. Also inserted into it is an embroidery hoop that has been which embroidered by hand which came from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop in the United Kingdom.
Dominating the rear of the room is the large kitchen range which is a 1:12 miniature replica of the coal fed Phoenix Kitchen Range. A mid-Victorian model, it has hinged opening doors, hanging bars above the stove and a little bass hot water tap (used in the days before plumbed hot water). The fringing hanging from the mantle is actually a beautiful scalloped ribbon that was given to me at Christmas time by a very close friend of mine.
On the small pedestal table next to Mrs. McTavish’s chair sits a blue and white teacup and saucer. It comes from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop in the United Kingdom, and so too does the table.
On the wall just behind Mrs. McTavish’s chair hangs a hand painted cuckoo clock. It has been made by Warwick Miniatures in Ireland, who are well known for the quality and detail applied to their pieces.
In the background you can see Mrs. McTavish’s dark wood dresser cluttered with decorative china. I have had the dresser since I was a child. The shelves of the dresser have different patterned crockery which have come from different miniature stockists both in Australia and the United Kingdom.
The brass pieces on the range all come from different online stockists of miniatures.
The rug on the floor comes from Kathleen Knight’s Doll House Shop in the United Kingdom.
Highgate Common Staffordshire
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The Great Tit (Parus major) is a widespread and familiar songbird across Europe and parts of Asia, known for its bright plumage, adaptability, and frequent visits to garden feeders.
Appearance: The Great Tit is the largest of the tits found in the UK, measuring around 14 cm in length. It has a striking, glossy black head with large white cheek patches. The back is an olive-green, wings are bluish-grey with a white bar, and the underparts are bright yellow with a distinctive broad black stripe running down the centre of the breast and belly. Males have a wider, more prominent black stripe than females.
Voice: They have a loud and varied repertoire of calls. Their most recognizable song is a repetitive, high-pitched two-syllable call, often described as sounding like a squeaky bicycle pump or the words "teacher-teacher".
Intelligence: Great Tits are considered highly intelligent and resourceful. They can solve problems, have been observed using conifer needles as tools to extract insect larvae, and famously learned to break the foil caps of doorstep milk bottles to get the cream in 20th-century Britain.
Habitat and Diet: Great Tits are highly adaptable and can be found in a variety of habitats, including woodlands, parks, gardens, orchards, and farmlands, as long as there are trees or shrubs available. They are common garden visitors and readily use human-provided food sources.
Their diet varies by season:
Breeding Season: They primarily feed on protein-rich insects and other invertebrates, such as caterpillars, spiders, and beetles, which are essential for feeding their chicks.
Winter: When insects are scarce, their diet shifts to seeds (especially from beech and hazel trees), nuts, and berries. They are frequent visitors to bird feeders, where they enjoy sunflower seeds, peanuts, and suet.
Portmeirion tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales., 2 miles (3.2 km) from Porthmadog . Portmeirion was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the Baroque style and is now owned by a charitable trust. It has served as the location for numerous films and television shows, most famously as "The Village" in the 1960s television show The Prisoner. Wales April 2024
Portmeirion is a tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Dwyryd in the community of Penrhyndeudraeth, 2 miles (3.2 km) from Porthmadog and 1 mile (1.6 km) from Minffordd railway station. Portmeirion was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the Baroque style and is now owned by a charitable trust. It has served as the location for numerous films and television shows, most famously as "the Village" in the 1960s television show The Prisoner.wales april 2024
Mute swan.he’s been a pain in the back side.
He was in a very bad mood.
He came after me as well.
Courting swan on the Danube
Swans feed in water and on land. They are almost entirely herbivorous, although they may eat small amounts of aquatic animals. In the water, food is obtained by up-ending or dabbling, and their diet is composed of the roots, tubers, stems and leaves of aquatic and submerged plants.[11]
Mute swan threatens a photographer in Toyako, Japan
Swans famously mate for life, and typically bond even before they reach sexual maturity. Trumpeter swans, for example, who can live as long as 24 years and only start breeding at the age of 4–7, form monogamous pair bonds as early as 20 months.[19] "Divorce", though rare, does occur; one study of mute swans showing a 3% rate for pairs that breed successfully and 9% for pairs that do not.[20] The pair bonds are maintained year-round, even in gregarious and migratory species like the tundra swan, which congregate in large flocks in the wintering grounds.[21]
Swans' nests are on the ground near water and about a metre across. Unlike many other ducks and geese, the male helps with the nest construction, and will also take turns incubating the eggs.[22] Alongside the whistling ducks, swans are the only anatids that will do this. Average egg size (for the mute swan) is 113×74 mm, weighing 340 g, in a clutch size of 4 to 7, and an incubation period of 34–45 days.[23] Swans are highly protective of their nests. They will viciously attack anything that they perceive as a threat to their chicks, including humans. One man was suspected to have drowned in such an attack.[24][25] Swans' intraspecific aggressive behaviour is shown more frequent than interspecific behaviour for food and shelter. The aggression with other species is shown more in Bewick's swans.[26]
11 galaxy [1] 32 galaxy [2] 38 galaxy [3]
A closer view of Seljalandsfoss and the pathway that leads behind the waterfall. The river is formed by glacier melt from the volcano Eyjafjallajökull that famously erupted in 2010 and shut down air travel across much of Europe.
Thanks for the fave's and comments. You can see the rest of the pics of our trip to Iceland clicking here.
And now for more of the gardens.
Samuel Untermyer was born in Virginia in 1858, and as a boy moved to New York City after the Civil War. He was a founding partner in the law firm of Guggenheimer, Untermyer & Marshall, and was the first lawyer in America to earn a one million dollar fee on a single case. He was also an astute investor, and became extremely wealthy.
Untermyer was also passionately interested in horticulture. He famously said that if he could do it over again, he would want to be the Parks Commissioner in New York City! Unlike most wealthy garden-owners, Untermyer was expertly knowledgeable about horticulture. The level of horticulture at the Untermyer Gardens was nationally famous, and some great gardeners got their training there.
His ambition for the garden was that it be not less than the "finest garden in America."*
The Untermyer Gardens Conservancy was founded in 2011 by Stephen F. Byrns to reclaim the lost splendor of Untermyer Gardens, a Yonkers municipal park that is the home of the finest Indo-Persian garden in the Western Hemisphere.
In 1899 Samuel Untermyer purchased Greystone, the former estate of Samuel Tilden. In the forty one years Untermyer owned Greystone, he transformed the gardens and greenhouses into some of the most celebrated gardens in America. After expanding the estate through property purchases to the north and east of the original estate, he hired Beaux Arts architect Welles Bosworth to design the gardens in 1916. These gardens sprawled over 150 acres overlooking the Hudson River and were maintained by 60 gardeners and supplied by 60 greenhouses. It was open to the public on a weekly basis during the 1920s and for special events, including displays of his famous chrysanthemums and tulips. Thirty-thousand people visited it on one day in 1939.
Upon Samuel Untermyer’s death in 1940, the garden was left in limbo while the estate was settled and a plan to care for it determined. A core part of the gardens was acquired by the City of Yonkers in 1946. In the 1990s, another parcel was acquired, bringing its present acreage to 43. Today, its prestige as one of the greatest gardens in America has been restored, and it is one of the top visitor destinations in Westchester County.
Now, here is an interesting tidbit connected to this park and gardens. It might be hard to believe, but these beautiful gardens, and this property fell into a state of disrepair back in the 1970's. And it was a period in the NYC area when drugs and crime were a major problem. And the occult, and tales of the occult seemingly had generated some new interest. Neighbors around the gardens would hear chanting and see people walking in the park carrying flaming torches. The remains of skinned dogs were also found, and it became apparent that witchcraft and devil worship was at play in park. Satanic scribblings and ominous graffiti appear on columns, towers, and decrepit walls; cryptic markings alluding to a traumatic time in New York City’s history. And now the story gets even more interesting, particularly for those who remember the serial killer "Son of Sam," who later was identified as David Berkowitz, the accused killer of 6, and possibly more. Berkowitz was a devil worshiper and cult follower, and frequented the park in those days on many occasions. Interestingly, a man named Sam Carr, was “the high official of the Devil’s Legion,” and probably how Berkowitz had identified himself as the murderer by leaving a note behind saying it was the "son of Sam" who had committed the crime. In 1976, the crime spree and murders had terrified the people living in the area, and it was until Berkowitz was actually captured in 1977 that the city once again relaxed some.
und Detail des Kanzelfußes im Stephansdom in Wien. Wer diese vielbewunderte Domkanzel geschaffen und sich hier in einem Selbstbildnis verewigt hat, ist umstritten.
Ihr seht die Kanzel auf diesem Foto ganz links: flic.kr/p/VugVdb
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanzel_des_Stephansdoms_(Wien)
Detail of the famous pulpit in St. Stephen's Cathedral. "Beneath the stairs is one of the most beloved symbols of the cathedral: a stone self-portrait of the unknown sculptor gawking (German: gucken) out of a window (German: fenster) and thus famously known as the Fenstergucker. The chisel in the subject's hand, and the stonemason's signature mark on the shield above the window led to the speculation that it could be a self-portrait of the sculptor." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen%27s_Cathedral,_Vienna
This lane, which actually makes a Y-shape around the church, takes its name from the church itself: St Edward King and Martyr (though the sign just outside just says St Edward).
The church is medieval, dating to the 13th century, and remodeled around 1400.
The Christmas Eve Midnight Mass held here in 1525 is believed to be the first non-Catholic sermon in what would be the English Reformation (worth nothing is that this was a couple of years before Henry VIII asked the pope for an annulment of the marriage to his first queen, which was famously not granted).
ⓒRebecca Bugge, All Rights Reserved
Do not use without permission.
Actually this lion has not moved for more than 150 years so perhaps it is more than asleep. This was taken in Trafalgar Square, rain pelting down and the light at a minimum. The lion you see here is one of 4 lions that sit at the base of Nelson's Column, a well known monument that sits in the middle of the square.
Admiral Horatio Nelson, for those who don't know, was a British naval commander who was at the helm for a well remembered victory over the combined French and Spanish forces at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Nelson was killed in the battle and famously his body was preserved in a large barrel of brandy and shipped back to England aboard his flagship, the HMS Victory.
Interesting factoid about Nelson's monument in Trafalgar Square: "The lions were cast from cannons taken from the French and Spanish ships defeated at the Battle of Trafalgar."
OK back to Venice and some more travel shots from my recent visit.
These are of the Bell Tower in St Mark's Square one of the iconic landmarks .
The tower famously collapsed in 1902 during building works see here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaZMqcE4nZc
Fortunately no-one was killed , just the caretaker's cat.
It was rebuilt after much debate 'just as it was '- well hopefully more stable this time.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mark%27s_Campanile
For €10 you can climb to the top (in a lift) and admire the view over the City
For the Crazy Tuesday challenge: "Water Rain"
"It's a family affair" is famously by the group "Sly and the Family Stone". Sly Stone sadly died just a few days ago.
The song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xag5RKD0VHk
Crazy Tuesday: Here
My Fyvie Castle set: Here
Situated on the west coast of the South Island, hours from the nearest town, Milford Sound is where plunging cliffs and raging waterfalls meet inky dark waters. This is New Zealand's wild side at its absolute best.
Famously described by Rudyard Kipling as the 'eighth wonder of the world', Milford Sound was carved by glaciers during the ice ages.
Breathtaking in any weather, the fiord's cliffs rise vertically from the dark waters, mountain peaks scrape the sky and waterfalls cascade downwards from as high as 1000 metres.
When it rains in Milford Sound, and it often does, those waterfalls multiply with magnificent effect.
The lake is volcanic in origin, filling an enormous caldera formed in an eruption 84000 years ago. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, and Aldous Huxley famously wrote of it: "Lake Como, it seems to me, touches on the limit of permissibly picturesque, but Atitlán is Como with additional embellishments of several immense volcanoes. It really is too much of a good thing".
Tolimán is a stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the southern shores of Lago de Atitlán. The volcano has an elevation of 3,158 m (10,361 ft) and was formed near the southern margin of the Pleistocene Atitlán III caldera. The top of the volcano has a shallow crater and its flanks are covered with the thick remains of ancient lavas flows that emerged from vents in the volcano's flanks. A parasitic lava dome, known as Cerro de Oro, was formed on the volcano's northern flank, which may have erupted a few thousand years ago.
Situated on the west coast of the South Island, hours from the nearest town, Milford Sound is where plunging cliffs and raging waterfalls meet inky dark waters. This is New Zealand's wild side at its absolute best.
Famously described by Rudyard Kipling as the 'eighth wonder of the world', Milford Sound was carved by glaciers during the ice ages.
Breathtaking in any weather, the fiord's cliffs rise vertically from the dark waters, mountain peaks scrape the sky and waterfalls cascade downwards from as high as 1000 metres.
This is a very old motorcycle, Manual shifting is very special. Two-stroke motorcycle engine to the famously durable, Air pollution is the biggest drawback. I guess motorcycles will continue to serve, Until parts disappear.
彰化摩托車騎士 - 偉士牌 90cc
這是很老的摩托車，手動換檔非常特殊。二行程機車引擎以耐用著稱，汙染空氣是最大缺點。我猜測摩托車將繼續服役，直到零件消失。
The largest living rail in the world, endemic to New Zealand. Considered extinct until it was famously rediscovered in the Murchison Mountains in 1948. The wild population remains in the Murchison Mountains; the species has been translocated to predator-free offshore islands and mainland sanctuaries, and recently reintroduced to northwest Kahurangi National Park. Note distinct iridescent plumage, white undertail, and huge bright red conical bill that extends onto the forehead. Often heard giving a quiet hooting contact call, or a muted boom. Australasian Swamphen (Pukeko) can look similar, but Takahe are much larger, can’t fly, and have no black on wings or back. (Ebird)
63 cm; stands c. 50 cm tall; male 2250–3250 (2673) g, female 1850–2600 (2268) g. (Birds of the World)
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This juvenile Takahe ventured out of the undergrowth to enjoy some lunch with his parents. Wonderful to see this endangered species is growing its population, but sad to think that its North Island cousin went extinct in 1894.
Tiritiri Matangi, New Zealand. February 2024.
Roadrunner Birding Tours.
Irlanda, Cork, Cobh, Estate 2014
Cobh, in precedenza nota come Queenstown, si trova sulla costa sud della contea di Cork, in Irlanda ed è uno dei principali porti irlandesi. E' stato il punto di partenza per 2,5 milioni di irlandesi emigrati in Nord America tra il 1848 e il 1950. L'11 aprile 1912, Cobh fu l'ultimo porto di scalo per il Titanic. Un'altra nave tragicamente associata con la città, è il Lusitania che fu affondata da un U-boat tedesco al largo della Old Head di Kinsale contribuendo all’ingresso in degli Stati Uniti nella Prima Guerra Mondiale. Su un punto alto della città sorge St Cattedrale di Colman, uno degli edifici più alti in Irlanda. Le case di Cobh sono storicamente piene di colore, ma le più note sono sicuramente le cosiddette case a "mazzo di carte". Queste 23 case praticamente identiche sono state costruite su 23 livelli e ognuna differisce nel colore dalla vicina.
Cobh, formerly known as Queenstown, is on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland and it is one of the major Irish ports. It was the departure point for 2.5 million of Irish people who emigrated to North America between 1848 and 1950. On 11 April 1912, Cobh was famously the final port of call for the RMS Titanic. Another tragically-notable ship to be associated with the town, is the RMS Lusitania that was sunk by a German U-boat off the Old Head of Kinsale contributing to the American entry into World War I. On a high point in the town stands St Colman's Cathedral, one of the tallest buildings in Ireland.
Cobh's houses have been generally very colourful, but the best known of them are the so-called “Deck of Cards” houses. This 23 almost equal houses were built on 23 levels and each one differs in colour from its neighbouring building.
Salt Prints
Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Navajo Nation, Arizona, April, 1982
Leica M4-2, Agfapan 100 in Rodinal 1:50
Salt Prints from digital internegatives September, 2021
Thiorea Gold Toner
Three views: from left to right:
White House Ruin (famously photographed by O'Sullivan and Adams)
Spider Rock (800 ft spire, distinctive geologic feature of the park)
View from the rim, somewhere in the canyon
I find it difficult to achieve uniform tonality in multiple prints with this hand coated process. Nevertheless, from several prints made over two days, I thought these three looked well together.
Off the beaten path in the Navajo Nation, Canyon de Chelly (pronounced de SHAY) is well worth the visit.
See: www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/touring-arizonas-canyo...
Portmeirion is a tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an Italian village, and is now owned by a charitable trust. The village is located in the community of Penrhyndeudraeth, on the estuary of the River Dwyryd, 2 miles (3.2 km) south east of Porthmadog, and 1 mile (1.6 km) from Minffordd railway station. Portmeirion has served as the location for numerous films and television shows, most famously as "The Village" in the 1960s television show The Prisoner. Wikipedia
Dewar's work for the Scottish Parliament has led him to be called the "Father of the Nation".[20][21]
In May 2002, then-Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled a statue of Donald Dewar at the top of Glasgow's Buchanan Street, a street in Glasgow City centre. In keeping with his famous unkempt appearance, it showed Dewar wearing a slightly crushed jacket. The statue was taken down in October 2005 to be cleaned and was re-erected on 6-foot (1.8 m) high plinth in December in an effort to protect it from vandalism. On the base of the statue were inscribed the opening words of the Scotland Act: "There Shall Be A Scottish Parliament", a phrase to which Dewar himself famously said, "I like that!"
#52 on Explore
See on map. ja.is/kort/#x=562428&y=578091&z=5&q=j%c3%b6ku...
Goðafoss is in located in river Skjálfandafljót which runs through Bárðardalur and Kinn in Northeast Iceland, and is just off main ring road 1 by the farm Fosshóll. It is among Iceland's larger waterfalls and also very beautiful.
Skjálfandafljót runs across a lava field which is approximately 7000 years old. Through the ages the river has dug about 3 km up through the lava field a canyon which just below the falls is about 100m wide. Rocky promontories in the horseshoe shaped edge of the falls divide it into two main falls and a few smaller one, depending on the flow.
Goðafoss is closely connected with one of the most important event in Icelandic history, the conversion to Christianity from heathendom or "the old custom" in the year 1000.
At that time Þorgeir Þorkelsson, chieftain from nearby Ljósavatn was lawspeaker in Iceland. As such he was faced with the task of settling the growing disputes between Christians and those who worshipped the old Nordic gods. Despite being a heathen priest himself, he decided that all of Iceland should be Christian, as is famously recorded in the Sagas.
Legend has it that, once he returned back to Ljósavatn from this historic Alþingi, he dispensed of his heathen gods by throwing them into the falls in a symbolic act of the conversion. This, according to the legend, is how Goðafoss got its name.
Pai Canyon or Kong Lan (famously known as Kong Lan in Thai) is described in some tourist brochures as Thailand’s answer to the Grand Canyon. To say that’s stretching a point would be putting it mildly. Pai Canyon geological and topographic features are quite stunning. This unique geographical area has been formed by continuous erosion over decades until reaching the current condition. The carved narrow ledges and slabs that have survived the erosive actions of the elements have steep 30 meters deep cliff drops and a series of narrow walkways cut on the ridges of giant rock walls that snake out into the densely forested valley.
A dramatic afternoon at Dungeness in late summer. This house situated on the Dungeness estate was recently sold. Its famously known to have connections with the rock band, Pink Floyd. My motivation for this image the dramatic sky and moody feel.
www.google.co.uk/search?q=pink+floyd+wish+you+were+here&a...
Krujë Castle is located in the north central Albanian city of Krujë. It was famously ruled by the Albanian feudal lord Skanderbeg following his 1443 rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.
We spent 1 night here, staying in a boutique hotel within the castle grounds.
everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. The plan was sunrise, per the forecast and apps. But where the sunrise was non existent, the Oystercatcher's provided color. And they seemed to like me. They really are that orange.
It's very rare for me to post two images to Flickr on one day. But after I posted the spoonbill/skimmer shot A Flickr friend (thanks Sue) called my attention to this being World Wetlands Day.
An event I couldn't let pas without honoring the day with a wetlands photo.
Feb. 2nd is famously known as Groundhog Day. I wish World Wetlands day was so widely celebrated. I won't try to present a lecture on the reasons that wetlands are so critical to wildlife and our environment but if anyone cares to Google World Wetlands Day, volumes of information will be at your fingertips.
This shot was taken in the wetlands adjacent to Elkhorn Slough in California.
Irlanda, Cork, Cobh, Estate 2014
Cobh, in precedenza nota come Queenstown, si trova sulla costa sud della contea di Cork, in Irlanda ed è uno dei principali porti irlandesi. E' stato il punto di partenza per 2,5 milioni di irlandesi emigrati in Nord America tra il 1848 e il 1950. L'11 aprile 1912, Cobh fu l'ultimo porto di scalo per il Titanic. Un'altra nave tragicamente associata con la città, è il Lusitania che fu affondata da un U-boat tedesco al largo della Old Head di Kinsale contribuendo all’ingresso in degli Stati Uniti nella Prima Guerra Mondiale. Su un punto alto della città sorge St Cattedrale di Colman, uno degli edifici più alti in Irlanda. Le case di Cobh sono storicamente piene di colore, ma le più note sono sicuramente le cosiddette case a "mazzo di carte". Queste 23 case praticamente identiche sono state costruite su 23 livelli e ognuna differisce nel colore dalla vicina.
Cobh, formerly known as Queenstown, is on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland and it is one of the major Irish ports. It was the departure point for 2.5 million of Irish people who emigrated to North America between 1848 and 1950. On 11 April 1912, Cobh was famously the final port of call for the RMS Titanic. Another tragically-notable ship to be associated with the town, is the RMS Lusitania that was sunk by a German U-boat off the Old Head of Kinsale contributing to the American entry into World War I. On a high point in the town stands St Colman's Cathedral, one of the tallest buildings in Ireland.
Cobh's houses have been generally very colourful, but the best known of them are the so-called “Deck of Cards” houses. This 23 almost equal houses were built on 23 levels and each one differs in colour from its neighbouring building.
The 15th century fortress now more famously known as once being the home of Josephine Baker. The American born singer and dancer. The interior is now a museum dedicated to her extraordinary life including using her celebrity status to assist the French Resistance during WW2. The current owners also have birds of prey and put on shows in an amphitheatre behind the chateau.
On October 25, 2010 my bride and I were married in this famous & quaint Chapel located in Gatlinburg, TN.
This white, log-built structure with a green tin roof and waterfall around back had actually hosted more than 20,000 weddings since 1994.
Six years later, we traveled back to there for the colorful Autumn display that the area is famously known for.
While there that week, wildfires were reported burning around the Gatlinburg area, and on a few occasions, we could actually smell the smoke.
We decided to drive by to take this photo for keepsake, as we didn’t really photograph our wedding place back in 2010.
22 days after this photo was taken, much of Gatlinburg and Sevier County burned the night of Nov. 28th, 2016
Sadly, this famous little Chapel was completely destroyed.
There was talk of rebuilding......but still not sure if it has happened.
One never knows when tragedy may strike........
In crazy times like these......it's so important to stay focused on what's most important in our lives ...... God and Family.
Have a very Blessed Sunday everyone and here's wishing you all good health and much safety.
Masai Mara National Park
Kenya
East Africa
Part of the great migration of millions of animals from Tanzania to Kenya and back again. You can see a giraffe on the far horizon.
In what is one of the world’s most quintessential wildlife experiences, the annual Great Migration in Africa is an event like no other. Millions of Zebras, Wildebeest, and other antelope species make this incredible journey across Tanzania and Kenya every year, facing Crocodile- infested waters and terrestrial predators (Lions, Leopards, etc) along the way.
Consisting of millions of animals, East Africa’s Great Migration is the largest terrestrial mammal migration in the world. Its stage encompasses some of the most breathtaking ecosystems on Earth, including the most well-known reserve on the continent, Serengeti National Park.
The migration is an endless circuit in which the circle of life is showcased in its purest form. Like the hands on a clock, a seemingly never- ending stream of fauna make their way across Africa’s landscape in search of food and water, never knowing how much time they may have left.
The Great Migration is a famously treacherous journey in which the animals must not only find food to sustain themselves, but also give birth to the future generations that will keep the annual migration alive. It’s a classic game of survival of the fittest, and its contenders are some of the most majestic and resilient creatures Africa has to offer. – Internet
Dublín, IRLANDA 2024
St. Patrick's Cathedral is the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland (Anglican) and the larger of the two cathedrals in the city of Dublin.
History: The original church is believed to have been built near a well where St. Patrick (Ireland's patron saint) baptized converts to Christianity, possibly as early as the 5th century. The current structure dates back to 1220.
Cultural Significance: The Cathedral is famous for being the resting place of historical figures. Most famously, Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver's Travels) served as the Dean of the Cathedral from 1713 to 1745 and is buried there.
Architecture: The building is a stunning example of Gothic architecture. Its spire, known as the St. Patrick's Tower, is one of the surviving medieval structures in Dublin.
Function: Today, the Cathedral remains a place of worship, but it also houses the globally renowned St. Patrick's Cathedral National Choir and is a major tourist attraction.
Dave had a very clear plan. He’d looked closely at the map, done a bit of research on some stock images, and picked his spot before we’d set off. On arrival he planted his tripod at the cliff edge, halfway along the beach far below and stayed there until after sunset. Later he told us he’d only taken one shot that was worth the effort of putting through the editing suite. The others were all very slightly blurred. While Lee and I are both now disciples of the rather wonderful magnetic Kase filters, Dave continues to use big square pieces of glass. Similarly effective of course, albeit with the exception that they do tend to act like sails if there’s anything more than the merest of zephyrs beating across the air. Not that it mattered though. Dave’s inimitable editing style delivered a very satisfactory entry into the Explore page the day afterwards. I say inimitable because I’ve tried without success to replicate it more than once, before remembering that it would be better to continue to work on my own process and forget about his degree in Fine Art. Imitation is the sincerest form of irritation after all.
I also had a very clear plan. Ever since the steps were closed off to the general public, my philosophy on the place we should henceforth really just refer to as “Bedruthan” has remained consistent. For a start, only shoot here on a high tide when there’s water around the base of the stacks and all of the rocky debris distractions on the beach are concealed. Once that initial qualification has been fulfilled I either perch on a clifftop at the south end of the beach, or I hover over the edge of the one on the northern side. The latter offers what I think is usually a more pleasing view, the big stacks lining up like three enormous anvils, with the smaller rocks that I’ve come to think of as “the witch’s hat” and “the shoemaker’s last” in the foreground. On a windy midwinter afternoon on a high tide with the low sun just about dropping into the frame, it’s quite a magnificent scene to behold, as long as you’re very careful around the crumbling clifftops that led to those steps being closed three years ago. In the middle of summer the sun sets far enough across the beach to feature in shots taken from the southern side, once famously throwing a vivid pink sky at us seemingly out of nowhere. I hadn’t yet imposed the high tide rule upon myself at that stage. In that shot the sky was one of the best under which I’ve taken pictures. It’s just a shame that the beach was a shambles.
So while Dave decisively planted his tripod at position A, and Lee waited for the arguing couple to finish their takeaway pizza and depart position B so that he could concentrate on the view that had grabbed his attention, I hurried over the coastal path to position C in the north, before scratching my head and moving on to position D, even further north, where almost immediately I engaged full on headless chicken mode. Position E in the south was a total non-starter, and while position F to the faintly south east had the best of the light behind it, the rhomboid of a stack that featured there wasn’t really riveting enough to warrant much effort. As I trotted back along the path and looked again at Dave’s viewpoint I declared I didn’t like the shape of the stack from this angle. By now, Pizza Couple had decided to continue their dispute in position Z at the newly appeared campsite behind us, so I joined Lee at position B for all of 15 seconds before moving yet again. Back at position C I tinkered about and decided that I still didn’t like the light from here. In fact I’d just missed the sun briefly appearing and throwing a bit of tasty side light onto the anvils. I didn’t even bother with position D again.
So finally, here I was, with most of my daily step count requirement having been registered in the last hour or so, back at position A, facing west and out to sea, where Lee had now joined Dave, his tripod frighteningly close to a cliff edge that makes a lump of Wensleydale Cheese look stable. I stared doubtfully at the view from here again, thinking how strange it was that the angle one views a big chunk of rock from alters its appearance so dramatically. A hundred yards along the path I’d noticed for the first time ever that the anvil has a hole in its middle. From here it looked like a wandering giant had lost his boot on the beach. Look, you can even see the toes being tickled by the tide. By now the sun had disappeared, a patch of soft peachy glow just about painting the horizon. At least the light was now in the frame, and a gang of gulls littered the base of the boot, settling down for the night. A series of exposures of varying lengths followed, the calm summer ocean offering a flat glassy surface at thirty seconds of shutter time. Finally the high cloud delivered an element of texture to the sky and the deal with position A was secured. Dave had been right all along. Flipping fine art graduates.
And there lies the rub with Bedruthan. The two opposite ends of the beach can bring rewarding results behind the camera, but with the best of the light far out to sea in the middle of August, shooting straight across the beach from north to south or vice versa becomes a challenge. At least here was a subject that offered a minimalist view, with the light we so often look for on show. The stack, with its new appearance from the unfamiliar angle had gradually grown on me, offering an alternative composition above the beach that may forever be out of bounds. An alternative composition for now at least; who knows how long for when each winter’s sequence of storms and gales brings cliffsides crashing down onto beaches around here. Good job one of us had done his homework in any case.
The winds are howling across the big lake as Canadian Pacific train 252 passes through the area famously known as Red Rocks above Willsboro Bay on Lake Champlain. CP 7014, CP 8957, CP 2253.
Consorzio Industriale Sportiva Italia was established by Piero Dusio in 1939 manufacturing and selling a variety of sporting goods. Following WWII, Dusio built a number of Fiat-powered racing cars under the anacronym Cisitalia. Passenger cars followed in 1947; most famously, the stylish 202. This one-off vehicle was built under contract with Ford Motor Company for display in the New York Motor Sports show in March 1953. It is underpinned by Mercury running gear (modified, dual carb'd Mercury flathead V8) and some ancillary parts supplied by Ford Motor Co. Vignale supplied the body while Cisitalia fabricated the deDion rear suspension, the X-frame (thus the XF postscript in the name), and the remaining components integral to the car. This was to be the first of three concept cars (some documentation indicates two additional cars under the Cisitalia-Mercury title).
This small sparrow is known to be secretive, but a few of them decided to perch out in the open for me. They are quite pretty.
Here is what All About Birds has to say about them: "Famously elusive and stubbornly stealthy, the pumpkin-faced LeConte’s Sparrow acts more like a mouse than a bird. This short-tailed, flat-headed sparrow breeds in marshy areas of North America's great grasslands. It spends much of its time foraging on the ground for seeds and insects, often scurrying rather than flying away from danger. Even singing males rarely climb into view. Because of conversion of grassland habitat, LeConte's Sparrows have declined sharply since 1966 and are on the Yellow Watch List for their declining population."
With global warming, many marshes are also drying up, so that will be another major issue for the long term survival of the species.