12041 Howrah New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi Express shows 130 km/h aggression through Kamarkundu (KQU) on HB Chord lead by #20071 Siliguri (SGUJ) WDP 4 in LHF at the helm ! It was towing away another NFR based non AC sleeper coach fresh from POH from LLH workshop with the consist !

Location : Kamarkundu (KQU), Eastern Railway, West Bengal.

Date : 28 th June, 2017.

Please support on Lego Ideas: ideas.lego.com/projects/0b565e40-80a4-46bb-bf10-9bbcc26b40e5

This build is specifically inspired by the novel "Ilse Witch", the first in a trilogy aptly entitled "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara". These books are part of Terry Brook's classic "Shannara" series of novels (some of which were adapted into a popular TV series as well) - this was the series that proved fantasy could be accessible and commercially successful with mainstream audiences after the breakout success of Tolkien's Middle Earth novels. Unlike many other fantasy series, it's set in a world which sees substantial technological and magical innovation over the course of 32 novels and thousands of years.

The Jerle Shannara is the fastest and most advanced airship ever built, and her crew of the Jerle Shannara are voyaging west from the Elven capital city of Arborlon, across the Blue Divide, to the uncharted continent of Parkasia, in search of the lost Blue Elfstones, guided only by a mysterious map washed ashore with a lost prince, their last known user.

The crew have been selected from across the many races of the Four Lands, for their unique talents.

• From Paranor, the Druid's Keep, comes one-armed Walker Boh, the last of the druid order.

• From the Southlands, comes highlander Quentin Leah, heir to the mysterious Sword of Leah, and his childhood friend Bek Rowe.

• From the Eastlands, comes the dwarf woodsman Panax, and the mysterious shapeshifter Truhls Rohk.

• From the Westland elves, come Prince Ahren Elessedil, Captain Ard Patrinell of the Home Guard, the tracker Tamis.

• From the Wing Hove, the elf Hunter Predd and his mighty roc, Obsidian.

• From the Rover communities of the Westlands, the ship's captain Redden "Big Red" Alt Mer, his twin sister Rue "Little Red" Meridian, and the mysterious seer Ryer Ord Star.

The airships of the Four Lands are solar-powered and require active thrust to stay aloft. The sails, called "light sheaths", absorb solar energy, which is channeled through special rigging, the "radian draws", into the parse tubes which house the diapson crystals. It is these crystals which store the solar energy and distribute it through the ship's thrusters.

The Jerle Shannara comes with many play features, making it not only a display piece for adult collectors, but also a fun playset!

• The captain's cabin in the front of the ship has been converted into two smaller cabins with folding bunks to account for the unusual crew. Captain "Big Red" shares the port cabin with Prince Ahren Elessedil, and his sister, "Little Red", shares the starboard cabin with Ryer Ord Star. A privacy curtain separates the two cabins on the aft side of the mast, and sliding panels allow access to a shared washroom in the fore of the cabin.

• A removable platform between the main hull and port pontoon provides landing space for Obsidian to roost between scouting flights.

• Other crew members can wrap themselves in their cloaks and sleep in the pontoons.

• The ship is armed with a complement of ballistae to defend against hostile airships, and the ramps may be lowered to send over a boarding party.

• The galley occupies the center of the ship and features a long table where the crew can dine together, or study their maps and charts.

• The storage room in the aft of the ship has fresh water, food, the armory, and spare parts to make repairs on the long voyage.

• The rope ladder may be raised and lowered to take on supplies and passengers.

• The ship's wheel in the pilot box really controls the thrusters on either side of the ship's rudder, and the capstan hauls up the dual anchors!

• The masts are grippable so crew members can climb up into the rigging.

• Obsidian's wings fold and unfold realistically to move between flying and roosting positions.

Set consists of approximately 2700pcs, including 12 minifigures. The ship is quite spacious and this number of figures does not feel crowded - as you can see from the renderings, they spread out quite nicely.

Worlds Fastest Camaro / 2500HP Texas Mile Beast / Heavy Hitters Magazine

This Camaro has had over $250,000 pumped into it and holds the title of "Worlds Fastest Camaro". It hit a speed of 263.2MPH at the Texas Mile event in October before blowing the transmission to bits. There's a full story on this car and the owner/team in the current issue (issue 31) of Heavy Hitters Magazine. Go check it out and support print!

For prints or information please contact me: jeremy.cliff@yahoo.com

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Liberty Launch Systems MDRA screencaps 2006 - Hat of Death Drag Race

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Soviet Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles (LSA ChADI, today the Chardiv National Automobile and Highway University) was founded in 1953. One of the laboratory’s founders was Vladimir Nikitin, a famous racer not only inside the Soviet Union but also around the world. The main purpose of Vladimir Nikitin’s of was to build the fastest car in the world. This idea of creating race cars became the purpose of the laboratory and has been continued by students of Nikitin throughout the years, with research and prototypes in various fields of car propulsion.

This time the goal was to push „скорость“ and the national land speed record in excess of 800 km/h (500 mph), and step by step the vehicle’s top speed was gradually increased. On August 15, an officially timed record attempt was made, again with Victor Barchenkov at the steering wheel. The first of the two obligatory runs within an hour was recorded at a very promising 846.961 km/h (526.277 mph), but, at the end of the second run, „скорость“ veered off and no time was measured. Even worse, the vehicle lost its parachute brakes and went out of control, skidding away from the dry race track into Lake Baskunchak’s wet salt sludge, where it hit a ground wave at around 200 mph (320 km/h) and was catapulted through the air into a brine pond where it landed on its right side and eventually sank. Again, pilot Victor Barchenkov remained mostly unharmed and was able to leave the car before it sank – but this fatal crash meant the end of the „скорость“ vehicle and the complete KhAGI 9-II project. Furthermore, the break-up of the Soviet Union at the same time prevented and further developments of high speed vehicles. The whereabouts of the „скорость“ wreck remain unclear, too, since no official attempt had been made to save the vehicle’s remains from Lake Baskunchak’s salt swamps.

The kit and its assembly:

This is another contribution to the late 2018 “Racing & Competition Group Build” at whatifmodelers.com. Since I primarily build aircraft in 1:72 scale, building a land speed record (LSR) vehicle from such a basis appeared like a natural choice. A slick streamliner? A rocket-powered prototype with Mach 1 potential? Hmmm… However, I wanted something else than the typical US or British Bonneville Salt Flats contender.

Inspiration struck when I remembered the real world high speed vehicle projects of LSA ChAGI in the former USSR, and especially the ill-fated, jet-powered ChADI 9, which looked a lot like Western, rocket-powered absolute LSR designs like The Blue Flame or Wingfoot Express 2. Another inspiration was a contemporary LSR vehicle called North American Eagle – basically a wingless F-104 Starfighter, put on wheels and sporting a garish, patriotic livery.

With this conceptual basis, the MiG-21 was quickly identified as the potential starting basis – but I wanted more than just a Fishbed sans wings and with some bigger wheels attached to it. I nevertheless wanted to retain the basic shape of the aircraft, but change the rest as good as possible with details that I have learned from reading about historic LSR vehicles (a very good source are the books by German author and LSR enthusiast Ferdinand C. W. Käsmann, which have, AFAIK, even been translated into English).

At the model’s core is a contemporary KP MiG-21MF, but it’s a hideous incarnation of the venerable Kovozávody Prostějov mold. While the wheels and the dashboard of this kit were surprisingly crisp, the fuselage halves did hardly match each other and some other parts like the landing gear covers could only be described as “blurred blobs”. Therefore it was no shame to slice the kit up, and the resulting kitbash with many donor parts and scratching almost became a necessity.

The MiG-21 fuselage and cockpit were more or less retained, the landing gear wells covered and PSR-ed. Fin, spine and the ventral stabilizer were cut away, and the attachment points for the wings and the horizontal stabilizers blended into the rest of the fuselage. Actually, only a few parts from the KP MiG-21 were eventually used.

The original shock cone in the air intake was used, but it was set further back into the nose opening – as an attachment point for a new, more organic shock cone which is actually the rear end of a drop tank from an Airfix 1:72 P-61 Black Widow. This detail was inspired by a real world benchmark: Art Arfons’ home-built “Green Monster” LSR car. This vehicle also inspired the highly modified air intake shape, which was scratched from the tail cone from a Matchbox 1:72 Blackburn Buccaneer – the diameter matched well with the MiG-21’s nose! With the new nose, I was able to retain the original MiG-21 layout, yet the shape and the extension forward changed the overall look enough to make it clear that this was not simply a MiG-21 on wheels.

With the spine gone, I also had to integrate a different, much smaller canopy, which came from an 1:144 Tornado. The cockpit opening had to be narrowed accordingly, and behind the canopy a new spine fairing was integrated – simply a piece from a streamlined 1:72 1.000 lb bomb plus lots of PSR.

Inside of the cockpit, a simpler seat was used, but the original cockpit tub and the dashboard were retained.

The large MiG-21 fin was replaced with a smaller piece, left over from an Amodel Kh-20 missile, with a scratched brake parachute fairing (cut from sprue material) placed under its rear. The exhaust nozzle was replaced, too, because the fit of the KP MiG-21’s rear end was abysmal. So I cut away a short piece and added an afterburner nozzle from a vintage 1:72 F-100, which fits well. Inside, the part’s rear wall was drilled open and extended inwards with a styrene tube.

The wheels of the vehicle come from an 1:72 Hasegawa “Panther with Schmalturm” tank kit – it comes not only with two turrets, but also with a second set of simplified track wheels. These had IMHO the perfect size and shape as massive aluminum wheels for the high speed vehicle.

For the front wheels, I used the thinner outer Panther wheels, and they were put, closely together, onto a central suspension pylon. This received a new “well” in the forward fuselage, with an internal attachment point. In order to streamline the front wheel installation (and also to change the overall look of the vehicle away from the MiG-21 basis), I added a scratched an aerodynamic fairing around it. This was made from tailored styrene strips, which were later filled and blended into the hull with putty.

The rear suspension was also fully scratched: the outriggers were made from styrene profiles while the wheel attachments were once part of an 1:35 tank kit suspension – I needed something to hold the three struts per side together. These parts look a bit large, but the vehicle is, after all, a Soviet design, so a little sturdiness may not be wrong, and I simply did not want to stick the wheels directly onto the outriggers. The rear wheels (in this case, the wider inner Panther track wheels with a central hub cover were used) also received a stabilizing notch around the contact surface, in an attempt to make them look slimmer than they actually are.

Final touches included the chines under the nose as well as spoilers on the rear suspension (both made from styrene profiles), and I added a pitot made from wire to the original MiG-21 angle of attack sensor fairing.

As an addition outside the model itself I also created a display base for the beauty pics, since I did not have anything at hand that would resemble the vastness of a flat and dry salt sea. The base is an 18x12” MDF board, on top of which I added a thin coat of white tile grout (which I normally use as a snow placebo, instead of plaster, which tends to absorb humidity over time and to become yellow). While the stuff was still wet I sprinkled some real salt onto the surface and wetted the whole affair with water sprays – hoping to create a flat yet structured surface with some glitter reflexes. And it actually worked!

Painting and markings:

I am not certain how ChADI 9 was painted (I assume overall silver), but I wanted for „скорость“ a little more color. Being a child of the Soviet era, red was a settled design element, but I thought that an all-red vehicle might have looked too cheesy. Other colors I considered were orange or white with blue trim, but did not find them to be appropriate for what I was looking. Eventually, I added some Russian Utilitarianism in the form of light grey for the upper hull (Humbrol 166, RAF Light Aircraft Grey), and the red (Humbrol 19) as a dark contrast around the complete air intake as well as the shock cone (somewhat inspired by the Green Monster #15 LSR vehicle), and then extended backwards into a narrowing cheatline along the flanks, which emphasizes the vehicle’s slender hull. For some more contrast between the two basic tones I later added thin white borders between them created with 2mm white decal stripes from TL Modellbau. Around the hull some bright red (Humbrol 238 Red Arrows Red) highlights as warning signs were added.

The vehicle’s afterburner section was painted with Modelmaster Steel Metallizer, the Panther wheels became Aluminum (Revell 99) with a black ink wash. Some black ink was also applied to the jet nozzle, so that the details became more pronounced, and some grinded graphite was used to enhance the burnt metal effect.

Since this would rather be an experimental car built and operated by a high school institute, and also operated in the Soviet Union, flashy sponsor markings would not be appropriate. Therefore I created some fictional marking at home with the help of PC software and printed them by myself. These designs included a fictional logo of the ChADI institute itself (created from a car silhouette drawing) and a logo for the vehicle’s title, “„скорость““. The latter was created from the cyrillic lettering, with some additions like the vehicle’s silhouette.

Unfortunately the production process for the home-made decals did not work properly – when coating the prints with gloss acrylic varnish the printer ink started to dissolve, bleeding magenta, so that the decals would look as if there was a red halo or glow around the otherwise black motifs. Thanks to the use of red in the vehicle’s overall design this flaw is not too apparent, so I stuck with the outcome and applied the decals to the car.

Beyond these basic markings, many stencils were added, including dull red inscriptions from an Italeri MiG-37 “Ferret” kit – finally, I found an expedient use for them! The Soviet flags on the fin came from an 1:144 Tu-144 airliner Braz Decal aftermarket sheet.

Finally, some panel lines were drawn onto the hull with a soft pencil and then the model was sealed with Italeri semi-gloss acrylic varnish. Just the black anti-glare panel in front of the windscreen became matt and the metallic rear section was left in “natural” finish.

I am very pleased with the outcome – the „скорость“ looks purposeful and does IMHO blend well into the line of spectacular USA and UK jet/rocket car designs that broke the 800 km/h barrier. I also find that, even though the MiG-21 ancestry is certainly there, the vehicle looks different enough so that the illusion that it was designed along the jet fighter’s lines (and not converted from one, like the real world “North American Eagle” which was built from an F-104 Starfighter) works well. I also think that the vehicle’s livery works well – it looks quite retro for a vehicle from the late Eighties, but that just adds to the “Soviet style”. An interesting project, outside of my normal comfort zone. :D

RPM WAG 7 with HOG capable (1st one to be given for RPM), in charge of the local Shatabdi of MS-MDU route, Vaigai SF express,

I've seen this particular 959 probably 5 times now, but I still was shocked when I saw it parked at Caffeine and Carburetors. The 959 is my favorite car, and it just looks so good in this super rare gray color.

__________________

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Fly United

Fastest bird in the world, I think.

They conducted an event for surf life savers at Mooloolaba beach last week that involved contestants of all ages in sprints and "flag races".I missed the sprints because they reversed the schedule for some unknown reason, but was in time for the open flag finals.To add further to my angst the head honcho said that I couldn't be on the beach at all so I slunk off to a safe distance and took a few shots of the semis and the final whilst crouching down behind a sand dune.That's life in Australia for you these days .Mind you, there was no "accredited" photographer in attendance for this event so I'll just post a couple of my shots.

Fastest Thing On No Wheels

At the north end of Bristol Temple Meads, two of First Great Western's Class 43 HST sets await departure for London Paddington.

The Western Region was the first of the British Rail regions to introduce the Class 43 HST, and had also been the testing ground of the original Class 41 prototype back in the early 1970's. The first HST operations on the Western Region was carried out on the 4th October, 1976, but 125mph speeds could only be carried out on certain sections of the line, although by 1980 as many sections of 125mph running had been introduced as possible. Initially, services only ran between London Paddington, Oxford, Swindon, Bristol Temple Meads, Cardiff and Swansea, although in 1979 a full service was provided to the South West of England including Exeter, Paignton, Plymouth, Newquay and Penzance.

The introduction of the HST services absolutely revolutionised the route, with the fastest morning services from Plymouth to London taking just under 3 hours instead of the previous 5 to 6. Additionally, the HST's saw off many of the loco-hauled operations on this route, including the much-loved Class 52 'Western' diesel hydraulic locomotives. Class 50's from the West Coast Mainline began to take over on many loco-hauled services, but these were slowly pensioned off to other routes, and very soon services out of London Paddington were exclusively operated by HST's, although Class 47's soldiered on until about 2004.

The Western Region was also known for its large amounts of developments to the HST fleet. Originally, the Class 43's and their HST sets were powered by Paxman Valenta V12 engines that were also used in the Upholder/Victoria class submarines. These engines had 2,250hp at their disposal and could whisk the Class 43 powercars to their record breaking top speed of 148mph, although in routine operation these trains never went above 125mph. However, by the late 1980's it was apparent that the Valenta engines were starting to look their age, and a variety of alternatives were analysed.

For a period of 9 years, 43167 to 43170 were trialled with Mirrlees Blackstone MB190 engines, but proved an unsuccessful replacement for the Valenta's. In 1987, Paxman began development of an updated version of the Valenta dubbed the VP185. Trials began in 1991, and an agreement to commence installing these engines to members of the fleet was signed in 1993. A qualifying requirement for the trial was that the engine should undergo a British Rail Type Test which was carried out between December 1993 and February 1994. The test involved completion of 3,000 cycles, each of 10 minutes duration, with four minutes at the maximum power of 3,500hp and six minutes at idle, simulating the typical 'on-off' nature of IC125 duty. The successful results of the test cleared the way for installation of a VP185 in Power Car 43170 at Plymouth Laira Depot for in-service trials in the summer of 1994. Power car 43170 entered service on 22 September 1994, being named 'Edward Paxman' to commemorate the event.

During the late 1990's 25 HST power cars were re-engined with Paxman 12VP185L engines in order to improve fuel consumption and reduce emissions, but these engines have proved less reliable in service than hoped. However, the 12VP185L was introduced fleet-wide within the Australian XPT series, a small fleet of HST sets built for the CountryLink services of Australia.

The very last VP185 engine to be manufactured at Paxman's Colchester Works was despatched from the factory on 15th September, 2003, for duty with Midland Mainline. At the time Midland Mainline operated 18 of these powercars, whilst First Great Western operated 4.

On the 4th February, 1996, the Western Region became the first private franchise to operate following the privatisation of British Rail in 1994, this being under management of Great Western Trains, a subsidiary of the bus company Badgerline. HST powercars were outshopped in a very pleasing and striking Green and Ivory livery, which took us folks here in the South West by total surprise and admiration.

However, dark clouds arose with privatisation, the first being on the 19th September, 1997, at Southall, when a Bristol to London service hauled by 43173 smashed into a freight train after its defective Advanced Warning System (AWS) failed to register two amber and a red signal, with the result of 7 deaths and 139 injuries.

In March 1998, Badgerline was taken completely under the ownership of First Group, who promptly rebranded the franchise as of December the same year as First Great Western, revising the livery with a golden band that made the HST's look something like a Golden Virginia cigarette packet, being affectionately dubbed 'Fag Packet' livery. FGW's new ownership however was mired in yet another devastating crash, this time on October 5th, 1999, when a Thames Trains Class 165 overshot a red signal on its way out of London Paddington and smashed into the front of an approaching HST hauled by 43011 at Ladbroke Grove, resulting in the leading trailer of the 165 exploding and setting fire to the First Class carriages, with the result of 31 deaths and 523 injuries.

The most recent fatal crash of a First Great Western HST was on the 4th November, 2004, at Ufton Nervet, where 43018 operating an evening train to Paignton struck a car that had been deliberately parked on a Level Crossing caused by Brian Drysdale, a chef at the nearby Wokefield Park Hotel, committing suicide. Upon striking the car at 125mph, the HST essentially took-off and smashed down a few hundred yards down the line, killing 7 and injuring 71.

In 2005, First Great Western, in cooperation with leasing company Angel Trains and MTU of Germany, set about replacing the original Paxman Valenta engines of the 1970's with brand new MTU 16V 4000 engines, intending to extend the life of the HST's by another 20 years. Engine changes began with 43009 and 43004, together with a new livery that is currently worn today. Over the next two years, the Class 43's engines were replaced, the last three powercars, 43002, 43003 and 43034, making their final journeys under their original engines in December 2007.

Today the HST reliability and efficiency has been increased massively thanks to the new MTU engines, and First Great Western continues to carry out widespread operation of these plucky and powerful trains. The company has increased capacity with different Buffet cars, being reduced to Bar/Bistro's, and the conversion of many First Class trailers to Standard Class. However, time may be running short for HST's on the Great Western, as the new Class 800 Bi-Mode InterCity Express Programme intends to see these 39 year old trains retired by 2025. In the mean time, these services continue to be an integral part of the InterCity network to the South and West of London.

"the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy", Korvon Bazaar, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, November 2012.

FR: Faucon Millénium, "Le tas de féraille le plus rapide de la galaxie", Korvon Bazar, Douchanbé, Tadjikistan, novembre 2012.

Explored, thanks :)

Were you thinking Superman? Not even close! It's the fearless protector of Central City to the rescue!

MOCpages - www.mocpages.com/moc.php/393364

The fastest train in India is the Bhopal Shatabdi Express(Train number 12002) which touches 150kmph on theTughlakabad- Mathura section (as per info by Chaitanya Mangesh Gokhale and Trayambak Ojha )

and is considered fastest both in terms of average speed for end to end journey and also for attaining the highest speed for any train in India at any point during the journey. The usual link (i.e. the the usual loco /engine) given for this train is a WAP-5 class loco of Ghaziabad Electric Loco Shed,the WAP-5 class of locos are the fastest locos on Indian Railways at present . On 9-June-2012 ,the allotted WAP-5 loco failed near Karonda/Agasod on Jhansi-Bhopal section and the train was delayed by around 4 hours.And in place of WAP-5,WAG-5A multiple unit (multiple unit means when 2 or more locos attached together to get more power, in this case TKD WAG-5A 23314 and 23251 ) took charge and brought the train upto Bhopal .Later , a WAP-4 (Vadodara WAP-4 22679 ) class of loco took charge of the train for its return journey to New Delhi.

The fastest animal on earth capable of reaching 240 miles per hour, the nearest bird to this speed is amazingly the Golden Eagle with a max of 200 miles per hour.

The greatest self-powered horizontal flight speed is achieved by the White-throated needletail, capable of such speeds as 105 mph. typically during mating rituals.

That is what I call speed dating.

The fastest operational steam loco. in the world, here as DR 02-01201, working a railtour in 1983.

The word has it that when Topi were being constructed they unknowingly used workers that were colorblind. Parts from different animals of different colors were assembled into one animal. Once I saw a topi calf I realized that this couldn't be true, since topi calves are all tan in color! Topi are some of the fastest antelopes in Africa. They are distinguished by purple blue patches on their faces and legs, almost as if they are wearing cutoff jeans. Members of the same family as the hartebeest and wildebeest, topi have less elongated heads and less complex horns. They are noted to have one of the most variable social structures and mating systems of any antelope worldwide. Their dark markings also make them one of the easiest antelopes to identify. #iLoveNature #iLoveWildlife #WildlifePhotography in #Tanzania #Nature in #Africa #Serengeti #Topi #DrDADBooks #Canon #WildlifeConservation

www.DrDADBooks.com

Connecting Kids with Nature and Wildlife!

Fastest ship in the 'verse.

She arrived SO FAST!

I was so excited about Barbie's new body, but I didn't expect to have one before next year... I can't believe I got her here in France 4 days after my order. My fastest order in the US EVER!!!

Also known as "ORLANDO WEST," Lake County, Florida's 2020 population was estimated to be more than 400,142. Lake County has ranked among the top 6 fastest-growing counties in Florida. Lake County is expected to experience significant population growth over the coming decades as the Orlando urban core approaches build-out. Forecasts predict Lake County’s population to grow more than 431,500 by 2030 and more than 780,500 by 2050."

Tavares – from “Anytown USA” to “America’s Seaplane City”

By John Drury, Tavares City Administrator

I am frequently asked, “How did they do it?” How did Tavares transition from “Anytown USA” to “America’s Seaplane City”? The short answer is, that everyone started rowing in the same direction at the same time at the right time. The long answer follows below.

Approximately 19,500 cities in the United States, 400 in Florida, and 14 in Lake County. Most cities have no brand. They are perfectly content being who they are – Anytown USA. There is nothing wrong with that. They are proud and welcoming cities perfectly satisfied as is, with no distinctive brand. Some cities have a brand. Key West, for example, has a brand, as does Boulder, Colorado, and Daytona Beach, Florida. What is a brand? In short, a person’s brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room. Similarly, a City’s brand is what people say about the city when they have left it and reflect on it.

About 15 years ago, under the leadership and guidance of then-Mayor Nancy Clutts and East Central Florida Regional Planning Council’s Executive Director Phil Laurien, the citizens of Tavares assembled for about a year and ½ studying their current state of affairs (a struggling downtown) and developing a road map for the future. The result was the creation of a citizen-led, City Council-approved “Vision Statement” and supporting Downtown Redevelopment Plan. The leadership understood a vision without implementation is a hallucination, so the 169-page redevelopment plan included Chapter 11’s “Implementation Plan” describing what would be built, when, by whom, and how it would be funded.

The citizens, business community, faith community, City Council, and their city staff put their oars in the water simultaneously. They began rowing in the same direction in unison to get the job done and complete the “Implementation Plan” together. By 2010, America’s Seaplane City was formed, a seaplane base and marina constructed, a 3,000-foot FAA-approved virtual runway on Lake Dora was permitted, and three boutique hotel buildings were under construction, along with a wedding events pavilion. What followed was ten years of a renaissance period with both the business community and city government investing in itself. As the saying goes, “When you invest in yourself, others will invest in you,” which is exactly what happened here in Tavares.

First, a seaplane scenic tour operator, then a flight training center, followed by an FAA-approved passenger air charter operation, a seaplane manufacturing facility, many restaurants, and too many new businesses to list here. From practically a ghost town with very few businesses whose tax base was 90% funded by the residents and only 10% by the business community, to a tax base funded 35% by the business community and only 65% by the residential community. This shift in tax contribution for city services like police, fire, libraries, parks, and recreation is important because for every dollar a resident contributes on average in taxes to a city, they consume about $1.20 in services on average, and for every $1 a business contributes, they only consume about 80 cents, as they do not use parks, recreational services or libraries, nor call for police and fire services nearly as much as the residents do. So the business community ends up not only creating good jobs but also subsidizing city services for its residents.

Tavares continues to shift the tax burden from its residents to its productive business community, has lowered its tax rate three years in a row, and is growing its brand as “America’s Seaplane City”!

Tavares Seaplane Base (FA1) is a city-owned, public-use seaplane base on Lake Dora in Tavares. The base is popular and gives rise to the city's nickname, "America's Seaplane City."

History

The City of Tavares was founded in 1880 by Alexander St. Clair-Abrams, a newspaper and railroad man from a Creole family in New Orleans. He gave it the surname of a Portuguese ancestor. In 1883 a post office was established; by the next year, a hotel, three stores, a sawmill, and eight cottages were built. St. Clair-Abrams's dream of Tavares as the state capital was not realized, but in 1887 it was designated the county seat of Lake County. St. Clair-Abrams later chartered a railroad from Tavares to Orlando. In 1919, Tavares was incorporated.

The City of Tavares has served as the County's Seat for Lake County, Florida, since 1888. Downtown Tavares lies on the shores of Lake Dora. The picturesque Wooton Park sits only one block from Main Street and offers families everything from picnic pavilions to boat ramps. Tavares is also home to the Dora Canal, one of the most beautiful waterways in the world. Tavares is located in the center of the State of Florida, 45 minutes northwest of Orlando.

In the 19th century, Major St. Clair Abrams began implementing a vision for Tavares. He not only oversaw the development of the hub of rail lines converging in Tavares, but he also saw the state's future capital waiting to be realized. Had it not been for an inadvertent fire 125 years ago, the major’s vision of Tavares being the state capital may have become a reality. The spark from a train ignited the adjacent lumberyard downtown, destroying three dozen buildings in a matter of minutes. That same year, the Florida legislature removed Tavares from consideration as a potential new center of state government. Although times have changed, one factor remains a constant for Tavares. It is the center of government for Lake County, and it is, therefore, Lake County’s Capital City. A partnership has evolved through the years between Lake County’s Board of County Commissioners and the Tavares City Council. The two elected bodies work together to make downtown Tavares a supportive home for the civic activities of Lake County.

Modern Day Tavares

The Tavares Seaplane Base (FA1) is a public-use seaplane landing area owned by the City of Tavares, Florida. The State of Florida licensed the facility as a public airport in 2010. City officials launched the idea for a seaplane base as part of a plan to reinvigorate business and tourist activity in the downtown area. The Seaplane Base has been a major success, and the City of Tavares is now known as “America’s Seaplane City.”

Tavares, Florida, has experienced a renaissance. Inspired by the strategic approach of its citizens, elected officials, employees, and former City Attorney Robert Q. Williams (who served the city for 37 years, 1984-2021), Tavares has rebranded itself, appropriately, as America’s Seaplane City. It is an appropriate moniker for a city helping boost the downtown as a Central Florida entertainment spot and serving as the natural stopping point for seaplane pilots en route to the Bahamas and other island nations. However, the rebranding of Tavares to better align with its unique offerings is not the only revolution happening in City Hall. Tavares’ leaders are responding to citizens’ new expectations for personal digital experiences with their local government through their rapid and innovative adoption of smart technology.

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:

www.tavares.org/1208/ABOUT-TAVARES

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tavares,_Florida

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

The Pentax 50mm f/1.2 was the fastest normal manual focus lens Pentax ever produced.

Fastest AF, most accurate AF, best tracking AF camera Ive EVER used or owned......FUJI XT3, 50-140mm 2.8

Insidious golden poison frog

When people hear about deadly animals, they start thinking of huge animals with scary craws. Well, the first animal on this list also happens to be among the most attractive and the smallest animals. Most people who have seen this frog think that it is cute....

top6.com/top-6-fastest-killing-animals/

Fastest car in three counties.

Fastest antelope, capable of galloping at speeds of over 90km/h; large reddish brown antelope with narrow face and shoulders higher than hindquarters; both sexes have horns; males weigh up to 160kg standing 1,3m high; lifespan up to 15 years

Fastest wing-for-hire in the galaxy!

Most of Calder's mobiles pivot slowly with the breezes. This one makes its own breeze.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona

Barcelona is a city in Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within city limits, its urban area extends to numerous neighbouring municipalities within the Province of Barcelona and is home to around 4.8 million people, making it the sixth most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, Madrid, the Ruhr area and Milan. It is one of the largest metropolises on the Mediterranean Sea, located on the coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs, and bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range, the tallest peak of which is 512 metres (1,680 feet) high.

Founded as a Roman city, in the Middle Ages Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona continued to be an important city in the Crown of Aragon as an economic and administrative centre of this Crown and the capital of the Principality of Catalonia. Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean are located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions and also many international sport tournaments.

Barcelona is one of the world's leading tourist, economic, trade fair and cultural centres, and its influence in commerce, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. It is a major cultural and economic centre in southwestern Europe, 24th in the world (before Zürich, after Frankfurt) and a financial centre. In 2008 it was the fourth most economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union and 35th in the world with GDP amounting to €177 billion. In 2012 Barcelona had a GDP of $170 billion; and it was leading Spain in employment rate in that moment.

In 2009 the city was ranked Europe's third and one of the world's most successful as a city brand. In the same year the city was ranked Europe's fourth best city for business and fastest improving European city, with growth improved by 17% per year, and the city has been experiencing strong and renewed growth for the past three years. Since 2011 Barcelona has been a leading smart city in Europe. Barcelona is a transport hub, with the Port of Barcelona being one of Europe's principal seaports and busiest European passenger port, an international airport, Barcelona–El Prat Airport, which handles over 50 million passengers per year, an extensive motorway network, and a high-speed rail line with a link to France and the rest of Europe.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia

The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (Spanish: Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia; "Expiatory Church of the Holy Family") is a large unfinished Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Gaudí's work on the building is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In November 2010 Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the church and proclaimed it a minor basilica.

In 1882, construction of Sagrada Família started under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. In 1883, when Villar resigned, Gaudí took over as chief architect, transforming the project with his architectural and engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. Gaudí devoted the remainder of his life to the project, and he is buried in the crypt. At the time of his death at age 73 in 1926, when he was run down by a tram, less than a quarter of the project was complete.

Relying solely on private donations, Sagrada Familia's construction progressed slowly and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War. In July 1936, revolutionaries set fire to the crypt and broke their way into the workshop, partially destroying Gaudí's original plans, drawings and plaster models, which led to 16 years work to piece together the fragments of the master model. Construction resumed to intermittent progress in the 1950s. Advancements in technologies such as computer aided design and computerised numerical control (CNC) have since enabled faster progress and construction past the midpoint in 2010. However, some of the project's greatest challenges remain, including the construction of ten more spires, each symbolising an important Biblical figure in the New Testament. It is anticipated that the building can be completed by 2026—the centenary of Gaudí's death.

The basilica has a long history of dividing the citizens of Barcelona: over the initial possibility it might compete with Barcelona's cathedral, over Gaudí's design itself, over the possibility that work after Gaudí's death disregarded his design, and the 2007 proposal to build a tunnel of Spain's high-speed rail link to France which could disturb its stability. Describing Sagrada Família, art critic Rainer Zerbst said "it is probably impossible to find a church building anything like it in the entire history of art", and Paul Goldberger describes it as "the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages".

Cowboy action shooting and Single Action Shooting on Horseback is one of the fastest growing sports in America...course ya gott'a dress right for the occasion and adopt an alias appropriate to the character of a person or profession of the 19th century...ie. KT Pearl (pictured above)

www.sassnet.com

www.rockmount.com

Fastest man in the world

Dynamics in numbers. The new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse boasts a remarkable maximum torque of 1,500 Nm (at 3,000–5,000 rpm) from the 7.9-liter capacity of its W16 engine. The maximum output (1,200 hp) is reached at 6,400 rpm. These figures allow the car to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) from standing in unbelievable 2.6 seconds. The top speed of 410 km/h (255 mph) makes the four-wheel drive Vitesse the fastest production roadster ever. The maximum speed is reached on closed tracks with special safety precautions. In “normal” handling mode, the Vitesse is electronically limited to 375 km/h (233 mph)

Fastest AF, most accurate AF, best tracking AF camera Ive EVER used or owned......FUJI XT3, 50-140mm 2.8

File name: 08_05_000207

Title: Cunard. Fastest ocean service in the world

Date issued: 1910-1959 (approximate)

Physical description: 1 print (poster) : color

Genre: Travel posters; Prints

Subjects: Ocean travel; Ocean liners; Harbors; Cunard Steamship Company, ltd.

Notes: Title from item.; Printed in England; Caption: Europe to all America; Caption on top image: R.M.S. Queen Mary arriving at New York; Caption on bottom image: R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth leaving the Ocean Terminal, Southampton

Location: Boston Public Library, Print Department

Rights: Rights status not evaluated

Worlds Fastest Camaro: The 2500HP Kelly Bise / KP Racing Chevy Camaro getting ready to take off at the Texas Mile event back in October 2012. The Heavy Hitters issue featuring this story and set of images just hit stands, go pick it up and read about why Kelly decided to pump over $250,000 into a Camaro and what his future plans for it are!

This image was used as the opening spread of the article in the magazine, pretty excited about it!

More soon!

For prints or information please contact me: jeremy.cliff@yahoo.com

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ThePhotoMotive.com | JeremyCliff.com | Instagram: @jeremycliff

Fastest caron water, fastest boat on land

The Fastest Shed is powered by this RS4 4.2 lump, quite a proper motor indeed. Stage 2 tuned and circa 450ps if I remember correctly.

David Pinkerton Photography | Facebook

A little tongue-in-cheek shot of the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G using the "flash and pan" techinque.

Strobist: SB-800 in 43" Westcott shoot-through umbrella front, SB-900 in Lumiquest Softbox LTp camera left, SB-800 in Lumiquest Softbox III camera right. All fired by pop-up flash through CLS.

Worcester is a Cathedral City and the county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England.

The city is located some 17 miles (27 km) south-west of the southern suburbs of Birmingham, and 23 miles (37 km) north of Gloucester. The population is approximately 100,000. The River Severn flanks the western side of the city centre, which is overlooked by the 12th-century Worcester Cathedral.

The site of the final battle of the Civil War, Worcester was where Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army defeated King Charles I's Cavaliers, cementing the eleven-year Interregnum. Worcester was the home of Royal Worcester Porcelain, and for much of his life, the composer Sir Edward Elgar. It houses the Lea & Perrins factory where traditional Worcestershire Sauce is made. The University of Worcester is one of the UK's fastest-growing universities.

History

The trade route past Worcester which later formed part of the Roman Ryknild Street dates to Neolithic times. The position commanded a ford over the River Severn (the river was tidal past Worcester prior to public works projects in the 1840s) and was fortified by the Britons around 400 bc. It would have been on the northern border of the Dobunni and probably subject to the larger communities of the Malvern hillforts. The Roman settlement at the site passes unmentioned by Ptolemy's Geography, the Antonine Itinerary and the Register of Dignitaries but would have grown up on the road opened between Glevum (Gloucester) and Viroconium (Wroxeter) in the ad 40s and 50s. It may have been the "Vertis" mentioned in the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography. Using charcoal from the Forest of Dean, the Romans operated pottery kilns and ironworks at the site and may have built a small fort.

In the 3rd century, Roman Worcester occupied a larger area than the subsequent medieval city, but silting of the Diglis Basin caused the abandonment of Sidbury. Industrial production ceased and the settlement contracted to a defended position along the lines of the old British fort at the river terrace's southern end. This settlement is generally identified with the Cair Guiragon listed among the 28 cities of Britain by the History of the Britons attributed to Nennius. This is not a British name but an adaption of its Old English name Weorgoran ceaster, "fort of the Weorgoran". The Weorgoran (the "people of the winding river") were precursors of Hwicce and probably West Saxons who entered the area some time after the 577 Battle of Dyrham. In 680, their fort at Worcester was chosen—in preference to both the much larger Gloucester and the royal court at Winchcombe—to be the seat of a new bishopric, suggesting there was already a well-established and powerful Christian community when the site fell into English hands. The oldest known church was St Helen's, which was certainly British; the Saxon cathedral was dedicated to St Peter.

The town was almost destroyed in 1041 after a rebellion against the punitive taxation of Harthacanute. During this time, the townsfolk relocated to (and at times were besieged at) the nearby Bevere Island, 2 miles upriver. The following century, the town (then better defended) was attacked several times (in 1139, 1150 and 1151) during "The Anarchy", i.e. civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I. This is the background to the well-researched historical novel The Virgin in the Ice, part of Ellis Peters' "Cadfael" series, which begins with the words:

"It was early in November of 1139 that the tide of civil war, lately so sluggish and inactive, rose suddenly to wash over the city of Worcester, wash away half of its lifestock, property and women and send all those of its inhabitants who could get away in time scurrying for their lives northwards away from the marauders". (These are mentioned as having arrived from Gloucester, leaving a long lasting legacy of bitterness between the two cities.)

By late medieval times the population had grown to around 10,000 as the manufacture of cloth started to become a large local industry. The town was designated a county corporate, giving it autonomy from local government.

Worcester was the site of the Battle of Worcester (3 September 1651), when Charles II attempted to forcefully regain the crown, in the fields a little to the west and south of the city, near the village of Powick. However, Charles II was defeated and returned to his headquarters in what is now known as King Charles house in the Cornmarket, before fleeing in disguise to Boscobel House in Shropshire from where he eventually escaped to France. Worcester had supported the Parliamentary cause before the outbreak of war in 1642 but spent most of the war under Royalist occupation. After the war it cleverly used its location as the site of the final battles of the First Civil War (1646) and Third Civil War (1651) to try to mount an appeal for compensation from the new King Charles II. As part of this and not based upon any historical fact, it invented the epithet "Fidelis Civitas" (The Faithful City) and this motto has since been incorporated into the city's coat of arms.

In 1670, the River Severn broke its banks and the subsequent flood was the worst ever seen by Worcester. A brass plate can be found on a wall on the path to the cathedral by the path along the river showing how high this flood went and other flood heights of more recent times are also shown in stone bricks. The closest flood height to what is known as The Flood of 1670 was when the Severn flooded in the torrential rains of July 2007.

The Royal Worcester Porcelain Company factory was founded by Dr John Wall in 1751, although it no longer produces goods. A handful of decorators are still employed at the factory and the Museum is still open.

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Worcester was a major centre for glove making, employing nearly half the glovers in England at its peak (over 30,000 people). In 1815 the Worcester and Birmingham Canal opened, allowing Worcester goods to be transported to a larger conurbation.

The British Medical Association (BMA) was founded in the Board Room of the old Worcester Royal Infirmary building in Castle Street in 1832. While part of the Royal Infirmary has now been demolished to make way for the University of Worcester's new city campus, the original Georgian building has been preserved. One of the old wards opened as a medical museum, The Infirmary, in 2012.

In 1882 Worcester hosted the Worcestershire Exhibition, inspired by the Great Exhibition in London.There were sections for exhibits of fine arts (over 600 paintings), historical manuscripts and industrial items.The profit was £1,867.9s.6d. The number of visitors is recorded as 222,807. Some of the profit from the exhibition was used to build the Victoria Institute in Foregate Street, Worcester. This was opened on 1 October 1896 and now houses the city art gallery and museum. Further information about the exhibition can be found at the museum.

During World War II, the city was chosen to be the seat of an evacuated government in case of mass German invasion. The War Cabinet, along with Winston Churchill and some 16.000 state workers, would have moved to Hindlip Hall (now part of the complex forming the Headquarters of West Mercia Police), 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Worcester and Parliament would have temporarily seated in Stratford-upon-Avon. The former RAF station RAF Worcester was located east of Northwick.

In the 1950s and 1960s large areas of the medieval centre of Worcester were demolished and rebuilt as a result of decisions by town planners. This was condemned by many such as Nikolaus Pevsner who described it as a "totally incomprehensible... act of self-mutilation". There is still a significant area of medieval Worcester remaining, but it is a small fraction of what was present before the redevelopments.

The current city boundaries date from 1974, when the Local Government Act 1972 transferred the parishes of Warndon and St. Peter the Great County into the city.

Governance

The Conservatives had a majority on the council from 2003 to 2007, when they lost a by-election to Labour meaning the council had no overall control. The Conservatives remained with the most seats overall with 17 out of 35 seats after the 2008 election.

Worcester has one member of Parliament, Robin Walker of the Conservative Party, who represents the Worcester constituency as of the May 2010 general election.

The County of Worcestershire's local government arrangement is formed of a non-metropolitan county council (Worcestershire County Council) and six non-metropolitan district councils, with Worcester City Council being the district council for most of Worcester, with a small area of the St. Peters suburb actually falling within the neighbouring Wychavon District council. The Worcester City Council area includes two parish councils, these being Warndon Parish Council and St Peter the Great Parish Council.

Worcester Guildhall, the seat of local government, dates from 1721; it replaced an earlier hall on the same site. The Grade I listed Queen Anne style building is described by Pevsner as 'a splendid town hall, as splendid as any of C18 England'.

Economy

The city of Worcester, located on the River Severn and with transport links to Birmingham and other parts of the Midlands through the vast canal network, became an important centre for many light industries. The late-Victorian period saw the growth of ironfounders, like Heenan & Froude, Hardy & Padmore and McKenzie & Holland.

Glove industry

Gloves, Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum

One of the flourishing industries of Worcester was glove making. Worcester's Gloving industry peaked between 1790 and 1820 when about 30,000 were employed by 150 companies. At this time nearly half of the Glove manufacturers of Britain were located in Worcestershire.

In the 19th century the industry declined because import taxes on foreign competitors, mainly from France, were greatly reduced. By the middle of the 20th century, only a few Worcester gloving companies survived since gloves became less fashionable and free trade allowed in cheaper imports from the Far East.

Nevertheless, at least 3 large glove manufacturing companies still survived until the late 20th century: Dent Allcroft, Fownes and Milore. Queen Elizabeth II's coronation gloves were designed by Emil Rich and manufactured in the Worcester-based Milore factory.

Manufacturing

Lea & Perrins advertisement (1900)

The inter-war years saw the rapid growth of engineering, producing machine tools James Archdale, H.W. Ward, castings for the motor industry Worcester Windshields and Casements, mining machinery Mining Engineering Company (MECO) which later became part of Joy Mining Machinery and open-top cans Williamsons, though G H Williamson and Sons had become part of the Metal Box Co in 1930. Later the company became Carnaud Metal Box PLC.

Worcester Porcelain operated in Worcester until 2008, when the factory closed down due to the recession. However, the site of Worcester Porcelain still houses the Museum of Royal Worcester which is open daily to visitors.

One of Worcester's most famous products, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is made and bottled at the Midland Road factory in Worcester, which has been the home of Lea & Perrins since 16 October 1897. Mr Lea and Mr Perrins originally met in a chemist's shop on the site of the now Debenhams store in the Crowngate Shopping Centre.

The surprising foundry heritage of the city is represented by Morganite Crucible at Norton which produces graphitic shaped products and cements for use in the modern industry.

Worcester is the home of what is claimed to be the oldest newspaper in the world, Berrow's Worcester Journal, which traces its descent from a news-sheet that started publication in 1690. The city is also a major retail centre with several covered shopping centres that has most major chains represented as well as a host of independent shops and restaurants, particularly in Friar Street and New Street.

The city is home to the European manufacturing plant of Yamazaki Mazak Corporation, a global Japanese machine tool builder, which was established in 1980.

Retail trade

The Kays mail order business was founded in Worcester in the 1880s and operated from numerous premises in the city until 2007. It was then bought out by Reality, owner of the Grattan catalogue. Kays' former warehouse building was demolished in 2008.

Worcester’s main shopping centre is the High Street, home to the stores of a number of major retail chains. Part of the High Street was modernised in 2005 amid much controversy.[citation needed] Many of the issues focussed on the felling of old trees, the duration of the works (caused by the weather and an archaeological find) and the removal of flagstones outside the city’s 18th-century Guildhall. The other main thoroughfares are The Shambles and Broad Street, while The Cross (and its immediate surrounding area) is the city’s financial centre and location of the majority of Worcester’s main bank branches.

There are three main covered shopping centres in the city centre, these being CrownGate Shopping Centre, Cathedral Plaza and Reindeer Court. There is also an unenclosed shopping area located immediately east of the city centre called St. Martin's Quarter. There are three retail parks, the Elgar and Blackpole Retail Parks, which are located in the inner suburb of Blackpole and the Shrub Hill Retail Park neighbouring St. Martin's Quarter.

Landmarks

The most famous landmark in Worcester is its imposing Anglican Cathedral. The current building; known as Worcester Priory before the English Reformation, is officially named The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Construction begun in 1084 while its crypt dates from the 10th century. The chapter house is the only circular one in the country while the cathedral also has the distinction of having the tomb of King John.

The Hive, situated on the northern side of the River Severn at the former cattle market site, is Worcester's joint public and university library and archive centre, heralded as "the first of its kind in Europe". It is a prominent landmark feature on the Worcester skyline. With seven towers and a golden rooftop, The Hive has gained recognition winning two international awards for building design and sustainability.

There are three main parks in Worcester, Cripplegate Park, Gheluvelt Park and Fort Royal Park, the latter being on one of the battles sites of the English Civil War. In addition, there is a large open area known as Pitchcroft to the North of the city centre on the east bank of the River Severn, which, apart from those days when it is being used for horse racing, is a public space.

Gheluvelt Park was opened as a memorial to commemorate the Worcestershire Regiment's 2nd Battalion after their part in the Battle of Gheluvelt, during the First World War.

The statue of Sir Edward Elgar, commissioned from Kenneth Potts and unveiled in 1981, stands at the end of Worcester High Street facing the Cathedral, only yards from the original location of his father's music shop, which was demolished in the 1960s. Elgar's birthplace is a short way from Worcester, in the village of Broadheath.

There are also two large woodlands in the city, Perry Wood, at twelve hectares and Nunnery Wood, covering twenty-one hectares. Perry Wood is often said to be the place where Oliver Cromwell met and made a pact with the devil. Nunnery Wood is an integral part of the adjacent and popular Worcester Woods Country Park, itself next door to County Hall on the east side of the city.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester

Mezco One:12 Collective

The aircraft here was one of those I'd see in one of my Observer's Book of Aircraft as a child without a hope of ever seeing in the flesh, but that was realised in 2009.

This is the prototype of the Egyptian-built Helwan HA-300, which was designed by Willy Messerschmitt, and was taken up by the Egypt as a primary combat aircraft which wouldn't be overly reliant on overseas companies. Six aircraft were built before the project was cancelled in 1969, and all but two of these had Egyptian built engines, although these were designed by an Austrian. One of the machines achieved a speed of Mach 2.1

This is the first prototype, 51-100, which was purchased by the German company DASA in 1991 and restored to the condition here at the Deutsches Museum in 1997.

Oberschleißheim, Bavaria

30th June 2009

20090630 IMG_6188 HA-300 prototype adj

Estimated : CHF 140.000 - 200.000

Sold for CHF 218.500 - € 198.060

The Bonmont Sale

Collectors' Motor Cars - Bonhams

Golf & Country Club de Bonmont

Chéserex

Switzerland - Suisse - Schweiz

September 2019

After 17 years in production, the legendary Countach was replaced by the Diablo, which on its arrival was the fastest, most advanced and most expensive Lamborghini ever built. First exhibited publicly at Monaco in January 1990, the Diablo improved on its illustrious predecessor in every way, setting a new benchmark in supercar design. Nobody can have been surprised to learn that it had been styled by Marcello Gandini, the man responsible for the Lamborghini Miura and Countach, for the family resemblance was obvious.

Beneath the skin there was a steel spaceframe chassis, developed from the Countach's, but constructed of square-section rather than round tubing and incorporating 'crumple zones' at front and rear. The use of carbon-fibre composite panels, first seen in the Countach Evoluzione model, was extended in the Diablo, which also featured revised suspension capable of accommodating the envisaged future developments of four-wheel drive and active suspension. Stretched to 5.7 litres for the Diablo, Lamborghini's 48-valve V12 engine gained fuel injection for the first time, producing its maximum of 492 bhp at 7.000 rpm. Of equal, if not greater significance, maximum torque went up to 428 lb/ft, an improvement of 55 % over the Countach. Catalytic converters were standard, enabling the reworked V12 to meet emissions requirements worldwide.

With more power and a lower drag coefficient than the Countach, the Diablo easily eclipsed its forebear, exceeding 200 mph (322 km/h) on test. More importantly, its acceleration and top speed figures were marginally better than those of the Ferrari F40. The Diablo though, was not a limited edition model like the latter but a series production car with a luxuriously appointed interior reflecting its designers' intention to produce a civilised Gran Turismo as suited to city streets and motorways as the racetrack. Nevertheless, the Diablo was still one of the world's most expensive cars. Four-wheel drive Diablo VT and Targa-style open roadster versions soon followed.

An open roadster had been shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 1992 but another three years would pass before customers could buy the production version. Historically significant as Lamborghini's first open-top production car with a V12 engine, the Diablo Roadster was yet another example of the popular 'Targa Top' concept that relies on removable roof panels to provide fresh-air motoring. In the Diablo's case the single panel is stored over the engine cover when not in place. Despite the absence of a fixed roof, Lamborghini claimed that the Roadster was every bit as stiff as the Coupé.

The dashboard has been removed from the Diablo VT Roadster, which is offered with Equatorial Guinea registration papers and customs document.

'The Quattroporte is billed as the world's fastest sedan. It is a highly refined automobile with a four-passenger cruising capability in excess of 100 mph, with enough attendant luxuries to compare favourably with non plus ultra of all luxury sedans, the Mercedes-Benz 600 and the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.' - Car & Driver.

Styled by Frua and introduced in 1963, the V8-powered Quattroporte was a landmark model for Maserati, being the Modena firm's first four-door saloon and its first car of unitary construction. The Quattroporte was powered by a downsized - to 4,2 litres - version of the 5000GT's four-cam V8, and beneath the skin featured independent front suspension and a De Dion rear axle, though the latter was replaced by a conventional elliptically sprung live axle in 1967. Car & Driver recorded a 0-100km/h time of 8.7 seconds and wound their Quattroporte up to 190 km/h, estimating that there was another 16 km/h still to come, all of which was some going for a fully-equipped four-seater weighing close to 2.000 kg.

The successor Quattroporte II deployed the V6 engine and front-wheel-drive package of the Citroën SM in a body by Bertone, but did not long survive Maserati's take-over by Alessandro De Tomaso. Its successor - the Ital Design-styled Quattroporte III - arrived in 1978. Maserati V8 power was restored for this, the third of the line - the options being a 4,2 or a 4,9-litre unit - and the 'III' reverted to rear wheel drive using a lengthened Kyalami floor pan and all-independent suspension.

The Italian answer to Bentley - as its manufacturer's publicity proudly claimed - the Maserati Quattroporte was one of the world's fastest four-door saloons in its day. As Italy's premier luxury car, the Quattroporte III was the choice of many wealthy Italian industrialists and celebrities, as well as the country's president, Alessandro Pertini.

This automatic transmission model is one of only 1.821 Quattroporte IIIs built between 1978 and 1984, and was previously displayed at the Musée de l'Automobile in Reims, France. The car's first owner was a well-known Bolognese entrepreneur and philanthropist, the second was a manufacturer in the fashion industry. The current (third) owner purchased the Maserati in Italy in April 2003 (at 84.000 kilometres), whereupon Candini, the Maserati specialist in Modena, carried out a full service. Finished in Blue Alfieri with Havana leather interior, this beautiful and collectible Maserati sports saloon is offered with Italian libretto, ASI paperwork, and its original Bologna registration plate from 1984.

Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais

Bonhams

Sold for € 17.250

Estimated : € 20.000 - 30.000

Parijs - Paris

Frankrijk - France

February 2017