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sweet sugar got good figure and pretty face,and it was very hot ouside,so we find a colorful small cafe to have another bikini shooting,and i think the indoor light was soft that the model sugar could opened her beautiful eyes
I have been revisiting the blogs I wrote for the trip, adding detail, which I hope gives a fuller picture of the stuff we did.
Anyway, this was our first full day, on which we had our own private guide to show us round the city; the Imperial Garden, the Public Fish Market, the Commercial Area and Shibuya.
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With the red wine and and beer drunk on the rooftop bar, I slept long and deep, as did Jools, so it came as a shick to be woken at eight by Jen telling us it was time for breakfast. We have a quick shower each, the go to the restaurant at the top of the building for a choice of French toast and bacon or something Japanese. We chose French Toast as we did all three mornings, along with coffee and fruit.
Outside it was a glorious day, and felt like summer on the inside of the ceiling to floor plate glass windows. Phew, its gonna be a scorcher! And what better way to spend the day than with our very own private tour guide.
What better indeed.
We met Maki at nine, and after some introductions, it was decided to go to Tokyo Station to exchange our vouchers for rail passes, thus making the rest of the travelling on the holibob possible. It also allowed us to be shown how to use the Metro, swiping our cards and looking at the map to plan a route. Handily, all lines have letter prefixes, and each station is numbered, so we were staying near K19, and to find our way back, get to the K line and go to the end, and Bob's you Aunt's live in lover. As it were.
We walked to the subway station, passing the lines of people waiting to go into the Thunder Gate temple, and also the gangs of rickshaw drivers touting for business with their tight buns and all dressed in the same way.
I was in heaven, I have been dreaming of travelling on the Tokyo Subway, but I was doing it for real, and snapping. All.The.Time.
We had to change a few stops along the line to get onto an overground suburban line for the run into Tokyo station. I was happy enough looking at the people queuing nicely on each platform as I looked over the lines of platforms. On each platform were more vending machines, but as ever I made do with snapping the scene and the people, always interesting
We arrived at Tokyo Station, Man, it was already hot, but Maki pointed out the profusion of vending machines. Everywhere, and for 110 Yet you can buy a half litre of cool h2o.
She lead us through various parts of the station to the rail tour office, we all filled out a lengthy form, then we were given our pass which gave us unlimited train travel for two whole weeks. We take in the scene of the main concourse, and the high arched roof of the reception hall outside the tourist office. We all take shots of it.
That done and the fact the Imperial Gardens were nearby, that is where we walked to next, through a maze of modern glass skyscrapers, over half empty 6 lane roads, and to the entrance to the gardens. Once upon a time it was the residence of the Emperor, he still have a third of it or something, but the rest is a public garden, which is littered with historic buildings, defensive walls and the remains of castles and storehouses and the like.
We walk along the main road before taking the path to the main entrance, between two ornamental lakes which reflected the walls and the modern city behind. We pay to go in for us and our guide, then entrance we walk through massive wooden gates, about 18 inches thick and made form the hardest wood I have seen.
All along the path, as it climbed, and forming the base of buildings, were walls made of massive stones, interlocked together like a giant 3D jigsaw, but built using no mortar, and some of the stones must have weighed tons, and carved into irregular shapes, so tight did they fit together that no vegetation grew from between them.
Did I mention it was hot? It was hot.
But the gardens were sensational, and gave us an understanding of the different prefectures in Japan, as all were represented. Also there was green tea plants and bamboo. And on the wing I saw three different species of swallowtail butterfly, but I had left my macro in the hotel, so made do with watching them flit about.
The path wanders through the gardens, view open up, across flower beds or lakes, but it doesn't seem crowded at all. It was coming to the end of the wisteria season, and hanging from the roofs of some of the shelters were long strands of the colourful plant. Little did we know that we would see wild wisteria trees in about ten days high up in the hills.
We go further into the gardens, in time coing to a wide flat park-like area. People are having picnics already, but Maki leas us on, past the music hall, all colourfully decorated to an elevated platofrm, once again made of the same stones described before, which once was the base for the large imperial castle, all of that is long gone. But from the top, once I had huffed and puffed up the steep slop, was the roof of the Budokan music hall, once THE venue to record a live album, like Cheap Trick and MSG.
We had seen enough, probably, but we were just so hot already, and jet lagged, so we trailed behind Maki as she lead us back to the main entrance out of the Imperial Gardens.
We take a time out to have some water from a vending area before completing the tour round the gardens, before walking to Tokyo Station again, but this time getting a bus to the commercial area for a walk round the public fish market.
It was hotter.
We climb on an air conditioned bus and wait for it to depart, but it seems cool enough, of maybe we're just getting used to the heat already. We leave and are treated with views of the commercial heart of the city, or one of the commercial hearts anyway. It all looks wonderfully exotic. A couple behind me asks if we were passengers off a cruise ship that they had seen dock earlier; he was an American now living here with his Japanese partner. I say that we had just flown in, and were on this guided tour, and there were really interested about the things we were doing. He said he really liked living in Tokyo, and I'm sure its a place that never fails to amaze.
It seems all tourists in Tokyo, and a good proportion of its residents also had the same idea, as it was like Venice on a very busy day.
And it was hot.
We start off walking over the main road, then down some of the merchants proper, where through open doors we can see fish being prepared; people ran about, trucks were reversing and the number of people increased.
The sights and smells were fabulous, but the lanes were narrow and choked with people, all walking at different paces, some eating, some drinking and some walking with their family. We were trying to keep pace with Maki. Obviously most stalls and shops sold seafood of some kind, but there were fruit and vegetable stalls too. We were tempted to buy something, but it was hard to know where to start, and we puzzled over many of the items on sale, each with just signs in Japanese, of course. Most of the dried seaweed looked the same, but must be different in taste if nothing else.
I take a few shots, mainly of the crowds to be honest, it is just wonderful, but the crowds and the heat mean it isn't really enjoyable, but looking back on it now, I can say I loved it. Maki turned to head down another narrow alley, and I say out loud, "oh no, not another one" as it was all becoming too much. We were hot, and the others hungry.
After an hour of walking and looking, and it being half one, it was decided that it was lunchtime. Over the main road bordering the market was a swish sushi place, who had tables at the counter, so we could watch our food being prepared. Only I wasn't hungry, so made do with some rice and simple sushi whilst Jools and Jen had a set meal. I drank some ice cool beer.
I had another. I had a salad, which I struggled to eat with chop sticks, so the chef who had been appointed to serve us provided me with a fork.
We walked back outside, and down the busy street, me catching glimpses into the gambling halls and shops that abounded. I took shots all the time of course.
After that we walked through the commercial area to the Tokyo version of Harrods to look at their food halls. None of us are big shoppers really, and we did it as Maki made it sound like a great thing, and some of the displays were wonderful for sure. The displays even outshone anyhing that Harrods had last time I went; the food looked perfect and freshly baked food from all over the world was available, including from Britain. Once again we bought nothing, not know which queue was for which counter. Even the bentos looked like art, and local people seemed to be buying stacks.
Finally she took us to the trendy area, really, so we ccould look round the best souvenir shop in the city. We were not sure when or if we would see souvenir shops, so we did buy a few things for friends, family and ourselves. Jen bought a dressing gown kind of things, and I bought a wall hanging and some small trinkets for friends. We then said to Maki that we had enough confidence to use the metro, and as we were by Shibuya, where I wanted to snap in the evening, we would bid her farewell one hour early, and we would look for a coffee shop.
After looking in a couple, we found a place in a rooftop place, in the shade, but it was still warm, so we order ice coffee and take the weight off our feet, which after a day's travelling, maybe a seven hour forced march round Tokyo in 30 degree heat wasn't the best thing. But we had survived, but our legs and feet we making some complaints. People were coming and going all the time, all were smiling, and enjoying the very warm sunshine. Teens looked perfect in their smart clothes and make up, whilst couples had neatly wrapped packets and parcels in chic bags. And there was us, sweating like the Brits out of water we were, but no one cast us a second glance.
A couple came up looking for a table, and we offer them ours, and they are so thankful, and we all bow to each other and smile.
We took a Metro to Shibuya, and then went looking for the famous crossing, but we were an hour early, so maybe we should find something to eat. There was flashing neon lights everywhere, and it was all a bit confusing to be honest. Then Jen says there's a place to eat on the top floor of the mega camera store near us. I have no idea how she spooted that, maybe I was sidetracked by all the flashing lights and the wonderful things and people to photograph.
So we take the lift to the top floor, and are shown to a booth overlooking the street below, and shown how to use the tablet to order food and drinks. Some of it was even in English, which was nice. We order some nibbles and drinks, and pressed send. Twenty minutes later the food arrived, but no drinks, we called the waiter and sent him to fetch beers.
The food was things like chicken on sticks, and sausage; the only place we saw a sausage the whole trip.
And all was good, in fact we mellowed out and enjoyed looking out as the light faded and the neon shone brighter.
We went downstairs and I went looking for the crossing, a six-way pedestrian crossing that is iconic, I took a place looking towards the brightest lights and snapped away.
We walk to another intersection and I try to make sense of it all, all the while taking shots, of course. I look down one of the road, under a railway bridge, and I think that might be the busy intersection I was hoping to snap.
It was, and with traffic zooming across at high speed, then every 5 minutes all traffic is stopped, and all pedestrian crossings switch to green and then there are hundreds, if not thousands making their way across the roads. Tow of the crossings even went diagonally across the crossing, the mixing in the middle.
It was a scene you can only imagine, I switched to the wide angle and slowed the shutter speed down and snapped some more. There was still some light in the sky, so the shots were pretty darn perfect, even I says so myself.
Happy with my shots, and the fact our legs and feet were screaming, we made our way back to the Metro then back to the hotel and back to the rooftop bar. The shops outside the Thunder Gate were rammed with people, and we had to really force our way through, but in a nice way.
It was a heck of a day, and we had achieved so much. And found our way back with no trouble either.
We played cards on the roof, with the Sky Tree shining a mile away, looking wonderful, and so we decided that we would go there the next evening. It was a much warmer evening, so we could sit under the starless sky whilst we played Meld. That and drank beer, wine and Gin, but not from the same glass, obvs.
Cheers
It is funny how we forget things we have done.
Below, I state that this was my first visit to the cathedral as a churchcrawler.
When I began to post shots, I looked for the album to put the shots in, only to find there wasn't one.
A search of my photostream showed two visits to the cathedral, complete with interior shots from 2013 and the previous years.
I had no memories of these visits.
What else have I forgotten?
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Norwich is a fine city. Or so the signs say on every road into it. But, and there can be no denying it, it is a jewel in the Norfolk countryside.
For me it is “just” Norwich Where used to go for our important shopping, for football and later for concerts. We, and I, would take for granted its cobbled streets, Norman cathedral and medieval churches by the dozen. Also it’s a pub for every day, the ramshackle market, and the Norman castle keep looking down on the city sprawled around.
Just Norwich.
Later, it also became where I bought new records from Backs in Swan Lane, and searched for punk classics in the Record and Tape Exchange.
Norwich is lucky that the industrial revolution passed by the city leaving few changes, the character and history intact. World War II did damage, some churches were abandoned, some rebuilt, but many survived.
And Norwich is a friendly city. It sees warm and colourful, and on a hot summer’s day when the locals were in shorts and t-shirts, much white flesh was on display. I also take the football club for granted. I have supported it from nearly 49 years, and being away from the city means I get my news and views largely second hand, but I also forget how central the club is to the people.
Sadly, Norwich isn't really on the way to anywhere, well except Great Yarmouth and Cromer, so people don't come here by accident. So it remains something of a secret to most but locals.
Other cities would have children dressed in any one of a dozen Premier League club’s replica shirts. In Norwich yellow and green was the dominant colour, even after a chastening season that saw us finish rock bottom of the league. The local sports “superstore” has a Norwich Fan’s fanzone, and a third of the window is given to the home city club.
I knew the city like the back of my hand, so knew the route I wanted to take to provide me with views that would refresh those in my mind. I didn’t dally, pressed on to my two targets, the Anglican Cathedral and St Peter Mancroft.
This wasn’t the original plan; that was to meet two friends I used to go to the football with, Ian and Ali, but they both caught a bug in Manchester watching the women’s Euros, so couldn’t meet with me. But I had an alternative plan, maybe with a pub stop or two.
The trip happened as I got a mail offering a tempting 20% off the trip that had been selling poorly, I checked with Ian and Alison, they said they were free, but had yet to fall ill. So seats were booked, as Jools liked the sound of an afternoon in Norwich and meeting my friends.
Up at quarter to five so we could catch the first High Speed service out of Dover, so to be in London in time to catch the railtour to Norwich.
Sun had yet to light up Dover Priory when we arrived, but a few people milling around, including two still at the end of their night out.
Folkestone was light by the warm light of the rising sun, and well worth a shot as we passed over Foord Viaduct.
Later, I was hoping the calm morning meant the Medway would be a mirror, but a breeze disturbed the surface ruining the reflections I had hoped for.
Finally, emerging into Essex, the line climbs as the go over the Dartford Crossing, just enough time to grab a shot.
It was already hot in London, so we stayed in the shade of the undercroft at St Pancras, had a coffee and a pasty from Greggs before walking over to Kings Cross to see if our tour was already at the buffers.
We walked across the road to King's Cross, and find the station packed with milling passengers, all eyes trained on the departure boards waiting for platform confirmations.
Ours was due to be platform 3, and the rake of carriages was indeed there, top and tailed by class 66 freight locomotives.
We get on the train and find we had been allocated a pair of seats nearest the vestibule. This meant that they were a few inches less wide than others, meaning Jools and I were jammed in.
Almost straight away, Jools's back and Achilles began to ache, and the thought of four hours of this in the morning and another four in the evening was too much, and so she decided to get off at the first stop at Potters Bar.
In the end, a wise choice I think.
The guy in the seat opposite to us talked the whole journey. I mean filling any silence with anything: how much he paid for the components of his lunch, his cameras and then his job. In great detail. He also collected train numbers. I didn't know that was really a thin in the days of EMUs, but I helped out from time to time telling him units he had missed.
We had a twenty minute break at Peterborough because of pathing issues, so we all got out to stretch our legs and do some extra trainspotting.
An Azuma left from the next platform, and another came in on the fast line. I snapped them both.
From Peterborough, the train reversed, and after the 20 minute wait, we went out of the station southwards, taking the line towards Ely.
Now that we had done our last stop, the train could open up and we cruised across the Fens at 70mph, the flat landscape botted with wind turbines and church towers slipped by.
Instead of going into Ely station, we took the rarely used (for passenger trains) freight avoiding line, now a single track. Emerging crossing the main line, taking the line eastwards towards Thetford.
Again, the regulator was opened, and we rattled along. Even so, the journey was entering its fourth hour, and with my travelling colleague and without Jools, time was dragging.
We were now back in Norfolk, passing the STANTA training area, all warning signs on the fences telling the trainee soldiers that that was where the area ended. I saw no soldiers or tanks. My only thought was of the rare flowers that would be growing there, unseen.
And so for the final run into Norwich, familiar countryside now.
Under the southern bypass and the main line from London, slowing down where the two lines merged at Trowse before crossing the River Wensum, before the final bend into Norwich Thorpe.
At last I could get off the train and stretch my legs.
Many others were also getting off to board coaches to take them to Wroxham for a cruise on the Broads, or a ride on the Bure Valley Railway, while the rest would head to Yarmouth for four hours at the seaside.
I got off the train and walked through the station, out into the forecourt and over the main road, so I could walk down Riverside Road to the Bishop’s Bridge, then from there into the Cathedral Close.
The hustle and bustle of the station and roadworks were soon left behind, as the only noise was from a family messing about in a rowing boat in front of Pulls Ferry and a swan chasing an Egyptian Goose, so the occasional splash of water.
I reached the bridge and passed by the first pub, with already many folks sitting out in the beer garden, sipping wines and/or summer beers. I was already hot and would loved to have joined them, but I was on a mission.
In the meantime, Jools had texted me and said if I fancied getting a regular service back home, then I should. And a seed grew in my brain. Because, on the way back, departing at just gone five, the tour had to have a 50 minute layover in a goods siding at Peterborough, and would not get back to Kings Cross until half nine, and then I had to get back to Dover.
I could go to the cathedral the church, walk back to the station. Or get a taxi, and get a train back to London at four and still be home by eight.
Yes.
I walked past the Great Hospital, then into the Close via the swing gate, round to the entrance where there was no charge for entry and now no charge for photography. But I would make a donation, I said. And I did, a tenner.
I have been to the cathedral a few times, but not as a churchcrawler. So, I made my way round, taking shots, drinking in the details. But the walk up had got me hot and bothered, I always run with a hot engine, but in summer it can be pretty damp. I struggled to keep my glasses on my nose, and as I went round I knew I was in no mood to go round again with the wide angle, that could wait for another visit.
The church is pretty much as built by the Normans, roof excepted which has been replaced at least twice, but is poetry in stone. And for a cathedral, not many people around also enjoying the building and its history.
At one, bells chimed, and I think The Lord’s Prayer was read out, we were asked to be quiet. I always am when snapping.
In half an hour I was done, so walked out through the west door, through the gate and into Tombland. I was heading for the Market and St Peter which site on the opposite side to the Guildhall.
I powered on, ignoring how warm I felt, in fact not that warm at all. The heat and sweats would come when I stopped, I found out.
I walk up the side of the market and into the church, and into the middle of an organ recital.
Should I turn round and do something else, or should I stop and listen. I stopped and listened.
Everyone should hear an organ recital in a large church. There is nothing quite like it. The organ can make the most beautiful sounds, but at the same time, the bass pipes making noises so deep you can only feel it in your bones.
Tony Pinel knew his way round the organ, and via a video link we could see his hands and feet making the noises we could hear. It was wonderful, but quite how someone can play one tune with their feet and another with their hands, and pulling and pushing knobs and stoppers, is beyond me. But glad some people can.
It finished at quarter to two, and I photograph the font canopy and the 15th century glass in the south chapel. Font canopies are rare, there is only four in England, and one of the others is in Trunch 20 miles to the north. Much is a restoration, but it is an impressive sight when paired with the seven-sacrament font under it.
The glass is no-less spectacular, panels three feet by two, five wide and stretching to the vaulted roof. I can’t photograph them all, but I do over 50%.
I go to the market for a lunch of chips, for old times sake. I mean that was the treat whenever we went either to Norwich or Yarmouth; chips on the market. I was told they no longer did battered sausage, so had an un-battered one, and a can of pop. I stood and ate in the alleyway between stalls, people passing by and people buying chips and mushy peas of their own.
Once done, I had thought of getting a taxi back to the station, but the rank that has always been rammed with black cabs was empty, and two couples were shouting at each other as to who should have the one that was there. So I walked to the station, across Gentleman’s Walk, along to Back of the Inns, then up London Street to the top of Prince of Wales Road and then an easy time to the station across the bridge.
I got my ticket and saw a train to Liverpool Street was due to depart at 14:32. In three minutes.
I went through the barrier and got on the train, it was almost empty in the new, swish electric inter-city unit. I was sweating buckets, and needed a drink, but there appeared to be no buffet, instead just electric efficiency and silence as the train slid out of the station and went round past the football ground to the river, then taking the main line south.
In front of me, two oriental ladies talked for the whole journey. I listened to them, no idea what they talked about to fill 105 minutes.
I thought it would be nearly five when the train got in, but helped by only stopping at Diss, Ipswich, Manningtree and Colchester we got in, on time, at quarter past four.
I walked to the main concourse and down into the Circle Line platforms, getting a train in a couple of minutes the four stops to St Pancras. I knew there was a train soon leaving, and after checking the board and my watch I saw I had five minutes to get along the length of the station and up to the Southeastern platforms.
I tried. I did, but I reached the steps up to the platforms and I saw I had 45 seconds, no time to go up as they would have locked the doors. So, instead I went to the nearby pub and had a large, ice-cold bottle of Weiss beer.
That was better.
I was all hot and bothered again, but would have an hour to cool down, and the beer helped.
At ten past five, I went up and found the Dover train already in, I went through the barriers and took a seat in a carriage I thought would stop near the exit at Dover Priory. I called Jools to let her know I would be back at quarter to seven, and she confirmed she would pick me up.
She was there, people got off all out on a night on the town, dressed in shiny random pieces of fabric covering boobs and bottoms. I was young once, I thought.
Jools was there, she started the car and drove us home via Jubilee Way. Across the Channel France was a clear as anything, and four ferries were plying between the two shores. Take us home.
Once home, Jools had prepared Caprese. I sliced some bread and poured wine. On the wireless, Craig spun funk and soul. We ate.
Tired.
It was going to be a hot night, but I was tired enough to sleep through it. Or so I thought.
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Norwich has everything. Thus, the normally dry and undemonstrative Nikolaus Pevsner began his survey of the capital of Norfolk in his 1962 volume Buildings of England: Norwich and north-east Norfolk. And there is no doubt that this is one of the best cities of its size in northern Europe. Living in Ipswich as I do, I hear plenty of grumbles about Norwich; but really, although the two places have roughly the same population, Ipswich cannot even begin to compare with regard to its townscape. The only features which the capital of Suffolk can claim to hold above its beautiful northern neighbour are a large central park (Norwich's Chapelfield gardens is not a patch on Ipswich's Christchurch Park) and a large body of water in the heart of the town, perhaps Ipswich's most endearing feature and greatest saving grace.
But Norwich has everything else - to continue Pevsner's eulogy, a cathedral, a castle on a mound right in the middle, walls and towers, a medieval centre with winding streets and alleys, thirty-five medieval parish churches and a river with steamships. It even has hills...
I think it would be possible to visit Norwich and not even know this cathedral was there. The centre of the city is dominated by the castle, and the most familiar feature to visitors is the great market square widened by the clearances of the 1930s, and the fine City Hall built at that time which towers above it. In comparison, Norwich Cathedral sits down in a dip beside the river, walled in by its close, and is visible best from outside the city walls, especially from the east on the riverside, and to the north from Mousehold Heath. If you arrive by road from the south or west, you may not even catch a glimpse of it. The great spire is hidden by those winding streets and alleys, and many of the city's churches are more visible, especially St Giles, St Peter Mancroft in the Market Place, and the vast Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist, on Grapes Hill. It is said that the nave floor of St John the Baptist is at the same height above sea level as the top of the crossing of the Anglican cathedral.
With the possible exception of Lincoln Cathedral, I think that Norwich Cathedral is my favourite cathedral in all England. Call this East of England chauvinism if you like, But Norwich Cathedral has everything you could possible want from a great medieval building. But there is more to it than that. It is also one of the most welcoming cathedrals in England. There is no charge for admission, and they positively encourage you to wander around through the daily business of the cathedral, in the continental manner. No boards saying Silence Please - Service in Progress here. Because of this, the Cathedral becomes an act of witness in itself, and you step into what feels like it probably really is the house of God on Earth. They even used to say the Lord's Prayer over the PA system once an hour, and invite you to stop and join in - I wish they'd go back to doing that. The three pounds you pay for a photography permit must be one of the bargains of the century so far.
Norwich Cathedral is unusual, in that this is the original building. It has been augmented over the centuries of course, but this is still essentially the very first cathedral on this site. This is because the see was only moved to Norwich after the Norman invasion. The Normans saw the wisdom of drawing together ecclesiastical and civil power, and one way in which this might be achieved was by siting the cathedrals in the hearts of important towns. At the time of the conquest, Bishop Herfast had his seat at Thetford, and it was decided to move the see to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. It had moved several times during the previous four centuries, from Walton in Suffolk to North Elmham in Norfolk before Thetford, where the first proper but simple stone building had been raised. But as well as an eye for efficient administration, the Normans brought the idea that Cathedrals should be glorified; already, vast edifices were being raised in Durham, London and Ely. and Bury St Edmunds, with its famous Abbey, was the obvious place for the Diocese of East Anglia to sit.
However, such a move would have removed the Abbey's independent direct line with Rome, and placed it under the jurisdiction of the Province of Canterbury. The Abbey community was determined that this would not happen, and Abbot Baldwin sent representations to the Pope that ensured the survival of St Edmundsbury Abbey's independence. Bishop Herfast would not be allowed to glorify his position in East Anglia in the way his colleagues were doing elsewhere. But his successor, Herbert de Losinga, was more determined - and, perhaps, steeled by his conscience. A Norman, he had bought the Bishopric from the King in 1091, an act of simony that required penance. Building a great cathedral could be seen as that act of penance. But where? Bury was a lost cause; instead, he chose to move the see to a thriving market town in the north-east of his Diocese; a smaller, more remote place than Bury, to be sure, but proximity to the Abbey of St Edmund was perhaps not such a good thing anyway. It tended to cast a rather heavy shadow. And so it was that the great medieval cathedral of the East Anglian bishops came to be built, instead, at Norwich.
Work began in 1094, and seems to have been complete by 1145. It is one of the great Romanesque buildings of northern Europe, its special character a result of responses to fires and collapses over the course of the next few centuries. At the Reformation in the sixteenth century, it became a protestant cathedral of the new Church of England, losing its role as a setting for ancient sacraments and devotions, but being maintained as the administrative seat of a Diocese which covered all of Norfolk and Suffolk, and the ceremonial church of its great city. In the 19th Century, the western part of the Norwich Diocese was transferred into that of Ely, and at the start of the 20th Century the southern parishes became part of the new Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. Today, the Diocese of Norwich consists of north, south and east Norfolk, and the north-eastern tip of Suffolk.
The absence of this great church from the Norfolk Churches site has long been the elephant in the room, so to speak. And having it here at last is, I feel, a mark of how things have changed. When I first started the Norfolk and Suffolk sites back in 1999, I did not have a decent camera, and the earliest entries did not have any photographs at all. How the wheel has turned. Now, the photographs have become the sites, and with no apologies I don't intend to make this a wordy entry.
The perfection of Norwich is of distant views, the cloisters, and the interior. The exterior is hemmed in, and the most familiar part of the building, the west front, is a poor thing, the victim of barbarous restorations in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is almost a surprise to step through its mundanity into the soaring glory of the nave. Above, the famous vaulting is home to one of the largest collections of medieval bosses in the world. There are more in the beautiful cloisters.
The view to the east is of the great organ, looking very 17th Century but actually the work of Stephen Dykes Bower in the 1950s. Beyond is the intimacy of the quire and ambulatory with its radial chapels, the best of which is St Luke's chapel, containing the Despenser retable. Bishop Despenser is one of history's villains, putting down the Peasants Revolt in East Anglia with some enthusiasm. It is likely that this retable was made for the cathedral's high altar, possibly even to give thanks for the end of the Revolt. It was discovered upside down in use as a table in the 1840s. This chapel is, unusually, also a parish church; the parish of St Mary in the Marsh, the church of which was demolished at the Reformation, moved into the cathedral. They brought their seven sacrament font with them, and here it remains.
In the ambulatory there are many traces of medieval paint, almost certainly from the original building of the Cathedral. Two curiosities: at the back of the apse is the original Bishop's chair, and rising across the north side of the ambulatory like a bridge is a relic screen.
There is a good range of glass dating from the 14th to the 21st centuries. Highlights include the medieval panels in the north side of the ambulatory, Edward Burne-Jones's bold figures in the north transept, Moira Forsyth's spectacular Benedictine window of 1964 in a south chapel, and the millennium glass high in the north transept, which I think will in time become one of the defining features of the Cathedral. The figure of the Blessed Virgin with the Christ Child seated on her lap is the work of Norfolk-based artist John Hayward, who died recently, but the glass above is Hayward's reworking of Keith New's 1960s glass for St Stephen Walbrook in London, removed from there in the 1980s, and now reset here. Towards the west end of the nave are two sets of Stuart royal arms in glass, a rare survival.
I grew up in a city some sixty miles away from Norwich, but I didn't come here until I was in my mid-teens. I remember wandering around this building and being blown away by it, and I still get that feeling today. There is always something new to find here. My favourite time here is first thing in the morning on a winter Saturday. Often, I can be the only visitor, which only increases the awe. Another time I like to be here in winter is on a Saturday afternoon for choral evensong. Perhaps best of all, though, is to wander and wonder in the cloisters on a bright sunny day, gazing at fabulous bosses almost within arm's reach.
Several English cathedrals have good closes, but Norwich's is the only one in a major city, I think. It creates the sense of an ecclesiastical village at the heart of the city; and then, beyond, the lanes and alleys spread out, still hanging on despite German bombing and asinine redevelopment. And now I think perhaps it is part of the beauty of this building that it is tucked away by the river, a place to seek out and explore. Norwich has everything, says Pevsner. But really, I think this is the very best thing of all.
www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/norwichcathedral/norwichcathedr...
Have a crappy picture of me driving the lunar rover in GT6 instead of those stupid black rectangles.
sorry about this picture so simple hahaha but today i have been coding all the afternoon... i need to finish something soon...
i needed my hard disk and wow!! i found this :P
do you remember them??? i used them indeed :P
a question for all of you???
-------what was the capacity storage? =P
No google allowed...
have a good day!! =D
jajaja lamento la foto tan simple pero he estado un poquito ocupado esta tarde programando.
Necesitaba mi disco duro externo y ahhhh que me encuentro con estas cosas!!! =D
Las recuerdan???
Alguien las utilizó??? Yo si =P
TRIVIA... cual era su capacidad de almacenamiento??? =P
Sin googlearlo :P
saludooos!! =D
Ok, so maybe I'm boring you, let me know if that's the case...
At least the sun is out today! That's progress nature...that's progress.
It was a good friends birthday on Monday and I'm not going to be able to be at home to celebrate with him. It'll be the first time I haven't been there in many, many years and it's just hitting me how strange that's going to be.
Wish you the best bro.
Have a good day everyone!
From the terasse of our apartment I was able to have a close look at this primeval animals. You can see them anywere at Curacao and the can get really large; more then 1m included their tail.
Have been crazy busy at office and did not find time to post any pictures.... I did edit one picture but it is still sitting in my home PC. This is an SOOC from the Yelagiri trip.
Two SF MUNI 1100 Class - ex-St. Louis - PCCs on Market at Jones Street, in September 1978, with car 1114 nearest the camera..
Car 1114 was later scrapped, but several of the class have been preserved, and a couple are still operated occasionally at the Oregon Electric Railway Museum, although none have yet been fully restored.
Original slide - photographer unknown
A TOY STORY
Project 52
Week 37/52
Week 38 - Theme: A Movie
From: Catcher In My Eye :)
(Revised 11/4/13)
This has been the summer of cleaning out the attic of our home of 20 years.
For weeks this Summer and Fall, I have trashed much, given to "Good Will" lots, and stuck back the stuff I still can't part with.
We built and moved into our house in 1993.
On that moving day, years ago, when our children were still elementary school aged, we stacked new plastic tubs of holiday decorations and boxes of recent family keepsakes, in our newly built attic.
Now, that our three kids are adults and married with children, there have been times that they have come home and asked, "Do I still have my______? "
The answer has always been, "Yes."
I did save all the GOOD STUFF. It was all good to me.
And if you, like my husband, thinks, "She is one of THOSE hoarders!"
I am not a hoarder.
Not really...
I saw LIFE -left in the stuff I chose to stick-back for safe keeping.
In reflecting, that 'stuff' held future family times.
I didn't collect magazines, margarine dishes or plastic fast-food drink cups.
In fact, a few years ago, I did give away my old rock collection, my Madame Alexander doll and my ballerina jewelry box full of tiny bracelets & necklaces. My childhood trinkets were long lost. My rings and ribbons had been played with by my own two daughters.
In fact, my own childhood memories had begun to be interfused with those of my own children. I increasingly found myself trying to remember if I had worn a saved and cherished little dress or if it was my daughters.
The stuff that I had kept, had had our family's hands all over it, many times over. There were boxes of Matchbox cars and Micro-machine planes and trains. One box was heavy with canisters of Lincoln Logs & Tinker Toys, as well as a tin- cased Erector set and a taped together Milton-Bradley game box that held my old Twister game. (I half expected to find the kids old socks in that box.)
I had saved all the jig-saw puzzles that our family had worked together.
The back corner of the attic floor was stacked high with various building sets.
One dusty shelf still held a weaving loom, a flower press and a doll house full of tiny furniture.
Our kids loved building stuff with their Dad.
I still envisioned the kids and their Dad with bits & parts of building sets spread out all over the dining room table.
The kids remembered building the Radio Shack Learning Lab sets and the Hobby Lobby project kits, but it was the relationship with their Dad that was soldered and patience that was learned, that I recalled.
The boxed games, kits and puzzles represented our family time, kinda like the Jim Croce song, "Time in a Bottle" but instead it was like times remembered and sealed in game boxes.
The saved boxes held more than just cherished toys to me. Memories of raising my family were kept in each of those boxes. I could close my eyes and remember each of my children at play. I didn't want to lose those memories. Maybe that was why I was obsessive in keeping up with all the game parts and puzzle pieces. I was afraid of losing even one piece of a remembered moment.
Our attic was full of stacked boxes.
Those boxes held 35 years of memories to me.
Clearing out the kept boxes meant grasping hold tight to my memories of being a mother.
A year ago, we celebrated the birth and church dedication of a new grand daughter.
We had been blessed with three grandsons and three grand daughters, at that time.
As I prepared the house for a Sunday, Dedication brunch, and decorated the fireplace mantle with our kids old picture Bibles and story books, I remembered and searched for my son's old Jesus doll.
Jesus, was not to be found in my son's plastic lidded box of keepsakes on the top shelf of his closet. I checked the back of his old dresser drawer, where I still kept his cute, first pair of size 3, "Snoopy" boxer briefs.
Had I lost Jesus doll in all of my collected clutter?
I remember thinking, that I would have never gotten rid of the action figure, Jesus. I was sure that I had tucked toy Jesus, away for safe keeping, but where?
I smiled, as I remembered a conversation I had had with our oldest daughter about, "Not hiding Jesus, our Savior, in the closet and only bringing Jesus out when it was convenient."
WHERE was that Jesus doll now, when I needed Him?
And You ask, "Why did our SON own a Jesus DOLL?"
When our son was a little boy, he wanted his "He-Man, Masters of the Universe" action-figure to have a friend.
What he really wanted was a "Skeletor," the evil action-toy, to play with for his 5th birthday.
As a parent, I had a problem with my little boy wanting to play pretend, good guy- bad guy. No evil "bad guys" were allowed to enter into our home!
That's a Mother for you! So instead of an evil dude, I had bought our son a Jesus doll action figure.
I remembered worrying that our son would be disappointed on his birthday.
But he wasn't.
Jesus doll turned out to be a pretty good action hero, as I recall. I could close my eyes and see Jesus standing next to the red bunk bed as my son slept at night and I could still picture Jesus doll sitting next to our son in the family mini-van when we traveled.
I'm pretty sure that our daughters enjoyed the Jesus doll, too. Jesus looked pretty cool, hanging out with Barbie, and her friends; Skipper & Scooter dolls, when our daughters played. Jesus' smile never faded while riding "My Pretty Ponies" or sliding down rainbow slides with the toy, "Care Bears."
This past summer, we took every single item from our 3rd floor attic. It was tough work, both physically and mentally for me.
All of the memorabilia packed away in cardboard boxes, bags of out- of- date clothes saved for costumes and much loved stuffed animals and dolls packed in plastic lidded boxes had to be gone thru before sorting.
I was in sensory overload! I'm not sure which made my eyes water more...the sadness of giving stuff away or the smell of years of dust!
Our family was flooded with memories and "remember when" stories from the past 35 years.
The grandkids loved all the old toys!
I told Hubby, our attic was not full of junk as he had thought, but instead it was heavy with treasures waiting to be re-discovered by a new generation of family!
Our attic was one, full of memories, FAMILY MEMORY BOX!
So, as we were blessed this month with another Grand boy, I went looking for some of our son's keepsakes ... I found his first cowboy boots, his first doggy stuffed animal and I still had his favorite baby blanket.
On this trip to the toy room closet, I spied a little, green canvas backpack.
I unbuckled the bag to find our son's first flannel shirt and tiny, brown corduroy pants, a wooden toy raft, an old mess kit, and my son's 'Possible Bag', a gift from my dad.
I remembered my father showing our son a small, leather pouch that looked Indian made, filled with small stones and arrowheads. The bag was forecast to hold "endless possibilities".
As I was about to put the backpack away, again, for safekeeping, I felt something in the front pocket...
I had found Jesus!
I found my son's Jesus doll!
Miraculously, Jesus still had the tiny brown sandals on his moveable bare feet and a plastic staff in his hinged hand!
In another pocket of the backpack was, "Put on the Armor of God " action figure and a story cassette.
The case-cover of the cassette was titled," Helmet of Salvation, Breast plate of Righteousness, Sword of the Spirit, Belt of Truth, Shield of Faith and Gospel of Peace."
I smiled. I remembered why I bought our son his own wooden toy sword and shield.
We had equipped our little boy with the armor of God.
At 32 years old now, that "shield of faith " had served him and our family well.
It was kinda funny to me, as I thought, I didn't find the old action toy, "He-man Master of the Universe" in our attic toys, but... I had finally found the toy, JESUS! The much loved Jesus doll had out-lived all our loved and cherished toys. Our Jesus action figure had out lived the Spiderman and Superman action figures and even the vintage Barbie dolls.
I'm happy that I kept the Son of Man action figure.
The next family get-together, our grandkids will find Jesus back on the toyroom shelf..
I'm betting that He will live on as the most cherished toy with our Grandchildren.
The doll still made me smile just as it did when I was a young Mom of three.
As I walk thru my quiet home and spot the smiling Jesus doll, I smile back and thank God, for our healthy & growing eight Grandchildren.
(And we do still enjoy some of those saved toys & games :)
I have good memories and more memories to make in my future.
I'm really happy, that I found Jesus.
Have a good start into your weekend! More rain expected here today...
Gefunden im Rosengarten der Berliner Tiergartens...
Some of you may have noticed that, unfortunately, owing to the fact that a certain person who sells truck photos on eBay commercially has been lifting my images from this album and selling them I have had to remove 2300 photos that didn't have a watermark. I have now run around 1700 through Lightroom and added a watermark with the intention of bulk uploading them again. Rather than watermark the existing (hidden) files in Flickr one at a time it will be easier to do it this way. I definitely won’t be adding individual tags with the make and model of each vehicle I will just add generic transport tags. Each photo is named after the vehicle and reg in any case. For anyone new to these images there is a chapter and verse explanation below. It is staggering how many times I get asked questions that a quick scan would answer or just as likely I can’t possibly answer – I didn’t take them, but, just to clarify-I do own the copyright- and I do pursue copyright theft.
This is a collection of scanned prints from a collection of photographs taken by the late Jim Taylor A number of years ago I was offered a large number of photographs taken by Jim Taylor, a transport photographer based in Huddersfield. The collection, 30,000 prints, 20,000 negatives – and copyright! – had been offered to me and one of the national transport magazines previously by a friend of Jim's, on behalf of Jim's wife. I initially turned them down, already having over 30,000 of my own prints filed away and taking space up. Several months later the prints were still for sale – at what was, apparently, the going rate. It was a lot of money and I deliberated for quite a while before deciding to buy them. I did however buy them directly from Jim’s wife and she delivered them personally – just to quash the occasional rumour from people who can’t mind their own business. Although some prints were sold elsewhere, particularly the popular big fleet stuff, I should have the negatives, unfortunately they came to me in a random mix, 1200 to a box, without any sort of indexing and as such it would be impossible to match negatives to prints, or, to even find a print of any particular vehicle. I have only ever looked at a handful myself unless I am scanning them. The prints are generally in excellent condition and I initially stored them in a bedroom without ever looking at any of them. In 2006 I built an extension and they had to be well protected from dust and moved a few times. Ultimately my former 6x7 box room office has become their (and my own work’s) permanent home.
I hope to avoid posting images that Jim had not taken his self, however should I inadvertently infringe another photographers copyright, please inform me by email and I will resolve the issue immediately. There are copyright issues with some of the photographs that were sold to me. A Flickr member from Scotland drew my attention to some of his own work amongst the first uploads of Jim’s work. I had a quick look through some of the 30 boxes of prints and decided that for the time being the safest thing for me to do was withdraw the majority of the earlier uploaded scans and deal with the problem – which I did. whilst the vast majority of the prints are Jims, there is a problem defining copyright of some of them, this is something that the seller did not make clear at the time. I am reasonably confident that I have since been successful in identifying Jims own work. His early work consists of many thousands of lustre 6x4 prints which are difficult to scan well, later work is almost entirely 7x5 glossy, much easier to scan. Not all of the prints are pin sharp but I can generally print successfully to A4 from a scan.
You may notice photographs being duplicated in this Album, unfortunately there are multiple copies of many prints (for swapping) and as I have to have a system of archiving and backing up I can only guess - using memory - if I have scanned a print before. The bigger fleets have so many similar vehicles and registration numbers that it is impossible to get it right all of the time. It is easier to scan and process a print than check my files - on three different PC’s - for duplicates. There has not been, nor will there ever be, any intention to knowingly breach anyone else's copyright. I have presented the Jim Taylor collection as exactly that-The Jim Taylor Collection- his work not mine, my own work is quite obviously mine.
Unfortunately, many truck spotters have swapped and traded their work without copyright marking it as theirs. These people never anticipated the ease with which images would be shared online in the future. I would guess that having swapped and traded photos for many years that it is almost impossible to control their future use. Anyone wanting to control the future use of their work would have been well advised to copyright mark their work (as many did) and would be well advised not to post them on photo sharing sites without a watermark as the whole point of these sites is to share the image, it is very easy for those that wish, to lift any image, despite security settings, indeed, Flickr itself, warns you that this is the case. It was this abuse and theft of my material that led me to watermark all of my later uploads. I may yet withdraw non-watermarked photos, I haven’t decided yet. (I did in the end)
To anyone reading the above it will be quite obvious that I can’t provide information regarding specific photos or potential future uploads – I didn’t take them! There are many vehicles that were well known to me as Jim only lived down the road from me (although I didn’t know him), however scanning, titling, tagging and uploading is laborious and time consuming enough, I do however provide a fair amount of information with my own transport (and other) photos. I am aware that there are requests from other Flickr users that are unanswered, I stumble across them months or years after they were posted, this isn’t deliberate. Some weekends one or two “enthusiasts” can add many hundreds of photos as favourites, this pushes requests that are in the comments section ten or twenty pages out of sight and I miss them. I also have notifications switched off, I receive around 50 emails a day through work and I don’t want even more from Flickr. Other requests, like many other things, I just plain forget – no excuses! Uploads of Jim’s photos will be infrequent as it is a boring pastime and I would much rather work on my own output.
Organisations across Greater Manchester have joined forces in the continued crackdown on organised crime.
Over the past five days, Greater Manchester Police has worked in partnership with Home Office Immigration Enforcement, the National Crime Agency, Europol and other local and national partner agencies to undertake a series of raids, visits and safeguarding checks as part of 'Challenger' - the region’s biggest ever approach to tackling organised crime.
Over the past five days, more than 40 warrants have been carried out to disrupt and dismantle organised crime groups involved in illegal immigration, illegal marriages, drugs and the exploitation of some of the most vulnerable in society.
The week of action not only utilised close collaboration between partner agencies to identify and detain known criminals but to visit high risk areas and work with potential victims of exploitation to offer protection and prevention advice.
The week was also an effective tool in gathering further evidence and intelligence in the continuing attack on the criminal networks operating in Greater Manchester.
Since Monday 24 March there have been 78 arrests – 45 immigration-related and 33 for other organised crimes. Drugs with a street value of more than £285,000 and more than £70,000 of cash has also been seized. Further disruption to organised crime groups has been delivered in the form of £100,000 in fines served to businesses in the region. Further arrests and seizures are likely to be declared in coming days.
Chief Superintendent Rebekah Sutcliffe, who heads Challenger for Greater Manchester Police said:
“This has been another hugely successful week for Challenger and we would like to thank Immigration Enforcement, Europol, all other agencies and the local communities for their support.
“Organised crime groups do not assume a certain appearance or status; they take many different forms and often masquerade behind what appears to be a legitimate business, where they launder their ill-gotten gains.
“They do not specialise in a particular type of crime either and will pursue anything that offers the least risk and highest reward, from selling counterfeit goods and loan sharking to human trafficking and drug dealing.
“Those orchestrating illegal immigration will be involved in other criminality – there is often an overlap so this is why our multi-agency partnership and our close collaboration with Immigration Enforcement was integral to a quick and effective week of action.
“These criminals operate by preying on the most vulnerable in society - and this is why activity such as this is really important to us.”
The partnership approach to this week of action has been prevalent throughout, its effectiveness has been particularly highlighted by the success around visits to car washes across Greater Manchester, where the link between illegal immigration and other forms of organised crime has been most clearly illustrated.
Car washes in Salford, Wigan and Oldham were visited during the week, where a number of illegal workers were discovered. With the quick response and assistance of partner agencies, offences including drugs, benefit fraud and a potential sham marriage have also been uncovered through those visits – an effective and successful example of Challenger in action.
In addition to arrests and raids, Challenger’s delivery of effective prevention and enforcement activity has been most prominently reflected this week via operations in a number of local areas.
In Wigan, whilst conducting Harm Reduction visits, the GMP Child Sexual Exploitation Unit arrested one man for both CSE and drugs offences, and another man was arrested for grooming offences.
Tuesday saw a flurry of activity in Bolton, where six arrests were made for offences including human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Throughout the week, Europol – the European Law Enforcement Agency - was present with two officers based with GMP to carry out cross checks of the data and provide forensic support, which vastly increased the speed that analysis was performed, greatly enhancing the investigation process.
Dave Magrath, Head of the Home Office North West Criminal Investigations team, said: “This week we have made more than 20 arrests in the North West in connection with various investigations into suspected immigration crime.
“These arrests, and the Challenger operations, demonstrate the effectiveness of working alongside partner agencies such as Great Manchester Police. This work will continue to make life as tough as possible for those who seek to abuse our immigration laws.”
Chief Superintendent Sutcliffe added:
“Challenger is crucial in giving communities the confidence to speak out and report this destructive and intimidating behaviour that threatens our neighbourhoods.
“By working in partnership with so many agencies we have attacked these gangs from every angle, exposing them whilst at the same time protecting those that they exploit for their own gain.
“But the job isn’t over yet. With the public’s help, we’ll continue to work hard to uncover the criminal activity and bring these individuals to justice.”
Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Hello again old friend. METX MP36PH-3C 405, painted in the Milwaukee Road heritage scheme, shoves MD-W 2242 towards Chicago Union Station. I have crossed paths with this locomotive every time I've come out here.
I used to be a gear hound early in my career. I carried a satchel full
of lenses and accessories and I was a mediocre photographer. I'd like
to think that over the years my journalism and photography have
improved. I know that now I carry a lot less crap. Two lenses have
taken the place of the 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 105mm, 135mm 180mm and the
300mm I hauled around. Two camera bodies. Strobes. Oh yeah, film.
Bricks and bricks of black and white film.
As time has gone on I've learned to ask myself if buying (and carrying)
a certain piece of camera equipment will make me a better photographer.
Often the answer is no. Lately I've added to asking myself if the
purchase will keep me from filling the oil tank or getting money in the
kids' college funds. So when Damon, our managing editor/online sent me
something about this lens I just had to share. It's made by Canon. A
1200mm f5.6. There are less than 20 of them out there. Sucker costs
$99,000. The photo here is from the Reuters Website. There's other
pics and info out there if you search.
I remember what I paid for my first house. Charming place. Three bedroom
fully dormered cape with a two car attached garage. It would have never
fit on a tripod as well as this lens.
Additionally I thought I'd surf the 'Net quick and see what else may
cost this much. Some of what I found was a couple of years old, but...
stuff that costs about $99,000-
*"Lightwave Electronics Corp. Compact, Air-Cooled, Diode-Pumped
Coherent Laser Radar with Very Low Power Consumption $99,000"
*"Aurora Simulation, Inc. A Configurable Object-Oriented Expert
System to Embody Cultural (Awareness) Models $98,700"
*''Hazardous Material Decontamination Vehicle" for New York City
$99,000
*"A super-duper Continuum Audio Labs' Caliburn battery-powered
turntable system - which includes the turntable, Cobra tone arm, power
supply and dedicated isolation stand for $99,000! The phono cartridge
(with needle) is extra."
*building lots on Abaco, Bahamas, at Lubbers Quarters, $99,000
*1982 Lambourghini Countach LP400S Series 3. "Only 82 of these
handcrafted Italian sportscars were ever made." Located in Montana.
$95,000
*The "broad average" for a kidney transplant $75,000 to $100,000
(from the National Foundation for Transplants Website).
So Damon, order me one, ok? Maybe it'll make me a better photographer.
-Don Himsel
This range offers styles that have the finish and appearance of well-worn footwear. Selected designs were pulled out of the archive or found in vintage stores, and then replicated using different finishing techniques at manufacture.
The suppleness of worn-in leather is duplicated by folding and bending the footwear by hand, to mimic the effect of years of wear. The leather surface has been deliberately scuffed to make it look ‘worn-in’. The styles have also been through an ‘antique-ing’ process - oxblood leather is over-polished with black, then buffed to a shine, leaving black polish in the crevices, as well as on the grooved sole and the stitching.
"Spirits (Having Flown)"
I never fell in love so easily
Where the four winds blow I carry on
I'd like to take you where my spirit flies
Through the empty skies we go alone
Never before having flown
Faster than light'ning is this heart of mine
In the face of time I carry on
I'd like to take you where my rainbow ends
Be my lover friend, we go alone
Never before having flown
I am your hurricane
Your fire in the sun
How long must I live in the air
You are my paradise
My angel on the run
How long must I wait
It's the dawn of the feeling
That starts from the moment you're there
You'll never know what you have done for me
You broke up all those rules I live upon
I'd like to take you to my Shangri La
Neither here or far away from home
Never before having flown
I am your hurricane
Your fire in the sun
How long must I live in the air
You are my paradise
My angel on the run
How long must I wait
It's the dawn of the feeling
That starts from the moment you're there
There I'd like to take you where my spirit flies
Through the empty skies we go alone
Never before having flown
Song and lyrics by
GIBB, BARRY / GIBB, MAURICE ERNEST / GIBB, ROBIN HUGH
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4gMg3h3pGI
For You Mum and Dad xx
You're gonna go far,
You're gonna fly high,
You're never gonna die,
You're gonna make it, if you try;
I'm gonna love you...!
♫
This was a picture that was taken before we were ready but I liked it so I included it. We were all having such great fun. By the way two of the girls are genetic and two are not. can you guess which are which?
Nobel Prize in physics goes to Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald for work on neutrinos - Congratulation!
I have to admit honestly, I have almost no idea of what the two have done, but in my imagination it looks something like this. It´s pure handmade by lightpaint and no result of post-production or any further composing on the computer.
I have done Asiana-United twofers before, and I'm happy to do it again. Asiana 201 departs for Seoul Incheon, while United 935 from London Heathrow holds short; I have previously traveled on both services, and on this exact Asiana aircraft.
While Asiana used to be my airline of choice for journeys to Asia, and is very highly regarded in its in-cabin service, I attribute a lot of the accolades to the Orientalist fetishes of many business travelers, and Flight 214 has put serious doubts in my mind about Asiana's pilot training. I do consider United to be a superior airline, and when it comes to United's Star Alliance partners in Asia, I'm now more likely to consider EVA or ANA rather than Asiana.
HL7418
Boeing 747-48E
Construction Number: 25780
Line Number: 1035
First Flight: 23 June 1994, as N6018N
Delivery: 22 September 1994, Asiana Airlines
N795UA
Boeing 777-222/ER
Construction Number: 26927
Line Number: 108
First Flight: 13 November 1997
Delivery: 9 December 1997, United Airlines
Have you read this book? Here's the backstory:
This is an acrylic on board painting I found in an antique mall. The artist, Tom Miller, was a prominent commercial artist who specialized in book cover art in the 1960's through 1980's. He did many romantic novel covers while under contract with CBS Fawcett Books in NYC, for stories by writers which included Taylor Caldwell, Diane DuPont, Mitchell Caine, Pamela Hill, and Raymond Giles. Miller died a few years ago, and his paintings which he had kept were sold at auction.
I initially bought the painting as a joke. It seemed to sum up the entire historical romance novel genre with its images of the brooding sea captain, the sadistic slave overseer, the tall dark hero with the swooning blonde, the pensively waiting raven haired beauty, and the older couple at the spanish mission. I thought I'd have a party, and invite my friends to each write a single page synopsis of a story to accompany the painting, with the writer of the best story to win the painting. But then I began a quest to find the actual book. It's impossible to search for a book online when you don't know either the author or title, so I began browsing used paperback book stores. I resigned myself to searching through a section of the stores where I felt rather embarassed to be seen, but I found a surprising number of Miller's covers. Never this one, however. So now I'm trying a longshot by posting it on Flickr - a proverbial "Hail Mary Pass".
So, anybody recognize the book?
There is a group I belong to about oops, glitches and mistakes. This was a camera error, or a loading error on the picture from the diskette to my computer. The bird, one of my favorites, Tropic, looks OK, but the wedding ring quilt he was on came out rather bizarre. I have to find the name of that group and post this.
I have a set devoted to Park Hill:
www.flickr.com/photos/shefftim/sets/72157642537014264/
More to upload during the week.
Park Hill is a large disused council housing estate in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It was built in the late 1950s. It was closed in 1998 following a period of steep decline and a reputation for crime, drugs & social problems. It now is largely depopulated, though oddly its nursery school is still open.
The estate is structurally sound & has Grade II listed building status for its modernist style, influenced by the architect Le Corbusier. Part of the estate is currently being renovated by developer Urban Splash.
More about Park Hill’s history:
www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/architecture/9551327/Mult...
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People the world-over have been enchanted by the Harry Potter films for nearly a decade. The wonderful special effects and amazing creatures have made this iconic series beloved to both young and old - and now, for the first time, the doors are going to be opened for everyone at the studio where it first began. You'll have the chance to go behind-the-scenes and see many things the camera never showed. From breathtakingly detailed sets to stunning costumes, props and animatronics, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London provides a unique showcase of the extraordinary British artistry, technology and talent that went into making the most successful film series of all time. Secrets will be revealed.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London provides an amazing new opportunity to explore the magic of the Harry Potter films - the most successful film series of all time. This unique walking tour takes you behind-the-scenes and showcases a huge array of beautiful sets, costumes and props. It also reveals some closely guarded secrets, including facts about the special effects and animatronics that made these films so hugely popular all over the world.
Here are just some of the things you can expect to see and do:
- Step inside and discover the actual Great Hall.
- Explore Dumbledore’s office and discover never-before-seen treasures.
- Step onto the famous cobbles of Diagon Alley, featuring the shop fronts of Ollivanders wand shop, Flourish and Blotts, the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Eeylops Owl Emporium.
- See iconic props from the films, including Harry’s Nimbus 2000 and Hagrid’s motorcycle.
Learn how creatures were brought to life with green screen effects, animatronics and life-sized models.
- Rediscover other memorable sets from the film series, including the Gryffindor common room, the boys’ dormitory, Hagrid’s hut, Potion’s classroom and Professor Umbridge’s office at the Ministry of Magic.
Located just 20 miles from the heart of London at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the very place where it all began and where all eight of the Harry Potter films were brought to life. The Studio Tour is accessible to everyone and promises to be a truly memorable experience - whether you’re an avid Harry Potter fan, an all-round movie buff or you just want to try something that’s a little bit different.
The tour is estimated to take approximately three hours (I was in there for 5 hours!), however, as the tour is mostly self guided, you are free to explore the attraction at your own pace. During this time you will be able to see many of the best-loved sets and exhibits from the films. Unique and precious items from the films will also be on display, alongside some exciting hands-on interactive exhibits that will make you feel like you’re actually there.
The magic also continues in the Gift Shop, which is full of exciting souvenirs and official merchandise, designed to create an everlasting memory of your day at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.
Hogwarts Castle Model - Get a 360 degree view of the incredible, hand sculpted 1:24 scale construction that features within the Studio Tour. The Hogwarts castle model is the jewel of the Art Department having been built for the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It took 86 artists and crew members to construct the first version which was then rebuilt and altered many times over for the next seven films. The work was so extensive that if one was to add all the man hours that have gone into building and reworking the model, it would come to over 74 years. The model was used for aerial photography, and was digitally scanned for CGI scenes.
The model, which sits at nearly 50 feet in diameter, has over 2,500 fibre optic lights that simulate lanterns and torches and even gave the illusion of students passing through hallways in the films. To show off the lighting to full effect a day-to-night cycle will take place every four minutes so you can experience its full beauty.
An amazing amount of detail went into the making of the model: all the doors are hinged, real plants are used for landscaping and miniature birds are housed in the Owlery. To make the model appear even more realistic, artists rebuilt miniature versions of the courtyards from Alnwick Castle and Durham Cathedral, where scenes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone were shot.
Window by Hardman's.
St Edith's at Monk's Kirby is one of the grandest churches in Warwickshire; having formerly been monastic it was built on a huge scale; the aisled nave and chancel form one vessel with no structural division, all built of rich red sandstone except for the later upper part of the tower giving it a distinctive two-toned red and white look.
The interior is a huge, dark, cavernous space, and with all three aisles virtually the same height feels like a German hall church. The arcades have no capitals, giving them an Arts & Crafts feel. The windows are large but high up (there was formerly a cloister to the north) and admit only so much light, having much rich glass by Hardman's at the west end and a fine Lavers & Barraud to the east. The furnishings are not old and the main items of interest are the monuments, with two Tudor-period tombs with effigies in the Fielding chapel in the north east corner. There are ghostly white marble 19th century memorials further west in the north aisle with members of the Earl of Denbigh's family in high relief, and a badly worn medieval knight's head poking out the wall at the north west corner (fragment of a large tomb effigy).
This is a very familiar church for me as I've been here several times over the years, in fact it was one of the first old churches I ever saw as a child (my mother wanted to see the monuments here when I was about 5 years old, but I ruined her visit by finding the tombs way too spooky and had to be taken out in a state of distress!). It is a church I can return to again and again with more appreciative adult eyes, and though I still feel the atmosphere that sparked my childhood trauma in here I welcome it as a special memory that first got me really thinking about and looking at such places. Happily the church is normally open and welcoming to visitors.