Monday, 14 June 2021: our temperature is PLUS 21C (windchill PLUS 22C) just after 10:00 am. Expected to reach a high of 31C this afternoon, with a risk of strong thunderstorms developing. We are still under a Heat Warning. Sunrise is at 5:21 am, and sunset is at 9:51 pm. Sunny.

 

Luckily, the weather forecast for 11 June 2021 was good, as I just had to escape from the banging and drilling noise that is created by the workmen still repairing my building. On top of that, there was additional banging and drilling as a different repair company came to my neighbours' homes to start repairs on ceiling damage caused by a leaking dishwasher. Most unfortunate for both families! Walls are thin enough that noise from one home is heard in others. Anyway, I had a great day out, quiet and rewarding. Sunny, though the wind increased as the day went on and the further south I travelled. A total of 254 km driven this day.

 

All the roads were ones that I had driven before, apart from one short back road. Bird sightings made for a great day, even though they were all familiar species. A Red-winged Blackbird - surprise, surprise! - was the first bird to be seen, followed by three Wilson's Snipe, all perched on fence posts.

 

A Bobolink was one of the highlights of the day for me. Perched on a fence post, singing its little heart out, it gave me a chance to take a short video. Of course, the bird would have to land on a fence post (seen in the video) that had rather annoying, long blades of grass across its face, ha. I didn't want to restart my car and reverse to get a slightly better view, in case the bird flew. Hearing their song is such a delight. After looking at many Bobolink photos on Google, I think the beak of the bird I photographed must have some kind of deformity on the lower mandible. If that is the case, then I suspect this bird is the same individual that I photographed last year, at exactly the same place.

 

Before heading further south, I caught sight of a very distant bird of prey, perched on a fence post. I will need help to identify what kind it was. After quite a drive, I almost missed two Swainson's Hawks that were on fence posts, with a couple of bare posts in between them. Unable to stop in time, I cautiously reversed, expecting that both would fly off. Luckily, they both stayed and I was able to get a few photos - such beautiful birds. Came across a pair of Mountain Bluebirds along the same road.

 

Of course, seeing a few favourite silos and a barn or two makes any day special. By the time, I reached the silos, though, the wind had picked up and it was all I could do to take a few quick shots. A few photos were taken from the road, looking down on the Bar U Ranch. Later in the summer, I will hopefully visit the whole ranch again.

 

Heading eastwards, I returned to the city via the south-east. Eastern and Western Kingbirds, plus a few 'regulars', added to the enjoyment of the day.

Tunnels Beach KauaiBy Matt AndersonTunnels beach is one of Hawaii’s finest beaches. The shoreline offers amazing textures of coral and sand. The colors of the ocean meeting the shallow coastline is something to behold. The view from this part of paradise is intoxicating. North Shore Kauai, Hawaii Recommended max size: 40” x 60”

It is finished - The sufferings and agonies in redeeming man are over. The work long contemplated, long promised, long expected by prophets and saints, is done. The toils in the ministry, the persecutions and mockeries, and the pangs of the garden and the cross, are ended, and man is redeemed. What a wonderful declaration was this! How full of consolation to man! And how should this dying declaration of the Saviour reach every heart and affect every soul!

The rear of Mullany's Coaches Watford AEC Routemaster RML2743.This bus is now in Italy.

The Himalayas or Himalaya (/ˌhɪməˈleɪ.ə/ or /hɪˈmɑːləjə/) is a mountain range in the Indian subcontinent, which separates the Indo-Gangetic Plain from the Tibetan Plateau. Geopolitically, it covers the Himalayan states and regions. This range is home to nine of the ten highest peaks on Earth, including the highest above sea level, Mount Everest. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia. Many Himalayan peaks are sacred in Dharmic religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.

 

The Himalayas are bordered on the north by the Tibetan Plateau, on the south by the Indo-Gangetic Plain, on the northwest by the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges and on the east by the Indian states of Sikkim, the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. The Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalayas together form the "Hindu Kush Himalayan Region" (HKH). The western anchor of the Himalayas, Nanga Parbat, lies just south of the northernmost bend of the Indus River; the eastern anchor, Namcha Barwa, is just west of the great bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. The Himalayas span five countries: Nepal, India, Bhutan, China (Tibet), and Pakistan, the first three countries having sovereignty over most of the range.

 

Lifted by the collision of the Indian tectonic plate with the Eurasian Plate, the Himalayan range runs northwest to southeast in a 2,400-kilometre-long arc. The range varies in width from 400 kilometres in the west to 150 kilometres in the east. Besides the Greater Himalayas, there are several parallel lower ranges. The southernmost, along the northern edge of the Indian plains and reaching 1000 m in altitude, is the Sivalik Hills. Further north is a higher range, reaching 2000–3000 m, known as the Lower Himalayan Range.

 

Three of the world's major rivers (the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra) arise in the Himalayas. While the Indus and the Brahmaputra rise near Mount Kailash in Tibet, the Ganges rises in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Their combined drainage basin is home to some 600 million people.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The name Himālaya is from Sanskrit: hima (snow) + ālaya (dwelling), and literally means "abode of snow"

 

ECOLOGY

The flora and fauna of the Himalayas vary with climate, rainfall, altitude, and soils. The climate ranges from tropical at the base of the mountains to permanent ice and snow at the highest elevations. The amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the southern front of the range. This diversity of altitude, rainfall and soil conditions combined with the very high snow line supports a variety of distinct plant and animal communities. The extremes of high altitude (low atmospheric pressure) combined with extreme cold favor extremophile organisms.

 

The unique floral and faunal wealth of the Himalayas is undergoing structural and compositional changes due to climate change. The increase in temperature is shifting various species to higher elevations. The oak forest is being invaded by pine forests in the Garhwal Himalayan region. There are reports of early flowering and fruiting in some tree species, especially rhododendron, apple and box myrtle. The highest known tree species in the Himalayas is Juniperus tibetica located at 4,900 metres in Southeastern Tibet.

 

GEOLOGY

The Himalayan range is one of the youngest mountain ranges on the planet and consists mostly of uplifted sedimentary and metamorphic rock. According to the modern theory of plate tectonics, its formation is a result of a continental collision or orogeny along the convergent boundary between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The Arakan Yoma highlands in Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal were also formed as a result of this collision.

 

During the Upper Cretaceous, about 70 million years ago, the north-moving Indo-Australian plate (which has subsequently broken into the Indian Plate and the Australian plate) was moving at about 15 cm per year. About 50 million years ago this fast moving Indo-Australian plate had completely closed the Tethys Ocean, the existence of which has been determined by sedimentary rocks settled on the ocean floor, and the volcanoes that fringed its edges. Since both plates were composed of low density continental crust, they were thrust faulted and folded into mountain ranges rather than subducting into the mantle along an oceanic trench. An often-cited fact used to illustrate this process is that the summit of Mount Everest is made of marine limestone from this ancient ocean.

 

Today, the Indian plate continues to be driven horizontally below the Tibetan Plateau, which forces the plateau to continue to move upwards. The Indian plate is still moving at 67 mm per year, and over the next 10 million years it will travel about 1,500 km into Asia. About 20 mm per year of the India-Asia convergence is absorbed by thrusting along the Himalaya southern front. This leads to the Himalayas rising by about 5 mm per year, making them geologically active. The movement of the Indian plate into the Asian plate also makes this region seismically active, leading to earthquakes from time to time.

 

During the last ice age, there was a connected ice stream of glaciers between Kangchenjunga in the east and Nanga Parbat in the west. In the west, the glaciers joined with the ice stream network in the Karakoram, and in the north, joined with the former Tibetan inland ice. To the south, outflow glaciers came to an end below an elevation of 1,000–2,000 metres. While the current valley glaciers of the Himalaya reach at most 20 to 32 kilometres in length, several of the main valley glaciers were 60 to 112 kilometres long during the ice age. The glacier snowline (the altitude where accumulation and ablation of a glacier are balanced) was about 1,400–1,660 metres lower than it is today. Thus, the climate was at least 7.0 to 8.3 °C colder than it is today.

 

HYDROLOGY

The Himalayas contain the third-largest deposit of ice and snow in the world, after Antarctica and the Arctic. The Himalayan range encompasses about 15,000 glaciers, which store about 12,000 km3 of fresh water. Its glaciers include the Gangotri and Yamunotri (Uttarakhand) and Khumbu glaciers (Mount Everest region), Langtang glacier (Langtang region) and Zemu (Sikkim).

 

Owing to the mountains' latitude near the Tropic of Cancer, the permanent snow line is among the highest in the world at typically around 5,500 metres. In contrast, equatorial mountains in New Guinea, the Rwenzoris and Colombia have a snow line some 900 metres lower. The higher regions of the Himalayas are snowbound throughout the year, in spite of their proximity to the tropics, and they form the sources of several large perennial rivers, most of which combine into two large river systems:

 

- The western rivers, of which the Indus is the largest, combine into the Indus Basin. The Indus begins in Tibet at the confluence of Sengge and Gar rivers and flows southwest through India and then through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. It is fed by the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas, and the Sutlej rivers, among others.

- Most of the other Himalayan rivers drain the Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin. Its main rivers are the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Yamuna, as well as other tributaries. The Brahmaputra originates as the Yarlung Tsangpo River in western Tibet, and flows east through Tibet and west through the plains of Assam. The Ganges and the Brahmaputra meet in Bangladesh, and drain into the Bay of Bengal through the world's largest river delta, the Sunderbans.

 

The easternmost Himalayan rivers feed the Irrawaddy River, which originates in eastern Tibet and flows south through Myanmar to drain into the Andaman Sea.

 

The Salween, Mekong, Yangtze and Huang He (Yellow River) all originate from parts of the Tibetan Plateau that are geologically distinct from the Himalaya mountains, and are therefore not considered true Himalayan rivers. Some geologists refer to all the rivers collectively as the circum-Himalayan rivers. In recent years, scientists have monitored a notable increase in the rate of glacier retreat across the region as a result of global climate change. For example, glacial lakes have been forming rapidly on the surface of debris-covered glaciers in the Bhutan Himalaya during the last few decades. Although the effect of this will not be known for many years, it potentially could mean disaster for the hundreds of millions of people who rely on the glaciers to feed the rivers during the dry seasons.

 

LAKES

The Himalayan region is dotted with hundreds of lakes. Most lakes are found at altitudes of less than 5,000 m, with the size of the lakes diminishing with altitude. Tilicho Lake in Nepal in the Annapurna massif is one of the highest lakes in the world. Pangong Tso, which is spread across the border between India and China, and Yamdrok Tso, located in central Tibet, are amongst the largest with surface areas of 700 km², and 638 km², respectively. Other notable lakes include She-Phoksundo Lake in the Shey Phoksundo National Park of Nepal, Gurudongmar Lake, in North Sikkim, Gokyo Lakes in Solukhumbu district of Nepal and Lake Tsongmo, near the Indo-China border in Sikkim.

 

Some of the lakes present a danger of a glacial lake outburst flood. The Tsho Rolpa glacier lake in the Rowaling Valley, in the Dolakha District of Nepal, is rated as the most dangerous. The lake, which is located at an altitude of 4,580 metres has grown considerably over the last 50 years due to glacial melting.

 

The mountain lakes are known to geographers as tarns if they are caused by glacial activity. Tarns are found mostly in the upper reaches of the Himalaya, above 5,500 metres.

 

IMPACT ON CLIMATE

The Himalayas have a profound effect on the climate of the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan Plateau. They prevent frigid, dry winds from blowing south into the subcontinent, which keeps South Asia much warmer than corresponding temperate regions in the other continents. It also forms a barrier for the monsoon winds, keeping them from traveling northwards, and causing heavy rainfall in the Terai region. The Himalayas are also believed to play an important part in the formation of Central Asian deserts, such as the Taklamakan and Gobi.

 

RELIGIOUS OF THE REGION

In Hinduism, the Himalayas have been personified as the god Himavat, father of Ganga and Parvati.

 

Several places in the Himalayas are of religious significance in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism. A notable example of a religious site is Paro Taktsang, where Padmasambhava is said to have founded Buddhism in Bhutan. Padmasambhava is also worshipped as the patron saint of Sikkim.

 

A number of Vajrayana Buddhist sites are situated in the Himalayas, in Tibet, Bhutan and in the Indian regions of Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Spiti and Darjeeling. There were over 6,000 monasteries in Tibet, including the residence of the Dalai Lama. Bhutan, Sikkim and Ladakh are also dotted with numerous monasteries. The Tibetan Muslims have their own mosques in Lhasa and Shigatse.

 

RESOURCES

The Himalayas are home to a diversity of medicinal resources. Plants from the forests have been used for millennia to treat conditions ranging from simple coughs to snake bites. Different parts of the plants - root, flower, stem, leaves, and bark - are used as remedies for different ailments. For example, a bark extract from an abies pindrow tree is used to treat coughs and bronchitis. Leaf and stem paste from an arachne cordifolia is used for wounds and as an antidote for snake bites. The bark of a callicarpa arborea is used for skin ailments. Nearly a fifth of the gymnosperms, angiosperms, and pteridophytes in the Himalayas are found to have medicinal properties, and more are likely to be discovered.

 

Most of the population in some Asian and African countries depend on medicinal plants rather than prescriptions and such (Gupta and Sharma, vii). Since so many people use medicinal plants as their only source of healing in the Himalayas, the plants are an important source of income. This contributes to economic and modern industrial development both inside and outside the region (Gupta and Sharma, 5). The only problem is that locals are rapidly clearing the forests on the Himalayas for wood, often illegally (Earth Island Journal, 2). This means that the number of medicinal plants is declining and that some of them might become rarer or, in some cases, go extinct.

 

Although locals are clearing out portions of the forests in the Himalayas, there is still a large amount of greenery ranging from the tropical forests to the Alpine forests. These forests provide wood for fuel and other raw materials for use by industries. There are also many pastures for animals to graze upon (Mohita, sec. Forest and Wealth). The many varieties of animals that live in these mountains do so based on the elevation. For example, elephants and rhinoceros live in the lower elevations of the Himalayas, also called the Terai region. Also, found in these mountains are the Kashmiri stag, black bears, musk deer, langur, and snow leopards. The Tibetan yak are also found on these mountains and are often used by the people for transportation. However, the populations of many of these animals and still others are declining and are on the verge of going extinct (Admin, sec. Flora and Fauna).

 

The Himalayas are also a source of many minerals and precious stones. Amongst the tertiary rocks, are vast potentials of mineral oil. There is coal located in Kashmir, and precious stones located in the Himalayas. There is also gold, silver, copper, zinc, and many other such minerals and metals located in at least 100 different places in these mountains (Mohita, sec. Minerals).

 

CULTURE

There are many cultural aspects of the Himalayas. For the Hindus, the Himalayas are personified as Himavath, the father of the goddess Parvati (Gupta and Sharma, 4). The Himalayas is also considered to be the father of the river Ganges. The Mountain Kailash is a sacred peak to the Hindus and is where the Lord Shiva is believed to live (Admin, sec. Centre of Religion). Two of the most sacred places of pilgrimage for the Hindus is the temple complex in Pashupatinath and Muktinath, also known as Saligrama because of the presence of the sacred black rocks called saligrams (Zurick, Julsun, Basanta, and Birendra, 153).

 

The Buddhists also lay a great deal of importance on the mountains of the Himalayas. Paro Taktsang is the holy place where Buddhism started in Bhutan (Admin, sec. Centre of Religion). The Muktinath is also a place of pilgrimage for the Tibetan Buddhists. They believe that the trees in the poplar grove came from the walking sticks of eighty-four ancient Indian Buddhist magicians or mahasiddhas. They consider the saligrams to be representatives of the Tibetan serpent deity known as Gawo Jagpa (Zurick, Julsun, Basanta, and Birendra, 153).

 

The Himalayan people’s diversity shows in many different ways. It shows through their architecture, their languages and dialects, their beliefs and rituals, as well as their clothing (Zurick, Julsun, Basanta, and Birendra, 78). The shapes and materials of the people’s homes reflect their practical needs and the beliefs. Another example of the diversity amongst the Himalayan peoples is that handwoven textiles display unique colors and patterns that coincide with their ethnic backgrounds. Finally, some people place a great importance on jewelry. The Rai and Limbu women wear big gold earrings and nose rings to show their wealth through their jewelry (Zurick, Julsun, Basanta, and Birendra, 79).

 

WIKIPEDIA

Rusty is so co-operative posing as a rather queer looking reindeer. After this he got some treats, and I went back up to the house to get Biscuit to come down for a play, and left my camera up there (Cherry can't come down because sometimes there are wallabies). So I was throwing a stick for Rusty in the deep end where you can't simply walk in because it's deep, so you have to jump. Biscuit wouldn't go in but I wanted him to so I picked him up to put him in. As I was lowering him into the water, I fell in too. Karma.

“Sunset is a wonderful opportunity for us to appreciate all the great things the sun gives us!”

 

― Mehmet Murat ildan

 

© 2016, John Krzesinski.

 

Did you know you can find me on Facebook? Check me out here.

 

With the whirlwind that is the final year of university, it feels good to be back home for the first time since early January and de-stress a little with cuddles from this little guy.

This is a happy accident. Bruce and I had gone to the Winnipeg pride festival in Winnipeg, MB and I took my Belair X 6-12 Medium Format Camera and loaded it with a roll of Ilford Delta Pro 120 film. I completely forgot about it and eventually I had a small pile of 120 film that needed to be processed.

  

I messed up the roll by improperly loading it onto the developing spindle, this contact sheet is the result of random splashes of developer from other prints being tossed into the garbage can with it. I noticed that the images were still somewhat present, but what happened to the paper is what intrigued me.

The royal city is under attack! All the evil in the LEGO universe is attacking the Blue Crown's castle. Will their high walls protect them? Or will the trolls, orcs, skeletons, uruk-hai and goblins fight their way into the palace?

  

The Crown's Guard has put Darth Vader in stocks and the humiliation of this has rallied the evil forces to one banner. The horde comes crashing against, on and over the city walls, seeking plunder and tender minifig meat. The curtain wall may be breached but the fight is far from over. The king himself commands his cavalry in a sortie. From Westgate, across the river, the king and his mounted knights set out to do some damage in return. They collide head on with enemy cavalry in front of the main gates. They have to mow their through the horde to make it to the battering ram that is driven to the Lesser Gate. If the gate is breached, the city will go down in flames. But between the city and the keep, with its impossibly high walls, runs the river. The fast flowing current is the first defense of the Blue Crown Royal Palace that is built in the shallows of the seaside cliffs. The princesses and their ladies in waiting stand in idle anticipation of the battle that is fought, whereas the city and countryside women have taken up bows to fight with the militia. Even the children take their place in the battle, armed with buckets they are at the ready to quench any starting fire.

 

It took well over seven months for Eric and me to build the Blue Crown's castle. We have known each other since we were kids, but building this creation together was our first co-build. Or at least, the first co-build ever to reach completion... Eric had been wanting to build a castle since forever he's back into bricking, and was suckered into this massive undertaking. Me, too, wanted to finally build a proper castle; with a keep, a city and a curtain wall, and preferably a bit of country side as well... By teaming up we had a brick supply that would enable even our most darkest desire!

 

Eric has built the keep, the green fish- and fisherman shop, and I built the curtain wall, the other town houses and shops (tavern, blacksmith, prospector's guild, bakery, pottery, stables and inn, statue, apothecary, tailor, fletcher, butcher, carpenter, stone mason, stocks and the mine) and the siege equipment. After sending over 350 photos back and forth, the whole thing was assembled at Eric's hoping to fit properly. There were some counting mistakes, I'm not pointing fingers, there were some misalignments, but I'll remain calm, and there was a lot of last minute detailing and cursing before it was actually done. The final creation measures 149 cm (187 studs) by 123 cm (152 studs) and stands 84 cm tall. It has more easter eggs, than a dog has flees :)

 

Have fun!

   

This is a detail shot of a recent panorama I shot in Navarro River Redwoods State Park in Mendocino County. The Park winds through route 128 for about 10 miles until the highway opens up to route 1. From there it's a short 10 mile drive to Mendocino Village. This is a particularly dense grove of redwoods, so the light is pretty challenging but very appealing most times of the day. The best light is early morning or late afternoon.

 

This park is also striking because it also happens to be part of the floodplain of the Navarro River. Often 128 is closed in the winter. The area I am standing now can be under as much as 8 feet of water. Many of the trees have marks on their base of previous floods. The floor of the grove is particularly lush, and there are many wild and overgrown areas. When staying in Mendocino, I often drive back to the woods and stop at the many groves along Highway 128. You never know what you will find

Love is….

 

-Remembering when we first met, ah…I remember it well!

-Treasuring the memories made together and each moment they make …

-Thinking about you, not once, or even twice but multiple times during the day….

-Giving it your all for that one person who gives it back and more…..

-Heartbreaks and break up, coupled with make ups…ah how nice to make up….

-Deep, puzzling and complex, if it were easy everyone would have Love….and be Loved~

-Difficult to find and difficult to keep, it takes hard work to have everything worthwhile….

-Can bring a person to their knees with pain and ecstasy in the same vain….

-May come and it may go, but worth it’s every breath it takes to sustain…

-A lifetime affair that can never fail, because without Love you are nothing at all…

 

~Happy Valentine’s day to all the romantics~ you make this world a better place~

 

by R~

 

If you have a moment, enjoy this romantic video and song by Jason Mraz~

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb3WwTh-hkQ

 

EXPLORE 2-12-09 Thanks Flickr friends~

Is this building still there? I search for information and pictures but can only find reference to a different Palma Hall at the University of the Philippines. Is there a new different Palma Hall that is being used today? Anyone have pictures of how this old building looks today?

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

The AMD Mystère S represents one of the many evolutionary steps in French 2nd generation jet fighter aircraft design, which began with the straight-wing Dassault Ouragan and progressed through the Mystère II/III and Mystère IV to the supersonic Super Mystère SM2B. Internally designated AMD 461 and originally called the Mystère X (Roman numeral “10”, not the letter “X”), the new aircraft was the attempt to improve the successful Mystère IV from 1953 in many respects, following Marcel Dassaults strategy to take small, evolutionary steps instead of radical quantum leaps. While the overall outlines were similar and followed the proven layout of the former Dassault jet fighters, the AMD 461 was a completely new design, though.

 

First of all, the machine was from the start designed around the indigenous axial-flow Atar 101 jet engine, since it had become obvious that the former radial-flow engines used in Dassault’s fighters, like the Rolls-Royce Tay and its French-built version, the Hispano-Suiza Verdon 350, did not offer the potential for sustained supersonic performance in level flight. As a result, the fuselage became thinner and the aircraft had a less tubby look. Furthermore, in order to achieve the ambitious performance goals, a new wing was devised, and it incorporated leading edges made from novel composite materials. The wing shape was more complex than previous AMD designs: unlike the simple trapezoid Mystère II and IV wing designs, the AMD 461’s wings had kinked wing leading edges at about half span, so that the wing root sections were extended forward and had a slightly stronger sweep than the outer wing sections (47° vs. 45°), resulting in a crescent planform with rounded tips. Dogteeth at the kinks’ position increased the wings’ critical Mach number, augmented by small boundary layer fences. A novelty were power-operated ailerons. The tail surfaces were swept, too, and featured a variable-incidence tail plane.

 

The Mystère IV’s circular nose air intake arrangement was retained, but the intake received a sharper lip for better aerodynamic efficiency at high speed. The intake ducts were split deeper down inside of the fuselage, flanking the cockpit and the weapon bay behind it (see below) on both sides. The small ranging radar, originally developed for the upgraded Mystère IVB (which never made it into series production due to a fatal prototype crash and the progress of AMD’s other supersonic projects), was relocated and now mounted on top of the intake section, reminiscent of the F-86’s arrangement. A gun camera was placed outside of the intake in a small fairing on the starboard side. Two pitots under the air intake (one main and a secondary sensor) replaced the Mystère IV’s single wing-mounted sensor boom.

 

Being a classic “gunfighter”, the AMD 461’s main armament comprised a pair of 30mm DEFA cannon in the lower front fuselage, taken over from the Mystère IV, and a retractable Type 103 pannier for 45 unguided MATRA missiles against air or ground targets behind the front wheel well. Four underwing hardpoints could carry a total payload of 1.500 kg (3.300 lb), including a pair of supersonic 625 l drop tanks on the inner pair of pylons. A typical fighter weapon were lightweight Matra Type 116M launchers, each with 19 unguided SNEB-68 air-to-air rockets. Up to four could be carried under the wings. In a secondary attack/fighter bomber role, bombs of various caliber (up to 500 kg/1.100 lb on the inner and 250 kg/550 lb on the outer hardpoints) and other unguided missiles/pods were possible, too.

 

The first Mystère X prototype was powered by the Atar 101D with 29,420 N (6,610 lbf) of thrust, and it flew successfully in June 1953. However, due to the lack of an afterburner at this stage, the machine could only become supersonic in a dive, just like the former Mystère fighters, and it offered in this guise only minimal performance improvements – even though the handling near Mach 1 was already noticeably better. The initial flight test program was successful, though, and the Armée de l’Air immediately placed an order for 100 Mystère X aircraft, intended to improve the Armée de l’Air’s interception capabilities as soon as possible. Serial production started instantaneously, even while the flight tests were still ongoing, and the production machines were powered by the newly developed Atar 101F, which had just been cleared for production and operation on the Mystère X prototype. The Atar 101F was basically a D model with an afterburner added to it, to produce a temporary thrust of 37,300 N (8,400 lbf) and ensure the desired top speed in level flight of more than Mach 1. As a result, the Mystère X’s tail section had to be modified to accommodate the new engine’s longer tailpipe, which did not feature an adjustable nozzle yet – it was simply extended beyond the fin’s trailing edge, and even then the longer jet pipe protruded from the hull. However, this modification was successful and incorporated into the serial aircraft. With the Atar 101F, the serial production Mystère X’s performance was appreciably improved: beyond supersonic top speed, initial rate of climb was almost doubled in comparison with the Mystère IV, but the thirsty afterburner engine almost nullified any gain in range from the new type’s higher internal fuel capacity. Drop tanks had to be carried almost all the time.

 

The quick (if not hastened) order for the Mystère X also served as an insurance policy in the event of the AMD effort failing to produce an even more capable supersonic aircraft with the Mystère XX, a project that had been under development as a private venture in parallel, but with a time lag of about two years and benefitting from the research that had been done for the AMD 461. However, both designs turned out to be successful and both were adopted for service. They became known to the public as the Mystère S (for ‘supersonique’) and the Super Mystère, respectively. The first Super Mystère prototype, powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon RA.7R, took to the air on 2 March 1955, and the promising aircraft already broke the sound barrier in level flight the following day. The Super Mystère turned out to be the more capable and modern aircraft thanks to its new, more powerful Atar 109G-2 engine.

 

The more capable Super Mystère was immediately favored and, as a consequence, the running Mystère S order was cancelled in May 1955 and its initial production run limited to a mere 54 airframes - the number that had been completed until that point. The Super Mystère became the Armée de l’Air’s standard fighter for the late Fifties and production was quickly switched to the new type, 180 specimen were eventually built. Since a mix of types in the operational fighter squadrons was not economical, the Armée de l’Air decided to separate them and find a different role for the young but relatively small Mystère S fleet. Since the aircraft had a rugged airframe and had shown very good handling characteristics at medium to low altitude, and because the Armée de l’Air was lacking a fast, tactical and indigenous reconnaissance aircraft at that time (the standard type was the RF-84F), the Armée de l’Air decided in 1956 to convert the Mystère S fighters accordingly.

 

This modification was a relatively easy task: The retractable missile pannier (which was hardly ever used) was removed and its well behind the cockpit offered sufficient internal space for optical reconnaissance equipment in a conditioned compartment. This comprised four OMERA cameras (less than the RF-84F’s six cameras), covered by a ventral canoe fairing. One camera was facing forward, two were set on mounts that allowed vertical photography or camera orientation to either port or starboard, and the fourth camera had a panoramic field of view. After these modifications, the machines were re-designated Mystère SR to reflect their new role and capabilities.

 

Initially, the converted machines retained the twin DEFA cannon armament and full external stores capability. Typical load in the new photo-recce role was the standard pair of drop tanks, plus optional flares for night photography. In this guise the Mystère SR fleet was distributed among two reconnaissance units, ER 2/33 “Savoie” and ER 3/33 “Moselle” in Eastern France, close to the German border, starting service in April 1957.

Later in their career, the Mystère SR’s guns and also the ranging radar equipment (even though the empty small radome was retained) were often removed. This was initially a weight-saving measure for better performance, but due to their short legs many Mystère SRs had extra fuel tanks added to the former gun and ammunition bays. In some cases the space was used to house additional mission equipment, the aircrafts’ designation did not change, though. The integration of the new Matra R.550 Magic AAM was considered briefly in 1970, but not deemed relevant for the Mystère SR’s mission profile. However, eight late-production Mystère SRs received a new, bigger panoramic OMERA camera, which necessitated a larger ventral fairing and some other internal changes. These machines were re-designated Mystère SRP (‘panoramique’). Another early Mystère SR was used for the development of indigenous infra-red linescan and side looking airborne radar systems, which were both later incorporated in an under-fuselage pod for the Mirage IIIR.

 

Having become quickly obsolete through the introduction of 3rd generation jet fighters in the early Sixties – namely the Mirage III – the Mystère SR’s active career only lasted a mere 10 years, and the Mirage III’s fighter variants quickly replaced the Super Mystère, too. Due to its many limitations, the Mystère SR was soon replaced by the Mirage IIIR reconnaissance version, by 1974 all aircraft had been retired. Another reason for this early operational end were durability problems with the composite elements on the aircraft’s wings – there had been no long-term experience with the new material, but the elements tended to become brittle and collapse under stress or upon bird strikes. AMD conceived a plan to replace the affected panels with light metal sheets, but this update, which would have prolonged service life for 10 more years, was not carried out. After spending 5 years in mothballed storage, all surviving Mystère SR airframes were scrapped between 1980 and 1981.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 42 ft 3 in (12.88 m) overall

42 ft 3 in (12.88 m) w/o pitots

Wingspan: 32 ft 4 in (9.86 m)

Height: 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in)

Wing area: 345.5 sq ft (32.2 m²)

Empty weight: 13,435 lb (6,094 kg)

Gross weight: 21,673 lb (9,831 kg)

Fuel capacity: 3,540 l (778 imp gal; 934 US gal) internally

plus 2x 625 l (72 imp gal; 165 US gal) drop tanks

 

Powerplant:

1× Atar 101F turbojet, rated at 29.42 kN (6,610 lbf) dry thrust

and with 37.3 kN (8,400 lbf) with afterburner

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 1,110 km/h (600 kn, 690 mph) at sea level

1,180 km/h (637 kn 732 mph,) at 11,000 m (36,089 ft)

Combat range: 915 km (494  nmi, 570 mi) with internal fuel only

Maximum range: 1,175 km (730 mi, 634 nmi)

Service ceiling: 45,800 ft (14,000 m)

Rate of climb: 14,660 ft/min (74.5 m/s)

Time to altitude: 40,000 ft (12,000 m) in 4 minutes 41 seconds

 

Armament:

2x 30mm (1.18 in) DEFA 552 cannon with 150 rounds per gun (later frequently deleted)

Four underwing hardpoints for 1.500 kg (3.300 lb) of ordnance,

including a pair of 625 liter drop tanks, flares and various unguided missiles and iron bombs

  

The kit and its assembly:

A project I had on my idea list for a long time – there were so many AMD jet fighter designs (both that entered service but also many paper projects and prototypes) during the Fifties and Sixties that I wondered if I could smuggle a what-if type somewhere into the lineage. A potential basis appeared when I recognized that the British Supermarine Swift had a fuselage shape quite similar to the contemporary French fighters, and from this impression the idea was born to “Frenchize” a Swift.

 

This called for a kitbash, and I used a Matchbox Mystère IV (Revell re-boxing) for the French donor elements that would be grafted onto an Xtrakit FR.5 model, which looks good in the box but has serious fit issues, e.g. between the rear fuselage halves or when the wings have to be mated with the completed fuselage.

The transplantations from the rather primitive/blunt Matchbox Mystère included the whole cockpit section except for the interior, which was taken from the in this respect much better Swift, the glazing, the spine and the whole tail with fin and stabilizers. The Swift provided most of the fuselage, the wings and the landing gear, even though I used the Mystère’s main wheels because of their characteristic hub caps/brake arrangement.

Mating the fuselage sections from the two models became a major stunt, though, because the diameters and shapes were rather different. Three-dimensional gaps and steps behihd the cockpit had to be bridged, initially with 2C putty for the rough overall shape and then with NC putty for a smooth finish. A gap in the spine in front of the fin had to be improvised/filled, too, and the Mystère’s fin had to be tailored to the different Swift rear fuselage shape, too.

The result looks a little odd, though, the Swift’s original air intake ducts now look from certain angles like hamster cheeks – but after all, the ducts have to pass the central cockpit section on both sides somehow, so that the arrangement makes nonetheless sense. And the small dorsal spine taken over from the Mystère changes the Swift’s profile considerably, as well as the shorter Dassault-style canopy.

 

The small ranging radar radome is just a piece of sprue from the Mystère kit, blended into the rest of the fuselage with putty. The interior of the air intake was heavily modified – the original splitter, positioned directly inside of the intake, was deleted and the walls trimmed down for a much thinner/sharper lip. Inside of the intake a bulkhead was added as a sight blocker, and a new splitter was mounted to the new bulkhead in a much deeper position. The gun camera fairing is a piece of styrene profile, the new twin pitots (reminiscent of the SM2B’s arrangement) were made from heated sprue material.

The camera fairing is the lower half from a P-47 drop tank, left over from a Hobby Boss kit, IIRC, and in order to fit the Swift’s cockpit tub into the Mystère’s fuselage the rear bulkhead had to be re-created with the help of paper tissue drenched with white glue.

The drop tanks come from a KP MiG-19, which had the benefit of integral, thin pylons at a suitable position for the Mystère SR. For a different look I just canted their fins downwards.

  

Painting and markings:

For a subtle impression I settled for an authentic livery: the French rendition of the USAF SEA scheme for the F-100 with local CELOMER tones, which was not only applied to the Armée de l’Air’s F-100s (these were originally delivered in NMF and camouflaged later in the Sixties), but also to the Super Mystères - the SM2Bs actually carried a quite faithful adaptation of the USAF’s F-100 pattern! However, the indigenous CELOMER paints differed from the original U.S. Federal Standard tones (FS 30219, 34102, 34079 and 36622, respectively), esp. the reddish light tan was more of an earth tone, and the dark green had a more bluish hue.

 

This offered some freedom – even more so because real life pictures of French reference aircraft show a wide range of shades of these basic tones and frequent serious weathering. Instead of the U.S. tan I went for RAF Dark Earth (Humbrol 29), the dark Forest Green was replaced with Humbrol 75 (Bronze Green). The light green became a 2:1 mix of Humbrol 117 (the original FS 34102) with Humbrol 78 (RAF Cockpit Green), for more contrast and less yellow in the tone. The undersides were painted with Humbrol 166 (RAF Light Aircraft Grey).

After a black ink wash I gave the model a thorough panel post-shading and recreated some lost panel lines with the help of silver paint, too. I also added some paint patches and touch-ups, for a rather worn look of the aircraft.

The black areas around the gun muzzles were created with the help of decal material, generic black decal sheet material was also used to create the camera windows. Grey (Revell 75) dielectric panels were added to the fin tip and behind the cockpit. The cockpit interior became very dark grey (Revell 09, Anthracite, with some dry-painted medium grey on top), while the landing gear and the respective wells were left in aluminum (Humbrol 56).

 

The decals are a mix from various sources. The ER 2/33 markings came from a Heller Mirage III sheet, which offers an optional IIIR from 1984. I also settled for relatively small roundels (from a Mirage F.1C) – a trend which started in the Armée de l’Air in the early Seventies and also comprised the deletion of the fin flash. Contemporary real world SM2Bs with the French SEA cammo frequently carried a similar type of subdued markings instead of earlier, bigger roundels found on the machines in NMF finish or on the aircraft from EC 1/12 "Cambresis" with their unique and different camouflage in two shades of green and a rather sandy tan, almost like a desert paint scheme. The white tactical code “33-PS” was improvised with single 4mm letters from TL Modellbau. The stencils were puzzled together from various Mirage III/V/F.1C sheets and also from an IAI Kfir.

 

The kit received some additional dry-painting with silver to simulate more wear, and was finally sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish.

  

Another “missing link” build, but I think that my Mystère S fits stylistically well into the (non-existent, though) gap between the Mystère IV and the Super Mystère, sporting vintage details like the round air intake but coupled with highly swept wings and the Swift’s elegant lines. The “traditional” French paint scheme adds to the realism - and, when put in the right background/landscape context, turns out to be very effective. Not a spectacular model, despite serious body work around the cockpit, but a convincing result.

Tower Works is a former factory notable for its three listed towers. It is located on Globe Road in Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, next to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The Italianate towers of the factory are a distinctive landmark on the Leeds skyline. The factory sustained damage in World War II when neighbouring buildings were bombed during the air raids on the nearby Leeds City railway station. It closed in 1981 after 117 years of operating on the site.

 

The factory was founded by T.R. Harding to make steel pins for carding and combing in the textile industry, and the original buildings, by Thomas Shaw, were erected in 1864–66. Harding's son, Colonel Thomas Harding, employed William Bakewell to extend the works in 1899. The design of the extension was heavily influenced by Harding's love of Italian architecture and art.

 

The most notable features of Tower Works are the three towers that give it its name and served for dust extraction from the factory. The largest and most ornate tower (1899, by Bakewell) is based on Giotto's Campanile in Florence. The smaller ornate tower (1866, by Shaw) is styled after the Torre dei Lamberti in Verona. A third plain tower, built as part of Harding's final phase of expansion in 1919, is thought to represent a Tuscan tower house such as can be seen in San Gimignano. All three towers are listed structures, the two ornate towers being Grade II* and the plain tower Grade II.

 

The design for the Giotto Tower included ventilation systems that were way ahead of their time in terms of minimising pollution from the steel works. The chimney incorporated a filter to remove the excess steel dust.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Works

 

Pictures taken during a walk form Armley to the centre of Leeds along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire

or has my trust in the law just gone down the toilet

~ Alice Koller ~

 

For this self portrait group, with new themes every week.

 

This week; "Solitary Pursuits".

 

More in the tags.

The Ruprechtskirche

Ruprecht's Church is the oldest church in Vienna. According to legend, it was founded by the two missionaries from Salzburg, Chuniald and Gislar, in 740. The first recorded document in which the Ruprechtskirche is mentioned, dates back to 1200 and refers to the donation to the Abbey of the Scots (Schottenstift) by the Babenberg Duke Henry Jasomirgott (d. 1177).

The church is the St. Rupert (d. 715/716 ) dedicated, Bishop of Worms first and then has worked about 10 years in the construction of the church in Salzburg. The Feast of St. Rupert is on 24th September celebrated. He is the patron of salt sailors and of the city of Salzburg. The connection of St. Ruprecht with the salt trade, a major industry from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century, is often used.

From the Romanesque to the present

The oldest to this day preserved walls of Ruprechtskirche date back to the early 12th Century: They are the walls of the nave with the gallery and the lower tower floors with Romanesque double windows. After a devastating fire in 1276 which destroyed almost the entire city center of Vienna, a large part of the church has been gothicised. The nave was given a Gothic apse and the tower was raised by a story. The two bells today still in use originate from the 13th Century and are mounted in a remarkable way to yokes without screws. In the 14th Century the church was enlarged: the southern outer wall was breached and by the nave with Gothic rib vault extended. From the Middle Ages to the 19th Century was located right next to the bell tower the so-called Prague House. It was occasionally used as a secondary residence of the Dukes and had direct access to the church gallery. This building housed between 1500 and1824 the salt Office. Here was the from the Salzkammergut by ship delivered salt temporarily stored and resold. In return, the salt Office hat to pay for the preservation of the church. After the introduction of the salt free trade in 1824, the Prague House was demolished in 1832. About hundred years later, the Ruprecht church and its annex, the present sacristy were redesigned again. With the renovation at the end of the 20th Century it was to secure the building structure and to adapt the interior for a contemporary liturgy. This quality and simplicity were equally sought to allow concentration on the essentials.

The windows

The central window of the apse has survived since about 1270 through the ages unscathed and is the oldest stained glass window of Vienna. It shows in the upper part Jesus on the Cross with Mary and John, the lower the Madonna and Child. The two lateral apse windows (Tahedl Heinrich, 1949 ) represent the St. Rupert as a teacher or as a bishop with the Church founders Chuniald and Gislar. At the beginning of 1990s, the church received new Glass Windows by Lydia Roppolt (1922-1995). They show in the nave on the topic a cycle "Praise God for deliverance from the depths of distress" (Daniel in the Lion's Den, Jonah with the fish, the three youths in the fiery furnace) and in the apse the founding history of St. Ruprecht. Several abstract designed windows have the " Praise of Creation" on the subject.

The interior

In the nave dominates at the transition to the apse a Baroque crucifix, in the church since 1765. The stone altar is Romanesque in its lower layers. 1703 a Baroque high altar had been built around it, which was removed in 1986. At the front pillars of the nave there is a wooden sculpture of St. Rupert of the 14th Century, at the rear pillar a late Gothic statue of Mary (ca. 1515 ) in an unusual representation: the child is not addressed, as usual, to the viewer, but to the mother and holding on to her firmly with outstretched arms.

The side altar in the apse of the lateral nave bears the by Ignaz Kienast (born 1959) of bronze casting with staves made Tabernacle (1998). Also in the aisle there is an octagonal baptismal font from Adnet marble with the inscription "A + M + D + Y + E + M" (anno MD aeternam in memoriam - in 1500 eternal memory).

In the staircase to the loft hangs the former high altar painting by Johann Georg Schmidt (1720). It shows St. Rupert with putti which are carrying his attributes - crozier, book and salt vessels. Another representation of St. Rupert can bee found next to the entrance to the sacristy: A relief from the early 16th Century. In a small chapel on the ground floor of the tower are statues of Joachim and Anna as well as a statue of Mary of ebony ("Madonna of Loreto").

At the gallery, a stone tablet to Emperor Frederick III remembers with his personal sign AEIOU and the year 1439. On the north wall of the church stands under the gallery the sarcophagus of St. Vitalis, of a martyr from the Roman Catacombs. The skeleton is dressed in baroque, missing parts were completed in wax. The martyr Vitalis reminds on those people who were due to their origin, belief or because of their faith victims of persecution.

 

www.ruprechtskirche.at/new/index.php?id=21

This is most likely the fist picture I took on our vacation to Paris. It was shot from our small window in our small hotel room in Latin quarters. This place is 15 minutes from Notredam cathedral and is big time tourist hang out.

This is a post for my FREE Patreons memebers, available HERE

 

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The James River sure is lookin' awfully dirty. #picoftheday #photooftheday #instagood #outdoorwomen #richmond #thatadventurelife

 

241 Likes on Instagram

 

10 Comments on Instagram:

 

nukester82: Fabulous

 

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berkmanali: Great gallery...😊😊😊

 

mike_tempest: This is rad

 

adventurewith_ashley: @loufalciani thank you!! :)

 

adventurewith_ashley: @_chris_tina_94 =]

 

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adventurewith_ashley: @mike_tempest haha thanks!! :)

  

This is an abandoned honeycomb that was found at the on-campus Dunkin Donuts while I was getting lunch the other day! It's important to remove any leftover honeycombs from the hive to prevent pest infestation and possible damage from melting honey. Rodents, for example, are attracted to leftover honeycomb's due to the swift scent it leaves, which in turn could increase the rodent population in a given ecosystem. It's also an important measure to take to eliminate any risks of honeybees returning to the honeycomb and possibly build an entirely new hive, thus increasing the population of bees in the given area. It is also said that rotting honeycombs release a fowl smell of decay. If honeybees were to return to this honeycomb and start a new hive, it would be a prime example of ecological resilience, which is the ability of the honeybees to respond to a disturbance (destruction of hive) by resisting damage and recovering quickly.

 

#UNCW #ecology #bio366 #uncweteal #Sp2018 #image1 #honeycomb #honeybees

This is one of four CDV’s taken of members of HMS Repulse, Royal Navy, on its October-November 1873 visit to San Francisco, California. Written on the verso in ink: C.W.W. Ingram, November 1873.

 

Charles William Winnington Ingram (Winnington-Ingram) was born on 7 June 1856 in Stanford on Teme, Worcestershire, England, the son of Rector Edward Winnington Ingram (1814-1891) and Maria Louisa Pepys (born circa 1828). He was married on 6 February 1894 to Ida Verde Maude Chambers (1874-1945) and the couple had at least four children. In 1861, Charles was living with his parents and five siblings in Stanford on Teme, where his father was rector. Charles joined the Royal Navy on 18 January 1870 and became a midshipman on 23 March 1872. He served on the HMS Repulse on her 1873 visit to San Francisco, California. Charles graduated from the Royal Naval College in 1876 and a became a sub-lieutenant on 19 March 1876, and was promoted to lieutenant on 8 December 1879. In 1881, he served aboard the ironclad HMS Bacchante, which had been commissioned in 1876. Ingram became a commander on 3 January 1894 and a captain on 30 June 1901. Some of the ships he served on included HMS: Mildura, Crocodile, Terrible, Conqueror, Daphne, Vivid, Scylla, and Royal Sovereign. He was commander of the first class cruiser HMS Argonaut in 1909. His ratings were consistent excellent. At his compulsory retirement in 1910, Charles Ingram was awarded the rank of rear admiral. Charles William Winnington Ingram passed away on 18 January 1923.

Milan is the city capital of the Lombardy and the second most populous city in Italy after Rome. Known during Roman times as "Mediolanum" it was the place, where in 313 Constantine I and Licinius met and "signed" the "Edict of Milan", giving Christianity a legal status within the Roman empire.

 

At the end of the Roman empire Milan was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, looted by the Huns in 452, and taken by the Ostrogoths in 539. Only 30 years later is belonged to the Kingdom of the Lombards, until in 774 Charlemagne defeated the Langobards and added Milan to the Carolingian empire. During Barbarossa´s (Frederik I) "Italian Campaigns" Milan was taken and destroyed to a great extent.

 

Milan came back and flourished, when in 1386 Archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo began construction of the cathedral. The construction program was strictly regulated under the "Fabbrica del Duomo", which had 300 employees led by a chief engineer. The first of these chief engineers, Simone da Orsenigo, planned to build the cathedral from brick in Lombard Gothic style. Three years later French chief engineer Nicolas de Bonaventure decided that the brick structure should be panelled with marble.

 

Apse and transepts were completed in 1409, the crossing tower in 1500. When in 1572 the Duomo de Milano got finally consecrated by Archbishop Carlo Borromeo, the facade was not completed. There were different designs, but none was ever finished.

 

Work slowed down until until in 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte, about to be crowned King of Italy here, ordered the façade to be finished. It got completed in neo Gothic style in 1813.

 

With an interior area of 11700m² the "Duomo di Milano" is the world´s third largest church and one of the few (I know), where the roof is open to tourists. The day I was up the roof was icy - and so the tourists were only allowed to the galery to see the pinnacles, spires, sculptures and the delicate flying buttresses.

 

This is a perfect and unique offer for an addition to a spring - fall outfit. It is not too warm and not too cold, just ideal for the fickle weather. You can wear it in many ways depending on your mood or circumstances - see pics for just few examples. You can also adjust it at the neck with a tie crocheted from the same super bulky yarn.

It will fit perfectly with both elegant clothes and jeans. Try it!

I crocheted it with a soft, warm blend of lamb's wool and easy-care acrylic super bulky yarn. It's very stretchy, cozy and comfy.

 

Color: true black with raspberry drawstring

 

© Evelda's Neverland, 2010. All rights reserved.

Picture the scene: the sun setting over a weekend music festival and thousands of happy revellers from whom to include in my 100 Strangers project.

 

Meet the vivacious Zabrina, who makes a point of emphasizing the "Z" (rather than an "S") in her name.

 

Tall, bubbly and sporting an eye-popping yellow garland, she was an obvious choice as my 7th stranger.

Zabrina's a geography student and was in Coventry to register as a student for the forthcoming term.

 

Zabrina was busy partying hard with friends, so our time was very limited. Not having started out with the intention of adding to my project, I was without my f/1.8 50mm portrait lens, my reflector and my Moo cards.

 

Nevertheless, I'm happy with the shot and hope that Zabrina is too (if by some miracle she ever sees it)!

 

She's backlit by the sun here and if you look closely, you can see the garland reflected in her smiley face too.

 

NB: This was the first time any of my subjects has ever signed-off by suggesting a "chest-bump". I was more than happy to oblige!

______________________________________________________________________________________________

  

Shot #007 in my 100 Strangers Project. Find out more about the project and see the awesome work of other street photographers at: www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers/

 

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This is Liverpool.

Star trek III, The Search for Spock

 

There is a wisdom as old as time that says "There is no such thing as a good odd-numbered Star Trek movie." While we could get bogged down in arguing minutiae, I would rectify that statement and say that there is no great odd-numbered Trek film, but there are at least two good ones, and the best of the odd-numbered Treks is arguably Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

 

Forming the middle portion of a trilogy with Wrath of Khan and The Voyage Home, Search for Spock picks up immediately after the events of Khan, with the Enterprise crew still mourning the loss of their former Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Upon returning to space dock, the crew is given a commendation and extended shore leave (except poor Scotty, who has to report to the new Excelsior engine room to help with their transwarp drive). The crew is resigned to the fact that the Enterprise, being over twenty years old, is going to be decommissioned, but a visit from Spock's father Sarek (Mark Lenard) leads Kirk (William Shatner) to believe that while Spock's body may be dead, his consciousness is alive in someone else... Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley).

 

Kirk and a skeleton crew (Scotty, Sulu, Chekov & Bones) set out in the Enterprise to return to the Genesis planet and retrieve Spock's body, in hopes of returning it to Vulcan. What they have yet to find out, however, is that Lt. Saavik (Robin Curtis) & Kirk's son David Marcus (the unfortunately named Merritt Butrick) have discovered, on Genesis, that Spock has been reborn as a child. Further complications arise when a Klingon ship, commanded by Kruge (Christopher Lloyd) gets wind of the failed Genesis project and travels there in hopes of stealing the technology for the Klingons.

 

Okay, we need to get this out of the way immediately; The Search for Spock is not a very good film, even by Star Trek standards. It suffers from horrendous budget restrictions which first time director Nimoy couldn't shoot around as well as his predecessor, Nicholas Meyer. A lot of the recycled sets & costumes look terrible, and really distract on the 2009 blu-ray high def transfer. It's likewise hindered by being sandwiched between arguably the two best Star Trek films ever made, and can't help but feel like a trifle compared to the other two. It's got more substance than I remember it having, but the stakes are relatively low from beginning to end, and the sense of danger imposed by Khan in the previous film is just not met by the Klingons in this film.

 

All that being said, the film is actually much better than I remember it being, if for no other reason than the script is actually surprisingly well written. The dialogue and interplay, particularly between the Enterprise crew is as good as it's been in any of the films, and the humor throughout (much of it by, or at the expense of, Bones) is pretty reliably funny. The two truly emotional moments in the film (Kirk learning of the death of David & Spock's recognition of Kirk at the end) still land incredibly well and make up for some of the more ridiculous acting choices made by the other actors throughout the entire film.

 

William Shatner, the actor, was never better than he was in these three films. His moment I mentioned a moment ago, learning of the death of his only son, is very powerful and as good as he's ever been on screen. He also appears to be having a good deal of fun in this film, which is odd considering he was unhappy at having to be directed by his co-star (all of which led to Shatner taking the helm of arguably the worst Star Trek film not directed by JJ Abrams, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier). The rest of the crew is good as well, of course all resigned to one or two bits (one of the few lessons Abrams & his writers wrongly incorporated from the original films).

Lloyd is also nowhere near as bad as I remember him to be. His casting is ridiculous, to be sure, but he's not quite as bad in actuality as I seemed to have thought he was. Curtis, taking over the role of Saavik from Kirstie Alley, though, doesn't fare as well. Granted she's not given much to do, but her line readings are spotty at best and she's not terribly convincing as a Vulcan. Beyond some ridiculous stunt work in the final fight between Kruge & Kirk on the dying Genesis planet, there's really not much else bad I can say about the film.

 

Star Trek III is a fairly lightweight effort in the Trek canon, but it still manages to have far more good moments than bad, and is ultimately a genuinely enjoyable entry in the series. It has its flaws, to be sure, and they are numerous, but it still manages to be solidly entertaining and never insulting in the way some of the other odd numbered Trek films were. It can't help but pale in comparison to the two films bookending it, but I wholeheartedly recommend checking it out, particularly if it's been a while since you've seen it. It holds up much better than you might remember.

  

Invitation to join our new group “Star Trek Forever” No Limits on uploads!

www.flickr.com/groups/2601080@N25/

 

Paririe dog is just one of the cutest animals. In fact, seems like "standing" makes any four-limbs-walking animals instanteously cuter. Narcissism of human?

 

Note: there is something else in the picture.

Boston Lodge at Penrhyn Isa, is the location of the railway's main engineering workshops, locomotive shed and carriage works for the Ffestiniog Narrow Gauge Railway.

 

The Boston Lodge address and postcode is shared by the works with four cottage dwellings (mostly occupied in connection with the railway) and with the former tollgate cottage at the end of the causeway. The original 'Penrhyn Isa' cottage (now the railway works office) was renamed 'Boston Lodge' after Boston, Lincolnshire, the parliamentary seat of William Madocks, the proprietor of the land reclamation venture.

 

Construction of the causeway, known locally as ‘The Cob’, linking Penrhyn Isa on the Merioneth shore with the small rocky island called Ynys Towyn (where Britannia Terrace now stands in Porthmadog) near the Caernarfonshire shore, started in 1807 and was completed in 1811 during which time large quantities of stone was quarried and extracted from both ends. The embankment, which was the final stage of the Traeth Mawr land reclamation scheme, was 24 feet (7.3 m) wide at the top (where the railway now runs), 180 feet (55 m) wide at the base, 21 feet (6.4 m) deep and about 1 mile (1.6 km) in length. The quarrying created both the Britannia Terrace site at Porthmadog and the railway workshops site at Boston Lodge.

 

The site at Boston Lodge first held barracks for many of the 150 men working from the Merioneth side on the embankment construction, together with stables and smithies for the horses and wagons used to carry the stone. Later with the coming of the horsedrawn Festiniog Railway, the stables and smithies were brought back into use from 1836 onwards and there has been almost continuous development of the site for railway purposes since that time.

 

In the years from 1847 to 1851 the Works was considerably developed by the construction of ferrous and non-ferrous foundries, a pattern making shop, a blacksmith's shop, a carpenter's shop, and an engine house in which a steam engine provided power for machinery in a sawmill, pattern shop and machine shops. In the 1870s further construction provided a paint shop, joiner's shop and erecting shop in which in 1879 and 1885 the double Fairlie engines Merddin Emrys and Livingston Thompson were built. Prior to 1915 the works employed about 30 men.

 

During World War I most of the works was used as a munitions factory (largely staffed by women) from 17 September 1915 until early in 1919. The fortunes of the railway and its works declined from the mid-1920s with total closure from March 1947 to September 1954.

 

The works reopened on 20 September 1954, since when many of the original buildings have been extensively repaired and their usage altered. Machinery has been updated and modern materials and techniques have been introduced. Additional workshops have been built as well as new locomotive servicing facilities and carriage storage depots. The works undertakes the restoration and preservation of the railway’s historic locomotives, carriages, wagons and features of all descriptions. It also builds new steam locomotives and passenger carriages, and undertakes the ongoing maintenance of the Ffestiniog Railway's expanding fleet of railway vehicles.

 

In 1977, Boston lodge works undertook the design and installation of oil-firing equipment on the British Railways locomotive "Owain Glyndwr" on the Vale of Rheidol Railway. This was probably the first of numerous outside contracts that the works has undertaken over the years. These outside contracts have included restoration work on steam engines and the complete construction of various replica narrow-gauge passenger coaches.

 

In December 1998, a £375,000 Heritage Lottery Fund Grant was awarded to the FR Trust and this provided, amongst other things, for the construction of an extension to the carriage workshop at Boston Lodge to form a ‘Heritage Centre’ that would be a permanent home for the restoration of historic vehicles in a secure environment. Restoration to a very high standard has included most of the surviving Ffestiniog Railway Victorian era passenger coaches and a carefully selected rake of about 50 slate wagons representing most of the variant types characteristic of the local slate operations.

 

From 1993 onwards Boston Lodge works has undertaken extensive locomotive restoration work for the Ffestiniog Railway owned Welsh Highland Railway (Caernarfon). Recently the works is undertaking the construction of new passenger carriages for service between Caernarfon and Porthmadog.

This is a new project in which I'm working in. The topic is "women", their mood, their soul, their pain, their faith and love. The inspiration for this project comes from my life in the last few years. When a woman starts feeling like a woman, the life suddenly gets deeper, the skin gets thiner and the dreams become the real objective that makes you wake up every day. Even if sometimes you feel the pain for a dream far from becoming real, the only thing that makes you move is that you have it. Is that you know the reason for which you have to fight on that day. And everyday is a new opportunity to generate a new sign...a new seed to generate happiness.

The sun is the shining love in my heart, the buldings are like a touch of rational side, but then the clouds again reminds me I'm a dreamer and I love my dream so much that I could love my dream for all my life.

Qingtian County is located in the middle south of Zhejiang Province and the lower reaches of Ou River, which covers a total area of 2,493 km2. The GIAHS designated village—Longxian village is a typical south village in the southeast of Fangshan Town, one of towns in Qingtian County, covering an area of 4.6 km2.

Ecological symbiosis exists in the traditional rice-fish agricultural system: fish provides fertilizer to rice, regulates micro-climatic conditions, softens the soil, disturbs the water, and eats larvae and weeds in the flooded fields; rice provides shade and food for fish.

 

Historically, fish has been cultivated in wet rice fields, either concurrently or rotationally with rice.

The canon for fish culture written by Fan Li (about 400 BC) states:

"... dig six mu of land into a pond … put 2000 fry into the pond …sell the rest in the market.”

In a good year with ample rainfall and moderate weather, 2000 carp fry could produce numerous eggs.

 

Some wise farmers may have placed excess fry in their rice fields. The fish in the rice fields may have grown better than those in the ponds, and the practice of raising fish in rice fields was born. There are no records of when the practice started, but this seems to be a logical explanation of how rice-fish farming began in China.

 

An early written record of rice-fish culture may be found in "Recipes for Four Seasons" which was written by Cao Cao in the Sanguo Era (200-265 AD): “a small fish with yellow scales and a red tail, grown in the rice fields of Pi County northeast of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, can be used for making sauce.”

 

Photo credit must be given: © FAO/Luohui Liang

 

More information:

Rice Fish Culture, China

+++ 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 Vought F6U Pirate was the Vought company's first jet fighter, designed for US Navy during the mid-1940s. Although pioneering the use of turbojet power as the first naval fighter with an afterburner and composite material construction, the aircraft proved to be underpowered and was judged unsuitable for combat. None were ever issued to operational squadrons and they were relegated to development, training and test roles before they were withdrawn from USN service in 1950.

 

A specification was issued by the US Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) for a single-seat, carrier-based fighter powered by a Westinghouse24C (later J34) axial turbojet on 5 September 1944. Chance Vought was awarded a contract for three V-340 (company designation) prototypes on 29 December 1944.

 

The XF6U was a small aircraft with tricycle landing gear and with straight wings and tail surfaces. The wings were short enough that they did not need to fold. In order to fit more aircraft into crowded hangars, the nose gear could be retracted and the aircraft's weight would rest on a small wheel attached by the ground crew. This raised the tail up so that it could overlap the nose of the aircraft behind it. The jet engine was mounted in the rear of the fuselage and was fed by ducts in each wing root.

 

The most unusual feature of the aircraft was its use of "Metalite" for its skin. This was made of balsa that was sandwiched between two thin sheets of aluminum. "Fabrilite" was also used for the surfaces of the vertical stabilizer and rudder; this was similar to Metalite, but used fiberglass instead of aluminum.

 

Two fuel tanks were fitted in the center of the fuselage. The forward tank, ahead of the wing, contained 220 US gallons (830 l; 180 imp gal) and the rear tank, 150 US gallons (570 l; 120 imp gal). These were supplemented by two jettisonable 140-US-gallon (530 l; 120 imp gal) tip tanks. The cockpit was well forward and was provided with a bubble canopy which gave the pilot good visibility. He was provided with a Mk 6 lead-computing gyro gunsight. Underneath the cockpit were four 20 mm (0.79 in) M3 autocannon. Their 600 rounds of ammunition were carried behind the pilot. The empty casings of the two upper guns were retained in the aircraft, while those from the two lower guns were ejected overboard.

 

After a company-wide contest to name the aircraft, the initial prototype, named the Pirate, made its first flight on 2 October 1946. Flight testing revealed severe aerodynamic problems, mostly caused by the airfoil section and thickness of the wing. The vertical stabilizer also had to be redesigned to smooth out the airflow at the intersection of the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. Other changes included the addition of dive brakes on the sides of the fuselage and the replacement of the Metalite panels near the engine's exhaust with stainless steel ones.

 

The first XF6U-1 prototype was powered by a Westinghouse J34-WE-22 turbojet with 3,000 lbf (13.34 kN) thrust, one third of the weight of the aircraft. To help improve the underpowered aircraft's performance, the third prototype, which first flew on 10 November 1947, was lengthened by 8 feet (2.4 m) to use a Westinghouse J34-WE-30 afterburning engine of 4,224 lbf (18.78 kN) thrust, the first United States Navy fighter to have such a powerplant.

 

In 1947, even before the flight testing of the prototypes was completed, 30 production aircraft were ordered. They incorporated an ejection seat and a redesigned vertical stabilizer as well as two auxiliary fins, one towards the tip on each side of the tailplane in an attempt to improve the directional stability of the aircraft. The fuselage was lengthened to fit additional equipment and the wing had fillets added at the rear junction with the fuselage.

 

The first production F6U-1 performed its initial flight on 29 June 1949. 20 aircraft were initially provided to VX-3, an operational evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. The judgment from the evaluation was rather unfavorable, so that the few aircraft in USN service ended up being used primarily to develop arresting gear and barriers. Some were used operationally for a short time by at least one Texas-based United States Navy Reserve squadron as they transitioned to jets.

Anyway, the 30 production aircraft had only a total of 945 hours of flight time, only 31.5 hours each. Some aircraft flew only six hours which was enough for little more than their acceptance flight and the flight to their ultimate disposition, since the USN would not use the Pirate in its active arsenal.

 

But elsewhere, the small and simple aircraft aroused attention: the Argentine Naval Aviation (Comando de Aviación Naval Argentina, COAN) became interested in the small F6U fleet in early 1950. Eventually the COAN bought 20 flyworthy specimen of these machines (price remains unknown until today, but is assumed to be ‘symbolic’) as fast, land-based fighter and attack aircraft.

 

Delivery of aircraft followed suit, as the USN wanted to scrap the rather obsolete F6U fleet quickly. All 20 aircraft were transferred in flight in September 1950 to the Argentinian Navy Base Punta Indio near La Plata and integrated into Fuerza Aeronaval 1 (Naval Aviation Force 1).

 

The COAN received a baptism by fire on 16 June 1955 when naval airplanes, including F4U and F6U, painted with catholic crosses and blessed by priests, participated on the Bombing of Plaza de Mayo. One of the navy aircraft was shot down by an air force Gloster Meteor.

 

In 1958, the COAN jet fighter force was augmented by Grumman F9F Panthers and Cougars - the Argentine Naval Aviation bought 24 ex-USN aircraft, which added more punch.

 

Another great change came into effect when the Navy received its first aircraft carrier the ARA Independencia in 1959. At the time, her aircraft inventory included the F4U Corsair, SNJ-5Cs Texan and Grumman S2F-1 (S-2A) Trackers. The F6U were still in service, even though the number of operational aircraft had been reduced to a dozen – the rest was already stored away and used for spares.

 

Anyway, the F6U turned out to be valuable to the COAN since it was possible to deploy it from the new carrier - the F9F Panther and F9F Cougar jets were not suitable for this task, as the catapults of ARA Independencia (V-1) were considered not powerful enough to launch the heavier F9F.

 

Consequently, the F6U saw a midlife update. This major overhaul included an engine update, the original J34-WE-30A engines were replaced by stronger J34-WE-36A engines, outfitted with an afterburner developed by Solar Aircraft. These new engines offered 4.000 lb (17.8 kN) dry thrust and 5.360lb (23,87kN) at full afterburner and with water injection. While overall performance did not change much, acceleration and rate of climb improved appreciably, and launching the F6U from the small carrier deck became much safer, as well as landing, in case of a 'touch and go', because the new engines had more power reserve and was quicker to react to throttle input. Empty and total weight increased slightly, so the landing gear was beefed up.

 

In the course of the update, the aircraft’s M3 cannons were replaced by M2 cannons (so that the gun armament was the same as on the F9F) and the COAN Pirates received hardpoints under the wings which allowed them to carry light external loads. Typical weaponry included up to six HVAR missiles, six 100lb bomby or two 500lb bombs. The wing tip drop tanks were retained.

 

These twelve revamped aircraft were integrated into Fuerza Aeronaval 2 (Naval Aviation Force 2), based at navy airbase Comandante Espora, near Bahía Blanca, where all embarked aircraft were concentrated. The conversion was finished in late 1960.

 

It would not take long until Argentinian Navy pilots would see combat again: during 1962 internal military fighting between factions known as Azules y Colorados ("Blue" and "Reds") occurred, culminating in the 1963 Argentine Navy Revolt in which Navy F9F Panthers, F6U Pirates and F4U Corsairs bombed Argentine Army tanks in defense of the Navy base of Punta Indio.

 

Argentine Navy F6U Pirates also saw combat in the 1963 Argentine Navy Revolt, bombing and strafing a column of the Army 8th Tank Regiment which was advancing on the rebelling Argentine Navy base of Punta Indio. The attack destroyed several M4 Sherman tanks, at the cost of one F9F Panther shot down.

 

The final operational use of the Argentine Pirates was their involvement in the general mobilization during the 1965 border dispute between Argentina and Chile - but no combat occurred. After that incident the F6U were retired and all remaining aircraft finally scrapped.

This also started a major rejuvenation of the Comando de Aviación Naval Argentina: the remaining F4U were retired in 1968 from ARA Independencia, and the Panthers and Cougars were taken out of service in 1969 due to the lack of spare parts, and eventually replaced with A-4Q Skyhawks.

  

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 37 ft 7 in (11.46 m)

Wingspan: 32 ft 10 in (10 m)

Height: 12 ft 11 in (3.39 m)

Wing area: 203.4 ft² (18.9 m²)

Empty weight: 7,320 lb (3,320 kg)

Loaded weight: 12,900 lb (5,850 kg)

 

Powerplant:

1× Westinghouse J34-WE-36A, rated at 4.000 lb (17.8 kN) dry thrust and 5.360lb (23,87kN) at full afterburner with water injection

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 596 mph (517 kn, 959 km/h)

Range: 1,170 mi (1,020 nmi, 1,880 km)

Service ceiling: 46,260 ft (14,100 m)

Rate of climb: 8,060 ft/min (40.95 m/s)

Wing loading: 63.4 lb/ft² (304 kg/m²)

Thrust/weight: 0.327

 

Armament:

4× 20 mm (0.79 in) M2 cannon under the nose with 190 RPG

Underwing hardpoints and provisions to carry combinations of up to 6× 5” (127 mm) rockets and/or bombs, for a total of 2.000 lb (907 kg).

 

The kit and its assembly:

I got my hands on this Admiral kit some time ago, uncertain what to make of it. The F6U is one of those early jet aircraft in the Twilight Zone after WWII which is predestined to be whiffed – but I lacked a good idea. Vague plan was to create a later USN aircraft, in classic Gull Grey/White with colorful markings.

 

The final push came through AZ Model’s re-release of the Pirate kit under its own banner and in two whif boxings – including aforementioned USN options, too. That pushed me to “make something different”.

 

With some creative discussion at whatifmodelers.com about these new kits I settled on a new idea: a machine for the Argentinean Navy, in classic grey and white livery and with appropriate markings. While whiffy, this idea is not too far-fetched as the COAN actually operated ex USN aircraft, as explained in the background above. And why shouldn’t Argentina have bought the obsolete F6Us as a bargain…?

 

The kit was mostly built OOB, and you encounter some typical short-run kit challenges. Personal changes include the replaced of the PE parts on the hull and landing gear with styrene pieces. I also added a Matchbox pilot figure in the opened cockpit.

 

The air intake interior is poor, if non-existant. Builders are supposed to insert a simple, blank wall, which is IMHO not satisfactory at all. With some styrene wedges and strips I tried to simulate an interior/air duct, even opening the fuselage sides inside of the wing area. Not perfect, but certainly better than the original proposal from AZ Model. By the way, the front wheel well is also missing, completely. It is uncertain where the front wheel is supposed to be glued on to, maybe in mid-air? I added a 1mm sheet of styrene, which also hides the resin cockpit tub's underside from view.

 

The fit of the fuselage halves is so-so, expect some putty work. On the other side, the upper wings fit perfectly onto the fuselage. On the other side, the lower fuselage and the fuselage insert between the wings do not fit well, so that there's more putty work.

The fin, which is a separate piece and has to be glued directly onto the fuselage (without any aids) was warped in two directions and very hard to get into place.

 

To my surprise the original resin cockpit is fine, even though just one single piece, and falls literally into place.

Since it is easy to realize and adds realism I lowered/extended the flaps and created interior parts from styrene strips.

The hardpoints under the wings (the F6U didn’t have any, just its guns) are personal additions. The four HVARs were leftover resin pieces from my recent 'Sabrecat' conversion. On the nose, hollow steel needles (0.8mm) were added as cannon mounts.

Under th erear fuselage, an arrester hook was added (from an A-4 Skyhawk), as well as a tail bumper.

On the rear fuselage I added air scoops for the (fictional) stronger engine and afterburner – the J34-WE-36A (AFAIK) never existed, just a non-afterburner variant that was used as a pair in the Douglas F3D (F-10) Skyknight.

 

Many small things, but they enhance the kit considerably, which is otherwise solid. But the F6U is IMHO way overpriced for what you get, resin and PE parts won't help much.

  

Painting and markings:

Nothing spectacular. Benchmark for this were real-life COAN F9F Panthers, painted in "Gris Nevado" over and matt white from below. Most of the markings come from a Hobby Boss F9F-2 which offer a COAN painting option.

 

The F6U was painted in authentic USN colors (FS 36440 and 37875, Testors 1730 and Humbrol 130, respectively, the latter painted on a thin primer coat with Revell Acryllics flat white), the blue fin decoration was painted with a mix of Humbrol 48 and 130, in oder to match the rather pale national insignia on the deceals. The white segment on the fin as well as the yellow sun icon were later added as decals.

 

Interior surfaces were painted in Cockpit Green (Humbrol 226), and, for some shock value, the opened flaps received a red interior (Revell 330, a bright tone, RAL 3000). The aircraft’s rear was painted with Steel and Titanium Metallizer (both ModelMaster), and slightly rubbed with graphite – a nice contrast to the other, rather pale colors.

 

Finally, the kit was slightly weathered with some counter-shading on the upper sides in order to simulate dull paint from prolonged sunshine exposure, and a light black ink wash, as well as some dry-painting on leading edges. Everything was finally sealed under a matt acryllic varnish, with some extra matt varnish.

  

All in all a rather uncomplicated whif project. Not easy, though, since the Admiral/AZ Models kit is far from perfect, takes some experience.

The sleek aircraft offers a LOT of whiffery potential, as AZ Models own two fantasy marking kits show, and that's certainly not the whole story, as this COAN aircraft demonstrates. The Argentinian Pirate whif is unspectacular but subtle, it looks almost natural (what I like!). The whole thing was realized in a week – and the light colors suit the slender F6U well.

This information is from the Turner Valley Historical Society. Really cool that this original building still stands and is run by the original family. I'll have to go inside next time I'm down there.

 

Blakeman's Store, the oldest original building in Black Diamond, is still operated by the family that took it over in 1921. John Blakemans Sr. left England in 1911 and eventually settled in Black Diamond. His son, John Blakeman Jr., was encouraged by local residents to open a general store in the abandoned store and pool hall that Eric Buckler had built ten years before. A butcher by trade, John Jr. opened the Black Diamond Store as Blakeman's General Store. Without any particular knowledge of storekeeping, he operated by buying only what his customers requested. He carried groceries, housewares, building supplies, and horse equipment. Still to this day a general store, now run by Bill Blakeman, it has served the people of Black Diamond for four generations.

This is a different mosquito-like Dance Fly in the family Empididae on a male staminate catkin of Arroyo Willow (Salix lasiolepis, Salicaceae) by the creek. This one is visibly different from the ones I show in this photo, smaller and blacker. It's dusted with pollen from the flowers. These tiny flies do a great job of transporting pollen as they go back and forth between the separate male and female plants of this dioecious tree. HFDF! (San Marcos Pass, 16 February 2017)

 

"Oh, the wind and rain..."

We've had more than 8-1/2 inches of rain since last night, and it's still coming as I type this! It was raining so hard today that I never got out, and the highway was closed from both ends anyway. I'll get out tomorrow to inspect the damage, but the creeks drop fast after the rain stops. I would like to see the lake. The river peaked today at 13,200 cfs - a lot of water under the bridge! I can't find any news, but the lake must be filling after being down below ten percent capacity during the drought - just a month ago. Sounds crazy, but it's happened before. It's nice how San Marcos Pass was the target for this storm - just as the NWS forecast.

 

(Hah - three of us foolish friends carried a raft down to Gibraltor Dam and rafted down the Santa Ynez River to the first crossing after the "March Miracle" rains of 1991 when we got almost 20 inches of rain in one week. We got to the end after dark to be greeted by the Search & Rescue people that Julie had called who were wondering what to do about us. I'm glad I did it, but never again!)

The Cirneco dell'Etna is a small breed of dog originally from Sicily. This hound was historically used to hunt rabbits and can work for hours without food or water.The breed also has a keen sense of smell and is primarily built for endurance over harsh terrain such as that of Mount Etna. It is the smallest of the Mediterranean island hunting hounds, the others being the Pharaoh Hounds and Ibizan Hounds.Today they are increasingly kept for the sport of conformation showing and as pets, due to their low coat maintenance and friendly nature, although as an active hound they do need regular exercise. A Cirneco should measure from 43-51 cm (17-20in) and weigh between 10–12 kg (22-26lb). As with other breeds, those from hunting stock can lie outside these ranges.

 

The Cirneco dell'Etna is a small hound-type dog used in Sicily for rabbit hunting. It is found all over the Italian island and particularly in the area surrounding the active volcano, Mount Etna,where the dogs hunt on terrain formed by volcanic lava. Its presence in Sicily is noteworthy as one of the few ancient breeds that have undergone very little manipulation by man. Instead, the breed has been rigorously selected by nature for its ability to work for hours. The dog we have today is an extremely hardy breed. Affectionate and friendly, it is considered easier to train than some of its sighthound cousins. The Cirneco has been in Sicily for thousands of years. Most authors agree that the origins of the hound-type dog lie among ancient Egyptian prick-eared dogs. Bas-reliefs discovered along the Nile and dated around 4000 B.C. depict what could be the Cirneco today. Most probably, the Phoenicians spread these prick-eared, hound-type dogs as they sailed along their trade routes between Northern Africa and the Mediterranean coasts. Ancient records of hounds with upright ears and a pointed muzzle are found in many countries in that part of the world. The most vivid proof of the presence of the Cirneco dell’Etna in Sicily for at least the past 2500 years is the many coins minted between the 5th and 3rd centuries B.C. depicting exemplars of the breed. In particular, the Cirneco dell’Etna is used on coins minted at Segesta, with about 150 variations. In 400 B.C., Dionysus was said to have built a temple dedicated to the God Adranos on the south-western slope of the volcano, just outside the city of Adrano. Many dogs were bred there and legend claims that a thousand Cirnechi guarded the temple.The Cirneco was rarely seen and little known outside Sicily until 1932. Now Cirnechi have also been exported to many European countries where their elegant conformation has helped make them a success in the show ring and many have become FCI International Show Champions. The dog's affectionate temperament and adaptability make it an excellent family companion.

 

Сицилийская борзая или Чирнеко дель Этна — порода собак. Происходит с Сицилии. Изначально выращивалась для охоты на зайца. Классические исследования собачьих пород, распространенных в Средиземноморском регионе, пришли к заключению, что Чирнеко Дель Этна происходят от античных охотничьих собак, выведенных в долине Нила в эпоху фараонов, собак, получивших достигших Сицилии благодаря Финикийцам. Но согласно последним исследованиям получила одобрения теория, согласно которой эта порода имеет непосредственно сицилийское происхождение, зародившись в окрестностях Этны. Монеты и гравюры доказывают, что Чирнеки существовали в этом регионе за много веков до нашей эр Собака примитивного типа, элегантного и утонченного сложения, среднего размера, не громоздкая, сильная и крепкая. По морфологическому сложению — собака удлиненных линий, легкого сложения; квадратного формата; шерсть тонкая.

Охотничья собака, выведенная для охоты на кролика по сложной местности; обладает большим темпераментом, но в то же время мягкая и привязчивая.

 

Cirneco dell’etna on italialainen koirarotu. Se on vinttikoiran tyyppinen pystykorvainen, alkukantainen ja harvinainen rotu. Cirneco dell’etnan tarkka alkuperä jää hämärän peittoon, mutta se on hyvin vanha rotu ja muuttunut vuosisatojen saatossa vain vähän. Rotu on saanut olla melko rauhassa, ja vasta viime vuosina sen jalostukseen on puututtu.Rotu on nykyisin lähinnä seura- ja harrastekoira. Italiassa sitä käytetään yhä villikaniinien metsästykseen. Cirneco on nopea koira, ja ketteränä se pystyy vaihtamaan suuntaa nopeasti esimerkiksi metsästyksen aikana. Cirneco käyttää metsästäessään kuuloaan, näköään ja hajuaistiaan.Cirneco dell’etna on luonteeltaan temperamenttinen, eloisa, ystävällinen, iloinen ja leikkisä koira. Cirnecon leikkisyys säilyy yleensä vanhoihin päiviin asti. Cirneco on myös hyvin läheisyyttä rakastava koira, ja sen lempipaikka onkin yleensä kainalossa sohvalla tai peiton alla omistajansa vieressä. Cirneco kiintyy voimakkaasti perheeseensä ja tulee yleensä hyvin toimeen ystävällisenä ja lempeänä koirana kaikenikäisten ihmisten kanssa. Miellyttämisenhalua cirnecolla ei ole kovin paljon, joten ilman hyvää motivointikeinoa se ei välttämättä aina tottele ainakaan ensimmäisellä käskyllä. Cirnecolla on kuitenkin miellyttämisenhalua enemmän kuin yleensä vinttikoirilla. Cirneco tarvitsee johdonmukaisen ja määrätietoisen peruskasvatuksen.

Cirneco dell’etna on ikivanha rotu, jonka juuret johtavat 1000-luvulle ennen ajanlaskun alkua. Joidenkin mielestä se polveutuu Egyptin viimeisten dynastioiden faaraoiden koirista ja niistä koirista, joita foinikialaiset kauppiaat toivat Italiaan. Tutkimukset antavat aiheen olettaa, että se olisi Sisilian alkuperäisrotu. Cirneconnäköisiä korkokuvia on löydetty faaraoiden haudoista, mm. Luxorista ja Ben-Hassanista. Sisiliasta on myös löydetty 45 cm korkea luuranko, joka muistuttaa cirnecoa suuresti. Luuranko on paikallistettu vuoteen 1400 eaa. Nykyisin kyseinen luuranko on nähtävissä Pigorini-museossa Roomassa. Myös vanhoista Sisiliasta löytyneistä kolikoista on löydetty cirnecoa esittäviä koiran kuvia.

  

Il cirneco dell'Etna è un cane appartenente ad una razza molto antica, che ha subito poche manipolazioni nel corso dei secoli.Le origini del cirneco risalgono al 1000 a.C. Si dice che questa razza derivi dai cani dei Faraoni egiziani delle ultime dinastie e da cani importati in Sicilia dai commercianti fenici. Successivi studi hanno indicato che molto probabilmente il Cirneco è una razza autoctona siciliana.Il cirneco dell'Etna appartiene alla classe dei cani da caccia di tipo primitivo; è un animale molto veloce e per questo viene utilizzato soprattutto nella caccia al coniglio selvatico e alla lepre.Si presenta con una figura molto snella, con gambe lunghe, orecchie dritte e con un corpo muscoloso ma nello stesso tempo molto elegante. Ha un fiuto eccezionale ed è agilissimo nel cambiare direzione durante l'inseguimento della preda. Da notare che, sebbene l'aspetto del cirneco ricordi quello dei levrieri, non caccia a vista ma usa l'olfatto, come un cane da cerca; secondo la classificazione della Federazione Cinologica Internazionale (F.C.I.), tutti i cani appartenenti alla razza dei "levrieri" appartengono al 10º gruppo, mentre il cirneco è inserito nel 5º Gruppo, quello delle razze di tipo primitivo.Generalmente raggiunge l'altezza di 46-50 cm al garrese negli esemplari maschi, mentre le femmine misurano dai 42 ai 46. Il peso del maschio si aggira intorno ai 10-12 kg, mentre le femmine raggiungono gli 8-10. La lunghezza del tronco è in media uguale all'altezza al garrese: il cirneco ha dunque una costruzione quadrata. È strutturato da una massa muscolare che comprende l'80% del corpo. Si presenta snello e, se nutrito in modo adeguato, mantiene una linea elegante e slanciata.Cane velocissimo e molto agile, è capace di raggiungere persino i 40/45 km/h nella corsa.I colori del mantello del cirneco dell'Etna vanno dal sabbia dorato al cervo scuro; non necessariamente devono essere presenti macchie bianche, ma possono essercene su tutto il corpo; sebbene molto rari, ne esistono colorati di bianco arancio (come nel setter inglese) e di bianco puro (pur non essendo propriamente albino). Il colore riconosciuto dagli standard di razza è il fulvo più o meno intenso, isabella e sabbia, con lista bianca in fronte, al petto, piedi bianchi, punta della coda bianca e ventre bianco.Dotato di grande intelligenza, è generalmente indipendente e solitario. Generalmente diffidente con gli estranei, si affeziona ad un solo padrone. Si può dire che abbia le sue simpatie e antipatie a pelle: con alcuni individui non socializza e alla loro vista abbaia; con altri inizialmente si mostra aggressivo ma poi socializza e con altri ancora prova un feeling immediato e socializza subito. È un cane che per il padrone darebbe tutto se stesso.Se correttamente socializzato da cucciolo, evidenzia un carattere molto disponibile e gioioso e privo di diffidenze anche verso le persone appena conosciute.Se cresce in un ambiente familiare, dove ha ricevuto tutti gli stimoli nei confronti dell'ambiente esterno, ama essere portato a spasso e incontrare altri cani e persone, anche se sconosciuti. Se lasciato libero, soprattutto in luoghi di campagna, cambia visibilmente espressione; tutti i muscoli si tendono, ama ispezionare l'ambiente circostante e, anche se all'inizio sembra indipendente, in realtà sa sempre dove si trova il suo padrone e puntualmente ritorna sotto la sua attenzione. Prima di liberare un cirneco in un luogo aperto occorre aver rafforzato un rapporto sereno e di fiducia. Il cirneco è un cane primitivo e rispetto ad altri animali domestici, molto spesso è un soggetto che porta rancore se trattato male, non dimentica facilmente uno sgarbo subito, non sopporta di essere rimproverato con eccessiva durezza.La vita media di questo cane è molto elevata, quindici anni circa, ma esistono esemplari che vivono anche venti anni.

 

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Swirle Pavilion (1998)

Sculptor: Raf Fulcher

Location: Quayside, Newcastle. Materials: Ashlar, Concrete and Metal.

 

The Swirle Pavilion is part of the Newcastle and Gateshead 'Art on the Riverside' Project. Below the globe are inscribed all of the European ports that were regularly visited by shipping from the Tyne. Hamburg, Genoa, Aberdeen, Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Malmo, London, Antwerp and Hull.

 

The Quayside is an area along the banks (quay) of the River Tyne in Newcastle upon Tyne (the north bank) and Gateshead (south bank) in Tyne and Wear, North East England, United Kingdom.

 

History

The area was once an industrial area and busy commercial dockside serving the area, while the Newcastle side also hosted a regular street market. In recent years the docks became run-down, and the area has since been heavily redeveloped to provide a modern environment for the modern arts, music and culture, as well as new housing developments (e.g. at St Peter's Marina). Along the Newcastle side is an area that houses restaurants, bars and night clubs as well as housing and the Newcastle Law Courts. The NewcastleGateshead initiative now lists the Quayside as a top ten attraction.

 

The Gateshead side of the river is designated and signposted as Gateshead Quays. It is the site of the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and The Glasshouse International Centre for Music. Also moored on the Gateshead side from 1984 until 2008 was the Tuxedo Princess (replaced for a time by sister ship Tuxedo Royale), a floating nightclub, beneath the Tyne Bridge near the Sage.

 

The Sage, an arena and conference centre, is under construction between the Sage Gateshead and the Baltic.

 

One of the Quayside's main features is the pedestrian Gateshead Millennium Bridge, opened in 2001, which spans the river between the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Newcastle Law Courts. The other bridge which allows direct road and pedestrian links between the two banks is the low level Swing Bridge, built in 1876, and located nearer the two respective city centres. Using the two bridges, the Quayside is the venue for the junior course of the annual Great North Run.

 

Whey Aye

In July 2019, Newcastle City Council passed plans to erect a giant observation wheel on the quayside at Spiller's Wharf as part of a wider 'Giants on the Quayside' development. Dubbed the "Whey Aye" wheel, at 460 feet (140 m) tall it would be the tallest such structure in Europe upon completion, which was anticipated to take two years.

 

Buildings

The Customs House, a Grade II listed building built in 1766, altered and refronted in 1833 by Sydney Smirke.

The Malmaison Hotel, a Grade II listed building built in 1900 as a warehouse for the Cooperative Society.

The Newcastle Law Courts, built between 1984 and 1990, designed by Napper Collerton, architects.

 

Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the River Tyne's northern bank, opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England.

 

Newcastle developed around a Roman settlement called Pons Aelius, the settlement became known as Monkchester before taking on the name of a castle built in 1080 by William the Conqueror's eldest son, Robert Curthose. It was one of the world's largest ship building and repair centres during the industrial revolution. Newcastle was part of the county of Northumberland until 1400, when it separated and formed a county of itself. In 1974, Newcastle became part of Tyne and Wear. Since 2018, the city council has been part of the North of Tyne Combined Authority.

 

The history of Newcastle upon Tyne dates back almost 2,000 years, during which it has been controlled by the Romans, the Angles and the Norsemen amongst others. Newcastle upon Tyne was originally known by its Roman name Pons Aelius. The name "Newcastle" has been used since the Norman conquest of England. Due to its prime location on the River Tyne, the town developed greatly during the Middle Ages and it was to play a major role in the Industrial Revolution, being granted city status in 1882. Today, the city is a major retail, commercial and cultural centre.

 

Roman settlement

The history of Newcastle dates from AD 122, when the Romans built the first bridge to cross the River Tyne at that point. The bridge was called Pons Aelius or 'Bridge of Aelius', Aelius being the family name of Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was responsible for the Roman wall built across northern England along the Tyne–Solway gap. Hadrian's Wall ran through present-day Newcastle, with stretches of wall and turrets visible along the West Road, and at a temple in Benwell. Traces of a milecastle were found on Westgate Road, midway between Clayton Street and Grainger Street, and it is likely that the course of the wall corresponded to present-day Westgate Road. The course of the wall can be traced eastwards to the Segedunum Roman fort at Wallsend, with the fort of Arbeia down-river at the mouth of the Tyne, on the south bank in what is now South Shields. The Tyne was then a wider, shallower river at this point and it is thought that the bridge was probably about 700 feet (210 m) long, made of wood and supported on stone piers. It is probable that it was sited near the current Swing Bridge, due to the fact that Roman artefacts were found there during the building of the latter bridge. Hadrian himself probably visited the site in 122. A shrine was set up on the completed bridge in 123 by the 6th Legion, with two altars to Neptune and Oceanus respectively. The two altars were subsequently found in the river and are on display in the Great North Museum in Newcastle.

 

The Romans built a stone-walled fort in 150 to protect the river crossing which was at the foot of the Tyne Gorge, and this took the name of the bridge so that the whole settlement was known as Pons Aelius. The fort was situated on a rocky outcrop overlooking the new bridge, on the site of the present Castle Keep. Pons Aelius is last mentioned in 400, in a Roman document listing all of the Roman military outposts. It is likely that nestling in the shadow of the fort would have been a small vicus, or village. Unfortunately, no buildings have been detected; only a few pieces of flagging. It is clear that there was a Roman cemetery near Clavering Place, behind the Central station, as a number of Roman coffins and sarcophagi have been unearthed there.

 

Despite the presence of the bridge, the settlement of Pons Aelius was not particularly important among the northern Roman settlements. The most important stations were those on the highway of Dere Street running from Eboracum (York) through Corstopitum (Corbridge) and to the lands north of the Wall. Corstopitum, being a major arsenal and supply centre, was much larger and more populous than Pons Aelius.

 

Anglo-Saxon development

The Angles arrived in the North-East of England in about 500 and may have landed on the Tyne. There is no evidence of an Anglo-Saxon settlement on or near the site of Pons Aelius during the Anglo-Saxon age. The bridge probably survived and there may well have been a small village at the northern end, but no evidence survives. At that time the region was dominated by two kingdoms, Bernicia, north of the Tees and ruled from Bamburgh, and Deira, south of the Tees and ruled from York. Bernicia and Deira combined to form the kingdom of Northanhymbra (Northumbria) early in the 7th century. There were three local kings who held the title of Bretwalda – 'Lord of Britain', Edwin of Deira (627–632), Oswald of Bernicia (633–641) and Oswy of Northumbria (641–658). The 7th century became known as the 'Golden Age of Northumbria', when the area was a beacon of culture and learning in Europe. The greatness of this period was based on its generally Christian culture and resulted in the Lindisfarne Gospels amongst other treasures. The Tyne valley was dotted with monasteries, with those at Monkwearmouth, Hexham and Jarrow being the most famous. Bede, who was based at Jarrow, wrote of a royal estate, known as Ad Murum, 'at the Wall', 12 miles (19 km) from the sea. It is thought that this estate may have been in what is now Newcastle. At some unknown time, the site of Newcastle came to be known as Monkchester. The reason for this title is unknown, as we are unaware of any specific monasteries at the site, and Bede made no reference to it. In 875 Halfdan Ragnarsson, the Danish Viking conqueror of York, led an army that attacked and pillaged various monasteries in the area, and it is thought that Monkchester was also pillaged at this time. Little more was heard of it until the coming of the Normans.

 

Norman period

After the arrival of William the Conqueror in England in 1066, the whole of England was quickly subjected to Norman rule. However, in Northumbria there was great resistance to the Normans, and in 1069 the newly appointed Norman Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Comines and 700 of his men were killed by the local population at Durham. The Northumbrians then marched on York, but William was able to suppress the uprising. That same year, a second uprising occurred when a Danish fleet landed in the Humber. The Northumbrians again attacked York and destroyed the garrison there. William was again able to suppress the uprising, but this time he took revenge. He laid waste to the whole of the Midlands and the land from York to the Tees. In 1080, William Walcher, the Norman bishop of Durham and his followers were brutally murdered at Gateshead. This time Odo, bishop of Bayeux, William's half brother, devastated the land between the Tees and the Tweed. This was known as the 'Harrying of the North'. This devastation is reflected in the Domesday Book. The destruction had such an effect that the North remained poor and backward at least until Tudor times and perhaps until the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle suffered in this respect with the rest of the North.

 

In 1080 William sent his eldest son, Robert Curthose, north to defend the kingdom against the Scots. After his campaign, he moved to Monkchester and began the building of a 'New Castle'. This was of the "motte-and-bailey" type of construction, a wooden tower on top of an earthen mound (motte), surrounded by a moat and wooden stockade (bailey). It was this castle that gave Newcastle its name. In 1095 the Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Mowbray, rose up against the king, William Rufus, and Rufus sent an army north to recapture the castle. From then on the castle became crown property and was an important base from which the king could control the northern barons. The Northumbrian earldom was abolished and a Sheriff of Northumberland was appointed to administer the region. In 1091 the parish church of St Nicholas was consecrated on the site of the present Anglican cathedral, close by the bailey of the new castle. The church is believed to have been a wooden building on stone footings.

 

Not a trace of the tower or mound of the motte and bailey castle remains now. Henry II replaced it with a rectangular stone keep, which was built between 1172 and 1177 at a cost of £1,444. A stone bailey, in the form of a triangle, replaced the previous wooden one. The great outer gateway to the castle, called 'the Black Gate', was built later, between 1247 and 1250, in the reign of Henry III. There were at that time no town walls and when attacked by the Scots, the townspeople had to crowd into the bailey for safety. It is probable that the new castle acted as a magnet for local merchants because of the safety it provided. This in turn would help to expand trade in the town. At this time wool, skins and lead were being exported, whilst alum, pepper and ginger were being imported from France and Flanders.

 

Middle Ages

Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was England's northern fortress, the centre for assembled armies. The Border war against Scotland lasted intermittently for several centuries – possibly the longest border war ever waged. During the civil war between Stephen and Matilda, David 1st of Scotland and his son were granted Cumbria and Northumberland respectively, so that for a period from 1139 to 1157, Newcastle was effectively in Scottish hands. It is believed that during this period, King David may have built the church of St Andrew and the Benedictine nunnery in Newcastle. However, King Stephen's successor, Henry II was strong enough to take back the Earldom of Northumbria from Malcolm IV.

 

The Scots king William the Lion was imprisoned in Newcastle, in 1174, after being captured at the Battle of Alnwick. Edward I brought the Stone of Scone and William Wallace south through the town and Newcastle was successfully defended against the Scots three times during the 14th century.

 

Around 1200, stone-faced, clay-filled jetties were starting to project into the river, an indication that trade was increasing in Newcastle. As the Roman roads continued to deteriorate, sea travel was gaining in importance. By 1275 Newcastle was the sixth largest wool exporting port in England. The principal exports at this time were wool, timber, coal, millstones, dairy produce, fish, salt and hides. Much of the developing trade was with the Baltic countries and Germany. Most of the Newcastle merchants were situated near the river, below the Castle. The earliest known charter was dated 1175 in the reign of Henry II, giving the townspeople some control over their town. In 1216 King John granted Newcastle a mayor[8] and also allowed the formation of guilds (known as Mysteries). These were cartels formed within different trades, which restricted trade to guild members. There were initially twelve guilds. Coal was being exported from Newcastle by 1250, and by 1350 the burgesses received a royal licence to export coal. This licence to export coal was jealously guarded by the Newcastle burgesses, and they tried to prevent any one else on the Tyne from exporting coal except through Newcastle. The burgesses similarly tried to prevent fish from being sold anywhere else on the Tyne except Newcastle. This led to conflicts with Gateshead and South Shields.

 

In 1265, the town was granted permission to impose a 'Wall Tax' or Murage, to pay for the construction of a fortified wall to enclose the town and protect it from Scottish invaders. The town walls were not completed until early in the 14th century. They were two miles (3 km) long, 9 feet (2.7 m) thick and 25 feet (7.6 m) high. They had six main gates, as well as some smaller gates, and had 17 towers. The land within the walls was divided almost equally by the Lort Burn, which flowed southwards and joined the Tyne to the east of the Castle. The town began to expand north of the Castle and west of the Lort Burn with various markets being set up within the walls.

 

In 1400 Henry IV granted a new charter, creating a County corporate which separated the town, but not the Castle, from the county of Northumberland and recognised it as a "county of itself" with a right to have a sheriff of its own. The burgesses were now allowed to choose six aldermen who, with the mayor would be justices of the peace. The mayor and sheriff were allowed to hold borough courts in the Guildhall.

 

Religious houses

During the Middle Ages a number of religious houses were established within the walls: the first of these was the Benedictine nunnery of St Bartholomew founded in 1086 near the present-day Nun Street. Both David I of Scotland and Henry I of England were benefactors of the religious house. Nothing of the nunnery remains now.

 

The friary of Blackfriars, Newcastle (Dominican) was established in 1239. These were also known as the Preaching Friars or Shod Friars, because they wore sandals, as opposed to other orders. The friary was situated in the present-day Friars Street. In 1280 the order was granted royal permission to make a postern in the town walls to communicate with their gardens outside the walls. On 19 June 1334, Edward Balliol, claimant to be King of Scotland, did homage to King Edward III, on behalf of the kingdom of Scotland, in the church of the friary. Much of the original buildings of the friary still exist, mainly because, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries the friary of Blackfriars was rented out by the corporation to nine of the local trade guilds.

 

The friary of Whitefriars (Carmelite) was established in 1262. The order was originally housed on the Wall Knoll in Pandon, but in 1307 it took over the buildings of another order, which went out of existence, the Friars of the Sac. The land, which had originally been given by Robert the Bruce, was situated in the present-day Hanover Square, behind the Central station. Nothing of the friary remains now.

 

The friary of Austinfriars (Augustinian) was established in 1290. The friary was on the site where the Holy Jesus Hospital was built in 1682. The friary was traditionally the lodging place of English kings whenever they visited or passed through Newcastle. In 1503 Princess Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VII of England, stayed two days at the friary on her way to join her new husband James IV of Scotland.

 

The friary of Greyfriars (Franciscans) was established in 1274. The friary was in the present-day area between Pilgrim Street, Grey Street, Market Street and High Chare. Nothing of the original buildings remains.

 

The friary of the Order of the Holy Trinity, also known as the Trinitarians, was established in 1360. The order devoted a third of its income to buying back captives of the Saracens, during the Crusades. Their house was on the Wall Knoll, in Pandon, to the east of the city, but within the walls. Wall Knoll had previously been occupied by the White Friars until they moved to new premises in 1307.

 

All of the above religious houses were closed in about 1540, when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries.

 

An important street running through Newcastle at the time was Pilgrim Street, running northwards inside the walls and leading to the Pilgrim Gate on the north wall. The street still exists today as arguably Newcastle's main shopping street.

 

Tudor period

The Scottish border wars continued for much of the 16th century, so that during that time, Newcastle was often threatened with invasion by the Scots, but also remained important as a border stronghold against them.

 

During the Reformation begun by Henry VIII in 1536, the five Newcastle friaries and the single nunnery were dissolved and the land was sold to the Corporation and to rich merchants. At this time there were fewer than 60 inmates of the religious houses in Newcastle. The convent of Blackfriars was leased to nine craft guilds to be used as their headquarters. This probably explains why it is the only one of the religious houses whose building survives to the present day. The priories at Tynemouth and Durham were also dissolved, thus ending the long-running rivalry between Newcastle and the church for control of trade on the Tyne. A little later, the property of the nunnery of St Bartholomew and of Grey Friars were bought by Robert Anderson, who had the buildings demolished to build his grand Newe House (also known as Anderson Place).

 

With the gradual decline of the Scottish border wars the town walls were allowed to decline as well as the castle. By 1547, about 10,000 people were living in Newcastle. At the beginning of the 16th century exports of wool from Newcastle were more than twice the value of exports of coal, but during the century coal exports continued to increase.

 

Under Edward VI, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, sponsored an act allowing Newcastle to annexe Gateshead as its suburb. The main reason for this was to allow the Newcastle Hostmen, who controlled the export of Tyne coal, to get their hands on the Gateshead coal mines, previously controlled by the Bishop of Durham. However, when Mary I came to power, Dudley met his downfall and the decision was reversed. The Reformation allowed private access to coal mines previously owned by Tynemouth and Durham priories and as a result coal exports increase dramatically, from 15,000 tons in 1500 to 35,000 tons in 1565, and to 400,000 tons in 1625.

 

The plague visited Newcastle four times during the 16th century, in 1579 when 2,000 people died, in 1589 when 1700 died, in 1595 and finally in 1597.

 

In 1600 Elizabeth I granted Newcastle a charter for an exclusive body of electors, the right to elect the mayor and burgesses. The charter also gave the Hostmen exclusive rights to load coal at any point on the Tyne. The Hostmen developed as an exclusive group within the Merchant Adventurers who had been incorporated by a charter in 1547.

 

Stuart period

In 1636 there was a serious outbreak of bubonic plague in Newcastle. There had been several previous outbreaks of the disease over the years, but this was the most serious. It is thought to have arrived from the Netherlands via ships that were trading between the Tyne and that country. It first appeared in the lower part of the town near the docks but gradually spread to all parts of the town. As the disease gained hold the authorities took measures to control it by boarding up any properties that contained infected persons, meaning that whole families were locked up together with the infected family members. Other infected persons were put in huts outside the town walls and left to die. Plague pits were dug next to the town's four churches and outside the town walls to receive the bodies in mass burials. Over the course of the outbreak 5,631 deaths were recorded out of an estimated population of 12,000, a death rate of 47%.

 

In 1637 Charles I tried to raise money by doubling the 'voluntary' tax on coal in return for allowing the Newcastle Hostmen to regulate production and fix prices. This caused outrage amongst the London importers and the East Anglian shippers. Both groups decided to boycott Tyne coal and as a result forced Charles to reverse his decision in 1638.

 

In 1640 during the Second Bishops' War, the Scots successfully invaded Newcastle. The occupying army demanded £850 per day from the Corporation to billet the Scottish troops. Trade from the Tyne ground to a halt during the occupation. The Scots left in 1641 after receiving a Parliamentary pardon and a £4,000,000 loan from the town.

 

In 1642 the English Civil War began. King Charles realised the value of the Tyne coal trade and therefore garrisoned Newcastle. A Royalist was appointed as governor. At that time, Newcastle and King's Lynn were the only important seaports to support the crown. In 1644 Parliament blockaded the Tyne to prevent the king from receiving revenue from the Tyne coal trade. Coal exports fell from 450,000 to 3,000 tons and London suffered a hard winter without fuel. Parliament encouraged the coal trade from the Wear to try to replace that lost from Newcastle but that was not enough to make up for the lost Tyneside tonnage.

 

In 1644 the Scots crossed the border. Newcastle strengthened its defences in preparation. The Scottish army, with 40,000 troops, besieged Newcastle for three months until the garrison of 1,500 surrendered. During the siege, the Scots bombarded the walls with their artillery, situated in Gateshead and Castle Leazes. The Scottish commander threatened to destroy the steeple of St Nicholas's Church by gunfire if the mayor, Sir John Marley, did not surrender the town. The mayor responded by placing Scottish prisoners that they had captured in the steeple, so saving it from destruction. The town walls were finally breached by a combination of artillery and sapping. In gratitude for this defence, Charles gave Newcastle the motto 'Fortiter Defendit Triumphans' to be added to its coat of arms. The Scottish army occupied Northumberland and Durham for two years. The coal taxes had to pay for the Scottish occupation. In 1645 Charles surrendered to the Scots and was imprisoned in Newcastle for nine months. After the Civil War the coal trade on the Tyne soon picked up and exceeded its pre-war levels.

 

A new Guildhall was completed on the Sandhill next to the river in 1655, replacing an earlier facility damaged by fire in 1639, and became the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council. In 1681 the Hospital of the Holy Jesus was built partly on the site of the Austin Friars. The Guildhall and Holy Jesus Hospital still exist.

 

Charles II tried to impose a charter on Newcastle to give the king the right to appoint the mayor, sheriff, recorder and town clerk. Charles died before the charter came into effect. In 1685, James II tried to replace Corporation members with named Catholics. However, James' mandate was suspended in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution welcoming William of Orange. In 1689, after the fall of James II, the people of Newcastle tore down his bronze equestrian statue in Sandhill and tossed it into the Tyne. The bronze was later used to make bells for All Saints Church.

 

In 1689 the Lort Burn was covered over. At this time it was an open sewer. The channel followed by the Lort Burn became the present day Dean Street. At that time, the centre of Newcastle was still the Sandhill area, with many merchants living along the Close or on the Side. The path of the main road through Newcastle ran from the single Tyne bridge, through Sandhill to the Side, a narrow street which climbed steeply on the north-east side of the castle hill until it reached the higher ground alongside St Nicholas' Church. As Newcastle developed, the Side became lined with buildings with projecting upper stories, so that the main street through Newcastle was a narrow, congested, steep thoroughfare.

 

In 1701 the Keelmen's Hospital was built in the Sandgate area of the city, using funds provided by the keelmen. The building still stands today.

 

Eighteenth century

In the 18th century, Newcastle was the country's largest print centre after London, Oxford and Cambridge, and the Literary and Philosophical Society of 1793, with its erudite debates and large stock of books in several languages predated the London Library by half a century.

 

In 1715, during the Jacobite rising in favour of the Old Pretender, an army of Jacobite supporters marched on Newcastle. Many of the Northumbrian gentry joined the rebels. The citizens prepared for its arrival by arresting Jacobite supporters and accepting 700 extra recruits into the local militia. The gates of the city were closed against the rebels. This proved enough to delay an attack until reinforcements arrived forcing the rebel army to move across to the west coast. The rebels finally surrendered at Preston.

 

In 1745, during a second Jacobite rising in favour of the Young Pretender, a Scottish army crossed the border led by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Once again Newcastle prepared by arresting Jacobite supporters and inducting 800 volunteers into the local militia. The town walls were strengthened, most of the gates were blocked up and some 200 cannon were deployed. 20,000 regulars were billeted on the Town Moor. These preparations were enough to force the rebel army to travel south via the west coast. They were eventually defeated at Culloden in 1746.

 

Newcastle's actions during the 1715 rising in resisting the rebels and declaring for George I, in contrast to the rest of the region, is the most likely source of the nickname 'Geordie', applied to people from Tyneside, or more accurately Newcastle. Another theory, however, is that the name 'Geordie' came from the inventor of the Geordie lamp, George Stephenson. It was a type of safety lamp used in mining, but was not invented until 1815. Apparently the term 'German Geordie' was in common use during the 18th century.

 

The city's first hospital, Newcastle Infirmary opened in 1753; it was funded by public subscription. A lying-in hospital was established in Newcastle in 1760. The city's first public hospital for mentally ill patients, Wardens Close Lunatic Hospital was opened in October 1767.

 

In 1771 a flood swept away much of the bridge at Newcastle. The bridge had been built in 1250 and repaired after a flood in 1339. The bridge supported various houses and three towers and an old chapel. A blue stone was placed in the middle of the bridge to mark the boundary between Newcastle and the Palatinate of Durham. A temporary wooden bridge had to be built, and this remained in use until 1781, when a new stone bridge was completed. The new bridge consisted of nine arches. In 1801, because of the pressure of traffic, the bridge had to be widened.

 

A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion of Fenham Barracks in 1806. The facilities at the Castle for holding assizes, which had been condemned for their inconvenience and unhealthiness, were replaced when the Moot Hall opened in August 1812.

 

Victorian period

Present-day Newcastle owes much of its architecture to the work of the builder Richard Grainger, aided by architects John Dobson, Thomas Oliver, John and Benjamin Green and others. In 1834 Grainger won a competition to produce a new plan for central Newcastle. He put this plan into effect using the above architects as well as architects employed in his own office. Grainger and Oliver had already built Leazes Terrace, Leazes Crescent and Leazes Place between 1829 and 1834. Grainger and Dobson had also built the Royal Arcade at the foot of Pilgrim Street between 1830 and 1832. The most ambitious project covered 12 acres 12 acres (49,000 m2) in central Newcastle, on the site of Newe House (also called Anderson Place). Grainger built three new thoroughfares, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street with many connecting streets, as well as the Central Exchange and the Grainger Market. John Wardle and George Walker, working in Grainger's office, designed Clayton Street, Grainger Street and most of Grey Street. Dobson designed the Grainger Market and much of the east side of Grey Street. John and Benjamin Green designed the Theatre Royal at the top of Grey Street, where Grainger placed the column of Grey's Monument as a focus for the whole scheme. Grey Street is considered to be one of the finest streets in the country, with its elegant curve. Unfortunately most of old Eldon Square was demolished in the 1960s in the name of progress. The Royal Arcade met a similar fate.

 

In 1849 a new bridge was built across the river at Newcastle. This was the High Level Bridge, designed by Robert Stephenson, and slightly up river from the existing bridge. The bridge was designed to carry road and rail traffic across the Tyne Gorge on two decks with rail traffic on the upper deck and road traffic on the lower. The new bridge meant that traffic could pass through Newcastle without having to negotiate the steep, narrow Side, as had been necessary for centuries. The bridge was opened by Queen Victoria, who one year later opened the new Central Station, designed by John Dobson. Trains were now able to cross the river, directly into the centre of Newcastle and carry on up to Scotland. The Army Riding School was also completed in 1849.

 

In 1854 a large fire started on the Gateshead quayside and an explosion caused it to spread across the river to the Newcastle quayside. A huge conflagration amongst the narrow alleys, or 'chares', destroyed the homes of 800 families as well as many business premises. The narrow alleys that had been destroyed were replaced by streets containing blocks of modern offices.

 

In 1863 the Town Hall in St Nicholas Square replaced the Guildhall as the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council.

 

In 1876 the low level bridge was replaced by a new bridge known as the Swing Bridge, so called because the bridge was able to swing horizontally on a central axis and allow ships to pass on either side. This meant that for the first time sizeable ships could pass up-river beyond Newcastle. The bridge was built and paid for by William Armstrong, a local arms manufacturer, who needed to have warships access his Elswick arms factory to fit armaments to them. The Swing Bridge's rotating mechanism is adapted from the cannon mounts developed in Armstrong's arms works. In 1882 the Elswick works began to build ships as well as to arm them. The Barrack Road drill hall was completed in 1890.

 

Industrialisation

In the 19th century, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were central to the city's prosperity; and the city was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle's development as a major city owed most to its central role in the production and export of coal. The phrase "taking coals to Newcastle" was first recorded in 1538; it proverbially denotes bringing a particular commodity to a place that has more than enough of it already.

 

Innovation in Newcastle and surrounding areas included the following:

 

George Stephenson developed a miner's safety lamp at the same time that Humphry Davy developed a rival design. The lamp made possible the opening up of ever deeper mines to provide the coal that powered the industrial revolution.

George and his son Robert Stephenson were hugely influential figures in the development of the early railways. George developed Blücher, a locomotive working at Killingworth colliery in 1814, whilst Robert was instrumental in the design of Rocket, a revolutionary design that was the forerunner of modern locomotives. Both men were involved in planning and building railway lines, all over this country and abroad.

 

Joseph Swan demonstrated a working electric light bulb about a year before Thomas Edison did the same in the USA. This led to a dispute as to who had actually invented the light bulb. Eventually the two rivals agreed to form a mutual company between them, the Edison and Swan Electric Light Company, known as Ediswan.

 

Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine, for marine use and for power generation. He used Turbinia, a small, turbine-powered ship, to demonstrate the speed that a steam turbine could generate. Turbinia literally ran rings around the British Fleet at a review at Spithead in 1897.

 

William Armstrong invented a hydraulic crane that was installed in dockyards up and down the country. He then began to design light, accurate field guns for the British army. These were a vast improvement on the existing guns that were then in use.

 

The following major industries developed in Newcastle or its surrounding area:

 

Glassmaking

A small glass industry existed in Newcastle from the mid-15th century. In 1615 restrictions were put on the use of wood for manufacturing glass. It was found that glass could be manufactured using the local coal, and so a glassmaking industry grew up on Tyneside. Huguenot glassmakers came over from France as refugees from persecution and set up glasshouses in the Skinnerburn area of Newcastle. Eventually, glass production moved to the Ouseburn area of Newcastle. In 1684 the Dagnia family, Sephardic Jewish emigrants from Altare, arrived in Newcastle from Stourbridge and established glasshouses along the Close, to manufacture high quality flint glass. The glass manufacturers used sand ballast from the boats arriving in the river as the main raw material. The glassware was then exported in collier brigs. The period from 1730 to 1785 was the highpoint of Newcastle glass manufacture, when the local glassmakers produced the 'Newcastle Light Baluster'. The glassmaking industry still exists in the west end of the city with local Artist and Glassmaker Jane Charles carrying on over four hundred years of hot glass blowing in Newcastle upon Tyne.

 

Locomotive manufacture

In 1823 George Stephenson and his son Robert established the world's first locomotive factory near Forth Street in Newcastle. Here they built locomotives for the Stockton and Darlington Railway and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, as well as many others. It was here that the famous locomotive Rocket was designed and manufactured in preparation for the Rainhill Trials. Apart from building locomotives for the British market, the Newcastle works also produced locomotives for Europe and America. The Forth Street works continued to build locomotives until 1960.

 

Shipbuilding

In 1296 a wooden, 135 ft (41 m) long galley was constructed at the mouth of the Lort Burn in Newcastle, as part of a twenty-ship order from the king. The ship cost £205, and is the earliest record of shipbuilding in Newcastle. However the rise of the Tyne as a shipbuilding area was due to the need for collier brigs for the coal export trade. These wooden sailing ships were usually built locally, establishing local expertise in building ships. As ships changed from wood to steel, and from sail to steam, the local shipbuilding industry changed to build the new ships. Although shipbuilding was carried out up and down both sides of the river, the two main areas for building ships in Newcastle were Elswick, to the west, and Walker, to the east. By 1800 Tyneside was the third largest producer of ships in Britain. Unfortunately, after the Second World War, lack of modernisation and competition from abroad gradually caused the local industry to decline and die.

 

Armaments

In 1847 William Armstrong established a huge factory in Elswick, west of Newcastle. This was initially used to produce hydraulic cranes but subsequently began also to produce guns for both the army and the navy. After the Swing Bridge was built in 1876 allowing ships to pass up river, warships could have their armaments fitted alongside the Elswick works. Armstrong's company took over its industrial rival, Joseph Whitworth of Manchester in 1897.

 

Steam turbines

Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine and, in 1889, founded his own company C. A. Parsons and Company in Heaton, Newcastle to make steam turbines. Shortly after this, he realised that steam turbines could be used to propel ships and, in 1897, he founded a second company, Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company in Wallsend. It is there that he designed and manufactured Turbinia. Parsons turbines were initially used in warships but soon came to be used in merchant and passenger vessels, including the liner Mauretania which held the blue riband for the Atlantic crossing until 1929. Parsons' company in Heaton began to make turbo-generators for power stations and supplied power stations all over the world. The Heaton works, reduced in size, remains as part of the Siemens AG industrial giant.

 

Pottery

In 1762 the Maling pottery was founded in Sunderland by French Huguenots, but transferred to Newcastle in 1817. A factory was built in the Ouseburn area of the city. The factory was rebuilt twice, finally occupying a 14-acre (57,000 m2) site that was claimed to be the biggest pottery in the world and which had its own railway station. The pottery pioneered use of machines in making potteries as opposed to hand production. In the 1890s the company went up-market and employed in-house designers. The period up to the Second World War was the most profitable with a constant stream of new designs being introduced. However, after the war, production gradually declined and the company closed in 1963.

 

Expansion of the city

Newcastle was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835: the reformed municipal borough included the parishes of Byker, Elswick, Heaton, Jesmond, Newcastle All Saints, Newcastle St Andrew, Newcastle St John, Newcastle St Nicholas, and Westgate. The urban districts of Benwell and Fenham and Walker were added in 1904. In 1935, Newcastle gained Kenton and parts of the parishes of West Brunton, East Denton, Fawdon, Longbenton. The most recent expansion in Newcastle's boundaries took place under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, when Newcastle became a metropolitan borough, also including the urban districts of Gosforth and Newburn, and the parishes of Brunswick, Dinnington, Hazlerigg, North Gosforth and Woolsington from the Castle Ward Rural District, and the village of Westerhope.

 

Meanwhile Northumberland County Council was formed under the Local Government Act 1888 and benefited from a dedicated meeting place when County Hall was completed in the Castle Garth area of Newcastle in 1910. Following the Local Government Act 1972 County Hall relocated to Morpeth in April 1981.

 

Twentieth century

In 1925 work began on a new high-level road bridge to span the Tyne Gorge between Newcastle and Gateshead. The capacity of the existing High-Level Bridge and Swing Bridge were being strained to the limit, and an additional bridge had been discussed for a long time. The contract was awarded to the Dorman Long Company and the bridge was finally opened by King George V in 1928. The road deck was 84 feet (26 m) above the river and was supported by a 531 feet (162 m) steel arch. The new Tyne Bridge quickly became a symbol for Newcastle and Tyneside, and remains so today.

 

During the Second World War, Newcastle was largely spared the horrors inflicted upon other British cities bombed during the Blitz. Although the armaments factories and shipyards along the River Tyne were targeted by the Luftwaffe, they largely escaped unscathed. Manors goods yard and railway terminal, to the east of the city centre, and the suburbs of Jesmond and Heaton suffered bombing during 1941. There were 141 deaths and 587 injuries, a relatively small figure compared to the casualties in other industrial centres of Britain.

 

In 1963 the city gained its own university, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, by act of parliament. A School of Medicine and Surgery had been established in Newcastle in 1834. This eventually developed into a college of medicine attached to Durham University. A college of physical science was also founded and became Armstrong College in 1904. In 1934 the two colleges merged to become King's College, Durham. This remained as part of Durham University until the new university was created in 1963. In 1992 the city gained its second university when Newcastle Polytechnic was granted university status as Northumbria University.

 

Newcastle City Council moved to the new Newcastle Civic Centre in 1968.

 

As heavy industries declined in the second half of the 20th century, large sections of the city centre were demolished along with many areas of slum housing. The leading political figure in the city during the 1960s was T. Dan Smith who oversaw a massive building programme of highrise housing estates and authorised the demolition of a quarter of the Georgian Grainger Town to make way for Eldon Square Shopping Centre. Smith's control in Newcastle collapsed when it was exposed that he had used public contracts to advantage himself and his business associates and for a time Newcastle became a byword for civic corruption as depicted in the films Get Carter and Stormy Monday and in the television series Our Friends in the North. However, much of the historic Grainger Town area survived and was, for the most part, fully restored in the late 1990s. Northumberland Street, initially the A1, was gradually closed to traffic from the 1970s and completely pedestrianised by 1998.

 

In 1978 a new rapid transport system, the Metro, was built, linking the Tyneside area. The system opened in August 1980. A new bridge was built to carry the Metro across the river between Gateshead and Newcastle. This was the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, commonly known as the Metro Bridge. Eventually the Metro system was extended to reach Newcastle Airport in 1991, and in 2002 the Metro system was extended to the nearby city of Sunderland.

 

As the 20th century progressed, trade on the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides gradually declined, until by the 1980s both sides of the river were looking rather derelict. Shipping company offices had closed along with offices of firms related to shipping. There were also derelict warehouses lining the riverbank. Local government produced a master plan to re-develop the Newcastle quayside and this was begun in the 1990s. New offices, restaurants, bars and residential accommodation were built and the area has changed in the space of a few years into a vibrant area, partially returning the focus of Newcastle to the riverside, where it was in medieval times.

 

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge, a foot and cycle bridge, 26 feet (7.9 m) wide and 413 feet (126 m) long, was completed in 2001. The road deck is in the form of a curve and is supported by a steel arch. To allow ships to pass, the whole structure, both arch and road-deck, rotates on huge bearings at either end so that the road deck is lifted. The bridge can be said to open and shut like a human eye. It is an important addition to the re-developed quayside area, providing a vital link between the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides.

 

Recent developments

Today the city is a vibrant centre for office and retail employment, but just a short distance away there are impoverished inner-city housing estates, in areas originally built to provide affordable housing for employees of the shipyards and other heavy industries that lined the River Tyne. In the 2010s Newcastle City Council began implementing plans to regenerate these depressed areas, such as those along the Ouseburn Valley.

Élégie is a song ... of the breeze whispering at the shore of the sea, the waves lapping gently in the sand, the sounds of the long forgotten past and the dreams of the future, barely heard through a sea shell. In the distance, the pounding hooves of a silver horse break the near silence, and a beautiful and mysterious girl with teal hair rides past, faster than the wind. Did you see her? Or was she a dream?

 

Élégie is a gift for Natasja and April/April-L♥ves-Blythe. I felt sad when Natasja and April no longer had any Blythes due to family necessities .... so I offered to make them a girl as a gift. Natasja sent me a stock T42 ebl and this beautiful teal scalp by Piparrot, and I am creating Élégie for them. This is her very first preview, just her teal and pink airbrushed make-up with silver shimmers ... more details to come later in the week, as well as a romantic dress of the beautiful teal silk dupioni you see her resting on here. I hope you love her, Natasja and April! Merry Christmas!

 

Thank you for looking, and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! ♥

 

ADAD 2011 343/365

 

Zakouma is an unusual park when compared to the better-known national parks of East or Southern Africa, because on normal game drives through the park, you simply don’t see elephants, except for the handful of bulls, that hang around the airstrip and the park HQ in the area of the park that is actually called Zakouma, elsewhere you just don’t see them, not unless you are actively looking for them and know in advance where they are. You won’t drive around a corner and find a small herd feeding beside the road as you might in a park like say Ruaha in Tanzania, to understand why this is the case, you need to know the tragic history of Zakouma’s elephants.

 

For roughly 6 months of the year between June and November Zakouma National Park is almost entirely inundated with floodwaters, at this time elephants would often disperse into the surrounding area of what is now the Salamat Faunal Reserve. During this time Arab horsemen from the Darfur region of neighbouring Sudan would come to hunt the elephants, as they had done for perhaps several hundred years. Traditionally a group of up to 20 horsemen armed with lances would charge a herd aiming to separate out one of the elephants, picking one with good tusks. A single horseman would then ride in front of this elephant to draw its attention and get it to pursue him, allowing the other men to ride in and spear it from behind with their lances. They would aim for the elephant’s hamstrings in its hind legs, these if severed would bring the animal down and ensure it could not get up again. Huge numbers of elephants were killed this way and in response the surviving herds in the region, have learned that at the first sign of horsemen, their best defence is to bunch up into tight groups, to ensure that no individual can be separated out.

 

Today this is no defence, the horsemen are Janjaweed militiamen and members of the Sudanese armed forces and they come not with the lances used by their ancestors, but with AK47s, belt-fed machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. This habit of bunching up into a single large herd, has meant that the poachers can easily kill 50-60 elephants in a single attack by simply machine gunning the terrified animals as they try to escape. In 2005 an aerial count found 3,885 elephants in Zakouma and the surrounding area, in under a decade the population was reduced to just 430 and had stopped breeding due to the constant stress. Since African Parks took over Zakouma the poaching has been almost entirely stopped and the elephants are breeding again, they have not lost an elephant to poaching in 6 years, as counted last year in 2021 the population is now 636.

 

This bull is one of the ones that lives in the area around the park HQ, there is always water for them and plenty of food here, and in the recent past this area would have been much safer than the rest of the park.

Holy Cross Church ( Bad Kreuznach)

Holy Cross Church

The Holy Cross Church is a Catholic church in Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate.

It is the headquarters of all the parishes in the area. This includes the parishes of St. Francis, St. Nicholas, St. Peter, St. Wolfgang and since January 2011 in a parish community Norheim, Exaltation, Bad Münster, Assumption and Hüffelsheim, Holy Guardian Angel.

Architectural History

Holy Cross was built in 1895-97 according to plans of the Mainz cathedral architect Ludwig Becker in the Gothic Revival style. Especially the color of the stones is striking that glow in a dark sandstone red. By 1921, the interior of the church was realized. This as well was oriented after the designs by the architect Ludwig Becker.

From 1921 to 1935, the equipment by further sculptures was supplemented. After the war the church which had suffered heavy damages between 1947-1949 was reconstructed. 1963, a vestry was added and the hospital chapel installed. Between 1969-72 the church was renovated from the outside. The interior most recently was renovated in 2006. On this occasion, damages on the tower balustrade were observed, which led in the years 2009-10 to further external refurbishments.

Architecture

The Holy Cross Church is a Gothic three-aisled hall church with a wide but short transept and narrow, three-bay aisles. The tall slender bell tower is set into the facade, two-storey oratorios flank the tower. The lively, foliated roofscape is made up of saddle and hipped roofs. A small roof turret marks the intersection of the nave and transept.

The nave merges into the wide chancel. The big crossing allows an unobstructed view to the altar. Columns and pointed arches of red sandstone support the reticulated vault.

The church has an organ loft.

Equipment

Sacrament altar

The neo-Gothic Sacrament altar is a triptych made ​​of wood from the year 1921. It was realized by Mettler, Hartmann and Ronge. Shown is the Lord's Supper, on the left of the altar, Christ on the Mount of Olives and on the right wing the Emmaus scene.

Marie altar

The neo-Gothic Lady altar in the left aisle dates from 1907, it is made of wood. Shown is a crescent Madonna, flanked by the Saint Agnes and Saint Elizabeth. On the left wing the birth of Christ is depicted, on the right the Assumption.

Choir Window

The three stained glass windows of 1969-72 have been designed by Alois Plum from Mainz. They show scenes from the Book of Revelation.

Family altar

The neo-Gothic "family altar" is located in the right aisle. It was manufactured in 1921 of wood by Mettler, Hartmann and Ronge. Shown are the Holy Family and two bishops. The two wings are removed and are now hanging above the shrine. On the left wing Hildegard of Bingen and Gertrude of Nivelles are shown, on the right the Saints Roch of Montpellier and Martin of Tours.

Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross, also neo-Gothic and created between 1906-11, are each mounted opposite the transept in six representations.

Pulpit

The neo-Gothic pulpit made ​​of sandstone was built in the years 1895-97. It was carried out by Christian Hocke from Kaiserslautern. In the niches the four evangelists are to be seen and at the corners St. John the Baptist and the Church Fathers, Jerome, Gregory, Augustine and Ambrose. The pulpit has a neo-Gothic sounding board.

Organ

The organ was in 1998 by the organ builder Sandtner (Dillingen/Donau) built. The instrument has 41 stops on three manuals and pedal.

I positive C-g3

Pipe Covered 8'

Salicet 8'

Unda Maris 8'

Praestant 4'

Pointed Flute 4'

Nasard 22/3'

Octave 2'

Forest Flute 2'

Third 13/5'

Quinte 11/3'

Scharff IV 1'

Krummhorn 8'

Tremulant

II Hauptwerk C-g3

Bourdon 16'

Principal 8'

Copel 8'

Flauto 8'

Viola 8'

Octave 4'

Reed pipe 4'

Superoctave 2'

Cornett V 8'

Mixture of V 2'

Trumpet 8'

III Swell C-g3

Covered 8'

Concert Flute 8'

Gamba 8'

Vox coelestis 8'

Fugara 4'

Flute 4'

Cornett II-IV 22/3'

Piccolo 2'

Bassoon 16'

Trumpet 8'

Oboe 8'

Vox humana 8'

Tremulant

Pedal mechanism C-g1

Principal 16'

Subbass 16'

Octavbaß 8'

Violoncello 8'

Octave 4'

Trombone 16'

Couplers: II / I, III / I, III / II, I / P, II / P III / P

Baptismal font

The neo-Gothic baptismal font of sandstone from 1895/97 as well as the pulpit was designed by Christian Hocke. The baptismal font is located in the baptistery on the ground floor of the bell tower.

Church treasure

In the treasury of the church a Strahlenmonstranz (solar monstrance) is kept. It dates from the years 1724-1740 and is made of silver with gold plating, it was carried out by the Cologne goldsmith Andreas Schmidt.

Peal

The church has five bells. For a full peal successively sound the tones ace° des' -es' -f' as'.

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche_(Bad_Kreuznach)

Dying is not like on TV, it can sometimes be quite very hard for the immediate family be!!!!!

 

Luciano Pavarotti Y Eric Clapton Holy Mother Live

  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EQ4YVyEf6A

1/9/2010

 

I really want a dollhouse. Like really bad. I tried convincing my daughter that she wanted one for Christmas, but she wasn't interested.

 

Then I realized that I was wanting to buy her a dollhouse so I could "play" with it. So you know what? I'm going to get my own dollhouse. Yes, I am!

 

I don't have my dollhouse yet, but I do have this adorable washer and dryer! Got it for $5.00 at Hobby Lobby. The washer's lid opens up!

~EROGENY~ is looking for DJ's and hosts as we build up our roster. If you are interested, please contact JoeC31 or Natalia Radinovic in-world or through our Discord server: discord.gg/95TS44gSDZ

This is a shot of a cascade at the Dam on the South Fork River in Lincoln County, NC.

 

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View On Black

Montacute House is a late Elizabethan mansion with garden in Montacute, South Somerset.

 

An example of English architecture during a period that was moving from the medieval Gothic to the Renaissance Classical, and one of few prodigy houses to survive almost unchanged from the Elizabethan era,[3] the house has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building,[1] and Scheduled Ancient Monument.[2] It was visited by 125,442 people in 2013.[4] Designed by an unknown architect, possibly the mason William Arnold, the three-storey mansion, constructed of the local Ham Hill stone, was built in about 1598 by Sir Edward Phelips, Master of the Rolls and the prosecutor during the trial of the Gunpowder Plotters.[5]

 

Sir Edward Phelips' descendants occupied the house until the early 20th century. For a brief period the house was let to tenants, one of whom was Lord Curzon, who lived at the house with his mistress, the novelist Elinor Glyn. In 1931, it was acquired by the National Trust.

 

The house is maintained by the National Trust. Its Long Gallery, the longest in England, serves as a South-West outpost of the National Portrait Gallery displaying a skilful and well-studied range of old oils and watercolours.

 

Montacute and its gardens have been a filming location for several films and a setting for television costume dramas and literary adaptations. Wikipedia

EOS is an independent bus company (part of Swallow Coaches) which began a few years ago. They did do relatively well in the area, and had excellent customer service. However, they decided to cease operations in July 2018, and to commemorate this, they decided to have a 'Farewell to EOS' tour using Ensignbus open-top Routemaster RM371 to run in normal service on routes S1 (Stratford-Harlow express), 87 (Harlow-Debden), 86 (Harlow-Waltham Cross) and 66 (Waltham Cross - Loughton). It was a popular day with excellent weather, and was a good send off. Proprietor Chris Hunn was in the driving seat.

 

It was meant to be the final day of EOS London, Tuesday 31st July 2018. Arriva were due to take over the following date, but legal issues with the Traffic Commisioner prevented Arriva from taking over until the paperwork had been formalised. So, EOS did continue operating a skeleton service (as most EOS drivers had already transferred to Arriva) until Thursday 2nd August, with Arriva finally taking over the following day.

Percy is Noah's class 'pet' at school. Each Friday, a child who has behaved well all week is selected to take him home for the weekend and record what adventures they have together in a special book.

 

Noah has been desperate to bring Percy home since he started school in September but he has never been chosen. This week, his teacher told me that he had settled back in to school beautifully after Christmas (he had a slightly bumpy ride last half term with some clashes with a classmate) and was the lucky child. Oh the excitement on Friday afternoon!

 

What adventures will the weekend bring? Well, so far, with this hideous wind and rain, it's been a movie, a 'dippy egg' and some board games! Poor Percy.

This image is believed to be in the public domain and is from the National Archives. More information may be found below.

 

Search or Contact the National Archives.

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Public Domain. Additional source description and credit info from the National Archives:

 

ARC Identifier: 557598

Title: The moon behind the characteristic drooping leader of a Hemlock tree in the Olympic National Park, near Seattle, Washington. From the Environmental Protection Agencys Project DOCUMERICA collection, "In Praise of the Forests". For more images see Fiche #s 209, 210, 211, 212, and 213. ENTHEOS. Spring, 1973.

   

Creator: Environmental Protection Agency. (12/02/1970 - ) ( Most Recent)

 

Type of Archival Materials:

Photographs and other Graphic Materials

Level of Description:

Item from Record Group 412: Records of the Environmental Protection Agency, 1944 - 1999

 

Location: Still Picture Records LICON, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001 PHONE: 301-837-3530, FAX: 301-837-3621, EMAIL: stillpix@nara.gov

Part of: Series: DOCUMERICA: The Environmental Protection Agency's Program to Photographically Document Subjects of Environmental Concern, 1972 - 1977

 

Access Restrictions:

Unrestricted

 

Use Restrictions: Unrestricted

 

Variant Control Number(s):

NAIL Control Number: NWDNS-412-DA-15146

Local Identifier: NWDNS-412-DA-15146

  

Copy 1

Copy Status: Preservation-Reproduction

Storage Facility: National Archives at College Park - Archives II (College Park, MD)

Media

Media Type: Slide

Copy 2

Copy Status: Reference

Storage Facility: National Archives at College Park - Archives II (College Park, MD)

Media

Media Type: Slide

 

Model is Jessi

 

Strobist info...

 

2 x Elinchrom D-Lite 2 flash heads (200w). One fitted with a dish and grid, the other with a softbox

Camera left was set up to achieve correct exposure at F11, 1/125s and ISO100/

Camera right was set to low power to lighten the shadows

Trigger was a Prolinca IR device on the hotshoe.