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Diandra is is a fierce spokesperson for of albinism and diverse beauty. She rocks both her African heritage and her freckles with a fresh no makeup look that showcases her natural beauty.
Optional Inamorata 2.0 Busty or upcoming Inamorata 3.0, both in Caramel resin.
OOAK Inamorata art doll for sale at: emiliacouture.com/2018/06/21/for-sale-4-new-ooak-dolls/
The wait is over!
And the big night is here, as the ghouls of monster high step out in there freakum dresses on the black carpet for the premiere of Frights, Camera, Action! at HauntlyWood!
The collection consists of 6 dresses for Clawdeen, Lagoona, Catty, Cleo, Frankie and Draculaura. Each dress has been made and designed with the ghoul in mind to convey and suit there personal style.
The dresses will be listed on Etsy with in an hour, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled out for them! I will be uploading seperate photo's of each dress as they are put on to my Etsy store so when you see a photo of a dress you'll know it's up on Etsy, but there will be links to each dress.
I hope you all like them and can manage to buy one as so much effort, time and detail has gone into all of these dresses and I'd love for you all to have one but they are limited edition and there are only four of each dress available. so be sure to be fast to get yours!
So what will your ghouls we wearing to the premiere tonight? We want to see photo's of your ghouls all dressed up in there freakum dresses!
- That-Doll
365 Days: #113, 06/10/07
I cleaned my bathroom. But before I finished I decided I wanted to finish that laundry. And clean out my messenger bag. Oh and get all that crap out of my car and go through it. And go through that pile of mail that had been sitting there 2 weeks. So I am kinda doing them all at once. "Oh, I will do this really fast before I run out for the afternoon"...that was at about 11, it is now almost 3, and I will be happy if I can get out of here by 5. Oh and I remembered I have to write up this thing for work, it is due tomorrow, an assignment of sorts - my employer pays for me to take industry-related classes and you know it is 'optional' but not really, and anyway I have to write up this thing, due tomorrow, have not started, whee!
Still in my PJs, no shower yet, and I think I will grab lunch and sit here while I go through this. Oh and what you do not see on the floor next to the camera is 2 huge garbage bags, this looks MUCH better than it did an hour ago.
But this is me on a Sunday, lazy and doing random crap :)
Meteor Crater is today a popular tourist attraction privately owned by the Barringer family, with an admission fee charged to see the crater. The Meteor Crater Visitor Center on the north rim features interactive exhibits and displays about meteorites and asteroids, space, the solar system and comets. It features the American Astronaut Wall of Fame, and such artifacts on display as an Apollo boilerplate command module (BP-29), a 1,406 pound meteorite found in the area, and meteorite specimens from Meteor Crater that can be touched. Formerly known as the Museum of Astrogeology, the Visitor Center includes a movie theater, a gift shop, and observation areas with views inside the rim of the crater. Guided tours of the rim are offered daily.
The crater continues to be a focus for scientific research.
Meteor Crater is a meteorite impact crater located approximately 43 miles (69 km) east of Flagstaff, near Winslow in the northern Arizona desert of the United States. Because the US Department of the Interior Division of Names commonly recognizes names of natural features derived from the nearest post office, the feature acquired the name of "Meteor Crater" from the nearby post office named Meteor. The site was formerly known as the Canyon Diablo Crater, and the meteorite that created the crater is officially called the Canyon Diablo Meteorite, the name that is on all officially labelled fragments of the meteorite. Scientists refer to the crater as Barringer Crater in honor of Daniel Barringer who was first to suggest that it was produced by meteorite impact. The crater is privately owned by the Barringer family through their Barringer Crater Company, which proclaims it to be "the first proven, best-preserved meteorite crater on earth."
Despite its importance as a geological site, the crater is not protected as a national monument, a status that would require federal ownership. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in November 1967.
Meteor Crater lies at an elevation of about 1,740 m (5,709 ft) above sea level. It is about 1,200 m (4,000 ft) in diameter, some 170 m deep (570 ft), and is surrounded by a rim that rises 45 m (150 ft) above the surrounding plains. The center of the crater is filled with 210–240 m (700–800 ft) of rubble lying above crater bedrock. One of the interesting features of the crater is its squared-off outline, believed to be caused by pre-existing regional jointing (cracks) in the strata at the impact site.
The crater was created about 50,000 years ago during the Pleistocene epoch when the local climate on the Colorado Plateau was much cooler and damper. At the time, the area was an open grassland dotted with woodlands inhabited by woolly mammoths and giant ground sloths. It was probably not inhabited by humans; the earliest confirmed record of human habitation in the Americas dates from long after this impact.
The object that excavated the crater was a nickel-iron meteorite about 50 meters (54 yards) across, which impacted the plain at a speed of several kilometers per second. The speed of the impact has been a subject of some debate. Modeling initially suggested that the meteorite struck at a speed of up to 20 kilometers per second (45,000 mph), but more recent research suggests the impact was substantially slower, at 12.8 kilometers per second (28,600 mph). It is believed that about half of the impactor's 300,000 metric tons (330,000 short tons) bulk was vaporized during its descent, before it hit the ground. The impactor itself was mostly vaporized; very little of the meteorite remained within the pit that it had excavated.
Taormina is a comune and small town on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy, in the Province of Messina, about midway between Messina and Catania. Taormina has been a very popular tourist destination since the 19th century. It has popular beaches (accessible via an aerial tramway) on the Ionian sea, which is remarkably warm and has a high salt content. Taormina can be reached via highways from Messina from the north and Catania .Just south of Taormina is the Isola Bella, a nature reserve. Tours of the Capo Sant' Andrea grottos are also available. Taormina is built on an extremely hilly coast, and is approximately a forty-five minute drive away from Europe's largest active volcano, Mount Etna.A stay at Taormina is not just a seaside vacation. This area, rich in charm and history, must be experienced in a spirit that is outside the ordinary, and for one simple reason: here, everything is extraordinary. Every stone is a thousand-year-old piece of history, the glorious sea reflects Taormina’s beauty, as it shapes and marks the passage of time, and the places that enchanted the Greeks create to this day a vibrant and exciting ambiance. But trying to describe in words what makes Taormina unique is truly difficult.
Taormina è un comune di 10.991 abitanti della provincia di Messina. E' uno dei centri balneari di maggiore rilievo di tutta la regione. Il suo aspetto, il suo paesaggio, i suoi luoghi, le sue bellezze riescono ad attirare turisti provenienti da tutto il mondo.Situata su una collina a 206 m di altezza sul livello del mare , sospesa tra rocce e mare su un terrazzo del monte Tauro, in uno scenario di bellezze naturali unico per varietà e contrasti di motivi , splendore di colori e lussureggiante vegetazione . Molto belle le mezze stagioni,Primavera e Autunno infatti vantano un clima ideale mite.La storia di Taormina è sicuramente costellata da molteplici dominazioni, e questo è possibile vederlo passeggiando per le strade del centro storico che mostrano i segni lasciati dai vari popoli passati per Taomina. Essendo situata al centro del mediterraneo la Sicilia fu sempre una preda ambita per la sua posizione strategica di passaggio,situata sulla parte est e in posizione fortificata su una collina permetteva già da allora di controllare buona parte della costa ionica e ha sempre rappresentato un ottimo punto di fortificazione e controllo nelle stradegie di guerra. Dopo aver attestato l'esistenza di una sede di siculi ( antichi abitanti dell'isola, detti anche sicani) presso Taormina, per certo vi passarono e vi lasciarono le loro tracce I Greci, i Romani, i Saraceni, dunque gli Arabi, i Bizantini ,I Normanni , Gli Aragonesi , e per ultimi i Borboni.Un soggiorno a Taormina non è semplicemente una vacanza al mare. Questi luoghi, pregni di storia e di fascino, chiedono infatti di essere vissuti con uno spirito diverso da quello comune e la ragione è semplice: qui tutto è fuori dall’ordinario.Ogni pietra reca in sé una storia millenaria, il mare meraviglioso su cui Taormina riflette tutta la sua bellezza, condiziona e scandisce lo scorrere del tempo ed i luoghi che furono l’incanto dei greci trasmettono tutt’oggi un’atmosfera vibrante di emozioni. Ma tentare di descrivere con le parole ciò che rende unica Taormina è davvero difficile
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsZheQbNK5o
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcvR1DE4_-0
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean.
It lies on a seismic fault and has for centuries suffered earthquakes and eruptions. The island's most striking feature is Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe. The coastline is beautiful. Two of the most visited attractions in Sicily are the Aeolian Islands and Taormina, with its spectacular backdrop - snow capped Etna. The largely mountainous interior is sparsely populated but the Tyrrhenian and Ionian coasts are lush. For 3,000 years the Mediterranean was the epicentre of the Western world and Sicily its focal point. The Greeks dominated between 6th century BC and 480BC. Agrigento, Selinunte, Segesta and Syracuse, with its theatre, were Greek cities. A visit to the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento is an amazing experience. Then the Romans came, followed by the Arabs who made the magical city of Palermo their capital. Normans, then the Roman church overlaid their influence upon this mix creating a dynamic culture with a delicious and varied cuisine - the island is famed for its incredibly sweet desserts!
16" Madame Alexander Neo Cissy Bon Bon styled by Jason Wu
Princess Bon Bon has just come to town. She is demanding that I not call her Bon Bon but for now, it is her name. Here, she is modeling jewelry...and skin care...and hair care--to me, she's beautiful enough to do all of that!
She is my final Jason Wu Neo Cissy. She completes my 16" Jason Wu girls.
I love her. Jason Wu has diverse dolls in Integrity Toys; and the two Madame Alexander Black Neo Cissys in his line (the other with pink hair) are very different from each other.
I never thought I would even see a Bon Bon. But someone on eBay was auctioning off all kinds of Madame Alexander items (including my 20" boy, Mr. Cisster) and I found the girl who I thought I would only see on my computer...
Now, Bon Bon will begin her adventures...
The agricultural school, for 16-25 year-olds, is funded by the UK to train new farmers to cultivate other crops, such as wheat, that they can grow both to feed their families and to sell without aiding the narcotics trade. Training farmers to cultivate such crops successfully and profitably is key to tackling the illegal drugs trade.
Afghanistan currently produces 90% of the world’s opium, the key ingredient in heroin. The UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand Province is helping Afghanistan to tackle the country’s illegal drugs trade which destroys lives around the world.
At this new training college, young Afghan farmers are learning to grow legal crops that can give them an alternative income to opium. Established farmers are destroying poppy fields so they can use the land to grow wheat and other crops from subsidised seeds.
This work is seeing results - poppy cultivation in Helmand is falling as farmers start to grow new crops. To curtail the traffickers, Afghanistan’s counter narcotics police play a crucial role finding and destroying smuggled drugs before they leave the country.
To find out more about how UK aid is working in Afghanistan, please visit: www.dfid.gov.uk/afghanistan
Picture: SAC Neil Chapman (RAF)/MOD
Diamond Head Lighthouse is a United States Coast Guard facility located on Diamond Head in Honolulu, on the island of Oʻahu in the State of Hawaiʻi.
The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Diamond Head Lighthouse was featured on a United States postage stamp in June 2007
This is a "MK 2" Tiger, showing the "Rounded" style Headlight Trim pieces, as opposed to the "Peaked" style of all earlier Tigers ["MK 1" and "MK 1A"], the new style Grill, "Sunbeam" Script on the Hood [Bonnet], and chrome fender & Rocker Panel trim.
The first Series of Production Tigers produced were called "MK 1", and ended with car # 2706, seen in a previous pic in this album.
The following cars received a number of relatively minor changes and upgrades that differentiate them from the earlier cars. This led collectors and owners to create the appellation of the "MK1A". This is entirely a concoction of the market, and was never used by Sunbeam or Rootes Group to identify these cars.
Later, in 1967, a more involved set of changes were made by Sunbeam to create the "MK2", or "MKII" Tiger. These changes included upgrading the engine to the now more common 289 cid [cubic inch displacement] Ford V8, in place of the earlier 260 cid Ford V8. The newer engine also included an alternator in place of the generator. There were additional, and more obvious changes to the exterior, including a new front grill, new headlight trim pieces that were more rounded in place of the more familiar "peaked" style seen on all earlier cars.
Total production of this newer MK II for 1967 was only 536 cars, making it the rarest type of production Tiger. That was also the end of Tiger production, which had been doomed for some time, only in part because Rootes Group had been purchased by the American Chrysler Corp and it was said to be less than pleased to be involved with producing a car with a Ford engine. Chrysler had no available replacement engine that could be made to fit into the limited space of the Tiger engine compartment.
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todays effort in the sun, good days paint,thought iod try something a little different! shouts to karl,swishrelic (stole the pic :) and all the peeps whos names are on the piece .....oh and all the randoms who chat random shit at bedmo park! you make the world a 'special' place!!
Actually we just went to grad-school together. But I’m pretty sure they would all date me if I WAS the last guy on Earth… so that’s a start.=) The person to my left (Robin) is one of my Flickr contacts named Ozkark.
Sun is setting in Sarpıncık (Karaburun), İzmir around 7 pm.
Greek Island Chios (Sakız Adası) is on the left. Far in the distance ahead is Greek mainland.
Goal: The is a mailer cover, but also the series art for "Who Jesus Really Is". We wanted to show some classic Jesus visuals, but also show that we was a normal person. He could be anyon.
Audience: Young families and people. That is the standard these days it seems.
Direction: We only had loose direction for the series, mainly something that would stand out. The only direction we did get is they wanted a woman once they say the art too.
Other important info: I really like how we were able to add in some classic catholic imagery with the halo and blue clothing.
This drawing is based on one made by MacGibbon & Ross. I have made a few changes to it, in particular, its orientation. M&R show the building orientated further clockwise, with the result that they call the south wing, the west wing etc etc. Nigel Tranter has copied M&R (as he often did) and the Canmore website has copied both of them - so they are all wrong! All the following references refer to the correct orientation, as shown here.
So, with that said, the three wings arranged as previously described, in a T, are plain to see. I will be making no further reference to the west wing, which is the most modern, having been added in the late 19th century. I imagine this is when the roof-line was made uniform over the whole building.
The old tower is clear to see, not just because it says 'Old Tower', but due to the massive thickness of its walls, which Tranter tells us reach 14 feet. This tower is believed to be 16th century and it was extended eastward, probably in the same century, to form the area known erroneously as the Guard Room. The north wall of this room is as thick as the original keep and M&R suggest that it may be of the same age. It was actually built as a kitchen, as demonstrated by the large fireplace at its east end, but when the kitchen was later moved to the newly built 17th century south wing and new entrances built alongside, 'Guard Room' became its convenient name (and just possibly its function).
The other interesting feature shown on this drawing is the passage, show in darker grey, that passes north/south through the wall that separates the old tower from the 16th century kitchen. It was excavated through the existing wall in the 19th century when the west wing was built and the "modern passage" added, as shown to the north. It provided the domestic staff with access from the kitchen in the south wing to the new west and the older east wings.
The porch shown by M&R and containing the word 'Entrances', has been removed.
Miami is a huge city, the skyscrapers go on and on, they are constantly building more. This view is from the north looking south and only shows a portion of the city. Compared to other major cities in the United States the downtown/uptown area is much larger than most. Only two come to mind that are larger and they would be New York City and Chicago.
Today is my birthday. I'm 33.
This is not a flattering or unflattering photo of me.
It is, however, a very accurate capture of who I am, and what I am feeling at the moment.
After an intense argument with someone in the car this morning, I insisted on being dropped off a mile from our destination.
It was a beautiful morning and I needed to be alone with my thoughts, my anger, my depression, my birthday.
I am in no way bummed out that it's my birthday. On the contrary, I love celebrating my birthday, I'm happy to be here and thanks to good genes and the ability to grow wiser as time goes on, I have absolutely no fear of aging whatsoever.
But it is a time of great change for me and it is a complicated time of movement on some levels of my life and stagnation on others.
This Saturday is my farewell show with my band.
I didn’t think I'd get all tripped up about it and I don’t think I have but
the funny thing is...it has brought to surface other things I have buried deep down.
I guess it's the whole closure thing.
So I walked along the road that leads to my office this morning and reminded myself that I need to take more pictures and that I should walk along roads more often.
I drive past this little grove of bamboo trees every day but I decided to investigate it this morning.
Out of the sun and in to the shadows of the bamboo I decided to take this birthday photo. Disheveled looking as I am...it truly is accurate.
As I took it I reminded myself of the magical transformation I will need to make on Saturday for this show.
Just call me the Chameleon Girl.
Hi Ho
El Transcantabrico is the most luxurious narrow-gauge train in the world, travelling a scenic route through the north of Spain.
All the suites have good-sized wide beds (for those under 6ft 2ins / 1.86m) and excellent bathrooms with the best showers we have seen on a train. The train remains in stations overnight, allowing passengers the opportunity for a good night’s sleep as well as the freedom to wander in the town.
The catering staff and crew are attentive and friendly.
Breakfast is on the train; all other meals (except one) are in local restaurants, allowing passengers to immerse themselves in the regional cuisine of northern Spain.
Train Chartering offers the whole train for private or corporate charters. The Luxury Train Club accepts individual bookings; families or small groups can arrange for their suites to be in private carriages.
She is sexy, she is versatile, and she is silkstone. For sale is the Je Ne Sais Quoi silkstone Barbie doll, nude. She was never been played with, taken out just for her items before bondaged back into her box. She will come with her stand, her care card and her certificate. She will also come with her body label hanging on one of her wrist, ribbon with box label and tissue, all together in the box. I have purchased this doll from barbiecollector.com solely for her outfit. She has not been played with or whatsoever, taken out of the box just to strip off her belongings.
With her succulent ruby lips reminds me of either Liz Hurley or Eva Mendez.
For more pictures, please visit: www.flickr.com/photos/atrikaa/sets/72157624393777197/
I will be listing more dolls, so please do check back often,
and I could combine shipping for most items.
I also list up BJD items on DoA.
thanks for stopping by!
All questions welcome.
Comes from a non-smoking, no pets home.
Items must be paid within 3 days after auction ends.
Please be advised that I will not be responsible for items without insurance or tracking.
ebay link:
Who is our neighbor? Whoever he/she is, we need to help him/her.
There is prostitution in every part of the world. And chances are there is human trafficking behind it. Government officials and cops are often bribed so few people know that this evil things happen in our areas.
Please help the women and teens who are forced to be sex slaves whenever you can or pray for them. Thank you and God bless you.
+++
Luke 10
The Good Samaritan
25 An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to have eternal life?”
26 Jesus answered, “What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?”
27 The man replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.’ They also say, ‘Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.’”
28 Jesus said, “You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.”
29 But the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about. So he asked Jesus, “Who are my neighbors?”
30 Jesus replied:
As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up and ran off, leaving him half dead.
31 A priest happened to be going down the same road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. 32 Later a temple helper[i] came to the same place. But when he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side.
33 A man from Samaria then came traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him 34 and went over to him. He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine[j] and bandaged them. Then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, “Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return.”
36 Then Jesus asked, “Which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by robbers?”
37 The teacher answered, “The one who showed pity.”
Jesus said, “Go and do the same!”
This is a photograph from the 8th annual Kinnegad 5KM Road Race and Fun Run 2017 which was held in the town of Kinnegad, Co. Westmeath, Ireland on Wednesday 5th July 2017 at 20:00. This race has firmly established itself on the local race calendar and yet again the race retains wonderful support from local clubs and runners. The race was first run in 2010 and has used the same route for each of the eight runnings of the race. The race is a right handed course, flat and fast and takes runners on a traffic free route which includes 3KM on the local road 'Boreen Bradach'. The boreen is a flat and sheltered by hedgerow and is a well used local walking and running route. The boreen benefits from a new surface which was applied over the last two years. The boreen emerges onto the main street with the finish is on this famous main street of Kinnegad in front of Harry's Hotel. This streetscape will be well known to many many people who traveled between the east and west of Ireland before the arrival of the motorway system which we have today. Kinnegad is situated at the intersection of the both the M6 Galway bound motorway and the M4 Sligo/Mayo bound motorway.
Something about WEATHER
Overall the race was very well organised and there was Garda help with traffic control in the town for the start and finish of the race. The race is organised by Coralstown Kinnegad GAA Club with proceeds from the race going towards the development of the club.
The location of the START (goo.gl/maps/JWpnK) and FINISH (goo.gl/maps/es2Up) of the race are shown on Google Maps. Prize giving, refreshments, parking and registration is at Kinnegad GAA club just off the old Mullingar Road about 500m from the start (goo.gl/Ia9cIR)
Our full set of photographs from tonight's race is available here www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157685768130326
Photographs from Previous Kinnegad 5km Road Races
2016: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157671016784465
2015: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157653300652864
2014: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/albums/72157645584938282
2013: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157634580196967/
2012: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157630534171096/
2011: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157627186893850/
2010: www.flickr.com/photos/peterm7/sets/72157624580703513
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Can I use these photographs directly from Flickr on my social media account(s)?
Yes - of course you can! Flickr provides several ways to share this and other photographs in this Flickr set. You can share directly to: email, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, LiveJournal, and Wordpress and Blogger blog sites. Your mobile, tablet, or desktop device will also offer you several different options for sharing this photo page on your social media outlets.
BUT..... Wait there a minute....
We take these photographs as a hobby and as a contribution to the running community in Ireland. We do not charge for our photographs. Our only "cost" is that we request that if you are using these images: (1) on social media sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter,LinkedIn, Google+, VK.com, Vine, Meetup, Tagged, Ask.fm,etc or (2) other websites, blogs, web multimedia, commercial/promotional material that you must provide a link back to our Flickr page to attribute us or acknowledge us as the original photographers.
This also extends to the use of these images for Facebook profile pictures. In these cases please make a separate wall or blog post with a link to our Flickr page. If you do not know how this should be done for Facebook or other social media please email us and we will be happy to help suggest how to link to us.
I want to download these pictures to my computer or device?
You can download this photographic image here directly to your computer or device. This version is the low resolution web-quality image. How to download will vary slight from device to device and from browser to browser. Have a look for a down-arrow symbol or the link to 'View/Download' all sizes. When you click on either of these you will be presented with the option to download the image. Remember just doing a right-click and "save target as" will not work on Flickr.
I want get full resolution, print-quality, copies of these photographs?
If you just need these photographs for online usage then they can be used directly once you respect their Creative Commons license and provide a link back to our Flickr set if you use them. For offline usage and printing all of the photographs posted here on this Flickr set are available free, at no cost, at full image resolution.
Please email petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com with the links to the photographs you would like to obtain a full resolution copy of. We also ask race organisers, media, etc to ask for permission before use of our images for flyers, posters, etc. We reserve the right to refuse a request.
In summary please remember when requesting photographs from us - If you are using the photographs online all we ask is for you to provide a link back to our Flickr set or Flickr pages. You will find the link above clearly outlined in the description text which accompanies this photograph. Taking these photographs and preparing them for online posting takes a significant effort and time. We are not posting photographs to Flickr for commercial reasons. If you really like what we do please spread the link around your social media, send us an email, leave a comment beside the photographs, send us a Flickr email, etc. If you are using the photographs in newspapers or magazines we ask that you mention where the original photograph came from.
I would like to contribute something for your photograph(s)?
Many people offer payment for our photographs. As stated above we do not charge for these photographs. We take these photographs as our contribution to the running community in Ireland. If you feel that the photograph(s) you request are good enough that you would consider paying for their purchase from other photographic providers or in other circumstances we would suggest that you can provide a donation to any of the great charities in Ireland who do work for Cancer Care or Cancer Research in Ireland.
Let's get a bit technical: We use Creative Commons Licensing for these photographs
We use the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License for all our photographs here in this photograph set. What does this mean in reality?
The explaination is very simple.
Attribution- anyone using our photographs gives us an appropriate credit for it. This ensures that people aren't taking our photographs and passing them off as their own. This usually just mean putting a link to our photographs somewhere on your website, blog, or Facebook where other people can see it.
ShareAlike – anyone can use these photographs, and make changes if they like, or incorporate them into a bigger project, but they must make those changes available back to the community under the same terms.
Above all what Creative Commons aims to do is to encourage creative sharing. See some examples of Creative Commons photographs on Flickr: www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
I ran in the race - but my photograph doesn't appear here in your Flickr set! What gives?
As mentioned above we take these photographs as a hobby and as a voluntary contribution to the running community in Ireland. Very often we have actually ran in the same race and then switched to photographer mode after we finished the race. Consequently, we feel that we have no obligations to capture a photograph of every participant in the race. However, we do try our very best to capture as many participants as possible. But this is sometimes not possible for a variety of reasons:
►You were hidden behind another participant as you passed our camera
►Weather or lighting conditions meant that we had some photographs with blurry content which we did not upload to our Flickr set
►There were too many people - some races attract thousands of participants and as amateur photographs we cannot hope to capture photographs of everyone
►We simply missed you - sorry about that - we did our best!
You can email us petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com to enquire if we have a photograph of you which didn't make the final Flickr selection for the race. But we cannot promise that there will be photograph there. As alternatives we advise you to contact the race organisers to enquire if there were (1) other photographs taking photographs at the race event or if (2) there were professional commercial sports photographers taking photographs which might have some photographs of you available for purchase. You might find some links for further information above.
Don't like your photograph here?
That's OK! We understand!
If, for any reason, you are not happy or comfortable with your picture appearing here in this photoset on Flickr then please email us at petermooney78 AT gmail DOT com and we will remove it as soon as possible. We give careful consideration to each photograph before uploading.
I want to tell people about these great photographs!
Great! Thank you! The best link to spread the word around is probably http://www.flickr.com/peterm7/sets
Spring is sprung. Boys are excited. Two pairs of tundra swans are entangled in a group fight on Detroit River on their way back to arctic tundra
Black Drongo
The black drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) is a small Asian passerine bird of the drongo family Dicruridae. It is a common resident breeder in much of tropical southern Asia from southwest Iran through India and Sri Lanka east to southern China and Indonesia. It is a wholly black bird with a distinctive forked tail and measures 28 cm (11 in) in length. It feeds on insects, and is common in open agricultural areas and light forest throughout its range, perching conspicuously on a bare perch or along power or telephone lines. The species is known for its aggressive behaviour towards much larger birds, such as crows, never hesitating to dive-bomb any bird of prey that invades its territory. This behaviour earns it the informal name of king crow. Smaller birds often nest in the well-guarded vicinity of a nesting black drongo. Previously grouped along with the African fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis), the Asian forms are now treated as a separate species with several distinct populations.
The black drongo has been introduced to some Pacific islands, where it has thrived and become abundant to the point of threatening and causing the extinction of native and endemic bird species there.
The black drongo was once considered a subspecies of the fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis), a close relative that diverged relatively recently. The two are now considered distinct species, with the fork-tailed drongo restricted to Africa and separated from the Asian range of the black drongo.
Seven subspecies have been named but the largely contiguous populations show clinal variation and intergrade with each other. Individuals from northern India (ssp. albirictus) are larger than those from the Sri Lankan population minor while those from the peninsular India (nominate subspecies) are intermediate in size. Race cathoecus is found in Thailand, Hong Kong and China. This race has a much smaller rictal spot and the wings are dark with a greenish gloss. In southern Siam a race thai is resident, but overlaps with wintering cathoecus. Race javanus is found on the islands of Java and Bali. Race harterti found in Formosa has the tail length less than the wing.
This bird is glossy black with a wide fork to the tail. Adults usually have a small white spot at the base of the gape. The iris is dark brown (not crimson as in the similar ashy drongo). The sexes cannot be told apart in the field. Juveniles are brownish and may have some white barring or speckling towards the belly and vent, and can be mistaken for the white-bellied drongo. First-year birds have white tips to the feathers of the belly, while second-years have these white-tipped feathers restricted to the vent.
They are aggressive and fearless birds, and although only 28 cm (11 in) in length, they will attack much larger species that enter their nesting territory, including crows and birds of prey. This behaviour led to their former name of king crow. They fly with strong flaps of the wing and are capable of fast manoeuvres that enable them to capture flying insects. With short legs, they sit upright on thorny bushes, bare perches or electricity wires. They may also perch on grazing animals.
They are capable of producing a wide range of calls but a common call is a two note tee-hee call resembling that of the Shikra (Accipiter badius).
The black drongo is found predominantly in open country and usually perches and hunts close to the ground. They are mostly aerial predators of insects but also glean from the ground or off vegetation. They are found as summer visitors to northeastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan but are residents from the Indus Valley until Bangladesh and into India and Sri Lanka. Some populations show seasonal movements that are poorly understood. The black drongo can be found in savannas, fields, and urban habitats.
Black drongos were introduced just before the Second World War from Taiwan to the island of Rota to help in the control of insects. It is believed that they dispersed over the sea to the island of Guam in the 1950s. By 1967, they were the fourth most commonly seen birds in roadside counts on Guam and are today the most abundant bird there. Predation by and competition from black drongos have been suggested as factors in the decline of endemic bird species such as the Rota bridled white-eye and the Guam flycatcher.
Being common, they have a wide range of local names. The older genus name of Buchanga was derived from the Hindi name of Bhujanga. Other local names include Thampal in Pakistan, Gohalo/Kolaho in Baluchistan, Kalkalachi in Sindhi, Kotwal (=policeman) in Hindi; Finga in Bengali; Phenshu in Assamese; Cheiroi in Manipuri; Kosita/ Kalo koshi in Gujarati; Ghosia in Marathi; Kajalapati in Oriya; Kari kuruvi (=charcoal bird), Erettai valan (=two tail) in Tamil; Passala poli gadu in Telugu; Kaaka tampuratti (=queen of crows) in Malayalam; Kari bhujanga in Kannada and Kalu Kawuda in Sinhalese.[70] A superstition in central India is that cattle would lose their horn if a newly fledged bird alighted on it. It is held in reverence in parts of Punjab in the belief that it brought water to Husayn ibn Ali, revered by Shī‘a Muslims.
The Lloyd LP 250 is a small car introduced in June 1956 and offered for sale till 1957 by Lloyd Motoren Werke G.m.b.H. of Bremen. The body and running gear came from the existing Lloyd LP 400. The LP 250 differed in having the size of its two cylinder two stroke engine reduced to 250 cc. This produced a claimed maximum power of just 8 kW (11 PS) at 5000 rpm, less, even, than the 9.8 kW (13 PS) of the LP 400.
The Lloyd LP 250 became known in Germany as the “Driving Test Nerves Car” („Prüfungsangst-Auto“ ) because, under the licence classifications then in force, vehicles having an engine capacity below 250 cc fell into a more accessible drivers’ licence category (Licence Category 4) than larger engined cars.[1] Presumably at the time when the drivers’ licence categories were devised it had not occurred to the legislators that such a category might include a four seater passenger car. In later years elderly motorists who had never acquired a more conventional drivers’ licence were happy to spell out that "vehicles" in this case included cars as evidence that they were indeed licensed to drive cars and did not need to take the additional test normally necessary for driving passenger cars (Licence Category 3).
On its introduction in summer 1956 the car lacked some of the relatively luxurious features included on the LP 400 sister model. It came without hubcaps, bumpers or a backrest for passengers in the back seat. The car was offered for sale at just DM 2,980, though the missing features were available at extra cost as options. A more fully equipped version, the LP 250 V, replaced the basic LP 250 in April 1957, the formerly optional fittings becoming standard features: the price was increased to DM 3,350, however, which was the same as the price quoted for the more powerful LP 400.
In total, 3,768 Lloyd LP 250 / LP 250Vs were produced.
(Wikipedia)
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Der Lloyd LP 250 ist ein Kleinwagen der Lloyd Motoren Werke G.m.b.H. in Bremen. Fahrwerk und Karosserie entsprechen weitestgehend denen des Lloyd LP 400. Wesentlicher Unterschied ist der auf 250 cm³ verkleinerte Zweizylinder-Zweitaktmotor, dessen Leistung mit 8 kW (11 PS) bei 5000/min noch geringer ausfällt als die des ohnehin schon schwachen LP 400.
Der Lloyd LP 250 wurde „Prüfungsangstauto“ genannt, da er mit dem bis 1954 ausgegebenen alten Führerschein der Klasse 4 („Fahrzeuge ... bis 250 cm³“) gefahren werden durfte. Bei Einführung dieser Klasse dachte wahrscheinlich niemand an viersitzige Personenkraftwagen mit derart geringem Hubraum. Später wurde die Auslegung „Fahrzeuge = (auch) Autos“ gern von Leuten genutzt, die sich in fortgeschrittenem Alter keine Führerscheinprüfung der Klasse 3 (Pkw) mehr zutrauten.
Als der Lloyd LP 250 im Juni 1956 angeboten wurde, kostete er 2.980,00 DM, allerdings mit einer gegenüber dem LP 400 verringerten Ausstattung ohne Radkappen, Stoßstangen, Dachhimmel und Rücksitzbank. Diese Teile konnten nachgerüstet werden. In Vollausstattung (LP 250 V), die ab April 1957 ausschließlich erhältlich war, kostete der Wagen 3.350,00 DM bzw. genauso viel wie der LP 400.
3768 LP 250 bzw. LP 250 V wurden gebaut.
(Wikipedia)
“North Park” is a magnificent 42 room Queen Anne style mansion built on what is the most elevated section in the Borough of Essendon along Woodland Street. Still in remarkably original condition both inside and out, with its gardens well maintained, “North Park” is one of Melbourne’s grandest mansions and is representative of “Marvellous Melbourne”.
Built between 1888 and 1889 for Melbourne brewing magnate Alexander McCracken (1856 – 1915) and his family, the mansion was designed by architects Oakden, Addison and Kemp. The contract was let to builder D. Sinclair for £10,750. The foundations of the house are of bluestone and above that, the walls are faced with picked red Northcote bricks, relieved by dressing and bands. The residence is an excellent example of Federation Queen Anne style, as seen by the asymmetry in its design, terracotta ridge cresting, prominent gables and half-timbering to gables, and the tall chimneys. The entrance is central and reached by a wide flight of Malmsbury steps. The roof treatment is elaborate, with dormer windows, a steep central pavilion, cresting, and a widow’s walk. The roof of “North Park” still has its original imported Marseilles terracotta roof tiles made by the French company, Guichard Carvin de Cie, St Andrew. Apparently these unique tiles feature the firm's signature bee imprint on each one. Alterations and extensions were undertaken in 1906, including the complete redecoration of the interior to the design of Billing, Son and Peck. One magnificent edition to the house as part of the 1906 extension was a ballroom. It has a high domed, metal Arts and Crafts ceiling, Art Nouveau stained glass windows and French doors leading out into the garden to the estate’s ornamental fish pond, which is still as it was in 1900 when it was created. The ballroom was built by Alexander McCracken for the debut into society of his favourite daughter.
The estate grounds retain much of its original form, with a sweeping drive from the front gates on Woodland Street and the front of the house overlooking three curved terraces which are symmetrical about a central axis with the main towered entrance. The planting is a fine example of the Gardenesque style developed by John Claudius Loudon (1783 – 1843) in the early Nineteenth Century to display plants for their individual beauty. The grounds contain many mature trees which were planted when “North Park” was first constructed including; a pair of Himalayan Cedars, cypress trees, palm trees (almost as tall as the house itself) and a huge Moreton Bay Fig. All are surrounded by beds full of perennials which border a number of terraced lawns.
Alexander McCracken died at “North Park” in 1915. The mansion was sold to Harvey Patterson (1848 -1931), an executive of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, in the early 1920s. He and his wife lived there for a short while after his retirement. “North Park” was then purchased by the Society for Saint Columban in December 1923. It is them we have to thank for the house remaining in such excellent condition. Most of the rooms are still in-tact with original interior decoration and furniture.
When I visited and asked permission to photograph “North Park”, I was amazed by the completeness of the interior. It was almost like stepping back in time. The hallway still has its heavy Arts and Crafts wallpaper, tiled floor and original Victorian hall furniture. It is illuminated by a group of stained glass windows above the stairway is the glory of the house. Their theme is the golden age of ancient Greece. A smaller set of windows shows the golden age of ancient Ireland. I would dearly love to have photographed them, but that was not something the Father would have permitted.
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In response to the Congressional budget debacle which proved that DC is but a colony -- prone to being singled out unlike any other city in the country -- a number of activists, elected officials, and general citizens came out in force upon the grounds of Capitol Hill.
The crowd first formed on the sidewalk, but after some opening remarks by elected officials and activists: they quickly spilled into the street. The Capitol Police had been on hand & I'd thought it amusing that a couple were taking photos & videos... it wasn't until I saw the wristbands come out when I realised these weren't officers enjoying the moment; they were recording evidence.
With many minutes of warning, large portions of the group shifted over the sidewalk; whilst a core of dedicated supporters -- including our Mayor, a number of councilmembers, and members of DC Vote -- remained behind to block the roadway. The officers began to surround the group & repeated their warnings to get back on the sidewalk or face arrest.
Now in all fairness to the Capitol Police: they were doing their job. They were quite courteous about it & the protest was similarly jubilant right back. One woman was first to be bound, soon followed by several other activists. Then came Muriel Bowser: first councilmember to be arrested.
In general, I tend to dislike political grandstanding... but this was different. If our council was being arrested by our own police, I'd think it a cheesy photo op... but now our locally-elected officials were being arrested by the very forces we were out to protest: the Feds. This wasn't a mere photo op arrest; this was actually a legitimate arrest... the kind of thing that goes on your record; the kind of thing you spent a night in jail for.
Now granted, I don't expect anyone will be in jail longer than tomorrow; I'd be surprised if any were still locked up by midnight tonight. But it was Councilmember Bowser's arrest which really hit a moment... you could see the look on her face was of some worried concern: someone who had never been arrested before & didn't show up here today expecting to be arrested. As she was placed into the police van: her look of concern changed to a bit more worry. I mean this as no knock against Councilmember Bowser's committment; rather I felt it really help to humanise the entire event. It made me respect her all the more.
Yvette Alexander stood right beside us for quite some time, complicated in that she didn't have her ID on her. While it was entertaining to see our top officials being frisked, it was also quite entertaining that our easily-recognisable councilmember needed her ID... prompting a standerby to call one of her staffers with the best introduction I've ever heard over a phone: "Hi, your councilmember has been arrested." Also, kudos to Councilmember Alexander for going to jail in high heels!
There is a lot I can complain about with the council in general; and certainly with individual councilmembers & even the mayor. Heck, that's what politicians are for: you're not supposed to always like them. But this was an opportunity to set aside some of those issues (frankly, I'd say DC was glad to have a unifying moment after the past couple weeks) and cheer on our own brothers & sisters as they stood up in support of our rights.
It was certainly a proud moment to be a DC resident and a fine boost to our collective esteem after several weeks of turmoil within our local & federal levels of government. It's aggravating that my support for small & local government is inhibited by those in Congress whom advocate small & local government. If I wanted to live in a colony, I'd have moved to Williamsburg.
"The South End is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is bordered by Back Bay, Chinatown, and Roxbury. It is distinguished from other neighborhoods by its Victorian style houses and the many parks in and around the area. The South End is the largest intact Victorian row house district in the country, as it is made up of over 300 acres. Eleven residential parks are contained within the South End. In 1973, the South End was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Much of the South End was originally marshlands in Boston's South Bay. After being filled in, construction of the neighborhood began in 1849.
It is home to many diverse groups, including immigrants, young families, and professionals, and it is very popular with the gay and lesbian community of Boston. Since the 1880s the South End has been characterized by its diversity, with substantial Irish, Jewish, African-American, Puerto Rican (in the San Juan Street area), Chinese, and Greek populations. In 2010, the population was 55.2% white, 13.3% Hispanic, 12.5% Black or African American, 16.2% Asian, and 2.7% other; 55.2% of its residents had a bachelor's degree or higher; the median household income was $57,699; the median age was 36; 65.6% were primarily English speakers; and 12.9% were primarily Spanish speakers.
Boston (US: /ˈbɔːstən/), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th-most populous city in the country. The city boundaries encompass an area of about 48.4 sq mi (125 km2) and a population of 675,647 as of 2020. It is the seat of Suffolk County (although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999). The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest MSA in the country. A broader combined statistical area (CSA), generally corresponding to the commuting area and including Providence, Rhode Island, is home to approximately 8.2 million people, making it the sixth most populous in the United States.
Boston is one of the oldest municipalities in America, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from the English town of the same name. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution and the nation's founding, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the siege of Boston. Upon American independence from Great Britain, the city continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education and culture. The city has expanded beyond the original peninsula through land reclamation and municipal annexation. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing more than 20 million visitors per year. Boston's many firsts include the United States' first public park (Boston Common, 1634), first public or state school (Boston Latin School, 1635) first subway system (Tremont Street subway, 1897), and first large public library (Boston Public Library, 1848).
Today, Boston is a center of scientific research; the area's many colleges and universities, notably Harvard and MIT, make it a world leader in higher education, including law, medicine, engineering and business, and the city is considered to be a global pioneer in innovation and entrepreneurship, with nearly 5,000 startups. Boston's economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology, and government activities. Boston is a hub for LGBT culture and LGBT activism in the United States. Households in the city claim the highest average rate of philanthropy in the United States. Boston businesses and institutions rank among the top in the country for environmental sustainability and new investment." - info from Wikipedia.
The fall of 2022 I did my 3rd major cycling tour. I began my adventure in Montreal, Canada and finished in Savannah, GA. This tour took me through the oldest parts of Quebec and the 13 original US states. During this adventure I cycled 7,126 km over the course of 2.5 months and took more than 68,000 photos. As with my previous tours, a major focus was to photograph historic architecture.
Now on Instagram.
Once upon a time, I guess Kingsnorth was a small leafy village, set in loamy countryside, rarely visited. Indeed this is what Hasted suggests.
Set a mile or two outside Ashford, all was calm and peaceful until the railways came to Ashford and the town grew and grew.
In the 21st century, Kingsnorth is found from the main road into the town centre, along a busy road to where the old village pub still sits. And opposite is the start of Church Hill, at the top, not surprisingly, sits the church.
Inbetween now is a large and modern housing estate, and beside the church, a busy school, even busy on a Saturday morning due to football practice and the fleet of MPVs and Soccer Moms taking their darlings for a kickabout.
It is the modern way, after all.
St Michael sits quietly next door to the school, the end of a footpath leading to another housing development on the Brenzett road, were an old friend once had a house. And I can remember him leading us on a walk over the fields through clouds of Gatekeepers where we found, as today, the church open.
I took a few shots then, but am back now to complete the task.
First highlight was the 17th century graffiti in the porch.
In truth it is a small and simple church, mostly clear what looks like modern glass, though a single panel of ancient glass is in one of the north have windows and a single panel of wall painting on the side of the north chancel arch.
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KINGSNOTH,
THE next parish south-eastward is Kingsnoth, sometimes called Kingsnode, and by Leland written Kinges-snode.
THIS PARISH is so obscurely situated as to be but little known, the soil in it is throughout a deep miry clay; it is much interspersed with woodlands, especially in the south-east part of it, the whole face of the country here is unpleasant and dreary, the hedge rows wide, with spreading oaks among them; and the roads, which are very broad, with a wide space of green swerd on each side, execrably bad; insomuch, that they are dangerous to pass except in the driest time of summer; the whole of it is much the same as the parishes adjoining to it in the Weald, of which the church, which stands on the hill nearly in the middle of the parish, is the northern boundary, consequently all that part of it southward is within that district. There is no village, the houses standing single, and interspersed throughout it At no great distance eastward from the church is the manor house of Kingsnoth, still called the Park-house, the antient mansion, which stood upon a rise, at some distance from the present house, seems from the scite of it, which is moated round, to have been large, remains of Mosaic pavement, and large quantities of stone have been at times dug up from it. South-eastward from the church is Mumfords, which seems formerly to have been very large, but the greatest part of it has been pulled down and the present small farm-house built out of it; westward from the church stands the court-lodge, now so called, of East Kingsnoth manor, it is moated round, and seems likewise to have been much larger than it is at present, and close to the western boundary of the parish is the manor-house of West Halks, which has been a large antient building, most probably of some consequence in former times, as there appears to have been a causeway once from it, wide enough for a carriage, which led through the courtlodge farm towards Shadoxhurst, Woodchurch, and son on to Halden, remains of which are often turned up in ploughing the grounds. In the low grounds, near the meadows, is the scite of the manor of Moorhouse, moated round. The above mansions seem to have been moated round not only for defence, but to drain off the water from the miry soil on which they were built, which was no doubt the principal reason why so many of the antient ones, in this and the like situations were likewise moated round. There is a streamlet, which rises in the woods near Bromley green, and slows along the eastern par to this parish northward, and joining the Postling branch of the Stour near Sevington, runs with it by Hockwood barn and under Alsop green, towards Ashford. Leland in his Itinerary says, vol. vii. p. 145, "The river of Cantorbury now cawled Sture springeth at Kinges Snode the which standeth sowthe and a lytle by west fro Cantorbury and ys distant of Cant. a xiiii or xv myles."
THE ROYAL MANOR OF WYE claims paramount over this parish. The lord of that manor, George Finch Hatton, esq. of Eastwell, holds a court leet here for the borough of East Kingsnoth, which claims over this parish, at which a borsholder is yearly appointed; subordinate to which is THE MANOR OF KINGSNOTH, which in early times was the residence of a family to which it gave name, who bore for their coat armour, as appeared by seals appendant to their antient deeds, Ermine, upon a bend, five chevronels; and John de Kingsnoth, who lived here about the latter end of king Edward I. sealed with that coat of arms; yet I find that Bartholomew de Badlesmere, who was attainted about the 17th year of king Edward II had some interest in this manor, which upon his conviction escheated to the crown, and remained there until Richard II. granted it to Sir Robert Belknap, the judge, who had, not long before, purchased that proportion of this manor which belonged to the family of Kingsnoth, by which he became possessed of the whole of it; but he being attainted and banished in the 11th year of that reign, that part which had belonged to Badlesmere, and was granted by the king to Sir Robert Belknap, returned again to the crown, a further account of which may be seen hereafter. (fn. 1) But the other part of this estate, which belonged to the family of Kingsnoth likewise, henceforward called the manor of Kingsnoth, which seems to have been the greatest part of it, on the petition of Hamon Belknap his son to parliament, to be enabled in blood and lands to his father, notwithstanding the judgement against him, was restored to him, and he was found by inquisition to die possessed of it in the 7th year of king Henry VI. Soon after which I find Sir Thomas Browne, of Beechworth castle, treasurer of the king's houshold, to have become possessed of it; for in the 27th year of that reign, he obtained licence for a fair in this parish, on the feast of St. Michael, and that same year he had another to embattle his mansion here and to inclose a park, and for freewarren in all his demesne lands within this manor; and in a younger branch of his descendants this manor continued down to Richard Browne, esq. of Shingleton, in Great Chart, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Andrews, of Lathbury, in Buckinghamshire, and dying soon after the death of king Charles I. Elizabeth, their only daughter and heir, carried it in marriage to Thomas, lord Leigh, of Stoneleigh, who afterwards alienated it again to Andrews, in which name it continued till Alexander Andrews, executor and devisee of William Andrews, in 1690, conveyed this manor, with the farm called the Park, the manor of Morehouse, and other lands in this parish, being enabled so to do by act of parliament, to the company of haberdashers of London, as trustees, for the support of the hospital at Hoxton, commonly called Aske's hospital, in whom they are now vested. There is not any court held for this manor.
THE OTHER PART of the above-mentioned estate, which had formerly belonged to the family of Badlesmere, and had escheated to the crown on the attainder of Bartholomew de Badlesmere in the 17th year of king Edward II. remained there until Richard II. granted it to Sir Robert Belknap, on whose attainder and banishment in the 11th year of that reign it returned again to the crown, whence it seems, but at what time I have not found, to have been granted to the abbot and convent of Battel, in Sussex, by the name of THE MANOR OF EAST KINGSNOTH, together with the manors of West Kingenoth, in Pluckley; Morehouse, in this parish; and Wathenden, in Biddenden, lately belonging to that monastery, in as ample a manner as the late abbot, or any of his predecessors had possessed them, (fn. 2) and they continued part of the possessions of it till its dissolution in the 30th year of Henry VIII. when they came into the hands of the crown, where they staid but a short time; for the king that year granted these manors to Sir Edw. Ringsley for his life, without any rent or account whatsoever; and four years afterwards the king sold the reversion of them to Sir John Baker, one of his council, and chancellor of the first fruits and tenths, to hold in capite by knight's service. He died in 1558, possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the church of Kingsnoth, and the manors of West Kingsnoth and Morehouse, held in capite, in whose descendants the manor of East Kingsnoth, with the advowson of the church, descended down to Sir John Baker, bart. who, in the reign of king Charles I. passed it away by sale to Mr. Nathaniel Powell, of Ewehurst, in Sussex, and afterwards of Wiarton, in this county, who was in 1661 created a baronet; and in his descendants it continued down to Sir Christopher Powell, bart. who died possessed of it in 1742, s.p. leaving his widow surviving, whose trustees sold this manor and advowson, after her death, to Mrs. Fuller, widow of Mr. David Fuller, of Maidstone, attorney-at-law, who in 1775 devised them by will to her relation William Stacy Coast, esq. now of Sevenoke, the present owner of them. There is not any court held for this manor.
MUMFORDS, as it is now called, though its proper and more antient name is Montfort's, is a manor in this parish, which was once the residence of the family of Clerc, written in antient deeds le Clerc, and afterwards both Clerke and Clarke, in which it continued till about the latter end of the reign of king Edward I. when Henry le Clerc leaving no issue male, Susan his daughter and heir carried it, with much other inheritance, in marriage to Sir Simon de Woodchurch, whose descendants, out of gratitude for such increase of fortune, altered their paternal name from Woodchurch to Clerke, and in several of their deeds subsequent to this marriage, were written Clerke, alias Woodchurch. They resided at Woodchurch till Humphry Clerke, esq. removed hither in Henry VIII.'s reign. (fn. 3) His son Humphry Clerke, about the end of queen Elizabeth's reign, sold this manor to John Taylor, son of John Taylor, of Willesborough, who afterwards resided here. His son John Taylor, gent. of Winchelsea, alienated it, about the beginning of king Charles I.'s reign, to Edward Wightwick, gent. descended of a family originally of Staffordshire, who bore for their arms, Argent, on a chevron, argent, between three pheons, or, as many crosses patee, gules, granted in 1613. He afterwards resided here, as did his descendants, till at length Humphry Wightwick, gent. about the beginning of king George II.'s reign removed to New Romney, of which town and port he was jurat, in whose descendants this manor became afterwards vested in several undivided shares. At length Mr. William Whitwick, the only surviving son of Humphry, having purchased his mother's life estate in it, as well as the shares of his brother Martin's children, lately sold the whole property of it to Mr. Swaffer, the present possessor and occupier of it.
WEST HALKS, usually called West Hawks, is a manor, situated near the western bounds of this parish, being held of the manor of Kenardington; it formerly was the residence of a family of the name of Halk, who bore on their seals a fess, between three bawks, and sometimes only one, and were of no contemptible account, as appears by old pedigrees and writings, in which they are represented as gentlemen for above three hundred years. Sampson de Halk, gent. died possessed of this manor about the year 1360, and held besides much other land at Petham and the adjoining parishes; but about the latter end of king Henry VI.'s reign, this manor had passed from this family into that of Taylor, in which name it continued till the latter end of king Henry VII. when it was alienated to Clerc, whose descendant Humphry Clerke, esq. about the end of queen Elizabeth's reign, passed it away to Robert Honywood, esq, of Charing, who settled it on his fourth son by his second marriage Colonel Honywood. How long it continued in his descendants, I cannot learn; but it has been for some length of time in the name of Eaton, of. Essex, Mr. Henry Eaton being the present owner of it.
Charities.
HUMPHRY CLARKE, gent. of this parish, left by will in 1637, a parcel of land, called Pightland, containing about three acres, in the eastern part of this parish, for the benefit of the poor of it.
MRS. ELIZABETH MAY, in 1721, gave by will 9l. every third year, chargeable on Bilham farm, to be paid, clear of all deductions, to this parish in turn, during a term of years therein mentioned, to be applied yearly towards the binding out a child an apprentice, of the poorest people in three parishes in turn, as has been already mentioned more at large under Sevington. One girl only has as yet been put out apprentice from this charity, by this parish.
The number of poor constanly relieved are about twentyfive, casually twelve.
KINGSNOTH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Limne.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Michael, is small, consisting only of one isle and one chancel, having a square tower steeple at the west end, in which are five bells. In the isle is an antient gravestone, coffin-shaped, with old French capitals round it, now illegible. In the chancel is a stone, with an inscription on it in brass, for Thomas Umfrey, rector, no date; and a monument for Thomas Reader, A. M. son of Thomas Reader, gent. of Bower, in Maidstone, obt. 1740. Against the north wall is the tomb of Humphry Clarke, esq. made of Bethersden marble, having the figures of him and his wife remaining in brass on it, and underneath four sons and five daughters. Over the tomb, in an arch in the wall, is an inscription to his memory, set up by his daughter's son Sir Martin Culpeper, over it are the arms of Clarke, Two pales wavy, ermine, impaling Mayney. In the glass of the south window of the isle are several heads remaining, and in the north-west window the figure of St. Michael with the dragon. The north chancel fell down about thirty years ago. It belonged to the manor of Mumfords, and in it were interred the Wightwicks, owners of that manor; the gravestones of them, nine in number, yet remain in the church-yard, shut out from the church; and on one next to theirs, formerly within this chancel, is the figure of a knight in armour, with a lion under his feet, and an inscription in brass, for Sir William Parker, son of William Parker, esq. citizen and mercer of London, obt. 1421; arms, On a fess, three balls.
The advowson of the rectory of this church was formerly parcel of the possessions of the priory of Christ-church, and at the dissolution of it in the 31st year of Henry VIII. came into the king's hands, where it remained till that king in his 34th year, granted it in exchange, among other premises, to archbp. Cranmer, (fn. 4) who did not keep it long; for four years afterwards, he reconveyed it, with the consent of his chapter, back again to the king, (fn. 5) who soon afterwards granted it to Sir John Baker, one of his council, and chancellor of his first-fruits and tenths, who died possessed of the manor of East Kingsnoth, together with the advowson of this church, in the year 1558, in whose descendants it continued down to Sir John Baker, bart. who in the reign of king Charles I. alienated it, with that manor, to Mr. Nathaniel Powell. Since which this advowson has continued in the like succession of ownership with that manor, as may be seen more fully in the account of it before, to the present patron of it, William Stacy Coast, esq. now of Sevenoke.
There was formerly a pension of forty shillings payable from this church to the abbot of Battel.
¶This rectory is valued in the king's books at 11l. 9s. 9½d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 2s. 11¼d. In 1578 it was valued at sixty pounds, communicants one hundred. In 1640 it was valued at fifty pounds only, and there were the like number of communicants. It is now worth about one hundred and forty pounds per annum. The rector takes no tithes of wood below the hill southward. There are about seventeen acres of glebe land.
www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol7/pp583-592
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There has been a Church in Kingsnorth from Saxon Times but the present building probably dates from the 11thC. There are examples of 13thC and 14thC stained glass remaining in some of the windows. The chancel was rebuilt in the 18thC following a storm and the two side chapels were demolished at this time. Major restoration was carried out in the 19thC at which time the stained glass in the East Window was installed. At this time and again in the 1920s work was carried out to try and cure the problem of rising damp due to the high water table. In 2006 major restoration was once again required and in addition to repairs to the tower and external stonework it was decided that an extension would be built on the site of the old chantry chapel on the north side of the building and that the interior of the church would be re-ordered. This involved digging out the interior of the church and laying a new suspended floor to try and cure the problem of the rising damp (This has been largely successful). The old pews and choir stalls were replaced with modern stackable pews to enable a more flexible use of the space, new lighting and a new heating system was installed. This has resulted in a light airy user friendly building. At the back of the church a glass screen was erected forming a separate area. This provides a space where parents can take their children if they become restless during the services. The ground floor of the extension consists of a large meeting room with kitchenette plus toilet. On the first floor there is a choir vestry and church office. There are currently plans to install a second toilet on this floor. On the second floor there is a further small meeting room and a store room.
I had been to Marden many times, but never been to, or seen, the church.
Marden is a fine village, at least in the centre, although the locals seem vexed regarding a plan to build two thousand new homes in and around Marden.
As it is, Marden has some narrow streets and lots of parked cars. Getting in or out of the village is an "interesting" experience.
We parked near to the memorial to the remains of PLUTO, then walked along the main street to the church.
Oh, there it is.
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A picturesque church, especially when viewed from the south, with a little weatherboarded top to its short tower. There was a fire here in 1554, which did great damage to the thirteenth-century building. The south arcade has some finely carved capitals of fourteenth-century date, and there is a contemporary tomb recess in the south chapel. The pretty font cover of the seventeenth century has some of the best Jacobean carving in this part of Kent. The rood loft stairway may be seen in the south-eastern pier. The east window, which depicts the Vision of St John, was designed in 1962 by Patrick Reyntiens. It is one of the finest modern windows in Kent and may be compared to the roughly contemporary glass at Tudeley by Chagall. In spite of its unashamedly modern approach the work here is far more conventional and appropriate for its setting.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Marden
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MARDEN.
THE next parish north-eastward from Horsemonden is Marden, called in antient records, Merdenne, which lies wholly within the district of the Weald.
That part of this parish, which is within the manor of Hunton, is in the borough of Hunton, and hundred of Twyford; a small part of it belonging to the estate called Tilden, is in the hundred of Maidstone, and another small part of it is within the hundred of Eyhorne.
The manor of East Farleigh and East Peckham claims over the den of Chillenden in this parish, as does the manor of Gillingham over that of Haydhurst, alias Haytherst, in it.
THE PARISH OF MARDEN is about five miles long, and not more than one broad. There are about three hundred houses, and fifteen hundred inhabitants in it, the rents amounting to about 3,500l. per annum. The river Teis, being one of the principal heads of the Medway, flows along the western boundaries of it, as another head of it, which rises at Great Chart, does the northern boundary, and having passed Stylebridge, joins the former one, and then take their course together to the main river, which they join at Yalding. The turnpike road, which leads over Cocksheath to Style-bridge, separates there at the 44th mile-stone from London, the left branch passing to Cranbrook, and the right through this parish towards Goudhurst, the only parts of it which may be said to be above ground, the rest of it being so deep and miry as to be nearly impassable in wet weather. The town of Marden, as it is usually called, is situated on it, nearly in the middle of the parish. It is not paved, and consists of three streets, the houses of which are but meanly built, the church stands at the west end of the town, with the patronage opposite to it, and the vicarage on the entrance to it from Maidstone. The country here is much the same as the lower parts of the adjoining parishes of Hunton and Yalding already described in a former volume of this history. (fn. 1) Near the road from Style-bridge to Goudhurst it is very pleasant, but towards Hunton, and towards Staplehurst much the contrary, being of a very dreary and sorlorn aspect. It lies very low and flat, the soil in general a stiff clay, a very heavy tillage land; in winter the lands are exceeding wet, and much subject to inundations, and was it not for the manure of their native marle, and the help of chalk and lime brought from the northern hills would be still more unferstile than they were at present, notwithstanding which there are partially dispersed some very rich lands among them, and there were some years ago three hundred acres of hop-ground here, which have of late been lessened near one hundred acres. The farms are in general small, the houses of them antient well-timbered buildings, standing dispersed at wide distances, many of them on the different greens or forstals throughout the parish.
A fair is held here yearly on October 10, for toys and pedlary. The profits of which the portreve of the hundred of Milton receives of antient custom, which officer executed within this hundred the office of clerk of the market in all points, whilst the market was held, but it has been disused time out of mind.
THE MANOR AND HUNDRED OF MARDEN has been from the earliest time esteemed as an appendage to the king's manor and hundred of Milton.
King Edward I. settled it in jointure on his queen Eleanor, who in the 11th year of that reign procured a market and fair to be held at Mereden, parcel of the manor of Middleton. Queen Eleanor died in 1291, anno 20 Edward I. and the king again took possession of this manor, and the next year it was found, upon an inquisition taken for that purpose, that this hundred then belonged to the king, and, together with the hundred of Middleton, was worth 22l. 13s. 8d. per annum. (fn. 2)
The inhabitants of this hundred from time to time petitioned the crown, to have this manor separated from the jurisdiction of that of Milton, and to be esteemed as an entire and independent manor of itself; but this appears never to have been attended to; so that it continues in the same dependant state at this time.
Although there was from time to time several grants made by the crown, of the manor of Middleton, with this of Marden appendant to it, yet the fee of it remained parcel of the royal revenue, as may be more particularly seen under the description of that manor, till the 10th year of king Charles I. who then granted it to Sir Edward it Browne and Christopher Favell, in fee, from whence it passed through the several intermediate owners there mentioned, down to the right hon. Philip, viscount Wenman, and Mrs. Anne Herbert, the present possessors of the manor of Middleton, with this of Marden appendant to it.
THE MANOR OF CHEVENEY, and CHEVENEYHOUSE, are both situated in this parish, and are now distinguished by the names of Great and Little Chevnney. They were antiently the property of a family of that surname: Henry del Chyvene held the manor of Chyvene at his death in the 2d year of Edward II. anno 1308, of the king in capite. His descendant John Chivene died possessed of them in the reign of Edward III. as did his widow Joane in the 32d year of it. After which there is no farther traces of this family, but in the 2d year of the next reign of king Richard II. it appears by the antient court-rolls of this manor, that William At-Weld was properietor of them, in whose descendants they contined till the beginning of the reign of king Henry VI. and then they passed by sale to Couper, and in the 13th year of it, William Couper discharged several persons from the amerciaments and fines imposed on them, for not persforming suit and service to his manor of Cheveney.
In this family they continued till the beginning of queen Mary's reign, when they came into the possession of two brothers, as coheirs in gavelkind, who made a partition of their inheritance; one of them, who had the allotment of the manor, passed it away to Lone, one of whose descendants, a little while before the restoration of king Charles II. alienated it to Thomas Twisden, esq. sergeant-at-law, afterwards knighted, and made one of the judges of the king's bench, and created a baronet. He seated himself at Bradbourne, and in his descendants this manor, since known by the name of Great Cheveney, was continued down to his great-grandsion Sir Roger Twisden, bart. of Bradborne, who died possessed of it, without male issue, in 1779, upon which it came to his widow, lady Rebecca Twisden, who is the present possessor of it. (fn. 3) A court baron is held for it.
But CHEVENE-HOUSE, since called LITTLE CHEVENEY, fell to the lot of the other brother, and was alienated by him to Maplesden, which branch of that family had been seated in this parish for some generations before. Many of them lie buried in this church, where several of the inscriptions on their gravestones are become obliterated, through the dampness of it. Several of their wills are in the Prerogative-office, Canterbury. They bore for their arms, Argent, a cross fermee, fitchee, sable. In which name it continued down to George Maplesden, esq. who resided here, where he died in 1688, leaving two sons, George, who, though married, died s. p. in 1735, and was succeeded in this estate by his brother Edward; and two daughters, Anne, who was married to Booth, and Catherine to Courthope, of Horsemonden. Edward Maplesden, esq. above mentioned, was of the Middle Temple, and died, unmarried and interstate, in 1755; upon which this, among the rest of his estates, descended to Alexander Courthope, esq. of Horsemonden, the son of his sister Cantherine, and to Charles Booth, esq. the grandson of his sister Anne, beforementioned, as his coheirs in gavelkind, and upon a partition of his whole estate, this house became the sole property of the former, who likewise died unmarried in 1779; upon which Chevene-house, with the rest of his estates, came to his nephew and heir-at-law John Cole, esq. (son of his sister Barbara) who now resides at Sprivers, in Horsemonden, and is the present possessor of it.
WIDEHURST is a manor in this parish, which was formerly written in old records Wogherst, and was, as early as the reigns of king John and king Henry III. the patrimony of the family of Corbie, of no small account in this county, in which it continued till it passed by a female heir by marriage into that of Wotton, ennobled by the title of lords Wotton, of Marley, and thence again by a daughter and coheir Catherine, in marriage to Henry, lord Stanhope, son and heir of Philip, earl of Chesterfield, who died in his father's life-time, and she again carried it in marriage to her second husband John Poliander Kirkhoven, lord of Hemfleet, in Holland, (fn. 4) and they, in 1652, joined in the sale of it to John Boughton, esq. who in 1656 alienated it to Mr. John Godden, and his heirs, in 1683, conveyed it to John Brewer, esq. of West Farleigh, whose descendant of the same name died possessed of it in 1724, leaving an only daughter and heir Jane, who was twice married, first to John Carney, esq. and secondly to John Shrimpton, esq. both of whom the survived, and died in 1726 S. P. She devised this manor, with the rest of her estates, to her kinsman John Davis, D. D. who died in 1766, and his only son and heir John Davis, esq. alienated it, to John Cole, esq. of Horsemonden, who is now proprietor of it.
SHIPHURST is another manor in the western part of this parish, which was possessed by owners of that name till the latter end of king Edward III, and then it became the property of William Atweld, owner likewise of Cheveney before-mentioned, in whose descendants they continued till the beginning of king Henry VI. and then they were both passed by sale to Couper, from which name this manor was soon afterwards alienated to Field, and his descendant Edward Field held it in the 4th year of queen Elizabeth, and afterwards gave it to his kinsman Thomas Gilbert, whose successor of the same name settled it on his widow Sibil Gilbert, whose second husband Richard Knight, possessed it, in her right, in the year 1656. (fn. 5) After some intermediate owners, it passed into the name of Mitchell, and Charles Mitchell, of London, possessed it in 1734, after whose death it came to his brother-in-law Mr. George Whyvall, of London, from whence it passed to Mr. Peirse, of London, who about the year 1760 alienated it to Mr. Thomas Twort, of Horsemonden, whose two sons Thomas and David Twort afterwards possessed it; the latter of whom devised his moiety of it to his nephew John Coleman, whose son John Coleman, together with the last-mentioned Mr. Thomas Twort, now possess this manor in undivided moieties. A court baron is held for it.
MONKTON is a manor in that part of this parish next to Staplehurst, in which part of the lands belonging to it lie. It formerly belonged to the priory of Leeds, (fn. 6) and after the suppression of it in the reign of Henry VIII. was granted to Thomas Colepeper, esq. of Bedgebury, who soon afterwards sold it to Thomas Wilsford, esq. and he in the 7th year of queen Elizabeth, alienated it to Edward Herbert, from which name it passed by sale, at the latter end of that reign, to Thomas Stanley, in whose family it remained till the reign of king James I. when it passed by sale to Board, of Sussex, in whose descendants it continued till about 1756, when it was, soon after the death of Mr. William Board, alienated by his heirs to John Henniker, esq of West Ham, in Essex, since Sir John Henniker, bart. who is the present owner of it.
The family of Henniker, Heneker, or as it was originally called, De Henekin, has been of long continuance in this county. One of them, Peter de Henekin, was lieutenant-governor of Dover castle in the reign of king Edward II. They afterwards, in the reign of Edward IV. wrote themselves Heneker, and resided in different parishes of this county, where their estates lay, as may be seen in the different volumes of this history. John Henniker, who died at Lenham in 1616, was ancestor to those of Chatham and Rochester, from whom descended Sir John Henniker, bart. now of West Ham, the present possessor of this estate, who in 1758 served the office of sheriff for Essex. He married Anne, the eldest of the two only daughters and coheirs of Sir John Major, bart. of Worlingworthhall, in Suffolk, (the other daughter Elizabeth marrying Henry, duke of Chandois) by whom he had three sons, John Henniker Major, esq. M. P. for Steyning, who married Miss Emely Jones; Major, a merchant in London, who married Miss Mary Phœnix, and died in 1789; and John, colonel in the army; and one daughter Elizabeth, married to Edward Stratford, earl of Aldborough. Lady Henniker lies buried in the south isle of Rochester cathedral, under a most beautiful monument. Sir John Major was created a baronet in 1765, and the title was limited, in default of his issue male, to his son-in-law John Henniker, esq. before-mentioned, and his heirs male, at which time a patent also passed for the latter to quarter the arms of Major, viz. Azure, three pillars of the Corinthian order, on the top of each a ball, or, with those of Henniker; Gules, a chevron charged with three estoils, argent, two crescents in chief, and an escallop shell in base, azure. Sir John Major died in 1781, upon which the title of baronet descended to his son-inlaw, now Sir John Henniker, bart. the present possessor of this manor, and late member in two successive parliaments for the town and port of Dover.
READ is a manor in this parish, the mansion of which, called Read-court, is situated on the northern side of it. It was once the inheritance of the noted family of Fremingham, one of whom, John, son of Sir Ralph de Fremingham, of Lose, died in the 12th year of Henry IV. possessed of this manor, and leaving no issue, he by his will devised it to feoffees, who by deed, next year, assigned it over accordingly to John, son of Reginald de Pimpe, and his heirs male, with remainder to Roger Isley, as being nearest of blood to him. (fn. 7)
It seems afterwards to have come into the possession of the Isleys, for William Isley, esq. was possessed of it at the time of his attainder, in the 1st year of queen Mary, by which his lands became forfeited to the crown; whence this manor was granted that year to Sir John Baker, attorney-general, to hold in capite, whose son Sir Richard Baker afterwards possessed it, but in the 10th year of queen Elizabeth's reign it was come into the possession of Edward Morrys, who held it of the queen, in manner as before-mentioned. In later times it was become the property of Master, one of which name, Giles Master, held it in 1652, as appears by the survey of Marden manor then taken. In his descendants it continued some time, but at length. after some intermediate owners, it came into the possession of Nicholas Bonfoy, esq. sergeant-at-arms of the house of commons, who at his death in 1775 devised it by his will to Mr. S. H. Babb, one of the officers of that house, and he is the present owner of it.
TILDENS, TUBBINS, and BROOKE, are three small manors in this parish, which had formerly three separate owners of those names; the first were persons of some note in this county, and were possessed of estates both at Kennington, Brenchley, and Tilmanstone likewise, so early as the reign of king Edward III. These three families continued in the possession of these manors till the latter end of Henry IV.'s reign, and then one of the family of Tubbins passed away that manor to Tilden, in which name both Tildens and Tubbins remained till the beginning of king Henry VI.'s reign, and then they were demised by sale to Thomas Stidulfe, esq. who, as appears by his will in 1453, had likewise purchased Brooke manor of Richard Brooke.
His grandson Thomas Stidulfe, esq. of Badsell, left an only daughter and heir Agnes, who carried these three manors in marriage to Richard Fane, esq. of Tudeley, from whom they descended, in like manner as Mereworth, to John Fane, earl of Westmoreland, and from him again, together with the barony of Le Despencer, down to the right hon. T. Stapleton, lord le Despencer, who is the present possessor of them. (fn. 8)
THE LIBERTY of the corporation of Maidstone claims over the manor of Tildens, which is situated near Style-bridge, where there is likewise an estate called Little Tildens, which in 1675 belonged to Thomas Wall, gent. of London. It lately was the property of Nicholas Haddock, esq. who sold it to John Cole, esq. the present possessor of it.
There was a family of the name of Symons, which resided at Marden for some generations; one of whom Edward Symons, gent. in 1652, held lands here, late Sir John Packington's. In 1662 he had a grant of this coat of arms, Party per fess, sable, and, or, a pale and three cinquefoils, counterchanged. (fn. 9) He resided here in 1663, and was possessed of much land in this parish.
Charities.
EDWARD MAPLESDEN, gent. by will gave to the poor of this parish 5l. per annum for ever, payable out of a house and lands situated near Horsemonden-heath, let at 10l. per annum, subject to 20s. per annum, to be paid to a learned minister, for the preaching of two charity sermons yearly on Ash Wednesday and Whit Sunday.
CERTAIN LANDS near Apledore-heath, let at 11l. 15s. per annum, were formerly the property of Mrs. Mary Allen, who by will gave to the poor of this parish 100l. payable out of them. After which her son, Mr. John Allen, gave another 100l. and charged the said land with it, subject to a decree in chancery, under which the churchwardens and overseers, with the approbation of the parishioners, legally purchased all the whole of those lands for 320l. as appears more at large by the said decree and other writings.
AN OLD COTTAGE, now in three small dwellings, built on the waste has belonged to the parish time out of mind.
There is a work-house here for the poor, those maintained in it are yearly about fifty, out of it about forty-five.
MARDEN is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Sutton.
The church consists of three isles and three chancels, with a low square tower at the west end of it, in which there are six bells. It is situated very low and damp, at the west end of the town. In it was a chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist. In 1763 this church was beautified by subscription, at the expence of 96l. 3s. 9d.
Richard de Lucy, chief justice of England, on the foundation and endowment of the abbey at Lesnes, gave the church of Merden to it, in pure and perpetual alms; which gift was confirmed by several kings afterwards; and in the 16th year of the latter reign, there was a vicarage endowed here by archbishop Stratford. (fn. 10)
The appropriation of this church, together with the advowson of the vicarage, remained part of the possessions of that abbey till the final dissolution of it in the reign of Henry VIII. when being one of those smaller monasteries, which cardinal Wolsey had obtained of the king in the 17th year of his reign, for the endowment of his colleagues, it was surrendered, with all its possessions, into the cardinal's hands, and afterwards granted by him, by the like letters patent, for the better endowment of his college, called Cardinal's college, in Oxford. But this church staid with that college only four years; when the cardinal being cast in a prœmunire, in 1529, all the estates of it were forfeited to the king, and became part of the revenues of the crown, whence it was soon afterwards granted to the Carthusian monastery of Shene, in Surry, and on the dissolution of that house within a few years afterwards, it came again to the crown, where it seems to have remained till queen Elizabeth having, in her 3d year, taken into her hands several manors, lands, &c. parcel of the revenue of the see of Canterbury, by her letters patent that year, granted to archbishop Parker and his successors, several rectories and parsonages in lieu of them, among which latter was this church of Marden appropriate, then valued at fifteen pounds, (being the reserved rent by the lessee of it) with the advowson of the vicarage appurtenant to it. Since which it has remained parcel of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and does so at this time.
In the 8th year of king Richard II. this church was valued at 26l. 13s. 4d. annual value. In 1643 Sir William Acton, knight and baronet, was lessee of this rectory, at the yearly rent of fifteen pounds. John Cole, of Horsemonden, is the present lessee of it.
The vicarage is valued in the king's books at 7l. 18s. 4d. and the yearly tenths at 15s. 10d. In 1557 here were three hundred families, communicants five hundred. In 1569 four hundred and twenty families. Since which this parish has greatly increased in number of inhabitants. In 1640 this vicarage was valued at seventy-five pounds per annum. It is now of much greater value. There is no glebe belonging to it.
Archbishop Juxon, in conformity to the king's letters mandatory, anno 15 Charles II. augmented this vicarage, by increasing the old pension from the lessee of the parsonage, from three pounds to twenty pounds per annum.
¶An estate in this parish, of about fifteen pounds per annum value, formerly belonging to Mottenden priory, now to John Sawbridge, esq. claims an exemption of tithes.
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Oulton Park is a great circuit that has yet to be spoilt with run off areas the size of Brighton Beach and, as such, suits historic motor sport down to the ground. Drivers enjoy it as do spectators, who have the freedom to wander and watch almost at will. But it has to be said, today’s racing was boring. Maybe it’s too early in the year, maybe the grids were too small, or maybe the races, one lasting seventy-five minutes, were just too long.
Funnily enough, it was the race with the smallest entry that was the most exciting. Just eight cars started the Old Hall Trophy FF 1600 race but Douglas Crosbie and Samuel Carrington-Yates had a right ding dong battle for second place with neither giving an inch. In the end the two Van Diemans were beaten by the faster Ray GRS09 of Neil Alberico, with Douglas second.
The afternoon began with the Clay Hill Trophy 1970s Celebration Race, an easy win for Russell Paterson in the orange Morgan Plus Eight. The two Porsche 911 RSRs of Mark Bates and Paul Howells followed him home some thirty seconds adrift but it was the sideways Escort RS1800 of Mark Wright that provided a modicum of entertainment. Only eight cars finished.
The Pre-1966 Touring Car Race was jolly good fun with many battles breaking out during the sixty minutes of close encounters. Henry Mann seemed a might surprised to be given the chequered flag in his red Alan Mann Cortina, beating the similar Lotus of David Hall by seven seconds, while the Mustang of Dowd and Cooke went off song and although setting fasted qualifying time struggled to finish third. Further down in the pack, the Nick Smith Mini stormed home fourth leaving ex-F1 driver Roberto Moreno to die a death and retire. Retro-Speed favourites Andy Harrison and Tony Jardine peddled the red peril home to a well-judged thirteenth.
It should have rained for the Knickerbrook Trophy for World Sportscars but it didn’t, so the gaggle of Chevrons fought it out with the lone Lola for overall honours in the dry, depriving the spectators of at least one unpredictable race. That the Minshaws led the field home in their ultra rapid B8 was no big surprise. The same could not be said for the Lyons Lola T70 MK3b that popped and banged its way around the circuit for thirty minutes before eventually finishing well and truly last.
At 16:15 ten Pre-1966 GT cars set of on a seventy-five-minute marathon that had everybody falling asleep. The Mike Whitaker TVR Griffith stormed off into the distance and then slowed to a steady cruise after the Schryver/Hadfield Lotus 26R showed it lacked the consistent pace to mount a challenge. Everyone continued circulating, probably feeling ever lonely and unnecessarily burning fuel, until to everyone’s relief and with darkness in the air, the flag fell. The Marcos 1800GT of Tice and Conoly finished third while the pretty dark blue Diva GT of Aylett and Farrell led the Austin Healey 100/4 home at the tail end.
I came away feeling the Masters Series was jumping the gun. Like the Mille Miglia it needs glamour and sunshine to attract the crowds, both were missing from Oulton Park. For the organisers of this prestigious series of Championship gatherings, surely the season really begins in Barcelona.
I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the outcast.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Allah’s peace be upon Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), the glorious Prophet of Islam, and on his Companions and his followers.
TASAWWUF
"There is no doubt that Tasawwuf is an important branch of Islam. The word itself may have been derived form the Arabic word "Soof" (Wool) or from "Safa" (cleanliness), but its foundation lies in one’s personal sincerity in seeking Allah’s nearness and trying to live a life pleasing to Him. Study of the Quran, the Hadith, and the practical life of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and his faithful Companions provide unmistakable support to this reality." (Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A)
SUFISM, AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ISLAM
Doubts exist not only in the minds of the Muslim faithful but also among the Ulema, notably the exoteric about Tasawwuf and its votaries. Often they lead to misunderstanding, as if Shariah and Tariqah were two separate entries, or that Tasawwuf was some obscure discipline foreign to Islam, or that it was altogether above the established laws and injunctions of our Religion. To help remove these misgivings and to reassure seekers, as well as scholars, our Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), Sheikh Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia, wrote Al-Jamal Wal Kamal, Aqaid-O-Kamalaat Ulmai-e-Deoband, Binat-e-Rasool (S.A.W), Daamad-e-Ali (R.A), Dalael-us-Salook, Ejaad-e-Mazhab Shia, Hayat-un-Nabi (S.A.W), Hayat Barzakhia, Ilm-o-Irfan, Niffaz-e-Shariat Aur Fiqah-e-Jaferia, Saif-e-Owaisi, Shikast-e-Ahdai Hussain and Tahkeek Halal Haram books.
BIOGRAPHY
Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chakrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The very year, he met Shaykh Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Shaykh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was right away established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years. In 1962 he was directed to carry out the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular enthusiasm and devotion for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss as per his/her sincerity and capacity. Shaykh Allah Yar Khan's mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and distinction.
Although Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A) have lived a major portion of his life as a scholar, with the avowed mission of illuminating the truth of Islam and the negation of fallacious sects, and this would appear quite removed from Tasawwuf, yet the only practical difference between the two, namely the use of the former as a media to expound the truth, and the latter to imbue people with positive faith. Nevertheless, people are amazed that a man, who until the other day, was known as a dialectician and a preacher of Islam, is not only talking of Mystic Path, but is also claiming spiritual bonds with the veteran Sufi Masters of the Past. This amazement is obviously out of place in the view of Quranic injunction: This is the bounty of Allah which He gives to whom He wills. (62:4)
THE PURIFICATION OF THE SOUL
The purification of the soul always formed part of the main mission of the Prophets; that is, the dissemination and propagation of the Devine Message. This responsibility later fell directly on the shoulders of the true Ulema in the Ummah of the last Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), who, as his genuine successors, have continued to shed brave light in every Dark Age of materialism and sacrilege. In the present age of ruinous confusion, the importance of this responsibility has increased manifold; of the utter neglect of Islam by Muslims has not only driven them to misery, but also grievously weakened their bonds of faith in Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). The decay in their belief and consequent perversion in their conduct has reached a stage that any attempt to pull them out of the depth of ignominy and the heedless chaos of faithlessness, attracts grave uncertainties and apprehensions rather than a encouraging will to follow the Shariah, to purify the soul and to reform within. The Quranic Verse: Layers upon layers of darkness… (24:40) provides the nearest expression of their present state.
SHARIAH & SUFISM
Any action against the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) cannot be called Sufism. Singing and dancing, and the prostration on tombs are not part of Sufism. Nor is predicting the future and predicting the outcome of cases in the courts of law, a part of Sufism. Sufis are not required to abandon their worldly possessions or live in the wilderness far from the practical world. In fact these absurdities are just its opposites. It is an established fact that Tazkiyah (soul purification) stands for that inner purity which inspires a person’s spirit to obey the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If a false claimant of Sufism teaches tricks and jugglery, ignoring religious obligations, he is an impostor. A true Sheikh will lead a believer to the august spiritual audience of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). If you are fortunate enough to be blessed with the company of an accomplished spiritual guide and Sheikh of Sufism, and if you follow his instructions, you will observe a positive change in yourself, transferring you from vice to virtue.
ISLAM, AS A COMPLETE CODE OF LIFE
Islam, as a complete code of life or Deen, was perfected during the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). He was the sole teacher and his mosque was the core institution for the community. Although Islam in its entirety was practiced during that blessed era, the classification and compilation of its knowledge into distinct branches like ‘Tafsir’ (interpretation of the Quran), Hadith (traditions or sayings of the holy Prophet- SAWS), Fiqh (Islamic law), and Sufism (the soul purification) were undertaken subsequently. This Deen of Allah passed from the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) to his illustrious Companions in two ways: the outward and the inward. The former comprised the knowledge defined by speech and conduct, i.e., the Quran and Sunnah. The latter comprised the invisible blessings or the Prophetic lights transmitted by his blessed self. These blessings purified the hearts and instilled in them a passionate desire to follow Islam with utmost love, honesty and loyalty.
WHAT’S SUFISM
Sufism is the attempt to attain these Barakah (Blessings). The Companions handed down Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) teachings as well as blessings to the Taba’een. Their strong hearts were capable of infusing these blessings into the hearts of their followers. Both aspects of Islam were similarly passed on by the Taba’een to the Taba Taba’een. The compilation of knowledge and its interpretation led to the establishment of many schools of religious thought; famous four being the Hanafi, the Hanbali, the Maliki, and the Shafa'i, all named after their founders. Similarly, in order to acquire, safeguard and distribute his blessings, an organized effort was initiated by four schools of Sufism: The Naqshbandia, the Qadria, the Chishtia, and the Suharwardia. These schools were also named after their organizers and came to be known as Sufi Orders. All these Orders intend to purify the hearts of sincere Muslims with Prophetic lights. These Sufi Orders also grew into many branches with the passage of time and are known by other names as well. The holy Quran has linked success in this life and the Hereafter with Tazkiyah (soul purification). He, who purified, is successful. (87: 14) Sufi Orders of Islam are the institutions where the basics of Tazkiyah (soul purification) and its practical application are taught. They have graded programs in which every new seeker is instructed in Zikr-e Lisani (oral Zikr) and is finally taught the Zikr-e Qalbi (Remembrance in heart).
ZIKR-E QALBI
However, in the Naqshbandia Order, Zikr-e Qalbi is practiced from the very beginning. Adherence to the Sunnah (Prophet’s way of life) is greatly emphasized in this Order, because the seeker achieves greater and quicker progress through its blessings. The essence of Zikr is that the Qalb should sincerely accept Islamic beliefs and gain the strength to follow the Sunnah with even greater devotion. ‘If the heart is acquainted with Allah and is engaged in His Zikr; then it is filled with Barakaat-e Nabuwwat (Prophetic blessings) which infuse their purity in the mind and body. This not only helps in controlling sensual drives but also removes traces of abhorrence, voracity, envy and insecurity from human soul. The person therefore becomes an embodiment of love, both for the Divine and the corporeal. This is the meaning of a Hadith, “There is a lump of flesh in the human body; if it goes astray the entire body is misguided, and if it is reformed the entire body is reformed. Know that this lump is the Qalb”.’
PAS ANFAS
Recent History Khawajah Naqshband (d. 1389 CE) organized the Naqshbandia Order at Bukhara (Central Asia). This Order has two main branches – the Mujaddidia and the Owaisiah. The former is identified with Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi, known as Mujaddid Alif Sani (literally: reviver of the second Muslim millennium), a successor to Khawajah Baqi Billah, who introduced the Order to the Indo- Pakistan sub-continent. The Owaisiah Order employs a similar method of Zikr but acquires the Prophetic blessings in the manner of Khawajah Owais Qarni, who received this beneficence from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) without a formal physical meeting. The Zikr employed by the Naqshbandia is ‘Zikr-e Khafi Qalbi’ (remembrance of Allah’s Name within the heart) and the method is termed ‘Pas Anfas’, which (in Persian) means guarding every breath. The Chain of Transmission of these Barakah, of course, emanates from the holy Prophet- SAWS.
SPIRITUAL BAI’AT (OATH OF ALLEGIANCE
It is necessary in all Sufi Orders that the Sheikh and the seekers must be contemporaries and must physically meet each other for the transfer of these blessings. However, the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order goes beyond this requirement and Sufis of this Order receive these Barakah regardless of physical meeting with their Sheikh or even when the Sheikh is not their contemporary. Yet, it must be underscored that physical meeting with the Sheikh of this Order still holds great importance in dissemination of these Barakah. Sheikh Sirhindi writes about the Owaisiah Order in his book ‘Tazkirah’: ‘It is the most sublime, the most exalted, and the most effective…and the highest station of all others is only its stepping stone.’ By far the greatest singular distinction of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order is the honor of Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance) directly at the blessed hands of the holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W).
SHEIKH HAZRAT MOULANA ALLAH YAR KHAN (R.A)
The Reviver Sheikh Allah Yar Khan was born in Chikrala, a remote village of Mianwali District of Pakistan, in 1904. He completed his religious education in 1934. The same year, he met Sheikh ‘Abdul Rahim, who took him to the shrine of Sheikh Allah Deen Madni. By Divine Will his spiritual connection was immediately established with the saint of the 10th century Hijra (sixteenth century CE) and he started receiving spiritual beneficence. His sublime education in Sufism, signifying progressive spiritual growth and advancement, continued for about twenty-five years, after which he was directed to undertake the propagation of Prophetic blessings - a noble mission that he accomplished with singular zeal and dedication for a period spanning half a century. Anybody who visited him was duly rewarded with a share of spiritual bliss commensurate with his/her sincerity and capacity. Sheikh Allah Yar Khan’s mission produced men and women of deep spiritual vision and eminence. He authored eighteen books, the most distinguished being Dalael us-Sulook (Sufism - An Objective Appraisal), Hayat-e Barzakhiah (Life Beyond Life) and Israr ul- Haramain (Secrets of the two holy Mosques). He was undoubtedly one of the most distinguished Sufi saints of the Muslim Ummah and a reviver of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order. He passed away on 18 February 1984 in Islamabad at the age of eighty.
THE CHAIN OF TRANSMISSION OF NAQSHBANDIA OWAISIAH
1. Hazrat Muhammad ur-Rasool Allah (Sall Allah-o Alaihi wa Sallam), 2. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (Radhi Allah-o Unho), 3. Hazrat Imam Hassan Basri (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 4. Hazrat Daud Tai (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 5. Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 6. Hazrat Ubaid Ullah Ahrar (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 7. Hazrat Abdur Rahman Jami (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 8. Hazrat Abu Ayub Muhammad Salih (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 9. Hazrat Allah Deen Madni (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi), 10. Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (Rahmat Ullah Alaihi).
THE SPIRIT OR RUH
The spirit or Ruh of every person is a created reflection of the Divine Attributes and it originates in Alam-e Amar (Realm of Command). Its food is the Light of Allah or the Divine Refulgence, which it acquires from the Realm of Command through the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him), whose status in the spiritual world is like that of the sun in the solar system. The Quran refers to him as the ‘bright lamp’. Indeed, he is the divinely selected channel of all Barakah. All Exalted Messengers themselves receive these Barakah from him.
LATAIF
The human Ruh also possesses vital organs like the physical body; through which it acquires its knowledge, food and energy. These are called Lataif (singular Latifah: subtlety). Scholars of various Sufi Orders have associated them with specific areas of the human body. The Naqshbandia Owaisiah Order identifies these Lataif as follows. First - Qalb: This spiritual faculty is located within the physical heart. Its function is Zikr. Its strength increases one’s capacity for Allah’s Zikr. Second – Ruh: The site of this Latifah, which is a distinct faculty of the human Ruh, is on the right side of the chest at the level of Qalb. Its primary function is concentration towards Allah. Third – Sirri: This is located above the Qalb and functions to make possible Kashf. Forth – Khaffi: This is located above the Ruh and functions to perceive the omnipresence of Allah. Fifth – Akhfa: This is located in the middle of chest, at the centre of the first four Lataif and makes it possible for the Ruh to perceive the closeness of Allah, Who is closer to us than our own selves. Sixth – Nafs: This Latifah is located at the forehead and functions to purify the human soul. Seventh – Sultan al-Azkar: This Latifah is located at the top centre of the head and serves to absorb the Barakah of Allah into the entire body, so that every cell resonates with Zikr.
FIVE EXALTED MESSENGERS OF GOD
There are Five Exalted Messengers among the many known and unknown Messengers of Allah. They are Hazrat Muhammad, Hazrat Nuh (Noah), Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham), Hazrat Musa (Moses), and Hazrat Esa (Jesus), peace be upon them all. Hazrat Adam is the first Prophet of Allah and the father of mankind. Each Latifah is associated with a particular Prophet. The Barakah and lights from Hazrat Adam (peace be upon him), descend on the first Latifah Qalb; its lights are reflected from the first heaven and are yellowish. The second Latifah is associated with Hazrat Nuh and Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon them). Its lights descend from the second heaven and appear as golden red. The lights descending upon the third Latifah are from Hazrat Musa (peace be upon him) and are white. One the fourth Latifah, the lights of Hazrat Esa (peace be upon him) descend from the fourth heaven and are deep blue. The fifth Latifah receives its Barakah directly from the holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s choicest favors and peace be upon him). The lights associated with this Latifah are green, descend from the fifth heaven, and overwhelm all the first four Lataif. The Lights descending upon the sixth and seventh Lataif are the Divine Lights, whose color and condition cannot be determined. These are like flashes of lightening that defy comprehension. If Allah blesses a seeker with Kashf, he can observe all of this. The vision is slightly diffused in the beginning, but gradually the clarity improves.
SULOOK
Stages of the Path After all seven Lataif of a seeker have been illuminated with Divine Lights through Tawajjuh of the Sheikh and his Ruh has acquired the ability to fly, the Sheikh initiates its journey on the sublime Path of Divine nearness. The Path is known as Sulook, and its stages are not hypothetical imaginations but real and actually existing stations on the spiritual Path. These are also referred to as Meditations, because a seeker mentally meditates about a station while his/her Ruh actually ascends towards it. The first three stations that form the base of whole Sulook are described as; Ahadiyyat, a station of Absolute Unity of Divinity. It is above and beyond the seven heavens. It is so vast a station that the seven heavens and all that they encompass are lost within Ahadiyyat as a ring is lost in a vast desert. Its lights are white in color. Maiyyat station denotes Divine Company, ‘He is with you, wherever you might be.’ This station is so vast that Ahadiyyat along with the seven heavens beneath are lost within it as a ring is lost in a desert. Its lights are green in color. Aqrabiyyat station denotes Divine Nearness, ‘He is nearer to you than your life- vein.’ Again, Aqrabiyyat is vast as compared to Maiyyat in the same proportion. Its lights are golden red and are reflected from the Divine Throne. It is indeed the greatest favor of Almighty Allah that He blesses a seeker with an accomplished Sheikh, who takes him to these sublime stations. The final station that a seeker attains to during his/her lifetime becomes his/her Iliyyeen (blessed abode) in Barzakh and his/her Ruh stays at this station after death.
ZIKR
Why is Zikr Necessary for Everyone? Allah ordains every soul in the Quran to Perform Zikr. This not only means reciting the Quran and Tasbeeh but also Zikr-e Qalb. It is only through Zikr-e Qalbi that Prophetic Lights reach the depths of human soul and purify it from all vice and evil. Zikr infuses a realization of constant Divine Presence and a seeker feels great improvement in the level of sincerity and love towards Allah and the holy Prophet- SAWS. Such levels of sincerity, love and feelings of Divine Presence can never be obtained without Zikr. It would be a mistake to believe that Zikr may be a requirement only for the very pious and virtuous people. Zikr provides the Prophetic blessings which are in effect the life line of every human soul. It transforms even the most corrupted humans into virtuous souls by bringing out the best in them. The fact is that Zikr is the only way to achieve true contentment and satisfaction in life. The holy Quran has pointed to this eternal fact that it is only through Zikr Allah that hearts can find satisfaction. Such satisfaction and peace are the ultimate requirements of every person, regardless of religion, race and ethnicity. Practicing Zikr regularly removes all traces of anxiety and restlessness, and guides the human soul to eternal bliss and peace.
KHALIFA MAJAZEEN
Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), during his life time in 1974, presented a nomination list to Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), during Maraqba, of expected Khalifa Majazeen for Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia. Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) approved some names, deleted some of the names, and added down the name of Major Ghulam Muhammad as also Khalifa Majaaz of Silsila Naqshbandia Awaisia (which was not previously included in the list)
The approved names at that time included:
1. Mr. Muhammad Akram Awan Sahib,
2. Mr. Sayed Bunyad Hussain Shah Sahib,
3. Mr. Major Ahsan Baig Sahib,
4. Mr. Col. Matloob Hussain Sahib,
5. Mr. Major Ghulam Muhammad Sahib of Wan Bhachran Mianwali,
6. Mr. Molvi Abdul Haq Sahib,
7. Mr. Hafiz Abdul Razzaq Sahib,
8. Mr. Hafiz Ghulam Qadri Sahib,
9. Mr. Khan Muhammad Irani Sahib,
10. Mr. Maolana Abdul Ghafoor Sahib,
11. Mr. Syed Muhammad Hassan Sahib of Zohb.
These Majazeen were authorized to; held Majalis of Zikar (Pas Anfas) in their respective areas, arrange Majalis of Zikar in neighboring areas, train them on the way of Sulook, prepare them for Spiritual Bai’at (Oath of Allegiance), and present them to Sheikh Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan for Spiritual Bai’at at the Hand of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W), in the life of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A), and were all equal in status as Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).
Presently we are following Hazrat Major ® Ghulam Muhammad Sahib, Khalifa Majaaz of Hazrat Moulana Allah Yar Khan (R.A).
This is Rusty's favourite night of the year. Wouldn't you know it ... we'll all get one extra hour of sleep tonight but it means the most to Rusty. As you can see she is so anxious for me to set our clock back she's actually trying to do it herself. If you look closely you can see she is concentrating so hard her tongue is sticking out.
A mineral is a naturally-occurring, solid, inorganic, crystalline substance having a fairly definite chemical composition and having fairly definite physical properties. At its simplest, a mineral is a naturally-occurring solid chemical. Currently, there are over 5900 named and described minerals - about 200 of them are common and about 20 of them are very common. Mineral classification is based on anion chemistry. Major categories of minerals are: elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, and silicates.
The silicates are the most abundant and chemically complex group of minerals. All silicates have silica as the basis for their chemistry. "Silica" refers to SiO2 chemistry. The fundamental molecular unit of silica is one small silicon atom surrounded by four large oxygen atoms in the shape of a triangular pyramid - this is the silica tetrahedron - SiO4. Each oxygen atom is shared by two silicon atoms, so only half of the four oxygens "belong" to each silicon. The resulting formula for silica is thus SiO2, not SiO4.
Opal is hydrous silica (SiO2·nH2O). Technically, opal is not a mineral because it lacks a crystalline structure. Opal is supposed to be called a mineraloid. Opal is made up of extremely tiny spheres called "colloids" that can be seen with a scanning electron microscope (SEM).
Gem-quality opal, or precious opal, has a wonderful rainbow play of colors (opalescence). This play of color is the result of light being diffracted by planes of voids between large areas of regularly packed, same-sized opal colloids. Different opalescent colors are produced by colloids of differing sizes. If individual colloids are larger than 140 x 10-6 mm in size, purple & blue & green colors are produced. Once colloids get as large as about 240 x 10-6 mm, red color is seen (Carr et al., 1979).
Not all opals have the famous play of colors, however. Common opal has a wax-like luster & is often milky whitish with no visible color play at all. Opal is moderately hard (H = 5 to 6), has a white streak, and has conchoidal fracture.
Several groups of organisms make skeletons of opaline silica, for example hexactinellid sponges, diatoms, radiolarians, silicoflagellates, and ebridians. Some organisms incorporate opal into their tissues, for example horsetails/scouring rushes and sawgrass. Sometimes, fossils are preserved in opal or precious opal.
Locality: attributed to "Berbere Hill", Ethiopia, eastern Africa
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Photo gallery of opal:
www.mindat.org/gallery.php?min=3004
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Reference cited:
Carr et al. (1979) - Andamooka opal fields: the geology of the precious stones field and the results of the subsidised mining program. Geological Survey of South Australia Department of Mines and Energy Report of Investigations 51. 68 pp.
NDGA is the leading gymnastic club in Kent, based in Tunbridge Wells. The Academy helps both girl and boy gymnasts, from a young age, develop their skills.
The NDGA delivers a safe, effective, professional and child-friendly gymnastic environment. Adults and children alike enjoy and trust in their exceptional facilities and the quality of training they provide.
They offer a wide range of activities for boys and girls of all ages and abilities, from pre-school through to adult classes, providing a variety of dance and freestyle classes, gymnastic parties, and holiday courses.
“We love this tumbling furniture. It is such fun, so robust and ideal for our young gymnasts to exercise on. What’s more 100% of the profit goes to Tree of Hope to help sick and disabled UK children.”
Hannah Taylor, Head Coach
Next Dimension Gymnastic Academy, NDGA
It is chilly and rainy in Arizona for Super Bowl 48 but BMW turned up the heat with their all-electric i3 and hybrid i8 sports car. To add additional flavor to the recipe New England Patriots’ starting corner Kyle Arrington and wife VaShonda Arrington joined the experience for the energetic weekend festivities.
Kyle spent a few days in both vehicles during his activities, which included stops at the Nike Football Super Bowl Hospitality Gifting Suite at the immaculate Scottsdale Resort & Conference Center, the NFL Experience, family outings and dinner with his spouse. Vashonda’s centerpiece moment was raising funds for the Off the Field Player’s Wives Association’s “14th Annual Super Bowl Fashion Show” held at the upscale Scottsdale Fashion Mall. The wives, kids and a handful of former NFL players walked the runway with grace and style. Guests included Holly Robinson Peete, Antonio Cromardie, Steve Young, Kevin Hart and many more. She enjoyed the earthly interior of the i3 and spoke passionately about the need regarding increased sustainability in the world.
The mind is driven by thoughts and fueled by inventive answers. The i3 is 100% pure electric and the i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car, which means its power is sourced from both gasoline and electricity. The i8 is comprised of a Life module and a Drive module. The 3-liter gasoline motor is placed in the rear and the smaller electric engine is housed up front. In addition, the i8 is essentially an AWD vehicle channeling traction from both axles simultaneously but doesn’t utilize the company’s hallmark xDrive system. A few common i8 performance specs include:
•0 to 60 mph = 4.2 seconds
•Top speed = 155 mph (electronically limited)
•Electric only top speed = 75 mph
•Pure electric range = 22 miles
Born electric, the i3 is engineered with BMW’s LifeDrive architecture, which is also structured into two categories, the Life Module and the Drive Module. Comprised of high-strength carbon, the Life Module protects and provides comfort for the driver and passengers. The second platform, the Drive Module, encompasses the electric drive system, the suspension and the HVAC. Since the car is lighter, the liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery (developed in-house by BMW) is smaller and only needs three hours for a full stage-2 (240-volt) charge. Additionally, BMW attempts to use as much renewable energy as possible for the manufacturing process of the carbon fiber i3.
The journey continues towards educating the world on the benefits of going green. BMW is both an innovator and leader in this technology category and has already spearheaded a positive movement. Expect more BMW i products down the line since they have only just begun.
Wat Pho (Thai: วัดโพธิ์, IPA: [wát pʰoː]), also spelt Wat Po, is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn (Thai: วัดพระเชตุพนวิมลมังคลารามราชวรมหาวิหาร; rtgs: Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimonmangkhlaram Ratchaworamahawihan; IPA: [wát pʰráʔ tɕʰê:t.tù.pʰon wíʔ.mon.maŋ.kʰlaː.raːm râːt.tɕʰá.wɔː.ráʔ.má.hǎː.wíʔ.hǎːn]). The more commonly known name, Wat Pho, is a contraction its older name Wat Photaram (Thai: วัดโพธาราม; rtgs: Wat Photharam).
The temple is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples. It is associated with King Rama I who rebuilt the temple complex on an earlier temple site, and became his main temple where some of his ashes are enshrined. The temple was later expanded and extensively renovated by Rama III. The temple complex houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, including a 46 m long reclining Buddha. The temple was also the earliest centre for public education in Thailand, and still houses a school of Thai medicine. It is known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple.
HISTORY
Wat Pho is one of Bangkok's oldest temples. It existed before Bangkok was established as the capital by King Rama I. It was originally named Wat Photaram or Podharam, from which the name Wat Pho is derived. The name refers the monastery of the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India where Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. The older temple is thought to have been built or expanded some time in the reign of King Phetracha (1688–1703) of the Ayuthaya period on an even earlier temple site, but its founder is unknown. After the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese, King Taksin moved the capital to Thonburi where he located his palace beside Wat Arun on the opposite side of the river from Wat Pho, and the proximity of Wat Pho to this royal palace elevated it to the status of a wat luang (royal monastery).
In 1782, King Rama I moved the capital from Thonburi across the river to Bangkok and built the Grand Palace adjacent to Wat Pho. In 1788, he ordered the construction and renovation at the old temple site of Wat Pho, which had by then become dilapidated. The site, which was marshy and uneven, was drained and filled in before construction began. During its construction Rama I also initiated a project to remove Buddha images from abandoned temples in Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, as well other sites in Thailand, and many of these Buddha images were kept at Wat Pho. These include the remnants of an enormous Buddha image from Ayuthaya's Wat Phra Si Sanphet destroyed by the Burmese in 1767, and these were incorporated into a chedi in the complex. The rebuilding took over seven years to complete, and 12 years after work began, in 1801, the new temple complex was renamed Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklavas in reference to the vihara of Jetavana, and became the main temple for Rama I. The complex underwent significant changes in the next 260 years, particularly during the reign of Rama III (1824-1851 CE). In 1832, King Rama III began renovating and enlarging the temple complex, a process that took 16 years and seven months to complete. The ground of the temple complex was expanded to 22 acres, and most of the structures in Wat Pho were either built or rebuilt in this period, including the chapel of the reclining Buddha. He also turned the temple complex into a public center of learning by decorating the walls of the buildings with diagrams and inscriptions on various subjects.:90 These marble inscriptions have received recognition in the Memory of the World Programme launched by UNESCO on 21 February 2008. Wat Pho is regarded as Thailand’s first university and a center for traditional Thai massage. It served as a medical teaching center in the mid-19th century before the advent of modern medicine, and the temple remains a center for traditional medicine today where a private school for Thai medicine founded in 1957 still operates. The name of the complex was changed again to Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm during the reign of King Rama IV. Apart from the construction of a fourth great chedi and minor modifications by Rama IV, there had been no significant changes to Wat Pho since. Repair work, however, is a continuing process, often funded by devotees of the temple. The temple was restored again in 1982 before the Bangkok Bicentennial Celebration.
THE TEMPLE COMPLEX
Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok with an area of 50 rai, 80,000 square metres, and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images at 46 m in length. The Wat Pho complex consists of two walled compounds bisected by Chetuphon Road running in the east–west direction. The larger northern walled compound, the phutthawat, is the part open to visitors and contains the finest buildings dedicated to the Buddha, including the bot with its four directional viharn, and the temple housing the reclining Buddha.< The southern compound, the sankhawat, contains the residential quarters of the monks and a school. The perimeter wall of the main temple complex has sixteen gates, two of which serve as entrances for the public (one on Chetuphon Road, the other near the northwest corner). The temple grounds contain 91 small chedis (stupas or mounds), four great chedis, two belfries, a bot (central shrine), a number of viharas (halls) and other buildings such as pavilions, as well as gardens and a small temple museum. Architecturally the chedis and buildings in the complex are different in style and sizes. A number of large Chinese statues, some of which depict Europeans, are also found within the complex guarding the gates of the perimeter walls as well as other gates within the compound. These stone statues were originally imported as ballast on ships trading with China. Wat Pho was intended to serve as a place of education for the general public. To this end a pictorial encyclopedia was engraved on granite slabs covering eight subject areas, namely history, medicine, health, custom, literature, proverbs, lexicography, and the Buddhist religion. These plaques, inscribed with texts and illustration on medicine, Thai traditional massage, and other subjects, are placed around the temple, for example, within the Sala Rai or satellite open pavilions. Dotted around the complex are 24 small rock gardens (Khao Mor) illustrating rock formations of Thailand, and one, called the Contorting Hermit Hill, contains some statues showing methods of massage and yoga positions. There are also drawings of constellations on the wall of the library, inscriptions on local administration, as well as paintings of folk tales and animal husbandry. These illustrations and inscriptions in Wat Pho have been registered by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Programme set up to promote, preserve and propagate the wisdom of the world heritage.
PHRA UBOSOT
Phra Ubosot (Phra Uposatha) or bot is the ordination hall, the main hall used for performing Buddhist rituals, and the most sacred building of the complex. It was constructed by King Rama I in the Ayuthaya style, and later enlarged and reconstructed in the Rattanakosin style by Rama III. The bot was dedicated in 1791, before the rebuilding of Wat Pho was completed. This building is raised on a marble platform, and the ubosot lies in the center of courtyard enclosed by a double cloister (Phra Rabiang).Inside the ubosot is a gold and crystal three-tiered pedestal topped with a gilded Buddha made of a gold-copper alloy, and over the statue is a nine-tiered umbrella representing the authority of Thailand. The Buddha image, known as Phra Buddha Theva Patimakorn and thought to be from the Ayutthaya period, was moved here by Rama I from Wat Sala Si Na (now called Wat Khuhasawa) in Thonburi. Rama IV later placed some ashes of Rama I under the pedestal of the Buddha image so that the public may pay homage to both Rama I and the Buddha at the same time. There are also ten images of Buddha's disciples in the hall, Moggalana on its left and Sariputta on its right, and a further eight Arahants below. The exterior balustrade surrounding the main hall has around 150 depictions in stone of the epic, Ramakien, the ultimate message of which is transcendence from secular to spiritual dimensions. The stone panels were recovered from a temple in Ayuthaya. The ubosot is enclosed by a low wall called kamphaeng kaew, which is punctuated by gateways guarded by mythological lions, as well as eight structures that house the bai sema stone markers that delineate the sacred space of the bot.
- Phra Rabiang - This double cloister contains around 400 images of Buddha from northern Thailand selected out of the 1,200 originally brought by King Rama I. Of these Buddha images, 150 are located on the inner side of the double cloister, another 244 images are on the outer side. These Buddha figures, some standing and some seated, are evenly mounted on matching gilded pedestals. These images are from different periods, such as Chiangsaen, Sukhothai, U-Thong, and Ayutthaya, but were renovated by Rama I and covered with stucco and gold leaves to make them look similar.
The viharn in the east contains an 8 metre tall standing Buddha, the Buddha Lokanatha, originally from Ayutthaya. In its antechamber is Buddha Maravichai, sitting under a bodhi tree, originally from Sawankhalok of the late Sukhothai period. The one on the west has a seated Buddha sheltered by a naga, the Buddha Chinnasri, while the Buddha on the south, the Buddha Chinnaraja, has five disciples seated in front listening to his first sermon. Both Buddhas were brought from Sukhothai by Rama I. The Buddha in the north viharn called Buddha Palilai was cast in the reign of Rama I. The viharn on the west also contains a small museum.
- Phra Prang - There are four towers, or phra prang, at each corner of the courtyard around the bot. Each of the towers is tiled with marbles and contains four Khmer-style statues which are the guardian divinities of the Four Cardinal Points.
PHRA MAHA CHEDI SI RAJAKARN
This is a group of four large stupas, each 42 metres high. These four chedis are dedicated to the first four Chakri kings. The first, in green mosaic tiles, was constructed by Rama I to house the remnants of the great Buddha from Ayuthaya, which was scorched to remove its gold covering by the Burmese. Two more were built by Rama III, one in white tiles to hold the ashes of his father Rama II, another in yellow for himself. A fourth in blue was built by Rama IV who then enclosed the four chedis leaving no space for more to be built.
VIHARN PHRANORN
The viharn or wihan contains the reclining Buddha and was constructed in the reign of Rama III emulating the Ayutthaya-style. The interior is decorated with panels of mural.
Adjacent to this building is a small raised garden (Missakawan Park) with a Chinese-style pavilion; the centrepiece of the garden is a bodhi tree which was propagated from the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree in Sri Lanka that is believed to have originally came from a tree in India where Buddha sat while awaiting enlightenment.
PHRA MONDOB
Phra Mondob or the ho trai is the Scripture Hall containing a small library of Buddhist scriptures. The building is not generally open to the public as the scriptures which are inscribed on palm leaves need to kept in a controlled environment for preservation. The library was built by Rama III. Guarding its entrance are figures of giants called Yak Wat Pho placed in niches beside the gates. Around Phra Mondob are three pavilions with mural paintings of the beginning of Ramayana.
OTHER STRUCTURES
- Phra Chedi Rai - Outside the Phra Rabiang cloisters are dotted many smaller chedis, called Phra Chedi Rai. Seventy-one of these small chedis were built by Rama III, each five metres in height. There are also four groups of five chedis that shared a single base built by Rama I, one on each corner outside the cloister. The 71 chedis of smaller size contain the ashes of the royal family, and 20 slightly larger ones clustered in groups of five contain the relics of Buddha.
- Sala Karn Parien - This hall is next to the Phra Mondob at the southwest corner of the compound, and is thought to date from the Ayutthaya period. It serves as a learning and meditation hall. The building contains the original Buddha image from the bot which was moved to make way for the Buddha image currently in the bot. Next to it is a garden called The Crocodile Pond.
- Sala Rai - There are 16 satellite pavilions, most of them placed around the edge of the compound, and murals depicting the life of Buddha may be found in some of these. Two of these are the medical pavilions between Phra Maha Chedi Si Ratchakarn and the main chapel. The north medicine pavilion contains Thai traditional massage inscriptions with 32 drawings of massage positions on the walls while the one to the south has a collection of inscriptions on guardian angel that protects the newborn.
- Phra Viharn Kod - This is the gallery which consists of four viharas, one on each corner outside the Phra Rabiang.
- Tamnak Wasukri - Also called the poet's house, this is the former residence of Prince Patriarch Paramanujita Jinorasa, a Thai poet. This building is in the living quarters of the monks in the southern compound and is open once a year on his birthday.
RECLINING BUDDHA
The chapel and the reclining Buddha (Phra Buddhasaiyas, Thai พระพุทธไสยาสน์) were built by Rama III in 1832. The image of the reclining Buddha represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. The posture of the image is referred to as sihasaiyas, the posture of a sleeping or reclining lion. The figure is 15 m high and 46 m long, and it is one of the largest Buddha statues in Thailand. The right arm of the Buddha supports the head with tight curls, which rests on two box-pillows richly encrusted with glass mosaics. The figure has a brick core, which was modelled and shaped with plaster, then gilded.
The soles of the feet of the Buddha are 3 m high and 4.5 m long, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl. They are each divided into 108 arranged panels, displaying the auspicious symbols by which Buddha can be identified, such as flowers, dancers, white elephants, tigers, and altar accessories. At the center of each foot is a circle representing a chakra or energy point. There are 108 bronze bowls in the corridor representing the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha. Visitors may drop coins in these bowls as it is believed to bring good fortune, and it also helps the monks to maintain the wat.
Although the reclining Buddha is not a pilgrimage centre, it remains an object of popular piety. An annual celebration for the reclining Buddha is held around the time of the Siamese Songkran or New Year in April, which also helps raise funds for the upkeep of Wat Pho.
THAI MASSAGE
The temple is considered the first public university of Thailand, teaching students in the fields of religion, science, and literature through murals and sculptures. A school for traditional medicine and massage was established at the temple in 1955, and now offers four courses in Thai medicine: Thai pharmacy, Thai medical practice, Thai midwifery, and Thai massage. This, the Wat Pho Thai Traditional Medical and Massage School, is the first school of Thai medicine approved by the Thai Ministry of Education, and one of the earliest massage schools. It remains the national headquarters and the center of education of traditional Thai medicine and massage to this day. Courses on Thai massage are held in Wat Pho, and these may last a few weeks to a year. Two pavilions at the eastern edge of the Wat Pho compound are used as classrooms for practising Thai traditional massage and herbal massage, and visitors can received massage treatment here for a fee.There are many medical inscriptions and illustrations placed in various buildings around the temple complex, some of which serve as instructions for Thai massage therapists, particularly those in the north medical pavilion. Among these are 60 inscribed plaques, 30 each for the front and back of human body, showing pressure points used in traditional Thai massage. These therapeutic points and energy pathways, known as sen, are engraved on the human figures, with explanations given on the walls next to the plaques. They are based on the principle of energy flow similar to that of Chinese acupuncture. The understanding so far is that the figures represent relationships between anatomical locations and effects produced by massage treatment at those locations, but full research on the diagrams has yet to be completed.
WIKIPEDIA
This is the test for the site I'm working on with my Altered Art dolls. If anyone want to beta it, I'd be grateful ( thanks to those who have looked already) It isn't finished and some of the links may not work correctly yet. I think the main image is taking way to long to load, I may have to change where it is etc...
ANYWAY I like the way it's starting out, but may have to change stuf
f(edit)
doh helps to add the url : wickeddollz.angelfire.com/dimestoretest.html
This is Charles.
Charles is also a photographer. He use Nikon Equipment :-)
I saw him from far away in the morning direct infront of the cologne cathedral.
Only a few people are running arround.
Charles stoud directly infront of the cathedral pointing his camera upwards
and made pictures.
My Plan was to went near him and wait for a break in taking pictures to ask
about the project.
Easy said, but hardly done. He just didnt stop. Pointing the camera down for
five seconds, walked a little further, camera up. Looking at the display, camera up
etc.
I waited nearly ten minutes, always looking at him. I started to look like a tourist
taking pictures from the cathedral because a police car was near me.
There are many pickpockets.
Than i could ask him. I started with German but he couldnt understand.
I explained the project in English and he agreed. We took three pictures.
I showed him the picture and gave him my Mo Card.
Thank you very much!
This picture is #37 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
Please visit me at Google+
Various Artists
Wednesday 6 - Friday 8 November, Check listing for times
Various Locations
Various Locations
Street Talks is a series of quickfire public talks, part of the Re@ct: Social Change Art Technology Symposium. Rather than your typical poster session, these talks will take place on the streets of Dundee in various locations. Free speech is essential to political and social change – these artists are quite literally taking it to the streets to share their creative practices.
Luisa Charles & Elke Reinhuber –Wednesday 6th November, 2pm, Slessor Gardens
Luisa Charles – discusses the intersections of disability and design, and how novel bespoke design practices could offer a solution to designing for all needs, where universal design could not. These design ideologies, that include co-design, individual centred design, mass customisation, and mass personalisation, are exemplified by case studies from pop culture design media, such as the Fixperts and BBC’s Big Life Fix. She analyses the social, technological, and economical shifts that are required for these practices to become mainstream, and the capability of bespoke design to cause enough disruption within the design economy to create a shift in capitalism.
Elke Reinhuber – The Urban Beautician moved recently from the speckless city state of Singapore, where she already developed her retirement plans, across the South China Sea, to protest-ridden Hong Kong. There, she observed how much effort the cleaners put up to keep these megapolises scrubbed and tidy. As they are frequently overlooked, the Urban Beautician captured some of them during their relentless daily routine. While they have adapted themselves to their particular duties, their skills are hardly ever honoured or even acknowledged. Paying homage to their Sisyphean challenge, they can be positioned now anywhere through Augmented Reality and venerated as perpetualised sculptures of our everyday heroes.The Urban Beautician tries to improve neglected details in our urban environment with interventions in public space and performances to camera. Since more than a decade she cares for things most people are oblivious to.
Ibarieze Abani and Daisy Abbott & Anders Zanichkowsky – Thursday 7th November, 1:30pm, Albert Square, by McManus Gallery Steps
Ibarieze Abani and Daisy Abbott – Transmedia storytelling uses multiple delivery channels to convey a narrative in order to provide a more immersive entertainment experience (Jenkins, 2009). Transmedia activism can be very broadly defined as using storytelling to “effect social change by engaging multiple stakeholders on multiple platforms to collaborate toward appropriate, community-led social action” (Srivastava, 2009). Activism depends on participation and collaboration within a community to avoid unsustainable or inappropriate top-down interventions. A similar concept, transmedia mobilization, uses transmedia storytelling to engage “the social base of a movement in participatory media making practices across multiple platforms” (Constanza-Chock, 2013) and also requires interaction from diverse voices from within the community.
Anders Zanichkowsky –“I Am in Your Hands: Smartphones and the erotics of the future”Social media artist and queer anarchist Anders Zanichkowsky will present excerpts and reflections from his current Grindr project, “Queen of Hearts,” as well as other recent projects reading Tarot cards on hookup apps and go-go dancing for a remote audience on Instagram. During this talk, Anders will use the same social media platforms that are the subject of his presentation, inviting you into the theory behind the work, and into the work itself. Equal parts cultural criticism, performance art, and experimental public speaking, this street talk will level the hierarchy of physical presence over virtual appearance, and scandalously suggest how thirst traps and sexting with strangers can indeed point us towards a radical future of queer intimacy and counterculture.
Mohammad Namazi & Matteo Preabianca – Friday 8th November, 1:30pm, Wellgate Centre, Victoria Road entrance
Mohammad Namazi – An Archive of Audio Disobedience, intervenes into the public realm, and collaborates with individuals, to construct a live-event. The event manifests through utilising a net-based sound archive, capable of involving participants in a collective form of sound-action, -publication, -demonstration, -performance, and -play.
The archive comprises various audio effects, sound segments, words, and computer-generated speeches – to stage a critical symphony, rooted in and derived from, socio-political concerns.
Matteo Preabianca – Mantra Marx is the eighth album for the NonMiPiaceIlCirco! Project. NonMiPiaceIlCirco! is a musical project that has been on since 2004, the year of the first album. Since then, the line-up has been in a constant change, with Matteo Preabianca the only member from the beginning. So they took The Capital from the shelf to read again. But who remembers it, especially young people? Let’s get rid of guitars and songs to give a didactic approach to the music. 25 tracks, one for each of the First Book’s 25 chapters. They use the lyrics as Hinduist mantras, where repetition is the key for a deep understanding of our life, and Marx as well. Its music, besides being lo-fi and badly made, is just an excuse. The lyrics are a summarized version of the aforementioned book, spoken by 25 different Mandarin native voices, completely unaware of the reason behind the recording. Still time to die as a Marxist(?). Developed and recorded in China.
About the Artists
Daisy Abbott is an interdisciplinary researcher and research developer based in the School of Simulation and Visualisation at The Glasgow School of Art. Daisy’s current research focusses on game-based learning, 3D visualisation, and issues surrounding digital interaction, documentation, preservation, and interpretation in the arts and humanities. She also collaborates with artists on works aiming to explore the nature of digital interactivity and digital art.
Luisa Charles is an interaction designer, multidisciplinary artist, and filmmaker. Having been exhibited in the Science Museum, Science Gallery London, London Design Festival, and various film festivals, amongst others, her work spans many themes across science and technology, social politics, and personal narratives. She specialises in installation design and physical computing, experience design, fabrication, and videography, and her work often comes under the umbrella of speculative and critical design. Her work focuses heavily on research processes, and forms itself organically through investigation and experimentation.
Ibarieze Abani is a recent Masters graduate in Serious Games and Virtual Reality at the Glasgow School of Art, where she has carried out projects about cultural heritage, gender inequality, transmedia storytelling and climate policy. She is an advocate of the capabilities of interactive digital media as a tool for opening up dialogues surrounding large scale themes such as climate justice, social justice and intersectionality. She has a keen interest in working with people using digital media to make meaningful and tangible differences on a societal scale.
Mohammad Namazi (b. 1981. Tehran) is an artist, educator and researcher based in London. Mohammad works through means of de-construction, collaboration, process, unlearning, and telematics systems within social and cultural realms. The studio operates as a research-lab for inter-disciplinary projects that can span video, sound, liveevents, graphics, photography, sculptural structures, and internet-based projects. He received his doctorate from UAL research in 2019, and currently teaches as visiting lecturer at Wimbledon, and Chelsea College of Arts. Mohammad is a member of research cluster Critical Practice.
Matteo Preabianca- Music and Languages…Music and Languages? How come? Matteo starts playing violin when he was a child, but he did not like it, especially when he tried to beat it on the table. It did not make any good sound. So, better drumming, right? Meanwhile playing and spending a lot his mum’s money to buy records he realised even speaking other languages was not so bad. Especially when he invented his own. Step by step, he turned into a music and languages teacher.
Elke Reinhuber is not your average artist, because she became a specialist on choice, decision making and counterfactual thoughts in media arts. Currently, Reinhuber teaches and researches at the School of Creative Media, CityU Hing Kong and is affiliated with the School of Art, Design and Media at NTU in Singapore. In her artistic practice, she investigates on the correlation between decisions and emotions and explores different strategies of visualisation and presentation, working with immersive environments, mixed reality, imaging technologies and performance. In addition, her alter ego, the ‘Urban Beautician’ is pursuing a life which Elke didn’t follow.
Anders Zanickowsky is an American artist and activist who uses platforms like Grindr and Instagram as actual sites for performances about desire, uncertainty, and vulnerability. He is committed to José Esteban Muñoz’s concept of queer futurity in which artists refuse the oppressive confines of the present and reach instead towards what can only be imagined. He has an MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2019) and was a resident with The Arctic Circle program in Svalbard (2016). Since 2008 he has worked in movements for housing justice, prison abolition, and HIV/AIDS.
Photography Kathryn Rattray
This is a free texture that I am offering to anyone that would like to download and use it. I will be uploading a new texture every week so check back for new ones.
Original Size
Deboxing the doll. There is a clear plastic sleeve over the inner cardboard box. The cape and display stand are separate pieces that are included with the doll. The doll is tied down with satin ribbons, and a clear plastic strip secures her skirt. The cover is removed to show the contents in clear view. The Certificate of Authenticity and instructions for assembling the display stand are inside the backing, which opens up in the back. We then remove the doll from the backing, and remove her tags. The doll stand is in two pieces still taped to the backing.
Thanks to a tip from a fellow collector, I got my very first Madame Alexander doll, the Alex Collection Snow White 16 inch doll, for a very good price, from Amazon. The doll was new in box, in the original shipper carton. She was released in 2008 in an edition of 300. I happen to have #300 of 300! The number is on the CoA, the lower back of the doll, and on the tag of the satin gown. She also comes with a satin cape. The only other accessory is a display stand. The skirt is very full and floor length, and is most like the Tonner Snow White outfit that I have. There is a satin slip and a tulle petticoat underneath that helps to keep the skirt full. Like Tonner dolls, she has flesh colored tights over cloth panties. She has high heeled shoes with the tops made of satin, with tiny satin bows. The face is much more realistic than my DS Snow White dolls, looking like a high fashion model. Her eyelashes were a little wonky, so I tried to make them a little neater. Her hair is styled into a bun in the back, protected by a hair net, similar to that of the Designer Princess Snow White.
"The Tuscan Palace, sometimes also called the Thun-Hohenštejnský palác, is a massive baroque palace-type building located on the west side of Hradčanské náměstí in the Prague 1 district of Hradčany. Currently, the building is used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. Since 1964, the palace has been a cultural monument.
The construction of the palace was started by Count Michael Osvald Thun-Hohenstein before 1690 on the site of several smaller residential houses that had belonged to the Lobkovics until then. At that time, Count Thun conceived the intention of building his noble representative residence here near Prague Castle. However, he did not live to see the construction completed. In 1718, the unfinished building was bought from Thun by Anna Marie Františka, duchess of Tuscany, who later completed the construction - hence the name of this palace.
The construction was carried out according to the project of the French architect Jean Baptiste Mathey; the construction of the palace also mentions the collaboration of the Italian architect Giacomo Antonio Canevalle, who is credited with the two pavilions above the main facade, which penetrate the roof and are connected by a terrace. The building has a total of four closed wings with a rectangular courtyard in the middle and two fountains in building niches. The rich façade of the palace is decorated with two Tuscan coats of arms, as well as sculptural decoration on the attic, which consists of an allegory of the Seven Liberal Arts by Jan Brokoff (from left: Grammar, Dialectic, Rhetoric, Astrology, Arithmetic, Music, Geometry).
In 1998, a complete reconstruction of the building took place here. Only the spaces on the ground floor, where various social events are occasionally held, are occasionally accessible to the public.
Hradčany (German: Hradschin) is an urban district and cadastral territory of Prague with an area of 1.5 km², divided between city districts and at the same time the city districts of Prague 1 and Prague 6. A significant part of the district is occupied by Prague Castle, one of the most famous castles in Europe and, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest castle complex in the world. Hradčany was an independent town until 1784, when it became part of the united royal capital of Prague.
Hradčany includes the area of Prague Castle, the territory of the historic city around Hradčanské and Loretánské náměstí, Pohořelec, the area of Strahov Monastery and Nový Svět, as well as the area of the former Marian Walls forming an arc from the western edge of Letenská plain to the top of Petřín.
Prague 6 includes a strip of territory defined by tram lines in Dlabačov, Keplerova, Jelení, Mariánské hradby, Badeni, Milada Horáková, Patočkova and Myslbekova streets. The cadastral territory Hradčany is adjacent to Střešovice to the northwest, Dejvice to the north, Mala Strana to the east, Smíchov (a small strip of territory) to the south, and Břevnov to the southwest.
Prague (/ˈprɑːɡ/ PRAHG; Czech: Praha [ˈpraɦa]; German: Prag [pʁaːk]; Latin: Praga) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oceanic climate, with relatively warm summers and chilly winters.
Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of central Europe, with a rich history and Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectures. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably Charles IV (r. 1346–1378) and Rudolf II (r. 1575–1611).
It was an important city to the Habsburg monarchy and Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city played major roles in the Bohemian and the Protestant Reformations, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia between the World Wars and the post-war Communist era.
Prague is home to a number of well-known cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of 20th-century Europe. Main attractions include Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, Petřín hill and Vyšehrad. Since 1992, the historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
The city has more than ten major museums, along with numerous theatres, galleries, cinemas, and other historical exhibits. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city. It is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe.
Prague is classified as a "Alpha-" global city according to GaWC studies. In 2019, the city was ranked as 69th most livable city in the world by Mercer. In the same year, the PICSA Index ranked the city as 13th most livable city in the world. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination and as of 2017, the city receives more than 8.5 million international visitors annually. In 2017, Prague was listed as the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Rome, and Istanbul.
Bohemia (Latin Bohemia, German Böhmen, Polish Czechy) is a region in the west of the Czech Republic. Previously, as a kingdom, they were the center of the Czech Crown. The root of the word Czech probably corresponds to the meaning of man. The Latin equivalent of Bohemia, originally Boiohaemum (literally "land of Battles"), which over time also influenced the names in other languages, is derived from the Celtic tribe of the Boios, who lived in this area from the 4th to the 1st century BC Bohemia on it borders Germany in the west, Austria in the south, Moravia in the east and Poland in the north. Geographically, they are bounded from the north, west and south by a chain of mountains, the highest of which are the Krkonoše Mountains, in which the highest mountain of Bohemia, Sněžka, is also located. The most important rivers are the Elbe and the Vltava, with the fertile Polabean Plain extending around the Elbe. The capital and largest city of Bohemia is Prague, other important cities include, for example, Pilsen, Karlovy Vary, Kladno, Ústí nad Labem, Liberec, Hradec Králové, Pardubice and České Budějovice, Jihlava also lies partly on the historical territory of Bohemia." - info from Wikipedia.
Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.
Now on Instagram.
A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name snail is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have a coiled shell that is large enough for the animal to retract completely into. When the word "snail" is used in this most general sense, it includes not just land snails but also numerous species of sea snails and freshwater snails. Gastropods that naturally lack a shell, or have only an internal shell, are mostly called slugs, and land snails that have only a very small shell (that they cannot retract into) are often called semi-slugs.
Snails have considerable human relevance, including as food items, as pests, as vectors of disease, and their shells are used as decorative objects and are incorporated into jewelry. The snail has also had some cultural significance, and has been used as a metaphor.
OVERVIEW
Snails that respire using a lung belong to the group Pulmonata. As traditionally defined, the Pulmonata were found to be polyphyletic in a molecular study per Jörger et al., dating from 2010. But snails with gills also form a polyphyletic group; in other words, snails with lungs and snails with gills form a number of taxonomic groups that are not necessarily more closely related to each other than they are related to some other groups.
Both snails that have lungs and snails that have gills have diversified so widely over geological time that a few species with gills can be found on land and numerous species with lungs can be found in freshwater. Even a few marine species have lungs.
Snails can be found in a very wide range of environments, including ditches, deserts, and the abyssal depths of the sea. Although land snails may be more familiar to laymen, marine snails constitute the majority of snail species, and have much greater diversity and a greater biomass. Numerous kinds of snail can also be found in fresh water.
Most snails have thousands of microscopic tooth-like structures located on a banded ribbon-like tongue called a radula. The radula works like a file, ripping food into small pieces. Many snails are herbivorous, eating plants or rasping algae from surfaces with their radulae, though a few land species and many marine species are omnivores or predatory carnivores. Snails cannot absorb colored pigments when eating paper or cardboard so their feces are also colored.
Several species of the genus Achatina and related genera are known as giant African land snails; some grow to 38 cm from snout to tail, and weigh 1 kg). The largest living species of sea snail is Syrinx aruanus; its shell can measure up to 90 cm in length, and the whole animal with the shell can weigh up to 18 kg.
The snail Lymnaea makes decisions by using only two types of neurons: one deciding whether the snail is hungry, and the other deciding whether there is food in the vicinity.
The largest known land gastropod is the African giant snail Achatina achatina, the largest recorded specimen of which measured 39.3 centimetres from snout to tail when fully extended, with a shell length of 27.3 cm in December 1978. It weighed exactly 900 g. Named Gee Geronimo, this snail was owned by Christopher Hudson (1955–79) of Hove, East Sussex, UK, and was collected in Sierra Leone in June 1976.
TYPES OF SNAILS BY HABITAT
SLUGS
Gastropods that lack a conspicuous shell are commonly called slugs rather than snails. Some species of slug have a red shell, some have only an internal vestige that serves mainly as a calcium repository, and others have no shell at all. Other than that there is little morphological difference between slugs and snails. There are however important differences in habitats and behavior.
A shell-less animal is much more maneuverable and compressible, so even quite large land slugs can take advantage of habitats or retreats with very little space, retreats that would be inaccessible to a similar-sized snail. Slugs squeeze themselves into confined spaces such as under loose bark on trees or under stone slabs, logs or wooden boards lying on the ground. In such retreats they are in less danger from either predators or desiccation, and often those also are suitable places for laying their eggs.
Slugs as a group are far from monophyletic; biologically speaking "slug" is a term of convenience with little taxonomic significance. The reduction or loss of the shell has evolved many times independently within several very different lineages of gastropods. The various taxa of land and sea gastropods with slug morphology occur within numerous higher taxonomic groups of shelled species; such independent slug taxa are not in general closely related to one another.
HUMAN RELEVANCE
Land snails are known as an agricultural and garden pest but some species are an edible delicacy and occasionally household pets.
IN AGRICULTURE
There are a variety of snail-control measures that gardeners and farmers use in an attempt to reduce damage to valuable plants. Traditional pesticides are still used, as are many less toxic control options such as concentrated garlic or wormwood solutions. Copper metal is also a snail repellent, and thus a copper band around the trunk of a tree will prevent snails from climbing up and reaching the foliage and fruit. A layer of a dry, finely ground, and scratchy substance such as diatomaceous earth can also deter snails.
The decollate snail (Rumina decollata) will capture and eat garden snails, and because of this it has sometimes been introduced as a biological pest control agent. However, this is not without problems, as the decollate snail is just as likely to attack and devour other gastropods that may represent a valuable part of the native fauna of the region.
AS FOOD
In French cuisine, edible snails are served for instance in Escargot à la Bourguignonne. The practice of rearing snails for food is known as heliciculture. For purposes of cultivation, the snails are kept in a dark place in a wired cage with dry straw or dry wood. Coppiced wine-grape vines are often used for this purpose. During the rainy period, the snails come out of hibernation and release most of their mucus onto the dry wood/straw. The snails are then prepared for cooking. Their texture when cooked is slightly chewy.
As well as being relished as gourmet food, several species of land snails provide an easily harvested source of protein to many people in poor communities around the world. Many land snails are valuable because they can feed on a wide range of agricultural wastes, such as shed leaves in banana plantations. In some countries, giant African land snails are produced commercially for food.
Land snails, freshwater snails and sea snails are all eaten in a number of countries (principally Spain, Philippines, Morocco, Nigeria, Algeria, Cameroon, France, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria, Belgium, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Cyprus, Ghana, Malta, Terai of Nepal, China, Northeast India states such as Manipur, Tripura and parts of the United States). In certain parts of the world, snails are fried. For example, in Indonesia, they are fried as satay, a dish known as sate kakul. The eggs of certain snail species are eaten in a fashion similar to the way caviar is eaten.
In Bulgaria, snails are traditionally cooked in an oven with rice or fried in a pan with vegetable oil and red paprika powder. Before they are used for those dishes, however, they are thoroughly boiled in hot water (for up to 90 minutes) and manually extracted from their shells. The two species most commonly used for food in the country are Helix lucorum and Helix pomatia.
FAMINE FOOD
Snails and slug species that are not normally eaten in certain areas have occasionally been used as famine food in historical times. A history of Scotland written in the 1800s recounts a description of various snails and their use as food items in times of plague.
COSMETIC
Skin creams derived from Helix aspersa snails are sold for use on wrinkles, scars, dry skin, and acne. A research study suggested that secretions produced under stress by Helix aspersa might facilitate regeneration of wounded tissue.
Cultural depictions
SYMBOLISM
Because of its slowness, the snail has traditionally been seen as a symbol of laziness. In Christian culture, it has been used as a symbol of the deadly sin of sloth. Psalms 58:8 uses snail slime as a metaphorical punishment. In Mayan mythology, the snail is associated with sexual desire, being personified by the god Uayeb.
DIVINATION AND OTHER RELIGIOUS USES
Snails were widely noted and used in divination. The Greek poet Hesiod wrote that snails signified the time to harvest by climbing the stalks, while the Aztec moon god Tecciztecatl bore a snail shell on his back. This symbolised rebirth; the snail's penchant for appearing and disappearing was analogised with the moon.
LOVE DARTS AND CUPID
Professor Ronald Chase of McGill University in Montreal has suggested the ancient myth of Cupid's arrows might be based on early observations of the love dart behavior of the land snail species Helix aspersa.
In contemporary speech, the expression "a snail's pace" is often used to describe a slow, inefficient process. The phrase "snail mail" is used to mean regular postal service delivery of paper messages as opposed to the delivery of email, which can be virtually instantaneous.
IN INDONESIAN MYTHOLOGY
DEWI SEKARTAJI AS KEONG EMAS
Keong Emas (Javanese and Indonesian for Golden Snail) is a popular Javanese folklore about a princess magically transformed and contained in a golden snail shell. The folklore is a part of popular Javanese Panji cycle telling the stories about the prince Panji Asmoro Bangun (also known as Raden Inu Kertapati) and his consort, princess Dewi Sekartaji (also known as Dewi Chandra Kirana).
TEXTILES
Certain varieties of snails, notably the family Muricidae, produce a secretion that is a color-fast natural dye. The ancient Tyrian purple was made in this way as were other purple and blue dyes. The extreme expense of extracting this secretion is sufficient quantities limited its use to the very wealthy. It is such dyes as these that led to certain shades of purple and blue being associated with royalty and wealth.
WIKIPEDIA
Most tall coconut trees you see along beaches in Malaysia are of the Malayan Tall variety. And this tree happens to be one as well, growing inside a private compound. Everyday, over 1000 vehicles pass this tree - it is just opposite CKS Supermarket along Bundusan Road. One thing which amazes me is the whitish pattern on one of its coconuts - the white is so intense that you can even see it from as far as 100 metres away! All of the coconuts on this tree seem to have that pattern as well. And the trunk of this tree is very smooth - something like the Cuban Royal Palm. Is it a genetic trait or is it because of a disease/ pest?
Bakewell is the only market town within the Peak District National Park boundary.
Its attractive courtyards, independent shops, cafés and its scenic location on the River Wye (about thirteen miles southwest of Sheffield) make it a hugely popular destination for Peak District tourists.
Bakewell is best known for a confection made by mistake. In the 19th century, a cook at the Rutland Arms was baking a jam tart, but misunderstood the recipe, and so Bakewell Pudding was created. Now, almost every visitor to the town samples this culinary delight.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakewell
Old House Museum
A typical 16th-century yeoman's house that now houses a museum.
The museum tells the story of the house as well as the lives of people from Bakewell and this part of the Peak District.
The house was originally owned by the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, and was built as a tithe collector's dwelling.
Built in 1534, extended in 1549, reflecting the growing prosperity from tithe collecting.
Gade II* Listed
www.oldhousemuseum.org.uk/museum/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_House_Museum,_Bakewell
Technical Note
Difficult to photograph due to the rooms being small and packed with interesting exhibits. My pics were taken to record my visit rather than as an attempt to showcase my photographic prowess.
Zofiówka Sanatorium is a defunct mental health facility in the town of Otwock in Poland, built at the beginning of the 20th century. In the Second Polish Republic, the sanatorium complex was expanded with more buildings and staff. Zofiówka initially had 95 beds, but this number had increased to 275 by 1935. The Jewish history of Zofiówka has come to its tragic end in the course of the Holocaust following the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany.
Construction
The history of the old Jewish sanatorium starts at the beginning of the 20th century. Back then, the institutionalized treatment of mental disorders was in its infancy. In 1906, Polish-Jewish neurologists Adam Wizel, Samuel Goldflam, Ludwik Bregman and Adolf Weisblat formed the "Society for Poor Jews with Nervous and Mental Illnesses" (Polish: Towarzystwo Opieki nad Ubogimi, Nerwowo i Umysłowo Chorymi Żydami). The sanatorium's director was Dr. Stefan Miller.A year later, a donation by the philanthropist Sophia Endelman enabled the purchase of 17 hectares of land and in 1908 the first building of a new sanatorium was built by the association there. An important part of the treatment was restoring patients to society by enabling them to practice employment. In its isolation ward (part of the hospital reserved for the most difficult patients), the mother of famous Polish poet, Julian Tuwim, Adela Tuwim was placed before World War II.
Holocaust history
In late 1940, the asylum fell within the so-called ‘medical zone’ formed by the Germans in the newly established Jewish ghetto of Otwock. The institution was still working during the early stages of the occupation of Poland, but the conditions dramatically worsened. Almost 400 patients were sentenced to a slow and torturous death by starvation as part of the Nazi extermination Aktionen. Zofiówka ended its existence at the same time as ghetto in Otwock.
On the morning of 19 August 1942, the Ukrainian Trawnikis supervised by the Germans, gathered the patients and the hospital crew in the first pavilion. Some 100-140 victims were shot on the spot, the rest were put on the Holocaust train to Treblinka along with Otwock’s Jewish population of 7,000.[2] Only a few doctors, who managed to escape to Warsaw by ambulance, survived. Some of the staff people committed suicide. In 1943 Zofiówka served Germans as Lebensborn, the institution of charity care. The facility also dealt with the Germanization of Polish children, and bringing them up for adoption to families in Germany.
After World War II
Zofiówka returned to its original medical purposes after the Soviet takeover, but patients were mainly children and young people. Between 1985 and mid 90’s, the facility was used in treating neuropsychiatric disorders associated with drug addiction. This continued on until the decision was made to finally close it.
In 2015, the Internet viral video called 11B-X-1371 was found to have been filmed at the abandoned facility, though by whom and when, exactly, are not known.